Zhuge Liang sat motionless in the hall, and spent an hour asking the generals about everything that the Eastern Army had done as it divided its troops and marched northward, no matter how big or small. First it was Zhao Yun and Wang Ping, then Wei Yan, Wu Ban, and Ju Fu. When it was finally Ma Su's turn, he could hardly bear it anymore. In front of everyone, he knelt down in front of Zhuge Liang and kowtowed repeatedly. "Dang, Dang, Dang." As Ma Su slammed his forehead to the ground, the expressions of the people around him became more and more tormented. Some people looked at Ma Su's weeping and trembling figure, while others cast their eyes on Zhuge Liang's bleak face. "Youchang." Zhuge Liang's voice was still calm: "Do you know where you are wrong?" Ma Su raised his head and looked at Prime Minister Zhuge who was sitting in the hall with tears in his eyes: "The Prime Minister appointed me as a military officer and gave me the authority and responsibility to supervise the Eastern Army of 30,000 men. Now the Eastern Army has lost 20,000 soldiers because of my poor command. I can only die to thank the world!" "Please punish me, Prime Minister!" To everyone's surprise, Zhuge Liang stared into Ma Su's eyes and said, "You are still wrong! The Eastern Army lost 20,000 soldiers, how could it be your fault alone?" Ma Su is definitely guilty, and he will definitely not get away. Zhuge Liang's words shocked all the generals present. Wei Yan and Wu Ban, who had suffered the most casualties, had already begun to sweat at the table.
At this time, Zhuge Liang had already sorted out the dynamics of the battlefield over the past ten days from the accounts of the generals, and he described them one by one as if he was there himself. "Your first mistake was to send Deng Zhi to lead 4,000 county soldiers to advance alone in order to gain a one-day advantage, cutting off the troops behind him for nearly a day's journey. As a result, General Yangwu Deng Zhi and his 4,000 soldiers all died under the city of Lueyang!" This matter had nothing to do with Wei Yan and Wu Ban. Although Zhao Yun and Wang Ping, who traveled with Ma Su, did not express their views, they actually agreed with what Zhuge Liang said. Ma Su's face was pale. He knelt on the ground, supporting himself with his hands, trying to keep himself from falling. He nodded slowly and stiffly. Zhuge Liang showed no mercy and continued in front of everyone in the hall: "Your second mistake was that the night of the 21st, when you heard Wei Yan's report that his camp was unstable and was under attack by the Wei army, you used my military strategy as an excuse and did not allow Wei Yan to move his camp at all!" Zhuge Liang slammed the table and said, "Ma Su! Since you knew that Wei Yan and Wu Ban were all relying on the defense of the camp, why didn't you allow Wei Yan to retreat when the camp was unstable and the Wei army was outnumbered?" As he spoke, Zhuge Liang's voice became louder and louder, and he even coughed heavily: "If Wei Yan and Wu Ban could join forces with Zhao Yun, how could the Wei army break through the 20,000 men in one day? They would definitely be able to hold out until Wu Yi's troops arrive!" "I..." Ma Su opened his mouth, but in the end no word came out. "Your third mistake..." Zhuge Liang's expression changed from being calm at the beginning, to frowning and looking angry, and now to being disappointed: "Victory and defeat are common in the military, and the key is to organize the army for survival! But why didn't you make any decisions when you were in danger yesterday morning and noon?" Zhuge Liang stood up and walked to Ma Su, looking down at him with a sad look in his eyes: "Where have your usual military strategy, courage, and acumen gone? Do you still need Zhao Yun, who is over 60 years old, to help you finish the battle?!" "What did you say to me in the past? And what did you do in Lueyang?!" Ma Su knew that there was no point in begging for mercy, so he knelt down and kowtowed again. The generals in the hall heard Zhuge Liang's heart-piercing words and saw Ma Su's cowardly look, and they felt a little sad. Zhuge Liang sighed heavily, raised his head to the sky, and shouted loudly: "Where are my subordinates?" The ten soldiers standing in the corner of the hall said nothing, walked from the left and right to the center, and bowed to Zhuge Liang together. "Captain Ma Su..." Zhuge Liang looked down at Ma Su for the last time, and then said, "Imprison Ma Su and deal with him after we return to the army and report to Your Majesty!" "Yes!" The two armored soldiers took the order and stepped forward, one on the left and one on the right, and lifted up the not-so-tall Ma Su and dragged him out of the hall. From the time he was on the ground to the time he was dragged out of the hall, Ma Su never uttered a word. And everyone in the hall just glanced at Ma Su briefly, then turned their eyes away, as if they were afraid of offending the prime minister.
