Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 628 Strategic Decisive Battle
It seemed like a long time to send troops to the Central Plains two years later, but from a practical point of view, especially for the Southern Han army that had just ended the war, this time was not that long.

Such as supporting the army for a long time, Jianghuai supplies are almost exhausted. In order to replenish the supplies for the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains, not only did supplies need to be deployed from the rear to the front, but a large number of people also had to perform corvee labor to transport the supplies.

In addition to material supplies, scouts must also be sent deep into the Wei territory to explore the layout of Wei troops and horses, as well as the mountains and rivers and terrain in the direction of the troops; the arsenal was used to build armor and forge swords and arrows for use in future wars.

Of course, the above content is not a big problem for the Southern Han Dynasty, and the local governments and governorates can solve it on their own. The most important thing at the moment is Gu Hui's previous proposal to move the capital to Moling.

Moving the capital to Moling was often mentioned repeatedly by Jiangdong scholars, but due to various reasons, it was never adopted. The background was very different now. After it was mentioned again, not only Liu Chan was moved, but even Huo and Ge had to think about whether to move the capital to Moling.

At Huanghutai, Huo Jun presided over the meeting, and a total of eight people including Zhuge Liang, Li Yan, Xu Shu, Fei Guan, Ma Liang, Pan Jun and Zhang Fei were present.

As for why Liu Chan did not participate, it was mainly because it was approaching the first lunar month and Liu Chan needed to be responsible for the sacrificial affairs and left it directly to Huo and Ge. Because Huo Jun had a high rank and important position, Zhuge Liang gave up the chief position to Huo Jun, and he served as his deputy.

Huo Jun knelt down on the main couch, looked around at everyone present, and said: "The late emperor finally took it as his own duty to destroy Wei and prosper Han Dynasty. Unfortunately, he died in the middle of the road. Your Majesty was young and had just succeeded. Cao Pi went south to conquer the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers. Fortunately, destiny was in the hands of the Han Dynasty. After the battle of Zhongli, he suffered heavy losses. Thief soldiers."

"At that time, Cao Pi was worried and mourned. Cao Ren, Jia Kui, and Cao Xiu were killed in the battle. They were more than a hundred miles away from the Huai River. Their corpses were scattered on pillows. More than 50,000 people were captured alive. They collected their military provisions and equipment, and they were piled up like mountains, including cattle, horses, donkeys, and mules. It was impossible to defeat them."

"Then during the Battle of Shouchun, Xu Huang set himself on fire. The generals surrendered and more than 100,000 people surrendered. He chased the dead and fled north, returning to Yuzhou in the west and reaching Henan in the north. He went down to the city seventy-two and greatly promoted the country's prestige."

"After these two battles, most of Wei's soldiers were killed or wounded. The generals and commanders surrendered without death, and there were not enough troops and horses. There was a great mourning in the country, and the young ruler was in charge. Wei was no longer in a prosperous situation. I consulted with the prime minister and secretly thought that it would be better to be the leader. We took advantage of the opportunity to conduct the Northern Expedition in order to revitalize the Han Dynasty and fulfill the late emperor’s last wish.”

With that said, Huo Jun truthfully stated the plan for the Northern Expedition and said in a deep voice: "Now that the Wei Dynasty is declining and the Han Dynasty is rising, the Han Dynasty has accumulated 20 years of experience. In the spring of the fourth year of Jianxing, the Han Dynasty planned the Northern Expedition. At that time, the whole country's strength was mobilized and more than 200,000 soldiers were sent. The soldiers marched out in three directions to attack China."

Stud!

The next Northern Expedition to the Central Plains is probably the best opportunity since the confrontation between the North and the South. After seeking Zhuge Liang's opinion, Huo Jun decided to put all his strength into the Southern Han Dynasty, recruit all the warworthy soldiers in the country, and launch the largest Northern Expedition to the Central Plains. .

These more than 200,000 soldiers and horses are not the civilians included in the military strength boasted in the history books, but the pure number of soldiers and horses. If the civilians are included, the number can be about 40,000 to 500,000.

If there is no great result in this battle, the Northern Expedition cannot be called a success. Even if the army is defeated unfortunately, the soldiers, horses, money and food that the Southern Han has accumulated for many years will be burned. By then, the pattern of confrontation between the north and the south of the Han, Wei and Wei Dynasties will not be changed in the short term.

