The trip to Jingzhou seemed like just a sightseeing trip, but after arriving in Wancheng, the whole meaning suddenly became serious.
Ma Chao summoned Wen Cheng, Ma Dai, and even Gao Shun, who came from Yingchuan Kuaima, to have a secret conversation that night.
No one except the four people knew the content of the secret conversation.
The guards at the outer gate could only vaguely hear Ma Chao's impassioned declarations or sinister smiles from the inner room.
In the end, it was probably Wen Cheng, Ma Dai, and Gao Shun who took orders with their fists clasped in high tones.
The emotion is so deep that it has the power of majestic mountains and rivers.
Early the next morning, Ma Chao took Ma Dai with him and quickly left Wancheng.
However, this time the solemnity seemed to be just a flash in the pan, and everything disappeared at dawn.
On the whole, Ma Chao's trip south seems to be a farce that is neither salty nor bland, like a pebble thrown into a big lake, without even a few ripples.
Except for bringing back a peerless beauty and a clan brother, everything was eerily quiet.
Compared with the last time he went out to Xuzhou to lead troops to attack Cao Cao, it was too low-key.
He is so low-key that no one in the world believes that he, a man who can start wars anywhere at will, has never been to Jingzhou.
But soon, the world quickly lost interest in this boring conjecture.
Because not long after, two pieces of breaking news broke out in Chang'an that shocked the world.
One is the name of the peerless beauty who appeared next to Ma Chao for no reason.
I don’t know when it spread all over the streets of Chang’an.
That woman, as quiet and elegant as a fairy, turned out to be Sun Ce’s fiancée Da Qiao.
People's imagination about this kind of gossip about men and women is generally endless, and those who do good things can't help but connect the previous news of Sun Ce's assassination with this.
As a result, whenever the people of Chang'an passed by Prince Yong's Mansion, they couldn't help but cast a look of admiration at that magnificent mansion: It is indeed the pride of our Chang'an.
He is so domineering even in robbing other people's wives.
Why is the little overlord of Jiangdong competing with our Prince Yong?
Get up, you're like a complete Luthor However, this kind of news is groundless at best, and the world is just happy to hear it.
Ma Chao himself did not respond at all to this, which inevitably made the busybody somewhat uninterested.
But another piece of news is far too grand compared to this: the Ma family beast, which had been dormant for more than a year and a half, suddenly revealed its ferocious face.
Chang'an issued an edict, and the six states and two places began to recruit troops and prepare for the war at the same time.
This recruitment of troops to prepare for war is different from the previous step-by-step reforms.
Ma Chao seemed to have planned ahead.
With a stroke of his pen, he transformed all the Ma family's jurisdiction into several war zones.
The wealthy areas with few conflicts were fully developed while each provided troops and strategic equipment for the corresponding frontline positions.
For example, Yongzhou has long been at peace, and its entire economy is also the most active place under the Ma family, but it has to become a strategic backup for the Hanzhong area.
Liangzhou also wants to provide Hanzhong with powerful Xiliang cavalry.
The two states and one land were like horns and sharp knives, and the military front was pointed directly at Yizhou.
Liu Zhang, who was far away in Chengdu, was so frightened that he was considering whether to surrender to the Ma family.
In addition to the Hanzhong front, the Ma family also has five fronts this time: the Yingchuan front, the Nanyang front, the Bingzhou front, the Jizhou front, and the Youzhou front.
Each front line is uniformly deployed, commanded, and organized by the general with the highest official rank to command and train the new army.
As a result, the Ma family's ace battle group has blossomed from the previous struggle for hegemony in Chang'an to everywhere.
On the Yingchuan front, the ace troops are naturally the soldiers under Gao Shun; on the Bingzhou front, they are Zhang Liao's Yanbei Cavalry; on the Jizhou front, they are dominated by Qu Yi's Xianden soldiers; and on the Youzhou front, they are the most dazzling, with the main ace Baima Yicong. , there are also front-line troops Youyan Jingqi and Wuhuan War Cavalry.
Of course, in Liangzhou, where the Ma family raised their troops, there are the world-famous heavy armored cavalry and the famous Xiliang Iron Cavalry outside the pass.
Only on the Nanyang front, there has never been a trump card.
But after thinking hard, Wen Cheng broke the rules and took the unusual path.
With the help of Nanyang's developed iron smelting and foundry industry, Wen Cheng planned to build a special force that would win with equipment: This force would not follow the elite deadly battle route, but would assemble large-scale ballistae, Li crossbows, and Sutie battle knives, striving to make the troops under his command more capable.
The overall combat power of the legion is superior to that of the major princes, and it is expected that quantitative changes will lead to qualitative changes.
This reform of the military system still follows the four-level organization of the main battle group, regular combat force, county soldiers and militia.
