Ma Chao, who once defeated Cao Cao and abandoned his robe, did not seem to be particularly outstanding after entering Shu. However, history is sometimes more than superficial. In fact, Ma Chao has made great contributions to the army of Shu and Han. For some time after Liu Bei's death, Zhuge Liang learned all his combat strategies from Ma Chao.
Let me say a digression first, whether Ma Chao has won the trust and reuse of Shu Han. In fact, more attention is paid to Ma Chao, who is subordinate to Liu Bei. His contribution is not in the north, but in Xiqiao. Since the founding of Shu and Han Dynasties, wars have continued in the east, south and north, while the west has maintained a peaceful and friendly atmosphere. This is the achievement of Ma Chao and his army. You know, the semi-open tribes on the Qinghai-Tibet grassland have never been friendly or peace-loving, and they are at the commanding heights on the rich Xichuan Dam. Without Ma Chao, a pious general, and the residual army strength after his death, could Shu Han live so peacefully in the West? It was not until a prestigious general appeared in the west that this situation was changed. At that time, with the death of Ma Dai, Ma's Legion had completed the integration with the Central Legion.
Ma Chao's prestige, on the one hand, is the family tradition, on the other hand, the western minorities have no chance to win the battle with Ma Chao in the hilly areas of western Sichuan. The ruling style of the Han Dynasty, the so-called Wang Ba Za, had a special management style for the feudal official Malik Chao, that is, fetters, which meant that we could be a good monarch and minister and not give you a chance to commit crimes. Ma Chao's responsibility is justified and poses no threat to the country. Wang Dao of Korea believes that it is taboo for a monarch to decide trust by personal feelings, and loyalty and infidelity are changeable.
Someone asked Liu Bei why he didn't take Ma Weiyan with him when he went to Wudong. Is it not credible? The space in the back is empty. One guards Xiqiao and the other guards Hanzhong. , trying to forge ahead in the Central Plains. Without this famous soldier who has experienced many battles and is familiar with the western situation, Kong Ming may feel that he is missing an arm. After all, Ma Chao's so-called repetition is based on anti-Cao, which is different from Lu Bu's saying that breastfeeding is being a mother.
Closer to home, the army in the last years of Shu Han left a profound influence on Ma Chao's corps, and even the shadow of the Roman army was faintly visible. At that time, Cao Wei's army was mainly cavalry, with rich combat experience and strong mobility; Sun Wu's army, with the water army as the core and relying on the Yangtze River to compete with Cao Wei, has its own characteristics. On the other hand, the Shu-Han army is a rare technical army in the history of China. It can be said that the contrast with the Shu army is a bit like the contrast between the Soviet army and the American army during the Cold War. After the failure of Liu Bei's eastward expedition, the elite of the army was lost, and the important generals were seriously inadequate. How to rebuild the army is a big problem for Zhuge Liang. In fact, Zhuge Liang's early career was mainly engaged in political and economic activities, but he was not good at military affairs. However, he is good at thinking. Facing the gap between soldiers' personal qualities and Cao's, the only surviving member of Shu Han and Ma Chaotuan who had a good combat record naturally became his reference object. The strict military regulations and the system of rewards and punishments in ancient Rome were also consistent with Zhuge Liang's legalist thought. Therefore, Zhuge Liang uses it now, and Shu Han basically adopted Ma Chao's ready-made thought of building the army and reformed it according to the characteristics of Shu Han.
