Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 154 'Cao Jun' crosses the river

Huo Jun has remembered the most profound words in the military books since he read the military books and fought on the battlefield, that is, soldiers are important matters of the country, the place of life and death, and the way of survival.

Soldiers are so important, but what about the existence of generals who command battles?
War is based on human beings, so war also has the weaknesses of human nature, both the enemy and ourselves.

Therefore, Sun Tzu repeatedly emphasized in "Nine Transformations" that a general needs to overcome his own weaknesses.If you are brave but have no plan, you will easily die at the hands of others; if you are greedy for life and fear of death, you will be easily captured; if you are impatient and underestimate the enemy, you will lose your wits; if you love fame and honor, you will be easily overthrown when you are humiliated and angry; if you love the people too much, you will be worried about them. And can't fight.

Of course, Sun Tzu not only tells you to restrain your weaknesses, but also teaches you how to use your weaknesses to win.It may seem absurd to exploit human weaknesses in war, but that's part of war.

When Huo Jun laid out his plan, he was not only betting on the reputation of the step trainer, but also on everything about him.If he loses, his reputation will be ruined; if he wins, everyone will praise him.

Just like him in Queyue Formation under the Wanshui River, he fought with his back to the water.If he loses, he will be the second Zhao Kuo, and Ma Di will have to wait in line behind him; if he wins, he will be praised as the second Han Xin.

It's the same today. If you win, your reputation will spread all over the world. If you lose, your reputation will be ruined.

When Huo Jun convened a meeting with the generals, Huo Du, who was far away in Shucheng, was already sharpening his sword there.His elder brother Huo Duming was ostensibly sent to Shu County by Huo Jun, but in fact he was ordered to attack Cao Jun's water stronghold and seize the beacon tower.

Huo Jun's strategy of slacking off the enemy was neither Zang Ba nor Sun Yu.When he learned that Sun Yu was building a beacon tower, he considered crossing the river in white.Due to the different background and environment, Lu Meng's set of tricks could not be used on Sun Yu.

But it is not impossible to learn from it. Huo Jun is not a layman outside the war, nor is he a person like Ma Su who is obsessed with reading.He had learned from Marshal Qi's Yuanyang Formation and Emperor Wu of Liu Song's Queyue Formation.Today, I have learned something from Lu Xun and Lu Meng’s joint effort to cross the river in white clothes.

After the military meeting and before Zang Ba's arrival, Huo Jun had already thought about the details of the strategy, that is, the core key was to restore grain assistance to Jianghuai and Jiangdong, then seize Jianghuai's grain ships, pretend to be grain ship teams, and attack those beacon towers.

So there is also a mystery in how to restore the grain ship traffic between Jianghuai and Jiangdong.As the war was about to begin, Gao Xiang, who was stationed in Wankou and Ruxukou, was able to cut off the water transportation links between Jianghuai and Jiangdong, and Jianghuai did not dare to transport grain to Jiangdong.

In order to allow both sides to resume water transportation and use grain ships to seize the beacon tower, Huo Jun painstakingly staged this drama.He made up stories such as "Sinking Fish and Falling Wild Goose", "The Moon Is Shy at Flowers", etc., and also made up a name for herself as lustful.Then he revealed that he was addicted to women, which made everyone criticize him.

When Zang Ba entered Chaohu, he attacked Ruxu garrison.Gao Xiang withdrew from Ruxukou and the battle line contracted to Shu County, which was the beginning of this battle.

So how can Huo Jun ensure that Jianghuai water transportation will be restored to support Jiangdong's money and grain.The key point lies in Liu Bei and Guan Yu, who have led their troops deep into Wuhui County.Jiangdong, which did not have much food and grass to begin with, was in urgent need of money and food support from Jianghuai after the consumption in spring and winter.

