Xuzhou, one of the ancient Kyushu. It reaches the sea in the east, Daishan in the north, Jianghuai in the south, and Surabaya in the west. Its field is in the middle, its Fu is in the middle, Sibin floating chime, Huaiban pearl fish, floating in Huaisi, reaching Heze.

Xuzhou is located on the Lianghuai Plain, it seems that the road is smooth at a glance, but because it is adjacent to the seashore in the east, on and Dai, and down to Sihuai, there are still many dangers to defend. It's just that once these dangers are taken, there is no big problem with speed-running Xuzhou.

If the south of the state is adjacent to Jianghuai, control Huaiyin, and kill Sikou, you can stop the enemy of Huainan, go up against Surabaya, and attack the heart of the city. For example, Yuan Shu sent troops to attack Xuzhou, and Liu Bei relied on Xuyi and Huaiyin.

Or Xuzhou is connected to Yuzhou in the west, holding Pengcheng and locking Surabaya, which can prevent the enemy from Henan from invading Xuzhou. For example, Cao Cao invaded Xuzhou at the beginning, went down Surabaya, and fought Pengcheng with Tao Qian, Tao Qian was defeated, and the people of Xuzhou were slaughtered by Cao Cao.

Xuzhou is north of Dai Mountain, and Yan, Qingdao two states are connected. Yi and Shu River valleys are the traffic arteries that connect the three states. The two prefectures of Qingxu take Langya County as the main passage, and although Taishan County of Yanzhou is located between the hills of Lushan, there are two counties of Hua and Fei that can communicate with the Yi and Shu river valleys.

Therefore, holding the Yi and Shu River valleys can prevent the enemy of Yan and Qing from invading Xuzhou. Tao Qian ordered Zang Ba and the generals of Mount Tai to guard Kaiyang, and wanted to block the foreign enemies of Yan and Qing Prefectures for him.

During Cao Cao's second expedition to Xuzhou, Liu Bei stuck to Pei County and locked Surabaya. Cao Cao set out from Taishan County, Yanzhou, went to Hua and Fei two counties, and Zang Ba, who guarded Kaiyang, could not be resisted, and was killed by Cao Cao into the Yi and Shu River valleys. Liu Bei led his troops eastward, lost to Cao Cao, and retreated to Tancheng.

Because Liu Bei held Tancheng, Cao Cao was unable to attack Xiapi, so he led his troops eastward and entered Donghai County, killing many people everywhere he went. It can be seen that Kaiyang and Tancheng are the northeast barrier of Xuzhou.

As for the land of Xiapi, it is the heart of Xuzhou. Xiapi is located between Si and Yi Ershui, the northwest can reach Pengcheng, and the northeast can reach Tancheng.

The Southern Han Dynasty made two northern expeditions from the Jianghuai River, and in the first Battle of Shouchun, Huo Jun broke through the Huaiyin and opened up the river channel into the Surabaya Basin for the Southern Han Dynasty.

Today, Huo Jun broke the Wei army in the East China Sea, and was able to bring the power of victory to Xiapi City again. Whoever can break Xiapi cannot be said to recover the entire territory of Xuzhou, but at least the Xuzhou area south of Xiapi and west of Yuzhou can be bagged. The Xuzhou reset by the Han Dynasty may be said to be worthy of its name.

Based on Xuzhou's military location, Huo Jun asked Gao Xiang, Tang Shi, and Chen Yue to go north to Licheng to help him contain the Zang and Lu armies who retreated to Tancheng.

At the same time, in order to prevent Cao Xiu and Jia Kui from seizing Huaiyin and cutting off the Surabaya River between Jianghuai and Xiapi, Huo Jun ordered Xu Sheng to lead his troops and horses to retreat to Huaiyin; Pang Tong led the Huaixi soldiers and horses, taking advantage of the rising water in the summer, and led thousands of sailors to take a boat to Shaobei, threatening the next Shouchun.

Under such a situation, Huo Junfang dared to march east with the victory, and the troops surrounded Pi.

Just when Huo Junbing was about to leave Pi, Cao Xiu, who had gathered the defeated army and returned to the division, finally met again with Jia Kui, the assassin of Yuzhou.

Hongxian, the camp of the Wei army.

Inside the big tent, Jia Kui stared at the map on the wall, worried about the current battle situation. Cao Xiuzhong ambushed the army and left, Sun and Ren's second army lost their divisions and died, and Xiapi was in danger.

If Xiapi is broken, a large area of Xuzhou will fall into the hands of the Southern Han Dynasty. However, not only that, with Huo Jun's operational ability, Xiapi and Huaidong will inevitably be connected. Let the soldiers and civilians be scattered on the vast Huaidong Plain, and the grain and baggage will be stored and recuperated.

