Tiger Owl

Chapter 67 The Arrival of the Fighter Jets
The next day, while combing her hair, Da Qiao tearfully hugged her husband's neck and cried, unwilling to let him leave.

After the two had physical intimacy and slept together for a night, Da Qiao's mindset was completely different. Before, they were still respectful to each other, but after a night of intimacy, she finally gave her whole heart and soul to Gan Ning.

"My husband must come back soon."

"I will definitely return as soon as possible." Gan Ning was truly reluctant to leave the gentle embrace of his new home.

In the darkness, Gan Ning mounted his horse, waved to Da Qiao, and galloped away surrounded by a dozen personal guards.

She raised her hand and lingered until her husband's figure disappeared from sight, then Da Qiao returned to her room, filled with melancholy.

Huang Zu personally led his troops in a surprise attack on Xunyang County.

Huang She was genuinely worried. "Father, Xunyang is Gan Ning's territory. We should bypass it and avoid making another powerful enemy!"

Huang Zu glared fiercely with his triangular eyes, "He can seize my Chaisang County, so why can't I seize his Xunyang County? He killed Hu Xian, so why can't I kill his people?"

"Father, please calm down. If he sends troops to Xunyang County, he will cut off our retreat and leave us vulnerable to attack from both sides!"

After a long pause, Huang Zu said angrily, "Fine, surround three sides of the city and leave the east side open for them to leave. I have done more than enough!"

Huang Zu immediately commanded 20,000 troops to surround Xunyang County, leaving one side open. County Magistrate Qiao An escaped through the east gate with 300 soldiers and his wife and children. Huang Zu occupied Xunyang County without bloodshed.

Of course, Xunyang County is no longer one of the three burrows for Gansu and Ningxia. Gansu and Ningxia no longer need three burrows for Gansu and Ningxia. A large amount of money and grain stored in Xunyang County was transported to Nanchang a month ago.

Xunyang County was merely a wedge that Gan Ning had driven into Jiangbei, a springboard for his future attack on Jiangbei.

Huang Zu had his sights set on Xunyang County long ago. Xunyang County was not only very close to Yuzhang County, but also even closer to Jiangxia County, only about twenty li away. His army could arrive in the blink of an eye.

Huang Zunian was about sixty years old. His tall and stout body was topped with a huge human head. He stood on the city wall, holding a long spear, and stared at the distant east.

Huang Zu's offensive was not aimed at Yuzhang Commandery, but rather at annexing Lujiang Commandery.

He had just received an urgent military order from Liu Biao, requiring Huang Zu to immediately send troops to Lujiang Commandery.

Li Shu was once Liu Biao's subordinate. He was promoted to Chief Administrator of Lujiang Commandery by the court for his meritorious service in opposing Yuan Shu. Later, he surrendered to Sun Ce in time and was continued to serve as Governor of Lujiang Commandery by Sun Ce.

However, Sun Ce soon discovered that Li Shu was colluding with Liu Biao and attempting to hand over Lujiang Commandery to Liu Biao. Sun Ce did not hesitate to dismiss Li Shu from his post. Li Shu then went to Sun Ben and became his advisor. He also received Sun Ben's protection and escaped Sun Ce's purging.

Huang Zu learned from Liu Biao's military orders that Li Shu had rebelled in Jiujiang County. He was overjoyed. How could he not seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? Sun Ce had just passed away and Sun Quan had ascended the throne. The internal situation was unstable. If he did not seize the opportunity to take Lujiang County now, there would be no hope in the future.

Huang Zu certainly wanted to seize Yuzhang Commandery, but he was somewhat wary of Gan Ning because of Cao Cao's backing. Otherwise, he wouldn't have waited until now after Gan Ning killed Hu Xian.

But he had nothing to worry about after capturing Lujiang County. Huang Zu rested for only one day, and his 20,000-strong army continued to march towards Wan County.

Xu Qiu had been alerted by scouts from Yuzhang County and learned that Huang Zu's 20,000-strong army was coming. He only had 2,000 soldiers under his command and was powerless to resist. He hurriedly organized his troops and officials to retreat, and the troops retreated to Wankou to observe the situation.

It's relatively easy to retreat from here; once Huang Zu attacks, they can board the ship and escape.

