Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 667 Where is the horse?

March, the fourth year of Jianxing.

Because Sun Quan gave up voluntarily, when the Donghai and Langya counties learned the whereabouts of the Han army, they sent people to surrender one after another, and the Han flags were raised on the city walls.

Huo Jun accepted all comers and let Guangling prefect Liu Ji supervise the affairs of the five counties of Xiapi, Donghai, Langya, Guangling and Licheng, and set up an office in Kaiyang, the capital of Langya County, to maintain the basic affairs of the five counties of Xuzhou.

When Liu Ji first took office, there were only a thousand refugees gathered in Guangling. After that, Liu Ji worked hard in Guangling for more than ten years. With the strong support of Huo Jun, Guangling had more than 30,000 households and was already populated.

Not only did the population in Huaidong gradually recover, but after more than a decade of cultivation in Jiangbei by the Southern Han Dynasty and the capture of the people in Shouchun, the entire Huaisi area now had three or four hundred thousand people.

Considering the large number of soldiers, Huo Jun did not lead the army into the city. Instead, he ordered the army to camp along the Yi River and build a pontoon bridge on the river to connect the camps.

Inside the big tent, Huo Jun held a book in one hand and read, studying Fuchai's northern expedition against Qi and the Battle of Ai Ling that broke out between the two countries in the Laiwu Basin.

The Zishui River originates in the Yimeng Mountains, flows through Taishan County, then flows into Juding Lake through Qi County, and then flows into the Bohai Sea. Laiwu is located in Taishan County, between Taishan and Yimeng Mountains, and can enter and exit Qi along the Zishui River Valley.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, many wars broke out between Lu and Qi over the Laiwu area, the most famous of which was the Battle of Changshao. The Battle of Ai Ling also took place in the Laiwu Basin.

"In the Battle of Ai Ling, the Qi army was badly defeated, with 100,000 soldiers killed, and Wu took over." Huo Jun thought for a moment and said, "If our army controls Taishan County, we may be able to enter Qi through Lu and bypass the Muling Pass in the south of Qi."

"Going through Taishan County to Qi may be very difficult!"

Jiang Ji paced in front of the map and said, "Wang Ling led the Yuzhou troops to station in Lu County to prevent our army from going through Taishan County, advancing along the Zibo River, and launching a surprise attack on Qi County."

Jiang Ji further pointed out, "If the commander-in-chief leads his troops deep into enemy territory and is blocked outside Muling Pass, our army will be unable to attack the pass after a long time. When our army is tired, I am afraid that Wang Ling will take advantage of the opportunity to advance from Taishan County and attack our army from both sides with the troops led by Sun Quan."

As the army moved deeper into Qi, military intelligence and battle reports became more and more detailed. After repeated discussions among the top leaders, Jiang Ji had already seen through Wang Ling's intention of stationing in Rencheng.

As he said, Wang Ling stationed troops in Rencheng for three reasons: first, to facilitate the rescue of Pengcheng; second, to prevent Huo Jun from attacking Taishan County to the north; third, when Huo Jun's troops penetrated into Muling Pass, he would march out of Taishan to cut off his way back and attack Huo Jun together with Sun Quan.

Liu Ye's plan seemed clever, and it was designed based on the terrain. But he overlooked that the terrain of Xuzhou had long been revealed by Zang Ba, and Jiang Ji was a man of great wisdom, so how could he not consider these things!

Jiang Ji served in the army for more than 20 years, first as a military advisor and then as a commander-in-chief. Jiang Ji, who was well versed in military affairs, had a stronger tactical ability than anyone in history, not to mention his strategic ability.

It was not a difficult task for Jiang Ji to see through Sun Quan's tactical arrangement of luring the enemy deep into his territory and attacking Wang Ling halfway. After all, the Battle of Shiting initiated by Sun Quan was seen through by Jiang Ji before it was launched.

Huo Jun put down the history book and said in agreement: "Sun Quan gave up nearly a thousand miles of territory in Langya and Donghai. In addition to being afraid of us, he also wanted to lure the enemy deep into our territory. I guess his intention is to wear us down with a strong pass and then send out a surprise attack to defeat us!"

