Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 635 The goodness of Han Liang
The quarrel between juniors is not a big deal. Longyou, who is now concerned about Liu Chan, is the next important thing that the Han will pay attention to.

Since Lu Xun returned to Bashu and took up residence in Chongqing, perhaps to facilitate future planning, Huang Quan was responsible for communicating with Ma Chao through letters. After Huang Quan met with Lu Xun, in order to make Ma Chao slack off, he showed a humble attitude.

Jicheng, Prince Liang's Mansion.

Ma Chao sat on the couch and discussed the strategy of the Liang Kingdom with his cronies.

"Today, the situation in the world has changed suddenly. The Wei Dynasty has declined and the Han Dynasty has prospered. How can we, the land of Longnan, establish a foothold in Guanxi?" Ma Chao asked, "I wonder what you guys have in mind?"

Ma Chao was in great pain. Previously it was difficult to mobilize troops due to lack of food and grass, but with the help of the Southern Han Dynasty, the food and grass problem was solved. However, due to the long distance between Hexi and Longyou, there was a lack of supply points along the way, and there were few people in Longyou, so even if there was food, it would be difficult to transport it to Wuwei.

Therefore, after Ma Chao captured the two counties of Hehuang, even if Cao Zhen led his troops back to Guanzhong, Ma Chao would not be able to expedition to Hexi.

When he previously attacked Hehuang County, Ma Chao gave up attacking Wuwei due to food and grass issues, but instead spent a long time in Xiping and Jincheng County, concentrating on appeasing the Qiang and Di barbarians in the Hehuang area.

In order to expand his territory, Ma Chao had to consider the direction of future development and whether to continue to attack Hexi. And if we want to attack Hexi, how should we do it?

"Your Majesty, our country is entrenched on the right side of Longnan. Looking at the surrounding situation, it borders Hexi to the north, Guanzhong to the east, and Bashu to the south. Now that the Wei Dynasty is declining and the Han Dynasty is prosperous, we have a big plan. The two counties in Longnan are not feasible, and we can only borrow the troops of the Han Dynasty. Horses can be found west of the river and in Guanzhong."

Cheng Gongying said: "There are many soldiers and horses in Guanzhong, and there are people from Hexi in the north. When our army leaves Guanzhong in the east, it may be attacked by Guo Huai. Therefore, looking at it from the perspective of Ying, looking around Longnan, only the land in Hexi can be mapped. !”

Ma Chao frowned slightly and said: "It's a thousand and two hundred miles from Jincheng to Wuwei. There are few people and many barbarians on the way. We raise our troops to expedition to Hexi. If we can't move to Wuwei quickly, our army will be in a situation of food shortage."

"Guo Huai is good at predicting the strength of the army and can win people's hearts. He sent a man to surrender but was killed by him. Now Guo Huai relies on the power of the counties in Hexi to lead his troops to defend the city wall, which is enough to occupy me."

After saying that, Ma Chao asked additionally: "Not to mention Liangfu and Guohuai, our army is far away from Hexi, and Longyou is empty. We may be attacked by Guanzhong and Bashu. What should we do?"

Under the clear situation of Han and Wei, it was too difficult for Ma Chao to use Longyou as his base to expand his territory to the surrounding areas. Although Ma Chao had just captured Xiping and Jincheng counties, the actual population was pitifully small, and the Hehuang Valley could be regarded as part of Longyou.

Except for the two counties of Longnan, Ma Chao has occupied all the territory he can occupy. However, the two counties of Longnan were occupied by the Southern Han Dynasty. Ma Chao did not dare to fall out with the Southern Han Dynasty to take the two counties of Longnan.

If Ma Chao wants to expand, he can only take Cheng Gongying's suggestion and concentrate on expanding to Hexi. Guanzhong and Bashu are not places that Ma Chao can touch at the moment.

Of course, it's not that Ma Chao doesn't understand, it's just that the difficulty of playing in Hexi is too high. Guo Huai, the governor of Liangzhou, should not be underestimated. Ma Chao had worked with him and also fought against him. Ma Chao was well aware of Guo Huai's abilities, so he asked him to lead his troops to attack Guo Huai. Ma Chao did not have much confidence in defeating Guo Huai.

Cheng Gongying stroked his beard and said: "In the past, the Han Dynasty used the power of the king to attack Hexi. Now it is better for the king to use the power of the Han to attack Guanzhong. Let Cao Zhen and Lu Xun restrain each other. If the king can defeat Guo Huai, there is hope of sweeping Hexi."

