Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 691: Descending Mount Tai to the Central Plains

In September, Huo Jun led tens of thousands of troops and headed straight for Linzi.

The brothers Xiahou Ba and Xiahou Hui led their troops to Linzi first, then asked Cao Rui in Luoyang for help. They also spent all the money and food in the treasury and recruited Linzi citizens and hooligans to join the army.

After some turmoil, the Wei army's strength expanded to more than 10,000 people. In addition, there were tens of thousands of men and women in the city. Xiahou Ba then announced that there were 50,000 soldiers and horses in the city, trying to scare off the invading Han army.

Hearing Xiahou Ba's false claim that he had 50,000 troops to defend the city, Huo Jun was not affected at all and continued to deploy his troops according to the original plan, that is, to eliminate the cities outside Linzi and then besiege Linzi.

Linzi is located on the east side of Zibo River and on the west side of Xishui River. The city was built between the two rivers and is divided into two cities, the big city and the small city. The big city was where the common people lived in the past, and the small city was the palace where the king lived.

Linzi, as the old capital of Qi, had a similar defense system to Shouchun, with satellite cities outside the city for defense, such as Xi'an, Ping'an, Changguo, etc. Huo Jun led his troops from the east, so he first broke through the cities east of the Zi River.

After Huo Fan conquered Anping City, Huo Jun led his troops to the banks of the Zibo River, facing the big city of Linzi across the water.

Inside the big tent, Huo Jun fell into deep thought while looking at the structure of Linzi City on the map.

Although Linzi City was tall, it was not the strongest city in the world. In fact, because the city was too large, it was not conducive to defending Linzi. It was probably for this reason that Xiahou Ba placed the focus of defense on small cities rather than large cities.

Defending a small city with a small number of soldiers and abundant food and grass can indeed become a stumbling block for the Han army on its way to the north.

"Captain!"

At this time, Jiang Ji came in from outside the tent and said, "Xiahou Ba refuses to surrender. If he wants to take Linzi, he must raise an army to attack the city."

Huo Jun pointed to the map and said, "If you want to take Linzi, you must first take the big city, then the small city, and then take it step by step."

"Why don't you, the governor, raise an army to besiege the small town in order to pacify Qingqi as soon as possible?" Jiang Ji asked.

Huo Jun paced back and forth, smiling, and said, "If we quickly take down Qingqi, wouldn't it be better to let the Wei army defend the garrisons and avoid fighting?"

Hearing this, Jiang Ji was inspired and said, "The governor wants to use Linzi as bait to lure the Cao Wei army to come and rescue?"

"Of course!"

Huo Jun paced with his hands behind his back and said, "In the past, Le Yi conquered more than 50 cities of Qi, and Tian Dan recovered Qi with two cities. Now the Wei people still have the two counties of Pingyuan and Jinan, so how could they not think of recovering Qi?"

"If our army attacks Linzi now, we may be able to quickly pacify Qingqi. But the Wei army has not yet been destroyed, so how can we easily take Henan?"

Huo Jun stopped and said in a deep voice: "If we can use Linzi as bait to lure the Wei army here, I will find an opportunity to lead the elite troops to defeat them, then Henan can be conquered and the Han Dynasty can be revived!"

Huo Jun was not worried about Cao Wei sending troops to rescue him, but was worried about Cao Wei holding on to the dangerous city. After all, in the era of cold weapons, if you were determined to defend the city, it would cause great trouble to the attacker. Pulling the enemy out to fight was the most labor-saving operation.

Jiang Ji stroked his beard and thought, and said: "Looking at the current situation, the only soldier available in Cao Wei is Wang Ling, the governor of Yanzhou. If our army besieges Linzi, Cao Rui will definitely send him to help!"

"Zi Tong's thoughts are similar to mine!"

Huo Jun walked to another large map and pointed out, "I led more than 100,000 elite troops to the north. Because of the three generals Man Chong, Lu Qian and Wang Ling, I had no choice but to leave 100,000 strong soldiers stationed in the dangerous places along the way. Among them, 50,000 soldiers were left in the Yi and Shu River valleys. If you can make Langya and Donghai counties worry-free, then 50,000 elite soldiers will be available!"

Previously, Huo Jun had to leave elite soldiers to garrison in many places because of the terrain. This time, the troops attacking Qingqi were less than 50,000. If the flank threat can be eliminated, Huo Jun can gather the elite soldiers who stayed in the dangerous places and sweep across the Central Plains.

"Taishan County!"

Huo Fan, who was silent, listened to the conversation between Huo and Jiang and said, "Father, do you want to take Taishan County?"

