Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 717: Four Ways to Fall
The reason why Huo Jun did not let Pang Tong lead the Northern Expedition was mainly because of the complexity of the war in Yuzhou. Not only was Man Chong in charge, but there was also Sima Yi stationed in Yingchuan. If Lü Qian in Pengcheng was included, the three forces should not be underestimated.

At this moment, Huo Jun was waiting for news from Pengcheng. If Gao Xiang captured Pengcheng, Huo Jun would let Gao Xiang and Pang Tong join forces to subdue the Huaibei counties and cooperate with his Northern Expedition.

Soon, Gao Xiang sent military reports about Pengcheng.

Because the flags, broken armor and corpses floated down the Si River, they were noticed by the Wei army in Pengcheng downstream. Combined with the previous situation, many people judged that Wang Ling had a high probability of being defeated.

Upon learning that the upper reaches of the Si River were occupied by the Han army and Wang Ling's army was defeated, Lu Qian was filled with grief and anger and fell ill.

The commander fell ill and the army was defeated, which made the people in the city panic and uneasy. Gao Xiang realized that the people in the city were uneasy and took the opportunity to persuade the civil and military officials in the city to surrender.

Under Gao Xiang's persuasion, many civil and military officials in the city wanted to surrender to the Han army, but due to Lü Qian's attitude, they did not dare to express their opinions.

Finally, under the organization of the city defender Shi Huang and Pengcheng magistrate Kuang Ben, everyone decided to open the city gates to welcome the heavenly soldiers into the city.

Unexpectedly, the news leaked out, and Lü Qian was furious. He wanted to kill Shi Huang, Kuang Ben and others, but they discovered his plan and killed them instead. They then imprisoned the sick Lü Qian and opened the city gates to formally surrender to the Han Dynasty.

Seeing himself captured by the Han army, Lü Qian was filled with grief and anger, and died of illness in the Han camp that night. Gao Xiang followed Huo Jun's instructions and ordered people to bury Lü Qian to appease the people.

Lü Qian died of illness, the two generals surrendered, Gao Xiang entered Pengcheng and controlled 10,000 Wei soldiers.

In the big tent, Huo Jun looked at Gao Xiang's military report, feeling particularly happy, and said with a smile: "Lü Qian died of grief and anger, Pengcheng and the 10,000 people in the city surrendered, and now Xuzhou has no major enemies, and the Sishui River is connected, so I can travel west without worries!"

"hehe!"

Jiang Ji stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "General Gao conquered Pengcheng without bloodshed and subdued 10,000 bandits for the country. This is a great thing. Now let General Gao lead his troops west to Qiao County, enter the Yellow River from the Bian River, and join the main army in the capital."

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were not many rivers available for the Northern Expedition Army to pass through. Only the Bian and Ji rivers with abundant water flows were available.

The Bian River flows through Yu and Yan states. If during the period when Cao Wei's rule was stable, the army would have been forced to march north from the Bian River into the Yellow River, because there were too many cities it flowed through, making it very difficult to march and fight.

Now, with the annihilation of the two armies of Wang Ling and Sun Quan and the surrender of Lu Qian of Pengcheng, there are no strong enemies in the Huaibei area. Even if there are Wei people who hold the city and refuse to surrender, it is only a small problem and can be solved with Gao Xiang's troops.

Gao Xiang entered the Bian River to march north, helping Pang Tong to resolve the enemy in the eastern part of Yuzhou, which was beneficial for Pang Tong to resolve Man Chong in Runan.

Huo Jun pondered for a moment and said, "Let Gao Xiang leave his troops to defend the strategic points, and lead the soldiers under his command to take boats into the Bian River to attack the three counties along the river, Qiao, Liang, and Chenliu. I will lead the main army to the Ji River and attack the counties of Yanzhou. The two armies will meet at Suanzao."

"Order Pang Tong to lead his troops to cross the Ying and Ru rivers, and to attack the three counties of Runan, Chen, and Yingchuan, and to join Kong Ming's army in Xuchang, Yingchuan. At that time, our army will take the capital from the west to the east, while Kong Ming and Shi Yuan will surround Luoyang from the south to the north. The two armies will try to meet in mid-July."

