Jian 'an Third Year, Year 198, March.
Cao Cao once again sent troops to Wan City, determined to conquer the number one prefecture in the world, Nanyang.
At the same time, Yuan Shao in the north also began to launch a general attack on Gongsun Zan, forcing Gongsun Zan to retreat and retreat to the north of Youzhou.
Gongsun Zan's defeat was set in stone, and it was only a matter of time before he lost.
Guangling.
"Sir, Sun Ce of River East is restless and has gathered a large number of troops in Qu 'a. The other party doesn't come with good intentions!”
Zhang Liao reported to Chen Gong what the scouts had gathered.
"Fengxian is already on his way here. It just so happens that Cao Cao has sent troops to Wan City, so we can transfer a portion of our troops from the northern defense line. Otherwise, our 10,000 men are really not enough.”
"How many troops did you bring?"
Zhang Liao asked.
"10,000 old soldiers from Bing Province and 10,000 new recruits from Xu Prefecture.”
"We still don't have enough troops! The enemy should have fifty thousand men."
Zhang Liao said worriedly.
Ten thousand new recruits basically wouldn't have too much combat power. This time, most of them were just training soldiers and experiencing the battlefield. They wouldn't be of much use.
The ones who were really responsible were still the 20,000 old soldiers.
"I have already sent an envoy to Shouchun. No matter what, the two families are now allies.”
Although Chen Gong said that, he was actually not confident.
When dukes fought for hegemony, interests were paramount. Even a marriage alliance was very unreliable in the face of absolute interests.
Women had never been the main characters in influencing the direction of war.
Just as Chen Gong finished speaking, the envoy to Shouchun returned.
"How is it? Is Yuan Shu willing to send reinforcements?"
Chen Gong asked hurriedly.
"Sir, the other party has agreed to support us, but"
"But what? Hurry up and tell me, I'm so anxious!"
"However, the other party said that they can only send 10,000 people.”
"What happened? He, Yuan Shu, had hundreds of thousands of troops!”
Chen Gong cursed.
"The other party said that there was a strange movement in Runan. Cao Cao said that he was attacking Nanyang, but no one can guarantee that Cao Cao would not use the opportunity to destroy Guo and take the opportunity to attack Huaibei from Runan.
Sun Ce had arranged a large number of navy troops along the Yangtze River. If they went against the current and did not attack Guangling, they would go to Jiujiang or Lujiang instead.
The other party said that they had to be on guard, so they could only transfer 10,000 troops to support Guangling.”
Chen Gong was speechless. Although he knew that Yuan Shu was just bullshitting, his reasoning was impeccable.
Everyone knew that self-preservation was the most important thing, and it was already not bad to be able to borrow ten thousand soldiers.
"Alright, 40,000 against 50,000. With Fengxian's bravery, it shouldn't be a problem.
Sun Ce is stronger than the navy. As long as he dares to go on land, our cavalry will not be to be trifled with.”
Chen Gong calmed himself down. The situation was not too bad.
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Jingzhou, Xiangyang.
The diplomatic ambassador, Yan Xiang, came to Liu Biao this time to persuade him to send troops to Yuzhang County.
"Fork it out!"
After Liu Biao heard Yan Xiang's intention, he directly ordered the guards to chase Yan Xiang out.
"My lord, why is this?"
Cai Mao asked after Yan Xiang was chased out.
Cai Mao felt that this was nonsense. He knew that Liu Biao had no intention of fighting for hegemony and was using his dead ancestors as an excuse.
Yizhou had Liu Yan, Jingzhou had Liu Biao, Yangzhou had Liu Yao, Youzhou had Liu Yu, and Yanzhou had Liu Dai. These imperial clans were either provincial governors or state overseers.
In addition to Liu Bei who was jungling everywhere, all the vassals combined were not a match for Liu Family.
He would first destroy the various dukes and then close the door. His brothers would fight for the throne. Wasn't that nice?
Unfortunately, human nature was selfish. Everyone wanted to preserve their strength and no one wanted to charge into the enemy's line of battle.
Cai Mao left Liu Biao's residence and returned to his own home. Just as he reached the gate, he saw Yan Xiang standing in front of the door.
"Greetings, General Cai."
"Eh? Are you waiting for me?"
"Of course. Please speak privately.”
Yan Xiang invited.
Cai Mao did not doubt him. In Xiangyang, he was not afraid of anyone.
Yan Xiang led the way and walked out of the city.
"I say, where are we going? Don't tell me you're up to no good?”
Cai Mao directly asked.
"Haha! I have no enmity with the general. How can I be so unwise? General, please follow me."
Yan Xiang didn't care about Cai Mao's attitude at all, because he knew that his attitude would take a 180-degree turn in a while.
The water in the south was developed, and Xiangfan had the Xiangjiang River. The two of them went all the way to the dock outside the city.
"General Cai, please. His Highness has prepared some gifts for you.”
Yan Xiang made an inviting gesture and let Cai Mao board the ship first.
Cai Mao and Yan Xiang boarded the ship and entered the cabin. Cai Mao was dumbfounded.
The ship was filled with gold, silver, jewelry, pearls, agates, coral, and amber. They shone brightly under the faint candlelight in the cabin.
"Envoy, this... What is the meaning of this?"
Even though Cai Mao was from a large clan like the Cai Clan of Jing State, he was still shocked by the scene before him.
These were all the treasures that Old Yuan had plundered everywhere during the years when he had been skinned. There were still a lot of them in the national treasury, but they were all placed in the corner to eat dust.
Coincidentally, Yuan Yao used it to smash people. Since ancient times, using money to smash people had always been successful.
There might be gods in this world, or there might not be gods. In any case, no one had ever seen a god.
However, money was the only god visible to the naked eye! What God could do, money could do too.
It could help you do many things that you couldn't, provided that you had enough money.
"It's just a small gift. As long as General can persuade Liu Jingzhou to send troops to Yuzhang, there will be a ship as a thank you gift after the matter is done.”
Yan Xiang said without blinking.
"What are you plotting?"
Cai Mao was not a fool. The other party had paid such a huge price, so he definitely had a big goal.
He had to ask clearly. If he was asked to betray Liu Biao, he would not do it even if he was beaten to death.
It wasn't because he was loyal, but because the benefits of this ship weren't enough!
Cai Mao: You can pay more!
"My master is still busy taking care of himself and won't have any plans to attack Jing state. However, Sun Ce has already become a big threat to my master.
It just so happens that Sun Ce's father, Sun Jian, died in your hands. Our two families can join forces to curb Sun Ce's growth and prevent him from bringing trouble upon himself!”
Yan Xiang had a look of 'I'm thinking for your Jingzhou's sake.
"You put it nicely, but you still need to rely on our Jing Prefecture's strength.”
"Hehe, this is a matter of mutual benefit. Moreover, after you take down Yuzhang, your Jing state will have an additional county. It's not like you're working for us for nothing.”
After Cai Mao pondered for a long while and made sure that there was no mistake, he bowed to Yan Xiang and said,"Happy cooperation."
"Happy cooperation."
After Yan Xiang finished speaking, he went to another ship and left Jingzhou to return to Shouchun to report.
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