Chapter 89: Ma Teng: Yunlu, how about I marry you to Gu Yi?

"Yuanji, you are too polite." (Xu Rong’s courtesy name is not recorded, I just picked one)

"Between you and me, why talk about admiration?"

Gu Yi and Xu Rong could now be called old acquaintances.

Hu Zhen, the number two figure of the Luoyang Imperial Guard faction, was promoted to a miscellaneous general, and Gu Yi contributed a lot to that.

To thank Gu Yi, Xu Rong sent Gu Yi a large carriage of gifts.

Later, when Xu Rong set out for Fufeng, Gu Yi arranged for Zhang He and Zhao Yun to be his deputy generals.

After going back and forth, the friendship between the two also solidified quite a bit.

Coupled with this time, Gu Yi led three thousand Flying Bear Army soldiers to lift the siege of Fufeng,

making Xu Rong completely admire Gu Yi.

"Linzhi, hurry and follow me into the city to rest."

"After a fierce battle all night, if you are exhausted, I fear the Prime Minister won't spare me when we go back!"

Xu Rong joked.

Gu Yi smiled and did not refuse Xu Rong’s kindness.

He was not a martial artist, but he had just followed the Flying Bear Army back and forth on the battlefield.

Although he had Huang Zhong and Ma Yunlu accompanying him, he was indeed quite tired at this moment.

Thus,

Gu Yi took his little brothers behind him and followed Xu Rong into Fufeng City.

When Gu Yi woke up again,

time had passed from early morning to afternoon.

After Han Sui died and the siege of Fufeng City disappeared, the predicament of running out of grain in the city was also resolved.

After eating a little something,

Gu Yi arrived at the council chamber.

At Xu Rong’s insistence, Gu Yi sat in the main seat.

At this moment,

except for Ma Chao, whose heart had suffered severe trauma,

Xu Rong, Ma Teng, Zhao Yun, Zhang He, Zhang Xiu, Huang Zhong, Cheng Gongying, Yan Xing, and others were all sitting in the council chamber.

Scanning everyone with his gaze,

Gu Yi spoke:

"Han Sui is dead."

"I believe this is the perfect time to pacify Liangzhou."

"What do you all think about this?"

Hearing this,

everyone’s gaze couldn't help but look toward Ma Teng.

You must know

that everyone present, except for Ma Teng, were people of the Dong Zhuo army.

Only Ma Teng, although nominally recognizing Dong Zhuo and the Han court as his big brother, was actually still an independent force.

Ma Teng was also a smart person.

How could he not know at this moment that Gu Yi’s words were directed at him?

He smiled bitterly and responded:

"I believe Sir is right."

"Unifying Liangzhou is the trend of the times."

"Han Sui acted against Heaven and brought about his own destruction!"

"I am willing to follow the Prime Minister’s footsteps and become a pawn in promoting the unification of Liangzhou!"

Hearing Ma Teng’s pledge of loyalty,

Gu Yi nodded with satisfaction.

In the plan he formulated for Old Dong, Liangzhou was an important part.

Don't look at Liangzhou as cold and bitter, but this is the home of the Xiliang loyalists under Old Dong!

Moreover, Liangzhou has been an excellent place for producing excellent soldiers since ancient times!

Besides this,

it also has a significant number of horse farms.

Only by firmly occupying Liangzhou can one ensure retreat and advance, and have a stable rear.

Therefore,

from today on, Liangzhou is not allowed to have any separatist forces!

Here, there can only be one voice: the Dong Zhuo army!

Any other voice appearing

will be regarded as a provocation to the Dong Zhuo army.

Ma Teng being able to adapt to the situation and obediently hand over his separatist power would naturally be set up as a benchmark and become an example.

And Ma Chao, Ma Tie, Ma Xiu, Ma Dai, and others

would also be reorganized into the army.

Absorbed as generals of the Dong Zhuo army.

After solving Ma Teng’s separatist problem,

Gu Yi cast his gaze on Cheng Gongying and Yan Xing.

"Yan Xing, Cheng Gongying, you two are familiar with the situation in Han Sui’s territory."

"Now that Han Sui is dead, would the garrison of Tianshui Commandery be willing to surrender the city?"

Cheng Gongying and Yan Xing, who were named, looked at each other, and Yan Xing stood out and replied:

"There are about ten thousand garrison troops left in Tianshui Commandery."

