Tiger Owl

Chapter 239 Signs of a Northern Influence
After resting for three days, the army continued south and captured Jiuzhen County and Rinan County in one fell swoop, obtaining a large quantity of high-quality rice seeds, namely Champa rice.

In addition, many famous figures from Jiaozhou, such as Yuan Hui, Liu Ba, Cheng Bing, Xue Zong, and Xu Ci, also expressed their willingness to pledge allegiance to the Marquis of Chu.

Unfortunately, none of Shi Xie and his brothers were found. Based on various clues, it is possible that Shi Xie and his brothers fled to the Kingdom of Linyi, but some say that the Shi Xie family left by boat.

Bu Zhi then appointed Yuan Hui, the prefectural assistant of Jiaozhi Commandery, as governor, and ordered Chen Lang, the military commander, to lead 10,000 surrendered troops from Jiaozhi to be stationed in Jiaozhi Commandery. Although they were surrendered soldiers, almost all of their generals came from the Western Chu army.

In addition, the 5,000 Jiaozhou soldiers that Shi Xie took from Hepu County surrendered directly. These soldiers did not pledge allegiance to Shi Xie; they had been waiting for an opportunity.

After the fire broke out in Longbian County, the five thousand soldiers surrendered directly to the Western Chu army, and this army would follow the Southern Expeditionary Army back north.

Three days later, the southern expeditionary force returned in triumph.

At the same time, Cao Cao in the north also officially ended the war against the Yuan family. Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang, like in history, were killed by Gongsun Kang and their heads were sent to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao also officially announced the relocation of the capital to Ye City.

It was already July, the height of summer, and Cao Cao had long since returned from Liaodong. With the north pacified, Cao Cao began to consider launching a military campaign against the south.

However, Cao Cao did not plan to send troops this year. On the one hand, it was too hasty, and on the other hand, the northern campaign had just ended and the soldiers were exhausted and needed to rest for a year and a half. Another reason was that there were not enough ships, and Xuchang was now making every effort to build ships.

Although they do not plan to send troops to the south this year, it is necessary to actively prepare for war. In addition to preparing for war, there is another important issue that has not been resolved, namely the strategic direction of their southern expedition.

Cao Cao was truly undecided about whether to take the Xiangyang route or the Hefei route, but this issue could not be delayed any longer and had to be decided as soon as possible, otherwise preparations for war would be difficult.

Inside the official residence, Cao Cao was discussing this strategic direction with several strategists.

Cheng Yu stroked his beard and smiled at Cao Cao, saying, "Prime Minister, you have overlooked an important matter, namely the warships. It is said that hundreds of warships have been built in Xuchang. So how do these warships get to the Yangtze River from Xuchang? There is no river passage from Xuchang to Xiangyang, but there is a river connecting Xuchang to Hefei. The warships can only go to Hefei, so our strategic direction can only be the Hefei line."

Xun Yu also laughed and said, "Prime Minister, Military Advisor Cheng's opinion is very correct. The ships force us to choose the Hefei route. We can also collect a large number of ships on the Yellow River, including various large cargo ships, and then use Hefei as the center of the southern expedition to transport a large amount of supplies to Hefei. Then we can conquer Lujiang County and Jiangxia County from Hefei and unify Jiangbei."

Cao Cao nodded repeatedly, "Everyone is absolutely right!"

Cao Cao glanced at Chen Qun again and asked with a smile, "Changwen, do you have any good ideas?"

Chen Qun stroked his beard and said calmly, "Nanjun has been attacked by Gan Ning many times and has no ships left. Gan Ning's navy is powerful. If we attack Yuzhang County, we will not have a chance. On the contrary, the opportunity lies with Jiangdong, especially Sun Ben. Whether we can cross the river depends on him. The Prime Minister has supported him for so many years. It is time for him to do his part. Considering all of the above, I also prefer the Hefei route."

Cao Cao nodded. "Since everyone has chosen the Hefei route, let's finalize it. We will march south along the Hefei route, with Hefei County as the center, and make full preparations for war."

