Ma Zun 馬遵

In Chapter 92 of the Romance, when Kongming, having bottled up Xiahou Mao in the city of Nan'an, asks who the administrators of the two neighboring commanderies are, a scout answers, 'The Administrator of Tianshui is Ma Zun, and the Administrator of Anding is Cui Liang.' When Ma Zun, on hearing that Xiahou Mao is trapped, gathers his civil and military officials to consult, the Officer of Merit Liang Xu, the Registrar Yin Shang, the Recorder Liang Qian and others urge him to raise all the troops of his command to rescue him. While Ma Zun hesitates, Pei Xu, who claims to be a trusted commander of Xiahou Mao, arrives and hands over a dispatch telling him to come to the rescue with all speed overnight, and the next day a courier arrives saying that the Anding troops have already set out. Romance, Ch. 92 §26–27 · 45–46

As Ma Zun is about to raise his troops, Jiang Wei comes in and says that he has fallen for Zhuge Liang's scheme: Pei Xu is a commander no one has ever seen, and the courier from Anding carried no dispatch, so the aim is to lure the Administrator out of the city and then take Tianshui while it is unguarded. Ma Zun realizes the truth, saying, 'Had it not been for Boyue's words, I would have fallen into the trap.' In Chapter 93 Ma Zun gives Jiang Wei picked troops to lie in ambush and himself goes out of the city with Liang Qian to wait, and when Zhao Yun comes to attack the city of Tianshui, he turns back with Liang Qian, catches him in a pincer attack and drives him off. Romance, Ch. 92 §47–48Romance, Ch. 93 §1–5

Next, following Jiang Wei's advice, he splits his troops into four groups and places them in ambush outside the city, and Kongming's army, which has come in person, is scattered and put to flight in the middle of the night by fires and battle cries rising on all sides. On news that the Shu army has split into three columns to attack the city of Ji and Shanggui, Ma Zun grants the request of Jiang Wei, who is worried about his mother, and sends Jiang Wei with 3,000 troops to hold the city of Ji and Liang Qian with 3,000 troops to hold Shanggui. Romance, Ch. 93 §8–10 · 12–13

When Xiahou Mao, released by Kongming, comes to the city of Tianshui and reports that Jiang Wei has surrendered to Shu, Ma Zun sighs, 'I never thought Jiang Wei would go over to Shu.' That night Jiang Wei comes below the city walls and rebukes Xiahou Mao, but in fact it is a soldier of similar appearance whom Kongming has disguised as Jiang Wei. Later, when the real Jiang Wei, having lost the city of Ji, comes alone to the foot of the walls of Tianshui, Ma Zun, saying that he has come to trick them into opening the city gates, drives him off with a hail of arrows. Romance, Ch. 93 §16–19 · 21–22

On receiving a secret letter that Jiang Wei has tied to an arrow and shot into the city, Ma Zun strongly suspects that Liang Xu and Yin Shang have joined hands with Jiang Wei to act as inside men, and consults Xiahou Mao, who says the two should be killed. When the two, learning of this, open the city gates and let the Shu army in, Xiahou Mao and Ma Zun lead a few hundred men out through the west gate and flee to Qianghu City. Kongming makes Liang Xu Administrator of Tianshui, and in the Romance Ma Zun does not appear again after this. Romance, Ch. 93 §26–29