"Then it is most appropriate to take Peng Ze first!"
As Yuan Yao's current number one general, Zheng Bao naturally did his part and was the first to speak:
"Our army is in the northeast and Peng Ze is in the southeast. They are the closest. The existing boats can transport all the troops and equipment across the river in two days."
"After the general arrived here, he also sent a scout ship to Pengze as soon as possible. Yesterday's report showed that Pengze's defenders only had more than a thousand new recruits recruited recently."
"If our entire army crosses the river, Pengze's defenders will not be able to stop it!"
Hearing that Zheng Bao had already investigated, everyone was happy and praised Zheng Bao for his thorough preparation.
"If it's as General Zheng said, then it's natural to take Peng Ze first!"
"Most of the huge Yuzhang County is now occupied by Zhu Hao. This person is the young master's formidable enemy in Yuzhang!"
"But Zhuge Xuan, the prefect of Yuzhang appointed by his father, now only retains the jurisdiction of the county near Nanchang, and it is difficult to compete with Zhu Hao."
"If we can attack Peng Ze at this time, we can contain Zhu Hao from behind and prevent him from looking at each other."
"Then we will join forces with Zhuge Xuan and attack Zhu Hao from both front and rear. This is what Yuzhang can do!"
Lu Su also put forward his own opinions.
After Zhou Shu, the former governor of Yuzhang, died last year, Yuan Shu immediately appointed Zhuge Xuan as the governor of Yuzhang, hoping to take over Yuzhang County directly.
It was only because the roads in Lujiang were impassable and Zhuge Xuan had to take care of his family that he took office only this year.
However, after the imperial court learned that Zhou Shu had died of illness, he did not agree to Yuan Shu's request. Instead, he appointed Zhu Hao, the son of Zhu Jun, an important minister of the court, to take over as the governor of Yuzhang.
Zhu Jun was born in a poor family, and became famous for his outstanding military exploits in suppressing the Yellow Turban Army. He was ranked among the three nobles and nine ministers.
However, the reason why Zhu Jun was able to rise to power and be relied upon by the court was all due to the prestige he had established in his early years in Jiaozhi when he put down the Dianglong Uprising.
Because of this battle, Zhu Jun rose to prominence, directly entered the center of the Han Dynasty, and became a prince!
Only then did hundreds of officials recommend him to work with Huangfu Song to put down the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
But when Zhu Jun left his post as governor of Jiaozhi and went to Luoyang, he may have had foresight or anticipated something, so he left his two sons, Zhu Fu and Zhu Hao, in Jiaozhi.
Later, Zhu Fu naturally became the governor of Jiaozhi. With his father's prestigious reputation in Jiaozhi, Zhu Fu, with average qualifications, was able to serve as the governor of Jiaozhi, the most dangerous place, for nearly ten years.
His younger brother Zhu Hao also stayed with Zhu Fu until the court asked Zhu Hao to take over as the governor of Yuzhang.
Jiaozhi is located in the extreme south of the Han Dynasty. If Yuzhang can barely be considered semi-civilized, then Jiaozhi at this time can only be said to be still in the enlightenment stage.
For example, the imperial court still does not recognize the governor of Jiaozhi as a governor at the state level, but only sets the standard of the governor of Jiaozhi between the county governor and the state governor. It was not until the Shixie period that Jiaozhi officially became Jiaozhou, and the Jiaozhi governor was renamed Jiaozhou governor.
Because the journey was too long, it took the messenger more than half a year to reach Jiaozhi.
Although Zhu Hao immediately set off northward after receiving the appointment, he arrived at Yuzhang County one step later than Zhuge Xuan. Zhuge Pifu entered Nanchang first and took control of the county.
But Zhu Hao has his own advantages. He has a reputation of benevolence, justice and loyalty, and the powerful families in Yuzhang still trust him. Zhu Fu, his eldest brother and the governor of Jiaozhi, supported him, so he owned all the southern part of Yuzhang adjacent to Jiaozhi.
Since Zhuge Xuan was sent by Yuan Shu, the enemy of his enemy is his friend. Zhu Hao directly approached Liu Yao, the real governor of Yangzhou, and expressed his willingness to submit to him.
Both of them are official governors officially appointed by the imperial court, so they naturally have something in common.
With Liu Yao's support, all the counties in eastern Yuzhang that originally belonged to Liu Yao have recently sworn allegiance to Zhu Hao.
Zhu Hao became so powerful that he completely overshadowed Zhuge Xuan.
This is why Lu Su and others believe that Zhu Hao is Yuan Yao's biggest enemy in taking Yuzhang.
But Yuan Yao, who is familiar with history, naturally knows that this is not the case.
"Zhu Hao has dull qualifications and thinks he is benevolent and loyal, but in fact he is prone to confiding in others and being gullible."
"For such a rash person, even if he has the upper hand for a moment, it is nothing to worry about!"
Yuan Yao made no secret of his contempt for Zhu Hao.
In history, Zhu Hao borrowed Liu Yao's troops to drive Zhuge Xuan out of Nanchang after Liu Yao was defeated by Sun Ce and Liu Yao led the defeated army to Yuzhang.
Moreover, only a few days after Zhu Hao entered Nanchang and became the governor of Yuzhang, he was killed by Zuo Rong, who was sent by Liu Yao to assist him in a private banquet.
