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Ma Su, courtesy name Youchang, was a native of Yicheng, Xiangyang (now Yicheng City, Hubei Province). He was the younger brother of Shizhong Ma Liang and a general of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period.

When Ma Su followed Liu Bei into Shu, he served as an official in Jingzhou. Later, he served as the magistrate of Mianzhu County, the magistrate of Chengdu County, and the prefect of Yuejun County.

Because of his extraordinary talent and magnanimity and his love for discussing military strategies, he was highly regarded by Zhuge Liang and was appointed as a military officer.

In the campaign of Zhuge Liang to conquer Nanzhong (today's Yunnan, Guizhou, and southwestern Sichuan), he adopted Ma Su's strategy of "attacking the heart first and attacking the city second", and successfully subdued the leader of Nanzhong, Meng Huo. From then on, Nanzhong submitted to Shu Han.

In the sixth year of Jianxing (228 AD) of the Shu Han Dynasty, Zhuge Liang led his troops out of Qishan and appointed Ma Su as the vanguard to fight with the generals of the Wei State at Jieting.

Ma Su was defeated and lost Jieting, and was executed by Zhuge Liang at the age of 39.

Many people of his time and later generations believed that Ma Su's talent was exaggerated and that he was not worthy of being entrusted with important tasks.

The five brothers of Ma Su were all talented and were called "the five Ma brothers". Ma Su was originally a clerk in Jingzhou and followed Liu Bei into Shu.

He served successively as the magistrate of Mianzhu County, the magistrate of Chengdu County, and the governor of Yuejun County. Ma Su had extraordinary talents and magnanimity, and showed outstanding talents in military affairs, and was highly regarded by Zhuge Liang.
He even ignored Liu Bei's suggestion that Ma Su was "not worthy of being used" and appointed him as his military advisor, often talking with him from morning to night.

In the third year of Jianxing (225 AD), the leader of Nanzhong, Meng Huo, rebelled and Zhuge Liang led his army to suppress the rebellion. Ma Su accompanied him for dozens of miles.

Zhuge Liang asked Ma Su for advice, and Ma Su analyzed the situation at the time. Meng Huo rebelled repeatedly because of the dangerous terrain and long journey in Nanzhong.

Killing all the rebels is neither a good policy nor feasible in the short term. Therefore, the strategy of "attacking the heart first and the city second" should be adopted.

Zhuge Liang adopted Ma Su's suggestion.

Nanzhong was quickly pacified, and there was no more rebellion in Nanzhong during Zhuge Liang's lifetime.

In the sixth year of Jianxing (228 AD), Zhuge Liang launched a northern expedition against Cao Wei. He first sent General Zhendong Zhao Yun and General Yangwu Deng Zhi as decoys to guard Jigu Valley and attract Cao Wei's troops.

He personally led the army to attack Qishan. At first, the Shu Han army advanced smoothly, and the counties of Tianshui (now Tianshui City, Gansu Province), Nan'an (in the Wei River Basin in Longxi, Gansu Province), and Anding (now Zhenyuan County, Qingyang City, Gansu Province) all surrendered.

When the troops marched out of Qishan, Zhuge Liang did not use Wei Yan, Wu Yi and other old generals as vanguards, but appointed Ma Su as vanguard, stationed at Jieting to fight against Wei general Zhang He.

Ma Su did not follow Zhuge Liang's command and did not defend the city at the foot of the mountain. Instead, he abandoned the water source and stationed his troops on the mountain.

At that time, General Wang Ping repeatedly advised Ma Su, but Ma Su refused to listen. When Zhang He cut off the water supply and the army was defeated,

Wang Ping led another thousand men to beat drums to guard the camp, making Zhang He think there were ambushes and afraid to move forward. Although Jieting was eventually lost, the remaining troops were able to retreat safely.

Due to the loss of Jieting, the Shu army lost its base for advancement and had to withdraw back to Hanzhong, thus failing in the Northern Expedition.

Ma Su was arrested and imprisoned for this, and died at the age of 39. Before his execution, Ma Su entrusted his family to Zhuge Liang; after his death, Ma Su's family was always treated with kindness.

