Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 579 Huo Du mobilizes troops
On June 30, Cao Pi issued an order to march south, and his troops were divided into three groups.

For the West Route Army, Sima Yi and Zhang He led 40,000 troops to march south to Xiangfan; for the Middle Route Army, Cao Pi led Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Xu Huang, Cao Xiu, Jia Kui, Man Chong, Zang Ba and other generals to march south to Jianghuai with 100,000 troops; for the East Route Army, he led an army of 100,000 troops to march south to Jianghuai. The army ordered Xiahou Shangtong to lead Lu Qian, the governor of Xuzhou, and led more than 30,000 troops to march south to Xiapi.

There were about 200,000 soldiers and horses in the three groups. Cao Pi almost mobilized the whole country to march south, hoping to flatten the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River.

On the first day of July, Cao Pi sent troops from Xuchang, down the Ying River to Shouchun, and with Cao Xiu as general, he ordered him to march eastward to defeat Zhongli.

On the second day of the lunar month, Cao Xiu made a blood oath to send troops, vowing to take revenge, and rushed to the dangerous Ma Tou City in Guoshui.

At noon on the third day, Ma Tou City was broken, and the defender Li Wei was beheaded. More than a thousand defenders fled, and all the soldiers, food and supplies in the city were taken by Cao Xiu.

On the morning of the fourth day, Xu Sheng, the garrison commander of Zhongli, received a report that grain outside the city had been burned, and he sent soldiers and officials to report urgently to Huaiyin.

On the fifth day, Cao Xiu's troops arrived at Zhongli City. They saw the deep moat outside the city and the towering city, and tried to persuade Xu Sheng to surrender. Xu Sheng beheaded the envoys to show his determination to defend the city.

Seeing this, Cao Xiu was furious and wanted to lead his troops to attack the city. However, due to lack of siege equipment, he had to go down to camp and wait for reinforcements.

On the 6th, Huaiyin received its report, and Quan Cong urgently notified Huo Du and Huo Youzhi, ordering them to assemble their troops and prepare for war.

On the 8th, Jiang Ji received the news of the military report and led Ding Feng, Gao Xin and Yu Shao from Guangling to garrison in Huaiyin and sent the war report to Wuhan.

When Pang Tong learned that Cao Pi was heading south to Shouchun, he urgently reported the situation to the general besides clearing the walls and fortifying the fields.

At the same time, after several days of marching, Cao Pi had arrived at Qiaojun, and his army had reached Huaishang.

Xiahou Shang's soldiers and horses marched to Sishang and headed for Xiapi City; Sima Yi and Zhang He joined some soldiers and horses in Guanzhong, starting from Wancheng, passing through Xinye, and approaching Fancheng.

There was chaos in Jianghan and Jianghuai, and intelligence from various places was sent to Wuhan from the front lines.

July 12, Wuhan.

In the pavilion, Huo Jun knelt down on the mat, with a sandalwood hairpin in his hair, wearing Confucian clothes, and read the Western Army Newspaper quietly.

Since Huang Yuan's rebellion, he has raided Shu counties many times, first breaking through Linqiong, and then plundering the countryside in central Shu. Wang Ping led his troops to the center of Shu and fought with Huang Yuan in Jiangyuan. Wang Ping pretended defeat to lure the enemy and defeated Huang Yuan's troops.

Wang Ping took advantage of the victory to pursue and invade Hanjia County. Huang Yuan retreated to Hanjia and asked Gaoding, the barbarian king, for help. Gao Ding led five thousand troops to the north, but was ambushed by Wang Ping. He retreated to Yan Daojian and did not dare to advance north easily.

According to Wang Ping’s battle report, the Han-Jia rebellion will be over soon!
Zhuge Liang marched up the Yangtze River to Chongqing to take charge of the Bashu troops and horses, and then marched westward to Chengdu, hoping to pacify central Sichuan first.

During this period, Zhuge Liang used buses to recruit a large number of Bashu scholars to Chengdu based on the reputation of the Shu people, such as Wuliang, Duwei, etc. On behalf of the emperor, he awarded meritorious civil and military services, and promoted Zhang Yi, Ma Zhong, He Zhi and other outstanding talents from Bashu.

Huo Jun put down the memorial and said with a smile: "Kong Ming and Zijun finally lived up to my trust!"

"Da Sima, if the three western states can be brought to peace, the country will have no internal worries!"

Fei Guan said with a smile: "In the future, we can focus on the Northern Expedition to see if we can follow the writings written by Da Sima Zhi. We can move down to Henan and revive the Han Dynasty; we can send troops to Hebei to wipe out the Cao family."

