Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 224 An attempt to destroy
In winter, the weather is cold and the warm sun is rising.

At first light, three bursts of thunderous drums sounded in Cao Jun's water stronghold.Then Cao Jun's sailors, boatmen and sailors in the water stronghold heard the sound of drums and got into the boats, manning their oars and crossbows. Hundreds of large and small ships were arranged in an orderly manner and came out of the stronghold one by one.

Beside the dock, Cao Cao wanted to board the boat to fight, but was dissuaded by everyone.

Cheng Yu had a worried look on his face and admonished him: "The Prime Minister is so light-hearted as to board a ship and enter the river. If there are storms and waves, it will be a loss for the world. Yu is deeply worried. The Prime Minister should not order the governor to go out to avoid losses. .”

Cao Cao waved his hand and said with a smile: "Today's navy is just a decoy force. If I don't lead it myself, how can I convince Huo Jun and Liu Bei that I've fallen into the trap. At that time, when seven groups of soldiers and horses have crossed to the south of the Yangtze River, I can also lead them." The infantry turned to the south of the Yangtze River and attacked the Jiangdong camp from both front and rear."

As he said that, Cao Cao looked at the soldiers from Jianghan who had left the stronghold, and whispered: "Moreover, most of the soldiers from Jianghan are descendants from Jianghan, soldiers from Chu, and generals from Wu. If you don't have a soldier to supervise the battle, , I’m afraid that the people who surrendered from Jianghan will not be able to fully serve."

As Huo Jun said, Cao Cao didn't dare to use these Jianghan people with confidence.So Cao Cao came up with an idea to retain the middle and low-level generals in the Jianghan Navy and use Wu people or Beiren generals who had just begun the naval battle as generals for the purpose of balancing control.

As for using people from Wu as generals, Cao Cao made the generals of the Sun family the governor of Jiangzuo, and deceived Sun Bi, Sun Fu, Sun Yu, Cheng Pu and other Sun family's old officials into being used by him.For example, the person who went to war for the first time was Cheng Pu, who also controlled Cai Zhong and Cai He, the younger brothers of the Cai Mao clan.And Cai Mao, as the chief lieutenant, accompanied Cao Cao in battles and advised the navy on operational opinions.

With that said, Cao Cao saw that Cai Mao and Sun Quan had already boarded the ship, patted Cheng Yu's hand, and said with a smile: "Zhu Ge warships, I often ride on them when I fight in the north. Today's navy is not enough for small battles." Out of fear. Zhongde and others waited in the stronghold."

"In this case, the Prime Minister should act very carefully."

"it is good!"

Cao Cao, wearing a bright red war robe of Shu brocade, boarded the ship along the steps.The cold wind blew, and the cloak rolled up. Although his figure was short, he showed his domineering wind.

Then as Cao Cao boarded the boat, Cao Jun's boat came out of the river.The river is vast, the boats are stretched out, the oars break through the waves, and the flags are curled, which is magnificent.

However, in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, an even larger fleet appeared in the sky, sailing up the river with white waves rolling in. Its majestic momentum was like a galloping war horse, which was intimidating.

Suddenly, two large and small ships appeared on the river together, swimming up and down, facing each other tit for tat. There were more than a thousand ships in the boat, covering the sky and the sun, and the momentum was amazing.

Cao Cao climbed onto the boat and looked at the river. He secretly sighed that the vastness of the Yangtze River was not comparable to that of the Yellow River.Big waves hit the hull from time to time, and the ship swayed, causing Cao Cao to grab the guardrail in front of him.Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Sun Quan. His feet were firm and unaffected on the undulating boat. He felt deeply that the southerners were used to boats and boats, and that the northerners could not compare with them.

Just when Cao Cao was sighing at the river water, the two navy warships had already begun to clash.

"Fire arrows!"

Seeing that the Jianghan navy was within the range of bows, arrows and stones, Gan Ning raised his bow and shot a man down, shouting loudly: "The navy's bow is approaching, the crossbowmen are shooting arrows, and he ordered the clapping hands to prepare."

"promise!"

As the bow string vibrated, hundreds of arrows roared up from the stern and flew towards Jianghan Navy in the form of projectiles.The sailors of Cao's army held shields to protect them. At the same time, there were also soldiers holding bows and arrows under the cover of the female wall, drawing their bows and shooting arrows at the opponent.

