Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 624: Knowing each other

Lu Xun's plan to stab Ma Chao in the back is not in Huo Jun's plan for the time being. It's not that Huo Jun takes the alliance at the national level so seriously, but that Huo Jun needs to use Ma Chao in his plan to unify the world.

In Huo Jun's preliminary plan, the main force to destroy Wei was in Guandong, and the Western troops and horses attacked Guanzhong to contain the troops in Guanzhong for the Northern Expedition. Lure Ma Chao to send troops to Hexi to share the pressure on the soldiers and horses in the west. If Bashu can capture Guanzhong in the future, they can look at the situation and send troops to the east, or they can destroy Ma Chao in the west.

The big man held the grain channel in Ma Chao's hand. Once Ma Chao was in danger of losing control, he could cut off the grain supply. Not even mentioning Jiang Ji, Jiang Wei and his son, they could provide the big man with Ma Chao's movements at any time.

Therefore, Ma Chao was entrenched in Longyou and seemed to have strong troops and horses. In fact, he relied more on the tyranny and commander-in-chief of the Han and Qiang people in Longyou, and could not achieve much success. The most important thing at the moment is to destroy Ma Chao. What is urgent is to destroy Wei.

Now Lu Xun wanted to attack Ma Chao and take the lead in capturing Longyou. It would be fine if he could eat it all at once, but if he couldn't eat Ma Chao, it would make the situation in Kansai corrupt.

Of course, if Lu Xun had a plan to destroy Ma Chao and successfully capture Longyou. Then the question arises. The Han Dynasty needs to invest a lot of resources in Longyou, provide political resources to the Longyou people, spend money and food to appease Longyou, and troops and horses stationed in Longyou.

Then, the army marched north to the Central Plains. In order to respond to the war in Guandong, the newly conquered Longyou had to bear the dual pressure from Hexi and Guanzhong.

As for why Huo Jun and Lu Xun have different opinions, it is mainly because their starting points are different. As a general in the country, Lu Xun needed to make great achievements. As the initiator of the Northern Expedition of the Han Dynasty, Huo Jun needed to focus on the overall situation rather than a simple local battlefield.

Why many people don't agree with Sun Quan's back-stabbing of Guan Yu is not only because of pity for the Shu Han, but also because Sun Quan chose the wrong strategy. He missed the best opportunity to expand to Jianghuai.

In fact, after the Xiangshui Alliance, the Shu Han's troops in Jingzhou were no longer able to threaten Soochow, and Jiangling, where Guan Yu was located, was simply fighting for Soochow. Even Guan Yu had to worry about Soochow beating him because of the Wei soldiers in the north.

When Guan Yu was unable to pose a threat to Soochow, Sun Quan peeked into the territory of the two and a half counties and chose to agree to Cao Cao's suggestion and sneak attack Jiangling.

It is no exaggeration to say that even if Sun Quan missed that opportunity, due to the focus of the Shu Han, Sun Quan would still have a chance to conquer Jiangling next time. Therefore, from Huo Jun's perspective, Soochow's capture of Jiangling was undoubtedly a tactical success; but strategically, Soochow was a failure.

Even judging from the subsequent development trend, Lu Meng misjudged the situation. Not only was he unable to capture the White Emperor for Soochow, he was also unable to capture Xiangyang. Because he offended the two countries, Soochow was almost put to death. If Cao Pi hadn't listened to Sun Quan's lies, Soochow would have died long ago.

Of course, the situation of the Three Kingdoms of Han, Liang, and Wei was somewhat different from the situation of the previous Three Kingdoms. Ma Chao's role was only to contain the Kansai soldiers and horses for the Han Dynasty. If Lu Xun could also contain the Kansai soldiers and horses for the Han Dynasty, perhaps it would not be impossible to agree with Lu Xun's back stabbing of Ma Chao.

The differences in the above strategies will affect many aspects. As the military leader, Huo Jun cannot make a hasty decision and can only deal with Lu Xun vaguely.

The boat travels very fast. Although the waterway from Shouchun to Wuhan is one or two thousand miles, it does not take long.

Towards November, Huo Jun and his generals arrived at Wuhan Ferry. Liu Chan led Zhuge Liang, Wang Can, Zhang Fei and other civil and military personnel out of the city to personally greet the soldiers.

Huo Jun led Huang, Lu, and Jiang generals to disembark. When he learned that Liu Chan was out of the city to greet him personally, he drove a few miles on his behalf.

Seeing the flags fluttering and drums and drums blaring in front of them, Huo Junfang got out of the car with everyone, straightened his clothes slightly, and then walked forward.

"Your Majesty went out to greet you, and many of my ministers were frightened. Now that the army has won, I will lead the officers and men to pay homage to your Majesty!" Huo Jun led the crowd to salute and said.

Liu Chan stepped forward to greet him, with a smile on his face, and said: "Father Zhong is a duke and is also wearing armor, so there is no need to be polite!"

"Don't dare!"

