Chapter 21 Chapter XXI. The Shroud of Horse Leather From Its Beginning

Among the heroes from all walks of life in the founding of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there is the so-called "Twenty-Eight Generals of Yuntai". The portraits of 28 heroes are listed on the cloud platform of Luoyang Nangong.Those who were lucky enough to be on the list were all famous officials with outstanding military exploits during the founding period of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and they were also aristocratic families in the Eastern Han Dynasty. However, there was one person whose contribution was no less than that of any of them, but in the end he missed the list. Moreover, this person is still a person with a high appearance rate in later generations. For example, in the famous classical novel, his descendants are entrenched in Hexi, and he even produced Jinma Chao in the "Five Tiger Generals".At the same time, he personally went south and was honored by the locals as "Wood Lord". To this day, he is still one of the gods worshiped by our neighboring country Vietnam.Even in horse breeding, animal husbandry and other knowledge, he also has his own unique achievements, he can be called a generalist.The famous founding general of the Eastern Han Dynasty who was concealed by the cloud platform was Ma Yuan, General Fubo of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Ma Yuan, courtesy name Wenyuan, was born in Fuling in the Eastern Han Dynasty.His family background is not simple. His ancestor was Zhao She, the famous Mafu Lord of Zhao State during the Warring States Period. Because he was awarded the title of "Ma Fujun", most of his descendants changed their surnames to Ma after the Warring States Period. Like our ancestors, we have always had a relationship with horses. Ma Yuan's great-grandfather, Ma Tong, was a well-known cavalry general in the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. He once followed the famous general Huo Qubing to participate in the Battle of Mobei, which directly hit the Huns' lair, and was named the Marquis of Chonghe for his military exploits. Because his brother Ma Luos helped the vassal king to rebel, he was implicated and his title was deprived. For many years after that, the Ma family became increasingly dilapidated.When Ma Yuan was born in 14 BC, his life was very difficult at first, and his family was not well off. When he was 12 years old, his father passed away again, but it didn't take long for things to turn around.At that time, when the Wang family was in power, the dignitaries in the Western Han government were purged by the Wang family. Ma Yuan's three elder brothers all became high-ranking officials under Wang Mang's hands. When the officials became bigger, the family conditions improved. , Ma Yuan received a good education since he was a child.His elder brother originally hoped that he could pursue a civil career and hired teachers to teach him since he was a child, but Ma Yuan didn't like it, and he was very interested in raising horses. After a few years of awkwardness, Ma Yuan took the initiative to ask his elder brother, He asked to go to the north to engage in animal husbandry. Although the two elder brothers objected, Ma Yuan's older brother Ma Kuang supported him at this time, and said to Ma Yuan, "You may not be able to really work until you are very old. There are achievements, so you have to temper yourself a lot." The idiom "big bloomer is late blooming" comes from this.

Seeing that Ma Yuan was about to leave his family and go to the north to pursue his dream, God seemed to want Ma Yuan to practice more. His brother Ma Kuang, who had always supported Ma Yuan, passed away, and Ma Yuan stayed at home to mourn for his brother.For a whole year, Ma Yuan lived and ate next to his brother's grave. His filial deeds were praised by others, so he was promoted as filial piety.Afterwards, relying on his elder brother's protection, Ma Yuan became a postal supervisor after joining the officialdom, and his dream of going to the north to engage in animal husbandry was still just a dream.

An accident made this dream come true ahead of schedule.After Wang Mang came to power, he vigorously built civil engineering projects and arrested a large number of civilians to engage in labor. Although Ma Yuan opposed it, he was helpless.Once Ma Yuan was ordered to escort a group of civilian husbands, and he cried loudly along the way. As he walked, Ma Yuan's heart softened. He rode his horse and fled.He fled to Beidi County, the northern frontier of the Han Dynasty at that time, which is today's Qingyang, Gansu Province; this place is adjacent to the border, the sky is high and the emperor is far away, and it is just right for Ma Yuan to realize Ma Yuan's dream of engaging in animal husbandry.

In this way, Ma Yuan took root in the frontier and lived on animal husbandry.As a fugitive prisoner, he is very good at animal husbandry. There are many local minority tribes. Ma Yuan took the initiative to contact these tribes. He has been proficient in martial arts since childhood, and he is skilled in riding and shooting.Once he competed with a local Qiang warrior in shooting and hunting. He bent his bow and set up an arrow on the spot, and even shot down two eagles with one arrow, which shocked the Qiang warrior. He gave him dozens of cattle and sheep as a token of respect. "Venture Fund".Since then, he has devoted himself to development and vigorously managed it. It is worth mentioning that although he doesn't like reading, he loves learning very much.The book I read the most during this period was "The Method of Raising Pigs and Sheep" written by Bu Shi, a famous animal husbandry businessman in the Western Han Dynasty.In less than a few years, he became the most famous animal husbandry businessman in Beidi County. He had thousands of cattle and sheep in his family, and stored tens of thousands of shi of grain. What's more worth mentioning is that because of his tiger power, Many exiled people also joined him one after another. Under his command, there were hundreds of families and thousands of private troops. In Northwest China at that time, he seemed to be a powerful force.

