Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 314 Writing a book and gathering troops
In the 17th year of Jian'an, July.

Cao Cao toured the south of the Yangtze River and Huaihe River. Cao Pi, Xun Yu, and Ma Chao accompanied him in the army. He also summoned Qing, Xu, Yanyu and other governors of the four prefectures and generals to Shouchun.

Lu Fang, who had dressed up in Yangzhou in disguise, looked around and carefully walked into the shop selling brocade silk on the street.

With a rough voice, Lu Fang asked: "Do you have any red and green silk Sichuan brocade for sale?"

"How many horses do you want?" the ordinary-looking merchant asked casually.

"Two and a half!"

The merchant raised his head, looked up at Lu Fang, and said with a smile: "There is only one horse in the library, and it will take time to leave one and a half horses."

"I can wait for two and a half days." Lu Fang replied.

"Please come to the back room to discuss matters!"

The merchant asked his waiter to entertain other nobles who came to the store, and he led Lu Fang to a narrow side room.

When he came to the side room, Lu Fang stuffed the silk in his hand into the merchant's hand and said in a low voice: "Urgent news, I found out from Wen Hui that Duke Cao seemed to have the intention of becoming an official. Cao Pi, Ma Chao, and Xun Yu all followed him south. , In the near future, we will patrol the Huaihe River south. But we summon the Qingxu generals to lead their troops to Shouchun."

The merchant secretly stuffed it into his sleeve and said: "The fisherman said that the governor has repeatedly praised your intelligence, so I will double your monthly salary as a reward. I will ask someone outside to give you the brocade later, just do it as usual."

"Thank you, Commander!" Lu Fang said gratefully.

The merchant glanced outside and whispered: "Xiahou Dun's search is very strict. Unless there is something urgent, contact will be reduced in recent days."

After a pause, the merchant warned: "Remember, no one knows the identity of the postmaster except me."

"good!"

The merchant smiled and sent Lu Fang out of the side room, and said with a respectful smile: "My lord, the red and green silk is gone. Why not take the black silk?"

Lu Fang hesitated for a while and then said: "That's okay! If you have any red and green satin, remember to leave it for me next time."

"promise!"

Spy intelligence is of great importance to military operations.In Huo Jun's many previous victorious battles, scouts played an important role.

Huo Jun's infiltration of Jianghuai began when he was in Ruxukou. At that time, Jiang Ji was in charge, using his identity as a Huai native and an old Yangzhou Biejia to build an intelligence system for Huo Jun.

After the Battle of Hefei, the situation in Jianghuai was chaotic, and many generals and officials abandoned their posts and fled north to Shouchun.Jiang Ji took advantage of his previous interpersonal relationships and gave him a lot of money to instigate Lu Fang to rebel in Yangzhou and let him serve as his intermediary.

Lu Fang used his relationship with Wen Hui to obtain a large amount of Jianghuai intelligence and Hefei information, and gradually became a core figure in Huo Jun's intelligence system.

In terms of subsidy payment, due to the chaos in the world and the collapse of the monetary system, it was basically barter.Jiang Ji sent his men to Shouchun and opened rice shops and cloth shops. They used the rice shops and cloth shops as cover to pay subsidies to spies and also served as the general liaison station to convey intelligence to Hefei.

From Shouchun to Hefei for more than [-] miles, scouts and fast horses would regularly deliver information, and the news would often reach Hefei within a day.

At this time, Huo Jun was sitting at his desk writing down his military experience over the years, or writing a draft for his military book.

Most people live their lives for fame and fortune, and it is difficult for Huo Jun to escape.After being ready to take action for a long time, Huo Jun wanted to write a military book and make it a classic that would be passed down to future generations and spread his military philosophy.

Those who have discussed military books since ancient times are nothing but "Sun Tzu's Art of War", "Wu Zi's Art of War", "Li Weigong's Questions", "Ji Xiao New Book" and other classics.

Except for the "New Book of Ji Xiao" written by Marshal Qi, which focuses on practical operations, most of the military books of various schools focus on tactical strategies.As for war cases, only "Li Weigong's Questions and Answers" mentioned them a lot.

After compiling a military book, if you want to leave your name in the world, you must not be the same as your predecessors.If we talk about the art of war and tactics, An Neng can be compared with "The Art of War" which has been famous throughout the ages.After thinking deeply, Huo Jun had a rough idea.

Huo Jun wanted to divide the military book into three volumes, namely "Military State", "On Art" and "Governing the Army".

