After resting for two hours, Ma Sui led the remaining 7,000 troops and continued to move forward. He slowed down slightly to buy time for Cao Shi. Ma Sui quickly received news from the scouts. There were still about 10,000 cavalry behind him.
They did not divide their troops to pursue Cao Shi, which made Ma Sui feel relieved. Another worry came to his mind. The other party must have deployed scouts. It was impossible not to realize that he had divided his troops, but there was no movement from the other party. Could it be that
Have they made other arrangements?
While worrying about gain and loss, Ma Sui's army gradually approached the place where they had crossed the river.
It was less than ten miles away from the Xiangjiang River, but Cao Shi did not send anyone to report to him the situation of the pontoon bridge. This made Ma Sui deeply uneasy. He once again ordered the army to rest where it was and sent scouts to inquire about Cao Shi, but the scouts had not yet
As soon as we set off, Cao Shi came in person.
"Tell me, how is the situation?" Ma Sui asked anxiously.
Cao Shi hesitated and said: "As I said in my humble position, the old general must not get excited."
Ma Sui sighed, "As long as you people are safe and sound, I'll be relieved. As for everything else, I've already prepared for the worst."
Cao Shi shook his head and said: "The pontoon bridge is gone. All the rivers are filled with warships, as many as a thousand. Some of Liu Pi's navy, and some may have come from Runzhou, have blocked the river."
.”
Ma Sui was stunned for a long time, then sighed and said: "As expected, Guo Song will not give me any chance."
"Old General, let's go south! There should be opportunities to cross the river at Xiangtan and Hengyang, especially Hengyang. If we cross Hengshan, the cavalry will not be able to follow us. The river there is narrow, and most of our brothers can even swim across it.
River!"
"That's all we can do. I hope Guo Song didn't send troops to intercept us in front."
Ma Sui ordered the army to go south again, and Cao Shi's army also joined the main force. However, Ma Sui soon discovered something was wrong with Cao Shi's army. He originally brought 3,000 soldiers, but how come there were only more than 1,000 left?
He immediately called Cao Shi and asked, "What happened? Did you encounter an enemy ambush? How come there are more than half the soldiers missing?"
Cao Shi smiled bitterly, "I dare not hide my humble position from the old general. We did not encounter an ambush, but our hearts were broken. Nearly half of the soldiers fled, and many soldiers swam directly to surrender to the other side's ships."
"Why?" Ma Sui was shocked. How could his soldiers be so miserable?
"We rushed to the river and found that the pontoon was missing. We led the soldiers to cut down the trees, make rafts, and prepare to build the simplest pontoon. Unexpectedly, several large ships came from the river, and all the brothers' parents, wives, and children were on board.
They cried out, and chaos broke out on the spot. Countless soldiers jumped into the river and swam in the river. Hsiao was unable to stop them. At night, some of them escaped. Hsiao tried his best to persuade them, but only the last thousand or so soldiers were stabilized."
Ma Sui nodded, "It's not surprising. When attacking with troops, the most important thing is to attack the heart. If the soldiers want to leave, don't stop them. Let them do whatever they want."
"I understand the humble position!"
The army continued to move south. It was still thirty miles away from Lianshui in the south. It was already evening. When the army passed a low hill, the soldiers could clearly see the situation on the Xiangjiang River. They saw warships all over the river, with great momentum.
The spectacle stunned all the soldiers. Only then did they understand why they couldn't cross the Xiangjiang River. It turned out that the Jin army had blocked the river. Many soldiers looked at their hometown in the distance and couldn't help but burst into tears.
Seeing that the soldiers were out of control, Ma Sui ordered him to rest on the spot and set out again at dawn tomorrow.
That night, the wind was strong on the hills, and the coolness brought from the river enveloped the entire hills. The morale of the army was extremely low, and deserters began to appear. Ma Sui caught the cold and coughed non-stop, and every cough made his heart tremble.
Ma Sui tossed and turned in the middle of the night due to the pain, unable to fall asleep. He simply got up and inspected the soldiers.
Although the soldiers were physically exhausted after a day of marching, they all slept restlessly and could hardly hear their snoring. Many soldiers kept turning over. Ma Sui sighed secretly in his heart, the soldiers couldn't sleep either!
He came to a large rock and faintly heard someone speaking. One of the voices was that of the deputy general Cao Shi, who seemed to be mentioning himself.
Ma Sui waved his hands to the soldiers behind him to tell them not to come up. He hid behind the big stone and listened.
"General Cao, this matter cannot be hidden from the old general. The old general must know the truth. Who is responsible for today's situation?"
Ma Sui was startled, "What's the truth?" But... Ma Sui suddenly heard this voice. It was Wang Yaowei who joined the army as a recorder. Didn't he stay in Changsha? How could he be here?