At this time, it was already the time when the world was in chaos in the last years of the new dynasty, and the arrest warrants given to Ma Yuan back then were no longer counted.Beidi County is located in the northwest, and has not yet been affected by the war in the Central Plains. According to ordinary people's thinking, if Ma Yuan lives in the northwest with peace of mind, it will be very nourishing.He has money and soldiers, and he can go hunting to relieve boredom when he is free. How comfortable and comfortable life is, but Ma Yuan is not used to such comfort. He is a man with great ambitions. Animal husbandry is only the starting point of his dream. His dream is to be proud of the battlefield and make contributions.At this time, Wang Mang, who was in dire straits, was in urgent need of good soldiers and generals. After hearing Ma Yuan's reputation, Wang Mang threw an olive branch to Ma Yuan and appointed him as the Great Yin of Ankang, Shaanxi.Ma Yuan, who was appointed, was very excited, and immediately gave all the wealth of thousands of cattle and sheep under his name, as well as fertile land, to his relatives and friends, especially the thousands of soldiers who followed him to fight, almost every one of them got a share, and told everyone that "I'm going to make contributions. Those who are willing to follow are welcome, and those who are unwilling are free to do so."As a result, thousands of generals swore to die and followed Ma Yuan to the battlefield where the heroes of the Central Plains competed with great vigor.

But Ma Yuan, who had lofty aspirations, hit a snag when he raised his head. At that time, Wang Mang was at the end of his rope. He and his elder brother Ma Yuan had to flee for refuge, and the two brothers fled to Ganzhou together.The overlord of the Ganzhou area at that time was the general of Xizhou at this time, Kui Xiao.Kai Xiao looked down on the mediocre horsemen, but he had eyes for his younger brother Ma Yuan. At the invitation of Kai Xiao, Ma Yuan became an important general in Xizhou at this time, and participated in the military affairs of Xizhou many times. He conspired and was appointed General Suide by Kaixiao.At this time, Kai Xiao was living in the northwest, and he was more than capable of defending himself, but his talents were limited. He intended to defect to Gongsun Shu, who was independent from Bashu at this time.When Gongsun Shu was young, he and Ma Yuan were young and had a deep relationship. After Ma Yuan came this time, Gongsun Shu deliberately put on a show, pretending to be an emperor to meet Ma Yuan. Be a Marquis.At that time, Ma Yuan's entourage was very happy and thought it was a rare opportunity, but Ma Yuan didn't take it seriously. He resolutely rejected Gongsun Shu's offer to return to Ganzhou, and then told Kai Xiao: "Gongsun Shu is a frog at the bottom of a well, and it is difficult to become a great weapon." , we should pay more attention to the situation in the East.” Unfortunately, Gongsun Shu’s final fate was caught by Ma Yanyan.

In the chaos of the world after the fall of the Western Han Dynasty, the reason why Ma Yuan was appreciated by many heroes was because of his strategic vision.Ma Yuan is a person with a very strategic vision, and he has an excellent grasp of the general trend of the world. In every war, he can accurately grasp the final trend of things.The second is that Ma Yuan was very good at fighting. On the battlefield at that time, Ma Yuan was a well-known cavalry talent. Not only was he outstanding in personal cavalry and archery skills, but he was also very good at cavalry charge combat in the regiment. In the struggle for hegemony in the Central Plains, cavalry was the key to victory in field battles. Whoever has an elite cavalry general will have a sword that is powerful enough to kill the enemy.Ma Yuan, who has vision and can fight, was the sharp sword in the eyes of heroes from all walks of life at that time.

Since ancient times, treasured swords have been matched with heroes, and Ma Yuan's treasured sword has changed several masters in a row. It is not matched with a mediocre master like Wang Mang with great ambition and talent, or a hero like Kai Xiao who is not a climate hero, or Gongsun Shu who is a frog at the bottom of a well.Until that day in 28 A.D., the 42-year-old Ma Yuan was appointed by Kai Xiao to go to Luoyang as an envoy. This day was of great significance to Ma Yuan, because he finally met the first hero in his life who was worthy of his death. — Liu Xiu. For Ma Yuan, Liu Xiu, who was aiming at the world at this time, had been a "spiritual friend" for a long time, and his brother Ma Yuan, who had fled to Ganzhou with Ma Yuan, was also working under Liu Xiu after several twists and turns. After Ma Yuan arrived, Liu Xiu was extremely respectful.The first meeting between the two, Liu Xiu deliberately met Ma Yuan at the Xuande Palace in Luoyang. As soon as Ma Yuan entered the door, Liu Xiu immediately went forward, took Ma Yuan's hand and walked in, holding a cordial conversation. Ma Yuan was greatly moved by this move. Reminiscent of the humiliating scene of being "shown off" by Gongsun Shu the last time he went to Gongsun Shu's place, Ma Yuan couldn't help asking Liu Xiu: "Nowadays the world is in chaos, but Your Majesty has no defense against your ministers. How do you know that I am not an assassin's enemy?" Liu Xiu replied calmly, "Because you are not an assassin, you are more like a lobbyist." Liu Xiu's heartfelt confiding made Ma Yuan tell him bluntly: "Your majesty is so magnanimous, just like the great ancestor Gaozu back then. Similarly, only after I met His Majesty today did I realize that there really is an emperor in this world." So far, Ma Yuan and Liu Xiu, the pair of monarchs and ministers, have truly begun the story of "a sword matches a hero".