Attracted by abundant financial support and the Ma family's treatment of soldiers that surpassed all previous dynasties, this recruitment reached the highest level in the history of the Ma family, setting numerous records since the Han Dynasty.
For example, there is the most active participation in the army in history, the first precedent of recruiting female soldiers in history, the most indifferent race in history, and the most bizarre methods used by people to enlist in the army, etc.
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In Chang'an, Ma Chao naturally has the most powerful guard force, but there is no ace battle group that can scare the enemy.
However, objectively speaking, Chang'anli's guard force is the core force of the Ma family's entire military system.
Although they are only divided into two types: the Ma family's elite and the Ma family's elite cavalry, the armor, weapons, and logistical support they are equipped with are more than double the conventional combat power of all prefectures and counties.
In other words, Wen Cheng's reform of building the army through science and technology was just picking up Ma Chao's wisdom.
The selection scope of the Chang'an Guards covers the entire Ma family, which means that recruits are generally screened from all levels at all levels in various places, and are directly recruited after reaching the ace combat power, leaving those who are better than conventional combat power and Soldiers who do not meet the trump card's combat power but are not very good at it will be sent from various places to Chang'an for re-examination to form the most elite Ma's Guards.
At first glance, Chang'an's Guards seem to be inferior to the ace main force from various places, but in fact this is not the case.
For example, in the selection of Liangzhou heavy armored cavalry and Yingchuan warriors, load-bearing ability is definitely a big difficulty; and Jizhou's first climb to the dead is the most bizarre, and those soldiers must be smarter; joining the Baima Yicong is the most beautiful, but the new recruits His unnatural appearance has become a barrier In this way, Chang'an's Guards gathered the best young men with the most comprehensive capabilities, the most flexible minds, and the most proficient craftsmanship.
At the same time, because he joined the army in a different place, his obedience and discipline were also extremely high.
Therefore, the Ma family's recruitment order immediately attracted the attention of all the princes of the Han Dynasty.
Especially the Cao family, who had just concluded an alliance with the Ma family, was in a state of panic.
Cao Cao personally ordered Xi Zhicai to make the Jingan Cao elites lurking in Jizhou appear and find out the scale of the Ma family's recruitment.
After all, the Ma family dispatched a total of 400,000 troops last time, which frightened everyone in the Cao family.
But this time the Ma family went crazy.
One can imagine what a militaristic and ambitious prince would do next.
After paying the price of three hidden strongholds being demolished and fourteen Jing'an Cao elites committing suicide, Cao Cao finally obtained data on the scale of the Ma family's Jizhou recruitment: This time, because the supply of the ace team was so huge, the Ma family for the first time sent two battalions.
The more than 7,000 soldiers were reduced to a camp of 5,000 men.
As for the regular combat strength, Jizhou's conscription scale is 50,000.
After Cao Cao got this data, he frowned for a long time and remained silent that night facing the stars in the sky: Any boy who can count can calculate that there are about 50,000 professional soldiers in Jizhou, and the other four states of the Ma family are also about 50,000. , which adds up to a fighting strength of 250,000.
Chang'an is the center of the Ma family, and its guard strength cannot be less than 100,000.
Calculating it piece by piece, the Ma family's recruitment has exceeded the 400,000 mark.
This 400,000 yuan was different from the last northern expedition against Yuan Shao.
That time, the Ma family mobilized all the forces in the Sili area, and also spent a lot of money to hire foreign regiments and foreign cavalry to gather 400,000 miscellaneous soldiers.
But this time, once there is a war in the Ma family, all it takes is a military order to issue, and 400,000 professional combat preparations can be continuously transported to the battlefield.
Once such a war machine is accurately operated, it may be the end of any prince in the Han Dynasty.
"Don't worry, Ming Gong.
What Ma Chao did seems to be menacing, but in fact it is a willful act and a way to bring disaster."
Xun Yu came out of Sikong Mansion and saw Cao Cao's appearance, so he couldn't help but stepped forward to persuade him.
"Wen Ruo said that because of what Ma Chao did, the combat power of each state may be reduced to the private tribe of the state herdsman.
The Ma family will be beyond the reach of the state and its foundation will be in chaos."
Cao Cao sighed, and it was obvious in Xun Yu's eyes that it was just a fluke of hope.
He couldn't help but said sadly: "We have been at odds with Ma Mengqi for many years, but have we ever seen him make such major mistakes in any major changes?
Wait, in less than half a month, the Ma family's new orders will inevitably follow, and it will take a year or two for these new recruits to condense.
When it reaches true combat strength, then" At this point, Cao Cao's eyes became even more gloomy, and he said helplessly: "If the horse doesn't die, I won't have a burial place":