Ma Jian followed behind Zhuge Liang and slowly walked into the back tent. It can be seen from Zhuge Liang's slightly bowed back that he was also nervous just now. In this regard, Ma Jian is very grateful, it was Zhuge Liang who overrode public opinion and gave him a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. This time to send troops to Longyou, the chance of success is very large, once he, the forward general, has made meritorious contributions, who will dare to say that he is a scholar who does not understand military affairs, a figure like Zhao Kuo?

And for Zhuge Liang, it is very risky to promote him against the public. If he succeeds, of course, it is a good thing, it can prove that his vision is correct, and from now on he has one more henchman who controls the heavy army, and his grasp of military power is more solid, but if he is defeated, he will face countless criticisms, even if he is a prime minister under one person and above ten thousand people, he cannot ignore the turbulent crowd.

As Zhuge Liang's confidant, Ma Tan knew too well how much courage it took for Zhuge Liang to make this decision. Because of this, Ma Jian is more grateful to Zhuge Liang, and wants to make meritorious contributions to Zhuge Liang's appreciation and trust.

"Prime Minister, you're tired, sit down and rest for a while."

Ma Jian took the initiative to help Zhuge Liang to lie down on the couch, and brought a cloth towel, moistened it in the boiling hot water, wrung it dry and wet, and covered Zhuge Liang's face. Zhuge Liang is under too much pressure these days, there is no day when he is not busy until late at night, his spirit is fine, but his physical strength is a little poor.

"Young Chang, Meng Da has already done something, and our Jihua is already half of the success. I just don't know what the situation is in Koto. Zhuge Liang's face was covered with a hot towel, and his voice was a little dull. I am very worried that Sun Quan will not keep his word and want to watch from the sidelines and profit from it. ”

"Prime Minister, in my opinion, it shouldn't be. Last year, Sun Quan took advantage of Wei's great mourning and raised troops to attack Wei, but he suffered a small setback, how could he swallow this breath? ”

Zhuge Liang smiled bitterly. In last year's battle, the Jiangdong general who led the troops was his brother Zhuge Jin, but he was defeated in the first battle, with thousands of dead and wounded, and even the deputy general Zhang Ba was folded in the formation. Is this a minor setback? Ma Jian said this, just to save some face for him, he knew it in his heart.

The reason why the Northern Expedition was at this time, on the one hand, was to consider that Sun Quan had a good face, thinking that after the death of Cao Cao and Liu Bei, he was the most talented person in the world, and Cao Pi was not in his eyes, not to mention Cao Rui, who was beaten by Cao Rui as a result, and the loss would be small, and the loss would be big, with Sun Quan's character, he would definitely have to get back this face.

And he himself was questioned because of last year's war. The defeat of his elder brother also made people doubt his ability to use troops. The eldest brother is not a talent for using soldiers, and the third brother Zhuge is also a middle talent, so he is probably not suitable for leading troops, and the southern expedition the year before last is also doubtful. How can you prove yourself in the face of such doubts? There was only one real victory to shut up those people.

Of course, the Northern Expedition is not only to prove itself, but also to fulfill the last wish of the first emperor, but I have to say that there is this consideration. Because of this, the Northern Expedition can only win, not defeat, although Wei Yan's Jihua is good, the risk is too great, once there is any negligence, the more than 10,000 people will become a loss that cannot be ignored. No matter how big the victory he gets, losing more than 10,000 elites is an unacceptable loss.

What's more, there is also the general Wei Yan.

For Wei Yan, Zhuge Liang's mood was very complicated. Wei Yan's temper is as prominent as his ability, it is a sharp double-edged sword that can not only hurt others, but also hurt himself more easily. If Wei Yan could have the same cultivation as Zhao Yun, how perfect it would be.

Zhuge Liang was distracted for a moment and did not answer Ma Tan's words, Ma Jian thought that he was going to rest for a while, so he retreated lightly. Standing outside the tent, looking at the green mountains and white clouds in the distance, Ma Jian exhaled lightly, the corners of his mouth were raised, and his smile just bloomed, Huo Yi walked over quickly, and when he saw Ma Jian standing at the door of the tent, he quickly stopped, bowed and said, "Ma joins the army." ”

Ma Jian put away his smile and returned to his usual seriousness, he glanced at the military newspaper in Huo Yi's hand, and frowned slightly: "It's for the prime minister?" ”

"No, it's for joining the army." Huo Yi presented the military newspaper with both hands. Ma Tan was very surprised, he turned it over and took a look, and the military newspaper was very completely sealed, indicating that the person in charge of the correspondence had not opened it. Huo Yi explained: "The person who sent the military newspaper specially explained that this was a personal letter from Wei Senjun to Ma Senjun, so we didn't record it. ”

"There are no selfish things in the army, you should record it." Ma Tan said as he took it apart. He was a little anxious, since the last trip to Anyang, Wei Ba has been very peaceful, and if there is any news, he will also report it through Zhuge Qiao, and he will not do it on his own. Today, however, he specially wrote an urgent report to himself, but it was in the seal of an urgent military report, which is not in line with the norm, and something important must have happened.

Ma Yan opened it in front of Huo Yi, quickly browsed one side, and his brows suddenly wrinkled together. He didn't care about Huo Yi anymore, and turned around and entered the account.

