Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 298 Flooded soil
Jian'an 16th year, November.

Following Liu Bei's order, Huo Jun led more than [-] soldiers to the north of the Yangtze River and Huaihe River. The troops were divided into two groups.Huo Jun personally controlled the main force of more than [-] people and crossed Chao Lake to surround Hefei.Mi Fang and Chang Xi were sent to lead tens of thousands of people across the sea to Yuzhou Island to harass the Xuzhou coast.

Jianghuai, Hefei City.

The flags on the tower were fluttering in the wind, and there was a lot of people's voices.The armored men stood with spears in hand, warning of incoming enemies outside the city.A large amount of military supplies were carried to the city tower warehouse by civilians, such as crossbows, rolling stones, hammers and other defensive equipment.

Generals Zhang Liao, Li Dian, and Zhu Guang were patrolling in armor, with serious expressions on their faces. They looked outside the empty city from time to time, as if they were worried about something.

Zhang Liao stroked his sword and walked, saying: "When Huo Jun first fought against Jiangzuo, he defended Pengze City, defeated the enemy and beheaded generals, and even retreated Jiangzuo's troops. He knows the importance of defending the city and must not be careless."

"This is natural!" Zhu Guang nodded and said in agreement.

Li Dian responded lightly with a cold face.

Zhang Liao saw with his peripheral vision that although he was dissatisfied, it was not easy to get angry.

The feud between Li Dian and Zhang Liao can be traced back to Cao Lu's Battle of Yanzhou.At that time, Li Dian's uncle Li Qian refused to surrender and was killed by Lu Bu's men.Moreover, many members of the Li clan died in the Battle of Yanzhou, and many of them were killed by Zhang Liao himself. Therefore, there was a rift between Li Dian and Zhang Liao.

"Report!"

The flag-bearing scout trotted up the city stairs, walked in front of the three men, raised his hands and said: "General Qi, Huo Jun has led his army to disembark, and is now marching to the south bank of Xiaoyaojin, heading towards Hefei."

Zhang Liao's face straightened slightly and he asked, "Can you see the flags of Beifu and Zhihui?"

"Have!"

The scout knelt down on one knee and said: "It may be that the flags of generals such as Zhao, Huo, Huang, Gao, and He are set up. The vanguard army sets up the Zhao flag. There are about 8000 or [-] soldiers and horses, both foot and cavalry. have."

Zhang Liao looked solemn and signaled for the scouts to retreat, saying: "The Prime Minister went to Guanzhong to conquer the Guanxi soldiers. Now Huo Jun took advantage of the Prime Minister's army to be away and led an army to invade Hefei. I wonder if the two generals have a plan to retreat from the enemy?"

Zhu Guang frowned and said: "Huo Jun has been defeating every battle since he went to war. Now that he has led a large army, he should have a back-up plan. Our army should not go into battle easily to avoid falling into Huo Jun's plan."

Li Dian pursed his lips and said: "Before the Prime Minister went to Guanxi, he asked Xue Hujun to send a letter, saying that the thieves would be found. Why open the letter now and see what the Prime Minister left behind."

"Good!" Zhang Liao said, "I also have the same intention!"

The three of them walked to the assembly hall and asked the guard Xue Ti to bring Cao Cao's letter.

The four of them sat around the table. Zhang Liao took off his helmet and said, "Xue Hujun, the Prime Minister left a letter saying, 'The thieves will be found when they arrive.' Now that Huo Jun has arrived with his army, can we open the letter?"

Xue Ti took out the letter from his arms and handed it to Zhang Liao, saying, "Now that the thief has arrived, you can open the letter."

Destroy the ink pad, take out the scarf hidden in the letter, and spread it out on the table.But I saw Cao Cao leaving a message, saying that if Huo Jun arrives, close the city tightly and do not fight. When the enemy is tired, Generals Zhang and Li will attack the enemy, and General Zhu will defend the city. The guards are not allowed to fight.If his thieves arrive, generals Zhang and Li will go out to fight and defeat the enemy's front.

Seeing Cao Cao's arrangement, Zhu Guang asked in confusion: "What does the prime minister mean by this arrangement?"

Zhang Liao stroked his beard and said: "Huo Jun has an unparalleled military strategy and knows how to attack and defend. If we go to war now, it will be according to Huo Jun's wishes. We must not fight with him. We should stick to the walls of Hefei and deplete the enemy's morale until reinforcements from the Jianghuai River arrive."

