Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 397 Three crossings to Surabaya

April 8th, at sunrise.

Huo Jun led his sergeants to board the ship and sail down the Sui River, intending to enter the Surabaya River from Sui Kou.

Compared with going against the current and following the wind, going down with the water is faster. Taking advantage of the break on the road, Huo Jun, who had little rest, handed over the command to Jiang Ji and went to sleep in the cabin.

Gai may have known that his captain was resting, so the Han soldiers on the flagship involuntarily slowed down, for fear of disturbing their captain's rest.

It was about 200 miles from Fuli to Suikou. With the water rising greatly, although it could not compare with the speed of the Yangtze River's waves traveling thousands of miles a day, in one day and night, plus the time to rest on the shore, the boat arrived. Suikou is not a problem.

On April 9, the sky was clear and a large number of sailing boats entered Surabaya from Suikou.

On the banks of the Surabaya River, the fleet anchored on the shore. Under Huo Jun's order, he led his troops to abandon their boats, disembark and head eastward.

When setting off, several sergeants accidentally dropped three military flags into the Surabaya River and followed the turbulent current of the Surabaya River. At the same time, Huo Jun ordered the sergeant to light a fire and cook on the spot. Smoke billowed from the cooking pots and was clearly visible to the naked eye for miles.

Huo Jun did not cover up the large-scale event of 20,000 people, for fear that others would not see it. Liu Ye's waiting troops who went north were not blind, and they searched the mountains and forests to observe the movements of most of the Han army.

When Huo Jun's army marched eastward, the waiting riders were not stupid. They immediately chose a small boat to carry the horses, went down the Si River, and reported the news of Huo Jun's eastward advance to the Wei army in Sikou.

Huo Jun led the army to leave their boats and walk on foot. After walking for about thirty miles, he ordered the sergeants to camp on the bank of the stream to rest.

At the same time, Wei Jun's waiting cavalry arrived at Sikou and passed the news to Zhao Yan and Liu Ye.

Sikou, the camp of the Wei army.

Under night, ten iron ropes floated on the river. The fortifications on both sides were based on earth and had large wooden walls. They were like small fortresses, blocking the middle river from the left and right. Most of the sergeants in the camp were armed with bows and crossbows and patrolled the banks of the river on both sides. The defense was very tight.

In the big tent, Zhao Yan, Liu Ye, Wen Ji and other civil and military officials were sitting on both sides of the big tent.

The scout stood in the tent, raised his hands and said: "For the information of the warlord, I found traces of Huo Jun's army at Suikou. They took a boat from Suishui River into Surabaya River, and then anchored on the shore. After taking all the food and supplies on board, the enemy army left the boat. Step, go east."

Hearing this, the generals in the tent looked at each other with many expressions of shock.

"As the military advisor said, Huo Jun turned back and fought back to Surabaya. He first defeated Fuli and beheaded Sun Guan. Then he entered Surabaya by boat, then left the boat and set foot, crossed Donghai County, reached Yuzhou, and returned home by floating on the sea."

Wen Ji clapped his fists and sighed, and said thankfully: "Huo Jun's use of troops is indeed insidious. If the military advisor hadn't noticed something was wrong with Xu Sheng's troops, he sent people to Suikou to investigate. I'm afraid that Huo Jun will still be keeping us in the dark. Affection."

Zhao Yan sighed and said: "Huo Jun went west to lure our army to pursue and encircle him. Then he left and returned to cross the Surabaya River. The results of his use of troops are worthy of the title of a famous general."

The Sikou generals were really lucky to have discovered Huo Jun's traces, otherwise they would have been completely embarrassed if Huo Jun had returned to Huainan without anyone noticing.

For ten days, they were fooled around by Huo Jun. First, they wondered why he disappeared in Surabaya, and then they were deceived by Huo Jun into thinking that they were going to cross the Huaihe River at the mouths of Jing and Guo. Little did they know that Huo Jun turned around and turned back east, hoping to return to the sea.

Zhao Yan frowned and said: "Donghai County is empty and unprepared, and there are few people around it. Huo Jun is marching eastward and is expected to be out of siege. How should we deal with it now?"

"Pursuit!"

Liu Ye stood up from the table and said in a deep voice: "Huo Jun traveled hundreds of miles from Lishui to Sishui. Although there were boats and boats to travel, the soldiers must have been very tired. From Sishui to Qu County, there are three to four hundred miles. Huo Jun is in a hurry and it’s hard to get there.”

"From a certain point of view, since they are out of the siege and have a chance to escape, Huo Jun's army will definitely relax. If we pursue lightly armed troops now, we may be able to intercept and kill most of Huo Jun's troops before they reach Yuzhou."

