Ma Su quickly walked into the General's Mansion, his steps were brisk and his expression was happy...
Li Feng came out from inside and smiled affectionately from afar: "Brother Youchang, you are here. The general is waiting for you. What a good plan. If you hadn't reminded me, the general would have almost escaped."
Fell into a trap."
Although Ma Di tried his best to maintain restraint, he was still a little uncomfortable with Li Feng's title. Li Feng called him brother, didn't it mean that he was a generation lower than Li Yan? He could accept Wei Ba calling him brother.
But it doesn't mean that he can accept Li Feng calling him that.
Can Li Feng be compared with Wei Ba? They are not in the same realm at all. They are thousands of miles apart.
Ma Di forced a smile and followed Li Feng into the atrium. Li Yan was sitting in the lobby, with a group of flatterers sitting next to him. These people had kept a distance from Li Yan not long ago, but now seeing Zhuge Liang's defeat in Luoyang, Li Yan's victory has been determined, and they
Came here to flatter Li Yan again.
"You Chang is here." Li Yan was in a good mood and greeted him enthusiastically: "You Chang, come and sit here. You are a meritorious official and you should be honored."
Everyone looked at each other and said beautiful words in a flurry of words.
"The general is really wise and recognizes talents. That's why he has a talent like Da Sinong to help him."
"Yes, yes, of the five permanent members of the Ma family, the white eyebrows are the best. I think the young permanent members are the best now. The restoration of the Ma family's family tradition is all down to Da Si Nong."
"The general is wise and powerful, and with the help of talented people like Da Sinong, it is expected that he will revive the Han Dynasty and pacify the Central Plains."
Ma Su did not answer their words, sat down next to Li Yan, and pretended to cough twice. Li Yan saw this, sighed softly, cupped his hands and said: "Everyone, the Prime Minister suffered a setback during his military expedition. This is a misfortune for the country.
At this time of national crisis, we still have to put aside our personal prejudices and work together to serve the country. The battle of Luoyang was a failure, with over 10,000 soldiers killed. The pensions of the soldiers, the replenishment of troops, and the allocation of food and grass all require your hard work.
, I also hope that you will take state affairs as your top priority and work hard. I would like to thank you all here."
"Well, this is the responsibility of the prime minister, not the general."
"If a general went out on an expedition, how could such a thing happen? He would use military force and waste money and people."
"No, the prime minister is talented in governing the country. As for marching and fighting, it depends on the general."
"..."
Everyone said their goodbyes while saying goodbye. Not long after, only Li Yan and Ma Di were left in the lobby. Li Yan then smiled and said with relief: "You Chang, thanks to you this time. If it weren't for you
Reminder, I almost fell into the Prime Minister’s scheme and became that stupid tiger.”
Ma Su smiled: "General, a tiger is a tiger after all, and a fox is a fox. Even if the fox can succeed for a while, how can it deceive the tiger for a long time? General, the battle of Luoyang is over, and the prime minister's reputation has been ruined.
The general of Peking University can make some gains in Bingzhou, but I'm afraid it won't help. How to clean up this mess depends on the general's methods."
Li Yan stroked his beard and pondered for a moment: "Then what clever ideas can you teach me?"
Ma Su smiled and said: "I am too stupid to have any good ideas, and I dare not show my shame in front of the general. However, since the general has inquired about it, I am not lying and am willing to make some plans for the general."
Li Yan smiled slightly. He invited Ma Di just to listen to Ma Di's advice. Ma Di saw through Zhuge Liang's plan this time and stopped him from sending Meng Da to support, which proved that he knew Zhuge Liang well enough and used him to deal with Fang Geliang.
, couldn’t be more appropriate.
Zhuge Liang's decision to kill him was a very wrong decision. It can be seen that Wei Ba would rather give up his military exploits to save Ma Su's life, which was a very far-sighted choice. Ma Su's separation became the
Zhuge Liang's biggest flaw.
Thinking of this, Li Yan was both relieved and a little worried. His political opponents were not only Zhuge Liang in Guanzhong, but also Wei Ba, who was hiding in Jiaozhou and making a fortune. Although Wei Ba's qualifications were not as good as Zhuge Liang's, his means and strength were both
Not bad, but more importantly, he does whatever it takes to achieve his goals, unlike Zhuge Liang who is as cautious as he is.
How could such an opponent take it lightly? From the moment he learned that Zhuge Liang had withdrawn from Luoyang, Li Yan turned his attention to Jiaozhou. He invited Ma Su to discuss it. On the one hand, he wanted to see what good suggestions Ma Su had. On the other hand, he also
I wanted to test Ma Su's attitude. Ma Su's internal and external communication with Wei Ba could not be hidden from his eyes.
"General, the Prime Minister does not have a full plan for sending troops this time. If he wants to succeed, he needs to borrow the power of three parties. Wu State, Jiaozhou, and Nanyang. The General is wise and arbitrary, and it is rare for the Prime Minister's plan to borrow power to fail. However,
General, don’t forget that the Prime Minister was able to attack Luoyang for more than half a month, and the help of Jiaozhou played a big role. Wei Ba stayed out of the battle, but he accumulated a lot of money through this war. With this money, Wei Ba became more powerful.
Strong, and these are all prepared for the general. Isn’t the general ready to use them?"
"Prepared for me?" Li Yan pondered Ma Su's intention.
