Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 513 Victory is in sight
Since Cao Xiu decided to send out his troops, he advanced at a very fast speed, traveling by boat. When he was about to reach Tushan, he took the land route and arrived at Peidi to observe Huo Jun's military movements.

I heard that Huo Jun had led his army across the Huaihe River, and the army appeared in the Lingshui area. Cao Xiu led an army of more than 30,000 people and continued to march eastward. He sent someone to inform Zang and Lu that Huo Jun would lead the main force across the river and might head towards Licheng.

At the end of June, Cao Xiu led his troops to Xia Qiu, and received reports from the scouts. Xu Sheng, the general under Huo Jun, was plundering people in Huaibei, so he led the vanguard to Ling County.

At that time, Xu Sheng was besieging Lingcheng. When he saw Cao Xiu's troops arriving, he was afraid and left. Cao Xiu led 5,000 elite infantry and cavalry to attack them. They defeated Xu Sheng's troops and killed more than a thousand people. Xu Sheng abandoned the baggage and fled with the remaining troops to Quyang.

Cao Xiu sent Chang Diao to pursue him, and he led his army to station in Ling County. The pursuing Chang Diao was repulsed by Huo Du, and Xu Sheng and Huo Du joined forces and returned to the army.

After hearing about Huo Jun's movements from Chang Diao, Cao Xiu led a large army and sent messengers to contact Zang and Lu, and sent out scouts.

In Xiapi, an army of tens of thousands of people marched along the road.

Under the bright sun, the soldiers of Wei Army were exposed to the scorching sun, and everyone was sweating profusely while walking. The military flag hung low and was difficult to display, as if it had been burned by the sun.

Cao Xiu, who was riding a horse, had taken off his helmet due to the sun exposure, and his thin hair was stuck to his forehead due to sweat. He held his collar with his hands, as if trying to dissipate the heat from his chest.

Seeing the sun being so exposed, Cao Xiu couldn't help but slow down his horse, looked at the surroundings, and asked: "Where is this? How long is it from Quyang?"

"I order you two to lead five thousand elites to fight against Xu Sheng. I will lead the army to defeat the enemy," Cao Xiu ordered.

Huaibei has been sparsely populated during the years of fighting, and lacks landmark buildings, making it very easy to get lost. Fortunately, Cao Xiu had many locals under his command, so marching with a map was not a problem.

The attendant looked up at the scorching sun and asked: "General, our army has been running for many days. Today, we are marching under the scorching sun. The sergeants are already tired. Can we rest here for a while?"

The attendant took out the Hu cake, blew the dust on it, and handed it to Cao Xiu.

Cao Xiu thought for a while and said, "Where are Chang Diao and Zhuge Qian?"

Upon hearing this, the general Zhuge Qian said: "General, the armies of Lu Qingzhou and Zang Xuzhou are surrounding Qushan. Our army is only two hundred miles away. Now the defeated general Xu Sheng has camped underground. It is expected that Huo Jun's army is not far away. "

"good!"

Cao Xiu had not eaten a few mouthfuls when he saw the scouts who had dispersed earlier come back and galloped to the flag. He dismounted and walked quickly to Cao Xiu. He handed over his hands and reported: "General, thirty miles ahead, there are traces of thieves. It seems they were before." The defeated general Xu Sheng was leading his troops to build a fortress."

After saying that, Zhuge Qian held up his hands and said: "General, now we should take advantage of the situation when Xu Sheng's camp is not stable, lead his troops to attack it, capture his troops, and torture the enemy's troops. And send messengers to Lu and Zang to ask Huo Jun about his situation. Ministry status.”

As the order to rest was issued, the Wei army officers and soldiers shouted loudly, thanking Cao Xiu for allowing them to stop and rest, so that they did not have to continue on their way.

"Thirty miles away?"

After finding a clean place, Cao Xiu dismounted his horse and rested. Feeling hungry and thirsty, he asked his neighbors, "Are there any Hu cakes?"

"Twenty miles around Xu Sheng, there is no trace of other bandits!" the scout said, "The camp built by Xu Sheng is quite dangerous, located on the slopes of mountains and rivers."

