At the time of feeding, the Han army sent elite soldiers to attack Huaiyin City on all sides.

The north gate was broken, and the three gates were attacked by the Han army. Zhu Guang knew that the general trend was about to go, so he gave up resistance with the army Weihe, and led more than 10,000 soldiers and civilians to surrender.

At the beginning of the day, the Huaiyin city was cleared, and all the captured Cao soldiers were relocated outside the city to prevent any remnants from taking advantage of the opportunity to cause chaos.

In the humble official building, Huo Jun and the generals in the army gathered.

"Governor, our army has captured more than 2,500 thieves and more than 7,000 farmers and men and women, what should we do now?" Gao Xiang asked, "How do you march now?" ”

Huo Jun wandered around the main seat, flipping through Zhu Guang's documents and classics at will, wanting to see if there was any precious information.

Browsing the Huaiyin map in Zhu Guang's hand, Huo Jun said: "Huaiyin is located in the south of Huaishui, curbing the entry and exit of the ditch and shielding Huaidong; To the north of Huaiyin, it is the estuary of the Huaishui River that injects into Surabaya, which is called Sikou and controls the entry and exit of Surabaya; To the west of Huaiyin, adjacent to Zhongli, it is five or six hundred miles away from Shouchun. ”

Therefore, Huaiyin is a place with dangerous terrain and waterway transportation, and its weight can be compared with Shouchun. Therefore, from a certain point of view, the captive Cao Sergeant can now be moved south to Guangling, married a widow, and settled on the spot; Thousands of men and women of the captured farmers were selected for resettlement in abandoned counties. ”

"As for the march, there is no hurry for the time being!"

After defeating Huaiyin, Huo Jun's first thing was not to discuss the future use of troops, but to emphasize the importance of Huaiyin to the Jianghuai generals and raise the importance of Huaiyin to the same level as Shouchun.

In terms of the importance of terrain, Huaiyin is not much worse than Shouchun. With Huaiyin, you can look north at Xiapi and Pengcheng; With Shouchun, we can go to the Central Plains. But in terms of politics, military and economy, Huaiyin is far less important than Shouchun.

After all, Xuzhou withered, was slaughtered by Cao Cao, Lu Bu and Liu Bei appeared to fight, Huo Jun went north to plunder the people, and there are not many people so far. And if there are many people, there are more than these horses guarding Huaiyin.

At present, there are not many people in the Surabaya Valley, and it is difficult to cross hundreds of miles to support and supply Huaiyin City. Therefore, Cao Cao only sent troops to build Huaiyin at the beginning, and really relied on Xiapi City.

Looking at the importance of Huaiyin and Shouchun again, occupying Huaiyin, you can look at Qing and Xu Erzhou. If Huaiyin is unstable, even if the southern regime takes Xuzhou, it will be unstable.

The southern regime wanted to cross the Yangtze River and occupy the vast Central Plains. It is necessary to rely on fulcrums and hubs to leverage the Central Plains. Compared with Huaibei, where four waters are injected into Huaishui. The only connection between Huaishui and the Yangtze River is Chaohu Lake and Hangou Ershui.

The city that maintains the security of the two waters, from the south to the north, the Chaofei Canal is Hefei, Shouchun two cities, and the ditch is Sheyang, Huaiyin. Therefore, when Huaiyin is stable, it can be said that the ditch is safe, and the Northern Expedition Qingxu can be without worries.

In history, the battle of Qingkou, which is comparable to the Chibi of the Three Kingdoms in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, actually took place in Huaiyin, Sikou of the Han Dynasty, and Qingkou of Liang.

Xu Sheng comprehended Huo Jun's deep meaning and said: "The intention of the governor, but he wants to move the deployment of Sheyang City to Huaiyin. In the future, Huaiyin City will be used as a barrier in Huaidong, so as to greatly prosper Huaidong. ”

"Exactly!"

Huo Jun bowed his head slightly and said: "In the past, Huaiyin was abandoned because of the lack of troops, and the main force was in Bashu. In desperation, he had no choice but to retreat to shoot the sun and plot Huaishui. Today, the army is on the northern expedition, wrestling with Huaishui, and Huaiyin is indispensable. If there is no Huaiyin, there is no Huaidong; Without Huaidong, it is difficult to go north. ”

The arduous task of the Northern Expedition far exceeded everyone's imagination. Jianghuai's once rich land turned into a deserted place, he went all the way north, except for the two counties governed by Liu Ji, there were no people for hundreds of miles.

