Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 724 Some are happy, some are worried
September, Yecheng.

In the meeting hall, Cao Rui sat high on the couch, with civil and military officials sitting in two rows on his left and right.

Due to the many things related to the capital relocation and the recent handling of military unrest inside and outside Hebei, Cao Rui looked very tired.

Cao Rui pulled himself together and said, "I wanted to discuss peace with Huo Jun, but Huo Jun insisted on destroying Wei. Now that the situation has come to this, for the future of the Wei Dynasty, I hope you will work together to support the Wei Dynasty and resolve the current crisis."

"No!" everyone responded in unison.

Seeing the enthusiastic response from the crowd, Cao Rui could not help but nod his head. Since the capital was moved, the morale of the crowd had been low and their spirits were low. After being taught a lesson by him several times in a row, they finally got their spirits back on track.

In fact, the people's spirits were not high at times before, but the situation was under control at that time, so Cao Rui did not intervene excessively. Now the situation is critical, and in Cao Rui's view, only by rectifying the spirits of the people first can the current crisis be resolved.

Cao Rui turned his gaze to Sun Zi and asked, "How about going on a diplomatic mission to the Xianbei?"

Sun Zi pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, Kebi Neng is very interested in our country ceding the Western Regions and is quite happy about it. But Kebi Neng is greedy and says that there is a shortage of salt and iron in the south of the desert. He also wants our country to give money, grain, salt and iron."

It was called a gift, but in fact, Ke Bineng was asking for benefits from Cao Wei. But in order to sound better, Sun Zi changed the tribute to a gift.

Cao Rui frowned and said, "Ke Bineng is vulgar and greedy. The country is in short supply right now, so how can we give you salt and iron?"

Cao Rui then added: "Let's see if we can use the excuse of opening up border trade to get Kebi to send troops south."

"promise!"

Sun Zi was quite confident and said, "Ke Bineng is a hero who knows the current situation in the world. Although I am asking for money and food, for the sake of the overall situation, Ke Bineng will send troops to help me."

"good!"

Cao Rui nodded, thinking about future plans, and said: "Now if we can get the help of Xianbei's elite cavalry, plus the domestic troops, the number of which is no less than 100,000, we may be able to defeat the Han army and preserve the three states of Hebei. In the future, when the situation in Henan changes drastically, we can cross the river to the south and restore the Wei Empire."

Using Xianbei troops to counterattack Henan has been a policy that Cao Rui has been implementing in recent months.

Then, Cao Rui asked his attendants, "What is the current situation of the battle in Hebei? Have you defeated Huo Fan and Huo Du?"

As the Han army marched north to Hebei, many people in the counties of Hebei could not stand the tyranny of Cao Wei and rose up in rebellion.

After moving the capital to Yecheng, in order to consolidate his base, Cao Rui sent Sima Yi and Cao Hong to suppress the civil uprising in Hebei and to defend against the two generals Huo Du and Huo Fan.

Sima Yi lost Zhuge Liang's check and balance, and fully unleashed his military capabilities. Within half a month, he quelled the civil unrest in three counties; within a month, he first defeated Huo Du who had captured Dongjun with lightning speed; then he robbed Chao Lixia, forcing Huo Fan to board the ship and withdraw his troops.

In just two months, Sima Yi launched a heavy attack, defeated or forced back the two armies, and helped Cao Wei consolidate its base in Hebei.

Of course, the reason why Huo Jun did not launch a counterattack was more because his attention was focused on Luoyang. He planned to first stabilize Henan and then march north to Hebei.

Wei Zhen bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the General of the Cavalry fought bravely and courageously. The rebel general Huo Fan, fearing that his retreat would be cut off, returned to Qi by boat. Huo Du was defeated and fled, and has retreated to Henan. There is no military activity in the counties of Hebei, and the General of the Cavalry will lead his troops back to Yecheng soon."

"color!"

It was rare to hear good news, so Cao Rui could not help but applaud and said, "Within two months, the bandits were annihilated and the counties in Hebei were stabilized. The general of the cavalry is a brave warrior!"

