Ever since the death of Emperor Ling of Han, the world had been in turmoil. The Yellow Turban Rebellion, Dong Zhuo's rebellion, and the various feudal vassals were all in turmoil.
Among the heroes of the world, two people jumped out. One was Cao Cao. This person was black-faced and black-hearted. He did great things without the benevolence of women. He was suspicious by nature, but he was a kind person. His advisors were Guo Jia, Xun You, Xun Yu, Cheng Yu, the Xiahou brothers, Le Jin, Yu Jin, and Cao Chun. He assassinated Dong Zhuo and commanded the feudal vassals. In this chaotic world, he could be said to have carved out a place for himself and proclaimed himself the Prince of Wei.
On the other side was Liu Mang, Liu Hanyang, the son-in-law of Wen Hou, Lü Bu. He was indecisive, but he had experience that ordinary people did not have. He slaughtered his way out of the chaos and occupied Yangzhou. He defeated Sun Ce, Liu Bei, Zhang Xiu, and then defeated Liu Biao.
He occupied Yangzhou, Xuzhou, Yuzhou, Jiangdong, and Jingzhou, stabilizing a region.
The world was divided for a long time, but united for a long time, divided for a long time.
The chaos of the past had turned into a battle between two tigers, with the Yingshui as the boundary. One was in the north, called Northern Han, while the other was in the south, called Southern Han.
An undercurrent was surging in Yuzhou.
An army was gathering in Yanzhou. Conquering Yangzhou was not something that could be accomplished in a day or half a day. Similarly, it was not something that could be accomplished with ten or twenty thousand soldiers. Cao Cao had prepared an army of one hundred and fifty thousand. He claimed to have three hundred thousand soldiers, and had already begun to allocate military equipment and provisions.
This kind of movement could not be hidden from the world.
In Shouchun, Xu Shu stayed behind to guard Yangzhou. He was the Internal Minister of Southern Han. It could be said that apart from Liu Mang, he held the highest position.
Even though Xu Shu had always refused, he was still recognized as the Internal Minister.
Liu Mang led the army to Jingzhou, leaving Yangzhou to Xu Shu to handle.
Currently, there was a letter of intelligence on Xu Shu's desk.
What was happening in Yan Province was written on it.
"Cao Cao transferred grain from Zhili, Qingzhou, and Jizhou to Yanzhou?" Xu Shu frowned as he read the letter. He immediately felt that this was a very serious matter.
"Is this information accurate?" Xu Shu asked an Embroidered Uniform Guard spy who was kneeling before him.
"Replying to the Internal Minister, this information is absolutely true. Not only has our Embroidered Uniform Guard confirmed it, but the East and West Depot and Tsing Yi have also given the same information."
The Embroidered Uniform Guards and the East and West Warehouses were established by Liu Mang after he took over the intelligence organization from Yang Hong and Chen Gong.
Tsing Yi was originally an intelligence organization that belonged to the Tong Clan in Jing Province. After Jing Province entered Southern Han, Tsing Yi was incorporated into Yangzhou's intelligence organization.
The person in charge was none other than Kuai Yue's son, Kuai Ran.
Now that the news from the three families had been confirmed, it could be confirmed that this was true.
Xu Shu stood up and shouted to his subordinates, "Men, come with me to gather all the ministers and generals for a meeting in the Inner Pavilion!"
It was already a starry night, but the interior of the Cabinet Palace was still brightly lit. All the important figures in Southern Han's imperial court had gathered in the Inner Pavilion.
"Zijing, you're here too?!" A surprised voice rang in Lu Su's ears.
"Ziyang?" Lu Su looked at the person who came and was very surprised. This person was none other than the Minister of Works, Liu Ye, Liu Ziyang.
"What happened? Even Ziyang is here for a meeting?" Lu Su asked curiously. Lu Su asked doubtfully. Liu Ye generally did not come out of the industrial zone in Yangzhou. All kinds of novel things were transported out of the industrial zone and sent to various places in Yangzhou. There were things for civilian use, such as glass, which were very beautiful and could be made into mirrors. They were much clearer than bronze mirrors. There were also things for military use, such as cannons, ballistas, cement, and so on. They were all brought out of the industrial zone.
"Could it be that Milord has returned?" Liu Ye would only appear when Liu Mang returned to Yangzhou.
"I don't know!" Liu Ye shook his head, "If Milord has returned, he should be in the Imperial Palace and not in the Inner Pavilion."
There was only one person who could summon the ministers in the Inner Pavilion, and that was Inner Pavilion Xu Shu.
