The usually tranquil walls of Chang'an city became a little chaotic with the arrival of Ye Feng and his entourage.
After dismissing the welcoming general, Ma Teng and his companions turned their gaze towards the city's exterior.
It was empty!
There were neither the expected legions of troops nor the foreseen smoke of battle.
Aside from a few scattered civilians entering the city, the area outside Chang'an was no different from any other day.
"Governor..."
Ma Teng, unable to contain himself, opened his mouth to ask Ye Feng what he was up to.
But as soon as his voice began, Ye Feng held up a middle finger.
"Shh!"
After hushing Ma Teng and the others, Ye Feng smiled and pointed to his ear.
"Listen carefully!"
"Huh?"
Ma Teng and Han Sui were taken aback, but they still cupped their ears and listened intently.
It seemed like there was nothing.
Wait!
Just as they were about to dismiss it, Ma Teng and the others suddenly heard a faint "dada" sound.
It sounded… it sounded like the clatter of hooves?
Their expressions turned serious, and the three brothers listened again, more carefully.
That's right!
It was the sound of hooves!
Having spent years dealing with warhorses, they immediately understood the meaning of this sound.
What's more,
From the dense clatter of hooves, they drew a conclusion.
At least twenty thousand cavalry were arriving!
Could it be the same twenty thousand cavalry that appeared in Chenliu earlier?
That shouldn't be possible!
Even if they had traveled non-stop through the night, they couldn't have reached Chang'an this quickly!
After all,
The speed of a large army on the march was completely different from a single person traveling light.
Furthermore...
"Brother!" Han Sui frowned beside him, looking puzzled.
"Didn't you say those twenty thousand cavalry were heading towards Qingzhou?"
"Heh..."
Ma Teng scoffed, his voice full of melancholy.
"It's clear we've been played!"
"What Qingzhou direction?"
"This fellow just created a diversion, then came towards us under the cover of night!"
"But, but..."
Thinking about the distance from Chenliu to Chang'an, Han Sui's face was still filled with confusion.
"Even an express dispatch would take more than a day and a night, wouldn't it?"
"How did nearly twenty thousand cavalry arrive overnight?"
"Uh..."
Ma Teng, already somewhat suspicious, was now completely speechless.
It was still the same question!
The distance!
It wasn't strange for Ye Feng and his two companions to arrive within a day and a night by traveling at full speed.
But how did twenty thousand cavalry get here?
And,
With such a large-scale cavalry entering the territory, why hadn't they received any news yet?
Thinking of this,
Ma Teng cast a look at Han Sui beside him, his meaning clear as he inquired.
After all,
The scouts and other periphery personnel had always been arranged by Han Sui.
"This..."
Facing Ma Teng's questioning gaze, Han Sui felt a strange ache in his teeth.
Was this problem being kicked back to him?
But he truly didn't know!
Neither the regular patrol scouts outside nor the scouts he had specifically arranged to monitor certain individuals had reported any large cavalry entering the territory!
"Hmph~!"
Hearing the increasingly approaching hoofbeats, Ma Teng let out a cold snort.
"When we get back, I'll have all those people flogged thirty times! See if they dare slack off again!"
"Yes, yes..."
Han Sui, with a wry smile, quickly agreed to Ma Teng's suggestion.
Although he didn't believe his scouts could have made such a significant error.
But,
Now that a large number of cavalry had entered the territory, someone had to be held responsible.
While Ma Teng and Han Sui were busy assigning blame, the distant hoofbeats grew closer.
In the blink of an eye,
The once quiet official road of Chang'an was engulfed in swirling dust.
It was winter now!
The fact that dust could be kicked up from the almost clean ground was enough to indicate the weight of these cavalry.
It was clear that these were the legendary heavy cavalry!
"They really are... expensive!"
Looking at the exquisite iron armor on the cavalry, Ma Teng sighed helplessly.
Their Liang Province had no shortage of horses or men, but it lacked such fine iron armor.
If someone had sponsored him with a batch, what was a mere twenty thousand heavy cavalry?
He could have raised them in minutes!
It's just that,
Neither his Ma family, nor the Han family, nor the Bian family could afford such an expense.
Or rather,
Even if they had the financial means, they wouldn't know where to get the equipment forged.
These were controlled goods!
So,
The question arose!
How did Ye Feng manage to forge so many sets of armor and swords without anyone noticing?
"Broth-, Brother!"
Just as Ma Teng was filled with confusion, Han Sui beside him suddenly said in a horrified tone,
"There's more, there's more..."
"What?"
Ma Teng came back to his senses, not quite understanding what Han Sui meant.
It wasn't until he followed Han Sui's gaze that he became completely stunned.
"So, so many..."
"Indeed!"
Ye Feng leaned in with a smile, gesturing towards the soldiers forming ranks outside the city.
"Eighty thousand infantry and twenty thousand cavalry. Do you think they are worthy of your notice?"
Ma Teng: ...
Han Sui: ...
Bian Zhang: ...
...
Inside Chang'an city,
At the County Magistrate's residence,
The banquet hall, originally set up for celebration, had been rearranged.
And the main guests, Ma Teng, Han Sui, and the others, now knelt in the lower seats.
