Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 716 The general trend

After Quan Cong's persuasion for a whole night, more than 10,000 old and weak soldiers who stayed behind in Wei Village surrendered to the Han Dynasty, and the Cao Wei army led by Wang Ling was annihilated.

Inside the big tent, Huo Jun was chatting with Qian Zhao, asking about the situation in Cao Wei.

Huo Jun asked his attendant to serve tea to Qian Zhao and asked, "You have served in Cao Wei for a long time, do you know what the situation is like in the country?"

Qian Zhao thought for a while and said, "Your Excellency should not ask about the national situation, but the situation of Wei."

Qian Zhao was not a loyal person to Wei. After thinking about it last night, he decided to work for the Han Dynasty. Now Huo Jun chatted with him, not only about his old relationship with Liu Bei, but also to test his attitude. Therefore, his answer at that moment would determine his future position in the Han Dynasty.

"Oh?"

Huo Jun became somewhat interested and asked, "Why did Zijing say that?"

Qian Zhao gathered his thoughts and said, "Your Excellency's troops marched out of Henan and achieved remarkable successes; Cao's rule over China was ruthless and the war was defeated; Sun Quan caused chaos in Liaodong and sat on the mountain watching the tiger; the army fought for years and the manpower was exhausted; drought and locusts caused famine in China and the country had no food reserves. Today, the people are not stupid, they all know that the country is crumbling and people's hearts are lost."

"Your Excellency, you hold the armour and use it to intimidate China. You have only three goals in mind: to restore the old capital, to make the Han Dynasty rule the world, and to bring peace to the people. This is what you do to meet the will of the people. Therefore, judging from the current situation, the decline of Cao Wei is irreversible, and the fortunes of the Han Dynasty are with you."

Seeing that Huo Jun's interest was aroused, he bowed and said, "My Lord, you want to take over the capital, so now you can see what the Wei family values. One is the capital, and the other is Zhangye. If the Wei family wants to resist stubbornly, they can only protect themselves by occupying Hebei."

"Your Excellency should feign an attack on Hebei to divide the power of the Wei clan and force Cao Rui to move north to Zhangye. If he moves to Zhangye, the capital will be undefendable. Then, your Excellency will welcome the emperor back to the old capital, and together with the troops of Longshu, you can break through Guanzhong and recover the land south of the Yellow River."

"When Henan was pacified, the situation in the world was divided. Cao Rui ceded Hebei to protect himself, and the Han Dynasty sent three armies to the north to recover the world. The world was at peace, and the four seas were united. The people's hearts were in favor of you. Your reputation was so great that it would shine in the world and be recorded in history forever."

Huo Jun nodded slightly, showing satisfaction, and asked thoughtfully: "Why don't I go straight to the Yellow River, break through Yecheng, then take Hebei and head south to the capital?"

Qian Zhao pondered for a moment and said, "The Art of War says that if you attack a city for a long time, your troops will become dull and your strength will be weakened. If you attack a city for a long time, your army will be exhausted. If you attack the city of Ye, I don't think you will be able to attack it in a hurry. When Cao Cao captured Ye, even if he opened the Zhang River to flood it, it would still take a long time."

"Henan is now empty. If you use your military might to attack the other counties, it will be like an autumn wind sweeping away leaves, and no one can stop it. However, if you take Yecheng in the north, you will be defeated for a long time under the city. Your prestige will disappear, and I am afraid that the Chinese counties will surrender and then rebel again. This is not the common sense of military strategy!"

"If we fail to conquer Ye, we have to wait until next year when the harvest is good. The Wei people will be able to hold the city for a long time. But I don't know if you can stay in Henan for a long time. So we should first conquer the exhausted counties, and then plan for the land in Hebei. It's up to Cao Rui to decide whether to fight or surrender!"

Qian Zhao's words above include two major events. First, Qian Zhao analyzed the situation between Han and Wei for Huo Jun, saying that Wei's decline was inevitable, while Han could win the hearts of the people because it unified the country.

After all, the world had been in chaos for too long, and the common people and scholars had suffered from the wars. They were eager to unify the world. When the Han Dynasty showed a trend of unifying the world, it would naturally be supported by the scholars and the people.

