Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 637 Pengcheng is listed among the nine states

In the hall, Huo Jun was sitting on the couch, while Xia Houru and Zang Ba stood respectfully.

"I haven't seen you since Shouchun, and I haven't seen you for a long time. How are you doing these days?" Huo Jun asked with a smile.

"Thank you so much, Grand Sima, for your concern. Ru and Zang Jun have been favored by His Majesty. They have been very happy since they lived in Wuhan." Xia Houru replied.

Considering the need for united front, the Southern Han Dynasty treated the Wei army's surrendered generals well, so why did the Southern Han Dynasty give up a lot of official positions in order to accommodate Wei generals such as Zang Ba, Xia Houru, and Yan Lu, and would award them according to their surrender status? Different titles.

For example, Xiahou Ruyin was a kinsman of Cao Wei and related to Liu Chan. In addition, he led thousands of people to surrender, so his status and achievements were remarkable. After Liu Chan consulted Zhuge Liang and Huo Jun for their opinions, he made Xiahou Ru a servant of one of the nine ministers, and granted him the title of Marquis of Qiao County.

Zang Ba's united front value was lower, and he was a defeated general who surrendered. Liu Chan originally wanted to give him a symbolic appointment, but he couldn't resist Zang Ba's cleverness and kept making excuses for the relationship between Liu Bei and him. Considering that Liu Bei had many connections in the Central Plains, Liu Chan decided to appoint Zang Ba as the governor of Youzhou.

The awarding of two high-ranking officials was generally the result of many letters of communication between Huo Jun and Zhuge Liang, in order to divide and disintegrate the ruling class of Cao Wei.

The ruling class of Cao Wei was essentially the Qiao County Group headed by Cao Cao, with Yanzhou and Hebei Civil and Military as its wings. Those who have the power of force are the generals of Cao and Xiahou; those who have the power of speech are the scholars of Yanzhou and Hebei.

When Cao Cao was alive, the generals of the two clans, including Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Xiahou Yuan, and Xiahou Dun, were tightly united around him. However, with Cao Cao's death, the first generation of clans would wither, and the second generation of clan generals were destined to be less united than the first generation.

Therefore, Xia Houru, who was favored, was not only because of Liu Chan's mother-in-law, but also because he was considering dividing the generals of the Cao Wei clan. Compared with the Cao family, the Xiahou family is bound to have a different relationship with them due to their different surnames.

In the future, if Xia Houru cooperates well when moving north to the Central Plains, he can ease the conflict between the old officials of Cao Wei and the senior officials of the Southern Han Dynasty to a certain extent.

Needless to say, Zang Ba, although he was defeated and captured, and the Taishan bandits suffered a lot of casualties in the war with Huo Jun, Zang Ba still retained a lot of contacts in the Xuzhou area, which was very helpful to the Han Dynasty in governing the Shandong area after the Northern Expedition.

Pulling one faction to fight against the other, no matter ancient or modern times, it has always been like this. Don't you see General Chen Mingren?

Huo Jun invited the two of them to sit down and said with a gentle expression: "Now the two monarchs are Han ministers, just like Gu. If you have anything to worry about, please tell me, don't be so reserved!"

"If you are concerned about your family members in Luoyang, or the whereabouts of your old subordinates, just say it's okay!"

Zang Ba did not hide anything, and said truthfully: "Da Sima, I am in Wuhan, and my family is in Luoyang. They are more than a thousand miles apart, and there is no news. Some people say that they will all be killed, or some people say that they will be exiled to the border. There are many rumors, and Ba is very powerful. It’s worry.”

"This is so easy!"

Huo Jun handed the two men a letter from the case officer and said with a smile: "When Prime Minister Ge was exchanging letters with Chen Changwen, he asked the princes about the current situation of their family members in Luoyang. Chen Qun replied that the defeat had nothing to do with the two generals, and Cao Rui did not blame the two generals for his past. Family members. Your family members are still living in Luoyang, and they have enough food and clothing. You can rest assured!"

After Cao Rui came to power, in order to deal with Cao Pi's mess and determine the defeat of Huainan, he pushed the problem to Cao Xiu and pardoned all the Jiang family members who were supposed to deal with it without pursuing any further investigation. Even in order to win people's hearts, Cao Rui gave many rewards to civil and military personnel who died for the country.

