Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 609: When a general is timid
In May, Huainan, which had been raining for half a month, finally had sunny days.

On Bagong Mountain, Huo Jun and the generals on the left and right took the stage to view Shouchun City again.

Compared with March, due to continuous rain and Huo Jun's fertilization of fertilizers and water for irrigation in Shouchun, the outside of Shouchun City has been surrounded by swamps. In order to seal Shouchun tightly, Huo Fan's strategy was adopted, and the ships were connected with iron chains to form a military camp, and then troops were stationed on the ships.

Huo Jun squinted his eyes, looked at Shouchun, which was surrounded by lakes, and asked: "The city has been flooded with fertilizers for more than a month. I wonder what the situation is like in the city now?"

"Reporting to the Governor, according to the secret letter sent by the fisherman last night, Shouchun City was trapped by stagnant water. The people suffered from abdominal diseases, swollen hands and feet, and many died of illness. Xu Huang led his troops to block the waterway, but with little effect. "

Jiang Ji cupped his hands and said: "The morale in the city is low today, and many people are talking about surrendering to the Han. Xu Huang killed more than ten people in a row to stop everyone from talking about surrendering to the Han."

Huo Jun smiled and said: "Xu Huang can stop the words of surrendering to the Han, but the soldiers and the people cannot stop the desire to surrender to the Han. Judging from the situation in the city, Shouchun will soon be owned by our great Han!"

"Captain, our army has been besieging Shouchun for a long time, and the morale in the city is low. In order to avoid long nights and nightmares, it is better to look for opportunities to break the city." Gao Xiang said.

Huo Jun waved his hand, rejected Gao Xiang's suggestion, and said: "Currently, Shouchun's enemies are trapped in swamps, and there is no army to come to rescue them. Amid internal and external troubles, there is no need to rush to break the city!"

"Captain, are you afraid of the strong city of Shouchun?" Gao Xiang plucked up his courage and said, "I would like to be the first to ascend and lead my troops to break the city."

"When the army commanders garrison troops, the food they consume is more than the Jianghuai treasury. Moreover, the system of rotating rest can allow the old and the weak to farm and fight, and repay the food consumed by the army."

In military operations, there are many seemingly different combat situations, and how the general chooses the strategy of using troops is often very critical. Once you make a wrong choice, the losses caused are not trivial.

Huo Jun did not blame Gao Xiang, but smiled and said calmly: "As a general, when you are timid, you should not be good at soldiers and brave, and insist on going your own way. The reason why I am not breaking Shouchun now is because I am worried about the army attacking the city from all sides. There are many casualties among the soldiers. The city is about to be destroyed. Why waste the lives of the soldiers when the siege method can defeat the city? "

An example of failure is that after the great victory in Taoxi, the Battle of Didao launched by Jiang Wei was judged wrong and Chen Tai's reinforcement route ultimately failed.

Huang Chong hesitated a little and then asked: "In the past, Sun Tzu also said that if you use war, you will win. If you blunt your troops for a long time, you will defeat the enemy. If you attack the city, your strength will be weakened. If you attack the army for a long time, the country will be short of resources. If you use blunt soldiers to defeat the enemy, your strength will be weakened." If the goods are lost, the princes will take advantage of the disadvantages, and although there are wise men, they will not be able to take care of them. "

"With the current situation, Wei Wei was defeated by our army. The soldiers and horses suffered heavy casualties. In a short time, there was not enough troops. Then I ordered Pang and Lu to block the upper and lower parts of the Huaihe River, cut off the Shouchun Avenue, and flood the city with fertilized water. , The insight into the hearts of the soldiers and people in the city is enough to know that Shouchun will be captured by our army!"

If Zheng Chenggong insists on using a siege to break the city, he must occupy the dangerous strongholds on the periphery of Nanjing and cut off external troops to support Nanjing. For example, he can use the method of siege and reinforcements.

