Chapter 383 Rewards based on merit
Although Ma Su was beaten, Zhuge Liang was not cruel in fact. The most important thing is to warn Ma Su and let him understand his own importance.
After all, Ma Su is the future pillar of the Shu Han military community, and most of the officers of the Han Dynasty have been related to him in recent years. Especially the newcomers Liu Yin and Jiang Wei were all led by Ma Di.
If he died, half of Shu Han's troops would be unstoppable. The current smooth progress of the Northern Expedition will be interrupted, and even such a good situation will be lost in vain.
It is precisely because of this that Zhuge Liang was so angry with Ma Su for being irresponsible. How can you, a general with a stake in the future of the Shu Han, be so dissolute? Don't you know that you have violated all the taboos in the art of war?
But even if he was angry, he still had to show off his merits to Ma Su, and get a big reward.
Zhuge Liang quickly summarized the achievements and military exploits reported by Ma Su, and then began to organize the table.
Then the Han army stationed in Nanzheng for half a month, and Zhuge Liang was basically sorting out the matters of meritorious service. Because the gains this time were huge, Zhuge Liang not only had to sort them out, but also prepare reward suggestions for Liu Chan.
The Shu Han family has a small financial background and still owes a lot of debts. It can be said that they are extremely poor. Even though the situation has improved in recent years, it is still difficult to make ends meet.
Therefore, although Ma Su's meritorious service was huge, and could even be said to be unparalleled, the rewards from the Shu Han were not generous. What's more, in addition to Ma Su, the military merits of his large group of officers and soldiers also had to be honored, and the pensions for the war dead also had to be distributed...
All in all, all this requires Shu Han to be careful and give priority to Ma Su's faction with what little wealth he has.
After resting in Nanzheng for more than half a month and basically sorting out everything, Zhuge Liang led his army back south and returned to Chengdu from Nanzheng.
This time Ma Su and others returned from the Northern Expedition and were welcomed by Chengdu with the highest standards. Liu Chan personally took the civil and military officials of Chengdu out of the city to greet them, and all the way to Mianzhu to welcome the heroes who returned from the Northern Expedition.
Liu Chan didn't have the airs of an emperor at all, and personally led the other princes except Prince Liu Xuan to greet him at the front of the line.
Liu Xuan, who was still eating sand in the north: "???"
"Old minister, see you, Your Majesty!" After seeing Liu Chan, Zhuge Liang immediately performed the courtesy of a monarch and his ministers, determined not to deviate in any way from etiquette.
Ma Di also followed suit and saluted, but the two of them were quickly helped up by Liu Chan.
"The Prime Minister and General Zhengbei have worked hard for the Han Dynasty, but they are so haggard. I feel deeply guilty!"
"Don't dare! Your Majesty cannot do this to serve the country." Zhuge Liang quickly returned the courtesy.
"Rewards must be given, and courtesy must be given, otherwise I'm afraid it will chill the hearts of people with lofty ideals in the world!" Liu Chan said resolutely.
The two sides pushed back and forth several times before returning to Mianzhu under the welcome of hundreds of officials. Then the emperor's chariot, escorted by the Yulin Army, returned to Chengdu in a mighty manner, and then began a large-scale discussion of merit and rewards.
First of all, Zhuge Liang, although he served as a feint in Guanzhong, he still made great contributions by killing Zhong Yao and regaining Yongzhou. At Liu Chan's insistence, Zhuge Liang maintained his title and was promoted from a rural marquis to a county marquis, with the title Wuhou.
As for the official position, he is still Prime Minister and General, and there is no longer any title.
As for the various generals accompanying the army, they also received major rewards, and their official positions were promoted to marquis.
Ma Di, who served as the main attacker in the Northern Expedition and made the greatest contribution, was promoted from General of the Northern Expedition to General of Chariots and Cavalry, and assumed the title of Jie Yue. He finally got rid of the title of Marquis of Jieting and was granted the title of Marquis of Lueyang Township.
Although it seems that the street pavilion is not far away, at least it is no longer a naked street pavilion.
In addition, Ma Su was also awarded a hundred catties of gold, a thousand pieces of Shu brocade, and the title of lieutenant colonel. The series of generals who followed him in the war all received major rewards, without exception.
It is worth mentioning that the rewards and pensions for the war dead have the highest priority in Ma Su's Part. The only revenue from the imperial treasury was given priority to Ma Su's department.
After all, they had the greatest military merit and were the main attackers of the Northern Expedition.
"Finally, I am no longer a Marquis of Jieting. In the future, I can also embroider the title on my commander's flag." Ma Su was very satisfied with this merit-based reward, and his biggest worry was finally solved.
As for the rest of the fake axes, promotion of chariots and generals, Ma Su didn't care much. Now that his position has reached this point, he is already vaguely the head of the military attache, and the specific official position is really not that important.
"Congratulations to You Chang for your promotion."
At this time, Chen Shi, Wu Yi and others came to congratulate Ma Su on his promotion to the future general of the Shu Han Dynasty.
In fact, even if Ma Su is a chariot and cavalry general at this moment, he is not the top military leader. In addition to the prime minister, the general, the Hussars General Wei Yan, the Guard General Wu Yi and others all had slightly higher official positions than Ma Su.
But it is obvious that in terms of actual status, Ma Su is the leader. Especially for the Han army in the north, Ma Di's prestige in the army was even higher than that of Zhuge Liang.
"Speaking of which, after declaring rewards based on merit, when will we start the Northern Expedition to Guanzhong again?" After some congratulations and exchanges of business bragging, Ma Su quickly asked the question impatiently.
Now that Nanyang has been recovered, Sima Yi's Wuguan Road has been completely cut off. At this moment, except Tongguan, there is no other road connecting Guanzhong to Guandong.
In particular, the Kwantung Wei army was basically dragged to the front line in Yuzhou due to Ma Di's series of battles. Cao Wei's support to the Guanzhong direction was relatively weak in the short term, which was when the situation of the Northern Expedition was best.
At this time, it is reasonable to launch a decisive battle this morning, and the large corps will storm the pass. If time drags on for a long time and Cao Wei is allowed to slow down, with the wealth of Guandong and Sima Yi's own ability, it will not be so easy for the Han army to seize Guanzhong again.
"You don't have to worry, you Chang. The Prime Minister already said it when he was in Nanzheng. By next autumn at the latest, our Han soldiers will be able to march to Chang'an!" Wu Yi smiled and patted Ma Di on the shoulder, while answering Ma Di's question. I feel deeply that You Chang’s consciousness is so high.
The Shu Han Dynasty made Northern Expeditions every year, and Ma Su was present in each Northern Expedition. After playing for so many years, even veteran Wu Yi felt a little tired, but You Chang was still so energetic.
This is a good comrade of the Han Dynasty. Shu Han is so lucky to have such a minister!
"Then how many troops can we dispatch during the Northern Expedition to Guanzhong and the decisive battle with Cao Wei in Chang'an?" Ma Di pondered for a moment, and then asked a key question.
After a series of battles, Cao Wei's northwest theater suffered huge losses. But even so, Cao Wei's Guanzhong troops still have hundreds of thousands. Can the Shu Han really defeat them?
As if seeing Ma Su's worry, Wu Yi held Ma Su down with a smile and said mysteriously,
"Youchang, do you know how many troops our Han Dynasty has now?"
"More than a hundred thousand, right?" Ma Su scratched his head and thought about it and guessed.
"Haha..." Wu Yi shook his head gently and revealed word by word,
"No more, no less, exactly two hundred thousand!"