Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 696 Emperor Quan

Since the incident with the King of Huainan, Huo Jun had already made his mind clear: a gentleman should do what he should do and should not do what he should not do!

People may spend their whole lives striving for benefits, but we must know that there is more to life than just benefits. There are always things that are more important than benefits.

Sima Yi was able to disregard his reputation, violate the Luoshui Alliance for his own selfish desires, and pave the way for the Sima family to usurp the throne. However, Huo Jun could not get over that hurdle, and betrayed his friends, destroyed his reputation, and undermined state affairs.

Under the pressure of the interests of the world and personal feelings, Huo Jun would never listen to Pei Hui's sweet words, raise an army to rebel, ignore the common people of the world, and wantonly destroy political traditions.

On the other hand, Huo Jun's refusal to rebel will bring supreme honor to him and his family.

Taking history as a mirror, it is no exaggeration to say that if Huo Jun could return power to the Han Dynasty, his reputation in history would far exceed that of Sima Yi, who usurped the throne.

In the later generations, if we talk about military ability, because of his noble reputation, all dynasties would put him above Bai, Han, and Wei. And if we rank the famous generals in the Temple of Martial Arts, Huo Jun's position would belong to the top three.

Huo Jun could not see the admiration of future generations, but it did not prevent him from knowing that the Chinese nation needed a heroic role model. This role model could be someone else, but why not him?
Between leaving his name in history or being infamous forever, Huo Jun chose to leave his name in history!

On the banks of the Si River, Huo Jun strolled along the river, accompanied by Jiang Ji.

Jiang Ji stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "Pei Hui advised the governor to rebel, and the governor acted decisively without hesitation, which was much better than what Jiang Gan said at night."

Huo Jun held his sword and looked at the river, saying: "The late emperor and Your Majesty have shown great kindness to the Huo family, how can we betray the country? I came into the world with my sword, first for fame and fortune, and second for the people. Today, the world has been in chaos for fifty years, and only one in ten people are alive. I have achieved fame and fortune as a minister, so I should think of the people!"

Because of years of war and seeing too many stories of families being torn apart, Huo Jun is not fond of war, but instead hopes for peace in the world. As he said, the world has been in chaos for fifty years, enough people have died, and China needs peace.

Jiang Ji sighed with melancholy, and said: "To accomplish the feat of the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains, it is not something that can be accomplished by a heroic ruler and a wise minister. If the late emperor, your majesty, the governor, and Prime Minister Ge make any mistakes, the world will not be at peace!"

"almost!"

Huo Jun pointed north with his whip and said with a smile: "Lu County is only 300 miles away from the river. The cavalry can reach it in daylight. Now that we have defeated Wang Ling and dredged the Sishui River, I will let you drink water from the Yellow River to fulfill my lifelong wish!"

"I've often heard that the water of the Yellow River is called the Yellow River because of its yellow color. I've heard of it but never seen it. If I could pacify the Central Plains and drink from the Yellow River, it would be a great joy in life." Jiang Ji said with a smile.

At this point in the war, the army has reached Yanzhou and Yuzhou, and the most difficult time has passed. Not only Huo Jun is looking forward to conquering the Central Plains, but the generals are also eager to fight.

"good!"

Huo Jun raised his head and smiled, saying: "Let's go boating on the river and have a feast by the river. I and you will not return until we are drunk!"

Speaking of this, Jiang Ji thought of the matter of the King of Qi and said, "Governor, Chen Lingjun came from Wuhan in accordance with the imperial edict, and wants to enthrone you as the King of Qi. What do you think?"

"What do you think, Zitong?"

Jiang Ji said: "The reason why Your Majesty has appointed the governor as the King of Qi is because there are rumors in Wuhan that the governor has the intention of establishing his own country. In order to relieve the suspicion of the monarch and his subjects, you have appointed the governor as the King of Qi."

"Han Xin's story is a precedent. I hope the governor will not obey the order. If you obey the order, even if you can achieve temporary prosperity, it will hardly bring prosperity to the clan."

Although Jiang Ji followed Huo Jun for many years and often gave him advice, in major events, Jiang Ji advocated loyalty to Southern Han rather than encouraging Huo Jun to establish his own regime like Kuai Tong did.

Now that the King of Qi has come with an imperial edict, Jiang Ji is particularly worried that Huo Jun, because of his great military achievements, has accepted Liu Chan's edict to confer the title of King of Qi in a fit of rage.

