Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 719: Dividing Chang'an
In May, Yingchuan, Ye County.

Inside the big tent, Zhuge Liang and his generals talked about military affairs.

"Prime Minister, do you want to read the letter from the Grand Marshal again?" Ma Liang asked, holding a towel.

"No need!"

Zhuge Liang stroked his feather fan and said with a smile: "The Grand Marshal is anxious to recover the old capital, so how can our army rest?"

Zhuge Liang sighed and said, "The Grand Marshal left Xiapi last year to fight in the north. In more than a year, he fought in Qi and Lu, destroyed Sun Quan, annihilated Wang Ling, and swept through Qing and Yan counties. He was as powerful as a tiger descending from the mountain. Only Han Xin's sweeping of the countries can be compared. However, the power of the countries is scattered, and the power of Wei is united. The Grand Marshal is better."

Han Xin went out of Hedong, pacified Hebei, and helped Liu Bang defeat Xiang Yu. At this time, Huo Jun went out of Qingxu and swept across Henan, which was comparable to Han Xin. If Huo Jun's past brilliant achievements were added, he laid down most of the territory for Southern Han. In terms of military achievements, Huo Jun was able to surpass Han, Bai, and Wei.

Even if historians intended to praise Huo Jun, or if the Han Dynasty respected Huo Jun, they would point out in the biography that although he was called an assistant, he was actually a founder.

The posthumous title would begin with "Wen" or "Wu" instead of "Zhong", because "Zhong" is not enough to show his merits, only "Wu" can show Huo Jun's achievements.

Seeing Zhuge Liang praising Huo Jun's achievements, Ma Su immediately complimented him and said, "The Prime Minister's troops have won the battle at Laokou and shocked Xuzhou and Luoyang. They may not be as good as Huo Jun, but without the Prime Minister's restraint, how could the Northern Expedition have achieved such a victory!"

"All the generals have their own merits, not just Liang's!"

Zhuge Liang stroked his fan and smiled, saying, "Without Bo Yan to contain Cao Zhen in Guanxi, how could I have defeated Sima Yi so many times?"

Huo, Ge, and Lu led the Northern Expedition, and Lu Xun was the most unlucky of the three. Since he confronted Cao Zhen in Chencang, for more than a year, except for Wei Yan's military achievements, Lu Xun was blocked by Cao Zhen at the Weishui Road. If it weren't for the remarkable results in Guandong, Lu Xun would have withdrawn his troops long ago.

As for why Lu Xun could not defeat Cao Zhen, it was not because of Lu Xun's ability, but because of the steep terrain of Guanzhong. Chencang City blocked the Weishui River, and Lu Xun could not break the city, so he could not advance.

Cao Zhen had tens of thousands of soldiers and horses under his command, which was not much less than Lu Xun's, and he also had a geographical advantage. Lu Xun lacked the confidence to defeat Cao Zhen, and was worried that his defeat would affect the situation in Guandong, so Lu Xun had no choice but to confront him.

But no matter what, although the achievements of the three were different, Huo and Ge each completed their own northern expedition tasks. Lu Xun also accomplished the task assigned by Huo Jun, that is, to contain the troops in Guanxi and prevent them from affecting the war in Guandong.

Ma Liang stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "Now that Commander Huo has defeated Wang Ling's army, if our army can help him recover Luoyang, then Lu Huqi can follow the momentum and advance into Guanzhong. By then, Chang'an and Luoyang can be recovered in one day."

"Ok!"

Zhuge Liang stroked his fan and nodded, saying, "I am only afraid that Cao Zhen will block Tongguan, making it difficult for our army to enter Guanzhong from the west."

Seeing Zhuge Liang talking about the Guanzhong battlefield, Wen Pin was a little anxious and said, "Prime Minister, the use of troops in Guanzhong is a follow-up matter. If our army wants to join forces with Pang Yuzhou in Xuchang, we must defeat Sima Yi. But Sima Yi led his troops to defend the Ru and Ying rivers. How can our army defeat him?"

"Break it?"

Zhuge Liang couldn't help but laugh and asked, "Why do you want to defeat Sima Yi?"

"Ok?"

Wen Pin was a little confused and said, "Prime Minister, if we don't conquer it, why do we go to Xuchang, and why do we go to Luoyang?"

"Ha ha!"

Zhuge Liang stood up from the couch and said with a smile: "Why doesn't Zhongye understand the current situation?"

