Late Han Zhao Tang

Compared to the fierce battle in Jingzhou, the Huainan War, apart from its initial surge, fell into a period of silence due to the siege warfare.

In an effort to achieve a breakthrough, Xu Huang maintained constant correspondence with Li Song. In the first month of the lunar calendar, Xu Huang traveled by boat to Shouchun and secretly met with Li Song to discuss the war in detail.

"Gongming, you have come from afar; you must be tired!"

Li Song welcomed Xu Huang to sit down and asked, "How is the battle at Huaiyin going?"

“Cheng Yu is holding firm and will not come out. According to the deserters in the city, Huaiyin has enough grain for a year,” Xu Huang said.

Li Song poured wine for Xu Huang, smiled bitterly, and said, "Shouchun's grain reserves are the same as a year old. I ordered my soldiers to besiege the city for days, but we have been unable to break through."

“Shouchun is near the Huai River, so we might be able to wait for the spring floods to rise and then divert water to irrigate the city,” Xu Huang said.

Chen Gong shook his head and said, "Shouchun may be flooded, but it is not afraid of being flooded. Governor Li intends to take a two-pronged approach: first flood the city, then dig tunnels to break through Shouchun City."

Li Song took a sip of wine and said, "Shouchun has fallen, but Hefei remains a formidable fortress. The layered siege is exhausting the soldiers and officers!"

Xu Huang pondered for a moment and said, "Bo Song's words are similar to what the generals and soldiers have said. Cao Cao has entrusted his trusted generals to guard Huainan, so it will not be easy to break through the cities in Huainan. However, if we can bypass the enemy and attack, we may be able to achieve a quick victory."

"Ok?"

Li Song's interest was piqued, and he asked, "If we're going to take a detour to attack the bandits, which route should we take to head south?"

Xu Huang said, "Order ships to carry troops south by sea, and take advantage of the southeast's vulnerability to defeat the enemy in the southeast."

“If I remember correctly, when Gongming captured Sheyang last year, he feigned an attack from the Han Canal, secretly marched out to the coast, and launched a surprise attack on the city!” Li Song said.

"Of course!"

Xu Huang took out a map from his bosom and spread it between himself and Li Song, saying, "From the mouth of the Huai River, it is only about four hundred li to travel south from the coast, and the boat can reach the destination in two or three li. Therefore, if we can send elite troops to cross to the southeast, we may be able to sweep through the southeast by taking advantage of the lack of troops there."

Li Song looked at Chen Gong and Tian Feng and asked, "What do you two think?"

Chen Gong frowned slightly and said, "If we sail south by sea, away from the Central Plains, abandoning our supplies to go to enemy territory, we will be wiped out."

"According to His Majesty's letter and reports from those who surrendered in the southeast, there are only 20,000 old and weak people left in Jiangdong. If I could send 10,000 elite troops to the southeast, it would be like divine troops descending from the heavens, and wouldn't all the cities surrender one after another?" Xu Huang said.

What is your opinion, Mr. Tian?

"Ok!"

Tian Feng stroked his beard thoughtfully and asked, "I wonder if this plan came from General Gongming?"

Xu Huang shook his head and said, "It was a plan proposed by Pang Shiyuan, my military advisor. I thought it was feasible, so I adopted it."

"So, Gongming, is your purpose in coming here to persuade me to join you in sending troops?" Li Song asked.

“The troops under Governor Li’s command are the elite of China. If they can be transported to the southeast, they will surely be invincible!” Xu Huang said.

After Pang Tong surrendered to Zhang Yu, he was first put in charge of supervising the construction of ships in Jingzhou, and was promoted to a position in the Privy Council for his merits. In this campaign to conquer the southeast, Pang Tong accompanied Xu Huang as a military advisor and provided him with strategic advice.

Having recently gained a deeper understanding of Yangzhou's geography, Pang Tong proposed three strategies to Xu Huang for destroying the Cao family.

The best strategy, as Xu Huang suggested, is to select elite troops and generals, prepare sufficient provisions, and take advantage of the vulnerability of the southeast to sail directly to Nanjing and destroy the southeast in one battle.

