Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 686: Achievements Surpassing Han Xin
Sun Quan was not a man of hesitation. When he decided to adopt Liu Ye's plan of "cutting off one's arm", he ordered his soldiers to practice chariot formations. He also ordered Sun Li to find an opportunity to withdraw from the cities and retreat to Linzi with him.

Although Sun Li had the same surname as Sun Quan, he was a very stubborn person and was not on the same path as Sun Quan. When he learned that Sun Quan wanted to give up all the cities, he was very angry and immediately wrote a letter to Sun Quan, advising him not to give up the southern gate of Qi.

Seeing that Sun Li repeatedly ruined his plans and often opposed him, Sun Quan used his status as the main general to pressure Sun Li, and ordered Sun Li and Hu Zhi to lead 8,000 infantry cavalry to form a train formation to guard the rear. Faced with Sun Quan's tough military order, Sun Li, who was deeply influenced by Wei, sighed and had no choice but to obey.

By August, the Wei army was running low on food and grass due to the Han army's looting, and could no longer fight Huo Jun for a long time. Fortunately, the chariot formation was gradually formed, and it could serve as the rear guard of the army.

Seeing this, Sun Quan did not hesitate and ordered Sun Li to lead his troops to abandon the cities, go down the Fuqi River, cross the Wei River, and meet up with the main army in Weixi.

Zhucheng was not built near the Wei River, but on the Fuqi River, a tributary of the Wei River. The Fuqi River flows from south to north into the Wei River, and Zhucheng is located on the north bank of the Fuqi River and the east bank of the Wei River.

The Han army led by Huo Jun camped on the south bank of the Fuqi River, separated from the cities by the Fuqi River, and confronted the Wei army led by Sun Quan across the Wei River.

When the Wei army showed unusual movements late at night, the scouts immediately waded back to the camp and reported the current intelligence to Huo Jun.

In the big tent, Huo Jun woke up bleary-eyed after hearing Huo Xiong's report. He wrapped himself in an outer robe and ordered the scout to report into the tent.

"Your servant greets the governor!"

Huo Jun sat beside the couch and saw that the scout was soaked, so he ordered, "Ask the cook to make a bowl of ginger soup and add more sugar."

As he spoke, Huo Jun asked the scout to relax and asked, "Are there any unusual movements in the Wei camp?"

The scout bowed and said, "Reporting to the commander-in-chief, according to my own eyes, all the soldiers and horses in the cities have gone out, crossed the Wei River at night, and sneaked into the Wei army camp. And there are people moving around in the Wei camp, the lights are bright, the people are wearing armor, and the horses are equipped with saddles. Watch for any signs of help. All scouts are monitoring outside the Wei camp, and I will report back to the commander-in-chief!"

Hearing this, Huo Jun looked thoughtful, but then he smiled.

After thinking for a while, Huo Jun asked the scouts to retreat and said, "It's very cold tonight. Wading through the water will soak your clothes. It will hurt your blood. Drink some ginger soup."

"Thank you for your gift, Commander-in-Chief!" The scout took his leave with great courtesy.

"Somebody come!"

"exist!"

After the scouts left, Huo Jun ordered his men, "Call the officers to the big tent to discuss matters, and send Xu Sheng to lead his troops across the Wei River to set up battle array."

"promise!"

The military order was issued, the drums in the Han camp thundered, and the generals put on their armor and helmets and walked to the central tent from their respective units. The firemen cooked rice and steamed cakes to prepare breakfast for the soldiers who would go out later.

Inside the big tent, Huo Jun appeared in armor as usual, with tiger guards standing on his left and right, a big banner hanging high in the tent, axes, red bows, military tokens, imperial seals and other instruments that symbolize power were displayed to show the prestige of the commander-in-chief.

"Captain!"

Jiang Ji entered the tent first and asked, "Are there any unusual movements by the Wei army?"

Huo Jun did not look up as he browsed the map. He said, "According to the scouts, Sun Li left the cities and fled, crossing the Wei River to join Sun Quan. The Wei army camp is brightly lit, people are bustling around, and horses are neighing. If what I expected is correct, Sun Quan wants to lead his army to escape at night."

"Sun Quan wants to escape!"

Jiang Ji was refreshed and said, "Sun Quan has many soldiers and horses under his command. If we let him escape to Qi County, it will be difficult for our army to quickly conquer Qingqi!"

