Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 741: Northern Attack on the Xianbei
With the help of the name of the guard, Huo Jun implemented the military settlement system in Shaowu County. After a long period of development, even if there were rebellions by barbarians in Shaowu County, they could be quickly resolved without the need to transfer troops from other counties. Moreover, under the governance of good officials, through the policy of hereditary enfeoffment, the Southern Han established a Dao in the county.

The success of the military settlement system in Shaowu County gave Huo Jun the idea of ​​continuing to implement the military settlement system in border counties.

After thinking for many days, Huo Jun decided to change the name of the unworthy "weisuo" to the more realistic "fuzhen".

Under the prefecture and town system, soldiers and their families who migrated north would receive sufficient land, and instead of one soldier per household, three households would provide one soldier. Three households were exempt from land rent taxes, and could support one soldier, who would train during leisure time and farm during busy times.

The border counties had more than a thousand soldiers from the prefectures and towns as the main force, and the Qiang and Hu people from the roads as the vassal army. In order to ensure the elite troops of the border counties, the county governor had the right to absorb the elite troops from the roads into the prefectures and towns.

The population in the border counties is sparse and the number of soldiers is insufficient, so elite soldiers are drawn from the interior to guard the border and guard the border towns together with the soldiers from the prefectures and garrisons.

As for how to restore the four counties of Xihe, Shang, Anding, and Beidi, they could relocate the three counties of Xihe, Anding, and Beidi that Cao Wei had relocated, and relocate Xinping County in Guanzhong to the north to restore the Shang County system. In addition to relocating the original residents, they would also relocate 5,000 households of soldiers to each of the four counties.

Today, Huo Jun, Deng Zhi, Zhao Ang and his party went north to Yan'an, with the main purpose of examining whether Gaonu could serve as the county seat of Shangjun.

Zhao Ang quickly wrote down what Huo Jun said and asked, "Prime Minister, Gaonu is now the key to entering the pass. Although the city walls are now abandoned, I wonder if it can be used as a county seat?"

Huo Jun observed the landscape of Gaonu Old City and said, "It is surrounded by mountains, and the Wei River runs through the city. It flows eastward into the Yellow River and connects with Hedong. Military food can be transported by water, and it can also communicate with the various Hu people in Hengshan."

"Gao Nu can be the seat of Shangjun, and a military town can be set up there, and a military headquarters can be set up in Diaoyin. Fushi, to the north of Shangjun, can be the seat of the prefecture, and the 3,000 households of Qiang and Hu people in the prefecture can be settled in Fushi."

During the Han Dynasty, the second Hengshan defense line, with Fushi and Dule as the defense line in the central area.

Today, the Southern Han cannot take care of things too far ahead, so it can only set up a road in Fushi as the first line of defense in the northern border, and Gaonu, the capital of Shangjun, as the second line of defense to guard the key point into the pass.

Not only did the county seat of Shangjun serve as the second line of defense, but the county seats of Xihe, Anding and Beidi counties after their relocation also served as the second line of defense, that is, the third line of defense during the Han and Tang dynasties.

Deng Zhi pondered for a while and said, "Prime Minister, the old Beidi County was in Gaopingchuan (now Yinchuan City), but now Beidi County is above and below Nishui, and there are also Niyang, Yiju, Fangqu and other counties, which cannot cover Gaopingchuan."

"Gaopingchuan is the main road from Guanzhong to Liangzhou. Zhi was afraid that the barbarians would attack him, so he marched south to Anding and north to Wuwei to cut off the road to Liangzhou. If the barbarians cut off the road, they would gradually move away and invade day and night, and there would be no peace in Hexi. The prime minister set up a county in Gaopingchuan, which was under the jurisdiction of Yongzhou, recruited soldiers and relocated people, and gradually strengthened the border."

"If we can gain a foothold in Gaopingchuan, we can attack the Xianbei in the north in the future, and then we can send the soldiers from Liang and Long to advance along the Yellow River, and work with the soldiers from Bing and Ji to seize the Shuofang counties from the east and west, and recover the homeland of the two Han dynasties."

The Yinchuan Plain is the western part of the area. It is the throat of the Xianbei people moving southwards. It has abundant water resources and fertile land, making it convenient for large-scale garrisons.

It is also quite far from the Qiantao Plain where the Shuofang counties are located, and is located in the front half of the "J" shape of the Yellow River. If the Yinchuan Plain can be controlled, it will be possible to cooperate with Bingzhou from a distance and attack the Xianbei entrenched in the Hetao from the east and west.

