Ma Tan was killed by Zhuge Liang for losing the street pavilion, and just when Zhuge Liang got up, a note fell out. What was written on this note? Why did Zhuge Liang be grief-stricken and shout, "Keep people under the knife"? Unfortunately, Ma Jian had already been executed, and Zhuge Liang wept bitterly. What kind of secrets and conspiracy are hidden behind this? Let's find out.
1. Ma Tan's life experience and early experience
It is said that back then, Ma Jian was born in a scholarly family, and his father Ma Liang was a famous general in the late Han Dynasty, who once accompanied Liu Bei to fight in Jiangdong and made great achievements. Ma Tan has been influenced by the pavilion since he was a child, and he is extremely talented, especially good at the art of war and strategy, and he is already a young talent with both civil and military skills at a young age.
The young and promising Ma Tan naturally attracted Zhuge Liang's appreciation. Zhuge Liang was the most outstanding military strategist in the world, he took a fancy to Ma Tan's outstanding talent, personally accepted him as a protégé, and gave him the way of military writing. Ma Tan was humble and studious, studied under Zhuge Liang for several years, and soon learned the art of war and strategy, and became Zhuge Liang's most proud disciple.
Later, Liu Bei led the people south to Shu, and Ma Jian also came with him and joined the army of Shu Han. In the early days of the establishment of Shu Han, Ma Tan made many military exploits, especially in the battle to defend Hanzhong, he strategized and commanded well, repelled the attack of Cao Wei's army several times, and made great contributions to Shu Han. Zhuge Liang looked at this young general who was maturing day by day, and couldn't help but have high hopes for him, treating him as his own, and planning to hand over the military power of Shu Han to him in the future.
In this way, under the careful teaching of Zhuge Liang, Ma Tan transformed from a young scholar into a battle-hardened military strategist, and became a leader in the Shu Han army. He is brave and good at fighting, strategizing, and has repeatedly performed miraculous feats, and has won Zhuge Liang's respect and appreciation. Among the generals of Shu Han, Ma Jian is undoubtedly the most valued by Zhuge Liang, and the friendship between teachers and students between the two is also deepening.
2. Deployment before the Battle of the Street Pavilion
In 228 AD, Cao Wei's army overwhelmed Chengdu, and Zhuge Liang decided to personally lead the army to attack Huanglong in an attempt to fight the male and female. Before setting out on the expedition, Zhuge Liang made careful arrangements for this battle, and every detail was carefully considered by him.
First of all, the geographical location of the street pavilion, it is located at the foot of Qishan Mountain, the mountain is high and the valley is deep, the terrain is dangerous, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Once the Jieting was controlled by the Shu army, it could effectively block the Wei army's offensive route along Qishan to Hanzhong. Therefore, the street pavilion has extremely important military significance for Shu Han, it is the rear defense of the Shu army, and it is also the retreat of Zhuge Liang's expedition.
Before the expedition, Zhuge Liang personally led the main army down the Weishui River, preparing to attack Cao Wei's camp. The important town of Jieting was guarded by an elite division led by his right-hand man Ma Tan. Ma Tan has experienced a hundred battles, is brave and good at fighting, and is the best choice to guard the street pavilion. Zhuge Liang explained to Ma Tan that he only needed to stick to the street pavilion and delay time for the main army, and he must not be in a hurry and rush in easily.
Zhuge Liang's original plan was this: he personally led the main army to attack Cao Wei's camp, and once the gap was opened, he could cut off the Wei army's logistical supply lines and put it in a desperate situation. At the same time, Ma Tan was responsible for holding on to the street pavilion, buying time for the main army, and never letting the street pavilion be lost. Once Jieting was captured by the Wei army, the Shu army would be in a dangerous situation of being flanked from front to back.
It can be said that the victory or defeat of the Battle of Jieting is directly related to the overall situation of Shu Han. Zhuge Liang can be said to be well-prepared and well-planned for this expedition. He placed his most trusted Ma Jian in the most critical street pavilion fortress, which shows that he attaches great importance to Ma Tan. Before setting out on the expedition, Zhuge Liang repeatedly told Ma Jian that he must stick to the street pavilion and must not make any mistakes.
3. Ma Tan accidentally lost the street pavilion
According to Zhuge Liang's deployment, Ma Jian led an elite division to stick to the street pavilion, which should have been foolproof. But who would have thought that just three days later, Jieting was captured by Cao Wei's army, and Ma Jian had to lead the remnants to retreat.
