Kong Ming, a scholar

"Fire, it's on fire!"

As soon as Ma Dai finished speaking, a junior school started shouting.

When Ma Dai and Sima Yi looked back quickly, they saw thick smoke rising from the dense forest on the left. In less than a moment, dark red flames rose from the rolling smoke, and the fire quickly began to spread. At this time, the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, who were chasing the defeated Chu army, also noticed something abnormal. Meng Da, Su Ze, Ma Xiu and other leading generals were urgently ordered to stop chasing the entire army.

The surging cavalry of Xiliang slowed down their horses and finally stopped their horses. At this time, it was only one step away from the entire army entering the clearings in the forest. If it weren't for this sudden fire, the cavalry of Xiliang might have crashed into the trap.

"What's going on?"

Seeing that the Western Liang cavalry stopped pursuing, and after being scolded by the general and the chief officer, reorganized the formation and began to retreat in an orderly manner, Ma Dai couldn't help but be surprised and happy, and asked Sima Yi: "Who released this fire? Zhongda, did you let someone release it?"

"No." Sima Yi shook his head blankly, "I don't know what's going on."

Soon there was a quick horse return: "General, a large number of Chu troops suddenly emerged from the forest and were evacuating to the riverside under the cover of a fire."

"General!" A deputy general stepped forward and suggested, "Why not send cavalry to pursue?"

"No." Sima Yi said anxiously, "The Chu army took the initiative to retreat, and must not underestimate the enemy's advancement. What's more, there must be Jingzhou naval troops on the riverside. When our cavalry bypasses this dense forest, we are afraid that the Chu army will have already boarded the ship and fled."

"Well, Zhongda is right." Ma Dai nodded and said in a deep voice, "I'm telling the whole army not to attack rashly, and then make a decision after the arrival of my elder brother's army."

The next day.

When the fire slowly went out, Ma Yue led more than 200,000 cavalry and infantry troops to arrive.

Ma Yue stood in the forest surrounded by Jia Xu, Li Su, Lu Su, Kuai Yue, Ma Zhan and others. It was the early spring season. Before the spring rain came, it was time for the dry weather. This fire would almost burn the entire forest to ashes. The strong smell of smoke drifted in the air. The scorching land was still emitting green smoke because of the fire.

"Hey, Father, what do you think?"

Ma Zhan, who was behind Ma Yue, suddenly exclaimed in surprise and shouted in front of his fingers.

Ma Yue, Jia Xu and others looked in the direction of Ma Zhan's fingers and saw a pile of black things tilted under a huge rock not far away. It looked like a cart, but it was burned to pieces. Everyone looked around and found that there were many such things nearby, most of which were burned to the point of being unrecognizable and difficult to recognize.

"This..." Li Su said in a lost voice, "It turned out to be a crossbow!"

"Damn it." Jia Xu also took a breath of air conditioning and said in a deep voice, "I didn't expect that the Chu army would actually imitate our army's crossbow cart!"

"It's nothing." Ma Yue breathed a sigh of relief and said calmly, "The structure of the crossbow cart is not complicated. Cao Zhen has many capable people. You can tell how to do it at a glance. However, a few crossbow carts are not enough to change the huge gap in strength between the two armies of Chu and Liang. If Cao Zhen's son and Zhuge Villager want to use the crossbow cart to resist the 300,000 army of Gu, they are seeking death."

"Report..." As soon as Ma Yue finished speaking, a fast horse suddenly came from the front and shouted loudly, "Xiangyang urgently reported."

Ma Yue looked up and shouted, "Tell me."

"Xu Huang, Fang Yue, and Ma Dai's three-way army have captured Xiangyang, and the Chu army is fleeing to Jiangling."

As the message soldiers finished speaking, the civil servants and generals behind Ma Yue showed excitement. Unexpectedly, Xu Huang captured Xiangyang, the base camp of the Chu army so quickly. The progress of the war was simply unexpected. The expressions on Ma Yue, Jia Xu, Lu Su, Kuai Yue and others were completely opposite. Not only did they have no joy, but they showed a worry.

