Tiger Owl

Chapter 267: Courtesy first, then attack
Xun You gave a wry smile and said, "Queyue City can be repositioned by water at any time. We can't surround it, but that's not the point of its existence. Its existence is a warning from Gan Ning. He's telling us that he will never give up Jiangbei. If we march into Jiangdong, he will launch a full-scale attack on Jiangbei and cut off our retreat. With the Central Plains left vulnerable for a long time, Liu Bei and Ma Teng will probably start to make moves again."

Cao Cao pondered for a long time with his hands behind his back before slowly saying, "Does the strategist mean that Sun Quan is not important, but Gan Ning is the real threat?"

Xun You nodded, “If we attack Jiangdong, Gan Ning will definitely launch a full-scale counterattack. If we attack Gan Ning, Sun Quan will not dare to move, as there is an agreement to restrain him. Besides, Sun Quan can be dealt with by Sun Ben. We should focus our efforts on dealing with Gan Ning.”

After a long pause, Cao Cao smiled wryly and said, "It seems that the agreement that Wenhe signed with Jiangdong turned out to be a lucky accident."

"Not entirely. The agreement stipulates that we will not attack Jiangdong for seven years. We don't need to pay attention to this time limit. We can just fully support Sun Ben. Moreover, Sun Ben's sons are all in our hands, and our deputy general He Qi has secretly defected to the Prime Minister. We are not afraid that Sun Ben will have any disloyal intentions."

Cao Cao sighed deeply, "Let me think about it!"

Xun You then said, "This humble servant is willing to go to Chaisang and talk to Gan Ning to see if we can persuade him to withdraw his troops from Jiangbei through political means."

Cao Cao nodded. "Trying to persuade them before resorting to force is acceptable."

In early spring, despite the outbreak of another major battle in Queyue City, Gan Ning focused his attention on spring planting. Starting this year, they would try planting rice seeds brought back from Lu Rong County in Rinan Prefecture, the southernmost part of the region. These rice seeds were genuine high-quality Champa rice, with a short maturity period, strong adaptability, and high yield. After they matured, there would still be time to plant another season of late rice.

The emergence of high-yield double-cropping rice will completely change the landscape of the south, where a dozen acres of paddy fields can feed a family, while in the north, at least a hundred acres of dry land are needed to feed a family.

Its emergence would not only attract a large number of immigrants from the north, but if combined with policies of recuperation and low taxes, its population would also experience explosive growth.

This year is an experiment. They specially selected 3,000 mu of official land in the eastern suburbs of Chaisang for trial planting. Starting from last autumn, no winter wheat was planted on these 3,000 mu of official land. They were given a special winter rest, while fertilizer was applied and irrigation was repaired.

After the Lantern Festival, which is in the middle to late February of the Gregorian calendar, the seedlings of new rice are cultivated. Now it is mid-February of the lunar calendar, and the seedlings are growing vigorously and can be transplanted into the fields.

In the official fields, water buffaloes pulled curved plows to repeatedly cultivate the paddy fields. In the cultivated paddy fields, more than a hundred experienced farmers were skillfully transplanting rice seedlings. They were also specially selected by the government as skilled farmers, especially good at rice cultivation, to participate in this experiment.

Every farmer was filled with anticipation and devoted themselves wholeheartedly to this crucial rice experiment.

Gan Ning did not participate in the rice planting. He stood on the official road, watching the busy farmers in the fields from afar. The agricultural official in charge of this experiment was named Zhou Jing. He was Jiang Wan's subordinate and was in charge of agriculture. This time, he served as the chief official of this experiment for a full year.

"Lord Chu, if the summer harvest is successful, I intend to try summer planting again with the same seeds on a small scale."

Gan Ning glanced back, and Jiang Wan nodded, indicating that he had agreed.

Gan Ning nodded, "Okay!"

He doesn't offer opinions casually, but instead delegates power and responsibility to experienced subordinates.

Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from afar. Soon after, the messenger dismounted and bowed to Gan Ning, saying, "Reporting to Lord Chu, the strategist requests your return. Cao Cao's envoy has arrived!"

