Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 683 Knocking on the mountain and shaking the tiger
Due to the turmoil in Qidong, Sun Quan had to lead his troops to war.

Following Liu Ye's suggestion, Sun Quan appointed Sun Yu as the main general, Rui Xuan and Sun Lang as deputy generals, and led 20,000 old and weak soldiers to guard Muling Pass.

Xiahou Ba, Xiahou Hui, Hu Zhi, Wen Gong and other county governors and generals followed Sun Quan to the expedition, with a total of 30,000 soldiers and horses under his command.

Fearing that Huo Jun would send troops to block the roads in the main city, Sun Quan led his troops from Muling and crossed the Wenshui and Weishui rivers, intending to go through Gaomi to Qidong and first deal with Zhuge Dan who was stationed in Buqi.

The 30,000-strong army stretched for dozens of miles, with flags flying and a huge momentum.

Under the central army flag, Sun Quan was wearing armor and helmet, riding slowly on horseback. His subordinates and trusted followers were holding bows and spears, surrounding him in the center. If you look at Sun Quan's appearance and dress from a distance, you can't help but admire his majesty.

"Zi Yang, according to the news reported, Zhuge Dan has repaired the city walls to prevent our army from attacking. I want to break it quickly, but I am afraid that it will be difficult to take it if the siege is too long. Do you have any strategy to teach me?" Sun Quan asked Liu Ye beside him.

Liu Ye pondered for a moment and said, "Zhuge Dan is a rebel general, so he has no intention of fighting for a long time. He has come a long way and the army in the city must not have much food. General, you can occupy Langya in the south, surround the city in the north, and cut off the navy from outside. When Zhuge Dan can't get any external help, if you can pardon his crime, you can make him surrender without a fight!"

Liu Ye's judgment of the situation in Buqi was even accurate. Although Zhuge Dan had captured Buqi, he did not have much food and supplies. If Sun Quan could surround Zhuge Dan and pardon his crime, Zhuge Dan would probably surrender to Sun Quan.

Sun Quan showed a delighted expression and said with a smile: "If we use the troops in this way, it will take at least ten days or at most a month for Zhuge Dan to surrender."

Sun Quan changed the subject and said, "Maybe there is a plan, but I don't know what the situation in Langya is."

"If Dai Ling surrenders, Huo Fan will lead his troops northward and join forces with Zhuge Dan. At that time, the two will be defending the dangerous terrain and have boats to support them. It will be difficult for our army to win quickly!"

Liu Ye thought for a long time and said, "General, to prevent Dai Ling from surrendering to the enemy after his defeat, it is better to send a general to march day and night to rescue Langya as soon as possible."

Sun Quan held the reins, thinking about the candidate, and said, "How about Xiahou Ba?"

"Xiahou Ba has a long history of military experience, is an experienced general, brave and good at fighting, and is well versed in military strategies. His father, Xiahou Yuan, died for his country and has always had a grudge against the Han army. If we order him to attack now, he will be able to lift the siege of Langya." Liu Ye said.

After Xiahou Yuan died in the battle of Hanzhong, Xiahou Ba and his brothers were valued by Cao Cao. Xiahou Ba was appointed as a school lieutenant because of his bravery. After years of war, he climbed from a general to a general of miscellaneous titles. With his own abilities, Xiahou Ba gradually became a middle-level force in the Wei army.

"good!"

Sun Quan ordered his men, "Tell Xiahou Ba to come quickly and obey my orders!"

"promise!"

He ordered his cavalry to head straight towards the Wei army in front and inform Xiahou Ba of Sun Quan's urgent military order.

After a while, Xiahou Ba came with several riders and rode up to Sun Quan.

"Ba greets the General of Chariots and Cavalry!" Xiahou Ba bowed and said, "I am summoned here today. I wonder what military orders you have?"

Sun Quan stopped his horse by the road and said, "Huo Fan has besieged Dai Ling in Langya. There are few soldiers in Langya now. I am afraid that Dai Ling will not be able to hold out for long. General, you are brave and good at fighting. If we want to lift the siege of Langya, you must be the one. I wonder if you are willing to lead the troops to help lift the siege of Langya?"

"Why not serve the country?" Xiahou Ba said with great fighting spirit.

Just as Xiahou Ba was about to ride away, scouts came from Zhucheng and reported urgent military information.

"Report!"

The cavalry officer carried the flag on his back and said, "General, there has been a change in Langya, and all the cities are under siege."