Huo Jun had a humble attitude and said: "In this expedition, I lived up to your majesty's trust in the past. I defeated the Wei army, killed Cao Xiu and Jia Kui, and surrendered all the generals. I destroyed Shouchun City, conquered the two counties on Huaihe River, and executed Xu Huang. In the second battle, all the troops were killed." He beheaded nearly 10,000 people, captured 50,000 to 60,000 people, and captured more than 100,000 people."

Since he was granted the title of county magistrate, Huo Jun has maintained his past style and dared not act arrogantly in order to avoid criticism.

"Father Zhong, thank you for your hard work!"

Liu Chan held Huo Jun's hand tightly and called the civil and military officials to the left and right. He said with emotion: "In the past, I wanted to give the county Duke and the Grand Sima a gift, but some people said not to do it, fearing that it would violate the old system. However, with the military achievements of the Grand Sima, no one other than the County Duke is enough to praise him. "In the past, my son Ya assisted King Wu and brought peace to the Shang Dynasty. Father Zhong should be the son of the Han Dynasty!"

"Your Majesty is so complimentary!"

Huo Jun cooperated with Liu Chan, saluted and said: "The late emperor did not regard his ministers as incompetent, but entrusted them with important tasks. Today, the country is in danger, and Jun serves His Majesty himself to relieve the country's worries and solve problems. Ziya is an ancient sage, and Jun has made small contributions, but he dare not Reputed.”

"Father Zhong, you're welcome!"

Liu Chan said with concern: "Swords on the battlefield have no eyes, Father Zhong should be careful."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Liu Chan supported the generals out of thin air and said: "You will go out with Da Sima to defeat the enemy. It will be a lot of hard work."

"I obey your orders!"

"I am willing to serve His Majesty loyally!"

Because Liu Chan first succeeded to the throne, many generals did not recognize Liu Chan. But now, when the generals saw Liu Chan treating Huo Jun with courtesy and showing no signs of being arrogant, they couldn't help but feel good about him, and they all paid respects to Liu Chan.

Liu Chan nodded with satisfaction and couldn't help but look at Zhuge Liang.

After getting Zhuge Liang's signal, Liu Chan smiled and said: "The generals went out to defeat the enemy and have made special achievements, so they must be awarded. Where is Fei Yi, the minister?"

"Chen is here!"

"Read the policy!"

"promise!""

Fei Yi opened the policy book and read it out: "In the first month of the Jianxing year, in the eleventh month of the month, Cao Cao usurped the throne and was succeeded by Zi Pi. ... Jianghuai, the foundation of the Han Dynasty, borders the Central Plains above and covers Wu and Chu below. Pi raised an army to invade … Now the merits of all the generals are included in the list of tributes. Jiangling Gongjun is the number one in martial arts in the Han Dynasty, just like the story of Xiao and Deng…”

When Huo Jun led his generals to salute and receive the seal, he was shocked when he learned that he was like Xiao and Deng. Being granted the title of County Duke is already a sign of prosperity in itself. But he also allowed himself to go to the palace with swords and shoes and refused to enter the court, so Huo Jun didn't know what to say.

Huo Jun subconsciously looked at Zhuge Liang, but Zhuge Liang just smiled at him, seeming to reassure him. Huo Jun couldn't say much because of the occasion. After canonizing Huo Jun, Liu Chan directly gave Lu Xun the secondary merits of Zhongli and Shouchun in World War II. Lu Xun was promoted from General of Chariots and Cavalry to General of Hussars and Cavalry. In addition to his former residence, he was granted the title of Marquis of Nanzheng County and the former leader of Yongzhou as Shepherd.

The former right general He Qi died of illness, and Pang Tong ascended the throne from the rear general to the right general, became the governor of Yuzhou, and was granted the title of Marquis of Xiangshui Township.

Huang Quanyi led General Zuo and was granted the title of Marquis of Langzhong County.

Guan Ping accumulated many merits, and was promoted to the post general. He was granted the title of Marquis of Hanshou County and added 400 households in the city.

Jiang Ji accumulated many merits and was promoted from Military Advisor General to Pingbei General, and was granted the title of Duxiang Hou.

Huo Du was promoted from the general of Zhengnan to the general of Zhenbei. He used to be the prefect of Donghai. In addition to the towns he occupied before, he was granted the title of Marquis of Jiangdu County.

Gao Xiang was moved to the post of General of the Southern Conquest. In addition to the towns he had previously occupied, he was granted the title of Marquis of the countryside.

……

During the two major battles of Zhongli and Shouchun, more than ten generals were promoted to the title of Duxiang Marquis, and more than forty generals were promoted to Duting Marquis or Guannei Marquis.

As for the county marquises, except for Xu Sheng, the Marquis of Wuhu County, who moved to the Guannei Marquis, Huang Quan moved to the countryside as the Marquis of the Township, and Huo Du moved to the previous food town.

