My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Chapter 195 The sons of Cao family are also dogs and pigs! Xiao He: Shouchun, Feishui, Bagong Mountain... I am familiar with this plot!
This is Cao Zhi, Cao Cao’s legitimate son!

Unlike the rough man Cao Zhang, Cao Zhi inherited Cao Cao's literary talent, and his talent in poetry and prose was even better than his father's, so much so that even Cao Cao admitted that he was inferior to him.

This was Cao Cao's favorite son, and he almost thought of deposing the eldest son and making the youngest the heir.

Such a valuable and rare item now falls into Gan Ning's hands. This is God helping him to get promoted.

For the merit of the surprise attack on Huaiyin and the merit of capturing Cao Zhi, given Liu Bei's clear reward and punishment system, he should at least be promoted from a general of miscellaneous title to a general of important title.

Gan Ning stared at the panicked Cao Zhi, and the curve of his lips could not be suppressed.

In front.

Yang Xiu and other personal guards were shocked to find that Cao Zhi had fallen off his horse. When they looked back, they were shocked to see that Gan Ning's knife was on Cao Zhi's neck.

Yang Xiu was horrified and screamed:

"Quick, save Master Zijian, save Master Zijian—"

More than ten personal guards had no choice but to turn their horses and rush forward.

Gan Ning temporarily came back to his senses from his ecstasy, snorted coldly, and rode forward with his sword.

He raised his sword and slashed it down. In an instant, he killed more than ten bodyguards as easily as cutting vegetables or melons.

Yang Xiu, who was a few steps away, clenched his fists and his face was twisted with despair.

It was obvious that Cao Zhi could not be saved.

If you fall into Liu Bei's hands, your life or death is uncertain.

Even if Cao Zhi had the chance to return to the Cao family alive in the future, the experience of being captured by Liu Bei would be a lifelong shame for him.

Carrying this shame, no matter how great his achievements were or how much he tried to make up for his mistakes, it would be impossible for Cao Zhi to win Cao Cao's favor again, let alone be appointed as the heir.

Cao Zhi bid farewell to the throne of the Cao family forever!
And where will he, Cao Zhi's strategist, go?
"It's not that I, Yang Xiu, am incompetent, it's really that you, Zijian, lack the destiny..."

"Ugh--"

Yang Xiu shook his head and sighed sadly, then turned his horse around and rode away.

At this time, Cao Zhi was still slumped on the ground, in a trance, as if his soul had been shattered.

Putting aside his literary talent and poetic talent, and the halo of being Cao Cao's son, he was ultimately just a dandy young man who indulged in sensual pleasures.

He had lived a smooth life under the protection of his father, and had never personally experienced such a bloody and cruel scene.

Seeing Gan Ning killing all his personal guards in front of him like a god of death, he was so frightened that he fainted.

It was not until Gan Ning, holding the bloody knife, turned his horse around and walked towards him again that he suddenly came to his senses.

"I am the son of Prime Minister Cao, I am Cao Zhi, your general Liu Xuande also knows me, don't kill me, don't kill me——"

Cao Zhi pleaded in a trembling voice. He wanted to stand up, but his legs were weak and he could only keep moving his butt backwards.

Seeing his terrified expression, Gan Ning raised a sneer and snorted:
"Military Advisor Bo Wen was right. Cao Cao mocked Yuan Shao's sons as being nothing but dogs and pigs. But in reality, his own sons, with the exception of the deceased Cao Ang, were also nothing but dogs and pigs."

Hearing Gan Ning humiliating him in public and treating him like a dog or a pig, Cao Zhi dared not say a word and was still trembling with fear and at a loss.

"Tickle this thief and hand him over to the general for punishment."

Gan Ning was too lazy to listen to his begging for mercy. He put away his bloody knife and shouted sternly.

The Jinfan soldiers behind him rushed forward and captured Cao Zhi, who was slumped on the ground.

Gan Ning rode his horse and held his sword, leading the army into the city and continuing to march into the heart of Huaiyin City.

When night fell, flags with the word "Liu" on them were raised on the four city gate towers of Huaiyin.

This important town where the Zhongdu River flows into the Huai River has thus changed hands.

Gan Ning did not allow his soldiers to rest, but left two thousand soldiers to guard Huaiyin, waiting for Ding Feng's troops to join him.

While he sent people to report the victory to Liu Bei, he led an army of 10,000 to continue advancing westward up the river and head straight for Shouchun.

...

Chengde City.