The first volume, "Military State", discusses the relationship between the army and the country from a macro perspective. As a machine of state violence, the army essentially forces the enemy to obey the will of the country and must achieve 'profit' for the country.

Secondly, taking the differences in the military systems of the two Han Dynasties as the starting point, it analyzes the impact of recruitment and conscription systems on the strength of the national army.And extend to the country's economic, political, social and cultural aspects.

At the end, the geographical knowledge discussion strategy of the later generations is used to divide the geographical areas such as Jianghuai, Jiangdong, Jingxiang, etc., using each geographical area as a module, citing the war examples of the Spring and Autumn Period since the Qin and Han Dynasties, explaining the strategic significance of the geographical area, and the struggle for this area. the goal of.

Such a huge exposition is beyond the thinking framework of the times, and discusses war from macro to micro. The content of the first volume "Military State" alone is enough to be a separate book, which shows how high Huo Jun's expectations for his military book are.

Just as Huo Jun was writing, the attendant came into the hall to report and said: "Captain, the new deputy governor of Jianghuai, Lu Zijing, wants to see you."

"How did Zijing arrive so quickly?"

Huo Jun put the pen on the shelf and said, "Please call Lieutenant Governor Lu quickly."

"promise!"

After a while, Lu Su, whose complexion had become much darker, dressed in fine clothes, walked into the hall.

Seeing Lu Su, Huo Jun stayed at the hotel to welcome him. He held his arms and said enthusiastically: "I haven't seen Zijing for a long time, and he has become more and more heroic. Jun has heard about what you did in Jiaozhou. It is thanks to Zijing that Jiaoling can be safe today!" "Capital Governor! Ridiculous!"

Lu Su showed his white teeth and said with a smile: "The governor's army defeated Hefei and swept across the Jianghuai River. His reputation spread throughout the world, and many people in Sujiao Prefecture heard about it."

Holding Lu Su's hand, Huo Jun invited him to the bed and asked, "Jun heard from the Lord that Zijing and his troops had just set off from Jiaozhou not long ago. How could they arrive at Hefei so quickly? If he had known that Zijing was coming, Jun would have ordered someone to greet him. , hosted a banquet in honor of Zijing."

"The Governor is welcome!"

Lu Su smiled and said: "I have heard that Cao Cao's troops have returned to Xuchang, and I am afraid that they will go south to Hefei. Therefore, I sent my troops to go ahead and rush to Hefei to help the governor defend the enemy."

"With Jun's help from Zijing, Jianghuai will definitely have no worries!" Huo Jun said with a smile.

"Listen carefully and wait for the Commander-in-Chief's dispatch."

Lu Su raised his hands and asked, "May I ask the governor, what is Cao Cao's action now? Where do you want to march from?"

"Does Zijing have any insights?" Huo Jun asked.

Lu Su pondered for a while and then said: "I don't dare to express my opinion. I just thought that Cao Cao won the victory in Guanzhong. He originally returned to the Central Plains to rest, but he went south to Hefei. With such exhausted soldiers and our army holding on to the city wall, we should be able to retreat from Cao Cao!" "

"I wonder what the governor thinks?"

"What Zijing said is true. Jun believed it to be true. Cao Cao went south to conquer Hefei last year, and then returned to the west. His soldiers were exhausted, so there was no chance of a war. Now that Cao Cao is as far south as Shouchun, he may not have any intention of going south to Hefei." Huo Jun said.

Since Cao Cao's southern expedition last year, his soldiers traveled thousands of miles and had another fierce battle with Ma Chao.Although he returned to the court victorious, the soldiers were very tired.If Cao Cao led a tired army to march south, he would definitely know that it would be difficult to succeed based on his military knowledge.

Therefore, Huo Jun had to suspect that Cao Cao went south to the Huaihe River and had no intention of marching south, but wanted to fight a political war.After all, according to Huo Jun's only historical knowledge, it seems that Cao Cao became Duke only in the past few years.

"Why did the governor say this?" Lu Su asked with curiosity on his face.

Huo Jun looked calm and said: "The military report is on the way, and we will know what Cao Cao wants by then."

"The Governor!"

While talking, Jiang Ji entered the hall with a letter and said: "Shou Chun has come to report. Cao Cao led Yan and Henan troops to patrol the Huaihe River. He also recruited Qing and Xu generals to lead their troops to Shouchun. Cao Pi, Xun Yu and Ma Chao accompanied them in the army. about."