"Running very fast!" Ma Yue clenched his left fist and hit the palm of his right hand hard. He sighed with regret, "It seems that the expectation of severely damaging the Chu army in Xiangyang is about to fail. Now the Chu army has stepped forward to Jiangling. Behind Jiangling is the Yangtze River. It is unlikely that he will capture the main force of the Chu army in Jiangbei and annihilate it. Alas..."

Jia Xu advised: "As long as we can seize the Nanjun, Jiangxia and the two counties north of the Yangtze River, plus Nanyang County, our army has occupied three counties. Even if Cao Zhen retreated to the south of the Yangtze River, his territory would be only a few hundred miles, and the people would only be hundreds of thousands. Just like grasshoppers in the autumn, they could not reach a few days."

Ma Yue pondered for a moment and said to Jia Xu: "Wenhe, please let Xu Huang lead 20,000 cavalry to go south first and head straight to Jiangling. Fang Yue and Ma Dai temporarily remained unmoved."

Jia Xu bowed and said, "Xu received the order."

Yizhou.

After the rebellion of the Western Qiang Dynasty was quelled, Ma Zheng selected 20,000 young and powerful Qiang soldiers from them to go to the expedition. All the other old, young, women and children who were willing to return to the Western Qiang Dynasty returned to their hometowns. Those who were unwilling to return to their hometowns were placed on the spot. The Xichuan gentry arranged land for military farming. Half a month later, Ma Zheng and Zhang Song joined forces and launched a large-scale cavalry and infantry army to launch a large-scale expedition.

Upon hearing the news, the King of Foreigners Meng Huo immediately assembled 20,000 elite soldiers from all over the country to confront the Xiliang army in Sanjiang City.

Ma Zheng, in accordance with the law, ambushed the objects that lead fire in Panshe Valley outside Sanjiang City, and ordered the vanguard general Ma Yantuo to pretend to be defeated and lure the enemy. Ma Yantuo was defeated ten times in ten battles and was defeated by Panshe Valley. Meng Huo did not know that it was a plan to lead his troops to chase into Panshe Valley. When the soldiers were chasing, he heard the sound of drums on both sides of the valley and the sound of killing was everywhere. When Meng Huo looked up quickly, the rockets on the valley were raining like rain, igniting the objects that lead fire in the valley.

In an instant, the fire broke out in Panshe Valley, and the poor King Meng Huo and the 20,000 elite soldiers were all turned into ashes.

Jiangling, Ma Yue’s residence.

When Ma Yue was discussing with Jia Xu, Lu Su, Kuai Yue, Sima Yi, when someone was discussing the matter, Li Su suddenly hurried into the side hall, bowed to Ma Yue and said, "Lord, there is news coming back from Wulin Port."

"Oh?" Ma Yue said happily, "Is General Xu Huang already captured Wulin Port?"

"No." Li Su shook his head with a serious expression and replied, "General Xu Huang is in trouble."

"Trouble?" Ma Yue asked, "What trouble?"

Li Su said: "Because of the unacceptable environment and local conditions, more than half of the soldiers in the army fell ill. A large number of war horses were losing weight wildly and could not even stand up. General Xu Huang's 20,000 vanguard cavalry under his command, and now there are less than 5,000 cavalry and can barely fight. The only thing that is fortunate is that the Chu army does not seem to know the reality of our army, and did not take the opportunity to launch a counterattack. Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable."

"Is it not suitable for the local environment?" Ma Yue frowned and said, "It is early spring now, and it is far from the rainy season, and the weather has not yet recovered. How could it be unacceptable to the local environment? And even if it is not suitable for the local environment, the situation cannot be so serious! When I led 8,000 Iron Cavalry to sweep Jingyang, I also encountered the problem of unacceptable to the local environment, but it was not so serious."

When Ma Yue led 8,000 cavalry to sweep Jing Yang, Li Su also went to war with the army, so he was naturally the clearest about this situation.

Li Sushen nodded with consent and said, "I am very confused in my heart. It is also the Western Liang Iron Cavalry, why is the lord's cavalry not afraid of the southern waters and soil, while General Xu Huang's cavalry is so unhealthy. This is really strange. However, now General Xu Huang and 20,000 soldiers are in danger. The lord should send reinforcements to rescue as soon as possible to avoid missing major issues."

