Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 702: Linzi is conquered
February of the fifth year of Jianxing.

Since Huo Fan was appointed as the governor of Qizhou, in order to capture the small city of Linzi, he first occupied the big city of Linzi, and then built a camp outside the small city, surrounding it so that no one could get in or out.

During this period, Huo Fan asked the siege supervisor Zhang Fen to build siege equipment, including flying towers, battering rams, wooden curtains and other offensive and defensive equipment, and launched a fierce offensive and defensive battle with Xiahou Ba who was defending the city.

Especially since Cao Hong was ordered to return to Hebei, Xu Sheng led the Qingzhou soldiers into the battlefield, and the intensity of the siege suddenly increased.

Xiahou Ba held the city for half a year, but finally ran out of food and showed signs of weakness, so he had to send She Xun to escape in secret at night to ask Cao Hong for help. However, when She Xun was escaping in secret, he was discovered by Han scouts and captured on the spot.

After Yu Xun was captured, he was unwilling to surrender to Southern Han, but after Hu Zhi's emotional persuasion, he hesitated for many days and finally chose to surrender to Southern Han.

In order to demoralize the defenders, Huo Fan sent Yu Xun and the Wei soldiers who had surrendered before to go around the city. However, Huo Fan was worried that Yu Xun was pretending to surrender, so he did not dare to let Yu Xun contact the Wei soldiers defending the city, and only let Yu Xun go around the city. The other surrendered Wei soldiers shouted that Ke Bineng had defeated Cao Hong and there was no reinforcement in Linzi.

When the soldiers and civilians in the city saw this situation and their food and grass were running out, everyone, including Xiahou Ba, became panicked and lost their will to hold out.

Seeing that people's hearts were in turmoil, Huo Fan took advantage of Xiahou Ru's arrival at the front of the army and simply increased his efforts, asking Xiahou Ru to persuade Xiahou Ba to surrender.

Xiahou Ru, surrounded by Han cavalry, arrived at the small city of Linzi. Upon hearing the news, the brothers Xiahou Ba and Xiahou Hui climbed the city walls to meet Xiahou Ru.

Xiahou Ru mustered up his courage, looked up at the tower, and shouted, "Where is Zhong Quan?"

Seeing that it was Xiahou Ru who had surrendered long ago, Xiahou Ba was furious and cursed: "Xiahou Junlin, you have betrayed your country, how dare you see me!"

Xiahou Ru felt a little ashamed, but for the sake of his mission, he still shouted: "The rise and fall of a country is determined by fate. The Central Han Dynasty fell because of its lack of morality, and the world was in chaos, with Han and Wei coexisting. Now the Wei Dynasty is lawless, and the Later Han Dynasty is rising. This is destiny, why do you make a mistake?"

Xiahou Ru analyzed the situation and said, "Guo Huai of Hexi was defeated at Fengyi Mountain, Wei Yan is heading for Chang'an by the Jing River, the situation in Guanxi is tense and difficult to determine; General Zhang He was ambushed and killed, the capital is shaken, and Prime Minister Ge has driven 200 miles to Yingchuan."

"Xianbei Chanyu Kebi Neng, following the edict of the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, led 100,000 cavalrymen to raid Hebei. War broke out in Youzhou, Bingzhou, and Jizhou. Lord Huo's troops were divided into two groups and marched straight to Yanzhou. Wang Ling was in a state of panic. Looking at the current situation, it is clear that the Han Dynasty will rise and the Wei Dynasty will decline. Zhongquan must not persist in his mistake!"

Under Xiahou Ru's persuasion, the soldiers on the Linzi city wall whispered to each other, vaguely revealing their willingness to surrender.

Seeing that the people around him were demoralized, Xiahou Ba, who was humiliated and angry, shouted, "Shut up!"

As he spoke, Xiahou Ba snatched the bow and arrow from the servant's hand, aimed at Xiahou Ru who was standing under the city, and said, "Quickly retreat, or don't blame me for not recognizing you."

Seeing this, Xiahou Hui hurriedly stopped Xiahou Ba and advised: "Brother, although Junlin surrendered to the Han army, he is a member of the Xiahou clan and cannot be killed now."

Xiahou Ba said angrily: "Zhi Quan, have you forgotten your father's affairs?"

Xiahou Hui said stubbornly: "My father died at the hands of Huang Zhong. What does that have to do with Jun Lin?"

"Ugh!"