Cao Shi sighed and said, "I know I shouldn't hide it from the old general, but he has a bad heart and I'm afraid he won't be able to bear it, so I'd better not tell him!"
Ma Sui couldn't bear it anymore, coughed heavily, walked out, and asked dissatisfiedly: "What are you hiding from me?"
A group of generals stood up in fright and lowered their heads.
Ma Sui glared at them fiercely, then turned to Wang Yaowei, who joined the army in recording affairs, and asked, "Wang Canjun, why are you here?"
"Humble job...humble job..." Wang Yaowei was speechless, not knowing how to explain?
Cao Shi sighed and said: "Old general, don't blame him. It's because of his humble position. It's his humble duty to hide him. It's his humble responsibility."
"Huh! You hide everything from me and you still think I'm the coach?" Ma Sui glared at him.
"But...the old general's heart..."
Before he could finish speaking, Ma Sui replied, "There's nothing wrong with my heart, it's not that delicate!"
He looked at Wang Yaowei and said, "Tell me, what exactly are you hiding from me?"
Wang Yaowei whispered for a while: "Changsha has been lost!"
"I've already thought of this, what else is there?"
Wang Yaowei glanced at Cao Shi. Cao Shi saw that the old general was not angry and could bear it well, so he nodded, "The old general will know sooner or later, so just say it!"
Wang Yaowei hesitated and said: "It was He Quan who deceived the gate of Changsha. The fall of Baling County was also due to his rebellion. He surrendered to Guo and Song long ago."
Ma Sui never dared to think about He Quan. He did not dare to face the fact that He Quan betrayed him. He kept hinting to himself that He Quan's defense was weak and the Jin army successfully attacked Baling.
The things he had never dared to face were finally revealed by Wang Yaowei. Ma Sui thought of his trust in He Quan and entrusted the family's capital to him, but he betrayed him.
This fact finally became unbearable for him. He coughed violently until he couldn't breathe. His heart began to feel heartbreaking pain. He grabbed his chest suddenly and opened his mouth wide. Suddenly his vision went dark and he lay on his back.
Fall down.
"Old General! Old General!"
Everyone panicked, surrounded Ma Sui and shouted, "Call the military doctor quickly! Military doctor!"
This time, Ma Sui never woke up. At the fourth watch, Ma Sui's heart stopped beating.
There were cries on the hilltops, and the whole army mourned.
But the troops on the mountain didn't know that nearly 40,000 Jin cavalry had surrounded the hill.
.........
Guo Song was also at the foot of the mountain at this time. They all felt something strange on the mountain, but they didn't know what happened?
Just after dawn, Pei Xin came galloping over on horseback, clasped his fists and said, "Your Highness, we just caught a few deserters. They said that Ma Sui had an old illness last night and died of it."
Guo Song was stunned, how could this happen? Ma Sui actually died of illness at this critical moment.
Lu Zhan, the marching commander next to him, said with a smile: "Your Highness, since Ma Sui died of illness and the troops on the mountain are leaderless, the soldiers must have lost their morale to fight. I am willing to go up the mountain to persuade them to surrender in the name of paying homage."
Guo Song pondered for a moment, then took out his gold medal and handed it to him, "You take my gold medal and go up the mountain. As long as their demands are reasonable, you can make your own decision."
"Thank you for your trust, Your Highness!"
Lu Zhan took the gold medal and went up the mountain with two of his men...
At this time, the generals on the mountain already knew that they were surrounded by the Jin army. Everyone was sad and nervous. The generals gathered together to discuss strategies to break out of the encirclement.
It was said to be a breakout, but everyone knew that even if they succeeded in breaking through, they would have nowhere to go, not to mention being surrounded by tens of thousands of troops, it would be difficult for them to break out. But if they surrendered to the Jin army, they felt sorry for the old general, and everyone was silent
Silent.
At this time, a soldier came to report: "General Cao, a scribe came down the mountain. He said he was a subordinate of King Jin and came to pay homage to the old general on behalf of King Jin!"
As soon as the soldier finished speaking, two generals jumped up, and one general said angrily: "This hypocritical show of filial piety has insulted the old general!"
Another general shouted: "Tear out his heart to pay homage to the old general!"
"Shut up, you two!" Cao Shi shouted angrily.
The two generals did not dare to say anything. Cao Shi knew that the so-called memorial ceremony was just an excuse. He was actually here to negotiate.
"Bring him here!"
Not long after, the soldiers brought Lu Zhan up, and Cao Shi said coldly: "Who are you?"
"My surname is Lu, and I am a marching commander under the King of Jin. The King of Jin heard that General Ma died of illness last night. He was deeply saddened and ordered me to come here to pay homage to the old general!"
"Do you, King Jin, have such a heart?" Several generals sneered at the side.