Ma Su was a man of extraordinary talent and good at discussing military strategies. After he became a minister of Shu Han, he was highly appreciated by Prime Minister Zhuge Liang. Jiang Wan, one of the "Four Heroes" of Shu Han, praised him as a "man of wisdom and strategy."

During the Shu Han's southern expedition, Zhuge Liang formulated a policy of pacifying the people for Liu Bei. The military officer Ma Su once proposed: "The way to employ troops is to attack the heart first and the city second. Psychological warfare is first and military warfare is second. All you need to do is to win over the heart." This opinion was adopted by Zhuge Liang.

In 190 AD, Ma Su was born in Xiangyang, Jingzhou (now Hubei Province). He had five brothers: the fourth brother Ma Liang, the fifth brother Ma Su,

There are three others who are not recorded in history books. They were all very talented and were called the Five Changs of the Ma Family locally. They must have been from a wealthy family.

In 209 AD, Liu Qi died of illness and Liu Bei officially became the governor of Jingzhou. He summoned Ma Su's elder brother Ma Liang to serve as an official in Jingzhou.

At this time, Ma Su was 19 years old, a handsome young man. In ancient times, people could become officials and work at the age of 20. It seems that Ma Su must have followed his fourth brother to meet Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang.

In 211 AD, Liu Bei led a large group of people into Sichuan, nominally to help Liu Zhang fight against Zhang Lu, but in fact he was plotting to seize Yizhou.

The 21-year-old Ma Su followed Liu Bei's army into Sichuan as an official in Jingzhou. Ma Liang stayed in Jingzhou, and the two brothers separated.

In 214 AD, after Liu Zhang surrendered, Liu Bei pacified West Sichuan. The 24-year-old Ma Su successively served as the magistrate of Mianzhu County, the magistrate of Chengdu County and the prefect of Yuexi County. By the way, Liu Bei had been observing Ma Su's abilities for a long time.

In 221 AD, Liu Bei proclaimed himself emperor and established Shu Han. He appointed Ma Su's elder brother Ma Liang as his attendant, who was always by Liu Bei's side. He must have discussed Ma Su in private.
Liu Bei took Ma Liang with him to attack Wu, but not Ma Su. At this time, the 31-year-old Ma Su should have been chatting with Zhuge Liang in Yizhou and won Zhuge Liang's favor.

In 223 AD, before his death, Liu Bei specifically told Zhuge Liang: Ma Su is an exaggerator and cannot be used for important tasks.

A dying man's words are good, but Zhuge Liang did not listen. After he set up a government office to handle affairs, he appointed Ma Su as prime minister and military advisor. He talked with Ma Su about world affairs all night long every day, which was very annoying.

In 225 AD, the 44-year-old Zhuge Liang personally led his troops to the south to suppress the rebellion of Yong Kai and Meng Huo. The 35-year-old Ma Su accompanied him for dozens of miles and was reluctant to leave.
The two held hands, and Zhuge Liang said to Ma Su: We endured the nights in those years, and we discussed the Northern and Southern Expeditions in those years. Before I leave, do you have any ideas about the Southern Expedition?

Ma Su replied: Attacking the heart is better than attacking the city. Psychological warfare is better than hand-to-hand combat. Prime Minister, you can do it!

In 228 AD, Zhuge Liang launched his first northern expedition, shocking the court and the people of Cao Wei. No one expected that Zhuge Liang would dare to fight against a rock with an egg.

At that time, the three counties of Nangan, Tianshui and Anding did not resist and attached themselves to Zhuge Liang. The first Northern Expedition was also the one with the greatest possibility of success. The 38-year-old Ma Su accompanied Zhuge Liang on the expedition.

When choosing who to defend the fortress of Jieting, Zhuge Liang went against the majority opinion and did not use the veteran generals Wei Yan and Wu Yi but used Ma Su instead.

As a result, Ma Su violated Zhuge Liang's dispatch in the actual military operation, and he was clever enough to set up camp on the mountain without authorization, and he did not listen to Wang Ping's advice. As a result, he was defeated by Zhang He, one of the five best generals of Cao Wei. After the loss of Jieting, the army's advance was blocked, and Zhuge Liang was forced to retreat.

