Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 760 Am I inferior to Cao Mengde?
For people who live in the Central Plains all year round, night falls especially quickly outside the Great Wall, and once night falls, the temperature difference with daytime is very large.

The Han camp stationed in Tuidang City lit up piles of bonfires, scattered across the vast grassland, like orange stars, echoing the stars in the sky.

That night, Huo Jun was troubled by his heavy heart and could not fall asleep. He could not help but put on his cloak and strolled around the camp, thinking alone.

Although the winter wind is cold, it helps Huo Jun to calmly think about the pros and cons.

It was a fact that Kebi Neng had fled to Mobei. In order to deal with Kebi Neng, he needed to temporarily change the plan and organize an unplanned expedition and decapitation military operation.

If we do not go on a long expedition, according to the previous plan, we might as well march west to attack Dou Bin's troops entrenched in Shuofang, which will temporarily solve the problem of the Hetao Xianbei.

If it was an expedition, Huo Jun would have to face a series of problems, such as the location of Kebineng, the road to Mobei, logistical supplies, the first time the Han cavalry went out of the border, and the strength of the Xianbei troops in Mobei.

Even if these prerequisite factors are resolved, it does not mean that Huo Jun will succeed in leading his troops on an expedition. On the contrary, there is a high probability of failure. For example, if Kebineng's location cannot be found, the troops may be defeated, or they may return due to lack of food.

If the beheading is successful, it will help the Han Dynasty to completely solve the Xianbei problem, and the benefits it brings will be very high, so this is an extremely risky military adventure.

After wandering around the camp for an unknown amount of time, he finally arrived in front of Jiang Ji's tent. Huo Jun hesitated for a moment, then finally walked in.

In the tent, Jiang Ji did not fall asleep. Instead, he was looking at a small bronze mirror and trimming his beard with a dagger.

"Zitong!"

Faced with Huo Jun's sudden visit, Jiang Ji almost scratched his jaw.

"Why did the Prime Minister suddenly come here?"

Jiang Ji wiped his chin with a towel, then stood up and invited Huo Jun to sit down.

After pouring a cup of hot water for Huo Jun, Jiang Ji asked, "Prime Minister, why are you up so late? Are you worried about Ke Bineng?"

"How does Zi Tong know?" Huo Jun asked back.

Jiang Ji smiled and said, "The Prime Minister has commanded the army for more than 20 years. He often does this when he encounters an indecisive matter."

Seeing that Jiang Ji had figured out his habits, Huo Jun hesitated for a moment and said, "Zi Tong and I have known each other for many years, and our relationship is extraordinary. Now I want to ask about the pros and cons of the expedition to Mobei, and I wonder if Zi Tong can answer truthfully."

Jiang Ji bowed and said, "Since the Prime Minister asked about the pros and cons, I dare not fail to answer."

Jiang Ji said truthfully: "Although the Prime Minister is powerful in the north, Kebi can be kind to the Hu and Yi people. The Hu people in the north now surrender to the holy dynasty because of the power. If Kebi can restore his power, recruit surrenders and rebellions, the Hetao area will be in danger if the Hu people move. If we go to the northern desert and behead the enemy chieftain, we can completely stabilize the border."

"Then why did Zi Tong persuade me to abandon the north and march west?" Huo Jun asked.

Jiang Ji smiled bitterly and said, "Most of our troops are from the Central Plains. The reason we were able to go out to the border to fight the Hu was because the Xianbei led the way. Now the desert is far and dangerous, and the royal court is unknown. Without a guide, we may get lost on the way, or be defeated by the Xianbei in the desert due to our hasty expedition to the north."

"The Prime Minister has roamed the world with few defeats. If we lose in the northern desert, we will lose the reputation of the Prime Minister. It is a safer move to march west to Langshan, pacify the northern part of the country, and subdue the various Hu people. Besides, the Prime Minister and I are both from the south, and the Prime Minister is old. He may not feel comfortable going out of the border, let alone a long expedition to the desert."

After hearing the reason, Huo Jun smiled and said, "There is no undefeated general in the world. Today, I am leading my troops across the desert and beheading the chieftain of the Hu tribe in the north of the desert. I will die without regrets."

Huo Jun stood up with his sword drawn, and asked, "In the past, Cao Cao attacked Wuhuan and defeated them at Bailang Mountain, making all the Hu people in Liaodong exterminate. Now Kebi was able to flee to the north of the desert, is it because I am not as good as Cao Mengde?"

