When Cao Cao gathered his troops to the south, Huo Jun traveled thousands of miles by boat to Jiangdu County in Jiangbei and gathered 30,000 soldiers.

When Huo Jun arrived in Jiangdu, Gao Xiang, Yu Shao, Quan Cong, Jiang Ji, Ding Feng, Zhong Lifei and other generals each led their troops and horses. With the cooperation of the generals, Huo Jun spent two or three days familiarizing himself with the situation of each department, and then took a boat into the ditch.

The ditch is dredged by using lakes, natural channels, and artificial canals along the way. It diverts the water of the Yangtze River into the river in the south, turns to the northeast and enters the Yang Lake, and then changes to the northwest after leaving the Yang Lake, and communicates with the Huaishui in Huaiyin.

The waterways of the ditches dug in this way twist and turn, shuttling between lakes and rivers. Since Yuan Shu troubled Jianghuai, the ditch has not been dredged for a long time, and there is silting in many places, coupled with the sinister wind and waves of Sheyang Lake, the ditch is rarely passed.

After Yuan Shu's army was defeated and killed, Jianghuai got a short period of peace, and Chen Deng, who was the Taishou of Guangling, chiseled Ma Se and dredged the Hangou route of Sheyang Lake for hundreds of miles, and at the same time used Hangou as a river weir to irrigate farmland to ensure the peace of the people.

However, with the departure of Chen Deng, Guangling was plundered by the Sun family, and under the war, the people fled south to Jiangdong, and Guangling County was mostly deserted.

After Huo Jun took Hefei in the north, from the 17th year of Jian'an, he strongly advocated the restoration of the Jianghuai region, and did not hesitate to recruit people from Jiangdong to go north to revive the Jianghuai region.

Under this, Liu Ji served as the Taishou of Guangling and restored Gaoyou and Hailing counties; Xu Sheng led the headquarters of the tent to move the town to Sheyang City, relying on the stormy Sheyang Lake to resist the attack of the Taishan Kou.

On the second day of departure from Jiangdu, Huo Jun took a boat to Sheyang City, and Xu Sheng personally greeted him.

Sheyang City, official residence.

"Haha!"

Xu Sheng invited Huo Jun to the throne and said with a smile: "The last general will sit in Sheyang City, idle for several years, and will not be allowed to fight." Now the governor of the capital has led the troops in person, and it is the time for us to make meritorious contributions. ”

Huo Jun sat on the couch and said with a smile: "Sitting on the frontier, only the general cannot be appointed." Guangling was rebuilt, when it was thanks to the merit of Wen to the imperial border. Today, Huaishui uses troops, and he should rely on Jun'er! ”

"Hey, hey!"

Xu Sheng was not polite to Huo Jun, the old leader, and said with a sneer: "In this Northern Expedition, I hope that the governor can entrust him with important tasks." ”

"Wen Xiang!"

Gao Xiang pretended to be dissatisfied, and said loudly: "If you want to receive a heavy responsibility, have you asked me to wait?" ”

"Governor, don't be biased!" Ding Feng shouted.

After laughing with his subordinates, Huo Jun pressed down with his hands, signaled everyone to be quiet, and asked, "Wen Xiangjiuzhen shoots the sun, do you know Huaiyin?" ”

"Sheng Duo has a probe!"

Xu Sheng presented the map and said: "Governor, since Cao Cao's southern expedition, Shouchun has been an important town, and Xiahoudun himself is in charge. Three years ago, Xiahou ordered the general Zhu Guang to lead thousands of soldiers and civilians out of the town of Huaiyin, Sheng wanted to raise troops to fight, but Zang Ba led the army to support, the enemy was outnumbered, Sheng retreated to defend Sheyang. ”

"Since Zhu Guangfu built Huaiyin, he has borrowed acres of fertile land and opened up rice fields, thinking that it was military food, and gradually became a climate. If it is a few years old, it will become a big town, and it will curb the way of our army to the north, and it is advisable to get rid of it as soon as possible. ”

Before Huo Jun broke Hefei, the sergeants swept through Jianghuai and briefly occupied Huaiyin City. However, Jianghuai was too vast, and Huaiyin was too close to Wei, and Jianghuai had few soldiers and horses at that time, and it was difficult to hold on. Under Cao Cao's southern tour, Huo Jun gathered the displaced people and moved the battle line to Sheyang.

