Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 594 Race against time
The twenty-third day of the first lunar month.

In the morning, the sky is getting bright.

After Pang Tong received the news from Gao Xiang, he and Tai Shiheng took a boat out of Chaohu Lake and entered Feishui. After Zhouge barely crossed the Feishui River to support Tianjin, he then entered the Feishui River again.

On the upper floor of Shouchun City, looking at the Han warships that suddenly appeared in Feishui, all the Wei soldiers were shocked.

In their memories, the Huaixi Navy entrenched in Chaohu Lake would rarely arrive at Shouchun City, and at most would cruise around Shaopi Juze. How could there be a large number of Han Navy naval forces in Feishui today?
It is understandable that the Han navy was in Shouchun, but now it is not afraid of the Wei army on both sides of the strait, but goes directly to the Huai River, hoping to enter the Huai River from Feishui. What is this operation?
Wei soldiers immediately reported the news of the Han navy's movements to Xu Huang, who was recuperating in the inner city.

At home, Xu Huang had to stay in bed to recuperate due to abdominal pain.

"Report!"

He Ting walked into the hall, paid homage to Xu Huang, and said, "General, we are in urgent need of water thieves today!"

Xu Huang half-leaned on the couch, put away the bamboo slips, and said, "If you have any urgent need, tell me quickly!"

"General, the water thieves and navy have made unusual movements. More than a hundred boats have passed through Shaopi and Feishui. For some reason, they have ignored our troops on both sides of the bank and headed straight towards the boats and entered the Huai River." He Ting replied.

"not good!"

Xu Huang's expression changed greatly, he stood up from the couch and said, "The Chaohu navy's intention to go north this time is probably to target the Shaoyangzhou pontoon bridge. If the pontoon bridge is lost, Zhongli will put the situation in danger!"

Today, when the Huaixi boat enters the Huai River, it is located in the upper reaches of Shaoyang Island. Setting the boat on fire upstream is a conspiracy, not a conspiracy. If you attack downstream, you will inevitably bear the pressure of occupying the navy upstream.

With that said, He Ting asked for advice: "If water thieves attack the pontoon bridge today, what should our army do?"

The pontoon bridge on Shaoyang Island was mentioned many times in high-level meetings of the Wei army. However, because Lu Xun was downstream, the Wei army focused its defense on Lu Xun, using naval forces, high platforms, and fire ships to contain Lu Xun. The Huaixi navy that appeared today may catch the Wei army in Shaoyangzhou downstream off guard.

Xu Huang was stunned for a moment, repeated the key points, and couldn't help but frown and think about the key.

"promise!"

Xu Huang's expression showed confusion, but then quickly disappeared, and he said: "Today, we are on alert to prevent water thieves from attacking Shouchun City. We will also report the news of this battle to Your Majesty as soon as possible. Do not delay the military aircraft."

Immediately afterwards, Xu Huang asked: "Is there anything unusual in Hefei?"

He Ting shook his head and said: "The bandit army has a tight blockade and cannot enter until Hefei. It is difficult for our army to know the internal situation of Chaohu Lake."

The navy is not invincible in the river. Due to its own characteristics, it cannot leap over certain city strongholds. For example, Sun Wu's navy was powerful, but the Wei army's navy was far inferior. Therefore, logically speaking, Sun Wu's navy could freely enter and exit the Jianghuai rivers.

Xu Huang was talking about the way back, suddenly remembered something, and asked: "How is the battle with Zhongli today?"

Seeing that Xu Huang was silent, He Ting said: "General, are you going to order the soldiers to block the river in the shallow water with wooden fences and tree trunks to cut off the water thieves' escape route? When the water thieves return, join the army and capture them." "

"Ignore our soldiers and horses on both sides of the bank and go straight into the Huaihe River!"

But in reality, even though Sun Wu had the advantage of the navy, it was afraid of Cao Wei's Hefei stronghold and did not dare to go deep into Shouchun. The reason was that if the navy's boats went deep into Shouchun, Hefei would take advantage of the situation to cut off the river, and the navy's boats would be unable to return.

Of course, it has something to do with the Wei army itself. The reason why the Wei army was able to defeat Lu Xun's first attack was to take advantage of the fire boats upstream.

He Ting pondered for a while and said: "According to the news from the past few days, His Majesty sent Zang Ba south to increase his troops in Huainan, hoping to defeat Zhongli in one fell swoop."

