Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 770: Viper as a Surname (Subscribe with Caution)

Under the pressure of Zhuge Liang, Xiang Lang advised Ma Su to ask for forgiveness by carrying a thorn stick on his back. However, Ma Su placed his hopes on his brother, hoping that Ma Liang could write a petition to plead for him.

Unfortunately, Ma Liang was well aware of Zhuge Liang's anger and also understood how big a mistake Ma Su had made.

If Ma Su had merely suffered a military defeat and had not deserted the battlefield, he might have been spared the death penalty if he had asked Huang Quan to say a few good words to him, and if the nobles of northern Jing had also persuaded him.

But now Ma Su foolishly chose to desert the battlefield, which not only angered the commander-in-chief Huang Quan, but also highlighted Ma Su's incompetence.

After careful consideration, Ma Liang sent a letter to Ma Su, urging him to surrender first, and then he would mobilize his connections to try his best to plead for him.

After receiving his brother's letter, Ma Su took the initiative to surrender to the Shangshutai with a whip on his back. However, to Ma Su's surprise, Zhuge Liang refused to meet Ma Su and only let Pan Jun take charge of Ma Su's case.

Although Pan Jun was from Jiangxia, Jingzhou, he had little connection with the scholars in Nanyang. Under Pan Jun's interrogation, Ma Su confessed his whole experience.

During this period, in order to reduce Ma Su's guilt, Ma Liang and Xiang Lang tried to write letters to Pan Jun, hoping that Pan Jun would show mercy to Ma Su, spare his death sentence, and sentence him to exile, but Pan Jun did not respond.

Even considering that Huo and Pan Jun have been friends for a long time, Ma Liang wrote a letter to Bu Lianshi, hoping that Bu Lianshi could come forward to communicate with Pan Jun, or ask Huang Quan to show some mercy.

After all, when Zhuge Liang wanted to punish Ma Su, the only people who could save Ma Su from death were Pan Jun, who was in charge of the trial, and Huang Quan, the commander-in-chief.

Bu Lianshi was hesitant and asked Huo Yi. Huo Yi was unsure and turned to ask Jiang Ji.

Although Jiang Ji was not deeply involved in the Ma Su case, he understood Zhuge Liang's intention to punish Ma Su. He reminded Huo Yi not to get involved in this matter and asked Bu Lianshi to find a way to reject Ma Liang.

With Jiang Ji's advice, Bu Lianshi tactfully rejected Ma Liang's offer, saying that women should not interfere in government affairs. However, despite the rejection, Bu Lianshi asked Ma Liang to plead with Liu Chan or Zhuge Liang.

Ma Liang submitted a memorial to Liu Chan, but Liu Chan ignored it in order to maintain Zhuge Liang's authority.

At the same time, Pan Jun discussed with the officials for many days and sentenced Ma Su to death on the grounds that Ma Su deserted the battlefield and disobeyed military orders.

As soon as the news came out, Ma Liang and Xiang Lang jointly wrote a letter to Zhuge Liang, hoping that Zhuge Liang would temporarily pardon Ma Su. However, Zhuge Liang tearfully rejected the two on the grounds of judicial justice and ordered Ma Su to be executed to uphold military law.

In the following days, Pan Jun reported to Zhuge Liang Xiang Lang's crime of sheltering a criminal and Ma Liang's use of personal connections.

As a punishment for the crime, Zhuge Liang ordered Xiang Lang to be dismissed from his post and forced to return home to reflect on his actions. Ma Liang was fined two years' salary and given a serious warning during the assessment.

In the seventh month of autumn, Ma Su was sentenced to death. Before his execution, he wrote a suicide note to Zhuge Liang, expressing regret for what he had done. Zhuge Liang wrote back in tears, expressing his love for Ma Su and that the punishment was only due to the justice of the law and that he had no choice but to do so. He also promised that he would take care of Ma Su's family.

If the Ma Su case had happened during the reign of Liu Bei, given Liu Bei's temperament, he would have simply kept the case on ice for a few years and would never have made such a big fuss.

But the situation is different now, not only because Zhuge Liang is in power, but also because the country is unified, and many cases have been changed by using personal connections. If Zhuge Liang pardons Ma Su, the officials below will follow suit, and the officialdom of the Southern Han Dynasty will seriously deteriorate.

On July 7, Ma Su was beheaded for violating military law, Xiang Lang was dismissed from office for harboring a criminal, and Ma Liang was fined and punished for using personal connections.

On the 13th, the army stationed in Youzhou heard that Ma Su was executed, and the soldiers celebrated.

On the 14th, Huang Quan apologized to Zhuge Liang, saying that his unclear appointment and his trust in Ma Su almost led to the defeat of the army.