Secondly, Qian Zhao pointed out the specific military strategy for Huo Jun's next step. He denied the option of directly taking Hebei and suggested pretending to cross the Yellow River to divide Cao Wei's forces and create an opportunity for Huo Jun to advance westward to the capital. Then he would cooperate with Lu Xun to take over the territory south of the Yellow River.

After Henan was pacified, troops from all over the country were sent to Hebei. At that time, Cao Rui would have to make a choice: surrender to the Han Dynasty or continue to resist.

Huo Jun took the initiative to pour a cup of tea for Qian Zhao, and said with satisfaction: "You are well aware of the general situation and military strategy. You are truly a talented person!"

As he spoke, Huo Jun smiled and said, "When the late emperor talked about Zijing, he praised it highly and wished he could work with him."

Qian Zhao looked ashamed and said, "My relatives are in Hebei, and I dare not leave. I feel deeply sorry for not being able to help the late emperor in his conquest. I am overjoyed to hear that the late emperor established a base in Chu. However, I am eating your salary and doing my best for you, so I hope you will not blame me."

Huo Jun's act of burying Wang Ling with great respect and his dog-barking theory were recognized by many surrendered people from Wei. After all, many of them served Wei not because of the legitimacy of the two countries, but because of regional issues.

Qian Zhao belonged to a typical aristocratic family. They had no profound concept of the hierarchy between the monarch and his subjects, but instead put preserving themselves and their families first.

Qian Zhao and Liu Bei were close friends, but that didn't mean he worked for Liu Bei. Instead, he chose to work for Yuan Shao. After Yuan Shao was defeated and died, Qian Zhao followed his son Yuan Shang.

After Yuan Shang was defeated, Qian Zhao successfully defected to Cao Cao and served under him by relying on his connections with the Hu people.

Now that he was defeated and captured, Qian Zhao had no psychological burden and chose to be loyal to the Han Dynasty.

It is difficult to blame people like Qian Zhao for anything. Although he lacks the concept of loyalty between the monarch and his subjects, he has a bottom line and would not secretly collude with a powerful enemy while serving the monarch.

In fact, Qian Zhao's style of doing things was quite to Huo Jun's liking.

The reason why Huo Jun did not usurp the throne was not because he was blindly loyal, but because Liu Chan and his son had never let him down and had always treated him well.

Getting paid and working for others is Huo Jun's life creed!
Huo Jun comforted him and said, "As a minister, you must fulfill your duties to the king. Emperor Gaozu pardoned Kuai Tong from death because of this. Zijing, you don't need to worry about this."

Huo Jun took a sip of tea and said, "If the army wants to take the capital, it must first conquer Henan. There are many disobedient people in the counties of Henan. Among them, Taishan County is close to Chongshan, and the rebellious people are hiding there. I am deeply worried. Now I want to appoint Zijing as the governor of Taishan County to govern the counties of Taishan. What do you think?"

"Thank you Ming Gong!"

Qian Zhao said gratefully: "I dare not not serve the Han Dynasty."

The situation in Taishan County is rather complicated. Due to the many mountains, many defeated soldiers of the Wei army fled there, and many even became bandits due to the war. Therefore, there is a great need for a capable county magistrate to take the position.

Now, Qian Zhao is appointed as the governor of Taishan County, which is considered to be a chance for him. If he can govern Taishan County well, he can move up because he has set an example.

After chatting for a few more words, Zhou Cang and Jiang Ji entered the tent, and Qian Zhao tactfully left. Jiang Ji looked back at Qian Zhao's back and asked, "Commander-in-chief, can I use the Qian Zi Sutra?"

"Zijing has great talent!"

Huo Jun asked his attendant to serve tea and said with a smile, "I have appointed him as the governor of Mount Tai to see what he does."

"Do you have a detailed report on today's gains?" Huo Jun asked.

"here!"

Zhou Cang reported the results of yesterday's battle and said, "Mingsir, there are a total of 63,561 enemy soldiers. After several battles, we killed 26,811 of them, captured 38,564 enemies, and more than 4,300 of them fled..."