After some operations by Cao Rui, except that Cao Wei had a fighting force in Henan, the people's hearts in the country were barely stabilized, which was basically in line with Lu Xun's earlier evaluation of him. Cao Rui's troubles were even worse.

Zang Ba and Xia Houru couldn't help but look excited as they read Chen Qun's reply. It's one thing to surrender in fear of death after defeat, but it doesn't mean they don't miss their families. Now that they can know the news that their family members are safe, the two of them have cleared away the worries that have been accumulated in their hearts for a long time.

"Thank you, Da Sima!"

Zang Ba was very excited and said: "Now that I can hear that the children and old in my family are at peace, Ba has no worries in his heart. If the great Sima wants to ask about Xuzhou, Ba should tell him everything he knows."

"To be honest, Xuan Gao, I have summoned you here just to inquire about Qingxu's affairs. I hope you will give me some advice!"

Huo Jun smiled and said: "In the spring of the following year, the lone general led the army to the north of Xuzhou, intending to go northward via the Surabaya River. However, the water potential of the Surabaya River can be divided into summer and winter. In summer, the water is strong, and the boats and boats can move backward without any hindrance, and there is no shortage of baggage; in winter, the water is weak, and the boats and boats are not lacking. The day travels slowly, and food and grass are hard to come by.”

"Therefore, I want to take Langya and Dongguan first, and then transport the food by sea to avoid the shortage of food in winter. Xuan Gao has lived in Xuzhou for a long time. I wonder if you can give me some advice?"

Due to difficulties in transporting grain and grass, this Northern Expedition required both water and sea transportation. To obtain sea supplies, Yuzhou Island alone was not enough. The threats to the northeast of Xiapi, namely Langya and Dongguan counties, also needed to be resolved.

Of course, if you can capture Langya and Dongguan counties, you can try to wait and see Qingzhou. If Qingzhou can be conquered, it can take advantage of the situation to conquer Shandong, and the food and grass shortage of the Han Dynasty's Northern Expedition will be greatly alleviated.

Zang Ba pondered for a while and said: "Ba is a defeated general under Great Sima, and I dare not accept the word "Teacher" now. I have a few words to say, but I don't know whether to say them or not!"

"It doesn't matter what you say!"

When it comes to military matters, Huo Jun is very humble and never dares to be arrogant and complacent. After all, human knowledge is limited, especially when it comes to unknown areas. Only by listening to the words of wise men can we find out and fill in the gaps. Zang Ba bowed his hand to Huo Jun and said, "Ba Tie thinks that if Grand Sima wants to take Dongguan and Langya counties first, he should not send troops to the northeast. It is better to go northwest to take Pengcheng first."

"Pengcheng is connected to the Central Plains in the west, Qilu in the east, facing the Yangtze River and Huaihe River in the south, and pillowing mountains in the north, which is where Xiapi is shielded. The Bian and Si rivers converge, and river transportation is convenient. For example, Da Sima first went northeast to take Dongguan and Langya counties , Wei must gather a large number of troops to move south from Pengcheng. At that time, the commander-in-chief had no choice but to abandon Dongguan and support Xiapi."

"If Da Sima takes Pengcheng first, there will be a barrier in Pi. At that time, he can take advantage of the strength of Pengcheng to connect the four directions. If he takes Langya later, he can order a general to garrison Pengcheng to prevent the Wei army from taking Pi directly. Or the Central Plains can be mapped. Da Sima can lead his troops to Bian and He Rivers to conquer the Central Plains."

Pengcheng was known as Xuzhou in later generations. Compared with Xiapi, Pengcheng had to face dangerous mountains and rivers, making it difficult to conquer. When Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou in the past, he fought with Tao Qian for the first time in Pengcheng, broke the Xuzhou army and entered Xuzhou; the second time because Pengcheng was on guard, Cao Cao had no choice but to go to Taishan County and fight to the East China Sea.

Therefore, Pengcheng is actually the barrier of Xiapi. Pengcheng is not in the hands of the Han, and Xiapi is the front line. For Huo Jun, Xiapi will be the base and transit station for the Northern Expedition.

The three cities of Pengcheng, Xiapi, and Kaiyang (Langya) are like a Y. Pengcheng and Kaiyang are the bifurcation points respectively, and Xiapi is the node, so there is no room for failure.