As arrows flew across the river, Jiangdong Navy faced Cao Jun's boat going down the river, revealing its Y-shaped weapon. The huge stone on the pole was slowly being pulled up by the sailors in the cabin.

Cao Jun's sailors were puzzled when they saw that the Jiangdong Navy had such strange weapons, but they still relied on their previous experience to fight.

In the cabin of the fighting boat, the Jiangzuo sailor looked at the situation ahead through the small window opened in the bow. When he saw Cao Jun's boat approaching, he shouted: "Turn the winch and raise the stone to fight."

"promise!"

In the cabin, several sailors held push rods and circled them in arcs.The rope was twisted and then passed to the big pole. Through the principle of leverage, the boulder was raised.

Immediately afterwards, the lookout saw that the prows of the two ships were about to collide and shouted: "Let go!"

"Oh!"

The bows of the two ships collided, and the impact down the river was even stronger, causing the Jiangzuo Navy's hull to shake.However, to the surprise of Cao Jun's sailors, the new bucket ship with a V-shaped keel bottom had excellent balance and could dissipate the impact force through the special hull.

"Boom!"

Then, the huge boulder hanging on the big pole seemed to fall from the sky and slammed into the bow deck of the ship.Cao Jun's sailors didn't know how to shoot the pole, and a small number of them actually stood on the bow of the ship. At the moment when the boulder hit them, they didn't even scream. The bones were shattered, like tomatoes being smashed, and blood splashed on the bow of the ship. .

At the same time as the bones were shattered, huge boulders slammed into the bow of the ship, the deck was cracked, and sawdust flew everywhere. The sound was so loud and terrifying that it was extremely terrifying.The navy of Cao Jun on the ship was so frightened that they didn't know how to fight.

"Turn around and avoid!"

The commander of Cao Jun's navy stood on the deck and shouted loudly.

"Whoosh!"

A short spear was thrown from Zhang Shun's hand, hitting Cao Jun's sailor Tun Chang's chest.The village chief screamed and immediately fell to the ground dead.

Along with a short spear, dozens of short spears from Jiangdong's ships were also thrown out. At close range, the spears sank with great force and the wooden shields could not stop them. Cao Jun's sailors suffered heavy casualties.

Taking advantage of the momentum to pursue, the sailors under the cabin pulled up a huge boulder and smashed it against the bow of the enemy ship again. The wood flew across and smashed the cabin.Under the gravity of the boulder, the wood on the bottom of the ship was broken.The cold river water seeped into the cabin along the gaps, and more and more water seeped into the cabin, and the boat had a tendency to sink gradually.

Not long after the confrontation, nearly ten fighting ships lost their combat effectiveness. Cheng Pu, Cai Zhong, and Cai He in the front were all frightened, and they were all frightened by the threat of the stick.

"Avoid the bow of the ship and let the small boats flank the enemy ship from the left and right."

Due to the tight formation of Jiangdong navy's fighting boats, the big ships facing each other head-on were easily destroyed by the bat, so it was difficult for the big ships to attack from both sides.Cheng Pusu was the general of Jiangdong. Although he was imprisoned in Xiangyang for two years, he still had the ability to command the naval forces. He regained his composure and asked Cao Jun's navy to avoid the bow of the ship and try to attack from the flanks.

The bucket boat equipped with a racket pole was sailing against the current due to the heavy boulders, and it was difficult to turn the bow of the boat.And as Cheng Pu ordered his flag to rise, Cao Jun's boat tried to attack from the left and right.

Gan Ning was not afraid when he saw Cao's army maneuvering like this. He held his bow and shouted: "Mount your bows and spears on the left and right, and prepare your chariots and ships for battle."

"promise!"

Cao Jun's small boats relied on their agile positioning to move from the left and right sides of the bow of the fighting boat.

"Archery!"

The fighting boat was tall, and the sailors on the left side of the river were condescending. More than a dozen arrows hit the boat accurately. Several sailors of Cao's army were unable to avoid it, and they were hit by the arrows and fell into the river.The remaining sailors of Cao's army barely resisted with their shields, but within twenty steps, dozens of short spears from the fighting boats were thrown out.

