Before everyone could react, Ma Jian took the initiative to ask for battle, which shows how eager he was.

But it's also normal.

The Han Dynasty paid attention to both civil and military skills, and attached great importance to whether there were military exploits on the body.

Ma Tan was born in a famous family, and he has always been valued by Zhuge Liang, it is impossible for him to be without ambition.

And Ma Tan knows that if he wants to complete his ambitions, then he must have military exploits, because he is currently in troubled times.

If he did not have military exploits, no matter how brilliant his political achievements were and how amazing the strategies he proposed, his achievements in life would not be too high.

In the past, Ma Jian had mentioned to Zhuge Liang many times that he was willing to lead the army to conquer for the Han Dynasty, and now when the opportunity came, Ma Jian could not be indifferent.

And when Ma Tan took the initiative to ask for war, the other people in the tent who also wanted to ask for war stopped their words for the time being.

Everyone here knows that Zhuge Liang has a lot of importance to Ma Jian in the past, and it can be said that Zhuge Liang's weight on Ma Jian is only below Mi Yang.

Under this layer of origin, Zhuge Liang is likely to directly agree with Ma Yan's self-recommendation.

As expected, after Zhuge Liang saw Ma Tan's self-recommendation, his face obviously showed a look of interest.

Ma Jian was like him before, and he had never had the experience of leading a battle, which was Ma Tan's biggest shortcoming.

It's just that although the Huangyuan Rebellion seems to be menacing, if it is handled properly, it is not difficult to calm down in Zhuge Liang's opinion.

And Ma Tan has always had a military strategy, so if he was sent to quell the Huang Yuan Rebellion, it would not be impossible.

Moreover, this battle can also be regarded as a battle of tempering for horses.

But just when Zhuge Liang's willingness in his heart became stronger and stronger, his mind remembered Mi Yang and Liu Bei's reminders to him.

Mi Yang is his apprentice, Liu Bei is his teacher, it can be said that in terms of the close relationship with Zhuge Liang alone, these two people are more than Ma Yan.

And the two of them, who have such a close relationship, have invariably reminded Zhuge Liang to be cautious about using horses, which makes Zhuge Liang have to have some concerns in his heart.

Moreover, even regardless of the personal relationship, with the status of Liu Bei and Mi Yang, the reminders they made would make Zhuge Liang have to be cautious about the appointment of Ma Yan.

After a short period of thought in his mind, Zhuge Liang decided to take a compromise approach.

Zhuge Liang first looked at Ma Yan, nodded slightly at him and said, "You are always loyal to the country, how can you refuse what you invite." ”

When Zhuge Liang said this, Ma Yan's face showed great joy.

Zhuge Liang agreed with his self-recommendation.

But before Ma Jian could be happy, Zhuge Liang immediately set his eyes on Deng Ai who was present.

Seeing Zhuge Liang's gaze, Deng Ai's heart tightened.

From Zhuge Liang's actions to him just now, Deng Ai faintly sensed that Zhuge Liang seemed to be a little displeased with him, so Deng Ai didn't know why Zhuge Liang suddenly looked at him now.

However, Zhuge Liang's next sentence made Deng Ai overjoyed.

"How many troops does Captain Liyi think will be needed to quell the Huang Yuan Rebellion?"

After hearing Zhuge Liang's inquiry, Deng Ai immediately guessed Zhuge Liang's intentions.

The prime minister must have used him to quell the rebellion, otherwise there are so many talents here, why would he just ask himself this question.

After guessing Zhuge Liang's intentions, Deng Ai hurriedly got up and bowed to Zhuge Liang and said: "The soldiers are noble, there are more than 5,000 Huangyuan rebels, and I only need 3,000 elite soldiers." ”

When Deng Ai replied to Zhuge Liang, his words revealed strong confidence.

When everyone was discussing the Huang Yuan rebellion fiercely, Zhuge Liang informed everyone present of some more specific information, including the key information on the total number of Huang Yuan rebels.

Although 5,000 rebels sound like a lot, Deng Ai knows very well that most of the main members of the Huangyuan rebels are county soldiers.

It's not that there are no elite soldiers among the county soldiers, but there are certainly not many, otherwise Huang Yuan can't afford to raise so many soldiers with the national strength of a county alone.

Since most of Huang Yuan's rebels were a rabble, Deng Ai was naturally confident that he would defeat him with three thousand elite soldiers.

After Zhuge Liang listened to Deng Ai's answer, he was noncommittal.

He just went on to ask Deng Ai: "After you lead the army back to the north, what should you do to deal with Huang Yuan's rebels?" ”

Faced with Zhuge Liang's inquiry, Deng Ai replied after thinking for a while:

"Chengdu is a strong city, and although there are not many defenders in the city, His Majesty has a strong heart in Chengdu, and Ai deduced that Huang Yuan did not want to attack Chengdu.

Huang Yuan did not rebel in the past, but only rebelled when the prime minister led the army to the south, which was nothing more than to see that the troops of the Yibei counties were empty at this time.

