Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 766: Death
Huo Jun was shot in the thigh by an arrow. If it happened in the Central Plains, it would not be a big deal. But if it happened in the grassland, the situation would be different. There were few herbs on the grassland, and the military doctors who followed the army were better at killing people than curing diseases.

In such a situation, Huo Jun, in order to remember his meritorious service, traveled a long distance to the North Sea. The hard march and the strong wind from the North Sea worsened Huo Jun's condition, which was already weak from the arrow wound, on the way back.

As Huo Jun's injuries worsened, he could hardly get off the car, which made the Han army officers more and more anxious. However, due to technical limitations, they had no choice but to return to Zhaomoduo first to see if the military doctors left behind in the camp had any means of treatment.

Taking Huo Jun's injuries into consideration, the Han army took two more days to cover the nearly 1,000-mile journey, and did not return to Zhaomodo until mid-April.

After returning to the Zhaomoduo camp, Jiang Ji recruited all the Han and Hu wizards and doctors to treat Huo Jun.

In the big tent, Huo Jun was lying on the couch, his face was pale and his forehead was hot. Beside the couch, there were three doctors and a wizard treating him, trying to find a way to save Huo Jun.

"How is it?"

Seeing that the four people were slow to speak, Jiang Ji became anxious and asked, "Do you have a prescription to save the Prime Minister?"

The three doctors looked at each other, and then the oldest one shook his head and said, "Mr. Jiang, the Prime Minister's arrow wound has abscesses, and he has a high fever. The wound is not enough to be cured by the herbal medicine in the army, so he needs to return to the Central Plains."

Jiang Ji suddenly became angry and cursed: "We are in Mobei now, where can we get the herbs from the Central Plains? Find a way quickly."

The three military doctors lowered their heads in silence, racking their brains to think over their limited medical knowledge.

"What about you?"

Seeing the gray-haired witch doctor observing back and forth, Jiang Ji asked.

The witch doctor pointed at the wound and spoke in an excited tone. However, his Xianbei language was hard for people to understand, so he needed someone else to convey it to them.

"Mr. Jiang, the witch doctor said that there must be rust on the arrowhead, which penetrated into the flesh and bones, causing abscesses in the wound and subsequent fever. Now if we want to save the prime minister, there may be a way. As for whether it will succeed or not, it is difficult to say and it will be decided by heaven." said the translator.

"What method?" Jiang Ji asked hurriedly.

The translator listened to the witch doctor's words with a serious expression, and said, "He said that the thigh is difficult to cure, so it is better to break the leg and live."

"Broken leg?"

Jiang Ji was stunned and asked, "Why does it take a broken leg to save a person who was just wounded by an arrow?"

The translator conveyed the following message, which the witch doctor had to patiently explain.

"He said that sometimes knife and arrow wounds penetrate deep into the flesh and bones and are difficult to heal with herbal medicine alone, but amputating an arm or sawing off a leg is easier. After sawing off a leg, the prime minister would recuperate for a few months and would most likely recover," said the translator.

Jiang Ji looked at the three military doctors and asked, "Is that so?"

"Uh~"

The old military doctor hesitated for a moment and said, "It is a common tactic in the army to break a leg to survive, and there is some truth in it. But the tactic of breaking a leg alone is not a perfect method, and many people have died from it. If the Prime Minister is willing to saw off the leg, I am willing to try it."

"Zitong!"

Huo Jun was in pain, and when he heard the plan to survive by sawing off his leg, he reached out and grabbed Jiang Ji, saying, "No!"

Jiang Ji waved his hand, signaling the people in the tent to leave.

Sitting beside the couch, Jiang Ji asked with concern: "You can survive by sawing off your legs, I wonder how you are doing?"

Huo Jun moved his lips slightly and said, "How can I travel without legs?"

"But she can give birth!"

Jiang Ji tried to persuade Huo Jun, saying, "After this battle, the world will be at peace, and the Prime Minister does not need to go to war. If you can survive, you can enjoy peace and reunite with your wife and children. Why would the Prime Minister want to die?"

Huo Jun sighed slightly and said, "How can a man stand in the world without legs? If I lose my legs and try to survive, how can I face all the officials in the court?"

"I don't want to be disabled and need someone to take care of me!"

"Xiangguo!"

Jiang Ji wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Huo Jun.

