On June 30, Cao Pi issued an edict to march south, and the troops were divided into three routes.

The Western Route Army ordered Sima Yi and Zhang He to lead 40,000 troops south to Xiangfan; In the Middle Route Army, Cao Pi led Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Xu Huang, Cao Xiu, Jia Kui, Man Chong, Zang Ba and other generals to lead 100,000 troops to the south to conquer Jianghuai; The Eastern Route Army, Xiahou Shangtong Xuzhou assassinated Shi Lu Qian, and led more than 30,000 troops to the south to conquer Xiapi.

There were about 200,000 soldiers and horses on the three routes, and Cao Pi went out to the south with the strength of the whole country, wanting to set foot on the Jianghuai River and drink the Yangtze River.

On the first day of the seventh month, Cao Pi sent troops from Xuchang, went straight down the Yingshui to Shouchun, and took Cao Xiu as the general, so that he could break Zhongli in the east.

In the second year of junior high school, Cao Xiu swore a blood oath to send troops, vowing revenge, and rushed to Matou City.

At noon on the third day, Matou City was broken, the defender Li Wei was beheaded, more than 1,000 defenders fled either to death, and the soldiers in the city were all taken by Cao Xiu.

On the morning of the 4th, Zhongli guarded Xu Shengde, burned the grain outside the city, and sent troops to report to Huaiyin.

On the fifth day, Cao Xiu went to Zhongli City, saw that the moat outside the city was quite deep, and the city was towering, and tried to persuade Xu Sheng to surrender. Xu Sheng came to the envoy to defend the city.

Seeing this, Cao Xiu was furious and wanted to lead the army to attack the city, but due to the lack of siege equipment, he had to go down to the camp and wait for reinforcements.

On the 6th, Huaiyin got a report, and Quan Cong urgently informed Huo Du and Huo Yuzhi and ordered them to prepare for war.

Xiahou Shang marched to Sishang and went to Xiapi City; Sima Yi and Zhang He joined some soldiers and horses in Guanzhong, set off from Wancheng, passed through Xinye, and arrived at Fancheng.

Pang Tong learned that Cao Pi had gone south to Shouchun, and in addition to the normal Qingbi Jianye, he urgently reported the general's situation.

Fei Guan didn't finish his words, but he saw Guan Xing's footsteps coming in a hurry, presented spy reports from Jianghan and Jianghuai, and said anxiously: "Da Sima, Xiangfan, Hefei, and Zhongli have come to report that the thieves are going south from the Central Plains and are attacking the border of our army in a big way!" ”

Huo Jun took a sip of the teacup and said with a smile: "With today's situation, it is not easy to spin down Henan. But if there is Henan, then a war can go to Hebei. However, before going to Henan, you need to go down to Shouchun and Wancheng before you can enter Yan and Henan. ”

According to Wang Ping's war report, the Hanjia Rebellion is just around the corner!

Zhuge Liang marched against the Yangtze River, to Chongqing to control the Bashu soldiers and horses, and then westward to Chengdu, wanting to first pacify Shuzhong.

Fei Guan said with a smile: "In the future, you can devote yourself to the Northern Expedition to see if you can spin down Henan and revive the Han Dynasty as written by Da Sima; The soldiers went to Hebei and leveled the Cao family. ”

The content of these two articles is not secret, Huo Jun only sinks the content discussed at the top level in the past into the group of scholars. After all, in a society where information does not circulate, many soldiers are not familiar with many war situations, let alone serious science popularization.

At the same time, after several days of marching, Cao Pi has reached Qian County, and his army has reached Huaishang.

Wang Ping took advantage of the victory to pursue and invade Hanjia County. Huang Yuan retreated to Hanjia and asked for help from the barbarian king Gao Ding. Gao Ding led 5,000 troops to the north, was ambushed by Wang Ping, retreated to Yan Daojian, and did not dare to advance north easily.

Jianghan and Jianghuai were full of wolf smoke, and spy reports from all over the country were sent to Wuhan from the front line.

July 12, Wuhan.

Since the rebellion of Huang Yuan, he has attacked Shu County many times, first broke through Linqiong, and then plundered the countryside of Shuzhong. Wang Ping led his troops to Shuzhong, and fought with Huang Yuan in Jiangyuan, Wang Ping lured the enemy with a feint, and broke Huang Yuan's soldiers and horses.

