Tiger Owl

Chapter 199 The Defender Surrenders
Upon returning to Xiangyang, Cheng Yu immediately summoned Cai Mao. Cai Mao was extremely obsequious to Cheng Yu, knowing full well that Cheng Yu was Cao Cao's top strategist and that a single word from Cheng Yu to Cao Cao could determine his fate.

Cheng Yu pushed a piece of paper in front of Cai Mao. On the paper were three names. "General Cai, are you familiar with these three people?"

The three generals were Chen Zhi, the commander of Wuyang Pass; Han Jing, the commander of Pingjing Pass; and Zhang Qiong, the commander of Jiuli Pass.

This is Cheng Yu's strength: he plans carefully before acting. He had been considering the three northern passes for a long time and even knew the names of the three generals guarding them.

Cai Mao nodded. "I know all three of them. They are all surrendered generals from the Jingzhou army."

"I want to know, which of these three can be bribed?"

"I need to investigate this and give Strategist Cheng a reply within three days."

Cheng Yu shook his head. "I need the answer this afternoon!"

In the afternoon, Cai Mao found Cheng Yu and handed him a report. "This is the information of Han Jing, the commander of the Pingjing Pass. He is from Deng County. His wife, children and parents are all in Deng County. Because his parents are old, they did not go to Jiangxia County. He was originally a captain, but he was demoted in Jingzhou for embezzling military rations."

"Why did Gan Ning continue to use him after he was demoted for embezzlement?"

“He and Fu Tong had a very good personal relationship, and it is likely that Fu Tong covered up his past scandals for him.”

At this point, Cai Mao laughed again: "He surrendered to Gan Ning as a captain, and he is still a captain now. He has neither been promoted nor made any money. He is not loyal to Gan Ning, and he has a criminal record. Now his wife, children and parents are in our hands. Isn't it easy to bribe him?"

Cheng Yu nodded. "I'd like to find someone he knows to go there. Is there anyone like that?"

"Yes! He has a cousin who is currently a minor official in Xiangyang County."

Cheng Yu then met with Han Jing's cousin, Han Qu, and promoted him to the position of Granary Clerk in Xiangyang. Han Qu was deeply grateful and immediately promised to persuade his brother to surrender.

That evening, Cao Ren led 30,000 troops out of Xiangyang Commandery and rushed to Runan Commandery.

The Three Passes of Jiangxia North are also known as the Three Passes of Yiyang. They are three passes built along the three passages that pass through the Dabie Mountains south of Xinyang. The middle one is Wuyang Pass, the west one is Pingjing Pass, and the east one is Jiuli Pass. The passes are separated by dozens of miles and are actually three unrelated passes. Each pass and each passage connects the Central Plains and Jingzhou.

That is why every passage is a strategic passage for the army, and every pass is a strategic location.

The three passes are currently controlled by Fu Tong's army, with a thousand soldiers stationed at each pass.

All three passes are strategically important and difficult to attack. Under normal circumstances, a thousand soldiers would be sufficient to defend them.

Pingjing Pass is the westernmost of the three northern passes. It is also known as the Merchant Pass, because merchants liked to take this route. After passing through the Dabie Mountains, it is not far from Sui County. Merchants could rest in Sui County, go directly to Nanjun, or rent a small boat to go directly to the Yangtze River along the Yun River.

Han Jingnian, the commander of Pingjing Pass, was in his early thirties. He was tall with a long face and a cunning glint in his eyes.

Guarding Pingjing Pass was a lucrative post. Every day, a steady stream of merchant caravans passed through Pingjing Pass on their way to Jiangxia County and Nan County, generating a large amount of toll revenue. Han Jing used his personal relationship with Fu Tong to obtain this lucrative post.

In appointing Han Jing, Fu Tong actually violated Gan Ning's principle. Gan Ning had issued a regulation that if the families of surrendered soldiers did not relocate to the sphere of influence of the Yuzhang Army, then those soldiers could not guard strategic passes. Han Jing repeatedly assured Fu Tong that his parents, wife, and children would soon move to Jiangxia County, but in reality, his parents were reluctant to leave their homeland and were old, so they refused to come to Jiangxia County. His wife also had to take care of the two elderly people, so she did not come to Jiangxia County either.

According to Han Jing, his parents, wife, and children were about to set off, but a year has passed and they still haven't come to Jiangxia County.

This problem can only be attributed to Fu Tong's negligence. He had urged Han Jing, but later he assumed that Han Jing's parents, wife and children had already come to Jiangxia, so he stopped taking the matter to heart.

That afternoon, a soldier ran up to Han Jing and reported, "Reporting to the Commandant, a scholar has arrived, claiming to be your elder brother, named Han Qu!"

Han Jing was overjoyed. His cousin had arrived, and he hurriedly went out to greet him. His cousin, Han Qu, whom he hadn't seen for two years, was smiling at him.

"Brother, what fragrant breeze blew you here?"

Han Qu smiled slightly, "Of course I've come to bring you wealth and glory!"

Inside the private tent, Han Qu handed Cheng Yu's letter to him, saying, "This is a letter from Military Advisor Cheng to you. Take a good look at it!"

Han Jing opened the letter and read it carefully. Cheng Yu knew his pragmatism well. After a few simple compliments, he got straight to the point, promising to appoint him as a military officer in Cao's army and to reside permanently in Deng County so that he could take good care of his parents, wife and children.

Han Jing sighed inwardly. Cheng Yu had actually mentioned his parents, wife, and children in Deng County in the letter. This silent threat left him with no choice.

"Does Military Advisor Cheng want to pacify Jingguan?"

Han Jing wasn't stupid. Cheng Yu's attempt to win him over must be for Pingjing Pass, which was his only asset.

"That's right. General Cao Ren will lead a large army to Pingjing Pass tomorrow night. If you surrender the pass, General Cao Ren will reward you on the spot."

Han Jing nodded silently. He felt as if he had unknowingly ascended to heaven. When he turned around, the ladder was gone, and Cao Ren's army would arrive tomorrow. He didn't even have a chance to ask for help.

Han Jing sighed deeply. This must be fate! His parents, wife, and children hadn't come to Jiangxia, which meant this day was destined to come.

On the second night, Cao Ren led an army of 30,000 to Pingjing Pass. Under normal circumstances, if any of the three passes were attacked by the enemy, it would light a beacon to notify the other two passes. The beacon towers along the way would then quickly transmit the warning to Jiangxia County.

Cheng Yu was well aware of Jiangxia County's defense system, so he did not resort to a sneak attack or a direct assault. Instead, he used bribery. If he could persuade even one of the checkpoints to surrender, the entire Jiangxia defense system would collapse. Surrender was the biggest loophole in this system, and Cheng Yu seized upon it.

The gates of Pingjing Pass opened, and the garrison commander Han Jing led his troops to surrender. These thousand men were all his subordinates and were very loyal to him. This was the second time Fu Tong had violated the military regulations of Gan Ning. Strategic passes could not be completely controlled by a single general; the deputy general and at least half of the troops had to be independent. However, Fu Tong clearly chose personal relationships over military regulations, and all one thousand garrison soldiers were Han Jing's subordinates.

Cao Ren was overjoyed and immediately comforted Han Jing with a few words, then promoted him to colonel and appointed him as the commander of the Nanyang Commandery stationed in Deng County, leading an army of three thousand men.

Cao Ren captured Pingjing Pass without bloodshed. He appointed Hou Cheng, a general in the central region, to guard Pingjing Pass with two thousand men, while Cao Ren led his army through the Dabie Mountains and marched towards Anlu County.

(End of this chapter)