"Then we have to write to Lu Xun to discuss it!"

Ma Chao frowned slightly and said, "I am afraid that Lu Xun is worried about the expansion of our country and refuses to send troops to help."

"The king can write to Lu Xun first and see what Lu Xun's attitude is. If that doesn't work, the king can see if he can write to Huo Jun and ask Huo Jun to order Lu Xun to send troops." Cheng Gongying said.

"Ok!"

Ma Chao nodded slightly and said: "The old Hanzhong Governor He Qi has maintained good security inside and outside, and the defense is orderly. Now the Governor Huang Quan has taken office, let's see what Huang Quan's attitude is. In the past, there was a story about Lu Xun leading his troops to attack our two counties in Longnan. We must be on guard now. "

Ma Chao did not forget that Lu Xun returned to steal the two counties of Longnan and forced him to sign an alliance. If not for his lack of power, Ma Chao would have gone to war with the Southern Han Dynasty and recaptured the two counties of Longnan. After all, Longyou, which owns the two counties of Longnan, is considered complete.

After a while, the attendants came in and reported: "Your Majesty, Huang Quan, the governor of Hanzhong, sent an envoy to send a letter with gifts to ask for an audience outside the palace. The gifts are very generous."

"Oh?"

Ma Chao was slightly surprised and said: "In the past, when He Qi was in charge, he was on the alert for fear of starting a war with our army. Now that Huang Quan is in Hanzhong, it is rare for him to give a gift to an orphan!"

Ma Chao is a suspicious person. Now that he saw Huang Quan sending people to give gifts, he couldn't help but be suspicious. But it was just suspicion. Huang Quan was first dealing with Ma Chao, and Ma Chao had no idea about Huang Quan's temperament and abilities.

"Your Majesty, it's better to meet Huang Quan's envoy first and see what he wants!" Cheng Gongying reminded.

"good!"

"When someone comes, please come and see me!"

"promise!"

The envoy who had been waiting outside the house for a while was led by his attendants and entered the hall to deliver letters and gift orders and pay homage to Ma Chao.

Ma Chao browsed the contents of the gift list and asked: "Huang Jun is quite generous. I wonder what the purpose of sending such a generous gift to the orphan is?"

The envoy looked respectful and said: "Han-Liang is a country of monarchs and vassals. In the past, when the governor of He Qi was stationed in Hanzhong, his relationship with the king was rough. Now my general is out of Hanzhong and respects the reputation of the king. Therefore, he wants to repair the relationship and build the relationship between Longshu and Longshu. good."

After saying that, the envoy bowed his hands and said, "Therefore, my general ordered his servants to prepare a small gift to show respect to the king." "I accepted Governor Huang's kind words with care."

Ma Chao put down the gift list and asked tentatively: "I wonder if Governor Huang has any achievements that can succeed He Qi?"

After Liu Bei defeated Bashu, He Qi was transferred to Yizhou and served as county governor in various places. He performed his duties conscientiously and was responsible for controlling Shu, and he was very famous.

He Qi served as the governor of Hanzhong and followed Lu Xun's old policy of guarding Hanzhong, guarding the surrounding areas internally and preparing Liang and Wei externally. Because He Qi was particularly good at military affairs, the soldiers under his tent were well-armed and equipped with sophisticated weapons and armor. They formed a strong army in the Western Territory and made Ma Chao many fearful.

Of course, not only He Qi, but also Wei Yan, Wang Ping, Zhao Ang and others used their outstanding abilities to prevent Ma Chao from invading Bashu even if Liu Bei died and Lu Xun traveled eastward.

The envoy pondered for a while and then said: "My general first served as the late emperor in the expedition against Wei, and then followed the Duke of Jiangling to fight against the invaders. He fought all year round. Although he had no great achievements, he made many achievements. Now he is highly regarded by the Duke of Jiangling, so he is appointed the governor of Hanzhong."

Ma Chao picked up the letter and browsed it, and said with a smile: "I heard that Governor Huang and Duke Jiangling are related by marriage. I wonder if it is true?"

"It's true!"

The messenger explained: "The eldest daughter of Duke Jiangling, Xu, is related to my young general, so the two families are related by marriage."

"hehe!"

As soon as the messenger finished speaking, Ma Chao couldn't help laughing a few times after reading the contents of the letter.