When planning the Northern Expedition, Huo Jun drew on the map of Yan and Yu states, and the clerks carefully recorded what he said.

Zhou Cang pointed at the map and said, "Mingsir, according to reports from all over Yanzhou, there has been little rain this year and the Heshui River is dry. We need to divert water from the Julu Lake to fill the waterway so that our army's large ships can enter the Jishui River."

Huo Jun frowned slightly and asked, "How much time and manpower will it take?"

"My Lord, we need about 5,000 men to dig for ten days to divert the water from Juye into the river," said Zhou Qian.

Huo Jun thought for a moment and asked, "Our army has surrendered tens of thousands of enemies. I wonder where they are going?"

Jiang Ji bowed and replied, "According to the old order of the governor, all the soldiers from Henan who surrendered and wished to return home will be given money and food to allow them to return home; if they wished to stay in the army, they would be allowed to garrison the city and join the expedition."

"First send 10,000 surrendered soldiers to dredge the water of Juye Lake, and then follow the old order to allow the surrendered people to return home on their own." Huo Jun ordered.

In order to counter the Northern Expedition of Southern Han, Cao Wei recruited too many able-bodied men from various counties. These able-bodied men surrendered after their defeat, which was of little use except wasting the army's food and fodder. It would be better to release these people for the sake of reputation.

Since there is work to be done now, we should start working first to avoid conscripting people from the surrounding areas to work and causing dissatisfaction among the local people.

"promise!"

"Commander-in-chief, our army is marching west to the capital. I wonder who should be ordered to cross the river to the north to respond to Huo Qizhou?" Jiang Ji asked.

Huo Jun looked at Huo Du and asked, "I wonder if you are willing to lead 5,000 elite infantry and cavalry, cross the river from Jibei County, and attack Yecheng to the west to support the soldiers. If you encounter a strong enemy, you can lead the troops to withdraw from the city. There is no need to fight with them. You should focus on saving yourself."

Huo Fan led his troops across the river to harass Hebei and confront Cao Hong, who had defeated the Xianbei. The two armies fought, but Huo Fan was defeated by Cao Hong and led his troops to retreat to the plain.

Whether it is to share the pressure from Huo Fan or to attract Cao Rui's attention, it is imperative to send feint troops to Hebei.

Looking at the generals under his command, Huo Jun trusted his elder brother Huo Du the most, because Huo Du was cautious in using troops and was a veteran in the army. He had fought with Huo Jun for many years and had a good reputation in Wei. At this moment, Huo Du led a small army to the north to Hebei, which was enough to alert Cao Rui.

Huo Du did not hesitate too much, and said, "I am willing to go!"

"good!"

Huo Jun pointed to Liu Ji who had just arrived at the army and said, "Jingyu has just been appointed as the governor of Luzhou. Although he has many things to do, the most important thing is to supervise the transportation of grain and grass for General Huo. There must be no mistakes."

"I will follow your orders!" Liu Ji bowed in response.

"Governor, Sun Quan of Liaodong has sent a letter saying that he is willing to surrender to the Han Dynasty. Now I would like to appoint me as the governor of Pingzhou to guard the border for the Han Dynasty." Jiang Ji handed over the prepared letter and said.

"Please appoint me as governor of Pingzhou?"

Hearing this, Huo Jun opened the letter and read it, sneering and saying, "Sun Quan has a good appetite!"

After a moment's hesitation, Huo Jun handed the letter to his attendants and said, "Draft an order. I would like to appoint Sun Quan as the governor of Pingzhou and the general who will conquer the barbarians."

"promise!"

Sun Quan's surrender was just as Huo Jun expected. In order to consolidate his rule in Pingzhou, Sun Quan needed to be conferred an imperial title by the Han Dynasty. But Huo Jun could not easily confer the title of governor of Pingzhou on Sun Quan. He naturally had to downgrade the title to keep a corresponding official position buffer for future diplomatic negotiations. Seeing that everything was arranged properly, Huo Jun smiled and said, "It's getting late today, so why don't you stay for dinner."

"Thank you Captain!"

"promise!"

Just as everyone was expressing their thanks, an attendant came in quickly and said, "Report to the Grand Marshal, General Wen Qin wants to see you and has something important to report!"

"Xuan!"