In the same year, Zhuge Liang shed tears and executed the 38-year-old Ma Su in front of Shu troops in Hanzhong to enforce military discipline, and no one's advice was of any use.

The story of executing Ma Su with tears is one of the most well-known stories from the Three Kingdoms and is often used to describe strict law enforcement.

If someone has committed a serious crime, even if he has certain talents and is a trusted general of the leader, the law is not partial to the rich, and we cannot let him off the hook for various reasons.
Even if the decision makers feel extremely sorry, even to the point of crying, the criminals must be brought to justice.

The answer is yes. Historical records show that when Ma Su was executed, Zhuge Liang "shed tears". And not only the prime minister cried, but the 100,000-strong army of Shu Han also wept. The scene was quite spectacular.

Later, Jiang Wan came to Hanzhong and said to Zhuge Liang: "When Chu killed me, Duke Wen was very happy. It is a pity to kill a wise man when the world is not yet settled!"

The revolution has not yet succeeded, and comrades still need to work hard. At this time when we need people, isn't it a pity to get rid of a talent like Ma Su?

What Jiang Wan said is not without reason. The world is divided into three parts, Yizhou is exhausted, and we should cherish the existing talent resources. Then why did Zhuge Liang have to put Ma Su to death?
For thousands of years, the government and the people have been discussing this issue, but no consensus has been reached. The main opinions are as follows:

During the loss of Jieting, Ma Su committed at least three major crimes.

Firstly, he failed to complete the task assigned by Zhuge Liang to keep Jieting in the hands of the Han army. Instead, he was "defeated by (Zhang) He" and suffered a serious defeat, which resulted in the Han army having no foothold and the first Northern Expedition ended in failure.

Secondly, Ma Su violated Zhuge Liang's military deployment and ran to the mountains to set up camp. As a result, the Wei army cut off the water supply, and the army's morale was shaken. The deputy general Wang Ping tried to persuade him, but to no avail.

To his superiors, Ma Su arbitrarily changed the commander-in-chief's deployment, and to his subordinates, he did not listen to their correct opinions, and he must be held responsible for the failure.

If he had camped on the road and resisted for a while, but was defeated due to being outnumbered, his responsibility would be less. However, he violated the Prime Minister's order.

They were defeated after a short period of time and failed to stop the Wei army, which bought time for Zhuge Liang to successfully annex Nangan and three other counties.

Third, he fled for fear of punishment. Seeing that the Wei army was victorious and the Han army was defeated, Ma Su was afraid of military trial and actually abandoned his troops and fled without permission, hoping to avoid death, but he was eventually captured.

Xiang Lang was Ma Su's good friend. When he learned that Ma Su had fled, he deliberately concealed the news and wanted to help him get away with it. Eventually, Zhuge Liang found out.
The prime minister dismissed Xiang Lang with a stroke of his pen and ordered him to return to Chengdu. On the other hand, after Ma Su's disastrous defeat, the deputy general Wang Ping not only led only a thousand men to gather the defeated soldiers,

He also cleverly used the strategy of confusing the enemy to paralyze Zhang He, and finally escaped unscathed. The actual combat level of the main general and the deputy general was clearly distinguished.

In view of the serious mistakes made by Comrade Ma Su, Zhuge Liang had to take drastic measures to kill him and maintain the rigidity and authority of military law. Otherwise, who would strictly enforce military orders in the future?
Everyone can do whatever they want, and it doesn't matter if they lose the battle, because the system is just for show. He said: "The reason why Sun Wu was able to win the world is because he used the law clearly." "The world is divided, and the war has just begun. If we abolish the law, what's the point of fighting the enemy!"

If Ma Su was left behind, the management order would completely collapse, the army would become a loose sand, and restoring the Han Dynasty would become an unattainable dream.

Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition achieved brilliant results in the initial stage. The three counties of Nangan, Tianshui and Anding all betrayed Wei and responded to the Han army, which shocked Guanzhong.