At that time, the main force of Cao Wei's army was confronting Zhuge Liang's main force of the Shu army. Cao Wei's general Sima Yi left a light cavalry regiment and bypassed Qishan and went straight to Jieting. Ma Jian originally thought that it was just a small group of Cao troops coming to harass him, but he didn't pay attention to it, and still held on to it in the street pavilion.
Who knows, Cao Jun actually resorted to a trick, they deliberately bluffed outside the street pavilion, creating the illusion of a large number of people. Ma Tan was deceived and led most of his troops out of the city to meet the battle. Cao Jun took the opportunity to set fire to the street pavilion, and Ma Jian was homeless and could only retreat.
The news soon reached Zhuge Liang's ears, and he was shocked, the fall of Jieting meant that the retreat of the Shu army was cut off, and the situation was in danger. Zhuge Liang had to abandon the original plan and temporarily dispatch troops to try to reinforce Ma Yan.
At this juncture, Ma Jian made another fatal mistake. He led the remnants to retreat to Qishan, and could have taken advantage of the geographical advantage to occupy a favorable situation, but somehow left rashly and continued to retreat. Soon, the main force of Cao's army caught up and completely routed Ma Tan's troops.
Ma Jian fled back to Chengdu with the remnants of the soldiers, Zhuge Liang was furious when he saw this, and immediately took Ma Jian down and sentenced him to death according to military discipline. Ma Jian was originally Zhuge Liang's protégé, and the two had a deep teacher-student relationship, but this time Ma Tan's mistake was too serious, causing Shu Han to suffer a heavy blow, and Zhuge Liang had to be ruthless to maintain military discipline.
In this way, because of Ma Tan's momentary negligence, the street pavilion was lost, and the vitality of the Shu army was greatly damaged. This was undoubtedly a heavy blow to Shu Han, and morale plummeted. And Ma Tan himself paid the price of his life for this, which makes people sigh.
Fourth, Zhuge Liang was forced to execute Ma Yan
Ma Tan lost the street pavilion, which dealt a heavy blow to the Shu Han army. However, Zhuge Liang had to be ruthless and executed this former protégé in accordance with military discipline.
At that time, the political situation in Shu was very chaotic, and there were two major factions. One faction is the old department that followed Liu Bei to the south, and the other faction is some local families in Shu. Ma Tan and Zhuge Liang both belonged to Liu Bei's old department, and in the eyes of the Shu people, they were just some foreign "guests".
The defeat in the Battle of Jieting undoubtedly exacerbated the contradictions between the two factions. The local faction secretly rejoiced at Ma Tan's mistake, believing that it was caused by the incompetence of Liu Bei's old department. They were eyeing each other, waiting for what Zhuge Liang would do with the leader, Ma Yan.
Zhuge Liang knew that if he forgave Ma Jian at this time, it would inevitably cause dissatisfaction among the local factions, which would then lead to civil strife. In order to maintain the morale of the army, he had to be ruthless and execute Ma Jian in accordance with military discipline to stabilize the morale of the army.
In fact, Zhuge Liang has a deep friendship between teachers and students with Ma Yan. Ma Jian has been his protégé since he was a child, and the relationship between the two goes without saying. However, the current situation is critical, Shu Han is in a predicament of internal and external troubles, and Zhuge Liang has to consider the overall situation and ruthlessly execute Ma Jian to show military discipline.
When Ma Tan was arrested and imprisoned, Zhuge Liang went to visit. When the two met, Zhuge Liang said earnestly: "Ma Yan, you and I have a deep teacher-student relationship, I originally planned to hand over the military power of Shu Han to you." But your mistake has caused such a catastrophe... ＂
Ma Jian bowed his head and was silent, and Zhuge Liang continued: "I know that you are diligent and studious on weekdays, but this time it is just a moment of negligence. But military discipline is like a mountain, and I can't forgive you just because you are my disciple. For the sake of the overall situation of Shu Han, I can only ...... Alas... ＂
When Zhuge Liang said this, his eyes couldn't help but moisten. Seeing this, Ma Jian hurriedly comforted: "Master, the disciple understands. The future of Shu Han is the most important thing, and if the disciple does something wrong, it is inevitable that he will suffer. ＂
end
In this way, Zhuge Liang gritted his teeth and ordered Ma Jian to be hanged. Before Ma Tan died, he did not forget to tell Zhuge Liang: "Master, the great cause of Shu Han still needs you to continue to persevere, although the disciple is still glorious... ＂