During this period, Zhuge Liang used the bus to recruit a large number of Bashu people to Chengdu, such as Wuliang and Du Wei, according to the reputation of the Shu people. And on behalf of the Son of Heaven, he rewarded meritorious civil and military affairs, and promoted Zhang Wei, Ma Zhong, He Yi and other Bashu talents.

The publication of the two articles spread quickly under the spread of the scholars, and more officials became more and more convinced that the Han could eliminate Cao Wei. Through the publication of three articles, Huo Jun won the admiration and popularity of many scholars.

In the pavilion, Huo Jun knelt on the mat, with a sandalwood hairpin on his head, wearing Confucian clothes, and quietly reading the Xitu Army Newspaper.

"Da Sima~"

Huo Jun put down the music and said with a light smile: "Kong Ming and Zi have not lived up to my trust!" ”

"Da Sima, if the three states of Xitu can be leveled, then the country will have no internal worries!"

"What?"

On the 8th, Jiang Ji received the news of the military report, and led Ding Feng, Gao Xin, and Yu Shao to set out from Guangling to Huaiyin to garrison, and sent the war report to Wuhan.

Since "On the Han Dynasty", Huo Jun wrote two more articles, also using the tone of historical materialism, not talking about the ownership of the Mandate of Heaven, but only discussing the situation of the enemy and us in the Jianghan and Huaisi regions, so that the government and the opposition can understand the border situation.

Fei Guan was taken aback and asked, "Da Sima was sent to the forbidden north, how could Cao Pi directly attack our army in the south?" Could it be that Cao Pi saw through my strategy of delaying the army? ”

Huo Jun's eyes narrowed slightly, and he said with a sneer: "In the alliance of the past chasm, Gao Zu tore up the alliance in order to break Xiang Yu. Now Cao Pi should resume this policy and send an envoy to the south to negotiate peace, but in fact he wants to use force against our country. About north and south, I'm afraid that Cao Pi has never had this thought! ”

will be released back to Cao Wei, Huo Jun is using the strategy of delaying the army as an excuse. Everyone believed it, but as Huo Jun expected, Cao Pi had the idea of going south.

Of course, Huo Jun didn't expect one thing, Cao Pi would march south so quickly. However, fortunately, Huo Jun, who was cautious, had already taken precautions and had already made the soldiers in the border city vigilant.

Fei Guan was a little worried, and said: "The riots in the West are not peaceful, and now the foreign invaders are attacking, so what should we do!" ”

Huo Jun looked at the three spy reports in his hand, and ordered: "An Guo let the hussar general, the chariot general, the general Wei, the general Zuo and other generals come here!" ”

"No!"

After speaking, Huo Jun removed the ink and browsed the contents of the espionage.

In the Xiangfan area, Lü Meng sent a military report, saying that Sima Yi and Zhang He led their troops south, and the soldiers and horses in Guanzhong entered Nanyang from Wuguan Road, and their goal was straight to Xiangfan.

In the Huaixi region, Pang Tong sent a spy report, saying that Cao Xiu went eastward, and then a large number of Cao Wei soldiers and horses arrived in Shouchun, and their number was incalculable. And according to the detailed words of Shouchun City, this time it was a large army marching south, and Cao Xiu was only the vanguard.

In the Huaidong area, Xu Sheng sent a battle report, saying that Cao Xiu seized Matou City and marched into Zhongli City; He has fortified the wall and cleared the wilderness, and led his troops and horses to defend Zhongli.

In addition to Xu Shengjun's report in Huaidong, Huo Youzhi reported that Lu Qian had arrived in Xiapi, and then there was Xiahou Shang's army. Huaidong soldiers and horses all went to Huaiyin City, and Jiang Ji was responsible for the deployment.

Fei Guan asked worriedly: "Da Sima, what is the situation on the border today?" ”

Huo Jun handed the letter to Fei Guan and said lightly: "The Cao army's army marched south, and the troops were divided into three routes. Sima Yi to Xiangfan, Xiahou Shang to take Pi, Cao Xiu to Huaiyin. Now Matou City was broken, the defender Li Wei was killed in battle, and the soldiers had reached Zhongli. ”

Fei Guan's face was solemn, and he stretched out his hand to browse the spy report.

Huo Jun got up from the mat, stood with his hands in his hands, and silently stared at the surface of the pond, as if thinking about something.

After a long time, more than a dozen generals such as Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Lu Xun, and Wu Yi got the news and rushed to the pavilion.

Huo Jun looked at the lake with tea and thought quietly. Fei Guan was ordered to tell everyone about the current battle situation until the generals understood the current battle situation.

