Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 488: Fearing the Cao Thief Alone
The summer is hot and the sun is high.

After the issue of moving the capital, there were no major events in the Southern Han Dynasty. It calmed down and officials in various places took charge of their own affairs.

Xu Shu returned to Wuhan and was responsible for establishing the governance structure of Jiangzhou.

When he first took charge of Jiangzhou, Xu Shu asked Shangshu to create a new county, Linchuan County, from Luling and Yuzhang counties.

Xu Shu thought that Yuzhang County in the Eastern Han Dynasty was too big and had many people under its jurisdiction. In the past, Sun Ce split Luling County from the southern part of Yuzhang County, and Liu Qi split Poyang County from the eastern part of Yuzhang County. However, compared with Bashu, Yuzhang and Luling counties are still too large, which is not conducive to in-depth governance of the area and appeasement of barbarians in the mountains.

The first thing to do when the new official took office was that Xu Shu wanted to analyze Linchuan County and deeply govern Jiangzhou. Liu Bei recognized it and appointed Luo Tong, the special envoy to Shangshu, as the prefect of Linchuan. He encouraged him with many words.

Summer turned around, and the swordsman Liu Huzhang, who was ordered by Liu Bei, had forged the Eight Zhangwu Swords and distributed them to his trusted generals.

On that day, the servant Ma Liang, as an envoy, went to the palace of General Hussar holding a sword and awarded the sword to Huo Jun.

Huo Jun led his wife, concubines, and children out of the hall, where they bowed and listened to the edict.

Ma Liang held the scarf and read it, and said: "The imperial edict says that I have inherited the order of heaven, inherited the great cause, and raised troops to calm the country. Now the bandits are causing harm, the people are being poisoned, and those who miss the Han people are stretching their necks to look up. I am angry in my heart. If you can't sit still at the table and eat to your heart's content, you will be punished by heaven. Your military strategy is even better than that of Wei Huo, his reputation is far and wide, and he is terrifying to China."

Huo Jun took the sword in both hands and said, "Ji Chang gave me the sword for my hard work. Please follow me into the hall to have a rest."

Huo Jun saluted and bowed, raised his hands and said, "I thank you, Your Majesty, for giving me the sword."

It took more than a year from the start of construction to the completion of the Zhangwu Eight Swords. Liu Bei's own sword is called Zhangwu, Liu Chan's sword is called Hanzhang, Huo Jun's sword is called Longlin, Zhuge Liang's sword is called Huazhang, Guan Yu's sword is called Feijing, Zhang Fei's sword is called Danxia, ​​Zhao Yun's sword is called Qingping, and Liu Bei's sword is called Qingping. The sword of Feng is called Liucai.

With that said, Ma Liang came close to Huo Jun's ear and said: "Your Majesty has heard about the discussion between Huo Du and Guan Junhou about who is stronger between Han and Bai. Your Majesty was overjoyed when he heard about it. He said that the King of Qin was incompetent and did not recognize Fan Ju's treachery, which led to the general's failure. There is a loss of peace. Now the Han Dynasty has a good appearance and a general. This is God's gift to the Han Dynasty!"

Huo Jun pulled out the dragon scale sword and admired the shape of the sword. He saw that the sword was as bright as ice and had dragon scales on it.

Each of the eight swords is four feet and two inches long. The decoration on the sword body may be noble, elegant, majestic, or beautiful. Each has its own characteristics, making it difficult to distinguish between good and bad.

"No!"

"When I have free time in the future, I will definitely visit you." Ma Liang said goodbye and left.

Looking at Ma Liang's back, Huo Jun was glad that he took Ma Liang with him to fight in Jianghuai, which not only made Ma Liang more convenient, but also left some convenience for himself in the future.

When Liu Bei first became emperor, he wanted to use one sword for himself, so he gave seven swords to the princes Liu Chan, Huo Jun, Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and adopted son Liu Feng. The special swordsman Liu Huzhang cast it from the fine iron from the south. However, it took far longer to cast the sword than Liu Bei thought.

After reading out the edict, Ma Liang carefully picked up the Dragon Scale Sword and handed it to Huo Jun with both hands.

"What a wonderful workmanship!"

Holding the dragon scale sword, Huo Jun smiled and said: "Thank you Ji Chang for telling me. If you have time in the future, you can go to the house and drink some fine wine."

"what!"

"Therefore, I honor the king to show his throne, grant him the sword of dragon scales, lead the army to defeat the rebels, and call me Yiyan. The poem goes, 'In the Margin of Jianghan, the king ordered to summon tigers: to expand in all directions and penetrate my territory.' Therefore, he was entrusted with a great responsibility. You, your Majesty, use it to protect Han Hu and deal with the world."