"These people were originally the elites under Han Sui."

"But if they hear the news that Han Sui is dead, I believe they will be willing to submit to our army."

"I am incompetent, but I am willing to go into the city to persuade them to surrender."

Facing Yan Xing’s request, Gu Yi smiled:

"Yan Xing, your idea is not bad."

"However, the surrendered troops will be handed over to you for half, and to Cheng Gongying for half."

"Understand what I mean?"

"Under... understand."

Yan Xing was actually very uneasy in his heart.

He was afraid that Gu Yi would take the opportunity to strip him of all his military power.

But now, only handing over half to Cheng Gongying was still within Yan Xing’s acceptable range.

And Cheng Gongying, compared to Yan Xing, was much more surprised.

Cheng Gongying hadn't expected that he could also obtain military power.

Originally under Han Sui’s command, Cheng Gongying was just a strategist and did not hold military power.

Matters of commanding troops were handed over to Yan Xing and other generals.

And now, Gu Yi divided Han Sui’s old subordinates into two and handed half of them to Cheng Gongying.

This clearly meant he was giving Cheng Gongying power!

However, the next moment,

facing Gu Yi’s smiling gaze, Cheng Gongying realized the deep meaning of this move.

Yan Xing and Cheng Gongying were both Han Sui’s old subordinates, and both were people who betrayed their master.

But it cannot be denied that

both were important figures with high prestige in Han Sui’s army.

The fastest way to gather Han Sui’s old subordinates was to hand these old subordinates to Yan Xing or Cheng Gongying.

But if it were only handed to one of them, it would be hard to avoid them holding troops and becoming a second Han Sui.

But if it were divided into two,

Yan Xing holds half,

Cheng Gongying holds the other half,

the two would become competitors, thus being checked and balanced.

And the person checking and balancing them was Gu Yi himself.

"This person is truly unfathomable!"

Cheng Gongying admired Gu Yi from the bottom of his heart!

At the same time, some petty thoughts he shouldn't have had also dissipated at this moment.

Gu Yi’s strategy and speculation of human hearts were far above his own!

If he, Cheng Gongying, still harbored rebellious intentions, wouldn't that be seeking his own death?

And Yan Xing,

although his reaction speed was a beat slower than Cheng Gongying’s,

he soon realized the deep meaning of Gu Yi’s move.

Thinking of this, Yan Xing couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Sure enough, following Han Sui to struggle on this little patch of Liangzhou was ultimately too much like a frog in a well.

Gu Yi used only such a small trick to easily solve the military power problem left by Han Sui.

It truly made Yan Xing feel fear.

After solving Han Sui’s problem,

Gu Yi intended to rendezvous with Li Jue, Guo Si, Hua Xiong, Zhang Ji, and others.

Afterward, he would persuade the Liangzhou warlords to surrender one by one.

Those who adapted to the situation and chose to surrender voluntarily could be promoted after returning to Chang'an.

Those who resisted stubbornly and refused to surrender would all be executed in public after the city was broken!

Soon, the news of Gu Yi defeating Han Sui and the Qiang and Di tribes swept through the entire Liangzhou.

Those Liangzhou warlords who returned to their respective territories all felt cold in their hearts.

Although the Liangzhou warlords’ troops had not suffered losses at this moment,

but... facing the mighty army under Gu Yi, who would dare to harbor rebellious intentions again?

Therefore,

the vast majority of Liangzhou warlords sent envoys to swear surrender to Gu Yi before Gu Yi led his troops to their territories.

After Gu Yi arrived, even if they had ten thousand reluctances, they could only hand over their military power.

The only exception was the warlord Cheng Yin, who occupied Nan'an Commandery.

Cheng Yin’s original strength, although not comparable to Han Sui and Ma Teng,

could barely rank third among the many Liangzhou warlords.

He was quite reluctant to part with the military power in his hands.

Thus, instigated by his officials, Cheng Yin chose to resist stubbornly.

It is a pity that

after only persisting for two days, Nan'an City was broken by Gu Yi.

Cheng Yin himself was killed by his own "Nan'an Attendant" Pang De!

Yes, it was exactly Pang De, who historically should have served under Ma Teng and Ma Chao.

In original history,

Pang De roughly resigned from Cheng Yin’s command in the third year of Chuping, which was 192 AD, and went to Fufeng to join Ma Teng.

And now, the timeline has come to the second year of Chuping (191 AD).