Late Han Zhao Tang

In March, Xu Chu led 13,000 infantry, naval, and cavalry men, along with over 400 ships, across the sea from the Huai River to Jiangdong. Within half a month, he swept through the counties of Jiangdong, defeated Wen Ji, forced Li Shu to surrender, besieged Cao Ang, and shook Cao Cao's rule in Jiangdong.

Upon learning of the Tang army's surprise attack across the sea on Jiangdong, Cao Cao was greatly worried, fearing that Cao Ang was no match for Xu Chu. After consulting with his confidants, he decided to abandon Jingzhou to protect Jiangdong. Cao Cao himself led 30,000 troops back to reinforce the region, while Zhou Yu led 30,000 troops to meet Cao Ren.

On March 23, the day after receiving the military report, Cao Cao dared not delay and took advantage of the early light to lead his troops to retreat by boat.

News of Cao Cao's retreat reached the army in the afternoon after being discovered by scouts, and Zhang Liao immediately summoned his generals for a meeting.

"According to our scouts, Cao Cao's army had their meal at dawn, and by daybreak, their troops had boarded ships, with half of the vessels having left the naval camp." Zhang Liao looked around and asked, "What do you gentlemen think?"

"His Majesty wrote a letter a few days ago, saying that he ordered Xu Chu to lead troops to attack Jiangdong by sea. More than half a month has passed. Could it be that Xu Chu has already arrived in Jiangdong, and now his troops are gradually approaching Jinling? In order to relieve the trouble in Jiangdong, Cao Cao is leading his troops back to provide reinforcements?" Hao Zhao speculated.

"If it is as the governor says, that would be good. But Cao Cao is cunning in his military tactics. When I fight him, I often fall into his traps." Huang Zu said worriedly, "Now that Cao Cao has led his troops away from the camp, I'm afraid it's a ploy by Cao Cao to lure us into a trap so that our army will underestimate him and launch an attack!"

Zhang Liao pondered for a moment and said, "Jiangdong has no elite troops stationed there, so Xu Chu might be able to make a difference."

After a moment's consideration, Guo Huai cupped his hands and said, "Whether Cao Cao is luring the enemy or not, we will know after a test. I am willing to lead the Yizhou navy to attack Cao Cao's camp. If Cao Cao has set up an ambush, Commander-in-Chief, you can lead your troops to come to our aid; if Cao Cao really withdraws his troops, Commander-in-Chief, you may as well raise a large force to besiege the enemy in Xiakou."

"This is a feasible solution!"

Zhang Liao nodded, then looked at Jia Xu and asked, "What is the Protector-General's opinion?"

Jia Xu stroked his beard with a smile and said, "When I heard that Cao Cao was withdrawing his troops, I specially took a boat out of the camp to observe Cao Cao's naval camp. There are many large boats and few small boats in the camp. If Cao Cao's army wanted to lure us with this, they would definitely use more large boats so as to ambush and defeat us. Judging from this, it is true that Cao Cao withdrew his troops, but it is mostly related to General Xu Chu's surprise attack on Jiangdong."

After a pause, Jia Xu took a sip of tea to calm himself down and said, "Cao Cao left troops at Xiakou, simply to hinder our pursuit. Therefore, I expect Cao Cao's army to be prepared. If our army attacks the enemy camp, the enemy will surely flee. If they flee, our army should not pursue them too closely, lest the enemy ambush us along the way."

"If we follow the Protector General's words, wouldn't our army be at Cao Cao's mercy, able to advance and retreat at will?" Guo Huai asked, puzzled.

Seeing that everyone's attention was on Xiakou, Jia Xu smiled and said, "Jiangdong is in danger. If Cao Cao returns to defend it, wouldn't that be abandoning Jingzhou to protect Jiangdong? Right now, in Jingzhou, the enemy general Cao Ren is besieged in Gong'an. Cao Cao will definitely order Cao Ren to abandon the city and flee. So why not temporarily focus on Jingzhou and send troops to surround and kill Cao Ren?"

"If Cao Ren is defeated and killed, he will be able to intimidate the counties of Jingnan. At that time, we can send troops to persuade the counties to surrender and then station them again in Guiyang. Wouldn't that be enough to reach Jiaoling? If Cao's army at Xiakou withdraws, we can send our navy to garrison at the stern. When the enemy changes direction, we can perhaps send ships to attack them and surely gain something!"

"color!"

Seeing Jia Xu's exceptional insight, Zhang Liao couldn't help but clap his hands and laugh, saying, "His Majesty has praised you as a man of national talent, and I have known this well since we began our campaign!"