After a pause, Jiang Ji emphasized: "Cao Cao left the Chinese army to rest in Xuchang, and the postmaster learned that Cao Cao wanted to ascend the throne and claim the throne."

Seeing Huo Jun reading the information he had compiled, Jiang Ji said: "Perhaps as the governor said, Cao Cao should have no intention of marching south. The current trip south should be to consolidate the Huaihe military, gain a reputation, and prepare to become a duke."

Lu Su connected the events before and after, and analyzed: "Cao Cao wanted to gain the title of Duke by pacifying Guanzhong. However, the governor defeated Hefei, causing Cao Cao to lose face. Now that Cao Cao is going south to Jianghuai, he must be trying to make a small contribution. In order to gain the title of Duke of the country and gain prestige."

As he spoke, Lu Su was filled with admiration and said: "The Governor has a wonderful plan! But I don't know how the Governor wants to deal with it?"

Huo Jun paced in the hall and said with a smile: "Cao Cao wanted to increase his prestige. How could Jun not help him? He ordered the defenders of Zhongli, Huailing, Huaiyin and other cities to withdraw southward and shrink their troops to Sheyang, Liu'an and Hefei. Fight with Cao Cao."

"Commander, why is this happening?" Jiang Ji asked.

Seeing that Jiang Ji couldn't understand, Huo Jun explained: "Zhongli, Huailing, Huaiyin and other cities are close to the Huaihe River and far away from Jiangdong, which will benefit the enemy but not us. Cao Cao knows that Hefei and Liu'an are difficult to conquer. If he wants to achieve great achievements, he will surround our army. Huainan Outer City."

"Today, our army only has more than [-] troops, and they are divided into hundreds of miles of Jianghuai. With so few soldiers and many people in the city, it is difficult to defend them one by one. Why not withdraw from the outer walls and retreat to the dangerous strategic points of Jianghuai. If Cao Cao wants to attack Hefei, he can use The heavy troops are divided into Lu'an and Hefei, which is enough to hold the enemy in Shaopi."

Previously, Huo Jun sent four groups to seize the Jianghuai areas, which was called taking land, but in fact they moved people to the north of the Yangtze River.After several months of relocation activities, tens of thousands of people settled in Jiangbei.

Let sergeants be stationed in the outer cities, mostly as warning outposts and as buffer zones.Now that Cao Cao is moving south, the outer cities are useless.After all, these cities are deserted and there are few people. Give up if you can. It is better to concentrate your troops on defense in important areas. There is no need to fight with Cao Cao on the outer defense line.

If they insist on attacking the outer defense line, the few troops will be scattered and easily defeated by Cao Cao one by one.That is to say, if the land is saved and the people are lost, everyone and the land will be lost; if the people are saved and the land is lost, the people and the land will be saved.

After Cao Cao obtained these peripheral cities, he achieved small achievements and was generally satisfied.If we continue to march south to Hefei, we will encounter a real tough nut, and retreating without victory is inevitable.

"The governor is wise!" Jiang Ji praised.

After Jiang Ji stepped down and assigned tasks, Lu Su asked: "Captain, since Su is assisting the Commander, I wonder if the Commander has any important matters for me."

Huo Jun pondered for a while and then said: "Zijing arrived just in time. The Jianghuai River is vast and it is difficult for Jun to manage it simultaneously. Guangling is located to the east of the Jianghuai River and is close to the seaside. The fields are fertile and Hangou passes through the county. Now the Lord has sent Liu Ji as the prefect to build counties and villages. , recruit refugees and resume production."

"However, the Hangou ditch is silted up and there are few people in Guangling. It is difficult for Liu Ji to manage it by himself. Jun wants to ask Zijing to go to Jiangzuo to recruit Huai people fleeing from the south, and to go north to build a city in the fields, thinking that the border will be strengthened. He also cooperates with the two kings of Changxiapi and Liu Guangling. Let’s work together to dredge the Hangou ditch and connect the Yangtze River to the Huai River waterway to lay the foundation for the future Northern Expedition.”

Whether you want to expedition north from the Jianghuai River or stick to the Jianghuai defense line, you can't do without Hangou.After all, it is impossible to expect the Jianghuai River to be revived. Only by paying equal attention to dredging Hangou and building counties and villages can we support the need for troops in the Jianghuai River.

"I wonder if Zijing is willing to take on this important task?"

Lu Su looked serious, raised his hands and said, "You must obey the orders of the Governor. Moreover, it is the Lord's great cause, and Su You'an dare not disobey the order."

"good!"

(End of this chapter)