Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 751: Driving the Xianbei North
The drawings and portraits placed in the pavilion were based on merit. The ranking of the figures was not based solely on merit, but on official rank and whether they were still alive.

Those with higher official ranks will be ranked higher among the same level; those who are still alive will be ranked lower because the death is a major factor.

Taking the twenty-four heroes in the Lingyan Pavilion as an example, although Li Ji had great achievements and official rank, he was only ranked among the twenty-three because he was still alive when the pavilion was drawn.

Of course, the "greatest loss" is only applicable to heroes of the same level, and it cannot allow you to leap to the ranks of heroes of a higher level.

The list of meritorious officials of the Ming Pavilion was divided into four categories after consultation between Liu Chan and the ministers of the Ministry of Rites. The first category was for the ministers with the highest merits who were the prime ministers, the second category was for the ministers who had made contributions in founding the country, the third category was for the generals who had made contributions in battles, and the last category was for the rest of the meritorious officials.

Because it took so long for the Southern Han Dynasty to be established and unify the country, people in the Ministry of Rites argued over the ranking of merits and it was difficult to determine. After Liu Chan's decision, he did not intend to admit all the meritorious officials into the cabinet at once, and released the first and second tier meritorious officials first.

The first batch of people to enter the Daming Pavilion were Prime Minister and Duke of Xiangyang County Huo Jun, Prime Minister and Duke of Yangdu County Zhuge Liang, Grand Marshal and Duke of Hanshou County Guan Yu, Grand Marshal and Duke of Fangcheng County Zhang Fei, General of the Cavalry and Duke of Chencang County Lu Xun, Grand Tutor and Marquis of Haixi Township Mi Zhu, and Situ and Marquis of Bohai Pavilion Xu Shu.

Of the seven people who entered the cabinet in the first batch, three were still alive and four were deceased. Lu Xun was ranked fifth because he was still alive. In addition, considering the different periods of time during which they lived, their official positions were divided, and the corresponding official positions were conferred posthumously on the deceased.

The painter of the Daming Pavilion was the world-famous artist Cao Buxing; the ones who wrote the preface and made the statement were Wang Can and Huang Xiang. In order to show the difference in rank, the ministers of the highest rank were decorated with jade, while the lower rank were decorated with gold.

On the day of the establishment of the portrait, Liu Chan invited all the officials in the court to enter the cabinet and encouraged them with words, hoping that their portraits would be included in the Daming Cabinet in the future.

As the Han Dynasty intervened in the affairs of southern Mobei through diplomatic means, the situation on the grassland changed drastically and signs of unrest gradually emerged.

Budugen was enfeoffed as the Chanyu of Guihan by the Han Dynasty, and his nephew Xieguini was enfeoffed as the Chanyu of Guiyi. The two were ordered to set up camp in the north of Xing and recruit the scattered people of the southern desert to surrender.

After being persuaded by Budugen's letters and enticed by Taishi Hengfu with money and official positions, the three Xianbei tribes of Murong, Yuwen and Duan in Liaodong submitted to the Han Dynasty.

However, because Kebi Neng's power was still strong, the three Xianbei tribes showed no willingness to send troops to the Han Dynasty. Instead, they deliberately remained neutral to avoid becoming cannon fodder in the struggle between the two major regimes.

As for the Hexi Xianbei, Deng Zhi did not carry out the court's order to persuade Dou Bin to surrender, but instead chose to submit a memorial suggesting an alliance with Dou Bin's son-in-law Tuoba Liwei.

In the document submitted to the court, Deng Zhi gave a detailed explanation. Because Dou Bin was powerful and Kebi Neng treated him very well, his situation was different from Kebi Neng's and he probably would not agree to surrender, or would remain neutral.

The reason why he cooperated with Tuoba Liwei was that, firstly, although Tuoba Liwei was Dou Bin's son-in-law, he had been accumulating strength and had great ambitions, and he had conflicts with Dou Bin's two sons. Secondly, Tuoba Liwei often did business with the Han people and was inclined towards the Han Dynasty, so it was easy to support and unite.

Zhuge Liang approved Deng Zhi's plan and sent envoys to Tuoba Liwei's tribe.

Upon learning that the Han Dynasty was willing to support him, Tuoba Liwei decisively expressed his willingness to cooperate with the Han Dynasty and promised that if he inherited Dou Bin's position, he would unite with the Han Dynasty to fight against Kebi Neng together.

While planting a thorn in the side of the Xianbei in Hexi, the Han Dynasty also continued to strengthen its rule on the border. For example, in the name of repairing the Great Wall, it repaired the Qin Straight Road from Guanzhong to Hetao.