Historically, when the Tang Dynasty conquered the Eastern Turks entrenched in the Hetao area, it basically marched along the Yellow River in a J-shaped pattern. Li Daozon set out from the Yinchuan Plain and accepted the command of Li Jing.

Although Deng Zhi was a Chu person and did not know much about Xianbei and Hetao, he was ordered to go on a diplomatic mission to Xianbei. The time he stayed with Kebi Neng enabled Deng Zhi to get to know Hetao very well.

Now that I see that Huo Jun has not made any arrangements for Gaopingchuan, I specifically suggest setting up a new county in Gaopingchuan, and let Longyou be responsible for the specific matters.

Huo Jun frowned slightly and said, "The Gaoping River is fertile and suitable for cultivation. If we can govern the people and station troops here, we can block the throat of the Xianbei. But I heard that there are Xianbei, Xiongnu, and Qiang people entrenched there, and there are few Han people. It will be very difficult to restore the old system!"

Deng Zhi sorted out his thoughts and said, "Although the situation in Gaopingchuan is complicated, I know the details. The Xiongnu are strong, the Xianbei are second, and the Qiang are weak. Now we go to Gaopingchuan and lure them with kindness and trust, and give them hereditary titles, so that the barbarians will submit."

"If there is disobedience, recruit warriors from all tribes, send troops to capture and kill the main culprits, establish prestige, and repair the city walls. At that time, Gaopingchuan produced salt and the land was fertile. With the benefits of salt and grain, all the barbarians would surrender and advance and retreat with the Han."

Huo Jun was very impressed and said with a smile: "Bo Miao's plan is meticulous. If we want to recover the old land of Gaopingchuan, it can only be done by Bo Miao. I would like to recommend you to be the governor of Lingwu. Do you agree?"

"Zhi is willing to take on this task!"

Huo Jun ordered his attendants, saying, "Please make a memorial to Your Majesty to establish Lingwu County in Gaopingchuan, appoint Deng Zhi as the governor, and give him the title of General Yingyang to be in charge of military and political affairs."

Then Huo Jun asked, "Do you need to lead the army to take up your post today?"

Deng Zhi hesitated for a moment and said, "The situation in Lingwu is complicated. If we rush to Lingwu with a large army, something unexpected may happen, which will make Ke Bineng more alert. Now I am leading a few dozen cavalrymen to take charge. If there are soldiers needed, Anding and Beidi counties will send troops to help."

"good!"

Huo Jun was quite generous and said with a smile: "In this case, Bo Miao will be given the title of half-state commander and can mobilize troops from Anding and Beidi counties."

"Thank you, Prime Minister!"

Deng Zhi bowed and said with gratitude.

Seeing that everything was done, Huo Jun stretched his back, looked at the setting sun, and said with a smile: "The border affairs are done, the new capital is under construction, I can enjoy peace and happiness!" Deng Zhi smiled and said: "Until the Xianbei are pacified, I am afraid that the prime minister will not be able to enjoy peace and happiness!"

Huo Jun pounded his aching back and said with a smile, "I am already fifty-four years old, and my energy is declining day by day. Now the Xianbei are strong, and it is difficult to pacify them all at once. In the future, I will trouble you to take care of the affairs in the north."

Since the beginning of this year, Huo Jun suddenly felt that he had aged a lot and his energy was not as abundant as before.

Judging from the current situation in Southern Han, after the chaos of the late Han Dynasty and the struggle for supremacy between Han and Wei, the country is in decline, with a small population and a lot of work to be done. It simply cannot withstand the rigors of an expedition. Therefore, in Huo Jun's view, if there is no unexpected event, he may not be able to wait until the Northern Expedition to Xianbei.

Deng Zhi said: "The Prime Minister is only over fifty years old, how can he be considered old? Have you seen Ma Yuan and Lian Po, who were still able to lead troops on expeditions at the age of seventy?"

"The Prime Minister is the best in the Central Plains in terms of martial arts. However, if he can drive the Xianbei to the north, no one in the world will be able to match the Prime Minister's martial arts!"

Huo Jun was slightly moved, and said with a smile: "We will talk about the future later. The Xianbei's strength cannot be quelled in one day, so we should take it step by step, which is the best way."

That being said, Huo Jun was already concerned and said, "I heard that Kebi Neng often studied Chinese law and was friendly with the Chinese. Bo Miao and Xianbei often communicated with each other. See if you can get any news about Kebi Neng."

