Actually, Ma Chao volunteering to attack Hanzhong was within Bai Xiaowen's expectations.
Ma Chao was definitely worried that if Bai Xiaowen took down Hanzhong and asked Zhang Lu to give false testimony, then he could only allow Bai Xiaowen to lie to him.
Hence, the best way was for Ma Chao to take down Hanzhong himself and capture Zhang Lu. Only then could he get the truth out of him.
Although Bai Xiaowen had taken a risk to subdue Ma Chao, he would not be too lenient to Ma Chao. Moreover, Ma Chao had not wholeheartedly pledged allegiance to him. If he rewarded him heavily, not only would the surrendered generals of the Cao Family not be convinced, even Ma Chao himself would inevitably become complacent.
If he gave him an official now, when he officially submitted, what would he be given?
Hence, Bai Xiaowen used the name of the Imperial Court to appoint Ma Chao as Chenglie General. As for his title, he still inherited his father's Huaili Marquis position. There was nothing much to say about that.
Including Chang An, the three auxiliary lands (Guanzhong) would naturally return to the Imperial Court. However, at this moment, there were basically no civilians left in the three auxiliary lands. Most of them were moved to Sizhou.
Bai Xiaowen was not in a rush to move the people back.
Because there were no wars in Hanzhong, there were many refugees there, and the population was abundant. After taking down Hanzhong, he could move the people there to fill up Guanzhong. In history, Cao Cao did that. Although he did not talk about human rights, it had real effects.
After winning, Ma Chao and the others needed to follow Bai Xiaowen back to the Yedu Imperial Court to meet the Emperor and receive their rewards.
Although Ma Chao wanted to immediately go and take down Zhang Lu, he was under Bai Xiaowen. If Bai Xiaowen did not give him troops, there was nothing he could do.
Bai Xiaowen returned to Tong Pass and inspected the battle. Although he had lost close to ten thousand men, he had captured close to twenty thousand of Ma Chao's soldiers who had surrendered. In addition, Han Sui had surrendered and had close to thirty thousand men under his command.
One could say that Bai Xiaowen did not use up any strength in this battle. Instead, he gained a lot from it.
In terms of territory, not only did they take back the three auxiliary lands in Guanzhong, but they also expanded to Xiliang. The land north of the Yellow River belonged to the Yuan Family. Even Cao Cao's land south of the Yellow River was under Bai Xiaowen's control.
White Phoenix's small theater.
"What do you think Ma Chao is thinking? He was convinced by Jian Yong's words, and no one could persuade him, "Li Shuyi spoke first.
Bai Xiaowen said, "On one hand, he wants revenge for his father. But on the other hand, Ma Chao also wanted to be like me, to control the world. He wanted to take advantage of my unstable footing to occupy the Central Plains. He is ambitious. Don't forget that Ma Chao was the leader of the last unification. "
Paused for a moment, Bai continued to fight.
"Actually, I didn't have to fight this war. There were no longer any civilians in Sanfu, so it was difficult for Ma Chao to gather rations. As long as Cao Ren guarded Tong Pass and depleted Ma Chao's rations, Ma Chao's morale would definitely drop after a month. If I write to him again, as to-day, setting out the advantages and disadvantages and dissecting the facts, he will probably withdraw.
"But Ma Chao would still refuse to submit to me, and Xiliang would still be hard to pacify. Considering that we have Camille as a spy, we might as well take advantage of the situation and pacify Xiliang. We can also complete the second main mission of unification. Our camp's strength will increase greatly, and we will gain a lot. "
Li Shuyi secretly curled her lips. "It's indeed a bountiful harvest. According to Sister Sai, you acted cool and went down the city alone. When you met Ma Chao, Ma Yunlu was almost in tears. Now that you have beckoned her, she will probably come to you. I don't care about status or anything like that. "
Bai Xiaowen coughed. "Am I that kind of person? Ma Yunlu and I are innocent. We have nothing to do with each other. "
Qiao Rui said leisurely, "I don't know if you and Ma Yunlu are innocent, but there is solid evidence of you and Camille flirting and exchanging love letters. What Guan Ju, what Hei Mu … Cultured people really know how to play. "
Qiao Rui laughed, making people's hair stand on end.
