My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 495 The Torrent Changes Course
"How could the Jingzhou soldiers be so weak?"

Guo Tu exclaimed in disbelief, "The Jingzhou navy is known as the best in the world, yet it can't even defeat the navy of Xinzhao in Yangzhou?"

Although Guo Tu was not skilled in naval warfare, he knew the intricacies of it.

Among these, ships are of paramount importance.

In Guo Tu's view, Liu Jingsheng had been operating in Jingzhou and Huang Zu in Jiangxia for nearly ten years. In terms of both the quantity and quality of their ships, they should not be comparable to Liu Feng, who had only been in operation for two or three years.

Three years ago, when Liu Feng marched into Hedong, he relied on small boats. There were very few large boats with a capacity of over 200 shi (a unit of volume), and the total number of boats was less than 100.

Even if Liu Feng takes Yangzhou and immediately starts producing warships, how many ships can he produce in just one year?
I'm afraid it's at most three or five hundred ships.

Guo Tu was naturally unaware that Liu Feng had already established a massive shipyard in Xuzhou, and after marching south, he acquired three more shipyards in Yangzhou without firing a shot. In terms of production capacity, Liu Feng's was more than ten times greater than Guo Tu had anticipated. Not to mention the thousands of warships of various sizes contributed by powerful figures like Yuan Shao, Liu Yao, Wang Lang, Sun Ce, and Zhou Shang.

On the contrary, Jingzhou has been complacent and closed off. Huang Zu has been living in Jiangxia for a long time and has been abusing his power. The resources invested in the navy have been decreasing year by year. In the past two years, the money and food obtained by the navy have barely been enough to make a living and repair and maintain old ships. In the last two years, not a single large ship with a capacity of more than 500 shi has been added.

Liu Feng had been building his navy since he was in Xuzhou. The generals he relied on were all fierce generals such as Zhou Tai, Jiang Qin, Dong Xi, and Gan Ning. Later, he added generals such as Chen Wu, Zhu Huan, Huang Gai, and Ling Cao, all of whom were brave and skilled in naval warfare.

Sun Ce, with his men and over two thousand small boats, was able to rout Huang Zu, who fled in disarray. Liu Feng's forces were even stronger, his ships larger, and he had the advantage of surprise attacks, so it's no wonder that Huang Zu's entire army was wiped out.

"Judging from the battle reports, it may not be that the Jingzhou navy was too weak, but rather that the Yangzhou navy was too strong."

After a moment's consideration, Ju Shou cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Yuan Shao: "Please take a look, my lord. It says that after Cai Mao received Huang Zu's request for reinforcements, he immediately organized his troops and returned north. In just five days, he arrived at Zhouling. Such speed could only be achieved by elite troops."

Upon hearing Ju Shou's words, Yuan Shao immediately compared them to his own navy.

This comparison only made things better; upon comparison, Yuan Shao immediately understood the deeper meaning behind Ju Shou's words. His own navy could not move as swiftly as Cai Mao's, much less immediately engage in battle upon arrival.

Comparing these two situations, it's clear why the Jingzhou navy was so weak.

"This……"

Yuan Shao's heart tightened. The Yangzhou navy was so strong. If they were to sail north and block the river, wouldn't he have to wait until the snow and ice to cross the river to make his way south?

This is a huge disadvantage.

Not only was the timing of their troop deployment perfectly calculated by the enemy, but they could also gain a decisive advantage simply by holding their city and relying on the severe cold.

In that instant, Yuan Shao's sense of urgency intensified, and he immediately declared: "Gentlemen, Cao Mengde has usurped the position of Grand General, showing no loyalty to the Han Dynasty. In reality, he holds the Emperor hostage to command the other lords, controlling the court and acting arbitrarily! The Emperor is young, and he uses the guise of assisting the government to carry out treason. Loyal officials in the court have either been demoted or slaughtered, and the people of the land are filled with fear! How is this any different from the traitor Dong Zhuo? Cao Mengde harbors rebellious intentions, and all discerning people in the land deeply hate him! Today, I intend to select 100,000 elite troops to cross the river to the south, march straight to Luoyang, rescue the Emperor, and rid the Han Dynasty of this traitor. What do you all think?"