The attendant looked at the surrounding terrain, opened the map and compared it, and said: "General, this area has not been marked on the map yet, but it should be not far from Quyang. It can be reached in two or three days."

Cao Xiu stood up from his chair and asked hurriedly: "Besides Xu Sheng, are there any traces of the bandits?"

"promise!"

"The general is here!"

The Wei army sergeants dispersed from Cao Xiu's military order, or went to rest in the shade of a tree, or drank water from the water bag to quench their thirst.

"At this!"

Cao Xiu looked back at the Wei soldiers who were exposed to the sun, thinking about the battle with Huo Jun in the near future, and ordered: "Let all the troops rest, send out scouts widely, and never relax."

"promise!"

The officers and soldiers of the Wei army who had not rested for long were filled with resentment when they heard that they were gathering for battle. However, due to Cao Xiu's prestige and the harsh military laws of the Wei army, he had no choice but to get up and prepare for war.

After a while, Chang Diao and Zhuge Qian led five thousand elite troops on foot and cavalry to advance forward. Cao Xiu purged the remaining sergeants and marched with food, grass and baggage.

Xuhuai is sparsely populated, and except for Xiapi and a few cities, it is basically not within Cao Wei's control area. Now Cao Xiu is going deep into Huaidong from Huaixi to fight, especially crossing the Surabaya River. He basically has to bring his own food and cannot get supplies from the counties along the way.

After a long time, Cao Xiu led his army and advanced to protect the food and grass. Chang Diao and Zhuge Qian have already led their troops and horses to rush forward, hoping to attack Xu Sheng's troops while Xu Sheng's camp is not yet stable. Fortunately, Xu Sheng had scouts deployed. When he saw Wei Jun leading his troops to kill, the scouts immediately came to report. Xu Sheng saw that his troops were few and his sergeants were scattered, unable to fight, so he immediately ordered his troops to withdraw.

Thousands of soldiers of the Han army once again abandoned their baggage and fled. Chang Diao led his troops to pursue them. More than ten Han soldiers were captured, dozens of them were killed, and all the Han army's baggage was obtained.

When Cao Xiu heard that the battle ahead was going smoothly, he led his cavalry to the front line.

Seeing Cao Xiu coming, Chang Diao led his own cavalry to meet him and said, "General, Xu Sheng abandoned his baggage and was defeated. Our army captured many thieves."

Cao Xiu looked at the Han army's half-repaired camp and asked, "Is there any trace of Huo Jun's troops?"

"Have!"

Chang Diao pointed his whip at the captured Han soldiers and said: "According to the thieves, Huo Jun stationed his troops in Baokou, more than fifty miles away from Qushan. His military supplies and grass were stationed in Dayi Mountain, forty miles away from Huo Jun's camp. Yuli is garrisoned by the bandit generals Huo Du and Xu Sheng."

"Today Xu Sheng was ordered to go out of the mountain stronghold to block our army's advance. Unexpectedly, our army marched too fast and was defeated by our army before the camp was established. Our army is hundreds of miles away from Dayi Mountain. Today Xu Sheng If he is defeated and flees, he should return to the camp and inform Huo Du to hold on."

Hearing these words, Cao Xiu was overjoyed and interrogated the prisoners directly, asking: "Do you know how the camp at Dayi Mountain is like?"

The prisoner was frightened and said: "General, Dayi Mountain is low and low, and it is difficult to say how high it is. However, the mountain is rugged and rocky, and it is very steep. The layout of the current grain village is acceptable, and there are all the horses and tigers that resist the enemy. The strength of the troops is adequate." There are six to seven thousand people.”

Hearing about the Han army's grain camp, Cao Xiu couldn't close his smile, but to make sure it was correct, Cao Xiu asked his subordinates to interrogate the rest of the Han army to see if the information was correct.

After several interviews, the dozen or so captured Han soldiers gave almost unanimous answers. The grain and grass of the Han army were stationed in Dayi Mountain, but there were less than 10,000 soldiers guarding the camp.

