My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 480 The Han River as the Boundary
After heated debate, the focus finally shifted to Xiangyang.

Liu Feng's bottom line was actually just Xiangyang City. The twelve counties in the north were just a smokescreen; if he could get them, that would be ideal. Even if he didn't get them, he wouldn't be too heartbroken, since they were originally meant to be used as bargaining chips.

Xiangyang has always been a strategically important location of great importance. It is surrounded by mountains to the east and west, including the Jingshan Mountains, Tongbai Mountains, Dahong Mountains, and Wudang Mountains, while the Han River connects it to the north and south. This strategic location makes Xiangyang resemble the narrowest part of a gourd, yet it connects the Jingxiang Plain and the Central Plains at both ends.

For Liu Feng, as long as he could hold Xiangyang, he could push the battle line into the Nanyang Basin. At that time, he could retreat and protect himself, using the two cities of Xiangyang and Fancheng to control most of Jingzhou, with the Han River as his logistical line, ensuring unimpeded supply and extremely low costs.

If we advance, we can leave Xiangfan and sweep across the Nanyang Basin.

We could either attack Wuguan and enter Guanzhong, or we could leave Fangcheng and enter Yingchuan.

The same applies to Cao Cao. If he could capture Xiangyang, even if Liu Feng controlled Nan Commandery and Jiangxia Commandery, he would still maintain a strategic advantage.

However, if Xiangyang is lost, both Liu Feng and Cao Cao will face a major headache.

Liu Feng's side is in a better position. He can deploy defenses along the Han River because the counties of Qi and Ruo are all located along the Han River, and supplies are relatively concentrated. He can set up defenses along the Han River one by one, and also gain strategic depth.

Of course, this will not be without cost. Hundreds of miles of fertile land stretching from Xiangyang to Dangyang County will be caught in a tug-of-war between the two sides, eventually turning into a wasteland and no-man's-land.

For Cao Cao, this was even more of a headache, as he needed to set up defenses along the three rivers and two channels, covering a total of five areas.

Among them, the three rivers are Zhuyang and Shandu counties on the Mian River; Chaoyang and Xinye counties on the Yu River; and Biyang county on the Bi River. The two roads are two imperial roads in Jingzhou, starting from Xiangyang, passing through Rangcheng, Wancheng, Ye County, and heading straight to Yingchuan.

Historically, after the Battle of Guandu, in order to rescue the three sons of the Yuan family in Hebei, Liu Biao appointed Liu Bei as the main general to attack Cao Cao. They took this route, the only difference being the first half. Liu Bei started from Xiangyang by waterway, passed through Xinye, went to Wanxian, and then turned to the imperial road.

The second route is the Jingzhou Imperial Road, which connects with the Suixian Passage. It starts from Xiangyang, passes through Caiyang, goes to Zhangling, and finally arrives at Suixian.

It is evident that after losing Xiangfan, Cao Cao would have to deploy several times more troops to defend the Nanyang Basin, and would also face the risk of being passively attacked and defeated one by one.

Without a doubt, Xiangyang was equally important to both Cao Cao and Liu Bei. Whoever captured Xiangyang would gain strategic initiative in the Jingzhou region. It's no wonder that Xi Lu, despite being repeatedly suppressed by Zhuge Liang and others, and whose morale had plummeted, still stubbornly clung to Xiangyang and refused to give up.

Liu Feng had no choice but to adjourn the meeting temporarily.

Ruo was just an ordinary county, so naturally there were no post stations in the city. To show respect, Liu Feng specially arranged for Xi Lu to live in the county government, next to him.

After seeing Xi Lu off, Liu Feng frowned and said, "I'm afraid we will never be able to get Xiangyang."

Zhuge Liang and the other two remained silent. All three were highly intelligent and resourceful, so they naturally understood the regret and reasons behind Liu Feng's words.

Just from Xi Lu's attitude, it's clear that Cao Cao is determined to take Xiangyang. As before, Cao Cao has taken the initiative this time. As long as Liu Feng can't break off relations with him and turn to arms, it will be difficult for him to win Xiangyang.

After all, Xiangyang was still in Liu Biao's hands at that time.

Xi Lu returned to his residence, his mind heavy with worry. Although he appeared tough on the surface, he knew in his heart that Liu Feng was not without the power to retaliate. If the two sides were to truly break off relations, Cao Cao might not be able to easily take Xiangyang, not to mention that once war broke out, the rich Jingzhou might very well become worthless.

In his secret letter to Xi Lu, Cao Cao specifically emphasized that Yuan Shao of Hebei was about to march south, and his bottom line was that he could not turn against Liu Bei and his son, otherwise all the benefits sacrificed due to compromise would be wasted.

Therefore, Xi Lu was also considering how to persuade Liu Feng to abandon Xiangyang without escalating the conflict.

In the following days, Liu Feng ordered an intensified offensive against Qi State and Yi City, while he held several consultations with Xi Lu. The two sides exchanged heated words and were on the verge of exchanging blows, essentially vying for control of Xiangyang City.

