Chapter 227 Four hundred million? This number is too huge
Chapter 227 Four hundred million? This number is too huge
When Chang'an City was about to be conquered, Ma Su resolutely decided to return to the army to fight Sima Yi. This operation confused all four major generals.
Why not conquer Chang'an first, capture Cao Rui alive, and then return to the army to fight Sima Yi?
If Cao Rui is captured alive, the Wei State is likely to be in chaos and collapse. Even if the princes and ministers who stayed in Luoyang can appoint a heir of Cao Wei's clan as emperor to temporarily maintain the overall situation, the Wei State will inevitably split and internal strife.
If this is the case, wouldn’t it be much easier for the Shu Han to launch the Northern Expedition from now on?
General, what exactly do you think?
The four major generals looked at Ma Su with doubts and confusion in their eyes.
Ma Su walked slowly up to the front of the earthen city, put his hands behind his back, looked towards Xiaoguan, and pondered again and again.
At that time, he did have a chance to capture Chang'an and capture Cao Rui alive.
But if this is really done, the country that will benefit the most will definitely not be Shu Han, and the biggest beneficiary will not be Ma Su.
So, he stopped.
Just like Sima Yi did when he "retreated when he saw the difficulties" during the "empty city plan".
The next step is very simple, just rush the troops into the city, but the situation we will face afterwards will definitely be extremely dangerous.
Just being a "powerful master" is enough for him to drink a pot, not to mention that the situation in the world will be in chaos and completely out of control.
This situation is something Ma Su doesn't want to see.
Why did Han Xin, who had never been defeated in his life, die?
Why did Deng Ai, who directly killed the Shu Han lair in the original time and space, die?
Because Han Xin's contribution was so great that Liu Bang couldn't sleep, because Deng Ai's contribution was so great that everyone was envious, jealous, and hateful, and everyone wanted him dead.
Therefore, when they died, most people in the world clapped their hands and cheered.
Taking a step back can temporarily maintain the balance in all aspects and firmly control the situation in all aspects.
Gathering his thoughts, Ma Su decided to take a test on the four major generals.
"Xiu, if our army breaks through Chang'an and captures Cao Rui, which country do you think will be the biggest beneficiary? Who will be the biggest beneficiary?"
Zhang Xiu scratched his head and thought for a while, then said uncertainly: "I think it's Ji Han and General you."
"No! Huang Xi, tell me." Ma Di turned to Huang Xi.
Huang Xi thought about it seriously: "I think it's you, General Wu Guohe."
"That's half right, Li Sheng."
Li Sheng raised his eyebrows and quickly analyzed it. Zhang Xiu's answer included "General Ma Su", but it was all wrong; while Huang Xi's answer also included "General Ma Su", but it was only half wrong. So it's obvious. The answer "Wu is the biggest beneficiary" is correct, but the answer "Ma Su is the biggest beneficiary" is wrong.
Li Sheng smiled slightly and snapped his fingers confidently: "The general believes that the country that benefits the most is the Kingdom of Wu! The country that benefits the most is the descendants of the Cao Wei clan!"
As soon as these words came out, Huang Xi, Zhang Xiu and Yang Wanwan curled their lips together with contempt on their faces.
It's shameless to pick off someone's wisdom!
Ma Di shook his head and laughed: "No! Yang Baiwan, please tell me."
Standing on the shoulders of Huang and Zhang, Li Sheng felt very depressed because neither of them guessed correctly.
Everyone turned to Yang Wanwan.
Yang Baiwan groaned and said, "It can't be Wu Guo and Sima Yi, right?"
"That's right! It's exactly these two." Ma Su was very pleased.
It seems that not all of the four major generals have well-developed limbs and simple minds, but there are still one or two who are useful.
Let's just talk about Yang Wanwan. He was able to analyze that the biggest beneficiary was Sima Yi, which proves that this guy is not a reckless man with big muscles and no brains.
Well, we can focus on cultivating it in the future.
Ma Su slightly tilted his head.
Suddenly I heard Yang Wanwan say again: "General, why is Sima Yi the biggest beneficiary?"
"..."
