SFS Chapter 541 Ma Su was kidnapped?
Chapter 541 Ma Su was kidnapped?
Guan Yu had previously looked down on Zhuge Liang and their relationship had never been good. However, after hearing that Zhuge Liang had dedicated his life to the Han Dynasty and even died at Wuzhang Plains, he began to respect Zhuge Liang.
Guan Yu admired loyal and righteous people the most in his life. Zhuge Liang's perseverance in times of crisis earned Guan Yu's respect, so he was eager to know the full contents of the "Memorial on Dispatching the Troops".
But this put Guan Xing in a difficult position. With a worried look on his face, he said, "How could I possibly remember that? If you want to beat me up, just say so."
Guan Yu shook his head and said, "I don't want to beat you up, I just want the 'Memorial on Dispatching the Troops'. If you write it for me, I won't bother you anymore. Otherwise, I'll come after you every day and see who can outlast whom."
Guan Xing said speechlessly, "Isn't there any other choice?"
Guan Yu stroked his beard and laughed, "Yes, let's go to the training ground and have a fight. If you beat me, we'll call it even."
Guan Xing: "..."
What a joke! Even if I were out of my mind, I wouldn't be stupid enough to challenge Guan Yu, the God of War, to a duel.
Is that supposed to be a one-on-one fight? That's clearly asking for a beating.
Guan Xing said dejectedly, "Fine, I'll write it!"
Guan Yu smiled with satisfaction: "That's more like it. I believe that you, a great talent who knows the history of various dynasties like the back of your hand, will definitely be able to remember it."
Frustrated by these words, Guan Xing wanted to bang his head against the wall. When had he ever put on a persona of a learned scholar?
Under Guan Yu's watchful gaze, Guan Xing stared intently at the blank paper, trying to recall all the contents of the "Memorial on Dispatching the Troops" lurking deep in his mind.
Meanwhile, after talking with Fei Yi, Zhuge Liang decided to send Fei Yi to Longxi to investigate the disappearance of Ma Su. Fei Yi dared not delay and set off after packing his things.
……
Dunhuang Prefecture.
Ma Chao, leading nearly ten thousand cavalrymen with his back to Yumen Pass, looked towards the Western Regions and roared excitedly, "Brothers, we are about to embark on a new journey, aren't you excited?"
He has been appointed Protector-General of the Western Regions by Liu Bei and is now preparing to march into the Western Regions with no intention of returning.
As a descendant of General Fubo and a former warlord of Liangzhou, Ma Chao was ambitious and wanted to make a name for himself in the chaotic world. However, he was defeated by Cao Cao at Tongguan and was so badly beaten that he didn't even recognize his own father.
After his defeat at Tongguan, he had no choice but to surrender to the big-eared bandit he had previously looked down upon. He originally wanted to use Liu Bei to seek revenge on Cao Cao, but Liu Bei treated him like a thief and never gave him a chance to take revenge.
The time he spent by Liu Bei's side was the most helpless and frustrating time of his life. He was a wild horse yearning for freedom and should have been galloping freely on the grassland, but Liu Bei locked him in a cage and wouldn't even let him out of the door. How could the mighty general like him bear this?
Ma Chao originally thought he would be under Liu Bei's watchful eye for the rest of his life and die depressed. However, when the Northern Expedition broke out, Liu Bei released him in order to win. Ma Chao was so happy that he almost jumped for joy. He originally thought he would have a good fight with the Wei army and avenge the defeat at Tong Pass. Who would have thought that the Wei army was so weak? Before he could even gather his troops, Liu Bei had already won the Northern Expedition.
The Northern Expedition went too smoothly, so Ma Chao's surprise attack was not needed. However, Ma Chao, who had already been freed from his cage, did not want to return to Liu Bei's side as a pet, so he had the idea of heading west.
He never intended to rebel against Liu Bei; he only wanted to escape.
Are you kidding me? He couldn't even beat Cao Cao, let alone Liu Bei?
He couldn't defeat Cao Cao, and Cao Cao couldn't defeat Liu Bei. Following this logic, how could he defeat Liu Bei?
Based on the principle of avoiding trouble if you can't afford to offend him, Ma Chao decided to flee west. Just then, Liu Bei's order to appoint him as the Protector-General of the Western Regions arrived. Wasn't this a perfect match?
Therefore, Ma Chao appeared outside Yumen Pass with nearly 10,000 soldiers recruited from the Qiang people, and set his sights on the Western Regions.
The Qiang soldiers behind them were already undisciplined, and they became even more excited when they heard that General Shenwei was going to lead them on a robbery, shouting, "Happy, happy..."
Only Ma Su hesitated and said, "General of the Cavalry, calm down. The road to the Western Regions is quite long. Why don't we reconsider?"
He was sent by Liu Bei to deliver orders to Ma Chao. He thought it was just a errand, and he would go back after finishing. However, Ma Chao, without any martial ethics, detained him, saying that the army was short of someone to manage money and supplies and wanted him to help manage logistics and be responsible for all work except fighting.
