Author: Xu Yunhui
In the summer of 48 AD, when the officers and soldiers of the Eastern Han Dynasty quelled the Wuxi Barbarian Armed Rebellion in Wuling County in the south, the entire army was destroyed due to the light enemy's adventurism. The bad news spread back to Luoyang, the capital city of Luoyang, and Ma Yuan, a famous general who was "sixty-two years old at the time", generously asked for orders to go out to suppress the rebellion. Emperor Guangwu couldn't bear it, and Ma Yuan repeatedly asked, "The subject can still put on his armor and get on the horse!" He threw his long hair, wore armor and flew onto the horse with a knife, and the saddle in his hand looked around with great spirits. Emperor Guangwu smiled and praised: "A good spirited veteran!" ”
At the farewell party with relatives and friends, Ma Yuan seemed to have foreseen the consequences of this trip. He pushed his old friend to his heart: "I am deeply favored by the emperor, and as I get older, there are few days left to serve the country." I'm always afraid of not dying of state affairs. Now I have what I want, and I am willing to look at it. Ma Yuan led Ma Wu and Geng Shu and other famous generals to lead the "Battle of Wuxi with more than 40,000 people to march on Wuxi", which was the last battle in his military career. With full of enthusiasm, he fulfilled the steel oath that "the boy will die in the wilderness, and bury his ears with a horse's leg"!
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="4" > (1) have lofty ambitions</h1>
Ma Yuan "has few great ambitions" and grew up to serve as the county governor. On a journey to escort a felon, Ma Yuan "mourned and indulged" and himself fled to Northland County. Many locals admired Ma Yuan's righteous act of releasing death row prisoners privately and willingly submitted to him, making Ma Yuan the master of hundreds of households. Ma Yuan often encouraged them: "Husbands are ambitious, poor should be strong, and old should be strong." ”
Ma Yuan's cultivation of the field and grazing are all good hands, "to the thousands of cattle, horses and sheep, and tens of thousands of grains", becoming a solid home of the rich side. In the face of the fruitful harvest, Ma Yuan sighed with emotion: "The property obtained from agricultural and animal husbandry business is valuable in being able to help others, otherwise no matter how much money there is, it is just a scrooge!" He gave all this property to his brothers and friends, wore sheep fur pants himself, and lived a life of poverty with peace of mind.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="7" > (ii)</h1>
After the fall of Wang Mang's new dynasty, Ma Yuan took refuge in Liangzhou, and was "greatly respected" by the Long right warlord Kui Huan, who considered the general Suide to enter the decision-making level. "At that time, Gongsun Shu called himself Emperor Yu shu." Ma Yuan, because he and Gongsun Shu were fellow countrymen and had a deep friendship, were sent by Kui Huan to Shudi to inquire about the truth. Gongsun Shu put himself on the emperor's shelf, treated Ma Yuan as a grand diplomat with a hustle and bustle, and said that he would give his old friend the title of a great general. Ma Yuan refused to be appointed, replying to Kui Huan: "(Gongsun) Ziyang has frog ears at the bottom of the well, and arrogance is arrogant!" He advised Kui Huan several times to seriously consider submitting to Liu Xiu, who had already claimed the title of emperor, and finally met Liu Xiu as Kui Huan's envoy, and was deeply admired by Liu Xiu.
When Ma Yuan replied to Kui Huan, he praised Liu Xiu's "talent and courage" as comparable to Han Gaozu, and tried his best to persuade Kui Huan to return to Han. Kui Huan finally made up his mind to submit to Liu Xiu and sent his eldest son Kui Gong to Luoyang as a hostage. A few months after Ma Yuan and his family escorted Kui Gong to Luoyang, Kui Huan listened to the provocation of Wang Yuan and attempted to occupy Longxi and dominate the side. Ma Yuan learned of this and wrote several letters to dissuade him. Kui Huan decided that Ma Yuan was eating inside and outside, "so he sent soldiers to refuse Han." Ma Yuanshangshu "extremely old art of extinguishing the hustle and bustle", led 5,000 elite cavalry to divide and disintegrate the cadres of the Kui Hu clique, laying the foundation for the elimination of the Kui Hu clique.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="10" >(iii) pacify Longxi</h1>
On the way to Liu Xiu's personal conquest of Kui Huan, many generals believed that the victory or defeat of this trip was unpredictable, and "it is not advisable to go far into danger and obstacles." "Ma Yuan was commanded from the Beijing Division" at night, and emperor Daxi was introduced. After learning of the doubts of the generals, he confidently stated to Liu Xiu that "Kui Huan's generals have the potential to collapse, and the advance of the army will be broken." He used rice to pile up topographic features such as the Xichuan Valley and gullies, indicating the way in which each department was advancing and retreating," analyzing the twists and turns, which is obvious. Liu Xiu finally made up his mind to continue the march and achieved the results of "the great rout of the crowd and the surrender of the city".