The Luoyang authorities originally thought that after the Battle of Yiling, the devastated Shu Han had lost its ambition to compete for the Central Plains, so they relaxed their vigilance against Yongliang. When Cao Pi was in power, he also made the destruction of Eastern Wu his primary goal.

But the name of Shu Han was "Han" after all, not "Shu", and the original intention of establishing the regime was not to be isolated in a corner, but to emulate Emperor Guangwu and revive the country again. As the saying goes, Han and thieves cannot coexist, and the king's cause cannot be isolated in a corner.

In a hurry, Cao Rui personally went to Chang'an to supervise the battle and stabilize the anxious people's hearts.

Jieting was an important location, and its safety was related to the success or failure of the entire Northern Expedition. At that time, the army believed that Wu Yi and Wei Yan were the most suitable candidates.
They were veterans of the battlefield and had made great military achievements. One was a royal relative and the other was a general trusted by the late emperor. Unexpectedly, the person Zhuge Liang finally arranged was Ma Su, which surprised the entire army.

But if you think about it carefully, Zhuge Liang did choose Ma Su for a reason. The two of them had a close personal relationship. Ma Su was very talented and liked to talk about military affairs.

Zhuge Liang was "deeply impressed" by him, and the two got along very well, often talking from day till night. Before his death, Ma Su wrote a letter to Zhuge Liang:
It is said that "Ming Gong regards Su as his son, and Su regards Ming Gong as his father." Ma Su was only about nine years younger than Zhuge Liang, but he regarded the prime minister as his godfather.

Zhuge Liang also treated Ma Su as his godson. Their relationship was so good that other officials also noticed it.

Ma Su proposed the strategic policy of "attacking the city is inferior to attacking the heart", which confirmed Zhuge Liang's previous view that Ma Su was indeed a rare talent.

When the critical moment came, he was highly confident in Ma Su's military ability and believed that he was fully capable of taking on the responsibility of defending Jieting.
Assuming that Ma Su really achieved military merit as Zhuge Liang hoped, it would be of great benefit to his personal future.

Unfortunately, General Ma failed to live up to Zhuge Liang's high hopes with his strength, making the Prime Minister the target of public criticism.

The experienced, capable and meritorious veterans were abandoned and newcomers who were only good at talking and lacked experience were chosen, and the good situation was ruined.

Looking back to the past, when Liu Bei entrusted his son to Zhuge Liang in Baidi City, he said to Zhuge Liang earnestly: "Ma Su is overstating the matter and cannot be used for important tasks. You should pay attention to this."
In this battle of Jieting, the prime minister obviously violated the will of the previous emperor. Such an extraordinary appointment and his wisdom in judging people made the soldiers of the three armies angry and questioned Zhuge Liang's vision and ability.

From an outsider's perspective, it is easy to think that Zhuge Liang wanted to give his godson a chance to gild his reputation because he had a good relationship with Ma Su.
In order to facilitate future promotion, he abandoned good generals such as Wu Yi and Wei Yan, and turned a deaf ear to Emperor Zhaolie's dying reminder. His motives were all selfish.

In order to calm the public anger and restore his shaky image, Zhuge Liang had to reluctantly give up and execute Ma Su. He also took responsibility.
He submitted a memorial to Liu Chan, demoting himself three levels and exercising the powers of prime minister as the right general. He did not resume his position as prime minister until he killed Wang Shuang and Zhang He and captured Wudu and Yinping.

As for how Zhuge Liang would deal with Ma Su, not only the generals in the army were highly concerned, but also those within the Shu Han regime who were not on the same page with Zhuge Liang took it very seriously.

Especially Li Yan, who was also a minister entrusted with the care of the young emperor. Since the death of Emperor Zhaolie, the court of Shu Han was "controlled by the Ge family, and sacrifices were conducted by me". Zhuge Liang monopolized power and became the most powerful politician.

As his deputy, Li Yan could only guard the border, far away from Chengdu. Later, he asked to separate five counties and serve as the governor of Bazhou, but was clearly rejected by Zhuge Liang.

The local forces in Yizhou were also dissatisfied with Zhuge Liang. The real power was in the hands of people from Jingzhou. They paid taxes but had no right to participate in politics. (End of this chapter)