Today, the Southern Han Navy seems not to be afraid of being cut off by the Wei army, skipping the Shouchun stronghold and going deep into the Huaihe River Basin.

Not to mention that there was nothing Xu Huang could do. For the Han army's vehicles and ships, the three to four hundred miles from Shouchun to Zhongli today would start from Chaohu early this morning and arrive at noon the next day.

Looking at He Ting's back, Xu Huang sighed slightly.

"The way back!"

During the spring flood season, the water level of the Huai River rises. Pang Tong led his navy to ride the wind and waves, not caring about the Wei army's fortresses along the way. His only target was the Shaoyangzhou Floating Bridge.

It was more than two hundred miles from Shouchun to Yicheng, but the waiting cavalry sent by Xu Huang had not yet arrived. That evening, Pang Tong led the navy to Tushan.

After hearing that the Han navy was descending to the upper reaches of the Huai River like a magical force from heaven, Cao Pi summoned his ministers to inquire about the details.

In the big tent, Cao Pi sat on the couch and asked: "Today the water thief's boat suddenly came upstream. Could it be that the Shouchun soldiers were slacking off? What is the purpose of what the thief is doing now?"

Before Cao Pi finished speaking, Liu Ye hurriedly entered the tent. When he saw Cao Pi on the couch who didn't know the details, he immediately became excited.

"Your Majesty, the water thieves' boat has suddenly reached the upper reaches of Zhongli. The troops downstream of me are in danger!"

Liu Ye raised his hand to Cao Pi and said hurriedly: "Soldiers like to advance but hate to retreat. It is common sense. The thieves of the navy are not afraid of cutting off their return route. If they are not thinking of death, they have the intention of taking the long dragon directly. Our army will use this method. The floating bridge connects the north and the south, the army is stationed in Huainan, and the elite troops are stationed in Zhouzhu."

"If the pontoon bridge is cut off by the enemy and the navy is lost, the elite of Zhuzhong and the army and people of Huainan are not owned by our Wei Dynasty. They will be turned into thieves, and the Central Plains may be empty. Your Majesty will immediately send an envoy south to order Cao Xiu, Jia Kui, Xia Houru, Zang Ba and others will return north to avoid any mistakes!"

Being frightened by Liu Ye, Cao Pi was greatly shocked and said: "The people who come here quickly summon the troops of Shaoyang and Zhongli to retreat." "Your Majesty, if the boat of the water thief can suddenly come out of the Huaihe River, it may be Shouchun who has no waiting to ride." "The boat is as fast as a horse. Your Majesty has issued an edict to Zhongli. I am afraid that the boat has arrived at Shaoyang, and the floating bridge will be attacked by the water thieves."

Chen Qun hurriedly said: "Your Majesty should send people to cross the Huaihe River to support the armies in Huainan."

"Are there any details?" Cao Pi asked with a flustered face.

"On the south bank of Yicheng are Tushan and Luojianshui. There are many flood plains between the mountains and rivers, which can be used as places to cross the river. Your Majesty should call the Huainan troops to march west to Tushan, and then send troops to cross south to meet them to assist them. Cross the river and return north," Liu Ye suggested.

Yicheng is located at the intersection of Wu River and Huai River, with Tushan Mountain on the south bank of Huai River. Tushan faces Jingshan across the river.

As the Huai River passes through Tushan, its flow speed gradually slows down, and the flood plain formed by the erosion of the Huai River is very suitable for crossing the river.

Today, the Shaoyangzhou Floating Bridge is broken. For the current Wei army, the most suitable place to cross the river is the Tushan and Luojianshui areas. The river flows slowly, and the road distance from Tushan to Zhongli is only more than a hundred miles. And there is Yicheng on the north bank, where Cao Pi's army gathered troops.

"it is good!"

Under the critical situation, Cao Pi no longer stubbornly followed his own opinions, but followed the good and said: "Follow Zi Yang's words quickly!"

As the Huaixi Navy led by Pang Tong was exposed to the Wei army, Han and Wei entered a state of race against time.

The Han army arrived at Shaoyang Island by boat. If they could break the pontoon bridge first, they could cut the Wei army into three parts, namely Huaibei, Huainan and Zhouzhu.