After years of appeasement and military deployment, the Eastern Qiang and Southern Xiongnu entrenched in northern Shaanxi and Shaanxi accepted the Han Dynasty's successive enthronement, and last winter, under the leadership of the four governors, they conducted concentrated military training for the first time.

Why was the Han Dynasty able to control the Eastern Qiang in northern Shaanxi? In addition to basic military conquest, it also controlled the salt economy.

The Dongqiang and Zahu tribes lived on farming and relied on salt imported from the Han Dynasty. When the Han Dynasty controlled salt and iron, the Dongqiang and Zahu tribes lost their source of salt. The Han Dynasty took the opportunity to send people to persuade them to surrender and sold them salt and iron at low prices, and all the tribes surrendered.

The Southern Xiongnu were easier to deal with because they had been under the control of the Central Plains dynasty for many years and had close ties with local clans. First, they controlled the leaders of various tribes in the name of appeasement, and then sent troops to the tribes, forced the feudal system, and designated corresponding farming and living areas.

At the same time, Kebineng was worried that the Southern Han might send troops to raid the royal court, so he ordered his son Tun Weize to lead 50,000 cavalry to expedition to Mobei.

On the Mobei grassland, because the Rouran had not yet risen, the Xianbei and Xiongnu tribes coexisted. But even so, facing Tun Weize's army, the various tribes formed a coalition and fought against it.

However, because the southern part of the desert was close to the Central Plains, Kebi Neng inherited the Han law to govern the army, and his troops could not be stopped by the tribes in the northern part of the desert. After several months of fighting, the tribes in the northern part of the desert were defeated by Tun Weize and surrendered to Kebi Neng one after another.

In the autumn of the ninth year of Jianxing, Kebi Neng annexed the northern desert, and the territory under his rule increased greatly, and his prestige shook the desert. After a few years of governance and appeasement, Kebi Neng's strength will be as strong as Tan Shihuai, and he can send out more than 100,000 cavalry.

In September, the news that Kebi Neng had annexed Mobei reached Chang'an, causing great shock to the emperor and his ministers. Because they expected that it would take Kebi Neng a long time to annex Mobei, but they did not expect that Mobei would be conquered in just a few months.

Liu Chan urgently summoned high-ranking officials from the court to the palace to discuss whether to continue using military force against Kebi Neng.

Inside the Daxing Palace, Liu Chan's face was filled with worry. He said, "The tribes in Mobei have submitted to Kebi Neng. Now the Xianbei are gaining momentum. What should we do?"

Everyone was whispering and exchanging opinions with each other.

Pan Jun hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, Kebi Neng originally ruled the southern desert, and now he controls the northern desert. His strength and prestige have greatly increased. With only our current troops and baggage, I am afraid it will be difficult to fight Kebi Neng for a long time. It is better to adjust the military strategy, put defense first, and train the troops well."

"What does the Prime Minister think?" Liu Chan looked at Zhuge Liang and asked.

Zhuge Liang shook his head and said, "Kebi is familiar with Han laws, governs the army with Han laws, uses Han people to farm, recruits craftsmen to forge soldiers, and is no ordinary person. If we do not attack the Xianbei now, when Kebi can integrate the northern desert, he will be a threat to our Han Dynasty."

"Prime Minister, the desert is deserted and there is no road to follow. In the past, General Li Guang went out to the border and lost his way many times. Our dynasty was founded in Wu and Chu, and we relied on infantry and water. It is not wise to compete with the Hu cavalry now."

Pan Jun urged him: "We are sending 100,000 troops out of the border. If we attack the southern desert, it is fine. But if Kebi can move his camp to the northern desert, our army will waste food and supplies. Haven't you seen Emperor Gaozu's siege of Baideng?" Pan Jun was not the only one who was pessimistic about the Southern Han's use of troops this time, but fighting on the grassland was really different from fighting in the Central Plains. After all, the different geographical environment would greatly affect the content of the battle.

During the Central Plains campaigns, the infantry was the main force and was often the key to victory or defeat; during the grassland campaigns, the cavalry was the key to deciding the battle, and they relied heavily on surprise attacks and were unable to adopt tactics such as building a strong camp and fighting a static battle.

Hearing Pan Jun's words, Zhuge Liang looked slightly hesitant.

After thinking for a while, Zhuge Liang said: "Ke Bineng is still in the south of the desert. If we can take down Yinshan Mountain in this battle, we can cut off the arm of Xianbei. The north of the desert is barren and it is difficult to support a large army. Xianbei will be in decline!"