"We must not let Sun Quan escape easily. We must send troops to pursue him. If we can defeat him along the way, Sun Quan will no longer be a threat to our army!"

"Ok!"

Huo Jun pointed at the map and said, "Sun Quan is leading his army to withdraw from Qi County, which is what I am worried about now. Our army went deep into Qi and deployed troops, but the road is long and the troops are scattered. If Sun Quan insists on defending Qi County, our army will have to divide its troops along the way. The enemy is concentrated while we are divided, which is not the right way to deploy troops. We should chase him now and make sure Sun Quan can't escape unscathed!"

When the Wei army was cut off from food supplies, the best way, apart from direct combat, was to trade space for time.

The strategy of exchanging space for time is essentially an open plot, which is somewhat similar to luring the enemy deep into the territory. Using the vastness of one's own territory, one can wear down the enemy army. Liu Ye could understand why Huo Jun and Jiang Ji could not see through it.

As for how to solve the strategy of luring the enemy deep into the territory, or the strategy of exchanging space for time, there are two specific solutions. First, take steady steps and establish reliable rule along the way; second, fight quickly and seek a major battle.

If the Han army took a slow and steady approach, it would be trapped in a long-term battle between Qing and Qi, which would be very unfavorable to the Northern Expedition. At present, the only option was to seek a quick victory and pacify the counties of Qing and Qi in the shortest possible time.

With the Qingqi counties under the control of the Han Dynasty, Huo Jun will have more strategic space and more room to maneuver, such as attacking Hebei in the north, fighting for Yan and Yu in the west, and relying on Qi to radiate the Central Plains.

As Huo Jun and Jiang Ji were discussing, the generals arrived at the central tent one after another, waiting for Huo Jun's arrangements.

"Da Sima!"

Huo Jun looked around at everyone and said in a deep voice, "Today, the scouts reported that Sun Quan led his army to retreat northward. I want to pursue him. What do you generals think?"

"We are willing to obey the Grand Marshal's orders!" The generals bowed in response.

"Ding Feng, Pang De, Yu Shao, and Huo Youzhi, listen to my orders, raise your troops and follow me into battle." Huo Jun ordered.

"The general will obey the order!"

After the four men were given the order to lead the army, they saluted and withdrew, preparing to dispatch the troops.

"Where are Chen Yue, Tang Zi, and Liu Zhong?"

"The general is here!"

"I order you three to lead the rest of the troops to enter the cities, eliminate the enemy, transport military supplies, and pacify the people."

"promise!"

The three men received the order and retreated.

With Huo Jun's order, the entire Han army was mobilized.

The combined forces of the four generals numbered 20,000. Chasing the Wei soldiers with 20,000 infantry and cavalry was not as simple as just marching with weapons in hand. In order to ensure the success of the pursuit, a lot of preparations needed to be made.

The flags, drums, and lanterns of the command system are not mentioned. In terms of military weapons, in addition to the standard ring-handed swords and armor, soldiers need to be equipped with different weapons according to different types of soldiers. For example, archers are equipped with a hundred arrows, spearmen are equipped with two spears, and cavalrymen are equipped with soft bows, lances, and small shields.

As for supplies, pots, bowls, bags, tents, each person had to carry five days of rations to prevent the pursuit from taking too long. However, in order to reduce the burden on the soldiers, about 20 people were assigned to one chariot for transportation, that is, 20,000 infantry and cavalry were assigned about 1,000 chariots.

When the four generals were preparing to use the troops, Xu Sheng had already set out with his own 5,000 soldiers and horses. After traveling for more than ten miles, they arrived at the Wei River and, with the help of scouts, built a floating bridge on the river. At dawn, when the sky was hazy, Xu Sheng and his 5,000 soldiers had already reached the Wei River, less than ten miles away from the Wei camp. To prevent a surprise attack by the Wei army, Xu Sheng sent cavalrymen outside the camp and sent people back to the camp to inform Huo Jun.

At the same time, Rui Xuan, as the vanguard, had already set off with the baggage. Sun Quan and Liu Ye led the central army, while Sun Li and Hu Zhi led the chariots and slowly moved forward to cover the rear.

Upon learning that Xu Sheng had led his troops across Weixi, Sun Li led his men to burn down the Wei camp and quickly retreat in order to cover the large army.

