On 3 April, Huo Juntun was stationed in Gongxian County and sent an infantry army to search for boats along the upper and lower reaches of the river. At the same time, he sent Ding Feng to lead six or seven hundred cavalry to the west deep into the whirlpool basin, search for boats and boats, and make signs that the army was moving south from the whirlpool and the two rivers.

On that day, many of the scholars in the two rivers were disturbed, and with the connivance of Huo Jun, the officials of Huaibei reported to the army in Shouchun, saying that Huo Jun was active in Xuan County.

At dawn on April 4, Quan Cong led 1,000 soldiers, taking advantage of the fact that Xu Huang, Xiahou Shang and his subordinate Wei soldiers had no time to stop them, and took advantage of the flow of water from Huanshui into Huaishui, crossed Huaishui from Hukou, and then marched to Zhongli City in the west.

Seeing that Quan Cong had crossed the Huaishui, Xu Huang became more and more convinced that Huo Jun might cross the river from Hukou, so he sent Hou Cavalry to the army to pass the news of Quan Cong's crossing to Cao Cao.

At noon, Zhong Lishou took Zhong Lifei to Quan Cong's headquarters, and then sent out his cavalry to escort Quan Cong to the camp.

When the cavalry of the two sides passed the news, Sun Guanmo finally arrived in Fuli, learned that Huo Jun was heading for Hao County, and sent scouts south to spread the news to the Wei army.

After sending scouts, Sun Guan did not dare to chase deeply, and led his troops to garrison in Fuli. However, Sun Guan and his sergeants, who did not pursue, not only did not dare to pursue, but they were also not at ease when they were stationed in Fuli.

Knowing that Huo Jun opened a warehouse to divide the money and grain, Fu Li took all the boats from the people. Sun Guan's subordinates, who were greedy for money, forced the people of Fuli to hand over the boats and recover the lost money and grain in the treasury in the name of secretly hiding weapons.

In the face of the plundering of Sun Guan and his subordinates, how could the people of Fuli be willing to hand over the property in their hands, there was no shortage of conflicts, or disputes of words, or hiding the boats together as much as possible.

In order to suppress the dissatisfaction of the people and satisfy the appetite of his subordinate soldiers, Sun Guan used the sword in his hand to force Fu to leave the people.

On the shore of Suishui, Sun Sheng stood proudly in front of the people and said, "The boats and boats in your hands belong to the enemy's equipment, and they must all be recovered. And the money and grain in your hands are the money that was lost in the treasury, and it must be recovered today. ”

The old man stood in front of the villagers on crutches and asked, "There are not many treasury in the city, and we have not shared much money. The number of things the general said was too much, far more than the number of the treasury, so how could we and other poor people get so much money and food? ”

"Why?"

Dozens of civilians gathered to shout, very dissatisfied with Sun Sheng's exploitation.

The old man knocked on the ground with his cane and said in a deep voice: "I have a nephew who serves in the army of the king, and I should tell him about today's affairs to see if the king can make decisions for my fellow villagers in the county." ”

"This~"

Listening to the old man's semi-threatening words, the two dozen or so sergeants who accompanied Sun Sheng were worried.

The attendant leaned into Sun Sheng's ear and muttered: "The king was born in Qian County, although Fu is thousands of miles away from Qian County, but it is inevitable that there will be acquaintances for people from the same county. Now it's better to let go of the old puppet and take more money and food from others. ”

Sun Sheng, as a relative of Sun Guan, is shrewd and highly regarded by Sun Guan. However, he is also greedy for money, and often leads his soldiers to steal property.

"If you really have something to do with the king, how can you be willing to spit out money and boats? The old man should be intimidating us, and he must not be fooled. ”

Sun Sheng stared at the old man, sneered, and asked, "Business is on the top, even the king and the king must not be disobeyed." ”

As he spoke, Sun Sheng stroked the hilt of his sword and said sharply, "What kind of position do you have in the water thieves?" Is it a water thief? ”

The old man looked nervous and said, "I have lived in Fuli for generations, how can I have anything to do with the water thieves?" ”

The corners of Sun Sheng's mouth raised slightly, and he said: "Don't collude with the water thieves, why did Huo Jun share the money with you, and let you wait to get all the boats." ”

"The old man doesn't know Huo Jun, don't slander the old man." The old man shouted.

"At that time, you will not only know Huo Jun, but even the puppet king Liu Bei." Sun Sheng stared at the old man and sneered, and said, "Someone will arrest him and let me interrogate him personally." ”

"No!"