Liu's army of more than 60,000 and Cao's army of more than 40,000 had been confronting each other for ten days.

Liu Bei launched several powerful attacks, but was repelled by Cao Ren each time, and Chengde City was impregnable.

"Everyone, good news."

"The two thieves, Ma Chao and Han Sui, gathered 70,000 Western Liang troops to counterattack Chang'an, but were severely defeated by the Prime Minister."

"The two bandits have retreated to Huaili. The Prime Minister has already left Chang'an and is heading west. He will annihilate Ma Han and other Xiliang generals and recapture Guanlong in no time!"

Cao Ren was in high spirits and showed the newly delivered victory report to all the generals present.

Zhang Liao, Li Dian, Liu Ye, Zhang Zhao, Zhou Tai and other counselors and generals all had their morale boosted.

"The Prime Minister's plan of pretending to repair the plank road while secretly attacking Chencang is truly a stroke of genius."

"Liu Bei would never have dreamed that the Prime Minister's army of over 100,000, seemingly determined to recapture Wancheng, would suddenly turn its attention and march into Guanzhong via Wuguan."

"The Prime Minister's military tactics are truly unpredictable!"

As a surrendered minister from Jiangdong, Zhang Zhao was the first to express admiration, and his words made no secret of his respect for Cao Cao.

Cao Ren sneered sarcastically:
"Last time, the big-eared thief sent Ma Chao through Wuguan to Nanyang and swindled my Wancheng. Now the Prime Minister has marched through Wuguan to Guanzhong, which can be considered as tit for tat, and has avenged my anger."

Everyone agreed, and there was constant laughter in the hall.

"General Zhendong, since the Prime Minister has defeated the Xiliang generals, our army's morale will surely be greatly boosted."

"General, why don't you take advantage of this situation and turn defense into offense, defeating Liu Bei in one fell swoop?"

"I, Zhou Tai, am willing to be the vanguard and will chop off the head of that big-eared thief for the general!"

Zhou Tai jumped up and asked for a fight.

As Sun Quan's former confidant, he has been thinking about revenge for Sun Quan all the time since he surrendered to Cao Cao.

Now that he has found the opportunity, he will naturally take advantage of it and ask for a fight.

The fighting spirit ignited in Cao Ren's eyes, and it was obvious that he had the idea of ​​turning defense into offense.

After all, the loss of troops and territory in the battle of Nanyang greatly damaged his reputation as the Cao family's number one general. He was holding his breath and wanted to restore his reputation with a victory.

"General Zhendong, don't be impulsive!"

"The situation in Huainan is that the enemy is strong and we are weak. Liu Bei's ability to command troops is far superior to that of the past, and he has a genius like Xiao He to assist him. If our army rushes into battle rashly, I'm afraid we will repeat the mistakes of General Xiahou."

"Ye believes that we should follow the Prime Minister's instructions and stay in the city until he pacifies Guanlong and the army returns to Huainan."

Liu Ye really stood up and suppressed Cao Ren's impulse with a stern and earnest persuasion.

Cao Ren's body started and he shuddered.

His brother Xiahou Yuan, however, took the initiative to go into battle and fell into Xiao He's trap, ending up with his head and body separated.

Nephews Cao Zhang and Cao Xiu also died on the battlefield in Huainan.

This ominous place of Huainan seemed to have cast some kind of curse on the Cao and Xiahou families, causing them to lose their lives one after another.

"Zi Yang's words make sense. Xiao He is cunning and treacherous. We must not act rashly. We should strictly follow the Prime Minister's instructions and stay put."

Cao Ren nodded slightly and rejected Zhou Tai's request for battle.

Zhou Tai was unhappy and could only glare at Liu Ye secretly, then shut his mouth sullenly.

Seeing this, Cao Ren smiled and said soothingly:
"Don't worry, Youping. You will avenge Sun Zhongmou one day."

"In two months at most, the Prime Minister will pacify Guanlong and return to Huainan. I will ask the Prime Minister to appoint you as the vanguard."

"If you can't kill the big-eared thief by then, I, Cao Ren, will not spare you!"

Zhou Tai was like a child. Cao Ren gave him two pieces of candy to coax him, and his mood immediately turned from gloomy to cheerful and he became excited again.

"General Zixiao, rest assured. Tai will risk his life to kill Liu..."

"General Zhendong, General Zhendong—"

A sad and urgent cry interrupted Zhou Tai's passionate speech.

A ragged scholar stumbled in and fell down in front of the hall.

