Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 576 Parting by the River
Under Huo Jun's deception, Xian Yufu took Yu Jin back happily to resume his life.

Not long after Xian Yufu left Beijing, Zhuge Liang immediately prepared to enter Shu in order not to waste time. In order to show that the Southern Han Dynasty had the attitude of reusing Shu people, Zhuge Liang recruited Zhang Yi, a Shu native, to join the army in the Prime Minister's Office, and Yang Hong was appointed as the Chief of the Prime Minister's Office... More than ten meritorious officials, big and small, accompanied him to Shu.

Since there were tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in the Bashu region, Zhuge Liang left the capital with only two thousand soldiers on foot. And on the eve of the expedition, Liu Chan honored Zhuge Liang and gave him a golden axe, a curved lid, and sixty men.

On the day of the westward journey, Huo Jun left the city to Jinkou and saw Zhuge Liang off in person.

On the bank of Jiangjin, Huo and Ge were walking on the bank, accompanied by dozens of personal guards seven or eight steps away.

Feeling the breeze of the river, Huo Jun looked at the ships on the river and asked, "If Jun remembers correctly, it has been ten years since Kong Ming last commanded the army?"

Zhuge Liang smiled and said: "Zhongmiao has a good memory. In the 20th year of Jian'an, Liang was recommended by Zhongmiao and led the soldiers to conquer the Wuxi barbarians. This campaign relied on the officers and soldiers to use their lives, and they were defeated wherever they went. The barbarian king Samoko surrendered, and all tribes Since leaving the mountain and returning to the Han Dynasty, there has been little turmoil."

"Ten years!"

Huo Jun put his hands behind his waist and asked, "Now we are leading troops to conquer Bashu to the west. I wonder what Kong Ming thinks?"

Zhuge Liang chanted while holding his fan, and said: "Liang and You often talk about the situation in the Western Territory, and they secretly believe that the top priority is to attack the heart, and the bottom priority is to attack the city, win over the hearts of the Western Territory soldiers and people, and then kill all the remaining people to eliminate future troubles."

"Leading troops into battle?"

Huo Jun pondered for a while and said: "Kong Ming has the abilities of Guan Zhong and Le Yi. He first played the battle on the river, and then led the troops to quell the barbarians. This shows that he has great talent in military strategy."

Although Lu Xun was capable, his military strategy was indeed outstanding. But it is really difficult to expect Lu Xun to achieve extraordinary results in the Northern Expedition, or to beat Sima Yi into hiding.

Seeing that Huo Jun believed in him so much, Zhuge Liang stroked his fan and smiled and said: "Commanding and pacifying the barbarians is very different from the use of force in the Northern Expedition. How can Zhong Miao Liang compete with Sima Yi, Cao Zhen and other thieves? Don't forget Zhao Kuo's incident. Although Lian Po He is old, but he can be used; although Bo Yan is soft, he can protect himself!"

Zhuge Liang hesitated a little and said: "Now Zhongmiao has a general plan, Boyan and Gongheng know the military affairs. Ziming and Zhongye can supervise one side. The late emperor left an order, ordering Liang to manage the affairs of the court, and Zhongmiao to lead the troops to conquer and divide the masters. Internally and externally, how can we use our own power to advance to the west? This is actually due to the situation."

In the framework designed by Liu Bei, Huo Jun was in charge of the military as the Great Sima and had political power. As prime minister, Zhuge Liang was in charge of political affairs to prevent Huo Jun from losing his power. Liu Bei had no intention of letting Zhuge Liang take charge of the army.

The difficulty of a one-man Northern Expedition can be understood by looking at Yue Fei. During Yue Fei's Northern Expedition to the Central Plains, he sent troops from Jianghan and repeatedly asked the Huai soldiers to cooperate. But in the end, Jianghuai's troops were defeated, and all the pressure fell on Yue Fei. Therefore, during the Northern Expedition in the Southern Song Dynasty, Yue Fei often made the Northern Expedition alone.

Not only were they worried that Zhuge Liang's control of the military would affect the rights of generals such as Huo Jun and Lu Xun. Zhuge Liang had rarely been in charge of the military before, and his role was more of a politician.

