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Just when Cao Cao was shocked to hear the bad news in Hebei, Liu Jing played chess with Jia Xu in the big tent, with a focused and calm expression.

"Sir, how is this move?" Although he was playing chess in front of him, Liu Jing was referring to Hebei chess.

Jia Xu narrowed his eyes and smiled, stroked his beard and praised: "The wonderful chess is a masterpiece."

Liu Jing smiled faintly and asked again: "How is it compared to Zhang Ji's chess move?"

"Zhang Ji's move is a game of chess, with a clever idea and a plan step by step. Although it is rare to lose its grandeur, Yuan's move is a game of straits, making big moves, and freezing the country. If this move, the world's pattern will change suddenly, and the provincial governor can have another opportunity to seek change."

Liu Jing nodded, "I have already made the chess game, but I want to ask sir how to make a change."

If Jia Xu was worried that Liu Jing would not last long before, so he was a little reserved, then at this time he was full of confidence in Liu Jing, and the little concerns in his heart disappeared without a trace.

He pondered for a moment, and asked with a smile: "The Palace Master thinks that if our army wins Red Cliff, who will have the strongest strength in the world?"

"Cao Cao is still the only one in the family."

"The minister wants to compete with him for his heroism"

Liu Jing shook his head, "The gap in strength is big, and the time is far from here."

"So, for the Yuan clan of Hebei and the Liu clan of Jingzhou, Zhou Mu thinks who is more important to Prime Minister Cao?"

"Of course it's me." Liu Jing laughed.

Jia Xu gently stroked his long beard and said, "But I think that Yuan is more important to Prime Minister Cao."

Liu Jing was stunned. After a moment of thought, he understood, "Sir, he said that Hebei is important."

Jia Xu nodded, "It is true, Hebei is very good for Prime Minister Cao. Although the provincial governor is his strong enemy, and although he wishes to use the entire country to destroy Jingzhou, he still has to fight Hebei first. So at this time, the provincial governor needs to restrain himself and give Prime Minister Cao a step."

"Mr. I mean, please don't hit Nanyang."

"I just suggest whether to fight Nanyang or not is up to the provincial governor to decide whether to fight."

Liu Jing understood what Jia Xu meant. He hoped that he could leave some room for Cao Cao. Of course, it was understandable that Jia Xu had such an idea, after all, Cao Cao was his old master.

But seizing Nanyang was his established strategy, and he could not give up his principles. Moreover, if he did not put pressure on Cao Cao in the south, Li Fu and the others might not be able to hold on.

Liu Jing thought for a moment and smiled and said, "Actually, I just want to find food and food in Wancheng. Nanyang is not urgent for me."

He just gave Jia Xu a face to capture Nanyang and establish an external defense line. His strategy will not change, but the tactics can change, one day earlier or one day later.

Of course, Jia Xu understood what he meant. After all, Liu Jing still wanted to take Nanyang.

However, Jia Xu could understand that Nanyang is the strategic barrier of Xiangyang and originally belonged to Jingzhou. It is reasonable that Liu Jing must seize it.

"If the Hehezhou Mu only wants supplies, he can take down Fancheng. The front line of Cao's army has reached Chibi, so then the food and supplies of Wancheng should have been transferred to Fancheng."

Liu Jing smiled, then turned around and asked, "Sir, do you still suggest me to take Hanzhong as a springboard and go north to Guanzhong?"

Jia Xu knew that Liu Jing was already confident and the chess game had been set up when negotiating with Sun Quan. Now that Liu Jing asked him again, he felt a little bitter in his heart.

"Does the governor of the state need to ask me about this?"

Liu Jing also smiled and said, "Although there is no need to ask anymore, being able to hear the gentleman's answer will also make me feel more confident."

“It doesn’t matter where you go.”

Jia Xu sighed slightly and said, "The way of heaven has its own rules. Inaction means following the way of heaven. I think the governor of the state does not have to worry about this matter. After this war, God will naturally make arrangements. As the saying goes, the water comes, and the canal will be formed naturally."