"Absolutely not!"

No sooner had Yuan Shao finished speaking than Ju Shou jumped up and said, "My lord, Cao Cao can be defeated, but it is better to proceed slowly than hastily. You should send a top general with tens of thousands of elite troops to garrison Liyang, gradually establish a presence in Henan, build more ships, and repair weapons. At the same time, send elite cavalry to raid his borders, keeping him restless while we take advantage of his ease. If we do this, Cao Cao's army will be exhausted in three years. Then, when our main force is overwhelming, Cao Cao's army will surely collapse. At that time, the destruction of Cao Cao will be certain. Why rush into a decisive battle now?"

Tian Feng also cupped his hands and advised, "In this way, Hebei can recuperate and the people can have a chance to catch their breath, and Your Excellency will also spread your benevolence to the four prefectures. Three years later, when they are exhausted and we are strong, when they are weak and we are prosperous, when they are depleted and we are full, how can Your Excellency not be victorious?"

Yuan Shao frowned slightly. He hadn't expected that even after he had directly stated his position, Ju Shou and Tian Feng would still refute him so strongly. Who was really in charge of Hebei?
Guo Tu keenly sensed Yuan Shao's displeasure and was secretly pleased. His cold gaze fell on Ju Shou and Tian Feng. Before Yuan Shao could react, he straightened up and righteously retorted, "Military strategy says, 'If you have ten times the enemy's strength, surround them; if you have five times, attack them.' Now, with Lord Yuan's divine martial prowess and the elite and powerful troops of Hebei, our forces are five times that of Cao Cao. At this time, launching an attack on Cao Cao would be as easy as turning one's hand. Why choose the difficult path? Three years have passed, and many variables have arisen. Putting aside everything else, just consider the Liu family. If we don't take advantage of their predicament in Jingzhou to defeat Cao Cao first, how can they sit idly by and watch us succeed once they have withdrawn? If we don't destroy Cao Cao now, our future plans will be even more difficult."

Yuan Shao has not yet reduced his troops, and his total military strength is as high as 400,000, approaching 500,000.

Historically, Yuan Shao reduced his army by more than 100,000 men at this time, maintaining a force of over 300,000. He then selected 100,000 elite troops and 10,000 warhorses to cross the Yellow River with overwhelming force.

The battle record of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao in the Battle of Guandu is also very interesting. In skirmishes and raids, Cao Cao's army, with the advantage of the bravery of its generals and the elite skills of its soldiers, won a great victory without a single defeat.

However, in the decisive battle between the two armies' main forces, Yuan Shao won two consecutive battles, defeating Cao Cao with 80,000 troops against 30,000, leaving Cao Cao helpless and only able to defend his camp and not come out.

At its most extreme, Yuan Shao used earthen mounds and tall buildings, along with powerful bows and crossbows, to force Cao Cao's soldiers to carry shields even when they were in their camps, even if they were just going to urinate.

In fact, Cao Cao ultimately won the Battle of Guandu by launching a surprise attack on Wuchao, burning Yuan Shao's army's food supplies. Even with the surrender of Hebei troops under Zhang He and Gao Lan, Cao Cao still held his camp and held out until seven days later when Yuan Shao's army ran out of food and completely collapsed.

Therefore, Ju Shou's emphasis on Cao Cao's army's combat strength and Guo Tu's underestimation of it were both based on their own reasons and were not entirely fabricated by individuals.

