Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 281 The Tiger’s Ambition
Since the rebellion of Guo and Li, many warlords in Guanxi have emerged. There are more than ten warlords, large and small, such as Ma Teng, Han Sui, Zhang Heng, and Liang Xing.If you go to Liangzhou, there are warlords in Wuwei and Zhangye.

The laws of the imperial court were difficult to reach and extremely chaotic.Even Cao Cao, the overlord of the Central Plains, could only deal with these warlords with soft swords and use official titles and rewards to win them over.However, during this period when warlords stood side by side, there was a rare peace in Guanzhong.

Among the warlords, Ma Teng and Han Sui were particularly powerful. Ma Teng occupied Yi County in Guanzhong and Han Sui garrisoned in Jincheng in Longyou.When the two were weak, they separated from the east and west. Because Li Jue and Guo Si were powerful, they became brothers with different surnames and retreated to Longyou to fight together.

However, with the defeat of Guo and Li, Ma Teng and Han Sui lost external pressure, and their own power gradually grew. Longyou's resources were limited, and conflicts between the two occurred frequently, and war broke out.

Han Sui killed Ma Teng's wife and children, and Yan Xing almost killed the young Ma Chao.However, Ma Teng was not inferior. He summoned all the Kansai generals and a war broke out. The fight was inseparable.

At the right time, Cao Cao welcomed the Han Emperor. In order to appease Guanzhong, he sent envoys to persuade Ma and Han to make peace.Both of them realized that they could not annex each other, so they went down the slope and listened to Cao Cao's mediation.Ma Teng stationed at Huaili in Guanzhong, and Han Sui returned to Jincheng in Longyou.

Since Ma Chao was more than ten years old, he followed his father Ma Teng in the north and south. In the battle with Han Sui, he showed great bravery.When Ma Teng was stationed in Guanzhong, Ma Chao subdued the powerful forces in Guanzhong and defeated the rebellious Qiang Di. Because of his identity as the eldest son of a commoner, his status in the Ma family army was second only to Ma Teng.

After Cao Cao defeated the Yuan family and defeated Wuhuan, the Ma family stationed in Sanfu were the first to feel the threat from Cao Cao.The elderly head of the family, Ma Teng, entered the court as an official under Zhang Ji's persuasion.

From then on, Ma Chao inherited Ma Teng's troops and became the commander-in-chief of the Ma Jiajun and the overlord of Guanzhong.

Huaili, Mansion Hall.

Ma Chao sat on the couch, holding a Chinese book and reading quietly.Looking from a distance, I saw Ma Chao wearing a brocade robe, jade and gold ornaments, and a Han sword on his waist. He looked like a noble general.

If you look carefully, you can see that Ma Chao has a handsome face with sharp edges, sunken eye sockets and a straight nose.While reading Chinese books, his eyes occasionally showed an unruly look.

"General, Zhang joined the army under the command of Sili Xiaowei. He asked to see the general and said that he had an imperial edict." The attendant reported.

Ma Chao put down the Han Shu and said with a smile: "What is the imperial edict? It should be Cao Mengde's order."

"Come, tell Zhang Canjun to enter the hall, and let Bozhan and Zihui (Pang Rou) come to listen."

"promise!"

After a while, Zhang Ji, with a straight face and a good idea, walked into the hall and paid homage to Ma Chao.

Ma Chao sat in a high position and said with a smile: "Zhang Canjun, a sergeant in Guanzhong, why do you come here from Luoyi?"

Zhang Ji took out the scarf from his sleeve, presented it to Ma Chao, and said: "General, today Zhang Lu in Hanzhong and Liu Zhang in Yizhou are causing chaos in Bashu. They refuse to obey orders and have evil intentions. However, the prime minister wants to conquer Liu Bei and threatens him. Subdue Wu and Chu, it is difficult to withdraw from the attack on Shu. Now I specially represent the general as the prefect of Hanzhong and raise troops to defeat Zhang Lu in order to increase the prestige of our Han Dynasty."

Ma Chao spread out the cloth, browsed it carefully, and asked: "Yan Xingde has Qian as the prefect, but I don't know what official position Han Sui has?"

"General Han was appointed governor of Yizhou." Zhang Ji replied.

"Ah!"

Ma Chao was a little cold and said: "Am I not under Han Sui?"

"General, General Han is old and has a high position. How can he be as brave as the general? Now the prime minister is afraid that the general will march south to Hanzhong and Han Sui will attack Guanzhong, so he appointed General Han as the governor of Yizhou." Zhang Ji explained.