On the 17th, Zhuge Liang handed in Huang Quan's memorial, saying that he had failed in his duty in selecting generals and asked Liu Chan to punish him. At the same time, he commended Pan Jun for his meritorious service in interrogation and asked Liu Chan to reward him.

Liu Chan was very sensible. He first issued an edict to reduce Huang Quan's salary and fiefdom, and then issued an edict to increase the fine and salary. In response to Pan Jun's meritorious service in the trial, Liu Chan gave him jewels and Sichuan brocade as a reward.

As for Zhuge Liang, Liu Chan used the reason that Huang Quan had made great contributions in defeating the Eastern Lord Ju Quyuan as an excuse to offset his merits and demerits and not hold Zhuge Liang responsible.

Seeing that all the relevant responsible persons, both above and below, were held accountable, all officials in the court and the country were in awe, and the people all praised Zhuge Liang for his fair governance, correcting all evil and rewarding all good.

Zhuge Liang's governing methods were extremely special. He was lenient in politics but extremely strict in law. He also frequently held himself accountable and rewarded those with outstanding political achievements.

Such a different way of governing the country has created the special phenomenon that although the criminal laws are harsh, no one complains.

Not only that, Zhuge Liang also rewarded those who had made contributions, regardless of the distance between the other party and himself. Take Liu Fan as an example. Because of his meritorious service in governing Dan'er County, Zhuge Liang raised the standard of Dan'er County from 800 shi to 1,000 shi, and Liu Fan continued to govern.

It is precisely because of Zhuge Liang's approach of "rewarding those who have made contributions and sentencing those who have been punished" that since the founding of the Southern Han Dynasty, even though there have been wars on the border every year, the population has continued to increase year by year, and the treasury has more and more money and grain.

On August 3, Huang Quan and Huo Fan reported their strategy of advancing to Pingzhou by both land and sea to the central government, and Zhuge Liang approved their strategy.

On the tenth day of the same month, Huang Quan led his troops out to Panghai Road, and Huo Fan sailed to Pingzhou.

In September, Huo Fan defeated the Liaodong navy, landed in Lelang County, and conquered the two counties of Lelang and Daifang on the Korean Peninsula.

Huang Quan sent troops to capture several cities in succession, broke through Changli County, and approached Liaoze.

Sun Quan led 20,000 infantry and cavalry to defend Liaoze, adopted Liu Ye's suggestion of delaying the war, and submitted a petition to Chang'an, requesting Zhuge Liang to allow him to surrender.

How could Huang Quan not see that it was just a delaying tactic? In order to defeat Sun Quan, Huang Quan pretended to fall into the trap and did not take any action for 30 days.

A month later, Huang Quan, under the guidance of Murong Muyan, suddenly led the Han and Hu cavalry to an expedition. They secretly crossed the Liaoze Lake upstream to the other side, attacked Sun Quan unexpectedly, and defeated him.

After Sun Quan was defeated, he fled to Xiangping City and defended it. He wrote to Huang Quan hoping to surrender. In order to eliminate the disaster, Huang Quan rejected Sun Quan's request and secretly persuaded Sun Quan's subordinates to surrender.

At that time, Sun Xian, the commander of Xiangping, saw that the situation was hopeless, so he secretly opened the city gate and let most of the Han army enter the city.

Sun Quan and Liu Ye were unable to escape and were killed by the Han army. Huang Quan sent their heads and their clansmen to Chang'an and handed them over to Zhuge Liang for disposal.

Zhuge Liang sent the two men's heads to the northern border. Considering the death penalty to be cruel, he only exiled their relatives to Yunnan and Guizhou to enrich the Han population on the border.

Liu Chan, however, had a grudge against Liu Ye, and thought that since Liu Ye assisted King Zhou in committing atrocities, he could not use the surname Liu, so he changed the surname of his clan members to Fu.

At the same time, as Sun and Liu were dealt with, the four counties of Changli, Xuantu, Lelang, Daifang and Liaodong all surrendered, and the surrounding barbarians all submitted petitions for surrender to the Han Dynasty.

Because of Huo Jun's will, Jiang Ji contacted Huo Fan and Huang Quan to inquire about the situation in the Northeast and whether Huo's vassal state could be moved to Liaodong.

Huo Fan originally hesitated to relocate his fiefdom because of his concern for the wildness of Liaodong. But when he saw that Lelang was surrounded by mountains and seas and had fertile soil and suitable for growing rice, and that it could be a peaceful place in troubled times, he changed his original idea.

After getting advice from the two, Jiang Ji visited Zhuge Liang.

ps: The extra chapter will be published later, this is not the extra plot.

(End of this chapter)