The head seat?
Of course, it was Ye Feng!
Sitting unceremoniously in the head seat, Ye Feng gestured for Yang Yanqi and Chen Gong to sit on either side of him.
In response,
Ma Teng and the others didn't dare to utter a word, obediently arranging themselves in order.
"General Ma..."
"Governor~!"
Before Ye Feng could finish speaking, Ma Teng sprang to his feet.
"Please just call me Ma Teng, a humble servant. The title of deputy general is one I assigned myself!"
"Eh?"
Looking at Ma Teng's sincere admission, Ye Feng was momentarily taken aback.
"And you two?"
"Same..."
Given their elder brother's confession, Han Sui and the other bowed their heads and admitted it with a smile.
Deputy general?
County Magistrate?
Those were all titles they had assigned themselves after taking Chang'an.
Reality?
In reality, their official positions were not small!
Except for Ma Teng, who had not yet officially entered officialdom, the other two were the Inspector of Troops and the Inspector of Liang Province, respectively.
Only, they had changed their names.
Han Sui was previously known as Han Yue, and was appointed Inspector of Liang Province by the Grand General He Jin himself.
Bian Zhang was previously known as Bian Yun, and was also an Inspector of Troops for Liang Province.
Only Ma Teng, the eldest brother among them, had not yet officially responded to the imperial summons.
The main reason was that he found the official rank too low!
As the sole heir of the Ma family in the Sanfu region, how could he casually enter official service?
At the very least, he expected the rank of deputy general to start with!
Otherwise,
Wouldn't that be letting down his ancestor, the mighty General Fubo, Ma Yuan?
"Hmm..."
After listening to their self-introductions, Ye Feng couldn't help but feel a little curious.
"Since your main power base is in Liang Province, why did you start by taking Chang'an city?"
"This..."
As Ye Feng's words fell, the other two instinctively looked at Ma Teng.
Seeing this,
Ye Feng didn't stand on ceremony and directly pointed, "Then you speak!"
"Ahem~!"
Betrayed by his own brothers, Ma Teng had no choice but to step forward and say,
"Reporting to the Governor, the situation in Liang Province is complicated, so we thought of taking Chang'an first. This way, we would have a place to settle!"
"Is that so?"
Ye Feng heard this and looked up at Ma Teng, asking with a half-smile,
"Is it that simple?"
"Uh..."
Under Ye Feng's gaze, which seemed to penetrate his very soul, Ma Teng's forehead began to sweat. He continued with a forced smile,
"An-another reason is that we wanted to sever the connection between the court and Liang Province, ideally so that the court would not be able to pay attention to Liang Province for a while."
"I see!"
After hearing Ma Teng's explanation, Ye Feng finally smiled with understanding.
He had been wondering before.
Historically, Han Sui and the others' rebellion had swept through Sili starting from Liang Province.
Why was it reversed this time?
It turned out they were worried that if the court learned about the situation in Liang Province, it would cause unnecessary trouble.
Or rather,
Even if the court found out about Liang Province, they could use Chang'an city as a defense.
This didn't happen in history!
Why did it happen this time?
According to Ye Feng's deep-seated speculation, it was likely related to the court's weakness.
When even the mere Yellow Turban rebels could reach Luoyang, who still took the court seriously?
However,
This was good too!
Since Ma Teng and Han Sui dared to do this, it meant they also didn't take the court seriously.
Didn't that work out perfectly?
As the greatest rebel leader in the Han Dynasty, it was normal for him to take on a few subordinates, right?
Thinking of this,
Ye Feng's gaze towards the few of them softened considerably.
"Ma Teng, Han Sui, Bian Zhang..."
Naming each of these future warlords of Liang Province one by one, Ye Feng asked with a smile,
"Are you interested in serving under this Governor?"
"Ah?" Ma Teng was stunned.
"This..." Han Sui was somewhat tempted.
"Can we really?" Bian Zhang, to Ye Feng's surprise, asked directly.
"Governor, I, I can really serve under you?"
"Of course!"
Seeing the three completely different reactions, Ye Feng immediately understood.
Ma Teng probably had some ambition, and Han Sui was similar.
As for Bian Zhang, the former Inspector of Troops, he was more looking to latch onto a powerful figure.
But did Ye Feng ever care about his subordinates' personal desires when recruiting them?
"Ma Teng, right?"
Looking at the conflicted Ma Teng, Ye Feng reminded him with a light laugh,
"I heard the Ma family has some reputation in Sanfu. When can you invite this Governor over for a visit?"
"???"
Hearing Ye Feng's friendly tone, Ma Teng stood there completely stunned.
Damn it!
What did this Ye fellow mean?
Visit?
If he actually went to the Ma family, would the Ma family even still exist?
Detestable!
When others recruit subordinates, they at least offer incentives. How was this guy directly resorting to coercion?
If only, if only...
"Thud~!"
Before Ma Teng could figure out how to respond, Han Sui beside him's legs gave way, and he knelt down directly.
"Your subordinate Han Sui greets my Lord. From now on, I will go through fire and water for my Lord, and will not shy away from death!"
Ma Teng: ???
Bian Zhang: ???