Late Han Zhao Tang

March of the sixth year of Shenwu.

With Zhang Yu's approval, Xu Huang and Li Song's forces assembled 10,000 elite soldiers, plus 3,000 boatmen, for a total of 13,000 men. They carried more than 400 boats of various sizes and, with the Mi brothers as guides, set off from the mouth of the Huai River and sailed along the coastline.

Before the 15th and 16th centuries, limited by shipbuilding technology and navigation methods, both Chinese and Western voyages were primarily coastal or island-hopping journeys to avoid venturing into unpredictable oceans and evading deep-sea storms. Furthermore, due to a lack of knowledge of latitude and longitude and difficulty in astronomical observation, they often sailed during the day and anchored at the coast at night.

For example, during the Han Dynasty, the shipping routes between Jiangdong and the Korean Peninsula, apart from those that crossed the Bohai Sea by traveling from island to island, were all coastal routes.

Or perhaps it was during the Roman era, when Rome's territory at its peak encompassed the Mediterranean, but in reality, most maritime activities were confined to the coastline, relying on islands along the way for anchorages before venturing out to sea. Blindly venturing into the Mediterranean could still result in shipwrecks and capsizing.

Therefore, Zhang Yu hesitated before approving the plan to smuggle across the sea to attack Jiangdong. Fortunately, Pang Tong had already taken this into consideration and pointed out in his memorial that the Mi brothers were well-developed in maritime trade and salt smelting, and that their retainers and servants were mostly familiar with sea travel, with Mi Fang even having personally sailed to Jiangdong.

Seeing that preparations for crossing the sea were thorough and that the Mi family's men were well-versed in navigation, Zhang Yu finally approved Xu Huang and Li Song's adventurous plan.

It wasn't that Zhang Yu was cautious, but rather that navigation was extremely difficult. For example, navigation involves knowledge of waterways, reefs, monsoons, ocean currents, and celestial phenomena, and this knowledge cannot be acquired overnight; it requires a great deal of experience accumulated through numerous trials.

Historically, during the Age of Exploration, Spain and Portugal were the first to venture out, followed by England and the Netherlands. Why were England and the Netherlands able to eventually surpass them?
The key issue was that the Dutch sent agents to steal the nautical charts that Portugal had painstakingly accumulated over a century. Even with the charts, the Dutch still suffered considerable losses on their journey to Asia.

With the Mi brothers as guides, the Tang army sailed south along the coast, setting out early and stopping late, taking about four or five days to reach the waters near the mouth of the Yangtze River.

"Have we reached Jiangdong yet?" Xu Chu asked, gazing at the vast ocean.

"Wait a moment!"

Mi Fang gestured to the old man beside her to open the cage door that was closed for the crows, letting the crows fly into the sky.

As the crows flew westward, Mi Fang said, "Now that we've reached the river mouth, we can sail with the black birds and reach the land."

Watching the crows spread their wings and soar into the sky, Xu Chu exclaimed in admiration, "Using birds to orient oneself is truly a brilliant technique!"

Xu Chu lived in Qiao County, which was close to Huaibei, so crossing rivers and traveling by boat were familiar to him. However, it was only when he reached the sea that Xu Chu realized the difference between sailing and crossing rivers.

Mi Fang's act of releasing the caged crows was essentially intended to utilize their land-dwelling nature to help them navigate the vast ocean. Of course, if the land was far away, the crows would fly aimlessly around the ships.

With the sails turned, the fleet of over four hundred ships, guided by crows, sailed toward land more than ten miles away.

In the afternoon, the lead ship spotted land and, following the current upstream, the fleet discovered human habitation.

To ascertain their location, the large ship anchored at the shore, and several small boats carrying over a hundred armored soldiers disembarked to gather intelligence on the military situation on land.

"General, according to the villagers, the land on the shore is under the jurisdiction of Piling County of Wu Commandery, and the township where it is located is called Beihai Township," the scout who returned from the shore reported.

