On the way to withdraw their troops and return them to the Qiang, a scout suddenly came to report that half an hour ago, a group of more than a thousand Wei soldiers headed straight for the Qiang, with unknown direction and unknown motive.
Hearing this, Ma Di suddenly felt anxious. He quickly stopped his army and simulated the battle situation in the next ten days. He found that no troops were under attack. Then he breathed a sigh of relief and urged his army to pursue the army due south.
Although he did not simulate the movements of this Wei army, Ma Di knew that it was Dai Ling!
He must have led the more than a thousand fine cavalry of the Wei army that had retreated from the battlefield, and charged directly at the Shaodang Qiang.
Ma Su immediately dispersed his troops into dozens of groups, with about 2,000 men in each group, spread out horizontally like a carpet, and searched for Dai Ling.
Not long after, Ah Da and Ah Er, who had separated their troops, ran back from behind a hill in front. When they saw Ma Su, they waved their hands from a distance and shouted: "General, this way! The Wei army is over here!!"
"Lead the way from the front!" Ma Su said briefly and drove the army to pursue them.
About an hour later, Ah Da crawled on the ground and listened. He stuck his finger into a pile of horse dung, felt the temperature, and suddenly shouted: "General, they are right in front, and they are no more than a stick of incense away."
"
Ma Di obeyed his words and led his army in pursuit. Sure enough, not long after, he saw a large group of Wei soldiers galloping aimlessly on the empty plateau. There were about a thousand of them, wearing tattered Wei army uniforms, and their expressions were on their faces.
Sluggish, with a dull expression, like a group of walking zombies who only know how to run.
Most of them were defeated and injured.
Among more than a thousand people, a general with a silver helmet stood out.
It's Dai Ling!
Zhang Xiu couldn't help but cupped his hands and said: "General, I am requesting that we go out to fight and capture this beast alive!"
Ma Su frowned slightly. In his eyes, this group of people had no vitality, looked dull and lifeless.
Obviously, this group of people currently has no fighting ability at all, and there is no need to fight at all.
What's happening here?
Could it be that he was stunned by the previous defeat?
At this time, the roar of the cavalry's iron hooves was heard in the distance, and the young general Zhao Yun came with his men from the front for reinforcements.
Ma Su waved his hand and shouted: "Surround them up first. No innocent people are allowed to be killed without my order!"
Zhang Xiu was stunned: "Why, General? Aren't they enemies?"
Ma Su turned his head and looked at him expressionlessly. Zhang Xiu was shocked and immediately clasped his fists: "My subordinate is wrong. I shouldn't have spoken nonsense and questioned the general."
Because he knew that Zhang Xiu was not very good at flattery and always said what came to mind, Ma Di waved his hand:
"never mind."
"Remember, there are three vocations of a soldier: obey military orders, obey military orders unconditionally, or just obey military orders!"
"Yes." Zhang Xiu responded quickly, but murmured in his heart, General Ma is good at everything, except that he is only allowed to obey orders and not allow his subordinates to talk back.
Thinking about the Battle of Jieting, he turned a deaf ear to the Prime Minister's words...
It seems that from now on he will do more and talk less. General Ma's record is getting better and better, his official authority is getting bigger and bigger, and I can no longer get along happily.
Just as he was thinking about it, he saw Ma Su glance over again.
Zhang Xiu did not dare to neglect, and quickly led his troops forward to surround the Wei army.
This battle, which cannot be called a battle, was much simpler than expected. After the Wei army was surrounded, they all dropped their weapons and squatted on the ground with their heads in their hands.
Dai Ling was the only one standing, looking helpless.
These more than a thousand people were his own soldiers who had been trained in the past two years. When they went to the battlefield for the first time, they were stunned by the bloody and tragic scene.
Considering that he had been defeated several times before, and even the general Zhang He was killed this time, Dai Ling felt that there was no way he could escape the Wei army's continuous attack after returning, so he simply led more than a thousand people to
Qiang land, planning to find a tribe to settle down.
If it doesn't work out, just become a horse bandit.
But I didn't expect that he would catch up with Ma Su so quickly because he knew the idea so well.
