Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 759: Leaving a legacy for future generations
On December 18th, the city was destroyed.

Tuidang City was built by Han Wangxin, a rebel general of the Western Han Dynasty. He later gave birth to a son in Tuidang and named him Han Tuidang. After Han Tuidang returned to the Han Dynasty, the city was abandoned. After hundreds of years of wind and rain, only ruins remain of Tuidang City.

After defeating Kebi Neng, Wei Yan sent elite cavalry to hunt down Kebi Neng while stationing his troops in Tuidang City for rest.

Huo Jun led 6,000 elite cavalrymen and set out from Beiyu. It was more than 400 miles away and took two days of hard work to reach Tuidang City.

Upon learning that Huo Jun was approaching the Han army's main camp, Wei Yan took the initiative to go out of the camp to greet him.

"Yan leads all the generals to pay respect to the Prime Minister!"

"Shut up!"

Huo Jun stopped his horse, looked down at the crowd, and asked, "Where is Kebi Neng?"

Wei Yan was in a good mood and said, "Reporting to the Prime Minister, I followed the Prime Minister's troops to Baidao and went out to attack Kebineng's troops. In this battle, we beheaded more than 3,000 people, captured more than 20,000 Xianbei people, and more than 100,000 cattle and sheep. We also beheaded the Central Chief Yu Zhugan and surrendered more than ten Xianbei nobles."

Huo Jun looked unhappy and asked again, "Where is Kebi?"

"Uh~"

Wei Yan hesitated for a moment and said, "Prime Minister, Ke Bineng led 2,000 cavalrymen to flee northward. Yan has sent cavalrymen to pursue him. He has not yet reported back, so I don't know the details."

Hearing this, Huo Jun sighed slightly and said, "If the cavalry returns, please report any news about Ke Bineng as soon as possible."

"promise!"

Seeing that Huo Jun was not happy about his achievements, Wei Yan was somewhat dissatisfied and puzzled. However, due to Huo Jun's prestige, Wei Yan did not dare to say anything more.

"Yan has prepared a tent for the Prime Minister. Please go in and rest."

As he spoke, Wei Yan invited all the generals into his tent.

"good!"

Huo Jun dismounted and marched into the camp with his men. However, when Tian Yu entered the camp, he was stopped by Wei Yan.

Wei Yan pulled Tian Yu aside and whispered, "Guorang, I personally killed the leader of the Central Region, Yu Zhugan, beheaded more than 3,000 people, and captured tens of thousands of Xianbei people. Why is the Prime Minister not happy?"

Tian Yu glanced at Huo Jun as he walked away, and whispered, "How can the above military exploits compare to Ke Bineng alone?"

"The Prime Minister ordered the general to take the White Road in order to prevent Kebi Neng from escaping to Mobei. Now the general led the infantry and cavalry on a long expedition in order to gain military merit. Although Kebi Neng was defeated, he also managed to escape successfully."

"The northern desert is vast, not as vast as the southern desert. If Kebineng goes to the northern desert, the road is long and it will be difficult to pursue him. But with Kebineng's talent, he should be able to rebuild the royal court, control Liaoyou in the east, Liangyu in the west, and attack the southern desert in the south."

Baidao is a passage connecting the north and south of Yinshan Mountain. From Baidao to the north, you can reach the edge of the Gobi Desert. It is an important road from the south of the desert to the north of the desert. The place where Baidao leads to the northern end of the desert Gobi is called Qikou.

Qikou is an important point for entering the desert. Controlling Baidao and Qikou will block the road from Hetao to Mobei. After passing Qikou, you will enter the Gobi Desert and need to travel thousands of miles to reach the grasslands of Mobei.

Wei Yan frowned slightly and said, "Even though Ke Bineng is gone, he has made great contributions. This battle to recover the counties on the north side of the Shuo River is also an unprecedented achievement."

Tian Yu smiled bitterly and said, "The Prime Minister wants to capture and kill Ke Bineng in one fell swoop, making it difficult for the Xianbei tribes to cause trouble. His goal is so ambitious that you and I cannot compare."