"If you plunder the people, if you let the King of Wei know that you will be subject to military law." The old man's arms were grabbed by the sergeant, and he shouted.

"Humph!"

Sun Sheng smiled disdainfully and muttered, "King Wei used to dig graves and slaughter people, can An accuse me of waiting?" ”

Sun Guan stopped and indulged the sergeants to force the people to pay the excess money and grain in the name of paying the enemy's funds, which caused the dissatisfaction of the people. However, under the sword, the people of Fuli lowered their heads after all, and did not dare to resist.

Everything that happened in Fu Li was secretly detected by the scouts arranged by Yu Shao, and they secretly rode a horse to report to Huo Jun in Tunbing County.

On 5 April, more than two days had passed since Huo Juntun Bingbei County, and Cao and Liu had received their respective corresponding information one after another.

Bagong Mountain, the camp of the Han army.

In the big tent, Fa Zheng, Pang Tong and others were calculating the direction of Huo Jun's department based on the existing information.

Liu Bei was uneasy, pacing in the big tent, listening to the words of everyone's speculation, and a little irritable.

Since Huo Jun's back road was intercepted and he lost the news of his department, Liu Bei was both ashamed and annoyed. annoyed that he confronted Cao Cao, was deceived by Cao Cao, and made the general fall into the enemy's territory; is ashamed of Huo Jun, if he didn't have his military order, he was full of confidence, how could Huo Jun lead his troops to the north.

This also reminded Liu Bei of seventeen years ago, when he killed the car and occupied Xuzhou. ordered Guan Yu to defend Xiapi, and led the army to resist Cao's army.

Unexpectedly, he was defeated by Cao Cao's surprise attack, and ran to Yuan Shao in defeat, resulting in Guan Yu being captured by Cao Cao. If it weren't for Guan Yu's loyalty, he really wouldn't have seen Guan Yu.

Could it be that Xia Pi really became the place where he lost his love?

In those few days, Liu Beizhen couldn't sleep at night, and he felt sorry for Huo Jun in his heart.

When there were rumors in the army that Huo Jun had betrayed him, Liu Bei did not hesitate to order the beheading of the rumor-mongers, and said, 'Alone Zhong Miao, Zhong Miao lives up to his loneliness'.

Huo Du personally went to the camp to beg Liu Bei to rescue Huo Jun, and Liu Bei personally caressed Huo Du, saying that even if he did not overcome Shouchun, he would also rescue Huo Jun.

In the meantime, Liu Bei, according to the suggestion of Pang Tong and Fa Zheng, assigned the generals to move downstream, let Tai Shiheng lead his troops eastward, support Xu Sheng in Sikou, let Zhao Yun divide Tu Mountain, control Huaishui danger, and search for Huo Jun's traces.

In the past few days, with Cao Cao's transfer of troops, this made Liu Bei less anxious. After all, Cao Cao's troops and horses were constantly mobilized, which can show that Huo Jun was still active and had not surrendered to Cao Cao. If the ministries are peaceful, this is a scary change.

"The king, Xu Huang personally led the sergeants to seize the Hukou, Cao Cao sent the sergeants to support, and the ministers thought that Huo Du's department should be westward, and wanted to go south from the two rivers of Hu and Whirlpool, so as to cross the Huaishui." Pang Tong said.

"Is this true?" Liu Bei asked eagerly.

Pang Tong hesitated for a moment and said: "King Qiqi, I don't dare to assert that Huo Du will cross Huai from Hukou, but Tong Shu thinks that without our army advancing westward to respond, Huo Du will be difficult to cross Huai'er!" ”

suggested that Huo Jun go north, from Pang Tong's suggestion. Now let the lord Huo Jun fall into the north, which made Pang Tong feel uncomfortable.

In the past few days, Pang Tong has almost kept an eye on Cao Cao's arrangement, and suggested Liu Bei's actions according to the movements of the Wei army, trying to help Huo Jun.

Liu Bei pondered deeply, he was fooled by Cao Cao once, and he didn't dare to make a decision on his own. Now not only does he have to save Huo Jun, but he also has to ensure that his own troops cannot be defeated by Cao Cao.

"Father!"

Liu Feng was overjoyed and said: "Huo Du's general Quan Cong, Quan Zihuang crossed the Huaishui from Hukou, and said that Huo Du's military situation was reported to the king. ”

Hearing this, Liu Bei's sad mood disappeared in an instant, and he said, "Quickly recruit Zihuang into the account." ”

"No!"

After a while, Quan Cong, under the guidance of the attendants, entered the tent to meet Liu Bei.

"The last general will meet the king!"

"No need to be polite!"