In the early years, Liu Qi and Liu Bei granted Huo Jun many fiefdoms. At its peak, Huo Jun had four county fiefdoms under his name. However, in order to take care of his brother, Huo Jun gave up one county and retained only three counties as salary towns.

In order to unify the salaries and fiefs in the country, Liu Bei later adopted Zhuge Liang's advice to take back the salaries and fiefs before awarding them, and then convert them into fiefs. For example, although Wen Pin did not seem to have many achievements, he was granted the title of Marquis of Shiyang County.

Huo Du was given the title of Marquis of the Township. His previous salary was taken back, and based on his merits, he was awarded the title of Marquis of the County. Or those who were previously awarded the title of county as a county will be granted the title of capital and township lord because they have no military exploits.

The improved method of converting stipends and food into land helped the Southern Han Dynasty save a lot of household registration in the short term. Those who received the fiefdom were actually quite happy to use the conversion, considering that their descendants could inherit the title.

The three county towns and one Jiangling food town previously reserved by Huo Jun were all converted into the county due to the enfeoffment of county officials, leaving only Jiangling County. The stipends of the three county towns were exchanged for promotion to county officials. From an economic and tax perspective, the Han Dynasty made a profit.

After Fei Yi finished reading the canonization edict, all the generals stood up happily, with bright smiles on their faces, and thanked Liu Chan repeatedly.

When his voice became slightly quieter, Huo Jun cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, this is Xiao He's story. I am ashamed to accept it."

"Father Zhong, don't refuse!"

Liu Chan looked enthusiastic, stretched out his hand to hold Huo Jun, and said with a smile: "In the past, Xiao He was the first to receive swords and shoes because of his merits. Now Zhongfu's martial arts is the first of my great men, why can't it be like the story of Xiao He?"

To show that he was not greedy for merit, Huo Jun looked at Zhuge Liang and said, "The prime minister is like Xiao He. He supervises the transportation of grain and grass in the court and establishes the court's outline. The prime minister should be the first to do the work."

"Don't dare!"

Zhuge Liang bowed with his fan and said with a smile: "Da Sima is the first in martial arts. He first defeated Jinkou and divided the world into two. Now that he has defeated Zhongli, he will look to the Central Plains. If Da Sima is not the first to take the lead, who will dare to take it? I hope Da Sima will accept it." Lest anyone criticize the great man for unfair rewards and punishments.”

"Please accept it, Grand Sima!" Wang Can and Li Yan led everyone to salute and said.

"This~"

Huo Jun looked embarrassed and still seemed unwilling to accept it.

Seeing this, Zhuge Liang leaned close to Huo Jun's ear and whispered: "If Zhong Miao is not the first to take the lead, who can? Does Zhong Miao want to let all the ministers know about the king's secret service?"

Huo Jun glared at Zhuge Liang angrily, held his sleeve in his hand, and whispered, "Does Kong Ming want to harm me?"

"What can I say to harm you?"

Zhuge Liang covered his mouth with his feather fan and said: "Now Zhongmiao has made great achievements. If he is not rewarded heavily, it will be an unfair reward and punishment. The swords and shoes are so heavy that no one except Shejun can take them!"

After a pause, Zhuge Liang comforted him and said, "Your majesty and Liang are fully aware of your sincerity and righteousness. I hope you don't worry!"

Zhuge Liang has been getting along with Huo Jun for almost 20 years and has a very thorough understanding of Huo Jun's character. In Zhuge Liang's eyes, although Huo Jun loves fame and lust, he is not the kind of heartless person, but the kind of person who must avenge and repay kindness.

For example, when Liu Bei was about to enter Jing, Huo Jun did not do it for his own benefit, but instead fought for the title of king for Liu Qi's two sons, and we can see some of its essence.

If we compare Huo Jun and Han Xin, let alone their military skills, Huo Jun is much better than Han Xin in terms of character alone. Not to mention other things, Huo Jun at least would not force Liu Bei to use a key battle to force Liu Bei to grant him a higher title.

Comparing the two, Zhuge Liang naturally respected Huo Jun and rewarded Huo Jun as much as possible for the sake of the Han Dynasty and the Northern Expedition. Not only does Huo Jun gain something from his hard work, but he also hopes to leave a good name for the Han Dynasty.

In Zhuge Liang's conception, as long as what Huo Jun does does not endanger the Han Dynasty, except for the king, he should give as much as possible if he can.

After whispering with Zhuge Liang, Huo Jun received his assurance and finally put aside his worries. Then he bowed to Liu Chan and said in a deep voice: "I will live up to the great kindness of the late emperor and His Majesty, and I will lead the troops northward. Take the Central Plains, restore the old capital, and establish the rule of the Han Dynasty! "

Liu Chan hurriedly helped Huo Jun up and said with a smile: "From now on, my father-in-law will have to work hard to use troops for the Northern Expedition!"

"Don't dare!"

"Liang has set up a banquet in the palace, and the great Sima, Lu Qiaoqi and all the gentlemen are moving in!"

"Thank you, Prime Minister Ge!"

(End of this chapter)