Xue Ti pondered for a while and said: "The food and grass in my city can last for a year, and there are 8000 soldiers. Huo Jun will come with [-] to [-] soldiers and horses. If the thieves want to attack the city, they will have a hard time succeeding. Moreover, there are reinforcements in Jianghuai, and the thieves will be ready at dawn. When the troops arrive, they will definitely come to my aid. If we are attacked from both inside and outside, Huo Jun will retreat!"

"Exactly!"

Zhu Guang nodded slightly and said in agreement: "Although Huo Jun's army is brave, it is limited by its small number of soldiers. The southern army is good at water warfare but weak on foot and cavalry; the northerners are good at foot and cavalry but weak on boats and boats. This is not a natural number. Huo Jun can make sudden changes. If we stick to the city walls now and the enemy is tired and goes out to fight and burns their utensils, Huo Jun will definitely be able to return without success."

"good!"

Zhang Liao looked around the three of them and said, "Liao has hidden its boats outside the city, and Huo Jun has raised his troops to attack. Liao is guarding the south city, General Li is guarding the west city, General Zhu is guarding the east city, and the guards are stationed in the city. What do you think?"

"No!" The three took orders.

Historically, Cao Cao left a message asking Zhang Liao and Li Dian to go into battle to defeat the enemy's military power.The core is that Sun Quan's ability to use troops is limited and he carries many troops and horses.If Sun Quan was allowed to deploy, besiege Hefei, and attack day and night, the strength of the troops would be very different, and it would be difficult to defend Hefei.

Huo Jun is different now. As a famous general of Chu, his skill in using troops cannot be doubted.The camp is well laid out, and many of the soldiers under the tent are at his disposal.Going out to fight in the field might not be taking advantage of Huo Jun's wishes.If the army is defeated in the field, how can Hefei City be defended?

Moreover, Cao Cao could also guess the development direction of Liu Bei's group, which was to take Bashu from the west instead of using the strength of the two states to expedition north.Therefore, the number of troops Huo Jun could use was destined to be less than that of Sun Quan.The three generals defended Hefei. Even if Huo Jun besieged Hefei, it would be difficult to capture it.

Under such circumstances, it is better to seek stability.Stick to Hefei, deplete the morale of Huo Jun's troops, mobilize Jianghuai soldiers and horses to go south for support, thus forcing Huo Jun to retreat, and even achieve the goal of defeating Huo Jun.

Of course, how could Huo Jun not guess Cao Cao's plan?
Huo Jun made two-pronged preparations. His soldiers and horses formed a camp in Xiaoyaojin and went down to the stronghold. He deliberately exposed his flaws and lured Zhang Liao to lead his army into battle.Zhang Liao defended the city and refused to fight.Seeing that the city of Hefei was tightly closed, Huo Jun could guess that Cao Jun's arrangement was generally very different from what he had predicted in advance.

Huo Jun, wearing a large cloak and holding a white whip, rode around Hefei City with the generals on his left and right to point out the terrain of Hefei.

"Commander, Zhang Liao has always been brave and brave, but now he refuses to fight. Yun thinks that it is not because he is timid, but because he is holding back his troops and will lead the elite out of the city when our army becomes slack."

Zhao Yun pointed to the city walls of Hefei and said: "It is better to build fortifications outside the city and send sharp soldiers to garrison them to block Zhang Liao inside the city so that he cannot go out to fight."

Huo Jun stationed his horse on the hill, pointed at Hefei City with his whip, and said: "What General Zilong said is reasonable. However, if you build a long fortress and trap the enemy in the city, how can you lure the enemy invaders from the Jianghuai River and Huaihe River to go south?"

"This?" Zhao Yun showed hesitation.

According to Huo Jun's prior arrangement, Hefei City was besieged, creating a sense of danger that Hefei was about to be breached.Let Jianghuai soldiers and horses go south to rescue, Xuzhou soldiers and horses are contained, and only some soldiers and horses can go south, which is convenient for Huo Jun's command to defeat the enemy.

If the sense of crisis in Hefei cannot be created, why should the Jianghuai troops be mobilized urgently, regardless of the troops in Xuzhou, and also rescue Hefei?

After thinking for a while, Zhao Yun asked: "Captain, do you want to attack Hefei by force?"

