My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 452 Huang Zu Begs for Surrender
Upon hearing this, Gan Ning was deeply moved. He stood up, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "My lord's kindness is beyond words; I am deeply grateful."

Seeing Gan Ning obediently stand up, Liu Feng nodded with a smile: "Xingba, you are a hero. How can you act like an ordinary person and bow down in mediocrity? The world is not yet at peace. This is the time for heroes to show their skills. Xingba should encourage them. What is it you want to say?"

Gan Ning felt that Liu Feng's words resonated with him, and his confidence grew stronger. He mustered his courage and pleaded, "My lord, you may not know this, but Su Fei, the naval commander of the Jiangxia Navy, is my former benefactor. We are like brothers, and our bond is stronger than that of sworn brothers. Back in Jingzhou, I was mediocre and suffered much oppression, but Fei treated me differently. He often hosted banquets for me, comforted me, and provided me with much protection. I cannot fail to repay this kindness, so I risk my life to beg my lord to forgive Su Fei."

Liu Feng suddenly realized what was going on.

Liu Feng was aware of the loyalty between Gan Ning and Su Fei, but in this life, Gan Ning had joined his ranks much earlier, and now Liu Feng was surrounded by heroes and sages, so Su Fei, a mere local strongman, was simply not worth Liu Feng's attention.

This matter is actually easy to handle. Liu Feng never intended to execute Su Fei and the others. As long as they surrender, although they may not be reinstated, they can be given important positions. After all, these people are local strongmen in Jiangxia County. With them, Liu Feng can take over the entire Jiangxia County more quickly and at a lower cost.

Based on this point alone, even if they were unwilling to surrender, as long as they guaranteed not to oppose Liu Feng's army, Liu Feng would not necessarily execute them.

Historically, although Su Fei was loyal to Huang Zu, he was not the kind of person who would rather die than submit. After being captured alive by the Sun family, he sent someone to Gan Ning for help, pleading for his life by recounting past favors.

Such people would certainly not risk their lives to oppose you.

"Xingba is a true righteous man."

Liu Feng immediately stood up, walked to Gan Ning, sighed, and then said, "The battle was at its most intense when we were suddenly attacked from the rear. Although we fought hard and defeated them, we were unable to annihilate them."

"Now that we have won a great victory at Zhouling, the Jiangxia navy has been wiped out, with as many as 50,000 killed or captured. I intend to move these men to Xiakou first, but I fear they may be harassed by the defeated troops on the return journey."

Liu Feng put his arm around Gan Ning's and patted it gently: "Since that's the case, Xingba, would you be willing to relieve my worries and lead your troops to turn the tide in Xiakou and wipe out your army?"

Gan Ning was a bit confused. He had clearly come to plead for Su Fei, so how did he end up being assigned a task?

Although this mission seemed like a lucrative one, practically handing him military merits, and was definitely a good thing, Gan Ning was clearly more concerned about Su Fei's outcome.

Gan Ning thought for a moment, then stammered, "Since my lord has given the order, I will not refuse. I am willing to serve my lord with utmost loyalty. However, Su..."

Liu Feng waved his hand to stop Gan Ning and continued, "I have also heard of Su Fei. I heard that he has held important positions in the Jiangxia Navy and served as the commander-in-chief for a long time. He must be very familiar with the Jiangxia Navy."

At this point, Liu Feng smiled and asked Gan Ning, "I intend to allow him to atone for his crimes by serving as Xingba's deputy and persuading the defeated troops to surrender. What does Xingba think?"

Gan Ning then realized what was happening and immediately knelt down in the hall, his gratitude overflowing: "My lord's kindness and virtue are beyond measure; I would rather die than not repay it!"

"Why is this so?"

Liu Feng helped Gan Ning up: "Su Boyun is a kind and benevolent man. Although he is not particularly talented, he can recognize heroes and has never done anything evil. When two armies clash, it should be fair and square. Even if we are defeated, am I a bloodthirsty person?"

Gan Ning was overcome with emotion, tears streaming down his face.

Liu Feng comforted the other party for a while, then personally wrote an order, affixed the seal of the Left General, and handed it to the other party.

Gan Ning accepted the order and took his leave to retrieve the person.

After Gan Ning left, Liu Feng saw Ling Tong standing outside the hall and waved to him.

"Ah Tong, is there something you need?"

In this battle, Ling Tong personally killed three armored soldiers, demonstrating his martial prowess and showing considerable skill. Although he was not yet on par with Lü Meng, he was not far behind.

Considering that Ling Tong is much younger than Lü Meng, it's really hard to say who is more outstanding.

Of course, this is also because in this life, Lü Meng followed Liu Feng early on, unlike in the original history where he wasted a lot of time.

Since joining Liu Feng's service and being selected as an attendant, Liu Feng has emphasized both literary and military education.

