Chapter 226: The Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty

On November 20, the 11th year of Jian'an, at the time of Shen, the sun sets and stars are sparse. Cao Cao, the prime minister of the Han Dynasty, held a banquet on the city tower of Xiangyang to reward the soldiers who were successful in the army. In addition to the generals and counselors in the army, the civil and military officials also invited the celebrities of the Jingxiang gentry.

The gentry forces in the Jingxiang area are deeply rooted and cannot be eradicated overnight. Although Gao Chong has put a lot of effort into governing Jingxiang in recent years, the policy of "supporting common people and attacking gentry families" still requires him to offend many people. When Liu Bei resurrected, some gentry groups who were unwilling to be deprived of their interests responded. Now, Cao Cao is in a magnificent momentum, so there are naturally more people who respond.

The tenacity and complexity of human nature are sometimes hard to describe in a few words or sentences. These famous people who welcome Cao Cao to be the new crown were very famous. After Song Zhong and Liu Ba, the very famous hermits, who learned that Cao Cao's army was coming, their dissatisfaction broke out again. For these Confucian scholars who regarded the Han family as orthodox, no matter how hard Gao Chong tried, they could not change their beliefs. Faced with the ruthless reality of the lords' one after another, the prime minister Cao Cao, who "handed the emperor to command the princes", became their only hope.

"In the past, Emperor Gaozu had a song saying: The wind was rising and the clouds were flying. The power was rising in the country and returned to his hometown. Now Cao was not talented, so he led his army south to recover Xiangyi. I was very happy, so I especially drank this bottle with you all sitting there!" When he was drunk, Cao Cao raised the bottle and laughed, and a relaxed and proud smile appeared on his face. Of course, whether his heart was as relaxed and relaxed, few people could know.

After drinking for three rounds, Cai Mao, who was in the back seat, strode out and advised: "Prime Minister, Mao was ordered to build the Jingzhou Navy. Now it has become an army. I will ask the Prime Minister and everyone to conduct an inspection!" After that, Cai Mao took a step forward and came to the edge of the city wall, and his eyes turned out to the outside of the city.

Outside the city, the Xiang River surging, flowing through the foot of the city wall below. Although it was just a tributary of the Yangtze River and in winter, the vast water still surprised Cao Cao.

On this waterway that runs through the north and south, two fleets of hundreds of ships of all sizes are neatly arranged and confronted each other. A water fight exercise is about to begin. Finally, with the rumbling sound of war drums, the ships on both sides begin to accelerate their advancement.

From a distance from the city, the boat was like leaves, and the soldiers on the boat were like small yellow dots. Only the main flags of both sides were flying and fluttering, which allowed the viewer to distinguish which army it was.

This is a carefully arranged water war exercise. The ships of both sides shuttled and intersected, the collision between the main ships and the main ships, the roundabout encirclement of the two Hebei and the rows of crossbows fired. The dazzling tactics made Cao Cao and his group of civil and military officials who watched the battle pleasing to the eye.

"Thank you for the hard work of Degui in just six or seven days!" Cao Cao turned around with a laugh, and came to Cai Mao who was following a little later, and said with sincere encouragement.

The navy is the deadly weapon for Gao Chong to roam the south, and it is also a major problem that Cao Cao urgently needs to solve now. Successful occupation of the prosperous Xiangyi Plain is only the first step in the southward strategy. To quickly solve Gao Chong, the most powerful opponent, the most urgent task is to establish a force that can fight the Jiangdong Navy.

Cai Mao, who was born in the south and was familiar with water war, had no chance to perform under the talented Cao Cao. However, this time it was finally his turn to be famous.

Cao Cao and Cai Mao met more than ten years ago. At that time, Cao Cao and Cai Mao were one of the eight lieutenants of Xiyuan. As the most outstanding talent in the Jingyi Cai family, Cai Mao got along well with Cao Cao. His interactions with each other are called "Pin". Even when Liu Biao and Cao Cao were not in harmony, Cai Mao did not break off contact with Cao Cao. This is why he devoted himself to Cao Cao after Liu Biao's demise.

"Prime Minister, Gao Chong is a thief with me. All the scholars in Jingxiang are looking forward to the arrival of the southern expedition army. Now Mao is not talented, and he is willing to charge for the Prime Minister and avenge his previous shame!" Cai Mao straightened his body and replied loudly.

Given Cao Cao's powerful power today, Cai Mao did not dare to refer to the word "Meng De". He was called Cao Cao like Xun You and others. Cai Mao, who was not affiliated with the Prime Minister's Mansion, was afraid of trouble for summoning him. After all, he was still a minister of the Han family.