Dai Ling half-knelt on the ground, cupped his hands and bowed his head: "General, Dai Ling is willing to surrender!"
Ma Su sat on his horse, overlooking the past from a high position, and for a moment he remembered many of his interactions with Dai Ling.
Suddenly, a bold idea came to mind. Dai Ling's gift of forgetfulness was actually very effective in leading troops to hide. Just now he simulated the battle and couldn't find any trace of Dai Ling.
If Dai Ling was ordered to lurk behind enemy lines, build dozens of earthen cities on the 500-mile Longshan Avenue, and send troops to block the westward route of the Wei army in Guanzhong...
In this way, wouldn't the thousands of Wei soldiers in the Longyou area become turtles in the urn?
But as soon as the idea came up, Ma Su immediately shook his head and rejected it.
This is not the best time to occupy Longyou. The Wei army still has enough strength to defend Longyou and Liangzhou.
Once you choose this moment to have a showdown with Wei and start a life-and-death contest, you will definitely face the dilemma of fighting through one city after another.
Therefore, it is better to put stability first, develop first, and wait for opportunities to recruit and surrender the defenders of each city first.
Thinking of this, Ma Su glanced in the direction of Jincheng, waved his hand and said: "Retreat the troops!"
"Yes!" The generals agreed loudly.
All the captives of the Wei soldiers were disarmed and sandwiched between the Shu army's forward and middle armies, they embarked on the return journey in a mighty manner.
Ma Su wrote down the final battle situation and next plans in the battle report. He changed the wording again and again, but he was not satisfied with it.
At the beginning, Ma Di wrote like this: 'Our army won a great victory in Liangzhou, captured more than 20,000 Wei soldiers, and killed more than 8,000 people. The sharpness of the army has destroyed the courage of the Wei people.'
"I think that now that our Han troops are well-prepared, the Prime Minister will continue to deploy troops in Wuzhangyuan in order to prepare for a protracted war...Cross out the entire paragraph."
'I believe that without the Prime Minister's strategic planning, our army will definitely not be able to win. Eight successes in this battle should be attributed to the Prime Minister, one success should be attributed to the bravery of the soldiers, and I can only get one success.'
‘…’
After writing it, Ma Su thought about it for a long time, and then he was satisfied and copied it again in the Chinese character "dog crawling", and sent someone to send it to Wuzhangyuan at high speed.
Good news from Liangzhou arrived one after another, and the morale of the Shu army stationed in Wuzhangyuan was greatly boosted.
Zhuge Liang was still pleased.
In his view, the world is like chess, and even one move or three calculations may not guarantee victory.
But Ma Su was invincible even when he didn't understand anything.
Usually, when a general achieves such a record, he will be proud, complacent, and arrogant.
Maybe he will teach him how to do things as the prime minister in turn, and give him instructions on his marching formation.
Just like the previous Liu Yan story.
But Ma Su didn’t!
In the letter, Ma Su's words were very humble and polite.
Not only did he state in detail the three major reasons for the victory and retreat (the cavalry was not good at attacking the city, the prisoners of war needed to be resettled, and the tens of thousands of people who defected needed to be resettled), it was also revealed in every line: This great victory was due to the wise leadership of Prime Minister Zhuge.
Ma Su is just a tool and executor. Therefore, Ma Su can only obtain small achievements in this battle, and all the great achievements depend on the prime minister.
In this letter, Ma Di has done everything in mind, whether it is the judgment of the battlefield situation or the concluding speech after the war.
It can be summed up in one sentence: without Zhuge Liang, Ji Han's sky would not be bright.
After reading the letter several times, Zhuge Liang was so excited that he couldn't help shouting secretly:
((((((ah))))))……
'You Chang understands me, wuwuwu...'
'Although this letter is suspected of flattery, it must be seen by His Majesty and all civil and military officials!'
After making up his mind, Zhuge Liang wrote a memorial, attached it to Ma Di's battle report, and sent someone to Chengdu quickly.
When the good news was sent to Chengdu, it immediately caused an earthquake-like response.