After a while, Wen Qin stepped into the tent, bowed and said, "I greet you, sir. Do you have something urgent to report?"

"What's the matter?"

Huo Jun sat on the couch and asked.

Wen Qin glanced at the civil and military officials in the account and was somewhat hesitant.

"Everyone in the tent is my confidant, Zhongruo, you can speak as you please." Huo Jun said.

Seeing Huo Jun say this, Wen Qin said boldly: "Mingsir, although Linghu Jun surrendered to the Han Dynasty, he surrendered because of a military defeat. Now according to Qin's investigation, Linghu Jun secretly connected with the surrendered soldiers and seemed to have the intention of rebellion. I hope Mingsir will punish him and execute him to deter the surrendered people."

Huo Jun remained calm and asked, "What evidence does Zhong Ruo have?"

Wen Qin's expression remained unchanged as he continued, "My soldiers accidentally overheard Linghu Jun's conversation with his former subordinates. Now, he has disregarded your orders and is in contact with his former subordinates. This shows that he has evil intentions."

Huo Jun looked at Jiang Ji and asked, "Did you know that Linghu Jun contacted his old subordinates?"

"I have never heard of it!"

Jiang Ji hesitated for a moment and said, "Why not invite Linghu Jun to come and confront us?"

"Can!"

The attendant received the order and hurriedly called Linghu Jun into the tent to answer the question.

Not long after, Linghu Jun came in hurriedly. When he saw Wen Qin in the tent, he seemed to understand something and a bit of resentment appeared in his eyes.

"Mr. Fox, General Wen said that you secretly contacted your old subordinates with the intention of causing chaos. Is this true?" Huo Jun asked bluntly.

"Mingsir, Jun is wronged!"

Linghu Jun immediately knelt down, looking aggrieved, and said, "Although Jun surrendered after his defeat, my Excellency has treated me with respect, so how dare I rebel now? Moreover, in the current situation, all people, whether wise or foolish, know that Han rose and Wei declined, so how could Jun bring about his own destruction?"

"Then why did you contact your old subordinates without my permission?" Huo Jun asked.

Linghu Jun looked a little flattering and said, "Mingsir, I am afraid that the soldiers in Hebei under your command will be homesick, so I summoned the old subordinates to give instructions, so as to prevent the surrendered soldiers from becoming resentful, which would be detrimental to your military operations."

"If you don't believe me, you can call the old subordinates to answer the questions and verify what Jun said." Linghu Jun looked calm and said, "If I lied, Jun is willing to be punished."

"What do you think, Zi Tong?" Huo Jun asked.

Jiang Ji said: "Since Mr. Fox can speak like this, he should have no bad intentions. Perhaps the soldiers under General Wen's command were too far away to hear the whole thing."

Hearing this, Wen Qin's face changed slightly, and he said anxiously: "Chief Secretary, Linghu Jun is cunning and changeable, you can't believe his words."

Linghu Jun said truthfully: "Jun and General Wen have a rift. I hope you can see clearly and not hurt Jun's sincerity."

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Wen Qin was upset when he saw Linghu Jun hinting that he was taking revenge on him because of a personal matter. He said, "I am now serving the Han Dynasty and I should think about the Han Dynasty. How can I care about trivial matters in the past? I hope you will not be deceived by them."

Looking at the two people arguing, Huo Jun interrupted and said, "I will make the decision on what to do now. You two can leave for now."

"promise!"

Although Wen Qin was arrogant, he didn't dare to say anything when Huo Jun spoke, and he could only retreat obediently.

After the two men left, Huo Jun asked, "What do you think?"

Ding Feng looked unhappy and said, "Wen Qin is proud of his status as a meritorious official and is rude. Linghu Jun is not a good person either. He must have other intentions to contact me for no reason."

"hehe!"

Huo Jun stroked his mustache and smiled, saying, "Chengyuan can actually say something like this, it seems like he has made a lot of progress."

Huo Jun only believed half of what the two said and would not be deceived by them. He was surprised that Ding Feng had such insight.

"Why do you underestimate me, Governor?" Ding Feng boasted.

Huo Jun looked at Zhou Cang and said, "Zi Yu is responsible for investigating this matter. You need to be more cautious and not hurt the surrendered people's feelings."

"promise!"

(End of this chapter)