Zhuge Liang had already sat up, "What's the matter?" ”

"Prime Minister......" General Ma Jian handed it over, Zhuge Liang took it in his hand, and saw that the handwriting was not Zhuge Qiao's words, but it was a little familiar, and he couldn't help but be a little surprised: "This is ......"

"This is written by Wei Ba, does it have a bit of the taste of the prime minister's calligraphy?"

Zhuge Liang suddenly realized, and nodded again and again: "Well, it does mean something, no wonder I feel a little familiar, it turns out to be my own." haha...... This kid is interesting, how can he learn my calligraphy? ”

"He admires the prime minister, and it is not surprising that he also has the prime minister's calligraphy." Ma Jian hurriedly changed the topic: "Prime Minister, he said that there may be changes in Meng Da's affairs. ”

"Oh?" Zhuge Liang was taken aback, and he didn't care about Wei Ba's calligraphy anymore, and immediately looked at the content.

The military report was not long, and Wei Ba said it very concisely, just saying that Meng Da was in a hurry and was not well prepared, and it was possible that he would be quickly defeated by Sima Yi. Once this happens, Jihua, who uses Meng Da to contain the Wei army, will fail. At present, Zhuge Qiao has pushed the battle line forward, but considering the comparison of forces between the two sides, Zhuge Qiao's strength is far from enough to threaten the Wei army, and it is difficult to help Meng Da.

The strange thing is that Zuihou Wei Ba didn't make any suggestions, and it ended hastily, which seemed very abrupt compared to the previous discussion, making people feel that they were halfway through the writing and ended abruptly.

Zhuge Liang stood up, took his hands, walked back and forth in the tent twice, and then stopped in front of Ma Yan, his face was a little ugly: "Youchang, what do you think should be done with this?" ”

Ma Jian had already thought about it, and replied: "When I received Bo Song's military report before, I already mentioned this, and Bo Song's handling is very appropriate. Wei Ba can think of this, and he can be regarded as having a brain. He wrote to me privately, presumably in the hope that I could persuade the prime minister to increase his troops in the three eastern counties. All things considered, I think he probably understood the prime minister's intentions, but he wasn't sure, so he tested it through me. ”

Zhuge Liang said: "Yes, this kid is knowledgeable and smart enough. He did a good job of this roundabout. He paused, and then said, "Then how should we deal with Meng Da next?" The departure of the army is imminent, and if Meng Da is quickly defeated, it will be quite unfavorable to our army. ”

Ma Yan's mood was a little heavy. Among Zhuge Liang's jihua, there was Sun Quan in Jiangdong and Meng Da in the three eastern counties in the near distance, attracting the attention of the Wei army, so as to leave time for his troops to go out of Longyou. Now there has been no news from Jiangdong, whether it has begun to send troops, or between the two, if Meng Da has another abnormality, then the Wei army's response speed to Longyou will exceed their expectations, and the time left for them will not be enough.

It was precisely because of this worry that although Wei Ba only proposed one possibility, Ma Jian did not dare to take it lightly. Looking at Zhuge Liang's expression, it was obvious that he was also aware of this. What made him even more nervous was that Zhuge Qiao hadn't mentioned this in several previous military reports, and he hadn't even said that Meng Da was not ready before that.

Zhuge Liang is in Chuyang, it is impossible to know everything about the affairs of the three eastern counties, and some situations are only in the hands of Zhuge Qiao on the front line, and there is no need to report to Zhuge Liang in detail. But he didn't mention such important information, let alone make a corresponding analysis, either because he deliberately concealed it, or he didn't realize the seriousness of it at all. Whatever the reason, it is unforgivable.

"For all sake, five thousand troops should be added."

"To whom are these five thousand soldiers added?" Zhuge Liang glared at Ma Jian angrily: "He can't even control 5,000 people, and he can control 10,000 people?" ”

"But......" Ma Tan smiled bitterly: "Who else can you give it to besides him, is the prime minister going to change generals?" ”

Zhuge Liang waved his hand vigorously, as if driving away a fly. Ma Tan stood aside embarrassed, he knew too well the differences between Zhuge Liang's father and son. Zhuge Liang is extremely wise and has high requirements for people, and few people can enter his eyes. It's just that others don't get into his eyes, but Zhuge Qiao is his son, and he can't let it go, so the requirements for Zhuge Qiao are very strict, almost harsh, even if it is a little mistake, he can't tolerate it.

In Ma Yan's opinion, Zhuge Qiao must have recognized this small mistake, but he was worried that he would be blamed by Zhuge Liang, so he intentionally or unintentionally covered up his mistake, but he didn't know that this practice was more unforgivable than a mistake.

What he can do is try to explain Zhuge Liang, but he can't help Zhuge Qiao cover up his mistakes, he can only remind Zhuge Liang that at this time, he can only trust Zhuge Qiao, otherwise the damage will be greater. Changing generals in battle is a taboo for soldiers.

Of course Zhuge Liang understood this truth, and he sighed in frustration: "Then who do you say is better?" ”

"Send Wei Feng to go, he is familiar with the terrain of Hanzhong, and he has combat experience, and he is also a man."

Zhuge Liang weighed it for a long time, nodded and said, "It's okay." "―――――― ask for recommendations! Collect!