Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 583: If jade is not polished, it will become useless

Fu Xu and Quan Cong attacked the pontoon bridge but Liu Ye used fire to attack it and destroyed it. More than 3,000 of their troops were lost. Seeing the pontoon bridge, Lu Xun had no choice but to lead his troops to garrison Xutai Water Village.

In order to relieve the pressure on Xiapi and Zhongli, Lu Xun used his navy to attack the Wei army camp by day and night. Although naval harassment is good, it is not the right way to go ashore to fight.

After the Wei army defeated the Han navy, Cao Ren and Cao Xiu concentrated on besieging Zhongli City.

In September, after more than a month of filling in the moat, the natural moat that Zhongli City could rely on disappeared. Now it will enter a serious offensive and defensive battle.

At the same time, Xiahou Shang's soldiers surrounded Xiapi. Without anyone's interference and nearly two months of civil engineering work, they finally dug out the Si River and diverted it to Xiapi.

Seeing the surging water outside the city, Huo Youzhi was worried and sent someone to ask for help from his father Huo Du. Then he and Tang Zi led their troops to retreat into the inner city of Xiapi, hoping to rely on the inner city to continue to hold on.

Xutai Han army, Huo Du camp.

Huo Du sighed loudly as he looked at his son's letter asking for help.

"The master of the house, the young general, was besieged in Xiapi. Xiahou Shang dug a weir and diverted the Si River into the city. The river was surging and the outer city could not be defended. The major general specially ordered someone to ask for help from the master of the house."

The attendant wiped away his tears and said: "The situation in Pi below is unclear as to how long we can hold on. I hope that the master of the family can lead an army to rescue Pi in order to slow down Xia Houshang's attack on the city!"

Huo Du patted the table angrily and said: "I told him not to defend Xiapi at first, but to show off his strength. Now he has defended Xiapi City for less than sixty days, and he went to the army for help. This will be a serious harm to the state!"

"The master of the house should save the young general!" The attendant knelt down and kowtowed, crying.

Hearing the cries, Huo Du felt particularly agitated and said, "I already know what happened in Xiapi. I'm tired from running around delivering letters, so I'll take a break first!"

"promise!"

Putting down Huo Youzhi's letter, Huo Du stood up and walked hastily.

"General, the Major General's military situation is urgent. Should you inform the General of Chariots and Cavalry now? Then go north to Surabaya and rescue the Major General by boat." Buqu suggested.

Huo Du sighed and said: "With the current situation, once we abandon the defense of Xiapi City, Xiahou Shang will lead Qingxu troops to Sikou, and our army's situation will become more and more dangerous."

"What about sending troops north to rescue Xiapi City?" Bu Qu asked.

Shaking his head, Huo Du said: "If you have few soldiers, it is useless, but if you have many soldiers, you will be defeated!"

The current situation is delicate. As Huo Du said, there are not enough troops to feed Xiahou Shang. If there are too many troops, the Wei army in Huaibei will be divided into Xiapi and the reinforcements will be wiped out.

"Could it be that the master's intention is to sit back and watch the major general be defeated and die without saving his troops?" Buqu asked rhetorically.

"That's it!"

Huo Du stopped, sighed and said, "Let me go see General Chariot and Cavalry and see if I can invite troops to rescue him!"

"promise!"

Although Huo Du treats Huo Youzhi harshly, he actually loves Huo Youzhi very much. Now that Huo Youzhi sent a letter asking for help, how could Huo Du not be impatient!

After a while, Huo Du went to Lu Xun's tent and asked to come into the tent to speak.

In the big tent, Lu Xun was discussing military affairs with Jiang Ji. When he heard that Huo Du asked for an audience, he immediately asked him to enter the tent.

Lu Xun invited Huo Du to take a seat and asked, "General Huo, is there anything important happening today?"

Huo Du did not sit down, but hesitated a little, raised his hands and said: "Lu Chaoqi, Xiahou Shang broke the river weir and diverted the Si water to Xiapi. I am afraid that Huo You will not be able to defend it for a long time, so please order me to go north to support Xiapi!"

"Support Xiapi?"