"Now that I have obtained the Han army's important food and grassland, it is God who helps me!"

Cao Xiu held his whip and walked up and down the grass very excitedly. He called everyone around him and said: "Since the late emperor's southern expedition, Huo Jun has killed many people in our army. In the battle of Jinkou, I almost died with the late emperor. Today If we can attack the bandit's grain camp, it will have no food to eat, and the bandit army will be defeated."

"Although Huo Jun has an unparalleled military force, it is difficult for a clever woman to make a living without rice, so she can only flee in defeat. But our army can avenge its humiliation, march into Huainan, and regain its old land."

Cao Xiu was really excited. He was determined to take Huo Jun's retreat. He thought that this battle would be difficult, but he never thought that he would actually find Huo Jun's important military supply area now.

"General, now that I know the enemy's grain camp, should I raise troops to pursue him?" Chang Diao pondered for a while and said, "While Huo Du is unprepared, break down the camp to burn grain, and then attack Huo Jun's troops."

"No!"

Cao Xiu's face was excited, he raised his hand to veto and said: "Yuzhou is a stronghold for overseas thieves. If we break the stronghold and burn food now, we can only make Huo Jun withdraw his troops and flee to Yuzhou, but not defeat him. I want to lure Huo Jun to Dayi Mountain. And then fight with it."

"This~"

Chang Diao hesitated for a moment and said: "Looking at it from Diao, the available troops in Jianghuai are no less than 50,000. Huo Jun has more than 10,000 troops guarding the border and can lead more than 30,000 troops. In addition to Gao Xiang and Chen Yue, there are seven or eight thousand soldiers. "Huo Jun still has more than 20,000 soldiers and horses. Although our soldiers are many, it is difficult to compare with them."

"Huo Junzhen's army often numbers five thousand. Most of them are heavily armored. They can use bows and feet. They are brave and good at fighting. They cannot be stopped by non-sharp men. If our army fights with them, the victory or defeat will be difficult to distinguish."

Cao Wei lost many of its elite troops due to the Battle of Xiangfan. Although there are currently 300,000 soldiers and horses in the four directions, many of them are actually new soldiers. Otherwise, Cao Wei would not have regarded Liaodong's ten thousand elite troops as so important.

The Jianghuai region of today's Cao Wei Dynasty prepared for war all year round and had conflicts with Huainan. Although the quality of the soldiers was acceptable, there were also many new recruits. Cao Xiu wanted to fight in the field with Huai soldiers under Huo Jun's tent, but he was afraid that the outcome would be difficult to determine.

Huo Jun's troops are the most elite, but that doesn't mean that the rest of the troops are incompetent. Among them, there were soldiers who followed Huo Jun from Yuzhang and went down to Jiangdong to defeat Jingchu. Their combat effectiveness was extremely experienced.

I dare not say that the 30,000 Huai soldiers can be compared with the imperial army under Liu Bei's account, but they are definitely a powerful force in the Southern Han and Northern Wei Dynasties. Otherwise, Huo Jun would dare to defend the Jianghuai with 30,000 people, which is almost a joke.

"Let Zang Xuzhou and Lu Qingzhou mobilize their troops southward!"

Cao Xiu stopped and said in a deep voice: "There are twenty to thirty thousand troops from Qingzhou and Xuzhou. We ordered our elite troops to go south and join our army at Dayi Mountain. At that time, they were twice as many as the thieves. All the troops fought to the death." , How can we not win?”

The generals on the left and right looked at each other, feeling that the risk was too high and they should go directly to burn food. However, seeing Cao Xiu's decisive tone, Jia Kui and Man Chong, who had previously objected, were kicked out of the army by him, so they could not say anything.

Seeing that no one had any objections, Cao Xiu said with satisfaction: "Come here, please send a messenger quickly to inform Lord Zang and Lord Lu, and ask them to send their elite troops around to Dayi Mountain to defeat Huojun with our army."

"Our troops will rest and recuperate on the spot, and we will advance quickly tomorrow to secure strategic positions and build forts to fight against the bandits."

"promise!"

(End of this chapter)