Chapter 470 Cao Cao's Thoughts

Jia Xu continued: "Fourth, Cao Cao underestimated the enemy and was proud of his own. Our army was in time for information. The whole army attached great importance to this battle. All preparations were carried out in an orderly manner, and they took Guangling first, eliminating worries. In addition, our army also had the advantage of weapons and equipment. With four benefits against four taboos, why worry about this battle?"

Zhou Yu pointed at Jia Xu and said with a smile: "Mr. Wenhe, you must be careful. At this moment, you have underestimated the enemy, haha." Everyone laughed.

While Zhou Yu and others were inspecting the terrain and pointing out the mountains, Cao Cao was lying in the carriage, with soft brocade mats laying under him. At this moment, Cao Cao was following the army along the Yangtze River. His front, back, left and right were carefully protected by elite guards. The dust that the army stepped on during the march was like a huge yellow dragon from a distance. Next to this yellow dragon was the turbulent river water. On the surface of the river, the Jingzhou naval warship led by Cai Mao and Zhang Yun went down the river in a mighty manner.

This time, 80,000 Jingzhou navy troops came out in full swing, and thousands of warships of all sizes covered almost half of the river. The masts were lined with clouds and the flags were like clouds, which looked spectacular.

The old nest of Jingzhou navy is in Jiangling. Jiangling, as an important town in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, has a very important strategic position. It has accumulated a large amount of food and grass resources, so it naturally requires heavy troops to guard it. Cao Cao ordered Cao Ren to lead 20,000 elite troops to guard Jiangling, and at the same time supervise the transportation of food and grass, and continuously transport local food from Guanzhong and Jingzhou to the front line.

After arriving in Xiangyang, Cao Cao accepted Liu Cong's surrender and appointed Liu Cong as the governor of Jingzhou and the title of Marquis of Anle. In addition to promoting them to surrender, Cao Cao also had generous rewards. However, in his heart, Cao Cao was very disdainful of their behavior of selling their owners and seeking honor.

Loyal ministers will be respected everywhere. In front of a wise man like Cao Cao, the clear one will be clear, and the turbid one will be turbid.

Although the war was imminent, the Jingzhou navy was crucial to the situation. Cao Cao still let go of his contempt and encouraged Cai Mao, Zhang Yun and others, which made them so excited that they could not help themselves. He vowed that even if they were torn to pieces by Cao Situ.

Cao Cao knew that the power of Jingzhou was actually in the hands of the Cai family and the Kuai family, two major local families. Even when Liu Biao was alive, he did not fully hold power, and he had to compromise with these two forces in many things. Therefore, after Cao Cao won Xiangyang, he granted titles to the Cai family and the Kuai family in the name of the emperor to obtain their support.

The people of the Cai family and the Kuai family were naturally very smart. When they supported Liu Biao to pacify Jingzhou, they were attracted by Liu Biao's identity and ability. Now, with Cao Cao, who has a higher identity and stronger strength, they naturally support Cao Cao.

The support Cao Cao could appreciate was definitely not just verbal. In order to support Cao's operations, the Cai family and Kuai family took the lead in mobilizing the wealthy families in Jingzhou, donating the grain that had accumulated for many years, and donating a lot of gold, silver and wealth to serve military pay.

Cao Cao received food and property and praised them more. How could Cao Cao not know the pros and cons of his army and Zhou Yu's army? Even with the support of the Jingzhou clan, all his food and grass could only last for a year. In other words, Cao Cao must defeat Zhou Yu within one year, otherwise he would have to retreat. Moreover, Cao Cao was still worried about Yuan Shao's sneak attack. After all, he put all his mobile troops into the north bank of the Yangtze River. Once Yuan Shao set up his army south, he could not defend it with the little force that was forbidden in Liyang.

In order to defend against Yuan Shao, Cao Cao ordered Cheng Yu to take charge of Yuzhou affairs, and asked him to try his best to defend Yuan Shao's passage to the south, especially to prevent him from attacking Xu Du. Cao Cao believed in Cheng Yu's ability and knew that his ruthlessness was not inferior to him. Sure enough, Cheng Yu came to report quickly. He had compiled many bandits and small groups of Yellow Turban Army remnants everywhere, and temporarily formed a unit of more than 20,000 people. Although the military discipline was not strict, he could barely go into battle. In time, training into an elite soldier would be a big helper.

Cao Cao closed his eyes slightly in the carriage and tried his best to close his thoughts. The weather gradually warmed up, and he was busy planning for war. When the army set off, his body became uncomfortable and weak, so he had to lie in the carriage and march.

The four elders and eight guardians of the "Ghost" organization were wiped out in Moling, which greatly affected the operation of the entire organization. The military information conveyed back was contradictory, which made Cao Cao quite depressed. However, after careful analysis and reasonable inference, he still calculated the approximate number of Zhou Yu's troops.

Zhu Huan's Yuhang Camp was stationed in Shiyang on the north bank of the river, and Wang Yue's Lujiang Camp was stationed in Xiakou. With the assistance of the Jinfan Navy, he could cross the river north at any time. Perhaps his troops were now hiding somewhere in the north of the river, setting up traps, and just waiting for our army to arrest.

The navy in Xiakou was all elite. Years of war have trained them, with a scale of 50,000 people and 3,000 warships. Their combat power is no less than that of the Jingzhou navy. I heard that Zhou Yu had transferred 10,000 people to the Chaisang Camp stationed in Sanjiangkou to defend Xiakou, and all 50,000 people from Xiakou navy were moved forward to Chibi. The water camp built by Zhou Yu in Chibi was huge in scale. It is reported that from a distance, the boats were numerous, and they wandered freely, with great momentum.

In addition, Zhou Yu did not mobilize too many people. Now he has six counties in Yangzhou, eight counties in Jiaozhou, and five counties in Jingzhou. It is widely located and all need to be stationed. It is believed that the infantry, cavalry and horses that Zhou Yu entered Chibi this time were 2,000 cavalry in the personal guards, 5,000 cavalry in the scout camp, 5,000 baggage camp, 15,000 people in Dongcheng camp, 5,000 people in Shanyue camp, 5,000 people in Bingzhou camp, and 5,000 people in Niuzhu camp, 10,000 people in total.

Thinking of this, Cao Cao's mouth curled up slightly, and a few sneers floated on it. Zhou Yu, you are too arrogant, are you? Facing my 400,000 army, you gathered these troops. Why can you defeat me?

According to Cao Cao's original calculations, Zhou Yu could still mobilize at least 100,000 troops, but in that case, the troops used for defense in his area will be seriously insufficient. Once civil violence or accident occurs, the risk will be great.

Cao Cao knew that Zhou Yu's style was not like him, and he could take a gamble for this decisive battle because he could never tolerate Zhou Yu's strength continued to expand. Zhou Yu would not. Judging from the number of troops Zhou Yu mobilized this time, Zhou Yu wanted to rely on the natural danger of the Yangtze River and the elite navy to hold him back, waiting for his army's food to be exhausted and retreat.

A cool breeze blew into the car window, cheering Cao Cao up. He murmured to himself: "Zhou Yu, you will pay a heavy price for your conservatism..."
Chapter completed!