Tiger Owl

Chapter 243 Jia Xu's Poisonous Scheme
A carriage slowly came to a stop in front of the Prime Minister's residence. Jia Xu got out of the carriage and hurried into the residence.

Not long after, Cao Cao received Jia Xu in his official residence.

"This humble servant greets the Prime Minister!"

Cao Cao smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Strategist, please have a seat!"

Jia Xu had been stationed in the Jianghuai region for a long time and had almost faded out of Cao Cao's decision-making circle. In addition, he surrendered with Zhang Xiu, and the surrender period was not long, so he was not highly regarded by Cao Cao.

However, as Jianghuai gained more importance in Cao Cao's overall strategy, Jia Xu finally began to receive attention.

This time, Jia Xu returned on Cao Cao's orders to report on his duties and to present his plan for conquering Jiangnan.

Jia Xu took a sip of tea and said slowly, "The Prime Minister's decision is very wise. Jiangdong's strength is now far inferior to Gan Ning's, making it easier to attack the eastern front."

"Has Gan Ning's strength surpassed that of Jiangdong?"

Cao Cao was somewhat incredulous. He had thought that Sun Ce had caused him so much trouble back then, and Gan Ning was just a commoner warrior who came to apply for a job with the Imperial Seal of the State. He didn't think much of him at all.

Jia Xu gave a wry smile and said, "It was surpassed several years ago. Gan Ning has at least 200,000 troops and thousands of warships. Not long ago, he also seized Jiaozhou."

"what?"

Cao Cao was greatly surprised, "Jiaozhou has been captured by Gan Ning?"

Jia Xu nodded, "I only received the news the night before they set off. This news was kept secret until their army returned in triumph, at which point it finally came out."

"laugh--"

Cao Cao gasped. Gan Ning's capture of the vast territory of Jiaozhou meant that he had broad strategic depth and more resources, making it increasingly difficult to eliminate him.

"And then?" Cao Cao continued, "What is Gan Ning doing now?"

“They have been evacuating the people of Jiangbei on a large scale for the past few months, retreating to Jiangnan in batches. There are not many people left in Lujiang County and Jiangxia County. In addition, I have also received news that Gan Ning has sent an envoy to Jiangdong. I guess he wants to form an alliance with Jiangdong again.”

Cao Cao was still troubled by the matter of Jiaozhou, but he couldn't worry about Jiaozhou for the time being. He had to suppress his emotions and return to reality.

He pondered for a moment and said, "Gan Ning wants to re-ally with Jiangdong, which means he definitely wants to join forces against us. But what is Jiangdong's attitude?"

"There are too many factions within Jiangdong, and each interest group has its own demands. Some support joining forces, while others oppose joining forces with Gan Ning. I can only say that the situation is unclear at the moment."

Cao Cao squinted and smiled, "I suppose the strategist has just returned to report for duty and already has a plan!"

Jia Xu nodded, stroking his goatee, and said, "This humble servant has a small plan that can break the alliance between Gan Ning and Jiangdong."

Cao Cao was overjoyed, "What plan do you have?"

"The key to this plan lies with Sun Quan. We can exploit his weaknesses to weaken the allies and support the peacemakers. In addition, there is an intractable conflict between Sun Quan and Gan Ning that can be used."

Cao Cao hesitated for a moment and said, "Are you referring to Huang Zu when you say the conflict is unsolvable?"

"no!"

Jia Xu gently shook his head. "Huang Zu is a thing of the past, and his importance has greatly diminished. The person who truly influences the relationship between Gan Ning and Sun Quan is Bu Zhi."

"Bu Zhi!"

Cao Cao paused for a moment, then immediately realized, "You mean Bu Zhi's defection had a significant impact on Sun Quan?" "Absolutely right. To get rid of Bu Zhi, Sun Quan didn't hesitate to kill his favorite concubine, Bu Lianshi, only to fail at the last moment. What's worse, Bu Zhi was considered the number one figure in Sun Ben's faction, but he didn't defect to Sun Ben; instead, he defected to Gan Ning. This was a huge slap in the face for Sun Quan. Many people in Jiangdong believed that Sun Quan had made a grave mistake and that Bu Zhi was innocent, which affected Sun Quan's position."

