Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 681: North to Qingqi
That night, Dai Ling ordered a small group of troops to make a big noise at night to attract the attention of the Han army, while he abandoned the baggage and led his troops to escape secretly by crossing the river upstream.

After dawn, Huo Fan led his cavalry in pursuit. Dai Ling led his cavalry to the battle formation, intending to engage in a field battle with the Han army, but was defeated by Huo Fan again. Dai Ling led hundreds of cavalry to flee to Langya and asked for help from Sun Li, who was stationed in Zhucheng.

Langya was built by Duke Huan of Qi, located in the eastern section of Qi's southern defense line, with the mission of blocking the sea route east of Qi. Langya was built on a peninsula, with a harbor for ships to take shelter and anchor, and many ships traveling along the coast would anchor here, so Langya was very prosperous in peacetime.

Langya is located to the east of Zhucheng, and the distance between the two is only a hundred miles. Now Dai Ling fled to Langya and asked Sun Li for reinforcements, hoping to stop Huo Fan from opening up the sea route. Then he would use Langya Port as a base and march straight into the east of Qi.

Huo Fan knew Dai Ling's intention and immediately led his troops to camp outside Langya. At the same time, Zhuge Dan was ordered to sail along the coast. According to the plan he and Huo Fan had planned, he led the boats to Langya Port first, leaving 4,000 infantrymen with Huo Fan.

In order to quickly open the sea route, Zhuge Dan sailed forward, bypassed Langya and went straight to Buqi. Because Buqi was far behind and was unprepared for Zhuge Dan's sudden attack, the county magistrate surrendered to Zhuge Dan by offering his seal.

Zhuge Dan was appointed as the governor of Donglai by Huo Jun. After he moved in, considering that he was deep in enemy territory, he strengthened the city walls to prevent unexpected events and sent people to persuade the surrounding cities to surrender.

In just a few days, Dai Ling won the first victory in robbing food, but Huo Fan seized the opportunity and chased him down through a different road. He then had to defend Langya and asked Sun Li for help. Huo Fan, Zhuge Dan and Tang Zi led 10,000 people to advance by land and sea. They only needed Langya to open up the sea route.

At the same time, Dai Ling's letter for help was also sent to Zhucheng, but Sun Li, who received the letter, was unable to rescue Dai Ling. It was not that Sun Li was unwilling to rescue, but that he did not dare to send troops to rescue.

It has been said before that there are three passages from Xuzhou to Qi: the eastern one is the Panghai Road, the middle one is the Zhucheng Road, and the western one is the Mulingguan Road.

Now the sea route is in danger, Sun Li should have sent troops to rescue. But Huo Jun's army is in Ju County, only about 200 miles away from Zhucheng. If Sun Li sent troops to rescue, it was unknown whether he could rescue Dai Ling. He was worried that the troops in Zhucheng would be reduced and Huo Jun would send light troops to take Zhucheng.

Sun Li was in a dilemma between saving and not saving!

If Dai Ling is not rescued, the sea route in and out of Qidong may be lost; if a rescue is carried out, it is unknown whether the siege can be resolved, and instead the cities will be captured by Huo Jun.

Sun Li thought about it for a long time, and first wrote a letter to Dai Ling, asking him to defend the city. Then he sent someone to report the news to Sun Quan, who would make the decision.

While Sun Li was delivering the message to Sun Quan, Huo Jun in Ju County was the first to receive the news that Huo Fan had led Dai Ling to surround Langya.

Ju County, the main camp of the Han army.

Inside the big tent, Huo Jun was discussing matters with Liu Ji who had come from Langya County. High-ranking Han army generals such as Jiang Ji, Xu Sheng, and Pang De were also present.

"The sea-transported grain and supplies have been robbed, and now there is a slight shortage of food for the soldiers, but it can still be supported by the past reserves. As autumn and winter come, we need to make early plans to prevent the sea-transported grain from being robbed!" Huo Jun said.

As he spoke, Huo Jun looked at Liu Ji, who was leaning sideways, and asked, "How are the two counties of Langya and Donghai now?"

Liu Ji pondered for a moment and said, "Report to the governor, in the spring we will provide relief to the people and send them spring seedlings. Although the Wei army has harassed us for several months, the two counties are still safe. The army will be stationed there and the people will be able to cultivate the fields. When the wheat and rice are harvested, they will be able to supply the army locally."

