Three Kingdoms: Heir of Wolong, my father-in-law is Guan Gong

Chapter 35 Zhuge Liang no longer trusts Ma Di
  After receiving Liu Bei's military order, Ma Liang came to see Zhuge Liang alone.

Ma Liang has always treated Zhuge Liang as his elder brother. He came to see Zhuge Liang for both official and private matters.

Zhuge Liang had anticipated Ma Liang's arrival and prepared jujube cake and tea in advance to wait.

Ma Liang was not polite and sat at the same table as Zhuge Liang.

Zhuge Liang's eyebrows were a bit solemn: "My Lord, I should have told you that Yun Chang is waiting for an opportunity to capture Xiangfan, right?"

Ma Liang nodded: "Brother, do you have any words of advice?"

Zhuge Liang said solemnly: "Although Cao Cao was defeated in Hanzhong, he is still in charge of Chang'an. In order to prevent Cao Cao from attacking Hanzhong again, my lord has left a large number of troops and horses in Hanzhong and Xichuan for defense."

"In the war in Jingzhou, apart from Yun Chang, only Meng Da, who attacked the three eastern counties, had soldiers and horses to respond."

"However, the prefects and people of Dongsanjun have always respected Cao Cao. Even if Mengda captured Dongsanjun, it would be difficult for the mountain people to rely on him in a short time."

"If Yunchang's attack on Xiangfan fails, the soldiers and people of the three eastern counties will most likely surrender to Cao Cao again in order to protect themselves."

"Therefore, whether Yunchang can capture Xiangfan is directly related to whether the lord can open up the entire Han River waterway and cross Jingyi's grand strategy."

Ma Liang said solemnly: "Your Majesty is brave and good at fighting. If you go to Xiangfan with the power of your lord's great victory in Hanzhong, I think you will win."

Zhuge Liang slowly said: "If the monarch's rear is stable, Xiangfan will definitely be captured; but Sun Quan from Jiangdong has always been eyeing Nanjun. If Cao Cao continues to lobby Sun Quan with interests, Sun Quan will definitely become disloyal."

"Since the death of Lu Zijing, the alliance between the lord and Sun Quan has been in jeopardy, and Lu Meng of Lukou has always had the ambition to seize Jingzhou."

"Although the prince is brave and good at fighting, he is at odds with Mi Fang and Pan Jun. If there is no war, let it go. If there is a war, there will be internal trouble."

"I asked Aqiao to go to Jingzhou to solve the hidden dangers in the rear that may exist during the monarch's northern expedition."

"I know that Ji Chang is extremely talented, but this time when we go to Jingzhou, Ji Chang should consider Aqiao's proposal more."

Ma Liang said solemnly: "Brother understands me. Although I pride myself on my talent, I am not arrogant. I will bear in mind your brother's advice."

Zhuge Liang secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he understood Ma Liang's character, Zhuge Liang acted cautiously, so he gave Ma Liang a few more words before Ma Liang left.

Zhuge Liang took out another letter: "This is my reply to Aqiao, and I asked Ji Chang to deliver it on my behalf."

Ma Liang did not dare to neglect and carefully hid the letter close to his body.

"Brother, I have another request. I hope that I can transfer Youchang to my subordinates." After Ma Liang finished talking about official matters, he started talking about private matters.

Ma Di also followed Liu Bei to Sichuan as a Jingzhou official. After Liu Bei took control of Xichuan, Ma Di first served as the magistrate of Mianzhu County, and later changed to the county magistrate of Chengdu. Now he serves as the prefect of Yueqi in southern Yizhou.

Rather than holding a local post, Ma Di hoped to enter the residence of the military advisor general to participate in discussing military strategies, so he frequently sent letters to Ma Liang, hoping that Ma Liang could give advice in front of Zhuge Liang.

This time he went to Jingzhou to replace Pan Jun as the governor of Jingzhou. Ma Liang didn't know how long he would stay, so he gave Zhuge Liang advice before leaving.

After all, he is his younger brother, and Ma Liang still has to take care of him.

