A.D. 219, the first year of Zhangwu, December.

Jianghuai, Hefei.

In the Governor's Mansion, Huo Jun was playing chess with Jiang Ji, and there were words and jokes between the judges.

Jiang Ji landed on the chessboard with a sunspot and asked, "Cao Cao raised the Chinese crowd to Nanyang and confronted His Majesty in Xinye. The armies of the two countries gathered in Xiangfan, I don't know when the governor thinks Xiangfan will be able to go? ”

After a pause, Jiang Ji subconsciously glanced at the letter sent by Pang Tong, and said: "According to Shi Yuanxin, although Fancheng is short, most of the soldiers in the city are elite, and our army is difficult to pull out for days, and there are many casualties. ”

Huo Jun probed into the chess game, looked natural, and said: "General Guan flooded the Seventh Army, captured the ban, and surrendered the Seventh Army, when Jingxiang was turbulent, and China was terrified. Now Shiyuan besieged Fancheng, and Xiangyang was cut off; Your Majesty sent troops to the country to stop Cao Cao in Xinye, how could he not go down to Xiangfan? ”

In Huo Jun's eyes, it was not difficult for the Southern Han to fight Xiangfan, provided that there were enough troops.

In the second half of the Battle of Chrysostom, after Er Liu drove Cao Ren out of Nanjun, Huo Jun asked Liu Qi for troops, hoping to take Xiangfan directly. At that time, Huo Jun opened his mouth to ask for 70,000 soldiers, and the number of troops scared Liu Qi away.

Liu Qi was worried in his heart, and refused Huo Jun's request for soldiers and horses on the grounds that Jingnan had just gone down, the thieves were in turmoil, and the people were suffering; At that time, Liu Bei thought about the four counties of Jiangdong that had already been obtained, and he was worried about Cao Jun in Jiangbei, and he didn't want to fight.

The two Lius have their own thoughts, and they don't care about the follow-up Xiangfan. Under such circumstances, Huo Jun had no choice but to lead 20,000 troops to the north and move a large number of people south to Jiangling to completely end the Battle of Jinkou.

At that time, Liu Qiruo agreed to Huo Jun's suggestion, and Liu He sent 70,000 troops and horses for Huo Jun to command, and Xiangfan had already been owned by the Southern Han Dynasty. However, it is a pity that Liu Qi has no ambitions, and only divides 20,000 soldiers and horses with Huo Jun. Huo Jun was hindered by the lack of troops, so he had to move the people south and give up his plan to attack Xiangfan.

Today, Guan Yu won two battles before and after, which has given the Southern Han a first-mover advantage. Liu Bei mobilized soldiers and horses from Jing and Yang, and with Fa Zheng, Pang Tong, and Lu Meng as wings, how could he not take Xiangfan.

Jiang Ji pointed to the sunspot and said with a smile: "If it is a general, why should you be under Xiangfan?" ”

Huo Jun smiled and joked: "Could it be that Zitong wants to trap me in injustice? ”

Jiang Ji heard the meaning of Huo Jun's words, and said with a smile: "There is still heaven and earth to know, and the governor might as well order someone to cover the heaven and earth." ”

Today, Liu Bei and Guan Yu fought the battle of Xiangfan, and the battle situation was in the midst of anxiety. If Huo Jun vainly said that he would arrange his troops and be known by Liu and Guan, even if he would not be disgusted, it was inevitable that he would be unhappy. Therefore, Huo Jun and Jiang Jifang had such a joke.

"Haha!"

Huo Junchan put his hand on the plate and said with a smile: "If I raise troops to attack Xiangfan, it will be different from General Guan." Ordered Lu Xun and Liu Feng to leave Nanxiang, and I raised the army to surround Xiangyang, and sent a general to Suixian to make a feint. ”

"Huh?"