Huo Jun laughed loudly when he heard this and said confidently: "Since Jun took charge of the army, he has never neglected to judge talents. Kong Ming is by no means an ordinary person. Judging from the king's deeds, if he can command the army, he will definitely become a general. His success lies in It will be better than Boyan's."

"Jun already knows Kong Ming's ability. If you enter the Western Land, then the Western Land will be safe!"

"Bo Yan is not enough to make things happen?" Zhuge Liang asked.

Huo Jun shook his head and said: "Bo Yan is not enough to entrust important matters, Gongheng's strategy is the second best. In the past, Kong Ming assisted the late emperor when he went to the east of the Yangtze River, and sent more troops to plan strategies. He pacified the Wuxi barbarians with a measured advance and retreat, and was invincible wherever they went. , Only Kong Ming can entrust you with great things."

Seeing that Zhuge Liang had misunderstood what he meant, Huo Jun interrupted rudely and said, "Jun is asking Kong Ming if he has any intention of leading troops on an expedition in the future?"

During Yue Fei's Fourth Expedition, he met the Jin Dynasty's southern expedition. Fortunately, Liu Qi was in Jianghuai and Wu Lin was in Sichuan, so they were able to share the force. Therefore, Yue Fei fought in Yancheng and Zhuxian Town, approaching Kaifeng Prefecture, forcing Wanyan Zongbi to flee to Hebei.

Now that Yue Fei has learned from this, Huo Jun is eager to find helpers to cooperate with him in the Northern Expedition. Lu Xun was considered before, but was quickly rejected by him.

After thinking deeply about what happened before and after, Huo Jun turned his attention to Prime Minister Zhuge Liang.

"After the death of the late emperor, Jun led his troops to the Northern Expedition to China, fearing that he would be alone. The road to reviving the Han Dynasty would be long and arduous. Even if he could march across Huaisi, he would not be able to accomplish it if he was afraid of being single and weak. If you want to achieve success in the Northern Expedition to China, it will take many years. The Tao goes hand in hand, the right and the strange merge into one, this is impossible!”

Huo Jun has been under great pressure since he became a powerful minister. It was good to have Zhuge Liang to share the burden of internal affairs between the government and the public. But thinking about the Northern Expedition to China gave Huo Jun a headache.

Needless to say, Zhuge Liang was able to beat Sima so much that he dared not fight, which shows his military ability.

Recognizing people is a skill, and Huo Jun's ability to recognize talents is acceptable, but the truth depends on the advantages of being a time traveler. If Zhao Kuo were replaced by Zhuge Liang, Bai Qi would have a headache to death.

Although Zhuge Liang rarely used troops, Huo Jun could feel that Zhuge Liang's style of using troops would probably be a heavy sword without an edge after long-term exposure and the memories of later generations.

This righteous style of using troops is very suitable to Huo Jun's taste. It can make the opponent dare not fight in the end, and can effectively contain the enemy's strength. Zhuge Liang does not need to be responsible for other aspects of the war, just leave it to him. Although he didn't know why Huo Jun believed in his words so much, Zhuge Liang was already filled with emotion. There is no greater joy in the world than to be trusted by the late emperor and to have his colleagues as confidants.

Zhuge Liang smiled while stroking his fan, and said: "Liang was deeply favored by the late emperor. Now that Zhongmiao believes in Liang, Liang dare not betray the king's trust. This time when he enters the Western Land, Liang should study the art of war, train his soldiers, and become familiar with the army."

Letting Zhuge Liang become familiar with the battle was one of Huo Jun's purposes in pushing Zhuge Liang to march westward.

Bashu bandits and Nanzhong rebels are very suitable for Zhuge Liang who is about to enter the war. After all, it’s not enough if you are not familiar with military affairs. Zhuge Liang has not led an army in a battle for almost ten years. There are many things that need to be mastered and then managed and practiced before you can lead the troops in the Northern Expedition.

Huo Jun nodded and said with a smile: "Kong Ming must be very tired when he marches westward to Bashu!"

Zhuge Liang bowed his hand to Huo Jun and said: "The state affairs are at present, your majesty is young, Zhongmiao is trustworthy with his weapons, how dare Liang not work hard for the Han Dynasty."