Lü Meng and Ling Tong often spent half a day on duty and the other half at school, studying subjects including classical Chinese characters, mathematics, and military strategy. This suggests that, barring unforeseen circumstances, their potential could have been even greater than historical records suggest, especially for Ling Tong, who died young.

Upon hearing Liu Feng's greeting, Ling Tong bowed and reported, "Reporting to my lord, Huang Zu wishes to see you."

"Oh?"

Liu Feng was somewhat surprised. He had seen Huang Zu once when Huang Zu was brought here. Huang Zu was completely disoriented, terrified, and utterly lost.

When I spoke to him, he didn't react much; he just responded like a wooden doll, which was clearly a mechanical reaction.

The fact that he suddenly wants to see me shows that he has at least come to his senses.

After a moment's thought, Liu Feng nodded: "Alright, bring him to my study."

"Here!"

Commander Ling accepted the order and left. After a while, he brought Huang Zu back.

When they met again, Huang Zu had recovered considerably and looked completely different from when they first met.

Upon seeing Liu Feng, Huang Zu immediately knelt down and bowed deeply, saying, "Huang Zu, the Prefect of Jiangxia Commandery, pays respects to General Zuo!"

Liu Feng's heart stirred, his eyes fixed on Huang Zu, and he slowly nodded, saying, "Prefect Huang, why are you so arrogant before and so obsequious now? You were the one who started the war earlier, and you are the one who is kneeling on the ground today. Which one is your true intention?"

Huang Zu's heart tightened, but his expression remained unchanged. He respectfully replied, "Reporting to General Zuo, the former is me, and the latter is also me."

"Oh?"

Liu Feng asked again, "Why were you arrogant before and then respectful?"

Huang Zu touched his forehead to the ground, trying his best to suppress his inner tension and fear, and replied in a calm manner: "The reason I raised troops to resist General Zuo was because I am the governor of Jiangxia County. The governor appointed me as the governor of a region, and I have the responsibility to protect the region. General Zuo's army went against the current, and I had no choice but to raise troops to resist him."

“Zu overestimated his abilities, hence the great defeat at Zhouling.”

"Now that General Zuo has taken charge of Jiangxia, Zu has come to pay his respects."

Liu Feng almost burst out laughing. To put it simply, Huang Zu meant to be eternally loyal to the Governor of Jingzhou, and to be loyal to whoever was the Governor of Jingzhou.

Although Liu Feng is not yet the governor of Jingzhou, he already has the power and influence to effectively control Jiangxia County. More importantly, Huang Zu is now a prisoner. If he doesn't bow down now, he will have nowhere to bow.

Although Huang Zu was somewhat sensible, he still had the stubbornness of a scholar, and his words carried a hint of barb, which was truly unnecessary. Since he had decided to kneel, it would be better to kneel completely.

Either don't kneel at all, or you'll have a good reputation even if you die.

This half-kneeling, half-standing posture is truly disgusting.

"Oh, so that means the governor only has eyes for the regional governor, not the emperor?"

Upon hearing Liu Feng's words, Huang Zu was nearly paralyzed with fear.

This time, Yangzhou dispatched troops in the name of the imperial court, ostensibly to punish Liu Biao for harboring rebels, waging war against Jingnan without the court's permission, and abusing the local area.

Huang Zu's words are now irrefutable proof that Liu Biao disregarded the emperor's authority.

"How dare I, a sinful subject, say such a thing..."

Good heavens, Huang Zu denied it, but the moment he opened his mouth, he had already labeled himself a traitor.

Liu Feng was also somewhat impressed. This was the Prince of Jiangxia under Liu Biao, and among the famous scholars of Jingzhou, he was a renowned minister known for his outstanding talent.

Strictly speaking, he was Liu Biao's most trusted confidant. Despite the fact that Kuai Yue and Cai Mao seemed to wield immense power in Jingzhou and had served as governors of commanderies such as Nan Commandery, Jiangxia Commandery, and Zhangling Commandery, he was still the most trusted confidant of Liu Biao.

However, his tenure as governor was very short. He was far from being a powerful regional governor like Huang Zu, and he couldn't even get along with the local powerful clans.

Their appointment as governors was more likely due to Liu Biao's desire to leverage the power of the Kuai and Cai families to counterbalance local forces and consolidate his own power.

This is why they couldn't be like Huang Zu, who served as the governor of Jiangxia until his death.

Therefore, among the four great families, only Huang Zu was truly granted land and territory. The most exaggerated thing is that Huang She was able to take over the position of Prefect of Zhangling from Cai Mao just because he was Huang Zu's son. This shows who Liu Biao trusted the most.

Although Huang Zu was foolish, he was not actually a bad person.

At least during his years in Jiangxia, the people of Jiangxia were able to live a peaceful life, and Huang Zu did not exploit the people to the point of exhaustion. Although he was not an honest official, he was not too ruthless either.