Compared with Pengcheng, Kaiyang is not steep, and with Qingxu's troops behind it, its military strength is bound to be inferior to Pengcheng, which connects the Central Plains. However, no matter which end they attack, Qingxu and Zhongyuan soldiers and horses will attack Xiapi from the left and right.

"Take Pengcheng first?"

Huo Jun didn't say anything, but looked at Xia Houru and asked, "What do you think Junlin is doing?"

Xia Houru smiled awkwardly and said: "Ru doesn't know Xuzhou, so he dare not speak lightly about military strategy. But according to Ru's knowledge, Wang Ling, the governor of Yanzhou in the past Wei Dynasty, stationed in Pengcheng, and it must be to prevent the great Sima from taking Pengcheng first."

"Pengcheng?"

Huo Jun looked thoughtful and said: "In terms of the landscape situation of the Central Plains, Pengcheng should be the throat of the north and the south. Those who occupy Pengcheng in the north can overlook the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers; if they occupy Pengcheng in the south, they can occupy the Central Plains and Qilu. In terms of the situation, if we can take it first Pengcheng will be of great benefit to our army."

After pausing to think for a moment, Huo Jun continued to ask: "If Gu Ru wants to get Qingxu, are there any dangers on the way?"

Zang Ba sorted out his thoughts and said: "Da Sima, from Xia Pi to Qi, there are no dangerous places in Langya and Dongguan. However, after passing Ju County and about to enter Qingzhou, there is Da Xian Mountain. Da Xian Mountain is dangerous. Qi Land is so steep that if you want to capture Qi Land, you must go down to Daxian Mountain.”

"Da Xian Mountain is where Muling Pass is?" Huo Jun asked,

"Of course!"

Zang Ba said: "Muling Pass is the gateway to the south of Qi. It has three levels, spanning the east and west, and the east and west passes. It stands in the dangerous place and is the key point for the north-south movement. To capture the Qi from Xiapi, you must break the Muling Pass. That is. Once Muling Pass is broken, there will no longer be any danger in the land that can stop Da Sima."

Muling Pass was created in the Zhou Dynasty. In the past, Qi built the Great Wall. Muling Pass was the gateway to the south of Qi State. And thanks to the Yishan Mountains, Muling Pass is not only a pass, but also a system of defensive passes. Three lines of defense can be set up according to the mountain topography.

In the past, Liu Yu conquered Southern Yan. Thanks to the Southern Yan monarch Murong Chao, who relied on his large cavalry and underestimated Liu Yu during his first Northern Expedition, he refused to stick to Muling Pass, but opened the door wide and allowed Liu Yu to enter the pass to fight. In the end, he was defeated by Liu Yu's car formation, and Murong Chao was captured and killed by Liu Yu.

Listening to Zang Ba's speech analysis, Huo Jun paced slightly and said, "If we send troops from Yanzhou, is there any other way to Langya besides Pengcheng?"

"have!"

Zang Ba said truthfully: "The soldiers of Yanzhou can first go to Taishan County, and then go south along the Zhishui County, passing through Nanwuyang, Feixian, and Huaxian to Kaiyang. The Zhishui River will merge into the Surabaya River at Kaiyang, just like Da Sima taking Qi Di , I am afraid that Yanzhou soldiers and horses will attack Mount Tai and cut off the army's return. "

"In the past, Cao Cao made his second expedition to Xuzhou. Because Pengcheng was dangerous, he turned to Taishan County to control the water and went south. He slaughtered the people in Yishui and plundered them all the way to the East China Sea. Fortunately, the late emperor got Tao Qian's request and came to relieve the disaster, and Cao Cao And retreat.”

It has been nearly a year since Zang Ba returned to the Han Dynasty, and during this year Zang Ba also thought about it. After all, we have surrendered to the Han Dynasty, so why bother to put on airs? Why not just surrender to the Han Dynasty directly? After all, while there is still value in the united front, he should show off a few more times to avoid others thinking that he is just a freeloader.

When Huo Jun asked about the situation in Xuzhou, he did not hide the information, but spoke out at once. In order to prevent Huo Jun from being careless, he even included possible scenarios and gave a very detailed answer.

Of course, as one of the few Wei generals who had contacts with Liu Bei, Zang Ba tried his best to beautify Liu Bei in his words and show his value in united front.

Seeing that Zang Ba was on the right track, Huo Jun nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile: "Now that we are having dinner, the two gentlemen left us to elaborate on the situation in the Central Plains."

"promise!"

(End of this chapter)