Although Xi Lu was suppressed by Liu Feng's side in every way, he stubbornly refused to give in. After all, the initiative was with Cao Cao, and as long as Xi Lu did not answer, Liu Feng and the others would be helpless.

In the end, after much hesitation, Liu Feng had no choice but to take a big step back to show his sincerity and offer the other party a new proposal.

In this proposal, Xiangyang was divided in two, with the Han River as the boundary between Cao Cao and Liu Feng. Xiangyang City, south of the Han River, belonged to Liu Feng, while Fancheng, north of the Han River, and all thirty-seven counties in the Nanyang Basin belonged to Cao Cao.

Strictly speaking, Xiangyang City spans both banks of the Mian River, with the southern city being the main city and the northern city being a branch city, also known as Fancheng.

Historically, Xiangyang and Fancheng were actually more integrated into the economic region of the Nanyang Basin. However, according to the political regional division rules of the Han Dynasty, Xiangyang and Fancheng were inevitably assigned to Nanjun.

However, since Liu Biao entered Jingzhou and took control of Xiangyang, Xiangyang and Fancheng were separated from Nanjun and integrated into Nanyangjun, becoming the capital of Jingzhou.

Under Liu Biao's rule, Xiangyang became an economic, political, and literary center, while Fancheng, serving as a shield for Xiangyang, became a military and warehousing center.

If Liu Feng divides the land this way, the two sides can face each other across the Han River, confronting each other between Xiangyang and Fancheng. Especially since they are allies, this would greatly reduce the garrison burden on both sides.

While waiting for Xi Lu to consider his options, Liu Feng's heart was in his throat. If the other party still disagreed, Liu Feng would have no choice but to continue to back down and hand over the entire city of Xiangyang.

Fortunately, Xi Lu finally succumbed to the immense pressure and relented in the face of this proposal.

"This matter is of great importance and cannot be decided by your humble servant."

Xi Lu finally gritted his teeth and said, "Your humble servant can only report this matter to the court and the Grand General, and ask the Emperor, the Grand General and the officials of the court to make a decision."

Liu Feng secretly breathed a sigh of relief and nodded in agreement: "Indeed, if that is the case, then please take this case back to Luozhong and report it to the Emperor, the Grand General, and all the officials in the court."

Before Xi Lu left, someone suggested that Liu Feng give him many gifts in exchange for his praise of the proposal. Even Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, and Lu Xun thought this was a good suggestion and should be adopted.

However, after careful consideration, Liu Feng shook his head and rejected the suggestion.

On the contrary, he not only failed to show any goodwill towards Xi Lu, but he also did not go to see him off when he left. He even secretly ordered that no high-ranking civil or military officials should go to see him off.

Xi Lu, who had long heard of Liu Feng's respect for scholars and his generous spending, was very dissatisfied with this, thinking that Liu Feng was looking down on him, and resentment arose in his heart.

After Xi Lu left Ruo, good news came from all over the country.

First it was Zhongxiang, then Shanghong and Hannan, followed by Yicheng, and finally Qi State.

These cities were successively captured by the Yangzhou army, with over ten thousand killed or captured, while their own casualties were less than two thousand.

In fact, such a casualty ratio was largely due to the protection of the city walls. Otherwise, given the quality of the city's garrison, in a field battle, the Yangzhou army would have easily inflicted a casualty ratio of one to ten. If the Vanguard Army had been deployed, a single charge of their iron cavalry would have thrown the enemy into disarray, resulting in losses of all kinds.

With all the counties under control, Xiangyang is within reach.

As mentioned before, Zhonglu and Liqiu can only slightly divide the military forces and cannot completely cover Xiangyang.

As a result, the war reached its climax.

The scouts that Liu Feng had specially dispatched earlier finally began to send intelligence to the south bank of the Han River. Among them was intelligence that Zhang Ji was stationed at Zhuyang, Cao Hong was stationed at Rangcheng, and Yue Jin was stationed at Wancheng.

These messages were not kept secret, and were even somewhat deliberately made to appear impressive, clearly intended for Liu Feng's benefit.

The news of Cai Mao's reinforcements to Zhonglu and Liqiu was quite secretive. The reinforcements traveled by night and hid during the day, arriving at their destinations in half a day each. However, these two cities were too small, and with so many troops, they became quite conspicuous. Moreover, they were located south of the Han River, so they were not able to completely hide from the Yangzhou army.

After discussing with Zhuge Liang and the other two, they also listened to the opinions of the front-line generals.

Liu Feng decided to send troops, but initially set his sights on the cities of Zhonglu and Liqiu, while temporarily setting aside Xiangyang to avoid provoking Cao Cao's and Zhang Ji's armies in the Nanyang Basin behind him.

As Liu Feng had predicted, things turned out exactly as he had.

The deployment of troops to Zhonglu and Liqiu did not provoke a counterattack from Cao Cao's army and Zhang Ji's army.