More importantly, he was recognized by the powerful clans and gentry of Jiangxia County, which was very important.

In the original timeline, Sun Ce and Sun Quan attacked Jiangxia several times, each time making thorough preparations before launching their campaigns. Therefore, Huang Zu also exerted all his efforts to resist the Sun family, including mobilizing local powerful clans and their troops, as well as the county soldiers.

However, Liu Feng's attack was a surprise, catching Huang Zu off guard. Not only was he unable to mobilize the powerful clans and their troops, but he almost failed to even assemble his own Jiangxia army.

Otherwise, how could Huang Zu's Jiangxia army have only 20,000 men? It must have been at least 30,000 to 40,000.

If Liu Feng's covert operation hadn't been so successful, he wouldn't have faced just 50,000 Jingzhou naval troops; he would have had to add at least 30,000, or even 40,000.

Even with all his confidence, Liu Feng was still somewhat cautious when facing the elite force of 80,000 to 90,000 Jingzhou naval troops.

After all, in naval warfare, a change in wind direction can directly affect the outcome of the battle.

Even though Liu Feng highly regarded his naval officers, he couldn't guarantee that Zhou Tai and his men could turn the tide and win if the wind suddenly shifted and fire and smoke attacks instead harmed their own main force.

Therefore, after the great victory at Zhouling, it seemed that the Jiangxia navy had been wiped out and even the Xiangyang navy had suffered devastating losses. However, there were still armed forces of 20,000 to 30,000 people in various counties and towns of Jiangxia Prefecture.

These armed forces' idea of ​​going out of the city to fight in the open and defeat the Yangzhou army is wishful thinking.

But if they just stay in the county town and hold out for themselves, that would be quite disgusting.

Even if Liu Feng had giant catapults and professional artillery, he couldn't withstand being attacked city by city. Jiangxia Commandery alone had sixteen counties, including major cities like Xiling, Anlu, and Jingling.

If this delay continues, all the time Liu Feng had gained will be wasted.

Therefore, Liu Feng had the idea of ​​persuading Huang Zu to surrender and then having him take over Jiangxia in his place.

"Since you call yourself a guilty subject, you must be aware of your crimes."

Although Liu Feng looked down on Huang Zu, he put on a magnanimous appearance and took the initiative to exonerate Huang Zu, saying, "Since that's the case, I do have something that can help you redeem yourself, but I don't know if you're willing to do it."

Huang Zu was slightly taken aback, but then he realized what Liu Feng wanted him to do.

He was conflicted. Ironically, Huang Zu's dilemma wasn't that the task was impossible or too difficult, but rather his loyalty to Liu Biao.

Yes, Huang Zu was quite loyal to Liu Biao, at least more so than Kuai Yue and Cai Mao.

Otherwise, back then, Liu Biao was beaten so badly by Sun Jian that he couldn't even leave the city of Xiangyang. After his entire army was wiped out by Sun Jian and he fled alone, he returned to Jiangxia and led another force north to support his lord.

Even with Huang Zu's keen eye, he could see that Liu Biao was in danger this time. Liu Feng had mobilized an army of fifty to sixty thousand men by land and sea; surely it wasn't coming for Huang Zu himself?

Although Huang Zu was of average appearance, he was able to understand the current situation even while stationed in Jiangxia.

Liu Feng currently has three paths to take: the best, the middle, and the worst. The best strategy is naturally to take Xiakou City, then head north along the Han River, and head straight for Xiangyang. Once Xiangyang is captured, the rest of the country will be a matter of simply sending out proclamations to settle the matter.

The middle strategy is to lock down Xiakou, and then go west to cause trouble for the Jingbei Expeditionary Army. As long as the Jingbei Expeditionary Army is wiped out, the initiative in the subsequent battles will inevitably be firmly in the hands of Liu Feng's army. Even if Xiangyang is not besieged, Liu Biao will be helpless.

The stupidest and worst strategy would be to hold out in Xiakou City while simultaneously sweeping through Jiangxia County, conquering cities and expanding territory, and finally taking Jiangxia County, which was already a piece of fat meat, into our stomachs.

Huang Zuzheng realized these things and understood his own value.

Liu Feng clearly did not want to waste his troops on Jiangxia Commandery, but at the same time hoped to stabilize Jiangxia Commandery as soon as possible. Even if he could not provide food, supplies, or military equipment, as long as he did not hinder the progress, it would already be a great help.

If a certain amount of food and military supplies could also be provided, the effect would be twice as good with half the effort.

Does Jiangxia have these features?

The answer is yes, and there is plenty.

The Jiangxia Army has always maintained a size of 30,000 regular troops, so how could it lack military equipment and supplies? And this time, the defeat was so swift that most of these military equipment and supplies were still unopened and could be used at any time.

(End of this chapter)