Hefei, Dashu Mountain.

"Governor, Cao's army has retreated!"

Jiang Jixing walked to his side and said in a low voice: "According to Shouchun's report, the Son of Heaven took Wang Lang as his envoy and issued an edict to crown Cao Cao as the Duke of Wei and the ten counties of Jizhou as the Principality of Wei. After Cao Cao withdrew his troops, Xun Yu was seriously ill and stayed in Shouchun to recuperate, but due to his serious illness, he died of illness the night before. And Sun Quan supervised Xun Yu's funeral. ”

Huo Jun looked at the fat water at the foot of the mountain, and said with emotion: "Xun Yuqi is a person, Wang Zuozhi, and has a noble temperament. However, he became famous because of Cao Cao, and he died because of Cao Cao, which is embarrassing! ”

Xun Yu no matter what his political philosophy is, but in terms of moral cultivation and dealing with the world, he is indeed highly respected by many scholars. Even if Huo Jun was in an enemy country, he had heard of Xun Yu's appreciation.

Now Huo Jun sighed for Xun Yu, mostly because of the story of him and Cao Cao. The chief hero who assisted him for most of his life was given death by the king.

When he first got Xun Yu, Cao Cao called it 'my son', but now because of the conflict of interests, he was given his son's death, which makes people inevitably feel sad.

sighed, Huo Jun thought of Liu Bei's character, and he was inevitably a little happy in his heart.

From a monarch's point of view, Liu Bei had a number of shortcomings, which made it difficult for him to be an excellent monarch.

For example, Liu Bei's core courtiers often only reward but not punish, when the Xiangshui Alliance, Lu Su attacked the south wall of Jingzhou, for the loss of half of Jingzhou, Liu Bei should have punished Guan Yu, Liao Li and other responsible persons, but he chose not to care.

Gai or talk about human feelings, wait for the heroic habits such as kindness, so that Huo Jun chose Liu Bei. However, throughout history, the only mean founding monarch to be treated may be Zhu Yuanzhang. As for Gaozu Liu Bang, except for the king with a different surname, almost all the heroes died well.

Feeling a little, Huo Jun said: "Ji Chang, send the news of Shouchun to Wuhan, so that the lord can know that Cao Cao's actions are progressing." ”

Jiang Ji stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Cao Cao is called the duke, the lord is afraid that he will be displeased when he hears it, and the matter of becoming a prince may be put on the agenda." ”

Huo Jun shook his head slightly, and said: "Cao Cao takes Longyou, Pingguanzhong, and dares to enter the position of Guogong." Although the current lord has Wu Chu, he has not made any new achievements, and he is afraid that he will not dare to be the king. If Ke Bashu, confronting Cao Cao from north to south, and taking the throne, it will be a matter of course! ”

At present, the plane and history have changed greatly, and in Huo Jun's view, it is mostly due to the butterfly effect caused by Han Sui's killing by Zhang Fei.

Han Sui had a strong foundation in Longyou, and after the Battle of Guanzhong, Han Sui relied on his prestige to raise tens of thousands of Qiang soldiers, scaring Xiahou Yuan from advancing westward. But now Han Sui died, relying only on Ma Chao's prestige, after being defeated by Cao Cao, he could no longer retreat to Longyou, so he could only surrender to Cao Cao.

Ma and Han, one died and one fell, in addition to the four counties of Wuwei, Jiuquan and Zhangye in the Northwest Corridor, Guanzhong and Longyou have been included in Cao Cao's account. Now Cao Cao's reputation has been greatly enhanced, and the prestige of the Battle of Chrysostom has gradually been restored.

Cao Cao, who has such a prestige, is only a duke, how dare you let Liu Bei be king?

Now that Liu Bei knows the news of Cao Cao, he is afraid that he is not worried about the matter of being the king, but has a headache about how to take Yizhou.

From the first month of this year to the current October, the three armies of Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Gan Ning were blocked by Jiangzhou for seven or eight months, during which there was almost no progress except for the surrender of Wu Yi, which made people have to be anxious.

If the war against Shu drags on for a long time, in addition to the changes in the hearts of the people of Bashu, even Cao Cao will be mixed into the war of Erliu.

