Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 417: Making friends with each other

Huo and Pang had a hasty meeting in Lujiang. After Huo Jun understood the situation in the DPRK, he took a boat into Wuhan. Pang Tong returned to Fei along the river and assumed the post of governor of the Yangtze and Huaihe River areas for Huo Jun.

In fact, Huo Jun returned to Wuhan this time, even if there was no incident about King Huainan, he had to return to Wuhan due to military issues.

Seeing that Guan Yu had proposed the strategy of the Northern Expedition to Xiangfan for a long time, but did not see an accurate response from Liu Bei, he once sailed into Wuhan by boat and asked Liu Bei for the Northern Expedition.

However, Liu Bei considered the chain reaction of taking Jiaoling in the south and the possible blockage at both ends caused by the northern expedition to Xiangfan, so he temporarily appeased Guan Yu with words, saying that he would give it a review after Zhengdan, and that he would first let Guan Yu return to Jiangling and secretly prepare the steps for the northern expedition to Xiangfan.

Under such circumstances, Liu Bei wrote to consult Huo Jun. At that time, Huo Jun was distracted by the "King of Huainan" incident and was unaware of the specific situation, so he could not give any more reply. Therefore, Huo Jun wrote back, saying that when he returned to Beijing to report on his work, he would submit his thoughts to Liu Bei.

After rushing up the river, Huo Jun arrived in Wuhan late at night and rested at his house for the night.

At noon the next day, Huo Junfang entered the palace to pay homage to Liu Bei.

Wuhan, Han Palace.

In the side hall, Liu Bei sat on the couch, while Zhuge Liang and Fazheng sat sideways, discussing important matters.

Liu Bei put his hands on the stove to bake, and asked: "Both of you have read "Huainan Lun". I wonder what you think of the strategies mentioned in Shi Zai?"

Zhuge Liang stroked his feather fan gently and praised: "The Treatise on Huainan is a strategy for revitalizing Huainan. The number of books written by scholars is rigorous. Thirty thousand troops will be stationed, with two days of work and one day off, and rotation of rice and wheat. With favorable weather and rain, we will be able to be self-sufficient." Be self-sufficient and save rice from Jiangdong.”

With that said, Zhuge Liang handed over his hand to Liu Bei and said: "After several years of hoarding, we will have enough food for our troops. If we advance to the Yangtze River and Huaihe River, we can hope for the Central Plains. If we retreat, we can protect the Huaihe River area without worrying about the king. The rice we have saved in the east of the Yangtze River can be used for hoarding and conquest." By using it, you can save on corvee and levy, and you don’t have to transport food and grass thousands of miles.”

Liu Bei put up his hands and said: "What Kong Ming said is what I thought. This year, we will mobilize 100,000 people for the northern expedition. Jiangzuo will travel thousands of miles to provide food. Many people in Jiangdong are doing corvee service. This is not a long-term solution. It is better to Let Jianghuai be self-sufficient.”

Fazheng hesitated a little and said: "Although it is a good thing for Jianghuai to be self-sufficient, Jianghuai is isolated from the powerful. If Jianghuai is allowed to be self-sufficient now, I am afraid that it will strengthen its roots."

"otherwise!"

Zhuge Liang smiled while stroking his fan, and said: "Filial piety comes late. Since Huo Du is loyal to the king, why should we suspect him of being alone? And if Jiang Huai really has different intentions, can food make him loyal?"

Compared with Zhuge Liang's broad vision, Fa Zheng was politically narrow. As Zhuge Liang said, food and grass cannot restrain Huainan's rebellion, so naturally there is no need to restrict it from this aspect.

"good!"

Liu Bei nodded slightly and said: "Jianghuai, Bashu, and Hanbei are all isolated, so we should treat them with peace of mind. Now that we are in favor of the Northern Expedition, we should do our best to do it without delay!"

"Kong Ming, I will deploy Jiangzuo sergeants for Jianghuai. This year, we will open up wasteland and farm, and next year we will have a good harvest of rice. We must follow the "Huainan Theory"."