"Speak quickly!"

"Two days ago, Huo Fan led his infantry and cavalry to attack Langya. General Dai Ling was outnumbered and was defeated. After a hard fight, Langya was broken by the enemy army, and General Dai Ling escaped and was captured."

The scout said truthfully, "The day before yesterday, Huo Jun led a large army out of Ju County, crossed the mountains for more than a hundred miles, and surrounded the cities. On that day, the drums sounded loudly, and the soldiers were sent to carry soil to fill the canal. And watching the actions of the enemy soldiers, they sent the people in the cities to dig the soil and build ladders, hoping to break through the city with soil."

"Huo Fan led his troops westward from Langya, intending to join forces with Huo Jun. When I left the city, the drums of the Han army kept beating day and night, and the siege was massive. Governor Sun was worried, fearing that the cities would be unable to resist the enemy army, so he ordered me to report this to the general."

Hearing about the current situation that Zhucheng was facing, Sun Quan couldn't help but worry.

If what the scouts said was true, Huo Jun was obviously planning to take advantage of the unrest in eastern Qi to capture all the cities in one fell swoop. He would use the coastal roads in eastern Qi to exchange for the roads to the cities. Once the cities were captured, Huo Jun would be able to follow the Wei River into Qi territory.

Sun Quan looked at Liu Ye and asked, "Huo Jun is moving quickly and is now besieging the cities, with the potential to break through. If we follow the old plan and lead the troops to pacify Qidong, I am afraid that the cities will be lost. However, if we want to save the cities, I am afraid that Qidong will be in turmoil. I wonder what Ziyang has to say about this?"

Liu Ye frowned, feeling torn by the current situation.

After the Han army broke through the Panghai Road, Liu Ye thought Huo Jun would make a big move on the Panghai Road, such as sending reinforcements out of the Panghai Road to trap Sun Quan in the east of Qi. Therefore, he wanted to use Muling and Zhucheng to contain Huo Jun and let Sun Quan quickly advance to solve the most dangerous east of Qi.

But Huo Jun did the opposite of what he thought. He didn't care about the Panghai Road at all, but led his army over the mountains to besiege the cities. He even gave up the Panghai Road and let Huo Fan lead his troops westward. Judging from the current situation, Huo Jun's intention was to attack the cities, not the Panghai Road in Qidong.

However, Liu Ye did not dare to rule out the possibility that Huo Jun was besieging Zhucheng to rescue Zhao from Wei, and to attract Sun Quan's attention, so that Zhuge Dan could move in the east of Qi. Seeing Liu Ye was silent, Xiahou Ba said: "General, Zhucheng is the southern gate of Qi. If Zhucheng is lost, the enemy can reach Weishui, advance to Gaomi, and threaten Linzi. In my opinion, we need to protect Zhucheng for the time being."

Then Xiahou Ba asked for battle and said, "Now that Langya has been lost, I am willing to lead the troops south to relieve the siege of the cities. The general will lead the troops eastward to quickly pacify the cities in the east of Qi and close the road to the sea."

"Huo Jun is cunning in using his troops, and often besieges cities and attacks reinforcements. If he sees that Zhong Quan has few soldiers, he may divide his forces and attack. If Zhong Quan is defeated, Qing Qi will be in danger!" Sun Quan said worriedly.

"What should we do then?" Xiahou Ba said helplessly.

"General Chariot and Cavalry will lead the main army to the south, and General Xiahou will lead a small force to attack Zhuge Dan."

Liu Ye gritted his teeth and said, "Looking at what Huo Jun has done, if we don't take care of the cities, they will be in danger, so we have to lift the siege. However, if we send too few troops south, we may be defeated by him. If we send more troops south, we can stop his momentum."

"As for the bandit army in the east of Qi, if Huo Jun is focusing on besieging the cities, he will have no time to take care of the east of Qi, so we can send a small army to attack them."

If ordinary generals attacked the cities, Liu Ye would still bet that Sun Li could defend them. But now the famous Huo Jun led elite troops to attack, which forced Liu Ye to pay attention. Therefore, in order to solve the current difficulties, Sun Quan had to lead the army south and Xiahou Ba went to Qidong.

Sun Quan looked at the waiting cavalry and asked, "How many soldiers does Huo Jun have?"

The cavalry officer shook his head and said, "Huo Jun's troops are innumerable. Judging from his banners, his troops are no less than 40,000 or 50,000."

"Forty or fifty thousand bandit soldiers?"