Jiang Ji was curious and asked, "Can the governor elaborate?" ”

Huo Jun touched his mustache and said confidently: "Xiangfan is dangerous because of the Han water, and it is divided because of the Han water." Fancheng is short and seems to be easily broken, but it is located in the north of Han, and it is easy to get the support of the thief army. Although Xiangyang is difficult and difficult to overcome, it is located in the south of Han, and it is separated from the north of Han. And the thief is weak, not enough to worry. ”

"Therefore, I will attack Xiangfan, and when the water rises in midsummer, I will cut off the Han River with boats and isolate Xiangyang. When choosing the key places of mountains and rivers, he sent troops to build a city in Hannan, and ploughed and fought to wait for the soldiers and horses of the Central Plains. If the Central Plains troops arrive, and the Han River reaches the south bank, troops will be sent to attack it. ”

"Lu Xun and Liu Fengtun soldiers are in Gucheng, Wen hired out with the county and feints, and I will plough and fight with the army. The grain and grass of the three armies are supplied with Han water, and there is no worries. The thief is biased, and I will swallow the three armies; Cao Cao's generals arrived, Lu Xun and Wen hired surprise troops to attack and disturb the grain road, and I could find an opportunity to break it. ”

"After many months, the thieves are afraid of danger and know how to retreat, and Xiangyang has no hope of surrendering, so Fancheng can take advantage of the situation. And if the thief has no plan, he can use Xiangyang as bait to transfer troops to Suixian, so that Wen can hire according to Xinye, and the thief's army will be grained; The soldiers of the Jiang and Han dynasties, if they attack them with the trend, they can annihilate the thieves. ”

The two cities of Xiangfan are famous for their unique topography, so don't just look at the steepness of the city, and ignore the terrain around the city. Unlike the flat Hanbei, Xiangyang is surrounded by mountains and rivers, which is very suitable for building a defensive line.

Different from Guan Yu's Northern Expedition to Xiangfan, aiming at the low Fancheng. Huo Jun's strategy of Xiangfan will choose the difficult Xiangyang. In the land of mountains and rivers around Xiangyang, and at the edge of the Han River, the soldiers and horses of Jiangxia and the three eastern counties sent troops from the east and west to encircle and send reinforcements.

Looking at the arrangement of the three armies, it is like a person's chest and left and right arms. Cao Wei went south to rescue, and he could use the Han water fortifications to meet the enemy. When the enemy's situation is clear, Lu Xun and Wen Ping can send troops left and right to cooperate with the Hanshui army to encircle and annihilate Fanbei's army.

If you advance, you can annihilate the supporting army and take Nanyang directly; If you retreat, you can consume the enemy army and send troops to Xiangfan.

If we compare Guan Yu's Northern Expedition plan with Huo Jun's Northern Expedition Xiangfan plan, we can only say that the benevolent see the benevolent, and the wise see the wise. Anyone who can win Xiangfan is a good strategy.

Jiang Ji groaned and said: "The use of troops with the arrangement of the governor may be difficult to quickly descend from Xiangfan, but it will greatly benefit our army. This strategy is just right, and the overseer is extraordinary! ”

"On paper!"

Huo Jun smiled and said, "The battle in Xiangfan today is handled by Your Majesty, and our responsibility is to contain the enemy army in Huaibei for it. ”

Jiang Ji observed Huo Jun's expression, and saw that he couldn't see the helpless expression, and his heart gradually calmed down.

Liu and Guan raised troops for the Northern Expedition, gathering more than 100,000 troops from Wu and Chu, and even Jianghuai's soldiers and horses were taken away. Huo Jun had only 5,000 mobile soldiers and horses on his side, and he handed it over to Huo Fan to command, and asked him to fly his military flag, bluff, and send troops to echo it.

Jiang Ji was worried that Huo Jun would have nowhere to do because of his talent, and he would be resentful. But now seeing Huo Jun's expression as usual, without complaining, he was relieved.

Then, Jiang Ji stroked his beard and smiled, and said: "The governor is well versed in military strategy, and I don't know the situation of Yishiyuan today, but there is a strategy for troops to break through Fancheng?" ”

Huo Jun groaned a little, rubbed the chess pieces in his hand, and said: "According to Shi Yuanyan, Fancheng will be short of grain and grass, and Cao Ren has been surrounded for a long time, and he has already drawn his neck to help. If you want to go down to Fancheng now, you may be able to start from here, lure Cao Ren out of the city, and find an opportunity to win and go down to the city. ”

After a pause, Huo Jun dropped the chess pieces in his hand and said, "However, what is the specific situation depends on the situation." If Cao Ren does not come out of the city, he will only raise troops to attack day and night. ”

Jiang Ji bowed slightly, sighed and said, "I hope that Shiyuan will go to Xiangfan early." ”

Hearing this, Huo Jun abandoned his son on the chessboard, and said with a slight sigh: "Xiangfan will be owned by me sooner or later, so I don't worry about Xiangfan, but I am worried about Yide." ”

"General Zhang?"