Liu Ye looked at the crowd and persuaded: "Huo Jun is traveling west and east, and he should abandon a lot of the equipment and baggage he carries. I am prepared to win but unprepared. I will lead the army to pursue in two directions. I will be able to defeat the enemy while waiting for work. At this time, I will lead a heavy army to pursue. , maybe you can defeat the enemy's opportunity. If you stand still, all your previous efforts will be wasted, and you will be scolded by your Majesty."

Liu Yegang guessed Huo Jun's possible marching movements from Xu Sheng's unusual movements. Not long after the scouts were dispatched, Huo Jun led his army to Surabaya and then ran eastward. This left Liu Ye without any precautions. The only chance to defeat Huo Jun now was to get to Qu County before Huo Jun.

"Chase!"

Wen Ji was indignant and said: "Huo Jun fled to the seaside, and he has become a rogue. Now instead of leading the army to pursue him, Huo Jun can easily escape from the siege. Wouldn't it be a joke?"

With that said, Wen Ji handed over to Zhao Yan and said in a deep voice: "General Governor, I am willing to lead my troops to pursue and find an opportunity to intercept and kill Huo Jun's troops. Even if we are defeated by Huo Jun, if we can severely damage his army, we will not let him underestimate us. "

"The general is willing to pursue!"

With Wen Ji taking the lead, the other generals stood up and asked for pursuit.

Seeing the clear attitude of everyone, Zhao Yan, as the warlord, could not refuse, and said: "It is my wish to pursue Huo Jun. But if our army pursues, won't the Sikou camp be empty and deserted?"

Wen Ji stamped his feet and said: "General Zhao, the Sikou Camp was originally used to contain Huo Jun. Now that Huo Jun has fled eastward, what's the use of holding on to the Sishui Camp?"

Liu Ye pondered for a while and said: "The governor is worried about the Sikou Camp. He can send a message to Gongming and Boren, so that the two generals can lead their troops back to support the Sikou Camp, or they can lead their troops to follow our army. And at the same time, urgently Report the letter to the king and let the king decide on the arrangements."

"good!"

Zhao Yan stood up according to the case and said in a deep voice: "All ministries will lead elites to pursue. We must seize Qu County before Huo Jun and intercept and kill Huo Jun."

"promise!"

Zhao Yan, Liu Ye and other civil and military officers of the Wei army pursued Huo Jun as soon as they said they wanted to pursue him. They set up troops to pursue Huo Jun all night, and all the sergeants in the camp were eliminated. The previously heavily guarded fortress was only guarded by a thousand old and weak men.

The scene of the Wei army breaking out of camp was seen by some people lurking in the dark night.

After learning of such important military information, the few people gathered in the dark and ran wildly along the Surabaya River.

On April 9, when the army was about to break camp, Huo Jun ordered the troops to continue resting amid everyone's confusion.

At dawn on April 10, the generals saw that Huo Jun still had no idea of ​​leaving camp, so they all asked to see Huo Jun.

Santai Mountain, Han military camp.

Because he left his baggage and marched, there were few tents in the army. Fortunately, there was an abandoned village where the Han army camped. After simple cleaning, the soldiers from each unit moved in as needed.

In the small courtyard, the generals gathered in front of Huo Jun.

"Commander, why did you order the sergeants to stop moving forward?" Gao Xiang couldn't understand and said: "It is very dangerous to be stationed in enemy territory today. Our army should arrive at Yuzhou as soon as possible, meet up with Wen Xiang, and return to Huainan."

"Yup!"

Ding Feng's face was full of anxiety and he said: "There are many wise and resourceful people in the Wei army. If he is allowed to detect the movements of our army, he will definitely pursue us. It is better to retreat as soon as possible and not stay for a long time." "Captain!"

Jiang Ji let out a soft cry, but stopped talking.

Huo Jun pressed his hands down, signaling everyone not to rush, and said with a smile: "We will wait until General Gongli's report arrives. I will make my own decision at that time."

Seeing that Huo Jun seemed to have other plans, the generals had no choice but to put aside their anxiety and wait for Yu Shao's military report to be delivered.

After a while, Yu Shao came over in a hurry and walked to Huo Jun from the road that everyone had given way to.

"How is it?"

Huo Jun looked at Yu Shao with expectant eyes and asked.

Yu Shao was very excited and said: "If it is as the governor said, the enemy soldiers from Sikou broke out the camp the day before yesterday and overnight. Now Sikou is empty and can be easily disembarked. Our army went back to the south by boat, broke through the blockade of Sikou, and entered the Huaihe River. Withdraw to Huainan."

"what?"

"The enemy camp in Sikou moved eastward?"

