Prince East Sea sent them here, first to block Fu Zhi from going to support Yu State and to force Gou Xi to send more troops; second, to prevent him from bringing these soldiers to Luoyang to aid the emperor. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel{f}ire.net
So Ma Jian’en naturally wouldn’t agree, and forcefully said, "Please, Book Supervisor, don’t put us in a difficult position. You should turn back to Chang’an immediately; that’s what’s good for everyone!"
Zhao Hanzhang sneered, "You, a Central Lang General, think you can command the Secretary of the Secretariat? Stand up and let the Book Supervisor out!"
Ma Jian’en didn’t move, "Under the prince’s orders, no one can bring troops from Chang’an to Yu State or Luoyang!"
Fu Zhi grew angry, "Prince East Sea’s actions are causing chaos in the country. Are you really going to follow him? Ma Jian’en, don’t forget, you are now a Central Lang General of Great Jin. You should be exerting yourself for Great Jin!"
Ma Jian’en said solemnly, "How does the Book Supervisor know that I am wrong? A person has two arms; if they cooperate and exert force together, naturally the arms can coexist. But if one arm insists on going east while the other insists on going west, the body will inevitably be torn apart."
"Therefore, it’s better to sever one arm now so that even if there’s only one left, there will be one direction and one will, and the body won’t go wrong."
Fu Zhi felt increasingly heavy, knowing he couldn’t persuade him, and turned to Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan, saying, "Third Lady, Changrong, you needn’t worry about me here. You must return to Yu State quickly. Prince East Sea intends to strike against Gou Xi. You must stop the two from clashing; they cannot be allowed to fight again. This year, the people of the Central Plains haven’t farmed because of their conflict, and we cannot afford to drag it out. The people certainly can’t bear it!"
Zhao Hanzhang didn’t say that Prince East Sea and Gou Xi are about to fight, but knowing that the Xiongnu have retreated, Ma Jian’en is blocking her here, it stands to reason Prince East Sea’s next step would be against Gou Xi.
Zhao Hanzhang didn’t even flinch, and directly told him, "Prince East Sea has already placed troops in Yu State, facing off against Gou Xi. I don’t know if they’ve already started fighting."
Fu Zhi felt his heart sink.
Zhao Hanzhang’s expression remained calm and composed; she was still playing with an arrow from the quiver leisurely, "General Ma, will you move or not?"
Ma Jian’en replied, "I won’t move!"
Zhao Hanzhang smiled broadly at him, turned slightly, and glanced back to see her infantry had also caught up, lining up behind her.
Only then did she turn back to smile at him one last time, raised the bow in her arm, gently drew out the arrow she had been playing with, and shot it out. The speed was so fast that Ma Jian’en, who had been paying attention to her expression, couldn’t react.
He instinctively dodged, but the arrow still pierced into his chest, the force of which knocked him off his horse.
The Ma Family Army was in uproar, ready to attack, but Zhao Hanzhang shouted loudly, "By the emperor’s decree, the Book Supervisor is here; who dares to move?"
Everyone was startled, hesitating and unable to advance.
Ma Jian’en’s aides jumped off their horses, rushed to him, saw the arrow in his chest, and were shocked. They looked up and shouted, "Zhao Hanzhang, are you rebelling?"
Zhao Hanzhang took advantage of their dismounting to kick her horse forward; Ting He tossed her a spear from behind, Zhao Hanzhang caught it, mounted the horse, and swung the long spear down, landing it directly on the aide’s neck...
The Ma Family Army retreated in fright.
Zhao Hanzhang raised her chin slightly and asked, "The emperor’s decree orders the Book Supervisor to lead troops in support of Yu State, who dares to disobey?"
Everyone was momentarily intimidated by her power and did not dare to move.
Fu Tinghan waved from behind, commanding the archers forward, posing a threat, and the cavalry stared fiercely at the Ma Family Army, eager for battle.
The aide immediately became dispirited, half-kneeling on the ground without saying a word.
Zhao Hanzhang was satisfied and asked, "What is your name?"
The aide glanced at the unconscious Ma Jian’en in his arms, who seemed unlikely to survive, and replied bitterly, "This subordinate is Peng Gong."
"Stand up, have each Standard Bearer come to see me!"
A Standard Bearer commands approximately one thousand men. Ma Jian’en has a total of nineteen Standard Bearers, apart from the two Assistant Generals who are Standard Bearers beside him, the others are dispersed throughout the army, only able to watch from afar as their general is slain in conversation.
So when summoned, they were still a bit confused.
Zhao Hanzhang, seeing them, directly took control. With the Standard Bearers here, the army was momentarily leaderless, Zhao Hanzhang beckoned, and the soldiers behind her immediately advanced to take control of these twenty thousand troops.
They had become quite adept at this task, since they had often taken captives during this period, everyone accounting for members and equipment without bothering Zhao Hanzhang, directly reporting to Fu Tinghan.
Fu Tinghan not only noted the number of people and equipment received, but also arranged them so they couldn’t collude or cause trouble.
Fu Zhi looked at a loss, gazing at the fallen Ma Jian’en, only finding his voice after a long while, "How, how could you kill Ma Jian’en? He is Prince East Sea’s Central Lang General."
Zhao Hanzhang replied indifferently, "I promised Gou Xi to stand on his side. Anyway, I’m positioned against Prince East Sea, this doesn’t make a difference."
Fu Zhi: "... You’re, you’re getting involved in their battle?"
Zhao Hanzhang looked up at Fu Zhi earnestly, "Grandfather Fu, what Ma Jian’en said is quite correct, a body’s two arms cannot have separate wills, or the body will be pulled apart."
"A body can only have one will. He simply chose wrongly. If it comes to leaving behind one arm, I choose a healthy and strong arm over one that neglects the body, old and sickly," Zhao Hanzhang stated, "Prince East Sea is already decrepit, it’s unsuitable for him to remain."
Fu Zhi’s mouth gaped open, he couldn’t have imagined Zhao Hanzhang having such thoughts, he was profoundly shocked, slow to recover.
When he regained his composure, Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan had already taken over Ma Jian’en’s troops, even Ma Jian’en had been collected.
Zhao Hanzhang had killed him but wasn’t intending for him to be exposed in the wilderness, thus she summoned his trusted aides and asked them, "Are you willing to escort General Ma back to Luoyang?"
The trusted aides exchanged looks, ultimately shaking their heads, unwilling to return.
They weren’t afraid to face the Ma Family, but feared confronting Prince East Sea; returning with just a few of them from a twenty-thousand strong army seemed daunting.
Zhao Hanzhang didn’t press them, seeing their reluctance, she had a pit dug nearby to bury him.
Zhao Hanzhang asked Fu Zhi, "Grandfather Fu, the scouts say you have a detachment of troops behind you, hasn’t the commotion here prompted them to inquire?"
Fu Zhi finally snapped back to reality, "Indeed, there’s Chunyu Ding, stationed twenty li behind us, at a pass that’s easy to defend and hard to attack. With him holding there, we couldn’t turn back and find another route, and with us leaving, he would surely know and pursue."
Zhao Hanzhang raised an eyebrow, "So if we don’t move, he wouldn’t be aware?"