"Cao Cao now has over 100,000 troops, while our army has only over 400,000. Among them are a large number of old, sick, and weak soldiers who need to be cleared out and dismissed. How can we possibly have enough troops for five attacks? Not to mention that Liu Biaoqi has also amassed 100,000 troops along the Xu and Yu lines. If we cross the river easily, they can easily attack our flanks."

Jiang Yiqu spoke up in support of Ju Shou and Tian Feng. He was one of the generals of the Hebei faction of Yuan's army. Although he was not as famous as the Four Pillars of Hebei, he was still a top-tier general after Yan, Wen, Zhang, and Gao.

In fact, Jiang Yiqu was both a scholar and a warrior, and he was also capable of commanding a large army. In terms of real skills, he might not be inferior to Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Zhang He, and Gao Lan.

However, Jiang Yiqu came from a prominent family in Hebei and was promoted and discovered by Ju Shou. He was very close to Ju Shou in terms of political stance, so he was not favored by Yuan Shao.

Cao Cao's military strength has always been a key target of Yuan Shao's reconnaissance. When Cao Cao was in Yan Province, he had 100,000 troops, of which 60,000 to 70,000 were from Qing Province, and he also had more than 200,000 reserve troops who could be replenished at any time.

However, the later rebellion in Yanzhou dealt Cao Cao a heavy blow, and his troop strength was reduced to 60,000 at one point.

Fortunately, after stabilizing Yanzhou, he formed an alliance with Liu Bei and his son Liu Feng, which greatly reduced the pressure on the border. Later, during the campaign to welcome the emperor, he received many benefits from Liu Feng, including hundreds of thousands of bushels of grain just for food and drink.

For Cao Cao, the problem was never a lack of soldiers, but a lack of food.

With abundant food supplies, Cao Cao's military strength began to recover. By the time he captured Luozhong and began collecting tributes from all over the country, his army had recovered to around 100,000 men.

This was information that Yuan Shao and others already knew.

What they were unaware of was that Cao Cao had successfully captured Chang'an, killed Li Jue and Guo Si, forced Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu to surrender, and successfully recruited tens of thousands of Liangzhou soldiers, increasing his forces by tens of thousands, most of whom were veterans who had fought many battles.

Even if we don't know these details yet, Jiang Yiqu's words make a lot of sense.

Crossing the river now would truly mean being caught in a pincer attack by Cao Cao and Liu Bei. Especially since this was a vast plain crisscrossed by rivers, Yuan Shao hesitated upon hearing this.

At this point, Ju Shou would have offered an even more bizarre suggestion, in which he actually praised Cao Cao as a righteous army rescuing the chaotic and punishing the tyrannical, while claiming that his own side was an arrogant army relying on its numbers and strength. He would then conclude that righteous armies are invincible, while arrogant armies are the first to perish.

Such advice would enrage any ruler, wouldn't it?

Yuan Shao spared Ju Shou's life because he valued talent and Ju Shou's reputation was widespread in Hebei.

To say that Ju Shou betrayed Yuan Shao is actually not credible. After the Battle of Guandu, Ju Shou was captured by Cao Cao. Cao Cao tried hard to win him over and persuade him to surrender, but Ju Shou remained unmoved. In the end, he was killed for plotting to escape back to Hebei.

It is evident that Ju Shou was loyal to Yuan Shao and was not a fickle person.

Ultimately, Ju Shou's words were not meant to betray Yuan Shao, but rather to vent his frustration and resentment at Yuan Shao for not heeding his side's good advice and seizing the emperor first.

It's too late to try and seize the emperor now.

However, history took a slight turn here. Instead of praising Cao Cao and belittling his own side, Ju Shou proposed a rather feasible strategy.

“My lord, what Yiqu said is in line with military strategy. Cao Cao and Liu Bei have joined forces and their influence extends throughout Henan. If our army rashly crosses the river, we will surely fall into their trap.”

Ju Shou sincerely suggested, "Since we cannot cross the river for the time being, why don't you first sweep through the area inside the river?"