If the Wei army could arrive at Zhongli in advance and allow the Wei army to evacuate in advance, or make plans to withdraw to the west early, it would not be possible to say that the Wei army had escaped unscathed, but it would have ensured that the Wei army would not suffer heavy casualties.

However, judging from the current progress, unless Pang Tong deliberately delays the military plane or an accident occurs, the Han army will definitely be able to reach the Shaoyangzhou pontoon in advance.

Now it was not only Pang Tong who was rushing on his way, but Huo Jun was also hurrying on his way. He set off from Hefei to Luojianshui.

The water in Luojian is too shallow for boats to travel, but bamboo rafts and small boats can still be used.

Worried that he would not be able to keep up with Pang Tong's chariots and ships, Huo Jun dispatched troops from Hefei half a day in advance. He rode on bamboo rafts along the way and marched on a starry night until he reached the lower reaches of Luojian River.

The water level of Luojian is east of Feishui. It is far less famous than Feishui, and it is not a battleground for military strategists. Even so, there was still a small-scale battle in Luojianshui, that is, the Battle of Luojian where Liu Laozhi defeated Liang Cheng.

The reason why Huo Jun rushed to Luojianshui was not much different from what Liu Ye told Cao Pi. Now Pang Tong and Lu Xun attacked the Shaoyangzhou floating bridge together. Knowing that Cao Xiu, Zang Ba and other troops had their retreat cut off, they would inevitably withdraw westward.

The Wei army in Huainan withdrew westward and tried to cross the Huaihe River from Matou, Tushan, Shouchun and other places. How could Huo Jun let them return north easily? His purpose was to capture the army deployed by Cao Wei in Huainan.

Although the Luojianshui River is shallow, it can be used. It flows from south to north and naturally becomes an obstacle to westward retreat.

The Han army that arrived at Luojianshui, under Huo Jun's orders, divided their troops and occupied Tushan to observe the situation in Huaibei. Then Huo Jun ordered the army to rest on the spot for the next battle.

In addition to Pang Tong and Huo Jun, Lu Xun, who received the news, led his army to move to Daorenzhou in the afternoon.

That night, Lu Xun raised his tent and summoned the generals to discuss matters.

Lu Xun changed his usual expression, his expression was serious, he had put a Han sword on his waist, and his handsome seal was displayed on the case. When the generals saw that Lu Xun was different from before, they couldn't help but straighten their faces.

"General, all generals are now in the tent!" the attendant said.

Lu Xun looked solemn, pointed to the letter on the desk, and said: "Da Sima has arrived in Hefei, and now a military order has been issued. Tomorrow, General Pang Tong will lead a boat down from the upper reaches. The big boat will carry firewood and ointment, and then Burn it with fire and burn the Shaoyangzhou floating bridge."

"Our army followed the orders of the Grand Sima, and all the generals marched together, and cooperated with Governor Pang to burn the pontoon bridge and destroy the wooden fence. With the pontoon bridge destroyed and the Wei army's strength reduced to three, it will be defeated!"

Everyone was happy that Huo Jun led his troops to Hefei, but now Lu Xun told them that tomorrow was the decisive battle. Huo Du, Ding Feng, Quan Cong and others were all surprised, but apart from being surprised, they fell into excitement.

"Da Sima led his troops to Jianghuai for the first time, but he already has a way to defeat the enemy. It is expected that in tomorrow's battle, he will be able to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop and completely break Zhongli's siege." Ding Feng said excitedly.

"quiet!"

Lu Xun glanced at Ding Feng and said, "I will issue a military order today. All generals will take note of it so that there will be no mistakes tomorrow."

"Please give me your orders, General!"

Ding Feng curled his lips and agreed with everyone.

Lu Xun said in a deep voice: "Tomorrow, Governor Pang will burn the pontoon bridge. Generals Chen Dao, Feng Xi, Fu Xu, etc. and I will attack the north of the bridge. Jiang Changshi will attack the bridge with Huo Du, Ding Feng, Quan Cong, etc. In the south, the Shaoyangzhou floating bridge must be destroyed and the Huai River channel must be dredged.”

"What about the Wei army in Huainan and Shaoyangzhou?" Huo Du asked.

"The Wei army in Huainan is handed over to Da Sima!" Lu Xun said: "As for the Wei army in Shaoyangzhou, we will wait and see the battle tomorrow to determine the situation."

"promise!"

(End of this chapter)