Wei Ni

Chapter 267 Recording
The soldiers and common people in Xiangping City reacted calmly to the demise of the Gongsun clan, which had existed for three generations.

Perhaps, this was the reason why people in the city had reached the point of cannibalism.

After the Wei army transported the grain and fodder stored in Liaosui and distributed them to them in quota, Gongsun Yuan's clansmen, false ministers, some high-ranking generals and diehard local tyrants were killed in the market one after another. This went on for ten days, and the common people in the city did not feel anything and acted very indifferent.

The soldiers who were still being held in the barracks were also very quiet.

They had no fear that the Wei army, known for its brutality and bloodshed, might kill them all and display their bodies in a memorial park as a warning to others.

This was the trust that Xiahou Hui had accumulated from releasing prisoners and treating wounded soldiers several times before.

Moreover, during the period of imprisonment, Xiahou Hui brought Yang Zuo into the camp and vowed that the Emperor of Wei had issued an edict to give lighter punishment to those who were forced to rebel and would never execute them.

So they take it easy.

Even the ration quota given to them by the Wei army was about three liters of grains per person per day, which was less than the usual meal portion.

Because they feel that this treatment is already very good.

Think about it, before the war broke out, Gongsun Yuan, in order to boost the morale of his soldiers, widely publicized the Wei army's deeds such as "the Si River stopped flowing", "the whole of Hebei was in mourning after the Battle of Guandu", and "the entire city of Ye was slaughtered". What else could they not be satisfied with!
As for what happened next, would the Wei army relocate them or make them slaves?
Don't think too far ahead.

First you are allowed to live, then you can have the hope of being forgiven.

This expectation soon spread from Luoyang.

However, when Gongsun Yuan's head was sent to the capital Luoyang, Emperor Cao Rui, who had already rushed back from the Xuchang Palace, was overjoyed. He immediately issued an edict to announce it to the world and took the head to the Taimiao to pray.

Although he knew that the war was over after receiving the military report that the army was besieging Xiangping, he did not expect the war to end so quickly!
The army only set out from Guzhu City in Liaoxi at the end of April and won the victory in August!

You know, it took two months just to march!
what does this mean?
To put it simply, it was Xiahou Hui and Guanqiu Jian who lived up to his expectations.

To put it in a broader sense, it means that he, as the emperor, is wise and powerful, his decisions are sensible, and that it is destiny that Wei will replace Han, and that traitors and rebels must be killed!

This kind of joy cannot be compared with the previous attack and killing of Xianbei Kebi and the re-establishment of the Hetao counties.

The Xianbei were also among the Hu, Di and barbarians.

With Shu pacifying the Southern Barbarians and Wu conquering the Shanyue, what was there for Wei to boast about in defeating the Xianbei?

The significance of conquering Liaodong is that the Gongsun family has ruled Liaodong for three generations and dominated for nearly fifty years, which is longer than the establishment of Shu and Wu! Today, Wei traveled thousands of miles to conquer them in a battle, which will greatly boost the morale of Wei's soldiers and generals, making them believe that Wei's strong national strength can offset the dangers of mountains and rivers. Whether it is Shu with its mountains and rivers or Wu with its great rivers, they will one day follow in the footsteps of Liaodong!
Yes~
What Cao Rui cared about was the significance that the war gave to the Wei State, not the war itself.

Therefore, a few days later, when Guanqiu Jian's memorial arrived in Luoyang, describing the post-war deployment and disposal of Liaodong, he did not need to discuss it with the officials in the court, and Qiankun approved it all on his own initiative.

The only issue that made him think for a moment was the handling of prisoners of war, because Xiahou Hui and Guanqiu Jian had different suggestions.

It was really just a moment.

After just a dozen breaths of hesitation, he decided to relocate more than 40,000 prisoners of war and their families back to the Central Plains for resettlement. Those who were willing to continue serving in the army would be relocated to Qingzhou and Xuzhou; those who were willing to retire and return to the countryside would be relocated to Jizhou.

He rejected the suggestions of Xiahou Hui and Guanqiu Jian.

As an emperor, he considers things from a different perspective.

Therefore, Xiahou Hui's suggestion was somewhat biased in his eyes - with the abundance of Wei State, the bitter and cold land of Liaodong was dispensable. What was the point of conquering such barbaric and backward tiny places as Goguryeo and Hanye?

In his eyes, Guanqiu Jian's suggestion was too mediocre - either don't migrate, or if you want to migrate, then migrate all of them, why keep half of them? As for migrating too many people at once, it would lead to improper resettlement and fear of starvation and freezing. Before they were registered as prisoners of war, they would die, so why should they be pitied!

After making the decision, he also asked Xiahou Hui and the other man to deal with the aftermath as soon as possible and return to the army as soon as possible.

It's not just to save national power.

Moreover, he felt that after defeating Gongsun of Liaodong, which proved his wise decision, he would face less pressure when implementing some changes in the government. Especially this year, Minister of the Interior Dong Zhao and Zuo Pushe Xu Xuan died of illness one after another, and Minister of Works Chen Qun was also ill and unable to attend the court, which made him feel that time was running out.

September in late autumn.

Liaodong, Xiangping City.

Xiahou Hui set out on his journey home with the Zhenhu tribe and the Xianbei and Wuhuan cavalry who had joined the expedition.

They are the second group to return.

The first batch was the Bai tribe Xianbei.

On the fifth day after Xiangping City was captured, Xiahou Hui signaled Guanqiu Jian to send them back to wait for the imperial decree of reward.

