After all, Ma Zun was the governor of a county and a two thousand stone official officially appointed by the Luoyang court of the Wei Dynasty.
In front of the county's chief clerk Yin Shang and Gongcao Liang Xu, the prefect Ma Zun could not do such a thing as selling Ji County.
But if you say that Ma Zun had such an unshakable integrity that he could not kill the Shu army envoy on the spot or drive him away immediately, Ma Zun did not do so at all.
After politely sending off the Shu army envoy, Ma Zun's expression suddenly turned cold: "Zhuge Liang is underestimating me! I am the governor of Tianshui, selected by Sima Gong and appointed by the late emperor. How could I do such a treasonous thing?"
Liang Xu and Yin Shang, who were in the hall, were both confused. Just now, Governor Ma was polite to the Shu envoy, so why was he so righteous now?
Unlike Ma Zun, who was born in Xiangyang, Jingzhou, Liang Xu and Yin Shang were actually natives of Yongliang. After the two looked at each other, Liang Xu asked, "What do you mean, Your Excellency?"
Ma Zun stood up, raised his head and pretended to be profound, and said slowly: "As the governor of Tianshui, I have the responsibility to defend the land! Yin Zhubu, Liang Gongcao, do you want to surrender to the Shu army and become traitors?"
This question was really inexplicable, and Liang Xu and Yin Shang denied it repeatedly. Liang Xu asked, "Your Excellency, it has come to this point. Please tell me what to do. I will follow your instructions!"
"That's good." Ma Zun looked confident and began to analyze the matter with the two: "Why did General Lu Pan go to Shanggui? Wasn't it because Shanggui was more important and needed to be defended?"
"The court appointed me as the governor, in fact, to let me preserve the land of a county, not Ji County. Although Ji County is the state capital, Shanggui is also under my jurisdiction!"
Seeing Liang Xu and Yin Shang's incredulous expressions, Ma Zun said the following words: "I am going to take 1,500 soldiers from Ji County and move them to Shanggui!"
"Assist Lord Guo and General Lu to defend Shanggui and wait for the imperial army to come to our aid. This is what I should do!"
"Moreover, I will report to Mr. Guo in person about the shameless act of the Shu army using fame and fortune to seduce our Wei officials and soldiers." Ma Zun raised several appointments in his hand with the seal of Liu Chan, the emperor of Shu Han, and said, "These are the ironclad evidence!"
Liang Xu and Yin Shang became even more speechless.
Yin Shang, who had been silent the whole time, asked, "If the Lord goes to Shanggui, what about Ji County? The Shu army envoy said that Zhuge Liang has an army of 300,000. Even if it is a false claim, there must be 100,000, right?"
"Where did the 300,000 and 100,000 come from? Didn't you hear that when Liu Bei attacked Sun Quan, he only had 50,000 soldiers in Shu?" Ma Zun nodded calmly and said, "The matter of Ji County will of course be handed over to Feng Yi, the county magistrate of Ji County, to defend it!"
Ma Zun was from Xiangyang, so it was fine for him to just leave. At most, the court could only blame him. He didn't run away. As a prefect, he could defend a more important city, and he could explain it to His Majesty in Luoyang!
But Liang Xu and Yin Shang, two locals, could not act like this. In front of the governor Ma Zun, the two began to whisper to each other.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Ma Zun asked.
After a while, the chief clerk Yin Shang said, "If you want to move to Shanggui, Shanggui is not without soldiers. Please go there by yourself, and please don't bring the county soldiers with you. I am from Ji County, so please stay in Ji County and help the county magistrate defend against the Shu army."
Liang Xu also said: "I will go to Shanggui with you, Lord Fu!"
"No!" Ma Zun flatly refused, "Shanggui is more important and should be heavily guarded! I must take these 1,500 county soldiers with me!"
Yin Shang, a native of Ji County who is over fifty years old, has lived through the Han and Wei dynasties and has served as an official in the county for nearly thirty years.
Yin Shang stood up, his tall and thin figure accompanied by a burning gaze. After saluting, he said more earnestly: "Could your Excellency leave a thousand soldiers for Ji County? If not, five hundred soldiers will do!"
"How can you Liangzhou people be so ignorant?" Ma Zun was so angry that he jumped up and down: "I have already said that Shanggui is more important to the court. If Shanggui survives, Jixian and Longyou can survive! Why don't you understand?"
Yin Shang seemed to have used a lot of strength, and slowly bowed to Ma Zun and said, "Then please take care of yourself, Your Excellency. I will stay in Ji County."
"Wouldn't it have been much easier if this had been done earlier?" Ma Zun shook his head helplessly, hurriedly grabbed the package and walked out, intending to return to his backyard to find his wives, concubines, and servants to pack up his belongings.
Liang Xu, who was born in Fufeng County, looked at Yin Shang with an apologetic look, bowed and said, "Please take care of yourself, brother. I will go to Shanggui with Governor Ma."
Yin Shang sighed and said, "Go, let's go together. I will take care of the things here."
Liang Xu didn't dare to respond and walked out immediately, leaving Yin Shang alone sitting in the hall.
……
Three days later, Yongzhou Governor Guo Huai and Anding Commandery Commandant Hu Zun and his entourage traveled 400 miles before finally arriving at Shanggui City.
When passing through Lueyang, Guo Huai had already sent people westward along Chengji and Pingxiang to Yuzhong to find Hao Zhao and report the news.
By the time Guo Huai and Hu Zun arrived at Shanggui City, it was already the afternoon of December 4th.