Although he fell in love with Liu Xiu, Ma Yuan was very "loyal" to Kai Xiao who helped him in the most difficult period.After deciding to defect to Liu Xiu, the first decision Ma Yuan made was to use his own efforts to persuade Kai Xiao to submit to the Han Dynasty. The reason for making this decision is firstly the relationship between Kai Xiao and Ma Yuan, which made Ma Yuan unable to bear to meet him in battle, and Kai Xiao's kindness made Ma Yuan decide to find a good way out for him.Kai Xiao is not a hero who can compete for the world, but with Liu Xiu's magnanimity, if Kai Xiao can vote under his sect, he will naturally have a good future; On the other hand, it connects with the Qiangs in the west and the Xiongnu in the north, which is also the barrier of the country."Before the world was unified, Ma Yuan was already planning for China's homeland defense.

So after this mission, Ma Yuan returned to Xizhou and began to try his best to persuade Kai Xiao to submit.He is also well aware of Kai Xiao's character. Kai Xiao is a person who tends to listen against what others say. The more you ask him to do something, the more he will "rebel".So when Kai Xiao asked Ma Yuan, "How is Liu Xiu compared to Han Gaozu"?Ma Yuan's answer was "If you want to promote, you must suppress first." He deliberately said, "Liu Xiu is not as good as Han Gaozu.Kai Xiao really "rebelled", and praised on the spot: "According to you, Liu Xiu is much better than Han Gaozu!" As a result of the rebellion, Kai Xiao finally decided to surrender.In December of the same year, Kai Xiao ordered his son Kai Xun to take a hostage in Luoyang, and ordered Ma Yuan to escort him. Ma Yuan followed suit and moved his family to live in Luoyang. With the help of China, the Hexi Corridor connecting the Silk Road was obtained. Although he made great contributions to Liu Xiu and found the best way out for Kai Xiao at that time, Ma Yuan soon "is not human at both ends!" Not too reconciled, he regretted it not long afterwards, and began to move around the corner, attempting to betray.At this time, Ma Yuan had not yet been appointed by Liu Xiu, and he led his family soldiers to farm in the Sanfu area. Although he was far away from the political vortex, every move of Kai Xiao could not be hidden from Ma Yuan's eyes.He wrote to Kai Xiao many times, persuading Kai Xiao not to act rashly, but the more he felt that he had been duped, he called Ma Yuan a traitor instead.In 30 A.D., taking advantage of Gongsun Shu's attack on Liu Xiu, Kai Xiao brazenly raised his troops to rebel, and Ma Yuan, who had contributed to Kai Xiao's surrender, "jumped into the Yellow River and couldn't cleanse himself". After Kaixiao's rebellion, Ma Yuan immediately played an explanation to show his innocence. At this time, Liu Xiu's close minister Li Tong and others were also very suspicious of Ma Yuan. After all, Liu Xiu was magnanimous about the troops he was aided by. After seeing Ma Yuan's letter, he not only did not doubt it, but invited him to Luoyang to discuss the matter of countering the rebellion.Ma Yuan's innocence was instantly cleared.Ma Yuan, who was grateful to Liu Xiu for his trust, also actively made suggestions. He first personally led 5,000 cavalry deep into the Hexi Corridor area, relying on his prestige, trying to persuade the local Qiang chiefs to leave Kai Xiao.In 32 A.D., Liu Xiu officially launched a campaign against Kaihuo. At this time, Kaihuo adopted a strategy of stagnant resistance in an attempt to delay the offensive of the Han army and waited for the rescue of Bashu Gongsun Shu. At the critical moment, the cavalry led by Ma Yuan rushed When they arrived, Liu Xiu, who had been unfavorable in successive marches, immediately shouted happily when he saw Ma Yuan's arrival, "Kai Xiao can be broken!"As expected, Ma Yuan did not disappoint him. He immediately expounded his opinion and described in detail the loopholes in Kaixiao's defense line. The way to deploy the terrain is the combat model commonly used in the army later - the sand table.The new invention was indeed of great use. Soon after, under the deployment of Ma Yuan, the Han army was like a broken bamboo, and wiped out Kaihuo in one fell swoop, and once again captured all parts of Longxi. The acquisition of Longxi was an extremely important part of Liu Xiu's unification of the world. Because of the victory of this war, the Eastern Han Dynasty obtained the Hexi Corridor area, which was an important border defense area at that time, which not only defended the northwest frontier defense, but also opened the door for going south to pacify Gongsun Shu. , the gate to unify the world.In this critical step, Ma Yuan, who had just arrived, actually played a key role. Ma Yuan, who showed great ambitions in the first battle to pacify Kaixiao, has just begun to contribute to Liu Xiu's unification of the world.In the fourth year after Kaixiao's power disappeared, that is, in AD 35, Ma Yuan was finally officially activated by Liu Xiu