"The road is thousands of miles long with numerous intersections. If the Wei army wants to force our army to retreat, they will most likely start with the grain route." Zhou Qian added.

As soon as Zhou Qian finished speaking, an attendant came to report, "Grand Marshal, Xu Guangling is here to pay a visit!"

"Respectful?"

Upon hearing that Liu Ji wanted to see him, Huo Jun paused the discussion and said, "Let Xu Guangling come in!"

"promise!"

After a while, Liu Ji, who always paid attention to his appearance, came into the tent with a bitter face, as if he had something to hide.

Seeing this, Huo Jun raised his eyebrows and said jokingly, "Liu the governor has only been in office in Xuzhou for a short time, why is he so embarrassed? Is he disturbed by the unruly people?"

Liu Ji bowed to Huo Jun, sighed and said, "If it was a troublemaker, it would be easy to deal with. At present, I am trapped in Langya and Donghai counties, so I have no choice but to ask the governor for help."

"Just say it!" Huo Jun gestured to Liu Ji to sit down and said.

"Thank you Captain!"

Liu Ji sorted out his thoughts and said, "More than ten counties in Donghai and Langya have reported that the government treasury is short of food and the people have nothing to eat. Now they have submitted a petition to me asking for food to help the people. But there is nothing in the government treasury in Kaiyang City except rats!"

"According to what I have learned, before the Wei army left the city, Sun Quan ordered his men to take all the money and food from the treasury, and sent troops to the countryside to plunder the people's food and grass. Now the people are short of food, and there is nothing to grow. If they want to resume production, I am afraid our army will need to distribute food to the people."

Sun Quan strictly implemented the policy of fortifying the city and clearing the countryside, taking away the food and supplies in the counties of Langya and Donghai. In order to consume the supplies of the Han army, he even forcibly plundered the people, hoping to make them a burden to the Han army!

When the Han army entered Donghai and Langya counties, they had to face the livelihood issues first. If they provided relief to the people, it would consume the army's food and grass; if they did not, they would lose the support of the people, and even the people would riot.

Jiang Ji sneered a few times and said, "As Ziyu said, Sun Quan wants to attack our army's grain supply route."

Huo Jun hesitated for a moment and asked, "I want to distribute food to help the people. What do you think?"

Zhou Cang frowned slightly and said, "Mingsir, our army's food and supplies have traveled a long distance from Jianghuai and Jiangdong, and have been transported by boats. Now, to provide relief for one stone of food and fodder, we need to spend two or even three stones. If we provide relief to the people now, our army may be short of food and fodder in the future, especially in autumn and winter."

"The people of Xuzhou cannot be given relief!" Huo Jun sighed and said, "Although I have lost many lives since I went to war, I have compassion for the people. Moreover, the use of troops by the Han Dynasty does not benefit the people. Now the people are suffering for the Han Dynasty, and I cannot bear it."

"If we don't provide relief now, the people will suffer from famine and separation at best, or even family destruction and death at worst, so relief is imperative!"

"The governor is not as good as this!"

Liu Ji suggested: "Our army will provide relief to the people and ask them to transport food for the Han army. In the spring, we will let the people go back to their hometowns to farm. We will make an agreement with them that when the summer and autumn harvests come, the army and the people will each get one-fifth of the harvest per mu."

"If we do this, by the time autumn and winter come, the people will be loyal to us, and our army will be able to take food from Langya and Donghai counties, and we will have no shortage of food and supplies!"

"Or something like this!"

Jiang Ji stroked his beard and thought, and said, "Since the governor wants to send troops to Muling Pass, there are many passes along the way. In order to prevent Wei from sending surprise troops to cut off the rear, it is better to divide the troops and stay behind. And the soldiers stationed in the city, for the long-term strategy, half of them can be used to cultivate the people's fields for military use, and then distribute food to the people."

In order to prevent Wang Ling from sending out surprise troops to cover the rear, Huo Jun had to send troops to stay at the key points to ensure that the grain route was unobstructed and to prevent Wang Ling from covering the rear. At that moment, Jiang Ji suggested that the soldiers who stayed behind could farm with the people. After the harvest, the people could get some autumn grain as rent payment.

