Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 703: Long March to Hebei
In 228 AD, spring.

Due to the warming climate, the ice surface of Si Shui suddenly melted, the river water collided with the ice, and waves surged up.

The Han soldiers were training vigorously on the training ground under the command of their generals. As they had not marched in the winter, they had gained some weight.

Huo Jun led his men to inspect the camp. Seeing the soldiers' positive spirits, he nodded approvingly.

On the parade ground, Huo Jun took advantage of the soldiers' rest and joined the crowd.

Seeing that it was Huo Jun who came to visit, the soldiers stood up and shouted, "Grand Marshal!"

"Everyone sit down!"

Huo Jun pressed both sides down and said in a gentle tone: "You have worked hard in the training team, sit down and rest."

Because of Huo Jun's presence, the lively atmosphere of conversation disappeared and everyone became restrained.

Huo Jun was already used to it, so he pointed to an old soldier who looked familiar and asked, "You have been away for more than a year now, do you miss home?"

The old soldier replied stiffly: "I am following the army to the north, but the traitors have not been eliminated. How dare I miss my hometown?"

"hehe!"

Huo Jun naturally didn't believe it, and said with a smile: "It's normal for people to miss their homeland, so there's no need to be afraid to answer. To be honest with you, I sometimes miss my wife and children at home, but they are only thousands of miles away, so I can only think of them from afar."

Then Huo Jun pointed at the old soldier and asked, "Have you made any military achievements today?"

The old soldier shook his head and said awkwardly, "He only made a small contribution, not the great merit of beheading or climbing the city wall."

"If you were given the chance, would you be willing to go home to see your wife and children?" Huo Jun asked.

The old soldier hesitated for a while and said, "I want to, but I haven't made any great achievements and the rewards are not great. I dare not return home empty-handed!"

"Yes!"

Huo Jun said, "We have been on the expedition for more than a year, and most of the soldiers have not made any great achievements. They dare not return to see their wives and children empty-handed."

Then, Huo Jun changed the subject and said, "So if you want to go home, you have to defeat the bandits, make achievements, get a share of the land, get promoted, and get rewards of money and food. Only then can you say that you have returned home in glory and see your family."

"To be honest, if we can defeat the bandits in one battle, I will lead you all to Luoyang to restore the old capital and destroy the bandits. By then, each of you will be rewarded, promoted, rich, and bring honor to your family, no problem."

Seeing that the promise was somewhat empty, Huo Jun smiled and said, "Luoyang is the capital of the bandit country. If we can take it now, the soldiers in the army should share the treasury in the city."

"Great Sima is mighty!"

"Long live the Grand Marshal!"

Hearing Huo Jun's promise, the soldiers present became excited and shouted slogans randomly.

In an agricultural society, talking about ideals and aspirations with soldiers is too empty. Only when you talk about interests can you mobilize their emotions. With enough interests, they are willing to listen to your ideal of restoring the Han Dynasty.

As for the matter of taking the treasury, it was an unspoken rule for the Han army. The first person to do so was none other than Liu Bei, the founder of Hanzhong.

When Liu Bei conquered Jiangdong in the east, in order to stimulate the fighting spirit of his soldiers, he agreed to share the money and grain from the Wu county treasury; when he took control of Jingzhou, Liu Bei was even more generous in rewarding his subordinates and was never stingy; when he conquered Bashu in the west, Liu Bei still maintained the original operation and agreed to take the Chengdu treasury.

With Liu Bei's precedent, he conquered Xiangyang, took Shouchun, and took Qingqi. In a series of wars, the soldiers would share the money from the treasury. Now Luoyang is the capital of Cao Wei, and its treasury must have more money. Sharing the money in Luoyang with the soldiers will further stimulate their desire to fight.

After all, if you don't let your men plunder and massacre the city, you will have to pay a certain price. And if you reward them before the war, they may develop the bad habit of working without working hard.

"Commander-in-chief, the young general has reported victory!" The attendant came over and whispered.

"it is good!"

Huo Jun responded, patted the old soldier on the shoulder, and asked, "Have you got married, son?"

