Tiger Owl

Chapter 128 Seeking Advice from Jingnan
In the afternoon, the massive fleet of the Yuzhang Army arrived in Linxiang County, and Huang Zhong personally went out of the city to greet them.

Surrounded by dozens of generals, Gan Ning approached Huang Zhong. Huang Zhong stepped forward, knelt on one knee, clasped his hands, and said, "General Gan's kindness is etched in my heart. I am grateful for your kindness and willingness to serve you like a dog!"

Gan Ning quickly helped him up and said with a smile, "It's easy to find a thousand soldiers, but hard to find a general. You are a great talent, old general. It's a loss for Jingzhou if they don't use you."

Gan Ning then appointed Huang Zhong as the eighth colonel of the Yuzhang Army. Although Huang Zhong was a lieutenant general, he made it clear to Xu Shu that he would rather be a real colonel of the Yuzhang Army than be a nominal lieutenant general of the Jingzhou Army for more than ten years and become a laughing stock.

Gan Ning, accompanied by Huang Zhong, entered Linxiang County, which meant that they had officially taken over Changsha Commandery. Gan Ning appointed Cui Jun as the governor of Changsha Commandery, and Zhuge Jin succeeded Cui Jun as the prefect of Wuchang Commandery. Xu Jing was appointed as the prefect of Changsha Commandery.

According to the memorandum of understanding signed between Gan Ning and Liu Cong, Gan Ning released Liu Cong and Cai Yan, as well as 10,000 prisoners of war.

The remaining prisoners of war were reorganized into the Yuzhang Army, which included 15,000 prisoners of war from the two naval battles, 3,000 surrendered soldiers from Liling County, more than 7,000 surrendered soldiers from Zhang Yi's troops, plus Huang Zhong's 2,000 subordinates, totaling 27,000 people. They were reorganized into the Seventh and Eighth Armies, commanded by Colonel Huang Zhong and Wei Yan.

By this time, Gan Ning's army had reached 100,000 men.

Gan Ning then ordered the recruitment of 100,000 laborers from Changsha County to build Baqiu County, with Ding Feng's Second Army stationed at Dongting Lake, while Wei Yan's army took over the defense of Wuchang County.

Huang Zhong led the Eighth Army to continue to be stationed in Linxiang County, Taishi Ci's army was deployed in the south of Changsha County, and Zhao Yun's army was deployed in the west of Changsha County. They continued to strengthen their training and prepared to launch a campaign to recover the remaining three counties in Jingnan.

In the main hall, Huang Zhong said to Gan Ning: "Zhang Xian, the governor of Changsha Commandery, has always had a bad relationship with Liu Biao, but because Zhang Xian is senior and has won the hearts of the people, Liu Biao can't do anything about him."

Two years ago, in order to contain Liu Biao, Cao Cao won over Zhang Xian in the name of the imperial court. Zhang Xian then started a rebellion, and the entire Changsha Commandery was against Liu Biao. Liu Xin and I were unable to control the situation and had to temporarily retreat north. The other three commanderies followed Zhang Xian's lead and joined the rebellion.

Zhang Xian died of illness soon after, and his son Zhang Yi declared himself governor of Changsha Commandery. However, many in the army disagreed with Zhang Yi's appointment and preferred Zhang Kan to be governor. To secure his position, Zhang Yi poisoned Zhang Kan, which triggered internal strife.

It was precisely because of the internal strife in Changsha Commandery that we seized the opportunity to recapture Linxiang County and drive Zhang Yi to the south. Even so, Changsha Commandery remained unstable. The county magistrates were all appointed by Zhang Xian, and the local powerful families were always ready to rise up in support of Zhang Yi. In reality, we and Zhang Yi were in a constant state of stalemate. In the end, our lord forcefully stormed into Changsha Commandery and wiped out both families.

Gan Ning pondered for a moment and said, "Zhang Yi refused to surrender and chose to commit suicide. Could this trigger rebellions in various places?"

Huang Zhong smiled slightly and said, "It can only be said that there are advantages and disadvantages. It is advantageous to Changsha County, but disadvantageous to the three counties of Jingnan."

"How do you say this?"

"My lord, you may not know this, but Zhang Yi has no compassion for the people. In order to support his army, he constantly exploits them. The counties in the southern part of Changsha Prefecture are full of complaints. They do not support Zhang Yi, but only reluctantly support him because of his father Zhang Xian."

Now that Zhang Yi is dead, it's actually a relief for the southern counties of Changsha Commandery. If our lord takes the initiative to appease the counties and implement low taxes, he will surely gain their support. This is the advantageous aspect.

"What about the downside?"