Huo Jun's heroic face raised the corner of his mouth slightly and said with a smile: "The reason why Hefei City can divert fertilizer water as a moat is because of its low-lying terrain. I heard that Cao Cao dug the Si River to fill Xia Pi and diverted the Zhang River to flood Ye City. Why can’t we divert fertilizer and water to destroy Hefei now?”

Hefei can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The terrain is high in the northwest and slopes to the southeast. The water in the south flows northwest and southeast. The city of Hefei is located in the southeast, in a low-lying area, close to the water and controls the water transportation channel.

Hefei City was built early and was built with rammed earth instead of masonry.Washed away by fertile water, rammed earth walls will often collapse.

Historically, Manchong understood the shortcomings of the old city, so he abandoned the old city, stayed away from Feishui, and rebuilt the new city of Hefei in Jiming Mountain, making it more difficult to conquer Soochow.

"Draining water to destroy the city?"

Huang Zhong frowned slightly and said: "Captain, it's cold today, the fertilizer water has dropped, and we need to divert water to the city. I'm afraid there will be no water available."

Huo Jun laughed a few times, full of confidence, and said: "Build the dam now, and when spring and summer come, there will be no water to flood the city. During the beginning of summer, the enemy will not come, and the city of Hefei will be destroyed. Will Cao Jun'an dare not save it?"

The generals looked at each other with surprise, never expecting that Huo Jun had already figured out a strategy to defeat the enemy.Huang Zhong stroked his beard and said with emotion: "Diversion of water to attack the city lasts for spring and summer. No wonder the governor ordered Prefect Mi to return south for half a year. Zhong's knowledge is shallow!"

After saying that, Huang Zhong praised again and said: "Before we reach Hefei, we have a way to destroy the city, which is even more powerful than the governor!"

Huo Jun has long been accustomed to the adulation from everyone.When his fame was low, Huo Jun always loved fame and fortune and liked to show off his talents.

Now that he is getting older, he has been praised more, and after the Battle of Chrysostom, he has reached the peak of his life, but Huo Jun has taken a dim view of his reputation.

Huo Jun pointed at the terrain with his whip and said: "The west of the city is close to the water. General Hansheng, who is out of work, led his sergeants to the village in the west of the city to build a river weir to store fertilizer and water. General Gongmiao set down camp in the southwest corner to help General Hansheng build the weir. The rest of the soldiers The horses followed the governor and camped in the south of the city to prepare for Zhang Liao's surprise attack."

"promise!"
-
Not to mention that Huo Jun led his generals to transform themselves into civil engineers, building river weirs and storing fertile water.After Wang Lei's mission to Wuhan, Liu Chan asked Zhang Fei to hand over the military and political power in Hanzhong.

Hanzhong, Nanzheng.

In the assembly hall, Zhang Fei was sitting on the couch, discussing important matters with Lu Xun and Pang Tong.

"General, Liu Chan and Yan Yan want to see you!" the attendant came in and reported.

Lu Xun frowned slightly and said, "Previously, the general promised him to take over the counties in Hanzhong, but he ordered his subordinates to refuse. Liu Chan's visit now is mostly for this matter."

Zhang Fei scratched his beard and said, "Liu Zhang sent Wang Lei as his envoy. My brother is too embarrassed to disobey his words because of his face. He asked Wang Lei to deal with me. What should I do?"

Pang Tong hesitated a little and said: "General Zhang, my lord is far away in Wuhan, and has not yet announced the time for the army to be launched. The strategy of attacking Guo on the false road cannot be carried out for the time being. We need to trouble the general to delay for a few days."

After pondering for a long time, Zhang Fei smiled and said: "I already know what brother means. Let Liu Chan enter the hall, Fei will have his own way to deal with it."

With that said, Zhang Fei greeted the people around him and said, "Bring out the strong wine."

"promise!"

After a while, Liu Chan and Yan Yan entered the hall from outside. Zhang Fei was the only one in the hall, drinking wine alone.

Seeing the drunk Zhang Fei, Liu Chan frowned slightly and said, "Chan has met General Zhang."

Zhang Fei picked up the bowl and drank, and said with a naive smile: "Prefect Liu ignores the government affairs in Hanzhong, why are you here?"

Liu Chan calmly said: "The general has delivered the orders to the counties in Hanzhong. However, the county chiefs said that they did not have General Zhang's orders and dared not obey them. It is difficult for Chen to manage politics. I wonder if General Zhang can order the county chiefs to obey his orders."