"Okay, with Degui's words, I'll be relieved. When I finally defeated Gao Chong, the territory of the nine counties of Jingxiang was decided by your Cai family." Cao Cao laughed.

Cao Cao, the nine counties of Jingxiang, has only occupied the two counties of Xiangyi, and it is only a temporary military occupation. No one can predict the changes in the future. Cao Cao used the method of painting cakes to exchange the nine counties of Jingxiang as bait for Cai Mao to follow him wholeheartedly. Such a method is really superb.

"Thank you, Prime Minister - even if I, Cai Mao, sacrificed my life, I would not let Gao Chong's navy take advantage. Uh, I will go to the army to train my troops." Cai Maoxi couldn't help but shout loudly.

Looking at Cai Mao's back as he turned around and left happily, Cao Cao smiled slightly. With the assistance of Cai Mao's power, he could not only win over the talents of the aristocratic people who were dissatisfied with Gao Chong's rule, but also restrain Gao Chong's advantage in the water battle. This is a good thing at the best of both worlds. Of course, Cao Cao does not have enough confidence in how much role Cai Mao's army has.

The level of strength needs to be proved on the battlefield.

"Prime Minister, it is certainly a pleasure to be grateful for with the help of the navy, but this alone may not kill Gao Chong. I heard that Shamoke, the leader of the Wuxi Mandate of Wuling, had a slight rift with Gan Ning, a general under Gao Chong. If you use it for yourself, you can help me." Seeing that Cai Mao was favored, Liu Ba, a famous scholar in Lingling, advised him.

Liu Ba is a very knowledgeable person and very talented, but his temperament is strange, foolish and loyal. When Gao Chong first took Jingnan, he summoned Changsha prefect Huan Jie to procure Liu Ba, but was rejected by Liu Ba. Since then, Liu Ba has successively followed Shixie, Liu Zhang and Liu Bei, actively waving flags and shouting to resist Gao Chong.

The conflict between Wuxi Man and Gan Ning originated from the fact that when Gao Chong raised his troops to attack Wuling in the second year of Jian'an, Gan Ning, who was the vanguard, fought a battle with the Wuxi Man tribe halfway through the road. Although it was not large in scale, it had a far-reaching impact. The reason was that Gan Ning shot the father of the leader of Wuxi Man tribe, Shamoke, to death with one arrow in the battle.

With such a feud ahead, Wuxi Man has never been willing to surrender to Gao Chong's rule. Over the years, Wuxi Man has repeatedly raised troops to attack the surrounding counties and counties, which has caused great headaches for the Changsha Prefect Huan Jie, who is responsible for the safety of the four counties in Jingnan.

"Zi Chu's advice is very good. Our army and Gao Chong are about to fight to the decisive battle. We are worried that no force will respond to the enemy's rear. If Shamoke is willing to join the Han Dynasty, Cao should recommend him to the emperor as the King of the South and rule the tribes of Yue and Man." Cao Cao said loudly.

King of the South - If this throne can be recognized by the Emperor of Han, the status of the Wuxi Barbarian Tribe will become extremely noble.

"With the Prime Minister's words, Ba went to Jingbei to lobby for the Wuxi barbarians to send troops." Liu Ba said happily.

After a few words, Cao Cao arranged two troops to deal with Gao Chong. His methods and courage made all the civil and military officials convinced him. At the call of Cai Mao and Liu Ba, the celebrities in Jingxiang who attended the banquet made up their minds to follow Cao Cao and expressed that they would all raise their clans and soldiers to respond after returning to the counties.

During the meal, the guests and hosts were drinking happily, and Xun You, Cheng Yu, Zhang Fan and other strategists also drank almost the same.

"Ziyi, you're just three cups in your stomach. Why can't you do it? Come on, it's rare that the Prime Minister is happy today. We'll stop drunk today." Cheng Yu, with a red face, pulled Jiang Gandao who was trying to slip away on excuses.

"Uh, Zhongde, Gan has limited alcohol tolerance and can't hold on, so he will leave first!" Jiang Gan replied with great worries.

When Jiang Gan heard Cao Cao's arrangements for dealing with Gao Chong, he was thinking about how to tell Zhou Yu about the news, and where would he have any intention to drink.

"In this case, do I want me to call the guards to send you a gift!" Cheng Yu asked.

"How to do this, how to do it!" Jiang Gan waved his hand and shunted. As he said, he fled from the banquet venue in panic.

After he left, Cheng Yu and Xun You nodded understandingly, and Xun You whispered: "Zhong De, it seems that the lord's guess is not wrong, Jiang Gan is indeed suspicious!"

