In August of the 10th year of Jianxing (232 years), the Wei army was defeated in Shicheng. Almost all of the 100,000-strong army was lost. The generals Qin Lang and Tian Yu only escaped with dozens of cavalry. Bingzhou fell, and the northern border was in danger.
In September, led by Alste, the new king of Xianbei, the Xiongnu, the Eastern Qiang, the Central Xianbei, the Eastern Xianbei, the three Wuhuan families, and the Liaodong prince Sun Yuan sent envoys to form an alliance in Jinyang to discuss how to divide the northern part of Wei State. State land.
When the news came out, the Wei government and the public were shaken, and the whole world was shaken.
If we add the Shu State, which is in a stalemate with the Wei army in Guanzhong, and the Wu State, which has always been duplicitous, there are already eight hostile forces around Cao Wei, and all of them have exposed their sharp fangs towards the Wei State and want to carve it up. quick.
In the Wei court, the ministers couldn't debate whether to abandon the Guanzhong area and transfer Sima Yi to guard the border.
In the end, Cao Rui overcame all opinions and mobilized 50,000 troops and horses from Hefei and Xiangyang war zones, supplemented by 50,000 Chinese troops, with Cao Shuang as commander, Wang Ling as deputy, Tian Yu, Dong Bi, Sun Li, Zhang Hu (son of Zhang Liao) ), Le Wei (son of Le Jin) and others as generals. They divided their troops into three groups and stationed in Hedong, Daijun and Yuyang to resist various barbarians.
At this point, the situation of "all the people in the world are united in attacking Wei" has been completely formed. All knowledgeable people in the world are keenly aware that if Soochow Wu also launches an army to attack Wei at this moment, no matter how great Cao Wei is, it will probably fall into disgrace in an instant.
Fortunately (but unfortunately), such a thing did not happen.
,
At the moment, Wu State is busy dealing with the intensifying Shanyue Rebellion in the territory, and is busy dealing with the aggressive offensive of the Lu family in Jiaozhou, and cannot spare any time to add insult to injury to Wei State.
The battle conditions from various places were reported to Guanzhong one after another, which made Zhuge Liang feel very gratified, and suddenly felt that the Shu Han's chances of victory were getting bigger and bigger. The time was finally ripe for the battle against Wei that had been planned ten years ago.
After defeating Wei, the world was in a state of fragmentation, which was perfect for the Shu Han to flex its muscles and quickly unify the world.
However, although the prospects were bright, the war was going very hard. Zhao Yun's 50,000 cavalry were successfully blocked in the Longshan Avenue by the Sima Division stationed at Xiaoguan, making it difficult to advance.
As for the main battlefield around Wuzhangyuan, Sima Yi led 100,000 Wei troops and pinned hundreds of thousands of Shu troops to death in Wuzhangyuan, assuming a posture of "either you come and attack me, or I will defend until the end of the world."
Zhuge Liang was at a loss for this "tortoise" style of fighting, and was worried that his health was getting worse due to overwork. During this period, he tried to recall Ma Su several times. The two men each commanded an army, divided their forces to attack Sima Yi, and then jointly captured Ma Su. Xiaguanzhong. In the end, it was considered that Ma Su's current practice of cultivating enemies for Cao Wei was more critical and gave up.
Occasionally, Zhuge Liang, who is about to reach the end of his life, will silently say in his heart:
You Chang, come back
I can't stand it anymore.
I'll give you whatever you want. Just defeat Wei.
It was at this time that Ma Di returned to Guanzhong. On a winter rainy morning, he opened the curtain of the commander-in-chief of the three armies and saw Zhuge Liang who was at his desk correcting military affairs.
With just one glance, Ma Su's eyes immediately moistened.
Zhuge Liang looked older than when we last parted. As the territory of Shu Han continued to expand, Zhuge Liang's aging rate also accelerated suddenly.
In the past, Shu Han only had one state and an army of 150,000 people. No matter how many things were done, no matter how hard you worked and stayed up late, you could still finish them in the same day. Now Shu Han has four states and an army of 300,000 people. This may not have much impact on others, but for Zhuge Liang, who has to do everything personally For example, it means that the work intensity has increased by three to four times.