Zhuge Liang also admired Ma Su's talents and immediately promised: "My lord has been discussing the merits of the generals in Hanzhong recently. When a suitable candidate is found to be the governor of Yueqi, I will consider it as appropriate and transfer Youchang back."

Seeing Zhuge Liang's promise, Ma Liang felt a lot more at ease. After chatting for a while, Ma Liang got up and left.

Zhuge Liang sat quietly and thought: "You Chang is magnanimous and good at military strategy. He is a great talent that can be cultivated."

"But Qiaoer once commented privately that although Youchang has a reputation for talent, his temperament is unstable and he is prone to quick success and quick gain. If you want to use Youchang, you need to sharpen his temperament."

"Qiaoer rarely criticizes people. I should examine Youchang's character more."

Zhuge Liang has always recognized Ma Su's talents. Without Zhuge Qiao's deliberate reminder in private, Zhuge Liang would not have thought of examining Ma Su's character.

In terms of strategy, Zhuge Liang's strategies are rare in the world, but when it comes to employing people, Zhuge Liang still has the common shortcomings of famous officials, and it is easy to neglect the examination of character.

But this cannot be entirely blamed on Zhuge Liang. The reason why famous officials are famous officials is because these famous officials are more or less outstanding.

And famous officials like Liao Li and Ma Su are not only good at talking about it, but they also have good practical ability at hand.

If it weren't for Zhuge Qiao's foresight and foresight of history, he would never have thought that Ma Su and Liao Li would have serious flaws in their character.

For example, when Lu Meng unexpectedly attacked three counties, Liao Li, the governor of Changsha at the front line, ran away.

Liu Bei's officials in Changsha, Lingling and Guiyang were actually very aggrieved. When they woke up, they came to the city with troops.

You know, Liao Lixian was appointed as a prefecture official, and soon he was appointed as the prefect of Changsha. Even Pang Tong was just a county magistrate when he first came.

Let’s compare Ma Liang, who was also working in the state. Ma Liang was recommended by Zhuge Liang as General Zuo, and there was more than one General Zuo, Ma Liang, but only Liao Li, the governor of Changsha!
  It can be said that it is not an exaggeration to say that Liao Li was called a man of the hour under Liu Bei at that time!
  One can imagine how serious the blow to the morale of the three counties was when Liao Li fled without fighting.

Liao Li was the only one who could be deceived by Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang at the same time.

Liu Bei told Zhuge Liang that Ma Di was exaggerating, and it was probably because of Liao Li's shadow.

Ma Su is equally outrageous. With the level of Ma Su's scheming in Nanzhong, he doesn't look like an incompetent strategist.

Zhuge Liang also trained Ma Su as his successor. He was worried that directly promoting Ma Su would not convince the public, so he gave Ma Su a military honor as a street pavilion.

To know how to guard the street pavilion and how long to guard the street pavilion, Zhuge Liang has arranged it in advance.

Fearing that Ma Su would make some mistakes when he first led the army, Zhuge Liang also asked his deputy Wang Ping to follow Ma Su, and asked Gao Xiang to garrison Liucheng to support Ma Su.

As long as Ma Di acts according to Zhuge Liang's military orders, even the tied dog can get military merit.

As a result, Ma Su had to show off his skills and tried to catch Zhang He with his troops, but was beaten by Zhang He instead.

It is easy to identify mediocrity, but the most difficult thing to identify is someone like Liao Limasu who is talented but has an unstable mind.

Zhuge Qiao also knew very well.

Even Liu Bei couldn't persuade Zhuge Liang. If he just said that Ma Di was "exaggerating", it would make Zhuge Liang lower his evaluation of Zhuge Qiao.

But if it comes to xinxing, Zhuge Qiao's point of view is different: I admit that Ma Di is very talented, but Ma Di, he is not as cautious as your father! Soldiers are important matters of the country, the place of life and death, and the path to survival. They must be observed.

How can one discuss military strategy and command troops if one is not cautious in nature?

　Brothers, do you have monthly passes?
  　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)