Han Xiang

Chapter 526 Zhuge Liang does not talk about martial ethics

Shiren was Liu Bei's old corps and was very senior in the army. At this time, he was stationed in Linjin County and guarded Pubanjin, a very important crossing point on the Yellow River north of Tongguan.

Zhuge Liang surveyed the topography of Tongguan and found that if he could bypass Tongguan by water, the best location would be Pubanjin, so he strongly recommended setting up defenses nearby.

Liu Bei then made Shi Ren the captain of Linjin, responsible for guarding against Pubanjin in the east.

Shiren's ability is not outstanding, if he is not from the same hometown as Liu Bei, he cannot be placed in an important position at all.

Liu Bei proposed that Shi Ren should be the commander-in-chief of Tongguan. Zhuge Liang resisted from the bottom of his heart, but considering that he was Liu Bei's confidant, he tactfully suggested:
"Shi Junyi already has an important task. If he is transferred to guard Tongguan, who will be replaced in Linjin? Liang thinks there is no need to bother. Although Ma Chao is famous for his bravery, General Zilong is also an enemy of ten thousand people. He is enough to fight against Ma Chao. .”

"Forget it, if I can't do it, I can still fight."

Liu Bei has been in battle for a long time, and he believes that he is not weak in martial arts, and he shows his heroism unintentionally.

After hearing this, Zhuge Liang laughed and said: "My lord has many powerful generals under his command. Please try not to put yourself in danger in the future. Since you also think Wei Yan is good, why not take him with you when you go west to Huaili?"

"Oh? That's okay too."

Liu Bei then agreed with Zhuge Liang that he would leave the brothers Mi and Shen to guard Chang'an, while he would lead [-] infantry troops and ride west to Huaili.

Huaili is the seat of Youfufeng, which is close to Chang'an but far away from Yi County. Not long after Liu Bei sent his general Yuan Wei to settle in the city, there were only [-] defenders in the city.

Ma Chao and his cavalry marched fast and arrived at Huaili one step ahead of Liu Bei. The guard Yuan Wei dared not fight the enemy.

The military rations brought out from Longyou had been eaten up long ago. When passing through Hanyang County, the state herdsman Wei Duan took care of supplies. When he arrived in Guanzhong, he took food on the spot at every place he passed.

Arriving at the big city of Huaili, Ma Chao wanted to take a good rest before heading straight towards Chang'an, but the closed city gate made him miscalculate.

Under Pang De's persuasion, Ma Chao refused to attack and threatened with military force.

It took less than half a day for Longxi Jingqi to besiege the city. Tanma told Liu Bei that it was only a few miles away from Huaili.

Ma Teng sent Ma Chao to Guanzhong just to test Liu Bei's reality.

When he learned that Liu Bei had come to Huaili in person, Ma Chao immediately lost all thoughts of besieging the city, and then set up a battle formation in the north of Huaili City, intending to wait for his work.

Liu Bei holds a telescope and has a much better field of vision than Ma Chao.

When Ma Chao discovered Liu Bei, Liu Bei actually discovered Ma Chao earlier.

Seeing Ma Chao waiting in formation in the north of Huaili City, Liu Bei put down his telescope and prepared to advance at full speed, but Zhuge Liang intercepted him first.

"My lord, since Ma Chao has stopped the siege, why are we in such a hurry? Not only should we not let the soldiers speed up, we should also deliberately slow down."

"Ok?"

Liu Bei and Zhao Yun looked over in confusion at the same time.

Zhuge Liang replied with a smile: "Ma Chao came earlier than us, with a neat formation and plenty of rest. Why let him wait for work? The slower we go, the more impetuous he will be."

"Ma Chao is my junior. The military advisor treats him like a child. Aren't you afraid that he will get angry when he is just full of blood?"

Liu Bei pointed at Zhuge Liang and smiled brightly, as if to say that you have no moral ethics.

Zhuge Liang held the reins and admonished: "As the saying goes, those who are good at fighting are not angry. If Ma Chao is so easily angered, it will be effortless to repel him. My lord cannot be as kind as a woman."

"Haha, I'm just talking."

Liu Bei handed the sword to Zhuge Liang and said seriously: "Just like the last time we fought in Chang'an, the military advisor will continue to issue orders on my behalf."

"only."

Zhuge Liang rushed to pick it up with both hands.

There are less than five miles left between the two armies. It can be reached in half an hour by a quick march, and an hour at a slower pace is more than enough.

But after an hour passed, Liu Beijun was still two miles away from Huaili, the sky had turned from noon to afternoon, and the wind blowing from the Weishui River was like a small insect burrowing into his neck.