Liu Bei helped Quan Cong up and asked, "Gu Wenqing went south on Zhong Miao's order, I don't know what the situation of the army is today?" There can be Zhong Miao's letters passed down from generation to generation! ”

"King Qiyu, since Sikou was blocked by the Wei army, the generals were panicked because the back road was cut off. or those who say that they are walking and leading their cavalry to the south to cross the Huai; Or there are people who lead the boat to break the blockade and rush into the Huaishui. Huo Du forbade the generals to abandon the army on the grounds that the king had entrusted him with important tasks. ”

Quan Cong pondered his thoughts and said: "In order to confuse the Wei army, Huo Du broke through Surabaya, and the boat took advantage of the water to rise sharply and left. to Suikou, lead the boat to the west to Fuli; Abandon the boat to the west to Gongxian, and transfer the Xu Huai army to the west into Hukou. At this time, in order to get the help of the king, the governor ordered Cong to take a small boat to cross the Huai first. ”

Liu Bei exhaled turbidity, and said with emotion to the left and right: "Zhong Miao does not live up to loneliness, and loneliness does not live up to Zhong Miao!" ”

To be honest, since Liu Bei and Huo Jun have been together for more than ten years, it is impossible not to have doubted or suspected Huo Jun. But after more than ten years, Huo Jun made Liu Bei completely believe in Huo Jun's personality through his behavior.

But what if you believe? A general who is too capable of fighting, his power has been shocking for many years, and he has a deep foundation in Jianghuai, which makes Liu Bei have to worry about Huo Jun.

After succeeding to the throne, Liu Bei left the famous Huo Jun in Wuhan, which had both the intention of reuse and the idea of weakening. However, in the formation of the Southern Army, Huo Jun personally took the lead in handing over a small number of elite troops, but it all showed Huo Jun's attitude of putting public affairs first.

Now I heard that Huo Jun still remembered the king's order in a critical situation, which made Liu Bei feel very touched.

Who can be entrusted with the big things in the future?

Huo Jun bore the brunt!

Liu Bei collected his emotions and asked, "Zhong Miao wants to cross the river from Hukou?" ”

Quan Cong hesitated for a moment and said, "Yes, no!" ”

As he spoke, Quan Cong took out the scarf from the bag in his arms and said, "King Qiqi, Huo Du ordered Cong to carry two letters, one for the king and one for Xu Sheng. Xu Sheng's letter has been sent to his cronies, and the king's letter is here! ”

"Good!"

Liu Bei spread out the towel and browsed the content on it.

Although everyone was curious, they did not dare to browse because of the courtesy of the monarch and the ministers.

After half a ring, Liu Bei put away the scarf, a smile appeared on his face, and commanded: "General Zhong Miao led a large army to cross the river from the vortex and the two mouths, and he has searched for boats along the river, but I am afraid that Cao Cao will send troops to blockade it, and it is difficult to cross the Huai with few boats." Today, please lead our army to lead the water division to respond, so that the army can cross the Huai River smoothly. ”

"Great!"

The tent Chinese Wu showed joy on their faces and began to exchange ears and discuss the arrangements for the reception.

Pang Tong stroked his beard and asked, "King, the news of Huo Dutun's Bing Gong County is probably known to Cao Cao." And the whole general crossed the Huai from Hukou, with the wisdom of Cao Cao, he could expect that Huo Du wanted to go from the vortex and the two mouths, and it was not easy for our army to respond, and it was necessary to raise a large army. ”

"If the heavy troops are moved, most of the Bagong Mountain battalions will be lost. Shouchun's 50,000 enemies are afraid that they will take advantage of the situation to advance eastward and threaten our army on the flank. ”

Liu Bei pondered for a while and said: "Now Cao Cao has recognized my strategy of flooding the city with fat and water, and Shouchun is already difficult to take. However, to hinder the eastward advance of Shouchun's troops, I don't know if you can teach me a plan? ”

After Zhao Yan and Liu Ye rushed to Sikou, Cao Cao saw that the rain was not abating, and out of careful consideration for the use of troops, he asked the three armies to retreat ten miles and completely stay away from the surroundings of Shouchun.

The withdrawal of the three generals, coupled with the blockage of Huo Jun's back road, Liu Bei, Pang Tong and others knew that Cao Cao had seen through their water decision.

Fa Zheng thought for a little and said: "King, when our army has been storing fertilizer and water, it is better to break the fertilizer water, let the fertilizer water wash over both banks, the water will rise sharply, and the roads will be muddy. The king left his army on the east bank, and the attack was half-crossed, which was enough to block the enemy in Feishui. ”

"Good!"