"what!"

The sharp spear tip pierced the body, and hot blood rushed out. Cao Jun's sailors screamed and fell into the river one after another. The bright red blood mixed with the river water, suddenly dyeing the water red.

Stone bullets from the fighting boats were thrown into the small boats, killing or injuring those who were hit.The small boats advanced and cooperated with the fighting boats to easily deal with the small boats of Cao's army that came from the side and the front.

Under Huo Jun's careful transformation, Jiangzuo Navy has already completed its transformation.The fighting boats marched together and used their poles to destroy the big ship head-on; the small boats fought from the left and right, using bows and crossbows from far away and short spears from near, increasing the proportion of spears thrown and reducing the proportion of bows and crossbows in water battles.

Jiangdong Navy and Sun Navy fought fiercely for several years, and their martial arts were excellent. They also practiced in Poyang Lake for a long time, and their large and small boats and boats were perfect in cooperation.The Jingzhou Navy had little training and did not fight against foreign invaders all year round. In addition, since Cao Cao had just surrendered, his morale was not high, so how could he be the opponent of the Jiangdong Navy.

Not long after the naval battle between the two armies, some of Cao's boats were severely damaged and fled in fear of the battle before the boarding battle began.And the Jiangzuo fighting boat also got rid of the restriction of the smashed enemy ship in front of the people. The bows of the ships were facing forward and they moved forward together. They took advantage of the situation to pursue them. Under the huge rocks, all the big ships that wanted to fight with them were destroyed and people were killed. Hard to resist.

On the big ship, Cao Cao took a deep breath when he saw the fighting ship that no one dared to stop, and asked: "Under the huge rocks, the ship and the ship were completely destroyed. What is this?"

Sun Quan hesitated for a while and said: "When the soldiers under Quan's tent were fighting against the navy under Huo Jun's tent, there was no such thing."

Cai Mao also shook his head and said: "Prime Minister, Mao has been a water controller for many years and has never seen this thing before."

Cao Cao's face suddenly turned ugly. He really underestimated the navy under Huo Jun. So far in the war, he has damaged nearly twenty of his ships with just the stick, and he has not been able to control them.

Seeing that the battle situation of the navy was not going well, Cai Mao secretly glanced at Cao Cao's face and said tentatively: "Prime Minister, why don't you go back to the stronghold and discuss it later?"

Cao Cao snorted coldly and said dissatisfiedly: "We don't know the situation of the Seventh Route Army crossing the river today, so how can we easily return to the stronghold. Let Cheng Pu send his troops to fight. The names of the defeated generals today will be recorded and returned to the camp for disposal."

The naval battle was unfavorable, but Cao Cao still remembered the Seventh Route Army, hoping to contain the Jiangzuo Navy and ensure that the Seventh Route Army could successfully cross the river.However, just because Cao Cao thinks so does not mean that Huo Jun thinks so.

On the flagship, Huo Jun, Lu Su, Jiang Ji and others talked about the current war and laughed endlessly.

Lu Su saw the overwhelming force at the front and said with emotion: "Captain, you have innovated the weapons of water warfare and drilled them in an orderly manner. The enemy navy is no longer a match for our army. With the strength of the navy, even if Cao Cao cannot be defeated, It can also stop Cao Cao from reaching the north of the Yangtze River."

Jiang Ji stroked his beard and said: "Cao Cao's navy has nothing to worry about. I don't know whether Wei Yan and Xu Sheng will burn down the boats and rafts of the Seventh Army."

Before he finished speaking, the clipper came galloping forward. The scout boarded the ship along the rope ladder, raised his hands and said: "The battle at Xiakou has been successful. The Seventh Route Army, with Luzhao as the vanguard, led [-] elite infantry and cavalry to cross the river from Pukou. General Wei Yan Yu Taibai The lake enters the Han River, and fifty light boats enter the stronghold. At dawn, they burn all the boats and boats of the enemy's water stronghold."

"When Lu Zhao was about to cross the river, Xu Sheng led fifty canoes across the river and attacked Lu Zhao's troops. Most of Cao's 700 cavalry were killed and wounded. Lu Zhao crossed the river and came ashore to escape. General Zhang Fei led his cavalry. The soldiers patrolled the river and killed the bandits and generals. Sixty-seven hundred of them surrendered."

