Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 604 Lord of Zhou and Jie
At the turn of spring and summer, the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers turn from sunny to overcast, rain falls, and the water in the Huaihe River gradually rises.

Yicheng Wei Village, because the Wei army in the Jianghuai River was defeated and the situation in the Jianghuai River changed, the soldiers in the village were all on alert.

Near the Chinese army's tent, because Cao Pi was ill, there were soldiers guarding the area inside and outside, and the defense was extremely tight.

When all the civil and military officials came to the central tent to discuss matters, they did not know that Cao Pi was ill. They thought it was due to the defeat of Huainan and did not ask too many questions.

At this time, General Cao Hong rode his horse to the middle tent, and then, led by his attendants, he and Man Chong, Wang Ling and other generals stepped into the tent after a long journey.

Xu Chu and his soldiers confiscated the swords of Cao Hong, Man Chong, Wang Ling and other generals, and inspected them carefully before letting them go.

During this period, although Cao Hong looked unhappy, he was still reasonable. After being released, Cao Hong saw Chen Qun, Bao Xun and many other civil and military officials waiting outside the tent. Standing at the front is Shangshu Ling Chen Qun, with a sad look on his face.

When Chen Qun saw Cao Hong, he was slightly stunned, and then quickly walked towards him.

"Chen Lingjun!"

"I've seen Cao Qiaoqi!"

Cao Hong glanced at the tent and asked, "How is your majesty doing today?"

Cao Hong sighed slightly and said: "Huo Jun sent troops from Hefei. The boat came straight out of the fertile water. With the momentum of the gallop, the fire boat hit the pontoon bridge like thunder from the sky. It was impossible to prevent it. It was a pity that generals such as Wen Lie, Jun Lin, and Xuan Gao were killed. , as well as the soldiers and horses of the Zhoushang and Huainan tribes!"

Chen Qun's face was slightly moved and he said: "When the situation is crisis, Cao Qiaoqi should not say this lightly!"

Chen Qun hesitated for a while and then said: "Cao Qiaoqi, Generals Junlin and Xuangao surrendered to the thieves!"

"Junlin surrendered the thieves?"

Chen Qun bowed his hands to Cao Hong and saluted, and said: "The situation is unstable today. Fortunately, the general has a good command and is not afraid of danger, so he can protect the army!"

Now that Cao Hong has put him in Xia Houru's environment, he might choose to surrender in an environment where he is surrounded by enemies on all sides.

Cao Hong first exclaimed, then fell silent.

"I pay my respects to Your Majesty. I wish Your Majesty good health!"

Even though Xia Houru's talent and reputation were not high among the clan generals, he was still the clan general of Cao Wei. This Xia Hou Ru surrendered, which surprised many people. They even thought that his bloodiness was not as good as Cao Xiu's, and used Cao Xiu's bloodiness to criticize Xia Houru's cowardice and incompetence.

Cao Pi's illness could not be concealed for the sake of subsequent diagnosis and treatment. Cao Pi asked Sun Zi to spread the word to the outside world, saying that he was suffering from poor mental health rather than excessive liver yang.

After a long time, Cao Hong sighed and said: "If you are facing a crisis, how can you not be afraid of the few who will die? Yu Jin is still timid and lives in vain, let alone Xiahou Ru and Zhuge Dan!"

As things develop now, Cao Hong can gradually understand why Yu Jin surrendered in the first place. When a person reaches a certain age, he loses his blood and courage. How can it be said that he is not as afraid of life and death as before. When Cao Ren was defending Fancheng, the city was besieged by floods. He even wanted to escape, let alone ordinary people.

Chen Qun shook his head and whispered: "Because of the death of General Wen Lie, Your Majesty is deeply grieved. He has been a little tired recently, and the doctor is giving His Majesty acupuncture to recuperate."

The 30,000 troops in Huaibei retreated without a trace, which was undoubtedly the greatest good news for the Wei army, which was currently in turmoil.

Of course, Cao Hong escaped unscathed, thanks to Lu Xun, who originally wanted to pursue Cao Hong's troops along the way. However, due to Huo Jun's orders, he had no choice but to give up pursuing Cao Hong, and instead marched westward to seize the peripheral city garrison of Shouchun such as Xiashi, Jitou, and Yingkou, laying a solid foundation for the Battle of Shouchun.

Xia Houru was not outstanding among the generals in terms of talent or fame. Together with Xiahou Shang, Cao Zhen and Cao Xiu, they are the second generation descendants of the clan. The remaining three people gradually developed their talents and were sent out to supervise the army. Only Xia Houru was not taken seriously by Cao Pi and became a mid-level officer.

Everyone waited and paused outside the tent, and finally, under Sun Zi's notice, they were able to enter the tent.