"Jianling Gong, although Wei has been defeated by our army many times, Liang has heard of the centipede worm and will not stand still until death. In order to seek a safe strategy at the moment, it is better to send troops slowly to the north. The best thing is to keep the soldiers sharp and watch the provocation and move. "

Ma Liang looked hesitant and advised: "Today, more than 200,000 soldiers and horses from the country are suddenly sent to the Central Plains. If the army is defeated, it may damage the country's prestige. I have many uneasy consciences. I hope Jiangling Gong will think about it deeply!"

Pan Jun frowned slightly and said: "The Duke was entrusted by Yi and Jiang to assist in the great cause. He entered the An Dynasty and defeated powerful enemies. His reputation spread throughout the sea and everyone in the world was shaken. In order to fulfill the legacy of the late emperor, the sun and the moon It’s a lesson. However, if you go on an expedition and trek through the Central Plains, if you fail to attack the city and gain nothing, you may have a reputation of being unfair!"

"otherwise!"

Xu Shu had a strong attitude and said: "There are no two days in the sky, and there are no two masters in the earth. In the past, the Han and Chu were fighting for supremacy. At that time, people wanted to divide the country by dividing the country. But the great ancestor had the foresight to plunder Xiang Yu, and in the end he won the world in one battle."

"The Central Plains has a vast territory, with few mountains and many plains. By using troops slowly, you may achieve small gains, but it is difficult to change the situation of division and rule. In summer, when the rains are heavy, Han boats go north; in winter, when the river freezes, Wei cavalry goes south. Han and Wei soldiers The situation is tense and there are advances and retreats. How can we talk about reviving the Han Dynasty?"

"The Wei Dynasty has passed through two dynasties, and the young people don't know that there are Han people. Now if we don't work hard, if Wei rules China for another thirty years, I am afraid that there will be no Han people in Hebei. However, the southern land is peaceful. As time goes by, I and you all will grow old. I’m afraid not many people have the ambition to restore the Central Plains!”

Among the people, Xu Shu is second only to Zhang Fei in age, and much older than Zhuge Liang, Huo Jun and others. It has been more than thirty years since he fled south to Jingzhou to seek refuge. He has seen too many northerners who have settled down and no longer want to return to their hometown because their lives have become stable.

As a native of Yingchuan, Xu Shu knew that the geography of the Central Plains was a big challenge for the southerners who were accustomed to using rivers to fight. The ice in winter makes it difficult for the boat to move, and it is feared that it will be defeated by Cao Wei's cavalry.

Now Xu Shu agrees with Huo Jun's suggestion and sends out the whole country's troops to fight for Henan.

In fact, in addition to climate issues, the reason why Huo Jun chose Stud was because Henan is not an independent geographical unit.

The north is no better than the south. The south is criss-crossed by mountains and rivers, and has trivial plains and basins. It needs to use the Yangtze River to communicate up and down. The Henan region in the north is not an independent geographical unit. If you enter the Henan region to fight, you will either have to fight all the way to the Yellow River, or you will get stuck in the middle and be pushed back by the enemy.

After Xu Shu opened his mouth, Zhuge Liang stroked his feather fan and emphasized: "The Central Plains is the place of the four battles. There are no dangerous mountains outside and no golden city inside. If you don't use all your strength, you can't compete in the Central Plains."

Zhuge Liang got up from the couch and said: "The situation in the Central Plains is related to the rise and fall of the world. If the Han Dynasty captures the Central Plains, it can overthrow the Wei Dynasty. If the Han Dynasty is established, the people will be saved from fire and water. If the Wei Dynasty controls the Central Plains, the world will be controlled by it, and the Han Dynasty will eventually be unable to control the world. What people want.”

"Wei Zhongli was defeated, Cao Pi died of depression, and Cao Rui succeeded to the throne. In order to control our Northern Expedition, Wei implemented the political strategy of the late Han Dynasty, and Zhunzhou County recruited its own troops. It can be seen that its troops will decline, and its current troops They are no better than the elites of the Han people, and they are not as good as the people of the South."

"Liang dares to assert that the situation in China today is no longer what it was like in Cao Cao's past. Wei's troops and horses are exhausted, money and food will be scarce, and the people will not have enough to eat. If our army can win, the king's army will go to Henan, and the people will eat pots of pulp, and the soldiers will The official looked at the wind and descended."

