Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 747: Urgently Invite the Prime Minister
Since the capital was moved north, Zhang Fei had been bedridden for a long time to recuperate due to health reasons, except for returning to Zhuo County to visit his hometown.

Huo Jun had visited Zhang Fei before going up to Mount Zhongnan, but it had been two or three months since then. Hearing that Zhang Fei was seriously ill, Huo Jun should go down the mountain to visit him for both emotional and logical reasons.

When the weather cleared up a little, Huo Jun went down the mountain and entered Chang'an. He first went back to his residence and then went to visit Zhang Fei.

In the mansion of Duke Fangcheng, Zhang Fei was wrapped in a blanket, his face was thin; a maid brought medicine and served Zhang Fei.

Under Zhang Shao's guidance, Huo Jun walked into the hall and asked with concern, "Is Yide okay?"

Seeing Huo Jun coming to visit, Zhang Fei was a little excited. He took the maid's arm and said with difficulty: "The Prime Minister has come from afar. Please don't be offended if I can't greet you!"

Huo Jun sat down at the side seat and asked, "Is Yide's health improving?"

The maid leaned close to Zhang Fei's ear and repeated the words.

Zhang Fei barely heard the content, shook his head and said, "My body is now sick, and I am eating less and less. I am afraid I will not live long."

Huo Jun felt a little heavy-hearted and said, "Why don't you go back to Zhuo County to take a look next spring?"

Zhang Fei was out of breath and had little strength. He said, "I have followed the late emperor in his uprising for more than 40 years. All the elders in my hometown have died of illness. I only have a few acres of house to cherish. Unifying the country and returning home in glory is the last wish of the late emperor."

After a pause, Zhang Fei took a few breaths and said, "The country is united, the Han Dynasty is restored, and I have many children and grandchildren. I have no regrets!"

Zhang Fei was undoubtedly lucky to have followed Liu Bei in his many campaigns, lived to see the founding of the Southern Han Dynasty, and even returned to his hometown of Zhuo County. As Zhang Fei said, all his wishes had been fulfilled, and there was nothing he regretted.

Huo Jun did not say much, but pointed at the deer leg wrapped in cloth in the follower's hand and said with a smile: "A few days ago, I hunted a deer in Zhongnan Mountain. It tastes fresh and tender. Yide, you can have a taste."

"Thank you, Prime Minister!"

Zhang Fei seemed quite interested and asked, "Prime Minister, can you drink with me?"

Zhang Shao bowed and said, "Father, the doctor told me not to drink!"

Zhang Fei looked unhappy, waved his hand and said: "I haven't drunk for several months. Now that the Prime Minister is here, I should accompany him."

"Father!"

"Bring the wine quickly!" Zhang Fei said in a serious tone.

Huo Jun eased the atmosphere and said, "I've been suffering from a cold lately and I'm not feeling well. I can only drink a cup with Yide."

"Just one cup!" Zhang Fei said greedily.

"it is good!"

Zhang Shao looked at Huo Jun with gratitude and ordered his attendants to fetch cups.

The two chatted idly. Zhang Fei became more energetic when he smelled the wine. His face was covered with wrinkles. He smiled and said, "Wine is the most delicious thing in the world. I am dying if I can't drink for several months!"

"Come!"

Zhang Fei raised the wine jar and toasted Huo Jun.

"Yide, drink slowly!"

"Comfortable!"

The warm wine went down his throat, making Zhang Fei shout out in comfort.

A bottle of wine was quickly finished, and Zhang Fei was getting drunk, so he wanted to ask his attendants to pour more wine. However, Zhang Shao was worried about Zhang Fei's health, so he stretched out his hand to stop him, which made Zhang Fei unhappy.

Seeing this, Huo Jun took into consideration Zhang Fei's physical condition and took the initiative to say goodbye, saying: "I still have something to do at home, so it is inconvenient to drink more. I am afraid I can't accompany Yide!"

Zhang Fei was tempted by the wine, but seeing that Huo Jun could not drink with him, he had to give up drinking after Zhang Shao's repeated persuasion.

"Fly to see the Prime Minister off!"

With the help of the maid, Zhang Fei tried to get up from the couch.

Huo Jun held Zhang Fei's arm and said, "No need. There are carriages and horses to pick you up at the gate."

As he spoke, Huo Jun patted Zhang Fei's arm and said with emotion: "Many of the old ministers left by the late emperor have died. Yide is the leader of all the ministers, so he should have a good rest."