First of all, the Shu army absorbed Ma Chaojun's expertise. First, pay attention to discipline and standardize military regulations, including rewards and punishments, grades, etc. This retains the characteristics of the Roman Legion, while the China Army relies more on the supervision and majesty of the coach in discipline. Therefore, when Zhuge Liang left Qishan, Hong Rong played a role in sorting out the three counties. That's what ancient Zhuge meant when he was good at governing Rong. Second, attach importance to the use of technical weapons, rather than relying solely on the bravery of soldiers. The Shu army made great efforts in weapons manufacturing, destroying crossbows, Yuan Dao and Kongming lanterns. Later, among the generals in the Jin Dynasty, the armor of Zhuge era was regarded as a precious gift because it could stop flying arrows. The armies of other dynasties seldom paid so much attention to technical weapons, mostly as strategic forces; Third, pay attention to infantry and fighting, which is also related to the lack of good horses in Shu Han. The so-called Jiugong Bagua Array was actually created by later generations, which is really a great threat to Wei Jun. I guess it has a lot to do with the Roman army array, the so-called fish scale array. Unfortunately, there is no supporting evidence. However, according to Cong's military orders, in the face of Wei Jun's attack, the first action was to deploy. Even if the Shu army was besieged, it would be difficult to destroy it. This reminds me of the reaction of the Roman army when Spartacus broke through crassus's defense line: they immediately formed countless circles and triangles to try their best to resist the slashing of gladiator cavalry.
Secondly, in view of the weakness of Ma Chao legion, some improvements have been made. The first is to replace the javelin with a hard crossbow. For the thin Sichuan army, javelin is difficult to use, inconvenient to carry and limited in range. The crossbow has the advantages of javelin and bow and arrow. Because it uses mechanical power and can aim, its lethality is far greater than that of ordinary bows and arrows. When Wei Jun cavalry pounced on the Shu army, they were always hit by arrows like locusts! The famous Wei is about to be shot in the chin. When he was injured, he couldn't believe there was such a powerful arrow. However, Wei Jun stopped developing crossbows after defeating Ma Chao, which may be related to the incompatibility between heavy crossbows and cavalry. The second is to replace the Spartan shield with vehicles. When the Shu army attacked, it was surrounded by vehicles. In fact, the so-called cage car of Xiqiang is a true portrayal of the Shu army. Cars have larger coverage and more functions, and can undertake transportation tasks and enhance mobility. From the history books, in Wei Jun's view, if the Shu army moved the Great Wall, it was really helpless. The advantage of Roman army relying on position defense has been fully exerted. Therefore, the attack of the Shu army is mainly frontal, supplemented by cavalry.
Attack and retreat always retreat calmly, leaving Wei Jun with no chance. In the battle of Jieting, Zhuge Liang sent Ma Su to Xiazhai, because it was impossible to defeat the Shu army in front of the village like the Roman army. Ma Su only saw that there was little difference in strength between the two sides, but he didn't expect his soldiers to be trained in rapid impact, so even if he occupied the right place, he could not defeat Wei Jun's cavalry.
Looking at the Three Kingdoms, what is the biggest feature of Shu Han? -Use the meter. Not only Zhuge Liang used tricks, but also Zhang Fei and Guan Yu used them. However, if we go back to history, we will find that Han Shu's early strategies, such as the Dingjun Mountain of Huang Zhong and the Changban Bridge of Zhang Fei, are indeed true, while Zhuge Liang's later strategies are mostly to set off Zhuge Liang's wisdom, and they are mostly fictitious, such as Zhuge Liang's spooky and empty plans. In fact, these early tricks of Shu Han masked their military weakness. Since the Xuzhou era, Liu Beijun has rarely won this tough battle. But in the later period, when Zhuge Liang reorganized his army to attack Wei, Wei Jun was often blocked by a quarter of his troops and dared not come out. Its combat effectiveness can be seen. However, Shu soldiers also inherited the shortcomings of Ma Chao Corps, such as surprise, which was particularly prominent in the battle of Chencang. It is also an example that Sima Yi could not hide into the camp in the later period. Another example is the heavy dependence on logistics, which is a common problem of technical troops. Once there is a logistical problem, the battle cannot be completed. Compared with Mongolian soldiers who drink horse milk, the shortcomings are too obvious.
The last flash of Ma Chao's army was the battle in which Ma Dai raided and killed Chen Zao in retreat. Under the cover of fish scales, the Shu army retreated calmly. Wei's pursuers were killed everywhere because they could not use sabre. Several Wei Jun who rushed into the Shu army were immediately besieged and strangled by the organization. After Wei Jun's team retreated in a less chaotic and orderly way, the army suddenly jumped on a light horse and ran to the other side's headquarters. After killing another leader like a gust of wind,