"Killing so many?" Huo Jun asked.

Zhou Cang hesitated for a moment and said, "Those who died from serious injuries in Wei will all be counted as heads, including the Wei soldiers who drowned in the Si River."

Jiang Ji further explained, "Yesterday, the soldiers fought fiercely, and the governor ordered the Qiang to slaughter many surrendered people, so there were so many beheadings."

Huo Jun flipped through the towel and although he had a vague idea, he did not expose it directly. Instead, he asked, "Did each unit gain any merit in the battle?"

Regardless of whether it was a lie about the number of beheadings or the number of prisoners, one thing is beyond doubt: nearly nine-tenths of Wang Ling's troops were wiped out, and there were no other Cao Wei troops on the Si and Ji rivers.

"No one objects!"

Jiang Ji coughed and said, "Today, the officers of various units are asking when we will march to Luoyang?"

"Tell the generals not to rush!"

Huo Jun put down the towel and said, "We still don't know the situation of the Jishui River, and the battle of Pengcheng is still unclear. Let each unit take this opportunity to rest. Send the seriously injured soldiers to Linzi or Xiapi for treatment, and keep the lightly injured soldiers in the local area for treatment. The soldiers who died in the battle must be registered."

Although the Battle of Si Shui was a great victory and the Han army wiped out most of the Wei army, the Han army itself also suffered considerable casualties, with around 5,000 soldiers killed or seriously injured. Among them, the casualties of Wen Qin and Yu Shao were the highest, with about 3,000 people killed or seriously injured.

"promise!"

Jiang Ji stroked his beard and chanted, saying: "Governor, in my opinion, we need to send people to occupy the lake and land, and then send people to conquer the cities on the Ji River, so that the governor can lead the army to the west in the future."

Huo Jun thought for a long time and asked, "Zi Tong's words make sense. I want to appoint someone as the governor of Yanzhou and the vanguard of the army. Who can do it?"

"How about General Bo Chong?" Jiang Ji asked.

"inappropriate!"

Huo Jun shook his head and said, "General Bo Chong is my elder brother. If we make him the governor of Yanzhou, then there will be three governors in one family, which is against common sense."

Huo Jun himself concurrently served as the governor of Xuzhou. If Huo Du was allowed to be the governor of Yanzhou, and Huo Fan, the governor of Qizhou, was added to the mix, it would be a very ugly situation.

Jiang Ji frowned slightly and said, "It's Ji who didn't think it through!"

Jiang Ji immediately thought of someone and said, "General, General Quan Cong has served the Han Dynasty for many years and has fought with you in all directions. He has made outstanding contributions. Why not appoint him as the governor of Yanzhou?"

Huo Jun suddenly realized what was happening and said with a smile, "I almost forgot about Zihuang. Now I can appoint Zihuang as the governor of Yanzhou, lead his troops south to Hulu, advance west along the Jishui River, and plunder the two counties of Shanyang and Jiyin."

"promise!"

"Governor, what about Xinxi Luzhou?" Jiang Ji asked.

Luzhou was separated from Yanzhou and Yuzhou. It was roughly the territory that the Han army plundered in Henan. With Lu County as its center, it governed seven counties: Rencheng, Dongping, Jibei, Ying, Taishan, Shanyang, and Pei. Qizhou, which previously nominally governed Ying and Taishan counties, no longer governed the two counties.

As for Qizhou, the areas on the Shandong Peninsula will remain unchanged, and the few counties that Hebei can capture will all be under the jurisdiction of Qizhou for the time being.

During the war years, the frequent changes in the state and county systems were mostly helpless moves. Perhaps only when the world was unified could the states and counties be divided normally.

Huo Jun pondered for a moment and said, "Move Liu Ji to be the governor of Luzhou, and let Gu Yong temporarily serve as the deputy governor of Xuzhou to manage the affairs of the prefecture."

"promise!"

"My lord, Man Chong is still stationed in Runan in the Yuzhou area. Should we order Pang Yuzhou to march north, go against the Ying River to attack Runan, and then meet up with Ge Xiang in Yingchuan?" Zhou Qiang suggested.

"Let me think about this matter!"

(End of this chapter)