"If I don't accept the imperial edict, what do you think I should do?" Huo Jun asked.

Jiang Ji hesitated for a moment and said, "The governor should take the incident of Yi and Huo as an example and swear not to accept the King of Qi. Please ask Your Majesty to withdraw the edict."

Jiang Ji smiled and said, "If you can't get the truth, you should get the falsehood. Your Majesty should reward you handsomely for your merit in conquering Qi!"

"good!"

Not many days later, Chen Zhen came with an imperial edict, wanting to appoint Huo Jun as the King of Qi.

In the big tent, Chen Zhen held the imperial edict and reported Huo Jun's achievements, saying: "I have entrusted my humble body to millions of people, and I will always think of their difficulties. If we have to cross the deep ice, it will be saved by you. I will not be responsible for it. Qi County, Langya, Beihai, and Donglai are four counties. You are enfeoffed as the King of Qi, and you are given the land of Xuan..."

After Chen Zhen finished reading the edict, Huo Jun bowed and refused, saying in a deep voice: "In the past, Jiang Shang and Yi Yin helped the country but were not granted the title of king. I, a person of low moral character, dare not accept it. Moreover, our ancestors Gao and Zhong have left a will that people with different surnames cannot be granted the title of king. How dare I accept it!"

Chen Zhen pretended to persuade Liu Chan to stay, saying, "Han Xin conquered Qi and became the king, helping Emperor Gaozu to establish his rule in the Central Plains. Now the Duke of Jiangling has made as much contribution as Han Xin. If he cannot become the king, Your Majesty will find it difficult to reward him. I hope the Duke of Jiangling will accept the imperial edict."

Huo Jun continued to decline, saying, "To be crowned a king, one must have made great contributions. Since I received the imperial edict, the rebels have occupied the old capital and caused chaos in the Central Plains. They spread rumors and disturbed the capital, criticizing the emperor and his ministers. I have only made small contributions, so I dare not accept it."

Huo Jun said in a heavy tone, "I will never be the King of Qi!" "So~"

Chen Zhen hesitated for a few seconds, then helped Huo Jun up and said, "I will report back to Your Majesty what Duke Jiangling said. Your Majesty will reward you for your contribution to the Northern Expedition to conquer Qi!"

Huo Jun smiled and said, "Mr. Chen has worked hard, so I have prepared a small feast for you!"

Chen Zhen said in a normal tone, "Grand Marshal, there is no need to be so polite. The matter of the imperial edict would only disturb the Grand Marshal's use of troops."

"The two armies are facing each other now, it's really troublesome!" Huo Jun said with a smile.

Chen Zhen read Deng Zhi's letter and said, "Deng Bo Miao wrote that Ke Bineng had conquered Putou last year and unified the south of the desert. He has more than 100,000 cavalrymen under his command. This winter, he will lead his army south, enter Hebei from Bingzhou, and plunder various counties."

Kebi Neng used war horses to exchange for Deng Zhi's stay in Xianbei. When the deadline came, Deng Zhi saw that he had failed to accomplish his goal, so he continued to stay in Xianbei to help Kebi Neng eliminate Putou. With the elimination of Putou, Kebi Neng had no rivals and unified the southern grasslands of the desert.

Seeing that Putou was destroyed, Deng Zhi again asked Kebi Neng for troops. Because Putou was destroyed, Kebi Neng was overjoyed and agreed to Deng Zhi's request and designed a route map for the invasion.

Deng Zhi saw that his mission was accomplished, so he wrote a letter to Wuhan, and then asked Kebi Neng to return home. Kebi Neng was reluctant to let Deng Zhi go, and wanted to use high positions and generous salaries to keep Deng Zhi and let him work for the Xianbei. Deng Zhi refused sternly, and was afraid that Kebi Neng would force him to stay, so he left with his attendants late at night.

Ke Bineng did not pursue Deng Zhi, but only lamented that Deng Zhi was a man of both virtue and talent, but it was a pity that he could not use him.

Huo Jun read Deng Zhi's letter and said with a smile, "Without Bo Miao working for the Han Dynasty, how could the Xianbei contact the Han Dynasty? Now Ke Bi is able to harass Hebei, and Cao Wei is unable to split its forces. This will be a great benefit to our army!"