Ma Chao's men were mostly simple-minded, physically strong, and rough men; few of them were even literate, so they were naturally incapable of handling delicate tasks like managing logistics.
Just when Ma Chao was worrying about this matter, Ma Su arrived. This was a timely help for Ma Chao, and since Ma Chao had no intention of returning, he was not afraid of offending Liu Bei. So he extended a sincere invitation to Ma Su.
Ma Su was naturally extremely unwilling to do so. He didn't even want to be the governor of Yuexi, so why would he go to that remote corner of the Western Regions to suffer?
When Ma Su refused, Ma Chao simply and brutally put a knife to his neck and made him rewrite his words. What could Ma Su do?
The unfortunate Ma Su was thus coerced by Ma Chao to Yumen Pass. Being coerced is one thing, but you still ask me if I'm happy? How could I be happy?
So even now, Ma Su is still struggling to dissuade Ma Chao from attacking the Western Regions.
Ma Chao had learned a lot from Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang during this time, and knew that now was a time when he needed people, so he had to appease this logistics chief and get him to work for him. So he patted Ma Su on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Don't be so pessimistic. We're going to make a name for ourselves, not to die. What are you afraid of? Don't you want to be ennobled and return home in glory?"
"Back then, Marquis Dingyuan Ban Chao swept across the Western Regions with only thirty-six men. What makes me, Ma Chao, inferior to Ban Chao?"
Ma Su only wanted to win without lifting a finger and didn't want to risk his life for Ma Chao, but he couldn't defeat Ma Chao, so he could only sigh and say, "You decide."
Ma Chao finally smiled with satisfaction, brandished his spear, and roared, "Brothers, let's go!"
After saying this, he led a coalition of nearly 10,000 Qiang, Di, Jie and Xiongnu peoples to the Western Regions. On the way, he called his son Ma Cheng and whispered to him, "Keep an eye on Ma Su and don't let him escape. We still need him."
Any large army fighting on the frontier needs a logistics talent similar to Xiao He or Zhuge Liang. Ma Chao, who had served as a feudal lord, understood this very well, which is why he attached great importance to Ma Su.
Although Ma Su was not as good as Zhuge Liang and Xun Yu, he was still better than those Hu people who couldn't even write their own names, right?
With Ma Su in charge of the rear, I can focus on fighting on the front lines without any distractions.
Ma Cheng smiled wryly and said, "Keeping an eye on him is no problem, but Ma Su's heart isn't with us. Constantly watching him isn't a solution. You can only be a thief for a thousand days, not a thief for a thousand days."
Ma Chao nodded and said, "What you said makes sense. We really can't put our hopes on Ma Su alone. Otherwise, if he catches a headache or fever and suddenly kicks the bucket, wouldn't we be at a loss?"
"So you should become his apprentice, learn all his abilities, and when you are capable of taking on important responsibilities, we won't need him anymore."
Ma Cheng was stunned for a moment, then raised his hand and slapped himself. Wasn't that just being a smart aleck?
Ma Cheng dared not refute his father and could only agree before continuing to ask, "But Father, if we openly detain the King's messenger like this, how will we explain ourselves when the King asks us about it?"
Ma Chao said, "Explain my ass! I have no intention of coming back. Let's go to the thirty-six kingdoms in the Western Regions first, then gather the troops of the thirty-six kingdoms to fight Parthia. We'll settle down in Parthia from now on. Since I can't beat Cao Cao and Liu Bei and can't become the emperor of the Central Plains, I can become the emperor of Parthia, right?"
Ma Chao had also dreamed of becoming emperor. After all, he had served as the governor of Liangzhou and defeated Cao Cao to the point of cutting off his beard and abandoning his robe. He had practically touched the edge of the throne. Under such circumstances, how could he possibly bow down to become a subject?
Once ambition takes hold, it can never be suppressed. Having experienced ambition and the hardship of living under someone else's roof, Ma Chao no longer wanted to be subservient to others, but he also knew that he was no match for Cao Cao and Liu Bei, so he simply changed course.
More importantly, he had lived in Liangzhou for a long time and had come into contact with many merchants from the West. He knew far more about the Western Regions and Parthia than Liu Bei did. Now that he had finally broken free from Liu Bei's control, why wouldn't he run away?
Ma Cheng was taken aback by his father's ambition, saying, "But my sister is still in the King's hands."
Ma Chao had three sons and one daughter. His eldest and second sons died in the war, leaving only his third son, Ma Cheng, and his daughter, Lady Ma.
Ma Chao laughed and said, "There's even less to worry about then. I trust the King of Hanzhong's character. Besides, we've only run away, not rebelled. How could he possibly make things difficult for your sister? Entrusting your sister to Liu Bei is more reassuring than entrusting her to anyone else. Let's go, let's go..."