Who the hell can handle this workload?
Therefore, it is not surprising that Zhuge Liang is aging faster.
Based on Prime Minister Zhuge's current physical condition, Ma Di felt that if he did not come back, it would be difficult for him to survive until the next year.
Fortunately, he is back.
The Shu soldiers stationed in Wuzhangyuan did not react as warmly to Ma Su's arrival as expected. Almost none of them had ever served as soldiers under Ma Su. To them, Ma Su was just an undefeated legend, very vague and unpredictable.
And Zhuge Liang is the god they can touch every day.
But for the key generals in the army and even Zhuge Liang, they all knew what Ma Di's return meant.
I dare not say that the great situation of the Shu Han Dynasty is all due to Ma Su alone. At least his contribution is more than 60%.
Therefore, each of them was very excited and spontaneously followed Ma Su, waiting silently and standing outside the commander's tent.
"Prime Minister, I'm back!"
This short sentence almost made the generals following Ma Su shed tears, and everyone's eyes felt a little sour.
Because his health was not as good as before, Zhuge Liang's reaction was already very slow. After the sound rang for a while, he raised his head tremblingly and tried to open his eyes wide, trying to see clearly who was back.
Ma Su quickly took a few steps and helped the 52-year-old elder and mentor. He repeated again, "Prime Minister, he is back."
"Okay, okay! Just come back." Zhuge Liang heard clearly this time. He hunched over and raised his head, looking at Ma Su's face carefully, his eyes filled with relief.
After experiencing so many things, he also looked away. Regardless of whether Ma Su had disobedience or not, he had tried his best to plan such a good situation for the Shu Han. As the prime minister, he should not create any obstacles to military power.
The most important thing is that he is old and urgently needs a successor.
Ma Su helped Zhuge Liang sit back down and said word by word: "Prime Minister, I will handle the military affairs. Can you take a rest first?"
Zhuge Liang didn't think for long before he nodded, stretched out his hand tremblingly, pointed at the commander's seal placed on the wooden case, and motioned Ma Su to get it himself.
Ma Su did not go for the big seal that symbolized power. He already had enough prestige that he could declare himself the master of the three armies even without the big seal.
He stood up slowly, looked around at all the civil and military generals who followed him, and began to issue orders one by one:
"Wei Yan, Ma Dai! I ordered the two of you to lead an army of 30,000 people and go to Sima Yi's formation to challenge him every day."
"Yes!" The two stepped forward to take the token and stepped back.
"Liao Hua, Zong Yu! I order you two to lead an army of 10,000 people, move all the grain and grass to the valley above and put it into camp. Also collect fire-burning materials, the more the better."
"Yes!" The two of them also stepped forward to listen to the order.
"Yang Yi, I order you to handle the daily military affairs of the army, inventory the equipment, and be ready for use at any time."
Although Yang Yi's face was slightly reluctant, this order was to give him more power, so he readily agreed.
"Deng Zhi, Hu Ji, Li Hui, Zhang Yi, Ma Zhong, Ma Dai, Zhang Biao, Yan Yu... you and others will lead their respective headquarters, step up patrols, and don't slack off!"
"Huang Xi, Li Sheng, Zhang Xiu, and Yang Wanwan, each of you will lead 5,000 troops to defend the camp!"
"The meeting is dismissed!"
With a roar, a group of generals accepted their orders.
Whether it was for Zhuge Liang's face or Ma Di's rising prestige, the generals had no reason to disobey.
After making arrangements, Ma Su leaned over and asked, "Prime Minister, is there anything else you would like to add?"
Zhuge Liang calmly shook his head and had no objection.
Seeing this, all the generals took orders and came out one after another.
Jiang Wei, who was left alone, glanced at Ma Di in confusion and couldn't help but ask: "Is it possible that You Chang wants to use fire attack again?" He was originally assigned to work on Zhao Yun's side, but was recruited by Zhuge Liang not long ago.
Called back.
