It's not that Ma Teng trusts Han Sui, it's not that the two have a deep brotherhood, it's that he thinks further.

They are already at a disadvantage, if it is really confirmed that Han Sui has different intentions, what should they do?

Maybe this is an opportunity to get rid of the old enemy and dominate Xiliang. But if it is not handled well, it may also lose both, and even destroy the Ma family's foundation.

Ma Teng had some contradictions in his heart, on the one hand, he wanted to use this matter to get rid of Han Sui, but on the other hand, he was worried that it would affect his own interests.

As for the so-called brotherhood, neither he nor Han Sui cared about it in their hearts. The two worship because of interests, and when there is a conflict of interest, this so-called worship is not worth mentioning.

"Father, didn't Dong Zhuo let us spy on Han Sui, just to see if he is of the same mind as us." Compared with the old Ma Teng, the young Ma Chao is obviously more radical.

He didn't want to kill Han Sui all the time, not only because of the old accounts that had almost died in the hands of Yan Xing, but also because Han Sui was a stumbling block for their Ma family to dominate Xiliang.

If you can't occupy the entire territory of Xiliang, how can you join the hegemony of the world?

What's more, Yan Xing is dead, this hatred has long faded, and it is more due to ambition.

Ma Teng was reminded by Ma Chao like this, and suddenly thought that Dong Zhuo had said in his letter that if Han Sui colluded with Liu Bei, he would inevitably leave clues.

"Okay, let's go visit Han Sui."

……

Han Sui was upset at the moment, not only was the general in his heart killed, but the situation was also very unfavorable to his side.

After today's defeat, all three of them suffered heavy losses, and it was difficult to compete with Liu Bei anymore, and he couldn't help but start worrying about the future.

Why don't you surrender to Liu Bei?

This thought suddenly appeared in Han Sui's heart.

If he takes the initiative to surrender, Liu Bei will definitely not unload the mill and kill the donkey in order to show his broad mind.

However, the price is that his power will inevitably be weakened, and from now on, there will be no day to turn over.

If he were just an ordinary general, it would not be unacceptable to such a thing. After all, Liu Bei is now the first prince in the world, and after occupying Guanzhong, he already has the capital to dominate the world.

But now that he is a prince after all, how can he be willing to bow down to his vassals, this idea was quickly suppressed.

At that moment, the soldier suddenly came to report.

"My lord, a letter arrow was found in front of the camp."

Letter arrows?

Could it be that Liu Bei wrote another war letter?

After all, if it is a letter from Dong Zhuo or Ma Teng, they only need to send someone to send it directly, so why do they need to do more?

With doubts, Han Sui took the arrow from the soldier's hand, and the end of the arrow was wrapped in a letter.

"I hope you will act according to the plan, and he will give it to Xiliang one day."

Strange letters.

Han Sui pondered for a moment, and suddenly smelled an aura of conspiracy.

Although the person who wrote the letter did not identify himself, the meaning of the letter was very meaningful.

This is Liu Bei's letter!

Apart from him, who else can give Xiliang away?

"My lord, General Ma Teng is here." At this time, another soldier came to report.

What a coincidence!

As soon as the letter arrived, Ma Teng came, which really doesn't seem like a simple coincidence. Han Sui suddenly had the illusion of being in the tiger's den in Longtan, as if something that he couldn't see and couldn't touch was coming all over the world.

Without hesitation, he threw the letter into the brazier and watched it turn to ashes. No matter what he chooses in the end, he can't let Ma Teng know that this letter exists.

Ma Teng's steps were quick, the letter was still burning in the fire, and he had already stepped into the tent, and seemed to have a full view of everything.

"Why is Brother Shou Cheng here?" Han Sui stood up expressionlessly, not showing any strange expression.

Ma Teng sighed: "I heard that the virtuous brother general was killed, I came to comfort and discuss the matter by the way, how should I deal with Liu Bei in the future?" ”

"To tell you the truth, more than half of our army's casualties in today's battle are low, and morale is low, I'm afraid it will be difficult to fight Liu Bei again in a short time."

This is the truth, Ma Teng's army was ambushed because the army was too hasty, and was later pursued and killed by Xu Rong all the way, with casualties among the soldiers and countless prisoners, nearly half of the entire army.

"Dissatisfied brother, I am also a lost soldier today, I am afraid that the casualties are not less than yours, and the state army is really brave!" Han Sui sighed and reported a false number of casualties, but in fact, his casualties were only about thirty percent.

The reason why he retired was because he wanted to preserve his strength. He believed that the enemy's combat strength was too strong, and even if he defeated Huang Zhong's troops, he would pay a great price.

By that time, will he still be able to break through Liu Bei's Chinese army?

And in Han Sui's view, defeating Liu Bei is not the top priority, the most important thing is to preserve strength. If he was seriously injured in order to defeat Liu Bei, Dong Zhuo would probably take the opportunity to annex him.

Perhaps influenced by the letter just now, he was worried that Ma Teng would be dissatisfied when he learned of his specific casualties, and decided that he was preserving his strength.

Although this is true, it does not mean that it can be made public.

"Yes, the Bingzhou army is strong, and Liu Bei's fierce generals are like clouds, this battle is not easy to fight!" Ma Teng couldn't help but think of being ambushed by Xu Rong today, a general could beat them and flee, not to mention that this person was not brilliant under Liu Bei.

In fact, he misunderstood, Xu Rong is not famous because he has not been in Liu Bei Group for a long time, not because of his ability.

Han Sui pondered for a moment, and then said, "Brother, in my opinion, there is only one strategy at the moment. ”

"What's the solution?"

"Retreat to Chang'an, relying on the strong city can still fight."

Han Sui was still unwilling to bow down to Liu Bei at this time, after all, they had not yet reached the moment of exhaustion.

If you can persuade new forces to join, there is no chance of turning defeat into victory.

Ma Teng nodded and said: "The strategy of the virtuous brother coincides with me, we can ask for help from Yizhou Liu Yan, Yanzhou Cao Cao, Jizhou Yuan Shao and others, presumably they don't want to see Liu Bei sit big." ”

"Well, especially Liu Yan of Yizhou, I think he also knows that after Liu Bei enters the main Guanzhong, he will be the next one."

The two then talked about some details about asking for help, and Ma Teng immediately took Ma Chao and the others away.

As soon as he left Han Sui's barracks, Ma Chao couldn't help but ask, "Father, do you really believe Han Sui's words?" ”

Ma Teng sneered: "Hmph, I'm afraid he doesn't have the same heart with us anymore." ”

Ma was overjoyed, and asked, "How can you see it?" ”

"Have you ever noticed what's inside the brazier?"

"Brazier?"

Ma Chao was puzzled.

Ma Teng explained: "The brazier should have been full of firewood, but my father could clearly see that there was any burnt paper left. ”

He was quite complacent about his keen insight, if it weren't for his own insight, he would probably be unaware of Han Sui's calculations to death.

The general on the side suddenly said, "Does the lord suspect that Han Sui burned the letter before we came?" ”

The general's name is Pang De, who is second only to Ma Chao under Ma Teng's command, and he is also the general promoted by Ma Chao.

"Yes, Meng Qi, Ling Ming, and Ling each led a team of soldiers to keep an eye on Han Sui's military camp. If you find something, report it immediately. ”

"Yes!"

(End of chapter)