Zhuge Liang then looked at Liu Chan and said, "The Prime Minister is the commander of the army. Now the situation has changed suddenly. It is better to wait for the Prime Minister to enter the palace and listen to his opinions."

"good!"

Liu Chan asked, "Where is the Prime Minister now?"

"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister is reviewing the cavalry in Weibei and is now rushing to the palace," said the attendant.

Liu Chan calmed down and asked, "How much food and supplies can we provide for the expedition?"

Jiang Wan bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, if we calculate based on the more than 400,000 soldiers and civilians, the food and grass will barely last for five months."

"It's a bit too little!" Liu Chan sighed.

Jiang Wan smiled bitterly and said, "At the beginning of the founding of the country, our dynasty had light taxes and levies, and in order to relocate the nobles from Guandong to Guanzhong, we granted them a lot of money and food, as well as exempted them from taxes. More than 400,000 soldiers and civilians cost tens of thousands of dollars a day. We can have such a treasury now, all thanks to the Prime Minister's good governance of the country."

For those who were doing corvée labor, the state would contract the food rations instead of paying for them. For more than 400,000 soldiers and civilians, assuming two dan of food per person per month, plus the food for cattle and horses, a million dan of food would be needed per month. After five months, it is conservatively estimated that the military rations would be around five million dan.

And this is only the expenditure on military food. The amount of money and food spent on other items such as clothing, armor, and military pay is definitely more than this.

Liu Chan patted his armrests and said with emotion: "The country has been stable for four years, but the treasury is still not full. It is not easy to govern the country!"

The king and his ministers chatted for a few more words, and Huo Jun arrived late. Led by his attendants, Huo Jun put on his armor and walked into the hall.

When Liu Chan saw Huo Jun, he stood up and greeted him in person to show his respect.

"Prime Minister, now that Ke Bi has been able to conquer Mobei, should we adjust our strategy?" Liu Chan asked.

Kneeling on the seat, Huo Jun straightened his back and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, there is no need to change the strategy of attacking the Xianbei in the north. You can execute it as planned."

"Why?" Liu Chan asked.

Huo Jun wet his hand with water and sketched on the floor, saying, "Your Majesty, there are three reasons. First, Mobei is more than 2,000 miles away from the border counties. When they first surrendered to Kebineng, if our army were to go to war, it would be difficult to recruit the Mobei Hu cavalry."

"Second, Kebi Neng sent his son to conquer Mobei, and now Mobei has surrendered. In order to govern Mobei, Kebi Neng will leave troops in Mobei, so the royal court has fewer troops for the time being, and the expeditionary troops have been running back and forth, and the people are exhausted. However, this is beneficial to our dynasty."

At this point, Man Chong raised a question, saying: "If Kebineng can move the royal court north this year, what should we do?"

Hearing this, Huo Jun smiled faintly and said, "The climate in the north and south of the desert is different. In the north of the desert, the ground is cold and the grassland is dry in winter. In the south of the desert, although there is heavy snow, there is grassland in winter. Kebineng will definitely not abandon Yinshan and move the royal court to the north of the desert."

The economic foundation of nomadic peoples is more fragile than that of agricultural peoples. Cattle, sheep and horses need to eat grass, but the environment in Mobei is harsh, and most of the land only has summer and autumn pastures, but no winter pastures. Therefore, nomadic peoples need to fatten their cattle and sheep in autumn.

In this case, winter pastures are extremely precious. Due to environmental problems, there is a lack of winter pastures in the northern desert, while there is the Hetao area in the southern desert, which has winter pastures. Therefore, the nomadic peoples of all dynasties often migrated north to the northern desert in summer and south to the southern desert in winter, which was a kind of erratic life.

Although Kebineng has conquered Mobei, he will never move the royal court to Mobei in winter. He will most likely move north in summer to facilitate his governance of Mobei.

"According to the Prime Minister's judgment, if we do not attack the Xianbei in the north this year, there will be no opportunity for war in the future?" Zhuge Liang asked.

"Of course!"

Huo Jun looked at Liu Chan and Zhuge Liang, cupped his hands and said: "Third, southerners are afraid of winter, and Kebineng knows a lot about it. If we send troops in winter this year, we should be able to take Kebineng by surprise and directly attack the south of the desert!"

"Sending troops to this winter in advance?"

Liu Chan hesitated a little and asked, "Can't we use force in spring?"

"No!"

Huo Jun said with a serious expression: "As mentioned before, Kebineng must spend the winter in the south of the desert. If it comes to spring, I'm afraid there will be changes in the royal court!"

(End of this chapter)