"Zi Tong, I am a bully in this world and I don't want to live in humiliation. Life is worse than death, it's better to die!" Huo Jun pleaded.

Huo Jun was arrogant all his life. He loved fame and fortune when he was young, restrained his character in middle age, and thought about the country in his old age.

Now that his broken leg has been revived, how will the proud Huo Jun go to meet the officials in the court? When he travels, he will rely on others and suffer the pity of outsiders.

Huo Jun could already imagine that when outsiders talked about him, they would not talk about his achievements, but lament his broken leg. He couldn't stand it, and didn't want to stand it.

"Xiangguo!"

Hearing Huo Jun's words, Jiang Ji sighed helplessly.

"Prime Minister, are you really not going to consider it?" Jiang Ji asked, feeling conflicted.

"If God wants me to live, I will live; if God wants me to die, then my life will end!" Huo Jun said sadly: "I have traveled all over the world, pacified Wu and Chu, conquered the Central Plains, and swept the desert. I have no regrets in my life, why should I force myself to live!"

Huo Jun couldn't help but fear death, but there were some things that were more important to him than death, and that was his personal honor and dignity. Huo Jun really didn't want to accept living in disgrace without his personal dignity.

"Zitong, we will return home tomorrow!"

Huo Jun coughed a few times and said, "If I die, I should be buried in Han land, not in a Hu land!"

"promise!"

Jiang Ji's eyes turned red, his nose felt sore, and he couldn't help wanting to cry.

After Jiang Ji left the tent, generals Ding Feng, Tian Yu and others surrounded him and looked at him.

Facing the silent gazes of the crowd, Jiang Ji wiped the tears from his eyes and said, "The Prime Minister has issued an order to return home tomorrow."

"What about the Prime Minister's illness?" Ding Feng asked excitedly.

"The doctor said that the arrow wound is difficult to treat and it is better to break the leg and save life. The prime minister disagreed." Jiang Ji said.

"Have you ever advised the Prime Minister?" Ding Feng asked. Jiang Ji sniffed, calmed down, and said, "The Prime Minister said that life is worse than death, and death is worse than you!"

"what!"

Ding Feng was stunned at first, and then he rushed into the military tent and tried to persuade Huo Jun to change his mind. However, Ding Feng left the tent in tears after only half a moment.

Looking at this scene, Tian Yu felt mixed emotions.

Although he did not spend much time with Huo Jun, and they were often enemies in his life, he was really impressed by Huo Jun since he went out to the frontier this time. In addition to being a master of military tactics, Huo Jun was also able to treat people with courtesy and treat his generals with humility, and his rule was both firm and gentle.

Moreover, in order to achieve his goal in one battle, Huo Jun risked his life to go out of the border to attack the Hu this year. If he died of illness, it would not only be a loss for the Han Dynasty, but also a loss for the Chinese people all over the world.

Seeing that Huo Jun's injuries have worsened and are difficult to treat, how could Tian Yu not be sad!

At Huo Jun's insistence, the army set out the next day and returned along the route they took to get out of the border.

The road was more than 2,000 miles long, and the army was not marching very fast because of Huo Jun's injury. In order to treat Huo Jun, Jiang Ji sent a thousand people back to the country first to find famous doctors in the country and let the doctors go out of the border to see if they could meet the army.

The Han army traveled more than a thousand miles to the north of the desert for twenty days. After passing Sayinshanda, the army turned back to the south of the desert.

In the early days, Huo Jun could still barely get out of bed, but as time went on, his condition became more serious and he could no longer get out of bed, and had to lie in the car for a long time.

On the way back to the army in the south of the desert, Huo Jun was seriously ill. Not only could he not get off the car, but he also fell into a coma due to the high fever. He ate less and less for three meals a day, and it seemed that he would run out of energy at any time. However, in order to return to the Han area, Huo Jun kept holding on with his breath.

Ten days later, when they were two hundred miles away from Yinshan Mountain, Huo Jun suddenly became a little more energetic for some reason.

Huo Jun no longer had the high spirits he had before going to the frontier. His cheeks were sunken and his face was sallow. He lay in a carriage covered with blankets and silk.

Reach out and grab the rope, and the bell will ring.

"Xiangguo!"

"Where are you today?" Huo Jun asked.

Huo Quji said: "We are about to reach Yinshan Mountain!"

"Help me up, I want to see Yinshan Mountain!"