and gained the power to command the army-the prefect of Longxi.This is an important post that holds the military and political power in Longxi, and the territory under its jurisdiction basically includes the formerly separatist territory of Kaixiao. The reason why this post was entrusted to Ma Yuan is that he has lived here for many years and is familiar with the situation; , this is an extremely difficult job that almost no one dares to do. No one dares to do it because there is a local Qiang nationality that no one dares to fight. At that time, the main ethnic minority in Longxi was the Qiang nationality, and the Qiang nationality was widely distributed at that time. Not only there were Qiang tribes in Longxi, but there were also Qiang tribes outside the territory.When Kai Xiao was there, he mainly wooed the Qiang tribes. At that time, the Qiang tribes outside the Great Wall continued to invade, and some even entered the Longxi Plain in groups, occupying the land of the Han people there, and plundering villages and pastures.Moreover, unlike the Huns, although the overall strength of the Qiang people is not as strong as that of the Huns, they have drawn the land as a prison, divided their forces into multiple groups, colluded with each other, and are proficient in riding and shooting. , It’s like beating fleas with your fists, and using a large army to suppress them. When people see you, they will run away. Since the end of the Western Han Dynasty, the Qiang rebellion in the Longxi area has become more and more intense, almost to the point of being out of control.As a barrier to the northwest of the Eastern Han Empire, if things go on like this, it will inevitably lead to a situation of border erosion. According to the combat rules of ordinary generals, when dealing with such an enemy, they always fight against one enemy at a time. Wherever there are enemies, they will fight there. Can't make it.At that time, there were over a hundred Qiang tribes that harassed Longxi, large and small. There were several large tribal gangs committing crimes, and there were also small groups of scattered robberies. When the army came, they would run away, and if the Han army wanted to pursue them, they would lay an ambush.If you can't find it, if you can't catch up with it, if you don't pay attention, you will be beaten with a sap.How to fight against such an opponent is a big problem. From Ma Yuan's point of view, these problems are not a problem at all.He was originally a general who was good at cavalry combat. The cavalry he personally brought out was the strongest cavalry corps in the Eastern Han Empire at that time. To deal with opponents like the Qiang, he had only one principle: you are faster, and I am faster than you.So Ma Yuan took action very quickly. He first defeated the Xianling Qiang in Lintao, beheaded hundreds of people, and gave the local tribes a disarm.There are a total of nearly 100,000 Qiang soldiers from the eight major Qiang tribes concentrated here. Defeating them will stabilize the situation in Longxi. Since it is the key point, it is not easy to deal with.The local Qiang people are not only very good at fighting, but also very good at cheating. In the past, several Han armies were defeated only after being ambushed by them.Ma Yuan was even more deceitful. After the arrival of the Han army, the Qiang army deliberately scattered a large amount of supplies and luggage on the main roads the Han army was walking in, in an attempt to induce chaos in the Han army to grab the supplies, but this trick did not work on Ma Yuan.Ma Yuan led the troops strictly, and his soldiers were all strictly disciplined. There were a lot of gold and silver treasures in front of him, and he didn't even bat an eyelid. Just when the Qiang army was wondering, suddenly a fire broke out in the backyard. It turned out that Ma Yuan had sent early The elite cavalry copied the enemy's rear and took over the Qiang army's rear nest at once. As a result, tens of thousands of Qiang troops were in chaos. The Han army took the opportunity to launch a general attack and defeated the enemy in one fell swoop.It is worth mentioning that in this battle, Ma Yuan took the lead and charged forward in every battle. At this time, because of the small number of soldiers, the total number of troops he brought to the battle was less than 3,000, but nearly 100,000 were defeated in one fell swoop. Qiang Army.The greatest significance of this battle does not lie in how many enemies were eliminated, but because of this battle of winning more with less, Ma Yuan immediately established the prestige of "Shen Yongtian General" in the hearts of the Qiang people. At the mention of Ma Yuan's name, all the tribes of the Qiang people in Longxi looked forward to the wind and surrendered. Ma Yuan can not only fight, but also pull.After winning the Battle of Haotan, Ma Yuan could have taken advantage of the victory to pursue and continue to build up military exploits, but he announced