When Xu Sheng saw that the Wei camp was burned down, he guessed that the Wei army had already retreated. In addition to sending cavalry to follow the Wei army, he also sent someone to report to Huo Jun as soon as possible.

At dawn, the morning sun is about to rise in the east, and a ray of light illuminates the banks of the Weishui River.

Upon hearing the news, Huo Jun led his infantry and cavalry across the Wei River to join Xu Sheng's troops.

When they were halfway across the floating bridge, Huo Jun looked at the shimmering Wei River in the morning sun, pointed at the river with his white whip, and said with a smile: "In the past, Han Xin, under the order of Li Shiqi, raided Qi State and defeated Long Ju at Wei River. He then helped Emperor Gaozu to establish the Han Dynasty for 400 years. Now I am leading my troops to the north to Wei, hoping to emulate Han Xin in conquering Qi, supporting the Han Dynasty, and reviving the Han Dynasty."

Jiang Ji rode along, laughing, "Han Xin conquered Lixia to establish his base, and now the commander-in-chief is attacking various cities to establish his power. Their achievements are similar. However, Han Xin attacked those who had surrendered, and you, the general, defeated a powerful enemy on your own. If you can defeat Sun Quan, your achievements will surpass those of Han Xin!"

"Ha ha!"

Huo Jun whipped his horse and walked away, saying with a smile: "Sun Quan was firmly defending Muling, and I was still worried about him. But now we are leaving the camp and marching away. It's like a fish in a net, it's easy to catch it!"

"drive!"

Huo Jun rode to the west of Wei, and Xu Sheng rode quickly to meet him. He bowed and said, "General, Sun Quan was well prepared and led his troops to retreat quickly. He left Sun Li and Hu Zhi as the rear guard. Now that they saw our army arrive here, they burned down the camp and fled. Their troops are now 20 miles away."

Huo Jun looked at the fire in the Wei camp, which had receded slightly, and asked, "How many soldiers do Generals Sun Li and Hu Zhi have? How are their elite troops?"

Xu Sheng bowed and said, "Reporting to the commander-in-chief, according to the scouts, Generals Sun Li and Hu Zhi have nearly 10,000 soldiers, elite soldiers and horses capable of fighting, and they are marching in formation with chariots. I am leading the cavalry to observe from a distance. The formation is calm and should not be offended lightly."

Hearing this, Jiang Ji frowned slightly and said, "Sun Quan sent Sun Li to form a chariot formation to guard the rear, I think he wants to stop our army from pursuing. In the past, the commander-in-chief defeated Xiahou with the Queyue chariot formation, and now Sun Lixing is using the chariot formation to guard the rear, it may not be easy to break his formation!"

Ding Feng was eager to try, and said: "General, the Wei army will not fight to the death if they withdraw. I am willing to lead the troops to pursue them."

"Sun Li is an extraordinary general!"

Huo Jun shook his head and said, "Sun Li is a righteous man. He disciplines his troops strictly and rewards his subordinates generously, which wins the hearts of the troops. Now they are fighting to the death in a chariot formation. Even if our army can defeat them, the casualties will be heavy!"

Although the Wei army suffered repeated defeats, there were still many generals who dared to fight. Sun Li was not valued by Cao Wei in the early days, but as time went on, Sun Li gradually showed his talents. Sun Quan left Sun Li to guard the rear, although he wanted to kill someone with a borrowed knife, but he also relied on Sun Li's bravery.

At the same time, Huo Jun had commanded troops for more than 20 years and had a deep understanding of the essence of chariot formations. Once a chariot formation was deployed, it would be very difficult for an army in the cold weapon era to break it.

For example, during the Ming-Jin period, the Ming army formed a chariot formation and fought to the death. If the Later Jin wanted to break the formation, they had to use the Daring Fighting Elite + Shield Carts to move forward to break it. However, as the Tartars had cannons, when they encountered the Ming army in a chariot formation, they could simply use the cannons to fire and easily break the formation.

Now that he has heard that Sun Li has deployed a chariot array, Huo Jun, who is well versed in the strengths of infantry, cavalry, chariots and boats, dare not take it lightly.

Huo Jun looked around and said, "Wen Xiang, Cheng Yuan, and Ling Ming will lead the troops to follow me to pursue Sun Li, and the rest will follow with the baggage and food carts."

"promise!"