Meanwhile, a rebellion broke out in Jiujiang Commandery. The newly appointed governor, Li Shu, seized Taishi Ci's 10,000 troops in Shouchun while Taishi Ci was away in Eastern Wu paying respects to Sun Ce. He then quickly recruited 10,000 troops from two bandit groups and occupied Jiujiang Commandery.

But Li Shu's goal was not limited to Jiujiang Commandery. According to Sun Ben's plan, he also wanted to seize Guangling Commandery. Then Sun Ben would take the opportunity to go north, occupy Jiujiang Commandery and Guangling Commandery, and finally seize Lujiang Commandery.

However, taking Lujiang County had always been Liu Biao's wish. Last time, Li Shu wanted to offer Lujiang County to Liu Biao, but Sun Ce saw through his plan. This time, Li Shu decided to offer Lujiang County to Liu Biao. As for Sun Ben, Sun Ben's behavior was too ugly, so he could only apologize.

Without hesitation, Li Shu immediately led his army to attack Guangling County, which is today's Yangzhou. It was under the jurisdiction of the Xuzhou Governor's Office and belonged to Cao Cao's territory. This was also an important objective of Sun Ce's northern expedition: to take Guangling County.

Guangling County originally belonged to Yuan Shu's territory. After Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shu, he seized Guangling County and marched his troops to the north bank of the Yangtze River. Cao Cao appointed Yan Xiang as the governor of Guangling County and led 5,000 troops to guard Guangling County.

Li Shu had 20,000 troops, while Guangling County only had 5,000. Moreover, Xuzhou was occupied by Liu Bei, and Yan Xiang had no reinforcements. Li Shu naturally wanted to seize this opportunity.

Yan Xiang sought help from Jiangdong while leading 5,000 troops to meet the enemy. As expected, he was defeated by Li Shu's army and his entire army collapsed. Yan Xiang also died in the chaos. Li Shu accepted the surrender of nearly 4,000 defeated soldiers and seized Guangling County in one fell swoop.

The news of Li Shu's rebellion, Yan Xiang's urgent request for reinforcements, and Yan Xiang's defeat and death reached Wu County one after another, plunging the Sun Wu regime into chaos.

Coincidentally, Sun Quan was in Dantu County at the time, and Jingkou Military City, located on the banks of the Yangtze River, was just 20 li to the north.

Sun Quan was considering moving the capital, with Qu'a County, Dantu County, and Moling County in Danyang Commandery as alternatives.

Sun Quan, accompanied by a large group of officials, was arriving from Qu'a County to inspect Dantu County, the second candidate for relocating the capital. Just then, three urgent messages arrived before him. "Bang!" Sun Quan slammed his fist on the table, hysterically shouting, "I knew it! I knew that bastard recommended Li Shu with ulterior motives; he wanted to seize my three counties north of the Yangtze River!"

Zhang Zhao and Zhou Yu reacted quickly. They exchanged a glance, and Zhang Zhao hurriedly said, "My lord, no matter what Sun Ben is planning, this is also our opportunity to seize Guangling County. We must send troops immediately to eliminate Li Shu before Sun Ben can take Guangling County, and then retake Jiujiang County."

Zhou Yu also said, "Sun Ben didn't expect that our lord would be in Dantu, which bought us time. This is the will of Heaven. My lord, let's send troops immediately!"

Sun Quan nodded slowly. Even Xuzhou had been occupied by Liu Bei, so Cao Cao had no intention of taking Guangling County. This was indeed a good opportunity for them to seize Guangling County.

Sun Quan immediately appointed Zhou Yu as the naval commander, in charge of 20,000 naval troops. He personally led 50,000 troops and 1,000 warships from Jingkou northward.

In Chaisang, Gan Ning also personally led an army of 20,000 to the front lines.

Gan Ning currently has 36,000 troops, more than 2,000 warships of various sizes, and 1,000 warhorses.

At this time, Gan Ning had received definite news that Huang Zu had personally led 20,000 troops to occupy Wan County and continued to march towards Shu County. This meant that Huang Zu's real purpose was not to provoke him, but to swallow up Lujiang County.

