Chapter 381 Return to Nanzheng
Ma Su comforted and threatened Zhuge Ke to the point of panic. After leaving Xinye, he rode horseback all the way and returned to Xiakou at lightning speed.
As soon as he returned to Xiakou, Zhuge Ke got on the boat and returned to Jianye as quickly as possible to report to Sun Quan. Afraid that the report would be delayed, Shu Han got tired of waiting and prepared to come and collect the two million stones of food in person.
After returning to Jianye, Zhuge Ke met Sun Quan at the speed of light and repeated Ma Su's request.
Not surprisingly, Sun Quan angrily cut off another corner of the table. But this time it’s a new table. The previous pull table was cut into a round shape, so we had to find a new table to continue.
"Why didn't Ma Di grab it! Two million stones of grain? Let's see if Gu's head is worth two million stones of grain!" Sun Quan was very angry about this. Obviously, the lion's opening of the Shu Han Dynasty completely exceeded his expectations.
Soochow's annual surplus is less than two million shi, and he will definitely not be able to come up with such a huge amount.
But Zhuge Ke smiled bitterly, cupped his hands and said to Sun Quan,
"Supreme, even if you don't want to change, I'm afraid there's nothing you can do about it. Ma Di had already started to deploy troops before I left. If you don't agree, I'm afraid..."
"Let him come! I will go to Jiangling to fight with him!" Sun Quan snorted coldly and said subconsciously.
"No!" Zhuge Ke was shocked and said quickly.
"Since ancient times, if a gentleman does not stand behind a dangerous wall, the Supreme One must not put himself in danger!"
Everyone in Soochow knows about Sun Quan's fighting skills. If he were to fight in person, Ma Su would probably be able to defeat Jiangdong in one battle.
Sun Quan also knew this very well, and it was difficult for him to be favored by anyone of his own level, let alone Ma Su, who was now a powerful figure in China.
But even so, Sun Quan still had nothing to do. He would definitely not be able to pay the price Ma Su asked for, but he had to redeem the tens of thousands of songs as soon as possible.
Recently, major wealthy families have begun to put pressure on him, asking him to find ways to save their tribes and tribes. All the pressure was now piled on Sun Quan, making him exhausted.
What should we do? This is indeed a question...
"Yuan Xun, you go to Ma Su again and exchange one million stones and grain for 50,000 soldiers. You can exchange it now..."
"Your Majesty, judging from Ma Su's character, this is probably their bottom line." Zhuge Ke shook his head and reported to Sun Quan.
"If we continue to bargain with Ma Su, it's hard to say whether the Shu army will take advantage of the situation and advance eastward. After all, the Lord of Wei is seriously ill now, and the Wei army in Yingchuan has been newly defeated, and is unable to threaten Nanyang."
"If the Shu army marches eastward to attack Jingzhou with a great victory, I'm afraid..."
Sun Quan was said to be upset. Ever since Ma Su became famous, Sun Quan felt that everything was not going well for him. Now, Ma Su set up an ambush and robbed tens of thousands of pieces, which gave Sun Quan even more headaches.
"In that case... let's exchange thirty thousand soldiers first, and let the rest find a way..."
After Sun Quan said this, he slumped down in his seat again and sighed helplessly.
Jiangdong may not be so peaceful anymore in the future.
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Under tremendous pressure, Sun Quan was forced to accept Ma Di's robbery. However, because Soochow really couldn't afford such a high price, so at most one million stones of grain and fodder were exchanged for 30,000 soldiers, and several senior officers refused to exchange for the time being.
This included Zhu Ran and his son who surrendered. Sun Quan simply gave them up as abandoned sons. Although it may affect morale and military morale, Sun Quan has no other choice.
While exchanging soldiers, Sun Quan also secretly ordered Lu Xun to return to Yangzhou from Jingzhou and lead 30,000 Sun family's hardcore troops to guard Chaisang. At the same time, Ding was ordered to supervise the military affairs of Wu County, making it clear to prevent his own people from causing trouble.
Sun Quan then exchanged 30,000 Yangzhou soldiers and basically gave up all the troops recruited by Jingzhou. At the same time, he used his own troops to guard Yangzhou and used force to intimidate the aristocratic families.
In a short period of time, it was impossible for Soochow to stabilize due to this incident. Before Sun Quan re-stabilizes the political situation in Jiangdong, Soochow will not have any spare power to fight foreign wars.
For a time, the pressure on the Shu Han's eastern front dropped sharply, and Ma Su finally no longer had to take charge of Nanyang himself. And at the same time, Zhuge Liang had returned to Hanzhong from Yongzhou via Chencang Road, stationed in Nanzheng, and ordered Ma Su to return to Nanzheng to report on his work.
It is worth mentioning that the Prime Minister's rhetoric this time was very mild. The letter gave Ma Di a rare compliment, praising him for Han Xin's talent and his ability to successfully capture Nanyang.
Then he urged Ma Su to replace the defense with Wei Yan, the general of Zhenbei, as soon as possible, and then come to Nanzheng to report on his duties. After the military merit reports are compiled, Prime Minister Zhuge will personally go to Chengdu to express his merits and make marquises for everyone.
Regarding this rhetoric, Ma Su had an inexplicable sense of déjà vu.
I feel like when my family deceived me when I was a child, they used the same rhetoric.
There is always an ominous premonition...
Although he began to feel scared, Ma Su quickly handed over the power. The large and small military power in Nanyang was handed over, and the entire Nanyang was handed over to Wei Yan, the general of Zhenbei.
Wei Yan, as a veteran of two dynasties and the former Hanzhong prefect of the Shu Han Dynasty, would have no problem leaving Nanyang in his hands.
After dealing with these, Ma Su led his remaining 300 cavalry and 2,000 infantrymen, returned to Dongsan County from Wudang, and headed up the Han River.
Hanzhong is not far from Nanyang, and the waterway is extremely convenient. Ma Su returned to Hanzhong from Nanyang in less than ten days. When he arrived in Nanzheng, he saw Chen Shi waiting for him at the door from a distance.
"You Chang! You are finally back. The Prime Minister has been talking about you for a long time." Chen Shi was very happy to see Ma Di's arrival and said with a smile.
"I didn't expect you to cause such a big battle in Nanyang. Even Cao Rui was so frightened that he became seriously ill. Today, the whole north can hear the name of your white-robed general Ma Su of Xishu. I admire you very much. ah."
"It's just a small gesture, not worth mentioning." Ma Su waved his hand and inadvertently pretended,
"But the Prime Minister keeps talking about something? I, Ma Su, have nothing worth talking about. The Prime Minister is really..."
"Hey, look what you said, the Prime Minister keeps talking about how to whip you."
Ma Su's casual expression suddenly froze, and at the same time, Chen Shi could no longer hide his smile, and looked at Ma Su with eyes filled with gloating.
"For you to be so reckless and adventurous in fighting a war, the Prime Minister really wants to hear from you in person the glorious deeds of General Zhengbei."
"Oh, by the way, in order to welcome you, the Prime Minister made a stick himself and is waiting for you to come back."
"Ahem... Zizhao, I remembered that there seems to be something else going on in Nanyang. I have to rush back as soon as possible..." Ma Su shrank his neck and immediately gave up the idea of entering Nanzheng. He turned around and wanted to run away.
However, Chen Shi's words stopped Ma Su from running away.
"The Prime Minister said that if you dare to run away, he will go to Nanyang to find you personally."
At this moment, Nanzheng seemed to Ma Di like a dragon in a tiger's den, a little more murderous than before.