Therefore, Huo Jun showed that he was obsessed with women and neglected military affairs, just to shrink the front line, and deliberately gave away the waterways of Chaohu Lake and the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

As Huo Jun expected, after facing Huo Jun, he shrank his front line and gave way to the waterway.At Sun Yu's request, Liu Fu transferred the grain and grass from the Jianghuai River to Hefei, preparing to load it on ships at Chaohu Lake and transport it to the battlefield of Wuhui.

When the enemy had already followed his own steps, Huo Jun took decisive action and asked Huo Du to set out from Shu County to plunder Cao Jun's water village at Changning Pavilion in Chao Lake.He concealed his actions in the name of provincial relatives and went to Jingkou City as a large army.

That night, Huo Du led 2000 people from Shu County, followed the Longshu River, entered Chao Lake by boat, and headed for Cao Jun's Changning Pavilion Water Village.

Longshu Water has a large river flow. 60.00% of the water in Chaohu Lake is injected by Longshu Water.

When the night is dark, the lights in Cao Jun's water village flicker on and off, like a bonfire in the dark, seeming to attract moths.Dozens of small boats outside the water village were lurking under the night under Huo Du's control, like poisonous snakes lurking under the night.

Suddenly, the sound of drums sounded in the silent night sky, which was Huo Du's signal to launch an attack on the water village.Dozens of small boats surged up in the darkness, emerged from the reed swamps, and broke into the water village.

The water village seemed to be surprised by Huo Du's surprise attack, and was easily killed by the Jingzhou sergeant.However, just when the water village was about to launch a resistance, Huo Du only captured a dozen boats used to carry grain and captured a dozen sailors before withdrawing.

On these boats, the 'Cao' flag was erected high, and the river wind blew by, making the flags rustle.

The sergeant on the ship held a torch to illuminate the deck, and the Jingzhou sergeant moved bags of grain and grass from his own warship to the deck or into the cabin.In order not to expose any flaws, there was no lurking manpower in the cabin, but the provisions were loaded in a serious manner.

Huo Du quickly changed the attire of Cao's captain. Except for the sailors, all the other soldiers put on Cao's army uniforms.At the same time, Huo Du learned from the prisoners that everything was normal. Considering the urgency, Jiangdong Army could not be informed of the details of the attack on the water stronghold, so he ordered the soldiers to set off at night and rush to Niuzhu Beacon Tower.

……

Niuzhu, also known as Caishiji (today's Ma'anshan City), is west of Jinling and east of Ruxukou.The terrain is dangerous, and it has been very convenient to cross the Yangtze River and quarry Shiji since ancient times.

This is not a confrontation between the north and the south, but a confrontation between the upper and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Sun Yu built a beacon tower at a high place to observe the ships coming out of Chao Lake or coming down from the upper reaches.

In the summer morning, the Niuzhuji waters are covered with hazy mist, vast mist, rising river water, and rapid currents.

On more than a dozen boats, sailors shook their oars to break up the waves, their white sails moved in the wind, and their bottoms cut through the waves.

Xia Houdu, the captain of Cao Military Academy, stood on the deck calmly and calmly holding his sword.The soldiers on the surrounding ships were scattered sparsely.

On the beacon tower, Jiangdong Sergeant Li Er was yawning and chatting with others.Holding the spear, Li Er said with envy: "I heard that Bu Ji has the appearance of Xi Shi. Huo Jun was so fascinated by her that he didn't even want to fight. It's a pity that she doesn't know what she looks like. She should be prettier than Zhao Ji who sells wine in the village."

Zhao Da chuckled and said: "What does Zhao Ji mean? You have never seen noble girls. Their fingers are not wet, their skin is like jade, their bodies are as white as jade, they can sing and dance. Ordinary noble girls are like this, even more Needless to say, Bu Ji is comparable to Xi Shi..."

Saying that, Zhao Da shook his head and said with emotion: "Compared to Xi Shi's appearance, if I were Huo Jun, I would be willing to serve as a naval officer to welcome her, so that she can enjoy all the wealth and wealth. Of course, I am not like Huo Jun, who is so obsessed with women that he neglects the military. "

Before Zhao Da finished speaking, Li Er seemed to see a dozen boats in the distance and shouted: "Captain, a boat is coming."

