Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 730 Be prepared for danger in times of peace
Luoyang, the Prime Minister's Mansion.

"Prime Minister, I'm here on the orders of the Prime Minister to invite you to come out of the court to discuss sending troops to destroy Wei." Zhuge Qiao stood respectfully and said.

Huo Jun was dressed in casual clothes, holding a book, and said calmly: "Since last winter, I have handed over state affairs to Prime Minister Ge. Therefore, the discussion of the strategy to destroy Wei should be handed over to Prime Minister Ge and General Lu."

Zhuge Qiao looked embarrassed and said, "The Prime Minister has fought hundreds of battles and has never been invincible. The attack on Hebei is a crucial battle and we must attend!"

Huo Jun put down the bamboo slips and declined politely, saying, "Hebei is not a strong enemy, and Prime Minister Ge is more than capable of handling the matter. I no longer care about trivial matters, and now you have made a wasted trip."

Given the current situation between Han and Wei, the fall of Cao Wei is only a matter of time. As he said before, the Northern Expedition to Hebei is not primarily a military issue, but more of a political issue.

Why is it called a political issue? In addition to recruiting surrenders and accepting rebellions, it is more about how to solve the problem of the local gentry in Jizhou.

The Jizhou gentry formed complicated cliques due to regional relations. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, in order to curb the problem of the Jizhou gentry becoming too powerful, the Eastern Han Dynasty introduced the Three Mutual Law. After the Three Mutual Law, some counties in Jizhou had vacancies in the position of governor, which shows the prosperity of the Hebei gentry.

In addition, due to the Party and Faction Persecution, the gentry in Hebei Province became alienated from the Eastern Han Dynasty and may have considered establishing another emperor.

After the fall of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Central Plains gentry suffered a heavy blow due to the war, and the Hebei gentry attached themselves to Yuan Shao. After the Cao-Yuan struggle, the Hebei gentry was cruelly treated by Cao Cao because they attached themselves to Yuan Shao. However, even so, due to the large population of Hebei, Cao Cao still had to make use of the Hebei gentry.

Although the Han Dynasty relied on the power of the Wu and Chu nobles to unify the world, from the perspective of actual strength, the power of the Hebei nobles still ranked first in the world. Therefore, in such a context, how to deal with the strong power of the Hebei nobles will test Zhuge Liang's political wisdom.

After all, excluding the Hebei gentry was not the right way, and it would cause other problems. However, if the Hebei gentry were treated well, it would cause dissatisfaction among the original gentry in Southern Han. Therefore, for Southern Han, how to appease Hebei was more important than destroying Cao Wei militarily.

Seeing that Huo Jun could not refuse, Zhuge Qiao, as a junior, had no choice but to leave and report to Zhuge Liang.

After Zhuge Qiao left, Xiahou Hui came over with fruits and snacks, walking slowly and with delicate steps, her features were pretty, and her demeanor showed the demeanor of a woman.

"Why don't you attend the meeting?" Xiahou Hui asked softly.

Huo Jun sniffed the beauty's body fragrance, stretched out his hands to hold Xiahou Hui's soft waist, and said teasingly: "With the disaster at my side, how can I have the energy to worry about state affairs?"

"nonsense!"

Xiahou Hui pouted her red lips, lightly hit Huo Jun's chest, and said angrily: "It's obviously you who don't want to manage things, but you blame me. I don't pester you every day, but I care about your health."

"Ha ha!"

Holding Xiahou Hui's hand tightly, Huo Junru said truthfully: "Kong Ming has just taken power. If I attend every event, it will be disadvantageous to Kong Ming's management. If there is an emergency, Kong Ming will come to the mansion to pay a visit in person."

"Just think about it yourself, sir!"

Xiahou Hui leaned against Huo Jun's body and said hesitantly, "I haven't had any wedding this month, I wonder if I'm pregnant?"

"pregnant?"

Huo Jun raised his eyebrows and asked in surprise, "Have you asked a doctor to take a look?"

"Hmm~"

Xiahou Hui took Huo Jun's rough hand and placed it on her soft abdomen, saying, "I want to wait for a few days. If nothing happens, I will ask a doctor to take your pulse and make a diagnosis."

"good!"

Huo Jun said sympathetically: "Take good care of yourself these days and don't overwork yourself."

"I wonder when Madam will arrive in Luoyang?" Xiahou Hui asked.