From Liu Chan to Liu Chan, to the civil and military officials, to the common people, everyone was in a climax.
Liu Chan happily waved his little chubby hand and generously promoted Zhuge Liang from the Marquis of Wuxiang to the Marquis of West County, named Ma Su the Marquis of Wuxiang, made him the General of the Western Conquest, and gave him gold, silver, Shu brocade, and other important gifts.
After sending away the eunuch who came to confer the title, Ma Su suddenly understood many things.
It turns out that this is how officialdom works.
Got it, got it.
Unexpectedly, for just a casual compliment, he was directly promoted to a Wuxiang prince, and even his military rank was promoted.
Not to mention all kinds of rewards, they are piled up like mountains.
Although he is not short of the money Liu Chan rewarded him now, no matter how small the mosquito is, it is still meat.
Ma Di happily accepted the reward and continued to be busy.
Now is not the time to be happy.
The top priority is to change the ideological concepts of Dai Ling and more than 20,000 Wei soldiers, so that from now on they will focus on Shu Han and only Shu Han, and no longer have any illusions about Wei.
Surrendering troops and generals has always been a source of instability.
Ma Su must eliminate all hidden dangers and make them invisible.
Because in the original time and space, Shu Han suffered a big loss in this regard!
In the first month of spring in the 16th year of Yanxi (253), Fei Yi, the general of the Shu Han Dynasty who had just opened his government, was presiding over the New Year (Spring Festival) meeting in Hanshou. He was very drunk because of a happy event. During the meeting, Wei Jiang
Guo Xiu suddenly attacked and took advantage of the toast to assassinate Fei Yi. When everyone came to their senses, Fei Yi fell into a pool of blood and died on the spot.
Guo Xiu was originally from Xiping, Liangzhou, Wei, and he was promoted to General Zhonglang. In the 13th year of Yanxi (250), Jiang Wei sent troops to Longyou and joined forces with the Qiang people to attack Wei Xiping County. Although they failed to break the city, they captured Guo Xiu and others.
People return.
Due to the shortage of talents in the Shu Kingdom, in order to encourage more people from the Central Plains to join the Shu Han, the Shu Han always reused generals who surrendered. For example, Jiang Wei, Wang Ping, Xiahou Ba and others were reused after they surrendered to Shu.
After Guo Xiu surrendered to Shu, Liu Chan did not treat him badly. In just three years, Guo Xiu was promoted to General Zuo and became one of the senior generals of the Shu Han Dynasty.
Since he was treated so kindly, why did Guo Xiu want to assassinate Fei Yi? Was he instigated by others, or did he do it spontaneously? If he was instigated by others, who was the instigator behind the scenes?
Many people suspect that Jiang Wei is the instigator behind the scenes.
First of all, Guo Xiu was brought back from Xiping by Jiang Wei, and Jiang Wei is indeed suspicious.
Secondly, Jiang Wei and Fei Yi had huge differences on the issue of the Northern Expedition. Jiang Wei relied on his talents in both civil and military affairs and was familiar with the customs of Xiliang, so he wanted to win over the Qiang people and use the Di people as his wings to launch the Northern Expedition to fulfill Zhuge Liang's last wish for the Northern Expedition.
However, Fei Yi believed that the matter of conquering Wei should be left to future generations. He said: "We are not as many as the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister can't rule the Central Plains, and I am the same! It's better to protect the country and the people, and guard the country as it is.
Achievements should only wait for those who are capable, and there is no hope and luck. Success or failure can be decided in one fell swoop. If it is not as good as one's ambition, there will be no regrets."
Although Jiang Wei and Fei Yi were both ministers, Fei Yi was a general, one level higher than Jiang Wei, and the military power was in Fei Yi's hands. Therefore, whenever Jiang Wei wanted to launch an expedition to the north, he was hindered by Fei Yi. , so that the army led by Jiang Wei did not exceed more than 10,000 people, as if it was a joke, which made Jiang Wei very angry.
Once again, after Fei Yi was assassinated, Jiang Wei was the biggest beneficiary. In the spring of the 19th year of Yanxi (256), Jiang Wei was promoted to general and became the leader of the Shu Han army. After that, Jiang Wei took charge of the Northern Expedition.