After being reminded by Huo Jun, Jiang Ji came to his senses and said: "What the governor said is very true, and now you should be worried about the war in Bashu. ”

After a pause, Jiang Ji suggested: "Dudu, since Cao Cao has returned to the north, he has no idea of taking Hefei. And our Jianghuai is enough to defend the three cities of Sheyang, Lu'an, and Hefei, so why not let the two generals Zilong and Hansheng lead the Chinese army back to Wuhan to show that the governor has the mind to take the overall situation into account. ”

Before the Northern Expedition to Hefei, Huo Jun had more than 50,000 soldiers and horses, plus the captured Cao army, and 5,000 people reinforced by Lusu, and the Jianghuai soldiers and horses swelled to about 60,000.

Now that Cao Cao has withdrawn his troops, the pressure on Jianghuai has been greatly reduced, and if he does not advance to the Huaihe River, he will only use the three cities of Lu'an, Hefei, and Sheyang as strongholds, and he will not use 60,000 troops at all.

Huo Jun frowned slightly, and said: "Huaidong, defend Yang City, with 10,000 soldiers and horses, enough to resist the enemy." Guarding the two cities of Lu'an and Hefei, more than 20,000 people are guarded, each other is the horn, and Huaixi can be worry-free. The remaining sergeants returned to Koto to recuperate for rotation. ”

"With this arrangement, Jianghuai has more than enough garrisons, and Zilong and Hansheng can lead their troops and horses back to the army, so that the lord can increase his troops to Bashu."

Seeing that the soldiers and horses were enough, Huo Jun ordered: "Zitong, according to the above arrangement, let the two generals return to Wuhan to resume their lives." ”

"No!" Jiang Ji replied.

After a while, Sima Zhi climbed up from the mountain road out of breath and said, "Dudu, Zhi has discovered the waterway. ”

Today, Huo Jun took advantage of Cao Cao's withdrawal of troops and went out of the city to climb the mountain, in order to find the old river channel of fertilizer and water to see if it could be dredged.

Huo Jun beckoned left and right to bring water to Sima Zhi, and asked, "Zihua, can fertilizer water and water application pass?" ”

Sima Zhi drank a few sips of water and said: "Guo Ruzi said that there is an old river between fertilizer and Shi Ershui. During the Qin and Han dynasties, the fertilizer and water of the north and south gathered, the money and grain of Jianghuai, and the leather wood of Wuyue were interconnected through the river, which was really a temporary metropolis. ”

The ancients chose the names of the cities, in order to make them easy to distinguish, often simple and rude. It is mostly named after the topography of mountains and rivers. For example, because of the name of Luoyang, the city is located in the north of Luoshui; The name of Xiangyang is because the city is in the north of Xiangshui.

The name of Hefei is also derived from fertilizer water. The fertilizer water in the south of the west and the fertilizer water in the east converge, and the city was built nearby, so it was named Hefei. However, with the changes of the times, the river channel that can make the two rivers communicate has disappeared and dried up, and only by re-dredging can the name of Hefei be recreated.

As he spoke, Sima Zhi broke off the branches, outlined the river channel on the ground, and said: "Dudu, although Shi and Fei Ershui are only separated from the General Ridge, the mountains are steep and difficult to dredge and excavate. Zhi visited for a long time, looked at the old river waterway, and thought that it should be interconnected in Yanghu Lake. ”

"Yanghu?"

Huo Jun thought for a long time and said: "Yanghu Lake is located in the northeast of Shishui, and the two waters are far apart, can it be passed?" ”

"No!"

Sima Zhi drew a peony on the ground and said: "Yanghu Lake can be interconnected with Shishui, and the waterway in the middle is called Shishui Zhijin. Yangquan is not connected with fertile water, but there is Yan Jian water in the middle, and Yan Jian water comes from Shaobei. ”

"When Uncle Sun Ao, repair Shaobei, lead Yanjian water into Yang Lake, apply water to Zhijin and Yang Lake, so through two waters and one lake, water and fertilizer water access, and then pass through Shaobi to the vicinity of Shouchun."