Ma Chao looked at the cloth and sneered, "Chao is not afraid of Han Sui, but he is afraid of Duke Cao heading west!"

Zhang was neither humble nor arrogant, and said: "Gong Cao is going to conquer Wu and Chu, so how can he spare the time to take care of Guanzhong? Moreover, the general has been ordered by the emperor to punish the thieves. Since Gong Cao is a Han official, how can he dare to go west? He must be marching south to conquer Wu Chu."

"The general has a majestic appearance and is holding a mighty army. He doesn't think about serving the country, making meritorious deeds and being awarded a title. He doesn't want to sit back and watch the success or failure of the world. I'm afraid that success or failure is determined, and the general will be old!"

As he spoke, Zhang Ji smiled lightly and said, "Or is it because the general is afraid of the steep mountains in the Qinling Mountains and the difficulty of conquering them, so he doesn't dare to take orders?"

"Ha ha!"

Ma Chao put down the scarf and couldn't help but laugh and said: "Zhang Lu's evil way confuses people's hearts. How can I be afraid of it?"

With that said, Ma Chao stood up and said in a deep voice: "Cao Gong appointed Chao as the prefect of Hanzhong, how can he have nothing to do with it?"

"I dare not deceive the general. Liu Zhang is in alliance with Liu Bei, and the two Liu soldiers are fierce. Liu Bei now controls Wu Chu, and his troops and horses are strong. Cao Gong does not dare to escape. However, Liu Zhang and Zhang Lu have to attack, so they entrust the general to attack them."

Zhang Ji talked eloquently and said: "Moreover, the general's father and younger brother are both in Yecheng. With the general's benevolence and filial piety, he will not betray Duke Cao. Moreover, Duke Cao can accommodate Zang Ba, Sun Guan, Wu Dun and others in Xuzhou, but he can't tolerate them." General!"

"If the general takes Hanzhong and assists Cao Gongping in Longyou, he will make the general the governor of Yizhou. At that time, Cao Gong went south to conquer Wu and Chu, and Zang Xuzhou was entrusted with the affairs in the east, while the general was entrusted with the affairs in the west. When the world is at peace, it will not be easy to enjoy wealth and honor together!"

"Pinglongyou?"

Ma Chao sneered a few times and said: "It is not impossible to conquer Hanzhong, but the Qinling Mountains stretch for hundreds of miles, with high mountains and rugged mountain roads. At that time, Guanzhong was barren, with many heroes and few people, so it was difficult to mobilize troops. If Cao Gong provides money and food, Chaoyuan will lead the army. Heroes marched south to conquer Hanzhong." Hanzhong was a rare peaceful place in troubled times. There were many rebellions in Guanzhong, which caused the people to flee south to Bashu, so it had a prosperous population, with hundreds of thousands of people.

Ma Chao was stationed in Sanfu Huaili, which was separated from Hanzhong by the Qinling Mountains. How could he not know that Hanzhong was rich and fertile, so he and the heroes in Guanzhong had long coveted the wealth of Hanzhong.

However, he wanted to go back, but he and the Guanzhong warlord could not take the Shu road!

The hundreds of miles of Qinling-Shu Road are dangerous, difficult to walk, and difficult to supply materials. If you ask who has the most experience, it is Zhuge Liang who has the most insight.

Zhuge Liang conducted five northern expeditions from Hanzhong. If the second and third expeditions are combined into one, Zhuge Liang actually only conducted four northern expeditions.However, in these four times, except for one improper employment, three cuts of grain and grass failed.It was Zhuge Liang who spent many years preparing to attack Wuzhangyuan before he sent troops again.

Even if we send troops with the strength of Yizhou, there will be a shortage of food and grass, not to mention the decline of Guanzhong, which cannot support the southern expedition to Hanzhong.

Not to mention Zhuge Liang, when Cao Cao and Liu Bei fought for Hanzhong, there was a food shortage.The difficulties of the Qinling Mountains and the dangers of the Shu Road have a great impact on the army and cannot be underestimated.

"In the southern expedition to Hanzhong, the general can provide some of the grain and grass himself, and Hedong and Luoyi can provide some." Zhang Ji responded.

"good!"

Ma Chao waved his big hand and said with a smile: "When I take down Hanzhong, I will return the grain and grass to Duke Cao."

After Zhang Ji left, Pang Rou stroked his beard and frowned and said, "General, Duke Cao first gives you titles and then grain and grass. He is so generous. We must be prepared for the possibility of someone else plotting against him!"