"Wait." Kuai Yue suddenly interrupted Li Su and asked, "Zi Yan just said that even the war horses were losing weight wildly, right?"

Li Su said: "That's right."

Kuai Yue asked again: "Did General Xu Huang send a messenger who has said that the soldiers who fell ill have any symptoms?"

"I've said it." Li Su said, "It seems like I have a headache and fever, my belly is bloated, and my body is weak..."

"It's broken!" Kuai Yue said, "This must be an acute big belly disease."

"Big belly disease?" Ma Yue, Jia Xu and others looked at each other, "What is big belly disease?"

Kuai Yue said: "I have also studied medical skills below. I have always known that there is a disease in Jingzhou. In severe cases, it is often as big as a drum and is in great pain. Therefore, it is called a big belly disease. For southerners, this disease is not harmful to them. Even if they are infected, it is easy to heal themselves. However, it is extremely harmful to northerners. Once northerners are infected with this disease, they will most likely have an acute attack. In mild cases, they will not wake up, and in severe cases, they will die."

Ma Yue was suddenly shocked. Suddenly, he thought of the plague poisonous scheme that Jia Xu had used before Hangu Pass, and asked sternly: "How can this disease be infected?"

Kuai Yue said: "Drinking or contacting unclean raw water can cause illness."

Ma Yue asked again: "How to treat it?"

"There is no agreement to cure it." Kuai Yue shook his head, "but this disease has a characteristic. Once you adapt to the southern waters and soil, you can be cured without medicine."

"There is no agreement to cure?" Ma Yue asked with a frown, "Can the Sichuan Army soldiers be cured without medicine?"

Kuai Yue thought for a while and replied: "The soldiers of the Sichuan Army belong to the southerners, and their physical constitution is no different from those of Jingxiang people. Even if they are sick, they will not have an acute attack. Even if they drink unclean raw water, they will only suffer from chronic big belly disease. At this time, they are no different from normal people and will not affect their physical strength and combat strength."

"That's good." Ma Yue nodded and said, "Yan Yan, where is Wang Ping?"

Yan Yan, Wang Ping quickly stepped forward and replied, "The last one will be here."

Ma Yue shouted: "With Wang Ping as the main general and Yan Yan as the deputy general, he led 50,000 Sichuan troops from Jiangling to pick up Xu Huang to Wulin Port. After joining with Xu Huang, the troops were divided into two groups. Yan Yan led his troops to escort Xu Huang's cavalry to retreat to Jiangling for rest. Wang Ping led his army to stay outside Wulin Port and closely monitor the Chu army's water camps in the port, and remember not to act rashly."

"Abide by the order!"

"Abide by the order!"

Yan Yan and Wang Ping agreed to the promise and took the order and left.

Ma Yue said again: "The rest of the Sichuan Army divided its troops to guard all the dangerous cities, and strictly prevent the Chu army from taking the opportunity to attack."

After a group of Sichuan generals were ordered to leave, Ma Yue said to Kuai Yue again: "You can find doctors in Nanjun, Jiangxia and Jiangling to gather in Jiangling to treat the 30,000 soldiers."

Kuai Yue bowed and replied: "Kuai Yue receives the order."

Ma Yue finally shouted: "The other generals led their troops to retreat to Xiangyang today..."

"Report..." As soon as Ma Yue finished speaking, he suddenly saw Dian Wei hurried inside and kneeling and reported, "Lord, Yiling urgently reported!"

"Yiling?" Ma Yue asked, "Have Zhang Xiu arrived at Yiling?"

Dian Wei said: "General Zhang Xiu condemns the Malay newspaper. The Chu army has dug the Yangtze River and diverted water to the mountains and rivers in the north of the Yangtze River. The mountains, rivers and valleys between Yiling and Maicheng have become mars. The flood flows northward for hundreds of miles from near Maicheng into Xiangjiang River, which has completely blocked the road between Xiling and Jiangling. The army led by General Zhang Xiu is no longer able to arrive in Jiangling as scheduled and meet with the lord."

