Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 393 A single move affects the whole body

Sailing against the current and with the wind, Huo Jun led his army to Fuli the next day.

When Fuli County Magistrate saw Huo Jun's troops and horses suddenly arriving, he thought Huo Jun's troops had broken through Xiapi and wanted to use troops to attack the Central Plains. He was horrified and surrendered the city.

After surrendering the city, Huo Jun was not polite, opened the talisman and left the city treasury, and distributed the money in the treasury to the people to win over the people in the city.

Not only that, after Huo Jun finished delivering the grain and grass, he abandoned his boat on the riverside and secretly let the people get it themselves. The people of Fuli were given hundreds of small and medium-sized boats. After being robbed, the middle-class and upper-class people or the fierce and treacherous people in the countryside often got the big boats, while the poor and timid people got the small boats.

Seeing this, the generals were in great pain and could not understand Huo Jun's actions.

In the wilderness, looking at the boats in the river being divided up by many people, Gao Xiang went to Huo Jun and said, "Why don't the governor give money to the people, and then make an oath with him, letting the people hide in the mountains and lakes, and keep the boats for us? For future use.”

"And now that the people have boats and boats, they will be plundered by the bandits. They should be used as assets for the enemy. The governor should burn the boats and boats with fire and not leave them behind, so as not to be captured by the enemy."

Quan Cong followed Gao Xiang and said: "Captain, the food available to our army is only enough for more than a month. We are marching in Huaibei now, so we should save our rations to avoid running out of food."

Huo Jun stood on the hillside holding his sword and said with a smile: "It is already tiring for a sergeant to carry more than a month's worth of food on his back. If he carries more food and baggage now, it will slow down the march. In the current situation, more than a month's worth of food is enough to cross the Huaihe River. As for the I have my own arrangements for the boat."

Seeing that Huo Jun did not change his decision, the generals had no choice but to obey his orders.

"May I ask the commander-in-chief how to advance today?" Jiang Ji asked.

Huo Jun looked at Huo Fan and asked, "Can you find anyone familiar with geography among the people?"

"Have!"

Huo Fan answered with his hand raised and said: "In order to get food, Fan found three merchants in the city. The three of them traveled to Qi, Qi, Jian and other counties many times to learn more about the terrain and rivers. Bring a few family members with you, and are willing to help me. The army leads the way.”

"good!"

Huo Jun raised his head and glanced at the sun, and said: "Take away all the chariots and horses in the city and keep the money to pay for it. It is not advisable to delay this matter, and we must march quickly."

"promise!"

Fuli is not far from Qi County, but the distance is not short, about a hundred miles. If Xia Houyuan marched forcefully like that, he would arrive in less than a day.

In order to rush on the road, Huo Jun ordered his sergeants to abandon their useless baggage. Under the guidance of his guide, the whole army moved at a faster pace. Prepare to arrive in Qi County during the daytime the next day.

When Huo Jun was marching on his way, all the Wei generals had been mobilized by him.

Sun Guan followed the information given by Zhao Yan and marched upstream of the Si River to find Huo Jun's route.

When Lu Qian led the Taishan troops to withdraw, he received a letter from Zhao Yan and gave up his preparations to return to Taishan County. He decided to cross Pengcheng and pursue from the northeast.

Xu Huang and Xia Houshang led ten thousand people to march towards Jikou, fearing that Huo Jun would arrive at Jikou before them.

Regardless of the three armies outflanking Huo Jun, in reality, due to Huo Jun's confusing operation, even Sun Guan, who was closest to Huo Jun, was separated for about two days. As for Lu Qian's Taishan Army, Huo Jun pulled them further away due to the delay in delivering the news.

On the afternoon of April 2, after more than a day of running around, Huo Jun's troops rushed to Zhi County next to the Lishui River.

County Magistrate Zhi saw the heavy troops, and without knowing the depth, made the same choice as Magistrate Fuli, surrendering the city.

After entering the city, Huo Jun ordered his subordinates to open warehouses and store grain to gain the hearts of the people. In order not to make the soldiers jealous, Huo Jun promised his subordinates that he would reward everyone generously after returning south, and the soldiers under his tent were very happy.