"The boy is still young, and we can discuss his marriage in about three years!" the old soldier replied.

Huo Jun smiled and said, "Send me an invitation when the time comes, and I'll give you a donation as a gift."

"Thank you, General!" the old soldier replied happily.

Facing everyone's envious gazes, the old soldier straightened his chest and looked very proud!
After chatting with the lower-level soldiers for a while, Huo Jun left the queue.

During the more than 20 years that Huo Jun was in charge of the army, whenever he was in the barracks, regardless of wind or rain, Huo Jun would go deep into the grassroots and maintain close relationships with the soldiers. This may have been a show, but it allowed the soldiers to work hard for Huo Jun.

This was not the first time that Huo Jun had done this. Perhaps Huo Jun could not write it down, but his attendants would write it down for him, and then have it sent to Wuhan, where it would be handled by Master Bu Lian.

After leaving the noisy training ground, Jiang Ji handed the victory report from Qingqi to Huo Jun.

"Commander-in-chief, Xiahou Ba and his brother surrendered Linzi. Now, all the land east of Mount Tai and south of the Yellow River have surrendered to our army," said Jiang Ji.

Hearing this, Huo Jun showed joy on his face and said with a smile: "Now that the younger generation has become a talent, they can help the adults share their worries!"

"Let's go!" Huo Jun pointed to the road ahead and signaled them to return to the big tent to continue the conversation.

Back in the big tent, Huo Jun took off his shoes and put on socks, sat cross-legged, opened the letter and read it.

Huo Fan first expressed his regards for Huo Jun's health in the letter, and then truthfully recounted the process of Xiahou Ba's surrender and his treatment of Xiahou Ba.

Next, Huo Fan consulted Huo Jun about the task, and attached his own opinion, which was to send troops across the Yellow River, take advantage of the weakness of Cao Wei's forces, and march north to attack Pingyuan, Bohai, and Leling counties in Jizhou.

Not only that, Huo Fan also suggested to Huo Jun that after defeating Wang Ling, he should not take the He and Ji rivers to Xingyang, but instead march from Daye Lake in Jiyin County and head straight to Yecheng, rather than engage in a fight with the Wei army in the capital.

Finally, Huo Fan stated that for the upcoming Northern Expedition, he had ordered boats to sail around the Shandong Peninsula to see if they could enter the Yellow River from its mouth.

"Governor, is there any unrest in Qizhou?"

Seeing Huo Jun watching the letter without saying anything, Jiang Ji asked.

"No!"

Huo Jun handed the letter to Jiang Ji, saying: "It is only Shi Zai who wants to lead the army to directly take Hebei, rather than heading west to take the capital."

Jiang Ji and Zhou Qian read the letters separately, each with a thoughtful look on their face.

Zhou Cang considered the situation and said, "Mingsir, Huo Qizhou's plan to take Hebei is a feasible strategy. However, if we cross Hebei to attack Jizhou, I am afraid that the Wei army will cut off the ferry. If our army's food supply is cut off, the army will be isolated in Hebei and fall into a disadvantageous situation."

"Look at the current of the Yellow River. If we sail against the current, our army will be slow because we don't know the current. We should look for a ferry to the south and set up camp!"

"What's your opinion, Zi Tong?" Huo Jun asked.

Jiang Ji stroked his beard and chanted, saying, "Reporting to the governor, if we can take Hebei directly, China can be conquered overnight. But I am afraid that it is too radical and there is a risk of defeat. It is safer to lead the troops west to take the capital and gather all the troops in Luoyang."

There are examples of northern expeditions from the Shandong Peninsula to Hebei. For example, during the Longfeng Northern Expedition led by Han Song, after the Eastern Army conquered the Shandong Peninsula, it led its troops across the Yellow River and went up along the coast, aiming directly at the Yuan capital.

However, in addition to the Eastern Route Army, there was also the Central Route Army that marched north along the Grand Canal and joined the Western Route Army in Luoyang. The Western Route Army went the farthest and entered the Korean Peninsula. Later, Xu Da's Northern Expedition, to a certain extent, borrowed from the route of the Longfeng Northern Expedition.