"What!?" Ma Yue frowned, "The road from Xiling to Jiangling has been washed away by floods? The river flows backwards northward and flows into Xiangjiang for hundreds of miles. What is Zhuge's villager trying to do? Could it be that he wants to rush out a new Yangtze River channel north of Jiangling, and then learn from Zhou Yu to block the navy, trapping the lonely 300,000 troops to death in Jiangling?"

"The terrain of Jianghan and Han is very different from that of Huainan, which is not conducive to the traverse of the navy." Jia Xu said, "Zhuge Liang's intention should be to trap our army in Jiangling for a period of time so that the big belly disease mentioned in the other way can break out on a large scale in the army. Once this big belly disease breaks out on a large scale, our army will completely lose its combat effectiveness. If the Chu army launches a counterattack at this time, our army will be in danger."

"Hmph, how can I let the village man in Zhuge get what he wants!" Ma Yue groaned and said to Jia Xu, "Wenhe."

Jia Xu hurriedly bowed and replied, "What are the lord's instructions?"

Ma Yue said: "I ordered tens of thousands of cavalry and infantry troops in Jiangling City to stay away from the riverside and camp separately, with 5,000 people as a village. Each village dug wells to get water by himself. It is strictly forbidden to drink river water, and drinking well water must also boil; all soldiers in the army are not allowed to leave the camp without permission, and those who violate the order will be killed; all villages communicate with each other with flags and beacons. Except for soldiers who transport food, grass and supplies, they are strictly prohibited from entering and leaving; once they find any abnormal soldiers in the army, they come and report immediately. If the generals in the army dare to conceal privately, they will be killed without mercy!"

This time, Ma Yue finally showed the advantages of modern people.

A sudden SARS at that time almost made all the people of China an expert in preventing and treating infectious diseases. Since Kuai Yue knew the way to infect big belly disease, Ma Yue naturally knew how to prevent it. And because he had experienced the horror of SARS and witnessed the horror of Jia Xu's poisoning hundreds of thousands of Kanto soldiers, Ma Yue was particularly alert to big belly disease.

As the saying goes, it is better to believe that it exists than to believe that it does not exist. It is related to the safety of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, and you must be careful.

Li Su said in surprise: "Lord, doing so will cause great inconvenience to the entire army. Is it a big deal?"

"No, be careful to sail the ten thousand-year-old ship." Ma Yue said decisively, "It's nothing for the soldiers to suffer. It's better than annihilation of the entire army."

After saying this, Ma Yue asked Li Su again: "Zi Yan, where have the 8,000 Huainan navy troops in Ganning been?"

Li Su replied: "From time perspective, we should have arrived in Xiangyang."

"Very good." Ma Yue said again, "I ordered Gan Ning to lead 8,000 Huainan naval troops to go south to Maicheng immediately, set up a river-blocking cable near Maicheng, and then set up a floating bridge to cross the river. Then, I sent people to rush to Chengdu for 800 miles, and moved Zhang Ren, the prefect of Shu County, to be the prefect of Nanjun, and to restrain the 100,000 Xichuan army stationed in Nanjun, Jiangxia, to prevent the Chu army from making a comeback."

Han Shou, Chu King's Mansion.

Seeing Liu Ye hurried into the hall, Cao Zhen stood up and asked, "Zi Yang, is there any news in Jiangbei?"

Liu Ye gasped and replied, "Lord, the situation is not good."

"Oh?" Cao Zhen's heart sank when he heard this and asked, "Tell me, look."

Liu Ye said: "For a detailed return, the butcher Ma ordered the 100,000 Sichuan troops to divide their troops to guard all the cities and prevent our army from sneak attacks. He also ordered the 100,000 elite Liang troops under his command to camp with thousands of people, each camp dug wells to get water, and drinking raw water is strictly prohibited. Moreover, each camp is strictly prohibited from communicating with each other, and only be allowed to communicate with the beacon and flags. To this day, no large-scale outbreak of big belly disease has occurred in the Xiliang army."

"Ah?" Cao Zhen was disappointed when he heard this, "How could this happen?"
To be continued...