Ma Di stared at Yang Baiwan for a while, sighed slightly, and said to the four of them: "It's very simple. If I break through Chang'an and capture Cao Rui alive, what will happen next?"
"What will happen?" the four generals asked in unison.
"We will be attacked by all the armies of Wei State!"
Ma Di continued: "Sima Yi's army has arrived at Xiaoguan now. There are 150,000 soldiers and horses waiting for the enemy, but I only have 60,000 horses."
"In addition, there are eight Sima Yi brothers, many of whom hold important positions in the Wei Dynasty. The Sima family has close relations with various aristocratic families, such as the Guo family of Taiyuan, the Chen family of Yingchuan, the Zhong family, and the Wei family of Hedong..."
"If the Emperor of Wei makes a mistake, he will use the name of supporting the royal family to support his troops while fighting desperately with our army. Once our army loses to Sima Yi and withdraws from Guanzhong, Sima Yi's prestige will surely resound throughout the Wei Kingdom. By then he will To monopolize power, no matter who is established as emperor, it is a matter of just one sentence."
"So, isn't this my trip to Chang'an a wedding dress for others?"
"I see..." The four major generals nodded in seeming understanding.
Zhang Xiu asked: "General, why is Wu the country that benefits the most?"
Li Sheng answered first: "Old Zhang, you don't understand this. Sima Yi's 150,000 troops stationed in Guanzhong basically blocked any possibility of Ji Han's forward expansion, but Wu Guo could take the opportunity to go north. Because Previously, Cao Rui had deployed half of the troops on the eastern and southern fronts to support the western front. The border troops on Wei's southeastern front who had lost the support of the imperial court would find it difficult to withstand Sun Quan's offensive."
"In short, if Emperor Wei makes a mistake, I, Ji Han, will not be able to gain an inch of land, but Soochow... it all depends on how big Sun Quan's appetite is."
Ma Di looked at Li Sheng approvingly, "Not bad."
Li Sheng raised his eyebrows at the other three people proudly, and the depression of his previous failure to show off was gone.
The other three generals turned their heads away.
Damn it, he actually did it again!
…
After Cao Rui narrowly escaped the disaster, he learned that Sima Yi's 150,000 troops came out of Xiaoguan and attacked Tucheng day and night. Ma Yi was retreating steadily, so he ordered Cao Shuang to lead the reinforcements that arrived to recover the counties in Guanzhong. They tried to attack from both sides and trapped Ma Su to death in the pass.
Ma Su originally wanted to confront Sima Yi head-on, but the situation changed too quickly for him to retreat.
So they quickly adjusted their strategy and fought while retreating. Before the Wei army could form an encirclement, the army retreated to Wuzhangyuan and established its position.
At this stage of the war, all the passes and prefectures and counties in Guanzhong previously occupied by the Shu army, including the small town of Chencang and Dashan Pass, were all given away, and all troops were concentrated in the Xiegu Pass area to deal with the Wei army's counterattack.
Ma Su felt regretful that he could not meet Sima Yi head-on as he wished.
Originally, his plan A was to have a battle of wits and courage with Sima Yi at Xiaoguan, test his current military capabilities, and then advance or retreat depending on the situation;
Plan B is to garrison Wuzhangyuan and serve as a thorn in the middle of Guanzhong, using offense instead of defense to contain Wei's troops on the western front and protect the tranquility of Longyou, Liangzhou and Hanzhong in the rear.
…
After Sima Yi recovered various places in Guanzhong in turn, his army was divided into two groups and stationed on the east and west sides of Wuzhangyuan, closely monitoring every move of the Shu army.
This familiar scene reminds people of the last confrontation between Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang in Wuzhangyuan.
At that time, both sides had equal strength. Zhuge Liang was guarded by Sima Yi and was helpless, unable to make any progress;
At this time, the Wei army had 150,000 troops and the Shu army had 60,000 troops.
The advantage lies in Wei.
Sima Yi wanted to see what Ma Di was capable of and how he could defend Wuzhangyuan for a long time.
Although Ma Di has always had an amazing record against the Wei army and has rarely suffered defeats, Sima Yi did not take it seriously.
He never thought that Ma Su's military ability was very high. The reason why Ma Su was able to win so many times was because he didn't meet him, and because he picked the weakest persimmons.