However, no matter how empty the military strength of the Yibei counties is, with the military strength of Huang Yuan, it is extremely difficult to sweep the Yibei counties.

Therefore, Huang Yuan just wanted to take the water to the east and attack the grain route of my southern expedition.

Because of his wolf ambitions, after Ai led the army to the north, he led the army to defend at the dangerous pass, and did not fight him first.

One can protect the grain route of our southern expeditionary army, and the other can deplete the enemy's morale, and when the enemy's morale is exhausted, the minister can break it in a battle. ”

Deng Ai clearly stated his countermeasures.

Compared with the people in the tent who were worried about Huang Yuan's attack on Chengdu, Deng Ai put forward his own different views.

And Deng Ai's opinion is what Zhuge Liang is most worried about.

The reason why Zhuge Liang was worried about the Huangyuan Rebellion was not that he was worried that Chengdu would make a mistake.

After all, relying on Huang Yuan's 5,000 rebels alone, if they want to take Chengdu, which is dominated by Liu Bei, it is tantamount to a fool's dream.

Liu Bei may not be able to lead the army to fight for the time being due to physical reasons, but as long as he is in Chengdu for one day, then unless there are tens of thousands of elite soldiers attacking Chengdu, there is no need to worry too much about the safety of Chengdu.

Zhuge Liang was really worried, as Deng Ai said, Huang Yuan would lead the rebels to attack the grain and grass of the Southern Expeditionary Army.

Grain and grass are the most important material support for an army, and Yizhou is now in a time when its national strength is insufficient.

Therefore, the supply of grain and grass for the army of the Southern Expedition must not face the slightest risk.

Otherwise, once there is a shortage of grain and grass, not to mention that this southern expedition will be a failure, I am afraid that more dangerous things will happen to the Han army.

Seeing that Deng Ai could understand the worries in his heart and had a corresponding coping strategy in his heart, Zhuge Liang was happy in his heart, but he also made a decision in his heart.

Zhuge Liang took an arrow from the case in front of him, and then he motioned for Deng Ai to step forward and hand the arrow into Deng Ai's hands.

After completing this move, Zhuge Liang announced his decision in front of everyone:

"Order Liyi Captain Deng Ai to lead 3,000 Yizhou troops to the north to quell the Huang Yuan rebellion."

After announcing this decision, Zhuge Liang looked at Ma Tan, whose expression had become dark, and continued: "Then order Shangshu Ma Tan as a protector and lead the army north with Deng Ai." ”

When Zhuge Liang's order was spoken, the gloomy look on Ma Yan's face was swept away.

At the beginning, he thought that Zhuge Liang was going to let him lead the army north to quell the rebellion.

But seeing Zhuge Liang take the initiative to ask Deng Ai one after another, Ma Jian also guessed Zhuge Liang's thoughts.

Zhuge Liang is not a person who breaks his word, but there can be many identities to lead the north.

Originally, Ma Jian thought that Zhuge Liang was going to let him hold an inconsequential position, but now Zhuge Liang appointed him as a protector.

Although the status of the protector army is not as good as that of the commander of the first army, it is only under the commander of the first army.

Moreover, if the rebellion can be successfully quelled this time, then his combat exploits as a protector will not be less.

Therefore, Ma Jian is still able to accept Zhuge Liang's arrangement.

It's better than being a little pioneer.

After arranging the tasks of Deng Ai and Ma Tan, Zhuge Liang seemed to be a little worried that Deng Ai and Ma Jian were inexperienced, so he appointed Wang Ping, the general present, as Deng Ai's deputy general.

Wang Pingzijun, a native of Danqu, Brazil, is a dignified and dignified person from his appearance.

In the twentieth year of Jian'an, the seven surnames of Pasir County led the people to attach themselves to Cao Cao, and it was at that time that Wang Ping joined Cao Cao and became an acting captain.

During the Battle of Hanzhong in the 24th year of Jian'an, Wang Ping surrendered to Liu Bei due to defeat, and was later appointed by Liu Bei as a general.

Although it is unreasonable for Wang Ping, as a general, to become the lieutenant general of Liyi Lieutenant Deng Ai, this arrangement was actually very common in the Han Dynasty.

In the Han Dynasty, there was no heavy power but no heavy position, and there was also a tradition of temporary appointments.

Although Deng Ai is only a captain, he has just received the order arrow given by Zhuge Liang himself, which is the right of the main general given to him by Zhuge Liang.

With this kind of authority, as long as Deng Ai's lieutenant rank is not too much higher than him, then it is reasonable.

Just like in history, when Ma Tan led the army to garrison the street pavilion, he led the generals as a member of the army.

Moreover, although General Pi has the word general, in the tradition of the Han Dynasty, General Pi is the title exclusive to the deputy general, which shows that Wang Ping was not an important figure in the Han Dynasty at this time.

However, Zhuge Liang has some understanding of Wang Ping.