Huo Jun was slightly surprised and said, "His Majesty actually knew about this matter!"

Ma Liang returned the gift with his hands raised and said with a smile: "Liang, as ordered by His Majesty, still needs to teach the sword to Guan Junhou and Sili Xiaowei. I dare not waste time."

The blade of the sword was so delicate and exquisite that Huo Jun couldn't help but sigh.

"Long live the Emperor, may China be civilized and virtuous!"

Ma Liang opened the sword box and saw that the dragon scale sword was four feet and two inches long. The scabbard was inlaid with gold wire and the dragon pattern on the scabbard body. The gold wire was brilliant, lifelike and extremely dazzling. It must have been made by a skilled craftsman.

Not long after Zhang Fei was demoted to General Zuo, Liu Bei worshiped Zhang Fei as Sili Xiaowei.

"Father!"

Huo Yi came closer, his eyes full of desire.

Huo Jun looked at the children gathered around him, handed the sword to Huo Yi, and said with a smile: "This sword is a gift from your majesty. It is only for viewing, not for use."

"promise!"

Huo Yi held the dragon scale sword and led several young brothers and sisters to play.

Master Bu looked at his sons and daughters who were admiring the sword and said with a smile: "Your Majesty gave your husband the sword and read it with the imperial edict. You have truly appreciated your husband."

Huo Jun held on to his belt and sighed: "Your Majesty has treated me as a national scholar, so I should be grateful and repay you. How can I repay you if I don't go to China?"

After getting along with Liu Bei for a long time, he finally understood why Zhuge Liang left Qishan six times.

It's not that Zhuge Liang was born like this, but the kindness Liu Bei gave him was so great that Zhuge Liang couldn't tolerate not repaying it. He treats his ministers as family members and governs the world together. It is not like some single husband who, except for his family and children, regards his ministers and people as cattle and horses.

Since Huo Jun was so kind to Liu Bei, how could he not feel guilty if he did not repay him with military exploits? ——
Not to mention that the Southern Han and Northern Wei were recuperating and busy with their own affairs. In the northwest, under the communication of Lu Xun's letters, the horses gradually became restless.

Wudu County, Wudu County.

At home, Ma Chao was sitting in front of the case, reading Lu Xun's letters.

Since Ma Chao sent a provocative letter to Hanzhong and Lu Xun responded with a humble attitude, Ma Chao has become arrogant and his favorability towards Lu Xun has greatly increased.

Immediately afterwards, in order to make friends with Ma Chao, Lu Xun wrote several letters and received some gifts. Ma Chao also wrote several letters back to Lu Xun. During the letters, the two talked enthusiastically, but there was no military talk.

Now Lu Xun not only wrote to Ma Chao as usual, but also sent the family members of Yao Jing, Zheng Ta and other descended generals as gifts to Ma Chao, which surprised Ma Chao. Seeing Ma Chao reading the letter without saying a word, Ma Dai couldn't hold himself back and asked: "Brother, is there any evil intention in Lu Xun's return of the surrendered general's family and me?"

"Humph!"

Ma Chao put the letter on the desk, sneered a few times, and said, "Lu Xun is cunning. His letters show kindness to me, but he just wants to induce me to rebel."

"This~"

Ma Dai frowned and said, "Since brother knows Lu Xun's tricks, why don't you cut off all contact with him?"

Ma Chao stood up from the case and said with a slight smile: "Since Lu Xun wants to induce me to rebel, why can't I use his power to become a force?"

"Using its power to achieve something?"

Ma Dai frowned and said, "Is it possible that my brother wants to surrender to the Southerners and use their power to seize Guanzhong?"

"Guanzhong?"

"Ha ha!"

Ma Chao seemed to have heard something funny and said, "Why was it so late for Bozhan to see what happened?"

As he spoke, Ma Chao clasped his hands behind his waist and said with confidence: "Now we have Yao Jing and Zheng as soldiers. I will divide the money to provide Qiang soldiers, and we can get tens of thousands of soldiers. Wei will follow me to conquer Hanzhong. Therefore, there are more soldiers in Guanzhong than in Longyou, while Longyou has fewer soldiers."

"If we can get the right time, you and I, my brothers, can raise troops to the right of Long and block the Long Road, and then we can separatize Yonglong. Yonglong is above Guanzhong and below Liangzhou. We will send our troops eastward and cut off the Liang Road. I will then You can control the people in the northwest and approach the pass."