Liu Bei walked with his hand in his hand and said: "Lone led 30,000 elite soldiers to the west, stationed troops on the opposite bank of the vortex and the second mouth, and ordered the boat and water division to enter the second water to find the traces of Zhong Miao's department. The Bagong Mountain camp was garrisoned by 30,000 soldiers led by Zijing to defend the barracks. ”

After a pause, Liu Bei asked, "The sergeant of the Guwen Army is suffering from an epidemic, what is the situation now?" ”

"King Qiyu, Shouchun is rainy, and the terrain is low-lying. Our army is in the humid water, and many of the battalions have swollen hands and feet, and many of them are infected with wind and cold. Huang Quan said worriedly: "There are hundreds of sick sergeants today, and this must be prevented. ”

Liu Bei nodded and said, "Evacuate the infected sergeant to a dry place to recuperate, and order Wu Chujia to send herbs to transport." ”

"No!" The congregation will answer.

Since the beginning of the rainy season, not only some people in Liu Bei's army have fallen ill due to the damp environment, but Cao Cao's army has become more seriously ill.

Huaibei, the camp of the Wei army.

In the camp tent in the southeast corner, Kobu's face was haggard and weak, how could he have the arrogant look he had before.

Of course, not only Kobu, but also the fireman who cooked the rice before was even more seriously ill because of his weak health.

The tent was filled with coughing and groaning in pain.

"Ahem!"

Lying on the straw mat, Kobu said with difficulty: "Doctor, my throat hurts!" ”

"It's so cold, can you give the bed a futon."

Because of the foul smell in the tent, Dr. Zhang, who had to cover his mouth and nose with a linen towel, took Kou Bu's pulse, and frowned when he saw that the symptoms were not optimistic.

Doctor Zhang's expression was cold, and he said, "This summer, there is a futon? Drink more decoction and be cured. ”

After speaking, Doctor Zhang looked at the few people in the tent again, and saw that the weak fireman only had a few breaths left, and pointed and said, "Carry this person out." ”

The two tightly wrapped Wei pawns lifted up the fireman and walked out, apparently because he was about to die, and was going to be thrown into the hut.

The few remaining people in the tent can only survive by their own immunity and the unreliable decoction.

The signs of the plague had begun to appear in the Wei army, and the germs were constantly spreading.

Does Cao Cao know?

How can you not know!

In the big tent, Cao Cao listened to the report of his subordinates, and his brows were furrowed.

"King, it rained heavily a few days ago, and there were many sergeants and soldiers with typhoid fever, and there were more than 200 dead and wounded, and the number is surging rapidly." Sima Yi reported.

Cao Cao rubbed his temples, and he only had a headache for the appearance of typhoid fever.

In the last battle of Chrysostom, due to the problem of water and mud, the sergeants suffered from epidemics. Before Huo Jun could catch it, the soldiers in the army fell ill with typhoid fever.

Cao Cao looked up at Sima Yi and asked, "Are there any sergeants in Liu Bei's army who are infected with wind cold?" ”

Sima Yi hesitated for a long time and said, "According to the scout, he has seen ships transporting herbs to the camp, and there should be sick people in the camp. ”

Cao Cao stroked his beard, squinted his eyes and said, "Zhongda, you will choose some sergeants who are suffering from the epidemic to come out, mix with the able-bodied, and seek an opportunity to be captured by Sergeant Liu Bei." ”

"No!"

Sima Yi lowered his eyes and arched his hand and said, "There is a lack of Chinese herbs in the Dawang camp, and it needs to be deployed from the rear!" ”

"Hmm!"

Cao Cao wrote the approval document and said: "I have ordered Yanzhou Thorn Shi to transport a large amount of grain and grass, and it will be soon. ”

"King!"

Before Cao Cao's words fell, Sun Quan stepped into the tent, gasped and said: "As the king expected, Huo Junguo wants to cross Huai from the vortex and the second mouth." The scout came to report, Huo Jun was in the vortex, the two waters, and searched the boats. Liu Bei was preparing to pull out the camp, and the vanguard had already arrived at Tushan and set up camp. ”

"Huo Jun really wants Liu Bei to respond, and crosses Huai from the vortex and the two mouths."

Cao Cao got up from the couch and said with a smile: "Order Han Hao to lead the army to sit in the big camp and strengthen the camp." The lonely relatives led the soldiers to the east, and the heavy troops surrounded Huo Jun to the south. In this battle, it is necessary to capture Huo Jun and defeat the water thieves! ”

"No!"

(End of chapter)