Chapter 354: Anticipate the enemy and capture Huo Jun Huo Junyan said that he knew where Qin Zhen's camp was, which was somewhat unexpected to Cai Mao! Because in his opinion, although Huo Jun was a promising talent, he had only been in charge of the army for less than two years. Now even he couldn't guess Qin Zhen's thoughts, so how could a young man like Huo Jun guess it? "Why did Zhong Miao say that? How can you be sure that Qin Zhen's camp is east of this city?" The generals listened and looked towards Huo Jun. Then they saw Huo Jun pointing to the south and inferred: "General Liu Pan is still in Chanling. If Qin Zhen passes by here, the general must report it!" "But the general did not report Qin Zhen's arrival, which shows that Qin Zhen did not lead the navy west." "And our Jiangling land is close to the river in the south, and the outer city is surrounded by the Yunmeng Lake." "It's hard to hide troops in the vast land to the north, but there is a dense forest in the southeast corner of the city where we can hide our troops!" "Now that Qin Zhen is planning a surprise attack, his troops can only hide in the southeast corner!" "So I infer that Qin Zhen has hidden his troops here, and our army has not discovered it yet!" After hearing this analysis, Cai Mao's eyes lit up immediately, and he stroked his beard and nodded repeatedly: "Zhong Miao's words are quite insightful. Qin Zhen is good at using troops. If he hides his troops, they are most likely here!"

"However, Qin Zhen has tens of thousands of soldiers, while our army only has more than 10,000 soldiers in the city." "Even if he wants to launch a surprise attack, there must be a lot of soldiers and horses guarding the camp. How can our army attack the camp?" Military strength is his biggest problem now. Even if Qin Zhen only brings 30,000 soldiers, it is twice as many as his. If Qin Zhen came in person to launch a surprise attack, then a sneak attack on the camp might be possible. But if Qin Zhen sent a small force to launch a surprise attack while he himself guarded the camp, his troops would most likely be defeated outside the city. However, as soon as he raised the question, Huo Jun shook his head and said firmly: "My Lord, our army does not need to storm the enemy camp. Only three or four thousand soldiers are needed to accomplish the task!" "Because it's spring and the wind is strong, they camped in the forest. Although they can hide, it's already against the rules!" "All our troops need to do is sneak into the forest, light fires everywhere, and when a strong wind blows, where can he escape to?" All the generals were shocked when they heard this, but Cai Mao was overjoyed when he heard this: "Now that I have obtained Zhong Miao's plan, how can Qin Zhen not be defeated? Our army can act now!" Originally, it was only after reading Cai Feng's letter that he decided to hold on to Jiangling. But now Huo Jun's words actually gave him hope of winning! You know, Qin Zhen has fought hundreds of battles since he came out of seclusion until now, and has never been defeated, almost on par with Wu Qi. This kind of record made many people shudder at the mention of Qin and they did not dare to engage in a head-on battle with Qin Zhen. And now, Qin Zhen is about to take the initiative to attack, and Qin Zhen may set up camp in the forest. Almost everything is on his side, so he has a chance to defeat Qin Zhen. If he could really defeat Qin Zhen, it would certainly make Qin Zhen even more angry, but this achievement would gild him. If he surrendered to Liu Bei with such a record in the future, how could Liu Bei turn a blind eye to it? Thinking of this, he immediately prepared to send spies to find out Qin Zhen's camp. But as soon as he gave the order, Huo Jun hurriedly stopped him, saying: "It is almost the second watch now. If Qin Zhen wants to launch a surprise attack, his troops may have already left the camp." "It's too late for our army to spy now, so why not send troops there directly!"

