Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 469 Hefei Talks
AD 219, the first year of Zhangwu, December.

Jianghuai, Hefei.

In the Governor's Mansion, Huo Jun was playing chess with Jiang Ji, talking and laughing with each other during the moves.

Jiang Ji placed the black piece on the chessboard and asked: "Cao Cao led the Chinese people to Nanyang to confront His Majesty in Xinye. The armies of the two countries have gathered in Xiangfan. I wonder when the governor thinks Xiangfan can be attacked?"

After a pause, Jiang Ji subconsciously glanced at the letter sent by Pang Tong and said: "According to Shi Yuanxin, although Fancheng is small, the sergeants in the city are mostly elite. Our army has been difficult to pull out for days, and there have been many casualties. What he said is It may not be easy to break through Fancheng."

Huo Jun put his hand into the chessboard and said with a natural expression: "General Guan flooded seven armies, captured them in prison, and surrendered them. At that time, Jingxiang was in turmoil and China was in shock. Today, Shi Yuan has surrounded Fancheng and Xiangyang has been cut off; His Majesty has been out of court. The soldiers of the country are trying to stop Cao Cao in Xinye, how can they not go to Xiangfan?"

In Huo Jun's eyes, it was not difficult for the Southern Han Dynasty to defeat Xiangfan, provided that there were sufficient troops.

In the second half of the Battle of Chrysostom, after Er Liu drove Cao Ren out of Nanjun, Huo Jun asked Liu Qi for troops, hoping to capture Xiangfan directly. At that time, Huo Jun asked for 70,000 troops, but the number of troops scared Liu Qi away.

Liu Qi had concerns in his heart and refused Huo Jun's request for troops on the grounds that the rebels were commotion and the people were suffering due to the initial invasion of Jingnan. At that time, Liu Bei was thinking about the four counties east of the Yangtze River that he had already secured, and was worried about Cao's army in the north of the Yangtze River, so he didn't want to fight.

The two Lius each had their own thoughts, but they were not interested in the follow-up Xiangfan. Under this situation, Huo Jun had no choice but to lead 20,000 troops northward and move a large number of civilians south to Jiangling to completely end the Battle of Chrysostom.

At that time, if Liu Qi agreed to Huo Jun's suggestion, the two Lius would jointly send 70,000 troops to Huo Jun's command, and Xiangfan would have already been owned by the Southern Han Dynasty. However, it was a pity that Liu Qi had no ambition and only divided 20,000 troops and horses against Huo Jun. Due to insufficient troops, Huo Jun had to move his people southward and gave up his plan to attack Xiangfan.

"Lu Xun and Liu Feng stationed troops in Gucheng, and Wen Pin went out to Sui County and pretended to move. I will lead the army to plow and fight. The food and grass for the three armies will be supplied along the Han River, so there will be no worries. If the thieves come, I will swallow them up. When Cao Cao's troops arrive, Lu Xun and Wenpin send out surprise troops to attack the grain road, and I can look for an opportunity to break it."

Today, Guan Yu's two major victories before and after have given the Southern Han Dynasty a first-mover advantage. Liu Bei mobilized soldiers and horses from Jing and Yang states, and had Fazheng, Pang Tong, and Lu Meng as his assistants. How could he not be able to capture Xiangfan?

Different from Guan Yu's Northern Expedition to Xiangfan, he aimed at the low city of Fan. When Huo Jun attacked Xiangfan, he would choose the difficult and dangerous Xiangyang. In the mountains and rivers around Xiangyang and on the edge of the Han River, defense lines were built. Soldiers and horses from the three counties of Jiangxia and Dong sent troops from the east and west to encircle the points and provide reinforcements.

If you advance, you can destroy the supporting army and take Nanyang directly; if you retreat, you can consume the enemy's army and march to Xiangfan.

"Ok?"

"Ha ha!"

Today, the battle between Liu Bei and Guan Yu at Xiangfan is in a tense state. If Huo Junruo made false claims about arranging troops and formations, and Liu and Guan knew about it, they would not feel disgusted, but they would definitely feel unhappy. That's why Huo Jun and Jiang Jifang had such a joke.

Huo Jun stroked his moustache and said confidently: "Xiangfan is dangerous and divided by the Han River. Fancheng is small and can be broken easily, but it is located in the north of Han and can easily be supported by the bandits. Although Xiangyang is difficult to overcome, it is difficult to overcome. But it is located in the south of Han Dynasty and is separated from the north of Han Dynasty. Moreover, the navy navy is weak and there is no need to worry about it."