Cao Rui hesitated for a moment and said, "Come here, pass on my decree to confer the title of Marquis of Wuyang County on the General of the Cavalry, with a fief of 2,300 households."

In order to inspire people's hearts, Cao Rui was not stingy in rewarding people, but generously bestowed titles in exchange for the loyalty of the ministers in the country.

Seeing that Cao Rui was in such a good mood, Sun Zi secretly hid the memorial in his hand, determined to report it when no one was around, so as to avoid Cao Rui's collapse on the spot.

In the rare happy atmosphere, Cao Rui chatted a lot about government decrees with Chen Qun, Chen Jiao and others.

It was almost noon when Cao Rui asked everyone to leave.

After everyone left, Sun Zi found an opportunity to hand over the memorial from Luoyang and whispered, "Your Majesty, General Wei submitted the memorial in the form of a secret letter."

"What's the matter?"

Hearing this, Cao Rui frowned in confusion and asked, "Is it because of the urgent battle in Luoyang?"

Sun Zi did not dare to speak the truth, and said cautiously: "Your Majesty, why don't you read the memorial first!"

Cao Rui's mood sank. He opened the memorial made of silk and saw the words "Luoyang Guangfu" in his eyes.

In his memorial, Man Chong listed in detail his plan to surrender to the Han Dynasty on September 29, hand over Luoyang and its counties, as well as a series of conditions he had reached with Huo Jun.

After writing two or three hundred words, Cao Rui became dazed. It was obvious that Cao Rui was so shocked by the news of Man Chong's surrender that he forgot to be angry.

"What's going on?" Cao Rui pointed at the memorial and asked.

Sun Zi gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, the passes outside Luoyang have been breached. Man Chong learned that Luoyang is difficult to defend and decided to surrender to Huo Jun. I am reporting this to Your Majesty."

"If Man Chong still remembered me, how could he surrender the city to Huo Jun?"

Cao Rui slammed the table and asked hysterically.

"It's to maintain the etiquette between the monarch and his subjects!" Sun Zi said in a low voice.

"The etiquette between the monarch and his subjects?"

Cao Rui angrily threw the memorial to the ground and cursed: "I am the emperor of the Great Wei, how dare a mere clinging man like you bully me like this!"

In Cao Rui's view, Man Chong's etiquette between the emperor and his subjects was more like Man Chong humiliating himself. He surrendered, but he even submitted a memorial before surrendering, fearing that Cao Rui would not know that he had surrendered.

Cao Rui was so angry about Man Chong's memorial that he felt something foreign in his throat, and a mouthful of blood suddenly rushed up to his mouth, which he spat out on the spot.

"His Majesty!"

Seeing Cao Rui vomiting blood due to anger, Sun Zi hurried forward.

Cao Rui blocked his mouth with a towel, wiped it, and said hoarsely: "Those who destroyed our Wei were all insects like this."

"Should we call a doctor?" Sun Zi asked.

"Don't make any noise!"

Cao Rui waved his hand and said in a deep voice: "The current national affairs are not going well. If the government and the public knew that I was ill, their hearts would surely be in turmoil."

"What should I do?"

"I'll just take it easy!"

The luster on Cao Rui's face had disappeared, and his expression was filled with gloom.

The plan to counterattack the Central Plains was aborted before it was implemented due to Man Chong's surrender. Now Cao Rui had no choice but to gamble that the Xianbei cavalry was elite enough to help him repel the next Han Northern Expedition.

Not to mention that Cao Rui's defense was broken because of Man Chong's surrender. Now Man Chong has officially led his troops to surrender and handed over the defense of Luoyang to Zhao Yun and Liao Hua. The soldiers under his command abandoned their armor and went to the military camp, and were under the supervision of Pang Tong's troops.

Man Chong took a carriage to Hulao Pass and met Huo Jun in person.

In order to show his respect for Man Chong, Huo Jun went out of the tent to welcome Man Chong.

When Man Chong saw Huo Jun coming to greet him personally, he said in fear, "I am the guilty one, Man Chong, to see the Grand Marshal!"

Huo Jun lifted up Man Chong's arms and said with a smile, "What crime has Bo Ning committed?"

