Tiger Owl

Chapter 240 Huang Zhong's Advice
Gan Ning immediately wrote a personal letter to Sun Quan and sent it to Jiangdong as quickly as possible.

The relationship between Western Chu and Jiangdong is somewhat strained now, because of the fugitive Bu Zhi. After learning that Bu Zhi and his family had fled to Chaisang, Sun Quan immediately wrote a letter to Gan Ning, demanding that Gan Ning return Bu Zhi and his family to Jiangdong.

However, Gan Ning ignored this and instead promoted Bu Zhi, appointing him as Sima. This infuriated Sun Quan. Although he did not fall out with Gan Ning, their relationship inevitably became distant.

Now that a formidable enemy is at hand, if Sun Quan remains obstinate and continues to hate him, then once Cao Cao's army finds it difficult to attack, the first to perish will not be him, but Jiangdong.

After sending the letter away, Gan Ning pulled the rope again, and soon Lu Xun hurriedly entered, bowing and greeting, "Greetings, Marquis of Chu!"

Has anything major happened in Jiangdong?

Although Western Chu had a liaison office in Jiangdong, and would promptly report important events in Jiangdong to Chaisang, the liaison office was unaware of some internal secrets in Jiangdong, such as internal power struggles. However, Gan Ning could still learn some internal information about Jiangdong through the Lu family.

Lu Xun bowed and said, "I received a letter from home the day before yesterday. It mentioned that Cheng Pu has been transferred to Wu County to train new recruits, and Lü Meng has been appointed as the commander of Niuzhu."

Gan Ning smiled slightly and said, "Is Lord Wu planning to make a move against Cheng Pu?"

Cheng Pu is the top general in Jiangdong. It's quite intriguing that he was transferred from Niuzhu, the most strategic location, to train new recruits.

Has Huang Gai been transferred?

After Sun Jian's death, Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, and Han Dang served under Sun Ben for several years. After Sun Ce raised his army, they followed him. However, Han Dang remained under Sun Ben's command. Even after the split between the two Suns, Han Dang continued to serve Sun Ben.

Lu Xun shook his head, "Huang Gai hasn't made a move!"

Why was Cheng Pu chosen instead of Huang Gai?

"Reporting to Lord Chu, my master says it should be related to Cheng Zi, the son of Cheng Pu."

"Is Cheng Zi a henchman of Sun Ben?"

Lu Xun nodded. "Cheng Zi has long served under Sun Ben. Although he stayed in Eastern Wu, he supported Sun Ben's rise to power after Sun Ce's death. Therefore, he has always been considered part of Sun Ben's faction. In the list of Sun Ben's faction, he ranks second, only after Bu Zhi."

"So that's how it is," Gan Ning realized. His son's political stance had influenced his father. The reason Sun Quan dared not take action against Cheng Zi was because his father, Cheng Pu, held military power. Therefore, to deal with Cheng Zi, the first step was to reduce his father's power.

Lu Xun continued, "My lord was very worried in his letter. The Bu Zhi incident has caused great damage to Jiangdong, but Lord Wu has not really learned his lesson and is still eliminating the so-called Sun Ben faction. The only lesson Lord Wu has learned is not to be too obvious and disappoint people."

"I understand. You may leave now. And send someone to fetch Huang Gai."

Lu Xun withdrew, while Gan Ning remained silent in deep thought. Bu Zhi had previously told him that Sun Quan was suspicious and stubborn, and that he would not stop the internal strife just because Bu Zhi had fled. He would continue to eliminate the so-called Sun Ben faction, which was like a large bleeding wound inside Jiangdong's body that was constantly bleeding and had not healed, making Jiangdong's body weaker and weaker and constantly weakening its strength. If this internal strife continued, it would destroy Jiangdong sooner or later.

Although Gan Ning was happy to see this happen and even hoped that Jiangdong would decline as a result, with a formidable enemy at hand, the decline of Jiangdong would be far from a good thing.

At this moment, a servant announced from below, "General Huang Zhong has arrived!"

"Invite him in!"

