Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 715: Many Righteous Men in Hebei

As the war came to an end, dark clouds rolled in the sky, making the sky darker and darker. The air was damp and hot, and it seemed like it was going to rain.

On the banks of the Sishui River, the defeated Wei soldiers, under the pressure of the Han army, ignored the orders of the Wei army officers to form a battle array and fled everywhere to seek a way to survive. In order to gain military merits, the Han soldiers kept their formation tight and slaughtered the Wei soldiers who had lost their organization.

The Wei soldiers fled frantically to the rear and crowded into each other, making the already chaotic crowd even more chaotic and disrupting the plans of the Wei army officers to reorganize the phalanx.

In the crowded situation, many people were pushed into the Sishui River. Those who were good at swimming jumped directly into the Sishui River, trying to swim across the river to survive. But on the other side of the Sishui River, Huo Du had already dispersed his troops to capture the Wei soldiers crossing the river.

If they could not swim, many unlucky Wei soldiers would drown in the Si River under the push of the crowd, and then their bodies would float on the water. Or, seeing that there was no way to retreat, many Wei soldiers gave up escaping and begged for surrender to the Han soldiers who slaughtered them.

However, the Han soldiers, motivated by military merit or perhaps blinded by killing, would never allow the Wei soldiers to surrender and would continue to wield their butcher knives and reap their lives.

Massacres, drownings, tramplings, and surrenders were constantly happening on the river bank. Faced with the threat of death, the Wei soldiers did not gather to fight, but cowardly fled and surrendered.

It is hard to imagine why they are the same group of people, but with such a huge contrast just due to the different time and circumstances!

Huo Jun sat upright under the canopy, gazing at the bloody scene on the banks of the Sishui River. He did not give any orders to stop the incident, but remained unmoved.

Huo Jun knew very well that, given the current situation, this battle might be the last chance for many soldiers to make great contributions. Once Wang Ling's army was annihilated, China would not be able to fight a major war in the short term.

After watching for a long time, he saw that many Wei soldiers would rather wade through the water to survive than surrender to the Han army. Jiang Ji felt a little reluctant and said, "Commander-in-chief, now that the Wei army has no more strength to resist, should we allow the Wei soldiers to surrender?"

"Ok!"

Huo Jun's expression softened a bit, and he said, "Order Zhou Cang, Quan Cong, Ding Feng and other troops to line up and not advance, and send people to persuade the remaining Cao Wei troops to surrender. Anyone who does not surrender before nightfall will be regarded as an enemy and executed immediately without mercy."

The cavalrymen rode their horses and gave the order to stop fighting.

Within a few breaths, under the orders of the officers and soldiers of various divisions, the Han army's infantrymen stopped their movements one after another, began to reorganize their ranks, and arranged themselves into a tighter infantry formation.

Under the horrified eyes of the Wei army's fleeing soldiers, dozens of Wei soldiers who surrendered came out of the tunnel and shouted loudly: "The Han Grand Marshal has ordered that anyone who does not surrender before nightfall will be killed immediately without mercy."

"If you don't surrender by night, you will be killed immediately!"

The Han soldiers shouted in unison, signaling the surviving Wei soldiers to surrender.

Although several Wei soldiers on the periphery wanted to surrender, they were still frightened by the previous massacre by the Han army.

One of the bravest among them voluntarily gave up his weapon and walked towards the Han army. Seeing someone surrendering, the surrendered soldier guided him out through the tunnel and told him where he could get Hu Bing.

Someone took the lead and the rest of the people abandoned their weapons, took off their armor, and followed the previous person. The surrender of a few people led to more people surrendering, and hundreds of people surrendered. Even if the loyal Wei people scolded them, it was useless.

Before long, armor and weapons were piled up into a mountain, and the Wei flag was thrown on the ground. The Wei soldiers trampled on it at will, and the dust stained the word "Wei" so that it was blurred.

As the Wei army was on the rout, they learned that the Han army had begun to solicit surrenders, and large numbers of Wei soldiers surrendered. Wang Ling was completely despairing.

"How can the vast heaven be so unkind to Ling!"

Wang Ling looked at the weak setting sun in the sky and sighed, "We have defeated Huo Jun and our army is annihilated. The Wei Dynasty will perish!"

Before the battle, Wang Ling was anxious because Huo Jun had run out of food and didn't know what to do.

