Late Han Zhao Tang

December, Chang'an.

Chang'an was bustling before the New Year; soldiers were busy receiving titles, officials were busy reporting, and Zhang Yu was busy having children…

Inside the palace, Zhang Yu leaned against a soft couch, watching Sun Ren dance with his sword. He tapped the wooden table with his index finger, keeping time with the rhythm, feeling quite pleased!
Under Zhang Yu's supervision, Sun Ren was disciplined by Wang Ji and became much more obedient. In particular, upon learning that the Tang army had invaded Sichuan, Sun Ren hurriedly sought an audience with Zhang Yu, pleading for leniency and a pardon for his entire clan.

Seeing the little girl crying with tears streaming down her face, Zhang Yu comforted her that night and checked her inside and out to see if she was carrying any weapons.

Since that night when he served Zhang Yu, Sun Ren, perhaps having just tasted the pleasures of love, or perhaps worried about his family, often took the initiative to serve Zhang Yu, and would pester Zhang Yu whenever he had free time. In addition to his usual favors towards his concubines, Zhang Yu would occasionally go to Sun Ren's palace to rest and enjoy the pleasures of his youthful beauty.

As for being arrogant and domineering?

That's not true, after all, women are opportunistic!

Historically, Liu Bei needed something from Jiangdong and went to Jinling alone to fetch his bride. Sun Ren, knowing the situation of both families, didn't treat Liu Bei well in their daily interactions. This is why there's the story of Zhao Yun guarding Sun Ren and Liu Bei building a city for him.

But Sun Ren dared not act out in front of Zhang Yu, after all, the Tang army had captured Jiameng Pass right before her eyes. Therefore, although Sun Ren was a little mischievous in serving Zhang Yu, Zhang Yu viewed it as a matter of interest.

Moreover, Sun Ren had been fond of martial arts and swordsmanship since childhood, and his swordsmanship was exceptional. In order to please Zhang Yu, he often performed sword dances in front of Zhang Yu. Zhang Yu quite enjoyed this feeling and would occasionally let Sun Ren perform sword dances for his entertainment when he had free time.

Now, amidst the stirring drumbeats, Sun Ren's graceful dance moves are like a fairy riding a dragon, her sword swift as a dragon and thunderbolts, and her beautiful smile is unforgettable!

"Your Majesty~"

While Zhang Yu was engrossed in watching, he suddenly heard Zhang Hang whisper a report, saying, "Military intelligence has arrived from Jingzhou?"

"when?"

"I am unaware of the details, but I do know that Xun and Jia requested an audience with Your Majesty, and they seemed quite anxious," Zhang Hang said.

"good!"

Since it was military business, Zhang Yu could not delay and waved to Sun Ren to stop.

"Your Majesty has business to attend to, so I must take my leave!" Sun Ren said, her body drenched in sweat, trying to calm her racing heart.

"Um!"

Zhang Yu nodded and said with a smile, "I'll stay at your place tonight!"

"As ordered!"

Sun Ren wiped away his sweat, his face slightly flushed, and stepped back.

Not long after Sun Ren and the band left, Xun You and Jia Xu entered the hall.

"I pay my respects to Your Majesty!"

Seeing the two bow respectfully, Zhang Yu interrupted, saying, "There's no need for such formalities, please sit down!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Xun You knelt down on the mat, handed over the military report, and said, "Your Majesty, the military report from Wen Ping, the Prefect of Nan Commandery, is here!"

"What's the matter?"

Zhang Yu took the military report and began to peruse its contents, becoming increasingly engrossed in reading.

While Zhang Yu was reading, Xun You said, "Cao Cao tricked Liu Bei into going to Jinling under the pretense of a marriage alliance and imprisoned him. At that time, he mobilized troops to attack Jingchu, first capturing the two commanderies of Changsha and Guiyang. In Jingchu, Li Yan and Guan Yu had many conflicts. When Guan Yu went east to meet him in battle, Li Yan surrendered to Cao Cao from Gong'an." "Guan Yu was attacked from both sides and defeated by Zhou Yu. When he was being pursued by Cao Cao's army, Wen Ping led the navy to his rescue, relieving Guan Yu's danger. Guan Yu, having nowhere else to go, led his remaining troops to Jiangling, and now he requests to submit to Your Majesty!"

That day, Guan Yu suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Zhou Yu. Wen Ping initially accepted Liu Feng's surrender, but remembering that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, he led his navy to Guan Yu's aid, relieving the siege. Guan Yu, persuaded by Guan Ping and Jian Yong, then chose to submit to the Tang dynasty, hoping to use Zhang Yu to pacify the southeast and perhaps rescue Liu Bei.

Wen Ping has accepted nearly 10,000 defeated soldiers from Jingchu. Now he submits a memorial asking how to arrange for the surrendered soldiers from Jingchu, such as Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Liu Feng.
Of course, Wen Ping was also trying to demonstrate his achievements to Zhang Yu in order to receive a reward from him.

"hehe!"

Zhang Yu put down the handkerchief and laughed, "When Liu Bei and Cao Cao formed a marriage alliance, I thought that with both families united against me, the subsequent southern campaign would not be difficult. But who would have thought that Cao Cao would use the marriage alliance as a pretext to imprison Liu Bei and seize Jingchu again."