"The downside is the three commanderies of Jingnan. Currently, the three commanderies of Jingnan are controlled by Zhang Xian's generals and subordinates: Zhao Fan of Guiyang Commandery, Liu Du of Lingling Commandery, and Jin Xuan of Wuling Commandery. Previously, Zhang Yi was a tether that bound the three families together. Now that Zhang Yi is dead, they are no longer bound and will each govern their own territory, becoming three warlords. My lord will have to gnaw on these three tough nuts one by one."

"Will it take them time to become feudal lords?" Gan Ning asked again.

Huang Zhong shook his head. "Actually, that's not the case. Last year, they each replaced the prefects and established their own armies, only nominally obeying Zhang Yi." "I see. General Huang, are you aware of the situation regarding these three armies?"

Huang Zhong shook his head. “This humble servant is not very clear either, my lord. The situation in Jingnan is very complicated. Liu Biao has been the governor of Jingzhou for more than ten years, but he has only managed to control Changsha County. He is unwilling to easily touch the other three counties. If my lord wants to know more about the situation, why not ask Xu Jing? He knows the situation in the three counties of Jingnan and Jiaozhou very well.”

Xu Jing also accompanied Gan Ning on this expedition. His family had already been taken to Linxiang County, relieving Xu Jing of his worries. Gan Ning appointed him as the Assistant Prefect of Changsha.

Gan Ning then sent someone to invite Xu Jing to learn about the situation in the three prefectures of Jingnan.

Xu Jing had spent many years in Jiaozhou and was quite familiar with the situation there. Later, he became Zhang Yi's special envoy and made several trips to the three prefectures of Jingnan, where he also became very knowledgeable.

Xu Jing bowed and smiled, “Actually, I talked with Zijing before. I compared the four commanderies of Jingnan and Jiaozhou to a chessboard. There are three players in the game: the imperial court, Liu Biao, and Zhang Xian. The imperial court’s power refers to Zhang Jin, the governor of Jiaozhou, Shi Huang, the prefect of Cangwu, and Shi Xie, the prefect of Jiaozhi.”

Liu Biao's power mainly consisted of Wu Ju, the governor of Yulin Commandery, plus Changsha Commandery, which he later seized.

Then there was Zhang Xian's power. Originally, it comprised four commanderies in Jingnan, but after Zhang Xian's death, his son Zhang Yi succeeded him. He lost Changsha Commandery, and the remaining three commanderies in Jingnan were practically defunct. When I went to visit these three commanderies, the governors were either out inspecting the area, or they were ill, or they were treated to lavish meals but no business was discussed.

"Is it said that Zhang Jin, the governor of Jiaozhou, frequently attacks the four counties of Jingnan?" Gan Ning asked.

"That was before. Later, after Zhang Xian controlled the four counties of Jingnan, Zhang Jin stopped attacking them. Instead, the two families formed an alliance to oppose Liu Biao."

Gan Ning nodded and then asked, "What about the troop strength of the other three prefectures in Jingnan?"

"The three armies each have around 10,000 troops, but the three counties in Jingnan are different from Changsha County. Changsha County is mainly populated by Han people because of its vast plains, making it easier to govern."

However, the other three prefectures in Jingnan are mostly mountainous, with a mix of Southern Yi and Han people. The Southern Yi are not under the jurisdiction of the Han government; they are all self-governing chieftains who frequently unite to rebel. Occupying these areas would cause them immense trouble, and coupled with the difficulty of transporting food, once they were entangled, it was very difficult to extricate themselves. Zhao Fan, Liu Du, Jin Xuan, and others only controlled a few key counties; they could not control other areas and dared not touch them.

Gan Ning smiled slightly and said, "Does the Prefect mean that I should refrain from attacking the three prefectures of Jingnan for the time being?"

"Of course, my lord can fight, but it's best to be well-prepared. The key is how to transport grain and supplies in. I've traveled this route several times. It seems like large carts can travel on the official road, but in reality, the road is too bumpy. Large carts can only travel a few dozen miles before they break down. We have to use horses and mules to carry them in. Moreover, if we're not careful, the local Yi people will rob us. I've been robbed every time, and each time I lose most of my supplies and money."

"They don't welcome Han Chinese?" Gan Ning asked again.

Xu Jing shook his head. "They welcome the Han people, and the Han people do not invade them. They even bring advanced technology, and everyone gets along well. But the Southern Barbarians do not welcome the government and the army. The government wants to collect taxes from them, and the army wants to seize their territory."

Gan Ning's conversation with Huang Zhong and Xu Jing gave him a deeper understanding of the three counties in Jingnan. He decided to stop rushing and appointed Xu Jing as his special envoy to appease the counties of Changsha County on his behalf.

Gan Ning then led his army back to Yuzhang County along the Xiang River.

(End of this chapter)