Xiahou Ba put down his bow and arrow helplessly and sighed!

Xiahou Ru struck while the iron was hot and continued, "My late ancestor Duke Teng was favored by the Han Dynasty for generations. He lived to be a hundred years old, and his name was passed down in the Han court, and his virtues were passed down to his descendants. Whenever he entered the Middle Han Dynasty, he hoped to help the emperors in times of trouble and served them. During the Later Han Dynasty, the Empress was from the Xiahou family and was a model for the whole country. Why is Zhongquan now guarding Linzi and forgetting the kindness of the Han Dynasty?"

If one wanted to find a family that could get along well in both Han and Wei, the Xiahou family of Qiao County was the only one. In the Southern Han Dynasty, the Xiahou family was not only the mother of the queen, but also related to the Huo family by marriage.

Moreover, under the deliberate division and attraction of the Southern Han Dynasty, the Xiahou family was considered to be a special relative of the Southern Han Dynasty. Although their status was not very high, it was not much lower either.

Taking Xiahou Ru as an example, there were many Wei officials who surrendered to the Southern Han, but only Xiahou Ru was appointed as one of the Nine Ministers.

Today, Xiahou Ru brought up the complicated relationship between the Xiahou clan and the Han Dynasty, leaving Xiahou Ba and Xiahou Hui on the tower speechless. After all, no matter what, the rise of the Xiahou clan was closely related to the first ancestor Xiahou Ying. Xiahou Ying assisted Liu Bang and was a founding hero of the Han Dynasty.

Xiahou Hui was good at writing, and immediately said: "My Xiahou family has been deeply benevolent to Wei, how can we abandon justice for the sake of distant benefits?"

Xiahou Ru said earnestly, "I dare not forget the kindness of the Northern Kingdom, so I joined the army to fight for the country. However, the Northern Kingdom is in chaos, and my loyalty is ineffective. It can be said that God has lost the country and praised the Han. A wise man sees the opportunity and acts, and I dare not fail to do so!"

"Don't say anything more, leave immediately!"

Xiahou Ba's tone was not as firm as before, but he shouted at Xiahou Ru to leave.

Seeing that he could not persuade Xiahou Ba to surrender, Xiahou Ru had no choice but to rein in his horse and return, telling Huo Fan what had happened.

After Xiahou Ru left, Xiahou Hui looked at the tower where people were worried and asked anxiously, "Brother, the situation is not favorable for our country. The food and supplies in the city are running out. What can we do?"

"This~"

Xiahou Ba looked around, not knowing what to say, and was speechless for a moment.

"What different opinions does Zhiquan have?" Xiahou Ba asked back.

Xiahou Hui shook his head and said, "There are only two options now, one is to surrender to the Han, the other is to fight to the death." As he spoke, Xiahou Hui glanced at the soldiers on the tower and said, "But the people in the city are demoralized and have no intention of defending the city. My brother and I want to fight to the death for our country, but I am afraid that the soldiers have no intention of fighting to the death."

Xiahou Ba was silent for a long time, then said, "Zhi Quan is young, he should not have died in Linzi city."

"Brother, do you want to surrender?" Xiahou Hui asked.

"Please let me think about it for a moment!" Xiahou Ba said vaguely.

Although Xiahou Ba is not a coward, he is not the kind of person who is not afraid of life and death.

Historically, after Sima Yi's coup, he was worried about being executed and had a rift with Guo Huai, so he led his men to defect to Shu Han.

Now Xiahou Ba has been holding on to Linzi for nearly half a year, and he has reached his limit. If Cao Hong's troops were outside, Xiahou Ba might still be able to hold on, but he has not seen any signs of reinforcements for a long time, so it is difficult for him to have the confidence to hold on.

Not to mention that Xiahou Ba's thoughts were shaken by Xiahou Ru's persuasion to surrender, Xiahou Ru has now told Huo Fan the truth about what happened under the city.

Inside the big tent, Huo Fan and Xu Sheng listened to Xiahou Ru's story, each with a thoughtful look on their face.

Xu Sheng suggested, "Xiahou Ba has no intention of surrendering yet. We should lead our troops to attack the city immediately to frighten Xiahou Ba and force him to surrender."

"Xiahou Ba is not a coward. If we force him now, it might backfire." Huo Fan considered and said, "Xiahou Hui is young and well-versed in literature. He is not a man of blood and sweat. Let's see if we can get him to surrender first."