"Probably after the capital is determined, Madam will move north with her family," Huo Jun said.

"Then what is the capital?"

Xiahou Hui thought for a moment and said, "I have already sent people to the capital to buy land and houses for the use of the administration."

"No need!"

Huo Jun held Xiahou Hui's jade hand and said with a smile: "When the world is at peace, I will probably return to my vassal state to manage it. And it is difficult to say what will happen in the future, maybe I will be transferred to another place?"

"What do you mean, sir?"

Huo Jun sighed slightly and said, "Living in the Central Plains is not a place to stay for a long time. Whenever there is political turmoil, it will be affected. The tree wants to be still but the wind does not stop. If you want to think about the long term, you need to think about a way out."

Liu Chan granted Huo Jun the entire Xiangyang County, which was 36,000 households. This was enough to show the respect the Han Dynasty had for Huo Jun, but Huo Jun was a little worried. He was worried that the Huo family would be involved in domestic political struggles in the future, or meet the situation of Emperor Wu of Han, who would directly abolish the Xiangyang vassal state.

But this will happen in the next few decades, or even hundreds of years. In the short term, Xiangyang will be very stable during his lifetime.

Huo Jun spent the entire lunch hour being intimate with Xiahou Hui. The two of them were reading in each other's arms, causing their clothes to become disheveled.

As time passed and it turned into the afternoon, the maid came in to report.

"Duke Xiangyang, Prime Minister Ge is here to pay you a visit!"

Xiahou Hui got up from Huo Jun's arms, tidied his clothes, and said with a smile: "It seems that this matter is important, and Mingshou will not be at ease."

"It's really a disaster!"

Huo Jun rubbed the round buttocks hard through the gauze skirt and said.

"Humph~"

Xiahou Hui left in a fluttering dress, leaving behind Huo Jun, who was dressed neatly and waiting for Zhuge Liang.

After a while, Zhuge Liang walked into the hall and saw Huo Jun lighting sandalwood. He couldn't help but say, "The Prime Minister is burning incense and drinking tea, how leisurely!"

Huo Jun closed the small stove and asked with a smile, "What's the matter, Kong Ming?"

Zhuge Liang handed over the towel and said, "Please take a look at the military strategy and see if there are any shortcomings."

Huo Jun reached out to browse the cloth, and saw that Zhuge Liang had formulated a plan to divide the troops into four routes to march north based on his previous three-pronged plan to attack Wei.

Lu Xun led the generals of Guanxi to Hedong and conquered Bingzhou with a force of more than 50,000.

Liu Chan and Zhuge Liang led the people of the Central Plains across the river to Henei, aiming directly at Yecheng. There were more than 80,000 soldiers.

Pang Tong and Quan Cong led the divisions of Xu and Yan, crossed the river from Cangting, swept Qinghe and Julu counties, and then went north to Changshan and Zhongshan counties to respond to Lu Xun's troops. The two divisions had more than 30,000 troops.

Huo Fan and Xu Sheng led the Qing and Qi troops, crossed the river from Lixia, and directly captured the coastal counties such as Bohai and Hejian, and then wiped out the remaining enemies in Youzhou. The two divisions had more than 20,000 troops.

The total number of troops in the four routes was about 180,000, which was not much different from the number of troops in the previous Northern Expedition. However, the difference was that one-third of the 180,000 troops were Wei soldiers who had recently surrendered, while Han soldiers were stationed in the counties of Henan to prevent the counties from rebelling again.

After pondering for a long time, Huo Jun put down his scarf and said, "Kong Ming has used the troops in the right order. With four routes to the north to fight against Wei, the country can be conquered!"

"Destroying Wei is a small matter, but the capital is a big matter."

Zhuge Liang hesitated for a moment and said, "I am asking the Prime Minister to attend the court meeting. I want to discuss not only the destruction of Wei, but also the establishment of a capital."

"What do you think?" Huo Jun asked.

Zhuge Liang sorted out his thoughts and said, "Yuan Zhi, Man Chong, Zhang Zhao and other Guandong nobles want to make Luoyang their capital. They say Luoyang is bordered by Bing and Ji in the north, Henan in the east, Jing and Chu in the south, and Guanlong in the west. It is the center of the world, surrounded by mountains and rivers, and has the best geographical location in the world."