The Seventh Route Army had about 4 troops and certainly could not all cross the river, so the vanguard was chosen to cross the river from Pukou, a tributary of the Han River.At dawn, Wei Yan went straight into the water stronghold of the Seventh Army and burned the boats and rafts in the water stronghold.

Xu Sheng and Zhang Fei were to deal with Luzhao's troops who were smuggling across the Yangtze River. Xu Sheng attacked from the water and attacked Luzhao's troops. Zhang Fei led his cavalry to patrol the river to prevent Cao's soldiers from sneaking across the Yangtze River from other places.

"congratulations!"

Jiang Ji smiled happily and said: "The boats and rafts of the Seventh Route Army have been destroyed, and it is difficult for them to threaten the south of the Yangtze River. The only enemy of our army is the army of the West Route, the water-breaking division, which can break Cao Cao's offensive."

Huo Jun was relieved in his heart. Cao Cao attacked with great force. Due to the large number of soldiers and horses, he took the initiative.Now that he has disrupted Cao Cao's offensive, the offense and defense of both sides will approach a state of balance.

"Cao Cao's navy has not retreated yet, so don't be happy!"

Huo Jun stared at the fighting navy and ordered: "Come here, order the whole army to go out to fight, with chariots and ships as the vanguard, and defeat Cao's navy as soon as possible."

"promise!"

As the drums of Jiangzuo Navy sounded loudly, ships of all sizes moved into Cao Jun's navy.For example, Gan Ning piloted a large stern ship with rackets at the head and tail, and two rackets on the left and right wings, and suddenly entered Cao Jun's navy.

The sailors of Cao's army, who were already suffering from the attack of the pole, encountered the large ships of Gan Ning and Gao Xiang and rushed into the enemy group, attacking from left and right. Relying on the large advantage of the ship and the power of the pole, almost no ship could stop them.

"Bang~"

"Bang~"

The winches at both ends of the stern rotated sharply, and the sailors in the cabin were sweating profusely.As the boulders slid up and down, the decks, sides, and cabins of the enemy ships were all torn apart when hit by the boulders, and the ships entered the water and capsized.

Cao Jun's navy could not stop them and retreated one after another.And the vanguard warships use paddle poles to clear the way, the cars and ships are driven by wooden wheels, the waves are rolling, and they are traveling at a fast pace.The sergeant stood on the side of the ship, holding a bow and a spear, and shot the fleeing sailors of Cao's army.

In an instant, a large number of vehicles and ships rushed out from behind the fighting boats. With their rapid movement, they pursued the fleeing Cao Jun navy, broke through the ship formation in the front, and directed their troops towards the center of Cao Jun navy.

On the stern, Cao Cao's expression changed greatly, and he exclaimed: "What kind of boat is this? Why is it traveling so fast, and there is no oar? What is the trend? Could it be that there are ghosts and gods to help it?"

Cars and ships were equipped with wheels on their hulls and were driven by sailors stepping on wooden wheels.You can't see the paddle from the outside, you can only see the waves moving rapidly.Therefore, it is normal for Cao Cao to exclaim like this.

Not only Cao Cao was like this, but even Cai Mao was wiping cold sweat and said: "This ship is mysterious, and Mao doesn't know it. However, with the speed of the ship, coupled with the enemy ship hitting the huge rocks, our navy is no longer able to stop it. It’s better to withdraw our troops temporarily.”

"Withdraw!"

Looking at the unstoppable Jiangzuo Navy, Cao Cao had no intention of remembering the Seventh Route Army in Xiakou and hurriedly ordered the navy to retreat.

As the order to retreat was issued, Cao Jun's navy retreated with relief. How could they dare to stay and fight with the Jiangdong navy.Jiangdong Navy took advantage of the speed of its vehicles and ships to pursue them all the way. Later, they were worried that the battleships could not keep up, so they stopped the pursuit.

The battle lasted from morning to noon. Jiangdong Navy relied on its elite fleet, chariots, ships and sergeants to defeat Cao Cao's Navy.In this outpost battle, Jiangzuo Navy only lost a dozen large and small ships, but in exchange for Cao's battleships, sterns and other large ships being sunk, more than [-] or [-] small ships were captured, and countless smaller ships were captured.