Lu Xun looked at the sad Huo Du, frowned and said: "General Bo Shi, there are three inner and outer cities in Xia Pi. Xiahou Shang flooded the outer city, and there are still two inner and middle cities to defend. Huo Xia Pi has no reinforcements yet. Come on, it’s not advisable to advance lightly.”

Huo Du no longer concealed anything, took out the letter and presented it to him, begging and pleading: "General Chariot and Cavalry, Huo Youzhi has sent his servants to deliver a letter to the camp. In his letter, he said that he might not be able to defend Xiapi for a long time, so he asked me to rescue him."

Lu Xun's heart sank and he reached out to get the letter.

After browsing the contents of the letter, Lu Xun organized his thoughts and said, "General Huo is a veteran general in the army. Does he know the current situation?"

"Our army has few soldiers and is not good at fighting in the field. Now we rely on the navy to resist them. If we divide our troops to the north, go up and down Pi, and stay away from the Huai River, we may be taken advantage of by the bandit army and attack them together. If we have two or three thousand soldiers and horses, we may be Will be swallowed up by Xia Houshang."

"What if Xiapi is lost?"

Huo Du asked back: "We are holding Qingxu's troops and horses at Xiapi now. If Xiapi is lost, Xiahou Shang will lead Qingxu's troops to Sikou and look to the south for Huaiyin City."

Lu Xun pondered for a while, then calmly said: "Xun Xun already knows about the defenses of Xiapi City. The inner city built by Huo Xunpi is at a high point in the city, and the granary he built is above the city wall, so it is not flooded by the Si River."

"Xiapi has soldiers and horses. Huo Xiapi has a lot of military strategy and can win the hearts of the soldiers. The inner city is secure and the food is sufficient. He should have no worries in defending Xiapi. When the army of Da Sima arrives and the thieves are exhausted, they join forces. If we attack and win, if we don't save Huo Xiapi, Xiapi's trouble will be solved!"

In Lu Xun's view, although Xiahou Shang used Si water to irrigate Xiapi, the soldiers, horses, and grain in Xiapi City did not suffer any major losses. With Huo Youzhi's ability, it would not be a problem to defend the inner city of Xiapi for several months.

Now Huo Youzhi's letter asking for help is probably because the outer city has been lost, and only the inner city of Pi is left. He doesn't know how long it can hold, so he asks for help in a nervous manner.

Huo Youzhi is too young and has experienced too few wars. Once Zhengerbajing starts fighting with Xiahou Shang, he will naturally realize that defending the city is not that difficult. Seeing that Lu Xun didn't want to save his son, Huo Du felt depressed and complained: "Da Sima issued a military order and asked the general to allocate his troops outside, and ordered the two cities to be guarded for five months. The general was defeated in taking the pontoon bridge, so he asked for help from Pi. If you don’t see it, is it possible that you want to disobey Grand Sima’s military order?”

Lu Xun tried his best to restrain his emotions and said in a deep voice: "Da Sima gave me military orders, and I should obey them. If the two cities of Pi and Zhongli were lost, Da Sima beheaded me, and Xun had no complaints. As for Da Sima's military orders, I , it is beyond the general's power to interfere. All matters in the army must be military!"

Huo Du sneered a few times and said: "When I traveled across the rivers and lakes with Grand Sima, I was afraid that the generals of chariots and cavalry were still serving under the Sun family."

"Brother Bo Chong, everyone has the love for their children."

Seeing that the conversation between the two was getting worse, Jiang Ji intervened and persuaded: "Now that Huo Xiapi is here, Xiapi City is here, and the city and the people are one. You, me, and Lu Cheqi don't want to see Xiapi City fall." There may be some truth to what Lu Chaiqi said. It’s better to wait and see the situation for a few days. If Xipi City is in danger, it’s not impossible to send troops to support it immediately!”

"Humph!"

Huo Du arched his hands towards Lu Xun, then turned and left!

"This~"

Seeing that Huo Du was so angry, Jiang Ji left the camp directly, but he didn't know what to say.

After a pause, Jiang Ji said: "Lu Cheqi, General Huo loves his son very much. He has no ill intentions. Please don't be offended if your words offend him!"

Lu Xun looked a little helpless and said: "What I am worried about now is that General Huo must not send troops without authorization, for fear~"

"Please rest assured, General Chariot and Cavalry!"