The generals in the courtyard were surprised and happy. They had no idea that Huo Junming would go out to the East China Sea and aim at Sikou.

"The governor's name was Dong Chu, floating down the sea from Yuzhou, but in fact he returned to the army and took a boat to go south from Si River to Huai River."

Gao Xiang came to his senses and exclaimed: "Move the enemy to the west to disperse the soldiers in Sikou; then turn back and cross the Si River to lure the soldiers in Sikou to pursue. In this way, Sikou is invincible, and our army can take advantage of the boat." Ge easily goes south!"

Ding Feng's eyes widened and he shouted: "After more than ten days of running around, the commander-in-chief led my troops to follow Sikou southward. Who could have predicted the use of troops like this? Even if the enemy's bandits are full of cleverness, they will be played by the commander-in-chief in the palm of his hand."

Then, Ding Feng sighed and said: "When Sikou was sealed, the governor said that all the generals and lieutenants would be brought back to Huainan, and Feng had many doubts. Now it seems that the governor's words will come true. Such use of troops cannot be done by people like Feng. dawn."

Compared to everyone's surprise, Jiang Ji curiously asked: "Captain, how can we mobilize the Sikou Wei army to go eastward to pursue our army?"

Huo Jun touched his mustache and said calmly: "If the enemy invaders can implement the strategy of blocking Sikou, there must be good planners in their army. Therefore, I specially ordered Wen Xiang to lead a large number of boats to the east to arouse the enemy's alert."

"When we arrived at Sishui, I ordered the army to light up the smoke from the cooking stoves to expose their traces, and then left the boats to move eastward so that the enemy's scouts could detect them. However, the Wei army at Sikou did have scouts stationed at Suikou. After detecting the traces of our troops, they took boats and sailed to the east. Go down the Surabaya River."

"How did the governor know that the Wei army's scouts were at Suikou?" Ding Feng asked.

Huo Jun looked at Yu Shao and said with a smile: "After the army marched eastward, I ordered Gongli to lead the elite scouts to lie on the sides of the boat. Unexpectedly, Wei army scouts actually appeared in Suikou."

"Gongli sent people south to explore the Sikou Wei camp to see if there was any pursuit?" Ding Feng asked.

Yu Shao smiled and nodded, and said: "The scouts returned to camp late, and I kept you waiting anxiously."

"Not late!"

Gao Xiang shook his head and laughed, saying: "This is much faster than traveling east to Yuzhou, how can it be too late!"

With that said, Gao Xiang pretended to be displeased and said, "It's the governor who doesn't believe us and keeps us in the dark."

"It's not that I don't believe you, but if the Sikou Wei army is unaware and unwilling to pursue our army, this strategy will not work!"

Huo Jun stood up with his whip in hand, looked around at everyone, and said: "The enemy is pursuing us, and Sikou is empty and unprepared. Now the plan can be completed."

"Instruct all battalions to pack up, return to Surabaya immediately, and take boats to the south to enter the Huaihe River."

"promise!"

Everyone bowed and saluted, their expressions full of admiration.

Looking at the retreating figures of the generals, Huo Jun's lips inevitably raised.

This feeling of mobilizing the enemy is really inexplicably comfortable. Even though he is in a hostile environment, he can come and go as he pleases and turn into nature.

"May I ask, sir, where does this method of using troops come from?" Huo Fan asked.

Huo Jun raised the corner of his mouth slightly and said with a smile: "It has been said in the art of war that those who are good at fighting will control others and not their enemies."

"This is the essence of the art of war, boy, remember it!"

"promise!"

Huo Fan was deeply impressed and said: "My father crossed Surabaya three times, which will be unmatched by anyone in the future!"

Hearing this, Huo Jun shook his head slightly and sighed: "The troops I use now are only the skin of our division. If we compare the two, how can the fluorescent light of the rotten grass be as good as the bright moon in the heart of the sky!"

"Master's teacher?"

Huo Fan was surprised and said: "Since I have been studying history, the only people who can defeat you in terms of military strength are Han and Bai. I wonder who your master should be?"

Huo Jun showed admiration and said, "All you need to know is that there is someone who can put 30,000 soldiers in the middle of an army of 400,000 people. He can come and go as he pleases, and no one can stop him."

"With 30,000 soldiers fighting against an army of 400,000?"

Huo Fan was shocked and murmured: "I have never heard of such a divine person in the world."

Huo Jun patted Huo Fan on the shoulder and said, "Since he is a god, it should be beyond your knowledge."

Huo Jun walked with his whip behind his back, leaving in the wind the words "Three crossings will make you a famous general, and four crossings will make you a god."

Huo Fan scratched his head, unable to understand what Huo Jun said.

(End of this chapter)