Although Cao Cao was not completely defeated, this battle could be regarded as breaking Cao Cao's ambition to quickly eliminate the coalition forces.Huo Jun returned to the Chrysostom camp with a great victory, and the coalition forces Lin Wu finally breathed a sigh of relief and would not be burdened with so much pressure.

At dusk, the sun sets.

The coalition water stronghold was very lively. The boats dropped anchor and docked on the shore. The soldiers on the expedition laughed and talked about the war, looking relaxed.

Gan Ning surrounded Huo Jun and laughed and said: "The governor's reform boat is going forward in an indomitable way. I would rather use the racket to smash it down than fight with it. The navy of Cao's army did not dare to block it, and they all walked away invincible. .”

"Exactly!"

Lü Meng smiled happily and said: "Mengtong's chariots and ships go to battle, they move like fast horses. Cao's retreating navy is all afraid!"

Huo Jun smiled and said, "I, Wu Chu'er, am good at water warfare. Although Cao Cao has millions of soldiers, they are useless."

Liu Bei led the generals who stayed in the village to greet him and said with a smile: "The bravery of all the generals is on the shore to watch. Now we have defeated Cao Cao's army, burned the boats and rafts of the Seventh Route Army, and thwarted Cao Cao's conspiracy. I am very happy and congratulated." . A banquet has been prepared in the tent, and you can go into the tent to rest."

"Thank you Yuzhou!"

While laughing, everyone followed Liu Bei into the tent, enjoying the food and wine, and releasing the stress in their hearts.

Halfway through the banquet, Huo Jun left the space in the tent with the generals and walked slowly out of the tent alone.

"How can Zhongmiao leave the tent before the banquet is over?" Liu Bei also came out of the tent and asked, "Now that we have won such a great victory, why are we worried so much?"

Huo Jun exhaled and said, "Although it is a great victory now, we are still far away from defeating Cao Cao's army, so we have to worry about it."

As he spoke, Huo Jun walked forward and said, "Today's battle can be said to be the first defeat of Cao's army's offensive. Cao Cao was frustrated and did not dare to despise our army. However, it was difficult for Zhouge's division to get ashore, and Cao Cao still held the power of the land route, so To defeat Cao Cao's army, the situation is still difficult."

All armies have two strongholds: land and water.Cao Cao had both a navy and a large army.Although Cao Cao's navy was defeated today, it is not that easy to defeat the land army.

Liu Bei pondered for a while and then said: "I think Zhongmiao's military deployment seems to have the intention of consuming Cao Cao's military supplies. For example, he sent Han Sheng out of Changsha to join forces with Wang Wei to harass Cao Cao's river grain road. Or he led Cao Cao deep into Yunmengze to send troops to Cao Cao. It is stuck in the mud. If so, it would be better to confront them for a long time and look for opportunities to defeat them."

Huo Jun stroked his sword with one hand and said: "A long-term confrontation will consume a lot of supplies. Moreover, there are few soldiers in the Jianghuai and Cao Cao's reinforcements, and our army in Jiangbei is in danger again!"

"In the battle with Cao Cao, Jun is not afraid of Cao Cao coming with his navy. But he is afraid that he will advance from the north to the south and flank the navy. And if Jingnan is recruited by Cao Cao, the army will march across the river, and the boats and boats will be prosperous. This Jun will That’s what I’m afraid of!”

"And if we can't defeat Cao Cao in this battle and just force him away, how can our army regain control of Jingbei? With the number of Cao Cao's troops and horses, it will be easy for us to make a comeback."

Listening to Huo Jun's tangled tone, Liu Bei comforted and said: "Zhongmiao may first use water to block the enemy in the north of the Yangtze River, and then look for opportunities to defeat the enemy."

Huo Jun stood by the river, squinted his eyes and asked, "Do you think the technique of shooting poles and the skill of driving and boating are exquisite?"

Liu Bei nodded and said with a smile: "The racquet pole is a sharp weapon in water warfare and the enemy is afraid of it; the chariot and boat move like the wind and are comparable to ordinary ships. Today's victory over Cao Jun's navy depends on these two things!"