If you want to cross the northern expedition of the Jianghuai no man's land, it is extremely difficult. If you want to go north to Qingxu, you can only make progress slowly and slowly restore the vitality of Jianghuai. Previously, production resumed within two or three hundred miles of Jiangbei, and production will resume in the Huaishui basin next.

Fortunately, although Jianghuai is sparsely populated, the land is fertile. If there are people to live in, within a few years, Jianghuai will gradually become populated.

After a pause, Huo Jun ordered: "From now on, Sergeant Yang will be moved to Huaiyin, and Wen Xiang will be stationed in the future." I will divide 5,000 troops with you, and I must hold Huaiyin and control the transportation of Hangou. ”

"Huaiyin, there is Daze, fertile fields for thousands of miles. If it is properly rectified, the army and the people are solid, and there is no need for Jiangzuo to be transferred, such a city cannot be served by Wenxiang. Huo Jun reminded: "Huaiyin City is small, and it is difficult to build a new city. ”

Huaiyin is the future Huai'an, although Huaiyin in the Han Dynasty did not have Hongze Lake, but the prototype of Hongze Lake is already there, and the large and small lakes are distributed around the city. If Xu Sheng governs well, it will not be difficult to revive Huaiyin City.

Xu Sheng lifted his spirits and said: "Sheng will live up to the expectations of the governor." ”

"Governor, Zhu Guangjin is outside the house, did you let him come in and ask questions?" Ding Feng said.

"Good!"

Huo Jun beckoned to sit with everyone and let Zhu Guang enter the house.

"Zhu Guang has seen the prince!" Zhu Guang lowered his head, as if he felt ashamed.

Huo Jun sat on the seat and said with a smile: "When he was in Hefei, Jun sent a letter to persuade the general to surrender, but the general left overnight. Break Huaiyin today, and finally get the general! ”

Zhu Guang looked sideways and sighed, and said: "After repeatedly defeating the hands of the monarch and marquis, the light has nothing to say. only hates Huaiyin's outnumbered soldiers, and it is difficult to stop the monarch's strategy of attacking the west. ”

Regarding Zhu Guang's words, Huo Jun didn't want to refute anything. Although there is a strategy in this battle, it is true that he can conquer Huaiyin because he has more soldiers and bullies fewer soldiers.

Huo Jun asked the attendant to put the chair on the table and asked, "I don't know if the general knows the truth of Xiapi and Shouchun?" ”

Zhu Guang hesitated for a moment and said: "Guang has heard a little, although the light is lower than your army today, it is difficult for Guang to serve the prince and marquis, and he waved to his colleagues. ”

"Don't worry!"

Seeing that Zhu Guang had a bottom line, Huo Jun smiled and said: "If the general knows everything, I can say that the general died in battle and let the general move to Wuhan." ”

"Thank you, Marquis!"

After thinking about it for a long time, Zhu Guang said: "Those who go down, Zang Ba and Sun Guan are in charge, and there are nearly 20,000 soldiers and horses. The city of Xiapi is solid, and the water of the king of the former Wei Dynasty is broken. However, due to years of war, Xiapi County has long been withered, with less than 10,000 households, and only 2 or 3,000 households between Huaiyin and Xiapi for hundreds of miles. ”

"As far as Guang knows, the king of Wei ordered the two of them to clear the wall and clear the wilderness, and gather the people into the city, but it is expected that there is not much grain, grass and people along the way. If the prince wants to take off Pi, he should prepare more grain, otherwise he will retreat because of the lack of food. ”

"To the north of Xiapi, there are many people in Taishan, Langya and other counties, but there are also a lot of garrison soldiers and horses. Now the general captures Pi, the soldiers and horses of Qingyan Erzhou will come to the aid from the east and west, if the prince wants to enter Pi, he should be careful. ”

Cao Cao slaughtered the people of Xuzhou, but the counties in the northern part of Xu escaped and were not poisoned by Cao Cao, and the number of people was larger than that of the southern Xu region.

"What about Shouchun's defense?" Huo Jun asked.

Zhu Guang pondered a little and said: "There are 20,000 soldiers and horses in Shouchun, and Xiahoudun and Wen Hui are in charge. Shouchun has Yuzhou as a aid, I heard the letter, the king of Wei should lead an army of 100,000 to the south. The north of Shouchun City is close to Bagong Mountain, the east is close to Feishui, the west is close to Huaishui, although it is humid when the rain is in full bloom, but it is difficult to flood. ”

"Huh?"