Gan Ning paused for a moment, then nodded. "Let's go back!"

Everyone mounted their horses, released the reins, and returned directly to Chaisang City.

Gan Ning never expected that the visitor would not be Jia Xu, but Xun You, the top strategist of the Three Kingdoms, whom he was meeting for the first time. Xun You was about fifty years old, with fair skin, a thin face, and a long beard. His gaze was calm yet shrewd.

Sitting at the desk, Xun You stroked his long beard and silently observed Gan Ning. Gan Ning was very tall and stood up straight. Although he was not yet thirty years old, he had an irresistible aura of authority. In particular, his eyes were deep and penetrating. Even with his rich life experience, Xun You could not understand or see through him.

Xun You suddenly understood that this was the Prime Minister's greatest enemy, far surpassing Yuan Shao and Liu Bei, because he was young, and youth was his greatest strength.

Xun You rose and greeted him. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Gan Ning invited Xun You to sit down, with Lu Su standing beside him. Xun You wanted to talk directly to Gan Ning, not go through Lu Su. He wasn't there to negotiate, but to issue an ultimatum.

"General Gan is very busy, so I won't beat around the bush. He came to meet with General Gan on the orders of Prime Minister Cao. The Prime Minister hopes that General Gan can exercise restraint and not interfere when we attack Jiangdong. In return, the Prime Minister promised to leave General Gan and his descendants a wealthy and noble status in the future."

Gan Ning smiled faintly and said, "Didn't you sign a seven-year non-war agreement with Jiangdong? Are you going to tear it up so soon?"

Xun You stared sharply at Gan Ning. "General, do you believe this agreement?"

Gan Ning shook his head. "You just don't want Sun Quan to join forces with me. But there are loopholes in this agreement, haven't you noticed?"

"What loophole?"

Gan Ning tapped the table lightly. “You have underestimated Sun Quan and the heroes of Jiangdong. As soon as you begin to prepare to attack Jiangdong, Sun Quan will immediately realize his mistake. He will beg me to send troops without hesitation and will show me the utmost sincerity. Perhaps, out of respect for his sincerity, I will send troops to rescue him. My fleet of warships will be able to reach the river in Liyang County within three days. Have you calculated this time difference?”

Xun You remained silent for a moment, then sighed and said, "Let's take a step back! The Prime Minister hopes that General Gan can withdraw from Queyue City, and the conditions can be discussed."

Before Gan Ning could reply, Xun You continued, "Actually, we all understand that Queyue City is just a symbol, merely to demonstrate your presence. You can attack Jiangbei from Chaisang, Pengze, Chu County, or any other place. You don't need Queyue City as a springboard."

While listening calmly to Xun You's account, Gan Ning was quickly trying to figure out his intentions. He found that Xun You's negotiations were empty and impractical. There could only be one explanation for this: it was all talk and no action before the battle.

"Since that's the case, you don't need to worry about Queyue City. Why do you insist on taking it?"

"Because of face!"

Xun You said without any hesitation, "Because the existence of Queyue City means the failure of the Prime Minister's Jiangbei strategy, it means that General Cao Ren will never be able to hold his head up again. The Prime Minister cannot afford to lose face, so I want to talk to you about what conditions you can offer in exchange for your withdrawal from Queyue City."

Gan Ning smiled faintly, “Prime Minister Cao cares about face, and so do I, Gan Ning. Why don’t you withdraw your army from Jiangxia County, and I will keep a minimal garrison in Queyue City, so that it exists merely as a symbol?”

"Is there no room for compromise?" Xun You asked one last time, tentatively.

Gan Ning straightened his back and said, "Then please forgive my bluntness, we can talk, but only if Cao Cao's army completely withdraws from Jianghuai. On that basis, we can talk about how to get along. Without that basis, there is no room for negotiation."

Gan Ning's tough stance left Xun You with no choice but to take his leave. Since the other party refused all courtesy, only military force remained.

(End of this chapter)