Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Chapter 187 The overall situation is the most important thing
Some of the news coming from Chang'an is worrying, while some is very happy.

Chen Ju smiled happily and said to Huo Xian, "My Lord, even if I meet the general this time, I can give him an explanation."

Huo Xian couldn't help but complain, "Why don't you just follow me? You're thinking about meeting him every day! Live a few more years, and when I destroy the Xiongnu, you can go meet him."

Chen Ju said indifferently, "Sir, we are the ones left behind by the general, and we should serve him. When the time comes, I'm afraid we won't be lucky enough to be buried with him."

This time Huo Xian didn't know how to respond, because this so-called burial companion did have certain difficulties and thresholds.

Just like Chuntuo, he was a minister left behind by Emperor Jing of Han, so he was buried in Yangling, not Maoling. These are also based on etiquette and system, not just what you want.

There is no need to talk about Huo Qubing and his son Huo Shan. Their burial place can only be Maoling. As ministers of Emperor Wu of Han, they must be buried in Maoling. This is in line with the etiquette of today's era.

Chen Ju and others were followers of Huo Qubing and Huo Shan, father and son. However, they could not be buried next to the tombs of Huo Qubing and Huo Shan, because all this had to be done strictly according to their status.

Huo Xian thought for a moment and said, "Give me a tomb when the time comes. My men will always follow me to fight together."

Chen Ju didn't think much of it. "Sir, it won't come to that. We can just stay closer to Maoling when the time comes, and still be able to serve the general and you."

In the Han Dynasty, people treated death as if it were life. Many people were not particularly shy about death, and they believed that the human soul could live forever. This is why lavish burials were popular in the Han Dynasty, as the things used in life could be used after death.

Huo Xian looked at Chen Ju and asked uncertainly, "Uncle Chen, did I grow up in the palace when I was a child?"

Chen Ju said with certainty, "That's what happened. The general was fighting outside at that time. They all said that the prince was born in the palace, but that's all false. The prince was born in the mansion and was just taken to the palace!"

Huo Shan looked at Chen Ju with suspicion, because Liu Che and Wei Zifu both said that Huo Shan was born in the imperial palace, but the people in the Marquis of Guanjun's Mansion insisted that he was born in the mansion.

However, what is certain is that Huo Shan did grow up in the palace. When his biological father Huo Qubing returned home after the war, he did not recognize his son, and his son did not recognize his biological father either.

We still have to finish the war and go back as soon as possible, otherwise I will still feel a little uneasy. The war in the Western Regions is basically over, and only some finishing and governance work remains.

This is not Huo Xian's expertise. He is a general, not a county magistrate. Matters such as local governance should be left to other officials. It is obviously not appropriate for him to be in charge of both military and political affairs. That should not be his responsibility.

Therefore, while reporting the good news to the emperor and asking for credit, we were also urging him to send some professional personnel to the Western Regions as soon as possible. The foundation had been laid, so we had to keep it firmly under control.

Fortunately, this is not difficult. The Han Dynasty continued to expand its territory and set up counties, so it naturally knew how to govern the new territories and had a large reserve of officials.

Gongsun Ao came to the big tent and said, "Grand Sima, if you really want to lead the army to Qie Mi, I think I should lead the troops first."

Huo Xian said with some worry, "The men have been running around all this time and haven't had a good rest for a few days. Now the weather is getting worse, I'm afraid it will be difficult."

Gongsun Ao said nonchalantly, "This is nothing. It's better than when we went to Dayuan. Since we are fighting, there is no way to complain. We will be fine after this battle."

Huo Xian did not hesitate any more. He believed that a merciful army cannot be commanded, and now was the time to hurry up, as some things could not be delayed.

Just as Huo Xian and Gongsun Ao were arranging their troops, a scout came on horseback and reported, "Grand Marshal, the Qiemi people have retreated!"

Huo Xian was stunned for a moment, and then asked quickly, "Resigned? What does it mean to retire?"

The scout quickly reported, "It snowed two days ago, and the Qiemi people retreated after the snow got heavy. Some Qiemi people didn't want to retreat into the Xiongnu, so they climbed the mountain and escaped! The Xiongnu people retreated back to the Xiongnu three days ago!"

Huo Xian's face suddenly turned ugly. "Have you investigated? I'm afraid the Huns are cunning and they are trying to deceive us!"

