Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 506 Determined to defeat Huo
On the banks of Hangou in Jiangdu, thousands of tents were arranged in five groups. The outer perimeter of the fort was defended, with horses, trenches, and tigers all ready. Sentinels were watching the distance, waiting for their cavalry to be scattered outside.

In order to attack Xuzhou, Huo Jun moved his army from Hefei to Jiangdu to camp because it was close to Hangou and the Yangtze River.

Looking down from the sky, we can see that the village is like a small castle. The camps are in order, the functions are clearly divided, the streets are straight and clear, and the flags are laid out as markers. And in the vast school grounds, the Han army formed formations to practice, either practicing archery or fighting, or riding horses and shooting, and the sergeants each performed their duties.

Any general who visits this camp can only admire the well-organized layout of the camp, both offensive and defensive capabilities, and is not the work of an ordinary person.

In the big tent, Huo Jun and the generals gathered around the map and discussed the current situation.

"Captain, according to the 'fisherman', since Cao Xiu took command of Shouchun, he has been working hard on his troops and training his sergeants. It seems that he intends to use his troops to make achievements."

Jiang Ji pointed to Shouchun on the map and said: "If our army uses force against Huaidong, Cao Xiu will send troops, either to Hefei or to the east for reinforcements."

A few months after Cao Pi succeeded to the throne, General Xiahou Dun fell seriously ill and moved from Shouchun to Luoyang for treatment. However, his illness worsened and he died on the way.

After Cao Xiu took office, although he still continued Xiahou Dun's arrangements, he, with great ambitions, worked hard to make achievements in Jianghuai.

Huo Jun smiled a few times and said: "If Man Boning succeeds Xia Houdun, I will be worried about it. But now it is Cao Xiu who is in charge of the armies. He is appointed as a clan general. He is brave but lacks wisdom. His temperament He is strong and swift and cannot be called a famous general. This son is not a concern for our army!"

Of course, it is not that there are no talented people in the Cao Wei Kingdom today, but that their talents are restricted because of the appointment of generals as governors. Especially Tian Yu and Man Chong, although they have the ability to be wise and courageous, they have always been unable to develop their full talents because they are subordinate to others.

Due to his own growth, Hou Dun of the Xia Dynasty learned the defeat of Bowang, and he was able to listen to good advice and advice, so he was no longer a brainless man. Since he left the town of Shouchun, he has repaired the city, accumulated food and armor, and persisted without fighting, which gave Huo Jun a headache.

"Have!"

Although Huo Jun has the right to decide when and where to use troops, he still has to share the pressure of Cao Wei's army for Liu Bei. After all, there is not much disparity in military strength between Han and Wei. If Liu Bei can transfer to Guanzhong, then Cao Wei can also take the opportunity to attack Liu Bei's rear.

Pang Tong organized his thoughts and said: "If you follow the old strategy and Ma Chao and Lu Xun raise their troops, your Majesty will transfer his troops to the west. When your Majesty passes Wuguan, Cao Pi's army may take the opportunity to attack your majesty's food road, trying to cut off your majesty's food road, or perhaps Seeing that Guanlong is in danger, divide the troops and increase them."

As for Cao Xiu's military level?

As soon as Pang Tong finished speaking, Yu Shao stepped into the tent, raised his hands and said: "Captain, according to Licheng, let's make a detailed speech. Cai Fang, a soldier in Licheng County, killed the prefect Xu Zhi and appointed General Tang Zi as the leader. Tang Zi made a detailed statement with our army. If you want to raise the county and surrender our army, please ask the governor to send troops to accept the surrender of the city."

Now Xiahou Dun died of illness, and his successor was Cao Xiu, who was determined to make great achievements. This was good news for Huo Jun. He is not afraid of head-to-head confrontation with famous generals, but he only has a headache when fighting generals who defend themselves without fighting.

"Captain, in addition to Cao Xiu, Lu Qian succeeded Qingzhou governor, and he and Xuzhou governor Zang Ba jointly controlled Xu Huai. If our army sends troops to Xu Huai, Lu and Zang will send troops from the north, while Cao Xiu will use force from the west." Jiang Ji pointed at the map and said.

"At that time, there were many bandits in Jingxiang and Guanlong. The governor wanted to send troops to Xuhuai, which was a good opportunity. Moreover, sending troops to Xuhuai can also divide the weak bandit troops, so that your majesty can transfer to Guanlong."

"Licheng County surrenders?"

Gao Xiang grinned and said: "Captain, Licheng County is adjacent to Xiapi and has surrendered now. God will help our army with this general!"

Everyone was happy to hear this and found the location of Licheng County on the map.