After "On Han", Huo Jun wrote two more articles, which also adopted the tone of historical materialism. They did not talk about destiny, but only discussed the situation between the enemy and ourselves in the Jianghan and Huaisi areas, so that the government and the public could understand the border situation.

The content of these two articles did not involve secrets. Huo Jun only conveyed the content discussed at high levels to the group of officials. After all, in a society where information does not circulate, many officials are not familiar with many battle situations, let alone serious science popularization.

The two articles were published and spread quickly among the officials, making more officials believe that the Han Dynasty could destroy Cao Wei. Huo Jun won the admiration and popularity of many scholars through the publication of three articles.

Huo Jun picked up the tea cup and sipped it lightly, and said with a smile: "With the current situation, it is not easy to move down to Henan. But if there is Henan, we can go to Hebei in the first battle. However, before going to Henan, we must first go to Shouchun and Wancheng. Able to invade Yan and Henan."

"Da Sima~"

Before Fei Guan finished speaking, he saw Guan Xing coming in a hurry, delivering the intelligence from Jianghan and Jianghuai, and said anxiously: "Da Sima, Xiangfan, Hefei, and Zhongli are reporting that the thieves are going south from the Central Plains and are invading the borders of our army." !”

"what?"

Fei Guan was taken aback and asked, "How could Cao Pi directly attack our army from the south when the great Sima sent him back to the north? Could it be that Cao Pi saw through my strategy of slowing down the troops?"

Huo Jun narrowed his eyes and said with a sneer: "In the old Honggou alliance, Emperor Gaozu tore up the alliance in order to break Xiang Yu. Now Cao Pi should repeat this strategy and send envoys south to negotiate peace, but in fact he wants to use force against our country. I have made an appointment to divide the north and the south, but I am afraid that Cao Pi will never I’ve had this thought before!”

When Yu Jin was released to Cao Wei, Huo Jun used the excuse of slowing down the troops. Everyone believed it to be true, but as Huo Jun expected, Cao Pi wanted to conquer the south.

Of course, one thing Huo Jun didn't expect was that Cao Pi would march south so quickly. Fortunately, Huo Jun, who was cautious, had already taken precautions and ordered the soldiers in the border towns to be on alert.

Fei Guan was a little worried and said: "The turmoil in the Western Territory has not calmed down, and now the foreign invaders are attacking, what should we do?"

Huo Jun read the three spies in his hand and ordered: "An Guo has sent General Hussar, General Chariot, General Wei, General Zuo and other generals to be here!"

"promise!"

After saying that, Huo Jun removed the ink pad and read the contents of the intelligence.

In the Xiangfan area, Lu Meng sent a military report saying that Sima Yi and Zhang He were leading their troops southward, and that Guanzhong soldiers and horses entered Nanyang from Wuguan Road, with their goal heading straight for Xiangfan. In the Huaixi area, Pang Tong sent intelligence, saying that Cao Xiu was advancing eastward, and then a large number of Cao Wei soldiers and horses arrived in Shouchun, their number was countless. And according to the detailed reports in Shouchun City, this time it was a large army marching south, and Cao Xiu was only the vanguard.

In the Huaidong area, Xu Sheng sent a battle report, saying that Cao Xiu had captured Ma Tou City and marched into Zhongli City.

In addition to Xu Sheng's military report, Huo Youzhi reported that Lü Qian had arrived in Xiapi, and then there was Xiahou Shang's army. All the troops in Huaidong arrived at Huaiyin City, and Jiang Ji was responsible for their deployment.

Fei Guan asked worriedly: "Da Sima, how is the situation at the border today?"

Huo Jun handed the letter to Fei Guan and said calmly: "Cao's army marched south, and the troops were divided into three groups. Sima Yi went to Xiangfan, Xia Houshang took Pi, and Cao Xiu went to Huaiyin. Today, Matou City was broken, and the guard Li Wei died in the battle. The soldiers The front has reached Zhongli.”

Fei Guan's face was solemn, and he reached out to browse the intelligence.

Huo Jun stood up from the mat, stood with his hands behind his hands, and silently stared at the water of the pond, seeming to be thinking about something.

After a long time, more than a dozen generals including Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Lu Xun, and Wu Yi got the news and rushed to the pavilion.

Huo Jun looked at the lake with a cup of tea, thinking quietly. Fei Guan was ordered to tell everyone about the current battle situation until the generals understood the current battle situation.

