Late Han Zhao Tang

The central command tent of the Tang camp north of the Yangtze River.

The night was dark, but the candles shone brightly. The fisherman was escorted to the main tent by Tang soldiers.

Inside the spacious tent, Zhang Liao, Jia Xu, and Hao Zhao sat at different levels, staring intently at the man dressed as a fisherman.

"Who are you?" Zhang Liao asked.

"My name is Cao Ji, a trusted confidant of General Cao Xiu. I have come to pay my respects to the general because my master wishes to abandon the darkness and embrace the light, and submit to the Tang Emperor," the fisherman-dressed soldier Cao replied.

"Cao Xiu?"

The three men in the tent were all surprised. They had thought that the person who had come to surrender must be a general with a name and surname, but they did not expect that it was Cao Xiu, a general of the Cao clan.

Zhang Liao questioned, "Cao Xiu is Cao Cao's cousin and has served Cao Cao for many years, receiving good treatment. Why has he abandoned Cao Cao and joined me?"

Cao Ji presented a letter, saying: "Although my lord has received great favors from Cao Cao and has always served as a general, he has been treated well. However, considering the overall situation of the world, it is clear to all that the soldiers of Jiangdong are no match for the million-strong army of the Central Plains. The generals and officials of Jiangdong, whether wise or foolish, all know that this is impossible."

"Only Cao Cao and Zhou Yu used their military tactics in an extreme and reckless manner, defying the will of Heaven. My lord is the vanguard, and I know I am no match for the heavenly army. I wish to serve them now and find a wise ruler so that I may die a peaceful death."

Zhang Liao read the letter, in which Cao Xiu explained in detail the reasons for his surrender.

Cao Xiu stated that although he was a general of the Cao clan and had been granted official titles, he felt he was not valued by Cao Cao. The political landscape was clearly divided, and he advised Cao Cao to surrender to the Tang emperor. However, Cao Cao stubbornly refused Cao Xiu's advice and severely punished him. Now, with an elderly mother at home, in order to support her, he wished to surrender to the Tang dynasty.

Zhang Liao handed the letter to Jia Xu and said calmly, "I am overjoyed that your lord has come to surrender, but I fear that you are using trickery to deceive me."

Remembering Cao Xiu's instructions, Cao Ji boldly said, "If Cao Cao intended to feign surrender, why would he send my lord to feign surrender? My general is a senior general; how could ordinary people believe him?"

“But my lord pondered for a long time and thought that the situation was extremely dire, so he had no choice but to send me to ask for faith and surrender.”

Jia Xu asked, "Since you say you are sincerely coming to surrender, how many troops do you have in Huainan and Jingzhou? And how many troops does Cao Cao have?"

Cao Ji replied, “There are 60,000 troops in Jingzhou and Huainan, and Cao Cao has 60,000 elite troops under his command. There are 20,000 old and weak people left in the country. If any one of our troops defeats the enemy, we can drive straight to the southeast and send a proclamation to Jiangdong.”

Jia Xu stared at Cao Ji, stroking his beard without saying a word, having his own plans in mind.

Zhang Liao said, "Since your lord is willing to surrender, when and where will he come to surrender?"

“Cao Cao has been heavily fortified lately. In three days, when my lord inspects the camp, we will bring supplies and provisions to surrender, as a sign of our sincerity in submitting!” Cao Ji said.

"How much food supplies does Cao Cao have under his command?" Jia Xu suddenly asked.

“It will take about four or five months!” Cao Ji said without hesitation. “Xun Yu is stationed in Jinling, and there will be additional supplies transported westward.”

Zhang Liao took a moment to ask Cao Ji some more questions, and Cao Ji, knowing he had something to say, answered them all without reservation. Once he had asked enough, Zhang Liao told Cao Ji to leave and rest.

"What are your thoughts, gentlemen?" Zhang Liao asked.

Hao Zhao pondered for a moment and replied, "I observe that Cao Ji's words are sincere and he is not feigning surrender. Perhaps we can arrange a time with him and have him lead his troops to surrender."

Zhang Liao frowned and said, "If Cao Xiu truly surrenders, it will greatly benefit our army. However, I fear that he is feigning surrender in order to join forces with Cao Cao to defeat us."