Deputy strategist Xu Shu said to Gan Ning, "Everything has its advantages and disadvantages. If Huang Zu can take Lujiang County, it will actually be a good thing for us. Jiangdong will not be able to take care of Yuzhang County for the time being."

Lu Su smiled slightly and said, "Yuanzhi is right. We don't need to pay attention to Huang Zu's army now. Instead, we should take the opportunity to advance westward and seize the southern part of Jiangxia County."

Jiangxia Prefecture covered a vast area, extending north to the Huai River, south to the Mufu Mountains, west to the Han River, and east to the Dabie Mountains. The area was divided in two by the Yangtze River. The region south of the Yangtze River was the area that later became Wuhan and Huangshi, and during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it was Ezhou.

However, during the Eastern Han and Three Kingdoms periods, this area was still a remnant of the Yunmeng Marsh, mainly consisting of wetlands with scattered pieces of land scattered throughout, forming villages.

North of the Yangtze River is mostly plains and land. More than 60% of the population and important cities of Jiangxia Prefecture are located north of the Yangtze River, as is Xiling County, the center of Huang Zu's rule.

However, the southern part of Jiangxia Commandery is extremely important to Gan Ning. This large area is like the western courtyard of Yuzhang Commandery. By taking over this large courtyard, Gan Ning's vision will be greatly broadened. He can swallow Jiangxia Commandery to the north, advance into Nan Commandery to the west, and invade Changsha Commandery to the south. Gan Ning's power will then officially enter Jingzhou.

More importantly, there are mines here. Jingzhou's most important copper and iron mines are located here, which later became known as Daye.

There are three counties in the southern part of Jiangxia Prefecture, all of which are close to the Yangtze River. One is Xiazhi County, which is very close to Chaisang. Then there is E County, the largest county in the south. Further west, near Chibi, is Shaxian County.

Xiazhi County and Shaxian County are both small counties with small populations and no garrison. Their cities are dilapidated and small, making them easy to capture but also easy to lose.

The key of the three counties is E County. The city has a circumference of thirty miles, a large population, a tall and sturdy city wall, a wide moat, and a garrison of six thousand soldiers. Taking E County is equivalent to taking Jiangxia County south of the Yangtze River.

Gan Ning heeded Xu Shu's advice, and his 20,000-strong army, aboard nearly a thousand large ships, marched majestically down the Yangtze River towards E County.

Along the way are vast rivers and lakes. The Yunmeng Marsh did not disappear suddenly, but gradually shrank over thousands of years. Now it is in the late stage of shrinkage. The once sea-like marsh has been divided into hundreds of lakes and wetlands of various sizes by the land.

Hubei was later known as the province of a thousand lakes, which is actually the remnant of Yunmengze.

Chaisang is about 350 li away from Exian County. It would take the fleet five days to travel there. This was the difficulty Huang Zu faced in attacking Chaisang. Just the troop mobilization and the preparation of supplies and provisions would take several months.

Fifty li away from E County, around noon, a scout brought news of E County, and Gan Ning ordered the fleet to dock.

The army in E County numbered about 6,000 men, and its commander was Deng Long, one of Huang Zu's trusted generals.

Gan Ning asked Ding Fengdao, "Are you familiar with this Deng Long?"

Ding Feng nodded. "Before coming to Chaisang, I was in E County, so I know him a little. This Deng Long is Huang Zu's son-in-law. He is indeed quite capable, especially in archery. He often boasts that he once shot and killed Sun Jian, but I don't know if it was really him."

Xu Shu asked, "General Ding, is the city of E County easy to attack?"

Ding Feng shook his head. "It's difficult to attack, mainly because the moat is too wide, more than 20 zhang. This is also a characteristic of cities in the entire Jingxiang region. Xiangyang, Jiangling, Xiling, and Exian are all the same, with particularly wide moats."

Gan Ning looked at the scout's report. The city wall was 25 feet high, but it didn't say how far it was from the moat. He then asked, "How far is it from the moat to the city wall?"

Ding Feng thought for a moment and said, "It's less than two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters), so not many troops can stand under the city walls."

Gan Ning laughed and said, "If the moat is only two zhang away from the city wall, we can build an aerial bridge directly from the warship."

Everyone's eyes lit up; this was indeed a brilliant strategy for attacking the city.

(End of this chapter)