"Sirs, Generals, the Inner Pavilion Minister will be here soon. Sirs, Generals, please pass on the letters in my hands!" As he spoke, a minor official took out letters from a plate held by a minor official behind him and handed them over to the various officials and generals.
Lu Su and Liu Ye also received a copy. They opened it and started reading.
After reading it, they could not close their mouths. "This, this, this!"
It was all about the recent happenings in Yan Province.
The biggest problem would be that the grain and fodder would be taken away.
"Is there going to be a famine in Yanzhou? Cao Cao actually transferred food from Zhili, Qingzhou, Youzhou, and Jizhou? "This was the mouth of some civil officials who were not sensitive to war.
They were good at governing, but they did not have such a big sense of crisis.
But the Generals were different.
What did food represent in this chaotic world? First, it represented survival. People were made of iron and rice was steel. If they did not eat, they would be hungry. If they did not eat, they would starve to death.
Second, it represented war.
Food was the root of all wars. If there was not enough food, the army would not be able to move.
"Could it be that Cao Cao wants to start a war?" This was the feeling of those generals. The atmosphere of the entire scene became heavy.
"Has this day finally arrived?" Liu Ye, Lu Xun, Ju Shou, and the others all had such thoughts.
Southern Han, Northern Han. Although this was a joke among the common people, the current Great Han had already split apart. The King of Wei, the King of Han. In a few more decades, or even less, as long as there was an opportunity, it would become the State of Wei and the State of Han. As for Cao Cao and Liu Mang, they would become the Emperor of Wei and the Emperor of Han.
Everyone had been avoiding the war between Southern Han and Northern Han the entire time. On the border, they had also slowed down their actions. What they did was not excessive.
They were afraid that the two sides would not be able to restrain themselves and start a war. Once a war broke out, the scale would not be small.
At that time, the people would be plunged into a terrible situation.
Southern Han could not afford to fight, and Cao Cao could not afford to fight in Northern Han.
"Internal Minister has arrived!" While everyone was still pondering, Internal Minister Xu Shu walked out.
"Everyone, thank you for your hard work!" Xu Shu walked to the front of the stage and spoke to everyone.
"Greetings, Internal Minister!"
Xu Shu nodded his head. "Everyone, please take a seat!" The Inner Palace was not above the Imperial Palace. Above the Imperial Palace, Liu Mang was the sovereign, and those below him were his subjects. As a result, each and every one of them had to kneel and kowtow. There was no place for them. Being bestowed a place by the sovereign was a supreme honor.
However, the Inner Palace was different. Everyone was an official of the same court. Although there were differences in rank, who did not have the opportunity to enter the Inner Palace?
As a result, everyone said that they were equal, and thus were seated. Although they appeared to be equal on the surface, they were also separated into different positions. The civil and military officials each had their own row. The Minister sat in the first row, and behind him were the Left and Right Assistant Ministers.
Once everyone was seated, Xu Shu began to speak. "Sirs and generals, Xu Shu cannot help but disturb sirs in the middle of the night. Xu Shu apologizes to sirs!" Xu Shu stood up in a very proper manner and spoke to the crowd of Southern Han's civil and military officials. "Sirs and generals, Xu Shu cannot help but disturb sirs in the middle of the night.
"Not at all, not at all. Internal Minister is too serious!" Everyone spoke modestly.
"As such, I have called everyone here! Something big has happened. Xu Shu is also helpless. Currently, Milord is not in Shouchun. For such an important matter, two heads are better than one. That is why I have invited all sirs and generals here. I trust that everyone has seen the intelligence I gave you! Does anyone have anything to say? "Xu Shu looked at the crowd of officials and military officials below and asked.
A hoarse voice sounded out. "Internal Minister, is Cao Cao really going to start a war?" This hoarse voice belonged to none other than Lu Su, Lu Zijing.
Xu Shu glanced at Lu Su. This person was truly a talent. Back then, Sun Ce had nearly destroyed Yangzhou. If it were not for the Lord's ballistae and Gan Ning's navy, it would have been hard to say who would have won.
However, regardless of whether it was Sun Ce or Sun Quan, neither of them had made good use of Lu Su. If Lu Su could fully display his abilities, Xu Shu would not be a match for him.
"Cao Cao's actions, I'm afraid that's the reason!" Xu Shu nodded.
Lao Cao was really going to start a war. Otherwise, he would not have mobilized provisions in Yan Province.
This was not a thousand dan or two thousand dan of grain and provisions. This was the grain and provisions of several prefectures. No one believed that Old Cao was going to store them or something else. There was only one possibility, and that was that there was going to be a war.