Those who hoped that the Southern Han Dynasty would establish its capital in Luoyang included not only the new and old Henan ministers such as Xu Shu, Man Chong, and Zhang Zhao, but also the ministers from Jingchu.

Apart from being inconveniently located to Jiangdong and Bashu, Luoyang was very close to all the major granaries in the world and had convenient transportation by water, which was beneficial for the Southern Han to rule the world.

"But Boyan thought that, with the example of the Han Dynasty, the capital should be Chang'an, not Luoyang. Chang'an has the advantage of being surrounded by mountains and fertile fields. Zhou ruled the world with Guanzhong, and Qin destroyed the six kingdoms with Guanzhong. Now the Hu customs are flourishing in Guanxi, so for the long-term plan, the capital should be Chang'an." "The two argued endlessly, and Your Majesty specially ordered Liang to ask the Prime Minister's opinion!"

Jiangdong was too far from Luoyang and Chang'an, so the scholars in Jiangdong had no objection to the choice of the capital. It was only because Lu Xun had been stationed in the west for many years that he had a good impression of Guanzhong and Chang'an.

"I wonder what Kong Ming meant?"

Huo Jun did not express his opinion first, but continued to delve into Zhuge Liang's intentions.

Zhuge Liang stroked his feather fan, frowned and said, "I have been thinking deeply about the pros and cons of these two capitals. Although Luoyang is the center of the world, it is only a few hundred miles long, with little farmland and is surrounded by enemies. The capital of the Central Han Dynasty is Luoyang, which is strong in Guandong and weak in Guanxi, so there is unrest in Lianglong."

"Although Guanzhong has a thousand miles of fertile land, since the Middle Han Dynasty, Wang Mang has been in chaos, the Red Eyebrows have spread, and the Qiang have disturbed the three prefectures. When Guo and Li rebelled in Guanzhong, the people of Guanzhong fled in all directions, and Chang'an was desolate and sparsely populated, making it unworthy of being a capital."

"Although Guanzhong is surrounded by four walls, the counties of Shang, Anding, Beidi, Xihe and others have either moved south to Guanzhong or withdrawn their counties and reduced their borders. In addition, the Hetao area is occupied by the Xianbei, so it is not enough to shield Guanzhong."

"Chang'an and Luoyang each have their own advantages and disadvantages. Liang is deeply worried about this!"

"Does Kong Ming know the key to establishing a capital?" Huo Jun asked.

"Appreciate further details!"

Huo Jun pondered for a moment and said, "The key to building a capital is, first, a rugged terrain, second, convenient water transport, and third, being in the middle of the city to respond to all directions. Only when all three are in place can we talk about building a capital. Therefore, although Wuhan often suffered from floods, the late emperor endured the disadvantages and made it the capital of the Han Dynasty."

"Chang'an occupies a strategic position but the transportation of grain is difficult, while Luoyang has the convenience of the four directions but the situation is weak. Therefore, Qin relied on the situation to resist Guandong, while Zhou lost the situation and lost the world. Therefore, Luoyang and Chang'an have their own advantages and disadvantages. Only by observing the situation of the current dynasty and thinking about the advantages and disadvantages of the two capitals can we know which one to use as the capital."

In Huo Jun's opinion, the choice of capital city should be based on the dynasty's own situation, and one should not make a decision simply by looking at the pros and cons of Chang'an and Luoyang. After all, there is no perfect capital city in the world, only the capital city that suits one's own country best.

Huo Jun then analyzed the situation of the Southern Han Dynasty and said, "In the Han Dynasty today, the people are poor, the fields are barren, the officials are lax, the laws are not enforced, the currency is not circulated, the tax law is unclear, the laws are inconsistent, there are barbarians outside, the Guanlong barbarians, and there are redundant officials inside."

"In the past, the Former Han Dynasty used Guanzhong as its capital. Although it suffered from the rebellion of the Xiongnu on the border, it prospered because of the disaster. First, it suppressed the rebellion of the princes in Guandong, and then drove the Xiongnu to the north of the desert. It defended the four seas internally and controlled the Hu people externally. It can be said to be very powerful!"

"Today, the world will be at peace, but the country has bad policies. Therefore, in my opinion, it is better to make it the capital in times of crisis. I will worry about it for years and dare not relax. Chang'an is poor and faces the Qiang and Hu. If our Han Dynasty does not rise, it will be in danger. Mencius said that if there is no law at home and the people are offended, and if there is no enemy abroad and there are external threats, the country will always perish. This is what he said!"

