It was getting dark, and lights were lit in the study room.
Huo Junku sat on the couch and carefully studied the map of Bashu, feeling worried.
"Husband, is there another war?"
Trainer Bu carried the chicken soup, tiptoed to the side of the case, and asked softly.
Huo Jun rubbed the bridge of his nose and said: "The world is at war and we have to fight. Today we will go thousands of miles away to fight in the mountains."
Trainer Bu put down the chicken soup, looked at the map, frowned and said, "Go to Hanzhong to fight?"
"Um!"
"I often hear women say that Hanzhong is a country of monsters. It is located in the mountains, with rugged mountain roads for hundreds of miles. Many people believe in the Five Pecks of Rice religion. It is three to four thousand miles away from Wuhan. I am afraid that my husband's trip will not be easy. Please be more careful." Trainer Bu said worriedly.
Huo Jun patted the step trainer's catkins and said comfortingly: "I can win the Battle of Chrysostom, let alone the land of Hanzhong?"
"When your husband travels far away, you should drink more chicken soup to replenish your health."
Trainer Bu opened the lid of the soup can and wanted to serve Huo Jun chicken soup.
Huo Jun stretched out his hand to stop him and said with a smile: "Please ask someone to bring an extra pair of bowls and chopsticks. When the old general comes to visit in person, I will eat chicken soup with him."
"promise!"
The step trainer walked out with delicate steps, leaving Huo Jun some private thinking time.
Looking at the map of Hanzhong, Huo Jun frowned slightly. He was thinking about the way for his troops to enter Hanzhong. He would take the waterway to Jiangzhou, and then walk thousands of miles of mountain roads from Jiangzhou to Hanzhong. Such a long march would take at least more than two months from the time of reorganizing the army to entering Hanzhong.
During this period of time, Hanzhong needed Lu Xun to defend with 20,000 old and weak troops. This period of time was extremely critical. I only hoped that Cao Cao would not arrive so quickly, or that Lu Xun could delay this period of time. Once this period of time is delayed, it is not impossible to wait until he leads his troops into Hanzhong, takes over the war, and holds Hanzhong.
However, according to the defensive measures reported by Lu Xun, Cao Cao has broken the outer defenses of Hanzhong, and he will retreat to the two cities of Mianyang and Chenggu to delay Cao Jun's offensive. And he also needs to formulate new strategies to defeat the enemy for this unexpected situation.
"Um?"
Huo Jun looked at the map and knocked on the desk with one hand, his thoughts drifting away.
The attendant pushed open the door and came in, reporting: "Master, General Huang is outside!"
"Please quickly!"
"promise!"
After a while, Huang Zhong walked into the house in high spirits, raised his hands to Huo Jun and praised him: "Zhong has met Huo Du."
"Please sit down!"
Huo Jun called Huang Zhong to take a seat and said with a smile: "How is the old general's health now?"
Huang Zhong sat on the opposite couch, cupped his hands and said, "Ma Fubo said: 'A husband has ambitions, poverty will make him strong, and old age will make him strong.' Although I am not talented, I am willing to help Fubo, the Lord, and ask Huo Du to drive me."
"good!"
Huo Jun served a bowl of chicken soup for Huang Zhong and said with a smile: "Seeing the old general's courage, this is an important task that the old general cannot accept."
"Please give me the command, Governor!"
Huo Jun spread out a map of Hanzhong on the desk and pointed out: "If Hanzhong is connected to Wuhan, there are only two ways. One is to take the Yangtze River Waterway and then cross the Micangshan Avenue to enter Hanzhong; the other is to go north to Xiangfan and go against the Han Dynasty. Travel along the water and enter Hanzhong via Fangling and Xicheng."
Huang Zhong put down the chicken soup in his hand and said: "Huo Du asked Zhong to cross the Han River and enter Hanzhong. However, this road is blocked by Xiangfan, so I'm afraid it will be difficult to pass through Hanzhong."
Huo Jun moved his finger down to the mountain range and said, "I want the general to lead his troops from Zigui through Xiong Mountain to Fangling, and then march westward to Hanzhong."