However, Ma Di knew that Jiang Wei was not the instigator behind the scenes.
First of all, Jiang Wei has no idea that Guo Xiu is a killer.
Secondly, the conflict between Jiang Wei and Fei Yi is just a matter of different political opinions and does not involve a fundamental conflict of interest. There is absolutely no need to put each other to death.
Moreover, if Guo Xiu was the killer found by Jiang Wei, how could Jiang Wei personally bring the killer back to Shu?
Since Guo Xiu's assassination of Fei Yi was not ordered by Jiang Wei, was he an assassin sent by Wei?
After Guo Xiu successfully assassinated Fei Yi, Cao Wei praised him greatly and compared him with Nie Zheng and Fu Jiezi. Nie Zheng was a knight during the Warring States Period. In order to repay the kindness of the Han doctor Yan Zhongzi, he assassinated Han Xiangxia alone. Tired, in order to avoid injuring others, he peeled off his face, gouged out his eyes, and committed suicide.
Fu Jiezi was a minister of the Western Han Dynasty. He discovered that Loulan and Qiuci were erratic many times, so he took the initiative to ask Ying to assassinate King Loulan and successfully brought King Loulan's head back to the capital.
Cao Fang (Sima Shi) praised Guo Xiu with great fanfare, with the obvious intention of telling the world that Guo Xiu was sent by him to assassinate Fei Yi.
But is this really the case?
Not really!
Not to mention that Liu Chan is a "mediocre lord" and Fei Yi's talents are not particularly outstanding. The survival of these two people will not affect the "rise and fall" of Shu. Therefore, there is no need for Cao Wei to send assassins to kill them. .
If you want to assassinate, you also want to assassinate Jiang Wei.
Furthermore, Guo Xiu was captured by Jiang Wei in battle and entered Shu passively. If he was an assassin sent by the Wei State, he would have entered Shu by feigning surrender or actively defecting like Ma Mao or Xiahou Ba.
Therefore, Guo Xiu was not an assassin sent by Cao Wei.
Since Guo Xiu was not an assassin of Cao Wei, why did he give up his high-ranking official position and seek death on his own initiative?
After Guo Xiu arrived in Shu, he reached the peak of his life in just three years. However, what is puzzling is that he personally destroyed everything and even took his own life. Why did he want to this way?
Guo Xiu's motive for assassinating Fei Yi was very simple.
What Chencang guard Hao Zhao said during Zhuge Liang's second Northern Expedition can answer this question.
In the original time and space, in the winter of 228 AD, Zhuge Liang took advantage of Cao Xiu's defeat at Shiting and the lack of troops in Guanzhong to send troops to the north again and surrounded Chencang. At that time, Chencang only had more than a thousand defenders, so Zhuge Liang sent people to lobby the defender Hao Zhao. To surrender, Hao Zhao refused to surrender on the grounds that he must abide by "Wei family's scientific laws".
The proton system is one of the contents of the "Wei Family Science and Technology". Cao Cao learned the painful lesson of Zhang Xiu's surrender and rebellion, perfected the proton system, and stipulated that the families of border defense generals must move to Yecheng and be placed under Cao Cao's nose. monitor.
Guo Xiu is the border defense general of Cao Wei. There is no doubt that his family is also in Yecheng. If he really surrenders to Shu, his family will only die. However, choosing to assassinate Fei Yi will cost his life. , but it can preserve the family in Yecheng, and it can also be used as a bargaining chip for the family to gain promotions.
In order to prevent his family in Yecheng from being harmed and to make their lives as good as possible, Guo Xiu chose to kill himself and assassinate Fei Yi.
That's the motivation.
Due to the lack of talents, the Shu Han Dynasty never implemented the proton system for the Wei generals who came to surrender, thus giving Guo Xiu an opportunity. This was also the decisive factor for Guo Xiu to successfully assassinate Fei Yi.
What Ma Su is doing now is to improve this system.
That is to say, rescue the young men who surrendered their generals and soldiers, and bring them to Shuhan.