Hearing this, Zhang Fei slammed the bowl to the ground. With a bang, the pottery bowl broke into pieces and the wine splashed, which scared Liu Chan and took a few steps back.

"General Zhang, why is this?" Liu Chan asked in surprise.

Zhang Fei's face was red, his beard was stained with wine, and he said angrily: "I come here every day to urge you, but I drink so much that I can't live well. I have given orders to my subordinates, but the county chiefs don't listen. What can I do? I can only I am responsible for fighting the war, and how do I know about the governance of counties and townships?"

Seeing Zhang Fei's rage, Liu Chan comforted him and said, "General Zhang, please don't be angry. Calm down your anger for now. Most of the county officials in Hanzhong are Zhang Lu's old friends. I wonder if the general can hand Zhang Lu over?"

"Who is Zhang Lu?"

Zhang Fei burped and asked drunkenly.

The attendant showed embarrassment and reminded him, "This is the person the general often calls a demon."

Zhang Fei patted his head, remembered something, and said: "The Demon Dao has been sent to Wuhan by someone."

Zhang Lu's surrender gave Zhang Fei the confidence to take charge of Hanzhong. Whoever gets Zhang Lu means who can take charge of Hanzhong.

Liu Chan's face darkened and he said: "Zhang Lu is my enemy in Yizhou. General An Neng sent Zhang Lu to Wuhan."

Zhang Fei seemed to be irritated and scolded: "Zhang Lu was captured by me, and Han Sui was killed by me. How to deal with it? Why do you need to agree?"

As he said this, Zhang Fei was so angry that he kicked the case several times and cursed: "Hanzhong has been taken over by me. I let you take charge of Hanzhong's government affairs just for the sake of my brother. If I don't want to, you have to get out of Hanzhong immediately." "

Yan Yan was also angered by Zhang Fei. He held the handle of the knife and scolded: "My lord invites you to enter Sichuan. How can I treat you badly? How dare you insult me, Yizhou, now?"

"Bring me a piece of cake!"

At this time, Lu Xun hurriedly entered the hall, grabbed Liu Chan and walked out, saying: "When General Zhang is drunk, he will go crazy with alcohol. The young master must not argue with General Zhang now, for fear that the gun will be blind and hurt the young master's life." "

When Liu Chan saw Zhang Fei looking for help, he was afraid of his force, so he was dragged out of the court by Lu Xun.

After leaving the meeting hall, Liu Chan wiped his sweat and said, "How dare General Zhang do this?"

Lu Xun comforted Liu Chan and said: "General Zhang has a hot temper and often whips his soldiers after drinking. I don't know how many soldiers in the army have been whipped by General Zhang, and Xun does not dare to discuss matters with General Zhang when he is drunk."

Liu Chan took a look inside the assembly hall and asked, "Bo Yan, what should we do about the Hanzhong delivery? Grand Sima has agreed to this matter. And I have led my attendants here, but there is no place to stay."

Lu Xun said: "Baozhong County is the commander of Xun's old tribe, and Xun ordered it to be transferred to the Young Master. The Young Master can temporarily move the Hanzhong County to Baozhong County, and when our army withdraws from Nanzheng, the Young Master can also move the County back. As for the princes, Regarding the handover of the county, Rong Xun is running for the young master."

Seeing that Lu Xun was so easy to talk to and thought about himself, which was obviously different from Zhang Fei's attitude towards him, Liu Chan believed Lu Xun's words.

Liu Chan listened to the sounds in the hall, raised his hands and said, "I'd like to thank General Boyan for bothering me."

"Young master, go slowly!"

When Lu Xun said goodbye to Liu Chan, Zhang Fei was not drunk at all and was in a happy mood.

Pang Tong stroked his beard and said: "General Zhang's decision to let Liu Chan live in the praises is just a way to delay the war. I don't know how he will treat Liu Chan in the future."

Zhang Fei laughed and said: "Zhang Lu is in my hands, and the troops and horses are stationed in Hanzhong. Even if Liu Chan is allowed to control the government affairs of Hanzhong, what is there to fear?"

Pang Tong seemed to understand something and said with a smile: "Perhaps the general can arrange a banquet to deal with Liu Chan and Yan Yan."

"Ha ha!"

　One more chapter tonight

　　
　
(End of this chapter)