The middle strategy is to divide the troops to besiege Huaiyin, while the main army marches south to attack Guangling. If they can open up the Hangou Canal, their troops can drink from the Yangtze River. Once the troops cross the river and defeat the enemy, they can destroy the southeast.

The worst course of action is to proceed cautiously according to the current strategy, first capturing Huaiyin and then advancing directly to Guangling. After capturing Guangling, we can then plan for the eastern prefectures.

Of the three strategies, Xu Huang believed that the inferior and middle strategies were too slow. Based on his experience in conquering Bashu, Xu Huang decided to revert to the old strategy, which was to send elite troops to cleverly cross the southeast, just like the secret crossing of Yinping, and directly attack the enemy's central stronghold.

Li Song stroked his beard and said, "Although the plan is risky, judging from Gongming's secret crossing of Yinping, if the floating troops can reach the southeast, they can shake the hearts of the people in Jiangdong and destroy Cao Cao in one fell swoop."

Tian Feng said, “Huainan experiences frequent rains in spring and summer, and it is now approaching February. If we delay until April, the rains will be heavy, and the northerners will suffer from acclimatization issues, potentially leading to many soldiers falling ill. Therefore, while a steady and cautious approach is advisable, it is insufficient to conquer the southeast.” He then looked at Li Song and said, “Commander, Cao Cao’s main army is tied down at Xiakou by Zhang Liao, and the remaining troops are stationed on the outskirts. Jiangdong is currently vulnerable, with many old and weak soldiers. If elite troops and fierce warriors arrive in Jiangdong, led by seasoned generals, they will be like tigers among sheep, easily defeating the enemy!”

Since setting out in mid-October, it is now almost February, and the army is still stuck in Shouchun. Tian Feng, who is usually cautious in his military tactics, has finally become anxious because he has not been able to break through the city and has chosen to take the risk of crossing the sea.

"What do you think of Gongming's plan?" Li Song asked, intrigued.

In the previous battle to rescue Jiangling and repel Cao Cao and Liu Bei, Li Song considered himself far inferior to Man Chong and Zhang Liao, who had rendered great service. Therefore, in this battle to destroy Cao Cao, Li Song was eager to achieve great merit so that he could rightfully be granted the title of Duke.

Moreover, his nephew was young and intelligent, and His Majesty often praised him, which gave Li Song hope. If he, as the uncle, could achieve great merit, wouldn't he be able to support his nephew?
Xu Huang pointed to the map and said, "My troops number 50,000. We need to leave some troops to besiege Huaiyin, and also draw the troops from Guangling at Sheyang. Therefore, the ships and boats will be provided by my troops, and another 3,000 elite soldiers will be sent out to be commanded by Jia Qu, the governor of Xuzhou."

"If Gongming has sent three thousand elite troops, then I will select seven thousand elite troops, led by Xu Chu and Meng Ning, with a total of ten thousand infantry and cavalry. What do you think?"

"No objection!"

Xu Huang readily agreed, saying, "Xu Chu is reliable and can serve as the commander-in-chief, with Meng Ningzhi and Jia Qu as his deputies. Prepare 20,000 shi of grain for one month. Once we cross to the Jiangdong region, let the troops raise their own provisions."

Li Song said, "Although we have decided on the matter of crossing the sea to attack Jiangdong, we need to report to His Majesty. Only if His Majesty approves can we send troops south. Now we can take advantage of His Majesty's reply to prepare for the southern expedition. Once His Majesty's edict of approval arrives, our army can immediately set out."

"As Governor Li said!"

The memorial from Generals Li and Xu, requesting that they divide their troops to secretly cross the coast, was finally delivered to Zhang Yu, who was far away in Chang'an, after several days of scouting by messengers.

Inside the palace, Zhang Yu, along with ministers Xun You and Guo Tu, discussed a plan to smuggle themselves to the coast.