"What? The Prime Minister has used this trick before?" Ma Su was surprised.
Jiang Wei nodded: "I have used it. Half a month ago, Sima Yi was trapped in a desperate situation and burned by fire, but a sudden heavy rain made him escape. Thinking about it now, it makes people sigh! It was almost, almost.
Sima Yi is roasted..."
"Indeed, who can refuse a roasted Sima Yi..." Ma Su felt a little embarrassed and asked: "Since Bo Yoe knew that he had used this trick, why didn't he stop me?"
Jiang Wei chuckled, "General, you are victorious in every battle, how can a general dare to speak?"
"..."
Good guy, if you don’t learn well at a young age, will you choke others if you learn?
Xiaojiang, Xiaojiang, you’ve learned so badly!
Ma Di waved his hand and created steps for himself to descend: "Don't panic, this strategy has been used before, I have another one to capture Sima Yi!"
So the three generals gathered together and whispered.
…
Since Ma Di took over the command of the Shu army, the military discipline and strictness of the Shu army have declined significantly, and the soldiers have a rare relaxed look on their faces.
However, morale did not drop as a result; on the contrary, it improved.
At the same time, the temperament of the entire Shu army has also completely changed. From the step-by-step, rigorous, serious and orderly style when Zhuge Liang led the army, it has become the flexible, changeable and adaptable army now.
This is not surprising. Soldiers are the courage of generals, and generals are the soul of the army. The spiritual outlook of an army can reflect a commander's army commanding style to the greatest extent.
What's more, Ma Su was good at strategy and commanding before the battle, but was poor at running the army and formations. In terms of military discipline and appearance, almost no one in the world could come close to Zhuge Liang.
Therefore, military discipline and appearance will naturally be worse than before.
Zhuge Liang, a perfectionist, saw this in his eyes and opened his mouth several times to speak, but in the end he suppressed the idea of giving Ma Su some advice and decided to take care of his health without any peace of mind.
the other side.
Sima Yi also saw all these changes in the Shu army, and was greatly surprised. He quickly sent out scouts to check nearby, and also sent envoys to the Shu camp. It was said to be a letter to Zhuge Liang to discuss the withdrawal of troops and a truce, but in fact it was to spy on the military situation.
See if Zhuge Liang is dead.
Sima Yi seriously suspected that Zhuge Liang had died. The Shu army had changed its top commander, and among the generals of the Shu army, the one who could take over Zhuge Liang's power was none other than Ma Di.
Sima Yi knew that Ma Di had gone to the grassland. If the commander of the Shu army in Wuzhangyuan changed, it would mean that Ma Di was back, and it would also mean that the Wei army would have a difficult time.
There is no trace of Ma Di's unpredictable military tactics and unconstrained tactics. Sima Yi could predict Zhuge Liang's general intentions and strategies, but he was not sure of Ma Di's military tactics.
The Wei army's strategy of insisting on not fighting is only effective for a commander like Zhuge Liang who does not like to take risks. But for a commander like Ma Di, it is impossible to defend at all.
Ma Su was sometimes as steady as iron when using troops, and sometimes he was good at winning in danger. The surprise attack on Chencang by 5,000 troops four years ago is proof of this. Who would a normal general dare to play like this? The whole army was wiped out with just one mistake.
The most important thing is that Ma Di was even better than Zhuge Liang in taking advantage of the situation. Mountains, rivers, water, fire, wind, thunder and ice were all used by him.
Even in Plague War, Ma Su was able to use it easily without any pressure.
Such an unpredictable opponent made Sima Yi feel extremely stressed.
The state of Wei is in its current state of decay, all thanks to Ma Di.
Originally, the State of Wu had turned against the State of Wei and was about to join forces with Wei to attack the State of Shu. However, civil strife suddenly broke out out of nowhere and the Soochow regime split into two in an instant. Now it is too busy to take care of itself and cannot help others at all.
Wei He is busy.
Not to mention that the various tribes of the Xiqiang were originally foreign tribes attached to the Wei State. Later, for some reason, they were quickly unified by Ma Su and helped the Shu State capture Liangzhou and Longyou.
