Ten days passed in the blink of an eye, and the Prime Minister's estate welcomed a special guest: Gan Ning.
If one were to ask who Cao Cao thought highly of, everyone would say in unison that it was Xiahou Dun.
Then who was the general Cao Zheng respected the most? Everyone would probably answer Gan Ning.
Gan Ning and Cao Zheng were sworn brothers, but they were also superior and subordinate. Most importantly, Gan Ning had what the other Cao generals didn't: naval warfare.
After Cao Zheng pacified the north, the next step would definitely be for the 100,000 soldiers to march south. Thus, Gan Ning, who had been silent for a long time, was put to good use.
To entertain Gan Ning, Cao Zheng had called his brothers back and personally prepared a Manchu Han Imperial Feast. There were dragons in the sky, chickens and ducks on the ground, cows and sheep, crabs, lobsters, and Arowana swimming in the water. Cao Zheng did not serve pork because pork was oily and could cause high blood pressure and high blood fat. Therefore, Cao Zheng did not choose pork.
In the dining hall of the Prime Minister's Residence, the large round table was packed with people. Other than Cao Cao, Cao Zheng, and his brothers, there were also Xiahou Ba, Cao Tai, Cao Zhen, Cao Kai, Xun Yu, Xun You, Guo Jia, Liu Ye, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Hong, Xu Chu, and Dian Wei.
Xu Chu and Dian Wei, this pair of clowns, had never been particular. They kept drooling when they smelled the fragrance and wanted to eat without waiting for Cao Cao's instructions.
"Big brother, you've been guarding Jiujiang and Huainan for the past few years. It's been hard on you.”Cao Zheng raised his glass and said.
"Thank you, General." Gan Ning was touched.
It turned out that after Cao Zheng defeated Yuan Shu in the second year of Jian 'an, Xu Huang had been in charge of Shouchun and other military affairs. However, after the Battle of Guandu broke out, Cao Zheng had temporarily transferred Gan Ning to Shouchun to guard the Huai River.
The main reason was to prevent Sun Ce from taking the opportunity to launch a sneak attack. Unexpectedly, Zuo Ci did not disappoint. He sent his junior brother Yu Ji to Jiangdong and successfully killed Sun Ce. After Sun Quan took over, the main attack point was shifted to Jiangxia Prefecture. Therefore, Cao Zheng naturally transferred Zhang Liao to Shouchun, Hefei, and other places, and transferred Gan Ning back to Xuchang.
"Big brother, now that the north has been pacified, the next step for our army is to go south to Jingxiang and cross Jiangdong to complete the unification. Therefore, I want big brother to train a navy.”Cao Zheng said after three rounds of wine.
"Don't worry, brother. Leave this matter to me.”Gan Ning said excitedly.
After all, water battles were his forte. Gan Ning could only fight Pound to a draw on land, but he was almost invincible on water.
"Alright, in that case, big brother, you will establish a Beihai naval fleet. You will be the governor, and the size of the fleet will temporarily be maintained at 20,000 to 30,000 people. The ships will be built by Langya Military Port and Liaodong Military Port Shipyard.”Cao Zheng continued.
"Big Brother, do you have any other requests?”Cao Zheng asked.
"No, but what should we do about the navy general? Practicing water combat is not something that can be done in a day." Gan Ning said helplessly.
"You can train and appoint them yourself.”Cao Zheng replied.
"In that case, it's fine. I'll definitely train a powerful navy for you.”Gan Ning promised.
"Alright." Cao Cao was excited to hear Gan Ning's promise.
However, at this moment, Cao Cao looked at Cao Zheng with heartache and asked,""Ziyi, can the few of us finish so many dishes?”
Cao Zheng looked at the amount of food and then looked at the people around him. Then, he said with certainty,"Definitely."
Reality proved that Cao Zheng was right. Xu Chu and Dian Wei were simply the reincarnations of starving ghosts. After taking a bite, they ate bowl after bowl of rice until there was no more food left.
Then, the drawback of eating too much appeared. Cao Cao looked helplessly at his two beloved generals, his face was filled with embarrassment.
Zhao Yun and the others were practically gentlemen. They ate cleanly and mainly drank and chatted.
After the banquet ended, Cao Cao was drunk. Cao Zheng helped him to Madam Ding's room, while the others helped each other back home.
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