Seeing that they were about to fight against Huo Jun, and that his troops were so numerous, Sun Quan was shocked and asked, "Is Huo Jun going to use all his troops in the camp?"

"Don't worry, General Cavalry!"

Liu Ye asserted, "Judging from the movements of the enemy's troops, Huo Jun has no more than 40,000 soldiers. In addition, he needs to divide his troops to guard various places, so he can only use 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers. If you lead your troops south, they will besiege the cities, and the soldiers who can fight against you are no more than 20,000."

"Looking at the current situation, General, you can mobilize the troops from Muling and Guanzhong to advance eastward. At that time, your troops will outnumber the enemy. You can confront Huo Jun across the Wei River and join forces with the troops from other cities to repel the enemy."

Liu Ye thought for a long time and said, "General, when you reach Weishui and hold the enemy, you can order Wang Ling to attack Kaiyang to disrupt the Han army's food supply. When Qidong is pacified and autumn and winter are approaching, the Han army will retreat!"

Listening to Liu Ye's flawless arrangement, Sun Quan felt relieved and said, "The army will follow me south to Weishui, and 10,000 troops will be drawn from Muling Pass to reinforce the army. The combined forces will help to relieve the dangers of the cities. The matter of Qidong will be handed over to General Zhongquan, who will lead 10,000 troops eastward. I hope we can pacify it quickly."

Xiahou Ba said in an excited tone: "Please rest assured, General Chariot and Cavalry, I will definitely take Zhuge Dan's head!"

"good!"

In order to break the siege of the cities, Sun Quan changed the direction of his march. He led 30,000 soldiers southward, and Xiahou Ba led 10,000 soldiers eastward. In order to allow Huo Jun to withdraw his troops, Sun Quan ordered Wang Ling to attack the Yi and Shu River valleys.

When the army led by Sun Quan appeared in the lower reaches of Weishui River, Huo Jun was overjoyed to see that Sun Quan was attracted to Zhucheng by him.

Inside the big tent, Huo Jun smiled with his hands behind his back, saying: "Tonight's beating of the drums will finally lead Sun Quan to lead his troops south."

"The governor's clever plan shocked the tiger. I am not as good as the governor!" Jiang Ji said with admiration on his face and bowed.

After Zhuge Dan captured the city, Jiang Ji made a sharp judgment that Sun Quan would have to send troops to quell the rebellion, so he suggested Huo Jun to find an opportunity to fight Sun Quan in the field. However, due to the road being blocked, how to fight Sun Quan in the field was a problem for the Han army.

The problem that Jiang Ji could not solve was easily solved by Huo Jun with a plan. He sent troops to various cities to create a momentum of attacking the cities, so that Sun Quan would not dare to ignore the cities.

In order to create the illusion of a massive siege, Huo Jun first sent soldiers to carry earth bags to fill the ditches outside the city, and then set up eighty drums outside the city. The drums sounded day and night, and the officers led their troops to attack the city. Under the momentum and manipulation, the soldiers in the cities were terrified and had to ask Sun Quan for help.

As Huo Jun had expected, Sun Quan and Liu Ye, fearing Huo Jun's reputation and worried that the cities would be captured, dared not ignore it. They sent a separate army to the east of Qi and led the main army south.

"Commander-in-chief, Sun Quan is leading a large army southward. How can we defeat him?" Xu Sheng asked.

"Not urgent!"

Huo Jun put his hands behind his waist and said with a smile: "Most of the soldiers led by Sun Quan are old and weak. They will not dare to fight with our army in the field. If my prediction is correct, Sun Quan will set up camp across the Wei River and defend it."

"Our army has crossed the mountains and reached the cities, deep into the enemy's heartland. If we fight Sun Quan for several months, I'm afraid we won't have enough food and supplies."

Xu Sheng said worriedly: "Although our army has 100,000 soldiers, they are spread out over thousands of miles, which makes it inconvenient for them to move around. This is not the right way to use troops."

Huo Jun hesitated for a moment and said, "It seems that Sun Quan is controlling me, but in fact I am controlling Sun Quan. The junior general has led 2,000 elite infantry and cavalry to the north. If we can defeat the enemy, we will be able to sweep all the counties along the eastern coast of Qi and disrupt the heartland of Qing Qi."

"At that time, Qingqi was in turmoil and the Wei army was short of food and supplies. This was an opportunity for our army to defeat the enemy!"

(End of this chapter)