Huo Jun nodded slightly and said in a deep voice: "Taishan County faces Qingqi in the east, Xuyi in the south, Heji in the north, and Lusong in the west. If we can occupy Taishan, Pengcheng will surrender without a fight, and we will be able to drink the water of the Yellow River!"

From a geographical point of view, Taishan County is closer to Qingzhou and Xuzhou, so from a geographical point of view, Taishan County should not be under the jurisdiction of Yanzhou. However, the reason why it is under the control of Yanzhou is essentially because of the key geographical location of Taishan County.

Its administrative history can be traced back to the period of Emperor Wu of Han. In order to control the vassal states of Qi and Lu, Emperor Wu of Han ordered the King of Jibei to donate land and set up Taishan County. With Taishan County, Qingqi would have no place to defend.

In order to control the gateways to Ji, Yu, Qing and Xu states, the Yanzhou Inspectorate was established based on Taishan, Jiyin and Dongjun, thus using the means of splitting the gateways to prevent the emergence of separatist phenomena.

Cao Cao's rise in the Central Plains was closely related to his status as the governor of Yanzhou. In the early days, Cao Cao controlled Taishan County through Lü Qian, thereby intimidating Qingzhou and Xuzhou. Cao Cao also controlled Yuzhou, which had no strategic location, through Yanzhou.

On the other hand, if Huo Jun can control Mount Tai, he will not only be able to better control Qing and Xu states, but can also radiate to Yan and Yu states.

Pengcheng is an important stronghold on the Si River. If Huo Jun can control Taishan County, he will be able to attack Pengcheng from both the upper and lower reaches of the Si River. Then, there will be no point for Cao Wei to defend Pengcheng.

At that time, the Han army dredged the Si, Ji, and He waterways and would be able to join Zhuge Liang's troops at the foot of Luoyang. Of course, if Huo Jun was bold, he could even go north to take Yecheng, sweep across the counties of Hebei, and conquer the world in one fell swoop.

Due to transportation and supply problems, the South could not maintain the deployment of troops for a long time; and because of the special mountain and water environment in the Kanto region in the north, it could not be considered with the Southern separatist mentality of conquering one state and then withdrawing to rest.

Therefore, taking the failures and successes of the Northern Expeditions in history as examples, Huo Jun deeply understood that the key to the success of the Northern Expedition was to complete it in one go. He must not give up halfway before conquering Henan, otherwise his territory would be occupied by the enemy who occupied Hebei.

Jiang Ji stroked his beard and thought, and said, "If the commander wants to take Mount Tai, he must first defeat Wang Ling. However, if the commander leads his army westward to Mount Tai, who will be in charge of Qingqi? Who will handle the battle in Linzi?"

Sitting on the couch, Huo Jun held out his hand to offer tea and said, "Although Wen Xiang is the governor of Qingzhou, he is good at defending but not aggressive enough. I am afraid that Wen Xiang will not be able to defeat the enemy coming from Hebei!" As he spoke, Huo Jun looked at Jiang Ji and said with a smile, "I originally wanted to hand over the military affairs to Zi Tong, but my military affairs are very heavy and I need Zi Tong to share my worries!"

Jiang Ji looked at Huo Fan and said, "Commander-in-chief, the young general is a man of both civil and military skills, and is proficient in military strategy. He has made outstanding achievements in attacking the eastern part of Qi and harassing the grain route. Now, the commander-in-chief may as well order the young general to manage the military affairs of Qi to relieve the commander-in-chief's worries!"

"Xin Wenxiang is the governor of Qingzhou. It may be inappropriate to let Shi Zai take the position above him!" Huo Jun said after consideration.

"Although Qing and Xu states have small populations, their territories are vast. It would be better for the governor to separate one state and order it to pacify the people and suppress the bandits; while letting Qing state defend against the enemy and focus on military affairs." Jiang Ji suggested.

Huo Jun pondered for a moment and said, "Divide Qingzhou and establish Qizhou. Qingzhou governs five counties, namely Donglai, Chengyang, Beihai, Dongguan, and Le'an. Qizhou governs five counties, namely Qijun, Jinan, Pingyuan, Taishan, and Leling. Qingzhou will still be governed by Wen Xiang, while Qizhou can be governed by Shi Zai."

"After I lead my army to leave Qi, Wen Xiang and Shi Zai will be in charge of the military affairs of Qing and Qi. If no enemy comes to help, Shi Zai will besiege Linzi and Wen Xiang will pacify Qingzhou. If the enemy is numerous and comes to help, the two generals will join forces to resist them and discuss the use of troops. If there is any problem, you can report to me quickly."