"Xiangguo, take care!"

With the help of the maid, Zhang Fei managed to stand up. He looked at the departing figure, pounded his useless thigh, sat back on the couch, and sighed to himself.

As time passed, the number of old ministers who fell ill or died in the court gradually increased. For example, Zhang Yi, who was previously valued by Zhuge Liang, died of illness while serving as the governor of Yangzhou; Xu Shu, one of the five ministers entrusted with the care of the emperor's son, was seriously ill and retired from the position of chief censor.

Each generation has its own tasks. In the next ten years or so, many old officials will fade out of the court and be replaced by young officials. The Southern Han Dynasty will also usher in a peaceful and prosperous era.

Not to mention that after visiting Zhang Fei, Huo Jun went to visit Xu Shu.

Today in the Daxing Palace, the emperor and his ministers of the Han Dynasty sat together and discussed the issue of the Xianbei's continuous border invasions.

Liu Chan sat cross-legged, looking somewhat depressed, and said: "When I ascended the throne, I thought that the rebels against Wei were the biggest enemy of Han. When the world was unified, the ministers often said that the top priority now was to govern the country and let the people recuperate, so the Prime Minister negotiated peace with the Xianbei, hoping to keep the border counties peaceful for a few years." "However, Ke Bineng is greedy and vulgar, fickle, and broke the agreement and went south. Although we are negotiating peace with him now, given the nature of the Hu people, they will break the agreement and go south again soon to plunder China's wealth."

Zhuge Liang sat cross-legged on the side and said, "The Xianbei are entrenched in the south of the desert, and Kebi is a powerful leader. If we want to stop the Hu people from moving south, we can follow the example of the former Han Dynasty. There are two strategies: marriage and peace talks, and going to war and destroying the Hu people."

Lu Xun shook his head and said, "The Xianbei have more than 100,000 cavalrymen, while our army has more infantrymen and fewer cavalrymen, and even fewer elite troops. If we rashly send troops to the north, we may suffer the same defeat as in the sixth year of Xiping. If the elite cavalrymen are destroyed, the Han will have no strength left to fight back."

In the sixth year of Xiping, Emperor Ling of Han ordered generals Zang Min, Xia Yu, Tian Yan and others to lead 30,000 elite cavalry out of the border to find the main force for a decisive battle. The Han army marched more than 2,000 miles beyond the border.

Tan Shihuai exhausted the morale of the Han army and ordered the three generals to lead the troops to attack. The Han army was completely wiped out, and only three generals and more than ten cavalry escaped.

After this battle, the Xianbei became powerful and often invaded the border counties. Due to the lack of elite cavalry, the Hetao counties gradually fell and were occupied by the Xianbei.

The Southern Han had few elite cavalry, and if it went to war with the Xianbei without authorization, it would suffer heavy losses in cavalry, and the consequences were predictable. The Xianbei would take advantage of the Southern Han's inability to resist and continue to invade and plunder, making it difficult for the Southern Han to concentrate on development.

Liu Chan glanced at Lu Xun and asked, "What do you think, Lord Lu?"

As one of the ministers entrusted with the care of the young emperor, Lu Xun's status suddenly rose as Huo Jun faded out of the court and Xu Shu and Zhang Fei became seriously ill, and he became the second most important figure after Zhuge Liang.

Lu Xun pondered for a moment and said, "The reason why the Hu people can invade so easily is because the border defense is unstable. Therefore, in my opinion, it is better to rebuild the Great Wall on the border to prevent the Hu people from invading. Follow the example of the Han Dynasty, use money and food to temporarily make peace with the Xianbei, and select good officials to govern the country."

"The Hu people are engaged in animal husbandry, and their population is not strong. It is better to wait for a few decades, when the world is at peace and grain is stored in the warehouses, and then mobilize the elite cavalry to destroy the Hu in one fell swoop and restore peace to the border counties. If we send troops to attack the Hu now, although it is difficult to say whether we will win or lose, it will definitely hurt the people of the world."

"The country is at peace now, and the people all hope for a better future. If we send troops to the north to attack the Hu people, the people will be deeply trapped in the war. So it is better to make peace with the Xianbei temporarily, and then send troops to destroy them."

Liu Chan was not satisfied with Lu Xun's opinion. He looked at Zhuge Liang and asked, "Does the Prime Minister have a different opinion?"

