The Jagged Cavalry of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 813 Ma Chao under house arrest in 812

Yizhou, Chengdu.

In the State Shepherd's Mansion, Pang Tong was at his desk dealing with recent official documents, which were sent by new county magistrates from various places, and many of them mentioned obstacles encountered in governance.

Yizhou is initially settled, and the situation is not very stable. After all, Liu Yan, Liu Zhang and his son have deep roots in Yizhou, and it is absolutely impossible to clean it up in a short time.

In the past year, Yizhou experienced great ups and downs, and experienced two turmoils in succession. First, Zhang Fei disrupted Shu, and then Pang Tong and others put it down. The wars brought great panic to the people of Yizhou, so that the society was not stable. However, some criminals also took the opportunity to get a piece of the pie, robbing houses and robbers everywhere.

Fortunately, the wars took place in the dangerous places of Yizhou. Although the people panicked at those important passes, they were not displaced. However, the appearance of thieves brought great disaster to the people. Thieves don't pay any attention to morality, they kill people and rob things they see, which brings great harm to the whole society.

And some local tyrants also took the opportunity to become violent and united with the thieves, rampantly.

For this reason, the first thing Pang Tong did when he took over Yizhou was to send troops to attack the thieves.After more than two months of encirclement and suppression, the number of thieves in Yizhou has decreased a lot, but the remaining forces have gathered together and started to fight against the government, go deep into the barren mountains and wild mountains, and fight guerrilla warfare with the government. The big forces are running around in Berkshire and Hanzhong, occupying Daba Mountain, and dealing with the government.

Daba Mountain is located at the junction of Berkshire and Hanzhong, and also happens to be at the junction of Jingzhou, Yizhou, and Yongzhou. It is a three-way zone, where thieves flock here. If they are pushed too fast, Pang Tong is afraid that the dog will jump over the wall in a hurry. , the danger of fleeing into Jingzhou and Yongzhou, if that time really comes, it may become the hidden danger of the three states.

But if you ignore it, I'm afraid that the nearby people will suffer from it again, which really makes Pang Tong very embarrassed.

Pang Tong glanced at the official document sent yesterday, and the person he sent to block Daba Mountain replied. Because Daba Mountain is too large, it is impossible to block all the roads entering and exiting the mountain.Moreover, Daba Mountain, Micang Mountain, Shennong Mountain, Wudang Mountain, and Jingshan Mountain form a line together to form the Daba Mountain Range. This mountain range is northwest and southeast, bordering the Han River in the north, near the Yangtze River, Dongjie Han River and Dahong Mountain in the south. Facing each other, the Jialing River in the west is opposite to Motianling, and the northeast, southeast and southwest are respectively connected to Nanyang Basin, Jianghan Plain and Chengdu Plain, which is really difficult to control.

This is the most troublesome thing for Pang Tong. It is much more difficult to deal with than those powerful families in Yizhou. Someone seems to be against him on purpose, and this person who is against him has very good means.

During the Chinese New Year, Pang Tong left the army to guard Daba Mountain, while he returned to Chengdu first to deal with the squeezed official documents in Chengdu, and then approved them bit by bit, day and night, and finally finished the approval today.

Pang Tong yawned and stretched his waist. Today he finally finished approving all the official documents, but he didn't feel relaxed at all. If this matter is resolved, he will probably only have trouble sleeping and eating.

"My lord!" A personal guard came in from the outside, holding a letter in his hand, bowed respectfully to Pang Tong, and then said, "Nanzhong urgent report."

"Let me see it!" Pang Tong was also very concerned about the situation in Nanzhong, but in the past month, he has been busy encircling and suppressing thieves, but ignored the problem of Nanzhong.

Pang Tong tore open the envelope, took out the letter and took a quick look, frowning even tighter, and said slowly: "The counter-insurgency army in Nanzhong has run out of food, this is a letter from General Zhang to me to borrow food, I hope it can be dispatched from Chengdu Some food and grass to meet the unexpected needs."

Qin Wei said: "The anti-insurgency army has been in Nanzhong for almost two months. With the prestige and ability of the chariot general, why can't they put down Nanzhong for so long? It has even reached a point where there is no food."

Pang Tong said: "In the barren land of Nanzhong, the miasma is rampant and the road is difficult. I'm afraid General Zhang is not used to it. You go and call the master, I have something to ask him."

"Here!"

Not long after, the master secretary Wang Lei came in from the outside, and as soon as he entered the hall, he bowed to Pang Tong: "See you, my lord!"

"You don't need to be too polite, Mr. Wang, please sit down!" Pang De said politely.

Wang Lei was a well-known scholar in Yizhou and a counselor beside Liu Zhang. After surrendering to the Han army, Pang Tong entrusted him with a heavy responsibility and entrusted him with the post of chief secretary.

Although the position of the Chief Registrar of the State Shepherd's Mansion is slightly lower, it is an important official position with money and food in hand. Pang Tong entrusted this position to Wang Lei, which shows his trust in Wang Lei.

Wang Lei also lived up to Pang Tong's recommendation. As soon as he took office, he flexed his muscles and turned over some old accounts of the chief bookkeeper, and checked the omissions and made up notes one by one.

"I don't know why your lord asked me to come here?" Wang Lei asked as soon as he sat down.

