As night fell, Zhang He led his troops eastward in the morning.
Except for Xiahou Ru and 6,000 men who were stationed in Wuxing for rest and recuperation, the remaining 13,000 soldiers were all commanded by Zhang He to advance towards Hanzhong.
The emperor had already instructed that one should seek real benefits rather than empty fame.
Chasing the Shu army on the mountain road, apart from capturing some of the remnants of the Shu army, there is a high probability that the key figures of the Shu army will not be captured. This is a waste of manpower and time for the sake of the false reputation of pursuit.
But it’s different towards the east!
Zhuge Liang led his army to flee south, which was clearly handing over Hanzhong to the handover, and this was the greatest practical benefit!
Ju County, Yangping Pass...these cities and passes along the way must be in fear.
Moreover, there is no need to say much about the importance of Hanzhong. After taking Hanzhong, we can use the Han River to connect with Jingzhou.
The probability of capturing Zhuge Liang is not as great as the importance of Hanzhong!
Speaking of Hanzhong, Zhang He and Cao Zhen were both old acquaintances. Even Guo Huai, who was in the army at the time, was the same.
In the 20th year of Jian'an, Cao Cao led an army of 100,000 to Hanzhong. After capturing Yangping Pass, Zhang Lu's army collapsed. After Cao Cao led his army back north, he left Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He to supervise the army.
In the 23rd year of Jian'an, when Liu Bei attacked Hanzhong, Zhang He blocked Liu Bei's army outside Yangping Pass, forcing Liu Bei to cross the Han River to the south and cross mountains and ridges to station at Dingjun Mountain.
After Xiahou Yuan died in the 24th year of Jian'an, Zhang He was recommended by Guo Huai and others to lead the army. After Cao Cao arrived, the person in charge of fighting against the Shu army outside Yangping Pass changed from Zhang He to Cao Zhen.
Yangping Pass?
As for Cao Zhen and the other two, they were so familiar with each other! It was like their own backyard!
On the evening of the 8th, Cao Zhen marched a hundred miles in one day and one night and arrived outside the city of Ju County.
Ju County is just a small county and is not at the defense focus of Shu Han. How can it withstand the power of 10,000 cavalrymen besieging the city?
Besides...
Wasn't the prime minister fighting the Wei army in Chiting? How did the 10,000 cavalry of the Wei army get to Ju County? Where was the prime minister?
Ju County surrendered decisively.
As the city gate opened, Wei cavalry quickly poured in from the city gate, guarded various key locations in Ju County, and took over the city defense.
Cao Zhen also personally summoned Fu Xin, the magistrate of Ju County.
As it was already night, Cao Zhen wanted to know the situation at Yangping Pass, so he called Fu Xin over to have a chat.
"I, a surrendered official, pay my respects to the great general!" Fu Xin stepped forward quickly and actually knelt down on the ground and began to kowtow.
"Please stand up, County Magistrate Fu! Since you have already surrendered to the Wei Dynasty, you should be rewarded according to His Majesty's order. As a minister in the same court, why should you kneel down and bow down to me?"
"Thank you, General!" Fu Xin stopped his flattering attitude, stood up and stood in the hall with his hands behind his back.
Cao Zhen looked at Fu Xin. This fat forty-year-old county magistrate suddenly looked somewhat pleasing to the eye.
"Could you please tell me, County Magistrate Fu, how many troops are there in Hanzhong now?"
"There are 10,000 troops!" Fu Xin answered in a crisp voice.
Cao Zhen asked in surprise: "How do you know this number?"
Fu Xin cupped his hands and said, "After retreating from Qishan in the past, all the personnel and troops who retreated to Hanzhong passed outside Ju County. How could I not know this?"
Cao Zhen stroked his beard and smiled, "Then in your opinion, where should the 10,000 troops in Hanzhong be stationed now?"
Fu Xin calmly replied, "There are 2,000 soldiers guarding Yangping Pass, 2,000 in Mianyang, 4,000 in Nanzheng, and 2,000 in Chenggu."
Cao Zhen was really surprised. He stood up from the table and his tone became more serious: "How did County Magistrate Fu know about this military intelligence assignment? You are just a county magistrate. You should not know this kind of military intelligence!"
Fu Xin cupped his hands and replied, "General, I really have no way of knowing the military situation. But when the army returned, I led the people to perform transportation labor."
"Of the troops that set out from Ju County, how many were missing when they reached Yangping Pass, and how many were missing when they reached Mianyang." Fu Xin laughed, "How could this be hidden from the people in charge of transportation?"
Cao Zhen approached Fu Xin, stared at the slightly fat magistrate in his forties for a few seconds, smacked his lips and said, "I've been to Ju County many times, but I never expected someone as knowledgeable as you to appear!"
"Tomorrow you will go with the army to Yangping Pass! If everything you said is true, I will recruit you to serve in the central army!"
Fu Xin showed no fear on his face, and bowed calmly, "I will obey the general's order."
After Fu Xin left, Cao Zhen thought about this man's behavior alone, but he couldn't understand why he was so flattering at the beginning.
……
The capture of Chiting brought more than just military victory.
Thanks to the water transport function of the ancient channel, grain transported from Guanzhong could reach the army directly, reducing a lot of transportation pressure.
On the morning of the 6th, Cao Zhen led 30,000 troops to march south.
During these few days, Cao Rui finally had the time and energy to start dealing with some government affairs in the rear.
If we look closely, this expedition took nearly half a year, even longer than the last expedition to Huainan. The emperor had been away from the capital Luoyang for a long time, so how could he take care of government affairs with only Wei Zhen's reports every three days?