Ding Feng was slightly puzzled and said: "Shouchun has four waters around the city, why is it difficult to say that it is difficult to decide Shouchun?" ”

Jiang Ji stroked his beard and explained: "Although Shouchun is surrounded by three rivers, Ying, Huai and Fei, it floods all year round and faces rivers on all sides. However, when the city was built, there was heavy drainage, and there was a moat embankment outside, and there was a drainage gate inside. Unless there is a hundred years of flooding, it is difficult for Shouchun to have floods. ”

Saying that, Jiang Ji looked solemn and said: "Dudu, Shouchun City is more than three zhang high, the city is tall, facing water on all sides, the king wants to take Shouchun, I'm afraid it is not easy." ”

Shouchun can become an ancient city through the ages, but it is not blown out, but built on the ground.

With the two cities of Hanshui, Xiangfan formed a mother city and became a dangerous city in the world; With its unique city structure, Shouchun uses fertilizer water as a moat, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and to contain the north and south.

Historically, Chai Rong raised troops to conquer the Southern Tang Dynasty, and the Shouzhou City besieged was Shouchun City. After a long attack, Chai Rong had to send troops to take the Jianghuai states. The city of Shouzhou was trapped to the point of being depleted of ammunition and food, and finally went out of the city and surrendered.

After all, when a city is not afraid of flooding, there are really not many ways to do it. Even if Wu Mingche caused fertilizer and flooded Shouchun, it only made Shouchun bitter and damp in the city, and there were many diseases. To really break Shouchun, Wu Mingche seized the opportunity of the enemy's stagnation and personally led the army to break through the city.

Huo Jun remained silent and said: "The king lifts heavy troops to Shouchun, and there are filial piety, Zijing, and Shiyuan, so there should be a strategy against the enemy." As a partial army, our army can stabilize the king's flank. ”

That being said, Huo Jun also had a headache. Both regimes were firmly established in the south and invaded the north, and there was only the chaotic north and south dynasties. But there has never been a successful example.

During the Liu Song Dynasty, except for Liu Yu, he fought from Qingxu to Guanzhong. His son's Yuanjia Northern Expedition, the vertical territory is far larger than the current Southern Han Dynasty, and the three Yuanjia Northern Expeditions were ultimately defeated.

Touching his mustache, Huo Jun said: "Now that the Huaishui has been opened, send someone to send the boat and the king, and convey the current battle report of our army." Please give the king an order to let our army go north, or go west to Shouchun and join the king. ”

"No!"

"Governor, then when it comes to now, our army is resting in Huaiyin?" Gao Xiang asked.

"Refresh?"

Huo Jun shook his head and said, "Although Huaiyin is broken, it is not the time to rest. Now we should take Xuyi and Zhongli and block the whirlpool waters. Prevent the enemy from trying to move south from the whirlpool, and attack the king from the east, or attack our army from the west. ”

The four waters of the Central Plains, Huaiyin plugged Surabaya, Shouchun blocked Yingshui, and Zhongli blocked the vortex water. Now that Huaiyin is taken, it is natural to take Zhongli and build a Huaishui defense line.

"Where is Gao Xiang?"

"The last general!" Gao Xiang commanded.

"You lead the troops and horses of your headquarters to fetch Zhongli, and it is expected that the king's 70,000 army will respond, and Zhongli City can easily get down. After conquering Zhongli City, strengthen the city defense on the spot. Huo Jun commanded.

"Governor!"

Jiang Ji interrupted: "The whirlpool water passes through Yuzhou and enters the Huaishui from Qiaojun. Why don't you let General Gao garrison Zhongli and order someone to go up against the vortex to investigate the military situation and battle report. ”

"Commandery?"

Huo Jun reacted suddenly, knocked on the case, and said with a smile: "Feng Lu can follow Zitong's words, send troops to Zhongli, and send someone to investigate Qianjun." ”

Qian County is not a big county, it is nothing more than Cao Cao's hometown. Qian County is five or six hundred miles away from Huaishui, and ordinary exploration is not detectable, just to see if there is an opportunity to take advantage of.

"Zitong, today I also sent people into Surabaya to explore the Surabaya Basin." Huo Jun commanded.

"No!"

(End of chapter)