"In a few months, if the thieves are afraid of danger and know how to retreat, and Xiangyang has no hope of surrender, then Fancheng can follow the trend. And if the thieves have no plan, Xiangyang can be used as bait at that time, and all the troops can be transferred to Suixian County, and Wenpin can occupy Xinye. The rebel army's food road is in the way; if the soldiers of Jianghan and Han follow the trend and attack it, they can annihilate the traitor army."

Jiang Ji heard the implication of Huo Jun's words and said with a smile: "Today there is still no knowledge of heaven and earth, so the governor might as well order people to cover the heaven and earth."

"Therefore, I sent troops to attack Xiangfan. When the water rose in midsummer, I used boats to cut off the Han River and isolate Xiangyang. At that time, I chose a key place with mountains and rivers, sent troops to build a city in the south of Han, plowed and fought, in order to wait for the soldiers and horses of the Central Plains. Like the Central Plains. When the troops arrive, cross the Han River to the south bank, then send out troops to attack them."

Jiang Ji was curious and asked, "Captain, can you elaborate?"

Jiang Ji picked up the black spots with his fingers and said with a smile: "If you are the commander-in-chief and general, why should you go to Xiangfan?"

If we compare Guan Yu's plan for the Northern Expedition with Huo Jun's plan for the Northern Expedition to Xiangfan, we can only say that benevolence is in the eye of the beholder and wisdom is in the eye of the beholder. Anything that can capture Xiangfan is a good strategy.

Looking at the arrangement of the three armies, it is like a human chest and left and right arms. When Cao Wei goes south to rescue, he can use the Han River fortifications to meet the enemy. When the enemy's situation becomes clear, Lu Xun and Wenpin can send troops from left to right to cooperate with the Han River army to encircle and annihilate Fanbei's army.

Huo Junchan put his zizi down on the plate and said with a smile: "If I raise an army to attack Xiangfan, I will be different from General Guan. I ordered Lu Xun and Liu Feng to leave Nanxiang. I will raise a large army to surround Xiangyang, and then send a general out of Suixian County to feint." "

The Second City of Xiangfan is famous for its unique terrain, so don't just look at the steepness of the city and ignore the terrain around the city. Unlike the flat Hanbei, Xiangyang is surrounded by mountains and rivers, which is very suitable for building a defense line.

Huo Jun smiled and joked: "Is it possible that Zitong wants to trap me into injustice?"

Jiang Ji stroked his beard and pondered, and said: "If we use troops according to the commander's arrangement, it may be difficult to attack Xiangfan quickly, but it will be of great benefit to our army. This plan is very clever, and the commander's army is extraordinary!"

"It's a war on paper!"

Huo Jun smiled and said: "Your Majesty is in charge of the war in Xiangfan today, and our responsibility is to contain the enemy forces in Huaibei." Jiang Ji observed Huo Jun's expression and saw no helplessness, and he gradually felt at ease.

Liu and Guan raised their troops for the Northern Expedition and gathered more than 100,000 troops from Wu and Chu. Even the soldiers and horses from Jianghuai were transferred away. Huo Jun had only 5,000 mobile troops at his side. He gave Huo Fan the command and asked him to use his own military flag to bluff and send troops to Shaopi as a response.

Jiang Ji was worried that Huo Jun would have nowhere to use his talent and would feel resentful. But now I saw that Huo Jun's expression was as usual, without any complaints, and he felt relieved.

Then, Jiang Ji stroked his beard and smiled, and said: "The governor is well versed in military strategy. I wonder if the current situation of the Yuan Dynasty can be used to defeat Fancheng?"

Huo Jun pondered for a while, rubbed the chess pieces in his hands, and said: "According to Shi Yuanyan, Fancheng will be short of food and grass. Cao Ren has been surrounded for a long time and has already been waiting for help. If you want to attack Fancheng now, you may start from now on to lure Cao Ren out of the city and look for opportunities to win. down town."

After a pause, Huo Jun dropped the chess piece in his hand and said, "However, the specific situation depends on the situation. If Cao Ren cannot leave the city, he can only attack day and night with troops."

Jiang Ji nodded slightly and sighed: "I only hope that Shi Yuan will go to Xiangfan early."

Hearing this, Huo Jun abandoned his pieces on the chessboard and sighed slightly: "Sooner or later, Xiangfan will be mine, so I don't worry about Xiangfan, but I worry about Wing De."