Zhuge Liang saw what Liu Chan was thinking, stroked his feather fan, and asked, "If we were to attack the Xianbei, what would we do first?"

"Troops and horses!"

Without hesitation, the Minister of War Zhao Ang said, "There are about 170,000 soldiers in the country, and 40,000 cavalry. Among them, Sili, Lianglong, and Bashu have 100,000 soldiers and more than 20,000 cavalry."

Liu Chan took the opportunity to say: "There are 170,000 soldiers in the country. If we command them properly, we may be able to fight the Xianbei."

Lu Xun said with a serious expression: "Your Majesty, although the country has 170,000 soldiers, how can we send out all of them? We can only select 100,000 elite troops and advance northward along the main road."

"But the border counties are in decline, and it is already difficult to support the garrison troops. Now we have 100,000 elite soldiers, and no less than 300,000 are serving. If the Xianbei leave their nests and flee far away, our army will find it difficult to fight them, and the cost of military funds will be wasted. The expedition will be fruitless, which will damage the prestige of our Han Dynasty."

In terms of size, the nomadic peoples were no match for the Central Plains peoples. But when it came to war between the two sides, there were many interfering factors, the most typical of which was the issue of food and grass supply.

The border counties are in decline, lacking in food and grass supplies, and even the food and grass for the garrison troops need to be supplied from the interior. Now that a large army is being dispatched to the north, the number of civilians transporting food for them is several times that of the people.

Whether they win or lose, the livelihood of millions of people will be affected. If they lose, the dynasty will abandon the offensive strategy and turn to recuperation for the sake of people's livelihood.

For example, the Battle of Baideng Mountain between Liu Bang and Maodun ended with peace talks, which directly led to the early Western Han Dynasty's policy of recuperation and the abandonment of the plan to recover the old territory.

Zhuge Liang thought for a while and asked, "How much food and grass do we have in the country now?"

"not much!"

Gu Yong sorted out his thoughts and said, "If we calculate that there are 100,000 troops and 300,000 civilians, the food will only be enough for two months. And if it takes too long, it will hinder labor. If you don't want to hurt farmers, you can use the troops in late autumn and winter. But the climate in the north is very cold, and the old soldiers of Wu and Chu may find it difficult to adapt to the weather."

"We can recruit soldiers from the northern border!" Zhao Ang suggested.

Lu Xun frowned and said in a deep voice: "The Xianbei cavalry are brave and valiant. The old soldiers of Wu and Chu cannot resist them without forming a battle array, not to mention the new soldiers and horses. Now you use the new soldiers to attack the Hu, which will only result in casualties."

Zhao Ang looked embarrassed and stopped talking.

"Prime Minister, the old soldiers are useless now, the new soldiers need to be trained, and there is not much food and grass. We should rest and recuperate first, and we should discuss the matter of attacking the Hu later."

Lu Xun clasped his hands and said, "Xun believes that the most important task at present is to govern the country thoroughly, restore production, and accumulate national strength. Now it is better to repair the Great Wall, train the border troops, and strictly prevent small groups of Xianbei from invading."

Zhuge Liang pondered for a moment and said, "Given the current situation, we should take Bo Yan's advice as the priority. The repair of the Great Wall on the Great Wall should be first handed over to the Ministry of Works for inspection, and then the construction period and money should be reported."

"promise!"

After the Han officials left, Liu Chan said in a low voice, "Father, if we don't get rid of the Xianbei now, it will be even more difficult for Kebi to rule Mobei!"

Zhuge Liang was troubled and said, "Looking at the current situation in the country, we only have one chance to send troops to the north to attack the Xianbei. If we fail or have no success, our dynasty will be unable to check and balance Ke Bineng. Although Bo Yan is cautious in using troops, what he said is not without reason."

On whether to use military force against the Xianbei, Zhuge Liang was inclined to use military force, so today's meeting took place.

Liu Chan was a little dissatisfied and said, "Although Lord Lu is proficient in military affairs, he is far inferior to the Prime Minister. Now why not ask the Prime Minister for his opinion to see if we can attack the Xianbei in the north."

Zhuge Liang reacted immediately, turned to look at Huo Yi, and asked, "Boxian, where is the prime minister now?"

"Prime Minister, the Prime Minister went down the mountain today to visit Duke Fangcheng." Huo Yi replied.

"Send someone to invite the Prime Minister!"

(End of this chapter)