"How far is it from Piling County? And how far is it from Wu County and Jinling?" Xu Chu asked.

The scout shook his head and said, "The villagers do not know where Jinling is, but they know that the prefectural seat, Wu County, is one or two hundred li to the south."

"it is good!"

Xu Chu looked at Jia Qu and asked, "Liang Dao is the governor of Yangzhou. What are his views now?"

Jia Qu stared at the rough map of Wu County and said, "Wu County is a prosperous place. In the past, it had 160,000 registered households, second only to Yuzhang County. Our army has just arrived in Jiangdong and is unfamiliar with the geography of the southeast. Now we should take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness, seize Wu County first, and find out the details of the military reports before heading to Jinling."

"Can!"

Xu Chu nodded in satisfaction and said, "Since Wu Commandery is a large commandery in terms of population, there must be many powerful clans within it. If we can pacify them and make them our own, our army will easily conquer Jiangdong! Moreover, Wu Commandery is wealthy and has plenty of rice, which can be used to supply our army."

Without knowing anything about Jiangdong, Xu Chu and Jia Qu decided to first seize the unprepared Wu County. They would then use Wu County as a base to further conquer Jiangling.

The journey of one or two hundred li was not far, but as it was getting late and the Tang army was exhausted from their journey, Xu Chu decided to personally lead the troops to attack Wu County the next day, leaving Meng Ningzhi to guard the boats in support, while Jia Qu attacked the low-lying city of Piling.

That night, to win over the hearts of the people, Xu Chu, citing the suffering of the common folk, opened the granaries to provide relief, and declared that if he conquered Jiangdong, he would exempt them from taxes and corvée labor for a year. The people of Beihai were overjoyed. An elder who understood the times volunteered to be their guide.

The next morning, March 10th.

Xu Chu led 4,000 infantry and cavalry, guided by the elders of Beihai Township, to attack Wu County, more than 100 li away; Jia Qu led 3,000 infantry and cavalry to attack Piling County, 80 li away. When the two generals set out, they announced plans to grant land and register the land, and to reduce taxes and corvée labor. All sons of scholars and those who had settled in the military farms were registered as civilians and granted 100 mu of fertile land.

The Tang army descended like divine soldiers, suddenly arriving at the territory of Wu County. They declared their good policies of light taxes and levies, which delighted the people of the county. Many people brought food and drink along the way.

On the 12th, Jia Qu captured Piling County without bloodshed, and Xu Chu broke through Wuxi County. On the 13th, Xu Chu arrived at Wu County, where the magistrate Qin Fan surrendered.

Xu Chu's troops entered the county town and he reiterated his order that the people must not be disturbed and their property must not be taken without permission.

At that time, the Zhu, Lu, Zhang, and Gu families of Wu County were afraid that their family members would be retaliated against for serving Cao Cao, so they all brought generous gifts to pay homage to Xu Chu at the military gate.

To reassure the people, Xu Chu personally led the army to refuse lavish gifts.

"Your Majesty has decreed that the world is divided into North and South by the Yangtze River, and the people of the South have served Cao Cao because of this. Cao Cao has been levying exorbitant taxes and levies, causing great distress to the people and making them suffer. Therefore, for the sake of the people of the South, Your Majesty has strictly prohibited harassment of the people and forbade soldiers from taking any property without permission."

Xu Chu placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and said in a deep voice, "As for those who served Cao Cao, those who have gone astray and come back to the right path will be spared punishment, and their learning and character will be examined. Those who excel in these areas will be employed. However, those who remain obstinate will not have their families punished, and the disaster will befall only one person. I hope you all understand this."

"General, you are so kind!"

"Your Majesty Renming!"

The crowd bowed in gratitude, thankful for the benevolence of the Tang army, which not only refrained from robbing them but also offered to continue employing outstanding members of their clan.

Out of concern for their families' future, the elders of the four major families wrote letters to their descendants, urging those who served Cao Cao's regime to surrender in time.