Now, he wanted to learn about Ma Di's skills.
However, before receiving the advice, Sima Yi first sent an envoy to Wuzhangyuan to negotiate with Ma Su, asking for Guo Huai and Hao Zhao who were captured by the Shu army, as well as 40,000 prisoners.
Guo Huai was captured under Chencang City, and Hao Zhao and his 40,000 troops were captured outside Chang'an City.
These two people had a close relationship with Sima Yi and had to be saved.
Ma Su readily agreed to Sima Yi's request, and it was scheduled three days later for the two of them to ride out alone and negotiate in person in front of the two armies.
When the generals of Cao Wei learned that Sima Yi would personally negotiate with Ma Su, they unanimously advised Sima Yi not to be careless, saying that Ma Su seemed weak, but in fact he was very powerful in martial arts and had the ability to take the head of an admiral out of thousands of troops.
At the insistence of the generals, Sima Yi ordered people to place wooden horses as a barrier under Wuzhangyuan, that is, in front of the two armies' formations, to prevent the Shu army from making a surprise attack. At the same time, he ordered general Xiahou Ba to accompany him to the formation.
The day for negotiations is coming soon.
Ma Su came to the front of the two armies alone. Not far behind him were five thousand elite Wudang flying troops, arranged in ten rows, with bright armor, numerous swords and guns, and murderous intent.
When the officers and soldiers of the Wei army saw the Shu army's formation, they were all shocked. They couldn't help but rush to the front row to look at Ma Di, a legendary Confucian general who was extremely resourceful and invincible.
The momentum of the Shu army also moved Sima Yi. He put away his contempt and led Xiahou Ba to urge his horse forward.
Ma Su rode his horse and slowly approached Sima Yi. He glanced at Xiahou Ba who was following the latter as if he were facing a formidable enemy. He cupped his hands and said, "Sima Yi, General Xiahou, it's been a long time!"
Having said that, when he came to the opposite side of Sima Yi, Ma Su actually had secretly plotted murder, and the thought of rushing forward to capture Sima Yi alive was surging crazily in his mind.
Sima Yi was struck by Ma Su's pointed gaze. He spurred his horse back two steps, keeping a distance of twenty steps, and returned the salute with his hands raised: "General Ma, you're welcome!"
Hearing this, Ma Su quickly calmed down, put an end to his thoughts of assassination, glanced at Xiahou Ba, and smiled slightly: "Sima Gong, are you too careful?"
Sima Yi looked at Ma Su with narrowed eyes and replied with a smile: "How can you not be cautious when seeking skin from a tiger?"
"Hahaha..." Ma Su didn't feel embarrassed and went directly to the topic.
"Sima Gong, no business is free in the world. If you want to return Guo Huai, Hao Zhao and 40,000 prisoners, you have to pay a small price."
"The fixed price is 10,000 yuan for each soldier, 1 million yuan for Guo Huai, and 800,000 yuan for Hao Zhao. The total price is 401.8 million yuan."
What?
401.8 million?
This number sounds huge!
It was so huge that the two generals were stunned when they heard it.
Xiahou Ba took the lead and said: "Four hundred million? The revenue of the Wei treasury is not that much in a year, so you might as well go and grab it!"
"Hahaha..." Ma Su spread his hands and said, "Yes, I'm just robbing you. Are you willing to accept it?"
Sima Yi's demeanor quickly regained his composure, and he cupped his hands and said, "In that case, please allow me to report to Your Majesty and give you a reply later."
After that, he spurred his horse and turned back to the formation.
Xiahou Ba glared at Ma Su fiercely, snorted again, and then turned around and left.
In the next few days, the negotiations did not make much progress. Ma Su insisted on 400 million yuan, even if it was a penny less, while Cao Rui firmly disagreed and believed that Ma Su was asking for an exorbitant price.
Under the stalemate, Ma Di became very impatient and asked Zhang Xiu to continue the negotiation with Sima Yi alone, while he stayed in the Wuzhangyuan camp to wait for the result.
At this point, the war situation in Guanzhong came to a stalemate and entered the negotiation stage.
Everyone knows that when the negotiations end, the decisive battle begins.
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