"good!"

Zhuge Liang thought of something and said: "Zhongmiao and Cao Pi are in conflict with each other. It is better to tell Ma Chao about Cao Pi's mission to the capital. He said that Cao Pi had the intention of using force against Longyou and ordered our army not to send troops to support him. Then when Cao Pi went south to march, If you say it in words, Ma Chao may take the opportunity to cause chaos and Guan Liang."

Huo Jun thought for a moment and said: "Kong Ming's words are reasonable. I almost forgot about Ma Mengqi. Now that Kong Ming has entered Bashu, he can correspond with Ma Chao and comfort the Jiang family and his son with letters."

"promise!"

Zhuge Liang stroked the feather fan gently and said: "The Jiang family and his son have left Longtu alone. Now that the late emperor has passed away, if we don't care for him, he may be separated. Please rest assured, Zhongmiao, Liang will definitely remember this in his heart."

"it is good!"

Huo Jun applauded and said: "Kong Ming wrote "Zhengyi" before he left. Jun read it through last night and was deeply moved by it. I secretly think that with this magnificent article, the officials in both the government and the public should be inspired by it."

Previously, due to the dispute between the Southern and Northern Dynasties, many dove factions sought peace. In order to boost everyone's morale, Huo Jun specially proposed that Zhuge Liang and himself should write articles respectively to boost the morale of the dove faction and not think about living in harmony with Cao Wei.

Zhuge Liang studied classics and used the changes in the battle between Liu Bang and Xiang Yu as an example to compare the battles between Han and Wei. The article listed in detail the content of Cao Cao's defeat and the victory of the Southern Han Dynasty, demonstrating that the battle between Han and Wei was just a long-term battle between Han and Chu, which inspired the officials.

Although Huo Jun was good at military strategy, he had no experience in writing heroic prose. After much thought, Huo Jun decided to use the form of question and answer to explain why the Han Dynasty would not be destroyed, the strategy of restoring the Han Dynasty, the protracted war, and why the Han Dynasty could finally dominate the world.

"Don't dare!"

Zhuge Liang modestly said: "Cursive script can help the officials know the rise of the Han Dynasty and the decline of thieves. It is a blessing for Liang!"

After a pause, Zhuge Liang smiled and said, "But I don't know if the article written by Zhongmiao can be obtained now?"

Huo Jun pondered for a while and then said with a smile: "Jun is not as good as Kong Ming. Yesterday he wrote a rough article and revised it overnight. Jun called this article "On Han". Now he has given this article to his attendants to spread it among the government and the public, hoping to correct the peace of the scholars and the people. heart of."

With that said, Huo Jun took out the scarf hidden in his sleeve, handed it to Zhuge Liang, and said: "On his way to the west, Kong Ming can read it in his spare time. If you can correct and polish Jun's article, I will be grateful!" "

Zhuge Liang took the towel and glanced at the beginning.

See the first sentence of the opening chapter which bluntly states that at the end of the Han Dynasty, Dong Zhuo was in chaos and the heroes were divided. Anyone who talks too much about the Han Dynasty will die. At first, it might be said that the Yuan family was in prosperity; then Cao Cao destroyed Yuan, and everyone said that the Cao family was in prosperity. After the Battle of Chrysostom, there was less and less talk about the Cao family's rise in the southern lands, and more talk about the late emperor's ability to delay Han Zuo. …

The first hundred or so words alone caught Zhuge Liang's attention, making him tremble mentally and making him want to read further.

Due to the occasion, Zhuge Liang folded his scarf and said, "Zhongmiao must have worked so hard to write an article despite his busy schedule. I am very grateful to you for being able to come to Jinkou to say goodbye!"

Seeing that the warship was about to sail away, Huo Jun bid farewell to Zhuge Liang and said: "Jun is waiting in the capital for the news of your great victory. The mountains and rivers of the westward journey are very important, and I hope you will cherish it!"

"Cao Pi is about to march south, and Lao Zhongmiao will be in charge!" Zhuge Liang said in return.

"good!"

(End of this chapter)