The apparent reason was that the war was over and they did not want to add to their fatigue. In addition, the turn of autumn and winter has always been the time when nomadic tribes migrated in search of places to hibernate, and the Wei State could not ignore their habits.

But Guanqiu Jian knew the actual reason.

The Liaodong gentry and common people had no good feelings towards the Xianbei. Allowing them to stay would be detrimental to the transition of power in Liaodong and would also aggravate the loss of food and fodder.

Although Liao Sui still had sufficient food and fodder.

However, the cost of relocating and resettling soldiers, commoners, and servants is enormous, so the more money you can save, the better.

For example, those returning with Xiahou Hui now included the powerful families who had been deprived of their fields, pastures and slaves, and those who had been implicated in the rebellion, and they had also consumed a lot of food and fodder along the way. As for the Liaodong captives and their families who had already been decided by Emperor Cao Rui to migrate, they would be transferred in batches by boat.

Cao Rui issued an edict that Li Zhen, who was in charge of the army's food and fodder in Bohai County, the General of the Eastern Army stationed in Xuzhou, and the Governor of Qingzhou would be responsible for it respectively, and Xiahou Hui and Guanqiu Jian did not need to worry about it.

To be precise, there is nothing left to do in Liaodong.

The three counties including Xuantu were conquered by an edict, and the remaining border troops were also properly arranged. Li Yin was appointed to appease the scholars and common people. In addition, Guanqiu Jian also released Gongsun Gong, repaired the tombs of Lun Zhi and Jia Fan who were killed by Gongsun Yuan, and recruited their descendants as officials. Now Liaodong is safe.

At most in half a month, Guanqiu Jian will lead his troops back.

The only difference is that he returned to Jixian, Youzhou, while Xiahou Hui returned to the capital Luoyang.

In other words, if the two wanted to meet again in the future, they would have to wait until Guanqiu Jian was summoned back to the capital to report on his work.

Therefore, the night before Xiahou Hui set out, Guanqiu Jian specially held a banquet to celebrate his departure.

Because both of them are very satisfied with working together.

Ru Guanqiu Jian discovered that Xiahou Hui was actually quite humble and kind, and not at all the reckless, stubborn and strong-willed character as rumored; while Xiahou Hui felt that having a deputy general who was meticulous, did not compete for credit, and planned everything in an orderly manner was really a relief!
For this reason, at the farewell banquet, the two held hands and said many farewell words.

I am also looking forward to the opportunity to fight side by side with you again in the future.

There is just a little disagreement.

Xiahou Hui asserted that Sun Quan would definitely invade Liaodong in the future because the evil Wu people would act at the slightest sign of danger. He planned to have the cavalry units of Qian Hong and Zhang Hu temporarily stay in Liaodong County under the command of Xiahou Ba to be prepared for any eventuality. He also wanted to leave another part of the Youzhou border army stationed in Anping County, Liaodong to prevent Goguryeo from taking advantage of the situation.

But Guanqiu Jian politely declined.

For good reason.

After a great victory in defeating the enemy thousands of miles away, all the soldiers, except those who stayed behind, were eager to return home and receive their rewards and reunite with their families as soon as possible. What reason could he give to let them stay?

Guard against the bandits Wu and Goguryeo?

Whether or not they will attack, and when they will attack, is an unknown, and no one can make a clear determination.

There is no reason to guard against thieves for a thousand days!

Guanqiu Jian was genuine, but he couldn’t give a reason that would convince his soldiers!
Okay.

Xiahou Hui had no choice but to give up.

Because he could only confirm that the Wu bandits and Goguryeo were going to invade, but he could not confidently assert the date of their invasion!

Especially since Liaodong is different from other places, supplying food and fodder for thousands of infantry and cavalry is not an easy task.

However, Guanqiu Jian was also a good person.

He knew that another reason for Xiahou Hui's proposal was that he was worried that if the Wu and Goguryeo invaded successfully, his second brother Xiahou Hui would be accused of being incapable of defending the border. Therefore, he gave Wei Shu, who had 100 troops, 200 more soldiers, and asked Gongsun Yi, who had hundreds of white horse volunteers, to stay.

Xiahou Hui was very kind to both of them.

They didn't mind paying for Xiahou Hui's prediction and staying in Liaodong to work harder for a longer time.

In fact it is.

After Gongsun Yi and Wei Shu learned the reason, they specially thanked Guanqiu Jian, expressing their gratitude for his favor and trust, and for giving them an opportunity to make achievements. They had full faith in Xiahou Hui's judgment.

After the little episode, they all went back to their respective groups without further ado.

Xiahou Hui led his troops to the military camp outside Guzhu City in Liaoxi and rested for ten days. Only after the prefect Fu Rong took over all the relocated powerful families did he continue on the journey back to Luoyang.

At this time, as the chief general, he had just sent a report on the achievements of each person to the imperial court in Luoyang.

Guanqiu Jian was recognized as the first meritorious official.

This is nothing to be controversial about.

After all, in the war against Liaodong, the person who truly planned and promoted the war was Guanqiu Jian, not Xiahou Hui.

The second most meritorious person was Fu Rong, the governor of Liaoxi.

This surprised Emperor Cao Rui and other officials in the court.

However, in his memorial, Xiahou Hui mentioned in detail Fu Rong's contributions such as making plans before the war and providing detailed intelligence, and Guanqiu Jian had also mentioned Fu Rong's pre-war planning in his previous memorial, so there was not much controversy.

After that, the names of the generals, assistant officers, tribal leaders, etc. were listed in order of their gains and hard work.

The name of one of them caused an uproar among the officials in the court.

It was Ding Mi who was deposed and imprisoned by the emperor's decree.
(End of this chapter)