Pang Tong asked, "How much grain is there in the treasury?"

"Less than 20 stone!"

After hearing this, Pang Tong couldn't help frowning. When he first settled in Yizhou, he had calculated the treasury. There were at least 50 shi of grain in the treasury. In less than two months, the grain in the treasury turned out to be reduced so much.

Wang Lei seemed to have seen Pang Tong's thoughts, and hurriedly explained: "When my lord first settled in Yizhou, there were still 50 shi of grain in the treasury, but in the past two months, there have been famines everywhere, and my lord has opened warehouses to release grain for nearly ten years." Wanshi also consumed nearly 20 shi during the crusade against the thieves. In addition, when Ma Chao led the army to Nanzhong, the adults asked him to transport 20 shi of grain and grass. There are [-] shi of grain and grass left in the middle, and tens of thousands of shi have been consumed in the city in the past two months, and there are only less than [-] shi of grain and grass in the treasury. If you don’t believe me, you can appoint someone to investigate.”

"You are thoughtful, so why don't I believe it? When you go back today, you will allocate [-] shi of grain and grass, and then deliver it to me. I will naturally send troops to escort this batch of grain and grass."

Wang Lei asked: "Dare to ask, where will this batch of grain and grass be sent?"

"Nanzhong!" Pang Tong said, "The army led by Zhang Liao is on the verge of running out of food. If we don't send food over, I'm afraid the counter-insurgency army will be in danger."

"But, one hundred thousand stones is too much?" Wang Lei asked.

"The food consumed by the war is several times the usual amount, and one hundred thousand shi of food is only enough for them to last for a month or two. If Nanzhong cannot be pacified within two months, then there is nothing I can do. Well, you go prepare !"

Wang Lei let out a "here" and retreated.At this time, Pang Tong's personal guard came in from the outside, clasped his fists at Pang Tong and said, "My lord, please see Ma Chao!"

"Let him in!"

Not long after, Ma Chao walked from the outside of the hall into the hall, and as soon as he entered the hall, he said to Pang Tong: "Supervisor, when are you going to attack those bandits?"

Ma Chao pretended to be sick and successfully left Nanzhong, but he arrived in Yizhou. In Pang Tong's wise eyes, he didn't take advantage of it at all, and Pang Tong saw the mystery of pretending to be sick. On the surface, Pang Tong let Ma Chao continue to recuperate. The last thing is to put Ma Chao under house arrest.

The flamboyant intestines in Ma Chao's stomach were not enough for Pang Tong to see. He tried his best to leave Chengdu several times, but was suppressed by Pang Tong. He stayed in Chengdu to "heal his wounds" and did not give Ma Chao any Opportunity to go out alone.

Ma Chao also thought that he could not beat Pang Tong, so he simply stopped pretending to be sick. It happened that bandits were everywhere in Yizhou, so he came to ask for orders many times. Pang Tong saw through that, instead of relaxing his vigilance, he was guarded more and more closely, and even someone followed him when he went to the bathroom.

Pang Tong glanced at Ma Chao and asked, "General Ma's injuries are healed?"

Ma Chao nodded heavily, and said, "It's already done, it's the same as before."

Pang Tong said: "Okay, that's all. General Ma, why do you ask me when I'm going to fight the thieves?"

Ma Chao said: "I know that my lord is tortured by these bandits, and those who suffer from sleep and food can't sleep. It just so happens that my injury is healed. If you want to fight those bandits again, remember to take me with you. I can take you with me among thousands of troops." The head of the general, forgive him for being a little thief, what ability can he have to compete with me? Maybe this time he can wipe out all the robbers!"

After hearing this, Pang Tong didn't have any expression on his face. He just said to Ma Chao: "I understand what General Ma means. If I go to attack the bandits, I will definitely take you with me."

Seeing that Pang Tong treated him indifferently, Ma Chao knew he was bored, so he clasped his fists together, turned around and left.

Pang Tong looked at Ma Chao's back, sighed heavily, and said slowly: "It's a pity, such a good general, from now on, I'm afraid he will die alone..."

Regarding the issue of Ma Chao, Pang Tong never dared to make decisions privately, so he asked Zhang Yan to make a decision. Zhang Yan gave him a secret order to monitor Ma Chao and not allow him to return to Xiliang, let alone go to the battlefield again, and even forbid him to communicate with outsiders. touch.

These days, Ma Chao felt extremely lonely, but there was nothing he could do. He thought he had made a brilliant move, and planned to return to Xiliang and regain control of the army. At that time, with his reputation in Liangzhou, if he raised his arms, he would He recruited countless troops to serve him, separated Liangzhou, and aspired to become the king of the world.

But now, he is under house arrest in Chengdu, everything will come to naught.

Ma Chao was unwilling, but there was nothing he could do. Even if he could fight out with his strength, it would be extremely difficult to go to Liangzhou alone.

At this moment, Ma Chao's heart was very complicated. The army he brought was dismantled. After his younger brother Ma Dai sent him to Chengdu, he was transferred away again. There was no one around him. If this continues, he will This is the only way to do it for the rest of my life.For this reason, Ma Chao thought a lot, and after much deliberation, he decided to give it a go. Even if he died, he would have to die more tragically, so that it would be better to spend his days here.What's more, he may not die!
(End of this chapter)