"good!"

Huo Jun nodded and said, "The people are short of food, so we cannot give them relief for free. We can order them to transport food for the army, and then order the army to go to the people to farm. In this way, our army can not only get food and supplies, but also win the hearts of the people. This is the best strategy!"

"Liu Guangling will personally handle the relief work for the people."

After a pause, Huo Jun looked at Jiang Ji and said, "Zi Tong, draft an order on my behalf. Order Generals Huo Du and Zhou Cang to lead 30,000 troops to guard the cities of Kaiyang. Soldiers from all units will farm and guard the cities. Anyone who robs the people or takes their property will be executed immediately. Do not lose the people's hearts!"

"promise!"

Due to the lack of a Grand Canal, Huo Jun paid special attention to the relationship with the local people in order to gain their support. If the two policies of work-for-relief and military settlement can be successfully implemented, Huo Jun will have the confidence to continue the war.

After getting Huo Jun's approval, Liu Ji happily withdrew.

Looking at Liu Ji's retreating figure, Huo Jun said with a smile: "Jingyu is the governor of Xuzhou and other counties. It can be said that he is the right person for the job!"

"Mingsir, the two counties of Donghai and Langya have been fully restored. Now it is better to split them up and make clear the corresponding duties." Zhou Cang said: "For example, if the junior general is in charge of Yuzhou, then a county can be separated to be responsible for maritime transportation!"

"Can!"

Huo Jun understood Zhou Cang's intention and said, "Let's appoint Shi Zai as the governor of Chengyang to take care of the affairs along the coast. Be careful of Wei cavalry going out to the coast to rob our army's food and grass."

"promise!"

"Commander-in-chief, now that the situation in the two counties has been pacified and we have learned about Sun Quan's arrangements, should we continue our march?" Jiang Ji asked.

Huo Jun hesitated for a moment and said, "I was suspicious of Zhang He's whereabouts, so I slowed down my march. Now I have received a report from Shi Yuan's army that Zhang He, under the order of Cao Rui, has sent troops to Jingwan. I think he wants to join forces with Sima Yi to defeat Ge Xiang's army. Now that the various forces of the Wei army are clear, our army should advance to Muling to find an opportunity to break through the pass."

"Zhang He's troops are heading towards Jing Wan?"

Zhou Cang showed a worried look on his face and said, "Zhang He is a veteran general of Wei, and Sima Yi is well versed in military tactics. If the two join forces, I'm afraid Cao Rui wants to defeat Ge Xiang's army first, and then defeat our army. This is probably Tian Ji's strategy of racing horses!"

"Tian Ji's horse race?"

Hearing this, Huo Jun couldn't help laughing and said, "Where is the top horse? Where is the middle horse? And what are the horses of Zhang He and Sima Yi?"

In Huo Jun's opinion, if Cao Rui wanted to implement Tian Ji's horse racing strategy, he needed to make one thing clear: the rank of the generals he had!
If you say Zhuge Liang is a middle horse, you need to use the upper horse to defeat him.

Where is Wei's horse?

Are Sima Yi and Zhang He the right ones to play against? This depends on the level of their opponents.

Therefore, when Huo Jun heard the news, he was not nervous at all. Huo Jun could not guarantee whether Zhuge Liang could defeat Sima Yi and Zhang He. But Zhuge Liang could hold off the offensive of the two without any pressure.

Huo Jun restrained his smile and said, "Given Prime Minister Ge's cautious character, he is more than capable of holding Zhang He and Sima Yi. Now Zhang He will not be a worry to our army in the short term. Therefore, we should take advantage of this opportunity to advance quickly and see if we can break through Muling Pass and seize the seven counties of Qingqi."

"promise!"

That being said, Huo Jun still hoped that Zhuge Liang could give him a surprise. After all, using defense to contain the two armies of Zhang He and Sima Yi might not be enough. After all, once Cao Wei found that Zhuge Liang was difficult to deal with, they might change their strategy and let Zhang He support Cao Zhen or Man Chong.

As Zhuge Liang said before the expedition, it would be a great pity if we don't take advantage of the Wei army's eagerness to fight and attack them!

(End of this chapter)