The next time he moved his troops, Huo Jun would use Xiapi as a base, and there would be two roads for the Northern Expedition. Led the waterway Shuo Surabaya up, took Pengcheng and conquered Yuzhou; Or retrograde Yishui, the soldiers went to Tancheng and entered Qingzhou.

This is not fatal, the most worrying thing is that Huo Jun will raise a large army to besiege Shouchun, if Shouchun is defeated, the first emperor spent most of his energy to conquer Henan, will become a bloody battlefield of confrontation between the two armies.

The attendant entered the account and reported: "Envoy, the general of Zhengdong is about to lead the defeated army, and his order is to make the king out of the village to greet him." ”

"Out of the village to greet each other?"

Jia Kui had a question mark on his head, and his face was a little unhappy. After Cao Xiu's defeat, the shelf was still so big. If he hadn't sent troops to meet and supply the baggage, I am afraid that he would not have to dig river mussels to survive.

"This time the ambush was defeated, how many men and horses did Cao Zhengdong lose?" Holding back his dissatisfaction, Jia Kui asked.

The attendant lowered his head and replied: "Envoy Jun, General Zhengdong gathered 17,000 or 8,000 people, General Zhuge Qian was defeated in the battle, and General Chang Diao was wounded. All the baggage of the department was abandoned, and there were only a few hundred people in armor. ”

After a pause, the attendant looked embarrassed and said: "According to Wang Caidu, General Zhengdong thought that this defeat was due to the king's insistence on crossing the river and plundering the people. ”

Hearing this, Jia Kui smiled angrily, and said speechlessly: "I advised him not to advance lightly, but now the ambush is defeated, but I blame me for not following his strategy, how can this be reasonable in the world?" ”

"The head of the family, Cao Zhengdong ordered the king to go out of the village to greet him!" Jia Kuibu ran into the account from the fast run and said.

"Cao Wenlie is very excessive!"

Zuo Qiu Xian, the main bookkeeper, frowned and said: "Now that Huo Jun's troops are going down, Cao Wenlie doesn't think about the strategy of resisting the enemy, how can he blame the envoy for the defeat of this battle?" ”

Jia Kui stroked his short beard, and there was a lot of dissatisfaction in his heart, but because of the Cao Xiu clan and the current war, he could only suppress the dissatisfaction.

"Now that we have received the grace of the country, we should put public affairs first, and how can we mess up major affairs because of personal feelings. If the land is lost, I should have no shame to see the first emperor! Jia Kui said.

After that, Jia Kui took everyone out of the tent and went to the gate to greet Cao Xiu.

Cao Xiu held the reins and looked down at Jia Kui who was coming to him from far and near.

"Meet General Zhengdong!"

Seeing Jia Kui saluting obediently, Cao Xiu became more and more bold, with contempt in his eyes, and raised his whip and said: "Jia Yuzhou knows that the war is unfavorable, why did he arrive so late, so he sat back and watched the army be wiped out and defeated?" ”

Jia Kui was neither humble nor arrogant, and said: "Kui said before the war that Licheng and Qishan are not the key points of the country. Zong Huo Jun rescued Tang Zhi, because of Xiapi and Tancheng, he had no danger to defend, and it would be difficult to live for a long time. It is better to cross the Huai camp to make Huainan wither. ”

Saying that, Jia Kui retorted: "Today's general's defeat of Dayi Mountain, is it related to Kui's troop scheduling? ”

Cao Xiu's face showed anger and said: "The two armies are about to fight, and you lead the troops to do your own thing, and if you don't obey my military orders, how can the defeat of the army have nothing to do with you today?" If our department had been aided by Jia Jun's department, Huo Jun would have been defeated by me! ”

He was kind enough to rescue, but Cao Xiu reversed black and white, Jia Kuizhen couldn't help it, and said with emotion: "Our army is several times larger than the thief army, if the general can know how to fight well, how can he be defeated by Huo Jun?" ”

"Now that Pi is under siege, what is the general's strategy?"

Cao Xiu was uncertain and said: "Xiapi City is strong, and Huo Jun will be difficult to break quickly." I want to temporarily return to the division to rest, and wait for the water to fall in the autumn, and then go east to relieve the siege of Pi. ”

Saying that, Cao Xiu instructed Jia Kui and said: "My troops are tired and have little food, so you should give up your baggage." ”

Cao Xiu really had an inexplicable feeling that he was above everyone else, he thought that Wei was their Cao family, and Jia Kui was just their working courtier, how could he compare with him?

Jia Kui sneered a few times, arched his hand, and said: "If you follow the general's strategy, I am afraid that not only will I lose my chances, but Pengcheng will not be owned by my Great Wei." Kui made the history of Yuzhou for the country, not for the general's subordination. The general has his own arrangement, and Kui is also thoughtful. ”

"Jia Liang Dao!"

