
Ma Teng (156-212 AD) was a Chinese warlord who ruled over Liang Province with Han Sui during the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries AD. He was a staunch loyalist of the Han dynasty, fighting for Dong Zhuo and later Cao Cao due to their control of the Imperial Court. However, he was executed in 212 AD after rebelling against Cao Cao.
Biography[]

Ma Teng at the Battle of Gaoqiao, 190.
Ma Teng was born in Xiliang, Liang Province, Han China in 156 AD, and he grew up among the poverty-stricken Qiang people.
In 184 AD, he volunteered to fight against Bian Zhang's rebellion against the corrupt local government, only to switch sides and join the rebel general Han Sui's forces. He and Han Sui became the ruling warlords of remote Liang Province, and Ma Teng became a staunch Han loyalist, siding with Dong Zhuo against Yuan Shao's coalition due to Dong Zhuo's control of the Imperial Court.
After Dong Zhuo was assassinated by his adoptive son, Lu Bu in 192, Ma Teng and Han Sui initially decided to pledge allegiance to his generals, Li Jue and Guo Si, but the relationship between the warlords soured, and the Liang warlords soon led an army to take Chang'an and rescue Emperor Xian of Han from their custody.
The Liang warlords suffered a great defeat and lost 10,000 men, and Han Sui convinced Li Jue's general Fan Chou to abort a pursuit because they shared a hometown; Fan Chou was executed for dereliction of duty shortly afterward. Ma Teng and Han Sui then engaged in a civil war against each other until 200, when Cao Cao brokered peace between them in exchange for their support in defeating the remnants of Yuan Shao's forces after the Battle of Guandu.
Ma Teng was then appointed Minister of the Guards at the Imperial Court, leaving his son Ma Chao and his friend Han Sui to govern Liang Province in his absence. Ma Teng took part in Liu Bei and Dong Cheng's failed plot to assassinate Cao Cao after the Emperor sent them pleas for help, and, in 211 AD, when Ma Teng was recalled to the imperial capital of Xuchang, Ma Teng and Huang Kui again plotted Cao Cao's murder. However, the plot was discovered and Cao Cao had Ma Teng and his sons Ma Xiu and Ma Tie executed, leading to Ma Chao and Han Sui rebelling against him.