Liu Bei had no intention of imitating Sun Quan's intrigues and intrigues. He didn't want to think about the great cause of the Northern Expedition, and played with his ministers every day to cause internal friction. He forced the general to death without saying a word, and even caused his two sons to kill each other.

"promise!"

"Your Majesty, Huo Du is asking for an audience outside the palace."

"Please quickly!"

After a while, Huo Jun walked into the palace and wanted to salute, but Liu Bei, who was staying at the hotel, held him back and prevented him from saluting.

Before Huo Jun could speak, Liu Bei hugged Huo Jun's arm and said, "How wronged you are!"

It was just six words, but it made Huo Jun feel uneasy. He felt ashamed for a moment because he was the 'King of Huainan'.

"Thank you so much for your love, Your Majesty!"

Liu Bei took Huo Jun's hand and said: "Cao Cao's plan is insidious and rumors are spreading in Wuhan. People with little knowledge may criticize Zhong Miao if they don't dig deeper. I hope you don't take it to heart or hurt the feelings of your colleagues."

Huo Jun looked relaxed and said with a smile: "Confucius said: 'Isn't it a gentleman if a person doesn't know something but is stunned?' Although it is difficult for Jun to be a gentleman, he is envious of him. The king believes in Jun, and it is enough for his ministers!"

Liu Bei pulled Huo Jun to sit down and said with a smile: "With Zhong Miao's words, I am enough!"

As he spoke, Liu Bei changed the subject and asked: "Gu, Kong Ming, and Xiaozhi all agree with the theory written by Shi Zai. Therefore, Gu has ordered to open up acres of land in the Jianghuai River and cultivate crops to accumulate grain."

"Although Jianghuai is decided, the ministers have different opinions on the four counties of Jiaoling and the Yunchang Northern Expedition to Xiangfan, and I am very doubtful about it. Now I am willing to listen to Zhong Miao's opinion."

Huo Jun looked at Zhuge Liang and Fazheng in the palace, and said with a smile: "Jun returned to Wuhan for the first time, and he doesn't know much about the current situation. I wonder what Kong Ming, Xiaozhi and other ministers have to say?" Liu Bei glanced at Zhuge Liang and signaled. He introduced the current situation to Huo Jun.

Zhuge Liang understood what he meant and said: "General Guan wanted to have his soldiers pretend to surrender to Cao Ren. Lu Meng asked himself to be the surrender general and offered Dangyang City to Cao Ren to lure Cao Ren to advance lightly. Later, he asked General Guan to set up an ambush halfway to attack him."

"Ran Liang thought that Lü Meng was not strong enough to convince Cao Cao, and it was difficult to set up an ambush in Dangyang City. If Cao Ren was in trouble, he could easily retreat into Xiangyang. When Cao Cao sent troops to help, this would not be conducive to his plan to capture Xiangfan..."

"The four counties of Jiaoling have been occupied by Shi Xie for decades, and they are equipped with majesty. All the Han and Yi people obeyed, and they rebelled secretly because of the danger. Everyone thought that it was necessary to send heavy troops to conquer Jiaoling, otherwise it would be difficult to go to Jiaozhou. ...Under this situation, all the people of the time Many ministers think that it is difficult to have both Xiangfan and Jiaoling, so they should be prioritized."

Through Zhuge Liang's detailed introduction, Huo Jun generally figured out the problem.

The four counties of Jiaoling are far away and difficult to defeat. The chain reaction in Xiangfan will be huge, and it is not known whether they can succeed. Under such a background, many ministers in the court had different opinions, that is, they were divided into priorities. They either conquered Jiaoling first, or supported Guan Yu's northern expedition to Xiangyang.

Those who support the conquest of Jiaozhou first have slightly different views on the conquest party; those who support Guan Yu's northern expedition to Xiangyang have objections to Lu Meng's act of pretending to surrender to Cao Ren and offering Dangyang City.

For example, Zhang Zhao, Liu Ba and others supported conquering Jiaoling first and Xiangfan later.

Or like Fazheng, Ma Liang and others, they supported Guan Yu in conquering Xiangyang and later conquered Jiaoling.