Huo Quji and his attendants helped Huo Jun up and took him to a place with a wide view.

Huo Jun, leaning on his crutches, looked at the Yinshan Mountain in the distance, which was coiled like a dragon on the grassland, and felt relieved.

"Call Jiang Jun for me!"

Huo Jun tried his best to hold up his body.

"promise!"

After a while, Jiang Ji came quickly, supported Huo Jun, and said, "We are about to go to Shuofang now. I wonder what the prime minister wants to call you for?"

Huo Jun felt his strength draining away, and coughed, "I can no longer feel Yinshan."

"Prime Minister, hold on, the doctor will be here soon!" Jiang Ji said hurriedly.

Huo Jun grabbed Jiang Ji's hand and said, "I went to war in armor, and I should return in armor. Please let someone put on armor for me."

Jiang Ji could not help crying as he understood the meaning of Huo Jun's words. He asked, "Does the Prime Minister have any other instructions?"

Huo Jun, supported by Jiang Ji, sat on the chair with difficulty and said, "It is often said that things will turn around when they reach their extremes, and prosperity will inevitably decline. I have supported the Han Dynasty, quelled the rebellion with a sword, and was granted the title of Duke of Xiangyang. I have reached the peak of my career as a minister. If the minister is strong and the master is weak, this is not a long-term strategy if we can learn from the past and the present."

"Your prediction is correct. There will be political chaos in the future. Chong'er survived outside the capital, but Shen Sheng died inside the capital. If we learn from the ancients, the Huo family should live in the border areas instead of inside the capital. It is best to stay away from the disputes in the court."

"Cough cough!"

Huo Jun took a breath and said, "Lao Ziji wrote a memorial after my death, saying that I served the Han Dynasty, pacified Wu and Chu in the south, conquered the Central Plains three times, swept the Xianbei in the north, and conquered Guanxi in the west. I wanted to attack Liao after returning home and put an end to the unrest for the Han Dynasty, but unfortunately, I am unlucky and cannot serve the country."

"I hope Your Majesty will approve and change Liaodong to a vassal state, to defend the Three Kingdoms of Korea for the Han Dynasty, and to defend the country from war for generations. Xiangyang is the center of the world, with a fief of 36,000 households, and the Huo family is really uncomfortable with it."

"promise!"

Jiang Ji wiped his tears and said, "Ji will remember the trust of the Prime Minister and change his fiefdom to Liaodong to avoid future difficulties."

"Ok!"

"Prime Minister, please put on your armor!"

The two attendants held up the armor and spoke with choked voices.

"good!"

Served by Huo Quji and Jiang Ji, Huo Jun put on scale armor, arm armor, and helmet one by one, then put on an armor skirt and tied it tightly around his waist.

Feeling the weight of dozens of kilograms, Huo Jun forced himself to support his weak body. Finally, with the help of everyone, he put on his outer robe and put on his armor again.

Huo Jun sat on the chair with his hands on the dragon scale handle, looking particularly heroic.

Looking at the inky blue Yinshan Mountains, for some reason Huo Jun's past life emerged in his mind.

Bowang offered the strategy of north and south, carried the navy of Anhui to defeat the powerful enemy, rushed thousands of miles to the capital, took the risk to burn Zhou Yu, defeated Cao with Jinkou's laughter... Huang Hu was entrusted with the care of the orphan and appointed as the chief minister, defeated Cao Pi in the Jianghuai area, restored the Han Dynasty in three battles, and rushed three thousand miles to defeat the Hu court.

In addition to his life's achievements, he also had his wife Bu Lianshi who shared his joys and sorrows, and his brothers and colleagues such as Jiang Ji, Huo Du, and Ding Feng who went on the expedition with him.

"Looking back on the past, I have no regrets!"

"Han Ji·Shi Jia of Da Sima Huo" records: "In the fifth month of the summer of the eleventh year, when Jun was beheading Ke Bineng, he was hit by a stray arrow and became ill. When he became seriously ill, Jiang Ji invited a witch doctor."

"The doctor said, 'You can live if you break your leg.' Jun cursed, 'It is better to die than to live! If God gives you life, you will live. If God does not, you will die.' So he did not treat the patient and ordered the army to return."

"On the 21st, he climbed the Huiyin Mountain for 200 miles and died at the age of 57."

(End of this chapter)