Then Zhang Liao asked, "But if Cao Cao retreats to Jiangdong, how can we defeat him and destroy him in one fell swoop?"

Jia Xu said, "When the Yangtze River flows to Jiangdong, the river is thirty or forty miles wide. The water is vast, the wind is strong, and the waves are turbulent. There are many suitable places for military operations along the way. If the commander-in-chief wants to win in one battle, he should first take Yuzhang, then join forces with the troops of the Central Plains on the north bank of the river, and sail straight down the river. With all the armies gathered together, advancing by land and water, Cao Cao's army will surely be defeated!"

If we take a century as a unit, we can see that the Yangtze River channel gradually narrowed. Taking the famous Huangtiandang as an example, the distance between the river sections was more than 40 li during the Han Dynasty. As the number of river islands increased, the river was still more than 20 li during the Tang Dynasty, 18 li during the Song Dynasty, and only 7 or 8 li during the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, as time went on, the accumulation of silt narrowed the river, making it an increasingly difficult and formidable natural barrier. For example, when the Song Dynasty conquered the southeast, it was able to build pontoon bridges across the Yangtze River, something unthinkable during the Eastern Han Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty's easy unification of the southeast cannot be said to be unrelated to the narrowing of the Yangtze River.

"I will follow Jia Jun's advice completely!"

Zhang Liao instructed his men, saying, "Send an urgent message to General Li, saying that tens of thousands of Cao troops have returned, so that General Xu Chu can be prepared."

"promise!"

"Wait a minute!"

Guo Huai stopped him, saying, "Mountains and rivers separate us. Xiakou is more than a thousand miles away from Shouchun, and it is inconvenient for Huainan to communicate with Jiangdong. Now that the river is swollen, it would be better to write a letter on a wooden plaque, stating the date of the fall of Yidao, Lexiang, and Gong'an, and that Cao Cao, defeated and fleeing to Jiangzuo, will throw himself into the river. This will first frighten the civil and military officials of Jiangdong, and secondly, it will make it easier for Xu Chu to guard against Cao Cao."

"A brilliant plan, let's put it into action!" Zhang Liao laughed heartily, praising Guo Huai's ingenuity.

Jia Xu's eyes were full of approval. Of all the generals since the campaign began, Guo Huai had shown the most remarkable talent. With such talent at such a young age, he would surely be highly valued by His Majesty. In the future, when Liaodong was conquered, Jiaoling was pacified, and the northern border was secured, Guo Huai would definitely be seen again.

Guo Huai's growth was not achieved overnight. In his campaigns to unify the north under Zhang Yu, he laid a solid foundation in military strategy. As a result, he performed increasingly well in the southern campaign against Ba and Shu and the eastern campaign against Cao Cao, gradually demonstrating the demeanor of a renowned general. His military administration, tactics, and strategies were all commendable.

Having devised a strategy, Zhang Liao wrote to Wen Ping and Gao Shun, instructing the two generals to capture and kill Cao Ren, while Guo Huai ordered his soldiers to make six thousand wooden plaques to sail down the river.

The six thousand wooden plaques were placed in units of one hundred, and were thrown out in a total of sixty times, rising and falling with the waves, rushing towards the east bank of the river.

Along the way, every Cao army encampment they passed was filled with curiosity as they retrieved the wooden plaques to see what was written on them. Zhou Yu, who was stationed at the Xiakou camp, was the first to see the contents of the wooden plaques.

"Commander, the Tang army has thrown a wooden tablet into the river!" Cao's soldier said, presenting the tablet. Zhou Yu took the tablet and saw the dates of the capture of Yiling, Lexiang, and Gong'an, as well as the news of the troops returning to reinforce Jiangdong, and his expression changed.

"How many wooden signs did the Tang army throw into the river?" Zhou Yu asked anxiously.

“It’s hard to count, at least over a thousand,” Cao Zu said.

Cao Hong looked at the contents of the wooden sign and asked in confusion, "The Public Security Bureau is still in our army's hands, how can the Tang people make up such nonsense?"

Zhou Yu looked grave and said, "The Tang people's actions are nothing more than trying to sow discord and to warn the Tang army in Jiangdong to be wary of the Prime Minister's troops."

"This~"

Cao Hong frowned deeply and said, "The Tang bandits are bewitching people's hearts; they are truly despicable!"

Zhou Yu threw the wooden plaque into the brazier and said, "The Tang army knows our strengths and weaknesses. Tomorrow, our army will quickly withdraw from Chaisang and let Cao Ren retreat to Yuzhang by land."

"promise!"

"Shall we retrieve the wooden plaque?" Cao Hong asked.

"There's no need to salvage it!"