Since the end of the New Dynasty, the Western Qiang people of Saiwai have taken advantage of the chaos to invade the border, and even fished into The Inner Cyprus in muddy waters, occupying many subordinate counties in Jincheng, Liangzhou. Lai Sheshang wrote "The words of Longxi's invasion are not Ma Yuan's inability to determine." Ma Yuan was appointed as the Taishou of Longxi, and was ordered to break the Xianzhi Qiang in Lintao. After that, he showed great might, and he was haunted by "all beheadings of more than a thousand levels." "In the fierce battle, Ma Yuan, who was a pioneer soldier, bravely killed the enemy despite the fact that his calf was shot through by an arrow," emperor Yi xishu laozhi. ”
"The jincheng breaks the west of the Qiang, and the way (way) is far from duokou", the courtiers advised Liu Xiu to abandon the area. Ma Yuan was worried, and Shangshu suggested three reasons not to abandon: "The castle here is complete and strong, easy to hold; the land is fertile and easy to irrigate; if it is occupied by the Qiang, it will cause long-term harm!" ”
Liu Xiu was deeply impressed, and ordered that all the more than 3,000 guests who had moved from Jincheng be released back to their original homes. Ma Yuan once again set up an official to manage these people and repair the city. Enlighten water conservancy, encourage the development of agriculture and animal husbandry, and make "the county happy industry." "He also sent the Qiang people to persuade the Qiang people to make peace with the Qiang people in Sai, and to treat the Qiang people who betrayed Gongsun Shu of Shu and returned to the Eastern Han Dynasty." Wu Du participated in the Wolf Qiang and saiwai species as Kou and killed the chief official. "Ma Yuan led more than 4,000 elite troops to quell the rebellion, and the leader of the rebel army "commanded hundreds of thousands of households to die out of the blockade, and more than 10,000 people of all kinds surrendered, so Long Right was quiet." ”
One day, the villagers near a certain county town formed a gang and armed struggle, and the people mistakenly thought that the Qiang people had rebelled, and they rushed into the city in panic. The county magistrate hurried to Ma Yuan's mansion, "Please close the city and send troops." Ma Yuanzheng was drinking with the guests, and laughed when he heard the news: "Why did the Qiang people dare to invade me?" Hurry back to the county and tell those cowardly guys to hide under the bed! After a false alarm, "Gunaka obeyed." ”
Six years after Ma Yuanzhen defended Longyou, he was drafted into the imperial court for his outstanding political achievements, and served as a general of the Tiger Ben Zhonglang (equivalent to the commander of the present-day Central Guard Regiment).
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="17" > (4) Two Ping lingnan</h1>
Ma Yuan led "soldiers from various counties and more than 10,000 people" to quell Li Guang, who called himself "Master of Nanyue", "cut it", and initially pingling Lingnan.
The women of the Jiaodian Kingdom marched to the side and the sisters of the second country to rebel, "Jiuzhen, Nichinan, and Hepu barbarians should all respond." After conquering more than sixty cities outside the Ling, he openly broke with the Eastern Han Dynasty and established himself as king. "Ma Yuan was appointed by Liu Xiu as the general of Fubo," the southern attack was delivered. The "Han army" fought with thieves, broke them, beheaded thousands of people, and surrendered more than 10,000 people. "Ma Yuan took advantage of the victory to pursue," chased the side to the forbidden creek, and after several defeats, the thieves scattered. "In the spring of the following year, Ma Yuan" beheaded the side and marched on the second side, and passed on the head of Luoyang. "Calm Lingnan again." Ma Yuan was thus enfeoffed as the Marquis of Xinshi and had three thousand households.