Take the battle in the Qingnishui River Valley a few days ago, for example. Cao Rui played Tangqi with Cao Zhen, Sima Yi, and Chen Jiao for a whole day.
The mental pressure of sitting in the rear and waiting for the outcome of the decisive battle on the front line is enough to make people anxious. How can they have the energy to deal with political affairs when they can only play some danqi and make some bets to kill time?
Sima Yi was originally the Recorder of the Secretariat and an important official in the Eastern Pavilion, so it was his job to sort out the affairs of state.
"Your Majesty, there are many unresolved matters in Xin Shizhong's office." Sima Yi said in the tent, "I have selected the three most important ones. Please give your instructions."
"Please speak, Sikong." Cao Rui nodded.
"The first case is about the people of Linjin and Wannian counties evading military service."
Sima Yi looked up at the emperor and continued, "At the end of February, the people of Linjin and Wannian counties were conscripted for the second time to transport grain to Longyou."
"When they reached Yong County, more than 3,000 people, led by Chen Da and Hu Ning, abandoned their baggage and fled, intending to return to their own county, and killed the county official who was in charge of transporting grain."
"Minister Xin sent people to arrest Chen Da and Hu Ning, and also sent 3,000 civilians back to their own county and put them under surveillance in each township and village."
Sima Yi handed Xin Pi's original document to the emperor: "Minister Xin suggested that Chen and Hu be exterminated and their three tribes be exiled, and three thousand people be exiled a thousand miles."
Cao Rui flipped through the documents and sighed, "It's not easy to transport food in winter! We have to go again after one trip!"
"Sikong, has Minister Xin ever counted how many civilians died transporting grain to various places?"
Sima Yi replied: "In the past six months, more than 2,000 people have died while serving labor service in Yongzhou, Hedong and Pingyang counties. Some died from the cold, some from disease, and some from accidents."
"Minister Xin is only responsible for Guanzhong, Hedong, and Pingyang. The Shangshutai is responsible for supervising the transportation of grain and grass to the other states. Minister Xin is not clear about this."
"Master Wei didn't tell me either." Cao Rui said softly, "From December to the end of March, it is calculated as four months, 120 days. More than 20 people died every day just transporting grain."
"I have ordered all counties to take precautions, but this kind of thing is still unavoidable."
Sima Yi cupped his hands and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. This is inevitable. Historically, large armies have to recruit corvée labor when they go out on expeditions. Winter casualties are simply unavoidable."
"Even if Your Majesty does not impose corvée labor, people will still die in winter."
Cao Rui glanced at Sima Yi and said, "Although this is true, I still cannot deal with it this way."
"Tell Minister Xin that the two leaders who killed officials and rebelled will have their entire clans exterminated, and those whose hands are stained with blood will be beheaded. The rest of the people will not be exiled thousands of miles away, and will be exempted from other crimes, but everyone will be whipped ten times as a warning!"
"If they were to flee a thousand miles, who knows how many more people would die? It would be enough to execute the chief culprit."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Sima Yi accepted the order nonchalantly and then moved on to the second matter.
"The second thing is that in early March, the Qiang people from Longyou who had moved to Guanzhong arrived one after another. Minister Xin sent people to station them in Chiyang, Wugong, Lantian, Yongxian, and Zhengxian."
"But the newly migrated Qiang people in Guanzhong generally have some unstable tendencies. Although their original tribes were disrupted as much as possible when they were migrated in, there were still fights and even deaths and injuries in the various farming sites."
"Minister Xin asks Your Majesty what standard should be used to deal with this matter."
Cao Rui raised his eyes to look at Sima Yi: "What method do you think should be used to deal with it, Sikong?"
Sima Yi clasped his hands and replied: "I think we should deal with him severely and severely!"
"The Qiang people refuse to obey the king. Although the leaders of the tribe have received benefits from the Wei Dynasty, most of the Qiang people still have old habits and cannot change."
"If a fight results in death or injury, the ringleader shall be executed, and the rest shall be severely punished!"
"I understand what Sikong meant." Cao Rui nodded: "We should treat these Qiang people with both kindness and severity, but they can't feel my kindness or understand my deep meaning for a while."
"But in terms of 'power', it comes faster and is more effective, right?"
"Your Majesty is wise." Sima Yi bowed.
"Then tell Minister Xin," Cao Rui ordered, "Although I moved them here, the Qiang people have no special privileges when they break the law. They should be killed if they deserve it, and punished if they deserve it, and the punishment should be severe!"
"If we intimidate them for a few years, their habits will gradually change."
"And the third thing..."
……
There are many complicated political affairs to deal with, but Cao Rui's basic principle is to conserve the people's strength as much as possible and resume production as soon as possible.
Cao Zhen arrived in Ju County on the 8th and marched to the outside of Yangping Pass on the afternoon of the 9th, where he calmly set up camp.
Zhang He left the infantry under the command of Guo Huai and went forward in person to meet Cao Zhen to discuss the military strategy for the march.
"General Zhang, have you reported to His Majesty everything that happened in the past two days?"
Zhang He nodded and said, "I have reported everything. However, I came from Ju County in a hurry and have not received your Majesty's reply yet."
Cao Zhen nodded: "But you said, we have retreated from Hanzhong for so many years, but Yangping Pass is still the same Yangping Pass. How many days will it take to take Yangping Pass again?"
Zhang He looked at Cao Zhen's smiling face and thought for a moment: "Five days?"
Cao Zhen laughed loudly: "General Zhang really thinks the same as I do! Five days is enough!" (End of this chapter)