In the evening, the army rested in Zhi County, and Huo Jun convened a military meeting.

In the big tent, Huo Jun looked at the map hanging on the wall, and the generals entered the tent and sat down one after another.

Seeing everyone arriving, Huo Jun turned around and said, "How is the situation today?"

"After traveling so quickly, many of the soldiers are tired. Now they have all fallen asleep, and the soldiers' minds are very stable." Gao Xiang replied.

"good!"

Huo Jun sat on the top chair and said: "It is good that the morale of the army is stable. If we march deep into the enemy's territory, we are afraid that the morale of the army will be shaken."

Gao Xiang looked more relaxed and said: "The sergeants in the army are ignorant of the current situation and dangers, so they feel more at ease. Moreover, the 20,000 sergeants under our command are all veterans of the Jianghuai River. They have followed the governor and me for many years, and now we can no longer There will be an act of mutiny.”

Probably after they had been deep into the enemy's territory for many days, they knew that Huo Jun had a way to take them back, so the generals gradually became more at ease and avoided the initial commotion.

Quan Cong looked troubled and said: "Today, the governor ordered us to search for small boats, thinking that the army would go down the Lian River and cross the Huai River. Cong searched for half a day and found only dozens of small boats, which could carry only a few soldiers. Used by hundreds and nearly a thousand people.”

"With the current number of boats, it is probably difficult to transport a large army across the Huaihe River. And if the Wei army detects it, they will block the river to prevent our small boats from going south."

"Can we search the boat up and down the Mi River?" Ding Feng asked.

Quan Cong shook his head and said: "Not to mention whether we can search a large number of boats and boats, if the army moves up and down the Mi River, it will be detected by the Wei army. With all the armies encircling us, our army is in great danger!"

"Captain, how should we arrange things now?" Quan Cong asked.

Huo Jun stroked his moustache and said with a smile: "Our army is advancing westward at Suishui River. How could the Wei army in Surabaya not know that I expected that the enemy troops were already advancing westward, and the enemy's purpose was to block the mouth of Jiankou and prevent our army from going south. Crossing the Huaihe River."

"what?"

Quan Cong was very surprised and said: "Doesn't it mean that Cao Cao also knows the whereabouts of our army? Enemy invaders are coming from all sides. How can our army go south to cross the Huaihe River?"

"What is the purpose of the governor sending troops to march westward?"

"Haha!" Huo Jun laughed a few times and said: "Zihuang's thoughts are exactly those of the enemy. From Chengyuan's perspective, we will search extensively for boats and boats in the Nishui River, and even tomorrow the cavalry will divide their troops and march westward. In the vortex water, search the boats and boats extensively in the vortex water area, and the movement and noise should not be underestimated."

The distance from Zi County to Guoshui is shorter than the distance from Fuli to Zi County. With the cavalry galloping, they can reach the vortex in one day.

"What is the purpose of the governor's move?" Quan Cong asked.

Huo Jun pointed to the map and said: "Your Majesty has stationed his troops at Bagong Mountain. It is now known that our army is besieged in Huaibei. If our army crosses the river from the Jianshui River and Guoshui River, wouldn't it be possible for our army to be supported by Your Majesty?"

Then, Huo Jun looked at Quan Cong and said: "At dawn tomorrow, Zihuang will go south from the Mian River in a boat, cross the Huai River to Zhongli, and report the details of our army to the king. I will give you two copies of the letter, and give them to each of them. Your Majesty and Wen Xiang.”

"Since the Wei army thought that our army was going to cross the Huaihe River, how could our army not cross it?"

"Captain?"

Quan Cong suddenly stood up from his chair and asked, "How can Cong dare to escape alone if the governor doesn't withdraw now?"

Huo Jun increased his voice and said, "Zihuang's crossing of the Huaihe River will be of great use. Under my military orders, he will not be defeated alone."

"Is it urgent to cross the Huaihe River?" Quan Cong said, "If the king's rescue is urgent, Cong will set off immediately."