At the beginning of the war, the defeat of Wen Qin and Yu Shao's troops gave Wang Lingzhen a glimpse of the dawn of victory. He defeated Huo Jun, broke the myth of his invincibility, and saved the Wei Dynasty from danger.

Then, for unknown reasons, the situation suddenly turned against them. First, Guanqiu Jian was killed in battle, and the cavalry on the left wing fled; then the Southern Xiongnu fled, and the right wing was broken again.

Wang Ling's heart sank after the failure of the cavalry on both wings. But he still did not despair. As long as he could break through the center of the Han army, he would be able to turn defeat into victory.

However, the reality kept disappointing him. The Hun infantry in the center of the army were armored troops with extremely strong combat effectiveness, which made it impossible for him to attack the center in a short period of time.

Unable to achieve victory in the middle route, the defeat of Xie Jun and Linghu Jun's troops, as well as the rout of the central army, gradually made Wang Ling fall into despair.

Now Huo Jun persuaded the Wei soldiers to surrender, and he had nowhere to escape, which made him completely desperate. He felt helpless because he had put all his efforts into the battle but suffered a miserable defeat, and lamented the fate of the decline of the Wei Dynasty.

"Uncle, the Han people said that anyone who does not surrender by nightfall will be killed immediately without mercy."

Linghu Jun thought for a while and said, "I wonder what my uncle is thinking about?"

Because of his despair about the situation, Wang Ling aged a lot in an instant, and said: "There is no escape now. If Gongye wants to surrender to Han, he can lead his army to surrender."

"What about my uncle?" Linghu Jun asked.

"I?"

Wang Ling looked dead, and said in a gloomy voice: "The Wei family has been kind to me, so how can I surrender to the Han? When the country is destroyed, someone will die to show his loyalty."

Linghu Jun did not want Wang Ling to die, and advised him: "Wei usurped the Han Dynasty and your uncle was originally a Han official. Why should you die for the Wei Dynasty?"

Wang Ling shook his head and replied, "The Zhou Dynasty lasted for 800 years, but was eventually destroyed by the Qin. Although the Han Dynasty was able to rise three times, it eventually fell. Although the Wei Dynasty fell suddenly, it was grateful to me for recognizing and supporting it. In the past, Master Zishi fell for the Han Dynasty, and I will die for the Wei Dynasty. That's how it is!"

"This~"

After hesitating for a moment, Linghu Jun wept and bowed to Wang Ling. Wang Ling chose to be buried with Cao Wei, but Linghu Jun could not do that. He was still young, had not made any great achievements, and had not yet returned home in glory, so how could he be buried with Cao Wei?

After bowing three times to Wang Ling, Linghu Jun led his troops away in tears.

Although Linghu Jun loves fame and fortune, he is not capable of using his uncle's brain to pave the way for himself.

After Linghu Jun surrendered by presenting the sword and seal to Quan Cong, generals Qian Zhao, Le Chen, Shanyang County Magistrate Wang Jing and others successively handed over their swords and seals to the Han generals in surrender.

At dusk, the sky will darken.

Huo Jun sat on the chair, waiting for the news of surrender.

After a while, Zhou Cang rode his horse and appeared in Huo Jun's sight. He dismounted and came quickly, saying, "Mingsir, all the Wei troops have surrendered except Wang Ling!"

"Where is Wang Ling?" Huo Jun asked.

Zhou Cang bowed and said, "According to Linghu Jun, Wang Ling was seriously injured and died. However, Cang sent someone to investigate and found that he did not die from his injuries, but committed suicide with a sword!"

“There are many heroes in Hebei!”

Hearing this, Huo Jun sighed slightly and said, "Order someone to bury Wang Ling properly. Don't be cold to a righteous man."

"promise!"

Jiang Ji hesitated for a moment and said, "Commander-in-chief, Wang Ling was a general who rebelled against Wei. If we build a tomb for him now, I'm afraid it will cause criticism!"

Huo Jun held the whip behind his back and said calmly: "The king's army has a duty to punish. A dog barks at its master and should not be regarded as a traitor. This is how Kuai Tong was spared from being slaughtered by Emperor Han. Now that Henan has been conquered, we should be lenient and generous to comfort the surrendered people."

"Now Wang Ling is similar to Kuai Tong. Moreover, Ling is a righteous man who died for his country. Even if he is an enemy, he should be respected."