"Yang Dezu?"

Cao Ren recognized the counselor, jumped up suddenly, and asked in surprise:
"You weren't in Huaiyin helping Zijian defend the city, so why did you suddenly come to Chengde, and look like this?"

Zhang Liao, Liu Ye and the others all looked at Yang Xiu in surprise and doubt.

Yang Xiu, still terrified, wept bitterly, "General Zhendong, that big-eared thief's general, Gan Ning, led his navy to raid Huaiyin City. We were caught unawares and Huaiyin has already fallen."

"Master Zijian...he...he has also fallen into Gan Ning's hands. His life or death is unknown!"

Boom!

In an instant, it was like a bolt of thunder striking Cao Ren's head.

His face changed with horror, his body staggered, and he fell back on his butt.

The hall was in an uproar, and everyone in Cao's camp was in an uproar.

Cao Ren was stunned, his mind went blank for a moment, and he thought he had misheard.

Liu Bei's navy launched a surprise attack on Huaiyin?

How to launch a sneak attack?

That was the navy, not the air force. How could it be possible that they flew over the hundreds of miles of Guangling County's hinterland and suddenly landed in Huaiyin City on the banks of the Huai River?

At this moment, there was more confusion in Cao Ren's eyes than shock.

"Liu Bei divided his troops into two groups. One group, led by Ding Feng, led the navy from Zhongdu to besiege Gaoyou. The other group, led by the Jinfan bandits, entered the Huai River by sea and unexpectedly attacked Huaiyin from downstream. That's why we were caught off guard!"

"General Zhendong, we've fallen into the trap set by the Big Eared Bandit. His attack on Chengde was just a feint. His real intention is to attack Shouchun from the rear via the Huai River!"

Yang Xiu gasped for breath and revealed the truth in grief and anger.

Cao Ren shuddered violently and finally woke up.

"Give me the map, give me the map!"

Cao Ren slammed the table and stood up, shouting excitedly in a hoarse voice.

The attendants hurriedly brought the map and spread it out in front of the table.

Cao Ren's eyes swept across Guangling, Gaoyou, Huaiyin, the Huai River, the sea...

After taking a deep breath, Cao Ren slammed his fist on the map and said through gritted teeth:
"You big-eared thief, you are so good at imitating others that you even imitated the Prime Minister's trick of pretending to build a plank road while secretly attacking Chencang!"

"How dare you dream of opening the sky and entering the Huai River from the sea? You, you..."

Cao Ren was so frightened and angry that his face turned red and he was speechless for a while.

Everyone in Cao's camp was in shock and amazement.

Liu Ye let out a long breath and sighed:
"It's reasonable for Liu Bei to divide his troops and march north across the Zhongdu River, but this plan of floating across the sea to the Huai River and attacking Huaiyin is a fantastic idea that no ordinary person could come up with."

"Among Liu Bei's subordinates, I'm afraid only Xiao He has this ability."

As soon as the words "Xiao He" came out, everyone was shocked.

"Xiao He, you monster, is it really you again..."

Cao Ren gritted his teeth, and his frightened eyes revealed a bit of helpless rage.

Yang Xiu pushed everyone aside, threw himself in front of the map, and cried out:

"General Zhendong, Zijian is the son of the Prime Minister and your nephew. He is of such status that we must save him!"

In the mansion hall, everyone fell silent and looked at Cao Ren.

Cao Ren swallowed, a trace of regret flashing across his eyes.

He regretted that he should not have sent Cao Zhi to Huaiyin.

The original intention was to keep a distance from Cao Zhi while ensuring his safety, so he was sent to guard a large rear area like Huaiyin.

Who could have imagined that Liu Bei would actually sail across the sea to the Huai River to launch a surprise attack on Huaiyin, turning his rear into the front line in the blink of an eye.

Regardless of whether Cao Zhi fell out of favor, he was still Cao Cao's son and had an extraordinary status.

Whether Cao Zhi was killed or became a prisoner of Liu Bei, he would have no way to report to Cao Cao.

"Zijian is my nephew, and I want to save him, but tell me, how can I do that?"

Cao Ren asked back with a bitter face.

Yang Xiu was speechless.

At this time, Liu Ye was the first to calm down and said with a bow:
"General Zhendong, things have come to this point. All we can do is try to mend the situation."

"After Gan Ning captures Huaiyin, he will surely advance westward along the Huai River, heading straight for Shouchun. Our main forces are in Chengde, and the generals along the river are short of troops, making it impossible to resist them."