As he spoke, Zhuge Liang looked at the crowd and said firmly: "If we can send the whole country's troops to Henan, the Han Dynasty will prosper and the Wei Dynasty will fall. It will be like the water of the Yangtze River, rolling eastward. It is unstoppable!"

"The Grand Sima and the Prime Minister, if they send out the whole country's troops to march north to Henan, it will feel like they are gambling with all their money. Soldiers should not be too risky!" Pan Jun said.

"bet?"

Huo Jun stood up and sighed slightly, and said: "Although the word 'gamble' may sound unpleasant, it seems to be the same as what Gu Zhi did. But Gu is more willing to call the Northern Expedition with the troops from the south a 'strategic decisive battle'!"

"Strategic decisive battle?"

After hearing this, the seven people present had doubts at first, but they thought deeply about the meaning of the four words. Huo Jun walked to the palace, paced up and said: "Those who engage in strategic decisive battles are betting on the fate of the country and the fate of the army. Those who succeed will be able to conquer the Central Plains and sweep the world; those who lose will lose their troops at the least, and the country will be destroyed at the worst."

"In the past, Cao Cao marched south to Jianghan, hoping to gather the power of the world to fight the Wu Chu army. However, he was led by Wu Chu's warriors, burned Jinkou, and chased Yunmeng to death. In the end, his dream of unifying the world and usurping the Han Dynasty and becoming emperor was shattered."

"Or maybe Yuan Shao conquered Cao, and the two armies fought in Guandu. If Yuan won, Cao would be defeated, and if Cao lost, the Central Plains would be captured by Yuan Shao. In the end, Cao Cao won by surprise at Wuchao, sweeping Hebei, and unifying China."

"Cao Pi, a mediocre man, wanted to take over the land in Huainan and mobilized the whole country to go south. However, he was frustrated by Zhongli, defeated Huai River, Shouchun was conquered, and the Central Plains was empty. Now that the situation between the enemy and us has reversed, why can't we go north to the Central Plains and drink from the great river of Ma? "

Huo Jun's tone was firm and he said: "Ge Xiangyan said that if we can go to Henan, the Han Dynasty will rise and the Wei Dynasty will fall. However, I thought that if we could conquer Henan, there would be no more big battles in Hebei. One attack would conquer the Central Plains, and the second attack would restore the Han Dynasty. This is what you should say in today’s situation!”

Then, Huo Jun's tone slowed down and he said: "I know that all of you are worried that the failure of the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains will damage Gu's prestige. The soldiers will suffer heavy casualties, the supplies will be scarce, the people will work in vain, and we will be unable to make progress in the Central Plains in the future."

"But I don't know why our army's troops and horses are not inferior to those in the Central Plains, or even better. It's not that the Han people are in large numbers in China, but that the thieves are in chaos and there are few people who can serve in the army. Slow down the move of China, As the thief intends to do now, after many years, Wei's strength will recover and the enemy will become stronger. If he wants to pursue the Central Plains again, the situation will not be with us!"

"In the past, Emperor Gaozu was fortunate enough to have the land of the Three Qin Dynasties, and he divided the world according to Xingyang and Xiang Yu. At that time, why didn't he seclusion and guarding the country in order to slow down the world? Did he not know that the soldiers were tired of fighting hard and were in danger of losing the world?"

"No, it is because the situation of destroying Chu has come, so we have to fight. If we miss the good opportunity, we will let the tiger return to the mountain, and the consequences will be endless. And there will be the battle of Gaixia behind us, which will determine the affairs of the world. Today's situation is different from that of Gaozu's time. What's the difference?"

Huo Jun dared to shout to everyone the slogan of conquering the Central Plains with one attack and restoring the Han Dynasty with two attacks. It is not just based on the situation in Henan that we are determined to penetrate Henan. But through many years of war, the Han and Wei Dynasties experienced a reversal in terms of military resources, strength, food and grass.

Perhaps most people have not yet sensed the pattern of Wei being weak and Han being strong, but Huo Jun keenly caught it. Having grasped the current changes in the situation, how could we not take advantage of the trend to launch a strategic decisive battle and penetrate Henan as much as possible in one go?

A long time ago, Huo Jun vaguely had preliminary ideas on how the Han Dynasty could conquer the world. In Huo Jun's plan, he would first stabilize the south through a long-term battle. Later, in the long-term battle with Cao Wei, they gradually broke through strongholds such as Xiangyang and Shouchun.