his withdrawal and then sent envoys to appease the Qiang tribe in Longxi.Intimidated by Ma Yuan's prestige, a large number of Qiang tribes not only surrendered, but under Ma Yuan's instruction, they sent a message to the Qiang tribes outside Longxi: as long as they submit to the Han Dynasty, all the past will be forgotten, otherwise they will be mobilized to destroy them without discussion.As a result, both inside and outside Longxi, Qiang tribes from all over the world put down their arms one after another. After that, Ma Yuan took the initiative to allocate land and farm tools to them, and sent special personnel to teach the Qiang people how to cultivate and help the Qiang people transform into farming. He also encouraged the Qiang people to live together with the Han people in Longxi. , and even intermarry each other.At that time, the Ledong area of ​​Qinghai, south of Longnan, was an important strategic defensive area, but because it was remote and difficult to govern, the Han Empire suggested giving up this land, but Ma Yuan firmly opposed it. He believed that although this place was remote, it could The land is fertile and the water and grass are plentiful. If it can be cultivated and developed locally, it will certainly be able to supply money and food for frontier defense. Under his strong support, more than 3,000 Han troops have established a reclamation base in the local area.At the same time, Ma Yuan repaired the local water conservancy and dredged the river, so that the water in Ledong could irrigate the entire southern area of ​​Longxi County. Since then, agriculture in the Hexi Corridor has developed rapidly. By the time of the Tang Dynasty, Longxi had become one of the most affluent regions in China. .The proverb of the people of the Tang Dynasty, "The riches of the world come from Longyou" originated at this time. Ma Yuan served as the prefect of Longxi for a total of 6 years. During his 6 years in office, the flames of war in Longxi area gradually extinguished, ethnic hatred disappeared, Han and Qiang lived in harmony, and the economy developed rapidly. Just like Zhao Chongguo back then, the battlefield The majestic Ma Yuan is also a builder of border defense, and what he pursues is also the long-term stability of the country.Ma Yuan's various favors to the Qiang people also allowed him to establish a high prestige among the Qiang people.In 38 A.D., there was an armed fight organized by villagers in Lintao to grab water. The local county magistrate thought it was a rebellion of the Qiang people and hurriedly reported to Ma Yuan. How can a person rebel!" The generosity and self-confidence of a famous general of a great power has been the same for thousands of years. After meeting Ming Lord Liu Xiu, Ma Yuan's main job is like a firefighter, rushing wherever there is danger, the most difficult battle, the battle that no one wants to fight, but he is sent to fight. After serving as the prefect of Longxi for 6 years, Ma Yuan was promoted to Luoyang because of his military exploits, and became a general of Huben Zhonglang, mastering the most elite cavalry regiment of the Eastern Han Empire.In the following three years, his main political achievement was to promote the currency system reform of the Eastern Han Dynasty.At this time, the Eastern Han Dynasty faced the same situation as the early Western Han Dynasty. The country did not have a unified currency minting standard, and various coins circulated in the market. Even the currency of Wang Mang's "New" Dynasty was also used as legal tender within the territory.Long before taking office as the prefect of Longxi, Ma Yuan suggested restoring the five baht currency in the Western Han Dynasty, but his strategy was relatively simple at that time, so Liu Xiu did not adopt it. After returning from Longxi, Ma Yuan used his experience as a magistrate , Supplemented the strategy of the year again, carefully revised the memorial and presented it to Liu Xiu, this time he finally persuaded Liu Xiu.In 42 AD, the official currency of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the five baht coin, was officially issued.This move changed the currency chaos in Chinese society since the end of the Western Han Dynasty, and the economic recovery and take-off of the Eastern Han Dynasty also had a lot to do with it.Facts have proved that Ma Yuan was right again. At this time, Ma Yuan became a hot political star in the political arena of the Eastern Han Dynasty because of his achievements in pacifying the Qiang people in Longxi.In addition to being able to fight, Ma Yuan is also very eloquent, and he can't stop talking about battle stories.Although Liu Xiu himself is good at Confucianism, he also does not forget to strengthen his military equipment. After Ma Yuan returned to Beijing, he specially organized large-scale forums for the prince's clan many times, and asked Ma Yuan to tell everyone the battle stories of the year. Come, let everyone be fascinated by his outstanding