Cao Cao finally decided to take the Hefei route for his southern campaign. He immediately ordered a large amount of grain and supplies to be transported to Hefei County, and appointed Cao Ren as the commander-in-chief and Zhang Liao as the deputy commander, leading an army of 100,000 to garrison Hefei County ahead of time. Inside the official residence, Cao Cao pointed to the map and said to Cao Ren and Zhang Liao, "Although our southern campaign is scheduled for next year, the war to unify Jiangbei can begin this year. You suffered great losses on the Han River before, but now the entire route from Hefei to Lujiang County is by land, so it won't be a big problem for you. I hope to take Lujiang County and Jiangxia County before the end of the year and complete the unification of Jiangbei."

Cao Ren and Zhang Liao bowed together and said, "We will certainly not let the Prime Minister down!"

"In addition, we must be wary of Gan Ning's sneak attack. We must learn from the lesson of Jiangxia County last time and not be careless!"

The news that Cao Cao was mobilizing troops from Xuchang and transporting various grains and supplies south by water was immediately discovered by the intelligence spies of the Western Chu army in Xuchang, and two pigeon messages were immediately sent to Chaisang.

At this time, the intelligence department of Chaisang had been receiving a steady stream of intelligence from various places, including the 50,000 Cao troops from Guangling County leaving Guangling County for Jiujiang County, intelligence from Hefei County that the government was conscripting laborers to expand warehouses, and troops from various places were arriving in Chaisang in an endless stream.

Soon, the intelligence carrier pigeon from Xuchang also arrived in Chaisang.

Inside the official residence, Gan Ning summoned his three military advisors to discuss countermeasures. Jiang Wan and Yin Mo had gone to Xiazhi County to inspect the mines, Bu Zhi had not yet returned, and the Chief Clerk and the Military Advisor were both absent, making it impossible to hold a military and political meeting. So Gan Ning consulted with his three military advisors.

Lu Su said, "I thought before that he wouldn't take the Xiangyang route because Cao Cao built ships in Xuchang. The warships were completed, but there is no river between Xuchang and Xiangyang, so it was impossible to sail across. The warships could only go to the Yangtze River and then transfer to Nanjun, which was obviously impossible. Now the situation is basically clear. Cao Cao chose Hefei on the eastern front, which is why he increased the number of troops and supplies in Hefei and expanded the warehouses. He made the decision from the moment he started building ships in Xuchang."

Xu Shu also laughed and said, "Does the Marquis of Chu understand the intention behind Cao Cao's appointment of Cao Ren and Zhang Liao as the commander-in-chief and deputy commander, respectively?"

Gan Ning smiled slightly and said, "This reminds me of the Battle of Jiangxia County!"

"That's right. The Battle of Jiangxia County was a disgrace for Cao Ren, which made him depressed for a long time. If Cao Ren wants to stand up again, he must fight again in Jiangxia County. Therefore, I believe that the reason for appointing Cao Ren is that Cao Cao is preparing to take Lujiang County and Jiangxia County first and unify Jiangbei. Judging from this point of view, the crossing of the river will not break out in the second half of this year, but the battle in Jiangbei will definitely break out."

Xu Shu's insight was thorough and accurate, which Gan Ning greatly appreciated. Therefore, the battle they would face in the second half of the year was the Battle of Jiangbei.

Gan Ning glanced at Pang Tong again, and seeing that he remained silent for a long time, asked, "Military Advisor Pang, do you have any good ideas?"

Pang Tong slowly said, "This humble servant is considering how to deal with Cao Cao's crossing of the river. If I am not mistaken, the crossing of the river will still be led by Sun Ben, who will be responsible for capturing several counties along the river in Danyang County and establishing a foothold. Then Cao Cao's army will follow and march south in a large force. I am very worried that Jiangdong will not be able to resist, and then we will be in danger."

Gan Ning paced back and forth in the room. Pang Tong's concerns were well-founded. Sun Ben's sneak attack on Danyang County last time proved that the Jiangdong army was actually quite weak, or rather, riddled with internal conflicts. Once Jiangdong could not withstand Cao Cao's army and Cao Cao succeeded, then Yuzhang County would be in danger. After all, Jiangdong and Yuzhang County were interdependent.

At this moment, Gan Ning finally realized that the Battle of Red Cliffs had not changed because of his arrival; it had manifested itself in another way.

The foundation and essence of the Battle of Red Cliffs have not changed: one strong force against two weak forces, and the two weak forces will inevitably join forces.

With this in mind, Gan Ning said firmly, "We must form a second alliance with Jiangdong, not for Jiangdong's sake, but for our own!"

(End of this chapter)