The battle of Jieting took place in the 6th year of Jianxing in Shu Han Dynasty, that is, in 208 AD. At that time, Cao Wei was defeated by Zhuge Liang and had to reuse Sima Yi. Sima Yi knew the art of war well and was feared by Zhuge Liang. So Zhuge Liang soon saw the importance of street kiosks, because street kiosks are the throats of counties in western Gansu and must be guarded by generals. Zhuge Liang also expected that Sima Yi would send heavy troops to attack the street pavilion, thus preemptively. He must dare to defend the street pavilion before Sima Yi to resist Cao Bing. Then the question is, who is the right person to guard the street pavilion? Although I don't know what Zhuge Liang thought at that time, this garrison commander must meet the following conditions: First, this person must be a senior commander, familiar with the art of war and proficient in arranging troops. Second, we should have prestige, command soldiers and unite from top to bottom. Qi Xin joined forces to protect the street kiosks. Third, it must be recognized by the leaders, have extraordinary loyalty to the Han Shu regime, and can't run away from cold feet and carry firewood to put out the fire.
Although Zhuge Liang was well prepared for the first Northern Expedition, many generals were there, such as Zhao Yun, Wei Yan, Wu Yi, and Jiang Wei, who had just surrendered to Shu Han. At that time, they were all first-class stars. Then why did Zhuge Liang finally guard the street pavilion with Ma Su? In fact, on the whole, in Zhuge Liang's view, Ma Su is indeed a more suitable candidate for the following reasons. First, why Ma Su, a gifted scholar in the P5, is bridled's younger brother. Ma Liang and Zhuge Liang are good friends. As brothers of good friends, they were naturally taken care of by Zhuge Liang in the army. In the original work, Zhuge Liang once praised Ma Su as a "contemporary talent" who often discussed military affairs with Ma Su and even stayed up all night. Ma Su was also worshipped by Zhuge Liang as a senior staff officer. Ma Su has great wit and made great contributions to Shu. When Zhuge Liang conquered Meng Huo in the south, the Chinese people didn't learn to educate and respect the king, so they were a group of idiots and reckless men. Zhuge Liang once sought Ma Su's advice on the way forward, but Ma Su's silence was a blockbuster. He put forward a very appropriate strategy: "siege is the top, siege is the bottom;" Psychological warfare is the top and military warfare is the bottom. " Zhuge Liang was very satisfied and praised Ma Su for his strong opinions.
Then, before the first Northern Expedition, Ma Su offered a plan to alienate Cao Rui, the ruler of Wei State, and Sima Yi, who almost died at the hands of Cao Rui. After Wang Wei Cao Rui succeeded to the throne, Sima Yi was appointed as a general in charge of Liang Yong's army. Zhuge Liang was surprised when he got the news. He thinks that this man is training troops in Liang Yong, and his ambition is not small. He will be a great disaster for Shu in the future. Sima Yi is a shrewd and capable enemy. Just as Zhuge Liang was at a loss, Ma Su presented a plan: spreading rumors in Wei that Sima Yi was going to rebel, and Cao Rui, the ruler of Wei, was bound to get suspicious and kill Sima Yi. Sure enough, Ma Su guessed Wei Zhu's psychology, and Sima Yi was soon deprived of the relieving by Wei Zhu and became a common people. The above two plans are the most wonderful performances of Ma Su, which shows that Ma Su is a well-read and resourceful Shu-Han talent. It also laid the groundwork for Zhuge Liang to order him to guard the street pavilion.
Secondly, Masu's fame. Masu, as a member of the "Five Permanent Members of Mars", must have gained a certain reputation in Shuhan. His strategy of pacifying South China and his deviant plan before the Northern Expedition performed well and won Zhuge Liang's appreciation. Presumably, there is also a number one in the Shu-Han army. Otherwise, how could Ma Su be General Anyuan and join the army? Therefore, Masu just lacks the actual experience of the Cold War, and it is a good opportunity to guard the street pavilion this time. Not only can you show your ability in front of everyone, but you can also get better exercise and even become Zhuge Liang's successor directly. Finally, Ma Su's loyalty to Shu. I think this is the most debatable topic. Ma Su, as an "old minister" who followed the former emperor Liu Bei from Jingzhou, was a staunch supporter of Shu Han and was deeply appreciated by Zhuge Liang. Even before he died, Zhuge Liang cried bitterly about it. "I am your brother, and your son is my son. There is no need to ask more. " To sum up, Ma Su is indeed the right person to defend the street pavilion, but there is still a problem, because Wei Yan, Zhao Yun, Jiang Wei and others were there at that time. Why abandon others and use Masu alone? In fact, this question is also very easy to answer for two reasons.
First of all, in the late Shu and Han dynasties, generals were short of soldiers. Wei Yan, as a vanguard general, should not act rashly. He needs a more important position than a street pavilion. Zhao Yun, a veteran over seventy years old, sent troops to Gu Jie as a pioneer and confronted the town as a suspected soldier. However, Jiang Wei just surrendered. Although he was appreciated by Zhuge Liang, he had a shallow foundation in the Shu army and basically had no right to speak. Secondly, it is estimated that Zhuge Liang has trained Ma Su as a successor, because in addition to sending Ma Su as the leader, he also asked General Wang Ping to be the lieutenant and entrusted him to the village, so that thieves and soldiers could not rush to steal. After camping, I drew four or eight geographical maps. It's not easy to settle everything. "Finally, although Liu Bei told Zhuge Liang before he died that Ma Su was exaggerating, he was of little use. Before Liu Bei's death, Ma Su had just made his mark and made no achievements. However, after he ascended the throne, Ma Su made great achievements in succession, and his ingenuity was really superb. When Zhuge Liang looks at the problem from a developmental perspective, he will naturally feel that Ma Su is a useful material.
To sum up, after Zhuge Liang hesitated, he sent Ma Su troops to Jieting. It's a pity that Ma Su didn't camp according to Zhuge Liang's arrangement. Instead, he sent his troops around the heaped-up mountains, away from the water source, and was finally besieged by Zhang He and others, burning the mountains and losing. The best time for the Northern Expedition also passed away with Ma Su's arrogance. Since then, Wei has strengthened its defense, and Zhuge Liang has become even more difficult! Is Zhuge Liang wrong? Actually, it is not. As a senior staff officer, Ma Su is really capable, but he is not a good general. Getting cold feet is not that simple. For example, Guo Jia and Pang Tong, the famous counselors of the Three Kingdoms, had great strategies, but they could not lead troops to fight. If we train more, instead of letting Masu take on such a heavy responsibility soon, a great man will appear in the later period of Shu and Han Dynasties. So it was not Ma Su who killed the Shu army, but Zhuge Liang who killed Ma Su! The above information mainly refers to Romance of the Three Kingdoms.