Chapter 466 The Situation in Nanyang
Liu Xu did not get rid of him in Wuguan, so Ma Di had to escort the prince all the way to Nanyang in his car.
The group went south from Wuguan and went straight to Wancheng, an important town in the north of Nanyang, along the Wuguan Mountain Road. Because at this time both inside and outside Wuguan were under the control of the Han Dynasty, the prince's chariots could travel unimpeded between Guanzhong and Nanyang.
Within a few days, Ma Su and others arrived at the gate of Wancheng. Wang Ping was shocked when he heard about the prince's southern tour. He quickly led people out of the city to welcome the prince and the generals into the city.
Wang Ping can also be regarded as Ma Su's old brother. Like Yao Hu, he has had a life-long friendship with Ma Su since the street pavilion. As an important minister in the Northern Expedition these years, Wang Ping's rank was second only to Ma Su, and he had reached the rank of General Zhendong.
In general, although it is not as fast as the young players in Ma Su's core team, it is not slow.
Therefore, after Ma Su and Wang Ping reunited in Wancheng, they couldn't help but sigh for a while.
"Zijun, it's been really hard in this short period of time. If you hadn't withstood the puppet Wei's offensive in Nanyang, Guanzhong might not have been able to recover." Ma Di couldn't help but sigh when he saw that Wang Ping was much more haggard than himself.
"Okay, okay, you're flattering me, right? I can't stand it when you, a general who is on the front line all day long, say I'm working hard." Regarding Ma Di, Wang Ping was not so reserved and just rolled his eyes and said.
"If it's hard work, that's what I'm telling you."
Wang Ping is not being self-effacing. His life was indeed not that difficult during this period.
Two months since the Battle of Guanzhong started, Cao Wei began to launch an offensive against Kunyang. Cao Rui took advantage of this to pull out Guanqiu Jian, who had been refrigerated for several years, and asked him to lead his troops to launch an offensive against Nanyang from Xudu.
I have to say that Cao Rui is really interested in his good gay friend.
But although Guanqiu Jian is somewhat handsome, he is still far behind Wang Ping. What's more, the Huainan Military Region was wiped out by Ma Su in the past two years and there were not many veterans left. Most of Guan Qiujian's troops were second-line troops who had just filled the field troops.
Although the numbers of such a unit look daunting, their combat effectiveness is still unsatisfactory. In this regard, Wang Ping did not need to personally go to the Kunyang front line, but pushed part of his troops to Wancheng to defend, and used this to coordinate Li Hui in the south.
So although Wang Ping looked a lot haggard, his life was actually much more nourishing than Ma Su's.
"So, it seems that Nanyang doesn't have much military pressure anymore?" After listening to Wang Ping's detailed explanation, Ma Di was not happy, but a little disappointed.
He was looking for an opportunity to commit suicide, so naturally the more violent the enemy's attack, the better. But with the strength of the Wei army in Kunyang, it was very difficult for Ma Di to handle it.
Precisely because he knew Ma Su's hobby, he was even happier at times like this. Even before Wang Ping opened his mouth, Ma Su was blocked again.
"Kunyang is no longer under pressure anyway. According to reports from the Wei soldiers captured in Kunyang, the puppet Wei side is also preparing to move the capital. They have even planned to withdraw their troops." Wang Ping looked at Ma Di's disappointed expression and couldn't help but feel happy.
As one of the first people to fight against Ma Su, he knew very well that Ma Su especially liked fighting. The greater the number of people and the greater the intensity of the war, the more excited Ma Su became.
"So you're unlikely to have a fighting chance anyway."
"As for the south side... Li Qishi's side is really under a lot of pressure, but I estimate that as soon as you pass by, Soochow will immediately follow you. Even if they don't run away, with Soochow's combat power, there is a high probability that they won't be able to let you enjoy it to the fullest. ”
"Fuck! It was a waste of time!" Ma Su was speechless and expressed deep indignation at the lack of fighting.
"It can't be considered a wasted trip. There are a lot of things in Nanyang that need help." Wang Ping thought for a while, suddenly remembered something, and said to Ma Su.
"For example, there are now a large number of homeless people in Xinye who are constantly in need of relief. Among them are many people who fled from Yingchuan and some Nanyang people who were displaced due to the war."
Nanyang was originally extremely wealthy, with a population of up to two million during the Eastern Han Dynasty. However, because it is located at the transportation hub between the north and the south, its strategic position is extremely important, which has led to perennial wars here since the late Eastern Han Dynasty.
Especially in the past two years, under various high-intensity wars, Nanyang has basically become a military camp. The local area simply did not have the conditions to organize farming, and with a large number of camp residents fleeing Yingchuan, the backlog of refugees has always been a headache.
Ma Su had already discovered this problem when he came, but Ma Su was very confused.
"No, shouldn't this matter be handled by the Jingzhou governor? Besides, Wuguandao has been opened for more than a month, right? Why hasn't Li Hui done anything?"
Ji Han transferred Li Hui from Nanzhong with the intention of putting him in charge of managing Nanyang. After two years, when the big man has his hands free, he can use this as an advance base to regain Jingzhou.
But now that Nanyang is full of refugees and the territory is not stable, what is Li Hui doing?
"If Li Qishi can't take action, he will have to sit in Fancheng and confront Soochow all year round." Wang Ping shook his head and explained with a wry smile.
"Although the pressure in Kunyang is not great, Xiangfan has been suppressed by Soochow because of the weak navy. Li Qishi must personally suppress Fancheng to be wary of Soochow's sneak attacks."
"As for me... I can't read, and I can't handle these things."
"Tsk... Okay, it looks like I'm busy again." Ma Di had nothing to say, so he could only shake his head and said.
We all have a bright future!
Then Ma Su brought Wang Ping to the prince Liu Xuan and asked the old brother to show his face in front of the prince. After all, Ma Su and his group of generals are already considered princelings, so they can't have a bad relationship with the prince.
Hmm... Why don't I go back and write a list of teachers and add the names of Wang Ping, Jiang Wei, Deng Fan and others?
After staying in Wancheng for several days, Ma Di then led the prince to drive into Xinye, the seat of Nanyang. Sure enough, we saw a large number of homeless refugees in Xinye Ye, many of whom were old residents of Xinye who had followed Liu Bei in the past.
With so many people displaced and the fields in Nanyang abandoned, the situation was more difficult than Ma Su imagined. It seems that the war in the south must be ended as soon as possible, and then we can be free to reorganize Nanyang.
Ma Di thought so, so he proposed to go to Fancheng in person to replace Li Hui in dealing with Soochow. After all, he has fought against Soochow several times and has experience in fighting Soochow.
Then something ridiculous happened.
Regarding Ma Su's proposal, Li Hui of Fancheng was very happy and immediately handed over military power to Ma Su. But before Ma Su's men arrived at Fancheng, the Dongwu soldiers and horses who were blocking the Han River and besieging Xiangyang rolled up their armor and disappeared in a flash.
The fleeing speed was unmatched. By the time Ma Su arrived, all the soldiers and horses of Soochow had already fled back to Jiangxia.
In summary, is Ma Su really just here to shock me?