Most of the counties in Qizhou were under the rule of the Wei people, while most of the counties in Qingzhou had surrendered to the Han Dynasty. This arrangement did not reduce Xu Sheng's power much, but instead allowed him to focus on handling Qingzhou affairs.

As he spoke, Huo Jun turned to look at Huo Fan and asked, "The mission in Qizhou is arduous, do you dare to lead it, Shi Zai?"

Huo Fan looked serious and answered with his hands clasped: "A real man will never retreat because of difficulties!"

"good!"

Just in case, Huo Jun asked: "If the Wei army came across the Yellow River from Hebei, and Xiahou Ba occupied Linzi and caused chaos, how should we deal with it?"

Huo Fan thought for a long time and replied, "My father, the best strategy is to abandon the siege of Linzi and send troops to defeat the army in Hebei first. The worst strategy is to re-siege Linzi and occupy Licheng from outside, and hold out against the enemy for a long time, waiting for my father to defeat the enemy and return to Qi."

"feasible!"

Huo Jun put down the teacup in his hand and said, "If the troops in Hebei go south, they will mostly go through Licheng and Zhu'a to enter Qi. In the past, Han Xin attacked Qi, defeated the army in Lixia, and then took Linzi; Geng Yan went to Qi, took Zhu'a to open the way, and then defeated Qi County."

"So if you want to defeat the troops in Hebei, you can station troops in Licheng to occupy it. If Licheng is unobtainable, you can station troops in Dunqiu and Pingling to defend against it. How to deploy the troops at that time will depend on you and Xu Qingzhou's tactical tactics."

"Thank you for your teachings, father!" Huo Fan bowed.

"Zi Tong, how about your memorial now?" Huo Jun asked.

Jiang Ji replied, "The memorial has been prepared and it only needs to be reviewed by the governor before it can be submitted."

"We will submit a memorial to Your Majesty regarding the division of Qizhou!"

"promise!"

While the two were talking, an attendant came in and reported, "Reporting to the Grand Marshal, according to the scouts, Sun Quan's troops have reached the coast of Le'an, and are suddenly sailing eastward along the coast in boats!"

"Sun Quan traveled east along the coast?"

Hearing this, Jiang Ji frowned and asked in confusion, "What is Sun Quan's purpose in going to Donglai?"

"Are you planning to capture Donglai and imitate our army's attack on Haibin?"

Huo Jun stopped in front of the map, also because he was confused about Sun Quan's journey east by boat.

The difference in naval power between Wei and Han is comparable to the difference in military capability between Sun Quan and Huo Jun. Now Sun Quan is harassing the coast of Qingzhou, perhaps because he is afraid of losing his life.

After looking at the map for a while, Huo Jun guessed, "Sun Quan might flee to Liaodong!"

"Sun Quan went to Liaodong?"

Jiang Ji was slightly surprised and said, "He was the governor of Qingzhou, but he abandoned his land and fled, abandoning Linzi. Isn't he afraid of Cao Rui's punishment?"

"If he stays, Sun Quan will be punished by Cao Rui!" Huo Jun said meaningfully, "Sun Quan has great ambitions, and what he does now should have a long-term plan."

When Huo Jun learned that Sun Quan was working for Cao Wei, he concluded that Sun Quan would not do things in peace. Although his behavior of sailing eastward seemed strange, it was very reasonable if we consider it from the perspective of independence. Sun Quan might have seen that the Cao Wei ship was about to sink, so he planned to flee to Liaodong and establish himself.

Huo Jun then ordered, "Let Guan Cheng take a large ship out of Yuzhou, inspect Donglai, and find out what Sun Quan is doing. If Sun Quan wants to attack the coast, let him lead the navy to attack him; if he goes far to Liaodong, then wipe out all the bandits on the coast."

Jiang Ji thought about something and said, "General, the soldiers have made great achievements since they went to the battlefield. However, they have not received any rewards since they entered Qi, and their morale is low. If you want to use the soldiers, you need to reward them with money and food as an incentive."

Huo Jun thought for a moment and said, "First, give them wine and meat to calm the soldiers. When Wuhan allocates money and food, I will give them official titles as well."

"promise!"

In ancient times, wars were mostly fought for money and food. Now Huo Jun did not allow his soldiers to plunder or massacre the city in order to ensure good military discipline. However, under such high standards of military discipline, the court naturally had to bear the cost.

(End of this chapter)