eloquence, and help Liu Xiu do a good job in the education of "recalling bitterness and thinking sweetness".Moreover, he is very good at making metaphors. For example, once, when he asked Liu Xiuchen how to suppress the rebels in the mountains, Ma Yuan made an analogy, saying that in order to suppress the rebels in the mountains, they must destroy their lairs. This is like a person who has lice on his head and has to shave his head so that the lice have nowhere to hide.Liu Xiu appreciated it very much after hearing it, and made an experiment on a whim: let all the eunuchs in the palace who had lice on their heads be shaved bald. Ma Yuan soon received another "firefighting" mission, this time the target was the Jiaozhi country in the south, and Ma Yuan's mission was precisely to "shave his head". Jiaozhi State, that is, the former land of South Vietnam that was included in the Chinese territory during the Western Han Dynasty, the territory at that time included the Guangxi region of China today and the northern part of Vietnam.During the Eastern Han Dynasty, taking advantage of the turmoil in the Central Plains, it also raised its flag to establish a country, and once again became a southern vassal state under the rule of the Han Empire.During Liu Xiu's reign, the power of the Jiaozhi Kingdom was in the hands of the local female aristocrats Zhengbian and Zhenger.These are two very tough women. They have long been dissatisfied with accepting the jurisdiction of the Han Empire, and they want to establish themselves as kings in the south. The fuse of their relationship with the Han Empire is because they took the initiative to find trouble and attack the Guangdong area. The villages and towns of the Han Dynasty were retaliated by the local prefect Sun Ding, which just gave them an excuse to raise troops.In 41 A.D., the sisters Zheng Fang and Zheng Er formally rebelled. Tens of thousands of people gathered at once, and most of Jiaozhi and Jiuzhen fell into their hands. Misfortunes never come singly. All of a sudden, wars broke out in the Central Plains. When the news came, Liu Xiu immediately decided to send troops to quell the rebellion, but this time it was very difficult to handle. Most of the troops of the Eastern Han Dynasty fought in the north, and most of them were from the north. The plague also made the Han army extremely uncomfortable.With all kinds of disadvantages, this is naturally another battle that no one dares to fight.No one dared to fight, but Ma Yuan dared. In 42 AD, Ma Yuan was appointed as General Fubo and led his troops south to fight against the rebellion. Compared with the destructive campaign against the Qiang people back then, this campaign was extremely unsuccessful.The Cochin army is best at jungle warfare. In the dense tropical rainforest of Vietnam, the Cochin people fought guerrilla warfare, using guerrilla, traps, and poisonous crossbows to continuously kill and wound the Han army. Also died in battle.In the case of continuous casualties, Ma Yuan clearly realized that if the fight continues like this, even if there are 1 million people, they will all die sooner or later.Ma Yuan's mind is spinning fast, jungle warfare can't beat you, it's too late to learn, but why do I have to fight you in the jungle?Change the way!Afterwards, the Han army only left small troops to contain the front, and the large troops detoured from the side, starting from the Beibu Gulf of Guangxi, going straight to the Jiaozhi Kingdom by sea, and attacking the rebels from the flanks. This move really defeated the Jiaozhi army.In the spring of 42 A.D., the Ma Yuan Department launched a decisive battle with the Cochin Army in Langbo, Vietnam. After a bloody battle, thousands of Cochin Army soldiers were beheaded and tens of thousands were captured.Afterwards, Ma Yuan took advantage of the victory and pursued, and finally captured and killed the rebel leader Zheng Fang and Zheng Er sisters in the first month of the second year, and passed them on to Luoyang.The overall situation in Cochin has been settled so far. After the victory, Liu Xiu canonized Ma Yuan as Marquis of Xinxi and gave him three thousand households.At this time, Ma Yuan once again showed excellent strategic vision. He believed that Jiaozhi was only superficially calm at this time, and the root of the disaster had not been resolved.After receiving the reward of being a marquis, Ma Yuan feasted on the generals, crying bitterly during the banquet, and said frankly to the generals, "Today's great victory is due to everyone's contribution, but I am the only one who was conferred the title of Marquis. I am really ashamed of receiving it." .A confession aroused the hearts of the generals to fight again, and then Ma Yuan sent troops to pursue them closely, from the waves to the huge winds, which is today's North Vietnam area of ​​Vietnam. The rebel forces were completely put down.In order to achieve long-term peace and stability, Ma Yuan appeases the people wherever he goes, and