Sun Quan had repeatedly demanded that Gan Ning extradite Bu Zhi back to Jiangdong, but Gan Ning not only refused to hand him over, but also appointed Bu Zhi as a Sima, bringing him into the decision-making circle. One can imagine Sun Quan's extreme dissatisfaction.

Cao Cao nodded. "So, as long as we suppress the hardliners, amplify the appeasement faction, and use Bu Zhi to our advantage, we can influence the alliance between Gan Ning and Sun Quan?"

Jia Xu smiled faintly and said, "These two points alone are not enough. The Prime Minister also needs to send an envoy to appease Jiangdong and say that we only want to destroy Gan Ning and Liu Bei and do not intend to take action against Jiangdong. We should also offer Sun Quan some benefits, such as transferring Jiaozhou to Jiangdong after destroying Gan Ning, which would reduce the pressure on Jiangdong and make Jiangdong less eager to form an alliance."

Cao Cao paced back and forth in the hall with his hands behind his back. Jia Xu's plan was highly feasible and hit the nail on the head. Indeed, as long as the alliance between Jiangdong and Western Chu was broken, the chances of his southern expedition succeeding would greatly increase.

Thinking of this, Cao Cao decisively said to Jia Xu, "Tomorrow we'll have a proper talk and discuss the details. Then you should immediately return to Guangling County and fully implement your plan to break the alliance. We'll talk about it after you report for duty!"

"Your subordinate obeys!"

Two days later, Jia Xu left Ye City again and returned to Guangling County.

In Dantu County, Jiangdong, Qiao An, the envoy of Western Chu, arrived once again. He was ordered by Gan Ning to come and negotiate with Jiangdong to join forces against Cao Cao.

No one came to greet him, even though Gan Ning's letter had been sent to Sun Quan long ago; Sun Quan's response was indifferent.

"Lord Qiao!"

Suddenly someone shouted, and a carriage sped up and stopped on the dock. Someone in the carriage window waved to him.

It was Song Kuan, the chief administrator of the Western Chu liaison office in Dantu.

Qiao An felt a surge of warmth in her heart and quickly came forward. An attendant opened the door, and Song Kuan got out of the car, bowing respectfully, "Mr. Qiao, you've had a long journey."

"The docks seem a bit deserted!" Joan teased tactfully.

Song Kuan gave a wry smile, "Let's talk about this after Mr. Qiao gets in the car!"

He then ordered his men to bring along Joan's entourage, and the carriage sped into the city.

"What's going on?" Qiao An asked in a low voice in the carriage. "Is it that Jiangdong is unwilling to fight against Cao Cao together with us?"

Song Kuan gave a wry smile and said, "Lord Wu's attitude is unclear, but the Jiangdong surrender faction is too powerful. Almost all the Jiangdong forces advocate compromise. The only anti-Cao faction consists of some members of the Huai-Si Group, mainly Zhou Yu and Lü Fan."

"Where is Zhang Zhao?" Qiao An asked again.

“Zhang Zhao was a centrist, wavering between the two. He wanted to resist Cao Cao, but his will was not firm. He advocated negotiating with Cao Cao to preserve the Jiangdong regime through compromise.”

Qiao An sneered, "Has he forgotten about Sun Ben? With Sun Ben around, do you think he would allow them to compromise?"

Song Kuan hesitated for a moment and said, "There is a saying within Jiangdong, but I don't know how credible it is. It is said that many people advocate replacing Sun Quan with Sun Ben as a condition for compromise."

"Is Sun Quan aware of this claim?"

"He probably doesn't know! If he knew someone wanted to sell him, his attitude wouldn't be so ambiguous."

Qiao An nodded. "I'll go rest first. Try to contact Lü Fan or Zhou Yu tomorrow, either is fine. I want to talk to them first!"

(End of this chapter)