Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 682 Prepare for a rainy day
June, Muling Pass.

Inside the big tent, Sun Quan paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, feeling worried because he had not received any news from Dai Ling's troops.

Seeing the attendant enter the tent, Sun Quan asked, "Any news about General Dai's troops?"

The attendant shook his head and said, "General, General Dai's military report has not yet arrived. I'm afraid we need to wait a little longer!"

Sun Quan stopped and said worriedly, "Dai Ling has been out for ten days. Could it be that he failed to rob food?"

"The main force of the Han army is in Ju County. Dai Ling leads 5,000 soldiers and horses, with more cavalry and fewer infantry. If the grain robbery fails, they can easily escape!" Liu Ye said doubtfully: "Judging from the speed of the march, whether it succeeds or not, there will be military reports sent in. Why is there no news for so long?"

Sun Quan frowned and waved his hand, signaling his attendant to go down, and whispered: "Zi Yang, is it possible for Dai Ling to surrender to Han?"

"Surrender the thieves?"

Liu Ye hesitated for a moment and said, "Dai Ling is a veteran general of the State of Wei. He once strongly recommended the late emperor not to indulge in hunting. Although he was eventually dismissed from office, Your Majesty has appointed him and entrusted him with important tasks, so how could he surrender so easily?"

"If Dai Ling surrenders to the enemy, the Han army will enter Langya from the north, and the sea route will be in danger!"

Sun Quan sighed and said, "Even Zang Ba and Xiahou Ru have surrendered to the enemy, let alone Dai Ling?"

Liu Ye was slightly surprised when he heard Sun Quan's words, and asked, "What do you mean, General?"

Sun Quan turned his back to Liu Ye and said, "We should do our best and leave the rest to fate. Now that the situation has come to this, have you ever thought about how His Majesty will treat us if we cannot defend Qingqi?"

Liu Ye looked at Sun Quan's back and said hesitantly, "Qingqi is the wing and gateway of the Central Plains. If Qingqi is lost, Yu and Yanzhou will be gone, and Hebei will face war. At that time, His Majesty will investigate the crimes of you and me. At the least, we will be dismissed from office, and at the worst, we will be imprisoned."

Sun Quan turned around and looked directly at Liu Ye, and asked, "How will you deal with yourself when the time comes?"

Liu Ye did not dare to look Sun Quan in the eye and said nervously: "Ye can only do his best to assist the general to stop Huo Jun from heading north to Qingqi!"

"hehe!"

Sun Quan put his hand on Liu Ye's shoulder and said jokingly, "If your majesty is kind, you can spare our death. But if Qingqi is lost, Henan will be lost. Your majesty can hardly resist the Han army with only Hebei, and then the Han will rule again. And you are a descendant of the Liu clan. If you are questioned by the Han emperor, I wonder how you will deal with it?"

The unification of the world by Southern Han was probably the topic that Liu Ye least wanted to talk about, or it could be said that Liu Ye was afraid and avoided this issue.

Liu Ye was furious and said, "Sun Cheqi is an important minister of the country, how can he say such unruly words. If Wei can defend properly, why can't we retreat Huo Jun?"

Seeing Liu Ye's broken defense, Sun Quan softened his tone and said, "Mr. Liu has experienced the chaotic times at the end of the Han Dynasty. You should know that in times of turmoil, only by protecting yourself can you avoid being harmed by outsiders. If Qingqi is lost, if you trust me, I will be able to protect you."

Liu Ye looked at Sun Quan with a suspicious look and asked, "What do you want to do, Lord Sun?"

Sun Quan was unwilling to reveal the news too early, and said: "The most important thing now is to repel the enemy. I hope Dai Ling can succeed in robbing food instead of surrendering to the bandits."

At this point in the war, Sun Quan was already regretting his decision to be the governor of Qingqi. He was overly optimistic and pinned his hopes of victory on Zhang He. Zhang He's defeat left him alone to bear the pressure of Huo Jun. He was no longer sure of repelling Huo Jun. If he failed to repel him and let Huo Jun occupy Qingqi, he would inevitably be liquidated. This liquidation could be the liquidation of Southern Han or the liquidation of Cao Rui.

Out of deep worry, Sun Quan decided to prepare for a rainy day to avoid being caught off guard in the future!
While Sun Quan and Liu Ye were chatting, an attendant hurried into the tent and said nervously, "General, we have news about General Dai!"