even builds water conservancy and distributes food and grass. He is very popular among the Vietnamese people. Different parts governed the local area with a new law. Later, the Vietnamese law "Yue Lv" was completed on the basis of the law compiled by Ma Yuan.Ma Yuan’s efforts in Vietnam have given him a high prestige in the local area, and the Vietnamese respect him as "Mu Tou Gong". To this day, Mu Tou Gong is still a very revered god among the Vietnamese people. In the autumn of 44 A.D., Ma Yuan, who had pacified Jiaozhi, returned to Beijing triumphantly. In order to commend Ma Yuan’s meritorious service, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu specially ordered Ma Yuan to ride alone in a military chariot to be welcomed by the people of Luoyang. At this time, his glory had reached the peak of his life. peak. After victories in the two major battles of Pingqiang and Pingjiaozhi, Ma Yuan had a high reputation for a while and became the number one star of the Eastern Han Empire at this time.At this time, Ma Yuan is the official residence of Xinxi Hou and ranks in the Jiuqing. It can be said that he wants officials, officials, money and money. He has everything that a general in the feudal era dreamed of.At this time, Ma Yuan was already 58 years old. Today, he is about to retire.It seems to be a matter of course to grow flowers and grow grass when you are free. But Ma Yuan was a person who couldn't stay idle, not to mention that the border of the Eastern Han Empire was still not peaceful at this time. Although the south and northwest had been pacified, the north was full of wars, and the Xiongnu and Wuhuan kept disturbing the border.For the national border defense, Ma Yuan has been painstakingly planning. When he returned from the pacification of Jiaozhi, he offered a bronze horse made of the special bronze drum of Jiaozhi, and used it to advise Liu Xiu: If the country wants to have long-term peace and stability, it must have an excellent cavalry. To build a good cavalry, the first thing is to choose a horse.Liu Xiu adopted Ma Yuan's suggestion and used the bronze horse cast by Ma Yuan as a model for selecting war horses from all over the world.And Ma Yuan, who has fought all his life, has also made up his mind to dedicate himself to the cause of national defense. He once said to his friend Meng Yi: "A good man will die in the frontier, and his body will be wrapped in horse leather and buried. Time to indulge in a comfortable life?" "The Shroud of Horse Leather" comes from this. Only one month after the triumphant return of Cochin, Ma Yuan rushed to the battlefield again.At that time, the Xiongnu and Wuhuan frequently invaded the northern frontier, and even the royal cemetery of the Han Empire was often harassed. Ma Yuan immediately volunteered to go to the frontier to defend against the enemy.Beginning in December 44 A.D., Ma Yuan led troops to patrol Yanmen, Daidi, Shanggu and other places, and defeated the invasion of the Xiongnu and Wuhuan armies many times. Ma Yuan's battle flag fled on his own initiative, not daring to fight at all.After that, because the northern and southern Xiongnu split, and the southern Huns attached themselves, the northern frontier was temporarily calm.Ma Yuan, who worked hard and fought hard, lived at home temporarily. In 48 A.D., in the Changde area of ​​Hunan, China, an unexpected war broke out-the Wuxi barbarian riot.This riot was not a big deal at first, but Liu Xiu sent Wuwei general Liu Shang to conquer, but he was defeated.After hearing about Ma Yuan from the military newspaper, he took the initiative to invite Ying to go out again. This time Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty did not agree easily because of his advanced age.Ma Yuan refused to accept it, so he stepped on his horse on the spot and galloped around outside the palace gate. Although Ma Yuan was 62 years old, his white hair was fluttering and he was full of heroic spirit. Good old man, good old man!" Ma Yuan's request was agreed on the spot, and in 49 AD, Ma Yuan, Zhonglang generals Geng Shu, Ma Wu and others led an expedition of 40,000 troops to Changde. Compared with the previous expeditions, Ma Yuan, who was determined to win and had an outstanding vision, had a premonition of the upcoming danger. Before he set off, he confessed his worries to his friend Du An: "There are many powerful people who will follow me this time. My son, if they hold back everywhere, I am afraid that the battle of the Southern Expedition will be difficult!" As expected, the matter was once again hit by him, in an extremely sad way. Compared with Ma Yuan's previous expeditions, the Battle of Wuxi seemed to be the easiest one to fight.In terms of hardships and hardships, it is far inferior to the Southern Expedition to Jiaozhi, and in terms of the strength of the opponents, it is not as good as the Huns and Qiangs, but this is the most difficult to fight, because this time the people assigned to Ma Yuan to fight are all