Hearing this, Cao Xiu was furious and shouted loudly to Jia Kui.

In the face of Cao Xiu's shouts, Jia Kui entered the camp without looking back.

Today, Xuzhou Assassin Shi was defeated and fled to Tancheng, Huo Jun besieged Xiapi, and Pengcheng was empty. As the assassin of Yuzhou and the official of Xinjiang, he must consider the overall situation, seize the danger of Xuzhou, and the national border is peaceful.

Cao and Jia parted ways, and Cao Xiu led his troops back to Shouchun to obtain heavy supplies; Jia Kui rushed to Pengcheng to see if he could relieve the siege of Pi with 8,000 people.

At the same time, in order to grab time, the Han army had reached the outside of Xiapi City.

Under Huo Jun's order, the Han army was divided into two parts, one besieged Xiapi City and built fortifications; The other part is to build a river weir and prepare to flood the city.

In the big tent, Huo Jun discussed military affairs with the generals.

Jiang Ji was very sad and said: "Dudu, although our army is defeated, it is alone in Xu. If the lower part of the country is besieged and does not surrender, the thief will come from many ways. Now that a great merit has been made, it is better to lead the troops to return to Huai, so as not to ruin this feat. ”

"Why is Zitong so worried?"

Huo Jun endured his temperament and said: "Xiapi is the barrier of Licheng and the East China Sea. Now His Majesty is in the north, containing the armies of all the tribes. If our army withdraws, the pressure on His Majesty's troops will increase sharply. ”

Jiang Ji was annoyed and said: "In the Northern Expedition of Shouchun, the governor went against Si and wanted to break the river to flood Picheng. However, the thieves decided to defeat Surabaya with elite soldiers, and the non-capital governors were unparalleled, and it was difficult to return to the Southern Han Dynasty. If the thief returns to the old strategy, Xu Sheng's soldiers will be less obstructed, and our army will only go to Yuzhou, which will sometimes damage the name of the governor. ”

"The people of Xichu made an appointment to draw snakes, and some guests became early, in order to show their abilities and add enough to the snake, resulting in the abandonment of their previous achievements. Today's situation seems to be a guest at that time, adding more to the snake, and the gains outweigh the losses. ”

Obviously, the last time the Wei army intercepted the battle in Sikou, Jiang Ji left a lot of psychological shadows.

Of course, what Jiang Ji said is not much of a problem, the city of Xiapi is strong, and it is difficult to go down quickly if the city is flooded. If you can't beat the city for a long time, attracting Wei soldiers from all over the world to help, it is an inevitable trend of defeat.

Huo Jun paced and laughed, and said to everyone: "In the past, when I went to Jiaoling, I once heard that there was a Taoist who said that he was good at painting dragons, and the villagers did not believe it. Taoists draw dragons, lifelike, but they are all eyeless. The villagers thought it was not beautiful, so it added eyes to the dragon. ”

"The Taoist said, it is not difficult to add eyes, but dinosaurs fly with eyes. The villagers suspected that they couldn't, and everyone laughed. The Taoist raised his pen to paint, when the lightning flashed and thundered, the dragon fruit soared in the world, this is the finishing touch! ”

"There is a world of difference between the two and the finishing touch. Now that the army is here, if you don't try to get down, it should be a lifelong hatred. ”

Between the words, Huo Jun looked at everyone and said in a deep voice: "In Xuzhou, there have been countless battles in the past dynasties, and it is difficult to describe the success or failure of the past dynasties. However, the geographical importance of Xuzhou is not trivial. Lu died and Qi declined, Han Xing and Chu perished, one after another. Therefore, those who get Xuzhou should be expected to win the Central Plains. ”

"Four hundred years ago, Gaozu hit Xiang Yu in Xuzhou, and Xiang Yu was trapped. The prosperity of my Han family will be the first to restore Xuzhou. Today, our army has brought a great victory to Xiapi, with the help of Xia Shui Hongbo, when Kefu Xiapi, Wanglu Guanqi, Ji Xinhan Room, what are your doubts? ”

The generals were silent, and they recognized Huo Jun's words, but someone would eventually spoil the atmosphere.

Huo Youzhi scratched his head and muttered in a low voice: "But Your Majesty defeated Xuzhou twice!" ”

It was not loud, but it was enough for all the generals in the tent to hear.

Huo Du was so angry that he raised his hand to beat his son, and said, "How can the kid talk nonsense about His Majesty's merits!" ”

"Ahem!"

Huo Jun coughed a few times, pressed his hand, and said: "Raider Xiapi, I have my own plan, don't worry." Zitong knows a lot about hydrology and geography, and now leads the department to build a river weir to wait for the flooding of the city. ”

"No!" The people answered.

(End of chapter)