Tiger Owl

Chapter 187 Rapid Attack on Wuling
The changes in Nanjun were dazzling, and Gan Ning was still keeping a close eye on every detail of Nanjun's developments. For this reason, Pang Tong specially increased the manpower and carrier pigeons by three times.

"Reporting to the general, Liu Bei's army has indeed retreated towards Bashu!"

Gan Ning smiled and shook his head, then said to Pang Tong, "They are not retreating, but rather making a strategic transfer."

Pang Tong hesitated for a moment, "They had it all planned out in advance?"

Gan Ning nodded. "Nanyang Commandery is a strategically important location, surrounded by enemy strongholds. With Cao Cao's army pressing north, Liu Bei couldn't hold it. Liu Bei himself knew this. Previously, Cui Zhouping advised him to go north to Guanzhong, but Liu Bei refused. Liu Bei wanted to seize Nan Commandery, but Zhuge Liang's plan for him was to seize Bashu and establish a base there. Look at Zhuge Liang's arrangement: he had Liu Qi stationed in Jiangling, and then persuaded Liu Qi to lead his army north to join Liu Bei. Then he himself would be stationed in Jiangling to prepare for the westward advance. It's all interconnected."

Pang Tong sighed and said, "General, you see things clearly. Now that you say so, it is indeed a premeditated plan. However, Cao Ren's army is besieging Yiling, and Jiangling City is empty. Should we take this opportunity to occupy Jiangling?"

Gan Ning laughed, "The strategic Jiangling County is of no significance other than relieving the siege of Yiling. There is no need to interfere in Nanjun. The next step is to seize the three counties of Jingnan and not give Cao's army a springboard to advance south."

"But I have received intelligence that Liu Bei has seized most of the warships in Nan Commandery, so I'm afraid Cao Cao's army will not be able to cross the Yangtze River."

Gan Ning shook his head. "The premise that they can't cross the river is that the other side is not their territory. The other side of Jiangling is Wuling County. If Jin Xuan, the governor of Wuling County, surrenders to Cao Cao's army, then Cao Cao's army will not need to fight to cross the river. They can use civilian boats to move like ants. In a month, 100,000 troops will cross the Yangtze River, and the consequences will be very serious."

Therefore, we must take advantage of the fact that Cao Cao's army has not yet firmly established itself in Nan Commandery, and seize Wuling Commandery as soon as possible, followed by Lingling Commandery and Guiyang Commandery.

Pang Tong clasped his hands and said, "I have traveled in Jingnan for two years and am very familiar with it. I would like to request permission to take over the three counties of Jingnan."

Gan Ning readily agreed, “Then I will hand over General Huang’s and General Zilong’s troops to you and change the plan to attack Jiangling to the plan to attack Wuling County.”

Since the Yuzhang Army had made extensive preparations for attacking Jiangling County, no further preparations were needed. Gan Ning ordered Taishi Ci's troops to go to Jiangxia County to replace Huang Zhong's troops. Huang Zhong's troops and Zhao Yun's troops totaled more than 30,000 men, and they also prepared a thousand warships. The 30,000-strong army sailed on ships and marched in a mighty procession towards Wuling County.

Throughout the more than one month-long upheaval in Jingzhou, Jiangdong remained an observer, too far away to intervene effectively. However, the final outcome still caused Jiangdong considerable concern.

The hall was very quiet. Jiangdong had just received news that Liu Cong had surrendered to Cao Cao, Liu Bei had fled to Bashu with Liu Qi, and Cao Cao's 100,000 troops had successfully occupied Nanyang and Nanjun. Jiangdong officials realized that this would greatly change the landscape of Jianghuai and Jiangnan.

Lu Fan slowly said, "Cao Cao's occupation of Jingzhou will have a profound impact on us. This means that Cao Cao is beginning to turn around. Perhaps the north has not yet been pacified, but Cao Cao has already begun to pave the way for the southern expedition."

Gu Yong, however, had a different opinion: "Lord Wu, I think this is just a coincidence, an accidental event triggered by Liu Biao's death. An opportunity has arisen in Jingzhou, and Cao Cao does not want to give up this opportunity. This has nothing to do with Cao Cao's southward strategy. I believe that Cao Cao's southward advance is definitely not now."

Sun Quan nodded and then asked Zhang Zhao, "What does the strategist think?"

Zhang Zhao slowly said, "This Jingzhou incident was indeed an accidental event, but major accidents can change decisions. If Cao Cao originally planned to attack the south in five years, then this Jingzhou incident will definitely bring forward Cao Cao's southern expedition plan, perhaps turning it into an attack on the south in two years. Lord Wu, we must speed up war preparations, including conscription, training, grain storage, city repair, and the establishment of various military advisors."