Jiang Ji raised his hand and said, "Brother Boshi always puts military affairs first. Without the general's military orders, we will not use troops without authorization."

"good!"

Lu Xun nodded slightly and said in annoyance: "Now, I would like to leave it to Jiang Changshi to comfort General Huo, and Xun Xun will write down what happened and send it to Wuhan to avoid misunderstanding by the Grand Sima!"

"Da Sima must be able to understand what the cavalry general did!" Jiang Ji said goodbye to Lu Xun.

Looking at Jiang Ji's back, Lu Xun let out a breath.

He had long heard that Jianghuai's troops were so arrogant that no one could control them. Since he took over Jianghuai soldiers and horses, he has been deeply touched. Jianghuai soldiers are really good at fighting, but except for Huo Jun, no one can use their arms and fingers.

Jiang Ji had assisted Huo Jun for many years, won the hearts of the soldiers, and had outstanding military strategy ability. If his policy is to be implemented, it must be approved by Jiang Ji.

Needless to say, Huo Du is the brother of Sima Huo. Apart from Huo Jun, he has the highest prestige in the army. Ding Feng couldn't move at all, and his rogue army was just like Huo Jun's troops.

Among the generals, only Quan Cong was easy to give orders. After all, Lu Xun and Lu Xun were from the Jiangdong area and could be said to be locals.

Lu Xun took out his scarf and wrote with a pen.

In the letter, Lu Xun not only mentioned the incident at Xiapi, but also carefully listed the distribution of the Wei army. At the end of the letter, Lu Xun suggested that if you want to defeat the Wei army, you can try to cut off the Wei army from the pontoon bridge.

"Come here, send the letter to Wuhan and submit it to Grand Sima!"

"promise!"

Not to mention Lu Xun sending the letter, Jiang Ji is now trying to persuade the angry Huo Du.

"Brother Boshi, Huo Xiapi has little experience in fighting. He will inevitably be nervous when he sees the flood. At present, the food and grass in Xiapi City can last for a year. There are three to four thousand soldiers and horses. The morale is high and the armor is abundant. How can Xiahou Shang do it? break?"

Jiang Ji spoke sincerely and analyzed: "Huo Xiapi has a talent for generals. Guarding Xiapi now can sharpen his character, and he will become a master in the future. If brother Boshi rushes northward, it will be better to save Huo Xiapi, but if Huo Xiapi is hurt, it will be better." If you go down to Pi and destroy the city, you will only make others laugh."

As he spoke, Jiang Ji lowered his voice and said: "The Commander-in-Chief is now the Grand Sima and is in charge of the military affairs of the country. If Brother Boshi is good at leading troops, he will harm the Grand Sima!"

Listening to Jiang Ji's words of advice, Huo Du complained: "Besides winning a few battles in Bashu, Lu Xun had no other abilities. He was able to hold a high official position only because he was the son-in-law of the late emperor."

"Now you are commanding the army to defend against the enemy. Let us use boats and boats to harass the Wei army. The rest will be left to the two cities of Xiapi and Zhongli to defend themselves. How can the governor allow the fortunate ministers to command the army instead of commanding the troops and horses himself or leaving it to General Jiang? Shi Tongyu."

Seeing Huo Du's words, Jiang Ji knew that Huo Du had no intention of sending troops without authorization, and said with a smile: "Lu Chaqi must have some military strategy. He asked you to wait to harass the Wei army. In addition to dividing the Wei army's strength, he also explored Huainan." Where the Wei army’s supplies are stationed!”

"Watch it!"

Huo Du sneered and said, "If you want to defeat the Wei army, you still have to use me, Sergeant Jiang Huai!"

"Not urgent!"

Jiang Ji appeased Huo Du and said: "As the governor's letter said, let the two cities of Zhongli and Xiapi weaken the morale of the rebel army. When the enemy's morale is exhausted, the governor may lead his troops to Jianghuai and personally control the army."

After saying that, Jiang Jichi asked: "What happened in Xiapi?"

"That's it!"

Huo Du gritted his teeth and said cruelly: "If a jade is not polished, it will become useless. The boy has bold words, let's see how capable he is!"

"good!"

(End of this chapter)