As for Zhuge Liang, he did not belong to any side. He had objections to Guan Yu's plan to conquer Xiangyang, and he did not agree with sending a heavy army to fight against Jiaoling.

For example, Zhuge Liang and Fazheng thought that Guan Yu's strategy of inducing surrender would not be able to deceive Cao Cao, and the area around Yangcheng was not conducive to setting up an ambush, so they hoped to change places to set up an ambush.

There were arguments and numerous opinions, which made it difficult for Liu Bei, who was decisive in making decisions, to make a decision.

"What difference does Zhong Miao have?" Liu Bei asked.

Huo Jun pondered for a while and said: "I have the same opinion as Kong Ming. It is not suitable to use heavy troops at the intersection, and it is not suitable for General Guan to set up an ambush at Dangyang."

"Ok?"

Liu Bei stroked his beard and thought deeply, and said: "Why do you two have such a view?"

"Kong Ming, why don't you speak first?" Huo Jun said politely.

"good!"

Zhuge Liang stroked his feather fan gently and said: "Although Dangyang has a mountainous terrain, it is possible to ambush troops. Dangyang is only two or three hundred miles away from Xiangyang, and Cao Ren can advance and retreat easily, which is not the place to use troops. And Dangyang is close to Xiangyang. The deployment of sergeants cannot escape the observation of Cao Jun’s scouts.”

"As for the four counties of Jiaozhou, as the king and Zhongmiao said earlier, we need to go to Jiaoling quickly. However, if we raise our troops, alarm the soldiers, and get trapped deep in the mountains and forests, it will not be easy to win."

As he spoke, Zhuge Liang frowned in thought and said: "Let General Guan reconsider the place to set up an ambush and find the right person to pretend to surrender to Cao Cao. The four counties of Jiaozhou may follow what Zishan said, cut off Shi Xie's wings, annihilate his army, and invade. Jiaozhi. However, the specific deployment needs to be discussed in depth."

Liu Bei looked at Huo Jun and asked, "Does Zhong Miao have any different opinions?"

Huo Jun stroked his moustache and said thoughtfully: "Jun thinks that the conquest of Jiaoling and the northern expedition to Xiangfan can be planned at the same time, and there is no need to prioritize them."

Liu Bei picked up his spirits and asked, "Please elaborate!"

Huo Jun organized his thoughts and said: "If you want to plot Xiangyang and lure Cao Ren into battle, you should be careful not to warn Cao Cao that our army is well prepared. Why don't our army pretend to take Jiaoling with a heavy force, but actually take it with a small force, just to confuse Cao Cao."

"At that time, Cao Cao thought that my army was in the south and a general was coming, so he would ask Cao Ren to raise troops to respond. At that time, he would ask General Guan Guan to set up an ambush, and he would be able to overturn Cao Ren's army and surround Xiangyang."

"The situation in Xiangfan has changed dramatically. Cao Cao has raised a large number of troops and marched south. The king can raise troops to march north as a diversion, which coincides with General Guan's previous plan. As for the place to set up an ambush and the person who pretends to surrender, it should be discussed carefully to ensure that nothing goes wrong."

"Pretending to seize Jiaoling with heavy troops, doesn't it mean that the soldiers are well prepared?" Liu Bei asked.

Zhuge Liang thought about it and replied, "Zhong Miao's intention must be to capture Jiaoling with a small number of soldiers and a strategy. With Liang and Zishan's words, cut off Shi Xie's wings, annihilate his army, and invade Jiaozhi."

"Raising troops to Jiaoling and plotting against Xiangfan. Although it is a good strategy to attack from the east to the west, Cao Cao is suspicious and does not believe that our army is going south to Jiaoling. What should we do now?" Liu Bei asked.

Huo Jun touched his mustache and said with a sneer: "Cao Cao must be very proud of me as the king of Huainan. Why don't you just follow his wishes and pretend to be Cao Cao's plan to transfer someone away from Jianghuai and entrust him with his duties?" To show that we have no intention of the Northern Expedition!"

(End of this chapter)