Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 661: Misjudgment of the Enemy
August, the third year of Jianxing.

Emperor Liu Shan of the Han Dynasty issued an edict, ordering Grand Marshal Huo Jun to lead the Han army to the north, assisted by Prime Minister Zhuge Liang and General Lu Xun.

At that time, Huo Jun traveled from Wuhan to Jinling, a distance of several thousand miles. He traveled east by boat and sailed on the river for ten days before arriving at the eastern capital Jinling.

The officials of the three states of Yu, Yang and Xu, headed by Gu Yong and Bu Zhi in terms of civil affairs and Pang Tong and Jiang Ji in terms of military affairs, came to pay a visit to Huo Jun after receiving the order.

Jinling, Xingtai government office.

Huo Jun was welcomed by everyone and sat upright on a high couch. The civil and military officials sat on the left and right seats according to their ranks.

"The Grand Marshal has come here by river, and he must be tired after the long journey. Yong has ordered his subordinates to prepare a banquet to welcome him!" said Gu Yong.

"Not urgent!"

Huo Jun leaned on the table and asked, "Your Majesty has issued an imperial decree to mobilize the entire country's troops to march north, and I will be in charge of it. However, if you want to use force, you must have sufficient food, supplies, and armor. I wonder how much food, winter coats, and sea vessels the Xingtai has collected?"

Seeing Huo Jun asking questions directly, Gu Yong did not dare to neglect them and said, "Reporting to the Grand Marshal, I have been in office since last year, and it has been more than a year. Under the current administration, we have raised 8.52 million shi of grain for the army, 93,561 winter fur coats, and more than 7,300 large sea vessels, the small ones can transport 500 shi, and the large ones can transport more than 1,000 shi."

Huo Jun pondered for a moment and said, "There are no less than 140,000 soldiers, but only 90,000 winter coats, which is not enough. The 8.5 million dan of food and fodder is enough, but I wonder if the ships have been tested?"

The average monthly food grain for a soldier is two dan (2.5 liters). Fifteen thousand soldiers would need about three hundred thousand dan (300,000 dan) of grain per month, or three million six hundred thousand dan (3.6 million dan) of grain per year. If the expenses for war horses and farmers are included, the number would be far more than that!

8.52 million shi of grain could last for more than two years if only the soldiers were counted. However, considering the civilians who transported the grain, the time it could last might be reduced by 70% to 60%.

However, if the roads are clear, the grain harvested from the autumn harvest in the second half of the year and the wheat harvested in the spring and winter of the following year will be enough for the Han Dynasty to use its troops here.

"Yong has ordered women in the three states to make winter fur coats. Now half of the winter fur coats have not yet been stored in the treasury. Probably after two months, all 160,000 winter fur coats will be available!" said Gu Yong.

"As for the sea trials, since most of the ships are owned by the powerful and aristocratic families in Jiangzuo, Yong Shang has gathered all the ships for a trial voyage!"

In the late Han Dynasty, maritime trade had already taken shape. For example, the Jiangdong region had opened up routes to Sri Lanka, or to the Liaodong region. For example, Sun Quan's contact with the Gongsun clan in Liaodong, or Faxian's trip to India to seek Buddhist scriptures in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

Faxian, the first Chinese monk to go to India to seek Buddhist scriptures, set out from Chang'an, passed through the Western Regions, and then went to India to seek Buddhist scriptures. On his way back from India, he wanted to take a boat to Guangzhou, but was drifted to Qingzhou due to strong winds and waves.

The Jiangdong clans and powerful families were involved in maritime trade, so they owned many boats. After Jinling was established as the Eastern Capital, Gu Yong came here as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and through various means, he made them transport food for the army during the war, and recorded the boats of the clans and powerful families in a register.

Huo Jun took a sip of hot tea and said, "It is already August. Soon the Huai River will dry up and the Si River will be difficult to navigate. Order that on October 1st, gather the registered ships and select a thousand boats to transport the military rations to Yuzhou Island as a test voyage for transporting rations next year."

"promise!"

The route for transporting grain from Jiangdong to Yuzhou Island is fixed, but in order to ensure that there will be no mistakes next year, a trial voyage in advance is still needed.

