How can a person who wants to do great things achieve success if he doesn't go through ups and downs?
With the abilities he has shown so far, it will be easy for him to make a comeback. When the Wei or Wu armies invade the country, it will be the day when he returns as king.
As the team marched, the barren mountains and ridges gradually receded, and Hanzhong's pastoral scenery full of autumn came into view bit by bit.
The Han army's baggage troops drove out of the mountains and forests, along the flat cement road, and slowly headed towards Nanzheng City under the respectful eyes of the people.
The ever-victorious general, the master of kings, earns full respect wherever he goes.
When the army arrived outside Nanzheng City, Ma Su was surprised to find that Zhuge Liang had been waiting here for a long time.
Ma Su almost flew down from his horse, and rushed to Zhuge Liang in three steps. He held hands with Zhuge Liang, looked at each other, and moved his lips, as if he was brewing emotions.
Just when everyone thought he would make a tear-jerking speech full of affection, Ma Di suddenly said:
"Prime Minister, have you eaten?"
Hearing this, everyone was immediately stunned.
Zhuge Liang was also dumbfounded. He glanced at the noon sun and replied with a smile: "At this point, I must have eaten. (During the Three Kingdoms period, people had two meals a day, breakfast around ten in the morning and dinner around five in the afternoon.
)."
The two prime ministers, accompanied by other generals, entered the mansion hand in hand and sat down in order.
Compared with Wang Ping's obscurity when he returned to the army, Ma Su received the highest standards of treatment.
Not only did Wang Ping not get half of the credit for the Battle of Guanzhong, he also sided with Ma Di when he withdrew his troops. After returning to Hanzhong, he has been receiving strange looks from his colleagues.
In the end, he was put in jail, waiting for punishment.
And most of the time after Ma Su sat down, he was forced to deal with everyone's greetings and compliments.
Everyone expressed their greatest praise and enthusiasm for a general like Ma Su who was "able to fight and win".
Some generals enthusiastically asked about the details of Ma Su's victory over Sima Yi, while others were more concerned about whether Ma Su had any plans to marry and take concubines, and their words revealed the meaning of "the family has a little girl who has just grown up."
More civilian officials were inquiring about Ma Di's plans after he was dismissed and returned to his fields, in order to deduce whether Ma Di really wanted to "abdicate the throne and make way for others".
Ma Su was exhausted and took more than half an hour to deal with everyone.
Throughout the whole process, Zhuge Liang sat at the head of the table and watched with a smile as Ma Di exchanged greetings with his colleagues.
Zhuge Liang discovered that Ma Su could almost accurately call out the names of all civil servants and generals, and he got along well with them.
Of course, these people do not include Yang Yi, Wei Yan, and Wang Ping, who was imprisoned.
After the enthusiasm of the people around him dissipated, Ma Su finally found some free time, came to Zhuge Liang's seat, knelt down, raised his glass to toast him, asked about his health, and then chatted about the general situation of the world.
The two people's precise and unique understanding of the general trend of the world immediately triggered a violent collision.
No one present could say anything and could only listen sideways.
However, both the general and the prime minister tacitly agreed not to mention Wang Ping.
The wind-catching meeting lasted until the evening and then ended.
After the banquet, Ma Su followed Zhuge Liang to the inner courtyard of the Prime Minister's Mansion. The two held candles and talked at night, playing chess and expressing their ambitions.
Zhuge Liang sat cross-legged on the bamboo couch, looked at the situation on the chessboard, picked up a white stone, thought about it, knocked on a blank area on the chessboard, and then stared at Ma Su: "Have you decided to leave?"
"It's decided." Ma Su picked up a black piece casually, without looking at it, and pressed it against the white piece again with a "snap" and pressed it tightly against it.
"..." Zhuge Liang glanced at Ma Su speechlessly, and frankly speaking, this "pressing" gangster's chess playing method is definitely not the behavior of a gentleman.
Zhuge Liang once again picked up a white stone and formed a straight line with the empty white stone before, and said softly: "You Chang, you don't need to resign. The trouble caused by Wang Ping's matter is mine, not yours."
Ma Di immersed himself in picking up a black stone, and with a "snap", he put his head on top of the two white stones and said without raising his head: "The master is so powerful that he can't be sealed, and he can't do it until he retreats..."
"When are you leaving?"
"tomorrow."
"Prime Minister, are you going to give me a ride?"
"..."
"Come back?" Zhuge Liang made another move, and three white stones formed a straight line, he stopped and asked.
In fact, he knew the answer to this question, but he still couldn't help but ask.
"It depends on the situation." Ma Di snapped the other end of Bai Zi and blurted out: "Now I, Ji Han, have almost become the power to strengthen the Qin Dynasty. The top priority should be to suspend the army and nourish the people, so as to achieve an invincible victory."
base."
"Prime Minister, you know that I can do nothing but fight."
Being pressed against his head by Ma Su again, Zhuge Liang suddenly didn't want to play chess with him anymore. He stood up, walked a few steps, and said slowly: "It's good to rest for a while. It's getting late, You Chang, you should go back early."
"
Ma Su raised his head without finishing his thoughts: "Ah? Prime Minister, why don't you finish this game of chess? You have the advantage."
"I'm sleepy." Zhuge Liang shook his sleeves and messed up the chessboard.
Ma Su resigned angrily, feeling resentful that he could not demonstrate the "high-end chess skills" of later generations in front of Zhuge Liang.
…
Early the next morning, Zhuge Liang came to the coordination room of the Prime Minister's Mansion.
Cao Cao's civil servants were rushing back and forth with account books in hand, busy counting the total results of the Northern Expedition and accounting for the surplus grain and weapon losses.
During the break in settling accounts, they did not forget to whisper a few words, "What kind of punishment will Wang Ping receive?"
"It seems that this matter will not be resolved so easily."
While listening to these noisy sounds, Zhuge Liang came to sit behind the public case, placed the feather fan beside him, and pondered again and again.
How to place prisoners, how to arrange surrendered generals, inventory of weapons and storage, inventory and delivery of grain and grass, as well as official documents and memorials sent by the imperial court during the Northern Expedition, there was a mountain of matters to be dealt with.
Although these matters are urgent, what worries him most right now is how to deal with Wang Ping.
Judging from the results, Wang Ping's fault was not serious and caused no losses to the Han army. However, this move did violate military law and put Ma Di in danger without caring.
It must be processed.
But how to deal with it so that everyone can be convinced, so that the government and the public will not criticize, is really a test of people's wisdom.
Once Wang Ping is reinstated, Zhuge Liang can even foresee the extent of public criticism he will face.
And giving Wang Ping a lighter sentence would turn military laws and regulations into mere decorations and have no binding force.
In order to give everyone a satisfactory explanation, the person directly responsible must first realize the mistake and admit it personally, and then the military officer's office will announce the result.
But the problem now is that Wang Ping firmly does not believe that he is guilty.
When things get to this point, it becomes very tricky.
Zhuge Liang shook his head and suddenly remembered that today was the day Ma Di left Hanzhong. He quickly walked out of the Prime Minister's Mansion and came to the Nanzheng City Tower to look into the distance.