Not only that, because Xu Chu refused to accept the money, the various clans were still worried. In order to put their minds at ease, they offered to provide grain to the army, and the four major clans raised 100,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) to feed the army on its southern expedition.

Seeing that the four families of Wu County insisted on sending grain, Xu Chu accepted it without violating any rules.

On the 14th, Xu Chu left several hundred men to guard Wu County, appointed Mi Zhu as the governor of Wu Commandery, and ordered him to deal with the remaining counties on his own. He then led his troops northwest, intending to join forces with Meng Ningzhi and Jia Qu to launch a joint western expedition against Jinling.

While Xu Chu was capturing Wu County, Jia Qu captured Piling County and then seized Yunyang County, which had been established by Cao Cao. Meng Ningzhi responded by boat and captured Wujin County on the riverbank.

On the 17th, the three generals met with Mi Fang in Wujin County, with a combined force of 10,000 men by land and water.

Inside the main tent, having successfully captured Wu County, the Tang army now possessed detailed maps of the Wu and Danyang prefectures.

"Cao Cao made Jinling his capital, but Wujin is about 400 li away from Jinling. Along the way, there are important passes and cities such as Qu'a and Dantu. Jiangdu on the north bank of the Yangtze River has nearly 10,000 troops, Jinling has 20,000 old and weak people, the enemy has about 30,000, while our army only has 10,000 infantry and cavalry."

Xu Chu sat on a stool, gradually displaying the demeanor of a great general, and said, "If the enemy launches a rapid attack, they may be able to gain tens of thousands more troops. Therefore, we should act quickly rather than slowly, and not allow the enemy to gather their forces to attack us."

Before setting out, Xu Chu had discussed the military strategy with his strategists and generals on several occasions. The key to Xu Chu's victory lay in leading his troops in a rapid advance, leaving no time for Jinling. Otherwise, once the enemy forces gathered, Xu Chu's troops, deep in enemy territory, would inevitably face the awkward situation of being outnumbered and outgunned.

Therefore, the faster Xu Chu marched, the more likely he was to catch Xun Yu off guard. In order to prevent Xu Chu from approaching Jinling, Xun Yu could only continuously send troops to stop him, until they all arrived at the same time.

Jia Qu said, “Jinling is a well-preserved place with mountains and rivers. There are two routes from Wujin to Jinling. The northern route is by both land and water. First, take Qu’a and Dantu, then go upstream to Jiangcheng and Meiling, and you can take Jinling. The southern route is mainly by land. First, take Qu’a, then go to Jurong and Hushu, pass through the danger of Tangshan, and approach Zhongshan, and you can take Jinling.”

"Our army came by boat, so it would be better to advance by both land and water. We should first attack the Guangling army on the north bank of the Yangtze River and clear the Han Canal to facilitate our advance and retreat. Then we can advance westward to Jiangcheng and fight the Jinling army. If we defeat both armies, then Jiangdong will temporarily have no troops available. When our troops reach Jinling, they will surrender sooner or later."

Xu Chu pondered for a moment, then looked at Meng Ningzhi and asked, "What do you think?"

"Qu'a is vast and without natural defenses, so if there is any struggle, it must be in Dantu."

Meng Ningzhi said in a deep voice: "I have heard that there are two mountains in Dantu, Beigu Mountain in the north and Nanshan Mountain in the south. Beigu Mountain controls the waterway, while Nanshan Mountain is the highest point in Dantu. If Guangling sends elite troops across the river to intercept us, they will definitely fight for these two mountains first. At present, the army is advancing slowly, and I am afraid that the enemy will seize the strategic points first. I am willing to lead the troops to advance day and night and take control of the strategic points in Dantu first."

"it is good!"

Without hesitation, Xu Chu said, "I hereby grant you two thousand elite troops as the vanguard to lead the troops in the battle for Dantu."

"The last general takes command!"

Meng Ningzhi readily agreed, then withdrew to muster his troops, preparing to head first to Dantu. (End of Chapter)