Cao Hong realized that his words were inappropriate and apologized to Chen Qun.

"Thank you for reminding!"

Compared with the Huainan Wei army that was completely wiped out, Cao Hong led his soldiers to withdraw westward after burning down the camp. Since he did not encounter any pursuit by the Han army along the way, he and his troops except for the baggage, food and grass, were not damaged. .

"No gifts!"

Cao Pi was in much better spirits than before. He sat on the couch, stretched out his hand to support everyone, and said: "I am not suffering from illness, but I am actually mentally weak. Now that I have been diagnosed by a good doctor, I will be well soon. I'm sorry for your thoughts!"

After a pause, Cao Pi asked: "Is there any movement among the water thieves below?"

Liu Fang stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, Lu Xun led his troops to support him, and the water thieves marched towards Shouchun. Commander Pang led his troops through Shouchun, heading straight to the west. It seems that he wants to march into Runan. Our army We must quickly mobilize troops and horses to assist Shouchun in the south."

As soon as Liu Fang finished speaking, Man Chong came out in armor and said: "Your Majesty, Commander Pang is leading his troops to the west. In my opinion, he does not intend to take Runan, but wants to seize Rukou and the Yangyuan waterway and stop it from the west. Our army is sending reinforcements to the south."

"Now Huo Jun has ordered Lu Xun to guard Xiashi in the east, and Pang Tong has been assigned to occupy Yangyuan in the west. It can be seen that Huo Jun intends to destroy the road and has the intention of longevity. I hope your majesty will be on guard and send troops to the south as soon as possible!"

Man Chong had stayed in Runan for so long and could see Huo Jun's intention at a glance. To attack Runan from the west, Huo Jun is unable to do so for the time being due to road problems. This time Pang Tong marched westward and had no choice but to seize the dangerous points to the west.

The armies of the Central Plains marched southward, and they actually marched southward along the rivers. From Yingshui, Rushui, Wishui, Sishui to the Huaihe River Basin, the connection between Shouchun and the outside world is cut off, and the river mouths of Yingshui, Rushui, Sishui, and Wuchui that flow into the Huaihe River are blocked.

Once the river mouth is blocked, the Huai River becomes an inland river for the Han army, and Shouchun will be isolated and helpless. Such an arrangement is not a conspiracy, but a conspiracy based on the geographical situation.

"Nan aid Shouchun?"

Cao Pi said bitterly, "Ten thousand people in Shaoyangzhou surrendered to the bandits, and 60,000 soldiers and civilians in Huainan were wiped out. Now there are only 40,000 to 50,000 defeated soldiers left in the north of the Yangtze River. Moreover, their morale has been exhausted due to the long war, and they may no longer be able to compete with the bandits!" "

To break the siege of Shouchun, the key lies in soldiers and horses. Regardless of the fact that the Wei army still has 40,000 to 50,000 available soldiers and horses, Zheng'erbajing's morale is at its peak and the army that can still fight the Han army may not have many men left. "Shou!"

Manchong said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, although most of the current elite troops have been lost, if Shouchun can be allowed to defend Shouchun for the first half of the year, or even longer. When Your Majesty works hard to conquer the enemy and leads Heshuo's troops southward, Shouchun's siege may not be able to be solved. "

Use time to delay and grind to buy time for Cao Wei to reorganize his troops. Of course, the key premise is that Shouchun cannot be speeded through by Huo Jun, or that nothing else can happen in Cao Wei's country.

Cao Pi stroked his beard and asked, "What do you think?"

Everyone looked at each other, not knowing how to answer.

Wang Ling, the governor of Yanzhou, came out and said: "Your Majesty, our army currently has tens of thousands of troops in Jingwan and Qingxu. If we can operate it properly, we may be able to repel Huo Jun!"

"otherwise!"

Man Chong spoke forcefully and said: "Qingxu's soldiers are restrained by Xiapi, and their troops cannot reach Huaihe. As for Jingwan's soldiers, watch them with Chong, and the water thieves will take advantage of the situation to send troops to contain them. If your Majesty wants to use troops now, he can only mobilize Heshuo The soldiers went south to make up for the weakness of the Central Plains!"

With Xiapi City here, Qingxu's soldiers and horses are destined not to play a big role.

In the past, when Cao Cao was still alive, in order to prevent Huo Jun from invading the north, he actually formulated a policy for the cities to protect each other, that is, from Shouchun to Langya, the city walls looked at each other, and if a city was besieged, all the cities would gather to rescue it. However, Huo Jun's troops broke through Xiapi and crippled all the armies in Huaibei. The policy designated by Cao Cao subsequently failed.

Moreover, as Huo Jun defeated the Wei army and severely damaged Cao Wei's mobile troops, Qingxu's troops were destined to be unable to leave the local prefectures and counties easily.