"General Zhang?"

Jiang Ji was stunned and asked: "Although General Yide has nothing to do with the king's strategy, he is still a veteran general. Is there something wrong with leading Bashu troops out of the military capital now?"

Huo Jun stood up and walked around, saying: "Yi De is courteous but disrespectful to those below. He is violent and ungrateful. In the past, Xing Ba and Boyan served as assistants in the army. They often gave up their money to divide the subordinates into groups and serve as generals. Or they may be admonishing Yi. Virtue, drink less and don’t whip the soldiers.”

"Xingba died of illness today, and Boyan stayed behind. Yide led the army out of the pass alone. The people of Bashu are not attached to them. If Yide bullies the subordinates, there will be chaos in the army!"

Although Gan Ning was vulgar and easy to kill, Gan Ning was a good general. Because he was born as a water thief, Gan Ning is not greedy for money, and all the money he accumulates is shared with his subordinates. In addition, his hometown is from Bashu, and he has a good relationship with the Bashu generals in the army.

As Zhang Fei's deputy, Gan Ning made up for Zhang Fei's behavior to a certain extent; as for Lu Xun, needless to say, his literary, Taoist, and military strategies were commendable.

On the eve of Gan Ning's death, he felt that he was about to die, so he wrote a letter to Huo Jun. In the letter, he recalled the past of their travels in the world, and was sad that he would never meet Huo Jun again.

Later, when Huo Jun heard that Gan Ning had passed away, he was not only saddened by the death of his friend, but also regretful that the country had lost a general.

Gan Ning died today, and Lu Xun stayed behind. Zhang Fei led his troops out of Yangping Pass alone, and Huo Jun felt uneasy every time he thought about what happened to Zhang Fei in history. Gan Ning had left, and he didn't want to see Zhang Fei off again.

Hearing Huo Jun's words, Jiang Ji frowned and said: "Since the governor is worried about this, it is better to write a letter to advise General Zhang. And the letter reminds your majesty that General Yide will be defeated due to drunkenness."

Huo Jun put his hands behind his waist, looked at the winter scenery outside the window, and said: "I have written to Yide, and I have also written to Wei Zhang and Zijun. Let them advise General Zhang more and be wary of Yide's left and right generals. "

It was common for Zhang Fei to whip his soldiers. Not only Huo Jun and Gan Ning tried to persuade him, but Liu Bei and Guan Yu also tried to persuade him, but Zhang Fei refused to listen.

If Zhang Fei doesn't listen, it'll be fine. If he whips ordinary soldiers, it won't do anything serious. But the fatal thing about Zhang Fei is that he likes to flog his cronies. He not only entrusted them with important responsibilities, but also whipped and bullied them. Even if there is no Zhang Da or Fan Qiang, there may be others.

Historically, Zhang and Fan not only killed Zhang Fei, but even cut off Zhang Fei's head and took his head to defect to Sun Quan. The process is so easy that it's hard not to be suspicious.

Huo Jun once suspected that this was not an impromptu act by Zhang and Fan, but that more people were involved. They did not want to endure Zhang Fei's bullying, or secretly helped, or acquiesced to Zhang and Fan's actions.

Huo Jun was familiar with Zhang Fei, but not very familiar with Zhang Fei's generals. He wrote letters to Zhao Ang and Wang Ping, saying that Zhang and Fan had thoughts of rebellion, not by name. But since Lu Xun was not around to speak, he was afraid that Zhang Fei would die of Gan Ning's illness, which would make him even more upset and whip the soldiers even harder.

Therefore, Huo Jun asked Zhao and Wang to pay more attention to the generals who had been whipped by Zhang Fei to prevent them from deliberately causing chaos after the army came out of the pass, and to pay more attention to Zhang Fei who was drunk.

During the Battle of Hanzhong in the past, Huo Jun recommended Zhao and Wang. The two of them were caring people. Zhao Ang often sent letters to say hello to Huo Jun. Wang Ping was illiterate, so he sent people to give him gifts, and there was no shortage of them every year. And in his letter to Zhang Fei, Huo Jun said that Zhao and Wang should be entrusted with important tasks.

Jiang Ji then stood up and said consolingly: "The Governor has written a letter to advise General Yide. General Yide should restrain his behavior. Moreover, General Yide has been whipping the soldiers for many years, and no soldiers have made trouble, or the Governor is too worried!"

Huo Jun smiled. At the moment, he could only be optimistic and hope to avoid this happening.

(End of this chapter)