"Enter Hanzhong via Xiong Mountain?" Huang Zhong frowned.
Xiongshan is the Shennongjia Mountain. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, bears often lived in Shennong Mountain, so Shennong Mountain was called Bear Mountain.
Hanzhong is three to four thousand miles away from Wuhan. If you cross Shennong Mountain from Zigui to Hanzhong, the journey will be shortened by one-third. But how could Shennong Mountain be so easy to walk? If it were so easy to walk, it wouldn't be a problem for Huang Zhong.
"right!"
Huo Jun pointed to Xingshan Township on the map and said: "Zigui Xingshan Township, the hometown of Zhaojun, is located in Xiongshan Mountain. In ancient times, there were mountain roads connecting Zigui and Fangling, and Xingshan was located in the township between the mountain roads. The mountain road There are many barbarians among them, and they have many contacts with the Han people."
"Wen and Deng are the surnames of Zigui. When our army entered Shu, Wenbu and Deng Kai surrendered to Wu Chu. Now that the general is leaving Zigui, he can order Wen and Deng to be his guides and recruit barbarian soldiers for his own use. Xingshan, to Fangling, then westward into Hanzhong."
"Huo Du, when Cao Cao went to Jianghan, the Shen brothers surrendered. Now Cao Cao has appointed Kuai Qi as the prefect of Fangling, and he has also appointed the Shen brothers as the prefect. Now we will go to Xiongshan and reach Fangling. We will also live in Shangyong. Shi If they are blocked, the soldiers commanded by Zhong will be afraid that it will be difficult to advance or retreat!" Huang Zhong said worriedly.
Huo Jun calmly analyzed Huang Zhong and said: "Fangling has experienced little war and is located in the mountains with few defenses. The prefect Kuai Qi is the sister-in-law of Kong Ming's military advisor. I have sent people to Jiangzhou to ask for Kong Ming's letters in order to Advise Kuai Qi to surrender."
"At that time, when the general entered Fangling, troops and horses suddenly arrived. Kuai Qi was frightened and received a letter from Kong Ming. Most of them surrendered. If he did not surrender, the general fought hard to fight for it. Cao Ren led his troops to attack Gong'an, and it was difficult to take care of Fangling. The city would be taken by the general. ."
"If Fangling is down, Shangyong is located between Hanzhong and Fangling. I have asked the lord to write a letter saying that his official position will remain unchanged and his military position will not be changed. The Shen brothers will know how to surrender. With this march, the general can reach Hanzhong! "
Crossing Shennong Mountain and attacking the three eastern counties was not Huo Jun's original idea.
Historically, Meng Da was ordered by Liu Bei to cross Shennong Mountain to attack Fangling, and his soldiers killed Zhuge Liang's brother-in-law Kuai Qi. Liu Feng went south from the Han River to help Meng Da attack Shangyong. The Shen brothers surrendered to Liu Bei under the attack.
Now, it is not impossible to let Huang Zhong conquer while marching to support Hanzhong. As for whether the three eastern counties will rebel after Huang Zhong leaves and surrender to Cao Cao again. It can only be said that after forcing Cao Cao back, the grassroots in Dongsan County will naturally surrender to Liu Bei.
Huang Zhong thought deeply for a while and asked: "Huo Du has a strategy, so Zhong should follow it. Zhong is heading north from Zigui, but I don't know how Huo Du will advance?"
Huo Jun smiled and said: "General Huang entered Hanzhong via Fangling. Jun and his uncle arrived in Jiangzhou, met Kong Ming and Xingba, and then went north from Badi to Hanzhong."
In order to capture Bashu and win the battle to found the country, Liu Bei handed over all the white soldiers at the bottom of the box and asked Chen Dao to follow Huo Jun to conquer Hanzhong. He sat in the empty Wuhan, stabilized people's hearts, and dispatched supplies to Shu.
To be honest, it is not that Liu Bei has not considered leading his army to support Hanzhong, but considering that his son is young, his foundation in Wu Chu is weak, and Wuhan is three to four thousand miles away from Hanzhong, once something happens to him, the Wu Chu foundation will fall apart. .