In the next five or six years, Cao Cao established a military town with Yiyang, Shouchun, and Huaiyin as the castles, and its Huaishui defense line gradually took shape. Now Huo Jun's Northern Expedition is precipitous, and the first thing is to break Huaiyin, and then contact Liu Bei through Huaishui.

Huo Jun looked at Huaiyin on the map and said, "If you want to go north to take Xuzhou, you have to go to Huaiyin." There must be Huaiyin, you can enter Surabaya, and you have to look at Pi; Retreat can be based on the city, according to the danger of Huaishui, back the power of Huaidong, and retreat to Huaibei. ”

The position of Huaiyin is very critical, controlling Sikou. Only by breaking through Huaiyin City can Huo Jun consider going north to defeat Pi, or advancing west to join Liu Bei to meet Cao Cao.

After a pause, Huo Jun asked, "Wen Xiang, what is the terrain of Huaiyin today?" What is the distance from Zang Ba's department? ”

"Someone!"

Xu Sheng got up and greeted and said, "Lift the sand table!" ”

Under Xu Sheng's greeting, several sergeants struggled to carry the sand table into the hall.

"Governor!"

Xu Sheng led Huo Jun to the sand table and said, "Since Sheng Shou shot the sun, he has wanted to break the Huaiyin for a long time. It has been a year since the sand table was made, and now it is the time to use force, and I invite the governor to take a look. ”

While talking, he saw a small city standing on a sand table, which was built by the water, and the north and east sides were facing the water.

Xu Sheng pointed to the city and said: "This city was built by the Qin Dynasty, and the city is small and evil, and it is difficult to house large soldiers. At first, Zhu Guang wanted to build a big city, but he was attacked by Sheng, so he didn't dare to build a big city. Today, take a boat into Huaishui, you can go to Huaiyin City. ”

Saying that, Xu Sheng added: "Zang Ba took the position of Xuzhou Assassin History, stationed troops under Pi, and supervised Huaiyin. If Huaiyin is attacked today, Zang Ba will lead his troops and horses to the south to rescue, and our army should be careful. ”

Huo Jun looked at Huaiyin City, revealing a thoughtful look.

"Governor, why don't you follow the policy of besieging Hefei and besieging the city to help. Lure Zang Ba to the south, the governor led the elite to welcome it, if you can defeat Zang Ba's soldiers and horses, not only Huaiyin can go down, but also Xiapi can also be expected! Gao Xiang suggested.

"Does Zitong have a plan?" Huo Jun asked.

Jiang Ji pondered for a while and said: "Zang Ba shoulders the responsibility of guarding Xuzhou, and the governor of Xiaoxiao is here in person, so he will take it as a warning, how dare he risk going south." And although Huaiyin is heavy, the city is narrow, located in Huainan, leading the troops down, difficult to rescue. ”

"Ji thought that Zang Ba wanted to borrow Huaiyin's hand and consume the strength of our army. When our army is tired and I don't know whether I want to pull out Huaiyin, I will personally lead the army south, so as to contain our army. ”

The negative case of encirclement and reinforcement should be represented by Zhuge Ke's battle of Xincheng. Sima Fu did not move in Shouchun, Zhuge Kefei thought about fighting reinforcements, and in the end, not only did the army not take Hefei, but even Sima Fu's figure was not seen.

Therefore, whether to use the strategy of besieging the city to help, it is necessary to judge whether the enemy reinforcements have a real idea of rescue. Otherwise, if you feint to attack the city, let the soldiers in the city defend their confidence, and the city will not be easy to fight.

After a little hesitation, Gao Xiang said: "Zang Ba is the assassin of Xuzhou and supervises Huaiyin, how can he not save Huaiyin?" If he didn't save him, Cao Cao would punish him. ”

Jiang Ji shook his head and said, "Although Huaiyin is heavy, compared to Xiapi, it is not a place that must be protected. If the next Pi is lost, Pengcheng can be seen in the west, and Langya can be seen in the east. Seeing that Zang Ba may borrow Huaiyin City to consume the spirit of our army. ”

Jiang Ji was able to come to this conclusion, not by guessing, but by having a basis.

Huo Jun led 30,000 troops to the north, and the morale of the army was high, and he was bound to win as soon as possible. Under this, using Huaiyin City to dissipate Huo Jun's morale is the best way.