"If you don't mind, I will lead 3,000 soldiers and horses to go by water!" "As long as we can find out the enemy's camp, I will take action to ensure victory in this battle!" After listening to what he said, Cai Mao thought it made sense, so he stopped hesitating and dispatched three thousand soldiers to help them. After receiving the order, Huo Jun did not dare to delay, so he gathered his troops, loaded the boats with thatch, and each took a fire. He left the city and went down the river. At the same time, in the southeast direction of Jiangling, where Huo Jun deduced, Qin Zhen’s camp was located. I saw camps standing in the dense forest, but except for the outer tents, there were no tents inside. Not only were there no tents, but even the thatch and trees had been cleared away, leaving only the main tent standing there. At this time, Qin Zhen stood in the tent, took a look at the water clock, and said to Taishi Ci: "It is now the second watch. General, you may lead your troops forward and act according to the plan." “If the enemy really opens the gate, we can rush into the city and seize it.” "If the enemy makes any unusual movements or a fire breaks out here, General, you must retreat immediately. You may advance again only after receiving my order!" Upon hearing this, Taishi Ci immediately took orders and left the camp with more than 10,000 soldiers and horses. After Taishi Ci left, Liao Li beside Qin Zhen said with a worried look on his face: "Commander-in-chief, is it really possible that Cai Mao would come and burn down our army camp?" Although Qin Zhen had planned everything, he still couldn't help but feel a little worried. After all, they are now in a dense forest. If Cai Mao really has this intention, then they are now in danger. He was still young and it was his first time going to the battlefield, so he couldn't help feeling a little nervous. Qin Zhen looked at the worried expression on his face, then looked at Lu Xun on the other side and said with a smile: "Gong Yuan was afraid of the enemy's coming, so why wasn't Bo Yan afraid?" Compared to the nervous Liao Li, Lu Xun seemed much calmer. Facing Qin Zhen's question, he cupped his hands and said: "Because the governor has already deployed scouts all over the river, if the enemy army comes out, our army will know it first." "Even if there are scouts outside, the enemy's military situation is under our control. Why should our army be afraid?" Listening to Lu Xun's words, Qin Zhen nodded, then looked at Liao Li and said: "Bo Yan's words are exactly what a general should do. Gong Yuan knows that this place is easy to attack with fire, and the enemy army naturally knows it too!" "The enemy may send out troops if they know this, so our army sent out scouts to investigate first, in order to prepare for the enemy's advance." "Since we have already prepared for the enemy, we should just rely on the intelligence from the scouts. Why should we be afraid?" As he said this, he couldn't help but evaluate Liao Li in his heart. This was obviously another Ma Su. You know, the place where they camped was vulnerable to fire attack, which was first pointed out by Liao Li. This shows that Liao Li is not unfamiliar with military affairs, at least he has certain tactical attainments. But by comparing him with Lu Xun now, it can be seen that Liao Li is not suitable to be the main general. Indeed, since there was no radar or imaging in this era, the enemy outside could not be seen. But as a commander, you have to trust the intelligence brought back by your spies and make decisions based on the intelligence.

Even though he had already arranged spies, Liao Li was still worried about being ambushed, which proved that his mind was not stable enough. No wonder they did not resist Lu Meng in the original process, but chose to abandon the city and flee. It can be said that he had talent, but he lacked the psychological qualities to become a great general. Lu Xun did a good job in this regard. After giving a brief reminder, he put his hands behind his back and asked the two young men in front of him: "According to your two opinions, if Cai Mao dares to come and burn the camp today, can our army succeed?" When the two heard this, Lu Xun directly said that it would definitely succeed, while Liao Li said hesitantly: "Cai Mao is Liu Biao's military advisor. He is very wise and has great plans. It is unknown whether our army can succeed!" After listening to the two's responses, Qin Zhen smiled slightly and reminded Liao Li again: "As a general, it is good to be thoughtful, but you must be confident in your plans and not hesitate!" "One general's success is based on the sacrifice of thousands of soldiers. If you are in charge of the army, every word you say will affect the lives of the soldiers." "If you are not confident in your plan, how can you expect your officers to trust you and risk their lives for you?" "From this perspective, Bo Yan can be a general, while Gong Yuan can only be a counselor in the court, not in charge of military affairs!" In fact, he didn't know what choice Cai Mao would make, but he prepared two plans based on the current situation. If Cai Mao acted according to his words, everyone would be happy and Taishi Ci would take the city directly. If Cai Mao had other ideas, he could also change the strategy accordingly and have a way to deal with it no matter