Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 398: Unpredictable

On April 10, Huo Jun led his army to return to the west and regain the boats and boats abandoned in Surabaya.

In the evening, the boat sailed southward along the Si River. In order to break out of Sikou as soon as possible, the fleet traveled day and night, not daring to waste time to avoid subsequent reinforcements of Sikou by Cao's army.

Traveling day and night is no better than traveling by day. After one night, we still have a long way to reach Sikou. However, with the arrival of daylight, the speed of the boat was much faster.

April 11th, at noon.

Under the horrified eyes of the Sikou Wei army, Ding Feng led two thousand elites as the vanguard, rushed ashore in a small boat, and attacked the empty and unprepared Sikou camp.

Facing Ding Feng's surprise attack, the Wei army guarding the Sikou camp was defenseless. They resisted a few times symbolically, and arrows flew freely in the sky.

With Ding Feng wearing armor and holding a shield, taking the lead, the Han army advanced bravely. After easily dealing with several Wei soldiers guarding the perimeter, the Sikou Wei army scrambled to flee.

In just one cup of tea, Ding Feng not only led his army into the Sikou camp, but also defeated the Wei army.

After throwing away hundreds of corpses, the Wei troops on both sides of the strait fled in different directions.

Ding Feng led his army to seize Sikou successfully, and immediately began to dismantle the iron locks across the two sides of the strait and destroy the pontoon bridge built on Sikou.

After Ding Feng seized Sikou, Gao Xiang led his troops to support him. With the joint efforts of the two armies, the iron locks across the two banks were dismantled. The heavy chains were washed by the water and carried to the Huai River, and then disappeared on the water.

All the iron locks blocking Sikou were removed, which immediately aroused cheers from sergeants on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

The Sikou blockade has been broken, and you can return to Huainan!

Then, in order to completely open up the waterway from Sikou to the Huai River, Ding Feng personally selected hundreds of people who were good at water, tied ropes around their waists, dived into the water, and destroyed the hidden piles under the water.

It took an hour to clear all the hidden piles under the water before the big boat arrived.

After a while, hundreds of warships appeared in the upper reaches of Sikou. Under the influence of the current, the boats and ships merged into the Huai River.

The moment they entered the Huai River, the Han soldiers on the boat cheered loudly for their escape.

Looking at the Huai River flowing eastward, Huo Jun let out a breath, and the gloom in his heart instantly dissipated.

After more than half a month of running, the land and water march combined covered a thousand miles, running west and east, although the process was somewhat tortuous. But the army was finally able to retreat, during which time Sun Guan was beheaded and three to four thousand people were killed and captured, which was considered a small achievement.

Jiang Ji's heart was agitated and he said with emotion: "When I saw the Huai River in the past, I thought it was normal. But when I see you again now, I feel like a fish entering the river and swimming freely."

After a pause, Jiang Ji asked: "Commander, our army has entered the Huai River now. I don't know where to march. Should we go west to join the king, or should we retreat to Huaiyin to rest?"

"March?"

Hearing this, Huo Jun looked at the water and smiled, seemingly disapproving of Jiang Ji's proposal.

"Does the governor have other plans?" Jiang Ji asked.

Huo Jun pointed at the Sikou camp and said with a smile: "Now that the siege of Sikou has been resolved, what can the Wei army have to fear? I intend to camp here and ask Cao Cao for labor fees!"

Just kidding, Cao Cao made Huo Jun run around for so long. Isn't this Huo Jun's style if he doesn't ask Cao Cao for some mental damages?

The man of God crossed Chishui four times, but due to the encirclement and suppression by the army, he had no choice but to enter Yunnan. After being encircled by oneself, and protected by a large army, wouldn't it be a pity if we didn't take advantage of the opportunity to profit?

Huo Jun put his hand on the hilt of his sword and gave orders to the left and right, saying: "Order all the troops to park on the spot by the river and enter the camp to rest in order. Let the scouts go west and send the news of our army's current situation to the king. At the same time, ask the king for instructions. Army rations, my army only has a few days’ worth of food left.”

"promise!"

Huo Fan was puzzled and asked: "May I ask, sir, what is the cost of labor for the army?"

Huo Jun looked at the Sikou fortress, which was heavily built by Zhao Yan, and said: "Between Sikou and Xiapi, between Suikou and Fuli, hundreds of miles away, there are many people living."

"Now I want to station troops in Sikou, occupy the old stronghold of the Wei people, and order the soldiers from all departments to go north by boat, destroy the towns in Xiaxian, Suining, Lingxian and other counties, and plunder the people in the north to go south, so as to increase the population of the Jianghuai River."