As he spoke, Zhang Liao looked at Jia Xu and asked, "Sir, your wisdom and strategy are extraordinary. Do you have any methods to teach me?"

Jia Xu stroked his beard and pondered, then said, “Before I set out south, His Majesty instructed me that fire attacks are particularly effective in naval warfare, and that fire attacks are indispensable when outnumbered. His Majesty fears that Cao Cao might send someone to feign surrender, luring our army to open the gates and welcome the fire ships into the water fortress. If the ships are burned, our southern expeditionary force will surely be defeated.”

"This~"

Hao Zhao was speechless; he hadn't expected Zhang Yu to be considering such detailed matters in Chang'an.

"Does Your Majesty have any other instructions?"

Upon seeing that Zhang Yu had already given instructions regarding the recruitment of surrendered generals, Zhang Liao then inquired about them.

Jia Xu said, "Your Majesty said that the navy is the foundation for destroying Cao Cao, and we cannot afford to lose it. Therefore, if any soldiers come to surrender, we must not accept them into our camp. They must abandon their ships and go ashore to accept their surrender, so that our army can take over."

"Your Majesty's consideration is wise. Since we are worried that Cao Xiu will feign surrender, it would be better to let him land and accept the surrender, so as to prevent Cao's army from using fire ships."

After considering for a moment, Zhang Liao said, "Then let's reply to Cao Ji and agree that when Cao Xiu surrenders, his ships will sail directly to the north bank, while others remain on the north bank of the river to await our troops."

"promise!"

Without Zhang Yu's prior arrangements, Zhang Liao would have had a real difficulty in arranging Cao Xiu's surrender. Now that Zhang Yu had made the arrangements, they could simply carry them out. When Cao Ji crossed the river back to Cao's army camp, it was already dawn the next day, so he reported Zhang Liao's reply to Cao Xiu.

Inside the tent, Cao Cao frowned as he listened to Cao Xiu report on the military situation, while Zhou Yu looked on with surprise.

"Does Zhang Liao suspect you of feigning surrender?" Cao Cao asked.

"According to Cao Ji, Zhang Liao believed him completely, but said that the water fortress was too narrow for boats to advance further. Therefore, he first sent me to the north bank to abandon the boat and wait for the infantry and cavalry to provide support," Cao Xiu said.

Cao Cao rubbed his temples and said, "Why is Zhang Liao so cautious? He would rather have the surrendered men abandon their boats than compromise the safety of the water fortress."

Zhou Yu's face was not good. He had gone through a lot of trouble to find a way to defeat the enemy, but now it had been neutralized without him even realizing it. He felt depressed and his heart was stuck in his chest.

In fact, ordinary generals are prone to complacency when they have a significant advantage. Zhou Yu, by exploiting this complacency, might have been able to defeat the enemy, as seen in the Battle of Red Cliffs in history.

But who could have predicted that Zhang Yu came from a later era and knew many historical examples of southern expeditions, such as the failed battles of Chibi and Feishui, and the successful campaigns of Jin conquering Wu and Sui conquering Chen.

Therefore, to avoid defeat due to mistakes, Zhang Yu tirelessly repeated the important points to his generals and military advisors, and now they have finally come in handy. If Zhou Yu knew that his plan had been guessed by Zhang Yu from a thousand miles away, what would he think?
"Prime Minister, should Cao Xiu keep his promise and lead his troops across the river to surrender to Tang?" Cao Xiu asked.

"If you cross the river to the north now, it will be just as the Tang people want, and the matter of feigned surrender will be put aside for now." Cao Cao asked, "What do you think, Gongjin?"

Zhou Yu nodded helplessly and said, "Abandon the ships and go ashore. The fire ship plan will be difficult to succeed. Now we will follow the Prime Minister's instructions."

"promise!"

Since the feigned surrender plan failed, if Cao Xiu were to defect to the Tang army again, it would most likely be like throwing good money after bad.

"Gongjin, besides the feigned surrender and fire attack strategy, do you have any other strategies to defeat the enemy?" Cao Cao asked.