.........

The next morning, the sound of rumbling war drums came from the river. A five-stone warship appeared on the distant river. The mailing tower of Chibi Mountain immediately issued a sound of eloquent news. The harsh bells spread throughout the Jiangxia army camp and the water camp.

The naval officer Gan Ning immediately sent ten thousand stone warships out of the water camp to intercept them. The warships lined up on the water surface. Behind the warships, there were still small boats waiting for an opportunity to move.

At this time, Liu Jing and dozens of generals also rushed to the water camp and watched the battle on the river at the bow of the boat. Many generals were surprised. How could Cao's army, which had been silent for several months, suddenly launched an active attack?

Liu Jing knew it was definitely Cao Cao who had received news from Hebei. Cao Cao could no longer resist his anxiety and was eager to end the battle in Jingzhou. Now he wanted to fight, but he did not fight with him.

"Let General Gan come to see me"

After a moment, Gan Ning rushed over and bowed, "See the governor of the state"

Liu Jing pointed to the Cao army warship in the distance, "I want to know the situation of Cao army."

"Reporting to the provincial governor, Cao's army probably dispatched warships, which should be just a tentative attack, not a formal attack."

Liu Jing turned around and asked Jia Xu, "How should I fight this battle?"

Jia Xu thought for a while and said, "If I was not wrong, Prime Minister Cao is very conflicted now and is swaying between retreating and attacking, so he sent a navy army to test the attack. If the battle situation is OK, then prepare for a decisive battle. If this navy army is defeated, then he should consider withdrawing."

All the generals nodded. Jia Xu's analysis made them feel like they were clearing the clouds and seeing the sun. Gan Ning said again: "Mr. Jia means that we will defeat this battle."

Jia Xu shook his head, "If the opponent is Cao Ren, it's okay to pretend to be defeated, but we are facing Prime Minister Cao, who has fought, as well as resourceful staff such as Cheng Yu, Chen Qun, and Liu Ye. So if we lose, we will be seen through by the other party, but a big victory is not enough. The key is to grasp this."

Liu Jing also interrogated: "Mr. Jia is right. We cannot defeat this battle, but we cannot win a big victory. We can end with a miserable victory."

"Abide by the order"

Gan Ning had already understood Liu Jing's intention, so he bowed and turned around and walked away quickly.

The Jiangxia army's war drums were also rumbling, and the drums were heard on the river surface. The warships surrounded the Cao army's warships from all directions. At this time, the northwest wind was strong on the river surface, and the waves were rolling. The Thousand Stone ship was unable to move against the wind, so it had to be parked outside the water camp. However, the main force in the real battle was a small boat rowing by manpower.

On the river outside the Jiangxia Water Village, more than two warships fought in groups. The scene was tragic, and the collision ships were constantly sunk. The corpses floated on the river and the fires soared into the sky.

On the north bank of the Yangtze River, Cao Cao led famous generals and strategists anxiously waiting for news on the south bank. Cao Cao's eyes were too long and he looked at the river without saying a word. He was under tremendous pressure at this time. Not only was Hebei in danger, but deserters also appeared in his military camp.

Deserter is the taboo of the army, which means that the morale of the army has begun to turmoil, especially his army has 100,000 soldiers from Hebei, and the impact caused by the crisis in Hebei is even more serious. Cao Cao could no longer delay it, either fight to the decisive battle or withdraw his troops to the north.

However, Cao Cao was never willing to withdraw his troops. For this southern expedition, he spent nearly half of his national strength. If he gained nothing, how could he explain to the people of the world.

He could only find a way to defeat the enemy through the result of this tentative battle.

More than an hour has passed, but the warship sent out has not returned. Everyone is a little worried. Could it be that all the warships were wiped out by the Jiangxia army?

At this moment, someone pointed at the river and shouted: "I'm back."