Sun Quan walked a few steps with his hands behind his back and asked, "Strategist, do you think that if Cao Cao's army launches a major southward offensive, they will go through the Jingzhou area?"

Zhang Zhao shook his head. "Anything is possible, it depends on Cao Cao's shipbuilding progress. But whatever the situation, we must accelerate our preparations for war. Even if we take the western front, once Cao Cao defeats Gan Ning, we'll be next." Sun Quan nodded. "You're all right, strengthening our preparations is now of paramount importance!"

Of the three commanderies in Jingnan, Wuling Commandery was the easiest to attack. Wuling County is located in what is now western Hunan, southern Hubei, and eastern Guizhou. It covers a vast area, but most of it is mountainous. Several major rivers flow through Wuling Commandery, the most famous of which is the Yuan River.

The Yuan River can be considered the mother river of Wuling County. Most of the important county towns of Wuling Prefecture were located on both banks of the Yuan River, including the prefecture capital Linyuan County, Yuannan County, and Hanshou County. In addition, Lingyang County was also located near the Yuan River.
If you continue west along the Yuan River, there are also Yuanling County, Youyang County, Qianling County, and Chenyang County. Most of the important county towns in Wuling are located on both banks of the Yuan River.

Although there are many county towns, they are all relatively small and have a small population, mostly only a few thousand people. The most important city is the prefectural capital, Linyuan County, with tens of thousands of people. In addition, there are three other important county towns along the Yangtze River: Yi County, Chanling County, and Zuotang County, which must also be captured.

Jin Xuan, the Prefect of Wuling, was about fifty years old and a native of Jingzhao. He had served as an official in Jingzhou for a long time. In the third year of Jian'an, he was appointed Prefect of Wuling. When Zhang Xian, the Prefect of Changsha, rebelled against Liu Biao, Jin Xuan also joined the rebellion. Although Zhang Xian's rebellion was suppressed, Liu Biao could not attend to Jingnan. Jin Xuan gave Liu Biao face and sent someone to write a letter to Liu Biao, expressing his continued submission to Liu Biao.

Liu Biao gained face, while Jin Xuan gained substance; both got what they wanted. Jin Xuan remained de facto independent, becoming a regional warlord.

At this time, Jin Xuan also learned of the upheaval in Jingzhou. Cao Cao's army had already reached Jiangling and was very close to him.

Jin Xuan immediately sent his son Jin Yi to Jiangling County to write a letter to Cao Ren, expressing his willingness to surrender to Cao Cao.

It is not surprising that Jin Xuan surrendered to Cao Cao. The reason why Zhang Xian, the governor of Changsha, rebelled was because Cao Cao supported Zhang Xian behind the scenes. Cao Cao sent Huan Jie to persuade Zhang Xian, and Zhang Xian secretly surrendered to Cao Cao. Along with him, the other three counties in Jingnan also surrendered to Cao Cao.

Jin Xuan surrendered to Cao Cao at that time, but he was not important and Cao Cao did not think much of him. He never gave Cao Cao a clear answer, and he did not know whether he was Cao Cao's man or not.

Therefore, this time Jin Xuan sent his son Jin Yi to find Cao Ren and surrender to Cao Cao once again.

Before Cao Ren could deliver any news, Pang Tong led an army of 30,000 to Linyuan County.

Pang Tong's army crossed the Yangtze River, then entered Dongting Lake, then the Xiang River, and then the Yuan River, the largest tributary of the Xiang River. After sailing along the Yuan River for more than two hundred miles, the fleet finally arrived at Linyuan County.

Although Gan Ning suspended his attack on the three prefectures of Jingnan two years ago, he had already deployed intelligence points in advance, enabling the Yuzhang Army to grasp the situation in Wuling Prefecture.

Wuling County had only a population of over 100,000, but of course it had more. The population of over 100,000 was only the registered population of each county. In reality, there were a large number of Yue people in the mountains who were not on the government's population register.

With an insufficient population base, the army numbered only 10,000, of which 7,000 were stationed in Linyuan County, the county seat, while another 3,000 were stationed in Yidao County, Yuanling County, and Youyang County, with 1,000 troops stationed in each county, mainly to monitor the Yue people.

There were large flat areas near Linyuan County, where the fleet could dock directly. The 30,000-strong army quickly assembled and soon besieged the city.

Huang Zhong knew Jin Xuan, so he wrote a letter and sent someone to shoot an arrow onto the city wall, waiting for Jin Xuan's reply.

(End of this chapter)