Now that he has missed the good opportunity to capture Xiapi, Cao Cao must not mind if he uses the people of several counties between Xuhuai and Huaihe to compensate him for the labor expenses of traveling here and there this time!

The people in the Suishui Basin have many household registrations, perhaps not tens of thousands of households. However, if the people are appeased properly and the people are robbed by boat transport, it is not difficult to gain thousands of households.

Thousands of households may not seem like a lot, but compared with some poor counties, it is already the household registration of one county. Placing it in Jianghuai and reestablishing two counties will enrich the population of Jianghuai and consolidate the rule of Southern Han Dynasty in Jianghuai.

"Somebody come!"

Huo Jun became very excited and shouted: "Bring me a pen and paper and let me write a letter to Cao Cao."

"promise!"

Seeing Huo Jun writing a letter to tease Cao Cao's mood, Jiang Ji shook his head and smiled.

"Captain, if you want to order the soldiers from all ministries to go north to plunder the people, you should make arrangements early. If reinforcements from the Wei armies from all ministries arrive one after another, it will be difficult for the people to move south!" Jiang Ji reminded.

"Ok!"

Huo Jun took a pen and wrote a few crosses on the scarf in a flying pattern. He read it a few times and was satisfied that it was ready and sent away.

Handing the pen to the attendant, Huo Jun said: "As Zitong said, I ordered Gao Xiang, Yu Shao, and Ding Feng to each lead their sergeants and sail northward by boat. When the enemy is empty, they will seize the cities on the Sui and Si rivers. , appease the people in the countryside, and move the people south."

"Zitong and I led the sergeants to temporarily guard Sikou to secure the retreat route for the three generals. Unexpectedly, when the king sent troops and food to the camp, the Sikou camp should be safe. We also ordered people to capture all the Wei troops captured by Fuli. Use boats to carry them across the Huaihe River to avoid leaving camps and causing chaos."

"promise!"
-

The news that Huo Jun successfully broke through and captured Sikou Camp with his backhand has gradually become known to everyone.

Xu Huang and Xia Houshang hurried to Sikou based on Liu Ye's letter. However, when the two of them were approaching the Sikou camp, they encountered a rout of troops in the camp on the road. "What?"

Xu Huang's face was full of horror and disbelief, and he said: "Liu Junshi said that Huo Jun led his troops eastward to Yuzhou in order to get Xu Sheng to join him and then cross the sea to the south. How could Huo Jun appear in Sikou now? Could it be that Liu Junshi was confused by Huo Jun again? ?”

Xia Houshang couldn't believe it and confirmed again: "Did you mistake it? The enemy is coming from the Huaihe River, not from the Surabaya River."

The defeated soldiers quickly shook their heads and said, "We dare not be mistaken. Governor Zhao and General Liu led their troops to pursue eastward, and the enemy invaders fled eastward. However, yesterday, the enemy's army descended from the Si River, defeated our army and occupied the camp. "

Xu Huang sighed slightly and said: "Huo Jun's strategy among Liu's military advisors was to deceive the enemy. Huo Jun said he was going east, but in fact he was returning west to Sishui. When he lured the army out, he took a boat and went south, protruding from the siege of Sikou."

Xiahou Shang straightened out Huo Jun's military strategy, took a breath, and said: "Hit the east and attack the west, confusing our army and leaving Sikou empty. Huo Jun's military tactics are so cunning, how can there be such an enemy in the world!"

Xu Huang looked slightly dazed. Compared with the fledgling Xia Houshang, he had more or less competed with Huo Jun.

He not only participated in the Battle of Chrysostom, but also participated in the Battle of Hanzhong. In the Battle of Jinkou, Huo Jun won a great victory with fire; in the Battle of Hanzhong, Huo Jun climbed over mountains and ridges and walked thousands of miles to kill the Marquis of Xia.

Today, as a member of the group that was encircling and suppressing Huo Jun, I watched helplessly as Huo Jun was playing tricks on them.

Xu Huang looked melancholy and said: "Huo Jun uses his troops to be unpredictable!"

"General Gongming, Sikou Camp was captured by Huo Jun. What should we do now?" Xiahou Shang asked.

"The Sishui camp is strong. Now that Huo Jun has moved to station, it is not easy for our army to defeat it."

Xu Huang held up the reins and said: "Since Liu Jun's army marched eastward, Xuhuai has become empty. Our army has gone deep into Sikou and is isolated from the main army. It is not a wise move. We should retreat back to Sikou and wait for the king's orders."