"Da Sima, there are few soldiers away from the city today, Cao Xiu is approaching with troops and horses, whether to let Jiang Zitong lead his troops westward and garrison the troops to the camp, thinking that it is a response."

Huang Quan stared at the Jianghuai map, pointed out and asked: "If Zhongli is broken, the Xutai soldiers are few and the city is short, and it is difficult to defend it for a long time, and the thief army will approach Huaiyin." ”

"Wuhan is far away from Jianghuai, I don't know if Zhongli is lost now?" Wu Yi frowned and said.

Huo Jun drank tea, looked at the lake, and said: "Zhongli will be in the hands of our army, don't worry!" ”

"What do you mean?" I don't know who asked.

"Xu Wenxiang, the courage is strategic, comparable to Ganghou Xingba."

Huo Jun turned to look at the people sitting on the ground, and said confidently: "He is my general, I know him!" ”

Everyone looked at each other, not daring to refute Huo Jun.

Xu Sheng, as Huo Jun's subordinate, is the one who knows the best. Huo Jun can say this today, and it is definitely not empty words.

After a while, Lu Xun pondered a little and said: "Da Sima, now Xiangfan, Xiapi, and Zhongli have their own enemies attacking, and with the current situation, the generals will lead the crowd to the border city to resist the enemy." ”

Huo Jun held the teacup and paced and said, "Xiangfan Tianqian is not something that Sima Yi and Zhang He can easily take. With Lu Ziming's talent and Wen Zhongye as his aid, Sima Yi and Zhang Heer will not have to worry! ”

"Today's worries are in Jianghuai, in Zhongli, and in Xiapi!"

"Zhongli, Xiapi?"

Zhang Fei sat with his legs crossed and said: "Jianghuai soldiers and horses are all Zhong Miao's subordinates, whether Zhong Miao will lead the troops to greet him today." According to the Hefei letter, it is likely that Cao Pi will go south to Jianghuai rather than to Xiangfan. ”

"General Yide has a point!"

Zhao Yun sat cross-legged and agreed: "Cao Pi knows that my country is in turmoil, and this time he will go south. If the rescue is not in time, I am afraid that the cities of Huaishang will be broken, and the efforts of our army's Northern Expedition will be burned. ”

The conservative crowd preferred to let Huo Jun lead the troops to the rescue, after all, it was very likely that the Jianghuai side would come out, and it was Cao Pi who personally commanded the southern expedition.

Pacing, Huo Jun looked at Lu Xun and asked, "Bo Yan knows about the military, but does he have a strategy to help Huai?" ”

Lu Xun thought for a long time and said: "Go back to Da Sima, with the current situation, you should defend the west and retreat to the east." led troops and horses to Huaiyin, the north aided Xiapi, and the west helped Zhongli. However, the thief army flocked to Huainan and fought with it in the field, which was mostly difficult, and the only way to use troops was to observe the situation. ”

"Hmm!"

Huo Jun bowed his head slightly, and said: "Cao Jun's southern expedition this time, choosing the autumn and winter season, makes it difficult for our army to use boats, and the only way to fight with the enemy is to fight in the field, but the field battle is not strong in our army. There are Qingxu soldiers and horses in the north, and the Central Plains army in the west, which is attacked on both sides, and there is no danger to defend, which is difficult. ”

"Let's see how long Pi and Zhongli can hold out, if the two cities are quickly broken by Cao's army, Huaidong will inevitably be lost." Lu Xun said.

"yes!"

Huang Quan had a headache and said: "It is okay to aid Huaiyin alone, but now Pi is also besieged by the enemy." If you give up Pi, the enemy will reach Sikou, and will be pinned down by the enemy army, and it will be difficult to help Zhongli in the west. However, if there is a rescue on both sides, the troops will be insufficient, and they may be broken by the enemy's division of forces. ”

Stopping, Huo Jun took a sip of water and said lightly: "Fei Bingbo, you remember!" ”

"No!"

Lu Xun led 50,000 Wu Chu Shuibu soldiers, set out from Wuhan, went north from Guangling, joined Jiang Ji, and settled in Huaiyin. The Huaidong soldiers and horses are dispatched by you, and you do not seek to break the Cao army, but you must contain the enemy army, and you must not order the Cao army to attack the city with all your might. If there is a violation of the order, the military law will deal with it! ”

"Summoned Xu Sheng and Huo Youzhi and told them to keep it for a hundred days. If there is a mistake, come and see you! ”

(End of chapter)