"Now that Wang Ling's army has been annihilated, most of the rebel troops are no longer in Yanzhou. The Grand Marshal can take boats into the Ji River and reach Xingyang as early as July, or Chenliu as late as September. When he arrives in Chenliu, the boats carrying the navy will enter the Yellow River and block the ferry. Where can Sima Yi and Man Chong escape?" Zhuge Liang asked.

"The Prime Minister wants to wait for the Grand Marshal to lead his troops westward, cut off the food supplies of Sima Yi and Man Chong, and then find a way to defeat them." Wen Pin said confusedly.

"No!" Zhuge Liang fanned himself and walked around, saying, "General, you can understand the current situation, how can the people of Wei not know it?"

"If Liang's prediction is correct, the Wei people will abandon Luoyang and move north. Sima Yi and Man Chong's troops may withdraw soon, abandon Yingchuan and Runan, or flee north to Yecheng, or retreat to Luoyang."

Zhuge Liang knew what the Wei people were thinking, and said confidently: "At that time, Yingchuan and Runan counties could be easily conquered, so why should we worry about them now?"

Wen Pin seemed to be thinking about something, and said, "If what the Prime Minister said is true, Sima Yi abandoned Yingchuan County, then I wonder if our army is ready to fight at any time to prevent Sima Yi from withdrawing his troops?"

"No need to chase!"

Zhuge Liang thought for a long time and said, "The Wei people are running to Hebei. They should resist the enemy outside and provide clothing and defense inside. All the expenses are taken from the people. The people are resentful and will rebel quickly, which will destroy the country. Now we pursue them too far, and they will fight like a trapped beast, which is not good for the army."

"Secondly, if we lead our troops to pursue them, the enemy will unite to fight us, and the outcome will be hard to predict. Hebei is thousands of miles long, and the river is not a natural barrier. If we let the enemy soldiers cross the river, it will divide their strength. If we divide our troops into many groups to march north, the enemy soldiers will find it difficult to defend everywhere, and the enemy country will surely perish!"

Zhuge Liang considered for a long time whether to pursue Sima Yi.

Judging from the current battle opportunities, if Sima Yi can be defeated, it will further damage Cao Wei's military strength, making Cao Wei increasingly panic-stricken, which will be beneficial for crossing the Yellow River to the north in the future.

From a strategic point of view, letting Sima Yi lead his troops back north would increase the burden on the people of Hebei to provide for Cao Wei, thus causing the people of Hebei to rebel. The people of Hebei did not support Cao Wei, which would be very beneficial for the Han Dynasty to rule Hebei in the future.

As for whether releasing those troops would increase the difficulty of unifying the Han Dynasty, from the perspective of military strength, there might be some difficulty.

But from the perspective of the general trend, with the words of Linghu Jun's surrender, everyone, no matter how smart or stupid, knows that Cao Wei will fall. Therefore, unless Cao Wei can mobilize an extra 100,000 soldiers, it will not affect the unification of the Han Dynasty.

There are pros and cons to both options, but after careful consideration, Zhuge Liang decided that from a long-term perspective, it would be better to let Sima Yi retreat and concentrate on dealing with the remaining Wei troops in Yingchuan and Runan counties, thus laying a good foundation for the future northern expedition to Hebei.

Wen Pin cupped his hands and sighed, saying: "Now that I have heard the words of the Prime Minister, I have realized something. The Prime Minister has a deep and far-sighted plan, which I cannot fathom."

Zhuge Liang stopped and said with a smile: "That being said, our army must also take action!"

"Please give your orders, Prime Minister!" everyone said.

Zhuge Liang pointed at the map with his fan and said, "To help Bo Yan conquer Guanzhong, General Wen will lead 10,000 people south, through Wuguan, north to Shangluo for 700 miles, and straight to Chang'an."

"I obey your command!" Wen Pin said.

"If Sima Yi withdraws his troops, send an order to General Zhao to march north from Luyang to recapture the counties outside Luoyang." Zhuge Liang said.

"promise!"

"Ma Su, listen to my orders!"

"I am here!" Ma Su raised his head and stepped out of the line and answered.

Zhuge Liang smiled and said, "Youchang will be the vanguard and lead the troops straight to Xuchang. Along the way, you should persuade the counties to surrender and pacify the people. Do not disturb them."

"I obey your command!" Ma Su replied.

The situation was favorable to Southern Han, so Zhuge Liang decided to let Ma Su serve as the vanguard. The task was not difficult, just to let Ma Su recruit county governors and publicize the policies of the Han army.

(End of this chapter)