Coupled with the Xianbei people's continuous victories under the leadership of Kebineng, the Wei State instantly lost the entire Bingzhou and half of Youzhou. Now it is facing the siege of five or six large Hu tribes and Liaodong Gongsun Yuan.
This situation surrounded by a pack of wolves was all created by Ma Su.
It's not that Sima Yi doesn't have ways to deal with the chaos, but these methods require him to go there in person.
But Ma Di didn't give him such a chance to turn the tide. Every time before he planned to plot against the Wei State, he always slapped Zhuge Liang in front of him, making him unable to move. Then Ma Di went to clean up the Wei State in a big way.
Sima Yi hated the art of being invisible and often got angry and fuming, but there was nothing he could do about it, and he didn't dare to let go of Zhuge Liang who was pressing down with his troops.
This is very painful.
Regarding Ma Su, Sima Yi was holding back his old-fashioned anger. If his opponent was Zhuge Liang, he could deal with him calmly.
If the opponent were Ma Su... Sima Yi just wanted to lead his army to charge immediately and kill him a hundred times to relieve his anger.
A hundred times, a hundred times!
Therefore, it is particularly important to find out who the current leader of the Shu army is.
The scouts quickly conducted a survey and found no flags with the word "horse" in the middle of the Shu army. There were only a few flags with the word "horse" written under Wei Yan's command. They were Ma Dai's military flags and had nothing to do with Ma Su.
The envoy sent to the Shu camp to deliver the message quickly returned and reported that no abnormality was found, and no trace of Ma Di was found. Zhuge Liang, the commander-in-chief of the Shu army, although his face was older, was still in good spirits.
Sima Yi had to take advantage of the opportunity when the Shu army did not come to challenge, and went out to observe the situation in person.
When the group of people reached the foothills near Shangfang Valley, Sima Yi suddenly reined in his horse, pointed to the top of the valley and asked, "There are still Shu troops up there?"
The generals followed his fingers and saw the looming Shu army flag on the top of the valley mountain above.
Obviously, there are indeed soldiers and horses stationed above.
"Report to the Commander-in-Chief, the Shu army began to gather grain in large numbers in the valley again yesterday," one of the scouts replied.
"This Zhuge villager is really hateful! He actually wants to repeat his old tricks and burn his father again!" Hearing the news, Sima Zhao was furious.
Last time, the father and son were almost roasted.
Sima Yi couldn't help shaking his head and laughing, pointing to another hilltop with a gentler slope next to him and said:
“Let’s go up to this mountain and take a look!”
So the group of people slowly rode up the hillside along the gentle slope. The trees on the mountain were dense, and they rose more than ten feet high. They climbed to the top of the mountain from the back and looked at the surrounding terrain from the air.
This place is far away from Wuzhangyuan, and transportation to and from it is inconvenient. It is simply unnecessary to store grain here.
Zhuge Liang had previously deliberately stationed grain here. He had two plans. One was to lure the Wei army to cut off the grain road, and then the Shu army and the Wei army would fight in the wild, both to determine the superiority and life and death. The second was to lure the Wei army to rob the grain, and then there would be a fight.
Close the door and set fire.
Sima Yi fell into the trap twice before. Both times he won openly and secretly, and the second time he almost died in Guzhong.
Sima Yi put up a pergola with his hands and walked around the top of the cliff, looking in the direction of Wuzhangyuan and lost in thought. Sima Zhao and other generals did not disturb him and waited quietly aside.
At this time, the red sun was setting in the west, the curtains were covered with clouds, and the cold north wind was blowing up, making it look even more solemn and chilling.
Sima Yi looked down from the top of the mountain to the north, and saw the gurgling Wei River flowing eastward through the endless Guanzhong Plain. This scene of mountains and rivers gave people a sudden sense of heroism.
"As long as Ma Su doesn't come, the final victory will definitely belong to me, Sima Yi!"
"Kong Ming, Kong Ming, no matter how powerful you are, I have the blessing of destiny, how can you defeat me?!"