Tiger Owl

Chapter 200 Initial Defeat
The army guarding Anlu County was Fu Tong's troops, but the 12,000 men of Fu Tong's troops were not in the county town, but were working in the salt mines. This was on Gan Ning's orders, and the army was also involved in mining.

The other two armies, Huang Zhong's and Taishi Ci's, were deployed in Xiling County and Yundu County respectively. These three armies were arranged in an arc, with Anlu County in the middle, and Cao Cao's army was precisely launched from the center.

Anlu County is located on the east bank of the Yunshui River, and the surrounding salt mines are widely distributed. Currently, there are two major salt mines being mined. One is on the west bank of the Yunshui River, which is the salt mine that Gan Ning inspected. The other salt mine is in the southeast of Anlu County, and it is a newly opened salt mine.

Fu Tong was at the old salt mine on the west bank of the Yun River when he suddenly received news that Cao's army had occupied Anlu County. This news shocked Fu Tong.

How many Cao troops are there?

"Approximately 30,000 to 40,000 people."

Where did Cao Cao's army come from? Could it be—

In that instant, he suddenly realized that something must have happened at Pingjing Pass, or in Hanjing.

Fu Tong felt both regret and hatred. At this moment, another soldier came to report, "Reporting to the captain, 30,000 Cao troops have crossed the Yun River and are heading towards us. They are less than 30 li away."

Compared to the Han River, crossing the Yu River was much easier. A few trees could be cut down and tied into dozens of rafts to cross the river, so it was normal for Cao Cao's army to cross the river quickly.

Fu Tong's scalp tingled; what should he do now?
But after only a moment's hesitation, he made a decision and notified everyone to evacuate south.

"Dang! Dang! Dang! Dang!"

The gong rang urgently, and the soldiers shouted, "Cao Cao's army is coming! Run for your lives!"

Chaos erupted at the mine, with tens of thousands of miners fleeing in terror. To buy time for the miners to escape, Fu Tong led 12,000 troops to meet them in battle. The mine originally had 5,000 garrison troops, but these 5,000 troops were relocated to a new mine on the east bank.

The old mine to the west was only occupied by Fu Tong's 12,000 troops.

At this time, Cao Ren led an army of 30,000 to attack the mine. Cao Ren's purpose in sending troops was to seize the salt source. He did not care about Anlu County at all, and only wanted to seize the salt source.

Upon receiving the report that the Yuzhang army, numbering over ten thousand, had appeared several miles ahead, Cao Ren sneered. He saw it as a futile attempt to stop a chariot, a recipe for destruction. He immediately ordered, "All troops, attack! Rout them!"

Thirty thousand of Cao Cao's elite troops accelerated towards the Yuzhang Army, which was three miles away.

The result was not unexpected. The 12,000 Yuzhang troops were no match for Cao Cao's army. They were defeated in less than half an hour, with countless soldiers killed or surrendering. Fu Tong led several thousand remaining troops in a retreat south.

After escaping Cao Cao's pursuit, only 4,800 of the 12,000 troops remained; the rest either died, surrendered, or fled into the mines.

Anlu County is today's Yunmeng County. Its southern part is the core area of ​​the ancient Yunmeng Marsh. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was still a marshland, or shallow water area, covering an area of ​​over one million mu, almost occupying the southwestern part of the entire Jiangxia Prefecture. It was uninhabited and extremely desolate.

However, there was also land on the edge of the marshland. Fu Tong led his remaining troops across the land of the marshland and retreated to Yundu County, which was a hundred miles away.
Xu Shu is currently in Xiling County. Huang Zhong received a message by carrier pigeon from Anlu County and rushed over to report to Xu Shu. This news also surprised Xu Shu: Cao Ren led an army of 30,000 to capture Anlu County and the salt mine. "Strategist, Cao Ren probably attacked from the three northern passes, so our blockade of the Han River has not been effective."

Xu Shu nodded. "The situation is very bad now. The 50,000 enemy troops in Jingling County may also invade Jiangxia County. We have underestimated them. If we do not increase our forces, I am afraid that Jiangxia County and Yanyuan will be in danger."

Huang Zhong sighed and said, "This subordinate agrees with the strategist's plan. We should immediately seek help from Chaisang. We cannot be careless!"

Xu Shu's message arrived in front of Gan Ning that afternoon, and Gan Ning immediately summoned several important officials to discuss the urgent military situation.

Faced with the harsh reality, Jiang Wan also admitted that her previous judgment was wrong.

"General, Military Advisor Xu is right. The loss of our salt mine has a significant impact. We must retake it immediately. Jiangxia County is short of troops. I agree to send reinforcements as soon as possible."

Gan Ning then looked at Lu Su, who slowly said, "The 30,000 Cao troops are just a decoy to make us think that the enemy has not sent many troops. But the enemy's commander is Cao Ren, which is the key. Cao Ren has hundreds of thousands of troops behind him. If we are careless, the 50,000 troops from Jingling County will soon cross the Han River, or tens of thousands of troops will invade Jiangxia County by land. At that time, there will be 80,000 enemy troops in Jiangxia County, and we may lose Jiangxia County completely. General, the current situation in Jiangxia County is very dangerous. We are not only facing Cao Ren, but also experts like Cheng Yu."

Gan Ning nodded and immediately said, "Quickly send Zilong's troops to support Jiangxia County, and also send Xu Sheng's army to join in blocking the Han River. No matter what, the Han River cannot be lost."

Gan Ning immediately mobilized his troops, sending Zhao Yun's 15,000 men to Xiling County to join Huang Zhong's forces. In addition, Xu Sheng led his own 15,000 troops and over a thousand warships to join the blockade of the Han River, determined to prevent Cao Cao's main force from crossing it.

A series of military orders brought the strength of the Yuzhang Army in Jiangxia Commandery to 85,000 men, while Cao Cao's army was by no means 30,000 men. With the addition of the 50,000 troops in Jingling County, Cao Cao's army also committed 80,000 men.

However, Cao's army also had obvious weaknesses. As long as the Han River was completely cut off, Cao's army in Nan Commandery would be unable to participate in the battle. With Xu Sheng's army joining the blockade of the Han River, Cao Ren suddenly became isolated and helpless in Jiangxia Commandery.

Huang Zhong's army and Zhao Yun's army left Xiling County and headed north. There were also 5,000 troops stationed at the mines, but when Cao Cao's army attacked, they were forced to retreat south. Now, together with the main force, they marched north, a total of 35,000 men heading towards Anlu County.
At the same time, Taishi Ci also received a message from Xu Shu via carrier pigeon. As agreed, he led 15,000 soldiers to join forces with Fu Tong's 5,000 troops, for a total of 20,000 troops, leaving Yundu County and also rushing towards the salt mine.

At this time, Cao Ren's army had already retreated to Anlu County, and at the same time, they transported 300,000 shi of salt to the county town and burned down the mine's warehouses and various facilities. This was the best that Cao's army could do; they could not possibly destroy the salt mine.

Cao Ren stood atop the city wall, gazing southward. General Yu Jin suggested, "General, why not take advantage of the enemy's inability to assemble and defeat them one by one!"

Cao Ren nodded. "That's what I was thinking too, but who should we deal with first?"

"To catch the thief, first catch the king. Of course, it should be the main force from Xiling County. If we concentrate our forces to defeat them, dealing with the army from Yundu County will be a piece of cake."

Cao Ren pondered for a moment and said, "Let's leave it at that!"

An hour later, Cao Ren led 30,000 troops out of Anlu County and headed south to attack the Huang and Zhao armies.

(End of this chapter)