As he spoke, Huo Jun took Man Chong's arm and said, "Bo Ning has made great contributions to the governance of Runan, and now he has made outstanding contributions to the peace of the world."

These words put Man Chong's long-suffering heart at ease, and he immediately introduced the civil and military officials to Huo Jun, including the military supervisor Xiahou Mao.

Man Chong did not want to betray Xiahou Mao, so after reaching an agreement to surrender, he sent people to set up a Hongmen Banquet to invite Xiahou Mao. When Xiahou Mao learned that Man Chong wanted to surrender to Huo Jun, he was so heartless that he was willing to surrender with Man Chong.

After getting to know Man Chong and his attendants, Huo Jun introduced Jiang Ji and Xiahou Ru to everyone, then took Man Chong into the tent for a detailed discussion, leaving the rest to be entertained by Xiahou Ru.

Inside the big tent, Huo Jun sat on a couch and asked his servants to serve tea to Man Chong.

After a few pleasantries, Huo Jun smiled and said, "When I was stationed in Jianghuai, I was troubled by Bo Ning. Now that Bo Ning has surrendered to the Han Dynasty, you and I will serve in the same dynasty. We should put aside our past grudges and work together to support the Han Dynasty!"

Man Chong was quite ashamed and said, "I don't know the will of heaven and have offended you many times in the past."

"It's strange!"

Huo Jun smiled and said frankly: "At the end of the Central Han Dynasty, many heroes emerged, Cao Cao unified China, and all ambitious people submitted to him. Who could have expected that Zhongzu would be able to establish his base in Wuhan and then revive the Han Dynasty?"

"The Former Han Dynasty was destroyed by refugees, and the Middle Han Dynasty was destroyed by endless political struggles. Therefore, although the Last Han Dynasty was named Han, it was different from the Two Han Dynasties and was actually a new dynasty."

"As a new ruler, the new dynasty should have a broad mind and be generous in governing the world. How can we care about the past? Whether you are an old person or a new person, you should look forward instead of dwelling on the past."

"When Emperor Gaozu destroyed Qin and Chu, he used all of their old people and did not discard any of them. Therefore, they were able to carry out the unfinished work of Qin."

"My lord, you have a broad mind. Please forgive me for being narrow-minded!" Man Chong said admiringly.

At this stage, the Northern Expedition was no longer a military issue, but a political issue. Therefore, Huo Jun had discussed with Zhuge Liang that the surrendered people from Cao Wei needed to be appeased, talented people should be selected as officials, and the Han Dynasty's rule in Henan should be consolidated as soon as possible.

Huo Jun sipped his tea and asked, "The world will be peaceful soon. Bo Ning has great talent. What position would you like to hold?"

"Hmm~"

Man Chong thought for a moment and said, "I have some knowledge of military affairs and criminal law, and I am willing to listen to your instructions."

"Ha ha!"

Huo Jun put down his teacup and said with a smile, "The world is peaceful, so there is little need to mobilize troops. Your Excellency is too old to lead troops into battle. It would be better for you to temporarily serve as the Chief Censor and assist the Grand Censor."

As he spoke, Huo Jun added: "You know the laws of Wei and are a talent for the country. In the future, when the world is unified, we need to formulate criminal laws, and we should rely on you, Lord Man, for guidance."

Man Chong bowed and said modestly: "I am not very talented and knowledgeable, so I don't deserve your praise."

As he spoke, the attendant handed over a towel and whispered something to Huo Jun.

Huo Jun glanced at the cloth for a few times, then deliberately handed it to Man Chong and said, "Your Majesty has decided on the itinerary, and will arrive in Luoyang with you gentlemen soon."

Man Chong glanced at the itinerary above, stood up and said, "This matter involves your majesty's schedule, Chong is not in a position to participate in the discussion!"

Huo Jun asked Man Chong to sit down and said with a smile: "Bo Ning will serve Your Majesty soon, so why can't he participate in the itinerary?"

"If your majesty makes any mistakes in the future, you should ask Berning to correct them. If you know it but don't say anything, you are at fault!"

Seeing Huo Jun being so magnanimous, Man Chong was overwhelmed with emotions and could only bow to him!

(End of this chapter)