Chen Zhen sighed slightly and said, "Although I am happy that Kebi can attack Cao Wei, Your Majesty is deeply worried when he hears that Kebi can unify the south of the desert. I am worried that the Xianbei will become as powerful as the Xiongnu, and our Han will be constrained when we unify the world."

Huo Jun accepted Deng Zhi's letter and said, "The Xianbei are not the Xiongnu, and the Later Han is not the Former Han. The situation is different now, so how can the story of the Han and Xiongnu repeat itself?"

Xianbei is different from Xiongnu. Xiongnu has a relatively complete inheritance and social system, while Xianbei is more of a mixed nomadic people, lacking cultural carriers and full of internal contradictions. Without a long time to evolve, it is difficult for Xianbei to develop to the Xiongnu stage.

The situation in the Southern Han Dynasty was different from that in the Western Han Dynasty, and the story of the Han-Xiongnu relationship would not happen. During the Western Han Dynasty, Hexi and Hetao were not under the control of the Han Dynasty, which led to the constraints in the early Western Han Dynasty and the crazy war during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han.

Thanks to the long-term management of the two Han dynasties, the only problem that the Southern Han Dynasty had to solve was to expel the Xianbei tribes entrenched in the Hetao area and restore the Shuofang counties. With Hexi and Hetao as barriers, the Xianbei could hardly pose a major threat to the Han Dynasty.

Chen Zhen had little experience in war and could not understand the deep meaning of Huo Jun's words. He just smiled and said, "Since the Grand Marshal has said this, Your Majesty may be relieved!"

On that day, Huo Jun invited Chen Zhen to a banquet, and all the generals were present to enjoy the music.

The next day, Chen Zhen refused Huo Jun's request to stay, citing urgent matters as an excuse, and returned the same way.

When Chen Zhen arrived in Shouchun, Liu Chan had already received news from Chen Zhen.

As Jiang Ji said, Liu Chan breathed a sigh of relief when he learned that Huo Jun really did not obey the King of Qi's edict. However, in order to show his favor to Huo Jun and his respect for his merits, Liu Chan issued an order to reward him generously.

Zhijiang County was granted to Huo Jun, and together with Jiangling County, it became the fief of Duke Jiangling. In addition, six beautiful women were given as Huo Yi had mentioned.

In addition to the above, Liu Chan personally said, "The south of the Yangtze River is under my control; the north of the Huai River, you should work hard." The emperor gave Huo Jun nine flags, and Huo Jun was fully responsible for the war against Wei.

Liu Chan issued an edict to Zhuge Liang, Lu Xun, Huang Quan and other generals, and the Grand Marshal set up nine banners to issue the teaching order, just like my personal order. If there is any conflict between the teaching order and the regulation order, the teaching order shall prevail in matters north of the Huai River, and the regulation order shall prevail in matters south of the Yangtze River.

The envoy was even more important. Zhang Zhao held the imperial seal and went to the army on behalf of Liu Chan to issue the decree.

When Huo Jun received the edict from Liu Chan, even though he was already in power, he was still moved.

The king and the general issue instructions and the emperor issues edicts and decrees.

In ancient times, the emperor's orders were greater than the orders of the emperor's generals, and there had never been a general who was greater than the emperor's orders. Even Cao Cao, when he conferred titles on hundreds of officials, often used the emperor's orders to confer titles on hundreds of officials.

In order to show courtesy to Huo Jun, or to facilitate Huo Jun's northern expedition to destroy Wei, Liu Chan directly promoted the position of Grand Marshal, controlling the armies of Zhuge Liang, Lu Xun and others, and giving him the power to appoint officials.

Of course, there are restrictions, that is, Huo Jun's orders are only higher than the orders of the emperor when the nine flags of the emperor are present. After Liu Chan took back the nine flags of the emperor, Huo Jun's orders were no longer more effective than the orders of the emperor.

Even so, one cannot help but marvel at Liu Chan's magnanimity and Huo Jun's power.

On that day, Huo Jun erected the emperor's nine flags outside the tent, and equipped them with drums, golden axe, curved canopy and other items of conquest given by Liu Chan, showing off his momentum. If you don't look closely to see the number of items, you might think it was the emperor going to war.

Jiang Ji watched from afar and secretly said to Huo Jun, "Emperor Quan, please stop this!"

In order to keep a low profile, Huo Jun changed the nine flags to seven flags!
(End of this chapter)