Zhu Ba, the commander of the camp, squinted his eyes and watched for a while, then shouted loudly: "Prepare fire, soldiers prepare for battle. If there is any abnormal movement, burn smoke as a signal."

"promise!"

Xiahou Du stared at the approaching beacon tower and said: "I order all soldiers not to act rashly. Anyone who exposes military aircraft will be executed without mercy."

"promise!"

As they approached the beacon tower, more than a dozen boats slowly lowered their sails and approached the Caishiji beacon tower.

Supporting the platform wall, Zhu Ba clearly saw the flag with the Chinese characters for "Cao", slightly put down his guard, and shouted loudly: "Why did you suddenly stop the boat here?"

"Do you recognize the flag above?" Xia Houdu scolded loudly and said, "Our army is under the orders of Cao Sikong and Liu Yangzhou to deliver food to you and others. The wind and waves are strong today, so we have to stop temporarily. Isn't it necessary?"

Zhu Bala hesitated slightly and said: "We cannot stay in the important place of Beacon Tower."

"Bold!" Xia Houdu got angry and yelled: "Sun Yu doesn't dare to speak like this when he sees me. Who are you, get out of here. Otherwise, when I get to Jingkou, I will definitely let you know how powerful I am."

Seeing this, Zhao Da pulled Zhu Ba's sleeve and said: "The Jianghuai grain boat, the village chief asked them to stop for a while. If we offend them, we will not look good."

"it is good!"

Zhu Ba looked at the boat and saw that it was full of food and grass. He felt relieved and shouted: "The general has been offended just now! In a war-torn place, be on guard against Wansou troops."

As soon as these words came out, everyone on the boat laughed loudly and said, "Huo Jun has ignored military affairs for a long time. Now he is taking Na Buji back to his hometown to visit relatives. How can he be here again?"

Everyone on the beacon tower also laughed and put down their weapons.When the sergeant holding the torch saw that it was Cao Jun, he also put out the torch.

While at the berth, Xiahou Du took several sergeants and sent several jars of wine to the beacon tower, and said some friendly words.Zhu Ba, the commander of the village, was very happy. He nodded and bowed, thanking Xiahou Du who wanted to speak kindly to him.

Xiahou Du also saw that the beacon tower sergeant was living in a pitiful condition, so he used the opportunity to chat with Zhu Ba as an excuse, and then asked Zhu Ba to take people to the ship to carry grain and grass.

After a few glasses of wine, Zhu Ba had long forgotten what he had done and was greedy. He waved his hand and led more than thirty soldiers to move food and grass.

At the same time, Xiahou Du waved his hand, and a dozen sergeants took the opportunity to rush into the beacon tower and capture the sergeants guarding the tower.Those who tried to light a fire and create smoke were beheaded on the spot.

As the beacon tower screamed one after another, Zhu Ba regained consciousness standing on the shore and shouted in panic: "Why does the general treat such a person like this?"

Xiahou Du raised his head and laughed, and said: "I am Huo Du, the general of the rank and file, not the general Xiahou you mentioned. I am here on the order of Huo Poyang."

"what!"

Zhu Ba fell into shock and lost his voice: "You dressed up like Cao Jun to deceive us in order to seize the beacon tower."

"Ha ha!"

Huo Du shouted loudly and said, "Why don't you surrender quickly?"

Seeing that the soldiers on the boat were already aiming at them with bows and crossbows, Zhu Ba had no choice but to put down his weapons and kneel down to surrender along with Zhao Da, Li Er and others.

The Niuzhu beacon tower was captured, and the subsequent beacon towers were successfully deceived by Xiahou Du, who was transporting grain. He captured all the beacon towers except Beigu Mountain in one day.

(End of this chapter)