The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 434: Battle of Red Cliffs (Part )

Zhou Yu chuckled and said, "Among the generals of the Cavalry Army, the ones who are familiar with the navy's tactics, apart from Gan Ning, are Cai Mao and others. Now that Gan Ning is in prison, the next one is Cai Mao. Only in this way can the Cavalry Army's navy be rendered useless."

Everyone nodded after hearing this. The navy's combat was different from that of the infantry and cavalry. Getting rid of an excellent navy commander was a victory for the coalition forces.

"Uncle, Cai Mao is your father-in-law. Why don't you write a letter to him?" Guo Jia advised.

Liu Bei hesitated for a long time before he said, "If it succeeds, it will be a good thing, but I'm afraid Qin Shou won't be fooled."

If we could get rid of Cai Mao without any effort, that would be the best thing.

As for the father-in-law's talk, it was just a joke. Liu Bei inherited Liu Bang's bloodline, so why would he care about these things? If a woman was lost, she was lost. What Liu Bei needed was victory and territory.

"Let's give it a try! Success or failure has nothing to do with the overall situation." Cao Cao also said.

"Okay, I'll write the letter."

Liu Bei agreed immediately.

In the navy camp, Gan Ning looked at the cages around him, blinking his eyes continuously. Finally, he looked at Sima Yi with dissatisfaction, as the other was actually eating a leg of lamb.

"Zhongda, you just let me watch you eat? Do you feel uncomfortable in your heart?" Gan Ning was immediately a little dissatisfied.

Not only was he locked up here, but the other party was also eating a whole roasted lamb. The enticing aroma was flickering at the tip of his nose, which was particularly tempting. Gan Ning wanted to pounce on it and take two big bites.

"Hehe, Xingba, the prime minister gave the order. You were greedy for merit and acted rashly, resulting in the loss of troops and generals, and you were sent to prison. You! Reflect on your actions in prison!" Sima Yi said proudly.

"Zhongda, you are a smart man. What do you think is the purpose of our lord's action?" Gan Ning asked.

Sima Yi glanced at him and snorted, "First, you were indeed defeated, and you took the initiative to attack the Chaisang Navy Camp. Victory is a good thing, but if you fail, you will have to bear the consequences. How can the Prime Minister command the entire army if he doesn't punish you?"

Gan Ning nodded and said quickly, "I accept the punishment for this."

The Cavalry Army had clear rewards and punishments, so Gan Ning had to accept the reward, and naturally he had to accept the punishment. This battle had caused the loss of most of the Lujiang Navy, so Gan Ning naturally had to accept the punishment.

"Secondly, I guess the Prime Minister's move is to actively expose his weaknesses and wait for the enemy to attack." Sima Yi shook his head.

This was just his guess, and Sima Yi couldn't guess the specific reason.

Even though he was very smart, it was not easy to guess what Qin Shou was thinking. The only thing he could do was to watch.

"Military Advisor, the Prime Minister has sent an order to appoint Cai Mao as the Grand Admiral of the Navy and temporarily take charge of the Wulin Navy Camp to train soldiers so that our army can quickly familiarize themselves with naval warfare. In addition, the Prime Minister has ordered that General Gan Ning be stripped of all his military positions and escorted to the capital for trial by the three courts."

Outside the big tent, Qin Shou's orders came.

Sima Yi and Gan Ning were not surprised by this. After Gan Ning, the only people who were most familiar with naval warfare were Cai Mao and others. Cai Zhong and Cai He were all descendants of the Cai family and were in charge of the Jingzhou Navy. It was normal for Cai Mao to be the Grand Admiral of the Navy. But the two of them always felt that something was wrong. Qin Shou's chess moves were always unexpected and confusing. Now they wanted to escort him to Chang'an and ask the three courts to hold a trial. This made Gan Ning confused.

"Zhongda, what does the Prime Minister mean?" Gan Ning was a little uncertain.

"Xingba, do you think the prime minister will kill you?" Sima Yi asked with a smile.

Gan Ning shook his head and said, "There is no such thing as an undefeated general in the world. I am not the prime minister, so it is normal for me to lose the battle. The prime minister is wise and brave, so he must know the situation. He may punish me, but he will never kill me."

"In that case, what are you afraid of? I guess the Prime Minister will give new orders soon." Sima Yi didn't understand Qin Shou's plan, but he also believed that Qin Shou would not kill the general.

"In that case, I will go back to Chang'an." Gan Ning nodded and felt a lot more relaxed.

Sima Yi immediately ordered the soldiers to escort Gan Ning back to the capital. Gan Ying and other Lujiang naval commanders also accompanied him. The news that Gan Ning was escorted back to the capital for questioning spread throughout the camp in an instant.

Fortunately, the news of Qin Shou's imminent arrival reached the camp, otherwise it would have caused unrest in the military's morale.

In Xiangyang City, Cai Mao and others also received orders to enter Wulin and serve as the commander-in-chief of the navy.

"Gan Ning was escorted to the capital? Tsk tsk, what does Qin Shou want to do?" In the Chibi naval camp, Zhou Yu and others received the intelligence from Jiangbei and were secretly curious.

"The Lujiang navy lost 20,000 men and many warships were destroyed. Years of accumulation were wiped out in one battle with Gan Ning. And I heard that Gan Ning led the troops on his own without asking for permission from the Qin thieves. There would be no problem if he won, but it would be a big sin if he failed." Liu Bei shook his head.

"The Cavalry Army has strict military laws. Gan Ning sent out the troops without authorization and was ambitious, and was finally defeated. The Prime Minister loves his soldiers like his own sons, so when he encounters such a situation, he must punish him severely." Guan Yu stroked his beard.

Zhou Yu glanced at the other party. In the big tent, some people called Qin Shou by his name, some called him Qin thief, but only Guan Yu called him Prime Minister.

It's nothing new after hearing it for so long, but Zhou Yu sometimes feels sad in his heart. If a man like Guan Yu was under Qin Shou's command, he would surely have shined now.

"No matter what, Gan Ning has been escorted to the capital. The only one under Qin Shou who is proficient in naval warfare is Cai Mao. If Cai Mao and others can be eliminated, Qin Shou will have no one under his command." Zhou Yu quickly put this thought behind him.

"It's not just Cai Mao, there's also Kuai and others. These people occupy Jingzhou and provide food and grass to the Qin bandits, allowing them to have enough patience to compete with us. It would be best if we could force Qin Shou to kill people and kill all the Jingzhou aristocratic families." Zhuge Liang's eyes flickered.

The reason why Sima Yi was able to confront him in Dangyang for so long was because the other party had enough food and grass, and these food and grass were all donated by the noble families in Jingzhou.

Once Qin Shou kills these people, Jingzhou will surely be in chaos, the Cavalry Army will face a food crisis, and it will be much easier for the coalition forces to deal with it.

"The letter has been sent, but I don't know if Cai Mao and others will be fooled." Liu Bei said hurriedly.

"The key is still Qin Shou. Qin the thief is suspicious by nature. With a war on the horizon, he would rather believe that these things are real than pretend that nothing will happen. Once this suspicion arises, it is impossible to eliminate it. He himself has a bad impression of the aristocratic family, so it is normal for him to be suspicious of Cai Mao."

Zhuge Liang seemed very confident.

(End of this chapter)