Huo Jun said calmly: "Yuzhou, if Jun gives these two things to Cao Cao, what do you think Cao Cao will do?"

"Give two things to Cao Cao?"

Liu Bei looked at Huo Jun with disbelief on his face and said: "Cao Cao was originally limited by the navy. If Cao Cao gets this method, our army will be able to defeat him!"

As he spoke, Liu Bei calmed down his thoughts and said, "Why does Zhong Miao want to give two things to Cao Cao?"

"It's to defeat the enemy!" Huo Jun said with a smile.

Liu Bei could no longer understand Huo Jun's thinking and said in a deep voice: "Zhong Miao, don't be ridiculous. These two things must never be given to Cao Cao."

Huo Jun put his head in Liu Bei's ear, murmured for a long time, and said: "The soldiers who defeated Lu Village may rely on these two things."

Liu Bei frowned slightly and said, "Is this too dangerous?"

“Seeking wealth through danger!”

Huo Jun looked up at the bright moon and said with a smile: "The bigger the wind and waves, the more expensive the fish. This is what fishermen say!"

……

Compared with the coalition forces, the atmosphere in Cao's camp was solemn, and Cao Cao looked dissatisfied.

"Why was the Navy defeated today?" Cao Cao asked: "So much so that the Seventh Route Army lost one general, and Lu Zhao died in the hands of the enemy."

"Prime Minister, today's defeat is not due to the incompetence of our navy, nor the incompetence of our generals." Cai Mao cupped his hands and said, "It was because the two weapons used by Jiang Zuo's soldiers and horses were novel and extremely efficient!"

Cai Mao bit the bullet and explained: "The first one is the falling boulder, which destroys the big boat and the boat. The boat is destroyed and people are killed, so it cannot be stopped; the second one is the boat without oars, which travels like the wind and is faster than the boat with oars. The enemy invaders With these two things, it will be difficult to stop them in pursuit and difficult to win in battle. This is the first time that Mao and the generals have seen this novel thing."

"How about that?"

Cao Cao re-photographed the case and asked in a deep voice: "Is there a way to solve the problem?"

Cai Mao, Cheng Pu and other Sun family's old generals looked at each other a few times, raised their hands and said, "I would like to ask you, Prime Minister, if you can give us some time to find a way to solve it."

"Can!"

Cao Cao waved his hand, signaling for the navy and other generals to retreat.

"How is the condition of the soldiers today?" Cao Cao asked again.

Xia Houyuan came out of the queue and held up his hands and said: "To inform the Prime Minister, since our army has penetrated into Yunmengze, many soldiers have suffered from diseases, and the number of them has also increased. The army's Chinese herbal medicines are gradually insufficient, and even the army doctors have many diseases. May I ask the Prime Minister What should I do?”

Cao Cao was agitated and said: "I wanted to launch a strategy to attack the east and attack the west, but Huo Jun saw through it and the navy was frustrated. Our army was trapped in Yunmeng Ze by Huo Jun. It was surrounded by mud and there were lakes and rivers on the back, making it difficult to disembark. Village. There are many diseases in the water, so there is nothing we can do."

Xia Houyuan hesitated for a long time and said: "Prime Minister, our army is traveling along the river. For more than ten miles to the north, there are few muddy lakes and many hills, such as Dajun Mountain, Xiaojun Mountain, Bairen Mountain and other mountains. It’s dry land and you can camp.”

Cao Cao stroked his beard and said, "Can you elaborate?"

"The place Yuan mentioned is on the opposite bank of the soldiers on the left side of the Yangtze River, backed by the Chaos River and Taibai Lake. There are overlapping peaks, and most of the mountains are connected by water and land. Our army camped on the mountain, where we could have a good view of the troops on the other side, and we could also avoid the mud. Set up camp.”

After a pause, Xia Houyuan said: "However, there is only one disadvantage. The army has its back high in the rivers and lakes, so it can only go down to the fortress along the river and the mountains. The camps are arranged in a wrong shape."

Cao Cao frowned slightly and said: "If we are facing the enemy's stronghold at Jinkou, wouldn't the naval warships have to be anchored here?"

"Exactly!"