After Ma Yuan quelled the "Second Expedition Uprising", he "erected a copper pillar for the extreme boundary of the Han Dynasty", and engraved an inscription on the copper pillar: "The copper pillar is folded, and the toes are destroyed". After he led his troops back to Beijing in triumph, Liu Xiu "gave reinforcements a ride and went to see the ninth secretary of state." At the reception banquet of his old friends, Ma Yuan humbly expressed that he was "rewarded with little merit" and left behind the famous Ma Ge shroud idiom: "Fang Jin Xiongnu and Wuhuan are still disturbing the north, and want to attack them." When a boy dies in the wilderness, and buries his ears with a corpse wrapped in a horse, how can he lie on the bed and be evil at the hands of a child and a woman! ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="21" > (5) was wronged</h1>
In the spring of 49 AD, Ma Yuan led his troops south to suppress the rebellion. When the army entered Xiajun County, it was attacked by barbarians on its own initiative, "aiding and attacking, breaking it, and capturing more than 2,000 people", and achieved an initial victory. At this time, there are two roads to choose from through Hutou Mountain or through Chong County to directly pound the thief's nest. Ma Yuan insisted on directly pounding Hutou Mountain, which was close to the road but with high mountains and dangerous waters, strangling the throat of the enemy and preventing the barbarians from attacking and destroying themselves; the deputy Geng Shu insisted on walking far but flat and inconvenient to transport grain in Chong County. Due to the difference of opinion, Ma Geng and the two of them separately stated their opinions and asked Liu Xiu to decide, "The emperor is from the aid of the strategy. ”
Ma Yuan entered Hutou Mountain, but was stubbornly resisted by the barbarians. Marching from the waterway, and because of the "water rush, the ship cannot be boarded." At this time, the south had entered the middle of summer, the heat was unbearable, the summer epidemic was prevalent, Ma Yuan was unfortunately seriously ill, and the Han army "died of many soldiers and soldiers", and the whole army fell into a dilemma. Ma Yuan ordered the soldiers to dig a cave room on the side of the riverbank mountain to escape the sweltering heat, and whenever he heard the provocative sound of the enemy's noisy demonstration on the mountain, he forced the sick body out of the cave to observe the enemy situation. The soldiers were deeply touched by his spirit of desperately serving the country, "Don't be weeping for it." ”
The troops were in a desperate situation, and the generals should have been united in one heart. However, the deputy marshal Geng Shu wrote a letter to his brother Geng Yi (the fourth place of the "Twenty-Eight Generals of Yuntai") to accuse Ma Yuan of good daxigong and no command. Geng Yi immediately played Liu Xiu, and Liu Xiu immediately assigned Liang Song to the front to take over Ma Yuan's command.
Liang Song is Ma Yuan's nemesis. He once visited Shi Da to see Ma Yuan when he was ill, and Because Ma Yuan was a junior, he did not reciprocate accordingly, and Liang Song had a small belly and chicken intestines, believing that Ma Yuan despised the imperial family, "by hatred." ”
During Ma Yuannan's conquest, he heard that his nephews were ridiculing others at the mouth of the capital without any cover, and they had close contacts with frivolous and unruly people, so he wrote a letter to warn them to learn the way of being a man from Long Bogao, who was "thick and cautious, had no choice in his mouth, was humble and frugal, and was honest and virtuous", and must not learn from Du Jiliang, a negative typical. Coincidentally, Du Jiliang was impeached by his political enemies as a hypocrite who "behaved in a vain manner and confused the masses", so that "General Fubo (Ma Yuan) Wanli returned the book to admonish his brothers", and at the same time exposed that "Liang Song and Dou Gu (the nephew of The Great Sikong Dou Rong) were intertwined", which was bound to incite frivolity and hypocrisy and defeat China. Liu Xiu was furious, "Summoning Song and Gu, and showing them with a letter of appeal and a book of admonitions." Loose and solid prostrate their heads and bleed, and they are not guilty. Liang Song thought that he was lying on the gun, and he hated Ma Yuan to death.
(Liu Xiu)
When Liang Songfeng and dusty servants rushed to the front line, Ma Yuan had unfortunately died of illness at the age of 64. People should have been revenge when they died, but Liang Song was mad and framed Ma Yuan for being blind and full of private pockets.
