Tiger Owl

Chapter 185 Abandoning the Plan
Gan Ning suspended Pang Tong's troop deployment plan. Deploying troops is not like going to the market to buy groceries, where a few mishaps are not a big deal. It is a journey of seven or eight hundred miles from the nearest base in Baqiu County, Dongting Lake, to Jiangling. Without logistical support and without a base to anchor, any mishap could have a fatal impact on tens of thousands of soldiers.

Especially given the obvious problem that the message had not been received, Gan Ning was even less likely to send troops rashly; Jiangling was not necessarily a place that needed to be attacked.

"Find out the situation before deciding whether to send troops!" This was Gan Ning's final order to Pang Tong.

The Jiang'an Inn in Jiangling County was an intelligence point set up by the Yuzhang Army in Jiangling. The innkeeper was named Wang Jiang'an, who was about forty years old. Although he was an intelligence agent, he was very low-key. He learned about the movements of Jiangling City every day from the guests.

Zhuge Liang led an army of 20,000 to garrison Jiangling County. The intelligence was sent out immediately, but the carrier pigeon was intercepted. Wang Jiang'an only learned the next day that more than a dozen eagles were hunting pigeons in the sky, and he vaguely guessed that his pigeon message had not been sent.

Wang Anjiang was truly troubled. Although he knew there was an intelligence point in Xiangyang, he didn't know where it was.

The only solution was to send his men back to Chaisang, but that would take at least half a month, and he worried that the situation in Jiangling County would have changed by then.

Just when Wang Anjiang was at his wit's end, the liaison sent by Pang Tong arrived in Jiangling County. The liaison was named Tang Kun. He did not come from Chaisang, but from Xiangyang City. He was the intelligence chief of Xiangyang City.

According to the intelligence internal affairs regulations formulated by Pang Tong, there is no connection or communication between the various intelligence points. This is to prevent the collapse of one point from leading to the annihilation of the entire group. However, this situation is special, and Pang Tong can only notify the Xiangyang intelligence point to come to Jiangling to investigate the situation.

Tang Kun arrived at the inn, where a waiter greeted him, "Sir, would you like to stay?"

Tang Kun looked around and, finding nothing amiss, asked, "Is your Manager Wang here?"

Wang Anjiang, who happened to be at the door, quickly came forward and said, "I'm the manager, what can I do for you, sir?"

"You're Manager Wang Anjiang?"

"Exactly!"

Tang Kun smiled and said, "Someone recommended that I buy a few pounds of sea bass from you!"

This was their intelligence point of entry. Wang Anjiang's expression changed slightly, and he quickly smiled and said, "No problem! No problem! I know the shop that sells sea bass. Let's talk inside."

Wang Anjiang led Tang Kun to the shopkeeper's room in the backyard. The two sat down and each took out a bronze plaque and placed it on the table.

Tang Kun then explained, "My surname is Tang. I am the head of the intelligence point in Xiangyang. I received a message from the strategist asking me to come to Jiangling to check the situation. What happened in Jiangling? Why have we lost all contact?"

Wang Anjiang sighed and said, "The other side has sent a formidable figure, Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei's strategist. He used more than a dozen eagles to hunt down and kill both of my carrier pigeons. I have intelligence, but I can't send it out, and I don't know any other intelligence points."

Tang Kun nodded. "I brought a carrier pigeon with me this time. Give me the intelligence, and I'll send it to Chaisang."

Wang Anjiang quickly waved his hand, "You can't send messages by pigeon inside the city. There are more than a dozen eagles circling over the city every day."

"I understand. I will send a message by pigeon outside the city, trying to stay as far away from Jiangling as possible."

The following afternoon, Pang Tong finally received a message from Jiangling and immediately reported it to Gan Ning. After reading the message, Gan Ning fell into deep thought. Zhuge Liang had actually led 20,000 troops to occupy Jiangling. Gan Ning knew, of course, what they were planning. This was Liu Bei preparing to march on Bashu.

After a long silence, Gan Ning said to Pang Tong, "Let's hold a simple military meeting!"

Soon, several high-ranking officials arrived at Gan Ning's residence. Gan Ning relayed a message by pigeon to everyone. Lu Su nodded and said, "This is quite unexpected! Jiangling County has already been occupied by Liu Bei. General, should we still take it?"

Gan Ning shook his head. "Let me share my thoughts. If you disagree, you are welcome to object!"

Gan Ning then slowly said, "First of all, Jiangling is not of vital importance to us. Taking Jiangling does not mean that we can take Nanjun, and not taking Jiangling does not mean that we will have no chance in the future. More importantly, it is not militaryly realistic. We are too far away from Jiangling, we have no base, and we have no supplies. If we launch a large-scale expedition, we can only win and cannot afford to lose. We cannot afford too many setbacks. The slightest mistake will cause heavy losses to the army. Therefore, I suggest that we temporarily cancel the plan to attack Jiangling."

Xu Shu also expressed his opinion: "I fully support the general's suggestion. With Zhuge Liang guarding the city, we won't have many chances. He is my close friend and I know him very well. He can be said to be a military genius that comes along only once in a century. He is the one who can strategize within the tent and win battles a thousand miles away. He expected that we would attack Jiangling and cut off our intelligence first. With such a person who can anticipate the enemy's moves guarding Jiangling, if we rush to attack, we will surely be defeated!"

Pang Tong and Jiang Wan both agreed with Gan Ning's opinion. They both understood Zhuge Liang and believed that abandoning the Jiangling dispute was a wise move.

Lu Su pondered for a moment and said, "Since the middle strategy is not feasible, we will choose the worst option: cut off the Han River passage and protect Jiangxia County from Cao Cao's army."

Gan Ning nodded. "So be it. Order Huang Zhong's army to also garrison Jiangxia, and appoint Huang Zhong as the Jiangxia Defense Commissioner to strengthen the defense of Jiangxia Prefecture."

Just as Liu Bei crossed the Han River, Cao Cao's army launched an attack. The 100,000-strong army, with 3,000 cavalry as the vanguard, swept through the enemy lines with unstoppable momentum. Counties surrendered one after another without any resistance. Three days later, Cao Cao's army occupied Wancheng and continued to advance southward.

That night, Cao Cao's army arrived at the north bank of the Han River. Outside Xiangyang City, there was a large island in the middle of the Han River called Yuliang Island. The key to crossing the Han River was whether they could successfully capture Yuliang Island.

Currently, Yuliangzhou is guarded by Liao Hua with 3,000 men. Liao Hua comes from a prominent family in Nanyang County and is a captain under Liu Biao of Jingzhou. He is a mid-to-low-level official. When Liu Bei was in Xinye, he secretly recruited a large number of mid-to-low-level generals and officials, and Liao Hua was one of them. After Liu Bei occupied Nanyang County, he decisively surrendered to Liu Bei and became Liu Bei's direct general.

Liao Hua had already sensed the massive army on the north bank, and the enemy was about to cross the river, which made him very nervous. Just then, a soldier came to report, "General Liao, the lord has sent someone to deliver a message!"

"Bring it up!"

Before long, the messenger was brought in. He was Liu Bei's personal guard, holding a command arrow. He said, "Pass on the lord's order: General Liao, retreat immediately!"

"Ah! Abandon Yuliangzhou?"

The guard nodded. "Our lord is also retreating south. He has ordered General Liao to follow immediately and retreat to Jiangling."

"I understand, we'll retreat now!"

Liao Hua immediately led 3,000 troops to abandon Yuliangzhou and retreat to the south bank of the Han River, while burning down the pontoon bridge.

(End of this chapter)