Zhou Yu sighed and said, "The Tang people have made far more than a thousand wooden plaques. Xiakou is more than two thousand li away from Jinling. The enemy has thrown at least five thousand wooden plaques. How can we possibly cover them all given the vastness of the river?"

The wooden plaques floating down the river were primarily effective at demoralizing the enemy. The Cao army's ships returned to Jiangdong, and the plaques described this as a defeat, complete with a date that was half-true and half-false, making those unaware of the details believe it, especially those who were already wavering.

The wooden tablet floated past Cao Cao's camp at Xiakou for a short time before it caught up with Cao Cao's retreating troops.

When the boats were moored on the shore, Cao Cao pulled a wooden plaque from the river. Upon seeing the contents of the plaque, his brows furrowed deeply.

"The Tang people know I have left, and in order to let the Tang soldiers downstream know, they have stirred up a commotion!" Cao Cao said.

"I fear the Tang people's intention is to further demoralize the soldiers and officers of Jiangdong!" Liu Ye pointed to the wooden plaque floating on the river and said, "Jiangdong has suffered a surprise attack from the Tang invaders, and many counties and towns have fallen. The enemy has forced Jinling to surrender, and morale is already low. Now, by falsely reporting the fall of Jingzhou, they are not only openly slandering the Prime Minister, but also secretly reporting the news of the Prime Minister's return to the capital."

Cao Cao looked solemn and said, "To win people's hearts and minds, we must defeat the enemy. Now we must do our best to retrieve the wooden tablet."

"promise!"

Cao Cao ordered his soldiers to salvage the wooden tablets, but how could all six thousand tablets be salvaged? Moreover, Cao Cao needed to rush back to Jinling, so at least several thousand tablets were still left to float downstream to Jiangdong.

The river swelled and overflowed, and the wooden tablet appeared on the river downstream in just one day and one night. Soldiers and officers along the way tried to retrieve it, and Tang soldiers also retrieved the wooden tablet.

Now Cao Ang has retreated to Zhongshan, where he is heavily surrounded by Tang troops. Tang soldiers retrieved a wooden tablet and quickly reported it to Xu Chu.

Inside the main tent, Xu Chu discussed military matters with his generals and studied the situation regarding the wooden plaques.

"The wooden plaque shows the date our army breached the city and the time Cao Cao returned to reinforce it. It should have been surrendered by General Zhang from upstream," Meng Ningzhi said.

"Cao Cao has suddenly returned to reinforce, and Zhongshan has not yet been captured. I wonder what your opinions are?" Xu Chu asked.

Jia Qu pondered for a moment and said, "Although Cao Ang is defending the mountain, his troops are mostly old and weak. Without reinforcements, he can be defeated within three or four days. Cao Cao has suddenly returned to reinforce, and we do not know where he is. If we insist on besieging Zhongshan, I am afraid that Cao Cao's troops will arrive before our army breaks through the camp."

"I am also worried about this!" Xu Chu said, "But if we retreat now, wouldn't it be a pity to have all our previous efforts wasted?"

Jia Qu said, "Cao Cao has deployed three generals, Xiahou Shang, Wen Ji, and Cheng Yu, at Guangling in the Han Canal. Now our army is besieging Huaiyin, and Wen Ji and his 5,000 troops have surrendered. According to Wen Ji, Xiahou Shang's troops number only 3,000. Therefore, Zhongshan cannot be taken quickly, but our army can take Guangling and Jiangdu to the north."

"If Guangling and Jiangdu fall, our army will be stationed at Beigushan in the south, blocking the waterway to Dantu. General Gongming can send troops via the Han Canal to Guangling to support our army. When the troops from various tribes arrive, they will hold their ground at the river mouth, and Cao Cao will be unable to break through our defenses. Once the Jingzhou navy marches east, we can join forces to defeat Cao Cao!"

"Jia's plan to govern Yangzhou is reasonable!"

Qiu Lang stepped forward from the end of the line, cupped his hands, and said, “Our navy is no match for Cao Cao’s. We should change our strategy now, temporarily avoid the sharp edge of Cao’s army, and rely on the natural defenses of mountains and cities to wear down the enemy. Once the Jingzhou navy marches east, our army will join forces with General Gongming, and Cao Cao will inevitably be defeated. It would be unwise to insist on taking Zhongshan first!”

Before learning of Cao Cao's return to reinforce, the generals had hoped to quickly break through Zhongshan and advance towards Jinling. However, upon learning of Cao Cao's return, they had to change their strategy from "the main force acting slowly while the guest is urgent" to waiting for the arrival of the naval forces upstream before they could combine their strength to defeat Cao Cao. (End of Chapter)