Therefore, Huo Fan's proposal to attack Hebei from Shandong was feasible in terms of the route of the troops. However, Jiang Ji thought Huo Jun's suggestion to take Yecheng directly was too radical.

Huo Jun thought about the situation in the Central Plains and said, "It is too risky to swallow up Hebei. We need to march west to the capital and go to Luoyang with other troops to recover the old capital and inform the world. When the old capital is recovered, we will attack Hebei again."

As the war progressed, the situation gradually turned in favor of the Han Dynasty, and Huo Jun did not want to take risks at this critical juncture. If Huo Fan's strategy was followed, it would be best to conquer Hebei. If Hebei was not conquered, this Northern Expedition would end in failure.

Of course, Huo Jun had other plans. If he could defeat Wang Ling and march into Luoyang, his reputation would reach its peak and no one would be able to match him. If he took Hebei, his military exploits would make it difficult for the imperial court.

Since Huo Jun had a plan to return power to the Han Dynasty, he planned to recover the old capital and then petition Liu Chan to move the capital to Luoyang or Chang'an. Then he would give up the military power and let Liu Chan lead the army to conquer the three states of Hebei, Ji, You and Bing, in order to help establish Liu Chan's prestige.

As Huo Jun expected, when Liu Chan led the army to the north, he would follow the routine, traveling from Luoyang to Yecheng. After all, Henan had been pacified, Hebei was isolated, and there was more surrender than fighting, and more appeasement than suppression.

Listening to Huo Jun's words, Zhou Cang asked, "Should we order Huo Qizhou to lead his troops westward to join our army?"

"No!"

Huo Jun shook his head and said, "Let Huo Qizhou send troops to harass Hebei. Our army's plan remains unchanged. We will work together with General Gao to open up the Sishui River."

Huo Jun's troops were the main force, and it was too risky to cross the river and directly attack Yecheng. Huo Fan, as a detachment, could help the main army share a lot of pressure by sending troops to Hebei.

After all, Hebei was the base of Cao Wei. Huo Fan's attack on Hebei could, on the one hand, interfere with Hebei's supply of troops and taxes to Cao Wei. On the other hand, Cao Wei would need to divide its troops to attack Huo Fan's troops.

On the contrary, Huo Fan was a small army that advanced along the coast. Even if he was defeated, it would not affect the overall situation and he could still retreat by boat.

Such a surprising division of forces would help Huo Jun and Zhuge Liang to quickly capture Luoyang and establish contact with Lu Xun.

"In the past, Emperor Gaozu fought for Henan and Han Xin went to Hebei. They advanced together and defeated Xiang Yu and fled to Gaixia. Now the commander-in-chief is conquering the capital and the major general is attacking the coast. We should follow Emperor Gaozu's strategy to conquer the world." Jiang Ji praised.

Zhou Cang thought for a long time and said, "Mingsir, should we send an envoy to Liaodong and grant him official titles to induce Sun Quan to rebel against Wei and submit to Han, so as to confuse the people of Cao Wei?"

"feasible!"

Huo Jun stroked his mustache and said with a smile, "I heard that Sun Quan replaced the governor of Pingzhou and sent Rui Xuan to cut off the road to Liao. He may have the intention of rebellion. Let's send an envoy to persuade him to surrender to the Han Dynasty."

"promise!"

The issue of Sun Quan's separatist rule over Liaodong is something that will be resolved in the future. The main contradiction now lies in destroying Wei. Once Wei no longer exists, Hexi, Liaodong and Xianbei will sooner or later be resolved one by one by Southern Han.

Judging from the future situation, if Sun Quan can be sensible and offer the Liao land in surrender, he will be able to gain wealth and honor; if he is stubborn and refuses to surrender, his clan will be exterminated and he will die.

"As spring comes and winter goes, the morale of the soldiers is high, and the Si River has thawed and risen. The governor should be able to use the troops!" Jiang Ji said.

"good!"

(End of this chapter)