After all, the success of the Battle of Hefei lies in Huo Jun's preparation to store water and flood the city. Now that there is no water available, it is necessary to gnaw Huaiyin City. In such a situation, Zang Ba will inevitably adopt a more stable plan.

"How should the governor make a decision now?" Xu Sheng asked.

Huo Jun paced around the sand table and said, "If you don't overcome Huaiyin today, it will be difficult to enter Huaishui." If it is difficult to enter the Huaishui, the king's flanks are in danger. The Northern Expedition took Shouchun as the upper and the lower Pi as the second. And even if Zang Ba is defeated, it will be difficult to conquer the position of the next Pi. ”

Siege the city for reinforcements, or choose to attack the city directly, just look at the goal of this battle. In this Northern Expedition, Huo Jun, as a partial army, naturally had to cooperate with Liu Bei to fight.

And if you have an in-depth understanding of the geographical location and city defense of Xiapi City, you can generally know that even if you defeat Zang Ba, Xiapi City is not so easy to fight. Unless you learn from Cao Cao, you will break Surabaya and drown Pi.

However, Xiapi is located three or four hundred miles away from Huaibei, and Huo Jun raises troops to the north, so he is vulnerable to being surrounded by heavy troops.

Huo Jun looked up at Xu Sheng and said, "Where is Xu Sheng?" ”

"The last general!"

"Order you to be the vanguard, and lead the troops into Huaiyin City tomorrow. I led the army to the rear, and I should break through Huaiyin as soon as possible, not as Zang Ba intended. ”

"No!" The crowd answered.

The next day, Huo Jun set out from Sheyang County and headed for Huaiyin City.

At the same time, Zang Ba was in Xiapi City, and not only received Cao Cao's edict, but also received Zhu Guang's intelligence.

In the hall, Zang Ba recruited Sun Guan and Yin Li to discuss military affairs.

Zang Ba let the two of them browse Huaiyin's information and said, "Huo Jun led 30,000 soldiers to the north to take Huaiyin City. What should be done now, and whether it is according to the king's orders? ”

Sun Guan flipped through the information, frowned and said: "Huo Jun is proficient in the art of war, and even the king is also afraid. Today, he led the army to the north, and the momentum was in full swing, so it was not appropriate to rush south and engage in battle. From the point of view, when following the king's order, it is advisable to first strengthen the wall and clear the wilderness, and protect the lower Pi as the top. ”

Yin Li grinned and said: "Huaiyin is guarded by Zhu Guang, and he is not my Taishan brother." You can let him defend the city first, and when Huo Jun is exhausted for a long time, he can send troops to rescue, and he can get a great success! ”

Zang Ba frowned slightly, and said: "The king said that the wall was clear, but he said nothing to let my army stand still. Huaiyin City is small and outnumbered, if you know that our army does not save it, it will be difficult to hold it for a long time. ”

Sun Guan pondered for a long time and said: "The assassin can send a letter to Zhu Guang, saying that reinforcements have been sent, and the king is coming soon, let him stick to it and wait for help." At the same time, Guan led the sergeant to slowly move south, and the assassin led the army behind, and if Huo Jun had an ambush, there was an assassin to respond. ”

"After Huaiyin holds on for more than a month, the king will lead the army to the south, and he will definitely divide his troops to the east, and the assassin will lead the army south. Under the heavy rescue, Huaiyin City is not broken by Huo Jun, and the siege of Huaiyin will be relieved! ”

Under Huo Jun's prestige, almost no generals dared to underestimate him. Especially Taishan Zhukou, under the many battles with Huo Jun, not only won few victories, but also suffered many losses in their own troops. Now he doesn't dare to confront Huo Jun hard, so he can only be careful and complete the tasks assigned by Cao Cao.

Such a cautious psychology was judged by Huo Jun and Jiang Ji that if there was a siege and reinforcements, it would be mostly in vain, and there would be delay.

Zang Ba stroked his beard and said, "From Zhongtai's words, Jun will lead the sergeants south, and I will lead the army to meet behind." At the same time, the policy of strengthening the wall and clearing the wilderness is carried out, and the bottom is guaranteed to be the top. Another shrewd person was chosen to enter the city, so that Zhu Guang must stick to the rest of the month. And the king's soldiers are coming, and the danger of the siege will be eliminated! ”

"Good!"

(End of chapter)