Cheng Yu hesitated a little and said: "Prime Minister, the other side of Jinkou is called Chaanqiu, which is mostly small hills and mountains. If we go down to Chaosling, we will abandon our boats and march. If the enemy attacks, our army will have no boats and ships to protect us." But when our army arrives at Chaos Ling, it can respond to the Seventh Army of Xiakou."

"Shezhou marches on!"

Cao Cao also hesitated and said: "It would be a disadvantage to leave the boat to march, let alone think about it."

The disadvantage of marching by boat is that there is no boat for protection, and the sergeants on land are vulnerable to attacks from the naval force that has control of the river.

"promise!"

Xu Huang raised his hands and came out of the queue and said: "To inform the Prime Minister, there is Niezhou on the south bank of our army, which is close to our army and far away from the Jiangzuo soldiers. It is better to march at night and order thousands of soldiers to cross the river secretly and set up a stronghold on the south bank to see if it can Look for opportunities to defeat the enemy.”

"No!"

Lou Gui said: "Prime Minister, the land south of the Yangtze River is not the land in the north. Niezhou seems to be connected with the south bank, but there is mostly water and marsh in between. The river is flooded in summer and exposed in winter, so the sand and soil of Niezhou are difficult to build up. Camp, the roads are difficult to march, that is, it is impassable for boats and boats, and it is difficult for cars and horses to move."

"Moreover, the troops and horses on the left side of the river are also on guard. The enemy general Zhang Fei has stationed troops in Niezhou and commanded the infantry and cavalry. And if the enemy ships know about it and cut off our army's food supply in the south, how can the troops and horses on the south bank gain a foothold?"

Huo Jun's army was located on the south bank of the Yangtze River and blocked Jinkou.Upstream of Jinkou, the Yangtze River is in a semi-arc shape, protruding to the left, which is Niezhou.

Huo Jun's [-]-strong army arrayed from Jinkou to Niezhou, but no troops were deployed in the protruding position of Niezhou.The core reason is the same as what Lou Gui said: it is all tidal flats and sandy land, making it difficult to advance.This is why Huo Jun dared to attack Jinkou but was not worried about Cao Cao crossing over to the protruding position.The unique terrain above and below Jinkou is due to the Yangtze River and Yunmengze.

Lou Gui, a native of Nanyang, Jingzhou, worked for Liu Biao in his early years, and then defected to Cao Cao.Although I have never been to the Yangtze River, I know the special terrain of the Yangtze River and Yunmengze.

Cao Cao was very depressed and complained: "Young man Huo Jun also knows the importance of the art of war and terrain."

"Prime Minister, why don't you welcome the troops and retreat temporarily?" Lou Gui said: "First base yourself in Jingnan, and then advance across the river."

Cao Cao stroked his beard and said nothing, just lowered his head and thought.

After a while, the attendant came into the account and said, "To inform the Prime Minister, Huo Jun has sent another letter."

Cao Cao's eyelids twitched there and he said in a muffled voice: "Nian!"

"Don't dare to go down!"

Cao Cao said in a low voice with hidden anger: "I'll let you read it!"

"No~"

The attendant seemed to see that Cao Cao was angry, so he quickly opened the letter and read: "Master Cao, do you know the spirit of a certain navy? Since we are outnumbered, why not retreat quickly to prevent the dog's head from falling to the ground."

Cao Cao stood up, waved his sleeves and said, "Pull him out and kill him!"

"what?"

The attendant was horrified and shouted: "Prime Minister, I have been wronged!"

"Didn't the Prime Minister allow me to read the letter?"

The attendant was dragged away, screaming that he was wronged.

Jia Xu glanced at the man, his eyes looking at his nose, his nose looking at his heart, without saying a word.

Cao Cao walked to the tent, picked up the letter, showed it to everyone with a smile, and said: "I asked him to read the letter. This person insists on tampering with the letter. How can such a disloyal and dishonest person use it? There will be civil strife in the future!"

Everyone bowed their heads and fell silent, then echoed Cao Cao's words.

Apparently after the navy was defeated, Huo Jun sent an insulting letter that made Cao Cao angry. He deliberately found an excuse to kill the attendants who read the letter in order to vent his anger.

"Ten troops down to the stronghold, observe the enemy's situation, and see what happens next." Cao Cao looked around at everyone and said.

"promise!"

　more motionless

　　
　
(End of this chapter)