The scout continued to report, "The captain sent people into the valley to investigate, but they did not find any trace of the Xiongnu along the way. Most of the Qiemi people also followed the Xiongnu to the Xiongnu!"

Originally, he was full of confidence and wanted to create a time difference and inflict a devastating blow on the Huns' detachment, but these people fled faster than he had imagined, and they were well prepared.

Gongsun Ao was quite regretful and sighed, "Grand Marshal, it seems that the Xiongnu have already decided on a strategy. Once it snows, they will retreat."

Huo Xian naturally understood this truth. "It seems to be true. Once the snow gets heavy and the war goes badly, they will retreat back to the Xiongnu. These people are really hard to catch!"

When the Huns became decisive and resolute, it was really impossible to capture them. Not to mention capturing the main force of the Huns, even some of the Huns' tribes were difficult to capture.

Once they realize something is wrong, these people will decisively flee thousands of miles away. It will become an impossible task to have a head-on battle with them as they will not be able to track them down at all.

Looking at Gongsun Ao, Huo Xian managed to find a way to be happy despite the hardship. "In that case, we don't have to worry about our men being too tired. The war can really be over in no time."

Gongsun Ao had similar ideas. Once the Xiongnu retreated, the war would basically be over. The main enemy of the Han Dynasty in the Western Regions was actually the Xiongnu, not the countries in the Western Regions.

Cheshi and other countries have been destroyed. What we may need to do next is to further eliminate the power and influence of the Xiongnu in the Western Regions. These are actually not particularly difficult tasks. Just be more patient.

The Huns were driven out of the Western Regions by the Han Dynasty. Even though the people of some Western Regions countries still feared the Huns like a tiger, or some monarchs of some Western Regions countries admired the Huns, they had no choice but to face reality at this time.

Now that the Huns have fled, the Western Regions countries should think about how to please the Han Dynasty instead of thinking about how to help the Huns attack the Han Dynasty!

Huo Xian looked at Gongsun Ao and said, "You should lead a thousand cavalrymen. An Guo is young after all, and he is not as experienced as you, nor as calm as you. Find out the movements of the Xiongnu and Qiemi people, and then I will make arrangements."

Gongsun Ao naturally had no objection. This matter would either be done by him or Huo Shan. It certainly could not be entirely handed over to Zhao Anguo. Some things had to be seen to be believed.

Huo Xian also felt a little bit helpless and aggrieved. This time in the Western Regions, the gains were not small, and the army seemed very satisfied, because not only did they win, but they also suffered little loss. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this was a complete victory, but Huo Xian always felt that whether it was destroying the two countries in the Western Regions or repelling the Xiongnu, it was not satisfying enough, and there was a sense of opportunism.

But forget it, as long as we win, it's fine. It doesn't necessarily mean soldiers against soldiers or generals against generals. It doesn't mean that both sides have to set up their battle formations and fight head-on to determine the winner to be considered a real victory.

As long as we win, that's enough. Achieving the greatest victory at a very small cost is the most important thing, and it is also in the interests of the Han Dynasty.

As for whether the fighting is enjoyable or not, there is no need to care too much about it, and the military commander should not think about these things, but how to achieve the greatest results at the lowest cost.

Seeing Gongsun Ao leave, Huo Xian looked at Chen Ju and said, "Call Zhang Gui'an. He will have to take care of a lot of things soon."

The war seemed to be over, but the next series of political measures were about to begin. After all, war was a continuation of politics, and the Han Dynasty, now with the power of a great victory, should be even more powerful in the Western Regions.

Cheshi and Yanqi were destroyed, and Qie Mi's king and people have now fled to the Western Regions. This has freed up a lot of area south of the Tianshan Mountains. They will definitely not spit out the fat meat that has come into their mouths.

However, with Huo Xian's appetite and the Han people's appetite, it is definitely not enough to satisfy them. They still hope to get more.

There are also countries such as Yuli, Weixu, Quli, Qiuci, and Wulei. They are now bordering the Han Dynasty's territory in the Western Regions, and even the territories of these Western Regions countries are embedded in the territory of the Han Dynasty.

This is naturally something that deserves attention. The places in the Western Regions that Huo Xian conquered must be the territory of the Han Dynasty. These bordering Western Regions countries must accept it whether they adapt to it or not.