Everyone was excited and walked towards the bow of the boat. They saw dozens of small black dots appearing on the river in the distance, getting closer and closer. It was indeed their warship, but they were definitely not returning in triumph.

"Damn it, I'm defeated again," Xu Chu cursed behind her.

Many generals were disappointed. It seemed that they had never won the battle with the Jiangxia army. Although they were a little numb, this failure still stimulated their hearts, and many people cursed in a low voice.

At this time, Cheng Yu slowly walked to Cao Cao and smiled: "I actually came back with more than 40 warships, which seemed not bad."

Cao Cao said coldly: "I care more about their results."

After a moment, Zhang Nan, the commander who went to war, was led to Cao Cao. He knelt down and apologized: "The battle in the humble position was not good, and he lost fifty-five warships and more than a thousand soldiers. He was defeated and returned. Please punish the Prime Minister."

Cao Cao said lightly: "I want to know how much the Jiangxia army has lost?"

"Report to the Prime Minister, our soldiers fought bravely, and the Jiangxia army also suffered great losses. They also dispatched the same warships, losing about ten."

"What kind of warship did the Jiangxia army dispatch the Thousand Stone ship, the Thousand Stone ship, dispatched it?" Cheng Yu asked beside him.

"Reporting to Gong Cheng, the Jiangxia army dispatched ten thousand-stone warships, but did not fight, but were listed in front of the water camp gate. They were unable to participate in the battle because of the wind. The five-stone warships were also fighting with us. Although they finally won, they also won a tragic victory. Beiyi was not boasting, they also suffered five or six deaths and wounded."

"Although I am defeated in this battle, I don't remember your past. Go to the Central Army to tell me in detail about the process of this battle."

"Thank you Prime Minister for your kindness"

Zhang Nan bowed and retreated. Cao Cao focused his mind for a moment and said to Cheng Yu and the advisers: "Go to discuss in the account."

In the central army's tent, the soldiers carried out a Red Cliff Battle Plate with clay sculptures. The battle plate was long and two meters wide. The Yangtze River was in the middle, and on both sides were their own water camps and military camps on the shore. The water camps were filled with wooden model ships. Although the production was rough, they looked very intuitive.

This is the predecessor of the sand table. It was used in military affairs during the Qin and Han Dynasties. Everyone surrounded the sand table. Zhang Nan told Cao Cao and the generals about the battle that took place outside the Jiangxia Army's water camp in the morning.

Cao Cao was very focused. After Zhang Nan finished speaking, Cao Cao slowly said: "We lost fifty-five warships and more than one thousand people, while the Jiangxia army lost ten warships and five or six people. This is a good result. We have more than 200,000 troops. Even if we lost 50,000 people when crossing the river, there are still 170,000 to 180,000 people, which is enough to wipe out Jiangxia. There is not much time left. I hope to end this war that has been delayed for several months in the sky."

There was silence in the tent, and everyone was chewing on Cao Cao's decision. As the supreme commander of the military, since he had said the attack, the general direction had been decided, and the rest was the strategists to improve the details.

In fact, the same is true. The highest authority decides the general direction. This is his power, and no one dares to compete with him for this power.

Even core strategists like Xun Yu, Cheng Yu and even Guo Jia cannot decide. They can only analyze interests and let the supreme power decide the direction. But once the direction is determined, the role of strategists is to improve the details in the general direction.

Cao Cao was swaying between withdrawing troops and crossing the river, and Zhang Nan's tentative battle gave him a glimmer of hope. He was not afraid of losses. What he wanted was to successfully cross the river and completely wipe out Liu Jing of Jiangxia, so that he could turn around and go north and do his best to wipe out the remnants of the Yuan family in Hebei.

Cao Cao looked at the strategists, and he had finished speaking. Now it was time for the strategists to improve the details. His gaze finally fell on Cheng Yu. Cheng Yu was very quiet today, which means he already had a plan.
Chapter completed!