After a pause, Liu Ji added, "Not only can Langya and Donghai counties provide food for the army, but Guangling County in Huainan has also provided food this year. Liu Ji will draw food from Jiangzuo in the south and wheat from Xuzhou and Huaibei in the north, which will be enough to ensure that the army has sufficient food and supplies."

"As for Pang Yuzhou's troops, they have more than enough food from Huaixi!"

"good!"

Huo Jun was very satisfied and said with a smile: "Now that Jingyu is in charge of the grain supply for me, I don't have to worry too much!"

Gu Yong and Liu Ji were responsible for coordinating the grain and fodder issues for the army. Gu Yong raised grain in Jiangzuo, and Liu Ji was responsible for transporting grain. Therefore, now that there was a problem with the grain shipped by sea, in addition to investigating Zhu Ming's grain transportation failure, Liu Ji's subsequent grain and fodder plans had to be inquired. With Liu Ji's guarantee, Huo Jun could rest assured.

"What are the current movements of Wang Ling of Yuzhou and Lu Qian of Xuzhou?" Huo Jun asked.

"Reporting to the governor, Lü Qian firmly defended Pengcheng, strengthened the city pass, and held on. In addition to sending troops to harass the grain route, Wang Ling trained troops in Yuzhou and recruited strong men. His ambition is not small." Yu Shao replied

Huo Jun frowned slightly and said, "Wang Ling has stationed his troops in the upper reaches, responding to Sun Quan's call, and his troops are heading straight for Yishu, which is a threat to our army. If our army wants to go to Qi, we must worry about Wang Ling's attack from Kaiyang. However, given the current situation, our army has no choice but to take Qi first, and then we can fight back against Yuzhou."

Even though Huo Jun led an army of over 100,000 to the Northern Expedition, because Wang Ling and Lu Qian were stationed in the north, Huo Jun had to allocate half of his troops to defend the area.

For example, from Xia Pi to Ju County, a distance of six or seven hundred miles, there were as many as eighteen camps garrisoned by the Han army, some of which were built to ensure the smooth passage and some to transport military supplies.

Therefore, judging from the current distribution of troops, Huo Jun has been using 50,000 to 60,000 men to attack Qing Qi, rather than a real army of more than 100,000.

"Commander-in-chief, I wonder how the young general's troops are moving?" Liu Ji asked.

Huo Jun shook his head and said, "Shi Zai sent troops to the coastal route and led the cavalry to pursue Dai Ling. So far, no military report has been sent in, and we don't know whether they have won or lost!"

Liu Ji thought Huo Jun was worried about Huo Fan, and said, "Young General is both brave and brave. If we send out a surprise force to pursue them, we will surely gain something. I hope the commander-in-chief will be at ease!" "I am not worried about my soldiers, but I am afraid that Dai Ling will return to the north and occupy the dangerous places, blocking our army's way to the east of Qi," Huo Jun said.

Huo Fan was a child who was brought up by Huo Jun with elite education. He was exposed to military affairs since childhood and was not only good at military tactics, but also proficient in horse riding. Now he led the cavalry to pursue Dai Ling. Even if he could not win, he could still protect himself by force.

On the contrary, Huo Jun was worried about Dai Ling's sudden appearance. If he let Dai Ling escape unscathed, the Wei people would know that Huo Fan had sent troops to Panghai Road. Sun Quan would most likely send more troops to Panghai Road to block it. Once Panghai Road was blocked, Huo Jun would have to find a way to bypass Muling Pass and enter Qi again.

While Huo Jun was chatting with his attendants, an attendant led a group of cavalrymen into the tent and reported, "Grand Marshal, the junior general has sent a cavalryman to report!"

"Your servant greets the Grand Marshal!" Hou rode with a salute.

Huo Jun was in high spirits and asked, "Has the young general caught up with Dai Ling? What is the situation on the Panghai Road now?"

Although the cavalry officer was a little nervous when facing Huo Jun's question, he was able to answer clearly and logically, saying: "Reporting to the Grand Marshal, the junior general led his troops to intercept a small path and advance, and defeated Dai Ling halfway across the Haiqu River. Now Dai Ling led hundreds of infantry and cavalry to escape into Langya, and the junior general led more than 5,000 infantry and cavalry to surround him."

"Donglai Governor Zhuge Dan, following the orders of the junior general, sailed straight to Buqi. He expected that Buqi would have few soldiers and few equipment, so Governor Zhuge should be able to take it!"