the children of nobles and nobles. Most of them are not his cronies, and it is difficult to adjust the government orders when fighting. Sure enough, the war has cast a shadow from the very beginning.When the army arrived in Hubei, Ma Yuan and Geng Shu, the general of Zhonglang, clashed over the question of which route to take to enter Wuxi. He quarreled with Ma Yuan in public, and as a result, the army was unable to move an inch in the quarrel, and had to report to Liu Xiu for a ruling.In the end, although Liu Xiu expressed his support for Ma Yuan, the biggest difficulty of this war also came to the fore. Ma Yuan was commanding an army that did not obey his orders at all, and a group of arrogant and domineering noble children who even chose This group of young and strong officers resisted such trivial matters as marching troops, so how could it be guaranteed that they could obey orders and charge bravely in battle? Even so, Ma Yuan still faced the difficulties, just like he led the troops in Longxi back then, what he did was still leading by example.When the army fights, he rushes to the forefront and confronts the enemy. He often ignores the danger and goes to the front line to investigate the enemy's situation. As for the diet and daily life, he eats what the soldiers eat. He loves soldiers like a son. , and quickly won the hearts of the soldiers, the whole army united as one, defeated the Wuxi barbarians one after another, and the army advanced to the nest of the Wuxi barbarians - the Hutou Mountain area. Just when the war was about to end in victory again, An accident happened—Ma Yuan fell ill. Ma Yuan's disease, according to modern medicine, is rheumatism, and the root cause of the disease fell when he conquered Jiaozhi.In the past few years after the triumphant return, he has not been able to rest. When he went south to Wuxi, he encountered the hot weather in the south, so that he quickly relapsed. He has experienced many moments of life and death on the battlefield. Supported, he mercilessly extinguished like a burnt torch.In March of 49 A.D., Ma Yuan, a famous general of a generation, died of illness in the army just before the final victory in the Pingwuxi War. But what Ma Yuan didn't expect until his death was that the ending of his whole life of fighting and sacrificing his life for the country not only failed to win him respect and honor, on the contrary, it caused him to fall into a turmoil after his death. Ma Yuan set an example on the Wuxi battlefield and took the lead. He could move 40,000 soldiers of the Han army, but he couldn't move villains—such as Geng Shu and his like. Geng Shu has a lot of background, he is the younger brother of Zhihou Gengxi, the famous founding general of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Speaking of which, the Geng family and Ma Yuan are quite close.When Ma Yuan was in the Sanfu settlement, he was Geng Xi's deputy general, and the two cooperated very well. This Geng Xi was also a very famous one among the founding generals of the Eastern Han Dynasty. During the critical period when Liu Xiu was fighting for the world, It was he who led the troops to pacify Shandong and decided the overall situation of the world at that time.在整个东汉开国战争中，耿翕共夺取州郡46个，城池300多个，是云台二十八将中战功最卓著的，刘秀曾称赞他为“韩信第二”。但哥哥英雄，弟弟耿舒却是混蛋，马援病倒之后，耿舒就写信给哥哥“打小报告”，污蔑马援用兵不利，说马援临阵畏敌，指挥不利，导致前线战局陷入困顿。不明真相的耿翕立刻将此事奏报给汉光武帝刘秀，开国第一名将的话，刘秀自然是相信的，立刻派自己的女婿——中郎将梁松去责备马援，并命令他收缴马援的指挥权，当梁松赶到前线的时候，马援已经病逝于军中了。 这个来责备马援的梁松，其实也是个和马援颇有渊源的人。他的父亲梁统是马援的好友，论起来，他该管马援叫一声“世伯”，但对这个“马世伯”，梁松嫉恨很久。马援得罪他最主要的事情，就是梁松平日里以嚣张跋扈著称，并且时常带着马援的侄儿马严四处瞎搞，马援得知后，给侄儿写信，将他狠狠地骂了一顿。此事被刘秀得知后，把梁松叫来狠狠地训了一顿，两人的梁子就这么结下了。此外马援为人慷慨豪爽，是百分百的硬汉性格，梁松凭借着其刘秀女婿的身份，平时目中无人，马援却不吃他这一套。有一次马援和梁松见面，梁松向他行礼，马援却泰然处之，别人问为什么，马援说：“我和他的父亲是好友，现在如果和他行平辈礼，这不是乱了纲常辈分吗？”就为这一句话，梁松彻底恨上了马援，“世伯”的关系也不顾了。此时虽然马援已死，梁松却连死人也不放过，串通了耿舒等人联名诬陷，硬说马援贪污受贿，并说他趁着南征的机会，曾经搜刮了一车珠宝回来，这一状告得相当狠，光武帝刘秀对马援很是欣赏，而且他为人以宽厚著称，却有一件事情不能容忍——贪污。果然事情上奏后，刘秀勃然大怒，当场下令收回了马援的侯爵位。结果，马援的遗体被运送回洛阳后，家人竟不敢公开安葬，只能草草找了一块坟地掩埋。丧礼上，马援平时的好友纷纷躲风头，大多不敢来吊唁。刘秀还不罢休，竟然将马援的妻儿子侄们用草索捆了，押到宫里来问罪，当着众大臣的面，将梁松的奏折摔给他们全家——一代名将马革裹尸，竟遭如此折辱，诚为可叹。 诬陷的把戏，在马家亲属们看到奏疏后，却很快被揭穿了。原来，马援在南征交趾的时候，因南方湿热的天气患上了风湿病，这个风湿病也从此伴随他此后的一生，后来为了治病，就从南方买了一车形状似珍珠的药材回来，就这么指鹿为马，被说成是珍宝。明白原委的马夫人，此后6次上书刘秀申诉冤情，并且请求马援的好友帮忙，当时马援的许多高官好友都纷纷回避，唯独一个和马援交情不深的小官朱子勃大胆上书，陈诉马援冤屈。刘秀到最后也弄明白了事情原委，但处罚令已经下去了，倘若收回，皇家面子何在。爱面子的刘秀，虽然之后正式安葬了马援，但是马援的爵位和清白，却始终没有恢复。这桩冤案，一直到刘秀去世后，才由刘秀的儿子汉明帝刘庄给予平反。但之后刘庄立云台二十八将时，因马援是自己的岳父（马援的女儿是皇后），并未将他列进去，他的爵位，一直到了汉章帝在位时才恢复，公元78年，汉章帝册封马援为“忠诚侯”，这时距离马援去世，已经过去了整整29年。 马援死后，其家族的处境一度非常凄惨，马援生前奉行“君子不党”的原则，从不倚仗权势拉帮结派，而且教导子孙要低调清白做人。但他不拉帮结派，也就得罪了想和他拉帮的权贵们，马援虽然沙场风光，家庭生活却很不幸，他的两个儿子马克卿和马慧卿先后夭折，妻子马夫人悲伤过度，从此卧病在床。幸运的是，马援有一个好闺女，他的女儿马氏（姓名已经失传）当时才10岁，就主动主持起了家中的事物。但这个曾经显赫的侯爵之家毕竟破落了，连当年和马家定亲的家族们也纷纷退婚。早熟的马氏，经其堂兄马严的上奏，得以入东宫侍奉太子，从小深得马援真传的马氏，虽是女儿身，行事却颇有其父之风，为人朴实宽厚，很快得到了太子刘庄以及皇后阴丽华的宠爱，被册立为太子妃。比起马援从小不爱学习，这位马姑娘却是一个学问渊博的人，不但漂亮，而且学识丰富，精通春秋楚辞，凭这些优势，她终于在皇宫里站住了脚，等到汉明帝刘庄即位后，她被册封为皇后，成为了母仪天下的人物。此后她兢兢业业，为汉明帝刘庄教化太子，并且以身作则，约束马家宗族，一生建树颇多，是中国历史上著名的贤德皇后，去世后被尊为明德皇后。巧合的是，就在马氏被册封为皇后的那一年，当年诬陷马援贪污的驸马爷梁松，因为私自接受郡县贿赂，被汉明帝下狱，不久后病死于狱中，小人恶报，确实来的很“巧”。