"Whether we start a war or not is not something we can decide!" Xu Shu said to Lu Su. "Minister Lu! Right now, Cao Cao is gathering provisions. I'm afraid that it will take at most a few months. At least half a month, I'm afraid that the army will attack. We have to think about how to stop Cao Cao's army before Milord returns! "Xu Shu's words hit the nail on the head. What he wanted was for everyone to discuss how to stop Cao Cao's invasion.
"Milord's army is still in Jingzhou. Interior Minister, how many troops can we bring out?" Ju Shou opened his mouth. He had been in Yangzhou for a long time but he had not achieved much. It was not that Ju Shou was incompetent. It was just that Yangzhou was now on the right track. There were capable people working in all aspects.
Ju Shou was also old. Naturally, his experience could not keep up.
Xu Shu asked someone to inform Ju Shou. This was a matter of courtesy.
If Ju Shou did not want to come, Xu Shu would not force him.
However, Ju Shou still came. If it was other matters such as Jingzhou, he would not be interested. No matter what happened in Jingzhou or Yizhou, it had nothing to do with Ju Shou.
However, there was one place that was different, and that was Cao Cao.
Ju Shou had lost to Cao Cao in the past. People could not admit defeat and were most afraid of being serious.
Ju Shou's obsession was probably Cao Cao.
"Milord has transferred out the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry and the Yangzhou New Army, totaling thirty thousand men, into Jingzhou. If we add in the Changjiang Navy, it should be seventy thousand men.
"Seventy thousand men?!" Ju Shou frowned.
Yangzhou's army was made up of elite soldiers, not quantity. It could be said that if Yangzhou and Cao Cao were to compete in numbers, Yangzhou would not be a match for them.
Seventy thousand men. That basically accounted for half of Southern Han's army.
"In our Yangzhou, we currently have General Gao Shun's Formation Breaker, Wei Yan's Yiyang Soldiers, Hao Shao's Divine Shield Soldiers, General Zang Ba's Taishan Battalion, and Old General Huang's Yangzhou New Army! Fifty thousand men. "This was the strength that Yangzhou could bring out.
"Fifty thousand men!" Ju Shou frowned.
Fifty thousand men seemed like a lot. However, if they were to spread out, it would not be enough.
"Internal Affairs Minister, there is no need for the main force to worry about the defense of the city. Our Armed Police Department will take care of it!" A young general walked out. This person was Li Yan, who had followed Zhuge Liang into the Yangzhou Army.
The Armed Police Department had a large number of people. In a city, there were at least two thousand people. In a county, there would be even more.
Although the Armed Police Department was nominally a garrison force, they were all retired from the main forces of the army when they reached the age limit.
Liu Mang had stipulated that only those between the age of eighteen and thirty-five were allowed to stay in the army. Those who were not above a thousand were all retired.
If one did not want to be a soldier, they would be given a sum of money and some land. Or, they would be allowed to become a minor official. If one still wanted to be a soldier, they would be allowed to join Li Yan's garrison.
Those retired soldiers in Liu Mang's hands will not be able to retreat unless they die in battle, unless they are unable to move anymore.
"Fifty thousand field troops?!" If that was the case, these fifty thousand soldiers would be fun to play with.
"There are thirty thousand soldiers in the Yuzhou front line! Now, Internal Affairs Minister, the most important thing is to mobilize the troops of General Gao Shun in Lujiang, General Chengyu in Shouchun, and General Zang Ba in Xuzhou. All of them are ready to go! "Ju Shou suggested to Xu Shu.
"Old Sire, you want to have a decisive battle?" Xu Shu listened to Ju Shou's suggestion and quickly understood what Ju Shou wanted to do.
"That's right!" Ju Shou nodded. "Speed is the most important thing in the army! Our Yangzhou Army is more about the elite than the quantity. If Cao Cao's army is ready to go, and if Milord's main force is still there, then it would be fine. But now that Milord's main force is not there, Cao Cao doesn't even need to do anything. As long as Cao Cao sends his troops to harass Yuzhou and Xuzhou, I am afraid that our army will be defeated without a fight! "
Lao Cao's army was not small. At the very least, his main force was more than two hundred thousand soldiers.
This time, Lao Cao's attack on the south would not be a small scale battle. Once it started, it would be a large scale battle. Cao Cao had a lot of people. If he sent his main force of one hundred thousand soldiers in front of Yangzhou, you would have to send at least thirty thousand soldiers to defend. On the other hand, if Cao Cao sent another fifty thousand soldiers, then the Yangzhou Army would be exhausted.
"Strike first and gain the upper hand!" Ju Shou's idea was really bold. "This Cao Cao is not ready to go, but my army should move!"
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