"Exactly. Although the prime minister was defeated, his vitality was not damaged. If he rested in Guanzhong for several years, how could he settle for mediocrity? At this time, he would definitely leave Hangu again, capture Bingzhou in the north, and capture Luoyang in the east. Is the general planning to still sit down?
Stay in Chengdu and wait and see?”
Li Yan raised his eyebrows, thoughtfully. As long as Zhuge Liang is alive, he will not give up his plan to attack Luoyang. This man is also a very smart man. This failure was just because he was too hasty. If he was given three to five years,
Accumulate strength, knowing that the next time you send out troops, you will not achieve a complete victory.
Three to five years later, Wei Ba's strength will be stronger, and he will definitely be able to help Zhuge Liang more, and maybe he will go into battle himself.
Instead of leaving these powers to Zhuge Liang, why not use them yourself and take advantage of Zhuge Liang's inability to send troops? By pulling Wei Ba to send troops together, on the one hand, you can draw closer to Wei Ba and stimulate Zhuge Liang, and on the other hand, you can use it
Wei Ba's strength is used to accumulate military exploits and consolidate his own foundation.
The best of both worlds.
Li Yan was moved. However, he did not immediately agree to Ma Su. He only said in a very official way: "This is a serious matter, and I have to think about it. Furthermore, I once wrote to Your Majesty to rest with the people for three to five years, and it has just passed now.
If we have to go out on an expedition in just one year, wouldn't it be a waste of time to break our promise?"
Ma Su smiled and said: "It is good for the general to think about the people. But the general must also know that at this time and that time, the opportunity cannot be missed, or the time will never come again."
Li Yan smiled and said nothing to Ma Su. Ma Su did not rush him and took the initiative to change the subject. After talking about some politics, Ma Su left.
After returning home, Ma Di wrote a letter to Wei Ba.
…
"The Prime Minister has been defeated?" Wei Ba looked at Fei Yi with a mischievous expression, his eyes widened as if he had heard something incredible. Fei Yi felt warm in his heart and thought that Wei Ba still supported the Prime Minister. I hope
The prime minister could win. But Wei Ba's next words immediately shocked Fei Yi.
"Then what will he use to pay for my goods?"
Fei Yi was stunned and speechless. After a long while, he said: "You... are asking for a debt from the Prime Minister?"
"Of course." Wei Ba said confidently: "It was agreed at the beginning that the Prime Minister would use the loot to pay for the goods, so I lent it to him. Now that he has not been able to capture Luoyang, the loot before may not even be enough to pay the pensions of the soldiers.
, What should I use to pay for my goods? The writing is well written in black and white. If it takes a long time, the interest will be considerable. I'm afraid that his salary will not be enough to pay the interest."
"Prime Minister, this is an expedition for the country, not a private matter?"
"Is there an edict from His Majesty, or an order from the general?"
Fei Yi was really annoyed. "According to what you said, when you attacked Jiaozhou, there was no edict from His Majesty, let alone an order from the Prime Minister's Office."
"Yes, so I didn't ask them for any money." Wei Ba said calmly: "The funds I raised myself were all repaid later, so I don't owe anyone any money."
Fei Yi was speechless. He looked like a big Han general Zhennan. He was a businessman who was very willing to spend every penny he spent.
"Fei Jun, please reply to the Prime Minister as soon as possible and ask him to pay back the money as soon as possible. It will be ugly when I come to collect debts." Wei Ba smacked his lips and said regretfully: "If I had known this, I might as well have used those fire bombs and
The grain is sold to Lu Xun, the price is still high, and the money is obtained in time."
"You'd rather sell it to Wei, right?" Fei Yi couldn't help but stab Wei Ba. "It's said that it's easier for them to give you money."
"That's not possible." Wei Ba spoke sternly, with an awe-inspiring look on his face. "Wei is an enemy, how can I sell it to them."
"As far as I know, the Wei army also has a lot of fire bombs. Could it be that they made them themselves?"
"I once sold some to the State of Wei." Wei Ba laughed: "However, that was before I learned that the war started and after the news of the Prime Minister's dispatch of troops arrived in Jiaozhou, I never sold a single fire bomb to the State of Wei.
.Fei Jun, if you don’t believe it, I can show you the account book.”
Fei Yi was speechless again. He knew that Wei Ba had already made preparations and blocked all possible gaps. Legally speaking, he had no responsibility. Everyone knew what he had done. The question is whether you can take it or not.
When you provide strong evidence, you know that he has done evil things, but there is nothing you can do against him.
Unless you want to force it. But to force it, you have to have an overwhelming advantage, otherwise it will be like poking a hornet's nest.
Why did the Prime Minister inexplicably agree to Wei Ba at the beginning? This debt is not small. Five hundred thousand stone rice is a small thing, which is about a thousand gold. After the Guanzhong Autumn harvest, it is easy to repay the rice. But a million fire bombs are a big deal.
The amount, even if Wei Ba asks for a cheaper price, is still a huge sum of thirty to forty thousand gold.
Where did the Prime Minister get so much money?
Fei Yi's head hurt a little.
Wei Ba refused to give up, and continued: "Please tell the Prime Minister, don't use war horses to prevaricate me. I can't use so many horses for the time being, so there is no need to be the scapegoat again. I want cash, but I really need horses.
If you want to pay the debt, the price must be fair and you can’t cheat me again. If you don’t want me to take advantage, you can’t let me suffer a loss.”