The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 343 Negligence
Cao Hong's northward raid went very smoothly.

There were no Han troops blocking the way ahead.

No Han soldiers from Xiangcheng slipped out to cause trouble.

Cao Hong was actually hoping the latter would leave the city.

This would be a perfect opportunity to launch a surprise attack, capture the enemy general and flag, and boost morale.

Unfortunately, the Han army seemed to have stagnated for too long and lost the momentum it had at the beginning of the war.

Cao Hong marched from Xiangcheng to the vicinity of Xinji County in the eastern part of Yingchuan Commandery in one go, without encountering any decent resistance along the way.

They even unexpectedly discovered a loophole in the Han army's defenses.

Originally, in the eastern part of Xinji, there was also a lake called Yazibei that connected the Wei River and Langdang Canal (Shashui).

The water storage capacity of this lake is almost the same as that of the Laopi Pond to the south.

If the Han army had breached the lake earlier, Cao Hong would probably have had to wait another ten days or so before he could continue his northward journey.

Perhaps Mi Wei's real purpose was to transfer himself northwards and then ignore everything else?
In any case, the enemy's negligence is an opportunity for our side.

After a brief rest near Xinji, Cao Hong continued his hurried northward journey.

In the next battle, they defeated the enemy forces occupying Yanling City, and then crossed the river to pursue them, driving the Han general named Ju Fu all the way to the vicinity of Changshe.

That's how Xiang Chong, who personally led a large army to meet them, managed to stop them.

Thus, the siege of Xuchang was initially lifted.

Cao Hong also successfully made contact with Wang Ling.

Although the latter managed to defend the city, the city walls had been smashed to pieces by the Han army's cannons, and most of the soldiers had been lost, and the food supplies had been exhausted.

If it had been a few days later, it might have fallen.

Cao Hong was therefore even more convinced that the Han army was careless and underestimated the enemy.

Although not fatal in general terms, it gave the Wei army in Yan and Yu a chance to turn the tide and win.

After that, Cao Hong paused again.

Relying on the two cities of Yanling and Xuchang, they guarded the supply lines, rested and reorganized their troops, and prepared for subsequent battles.

During this period, Guanqiu Jian sent good news from Yanzhou.

It is said that the troops from Hebei have crossed the river downstream to provide reinforcements, and Guan Ping's siege of Puyang has failed, so he has retreated to Baima.

The crisis in Dongjun was alleviated.

Guanqiu Jian was thus able to free up his hands to cooperate with Cao Hong in battle.

Cao Hong dismissed this "good news" with disdain.

What kind of skill is it to be able to get out of trouble only by relying on friendly forces?
Didn't you see that your troops had already recovered the entire territory of Ruyin County and relieved the siege of Xuchang?
Is it really worth sending someone to make a special trip to talk about something so trivial?
More good news?
However, Cao Hong could look down on Guanqiu Jian's abilities and ignore his military advice.

However, they had to be careful about Cao Rui's attitude.

Because following the good news came a book of admonitions from Emperor Cao Rui.

The gist of the message was to urge Cao Hong and Guanqiu Jian to cooperate sincerely to avoid being taken advantage of by the Han army.

The book also includes a military plan provided by Guanqiu Jian.

It is said that his vanguard has marched south to Waihuang County in Chenliu Commandery, and that he has learned that the Han army has stockpiled a large amount of supplies in Cangyuan City near Xiaohuang in the west.

Therefore, it was proposed that Cao Hong and Xiaohuang be attacked simultaneously from the east and south, respectively, in order to destroy the Han army's supplies.

Cao Hong hesitated about this.

It's not that I doubt the authenticity of this information.

After all, this matter had already reached Cao Rui's ears, so even if it was fake, the responsibility still lay with Guanqiu Jian.

Cao Hong's real concern was actually about the direction of the river's flow.

His journey from Yanling to Xiaohuang involved crossing several rivers and streams, which made it difficult for cavalry to launch rapid raids.

However, it is still early in winter, and the rivers are far from freezing.

He might be used by the Han army to divide his forces among the river network and defeat them one by one.

Not to mention that on the way to Xiaohuang, one will inevitably have to pass through the capital of Chenliu Kingdom.