If the Xianbei were in the northern desert, Huo Jun might have simply given up the idea of ​​conquering the Xianbei in the north, but Kebi Neng's royal court was in the southern desert, so the situation was different.

There is only one character difference between Mo Nan and Mo Bei in their names, but there is a world of difference between them.

The general scope of the south of the desert is the Hetao Plain, Yinshan Hills, Hexi Corridor, and the Xilin Gol Grassland in the north of Yanshan Mountain.

Mobei is located south of the Hangai Mountains, west of the Greater Khingan Range, and west of the Altai Mountains.

Compared with the Mobei Plateau, the Mobei Plateau is close to the Han territory and is not far away for the Central Plains dynasties. In its heyday, the dynasties could often control the Mobei Plateau and make expeditions to the Mobei Plateau.

Why did the two Han dynasties need to recuperate for decades before they dared to send troops to the north to attack the Huns? It was not because the two Han dynasties did not have enough military strength, but because the cost of an expedition to the northern desert was extremely high.

Because of the Gobi Desert and the lack of river transportation, the Central Plains dynasty needed to dispatch a large number of cattle and horses, as well as civilian laborers to escort supplies, in order to ensure the expenses of the soldiers.

Not only did the consumption of food and grass increase, but also because the Xiongnu royal court was located in the northern desert, it was extremely difficult to find a royal court of tens of thousands of people in the vast Gobi Desert. The Eastern Han Dynasty was able to accurately locate the royal court of the Northern Xiongnu thanks to the leadership of the Southern Xiongnu.

It would be different if the royal court was in the south of the desert. If Southern Han wanted to go on an expedition, it could just march along the Yellow River and would not have to worry about finding the royal court.

Why was the Tang Dynasty able to destroy the Eastern Turks in such an early period when people's livelihood was in decline?

This was because the Eastern Turkic royal court was located in the south of the desert, making it easy for the Tang army to find it, and it was also close to the Han area, so the consumption of food and fodder was not great.

Today, the Xianbei royal court is in the south of the desert. If Kebi can give Southern Han a chance, it may be able to seize the opportunity and destroy the Xianbei in one fell swoop, and recover Yinshan and Hetao.

Hearing what Huo Jun said, Deng Zhi knew that his words had worked, and said, "Please rest assured, Prime Minister. The Xianbei often trade with the Chinese. It is not difficult to use merchants to gather information."

"good!"

While the two were talking, the attendant quickly climbed the mountain, presented a towel and silk, and said, "There's a letter from Prime Minister Ge!"

Huo Jun opened the letter, but saw that Zhuge Liang first talked about the matter of Sun Quan in Pingzhou in the letter.

After the fall of Cao Wei, Liu Chan and Zhuge Liang persuaded Sun Quan to surrender, offering generous conditions in exchange for Sun Quan's surrender. However, Sun Quan secretly joined Kebi Neng in order to preserve his territory, and was unwilling to accept the Han Dynasty's surrender.

Upon hearing the news that Sun Quan refused to surrender, many Han generals requested to expedition to Liaodong. Now Zhuge Liang wrote to ask Huo Jun for his opinion.

At the end, Zhuge Liang stated that he and Liu Chan would return to Beijing after the spring to inquire about the construction of the new capital.

In order to reply to Zhuge Liang's letter, Huo Jun came down from the mountain and returned to the tent at the foot of the mountain.

Regarding whether to attack Sun Quan, Huo Jun said that the expedition to Liaoxi was risky. In addition to the danger of Liaoze, Liaoxi now had the help of Xianbei.

If the army was blocked in Liaoze and the Xianbei cavalry cut off the food supply, the army would be defeated due to lack of food. Moreover, the weather in western Liaoning was cold, unlike that in the Central Plains. The Han soldiers in the south might not be able to adapt to the climate and the weather. If they went on an expedition without hesitation, they would most likely suffer a great defeat.

Therefore, Huo Jun suggested that Zhuge Liang postpone the attack on Sun Quan and focus on the domestic situation. If domestic production can be restored, with the national strength of Southern Han, the demise of Sun Quan is only a matter of time, so there is no need to rush. It is better to regard the Sun Quan issue as the issue of the strength of the Xianbei.

As for the construction of the new capital, Huo Jun truthfully described the progress, saying that the Daxing Palace, which was built based on the Jianzhang Palace, would be completed in more than a month and would be able to accommodate Liu Chan and his concubines.

(End of this chapter)