Soon, Huang Zhong strode in. He was currently training 30,000 newly recruited soldiers at the Chaisang recruit camp, but this was different from Cheng Pu's training. Cheng Pu had been demoted, while Huang Zhong was leveraging his strengths; he was an excellent trainer, accomplishing in three months what others did in a year. "This humble servant greets the Marquis of Chu!"

"General Huang, you've worked hard these past few months. How's the new recruit training going?"

"Reporting to Lord Chu, after four months of training, we are almost there. The next step is to gain experience and courage through actual combat."

Gan Ning nodded. "I've summoned General Huang today to give him an important task."

"Please give your orders, Marquis of Chu!"

Gan Ning slowly said, "Cao Cao has begun to send troops to Hefei in large numbers, transporting money and supplies. At the same time, he appointed Cao Ren as the commander of Hefei. We judge that Cao Cao's first step is to unify Jiangbei, which is our Lujiang County and Jiangxia County. However, I am not willing to let Cao Cao take Jiangbei. I want to place a piece in Jiangbei. I want to entrust this task to General Huang!"

Gan Ning had a deep understanding of Huang Zhong's ability to defend cities, and Huang Zhong was the only general who left Gan Ning helpless.

Huang Zhong replied without hesitation, "This humble servant is willing to share the burden for the Marquis of Chu!"

Gan Ning then led Huang Zhong to the sand table. The sand table was first invented by Ma Yuan of the Eastern Han Dynasty, but Ma Yuan's sand table was a battle map, while Gan Ning's sand table was a sand table map with a wider range of applications. Currently, his territory sand table has been created, which also includes Nan Commandery.

Gan Ning took the wooden pole and pointed to Hefei in the east, saying, "According to various intelligence reports, we can clearly see that Cao Cao's southern expedition will take the Hefei route. However, before crossing the river, they will set off from Hefei to seize Lujiang County and Jiangxia County. This is also Cao Ren's mission. I am considering holding a city north of the river, but I have not yet made up my mind. I would like to hear the old general's opinion."

Huang Zhong asked, "Does the Marquis of Chu have any alternative candidates?"

Gan Ning nodded. "There are two candidate cities: Shuxian and Xilingxian."

Shuxian was the seat of Lujiang Commandery, while Xiling County was the seat of Xixia Commandery. They represented Lujiang Commandery and Xixia Commandery respectively. In fact, Gan Ning had not properly considered whether to protect Jiangxia Commandery or Lujiang Commandery.

Huang Zhong understood what the Marquis of Chu meant. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "This humble servant suggests protecting Jiangxia County!"

“Tell me your reasons!” Gan Ning said with a smile.

"Firstly, since Cao Cao's army is taking the Hefei route, Lujiang County is too close. Shuxian County is the easternmost part of Lujiang County, right next to Jiujiang County. Cao Cao would never tolerate it being so close. In comparison, Jiangxia County is farther away. Secondly, if Cao Cao's southern expedition fails and his army retreats north, we can take the opportunity to seize Nan County."

"That makes sense!" Gan Ning laughed. "Does the old general mean to protect Xiling County?"

Huang Zhong shook his head and pointed with a wooden pole at Queyue City on the east bank of the Yangtze and Han Rivers, saying, "I suggest we defend Queyue City. I have seen this city. Huang Zu built it very well. It is tall and sturdy, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Moreover, it is close to the Han and Yangtze Rivers, so we can support it by waterway."

Huang Zhong's suggestion opened up a new avenue for Gan Ning. Gan Ning's eyes lit up. Queyue City! He hadn't even thought of it. It was indeed a good idea. It was located on the east bank of the Han River estuary, with Xiakou just across the Yangtze River. With waterway support, Cao Cao's army simply couldn't take it.

"Your suggestion is excellent, General Huang. I appoint you as the Prefect of Jiangxia, leading an army of 20,000 to garrison Queyue City."

"This humble servant will never fail the trust placed in him by the Marquis of Chu, and will certainly defend Queyue City!"

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My mother is sick, and I'll be taking her to the hospital for a check-up tomorrow. I'm asking for another break for this update. Updates will resume as normal this afternoon. Sorry!

(End of this chapter)