Bai Xiaowen was speechless.
In the team's small theater, his teammates were all laughing. Even Han Xu's face was dark.
Bai Xiaowen rested and reorganized at Tongguan.
Zhang Xiu asked, "My lord once drew a strategy with the military counselor on the white silk. At that time, he saw the weakness of the Xiliang army and knew that he could defeat Ma Chao. I wonder what was written on the white silk? "
Bai Xiaowen ordered people to open the sealed white silk.
On Xun You's white silk, there were eight words, "People's hearts are not united, orders are not consistent."
Bai Xiaowen's white silk was even simpler. There were only two words, "Sow discord."
Bai Xiaowen laughed. "Do you understand? I will pretend to increase the troops, and Ma Chao will certainly increase the troops. When the enemy's troops increase, the weakness of having different orders will be magnified. When the time comes, we will sow discord between Han and Ma Chao and defeat Ma Chao. "
All the generals were impressed. "My lord and the military counselor, although the strategy and words are different, they lead to the same goal."
Xun You was very perceptive and said, "I also understood the weakness of the Xiliang army from my lord's deceptive strategy. Compared to my lord's wisdom, the difference is huge."
Bai Xiaowen laughed. "It was also the military counselor's plan. The generals worked hard to succeed." Thus, he gave the order to reward the three armies and promote meritorious officials.
Zhang Xiu sighed. He was a little worried about Jia Xu's future.
After rewarding the generals, Bai Xiaowen saw Han Sui.
Han Sui knelt on the ground and asked for forgiveness. Bai Xiaowen personally helped him up and said, "Governor Han was able to repent at the last moment and set things right. What is your crime? I need someone to guard Xiliang. Governor is the most suitable person, and I will recommend you to be the Marquis of Xiliang and the Governor of Xiliang. "
Han Sui was delighted. He thought to himself, "Is my daughter Han Qi really so charming? Was he usually a little too strict with her?
However, Bai Xiaowen did not mention Camille and said, "Xiliang is cold and bitter. Governor can send your family to Yedu to enjoy a good life."
When Han Sui heard that, he understood.
For a general to have his family stay in the capital, this was an unspoken rule.
He was the Marquis of Xiliang and the Governor of Xiliang, controlling the military and political power of Liangzhou. He did not fight for this territory himself. It was given to him by Bai Xiaowen in the name of the Imperial Court. Of course, he had to obey Bai Xiaowen and move his family to Yedu so that Bai Xiaowen would be at ease.
Han Sui did not have much ambition and immediately agreed.
However, Han Sui muttered in his heart, "Yuan Xi did not mention anything about my daughter. Is he too shy to talk about it?" However, when he saw Bai Xiaowen asking him to move his family to Yedu, he did not think so.
With a stomach full of questions, Han Sui excused himself and sent Camille to ask Bai Xiaowen about it.
Camille said, "Captain Bai, we're sending love letters to each other for the sake of the unification of the country. Please don't misunderstand."
Bai Xiaowen was slightly stunned, then he smiled. "Of course not."
Camille carefully looked at Bai Xiaowen's face — as an Awakened, she could directly see Bai Xiaowen's real appearance. She was a little absent-minded for a moment.
Then, Camille smiled and said, "For a moment, I was really tempted. Fortunately, I don't like men. "
Bai Xiaowen was not surprised.
Camille might look frivolous and seductive, but that was only her weapon. She did not let Bai Xiaowen take advantage of her. She did not have any romantic feelings for Bai Xiaowen. Bai Xiaowen's senses were very sharp, so he was very clear about this.
Therefore, Bai Xiaowen had always treated Camille with a business-like attitude.
If he really made that kind of request, Camille might agree to it out of desperation. However, this was not in line with Bai Xiaowen's way of doing things. If Camille refused, it would be even more awkward. Therefore, it was better to keep a distance.
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