Ji Han Liu Zhang

"The enemy's flag is 'Gao', and they have about 4,000 to 5,000 men. Right now, they are gathering their boats, making a lot of noise, and it looks like they are preparing to cross the river."

"Go down." After listening to the scout's report, Cao Ren waved his hand, signaling the scout to retreat. The scout retreated in response, first walking back a few steps, and then turned around and left the central army tent stationed in Mengjin.

Cao Chun, who was standing next to Cao Ren, thought: "The Gao character on the banner must be either Gao Gan or Gao Lan. Among the generals with the surname Gao under Yuan Benchu's command, only these two can unify the two factions. However, he will not have this treatment."

"It must be Gao Lan." Cao Ren locked onto one of the options given by Cao Chun and gave his reasons: "Gao Gan is the governor of Bingzhou, guarding important places such as Taiyuan and Shangdang. He is adjacent to Fa Zheng in Hedong. If there is no urgent matter, he will not leave Shangdang easily. Gao Lan, on the other hand, can move around and wait for an opportunity to act."

"Brother, what you said is very true." Cao Chun nodded his agreement with Cao Ren's reasoning, and then he analyzed the military situation: "Gao Lan is a general under Yuan Benchu. Now he has led his elite troops here, intending to cross the river and invade Henan. Chun should inspect all places and not give Gao Lan the opportunity to easily cross the river."

"Of course." Cao Ren smiled and said to Cao Chun who had just rushed to Henan from Xudu, "I have already sent people to inspect the ferry crossings. If Gao Lan forces his way across the river, it will be our chance to defeat him when he is halfway across."

"But in my humble opinion, Gao Lan is not a mediocre person. He is a general under Yuan Benchu ​​and has a great reputation. He would be wary of the possibility of being attacked by our army while crossing the river. He would not cross the river carelessly."

"It turns out that my brother had already made a plan, but I just said too much." Cao Chun stretched out his hand and scratched the back of his head, feeling a little embarrassed. He laughed secretly. The Cao Ren in front of him was a famous general of the Cao clan. There was no need for him to give Cao Ren any advice on such a common-sense tactic as attacking the enemy halfway across the river.

On that day, Cao Ren led Cao Chun to personally inspect the ferry crossing of the river to guard against Gao Lan on the other side of the river suddenly crossing. At that time, the river served as a natural barrier and was the best barrier for them to prevent Yuan's army from entering Henan.

Although the brave and warlike Cao Ren wanted to have a head-on battle with Gao Lan and defeat and drive Gao Lan away with real swords and guns, in order to protect the safety of Henan and not give Yuan's army a chance to set foot in Henan, Cao Ren decided to guard Mengjin.

This was also the request of Cao Cao, the head of the Cao family group. Cao Cao did not ask Cao Ren to make achievements, but asked Cao Ren to ensure the safety of Henan and not give Yuan army the possibility to invade Henan and advance to Yuzhou. This was because if the Yin of Henan was lost, Xu Du would be in trouble three times a day.

"With such a big river, our army only needs to guard the ferry and we can rest assured." Looking at the rushing river, Cao Chun sighed. The so-called mountains and rivers are dangerous obstacles. The mountain road is a danger, and the big river is an obstacle.

Cao Ren's face was solemn, unlike Cao Chun's relaxed expression. He waved his whip and pointed at the river: "The river can be relied on, but although the river can be a barrier, it is not a natural barrier. With this river, we still need wise generals and brave soldiers to rest assured and be safe."

"Isn't it virtue rather than danger that matters?" Cao Chun dropped a quote from a book. The book said it well, one cannot rely on dangers and obstacles, only virtue can be relied upon. No matter how difficult the obstacles are, they can be overcome. Only great benevolence and virtue can resist all invading enemies.

Cao Ren laughed at what he said and said, "Virtue is just icing on the cake... When two armies are fighting, armor, weapons, staffs, food, baggage, logistics, and soldiers' combat experience are of vital importance."

“No matter how good your virtue is, when it encounters a sharp sword or a pointed spear, it will be like a silk cloth and will break with a slight poke… You have to win the battle first, and then you will have the opportunity to discuss the level of virtue. Only then will you have the opportunity to show off your virtue.”

"I'm grateful for your advice." Cao Chun said respectfully. He was very grateful for Cao Ren's teachings. The next day.

Cao Ren, who had risen in the early morning fog, received a report from the scouts after the fog had dissipated a little. It seemed that Gao Lan's troops on the other side of the river were preparing to cross the river, and it seemed that they were going to force their way across the river and march into Henan.

"Brother, we must send troops to be on guard." Cao Chun advised Cao Ren that even if Gao Lan planned to cross the river, they had to be prepared to launch an attack when Gao Lan's troops crossed the river to thwart Gao Lan's attempt to cross the river.

Cao Ren's eyes flickered, and after a moment they calmed down. He shook his head and said, "Something is fishy. We must be careful... You must know that even a fool would not cross the river in front of us, let alone a famous general like Gao Lan."

"Moreover, the art of war says that the key to the real and the fake is to be fake and real, or real and fake. Gao Lan made a big show of crossing the river in front of us, which means he didn't intend to cross the river here, or he intended to cross the river somewhere else secretly."

After rejecting Cao Chun's suggestion, Cao Ren gave an order: "Release the cavalry and patrol along the river. If there is any abnormal situation, report it immediately."

As Cao Ren's order was issued, more than a hundred cavalrymen rushed out of Cao's camp in Mengjin. As soon as they left the camp, they split into two teams, one team rushed upstream and the other team rushed downstream.

At the same time, Cao Ren did not sit and wait in the camp. He ordered the soldiers to dress neatly, prepare their armor, clean their weapons, and make preparations for the battle.

For the sake of safety, Cao Ren rode a good horse to the place where Yuan army was crossing the river as reported by the scouts. He looked towards the opposite bank and saw that the slope on the opposite bank was indeed dusty and flags were flying. There were more than 50 large and small ships on the water near the shore, and they seemed to be full of Yuan army soldiers, waiting for the order to cross the river.

Seeing this scene, Cao Ren curled up the corners of his mouth in a sneer. The more the Yuan army on the other side of the river acted in a grand manner, as if they were about to cross the river at the next moment, the more he felt that there was something fishy. Gao Lan was known as a famous general in Hebei, and he should not be such an unwise person.

Just as Cao Ren expected, he stayed here for a long time, but he did not see any Yuan army ships on the opposite bank paddling and sailing towards him. He only saw people busy on the opposite bank, and he didn't know what they were doing. At this time, Cao Chun, who was staying in the camp, came riding on horseback.

"Brother, the scouts we sent out reported that Yuan's army is secretly building a pontoon bridge downstream." Cao Chun looked excited and briefly reported the news he received from the scouts. At the same time, he looked at Cao Ren with admiration.

"Yes." Cao Ren was not surprised. He gave an order, "You lead the troops of Liangqu to keep watch here. I will lead the army to meet Gao Lan and find out the quality of this famous general from Hebei."

"Yes." Cao Chun agreed generously and accepted the order given to him by Cao Ren. (End of this chapter)