The Southern Han was different from the Han Dynasty. The Southern Han rose from Wu and Chu, and in order to appease the gentry, the Southern Han had a big problem of redundant officials. In addition to redundant officials, the Southern Han also had to face the powerful Xianbei in the north and the Qiang and Hu scattered throughout Guanlong.

Moreover, the founding emperors of all dynasties were all highly respected. Even the usurped throne was still ruled by the monarch. However, the political ecology of the Southern Han Dynasty was distorted, which was unique in history. It was ruled by ministers and the emperor had very weak prestige.

In this situation where the ruler is weak and the ministers are strong, and there are internal and external troubles, if the Han Dynasty chooses Luoyang, it will be very easy for the lack of external pressure to lead to vicious political incidents.

Whether it is to solve the Xianbei problem or the problem of Guanlong Huhua, the Han Dynasty needs to turn worries into motivation to keep the monarch and his ministers working together and move towards the goal of revitalizing the prosperity of the Han Dynasty.

In Huo Jun's opinion, the fact that the Western Han Dynasty had seven consecutive generations of outstanding rulers cannot be considered solely from a metaphysical perspective, but should be considered from the internal and external environment faced by the early Western Han Dynasty.

Take Lu Zhi as an example. Although she bestowed great titles on the members of the Lu clan, she still maintained the policies of Liu Bang's period. She made peace with the Hu people and endured humiliation in letters. Internally, she reduced taxes and implemented currency reforms.

Although the Tang Dynasty was able to maintain its strong national strength due to the influence of the Hu customs, it was also related to the internal and external environment in the early period. The Turks occupied the grasslands, and the Shuofang states became Hu lands; Tuyuhun occupied Qinghai and threatened the Lianglong states. If we were not careful, Guanzhong would become a battlefield.

If we take the Han and Tang dynasties, both of which had their capitals in Chang'an, as an example, even though there were high-level political turmoil in the two countries, perhaps due to internal and external troubles, it did not lead to serious military expeditions.

During the feudal society, the political ecology of Southern Han was distorted. Only by taking advantage of the sense of crisis could it become strong and prosperous. If Luoyang was made the capital, the monarch and his ministers would be at ease because of the geographical environment in the center of the world. Once a vicious political incident occurred, the result would be unpredictable.

Take the Western Jin Dynasty as an example, regardless of its capital being Luoyang, when it came to whether or not to destroy the Eastern Wu, many ministers considered whether or not it was possible to pacify it. However, the famous minister Shan Tao believed that the Western Jin Dynasty could destroy the Eastern Wu, but not the Eastern Wu.

The reason why Shan Tao had such contradictory thoughts was not because he could not bear to see the war. Instead, Shan Tao saw the problems of the Western Jin Dynasty. Because it was a dynasty established by usurping the Wei Dynasty, it had the signs of national destruction when it was founded. For example, the big families were rampant, there were too many redundant officials, extravagance was rampant, and the governance of officials was lax.

Therefore, Shan Tao believed that only a saint could solve the internal and external troubles. Otherwise, if the external troubles disappeared, internal troubles might arise. The political environment of the Western Jin Dynasty was bad, so it was better to keep the Eastern Wu as a trouble to remind the rulers and ministers of the Western Jin Dynasty. It was not a good thing to destroy the Eastern Wu.

The country needs a sense of crisis. The selection of Huo Jun and his strong recommendation of Chang'an as the capital shows that they value the current environment in Chang'an, which can inspire the Southern Han monarchs and ministers to improve their governance.

Of course, Chang'an was chosen as the capital for the purpose of maintaining the combat effectiveness of the soldiers. The Southern Han Dynasty was based in Wu and Chu, and it was impossible to select soldiers from the south due to the long distance. Therefore, in addition to moving elite soldiers to the capital, they also had to select from the surrounding states and counties.

There are many Qiang and Hu people in Guanzhong, which in turn influences the tough character of the people in Guanxi. The Southern Han can restore the old system of the Han Dynasty and select good family sons from the six counties as soldiers, so as to ensure the combat effectiveness of the Southern Han soldiers in the future.

