Chapter 382 The Prime Minister’s Gift
Nanzheng, as the seat of Hanzhong County and the former base of the Shu Han Northern Expedition, has developed very rapidly in these years. This place is now relatively prosperous. Normally, Ma Su would be happy to hang around here.
But now, Ma Su obviously has no interest in seeing the bustling streets of Nanzheng. As he got closer to the county capital, Ma Su felt extremely stressed.
At this moment, the county government was like a dragon's pond and a tiger's den. Ma Di was very worried that he would have to lie down when he walked in.
Hmm...that's not the case, right?
Wasn't it just that he failed to follow the established guidelines given by the Prime Minister and made his own decisions once or twice?
The Prime Minister should understand me, right?
Of course, when Ma Di was walking all the way to the county government, the news of his return had already spread. All Nanzheng officials, big and small, and generals from the rank of captain to the rank of captain all dropped their work and gathered at the county government office.
No matter when, the fun is a must!
Soon, Ma Su arrived at the county mansion and was led to the main hall by Chen Shi. As soon as he entered the door, Ma Di saw Zhuge Liang sitting on it, handling various government affairs smoothly.
It must be said that Zhuge Liang is considered the number one model worker in the Shu Han Dynasty. He did not rest for a moment after the battle and immediately began to deal with government affairs.
Fortunately, because the situation is better now, Jiang Wan and others are responsible for all matters in Shu. Although Zhuge Liang still has government affairs, it is much less than before.
"Prime Minister! So-and-so is back!" Ma Su stepped forward cautiously and honestly handed over his hand to report.
"Come back?" Zhuge Liang raised his head and looked at Ma Di. He couldn't tell whether he was angry or not, but he just said lightly,
"sit down."
Hearing this, Ma Su breathed a sigh of relief, subconsciously found a seat and prepared to sit down.
"Do you really dare to sit down?"
Ma Di suddenly froze, and soon saw that Zhuge Liang had already put down his government affairs and looked at him with a half-smile.
"You still know how to come back! Ma Youchang! If you are so capable, why don't you just go to Luoyang and capture Cao Rui alive?"
"Why did you come back? Don't you want to fight?"
"Uh, there's no food..."
"How dare you talk back!"
Zhuge Liang almost laughed out of anger. It seems that Ma Su really thought about attacking Luoyang directly?
"If I don't give you a good beating today, you really don't know how high the sky is!"
"Mr. Wei! Bring me my military stick!"
"Okay, Prime Minister!" Yang Yi immediately appeared from the screen at the back, holding a chicken feather Zenzi and offering it with both hands. Ma Su could clearly see that Yang Yi's face was filled with a gloating smile.
Here is a gift prepared by Zhuge Liang for Ma Su, a self-made chicken feather Zen by Zhuge Kongming.
"If I don't slap you today, sooner or later you will lead the Han soldiers to eternal disaster! So for the future of the Han Dynasty, today, no matter what, I have to let the young man remember it!"
Zhuge Liang was obviously really angry, and this time he was not just talking.
Although Ma Su's previous suicide attempts were risky, most of them were small-scale operations, and most of them had back-ups. Especially with Ma Su's own strategy and bravery, most of the time he can turn danger into safety.
But this time in the Battle of Nanyang, Ma Di's attempt to commit suicide was nothing short of nonsense. He used 10,000 troops to ambush 70,000 Wei troops, and finally used himself as bait to flood the three armies.
If it weren't for his luck that there were mountains nearby, Ma Di wouldn't have been able to survive the torrent even if he had a hundred lives.
How could Zhuge Liang not be angry when he behaved like this? This was a huge gamble with his own life and the outcome of the war!
What if you lose the bet? What if the enemy doesn't take the bait?
Seeing the Prime Minister being so angry, Ma Di shrank his neck, but still spoke cautiously,
"Prime Minister, I have to do this as a last resort. The enemy's army is so powerful that it is really difficult for us to resist from the front."
"At that time, there were more than 100,000 Wei troops in Yingchuan, and the total number of troops of the puppet Wei forces in Guandong was more than 200,000. He only had 50,000 men, and he had to surround Wancheng, guard against Wuguan, and block Xiangfan in the south. It’s too scarce.”
"We are at a disadvantage both in terms of national strength and military strength. How can we win without taking a gamble?"
Although Ma Su was indeed a little unreasonable on purpose when it came to committing suicide, it was generally normal.
At that time, Kunyang's troops were only 20,000, and the puppet Wei army had more than 100,000 troops. If he didn't take action before their army was fully assembled, and when the main force of the Wei army gathered in Kunyang, Ma Di would have no place to show off even if he wanted to.
In this case, Ma Su himself had no other choice. After all, as a weak person, no matter what choice he makes when faced with a disparity in strength, it is actually wrong.
Ma Su's explanation did make Zhuge Liang's expression soften slightly. This is indeed true.
In fact, Ma Di was able to send 50,000 Han troops out of Wudang, quickly regain Nanyang in just one year, and push the front to Yingchuan. It was indeed a great achievement. Even if Zhuge Liang were to do it himself, he was not sure that he could achieve this step.
"You! You take the results of the battle too seriously! Have you forgotten your own identity?" Zhuge Liang pointed at Ma Di with his feather fan and shook his head gently.
"You, the general who conquered the north, are half of the Han Dynasty's Northern Expedition. Do you really think that you can save Nanyang if you die in battle?"
"What a joke. Have you forgotten Xia Houyuan's lesson?"
"It won't happen next time, it won't happen next time!" Ma Di nodded repeatedly, assuring Zhuge Liang that he knew he was wrong. But whether I dare to do it next time, I have to put quotation marks on this.
"In general, your performance this time is very good. Not only did you regain Nanyang, but you also attracted a large amount of Kanto forces from the puppet Wei Dynasty. At the same time, you were able to guard against Soochow's sneak attack and turned defeat into victory. It is indeed worthy of praise."
Zhuge Liang shook his head helplessly and said calmly,
"Such a great victory is the greatest victory in the history of my great man. No matter what, your reward will not be low this time when you return to Chengdu."
"When I return to Chengdu, I will personally commend you for your merits and your Majesty will award you. All military merit rewards will also give priority to your unit."
"Okay, Prime Minister, if I have nothing to do, I'll leave first." Ma Di bowed his hands and thanked the Prime Minister for his cultivation, then turned around and wanted to leave.
"I didn't say you could leave."
Zhuge Liang's plain words caught up with him, causing Ma Su's smile to suddenly freeze.
"Prime Minister, are you still angry?"
"Just because I'm done with my anger doesn't mean I won't slap you."
…………
That day, Ma Di's screams could be heard throughout Nanzheng. The whole of Nanzheng knew that General Zhengbei of the Han Dynasty was whipped by the Prime Minister himself.
This story tells us that knowledge is power. Even if you are a mighty general who conquers the world, you will still be whipped in front of the Prime Minister.
And when Ma Su came out of the county mansion in despair, he saw a large number of people crowded outside the door. The civil and military officials, including Wu Yi and Chen Shi, were all outside the door. The sheer number of people made Ma Su suspect that all officials from Nanzheng had come over.
Seeing the horse coming out, everyone laughed and dispersed, leaving Ma Di alone with a black look on his face.
In total, you have been watching the show, right?