"Da Sima, there are few soldiers in Li city today. Cao Xiu is approaching with his troops and horses. Do you want Jiang Zitong to lead his troops to the west and garrison troops in camp as a countermeasure?"

Huang Quan stared at the Jianghuai map, pointed out and asked: "If Zhongli is defeated, the Xutai soldiers will be small and the city will be short, making it difficult to defend for a long time. The rebel army will advance towards Huaiyin."

"Wuhan is far away from Jianghuai. I wonder if Zhongli has been lost now?" Wu Yi frowned and said.

Huo Jun drank tea, looked at the lake, and said, "Zhongli will be in the hands of our army, don't worry, gentlemen!"

"What is it?" Someone asked.

"Xu Wenxiang's boldness and skill are comparable to those of a powerful noble."

Huo Jun turned around and looked at the people sitting on the ground, and said confidently: "He is my general, I know who he is!"

Everyone looked at each other and did not dare to refute Huo Jun.

As Huo Jun's subordinate, Xu Sheng knows no one better than Huo Jun. If Huo Jun can say this now, it is definitely not empty talk.

After a while, Lu Xun pondered for a while and said: "Da Sima, there are enemy invaders in each of Xiangfan, Xiapi, and Zhongli today. The current situation requires us to lead our troops to the border towns to defend against the enemy invaders."

Huo Jun held the tea cup and walked around and said: "The Xiangfan Celestial Moat is not easily accessible to Sima Yi and Zhang He. With Lu Ziming's talent and the support of Wen Zhongye, Sima Yi and Zhang He will not have to worry about it!"

"Today's worries lie with Jianghuai, Zhongli, and Xiapi!"

"Zhongli, Xiapi?"

Zhang Fei sat down with his legs crossed and said: "All the soldiers and horses in Jianghuai are under Zhongmiao. Will Zhongmiao lead the troops to welcome him personally? According to the letter from Hefei, Cao Pi is likely to march south to Jianghuai instead of going to Xiangfan."

"General Yide's words make sense!"

Zhao Yun sat cross-legged and agreed: "Since Cao Pi knows that our country is in turmoil, he will definitely go out in full force this time to go south. If the rescue fails, I am afraid that the cities on the Huaihe River will be destroyed, and our army's hard work in the Northern Expedition will be in vain."

The conservative people preferred to let Huo Jun lead the troops to rescue. After all, the Jianghuai side was likely to come out in full force, and Cao Pi personally commanded the southern expedition.

While pacing, Huo Jun looked at Lu Xun and asked, "Since Boyan knows the military affairs, does he have any strategy to support Huaihe?"

Lu Xun thought for a long time and said: "Go back to Da Sima. In view of the current situation, we should defend in the west and retreat to the east. Lead the troops to Huaiyin, aid Xiapi in the north, and Zhongli in the west. However, the bandit troops swarmed to Huainan, and most of them fought in the field. It’s difficult, we can only use our troops based on the situation.”

"Ok!"

Huo Jun nodded slightly and said: "Cao's army is marching south this time in the autumn and winter, which makes it difficult for our army to use boats and boats. We can only fight in the field with the enemy. However, field fighting is not our army's strength. There are Qingxu soldiers and horses in the north, and there are Qingxu soldiers and horses in the west. The Central Plains army is attacked from both sides and has no danger to defend, so it will be difficult. "

"Now let's see how long Pi and Zhongli can hold on. If the two cities are quickly defeated by Cao's army, Huaidong will definitely be lost." Lu Xun said.

"Yes!"

Huang Quan had a headache and said: "It is still possible to support Huaiyin alone, but now Xiapi is also besieged by the enemy. If we abandon Xiapi, the enemy will be restrained by the enemy at Sikou, and it will be difficult to rescue Zhongli from the west. But if we rescue from both sides, our strength will be improved." If it is not enough, it may be defeated by enemy forces."

Stopping, Huo Jun took a sip of water and said lightly: "Uncle Fei Bin, please remember it!"

"promise!"

"Lu Xun led Wu Chu's 50,000 infantrymen. He set out from Wuhan, went north from Guangling, joined Jiang Ji, and settled in Huaiyin. The troops and horses in Huaidong are at your disposal. You do not want to defeat Cao's army, but you must contain the enemy and not let Cao's army attack with all its strength. City. If there is any violation of orders, military law will be dealt with!”

"Send an order to Xu Sheng and Huo Youzhi, telling them that they must guard for a hundred days. If you fail to follow the order, come to see them!"

(End of this chapter)