"Arouse criticism?"

As he spoke, Huo Jun smiled faintly and said, "When I am in power, I am never afraid of what ordinary people say."

Huo Jun has attracted a lot of criticism since he came to power. Is he afraid of this little criticism?
If building a tomb for Wang Ling would cause political problems, then Huo Jun could only say that the Southern Han Dynasty was inferior to the Western Han Dynasty.

Kuai Tong instigated Han Xin to rebel, but Liu Bang captured him and then pardoned him. It was because of Liu Bang's broad-mindedness that the Western Han Dynasty was able to quickly establish its rule.

Although Huo Jun was not the emperor, he was the ruler of Southern Han and had to establish an image of magnanimity.

"Commander-in-chief, what should we do with the surrendered soldiers?" Jiang Ji asked.

Huo Jun thought for a moment and said, "Let Ziyu guard the surrendered soldiers, count the number of surrendered soldiers, and then report it."

As he spoke, Huo Jun thought of the Wei soldiers in the Wei camp and said, "Order Zihuang to persuade the Wei camp soldiers to surrender. If they don't surrender tomorrow, order all the troops to attack them."

"promise!"

"Now that Wang Ling's army has been defeated, does the commander-in-chief want to take Pengcheng?" Jiang Ji asked.

"It's easy to break Pengcheng!"

Huo Jun pointed to the flag on the ground and said with a smile: "We can follow the strategy of defeating Sun Yu at the Wanshui River."

Hearing this, Jiang Ji's eyes lit up and he said, "The governor has a great idea. The Si River flows out of Mount Tai in the north and flows into Xia Pi in the south. The governor went along the river to take Pengcheng, and the soldiers and horses were exhausted from the rush. Now the defeated flags and broken armor are flowing into the river. When the Wei soldiers guarding the city see it, they know that most of Wang Ling's troops have been defeated, so they can only surrender or flee."

"good!"

Huo Jun paced back and forth, with his hands behind his back, and smiled, saying, "The troops in Pengcheng are nothing to worry about. Our army will go downstream to Luhu, connect the Si and Ji rivers, repair the Shimen waterway, and advance during the high water in midsummer. Then the gates to the capital will be wide open, and Luoyang can be taken!"

Wang Ling's army was annihilated, and the only obstacle on the Sishui River was Lü Qian, who was defending Pengcheng. Huo Jun did not plan to go south to attack Pengcheng in person, but instead planned to spread the news of Wang Ling's defeat to make Lü Qian surrender to the Han Dynasty or leave Pengcheng.

As for the arrangements for the Northern Expedition Army, Huo Jun planned to rest for a few days, formulate a plan for the western expedition to Luoyang, and then move the troops to Hulu to dredge the Jishui River so that boats carrying food could move westward.

Jiang Ji stroked his beard and thought, and said, "Wang Ling's army has been annihilated, and the counties in Henan should be appeased. We should select candidates for governors and county magistrates, especially Taishan, Luguo, Rencheng, Jibei, Shanyang, Dongping and other counties."

"Ok!"

Huo Jun nodded and agreed, saying: "Now we can select talented people from the surrendered generals to serve as officials, to show that we treat everyone equally. But they cannot be allowed to command the army, only to serve in civilian positions."

After a pause, Huo Jun said, "I heard that Qian Zhao and the late emperor had a sworn brotherhood. Now that he has led his troops to surrender to the Han, we should not humiliate him, but rather use him. Moreover, many of the counties in Henan have relatives and old friends with the Cao family. We should separate the two states of Yu and Yan and set up a new state to govern them."

Cao Cao started his career in Henan and operated for decades, so Cao Wei had a strong influence in Henan. If Yanzhou and Yuzhou maintained their old systems, it would be difficult for the Han Dynasty to quickly pacify the local areas. It was necessary to follow Xu Sheng's example and appoint military generals as governors of Qingzhou to pacify the remaining forces in the counties.

"The governor might as well order Mr. Gu to move to Shouchun and pacify the prefectures and counties in Henan to serve as a coordination agency," Jiang Ji suggested.

Huo Jun stopped and said, "We can do as Zitong said and have Gu Jun move to Shouchun to manage the affairs. And we can submit a memorial to His Majesty to explain the reasons for the adjustment."

"promise!"

(End of this chapter)