Although it is not the face-cutting cold wind of late winter, it is still enough to chill the soldiers' bodies. When they move around, they will generate heat, and when they wait in formation, they will feel cold.Liu Bei's obvious deceleration could not be hidden from either Pang De or Ma Chao. Ma Chao was so angry that he yelled: "Old Ge is shameless, especially shameless. I don't know who's trick it is. Isn't this provoking me?"

Pang De reminded: "I heard that Liu Bei worshiped Zhuge Liang as his military advisor. It was this person who planned to help him seize Chang'an. The young general must be on guard."

"Whether he is Zhuge Liang or Zhuge An."

Ma Chao frowned, a cold light flashed in his eyes, and said coldly: "You dare to play tricks in front of me, you are clearly contemptuous of us. Do you think that if we take the initiative and attack with the impact of three thousand cavalry, we can defeat Liu Bei's army?" Formation?”

"Liu Bei must be well prepared. Besides, your Majesty has already told us that this time it is just a simple test. Don't make things too big. I think we should stay still. If the soldiers feel cold, they can dismount and move around for a while."

Pound is older than Ma Chao, and he is more stable in his speech and deeds.

"Ok."

Ma Chao nodded and said, "Then I will continue to wait. I don't believe we can walk two miles until dark."

Since there were only two miles left, the Longyou soldiers could see everything in the telescope, with all kinds of expressions including anxiety, impatience, and confusion.

Although it was not an exaggeration to say that it was dark, it still took an hour to walk the two miles.

So much so that when he was facing the enemy, Ma Chao said in a teasing voice: "Liu Shijun is Guigeng this year? You don't look old enough, but your pace is slow enough. It only took five miles, but it took two hours."

"Although I am not as old as my birthday, calling you my nephew is enough. I thought that the younger generation would take the initiative to come and visit me. I don't want my nephew Ma to stay where he is. Didn't Ma Shoucheng teach you etiquette?"

Liu Bei is a veteran of the world, and when faced with Ma Chao's provocation, he responded very easily.

"Humph."

Ma Chao couldn't get any advantage in his words, so his tone was inadvertently mixed with anger: "You are just relying on your old man to show off? Don't talk to me. You are not familiar with me in the Ma family."

Liu Bei's expression changed after hearing this, and he asked in a deep voice: "Since the Ma family is not familiar with Bei, why don't you stay in Longyou and come to my Guanzhong?"

"What a joke, you Yuzhou Mu can come to Guanzhong, why can't I come?"

"Oh? General Ma doesn't know something. Bei has been named Sili Xiaowei. Do you think I can still allow someone to lead troops in Fanjing at will?"

"Captain Sili?"

Ma Chao was stunned when he heard this, and then he questioned: "The commander of the Sili School is Zhong Yuanchang. You must not have received the imperial edict from Emperor Xu Du. How can you pretend to accept the imperial edict and accept it yourself? This is tantamount to rebelling against a thief!"

"Rebel?"

Liu Bei shouted loudly: "I am a descendant of the Han Dynasty, and I have been punished by the Emperor's bloody edict. The Cao thieves bully the emperor and control the court. They are true rebels. Zhong Yao's Sili Xiaowei is not counted. I dare to ask General Ma where he is now." What position do you hold? How dare you point fingers in front of me?"

"You and I."

Liu Bei was originally very kind, but suddenly he showed his domineering side and directly bluffed Ma Chao. He hesitated for a long time before collecting his thoughts and changing the subject:
"Ma has been accustomed to bowing horses since he was a child. I heard that Guan Yunchang, one of the envoys, has superb martial arts skills and is an enemy of ten thousand people. He came here today to ask for advice."

"Unfortunately, my second brother is in Nanyang."

Ma Chao knew that Guan Yu was not in Guanzhong, so he mentioned him to divert the conversation. He immediately looked around and asked, "What about Zhang Fei? It's okay to let him come out and fight."

"It's no coincidence that my third brother didn't come back from Tongguan."

"Huh? Did you do it on purpose? Tongguan is not far from here, but hurry up and call Zhang Fei. If I can't enjoy myself here, I won't leave easily."

"There's no need for that. I have plenty of powerful generals under my command."

Liu Bei waved his hand, turned his head and signaled to call Wei Yan and said: "Chang Wen, go out and ask General Ma for advice. You must make sure that he enjoys it."

"only."

Following a loud shout from behind, Wei Yan slowly walked towards the formation with his sword in hand.

(End of this chapter)