Huo Jun pondered for a while and said: "It is not impossible to set off now, but when Zihuang crosses Huaihe River, we must let the Wei army know about it."

Quan Cong already understood Huo Jun's intention, raised his hands and said: "Please rest assured, Commander, Cong will set off immediately and will not delay important matters."

"good!"

After Quan Cong stood up and retreated, Huo Jun tapped Fuli on the map with his hand and said: "Tomorrow, order the scouts to go east to Fuli to see if there are any enemy invaders in Fuli. The information about Fuli must be accurate and there must be no deviation. If the talisman is found, The information must be delivered at the same time without any delay."

Yu Shao stood up, held his hands in his hands, and replied: "Don't worry, Commander. Shao personally selected elite scouts to investigate Fuli. Tomorrow night, there will be reports on Fuli's military situation."

"good!"

After explaining the layout, Huo Jun looked around at the crowd and said: "The reason why we are leading the army to the west is Jun's move to divert the enemy troops away from Xuhuai. If Xuhuai is empty, all the kings should follow Jun to the east, return to attack and attack Fuli again." . I hope you all will work together to win this battle."

"promise!"

Everyone stood up with their swords in hand and responded in a deep voice.

At the same time, Huo Jun left his boat and sailed westward to the Jianshui River, and there was news that his troops had reached Qiaojun in Yuzhou. From the hands of the Wei army in Sikou, it was passed to Cao Cao on a starry night journey.

Xia Cai, the Wei army camp.

In the big tent, Cao Cao lit a lamp and read Zhao Yan's letters under the dim orange light.

Cao Cao wrapped his coat around his shoulders and muttered: "The troops are heading west to Qiao County and want to go south from the Lishui River?"

"The Nishui River is adjacent to the Wishui River. It goes down the river and crosses the Huai River to reach Zhongli."

"Could it be that Huo Jun really wanted to get help from Zhongli's navy to cross the Huaihe River from Jikou and evacuate to Zhongli?"

While whispering, Cao Cao slid his fingers on the map, and then stopped on Bagong Mountain.

"If Huo Jun intends to cross the Huaihe River from Jikou, with Liu Bei's character, he will lead his army eastward and camp in the Tushan area of ​​Huainan."

"It's three to four hundred miles from Fuli to Jikou. Huo Jun just wanted to give up his baggage and forced himself to get to Jikou in three or five days. But from Sikou to Jikou, with the soldiers running, it only takes one or two days."

"not good!"

Cao Cao woke up and said: "If Huo Jun wants to cross the river, it will be tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."

"wrong!"

The suspicious Cao Cao frowned again and said to himself: "Huo Jun is not a fool, so he abandoned Sikou, turned westward, and crossed the Huaihe River from Jikou. How could he not know that the Sikou sergeants would forcefully occupy Jikou first? ?”

"Could it be that Huo Jun wants to attack the Jiukou headquarters with Huainan soldiers and horses? If so, Liu Bei will have to use the speed of the navy, and Gongming and Boren will be in danger!"

"What does Huo Jun want?"

It has to be said that Huo Junshe's approach of sailing westward to the Jianshui River mobilized all the troops of the Wei army in northern Huaihe.

If people don't follow the tactics you designed, it's really a headache. Liu Bei is in Huainan and Huo Jun is in Huaibei. Their troops are only 50,000 or 60,000 less than Cao Cao. Henan is so big, but mostly empty, and Huo Jun's slippery way makes it really difficult to handle.

Since ancient times, when fighting in the army, you are not afraid of people who are stubborn and confront you head-on, but you are afraid of people who are good at using the combination of right and strange.

"It's late at night, Your Majesty, so you should go to bed!" the attendant replied.

"understood!"

Cao Cao waved his hand and dismissed the attendants, and said in a low voice: "No matter what happens now, we should divide our troops and advance eastward. If Liu Bei is allowed to take the lead, we will be in danger of falling short!"

As he spoke, Cao Cao tapped his hometown Qiao County with his fingers and said worriedly: "If there are rebel troops coming to Qiao County, for fear of losing the ancestral tombs and temples, we need to send cavalry north to defend Qiao County."

(End of this chapter)