In Ju Shou's view, although the Hanoi Commandery belonged to Sili, it was isolated in Hebei Province, and its territory was open, flat and unobstructed, and it was also a vital transportation hub.

Once Hanoi is captured, not only will it effectively shield Yecheng, but it will also connect the three prefectures of Hedong, Shangdang, and Taiyuan. Most importantly, Luoyang will be visible across the river in Hebei.

On the other hand, once Cao Cao's army lost Hanoi as a shield, Luoyang was like a fruit stripped of its skin, exposed nakedly to the Hebei army.

Currently, Cao Cao's army has 20,000 heavily armed troops stationed in Hanoi, almost equivalent to the number in Yanzhou. If a war breaks out, reinforcements will arrive.

If they could fight a decisive battle with Cao Cao's army in Hanoi, it would actually be a good thing for the Hebei army.

Historically, Yuan Shao rejected this strategy for other reasons.

The most important consideration was the location of the emperor.

At that time, the emperor was in Xuchang, and Luoyang, the capital, was nothing but a barren wasteland, lacking both manpower and food. Attacking it would only become a burden for Yuan's army.

In contrast, the Yanzhou area, although also desolate, was still much better off than Luoyang.

At this time, Yanzhou still had a population of one million on its books, and with the addition of unregistered households, the number would likely double. Passing through here would not only allow a direct march to Xuchang, but also enable the conscription of people along the way for labor and the plundering of grain and supplies for military needs.

But things are different now.

Because of the tribute from all over the country, Luoyang, while not fully restored to its former glory, has indeed recovered some of its vitality. Most importantly, the emperor is located here. If Yuan Shao's army can successfully capture Hanoi and use it as a base of operations, once they cross the Yellow River, they will only be a few dozen miles away from the emperor.

This made it impossible for Yuan Shao not to be tempted.

After Guo Tu saw that Yuan Shao was interested, his mind raced.

The Henan faction was acting in accordance with Yuan Shao's wishes, and Guo Tu himself was the most outstanding among them, so naturally he would not go against Yuan Shao's wishes and act as a loyal minister.

However, Guo Tu did not want the Hebei faction to win the prize. If Yuan Shao were to act in accordance with the Hebei faction, wouldn't the Henan faction have no place to stand?

Guo Tu, having thought of something, immediately spoke up and volunteered, saying, "Zhang Yang of Hanoi is a former friend of our lord. Our lord has therefore shown him great favor, and when Dong Zhao burned Mengjin, our lord even sent troops to his aid, demonstrating deep affection and loyalty. It is only regrettable that Zhang Yang is ignorant of fate, unable to distinguish right from wrong, and oblivious to gratitude. He has repeatedly betrayed our lord, first disobeying our orders and releasing Dong Zhao, and then colluding with the bandit general Lü Bu, even helping him cause trouble in Yanzhou. Now that our lord has unified Hebei and annihilated Gongsun Zan, he not only fails to repay our kindness but also conspires with Cao Cao to oppose our lord. His crimes are truly unforgivable."

Guo Tu bowed respectfully and said, "I am unworthy, but I am willing to lead an army to capture this traitorous official for my lord and present him before the palace."

Although Dong Zhao was from Henan, he was not a member of the Henan aristocratic class, because he was from Yanzhou.

The people of Yanzhou hold a rather awkward position within the Henan faction, much like the people of Xuzhou.

Regardless of whether it was the Henan faction under Yuan Shao or Cao Cao, the core was always the people of Ying and Ru, that is, the gentry of Yingchuan and Runan.

Therefore, although Dong Zhao was exceptionally talented, had high emotional intelligence, and was ruthless, and had followed Yuan Shao early on, making him a semi-meritorious official who had helped him rise to power, he simply couldn't make it in Hebei. Ultimately, this was because he was isolated and helpless, and both the Hebei and Henan factions disliked him.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao was deeply moved: "You are so kind."

(End of this chapter)