Ma Chao sat on the couch and sneered: "I know Cao Cao's heart!"

Then, Ma Chao explained: "Cao Cao wanted to conquer Guanzhong, but he was also afraid of the soldiers and horses in Guanzhong, and Liu Bei was in the south, peeping at the Central Plains, and did not dare to move lightly. Therefore, he adopted the strategy of two tigers competing for food, and let us march towards Hanzhong. Zhang Lu There are dangers in the Qinling Mountains, but I have brave generals. If two tigers fight, one of them will be injured."

"When we are both injured, Cao Cao cuts off our army's supplies and leads his troops to the rear. Guanzhong and Hanzhong can easily fall!"

Pang Rou was surprised and said: "Since the general knew this strategy, why didn't he reject it? Instead, he followed Cao Gong's wishes and marched south to conquer Hanzhong."

Ma Chao stood up with his sword in hand and laughed and said: "My ability as Ma Mengqi is unstoppable by the dangers of the Qinling Mountains!"

As he spoke, Ma Chao paced in the hall and said in a deep voice: "The world is in chaos. In one year, Liu Bei swept across Wu and Chu. He controlled more than ten counties in two states and more than [-] soldiers, and he dominated the south."

"Hanzhong, the land of heaven, has a population of hundreds of thousands and tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. Zhang Lu's demonic way confuses people's hearts, few have military strategies, and the people of Shu are weak. The soldiers in my tent are like tigers and wolves, but Guanzhong is in decline and the population is sparse, making it difficult to raise troops. ."

"If I can borrow Cao Cao's food, lead tigers and wolves to the south, cover up the attack and enter Hanzhong, seize Hanzhong's money and food, and control Hanzhong's soldiers and horses, who can stop me in the land of Guanxi?"

Ma Chao spoke with unconcealable ambition.

He was only 34 years old, in his prime, and especially after seeing the struggle history of the old man Liu Bei, how could he be willing to give in and live his whole life guarding one-third of an acre in Huaili!

After the torment of Dong Zhuo and Guo Li, Guanzhong was too poor, and there were many warlords competing for survival resources.Although he has the courage of a tiger and a tiger, he can't use his fists and kicks at all in Guanzhong.

Once he tries to attack other warlords and strengthen himself, the other warlords will join forces to form a unique alliance system.Now he saw an opportunity to break free, capture Hanzhong, collect Hanzhong's money and grain, move west to Longyou, and unite with the Qiang people, he would be able to take advantage of the situation.

Ma Dai was frightened and said, "Wouldn't this mean that we have cut off Duke Cao? What will my uncle do?"

Ma Chao first showed a ruthless look, then smiled and said: "If I can occupy Hanzhong, I will use my reputation to unite the Qiang and Di people, march west to Longyou, and share the food with Cao Gong, Han Sui, Yang Qiu and the generals in Guanzhong. "

"My Ma family owns the land of Hanzhong and Longyou, and unites with the barbarians in the northwest to occupy Lianglong. It may not be impossible for me to imitate Weixiao, establish achievements, and separate one side. At that time, there was Liu Bei in the south, Gongsun in the east, and Liu Zhang in the west. I present to Cao Cao If you write to ask for an official, he will treat your father and two younger brothers well!"

Ma Chao said in a deep voice: "If I am safe, my father will be safe; if my Ma family is prosperous, my father will be prosperous. That's all!"

"This~"

Pang Rou and Ma Dai looked at each other. They never expected that Ma Chao had such great ambitions, imitating Wei Xiao in the late Western Han Dynasty and wanting to separatize the northwest. But are there such conditions now?
Seeing the hesitation of the two men, Ma Chao analyzed and said: "Shizu can destroy Weixiao because there is no strong enemy in the world. However, today's situation is different from the past. Cao Cao is not the emperor of Shizu. Liu Bei is in Wu Chu, Liu Zhang has Bashu, and Gongsun is in charge. Liaodong and the northwest can be mapped.”

"And if it fails, I can lead the northwest expedition for Duke Cao, and I, the Ma family, will not lose my title of nobility."

"If you want to enter Hanzhong, our army's strength alone is not enough." Pang Rou said.

"rest assured!"

Ma Chao said confidently: "Han Sui's profit-loving people, if I follow my troops to advance, they will follow. And if there is no Han Sui, the profit-seeking people in Guanxi will also follow."

　No more tonight, three updates tomorrow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)