After speaking, Huo Jun reminded everyone and said: "My soldiers are cunning and are good at changing things. Xu Huang has a brave strategy. He defends based on danger and relies on the strength of the city. Therefore, although he is surrounded by rain, he refuses to surrender. Now we raise our troops. A sudden siege is not a foolproof strategy. It is better to repair the fortress and wait for the autumn water."

Seeing that it was his son-in-law who asked the question, Huo Jun patiently explained: "Sun Tzu also has a saying, the method of using military force is to surround an enemy by ten, attack it by five, divide it by doubling it. If the enemy is small, he can fight, and if he is small, he can escape. , If not, we can avoid it. Now our army has ten times the strength of the enemy, and there are no external worries and no internal dangers. Why not be cowardly to save the lives of the soldiers? "

Take Zheng Chenggong as an example. He initiated the Battle of Nanjing but was ultimately defeated by the Qing army due to faulty siege methods.

"good question!"

Huo Jun praised the city and said: "Whenever a large army wants to encircle a city for a long time and break it, it should take advantage of the dangers on the outside, then repair the long fortress, and observe the direction of the reinforcements. Then adopt the strategy of siege and reinforcements, or block the reinforcements and defeat them. The plan for the city will be invincible!"

Analyzing it from Huo Jun's perspective, there are many reasons why Zheng Chenggong defeated Nanjing. Judging from the situation at the time, Zheng Chenggong needed to move to Nanjing quickly, rather than besieging the city for a long time like the Battle of Shouchun.

Among the ancient methods of siege and reinforcement, Lu Kang’s Battle of Xiling was the most classic. He not only defeated Xiling (Yiling), but also defeated the reinforcing Jin army.

The question Huang Chong asked is too classic, and there are too many examples in ancient Chinese wars. How can you ensure that the troops you lead can besiege the city and not be rescued by the enemy?

"I dare to ask the Grand Sima, the way of using troops is to use speed as the priority and slowness as the harm. Now that the Grand Sima has been stationing troops and horses outside the city for a long time, the vigor of the soldiers is gradually diminishing. Doesn't it violate the principle of using troops?"

Huang Chongyi was confused and asked: "In the previous Battle of Handan, Qin had been besieging Handan for a long time and was unable to defeat it. How could Da Sima be so sure that Shouchun City would be conquered?"

As for the army going out for too long and consuming too much material and baggage, it can only be said that there are pros and cons. Fortunately, Shouchun is close to Jianghuai. At present, the food and grass consumed by the army are almost supplied from Jianghuai and Jiangdong.

With different backgrounds, the choice of using military force to enforce the law will naturally be different. As Huo Jun said, the defeat of Shouchun City today is only a matter of time, not a matter of tactics and troops. Therefore, for the general's city, there is no need to destroy the city in advance and sacrifice the soldiers in vain.

Fortunately, Huo Jun has an extremely keen insight into the landscape, geography, and the situation between ourselves and the enemy, and can often make more correct choices in complex military conflicts.

Listening to Huo Jun's profound and simple remarks, all the generals had their own thoughts.

Huang Chong seemed to have gained something. He thanked Huo Jun and said, "Da Sima's answer to the question should be used to explain Chong's difficulties." Huo Jun looked at Gao Xiang with a smile and asked, "I wonder what Feng Lu is like?"

Gao Xiang blushed, cupped his hands and said, "The governor's lofty vision is beyond Xiang's comparison. Shouchun is the thing in his hands, but now he is worried about the lives of the soldiers. It's not bad to be cowardly for a while!"

"It's too early to say that!"

Huo Jun emphasized: "If you want to live a prosperous life, you still need everyone to work together!"

"promise!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the attendant came down the mountain road and said in an urgent tone: "Da Sima, according to the report from the scouts, Jingwan's troops and horses have moved. Sima Yi seems to have the intention of going south to rescue Shouchun!"

"Is there anything else urgent?"

"Not yet!"

"Zitong. Gongheng, do you have a different opinion?" Huo Jun asked.