Shanggui City is strategically located at the intersection of Longshan Road and Weishui Road from Longyou to Guanzhong. Shanggui is surrounded by mountains in the north and south, with the upper reaches of the Weishui River running through the mountain plains in the middle, and Shanggui City is located on the north bank of the Weishui River.
At this time, on the south bank of the Weishui River, the Shu army's Eastern Route Army's Zhao Yun's, Deng Zhi's, Wang Ping's troops, and the Shu army's Central Route Army's Liao Hua's troops had already set up camp on the south bank of the Weishui River, confronting Shanggui City across the Weishui River, and had no time to encircle it.
Guo Huai and Hu Zun took advantage of this opportunity to enter Shanggui City. The troops of Wei Yan and Wu Ban behind the Eastern Army were still one day away.
After Guo Huai entered the city, the first thing he did was of course to count the troops and discuss how to fight the enemy with everyone.
But to Guo Huai's surprise, the first thing he saw after entering the city was Ma Zun, the governor of Tianshui, in the government office in Shanggui City!
Guo Huai asked questioningly, "General Ma, I remember General Lu said in the military report that you were in Ji County. How did you get to Shanggui?"
Ma Zunyi replied righteously: "Mr. Guo, I did not come here on my own. I went to Ji County against all odds and brought 1,500 Ji County soldiers to Shanggui City!"
As a provincial governor, Guo Huai was well aware of what kind of person Ma Zun was. Although Ma Zun did this to save his own life, it also unexpectedly strengthened the military strength of Shanggui City!
Guo Huai nodded and said, "General Ma is right! I believe that General Zuo is already on his way to help Shanggui."
"Hold on to Shanggui City and block the enemy's traffic until General Zuo and the imperial army arrive to help!"
"Mr. Guo is absolutely right!" Ma Zun said, "If Mr. Guo wants to discuss military strategy, why not ask someone to call General Lu back first?"
"General Lu left the city at 7:00 . and went to the mountain north of the city to observe the Shu army's march and camp."
Guo Huai nodded: "Hurry up and send someone to call General Lu back!"
Less than a quarter of an hour after the county clerk left, Lu Pan had already walked into the government office in the city.
Hearing Guo Huai's arrangement, Lu Pan showed a trace of embarrassment on his face: "Sir, I'm afraid that the current strength of Shanggui City is not enough to block the enemy's traffic, and can only barely protect itself."
Guo Huai came back in a hurry and had not had time to go to the hill north of the city to observe the Shu army camp carefully, so he asked: "There are 3,000 foreign troops from your army, 1,500 county soldiers brought by Governor Ma, and 4,000 servants of local wealthy families and farmers in the surrounding area in the city."
“How come it doesn’t hinder traffic?”
Lu Pan bowed and replied: "I just observed from the mountain north of the city, and there may be tens of thousands of enemies on the south bank of the Wei River!"
"There are only 4,500 soldiers in the city, and the 4,000 civilians can only be used as auxiliary troops to defend the city. How can they go into battle?"
Guo Huai frowned: "How many tens of thousands is tens of thousands? You have been a veteran in the army for many years, so you should have a rough number, right?"
Lu Pan sighed slightly: "The Shu army camps are all located on the south bank of the Wei River. There is one Shu army three or four miles west of Shanggui City, and another one east of Shanggui City.
Judging from the size of the Shu army's two camps, it is estimated that there are at least 20,000 to 30,000 people."
So many? ?
Guo Huai was shocked, but his expression did not change at all. As the governor of Yongzhou and entrusted by Zhang He, the governor of Yongliang, to be in charge of the military affairs of Longyou, he naturally could not show his fear in front of others, and had to show that he was confident.
"More than 20,000 or 30,000 people? Have you found out the movements of the Shu army?" Guo Huai asked calmly.
Lu Pan replied: "If my guess is correct, there are only two things the Shu army can do."
"First, they want to capture Shanggui City where we are. Second, they want to bypass Shanggui and either occupy Longshan Road to the north or capture Linwei County to the east."
After hearing what Lu Pan said, Guo Huai sat in the hall and thought quietly.
Although Shanggui is located on a strategic road, it is by no means stuck in the middle of a valley like Tongguan or Sanguan. Without taking Shanggui, it is impossible to move eastward.
For most cities located on important transportation routes, it is actually not a big problem if the enemy insists on bypassing them.
However, if such a key city is bypassed, a considerable number of troops must be left around the city to garrison and prevent troops from the city from harassing the logistics and attacking the rear.
That is to say, divide the troops.
The Shu army has so many troops, it seems they have big plans.
It seems that the first report from the Qishan Fortress garrison, which said that the Shu army had at least 20,000 to 30,000 people, was probably a wrong estimate. If there really were 20,000 to 30,000 people, why would they all gather outside Shanggui City at this moment?
Guo Huai stroked his beard and looked at everyone in the hall: "Shanggui City has high walls and strong fortifications, and the Wei River in the south serves as a cover. There are also the governor and General Lu in the city. Even if the Shu army is three times larger than mine, it will be difficult to capture it without more than a month!"
"The Shu army has come all the way from Hanzhong, so they are definitely short of food and fodder. With me here, we can hold on to Shanggui without any worries!"
"General Lu," Guo Huai turned to look at Lu Pan, "while the Shu army has not yet surrounded us, quickly send an envoy along the Longshan Road to the direction of Chencang to inform General Zuo of the military intelligence here." (End of this chapter)