"Hmph, Jiang Ziyi is worthy of being a spy-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cheng Yu was a versatile civil and military talent. When he was the prefect of Chenliu, in order to raise the necessary military rations, Cheng Yu once massacred tens of thousands of people without blinking his eyes and made human jerky. Killing this person was nothing to him.

"Let's go back on Zhongde. Is there any use to keep this guy?" Xun You said.

After the banquet was over, Cao Cao, who was already drunk, was supported by the left and right guards. He returned to the temporary residence. Except for Huang Xuer Cao Zhang, the only general Cao Ren, who accompanied him back, was accompanied by Huang Xuer.

That night, the lights in Cao Cao's resting study were lit, and there was no trace of drunkenness on his face, sitting upright: "Zixiao, do you know the reason why I called you here late at night?"

"Ren is stupid and dull, don't know the deep meaning of the lord?" Cao Ren bowed and said.

Cao Cao spread out the map of Jingxiang rolled up on the case and said, "Son Xiao, come and see, our army is now confronting Gao Chong, and the front line extends for hundreds of miles. What Gao Chong hopes to rely on the Yangtze River to defend itself. The longer this battle will be, the more unfavorable it will be for our army. For our army, the water battle in the river is short-term. Cai Mao's group of soldiers gathered in haste cannot be the opponent of the Jiangdong Navy. Therefore, I decided to send an infantryman to smuggle the Yangtze River from the Baling area to harass Gao Chong's military center, Jiangxia, behind Gao Chong."

Jiangxiatun accumulated a large amount of supplies, food, weapons, armor, and ships transported from Jiangdong by Gao Chong. If Jiangxia fails, Gao Chong will definitely collapse without fighting. Cao Cao, who was hoping to fight quickly and decide quickly, keenly noticed this weakness in Gao Chong's defense.

"Lord, I want Ren to take on this important task!" Cao Ren asked in a deep voice.

"Zi Xiao is calm and smart, and is very smart. He is the best candidate to command the partial army. In addition, Zhanger is brave and powerful, so I will let him go to the battle with you." Cao Cao said with a bright look.

At the end of November, Cao Cao ordered Cao Ren and Cao Zhang to lead 5,000 infantrymen as a partial army, and smuggled across the river from the flat river west of Baling and east of Jiangling, and then went straight to Xiakou. At the same time, the tiger and leopard cavalry ordered to chase Zhou Yu's remaining troops, after escorting Cao Ren and Cao Zhang, turned around and gave up the plan to attack Jiangling in the west and began to move closer to the Mianyang, Jingling and Hanyang areas to the east.

On December 1st, Cao Cao appointed Cao Hong and Xu Huang as the land vanguard and Cai Mao as the navy commander, leading the main force down the Han River and heading straight to Sanjiangkou.

In the decision to attack Jiangling or Jiangxia, Cao Cao finally decided to fight a decisive battle with Gao Chong's main force. Quick battle and quick decision are the main guiding ideology of the southward strategy. Attacking Jiangling will face a difficult siege battle. This is not exciting news for Cao's army, who has seen the huge casualties in Jingbei.

Field battle - using the temporary advantage of troops to defeat Gao Chong, who had dispersed troops on the battlefield, Gao Feng was fond of defeating Jiangdong and his morale was depressed, and he went east with one go, so even if Zhou Yu was striking behind his back, he would not be able to make the overall situation regrettably.

On December 3, the vanguard of Cao's navy and Gao Chong's troops encountered about 2,000 people.

This sudden encounter caught both sides off guard.

"Fu——, is it the troops of Jiangling Fu Tong?" Not long after the fleet formed by Cai Mao sailed out of the Hanshuikou, he ran towards him. The main flag was flying, a green flag with the word "Fu" written on it.

Fu Tong is the most capable general under Wenpin. Cai Mao had dealt with Fu Tong a few years ago. At that time, Cai Mao was the brother-in-law of Jingling Marquis and Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou.

Not only Cai Mao, but Fu Tong was slightly stunned when he suddenly saw the familiar military formation. He was not surprised by his opponent, but because he saw Mengchong warships on the opposite side were anchored in a close shore, and in order to echo the soldiers on the land, the fence forced the warships to tie together, and more than a thousand soldiers set up crossbows in the hidden hatch. Fu Tong was very familiar with this tactic because this was the most common defensive tactic of the Jingzhou naval army.

The trumpet sounded and the drums of war sounded. The curtain of the decisive battle between Gao Chong and Cao Cao was opened. The only choice for victory is to die if you lose, you will die. Both sides are doing their best.

"Kill--!" Fu Tong pulled out the battle knife and pointed directly in front of him.
Chapter completed!