"This~"

Jiang Ji hesitated for a moment and said, "The Prime Minister's achievements should be greater than Cao Cao's. However, Cao Cao's attack on Wuhuan is different from the Prime Minister's attack on Mobei. Wuhuan is more than a thousand miles away from the border, located in Liucheng, and Cao Cao led his cavalry to defeat them. Now the enemy chief is unknown and is more than 2,000 miles away from the border. They cannot be confused!"

"No!"

Huo Jun was clear-headed. He paced and said, "This year, Tun Weize pacified the northern desert, and Kebi Neng established his son as a deputy court to rule the tribes. Kebi Neng fled north to the desert and must have found Tun Weize's troops to restore the Xianbei royal court."

"Although I have conquered Yunzhong, the Hu rely on the remoteness of the desert. They know that our dynasty has no intention of marching north, so they will not be prepared. So we should take advantage of their unpreparedness and attack them suddenly. We can kill the enemy chieftain!"

After deep thinking tonight, Huo Jun roughly concluded the pros and cons of the expedition to Mobei.

Due to the difficulty of the expedition to Mobei, Kebineng would never have thought that Huo Jun would give up the opportunity to wipe out the Xianbei in Monan in order to kill him, and take a military risk to go out of the border to expedition to Mobei.

Moreover, Kebineng's roots in Mobei were not deep. After all, the tribes in Mobei had just surrendered. The difficulty of the Han army's expedition was lower than that of Cao Cao's attack on Wuhuan.

Then, Huo Jun looked at Jiang Ji and said solemnly: "Zi Tong said this afternoon that we should leave our achievements to future generations. I agree with that. But even if Ke Bi can restore the royal court, I am afraid that it will bring disaster to future generations. It is not an easy achievement."

As he spoke, Huo Jun raised his voice and said, "In the past, I unified the Xianbei in order to destroy Wei. Now I will destroy the Xianbei with my own hands to make up for my past mistakes. It is my wish to leave peace to future generations by making the people of today work hard!"

In order to destroy Cao Wei, Huo Jun assisted Kebi Neng in unifying the southern part of the desert. Now that Cao Wei has been destroyed, the Xianbei have taken the opportunity to rise in the northern border, which has become a regret in Huo Jun's heart. In order to solve the sequelae of destroying Wei, Huo Jun must solve the Xianbei and make up for his regret.

Similarly, Huo Jun knew very well that although he had attacked the Xianbei royal court and forced Kebi Neng to flee to the northern desert, the Hetao tribes would always be a minefield because Kebi Neng was still alive. Once Kebi Neng went south and the Hetao tribes united, the results of this battle would be lost.

From a military and political perspective, it was necessary for Huo Jun to launch an expedition, lead his cavalry deep into the northern desert, and completely destroy the Xianbei royal court.

Seeing Huo Jun's resolute attitude, Jiang Ji asked in return: "If the Prime Minister goes out of the border, where will the supplies, troops and routes come from?"

Huo Jun pondered for a moment and said, "Han will send out 5,000 elite cavalrymen and three horses. Cavalrymen from the Southern Xiongnu and Wuhuan on the border will be recruited, mixed with Xianbei and Hu cavalry, totaling 10,000 people. As for supplies, captured cattle and sheep can be used as food. As for the difficulty below, we need to know the location of Tun Weize's troops." Of the 30,000 cavalrymen that the Eastern Han Dynasty used to attack the Northern Xiongnu, except for 8,000 Han cavalrymen, most of the rest were Hu people who surrendered from the border. The cost was unimaginably low.

At present, if Huo Jun wants to organize an expeditionary force of more than 10,000 people, he must rely on the surrendered vassal army, otherwise it will be impossible.

Jiang Ji was silent for a while, then said, "If the Prime Minister wants to leave the desert, I am willing to go with you."

"good!"

Huo Jun smiled happily and said, "I know your character, so I came here to discuss this matter with you."

"To roam the desert, to seal the Wolf's Lair, and to carve a stone on Yanran, this is what the Han Dynasty wishes for. The Prime Minister wants to record his achievements in history, how dare Ji disobey him?" Jiang Ji stroked his beard and said with a smile.

"color!"