Yu Shao groped around on his body, presented the letter, and said: "Because Li City is close to Xiapi and Chengyang counties, Zang Ba, the governor of Xuzhou, has led his troops to conquer. Tang Zi is afraid that Qingzhou's troops will soon be gone." Tang Zi has sent Xu Zhi's head to the army, and the envoy has arrived outside the camp, waiting for the governor to receive him. "

"Where is the map of Donghai County?"

Huo Jun opened the letter and saw that Tang Zi said in the letter that Huaiyin is connected to the border and is connected to Huaihai. Now I am willing to surrender the land and surrender the land for the benefit of the city, so that the Han can benefit from the sea salt. And the Han family can look forward to the old land of Peng and Song Dynasty, and attack the land of Qingqi in the north...

Compared to the joy of everyone, Huo Jun took his time and asked: "Apart from public etiquette, are there any other military sentiments?"

"According to the letter, Your Majesty accepted the plan of Lord Feng to attack Wuguan with light troops and surrounded Wancheng with heavy troops. Cao Pi has led his army south and we should confront Your Majesty now."

"There are enemies on both the west and north sides, and the time to use troops has not yet come!"

In Huo Jun's opinion, Cao Xiu had decent military talent and the potential to become a famous general, but he had too little experience in leading large armies and had a strong temper, so he was much easier to deal with than Xiahou Dun, who was like a turtle guarding a city.

Huo Jun put his hands on the desk, stared at the Jianghuai map, and asked: "What is the current situation of the war in Jingbei?"

Huo Jun handed the letter to his left and right officials and asked for the map of the East China Sea.

"At this!"

Jiang Ji took out the map of the East China Sea from the bamboo tube and covered it on the map of Xu Huai. Huo Jun immediately stepped forward and carefully studied the terrain around Licheng.

Seeing Huo Jun lowering his head to study the map, Gao Xiang became a little anxious and asked: "Commander, are you going to take advantage of the situation and send troops to respond to Tang Zi?"

"No hurry!" Huo Jun said.

"Captain, Licheng is located in the northeast of Xiapi County, adjacent to Chengyang County under the jurisdiction of Qingzhou. If you rebel now, you will be besieged by soldiers and horses from the two states."

Seeing the unfavorable terrain of Licheng County, Jiang Ji worriedly said: "Our army wants to march north and use troops. If the troops and horses go too deep, they may be in danger of being cut off by the enemy, or they may be surrounded by many sides."

"Let Tang Zi lead the soldiers and people of Licheng to withdraw to Qushan!"

Huo Jun pointed to the map and said decisively: "Licheng is hundreds of miles away from Yuzhou, and the terrain on the left and right is not in danger of high mountains and rivers. However, Qushan Mountain is located in Qu County, and its terrain is steep. There is a fence built along the mountain, and Yuzhou is adjacent to the back. We can capture the enemy. Our troops can ride out of Hangou and go to Huaipu. After crossing six miles, we can quickly reinforce them."

"No!" "Commander, since our army has Tang Zi's support in the city, I don't know how we will advance?" Huo Du asked.

"Xiang is willing to be a pioneer!" Gao Xiang volunteered and said.

Huo Jun was not affected by the eagerness to fight on the left and right, so he paced around with his hands behind his hands and asked, "Do Shi Yuan and Zi Tong have any opinions?"

Pang Tong pondered for a while and said: "If our army marches northward in a large scale, we will only worry about the troops and horses led by Cao Xiu. If he goes south to Hefei and plunders the city, our army's savings in the past ten years will be destroyed. If Cao Xiu marches eastward and fights with Qing and Xu soldiers and horses are attacking, and Huaihai is in the east, so our army is surrounded on three sides and is in danger of defeat."

"Therefore, if the governor wants to use troops against Li City, he should be careful. Jianghuai must not be lost, Li City must be rescued, Cao Xiu must defend it, and Zang and Lu must defend it."

"Where's Zitong?"

Jiang Ji replied: "Ji and Shi Yuan have the same view. The commander-in-chief wants to march north and use troops, so he should be on guard against the Central Plains troops."

Huo Jun gradually gained some understanding and asked, "Where are Gao Xiang and Chen Yue?"

"The general is here!"

"Gao Xiang led 5,000 infantry and cavalry out of Huaipu and marched towards Qushan to relieve Tang Zi's distress. General Chen Yue led 3,000 naval forces to advance to Yuzhou to respond on the coast."

"No!" The two of them accepted the order.

"Where are Pang Tong and Lei Yuan?"

"The general is here!"