"Ye believes that General Zhendong can leave some troops to defend Chengde and resist Liu Bei's main force. The general should lead the main force back to Shouchun as soon as possible."

"Gan Ning's special forces only have a strength of over ten thousand men at most. If we can use our superior numbers to defeat them, we still have a chance to salvage the situation."

After all, Cao Ren was the Cao family's number one general, and he finally calmed down at this moment.

After a moment of hesitation, Cao Ren adopted Liu Ye's plan.

On that day, he left Zhang Liao with more than 10,000 soldiers to continue defending Chengde, while he led nearly 30,000 main forces back to Shouchun.

At the same time, two messengers were sent, one through Xudu to Guanzhong to report the news to Cao Cao.

The other route went north to Xuzhou, and ordered Zang Ba, who was guarding Qingxu, to lead his troops south from Sishui to attack Gan Ning's army that invaded Guangling.

Liu Jun’s camp.

The news that Gan Ning had successfully launched a surprise attack on Huaiyin and captured Cao Zhi alive was later passed on to the main camp.

The morale of the soldiers of the three armies was greatly boosted.

Liu Bei was naturally overjoyed and wrote a memorial to the emperor that same day, requesting that Gan Ning be promoted to General Anbei.

At this point, the direction of the Northern Expedition changed from south to north to east to west with the capture of Huaiyin City.

Xiao He then suggested that Liu Bei continue to lead the main force to launch a fierce attack on Cao's army in Chengde.

Xiao Heze, together with General Zhao Yun, the General who pacifies the north, set out to join forces with Gan Ning's troops, and march westward up the Huai River to capture Shouchun.

Towards the Huai River.

After Gan Ning captured Huaiyin City, he quickly went up the river to the west. Along the way, cities such as Xuyi, Zhongli, and Xiacai all surrendered.

At the end of autumn, Gan Ning's army advanced to the east of Feishui.

Cao Ren led the main force of Cao's army back to Shouchun City and stationed troops on the west bank of the Fei River.

The armies of Cao and Liu were separated by the Fei River, forming a confrontation.

At this time, Cao Ren and the Shouchun defenders had a strength of about 40,000 troops, and Gan Ning joined forces with Ding Feng's troops, with a strength of about 20,000 troops.

Cao's army had twice the strength, so Gan Ning did not dare to cross the Fei River on his own initiative. He could only set up camp at the foot of Bagua Mountain on the east bank of the Fei River, waiting for Xiao He to come and take charge of the situation.

Two days later, at the navy camp.

Gan Ning, Ding Feng and other generals came together to welcome Xiao He's arrival.

"Xingba, congratulations on your remarkable achievement. The general has petitioned the emperor to confer you the title of General of Anbei. The imperial edict should be on its way now."

As soon as they met, Xiao He congratulated Gan Ning with a smile.

Gan Ning's eyes showed joy.

From then on, he was promoted from a general with a miscellaneous title to a general with an important title.

You should know that under Liu Bei's command, only Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun and Wei Yan are generals with important titles, and the rest are generals with miscellaneous titles.

This means that he has entered the first echelon of military generals based on his military achievements.

"Ning was merely an executor. If it weren't for Military Advisor Bo Wen's strategy of entering the Huai River from the sea, I wouldn't have been able to accomplish this feat for the General."

Gan Ning was naturally quite proud of himself, but he did not dare to show off in front of Xiao He.

Xiao He smiled, then entered the camp with Gan Ning and personally went to the shore to survey the situation of Cao's camp on the opposite bank.

"Cao Ren is currently leading 40,000 main forces and stationing them on the west bank of the Fei River. It seems he is determined to stop our army from crossing the river at all costs."

"Although our army has a naval advantage and sufficient warships, we only have less than 20,000 soldiers. If we force our way across the river and land, we will inevitably be attacked by Cao Ren halfway across."

Gan Ning explained the enemy and our situation one by one, then looked at Xiao He:
"Military Advisor, you are a brilliant man. Since you are here, you must have a good plan to cross the Fei River and defeat Cao Ren's main force."

Xiao He stopped his horse on the shore, pondering in silence, his eyes sometimes sweeping across the Fei River in front of him, sometimes looking back at Bagua Mountain behind him, his mind full of thoughts.

"Shouchun, Feishui, Bagong Mountain, Bagong Mountain..."

After muttering to himself for a long time, Xiao Hemo's eyes suddenly lit up.

(End of this chapter)