Jiang Ji took Huo Jun's hand and sat down, saying, "The cavalrymen under Wenchang's command have captured many Hu people. Why not call Wenchang here and ask him where Tun Weize is?"

Huo Jun nodded slightly and said, "Zijing used to lead the Wuhuan cavalry. Now you can let Zijing summon the Southern Xiongnu and Wuhuan at the border, and order Guo Rang to follow the army to the Xianbei."

"good!"

With the marching plan, Huo Jun did not care whether Wei Yan had fallen asleep or not, and immediately asked him to find out where Ke Bineng was going. He also ordered Tian Yu and Qian Zhao to go south at dawn and summon the tribes that had surrendered to the Han Dynasty to join the expedition.

Upon hearing that Huo Jun intended to go on an expedition to Mobei, Wei Yan sent people to interrogate the captured Xianbei people overnight. After an entire night of interrogation, he finally got news about Kebi Neng from the Xianbei people.

Inside the big tent, Huo Jun discussed with his subordinates the route out of the border.

Wei Yan ignored the etiquette and hurried into the tent, saying, "Prime Minister, I have found out where Ke Bineng is."

"Where?" Huo Jun asked.

"Guyan Mountain, in Guyan Mountain."

Wei Yan was very excited and kept saying: "Tun Wei is stationed at Guyan Mountain, and now Ke Bineng must have gone to look for his son."

After his defeat, Kebineng, fearing that he would continue to be pursued by Huo Jun, chose the difficult-to-cross desert and prepared to meet up with Tun Weize in the north of the desert.

In order to control the tribes in Mobei and set up the royal court in Mobei, Kebi Neng saw that there were many former Xiongnu members among the tribes in Mobei, and asked Tun Wei to set up a deputy royal court in Guyan Mountain.

Guyan Mountain was an ancient holy place of the Xiongnu. Kebi Neng established the royal court in Guyan Mountain, apparently to strengthen his control over the tribes in northern Mobei.

"Where is Guyan Mountain?" Huo Jun asked, his eyes moving on the simple map.

"Near the Langjuxu Mountain, north of the Yuwu River." Wei Yan replied immediately.

Huo Jun reacted and said with a smile: "It was the place where the champion became famous."

In the Battle of Mobei, Wei Qing set out from Hetao and went deep into the northwest Gobi to fight a decisive battle with the Xiongnu Chanyu. Huo Qubing set out from Daijun and went deep into the Xilin Gol grassland, detoured and defeated the Zuoxian King's army, and then performed Fengshan at Langjuxu and Guyan Mountains respectively.

"Exactly!"

Jiang Ji nodded and said, "Ke Bineng must have fled to Guyan Mountain and joined his son's troops. Now that we know Ke Bineng's whereabouts, we should find a Hu guide to lead our army to attack Guyan Mountain."

"Reporting to the Prime Minister, Yan has found more than 20 surrendered captives. Because they followed Tun Wei Ze to pacify the northern desert, more than 20 people have experience in traveling through the desert. Moreover, the surrendered captives are good at identifying roads and know the water sources in the Gobi Desert, and are willing to lead the way for our army." Wei Yan said.

"not enough!"

Huo Jun was a little worried and said, "Don't trust the surrendered people easily. Send people to ask Budugen and Xieguini for guides."

"promise!"

Seeing Huo Jun looking down at the map, Wei Yan volunteered, saying, "Yan missed Ke Bineng by mistake. Now the Prime Minister is attacking Mobei. I am willing to lead the cavalry to join the expedition."

Huo Jun looked up at Wei Yan and said with a smile: "A surprise attack on Mobei is dangerous, and we need brave generals to lead the way. Wen Chang wants to join the army on a long expedition, but I will refuse!"

"Thank you, Prime Minister!"

Wei Yan hesitated for a moment and asked, "What about the soldiers under Yan's command?"

Huo Jun pondered for a long time, thinking about the candidate in his mind, and said, "The infantry will escort the Xianbei captives south and wait for Huo Shizai to lead them."

"promise!"

In order to launch a surprise attack on Mobei, Huo Jun handed over the military command of Hetao to Lu Xun, asking him to be responsible for the remaining battles and to meet his expeditionary army. Now Wei Yan led the cavalry to join the expedition, and his infantry under his command had to be handed over to other generals to continue to command.

(End of this chapter)