"Although Cao Cao has seized Jingzhou, the Cao and Liu families are now enemies. Without Liu Bei as an ally, it might be advantageous for our army to continue our southern campaign with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei as the vanguard," Xun You said.

"It's hard to tell!"

Jia Xu said, "Jingchu was seized by Cao Cao, and all the soldiers and officials in Jingnan were put to his use. The two sides used different methods of warfare. Now Cao Cao can gather a large army and concentrate his efforts on one place."

Cao Cao's imprisonment of Liu Bei and subsequent conquest of Jingchu had both advantages and disadvantages. Previously, Liu Bei's presence in Jingchu relieved pressure on Cao Cao, allowing him to focus on his northward expansion. Now that Cao Cao had seized Jingchu, he would face pressure from both Yizhou and the Jianghan region.

However, unlike before, Cao Cao no longer needed to cooperate with Liu Bei; he could directly mobilize the troops of Jingzhou and concentrate his forces to resist the Tang army.

Perhaps more importantly for Cao Cao, by seizing Jingchu, he demonstrated his ability to expand territory to his subordinates and boosted the morale of his civil and military officials. Later, when the Tang army marched south, this reassured his men that he still had the strength to resist and that there was no need to rush to switch allegiance.

"It seems the southern expedition will not be easy!"

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Cao Cao controls Jingnan and Yangzhou. If he were to mobilize all his troops, he might have 150,000 men. However, to destroy the Cao family, we would need at least 300,000 troops to march south. Otherwise, it would be difficult to wipe out the enemy in one fell swoop!"

Xun You said, "To mobilize an army of 300,000, Your Majesty will need to mobilize the nation's elite forces. The naval forces of Yi and Jing provinces should advance together to wipe out the counties of Jing and Chu; the land and water forces of Yu and Xu provinces should advance together to pacify the enemy in Yang and Huai. Therefore, based on this plan, the army should be divided into at least four routes, and possibly as many as five."

Zhang Yu said, "This year we first conquered Bashu, and Yizhou is not yet at peace. Therefore, next year we will first allow the soldiers and civilians to recuperate, and let the three prefectures of Jing, Yi, and Xu build ships. By the year after next, when the ships are fully built and the navy is becoming more skilled, we will be able to launch a large-scale military campaign to destroy the southeast in one battle."

"Your Majesty, what are the arrangements for Liu Bei's subordinates today?" Xun You asked.

Zhang Yu pondered for a while and then said, "Summon all the generals to the capital for investiture, and move their troops to Fancheng to set up camp and organize them into the Jingzhou water troops."

After a pause, Zhang Yu said, "Wen Ping has rendered meritorious service in recruiting the enemy, so he is granted an additional fief of three hundred households and promoted to General Fubo, in charge of defending against the southern bandits."

"promise!"

Zhang Yu was quite fond of Wen Ping, not only because of his loyalty, but most importantly because Wen Ping had not disappointed him. When the Chu region was being pacified, the position of governor of Nan Commandery became vacant. Zhang Yu intended to appoint Wen Ping as governor. At the time, many people thought Wen Ping was not up to the task, but with Zhang Yu's strong recommendation, Wen Ping was ultimately appointed to govern Jiangling.

Since Wen Ping took up his post in Jiangling, he has been a major threat to Liu Bei. Otherwise, Liu Bei would not have made Gong'an his capital. Previously, when the allied forces of Cao Cao and Liu Bei besieged Jiangling, it was thanks to Wen Ping's defense of Jiangling that the so-called Li Song defeated the allied forces.

After the Battle of Jiangling, Zhang Yu specially appointed Wen Pin as the Governor of Nan Commandery and granted him the authority to act on behalf of the emperor, making him responsible for the military and political affairs of the Nan Commandery region. His position was second only to Hao Zhao, the Governor of Jingzhou.

Now that Wen Ping has been granted the authority to act on behalf of the emperor, he has the power to send troops. Otherwise, according to his previous duties, Wen Ping only had the responsibility of defending the territory and did not have the authority to personally lead troops into battle. Therefore, he is now sending troops to relieve Guan Yu's siege.

As he spoke, Zhang Yu, thinking of the cities of Yufu and Zigui that Liu Bei had captured, asked, "I heard that Liu Bei established Xiping Commandery in the Three Gorges and appointed Wu Ju as its governor. Now that Liu Bei is imprisoned by Cao Cao in Jiangdong, and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei have defected to China, I wonder what Wu Ju's situation is?"

"Your Majesty!"

Xun You said, "Cao Cao took advantage of the situation to advance westward, blocking the Yangtze River and preventing our navy from crossing. He also ordered Taishi Ci to be the vanguard, and used local people as envoys to persuade Wu Ju with clever words. Therefore, as far as I know, Wu Ju surrendered the entire prefecture to Cao Cao."

The navy was highly mobile, able to travel in a day, or even a thousand days, with favorable winds and currents. Even when sailing against the current, the ships were quite fast. Now, Cao Cao came prepared; as his army advanced westward, he directly dispatched men to Xiping County, while the Tang army was slow to react and couldn't possibly arrive as quickly as Cao Cao! (End of Chapter)