Listening to Huo Jun's discussion on the selection of the capital, Zhuge Liang stroked his fan and sighed, saying: "Mencius' words are true. A country will perish if it has no troubles. If we make Luoyang our capital, we will gain the benefits of the four directions, and we will be able to let our horses go back to the mountains. The culture will flourish while the military will decline. The Later Han Dynasty wanted to revitalize the world, but it had to live in peace and face danger. This made the monarch and his ministers worry day and night and dare not forget the country."

"good!"

Huo Jun took a sip of tea and said with a smile: "Luoyang is good, but Songshan and Mangshan are not as good as the barriers of Yuhan and Zhongnan. Jian, Chan, Yi and Luo are not as majestic as Jing, Wei, Ba and Chan. Guanzhong is surrounded by mountains and rivers, with thousands of miles of fertile land inside and four passes outside. With strong soldiers and horses, it is enough to intimidate the world."

It is often said that since the Middle Han Dynasty, Chang'an has suffered from wars, the people have been destitute, and the number of registered residents has sharply decreased. However, the geographical environment of Guanzhong is there. Moving the elite soldiers of Wu and Chu and the great families of Guandong to Guanzhong will greatly enrich the population of Guanzhong. With diligent efforts, Guanzhong will prosper in just a few decades.

Why did Guanlong suddenly prosper during the Sui and Tang Dynasties?
It was not that the Western Wei and Northern Zhou dynasties had a good foundation, but that Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty moved a large number of people from Guandong to Guanzhong in order to develop Chang'an. There were at least 200,000 people in total. Otherwise, how could Guanzhong have been prosperous?
Zhuge Liang had an idea and said, "Now Beidi, Shangjun, and Hexi counties have become barbarian lands, and Shuofang counties are occupied by Xianbei. If we want to make Guanzhong our capital, we need to rebuild the four fortresses of Guanzhong and reorganize the defense line of the northern border. No one who understands the general strategy of military affairs can do it."

"Of course!"

Zhuge Liang showed a cunning look and said, "Since Prime Minister Huo wants to make Chang'an the capital, why don't we go west and build Chang'an City for the country and supervise the repair of military equipment in the north."

"Ok?"

Huo Jun raised his head to greet him, pointed at himself and said, "I have handed over the affairs of state to you, how can you order me to march west?"

Zhuge Liang stroked his fan and smiled, saying, "May I ask the Prime Minister, is it Liang who is in charge of the government?"

"Of course!"

As he spoke, Huo Jun understood instantly and said unhappily, "How dare Kong Ming deceive me?"

"hey-hey!"

Zhuge Liang showed some cunning, and said: "If the prime minister is the chief assistant, you should go west to build Chang'an for the great plan; if I am the chief assistant, you should follow the instructions and go west to build Chang'an."

"Zhuge Kongming!"

Huo Jun didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said, "You are bullying me!"

Zhuge Liang's expression slowed down and he pleaded, "I have just taken power and I am too busy to do anything else. Now that I am going to destroy Wei, I have no energy to build the capital. I would like to trouble you, Prime Minister, to come out and help me and think about the long-term plan for the Han Dynasty."

"That's it!"

Huo Jun's tone relaxed, and he said, "The world is at peace now, and Kong Ming alone is not able to handle everything. As you said, the military affairs of the northern border cannot be managed without a great strategy."

After a pause, Huo Jun emphasized: "But Lao Kongming, please remember this, this is only once, there will never be a second time!"

"Naturally!"

Zhuge Liang raised the teacup and used tea instead of wine to express his gratitude to Huo Jun.

Next, Zhuge Liang and Huo Jun talked about the Jizhou issue.

Considering that Jizhou had many counties and each county had a large population, in order to weaken the Hebei gentry, Zhuge Liang planned to separate Zhaozhou from Jizhou.

Zhaozhou was the western wall of Jizhou, and it governed five prefectures, namely Zhao, Wei, Guangping, Julu, and Changshan. Jizhou was the eastern wall of Jiuzhou, and it governed six prefectures, namely Anping, Hejian, Bohai, Qinghe, Guantao, and Zhongshan.

The two counties of Pingyuan and Leling, which were owned by the old Qingzhou, were returned to Qizhou. The counties of Jizhou were divided among the three states, which would greatly weaken the power of the Hebei gentry.

Today, the Han Dynasty has ten states in the Central Plains. There are five states in Hebei, namely Ji, Zhao, You, Bing and Qi; and five states in Henan, namely Yan, Yu, Lu, Xu and Qing.

ps: Two in one today.

(End of this chapter)