Jiang Ji pondered for a while and said: "Captain, since the defeat of Zhongli, the Wei army has no more troops, so we can only send troops and horses from other places for reinforcements. Sima Yi used force to the south before, and the troops and horses were exhausted, which is not enough for our army. For fear.”

After a pause, Jiang Ji said: "However, Ji is afraid that Cao Wei will mobilize people from Heshuo or Guanxi to go south to relieve the siege of Shouchun. According to my opinion, it is better for Da Sima to order Jianghan to send troops to the Northern Expedition, and then ask Prime Minister Ge to order Ma Chao. Leaving Longyou, Cao Wei was trapped by armies from all directions, making it difficult to take care of Shouchun!"

"Of course!"

Huang Quan stroked his beard and said in agreement: "Quan thinks what Jiang Changshi said is reasonable. Sima Yi leads his troops to Shouchun, and our army can retreat. But we are afraid that Heshuo's troops will go south and the two armies will join together, and their troops and horses will be very large." . In addition to the two generals Man Chong and Cao Hong, it may not be enough to rely on the two governors Pang and Lu to stop the enemy."

"Therefore, from the perspective of power, although Wei was defeated by Zhongli, it still has some remaining strength. Now it is better to let Jianghan and Longyou send troops to contain the troops in Jingzhou and Guanxi, so as to divide the pressure of our army. Let's see if we can take advantage of Wei's initial defeat. Below, something was gained.”

"What you said is exactly what I want!"

Huo Jun paced with his hands behind his back and said, "Ma Chao has always had a rebellious intention. Now that he has seen the rebellion against Wei and defeated Jianghuai, he must have a plan. And when Guanxi is besieged, Wei will rescue him."

"As for the troops in Jingwan, because Wancheng is a barrier to Luoyang, if our troops leave Jianghan, Sima Yi will not dare to leave them lightly!"

With that said, Huo Jun looked at Fei Guan in the crowd and asked: "Can we let Ge Xiang, the governor of the army, send Generals Wenpin and Lu Meng out of Xiangfan to threaten Xinye and Wancheng? And write to Ma Chao to ask him to send troops to Longyou." ”

After the Battle of Zhongli, it was not appropriate to grant major titles to the generals due to the fact that Shouchun was not yet here. In order to encourage the generals to attack the city, Zhuge Liang sent Fei Guan as an envoy to Jianghuai to recruit troops. At present, if we want to mobilize Jianghan's troops and horses, and let the horses surpass the troops, we need to coordinate with Wuhan.

Fei Guan handed over his hand to Huo Jun and said: "Back to Grand Sima, Prime Minister Ge is in Beijing to make arrangements. All the ministries in Jianghan and Han Dynasty are free and available. If you want to order the armies of Jianghan and Han Dynasty to send troops, it is feasible."

"As for Ma Chao, due to the lack of food in Longyou and the unclear situation, Ma Chao has not yet thought of mobilizing troops. If our army can allocate money and food to Longyou, Ma Chao will be happy to do so."

Longyou has a vast territory but few people. In order to compete with the Han and Wei dynasties, Ma Chao sent out 30,000 to 40,000 troops. Because of his poor governance, the two counties of Longnan were captured by Lu Xun.

Ma Chao was trapped by food and grass. He could still produce his own food without sending out troops and horses. However, once he went on an expedition to Liangzhou or Guanzhong, Ma Chao fell into a state of food shortage.

If you send few troops, it will not be enough to shake Cao Wei's Guanxi; if you send more troops, you will be trapped by food and grass. This was probably something Ma Chao didn't expect. He jumped on both sides and finally occupied Longyou. However, it was difficult to accomplish this due to lack of food in Longyou.

Huo Jun pondered for a while and said: "Let Prime Minister Ge calculate the army and rations in the treasury to see if he can be transferred from Bashu to Longyou. If Ma Chao can make a difference in Guanxi, I will definitely own Shouchun!"

"promise!"

Fei Guan responded and said, "Guan will return to Beijing tomorrow and report this matter to the Prime Minister!"

"good!"

(End of this chapter)