The Han people have hard fists and appear to be stronger than the Huns, so the people of the Western Regions need to accept this reality and arrangement. They also need to know the rules of how to get along with the Han people.

Huo Xian also had no intention of destroying all the Western Regions countries in one go and killing everyone in the Western Regions, as that would obviously not be in the interests of the Han Dynasty.

After all, when seizing land, we also need to look at the resources of these lands and the population of these places. A large land area is not necessarily the best; rich resources are more important.

Huo Xian looked at Zhang Gui'an and said with a smile, "You should go to Yuli and other countries now. These countries previously sent coalition forces to attack our army. Ask them to hand over their people and property as an apology."

Zhang Guian was somewhat surprised and asked, "Lord, since these people have rebellious intentions, why not destroy them all at once now?"

It is normal for Zhang Gui'an to have such thoughts. The Han Dynasty is now very powerful. As long as an excuse is given, the Han Dynasty will have the opportunity to send troops to directly destroy those disobedient people. This is something that has happened repeatedly.

Huo Xian patiently explained, "The Western Region is really too big. We have now acquired the land of the Three Kingdoms in the Western Region. It is either a major transportation route or a land with abundant water and grass. Let's stabilize these first."

Seeing that Zhang Gui'an still didn't seem to understand, Huo Xian said, "The court will have to use troops against the Xiongnu sooner or later. It's not a good time to start a bigger war in the Western Regions now."

Since Huo Xian's words were so clear, Zhang Gui'an actually understood them to some extent. There was really no other way and he could only put the overall situation first.

This expedition to the Western Regions did not capture all the core areas of the Western Regions, nor did it include all the lands with abundant grass and water and suitable for grazing into the Han territory.

However, this battle did indeed control some important positions in the Western Regions, which was extremely beneficial to the Han Dynasty. It seemed that there would be no difficulty in further development in the future.

However, if they really start to use military force everywhere, they will basically have to attack each country one by one, and even provoke the alliance of some countries in the Western Regions. Then another war will be inevitable.

If the situation really came to that, many Han troops would be tied up here.

Such a thing is definitely not cost-effective for the Han Dynasty. They also need to consider how to use troops against the Huns, which is the top priority.

On the other hand, even though the Cheshi and other countries were destroyed, don't think that the Western Regions can be destroyed at will. What's more, Wusun and Xiongnu are also eyeing them covetously, and these people will not let go easily.

It will take a lot of time to govern the countries in the Western Regions after conquering them. It would be more appropriate to completely control the conquered countries now, and then slowly seek to conquer other countries in the Western Regions.

Huo Xian understood this principle. In fact, Zhang Guian could also understand some of these principles. At this time, he really couldn't just think about momentary pleasure, but had to put the overall situation first.

Whether you like it or not, this is the current situation and you have no choice but to accept this reality.

After receiving the task, Zhang Gui'an started to get busy. Although he had no ability to lead troops, he was Zhang Qian's son after all, and he also had a good diplomatic talent, so he was still very useful.

Whether he was going to the Dayuan or accompanying the army to the Western Regions this time, he was the number one envoy in Huo Xian's hands. While Huo Xian was fighting everywhere, Zhang Gui'an was also constantly conducting diplomacy.

Feng Wu came over stealthily, "My Lord, if there is no more war to fight, should we prepare to return to Chang'an?"

Huo Xian angrily scolded, "What's the point of you going back to Chang'an? You haven't married yet, and you don't have any children. Uncle Feng doesn't need you to take care of him. What's the matter with you going back so quickly?"

Feng Wu said with a wink, "Doesn't this mean that the prince has a successor? If we hurry back, we will definitely be able to catch up with the birth of the little prince."

Chen Ju beside him also nodded, and then said, "It has just started snowing. The snow in the Western Regions must be heavier than that in Guanzhong. If we walk faster, we will definitely be able to catch up."

As for marching forward in the wind and snow, this matter was nothing in everyone's eyes. After all, they had experienced such things before. It was just a small team marching, not a large army.

Huo Xian was somewhat tempted, but then he said, "No, I still have to stay in the Western Regions. I can't leave until things are done well."

He still has to put the overall situation first. The situation is improving now. If he gives up all his previous efforts because of his selfish desires, he will be a sinner for all eternity!

There was no need to rush back to Chang'an. Even if he went back, he would only cause more trouble. It was more important to do what he was supposed to do!

(End of this chapter)