But Huang Quan praised Ma Chao's reputation in his letter, saying that Ma Chao was able to build Longliang's business with little effort, and he was a hero of the world. Then Huang Quan hoped to be on good terms with Ma Chao. The two families were at odds with each other and should work together to deal with Cao Wei.

Huang Quan will ensure that he will try his best to distribute the food and grass promised in the covenant. In order to express Han's intention to clear up the doubts with Liang, Huang Quan had already appointed Wei Yan, the prefect of Wudu, as the prefect of Yinping, and the prefect of Wudu would be succeeded by someone else.

Wei Yan belongs to the main fighting faction. Since he took command of Wudu, in order to prevent Ma Chao from raiding the two counties in Longnan, he has been leading his troops to prepare for war all year round, making Ma Chao particularly afraid. So much so that Ma Chao had to send more troops to Qishan Fort to ensure the safety of Tianshui County.

Yinping County is located to the south of Wudu County, bordering Zitong County to the east and Wenshan County to the south. The land under the jurisdiction of the county belongs to the middle mountainous area of ​​​​mountainous areas, where there are many Qiang and Di barbarians.

Throwing Wei Yan to Yinping County, far away from the main road of Qishan, Wudu County became equivalent to a buffer zone between Tianshui and Hanzhong, and the buffer zone was only under the jurisdiction of the Southern Han Dynasty.

Ma Chao stopped his smile and asked, "I wonder what Lu Chongqing is busy with right now?"

The envoy replied: "Returning to your Majesty, there are Qiang people rebelling in Shu and Nanzhong. Now General Hussar leads generals Wang Ping, Wei Yanping, Wenshan and Yinping counties to be barbarians."

"good!"

Ma Chao waved his hand and said with a smile: "I know Governor Huang's intention. Please tell General Huang that Long and Shu will coexist peacefully in the future. You will reduce the number of troops in Wudu, and I will reduce the number of soldiers in Qishan, out of mutual trust."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The messenger smiled humbly and withdrew happily.

After the envoy retreated, Ma Chao handed the letter to Cheng Gongying and said with a smile: "Huang Quan is a relative of Huo Jun. I have never heard of his great achievements in the military. I only know that he was a general in the four directions, a county lord, and Congratulations to Qi Tongguanjue."

"However, judging from what he did, compared with He Qi, Huang Quan should not be as good as He Qi. Huo Jun chose this man as the governor, and Huang Quan also transferred Wei Yan to stay away from Wudu. Now Wei Yan and Wang Ping are not in Wudu or Hanzhong. My crisis in Tianshui has been alleviated."

Wang Ping, Wei Yan, and He Qi were in charge of the three counties of Wudu, Hanzhong, and Yinping, and had more than 30,000 troops. There was no room for others to sleep soundly on the side of the couch, which made Ma Chao deeply aware of the threat from Longnan. However, as Wang Ping went south, He Qi died of illness, and Wei Yan was transferred away, Ma Chao felt that the danger in Longnan was greatly reduced.

Cheng Gongying read the letter with a thoughtful look on his face and said: "Your Majesty, as the old and the new change, the government orders may be different. However, just to be on the safe side, we should observe carefully and send more scouts into Hanzhong to observe Huang Quan's actions carefully. Beware of inconsistency.”

After a pause, Cheng Gongying added: "If Huang Quan really wants to make peace with the king, the king should make an appointment with Lu Xun or Huang Quan about the Northern Expedition!"

"good!"

Ma Chao paced and said: "Bojie's words are actually safe words. Now that the Han Dynasty is determined to make peace with our country of Liang, Gu should advance and retreat with it. First, use his troops and horses to contain the enemies in Guanzhong. Wait for Gu to capture all the people in Hexi. With the county as our business, we no longer have to worry about the future. The people from Liang and Long come to Guanzhong and Hanzhong to become kings and hegemons."

Because he has a foundation, Ma Chao is constantly motivated to move forward, so Ma Chao is no longer gloomy. My mood is better and my life span is longer than ever before.

Although Ma Chao is now in his fifties, he is still working tirelessly to achieve his goal of dividing the world with Han, Wei and Ding.

"correct!"

Ma Chao did not forget the Hehuang Valley and ordered: "Let Jiang Ji pay more attention to his military power and carefully check the actual situation in Hexi. If there is any change, he should lead a light cavalry attack."

"promise!"

(End of this chapter)