Huo Jun asked more questions about the baggage, and Gu Yong answered them one by one. Except for the winter fur coats that were still being made and the fleet that had not yet been tested, Gu Yong had already taken care of the rest of the things, which made Huo Jun very happy.

"Zitong, are there any changes in the Qingzhou and Xuzhou regions?" Huo Jun asked. "Reporting to the governor, Xiahou Shang, the former governor of Qingzhou, has passed away. Now Sun Quan has taken over the military power and is the governor of Qingzhou, Xuzhou and Yanzhou!" Jiang Ji sorted out the information and said.

"Since Sun Quan took office, he has ordered people to reinforce Pengcheng and Muling Pass, patrolling non-stop, and maintaining close contact with Wang Ling, so he is on high alert against our army!"

"Sun Quan is the governor of Qing, Xu and Yanzhou?"

Hearing this, Huo Jun couldn't help but smile and said, "Sun Quan lost his territory and army in his early years, and the foundation established by his brother was taken away by the late emperor and me. It will be interesting to supervise the military affairs of the three states again now!"

Xiahou Shang died a good death. He had the talent of military strategy. If he was in charge of the three states, he would probably be a tough nut to crack. However, with Sun Quan leading the army, it was a good thing for the Han Dynasty. The difficulty of conquering Qing and Xu states would also be greatly reduced.

Choosing Sun Quan as the military commander of Qing, Xu and Yanzhou can only mean that Cao Wei's talents are gradually dwindling and there is no one to serve as the commander. Cao Rui had no choice but to choose Sun Quan to go out.

"Although Sun Quan's military strategy may not be as good as Xiahou Shang's, he is very popular. Since he took office, many men and women in Qing and Xu provinces have surrendered to him." Jiang Ji said: "Judging from what Sun Quan has done, he intends to confront our army for a long time."

"Not urgent!"

Huo Jun smiled and said, "I know a lot about Sun Quan's strategy. Send scouts to the north to keep an eye on Sun Quan's movements. In a few days, I will discuss military affairs with the generals and formulate a strategy for deploying troops."

"promise!"

Huo Jun was well aware of Sun Quan's military ability. Among the three commanders, Sima Yi, Cao Zhen, and Sun Quan, Sun Quan's overall ability was not inferior to Sima Yi, but his military ability was the weakest.

How good is Sun Quan in commanding his troops?
In Huo Jun's opinion, if Sun Quan, as a monarch, could win the hearts of the people, select talented people to join the army, and listen to good advice in times of crisis, he could have achieved good results, such as the four major battles of Chibi, Yiling, Jingzhou, and Shiting. Therefore, in terms of Sun Quan's overall ability, he is more than capable of maintaining the status quo.

As for the reason why the two Lius were able to take Jiangdong, it was purely because they took advantage of Sun Quan's unstable foothold and powerful enemies like Huo Jun and Liu Bei led large armies to invade, so they were able to conquer Jiangdong.

If Sun Quan were allowed to be the commander-in-chief and lead the troops in battle, he would most likely be defeated if he met an experienced general. Huo Jun had actually been worried when he went north to conquer Qingxu. After all, the baggage supply was limited. If he met an enemy who was holding out, he would have to retreat if he failed to achieve any results within a few months.

When Huo Jun learned that Sun Quan was the governor of three states, he almost laughed out loud. The people of Cao Wei might not have known Sun Quan's military prowess, but how could he, who came from the later generations, not know it?

It can only be said that Sun Quan had been in Cao Wei for many years, and he used his strengths to cover up his weaknesses, so that many high-ranking officials of Cao Wei actually believed that Sun Quan had the corresponding military ability to rule a region. Even if he had no ability to make progress, he could still be like Xiahou Dun who relied on Shouchun to occupy Huojun.

Little did people know that Xiahou Dun was able to use Shouchun to defend Huojun. Although this was partly due to Xiahou Dun's ability, it was more due to the natural advantages of Shouchun City.

The current situation in Qingxu is very different from the original situation in Shouchun. The wider battlefield space will give Huo Jun more room for operation.

Overestimating Sun Quan and underestimating Zhuge Liang was probably Cao Wei’s biggest mistake before the war!

ps: This chapter is not well written, please forgive me!

(End of this chapter)