It turned out that the south was rich in coix that could treat rheumatism and avoid evil wind miasma, and this thing was the largest produced by the toe. When Ma Yuannan returned to Beijing, he "carried a car" back to Beijing to do seeding. The civil and military officials unanimously guessed that the carriage must be "Pearl Wenxi" and other "southern treasures", tempting "the magnates to look forward to it" and want to fish for a copy. Ma Yuan really couldn't send it off because of this object, so he simply pretended to be deaf and dumb. At that time, Ma Yuan was being favored, and no one dared to tell Liu Xiu about it. As soon as Ma Yuan died, Liang Song wrote to Ma Yuan to frame Ma Yuan for taking a large cart of gold and silver jewelry for himself, and Ma Wu and others also proved that Ma Yuan did pull back a large cart of mysterious things that year, making "the emperor angry and chasing after the new Hou Yinshou." ”
Ma Yuan's family did not know that the emperor was angry because of He Longyan, and even less did they know what crime Ma Yuan had committed, so after transporting Ma Yuan's body back, they did not dare to bury the old cemetery, and they were afraid to buy a few acres of land in the west of the city and bury it hastily. None of Ma Yuan's guests and friends dared to mourn. Ma Yuan's nephew and the whole family finished handling the aftermath and went to the imperial court together to plead guilty. Liu Xiu "wrote a song book to show it", and Madame Ma Yuan finally learned the inside story, "The letter sued for injustice, six before and after, and the resignation was very sad." Liu Xiusi thought about it and ordered Ma Yuan to be buried.
More than ten years after Ma Yuan's death, his youngest daughter was made Empress Mingde by the Han Ming Emperor. After Ma Yuan's wife died of illness, the imperial court gathered soil for Ma Yuan as a grave, planted trees as a memorial, and built an ancestral hall. Ma Yuan died of illness 29 years later, only to be posthumously honored by Emperor Zhang of Han as the "Marquis of Zhongcheng", and finally completely rehabilitated Zhaoxue.
Liu Xiu's son Liu Zhuang became the Empress dowager of the HanMing Dynasty, and in remembrance of the famous generals who assisted his father in the former dynasty, he painted the "Twenty-Eight Generals of Yuntai" for remembrance, making his name famous in history. Ma Yuan's merit and qualifications are enough to rank in the top five of the twenty-eight generals. However, Emperor Ming of Han did not include his father-in-law Ma Yuan among the twenty-eight generals of Yuntai. Emperor Hanming's brother Liu Cang, the Prince of Dongping, was puzzled: "Why don't you paint the portrait of General Fubo?" "Emperor Hanming" laughed and did not answer. ”
Why did Ma Yuan, who had worked hard and made great achievements, not be ranked among the twenty-eight generals of Yuntai? There is only one explanation in the history books: Emperor Hanming, because Ma Yuan was his father-in-law, was worried that his courtiers would discuss his use of power for personal gain, and in order to show his public heart, he especially excluded his father-in-law from the twenty-eight generals in Yuntai.
Unfortunately, such an explanation is difficult to convince the public, and it can only be barely a reason to put gold on the face of Emperor Hanming. The real reason was probably that Emperor Hanming could not overturn his father's conclusion that "Ma Wu was indeed guilty" because his father had not restored Ma Wu's reputation, and because ma Wu and other founding fathers who had proved that Ma Wu did have criminal facts were still alive, he could not overturn his father's conclusion that "Ma Wu was indeed guilty", so he could only "laugh and not answer." ”
In the case of Ma Wu, Gonggao Gai Shiben had already caused the envy of the crowd, pulled back a cart of local specialties that were mistaken for treasures by colleagues and did not explain, just by being full of enthusiasm, thinking that as long as he had a clear conscience, he would not be afraid of the open guns and dark arrows of the officialdom. Therefore, it is only natural that Ma Wu was framed after his death - how can everyone in this world be a gentleman!
A subordinate who thinks that his character is selfless and lazy to explain the misunderstanding to the leader, a loner who pretends to be high and does not want to communicate with his colleagues, let alone want to be ranked among the twenty-eight generals of Yuntai, is also delusional!
Posterity, be careful!
【About the author】Xu Yunhui, male, graduated from the Department of Chinese of Yunnan Normal University in 1984 and is now a senior lecturer at Baoshan No.1 Middle School Education Group in Yunnan Province. He has published two monographs and published more than 600,000 words in literary journals at or above the provincial level
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