"Pang Tong is in charge of the military affairs in Huaixi. He has commanded five thousand troops to garrison Hefei. Lei Yuan has led two thousand troops to guard Liu'an. If there is any change in Shouchun, report it to me as soon as possible." Huo Jun ordered.

"promise!"

"Captain, where are the majority of our army?" Seeing that the army was not moving, Gao Xiang asked worriedly: "The general is outnumbered and is afraid that he will not be able to defeat Qing and Xu's troops."

Huo Jun showed a confident smile and said: "This time when we go north, it's best if we can win. If we can't win, we'll have to retreat to a dangerous position. Report the general information to me."

"As for the army, let me observe the enemy's strength and look for opportunities to defeat them!"

"No!" Everyone responded.

Not to mention that Huo Jun received Tang Zi's envoy, said some words of encouragement, and worshiped Tang Zi as the governor of the East China Sea.

At the same time, Cao Xiu also received the information sent by Zang Ba.

When he saw the news of Tang Zi's rebellion in the letter, Cao Xiu frowned and became increasingly depressed. He called his close confidants and said, "Your Majesty, if you give me ten thousand cavalry, I will march across Xuhuai. How can I help the city to rebel?"

In the past, after Cao Xiu defeated Liaodong, he returned to his country and met Cao Pi. At that time, Cao Pi and Cao Xiu were discussing military and state affairs. In their words, Cao Pi expressed that he was troubled by the bandits in Mount Tai, and told Cao Xiu about the difficulty of running the country.

At that time, Cao Xiu was very motivated and asked Cao Pi to allocate ten thousand troops to help Cao Pi completely regain military power in Xuzhou. However, Cao Pi was concerned about the Jianghuai Army of the Southern Han Dynasty, vetoed Cao Xiu's proposal, and decided to adopt a slow-cooking policy, which is why Xu Zhi was appointed as the prefect of Licheng.

The confidants who knew the inside story did not dare to answer, so they remained silent.

After a while, Chang Diao said: "General, the immediate urgency lies in Xuzhou. The troops in Licheng County are rebelling, and Tang Ziju has returned to surrender to Huo Jun. If it is not settled quickly, Huo Jun is afraid that Huo Jun will send troops north to connect with Licheng, and the Song Dynasty will be invaded. The land is in danger.”

Cao Xiu stroked his beard and said: "Li Cheng rebels, and Zang Xuzhou and Lu Qingzhou must take action. Considering the situation of Li City's troops and horses, it will not be difficult for the two states to work together to defeat them. Therefore, the current danger is not in Li City, but in Jianghuai." ”

"Huo Jun thinks that he is unrivaled in his military skills and always has the ambition to drink from the river. If Licheng rebels now, Huo Jun will send troops to support it, thinking that it will be used to plot against Xu Huai. However, Licheng is isolated from the Huai River. If Huo Jun goes north with his troops, he will worry about my life. Spring soldiers and horses take advantage of the opportunity to use troops."

"General, what should our army do?" Chang Diao asked.

Cao Xiu paced and thought, and said: "There are only ten thousand soldiers and horses in Yangzhou, and thirty to forty thousand soldiers and horses in Hexu and Qingzhou. However, these soldiers are not enough to challenge Huo Jun and defend Shouchun. Your Majesty, I must let you go now." Mobilize troops and horses from Yan and Henan, or the Central Army to rush for reinforcements."

As the governor of Yangzhou, Cao Xiu oversaw the military affairs of Xu and Qing states. The two states of Yan and Yu are not under his control. Now they are going to challenge Huo Jun, and they need other troops and horses to support them.

As he spoke, Cao Xiu's expression was high and he spoke loudly: "Guang sent scouts deep into the Jianghuai River to spy on the movements of Huo Jun's troops. If the enemy's situation is discovered and follow-up troops arrive, this time they will be able to defeat Huo Jun's reputation!"

"promise!"

When everyone saw that Cao Xiu was in high spirits and wanted to defeat Huo Jun, they couldn't say anything depressing, so they could only respond with their hands raised.

Seeing that everyone's morale was low, Cao Xiu showed contempt and thought to himself: "How can a general be so timid and fight?"

Cao Xiu was different from other generals in that he had great ambitions and a strong temperament. Huo Jun defeated Cao's army several times in the past, leaving them in a state of embarrassment, which made Cao Xiu feel very humiliated.

Therefore, at the beginning of his succession, Cao Xiu made an oath to Cao Pi to defeat Huo Jun. Although these words were greatly appreciated by Cao Pi, they also put a lot of pressure on Cao Xiu.

There is a rebellion in Licheng now. If Huo Jun leads his troops northward, this will be his chance to defeat Huo Jun or make some achievements.

(End of this chapter)