Jiang Ji was stunned and asked, "Although General Yide has nothing to do with the tiger strategy of the prince and marquis, he is a general. Led the Bashu soldiers and horses out of the military capital today, is there something wrong? ”

Huo Jun got up and paced, and said, "Yi Deli is up and down, violent and unkind. Xi Xingba and Boyan served as military assistants, and they were often able to give up their money to divide the group into generals for themselves. Or advise Yide, drink less, and don't whip the soldiers. ”

"Jinxingba died of illness, Boyan stayed behind, and Yide led the army out of the customs alone. The hearts of the Bashu people are not attached, if Yide is bullying and bullying, I am afraid that there will be chaos in the army because of this! ”

Don't Gan Ning is vulgar and easy to kill, but Gan Ning is a good general. Because of the birth of water thieves, Gan Ning often does not covet money, and all the money he accumulates is divided among his subordinates. In addition, his hometown is from Bashu, and his relationship with the Bashu generals in the army is acceptable.

As Zhang Fei's deputy, Gan Ning made up for Zhang Feiling's behavior to a certain extent; As for Lu Xun, needless to say, his Wen Taowu strategy is commendable.

On the eve of Gan Ning's death, he felt that he was about to die, so he sent a letter to Huo Jun, recalling the past of the two galloping in the rivers and lakes, and he was sad that he could not meet Huo Jun again.

Later, when Huo Jun heard that Gan Ning had died, he was not only sad for the death of his friend, but also sorry for the loss of a general by the country.

Now Gan Ning died, and Lu Xun stayed behind. Zhang Fei led his troops out of Yangping Pass alone, and Huo Jun was mostly restless whenever he remembered what happened to Zhang Fei in history. Gan Ning has left, and he doesn't want to say goodbye to Zhang Fei again.

Listening to Huo Jun's words, Jiang Ji frowned and said, "Since the governor is worried about this, it is better to write a letter to persuade General Zhang." And the letter reminded His Majesty that General Caution was defeated by drunkenness. ”

Huo Jun put his hands behind his waist, looked at the winter scenery outside the window, and said: "I have written to Yide, and I have also written to Wei Zhang and Zijun. Let them persuade General Zhang more, and be wary of the left and right generals of Yide. ”

It is a common thing for Zhang Fei to whip soldiers, not only Huo Jun and Gan Ning have persuaded him, but even Liu Bei and Guan Yu have also persuaded him, but Zhang Fei just didn't listen.

It's okay if Zhang Fei doesn't listen, whipping ordinary soldiers can't do a big deal. But Zhang Fei is fatal because he likes to whip his cronies. Not only entrusted with heavy responsibilities, but also whipped and bullied them. Even if there is no Zhang Da and Fan Qiang, I am afraid there are others.

In history, Zhang and Fan not only killed Zhang Fei, but even cut off Zhang Fei's head and took his head to defect to Sun Quan. It's hard not to wonder how easy the process is.

Huo Jun once suspected that this was not a temporary act of Zhang and Fan, but more people were involved, and they didn't want to endure Zhang Fei's bullying, or secretly help, or acquiesce in what Zhang and Fan did.

Huo Jun is familiar with Zhang Fei, but he is not very familiar with Zhang Fei's generals. He wrote to Zhao Ang and Wang Ping, and the two people who were not named and surnamed Yan Zhang and Fan had the idea of rebellion. Instead, there is no Lu Xun to say anything about it, and I am afraid that Zhang Fei will die of Gan Ning's illness, and his mood will be even more troubled, and he will intensify his whipping of the soldiers.

Therefore, Huo Jun asked Zhao and Wang to pay more attention to the generals that Zhang Fei had whipped, so as not to deliberately cause chaos after the army left the customs, and pay more attention to Zhang Fei after drinking.

In the battle of the former Hanzhong, Huo Jun recommended Zhao and Wang. The two of them are people with hearts, and Zhao Ang often writes to greet Huo Jun; Wang Ping is illiterate, and he also sends people to give gifts, and there is no shortage of years. And in the letter to Zhang Fei, Huo Jun said that Zhao and Wang should be entrusted with important tasks.

Jiang Ji then got up and said comfortingly: "The governor has written a letter to advise, and General Yide should be able to restrain his behavior." And General Yide has whipped the soldiers for many years, and there has been no rebellion among the soldiers, or the governor is too worried! ”

Huo Jun smiled, at the moment, he could only be optimistic, hoping to avoid this incident.

(End of chapter)