"Your Majesty," Guo Tu said, "although Jiangdong is relatively undefended, the sea routes are often stormy, and ships are easily capsized. Now that Wen Ping has decisively defeated Cao Ren, Cao Cao is at a loss, and Yidao will fall sooner or later. Therefore, in my opinion, rather than sending troops deep into the southeast, it would be better to wait and see what happens in Jingchu."

"No!"

Xun You countered, "Cao Cao has amassed a large army in Jingchu. The enemy at Yidao has not yet been defeated, and Cao Ren's ministers have not yet surrendered. By summer, the rivers in Jingchu will flood, and disease will spread throughout the army. Cao Cao may very well take advantage of this situation to defeat us!"

"Now the enemy troops are far away in Jingchu and Huainan, and Jiangdong is empty and without an enemy. We should take advantage of this and launch a surprise attack. From the mouth of the Huai River, we can go from the coast through Yandu to Hailing. From Jiangbei, we can reach Guangling, and from Jiangnan, we can reach Danyang. It is three or four hundred li away from Jinling. Our troops can attack Wujun and rush to Danyang. The army in Huainan will have difficulty returning, and the army in Xiakou will have difficulty returning."

"The military strategist said, 'Attack where they are unprepared, strike where they least expect it.' Now, taking advantage of their weakness to invade Jiangdong, their old and weak troops will surely be defeated!"

"Moreover, Cao Cao levies exorbitant taxes and levies, treating soldiers as slaves and forcing people into tenants. Whenever Chinese troops arrive in Jiangdong, soldiers and civilians should be separated into regular households, with light taxes and levies, and powerful clans should be won over. The people of Wu will surely turn their backs on Cao Cao and join the Tang Dynasty. Why worry about our troops penetrating deep into enemy territory without external support?"

“Furthermore, if I encounter any misfortune while traveling by boat to the southeast, I can simply return by the same route. What difficulty could there be?” Xun You said in a deep voice.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, although it was impossible to cross the ocean, crossing the sea along the coastline was not a problem.

Historically, the Eastern Wu dynasty saw events such as Sun Quan sending 10,000 men to establish diplomatic relations with the Gongsun clan of Liaodong, or Sun Ce crossing the sea to attack Chen Deng's garrison at Sheyang. During the Eastern Jin dynasty, there were even sea routes from Jiangdong to India, as exemplified by the eminent monk Faxian traveling from Chang'an through the Western Regions to India and returning by sea.

Therefore, the journey of 10,000 people sailing from the mouth of the Huai River to the southeast, a distance of three or four hundred li, was by no means difficult.

Zhang Yu pondered for a long time before saying, "The city walls of Huainan are difficult to breach, and our troops have been suffering defeats at the city walls for a long time, inevitably exhausting our soldiers and officers. Now that Generals Xu and Li are willing to risk crossing the sea by smuggling, how can I refuse?"

"Orders were sent to Generals Li Song and Xu Huang to prepare troops and provisions for the sea voyage, with Xu Chu as the chief general, Jia Qu as the governor of Yangzhou and concurrently the military commander, and Meng Ningzhi as the deputy general. The three generals were to go to Jiangdong together."

"promise!"

Zhao Zi hurriedly wrote with a pen in hand.

Zhang Yu adopted contrasting strategic attitudes towards the two battlefields of Jingchu and Huainan, which presented different situations. In Jingchu, where Cao Cao had deployed a large army, Zhang Yu prioritized stability. In Huainan, however, the layered defenses forced Zhang Yu to adopt a more aggressive military approach.

Taking advantage of the lull, Zhang Yu casually asked, "What was Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's attitude when they learned of Li Yan's surrender?"

"Your Majesty, thanks to General Zhang's reassurance, Generals Guan and Zhang have temporarily set aside their grudge against Li Yan, but they still harbor resentment," Xun You said.

After pondering for a moment, Zhang Yu said, "After breaking through Yidao, transfer Guan and Zhang to serve under Zhang Liao to avoid Li Yan meeting with them. Also, have Wen Ping appease them and reassure Li Yan to recruit his followers."

"Yes, sir!" (End of Chapter)