As he spoke, Houqi remembered Huo Fan's instructions and said, "Major General is worried that Sun Li of Zhucheng will hear the news that Dai Ling is trapped and will send troops to Langya to rescue him. Or maybe Sun Quan will hear that Panghai Road has been lost and will send troops to the east. I hope the Grand Marshal will know about it!"

"good!"

Hearing the news reported by the scouts, Huo Jun could not help laughing and said, "The enemy army originally wanted to rob food and cut off our army's baggage. How could they have expected that our army would take a surprise route by the sea, attack them from both sides of the road, and surround the enemy bandits."

Huo Jun said to his attendants with a smile, "If Dai Ling holds on to Chengyang, the young general will most likely be stopped by him if he goes north!"

In hindsight, Dai Ling's march southward was an indirect aid to the Han army. If he and Sun Li had defended Chengyang, and Huo Fan had taken the sea route northward, the two would have relied on the city's defenses, and it is unknown who would have won.

However, Dai Ling took the initiative to rob grain. Although he was successful, the funny thing was that Dai Ling was chased by Huo Fan because he carried too much baggage, and was eventually defeated and had to defend Langya.

Jiang Ji stroked his beard and pondered, saying, "Commander-in-chief, although Sun Li is stationed in the cities, he dare not personally lift the siege of Langya due to the importance of the cities. He can only report to Sun Quan. Now that Sun Quan has heard the news, even if he wants to hold on, he has no choice but to lead his troops to leave the pass due to the turmoil in Qidong."

Jiang Ji was excited as he spoke, and he said, "Sun Quan refused to fight, which blocked our army in the south of Qi. Now we are leading our troops to the east, and there are no dangerous passes to use. This is an opportunity for the commander-in-chief to use his military power, and we must not miss it!"

Huo Jun stroked his mustache and said thoughtfully, "Sun Quan is not a man without strategy. Now the sea route is in danger. Sun Quan may send troops, but he will never easily engage in a field battle with our army."

Then, Huo Jun looked at the map hanging on the wall of the tent and said, "Sun Quan can go through Zhucheng to the east of Qi when he leaves Muling, but he can also go to the east of Qi by crossing the Wei River. If our army wants to fight him in the field, we can only cross the mountains and ridges to Zhucheng. If Zhucheng cannot be captured, our army cannot enter Qi."

"Zhucheng is built along the river, with ditches outside and strong walls inside. We should not take it lightly. Moreover, the defending general Sun Li is brave and good at fighting. Now Sun Li is guarding Zhucheng, and it will be difficult for our army to break it. If Zhucheng cannot be broken, how can we reach Weishui and challenge Sun Quan to fight!"

The current situation is a bit complicated. After Dai Ling's efforts, the Panghai Road has been opened, but the Zhucheng Avenue has not been opened.

Sun Quan led his troops to pacify Qidong, so he could bypass Zhucheng and did not have to go through Zhucheng. If Huo Jun wanted to enter Qi, he had to go through Zhucheng if he did not take the sea route. But Zhucheng was guarded by Sun Li, so how could it be so easy to attack?
If Huo Jun fails to capture the cities, the situation on the Qidong battlefield will easily develop into Huo Fan and Zhuge Dan using their small armies to fight against Sun Quan's main force.

After hearing this, Jiang Ji also discovered that there was a flaw in his considerations. Sun Quan would not take the initiative to engage in a field battle with Huo Jun's army. He would definitely use the cities to block Huo Jun, and he would personally lead the army eastward to Qidong.

"We must find a way to get Sun Quan to lead his troops to the cities!" Jiang Ji said with a frown.

"What can I do?"

Xu Sheng said: "The walls of the city are high and the river is wide. If Sun Quan ignores them, our army will have no hope of breaking through the city in a short time!"

Huo Jun looked at Zhang Fen, the commander of the siege, and asked, "Is it difficult to capture the cities?"

Zhang Fen hesitated for a moment and said, "Reporting to the Grand Marshal, the cities are not natural moats. Although the cities are strong, there are ditches outside. If we attack by force, we may be able to take them down!"

"good!"

Huo Jun had a plan in mind, and ordered: "Get the 30,000 infantry and cavalry in the camp and follow me to the cities. The rest of the soldiers and horses will defend the main camp and must not lose anything!"

"promise!"

(End of this chapter)