"However, since the war, Shaobi has been silted up, and the Yanjian water has dried up; The river channel has been repaired, and the water of the Shishui Zhijin River has gradually decreased, so the river has been abandoned for decades! ”

The Feishui Canal is greatly affected by the Shaobi water, which was rich in water before the Sui Dynasty, which can ensure the passage of the Feishui Canal. However, after the Sui and Tang dynasties, the water level in Shaobi fell, and the Feishui Canal was gradually abandoned, and even if the river was repaired, it could not be used.

Huo Jun stared at the waterway map on the ground and said, "If you can lead the Shaobi water to Yang Lake, so that the Erfei water can be accessed." When the Yangtze River boats, go to Chaohu Lake into the fertilizer water, and from the fertilizer water to Shaobei, will be able to reach the longevity of spring! ”

Huo Jun pulled up Sima Zhi, who was squatting on the ground, and said with a smile: "Huaidong leads to the ditch, and Huaixi sparses the old road." At that time, during the Northern Expedition, Wu Chu's military rations could be transported to the Huai River by boat, and the Central Plains would not be safe! ”

"Exactly!"

Sima Zhi nodded excitedly and said: "If the waterway is accessible, the naval army ships enter Shaobei, and the enemy is afraid of our army's sailors, and they will not dare to march south easily, Lu'an, Hefei Ke'an!" ”

Wherever Wu Chu's boat can go, it will be the front line of Jianghuai. If the old river channel of Feishui is dredged, it means that the sailor boat can be driven to Shaobei, and the sailor base can be built in Shaobei, and the Jianghuai front can advance more than 100 miles from Hefei to the north.

In addition to being affected by the drop in water levels in winter, Huo Jun wanted to fight Shouchun. The initiative in the entire Jianghuai battlefield will be in the hands of Huo Jun, and Xiahoudun will only be beaten except to be beaten.

Huo Jun pondered a little and said: "The repair of the river is a matter of Zihua's exploration. Zihua was in charge, and Jun sent sergeants to help, and he must dredge the river as soon as possible. ”

"No!"

During the conversation, the attendant announced: "Governor, Captain Tuntian asks to see!" ”

Huo Jun went to the prestige and saw Huo Fan wearing armor and sword waiting for the summons more than ten steps away.

"Let him come!"

"No!"

"Fan crossed the river to recruit people on the order of the governor, and now he has recruited more than 2,000 households from Jianghuai, and he has come back and forth to the governor." Huo Fan arched his hand and said.

JAC withered, in order to resume production. Huo Jun sent a letter to Wuhan, and Huaidong and Huaixi each recruited thousands of people for the use of Tuntian. Huaixi's Tuntian task, Huo Jun handed over to Huo Fan to be responsible.

Huo Jun saw that Huo Fan had completed the task, and his physique had become a little stronger, and he said with satisfaction: "Now is the right time, Mr. Zihua dredges the Feishui River." You led the people of the tent to live by the water, helped the gentleman to dredge the waterways, and cultivated the fields among the acres. Will you receive the command? ”

"Fan is willing to receive the order of the governor." Huo Fan Zhengse said.

"Good!"

Huo Jun patted Huo Fan on the shoulder and said: "Waterways and agriculture are not trivial. The world is in turmoil, the people are withering, and it is often difficult for military rations to reach the front line. ”

Huo Fan's expression was relieved, and he said, "Du Du's words, Fan should remember them." Supervising the people to cultivate can also sharpen the ability to command the army, and Fan does not dare to forget the teachings of the governor. ”

Huo Fan and Guan Ping, Liu Feng, Tai Shiheng and others can be said to be the older group in the second generation, except for Huo Fan who often transports grain for the army or works in Tuntian, the rest of the second-generation generals have long commanded the army.

Although Huo Fan envied those people, he also knew the deep meaning of Huo Jun's arrangement, and he could often remember the teachings and calm down to do things.

Looking at Huo Fan's retreating back, Sima Zhi stroked his beard and said with a smile: "The governor is both civil and military, and the scholar has the teachings of the governor, and he will become a great weapon in the future." ”

Huo Jun stroked the hilt of the sword and said with a smile: "Shizai has studied with you since he was a child, and it should be the work of Mr. to become a great weapon." Mr. Jin supervised the soldiers to dredge the river, and should teach more soldiers. After the success, Jun Dang recommended Mr. to the lord. ”

"Don't dare!"

Tomorrow the battle of Jiangzhou

(End of chapter)