At this point in the battle, the Xianbei's power in Hetao has almost collapsed, and only the Eastern and Western Xianbei forces remain in the southern part of the desert. Through subsequent strikes, such as concentrating on solving the Western leader Dou Bin first, or using diplomatic means to unite the three Xianbei tribes, the Eastern Xianbei can be defeated.

Therefore, the disintegration of the Xianbei forces in the south of the desert was only a matter of time. Once the Xianbei forces in the south of the desert disintegrated, the Han Dynasty could push the battle line to the Hetao area, and Kebi Neng, who had fled to the north of the desert, could only reach the upper limit of the Northern Xiongnu.

It can be said that everyone is satisfied with the current results of the war, and even if they return home, the court will welcome it. But Huo Jun is not satisfied. His goal is to kill Kebi Neng and completely disintegrate the Xianbei forces on the grassland, so that they will not become a threat to the Central Plains.

Wei Yan felt the pressure on his shoulders and said helplessly: "Given the situation at that time, if I don't lead my troops to attack them, I'm afraid that his troops will increase rapidly, which will be disadvantageous for our army to capture the Hetao tribes."

"nothing!"

Tian Yu calmed him down and said, "Wen Chang sent cavalry to pursue. If he can kill Ke Bineng and return, he will have made great achievements. If he cannot kill Ke Bineng and return, with Wen Chang's achievements, how can the prime minister blame the general?"

"Yan is not afraid of the prime minister's blame, but I feel a little empty in my heart." Wei Yan said.

Wei Yan was competitive and had high expectations for himself, so he didn't really respect Lu Xun in the past. Even when he was using troops, he would face challenges head-on to achieve his current success.

At this moment, he had made great contributions and thought he would be praised, but he found that the coach's goal was much higher than his, which made him feel uncomfortable.

“No need to think too much!”

"go!"

While Tian and Wei were chatting, Huo Jun had already arrived at the resting tent. However, Huo Jun was not in a hurry to rest, but discussed the next military plan with Qian Zhao and Jiang Ji.

Huo Jun sat on the chair and asked, "Ru Kebi can escape to the northern desert. What do you think?" Jiang Ji scratched his greasy beard and said, "The northern desert is vast and boundless. There is no trace to be found along the way. Why not march west now? The prime minister will command the three armies to encircle and suppress Dou Bin and the Western Region Master Zhu Luohou, and then send the three tribes of Xianbei in Liaodong, and go with Youzhou Governor Tai Shiheng to attack the Eastern Master Ju Quyuan."

"Kebineng is already old, and his son has just come to Mobei. After we defeat the Xianbei in Mobei, it would be better to appoint his son as Chanyu and share peace with the Xianbei in Mobei. When our country is strong in the future, we can send troops to conquer Mobei. Isn't that a good idea?"

During the days of the frontier expedition, Jiang Ji was tortured by the local climate. Now that he has achieved such great success, Jiang Ji is satisfied and is unwilling to engage in extremely risky military operations.

Compared to Jiang Ji's contentment, Qian Zhao, who previously served as the General of the Xianbei Army, had a different attitude.

Qian Zhao said with a serious expression: "Prime Minister, although Kebi Neng has been defeated, he still has the support of the Xianbei people. Our army will place the surrendered Hu in the border. Given Kebi Neng's temperament, he will send people to persuade him to surrender, and then induce other tribes to rebel together. All our efforts now will be wasted!"

Qian Zhao's answer is quite realistic, even very forward-looking.

There is a very important prerequisite for settling the surrendered Hu people in the border areas, that is, there must be no separatist forces of the same ethnic group outside the border, otherwise it will be very dangerous.

Take the Southern Xiongnu as an example. Although they split due to internal power struggles and moved to the inner part of the country under the manipulation of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were always voices within them calling for a return to the grasslands. Even after the fall of the Northern Xiongnu, the Southern Xiongnu split again into the Southern and Northern Xiongnu.

Although Huo Jun raided Hu Ting, destroyed the command system of the Xianbei in the south of the desert, and supported Budugen, Xieguini and other Xianbei nobles who surrendered to the Han Dynasty as Chanyu, and recruited the Xianbei tribes in Hetao to surrender, it does not mean that Budugen and Xieguini can gain a foothold in Hetao, nor does it mean that the Southern Han can solve the problem of the Xianbei in the south of the desert.