Cao Pi frowned and was in a really bad mood, so he asked, "What should we do now?"

"Your Majesty, in previous years, since March, there will be continuous rains, and the Huai River will surge to a height of seven feet. Between March and July, the Huai River will often wreak havoc on the riverside, and there will be no boats and boats to fight against the water thieves. Fight."

Liu Ye pondered for a while and said: "Based on the current situation, we must immediately order all the armies of the Southern Expedition to withdraw and return to Huaihe River. Then His Majesty issued an edict for General Xu to stay in Shouchun until reinforcements go south to relieve the siege!"

"Now that Jia Yuzhou has unfortunately lost the battle, it is appropriate to appoint the governor of Yuzhou as soon as possible and order him to take charge of Huaibei, rectify the troops of Yuzhou, and garrison troops in dangerous places to spy on the water thieves."

Several suggestions put forward by Liu Ye are almost judgments based on the current situation. It was impossible to fight again. All the troops in Huainan were destroyed, all the troops and horses on the island surrendered, and more than half of the Wei army's troops and horses in the southern expedition were lost.

In addition to the damaged troops and horses, the Wei army lost countless baggage, money and food. The materials discarded along both sides of the Huai River could almost pile up into a small mountain, and Jiang Ji could not even count them all.

At the same time, the negative impact caused by the defeat cannot be eliminated so easily. Today, the morale of the soldiers in the camp is low and people are homesick. There is no thought of war.

Next, the Jianghuai River will enter the terrible rainy season, and the Huai River will surge to a height of seven to eight feet. Considering the topography and water potential, the Wei army will no longer be able to fight the Han army, let alone relieve the siege.

"The governor of Yuzhou?"

Cao Pi thought for a long time, looked at Man Chong, the prefect of Runan, and said, "Bo Ning has lived in Runan for a long time. I don't know how he wants to govern Yuzhou?"

Manchong bowed and answered, "Your Majesty, Zhongli was defeated today. The soldiers of all departments suffered heavy losses. Mothers have no children, and sons have no fathers. The people's hearts are in turmoil. Therefore, I believe that the most important thing is to appease people's hearts. When people's hearts are at peace, we can Fight against the enemy!"

"It's soothing!"

Cao Pi clenched his fist and sighed, saying: "Bo Ning's words are very good. Now you will be appointed as the governor of Yuzhou."

With that said, Cao Pi looked at Cao Hong and said: "Today Zhongli's army was defeated. I am afraid of unrest in Luoyang, so I need to return to the capital soon. In the Jianghuai area, Huo Jun led his troops to wreak havoc day and night. Cao Huiqi led the troops to guard Huaibei. , Boning will work together to ensure the stability of Huaibei!"

Cao Hong bowed and said, "General, I will obey your orders!"

Cao Pi warned: "The water thieves are leading a great victory. We must not compete with them. Cao Hussar should urge all the armies in Huaibei to protect the border with deep ditches and high fortresses. If there is no army to go south, or my order is issued, no one can do it." Greedy for success."

"promise!"

This southern expedition made Cao Pi exhausted mentally and physically, and he was no longer able to study military affairs in depth. His only thought at the moment was to leave Jianghuai and then lead his army back to Luoyang to rest.

Just when Cao Pi was about to ask everyone to retreat, Bao Xun strode out and said: "Your Majesty, I have a word of advice. I hope your Majesty will listen to it."

"What to say?"

Cao Pi looked at Bao Xun with slight disgust and said.

Bao Xun looked serious and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, today's defeat may not only be based on the battle, but also on the people's hearts. The urgent need now, as Lord Man said, should be to appease the people's hearts. The hearts of the people of the world should be respected. Your Majesty, your Majesty will be able to rule all the people. If the people betray the Lord, your Majesty will be the lord of Zhou and Jie."

"Since your Majesty succeeded to the throne, you have accepted the former emperor as your concubine and respected her to a high position. Your Majesty must not be unrighteous in this way of human ethics. For the sake of honor, your Majesty should expel your grandson concubine out of the palace to rectify yourself and then cultivate your character. I issue an edict. Pay light corvee and pay low taxes, and then gain the people's support, and in this way you will be able to~"

Before Bao Xun could finish what he said, Cao Pi got angry and scolded: "You are so bold and mad, you dare to slander your Majesty with Zhou and Jie. I have long intended to withdraw, but the generals do not want to withdraw. Therefore, the defeat today is not related to the defeat of the army." What do I have to do with my concubines?”

With that said, Cao Pi ordered the attendants on his left and right, "Come here, drag Bao Xun down and hand him over to the Tingwei for punishment!"

"promise!"

"Your Majesty, you can't!"

"Refund!"

Cao Pi did not give anyone any face, and directly shouted them off.

(End of this chapter)