Xu Huang was already afraid of Huo Jun, who was stationed at Sikou. This kind of enemy is so terrifying that it is almost impossible to guard against it. You never know when it will become his prey.

"good!"

In a short period of time, Xu Huang and Xia Houshang reached a consensus and led the army back to Jikou. Moreover, the return trip was very fast, and they were afraid that Huo Jun would learn of their whereabouts.

However, in fact, they did not know that Huo Jun sent his troops northward and wanted to move the people of Sui and Si rivers back south. Sikou Camp was able to protect itself, but it had no power to attack.

Not to mention that Xu Huang and Xiahou Shang withdrew their troops along the original route. Zhao Yan, Liu Ye, Wen Ji and others who were deceived by Huo Jun and pursued eastward really pursued them with all their strength, for fear of being a step too late and missing Huo Jun's army.

After many days and nights of pursuit, on April 12, the pursuing Wei army officers and soldiers finally arrived at Qu County.

But not long after, the Wei army who rushed to Qu County was dumbfounded. They sent out a large number of scouts to search, but Huo Jun's army was nowhere to be seen.

Although Zhouge, commanded by Xu Sheng, reached Yuzhou Island, when he saw the pursuing Wei army, he seemed to have seen some signal and led his army to break camp and leave. The generals of the Wei army were left alone with confused faces and messy in the wind.

The generals of the Wei army argued with each other and could not understand the behavior of the Han army. Even the general who was slow to respond was still wondering why Huo Jun didn't show up for so long and whether he had already left by boat with Xu Sheng.

Everyone was talking about it, but Liu Ye looked gloomy and sighed in silence.

Things have progressed to this point. If Liu Ye didn't know it yet, he would be stupid. He had a bet with Huo Jun and lost.

When he learned that Huo Jun had crossed Surabaya, he abandoned his boat and headed eastward. In fact, Liu Ye guessed that Huo Jun might retaliate and took a boat down the river. However, after some hesitation, Liu Ye chose to believe what he saw and firmly believed that Huo Jun would lead his army east to the seaside.

Huo Jun is now missing, and Xu Sheng is leaving with his fleet, all indicating that he and Huo Jun lost the bet.

Liu Ye sighed secretly, how could Huo Jun be so good at predicting people's hearts?

Perhaps only military advisor Liu Ye thought this was a gamble. In fact, for Huo Jun, no matter what choice Liu Ye made, Huo Jun was the winner.

The Wei army refused to leave. After Huo Jun received the information, he would have to work harder and head east.

If the Wei army is greedy to pursue, Huo Jun can return to his horse and cross the Sishui River again, as he is doing now, and take a boat south to Sikou.

As for Xu Sheng's boating to Yuzhou, this is a letter passed down by Huo Jun, who ordered Quan Cong to pass it down from generation to generation. In the letter, Huo Jun asked Xu Sheng to lead a boat to Yuzhou to take him back to his country. If you don't see yourself and see the pursuing Wei army arriving at Qu County, don't worry too much, it means that he has returned to Huainan.

Therefore, Huo Jun's three crossings to Surabaya were mostly due to luck. If Liu Ye didn't cooperate, he would have been able to cross the Surabaya River twice, and he would have to abandon the boat. How could he be as cool and calm as the third crossing?

"Zi Yang?"

Zhao Yan looked at Liu Ye and asked, "What is the situation like now?"

Liu Ye met everyone's gaze and said bitterly: "I followed Huo Jun's strategy of attacking from the east and attacking from the west. If it goes as expected, Huo Jun will enter the Huaihe River from Sikou."

Then, Liu Ye looked depressed and said: "The staff made a mistake, and Ye should apologize to the king. Now, Sun Guan is dead in the battle, and only two generals Zang Ba and Yin Li are holding on to Xiapi City. Our army should withdraw from the East China Sea and still save Xiapi. . To prevent Huo Jun from leading troops to attack north and plan to take down Pi County."

Hearing Liu Ye's words, the generals in the tent made noisy noises, either shocked that Huo Jun had tricked them, or dissatisfied that Liu Ye had caused them to run around continuously.

"Huo Jun only has 20,000 exhausted troops, how dare he attack Pi City again?" Zhao Yan asked.

"in case!"

Liu Ye stroked his beard and sighed: "According to the common sense of military strategists, Huo Jun would not dare to commit suicide lightly. However, after Huo Jun has rested enough and borrowed the advantage of the boat, he may make a comeback."

"Now we will retreat to Xiapi City to obtain supplies of food and baggage, and then stabilize Xiapi. Then we will respond to the king, observe the enemy's situation, and plan the strategy for the advance."

"good!"

(End of this chapter)