Xu Sheng led the way, and Huo Jun followed closely with Generals Pang De and Ding Feng. As the chariot formation marched slowly, Huo Jun rode fast and caught up with the Wei army at the rear.

The Wei army had more than 200 chariots on the left and right, divided into four formations on the vast plain, stretching for several miles. It was very large. If you look closely, you can see that the chariots have wooden barriers facing outward to prevent the enemy from approaching the battle; the chariots have wings as roofs to prevent the enemy from throwing arrows and stones inside.

Huo Jun, escorted by his cavalry, occupied a hill and viewed the situation from a distance. He then circled the chariot formation and was able to take in the entire deployment of the Wei army.

Probably having discovered Huo Jun's trace, the chariot formation sent out cavalry to attack Huo Jun who was watching the formation.

Seeing this, Xu Sheng led his cavalry to protect Huo Jun and said, "The enemy knows that the governor is here, so I hope the governor will withdraw quickly!"

"Can!"

Seeing that there were only a few hundred cavalrymen around and that Pang De and Ding Feng's infantry and cavalry were still in the rear, while the enemy cavalry were coming in full force and there seemed to be thousands of them, Huo Jun gave up the idea of ​​showing off his bravery and joined the main force under the cover of Xu Sheng.

Upon hearing that Huo Jun retreated in the face of difficulty, Sun Li's stern expression relaxed a little, and he sneered and said, "Huo Jun is unparalleled in the use of troops, but now he is afraid of retreating when facing the chariot formation."

Sun Li was very upset at the time because he had repeatedly opposed Sun Quan and was excluded from the core circle by Sun Quan. But when Sun Quan was in danger, he did not hesitate to push him out. Such a trick made Sun Li very angry.

If Sun Li had not been deeply grateful to Cao Cao for sparing his life and placing him in important positions, he would have surrendered to the Han Dynasty long ago given his character.

Hu Zhi heaved a sigh of relief and said, "The chariot array is as solid as a city wall. Whether our army can retreat safely depends on it!"

As he spoke, Hu Zhi fantasized, "I hope Huo Jun will realize that the chariot array is difficult to break and let our army return."

Sun Li glanced at Hu Zhi and said calmly, "Huo Jun has been confronting our army for a long time. How could he let us go easily? There are few soldiers around now, so we have to retreat. When there are more soldiers, we will definitely attack him."

After a pause, Sun Li changed his tone and said, "Unless our army can severely injure the Han army, Huo Jun will never stop fighting!"

When he was young, Hu Zhi was as famous as Jiang Ji, but he was good at civil affairs but not military strategy. If it were not for the tradition of using prefects to command troops in Cao Wei, Hu Zhi would not have appeared on the battlefield between Han and Wei. Now Hu Zhi was afraid of Huo Jun, who was so famous.

Perhaps out of fear, Hu Zhi had been exchanging letters with Jiang Ji in the name of visiting a friend in recent days, hoping that if he was unfortunately defeated, he would be taken care of by Jiang Ji.

Not to mention that Sun Li and Hu Zhi were on guard against Huo Jun's pursuit, but now Huo Jun has returned to the army from outside the formation.

After all the trouble, it was already afternoon and everyone went under the shade of a tree to discuss matters.

Xu Sheng used small stones to draw a diagram of the Wei army's chariot formation on the ground and said, "The Wei army is divided into four formations, each with similar size and number of soldiers. The chariots are used as chevaux de frise and the low carriages are used as wooden houses. The chevaux de frise can prevent our army from entering the battle, and the carriages can be used as shields from arrows and stones."

As he spoke, Xu Sheng placed a few small pieces of gravel around the four formations and in the center, and said, "There are more than a thousand cavalry outside the formation, scattered around. If there is a military order, the cavalry will scatter and gather to form the wings of the chariot formation."

Seeing the Wei chariot array arranged like this, Jiang Ji stroked his beard and sighed, saying: "This array has more than enough moves to advance and retreat, and is prepared for both offense and defense. Don't take it lightly!"

"Captain!"

Ding Feng pondered for a moment and said, "Why don't we select brave warriors from our army and form a chariot formation with them? We should get close to the chariot formation first, and then fight with swords and spears. Maybe we can defeat their army!"

Huo Jun stood up from the chair and said with a smile: "I already know the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy's formation. Breaking the formation is just a matter of a flick of the hand, why bother with so much trouble!"

(End of this chapter)