That place had already been occupied by Miwei's troops, and now they were probably heavily fortified.

How can I dare to go to Xiaohuang to the north of Chenliu City if I don't first recapture Chenliu City?
This is yet another obstacle. On the other hand, Guanqiu Jian's troops have already occupied Waihuang, and Waihuang, like Xiaohuang, is on the same side of the Bian River.

He only needs to go against the current to reach the designated battlefield.

It was much easier for him than for Cao Hong.

In comparison, isn't this just making Cao Hong a stepping stone for that young governor?

Could this be the true intention of the Emperor of Ye City?

Is this a way of reminding myself to be more disciplined?

Cao Hong was unsure of what to do, so he had to consult Xin Pi again.

This time, Sinpi stood firmly on his side:

"A general who commands troops in the field must be proficient in the advantages of the nine transformations, and may disobey the emperor's orders."

"Moreover, His Majesty only instructed the General to cooperate fully with Guanqiu Zhonggong, not that he must strictly follow his strategies?"

"If the general thinks his strategy is inappropriate, then he should make other plans and then execute them decisively."

"If Yecheng ever holds you accountable in the future, I will risk my life to clear your name and prove the truth!"

Cao Hong was deeply moved upon hearing this.

He then frankly stated:
"In fact, Guanqiu Zhonggong's proposal was not wrong in general. If we could destroy the Han army's supplies, we might be able to achieve victory in one battle, just like in the Battle of Wuchao."

At this point, Cao Hong noticed a strange expression on Xin Pi's face.

Suddenly, he remembered that the other party had once been a subordinate of the Yuan family.

"...In short, I agree to attack Xiao Huang, but we can't do it directly like this."

"It's not that I'm afraid Guanqiu Zhonggong will steal the credit, but that the two armies need to advance in unison to make the enemy unable to attend to both sides."

"If I'm slow on the way and he gets to Xiaohuang first, wouldn't that give Miwei the opportunity to pick us off one by one?"

At this point, Cao Hong finally presented his battle plan:

"My plan is to first march north from Yanling to capture Weishi, and then rely on the three cities of Weishi, Yanling, and Xuchang to temporarily trap Xiang Chong's troops west of the Wei River, so as to prevent him from causing trouble in Chenliu."

“Then, I will advance eastward across the Langdang Canal, attack Yu County, and find a foothold east of the canal.”

"After that, I will go north from Yu County to Chenliu. If I can take it, I will continue to attack Xiaohuang from the north."

"If not, it will at least be enough to draw away Mi Wei's troops for Guanqiu Zhonggong."

"Whether he can take down the supplies at Cangyuan Castle depends on his own abilities."

In other words, Cao Hong was still willing to play second fiddle to Guanqiu Jian, but he needed to ensure the safety of his side first.

Sinpi naturally agreed, and even went further, suggesting:

"Why not have Guanqiu Zhonggong not rush to attack Xiaohuang to the west, but instead continue south to recapture Yongqiu first?"

"If we can recapture Yu and Yongqiu at the same time, then the three forces can be linked together."

"In this way, we can further attract Miwei's attention, making it easier to launch a surprise attack on Xiaohuang later."

"Even if the surprise attack fails, the combined forces of these three routes will be enough to stop their invasion of Chenliu."

"Given that Puyang was not lost, Miwei's plan to isolate the north and south has failed."

"Even if we can't completely drive them out of Yanzhou later, we can still give an account to our superiors and subordinates."

Cao Hong thought for a moment, then pointed at Xin Pi and said:
"It was Xin Gong who said that Yongqiu was recovered, not me."

Xinpi was taken aback, then chuckled and nodded, saying:
"Of course I said it. After all, I was the one who persuaded the general, and I wrote the reply letter!"

Cao Hong clapped his hands and laughed.

……

Xinpi's letter disappeared without a trace after it was sent.

The two guessed that the young man was probably sulking, but they didn't need to pay him any more attention.

After Cao Hong's troops finished resting in Yanling, they continued their northward advance to attack Weishi as planned.

I thought Mi Wei's heavy troops were deployed around Chenliu.

But he soon realized he was wrong.

(End of this chapter)