Zhou Yu frowned and pondered for a long time before saying, "Zhang Liao is staying indoors because he wants to wait for the Yizhou army to break through Yidao so that he can sweep through Southern Chu. Therefore, the only plan now is to hope that General Cao Ren can defeat Wen Ping. If we can defeat Wen Ping and clear the way to Yidao, we can repel the Yizhou army. Once the enemy upstream is defeated, Zhang Liao will not be able to hold out for long and will surely lead his troops to retreat!"

With Zhang Liao refusing to engage in battle, Zhou Yu had no choice but to hope that Cao Ren could lead his troops to defeat Wen Ping and lift the siege of Yidao, or perhaps join forces with Cao Cao's army along the river.

However, Zhou Yu had to question whether Cao Ren possessed the ability to defeat the enemy. After all, Wen Ping was no general without strategy; his purpose in guarding the strategic location without engaging in battle was to block Cao Ren's westward reinforcements from Yidao.

"Then we have no choice but to order Cao Ren to send troops?" Cao Cao looked around at everyone and asked hesitantly.

As a ruler, how could Cao Cao not know Cao Ren's abilities?
Cao Cao now harbors a growing regret for his decision not to appoint the exceptionally talented Zhou Yu to command the Jingzhou navy, but instead to Cao Ren. Had Zhou Yu been in command, the situation might be better than it is now.

Lu Su and Liu Ye had no solution and could not answer Cao Cao's question.

Concerned about military matters, Cao Cao then asked, "What is the situation in Huainan?"

"The situation in Huainan is not optimistic!"

Lu Su composed himself and said, "The Tang army knows that the Prime Minister's troops are advancing westward, so they have launched a large-scale military campaign. For example, Li Song besieged Shouchun, but Zhao Yun was sent deep into Hefei; Xu Huang besieged Huaiyin again, cutting off the road from Guangling to the north. If the two cities of Shouchun and Huaiyin are breached, the Tang army's advance will reach the north bank of the Yangtze River."

"Therefore, in my opinion, a besieged city without reinforcements will inevitably fall in the long run. If the Prime Minister cannot repel the troops from Jingzhou, then Huainan will likely not be able to hold out for long. And if Huainan falls, the situation in the southeast will change drastically, which will inevitably endanger the situation in Jingzhou."

Cao Cao had a plan in mind. After pondering for a while, he said, "Tell Cao Ren to be cautious in his military operations and not to fall into the enemy's trap."

"promise!"

Now Cao Cao regrets listening to Zhou Yu's advice and not choosing to first defeat Li Song in the north. But the territory of Jingchu is so vast, how could a few tens of thousands of soldiers defend it? If it weren't for Zhou Yu confronting Zhang Liao, and Zhang Liao had been able to break into Jingzhou, not to mention Zhou Yu, even Han Xin would probably have been helpless.

After a pause, Cao Cao suddenly had an idea and asked, "Jingzhou is difficult to defend now. What if we gather the troops in Jingzhou and retreat to Chaisang?"

"inappropriate!"

Seeing that Cao Cao was considering retreating, Lu Su stopped him, saying, "Yidao is the western border of the country. As long as Yidao exists, the counties of Jingzhou will survive. If the Prime Minister releases Jingzhou, he will be abandoning a million people to the enemy. The enemy can sail downstream, with ships stretching for thousands of miles, moving at lightning speed. They could reach Chaisang in no time. There will be a chance of safety, but sooner or later they will surely perish at the hands of the Tang."

"If Jingzhou is lost, the southeast will be in danger. The outcome is still undecided. Prime Minister, it would be better to calmly confront them!"

"I am momentarily confused, please correct me, Zijing."

Cao Cao realized the folly of his words. He had intended to join forces with Cao Ren to launch a major attack on the Tang army. However, he forgot that if Jingzhou were abandoned, the Tang army's eastward advance would be unstoppable. How could a mere Chaisang possibly withstand the endless stream of Tang troops?
Seeing Cao Cao so worried that he almost did something foolish, Zhou Yu sighed inwardly.

In the past, he held himself in high esteem, believing he could reverse the course of the world and keep it divided. But judging from the current situation, he was far too naive. The current campaign has resulted in more defeats than victories; he can only hope the Tang army makes a mistake in its military strategy! (End of Chapter)