Chapter 674 Find a reasonable reason
Ma Ping, who was standing next to him, also had a hard time explaining Zhuge Zhan's question.
Although he was Ma Su's son, he had always been unfamiliar with this cheap father. He was not very clear about Ma Su's final plan.
However, Fu Qian, who was standing next to him, understood Ma Su's meaning a little and explained directly.
"The general's approach is normal, it's nothing more than seeking stability."
"Now that Ruxuwu has been recovered, the door to Jiangdong has been opened. In this case, no matter when it is fought, it actually doesn't make much difference."
"On the contrary, because the general did not have the idea of determining the southeast in one battle this time. So there was not even a plan for crossing the river before the war, and there was a certain risk in launching a forced crossing rashly."
"So it is reasonable for the general to choose to lead the troops north... After all, it can avoid certain risks."
The explanation given by Fu Qian was quite convincing, but Zhuge Zhan still felt something was wrong.
The general has always been the most fierce guy in the Han Dynasty, and there are only two words in his dictionary: radical. When did such a general become a conservative?
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At the same time, in the Han army camp, Ma Su was still cursing at the weakness of Dongwu.
The original goal was to weaken the power of Guandong, and the main purpose of the whole battle was to let the power of Guandong and Jiangdong offset each other. As a result, due to some irresistible factors, the whole battle was aimed at destroying the country in one battle.
When the military council sent him the war report of the civil strife in the southeast, Ma Su could also see the opportunity to quickly destroy Jiangdong. But it was precisely because of this that Ma Su resolutely chose to return to the north.
Attacking Dongwu and destroying Cao Wei in the north are currently the only two reasonable ways to bleed the Guandong nobles. If Dongwu is destroyed so quickly, how can we confidently ask the Guandong nobles for soldiers and food?
Of course, there is no other way.
After all, Guanxi, which is several times smaller than Guandong and has stronger local power, was taken over by Ji Han in the Northern Expedition for eight years. With the additional three years of recuperation, the Ji Han Dynasty digested the weak Guanxi power.
But it took the Han army less than three years to take over the entire Guandong. The rapidly expanding territory allowed the local forces in the Guandong region to remain healthy and rooted at the grassroots level, which could not be eliminated by reform alone.
Therefore, through the remaining final battles, weakening the power of the Central Plains clans became the consensus of the entire Han Dynasty.
So, based on this principle, Ma Su finally went against his usual behavior. At the moment when the destruction of Wu was a foregone conclusion, he resolutely made the decision to withdraw his troops to the north.
"Xiu Ran, because of this incident, I will definitely have another stain in the history books in the future." Ma Su looked at the battle report on the table and said in an inexplicable tone.
Liu Yin shook his head gently at Ma Su's words, and didn't care about it.
"Don't worry too much, General, the flaws do not cover the merits. With your achievements over the years, this little thing will not affect your reputation after death."
At this point, Liu Yin was silent again, and then added.
"And if this is considered a stain, then you, the general, have too many stains. One more is not too much, one less is not too much, it's harmless!"
"Get lost!" Ma Su couldn't help but laugh and curse at Liu Yin's ridicule.
Of course, ridicule aside, this is true. Ma Su's suppression of the nobles in recent years is bigger than this. Just watching the opportunity to destroy Wu slip away is not really a big stain.
"But no matter what, we still have to find a reason for this retreat." Ma Su waved his hand and got back to the point.
"That's true. If we can't convince the people of Guandong, I'm afraid..." Liu Yin nodded subconsciously, but was immediately interrupted by Ma Su.
"No, what I mean is... I need to find a reason that can convince the prime minister to prevent him from beating me up."
Liu Yin: "…………"
Obviously, in Ma Su's view, the attitude of the Guandong nobles is not even as important as whether Zhuge Liang beats him up. Compared with considering how to convince Guandong, Ma Su needs to consider how to convince Zhuge Liang.
As mentioned before, it is the consensus of the entire Ji Han court to try to weaken the power of Guandong. But there are still some differences on how to weaken this issue.
At least for Zhuge Liang, he prefers to rely on political skills to cut meat with a blunt knife. In order to make Zhuge Liang agree with Ma Su's relying on war to weaken the opposition, he must beat Ma Su hard.
Therefore, the person Ma Su needs to convince the most now is his teacher Zhuge Liang.
Facts have proved that Ma Su's worries are not groundless. When he withdrew his army to Shouchun for less than half a month, Zhuge Liang's envoy was sent from Luoyang.
"General, the prime minister hopes you will go to Luoyang and explain it well." The visitor was Deng Liang, the son of Deng Zhi. When he handed Ma Su the letter and conveyed the message, he only felt that the corners of his mouth were harder to suppress than the pigs killed during the New Year.
The greatest pleasure for Han officials is probably to watch the prime minister beat the general.
In response, Ma Su's mouth twitched, but he didn't dare to say anything. After arranging Liu Yin to take over his work, Ma Su followed the envoy back to Luoyang and explained to the prime minister why he withdrew his troops.
Of course, in fact, Ma Su knew that this time he went there to take the initiative to lead the fight rather than to explain. After all, his little calculations probably couldn't be hidden from Zhuge Liang...
Sure enough, when Ma Su returned to Luoyang, before entering the Prime Minister's Mansion, he saw a large group of officials from the Prime Minister's Mansion waiting at the door for a long time. In order to liven up the atmosphere, Ma Su even found that some officials had prepared some snacks.
This seemed to tell Ma Su that everything was ready, just waiting for you to go in and get beaten.
Ma Su's mouth twitched, and he was extremely helpless with these people who were looking for fun. But even if he knew that he would be in a dangerous place, he had to bite the bullet and go in.
After carefully entering the main hall, Ma Su saw Zhuge Liang sitting leisurely on the main seat reading ancient books. And next to him was a brand new chicken feather Zen, and a military order.
That was what Ma Su wrote habitually before going to war...
"Youchang, you are finally here?" After Ma Su came in, Zhuge Liang raised his head and looked at Ma Su with a smile.
"Do you know why I asked you to come to Luoyang?"
"Of course I know. The Prime Minister must be missing me, Ma Youchang... For the Prime Minister's sake, I have to hurry back." Ma Su immediately laughed and tried to change the subject without leaving any trace.
But this obviously couldn't fool Zhuge Liang. He patted the table with a paperweight and said in a calm tone.
"I need an explanation!"