Even though Cai Mao, Han Song, and others from Xiangyang repeatedly appealed for help in Liu Biao's name, requesting Zhang Ji's army to cross the Han River first to relieve the siege of Zhonglu, neither Liu Biao nor Cao Cao's army paid any attention and showed no sign of coming to the rescue in response to Jingzhou's plea for help.

Meanwhile, Cao Cao, who had already quietly entered Wanxian City, was receiving Xi Lu, the envoy who had returned from Ruoguo County.

After listening to Xi Lu's report, Cao Cao frowned and pondered. After a moment, he asked, "General Zuo, you only raised this issue four days after meeting with you?"

"Exactly."

Xi Lu emphasized: "General Zuo was unwilling to yield an inch before. It was only after I argued with the people of Yangzhou for four whole days that I managed to force General Zuo to back down."

While Xi Lu was answering, Cao Cao squinted as he observed him.

Xi Lu was quite confident from beginning to end, his eyes were unwavering, and he spoke with a strong voice, which shows that he was mostly telling the truth when he said he was arguing his case.

Cao Cao became interested when he heard Xi Lu secretly complaining that Liu Feng had shown contempt for the court.

"You're saying Liu Zisheng drove you out of the State of Ruo?"

Cao Cao's sudden words startled Xi Lu.

However, he quickly regained his composure and cautiously replied, "That is indeed the case, and General Zuo did not see me off when I left, nor were any of his capable ministers or officials."

Cao Cao nodded slowly. As everyone knows, Cao Cao was extremely suspicious and jealous. When he trusted you, he would treat you like a treasure. When he doubted you, he could be extremely nitpicky.

Upon hearing that Xi Lu was looked down upon by the people of Yangzhou when he left, Cao Cao couldn't help but feel a flicker of joy.

In Cao Cao's view, the slight that Xi Lu was treated was precisely because he had offended Liu Feng.
Cao Cao believed he understood Liu Feng's character to some extent; he was broad-minded, had a profound vision, and a grand perspective, and he was not easily angered.

Xi Lu was able to get Liu Feng to deliberately humiliate him, which shows that he gained a great advantage.

After having this idea, Cao Cao looked at the proposal that Xi Lu had brought back and couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction.

In exchange for Xiangyang, thirty-seven counties in Nanyang, plus Fancheng, would amount to thirty-eight cities in the entire Nanyang Basin.

During the reign of Emperor Yuan of the Western Han Dynasty, Zhao Xinchen, the governor of Nanyang, built the Liumen Weir to irrigate the three counties of Rang, Nieyang, and Jiyang, which resulted in the addition of 30,000 hectares of paddy fields, or three million mu, in these three counties.

Nanyang has a total of 37 counties. Except for five or six counties located in hilly terrain, the rest are vast plains with many rivers flowing through them.

Even considering the current state of Nanyang Commandery, a conservative estimate suggests that 1.5 million jin of grain could be stored annually. Furthermore, Liu Biao was vigorously promoting the curved plow in Nanyang Commandery and allocating half of the iron farm implements purchased from Xuzhou to the region. These measures would inevitably lead to a continued increase in Nanyang's grain production, resulting in even more grain being delivered to the state.

For Cao Cao, whose territory was devastated and whose population had been severely depleted, the income from 1.5 million shi of grain was almost equivalent to the entire income of Yan Province.

"Zhicai, what do you think?"

Cao Cao was already somewhat tempted, and he couldn't help but ask his strategist for his opinion.

Xi Zhong frowned and pondered for a moment before saying, "This case is not unacceptable, but if Xiangyang is ceded, Liu Biao, Cai Mao, Han Song, and others will certainly not be willing to comply."

Cao Cao chuckled in surprise: "Why are you so fixated on talent? Liu Biao is nothing but a skeleton in a tomb now, his life and death are in my hands. Cai Mao and Han Song are greedy for profit and fame; I can easily manipulate them with a little trick. Their concerns are not worth worrying about."

Xi Zhong chuckled. Indeed, as his lord had said, Liu Biao had been a sitting duck ever since he sought help from the court and Cao Cao.

However, Xi Zhong immediately reminded him, "My lord, Cai Degui is of utmost importance right now. The matters we discussed earlier can be addressed sooner rather than later."

As early as a month ago, Xi Zhong had suggested that Cao Cao bribe Cai Mao, but Cao Cao thought it was not the right time.

Cao Cao and Cai Mao had known each other for many years and understood each other well. Cao Cao knew very well that Cai Mao valued profit more than fame, and fame more than righteousness. Although he was magnanimous and generous, he was indecisive at heart.

Cao Cao didn't believe Cai Mao would offer him help out of their past friendship. Therefore, contacting him too early would only encourage Cai Mao to try and play both sides.

Therefore, Cao Cao deliberately cultivated a close relationship with Han Song, partly to provoke Cai Mao.

However, Xi Zhong's suggestion is indeed timely, and it is indeed time to give Cai Mao a surprise.

(End of this chapter)