"What does Huo Qizhou mean?" Xu Sheng asked.

Huo Fan pondered for a moment and said, "Looking at what Xiahou Ba and Xiahou Hui did today, they seem to be wavering. It would be better to have the Minister of Rites write to Xiahou Hui and explain the pros and cons to him, to see if he can persuade Xiahou Hui to surrender. If Xiahou Hui is willing to surrender, he will take advantage of the situation to persuade Xiahou Ba to surrender to us."

"As for Xiahou Ba, I will use the name of Grand Marshal to explain the current situation to him and urge him to surrender. Xu Qingzhou can contact the soldiers in the city to lure them out of the city and surrender to me!"

"good!"

The three of them decided on a plan to persuade the enemy to surrender, and each of them sent letters to Linzi City through different channels.

When Xiahou Ba received the letter written by Huo Fan on behalf of Huo Jun, he was somewhat surprised, but did not feel much. It was not until he read the contents of the letter that Xiahou Ba felt something.

In the letter, Huo Fan used Huo Yi's wife to establish a relationship with the Xiahou family and they called each other relatives.

After laying the groundwork, Huo Fan told Xiahou Ba the details he didn't know, such as Sun Quan's escape to Liaodong to establish his own regime, Zhao Yun's attack to Yique Pass, Zhang Xiong's surrender by offering the city, all the counties of Qing and Qi surrendering, and Cao Wei having no troops to send.

After discussing the current situation, Huo Fan talked to Xiahou Ba about his hometown, trying his best to arouse Xiahou Ba's homesickness.

Finally, Huo Fan recounted Xiahou Yuan's experience from the perspective of the person involved. He said that although he and Xiahou Yuan had never met, they had fought for a long time and had come to respect each other. The two armies fought and the generals died in battle, which was God's will.

Moreover, Xiahou Yuan did not die at his hands, but died due to an accidental incident, Deer Horn. The eldest son of the emperor and his grandson are both nephews of the Xiahou family. The Liu, Huo and Xiahou families are related by marriage, which must be a matter of fate. I hope Xiahou Ba will not bear a grudge against it.

Huo Jun also said from the perspective of a father that if Xiahou Yuan were still alive, he would not want to see the two Xiahou brothers trapped and dying in the lonely city. After all, Xiahou Ba surrendered not because he was afraid of death, but because he was in dire straits.

After reading the words in the letter, Xiahou Ba tossed and turned that night, unable to sleep, not knowing whether to surrender to the Han or continue to hold on.

The next day, the commander of the north gate of the city was discovered by Xiahou Ba's troops while communicating with Xu Sheng through letters, and he immediately reported it to Xiahou Ba.

Upon learning that his trusted men had rebelled due to the desperate situation, Xiahou Ba knew that Linzi could not be defended and sighed helplessly.

After some hesitation and consideration, Xiahou Ba sent his younger brother Xiahou Hui to contact Huo Fan and Xiahou Ru to express his willingness to surrender.

Huo Fan was overjoyed and immediately invited Xiahou Hui to a banquet. He also deliberately sent Xiahou Hui to the outskirts of Linzi city so that all Wei soldiers could see him in order to prevent Xiahou Ba from pretending to surrender.

After chatting with Xiahou Hui for several hours, Xiahou Ba no longer hesitated and led his troops to surrender the city to Huo Fan.

After taking Linzi City, Huo Fan sent Zhang Fen to lead troops to persuade Jinan County to surrender. He also recommended Xiahou Hui as the governor of Qi County and kept troops there to serve.

As for Xiahou Ba, Huo Fan prevented him from surrendering and then rebelling again, so he handed his troops over to Xiahou Hui to lead, and allowed him and Xiahou Ru to return to the capital, meet Liu Chan first, and then give him another official position.

The surrender of the brothers Xiahou Ba and Xiahou Hui made the cities on the Shandong Peninsula that had not surrendered lose confidence in holding on.

Under Huo Fan's invitation, all the counties south of the Yellow River surrendered to the Han. Of the five counties in Qizhou established by Huo Jun, only Pingyuan and Leling counties had no cities to surrender.

After entering Linzi, Huo Fan immediately sent a letter to Huo Jun, asking for the next move of the Qizhou troops, whether to join the main army to the west, stay in the area to pacify the counties, or cross the Yellow River to the north. In addition to asking about the direction of the troops, Huo Fan also attached his own suggestions on the current situation in the letter.

(End of this chapter)