Hearing Ma Chao's ambition, Ma Dai hesitated for a few moments and said, "Gongan Cao is here now. If our army rebels, it will be difficult."

"hehe!"

Ma Chao paced with his hands behind his back and said with a smile: "I have received a letter from Luoyang. Cao Cao is ill and is lying on the bed now. His illness is getting worse. If Cao Cao dies of illness, no matter how many generals in the world, who in Wei can control me?"

Ma Dai's thoughts were slightly confused and he said: "Brother, if I send troops to Longyou, I'm afraid that Lu Xun will send troops to Wudu and cut off our army. If our army's retreat is cut off, we will be defeated!"

"Lu Xun?"

Ma Chao stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Lu Xun wants to tempt me to rebel, I will use my own strength. If he can send troops out of the pass and contain the heavy troops in Guanxi for me, I will rebel against him. If Lu Xun wants to sit on the mountain and watch the fight, I will How can I be deceived by him?"

"In the past, it was a last resort to offer the city to Cao Cao. If we can get the opportunity now, we can take advantage of the struggle between Han and Wei to raise troops to plunder the land, sit on the western soil, and watch Shu's chin. This is what a man would do." Ma Chao sighed.

At first there was Yan Xing in Longyou and Cao Cao in Guanzhong. He was defeated and left, trapped in Chencang. In desperation, he had no choice but to bear the humiliation and return to Cao Cao.

After years of accumulating strength, when Ma Chao heard that Cao Cao was seriously ill, his restless heart was ready to move again. After all, being a minister to others is not as comfortable as calling yourself a loner.

Cao Ah Man, an eunuch and a traitor, could be the emperor; Liu Xuande, an old military man, dared to call himself the Emperor of Han!

Why can't he, Ma Chao, seize one side and act like a dog to these two old thieves? Unless he is exhausted and out of men, he will never kneel down and seek glory.

"Does that brother want to join forces with Lu Xun?" Ma Dai asked.

“How can Lu Xun make the decision?”

Ma Chao walked up and smiled and said: "I want to surrender to Liu Xuande and ask him to order Lu Xun to attack Guanzhong to attract troops for me. When Cao Wei's troops gathered in Guanzhong, there were few soldiers and horses in Longyou, so I led my troops to the north and went down to the counties in Longyou. , as a foundation."

"What if Lu Xun gets to Guanzhong?" Ma Dai asked.

Ma Chao showed disdain and said: "Lu Xun has no talent like Han Xin. China's heavy army is marching westward. How can he win Guanzhong?"

"If Guanzhong is captured by him, and I send troops to Chencang and go down the Wei River, then Guanzhong will be in my hands!"

In words, Ma Chao was confident in himself. As long as he got Longyou, with his ability, it would not be a problem to win Guanzhong and Liangzhou. With the land in the northwest, he guarded Guanzhong in the east and Bashu in the south.

Ma Chao had seen the wealth of Hanzhong. In his plan, if he could capture Bashu, he would be able to divide the world with Liu and Cao by relying on the favorable geographical location of Guanzhong and Longyou.

Ma Dai scratched his head. He always felt that his brother's ambition was too big, but the implementation was full of difficulties.

As she spoke, Pang Rou walked into the hall, raised her hands and said, "Your Majesty, the women and children sent by Lu Xun are all the family members of the fallen general. Everyone is happy to be reunited."

Ma Chao pondered for a while and said, "Select five good horses from the stable and send them to Lu Xun, along with a letter from me."

"promise!"

Ma Dai asked with doubts, "Brother, since you want to unite with Lu Xun, why don't you tell him directly."

"madness!"

Ma Chao scolded and said: "Cao Cao is not dead, and China is generally stable. If you start a rebellion in a hurry, the southerners will definitely benefit. Now Lu Xun wants to use words and letters to seduce, and I will do what he wants. Walking like a mantis catching cicadas, It’s all about the oriole behind you.”

After a pause, Ma Chao said: "When Cao Cao dies of illness and Lu Xun sends people to induce rebellion, I will send an envoy to Wuhan to observe Liu Xuande's actions and words."

After experiencing so many things, Ma Chao has gradually matured, and has made decisions before taking action, maintaining a calm monarchy style. Of course, this is closely related to Ma Chao's future destiny, and there is no room for his carelessness.

If the uprising succeeds, he will at least be able to separate himself from Longyou, then encroach on the Hexi Corridor, bring the people from the northwest to Guanzhong, and achieve his hegemony.

If his rebellion fails, there will be no place for him in the world. Only the Xitou Qiang people will hibernate themselves. But by then, a mere leader of the Qiang people could kill him, let alone achieve great things!

(End of this chapter)