In the 20th year of the Eastern Han Dynasty (215 AD), Ma Chao, who was not very happy in Hanzhong Zhang Luna, defected to Liu Bei and then helped Liu Bei take Chengdu.
Ma Chao was also given a thick seal by Liu Bei for his forced surrender to Chengdu: "With Chao as the general of Pingxi, he was depressed, because of the former Capital Ting Marquis." ”
In this award, "Marquis of Duting" is a title, "General Pingxi" is a title, and only "Governor Linfeng" is a real position.
This place of Linfeng, in the territory of present-day Yichang, Hubei, was a passage connecting Yizhou and Jingzhou.
Of course, it is only a passage, the actual strategic position is not so important, Liu Bei on this passage, the real reliance on the Brazilian County garrison behind Linfeng, Brazil Taishou is Zhang Fei.
Later, after the Shu Han general Guan Yu lost Jingzhou, he tried to flee from Linfeng back to Yizhou, but was unsuccessful, and was beheaded by Wu General: "Quan sent generals to counterattack Yu, and Cut Yu and Ziping in Linfeng. ”
Therefore, there are rumors that Yu fled to Ma Chao's garrison, because Ma Chao did not send troops to rescue him, resulting in Guan Yu being killed without help.
In fact, this can only be a rumor, although Ma Chao once held the position of "Inspector Linfeng", but when he was knighted, there were more than four years before Guan Yu was killed, and he was no longer there, and the two could not intersect at all.
Moreover, whether Ma Chao really went to Linfeng Town to guard is also a question.
Regarding Ma Chao's movements after defecting to Liu Bei, there are not many records in the history books, but it is certain that Ma Chao participated in the Battle of Hanzhong and has always cooperated with Zhang Fei.
Hanzhong was tasteless and a pity for Cao Cao, but for Liu Bei, it was a must-conquer place, against the elite northern soldiers led by Cao Cao, he would not give up Ma Chao, the commander of the cavalry.
Liu Bei's decisive battle of Hanzhong with Cao Cao was fought in the first half of the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an (219 AD, Guan Yu died in December of that year), what was Ma Chao doing before that? Or rather, where is he?
According to the Zizhi Tongjian Vol. 68, two years before the decisive battle of Hanzhong, in the twenty-second year of Jian'an (217 AD), Ma Chao followed Zhang Fei to fight Cao Hong in Gansu:
Bu Shanqi (referring to Fa Zheng persuading Liu Bei to contend for Hanzhong and encroach on part of the Yong and Liang regions), he led his generals into Hanzhong and sent Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, Wu Lan and other Tunxia Tou (武都郡, in present-day Gansu during the Three Kingdoms period). The King of Wei dispatched the general Cao Hong to refuse.
This battle lasted until the beginning of the twenty-third year of Jian'an (218 AD), when Zhang Fei and Ma Chao were defeated, and it is recorded in the Zizhi Tongjian Volume 68:
Cao Hong will attack Wu Lan, Zhang Feitun Gushan, and after claiming to break the army, the public is suspicious. Cao Xiu, a lieutenant of the cavalry capital, said: "Thieves who are true to the Dao, when the ambush troops sneak; now is the first to show the momentum, this can not be, clear." It is advisable to be ungrouped and promote the attack on Lan. Lan broke, flew by himself. "Hong followed it, entered, broke Lan, and cut it." In March, Zhang Fei and Ma Chao left.
Subsequently, Ma Chao led his troops to follow Zhang Fei back to Hanzhong and cooperate with Liu Bei in a decisive battle with Cao Cao in Hanzhong.
After the Decisive Battle of Hanzhong, Ma Chao probably remained in Chengdu (during which the Peng Xi Incident occurred in Chengdu, which proves that Ma Chao was in Chengdu) until his death three years later.
Therefore, if Ma Chao had been stationed in Linfeng, it would have only been from the time when Jian'an was just given the title of "Governor of Linfeng" in the twentieth year of Jian'an to the period before Jian'an was transferred to the lower level in the twenty-second year.
The history books are the only ones that record Ma Chao's movements in these two years, but it can be roughly inferred that Ma Chao never went to Linfeng to garrison the local area.
The terrain of Linfeng is more mountainous, and the main force under Ma Chao's command is all cavalry, if Ma Chao leads the Western Liang cavalry to guard the mountainous terrain of Linfeng, Liu Bei is probably not so stupid.
In the twenty-second year of Jian'an, Ma Chao was transferred down to fight with Zhang Fei, and if he was in Linfeng at that time, the distance was more than 2,000 miles (according to the distance from present-day Yichang to Wudu, which was 930 kilometers).
And from Linfeng through Yizhou to Xiayan, most of the roads are all mountain roads, even if Ma Chao's army is mostly cavalry, such a long-distance transfer of troops is also a big taboo for soldiers.
Zhang Fei was different, his seat of government in Bashi County was Langzhong, and the distance from Xiadi was only 600 miles (calculated according to the distance from present-day Langzhong to Wudu was 300 kilometers), and the transfer of troops at this distance was obviously more reasonable.
The above distance, or today's highway, the road is relatively smooth to calculate, in the Three Kingdoms period, the actual distance from Linfeng or Langzhong, to the lower discernment of the road distance, will only be farther.
Judging from this, Ma Chao's station in those two years should not have been in Linfeng.
Moreover, I have not heard of the so-called Ma Chao Mansion, Ma Chao's former residence and other monuments in the local area.
If Ma Chaozhen had been stationed in Linfeng, similar monuments would have been there, even if they were made, celebrity monuments would be quite a fiery gimmick.
Most importantly, did Liu Bei trust Ma Chao to guard the side alone? This is probably the real reason why Ma Chao has never been to Linfeng.
Ma Chao was good at war, and he was once a prince of one side, or it was safer to put it under his eyes, even if he was released to fight, it was also under the supervision of Zhang Fei.
Therefore, in summary, although Ma Chao once had the position of "Inspector Of Linfeng", it is very likely that he has never been to Linfeng, and can only be regarded as a remote leader, and naturally has nothing to do with Guan Yu's killing.
If Ma Chaozhen was stationed in Linfeng when Guan Yu lost Jingzhou, perhaps Guan Yu had a great chance of escaping.
Ma Chao is a demoted general, has the opportunity to make meritorious contributions, and will not be discarded in vain, he is definitely much more active than Liu Feng, who is in Shangyong.
Being able to rescue Guan Yu and even counterattack Jingzhou would be of great help to Ma Chao's future position in the Shu Han regime and his friendly relations with the elders.
Unfortunately, Ma Chao was not in Linfeng, and in the year of Guan Yu's death, Ma Chao had already been promoted to the position of "Left General, False Festival" and "Governor of Linzhong" when Liu Bei was previously proclaimed the King of Hanzhong, and had long been removed.
Liu Bei claimed to be the empress, And Ma Chao was even more "a general of the Qianqi Horse, leading liangzhou mu, and entering the marquis of Fengxiang", a small Linfeng, who could fit ma Chao, who was known for his "mightiness" in Xiliang?
References: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zizhi Tongjian
Note: The pictures selected in this article are from the Internet, if there is infringement, please contact the author to delete.