Chapter 79 78 Old and Strong General

Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty conquered the world by force. He had a group of generals and advisers who were born as powerful landlords.After the death of Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, his son Liu Zhuang, Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty, painted the portraits of twenty-eight people on the Yuntai of Nangong, which was called "Twenty-Eight Generals of Yuntai". But besides the twenty-eight generals, there is another general whose name is not left on the Yuntai, but is very famous in history.He is the old and vigorous Ma Yuan. During Wang Mang's reign, Ma Yuan served as the postal supervisor of Fufeng County (where the government is located in the southeast of Xingping, Shaanxi).Once, the prefect of the county sent him to send the prisoner to Chang'an.On the way, he saw the prisoners crying very sadly, so he let them go, so he lost his job and fled to Beidi County to hide.Later, animal husbandry and agriculture were started there.

In less than a few years, Ma Yuan became a big livestock owner and landlord, owning thousands of cattle and sheep, and saving tens of thousands of hu grains. But he didn't want to stay there and live a rich life.He distributed his accumulated property, cattle and sheep, to his brothers and friends.He said: "Being a miser by yourself is too useless." He also said: "A man should have lofty aspirations. The poorer he is, the stronger he is, and the older he is, the stronger he is." A lot of exploits. In the autumn of 44 A.D., when Ma Yuan came back from fighting outside, someone advised him, "You have worked hard enough. You should rest at home."

Ma Yuan said boldly: "No, the Xiongnu and Wuhuan are still in turmoil, and I am about to ask the emperor to defend the north. A man should die on the frontier, and let others wrap his body in horse leather and send it back for burial. Why? I can stay at home and live with my wife and children." Soon, the Xiongnu and Wuhuan indeed invaded the north one after another.Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty sent him to guard Xiangguo (now southwest of Xingtai, Hebei).The Xiongnu and Wuhuan made contact with the Han soldiers and then fled. Not long after the north was pacified, a tribe in Wuxi (at the junction of Hunan and Guizhou) in the south attacked Linyuan County. Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty sent troops to conquer twice, but they were defeated by the Wuxi tribe.

Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty was very worried about this matter.At that time Ma Yuan was sixty-two years old, but he still asked him to lead troops to fight. Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty looked at Ma Yuan, saw that his beard had turned white, and said, "The general is old, so don't go!" But Ma Yuan refused to accept his old age, so he put on his armor in front of the hall, stepped on his horse, and galloped back and forth majestically. Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty couldn't help but exclaimed: "What a tough old man!" He sent him to lead two generals, Ma Wu and Geng Shu, and 40,000 horses to attack Wuxi.

When Ma Yuan's army arrived at Wuxi, many soldiers died of heat stroke because they were not used to the southern climate, and Ma Yuan himself also fell ill.Some people challenged Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, saying that Ma Yuan's command was wrong.Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty sent Zhonglang General Liang Song to question Ma Yuan and supervise Ma Yuan's army. Liang Song is the son-in-law of Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, and he has always been arrogant.Liang Song's father turned out to be Ma Yuan's friend.Ma Yuan couldn't understand Liang Song's arrogance, and once criticized him, and Liang Song remembered his hatred from then on.

When Liang Song arrived at Wuxi, Ma Yuan had already died of illness.But Liang Song refused to give up, and sued Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, saying that Ma Yuan not only made a mistake in commanding the battle, but also searched for a large number of pearls in private when he was in the south last time.Ma Wu, who was with Ma Yuan, also made a false accusation, saying that Ma Yuan had indeed packed a whole cart full of pearls when he returned home. This time, Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty really believed it, and ordered Ma Yuan's title to be revoked (Ma Yuan was originally named Xinxihou), and Ma Yuan's crimes should also be investigated.

When Ma Yuan's coffin was brought to his home, his wife, Mrs. Ma, did not dare to report the funeral, so she secretly buried the coffin outside the city. Even friends and guests who were close friends with Ma Yuan did not dare to go to Ma Yuan's house to mourn. Mrs. Ma went to the palace to plead guilty to Emperor Guangwu of Han Dynasty, and Emperor Guangwu Han angrily threw Liang Song's memorial to her.As soon as Mrs. Ma saw the memorial, she realized that her husband had been wronged enormously. It turned out that Ma Yuan suffered from rheumatism when he was in the south.Someone told him that the local barley (sound yi-yi, also called rice kernel) can cure rheumatism.Ma Yuan ate a little, and it really worked. When he returned home, he asked someone to buy a batch of large grains of Job's tears, packed them in a cart and brought them back.

Liang Song and Ma Wu had seen these things with their own eyes, so they took advantage of the rumors, called the barley as pearls, and sued Ma Yuan, causing Ma Yuan to have his title revoked and his reputation ruined. Mrs. Ma appealed to Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty six times in a row.There was also a man named Zhu Bo who, hearing Ma Yuan's grievances, boldly wrote a memorial to defend Ma Yuan's grievances. Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty read the memorial of Mrs. Ma and Zhu Bo before he allowed the Ma family to bury Ma Yuan and stopped investigating Ma Yuan's crimes.