Wang Ping is not only a native of Yizhou, he knows the terrain of Yizhou very well, and he has a calm personality, so he is very suitable to serve as Deng Ai's deputy to check and fill in his gaps.

This is also the reason why Zhuge Liang let Deng Ai lead the Yizhou army north instead of the Liangzhou army.

After all aspects were arranged, Zhuge Liang, who had a cautious personality, put his mind at ease.

Then he asked everyone to go down and prepare one by one according to the arrangement he had just made.

After everyone left his main tent, Zhuge Liang had no intention of resting.

Although most of the military affairs were handled, thinking of Zhuge Liang, who Deng Ai had just performed, he still picked up the brush and thought about writing a letter to Mi Yang.

In this letter, Zhuge Liang first praised Deng Ai's resourcefulness, which was no worse than any of the heroes in the world.

It's just that after praising Deng Ai, Zhuge Liang changed his words and told Mi Yang:

"Deng Ai has a good plan and experience, and he will be a big man.

However, I see him as a person, he can be talented, he is more than wise and brave and the meanness is insufficient, so he should quit it! ”

Zhuge Liang's judgment on Deng Ai was seen from his performance.

Just now when he said that he was going to lead the army south, he observed that Deng Ai had a look of enlightenment on his face.

This shows that Deng Ai has long known his true intentions.

But when Li Hui came out to dissuade him, Deng Ai did not speak out to explain to Li Hui for the first time.

He waited for Li Hui to clearly express his puzzlement before he came out to express his opinion.

Clear-eyed people can see at a glance that Deng Ai's move has the intention of using Li Hui's "unwisdom" to reflect his intelligence.

Of course, this practice of raising one's own prestige by refuting those who are more famous than oneself is what many scholars are doing today.

But Deng Ai is different from others.

Deng Ai's background is too low, and many people in the world will naturally look down on him.

Although Zhuge Liang is not this kind of person, this is the limitation of the times, and it cannot be easily reversed.

The children of the family use a similar way to raise their own hopes, and the world will know it and will not mind too much, because it is a privilege between the children of the family.

But what about Deng Ai?

Perhaps Deng Ai's performance today will attract everyone's praise, so that they will not show anything on the surface.

But Zhuge Liang knew that many people in the account must still be dissatisfied with Deng Ai's approach.

Man's deep-seated prejudices may be suppressed for a while by proud achievements, but they will not disappear easily.

Deng Ai's background cannot be reversed, and if he still has this style of doing things, more people will be dissatisfied with him.

Even over time, this dissatisfaction in the heart will gradually increase.

And once the right opportunity arises, this long-standing dissatisfaction will explode all at once.

At that time, no matter how much credit Deng Ai makes, I am afraid that the end will definitely not be much better.

With Zhuge Liang's wisdom, he certainly saw the hidden dangers of what Deng Ai was doing today.

And what Zhuge Liang is worried about is the deep reason why Deng Ai ended up tragically in history.

The reason why he didn't show too much appreciation for Deng Ai just now was actually a way for him to protect Deng Ai.

It's just that Zhuge Liang also knows that Deng Ai is not his subordinate after all, he can protect Deng Ai for a while, but he can't protect Deng Ai I, so he has the intention of writing a letter to remind Mi Yang.

There are not many talents in Dahan, and one can keep one.

After writing the letter, Zhuge Liang summoned someone to quickly send the letter to Liangzhou.

Of course, Zhuge Liang wrote this letter not only for Deng Ai, he also had the intention of inquiring about the situation in Guanzhong.

After all, for the Great Han, the Wei army in Guanzhong was the most dangerous enemy.

In late November of the second year of Han Zhangwu, Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of the Han Dynasty, led more than 10,000 troops to the south by waterway for more than 10,000 days and nights, and finally arrived in the county town of Yudao a few days later.

And on the day that Zhuge Liang led the army to set off from Nan'an, Deng Ai, the captain of Liyi, also led 3,000 elite soldiers to return to the north.

The progress of Deng Ai's army is not listed for the time being, but it is said that not long after Zhuge Liang led the army into Yandao, all the rebels in Nanzhong got the news.

The first to get the news was, of course, the rebel army of King Gaoding, who was entrenched in Yuewang County.

At present, it is not only the rebels of Gaoding who are in Yuewang County, but also the Meng Shousuo Department who has just led the army to Yuewang County to join forces with Gaoding.

The reason why Meng Huo quickly led the army north from Yizhou County to Yuewang County was because after consulting with Yonghong, he thought that after he had finished joining forces with Gao Ding, he would immediately launch an attack on Yudao County, thus opening the way for the Nanzhong rebels to go north.

What Gao Ding and Meng Shu didn't expect was that Zhuge Liang would take the lead in leading the army to enter the Yandao.

This sudden situation made Gao Ding and Meng Shu, the two huge heads, fall into a sluggish state all of a sudden.

Although these two people have big heads, they are really not very useful.