When these peripheral strongholds of Cao Wei are broken through and the road into the Central Plains is opened, seize the opportunity of Cao Wei's weakness to directly penetrate Henan and then cross the river to destroy Wei.

Fei Guan agreed very much, raised his hands and said: "Jiangling Gong's strategy is beyond what Guan can compare with. Now that I hear Gong's words about the decisive battle, Guan looks bright and has no doubts in his heart!"

"Ha ha!"

Zhang Fei clapped his legs and smiled, and said: "I have no objection. As Zhongmiao and Kongming said, if we can succeed, we can destroy Wei in one fell swoop. If we can't succeed, we will continue the Northern Expedition at worst. I followed the late emperor in wandering around, from Zhuojun Going to Xiapi, and then from Xiapi to Nanyang, I don’t know what is impossible.”

"Although General Zhang's words are rough, they are in line with the current situation. If you can't succeed with one attack, you can do it with two attacks!" Zhuge Liang said, stroking his fan and smiling.

Li Yan stroked his beard and said: "Such as the Northern Expedition of the whole country, the supply of military supplies for thousands of miles, the number of civilians required is no less than 200,000 to 300,000. In order to mobilize the soldiers and civilians, the central government should coordinate with the governors of each state, allocate each other, and fully support the Northern Expedition. If the food cannot be transported to Huaibei, our army will have no choice but to withdraw. "

"Although supplying food and grass is difficult, it is not impossible to solve. The most difficult thing at the moment is to unite the generals. How to use the troops, how to defeat the Wei soldiers and capture Henan, is the key thing!" Pan Jun said.

"The troops are divided into three groups, one from Jianghan, one from Jianghuai, and one from Hanzhong." Huo Jun said: "The soldiers in Jianghuai are led by Gu, the soldiers in Jianghan can be commanded by Prime Minister Ge, and the affairs of Bashu can be left to Lu Qiaoqi. !”

After a little hesitation, Huo Jun said: "We can send envoys to Hetao and invite Kebi Neng to lead the Xianbei people to go south to contain the Wei soldiers in Hebei."

Union with Xianbei was first proposed by Zhuge Liang and Liu Chan, and later agreed by Huo Jun. In Huo Jun's eyes, the fact that Xianbei plundered Hebei will not change whether the Southern Han agrees or not. It is better to be more flexible and cooperate with Xianbei to destroy Cao Wei first and then solve the Xianbei problem.

Whoever was not troubled by nomads during the founding of the Han and Tang dynasties was eventually solved by them. The Qiang in Guanxi were transformed into barbarians, and Hetao was occupied by Xianbei. This was destined to be a problem to be solved after the Southern Han Dynasty. Distinguish the primary and secondary contradictions now, resolve the primary contradictions first, and then resolve the secondary contradictions.

"You don't need to worry about the matter of commanding the troops!"

Zhuge Liang chanted while stroking his fan, and said: "What Liang is worried about now lies in the mountains and rivers of the Central Plains. In summer, when the water is high, the boats carry grain; in winter, when the water is low, it is difficult for the boats to move forward. If we cannot solve the problem of heavy supplies, The problem is, I’m afraid we won’t be able to talk about the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains!”

"Yup!"

Ma Liang seemed to have remembered something and said: "We can still supply military food in summer, but in the depth of winter, the Zonghan ditch will also freeze. Looking at time, troops can only be used from March to May. Once the enemy holds the city, it will be without water for several months. Damn, the soldiers and horses in Huaibei may have no food to eat!"

"Except during summer time, try your best to transport the grain and grass supplies needed by the army to the Jianghuai River. Then when Da Sima used his troops in the Northern Expedition, he would supply the grain and grass supplies from the rear." Li Yan frowned and thought, and said: "But I don't know how many people there are in Huaibei. Recruited by our army!"

“There are few people in Xuzhou!”

Huo Jun made no secret and said: "In order to prevent our army from using troops, Wei will definitely move its people northward. To use troops along the way, all need to use boats and boats to travel in the river. Therefore, when the river water drops, it is difficult for grain, grass and winter coats to reach the front line."

With that said, Huo Jun glanced at Zhuge Liang and said slowly: "To solve this problem, Ge Xiang thought that he could move the capital east to Moling."

"Moving the capital to Moling?"

ps: My female vote is occupied tonight, so I can only code a chapter with 4k words first. There is only one chapter left, which will be published tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.

I stayed up all night to pay back the chapter I owed last time!

(End of this chapter)