Lu Zhan said loudly: "In order to unify the world, the King of Jin led troops to attack the general Ma Lao. This is a public matter, but he respects the character of Ma Lao General. When he heard that the old general died of illness, he felt very sorry. This is a private matter, public and private."
Obviously, what’s wrong with this?”
Wang Yaowei couldn't help but sarcastically said: "I'm afraid Lu Sima didn't mean what he said!"
Lu Zhan sneered, "Who is His Royal Highness the King of Jin? He is the regent of the country, the real master of the world, he has recovered the Western Regions, is powerful in Mobei, and is respected by the people of the world. How can he tell a dead enemy general without telling the truth? Li Junwu
He is dead, Tian Xu is dead, Liu Shining is dead, Liu Pi is dead, and the eunuchs were executed collectively. He was ruthless and ruthless in killing enemies. Do you think he would please General Ma?"
Everyone was speechless. Cao Shi waved his hand and said, "Please, Lu Sima!"
The generals set up a military tent as a temporary memorial shed. Lu Zhan placed three sticks of incense in front of the memorial tablet and knelt down to worship three times.
He stood up and said to Cao Shi again: "General Cao, would you like to discuss the next matter again?"
Cao Shi sighed and nodded, "Let's sit down and talk!"
The two sat down on a big stone. Lu Zhan took out the gold medal and showed it to Cao Shi, "This is the gold medal given to me by His Highness the King of Jin. I can fully represent him."
Cao Shi nodded silently and asked, "What does King Jin mean?"
"The army of the King of Jin has completely annihilated Meng Jisi's troops and captured more than 9,000 enemies. General Meng was also captured. You must know that when fighting against the Shatuo people, the Geluolu people, the Uighurs, and the Dangxiang people, the capital issued by His Highness the King of Jin
It is a killing order. No prisoners of war will be accepted, and all young and strong men will be killed. Does General Cao know?"
Cao Shi's body trembled slightly. He didn't expect King Jin to be so cruel.
"I've heard a little bit about it."
"But when fighting in the Central Plains, His Highness the King of Jin sympathizes with the people of the world. He will not kill if he can, and try to reduce casualties on both sides. He does not want the country to be completely destroyed by the war. The same is true for Liu Pi's army. Only the culprits will be punished, and all soldiers will be pardoned.
, there should be more than 7,000 people under the general's command. If His Highness the King of Jin wanted to annihilate you, he would have set fire to the mountain last night. However, he still maintained the utmost patience and goodwill, hoping that the soldiers would all return home and protect the western part of Jiangnan from the enemy.
War destroys, this is his benevolence, His Royal Highness the King of Jin hopes that you will not gamble with the lives of soldiers."
Cao Shi thought for a moment and said: "Let's discuss it!"
"Okay, I'll wait here."
Cao Shi stood up, gathered the generals, and said to them: "If we break through, not only will our entire army be destroyed, but the old general's body will not be saved, so I am considering surrendering to the King of Jin on the condition of a generous burial for the old general, and at the same time, asking for the preservation of the old general's family.
Then I have decided to accept repatriation together with the soldiers and return to my hometown to work in farming. You can decide your own future and destiny."
Everyone was silent for a long time, and then a general said: "I agree to surrender on the condition of giving the old general a generous burial!"
"I agree!"
"I agree too!"
Everyone expressed their opinions one after another and unanimously agreed with Cao Shi's suggestion.
Cao Shi came back and said to Lu Zhan: "We can surrender, but there are only two conditions."
Lu Zhan smiled slightly and said: "General Cao, please tell me, as long as the conditions are reasonable, I can agree on behalf of King Jin."
"One of the conditions is to bury the old general Ma in a dignified manner. The old general was once named the Prince of Beiping by the late emperor, and he hopes to be buried with the rites of a county prince."
Lu Zhan pondered for a moment and said, "His Royal Highness the King of Jin has always opposed grand burials."
"I'm not talking about how much property is buried with him, but his cemetery, coffin, tomb, etc. must meet the standards of the county king. At most, his beloved armor, weapons and other items should be buried with him."
Lu Zhan nodded, "This condition is not excessive. On behalf of His Royal Highness, Prince Jin, I can agree to allow him to return to his hometown for burial."
"The second condition is not to harm the old general's family."
"That won't happen. General Ma's two sons and his wife and concubines are all in Baling and are well protected. They can help their spirits return to their hometown, and the local government will bury them with the rites of a county king."
Cao Shi bowed deeply and said: "Mr. Lu, please go back and convey our gratitude. We are grateful to His Highness the King of Jin for his magnanimity!"
.........
In late August of the first year of Yuanhe, Ma Sui died of illness, and all his subordinates surrendered to the Jin army. At this point, except for the five prefectures in Quanzhou, all other vassal towns south of the Yangtze River were pacified.