Huang Zhong finished the chicken soup that Huo Jun gave him, spit out the chicken ribs into the bowl, cupped his hands and said, "Thank you very much, Governor Huo, for helping me solve this problem. Zhong has no objections."
"Old general, walk slowly. Jun will meet the general in Hanzhong."
"Hodo stay!"
——
When Huo Jun said goodbye to Huang Zhong, Hanzhong, thousands of miles away, was already on alert.
Mianyang, inside the hall.
Lu Xun was dressed in Confucian robes and a literary crown. He was sitting on the couch with his knees bent. Spies were displayed on the table.
Under the banquet, Wu Lan saw that Lu Xun was silent and said: "General, Xia Houyuan has led the troops to Xiabian. Cao Cao's army has gathered in Guanzhong. Our army's strength is very different. How can we occupy the enemy? Should we still hold on to the siege, or withdraw from the two cities? ?”
Yang Ang said worriedly: "General, our army is outnumbered and we cannot defend the siege. Now we must retreat to the two cities and wait for reinforcements to arrive."
Lu Xun formulated two sets of defense systems for Hanzhong, one for the peripheral passes, and the other for the inner cities of Mianyang and Chenggu. If the outer perimeter could not be defended, they concentrated their troops and retreated to the second city, waiting for rescue.
The two cities of Mianyang and Chenggu were continuously reinforced during more than a year of Lu Xun's tenure. A lot of grain and grass were accumulated, and the defensive equipment was also in reserve. Now all the generals are afraid that they cannot defend the outer perimeter, and hope to retreat to the second city and wait for rescue.
Lu Xun put his sword on the table and said: "If we retreat from the two cities without fighting now, the people's hearts will inevitably be scattered. Although the siege cannot be held now, it may not be impossible to fight the enemy."
"This~"
Several people looked at each other, not knowing what to say.
Although Lu Xun was a Confucian scholar, he was well versed in the art of war. Huo Jun also made suggestions for the Battle of Chrysostom; he also had a lot of experience when he went north to Hanzhong with Zhang Fei.
Now sitting in Hanzhong, Lu Xun naturally knows the inside story of Hanzhong. Taking Hanzhong as an example, defending the sieges separately is the priority. If the sieges cannot be defended, the two cities can be retreated.
But if the sieges cannot be defended, it means that Cao's army will enter Hanzhong. At that time, the people of Hanzhong will be in turmoil, and it will be difficult to defend the two cities for a long time. After all, the most important thing about defending the city lies in the internal unity. Once the people are distracted and there are thoughts of surrendering to Cao's army, the defense will not last long.
After a while, Zong Yuchu walked into the hall and said, "General Qi, the information from Xia Houyuan's department has been delivered."
After taking the towel, opening it and reading it, Lu Xun thought for a long time.
Lu Xun put down the letter in his hand, stood up, looked around at everyone, and said in a deep voice: "Cao Cao came with a large army. If we don't defeat the enemy's troops and inspire people, although the city is strong, it cannot last long. And the reinforcements are far away in Badi. By the time reinforcements arrive, I’m afraid people’s hearts will have dispersed!”
In the shocked eyes of everyone, Lu Xun said: "Please follow Xun to fight against Xiahou Yuan!"
Wu Lan suddenly stood up and advised: "General, if you don't want to retreat to the two cities, you should stick to Yangping Pass. How can we go out to fight Xiahou Yuan now? His army is larger than ours. If we fight, we will be defeated!"
Lu Xun pulled out the Han sword on the desk, a fierce look appeared on his elegant face, and said sternly: "Although I am a scholar, I have been ordered to be the master. I am now sitting in Hanzhong and I have been ordered to retreat from the enemy. If you don't obey, you will follow the military law!"
"promise!"
Everyone could only agree, but they were secretly complaining in their hearts.
ps: No more tonight, I’ll take a day off tomorrow.
No more tonight, take a day off tomorrow
(End of chapter)