what. Lu Xun's affirmative answer shows that he had seriously considered Cai Mao's reaction. Liao Li's words prove that he had not inferred Cai Mao's reaction. This is obviously contrary to the general's principle of knowing both himself and the enemy, so he made a direct judgment on Liao Li. Lu Xun remained calm despite Qin Zhen's words, but Liao Li frowned. He was about to ask when he heard footsteps outside the tent, followed by a scout who reported: "Commander-in-chief, our spies have spotted the enemy fleet, and it is heading downstream from our camp!" Hearing this, Liao Li was startled, and Qin Zhen turned around and instructed the scout: "Pass on my military order. Order Bao Long, Li Yi and others to be on alert. Order Wen Xiang to prepare to hijack the ship. No matter who the enemy general is, we must capture him and not let him get away!" "Tell Ziyi to go straight to Jiangling and pretend to attack it. When you see a fire, withdraw and wait for my order!" When the military order was given, the soldiers under his command immediately moved, and Qin Zhen took the two of them out of the military tent. On the other hand, it is said that after Huo Jun left Jiangling, he immediately sent spies to investigate and then headed eastward along the river. They had been walking like this for less than three quarters of an hour when they heard a spy come to report that there was indeed military movement in the forest, which was obviously Qin Zhen's camp. Hearing that Qin Zhen had indeed set up camp in the forest, Huo Jun was overjoyed, thinking to himself that this was a gift from heaven! But in his great joy, he recalled the time when his brother died in battle and Qin Zhen wrote a eulogy for him, and he became sad again: "This is a battle between two armies. If I offend you today, please don't blame me, Lord Qin!" After he had spoken to himself like this for a while, a spring breeze suddenly blew over the river, and his followers came forward to challenge him for a fight. Huo Jun was also a man who clearly distinguished between public and private matters. He knew that this was not the time to consider personal feelings, so he immediately took his troops and stopped the ship at the shore.

In this way, they arrived at the shore, and their soldiers each held a sword and walked towards the forest with fire. When they saw Qin Zhen's camp, they ordered their soldiers to go forward and light a fire with the help of the wind. As the spring breeze blew, the fire grew bigger. For a moment, it was like a switch was turned on, the wind was blowing hard, the trees were all on fire, and the fire dragon was raging. Seeing this, Huo Jun headed towards the rear camp, intending to burn Qin Zhen's food and fodder. Unexpectedly, at this moment, he heard a loud shout from afar: "You rats want to burn the food, but you have to get past me first. Load your crossbows and shoot with me!" As soon as the words came out, a burst of arrows were shot out from the forest behind. Huo Jun was horrified and quickly raised his shield and retreated. Unexpectedly, as soon as he retreated, another group of people rushed out from behind and attacked him. Because this was the time the fire was set, Huo Jun did not ride a horse. When he saw the ambushes in front and behind, he realized that he had fallen into a trap and quickly broke out to the riverside. But he had no horse after all, and as soon as he shouted, he was seen by Li Yi, who rode his horse galloping towards him. Upon seeing this, Huo Jun hurriedly stabbed him with his gun. Li Yi dodged to the side, and Huo Jun chopped him with a knife. At this moment, someone took advantage of the horse's momentum and chopped down with a knife. Huo Jun hurriedly blocked it, but his spear was cut off. Huo Jun lost his weapon and was horrified. He retreated hastily, but was saved by his personal guards. Seeing fires everywhere in the forest and chaos with the help of the wind, he thought he had completed his mission and retreated in a hurry. When he reached the shore and saw the boat, he jumped on board and hurriedly urged the soldiers to get on board. The soldiers under his command fled the camp and rushed forward, boarding the ships to meet the pursuing soldiers. But at this moment, something happened that made Huo Jun despair. He saw a fleet coming from the west. It turned out that Qin Zhen knew that Jiangling was close to the water, and if the enemy wanted to launch a surprise attack, they would definitely come by water. So he ordered Xu Sheng to ambush in the reeds on the south bank with his boats to cut off the enemy's way back. At this time, as the fire started in the forest, Xu Sheng led his troops to the east, just in time to block Huo Jun's retreat route. Huo Jun originally planned to retreat by water after setting the fire, but he was blocked by the navy and army on the shore. Seeing that he was surrounded by enemies, Huo Jun drew his sword and intended to kill himself, but his subordinates saw him and said: "If the general dies, how can we hope to survive? I hope the general will lead us to surrender and not fight again!" These people are all his fellow villagers. They followed Huo Du in the past and follow him again now. Their friendship is deep and loyal. Seeing everyone trying to persuade him, he felt helpless and had to put down his sword and lead his troops to surrender. (End of this chapter)