Zhuge Liang turned back to the table. When the man sat down, the grief in his eyes had turned into fierceness. He said in a sonorous voice: "The 30,000 soldiers of the Eastern Route went north through Shanggui. Almost all of their food, fodder, weapons and baggage were lost. Only 10,000 defeated soldiers returned!" "There are also 5,000 infantrymen led by Zhang Yi from Xianqin to the north... I have already sent someone to report the news this morning. Now we can only hope that he does not run into the Wei army camp." Zhuge Liang continued, "Deng Zhi's 4,000 men were killed by Zhang He." "Wei Yan's army had 8,000 men, including 5,000 infantry led by Ma Dai, who were surrounded by Wei cavalry and either died or surrendered. Ma Dai himself was nowhere to be found. 1,000 men did not participate in the battle, and most of the remaining men did not escape back to the plateau. Wei Yan didn't know what to say, so he just lowered his head subconsciously. Zhuge Liang continued without stopping, "All of Wu Ban's 3,000 men were killed by the pursuit of Wei's cavalry." "Ju Fu charged once, but withdrew after suffering more than half of his casualties." Wu Ban and Ju Fu both looked ashamed. Zhuge Liang looked at Wang Ping and Zhao Yun and said, "Wang Ping has done his best to defend the camp, and Zhao Yun has done his best to prevent the remaining troops from being completely wiped out." When Wei Yan heard Zhuge Liang's words, he felt sad for a moment and thought that the prime minister wanted to punish both him and Wu Ban. Unexpectedly, after Zhuge Liang glanced at everyone in the hall, he said in a firm tone: "Although the battle was not going well this time, Wei Yan and Wu Ban held fast to the camp, Ju Fu dared to fight in the face of the enemy, and Zhao Yun and Wang Ping saved the rest of their troops. In my opinion, they were all right!" "Why did the Prime Minister say that?" Wei Yan couldn't hide his surprise and asked. Zhuge Liang looked at Wei Yan and said, "You and Wu Ban have 11,000 men, facing at least 30,000 Wei troops. Under such a desperate attack, you were able to preserve the three-li camp for a day and a half. You did not make any mistakes in the battle!" "Same thing with Wu Ban!" "Zhao Yun remained calm in the face of danger, showing the integrity of a great general!" "Wang Ping acted steadily and saved the majority!" "Ju Fu led a thousand cavalrymen to charge at the three thousand Wei cavalrymen. He was truly resolute and resolute!" "Wu Yi hurried north to meet up with the friendly forces!" As Zhuge Liang called out the names of the generals in the hall one by one, he only praised their merits and ignored their crimes, which was beyond everyone's expectation. When Wei Yan was surprised, he suddenly realized something and quickly stood up and bowed: "Prime Minister, this cannot be done!" Everyone around him was a general, and each of them was a smart man. At this moment, they all guessed what Zhuge Liang was going to say next, and they all stood up and saluted to dissuade him. Zhuge Liang waved his hand: "I know what you mean! No need to say more!" "I am the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty and the commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition. I sent the Eastern Army to fight for Lueyang and plan to cut off Long, but I didn't expect the Wei Army's Central Army to come to my rescue so quickly." "The Eastern Army lost 20,000 soldiers, and it was all my fault!" "After this battle, I will submit a petition to His Majesty to remove me from the position of Prime Minister!" "Prime Minister." Wei Yan shouted anxiously. "Prime Minister!" Zhao Yun turned his face away and bowed, unwilling to look at Zhuge Liang's face. "Prime Minister..." The generals in the hall wanted to persuade him.
Zhuge Liang lowered his head slightly, but for a few moments, when he raised his head again, his expression became even more determined: "The defeat of the Eastern Army is all my fault. It was my decision to employ Ma Su alone. You don't need to say anything more!" Zhuge Liang glanced at the generals in the hall and said through gritted teeth, "This battle is not over yet!" "To annihilate the Wei thieves and restore the Han Dynasty, how can I do it alone? You are all important generals of the Han army. You must work together with me to accomplish this feat!" "Don't lose heart! If you lose, come back and win again!" All the generals in the hall responded loudly and saluted Zhuge Liang together. …… Lieliu City is also 80 li away from Shanggui. The capital of Longxi County, Xiangwu, is still a long way from Shanggui City, through most of Tianshui County and the entire Nan'an County. Lu Xun and Xiahou Ba, two generals, a captain to protect the Qiang and a governor of Liangzhou, led 2,500 soldiers from Wuwei County and 30,000 Qiang soldiers and set out from Yuzhong in Jincheng County on the 15th. The number of Qiang soldiers increased, and even though they were all Qiang cavalry, the marching speed inevitably became slower and slower. The journey of 400 miles took a full eight days. On the 22nd, which was yesterday evening, we arrived outside Xiangwu City. Xiangwu is located in the upper reaches of the Wei River, and is on the banks of the Wei River together with Ji County and Shanggui City. But at this moment in Xiangwu City, the military situation was in a strange stalemate. Xiangwu City was originally guarded by Longxi Governor You Chu with a thousand county soldiers. After Hao Zhao arrived from Yuzhong with two thousand infantrymen, the number of troops guarding the city reached three thousand. This is a number that is difficult to break in a short period of time. Outside Xiangwu City, 5,000 infantrymen of Yuan Chen's Shu army set up camp in the south of the city. They were then led here by Gao Xiang. The 10,000 Qiang cavalry from the Fuhanming Qiang Tangyi tribe had their camps scattered and in a mess, surrounding the north of Xiangwu City. The place where Tang Yi stationed his troops could only be called a camp, and it was definitely not qualified to be called a stronghold. Further north of Tang Ji, Lu Xun and Xiahou Ba, who arrived yesterday afternoon, led 30,000 Qiang cavalry and 2,500 county soldiers, sandwiching Tang Ji in the middle. On the afternoon of the 23rd, Lu Xun came to Xiahou Ba's tent in high spirits and said, "Zhong Quan, come with me to see someone!" Xiahou Ba frowned and asked, "Isn't Xiangwu City surrounded? Who can I meet here?" Lu Xun said with a smile: "Have you heard of Fu Han, whose name is Qiang Tang Ji? I have persuaded this man to come to our camp in the evening to have a feast with the Qiang tyrants in the north!" "Really?" Xiahou Ba's eyes almost popped out. "Of course I've heard of Tang Yi! Didn't he join the Shu army in attacking our Wei? How do you think we persuaded him to surrender?" "Who said Tang Ji surrendered?" Lu Xun said with a smile, "He said he was coming for a banquet, so he is coming for a banquet! Zhong Quan, don't think too much, just come with me in the evening!" Xiahou Ba nodded with a strange expression. (End of this chapter)