"What's the situation?" Sun Quan asked anxiously.

The attendant looked embarrassed and said, "According to the report from the scouts, General Dai successfully robbed grain in the south, but was killed by the bandit general Huo Fan on his way back. General Dai fled to Langya, and Huo Fan led his troops to surround it. General Dai asked Sun Li for help, but Sun Li was worried about the safety of the cities and did not dare to leave in person, so he reported to the general."

As he spoke, the attendant continued to reveal a bad news, saying: "According to the report from Changguang County, the rebel general Zhuge Dan sailed across the sea to capture the city but failed, and then persuaded the cities in the east of Qi to surrender. The situation in the east of Qi is turbulent now, and I hope that the general will send troops to suppress the bandits."

"what!"

Sun Quan's face suddenly changed, and his expression was full of worry. At this time, Liu Ye was also in a panic, probably because he didn't expect that although his grain robbery plan was successful, it would put Panghai Road in danger.

Liu Ye looked at Sun Quan, who was full of worry, fearing that Sun Quan would hold him accountable like Cao Rui did. However, unexpectedly, Sun Quan did not blame Liu Ye, but sorted out his own thoughts first.

Liu Ye was a little nervous and said, "I'm sorry that I didn't think it through and didn't tell Dai Ling in advance."

Sun Quan waved his hand and said, "This matter has nothing to do with you. Dai Ling succeeded in robbing grain, but was defeated because of his slow march. If the troops had marched quickly, they would not have been defeated by the enemy army!"

Sun Quan was able to separate strategy from implementation. There was nothing wrong with Liu Ye letting Dai Ling rob food. The real problem was that Dai Ling allowed his men to return with the food and supplies, which led to him being caught up and defeated by Huo Fan.

After calming down, Sun Quan sat on the couch and asked, "Zi Yang, Huo Fan and Zhuge Dan have defeated Dai Ling. Now the sea route is in danger and must be rescued. What do you think?"

Liu Ye calmed down a little and said, "Dai Ling's army was defeated and Qidong is in turmoil. We must pay attention to it. However, given the current situation, General, you must not forget Huo Jun's army because of the situation in Qidong. If Ye's prediction is correct, Huo Jun is aware of the changes in Qidong."

Sun Quan frowned and said, "I am also worried about this. Huo Jun stationed his troops in Ju County and waited to see what would happen in southern Qi. Now that eastern Qi is in turmoil, I wonder what Huo Jun will do?"

Liu Ye stroked his beard and thought, and said, "The reason why Huo Jun ordered his son Huo Fan to go north from the Panghai Road is because the two roads of Muling and Zhucheng are blocked, and the general refused to fight. Now that the east of Qi is in turmoil, if our army attacks, Huo Jun will be very happy. He should find an opportunity to challenge, either to attack Muling or to take Zhucheng."

"So in Ye's opinion, the general should order good generals to guard the two cities of Muling and Zhucheng in the south, and lead the army eastward to quickly quell the bandits in the east. And you should not do as Huo Jun wants and fight them in the field; otherwise, Huo Fan and Zhuge Dan will become more powerful."

Sun Quan stood up and paced, saying, "We have 60,000 soldiers in our army. I will lead 50,000 soldiers to guard Muling, Linqu, Linzi, etc. I will order Sun Li and Dai Ling to lead 5,000 elite soldiers each to guard Zhucheng, Buqi, and Langya. If we send out troops now, how many soldiers should be used to guard Muling and how many to go out to fight?"

"Most of our soldiers are old and weak. To prevent Huo Jun from taking Muling, we should leave 20,000 soldiers to guard Muling. The general will lead 30,000 soldiers eastward to quickly stabilize Qidong. If the battle is unsuccessful after a long time, Huo Jun will send reinforcements to Langya." Liu Ye said after hesitating for a moment.

"How about Huo Jun taking all the cities?" Sun Quan asked worriedly.

"The city of Zhucheng is strong and high, with ditches surrounding the city and urn-fortresses guarding the pass. If Huo Jun leads his troops to capture Zhucheng directly, Sun Li's ability is enough to temporarily resist. Therefore, the general should quickly stabilize Qidong before the city is broken. If you fail, it will be too late!" Liu Ye said.

Sun Quan had an idea and said in a deep voice: "Let's follow Zi Yang's strategy and send troops eastward!"

(End of this chapter)