As the Chanyu of the unified Xianbei tribe, Kebi Neng had a very high prestige. If Kebi Neng came forward to call for surrender, I am afraid that a large number of Xianbei people would surrender to Kebi Neng, and this situation is very likely to happen.

After the Tang Dynasty conquered the Eastern Turks, they repeatedly launched rebellions. In order to prevent the rebellion, the Tang Dynasty chose to support the Tang Khan. However, because he did not have the trust of his people, he had to ride back to Chang'an alone.

When the Han army leaves the border, if Kebi Neng leads his troops to make a comeback and uses his prestige to cause sabotage on the border, there is a high probability that the Xianbei will defect, or join forces with outside forces to cause chaos in the Hetao region.

"Zi Jing, do you mean to launch an expedition to Mobei?" Huo Jun asked.

Qian Zhao shook his head and smiled bitterly, saying: "The desert is far and dangerous, and I don't know the geography of the northern desert. I don't know Kebi Neng's movements, so going to the northern desert to look for Kebi Neng is like looking for a needle in a haystack. If you can avoid conquering the northern desert, then don't conquer it. If you want to conquer the northern desert, you need to be fully prepared."

"Why don't you wait a few days to see if the pursuing cavalry can gain any results?"

"Ok!"

Huo Jun nodded slightly and said, "The desert is vast, with Gobi along the way, and the road is deep. It is not advisable to go deep alone. However, if necessary, we should explore it carefully to ensure that there is no risk."

Huo Jun had no intention of going to the northern desert for this expedition to Hetao. You should know that the distance between Yunzhong Old County and the northern desert is more than 2,000 miles.

During the reign of Emperor Ling of Han, 30,000 elite cavalrymen marched over 2,000 miles to fight in Mobei. However, due to the long distance, insufficient supplies, and excessive fatigue, they were wiped out by the Xianbei.

With the previous dynasty as the story, and Kebi Neng's court in the south of the desert, Huo Jun only planned to frame the battlefield in Hetao and prevent Kebi Neng from escaping to the north of the desert. However, Wei Yan, who was responsible for the blocking mission, only defeated Kebi Neng but failed to prevent Kebi Neng from escaping to the north of the desert.

With the change in the current situation, Huo Jun had to reconsider the next battle. If the pursuit troops sent by Wei Yan failed to achieve any success, should he take the risk of going deep into Mobei?

The three of them talked for a long time, and Qian Zhao withdrew first on the pretext of looking after his troops.

Just when Jiang Ji was about to say something, Wei Yan walked into the tent with an unnatural look on his face.

"Wen Chang, is there any news about the pursuers?"

"Have!"

Wei Yan bowed and said, "The pursuing troops rushed for 500 miles, defeating Kebineng many times along the way, as far as the Gobi Desert. However, they lost their tracks, rushed too far, ran out of food and grass, and had no choice but to return south."

As he spoke, Wei Yan bowed and said, "Yan failed to stop Ke Bineng from escaping north. Please punish me, Prime Minister."

Huo Jun was prepared. He lifted up Wei Yan's arms and said soothingly, "Wen Chang killed Yu Zhugan and captured many Xianbei men and women. This is a rare and extraordinary achievement. I will not blame you."

Then, patting Wei Yan on the shoulder, Huo Jun said with a smile: "The soldiers are exhausted from the pursuit, please settle them down, Chief Wen."

"promise!"

When Wei Yan was leaving the tent, he suddenly thought of something and turned around to bow to Huo Jun again, saying in a deep voice: "If the Prime Minister needs troops, I am willing to be a vanguard."

"good!"

Huo Jun nodded in response, indicating that he understood Wei Yan's intention.

After Wei Yan left, Jiang Ji advised Huo Jun to prevent him from having any intention of going on an expedition, saying, "The Prime Minister has made an unprecedented achievement by defeating the Hu people. You should leave your achievements for future generations."

Huo Jun stood up from his chair, paced around the tent for a long time, and said, "I already know what Zitong is thinking. Now let me think about the pros and cons."

"promise!"

After Jiang Ji left, Huo Jun frowned slightly and couldn't help but think deeply about the current situation.

(End of this chapter)