Therefore, Yuan Yao did not regard Zhu Hao as his real enemy.
"I think that in order to pacify Yuzhang, the one we really need to guard against is Jiangxia Huangzu!"
"That's why I intend to attack Chaisang first. What do you think?"
Lu Su immediately stood up and objected: "Young master, no!"
"Huang Zu's troops are stronger than those in Jiangbiao. He has not yet started a war with Zhu Hao. How can he offend Huang Zu and make enemies on both sides?"
Yuan Yao did not refute immediately, but looked at other generals such as Zheng Bao and Qi Ji.
Zheng Bao frowned and expressed his position: "It is quite difficult to attack Chaisang from a distance. There are Huangzu warships patrolling the river, so we can only sneak across at night."
"If we fail to succeed in one blow and fall into a siege, Huang Zu will lead his land and water army down the river, and our army will be in a dangerous situation!"
"Do General Qi and General Qin also agree with General Zheng?"
Qi Ji and Qin Yi didn't understand water warfare, but they felt that what Lu Su and Zheng Bao said made sense.
Qi sent: "The last general also believes that we should not sacrifice the near for the distant, and abandon the weak to attack the strong! It is better to take Peng Ze first and concentrate on dealing with Zhu Hao!"
Qin Yi: "Most of Zhu Hao's men are newly recruited soldiers. If our army attacks Peng Ze first, it will be a matter of course!"
What Li Yunlong said to Zhang Dabiao when he chose to fight the 89th Division and the Temporary 7th Division suddenly popped into Yuan Yao's mind.
He couldn't help but laugh and said, "What's the point of fighting Zhu Hao's miscellaneous army?"
"The old woman eats persimmons and pinches the soft ones!"
"If you want to fight, just fight Huang Zu. This old man is quite famous among Jiang Biao by ambush and killing Sun Jian!"
"I want to make great achievements, and if you want to make a name for yourself, you must take the first blow against this old thief!"
"Even if we can't destroy him now, we still have to destroy his Huang Zu's majesty!"
After everyone heard this, although most of them felt that this move was unwise, they could not continue to speak out against it.
Yuan Yao has already talked about this. Whoever speaks again will not admit that he is a person who bullies the weak and fears the strong?
Yuan Yao looked at Lu Dai again, who had been silent. He couldn't understand his own strategy and no one supported him.
"What do you think, Mr. Ding?"
Lu Dai also felt Yuan Yao's gaze and said in a deep voice: "Since the young master advocates collecting firewood and mulberry trees, he must have his own reasons."
"If the young master makes a decision, the general will only carry out the military orders!"
"The young master has the final say on who he wants to beat. I, Lu Dai, just go and beat him!"
Yuan Yao was greatly relieved when he heard this, and the more he looked at Lu Dai, the more he liked him.
Who wouldn't like a good general like Lu Dai who sticks to his duty and fights wherever he goes?
"In that case, everyone should go back to camp and prepare!"
"Please trouble General Zheng to send a scout ship to Chaisang to survey the water situation and determine the landing site!"
…
The entire battle of Chaisang went on extremely quickly and smoothly.
Not only was it beyond everyone's expectation, but its smoothness also far exceeded Yuan Yao's expectations.
In this battle, Zheng Bao once again took the lead.
Although Zheng Bao opposed attacking Chai Sang, this did not affect his perfect execution.
After some reconnaissance in the direction of Chaisang, Zheng Bao proposed to land on the west coast of South Jersey where Huang Zujun was unprepared.
Because Lushan Mountain serves as a barrier in this area, Huang Zujun's warships are too lazy to patrol here.
After Zheng Bao led his army to land, they passed through the middle of Lushan Mountain and attacked Chaisang City at night from the south gate and west gate.
The Chaisang defenders were unprepared to begin with, not to mention that Zheng Bao led his troops to the west and south where they were least likely to appear.
Zheng Bao and Xu Gan met almost no resistance and entered Chaisang City. The defenders were all taken prisoner before they knew who was attacking them.
The next day, Yuan Yao boarded a captured stern ship and sailed from north to south of the Yangtze River towards the occupied Chaisang.
Also riding in the same boat were Lu Su, Qi Ji and others.
Lu Su looked at the bamboo slips in his hand, looking in disbelief at the captured warships, grain and supplies, and the number of prisoners reported by Zheng Bao. The more he looked at it, the more ashamed he became.
"Chaisang's defenders of 2,000 infantry and 1,000 navy troops were all captured. Zheng Bao and Xu Qian's men only had more than 20 casualties or casualties!"
"Huang Zu's more than twenty warships and five thousand grains of grain and grass in Chaisang were all obtained by Zheng Bao, and there was no loss!"
Lu Su suppressed his blush and said in confusion: "Chaisang garrison, no matter how lax the defense is, it won't be like this!"
"This is so defenseless!"
"General Zheng Bao's military report said that Huang Zujun only had sporadic and weak resistance, which was not as dangerous as the danger he encountered when crossing Mount Lu!"
"Su is really puzzled!"
Yuan Yao looked at Lu Su who didn't understand this at all, and secretly thought to himself that among the four governors of Soochow, just in terms of leading troops to fight, you are far behind the other three.
Zhou Yu is both civil and military, Lu Xun and Lu Meng can win by surprise, but you, Lu Su, mainly rely on diplomacy and evasion in battles. How to use you also gives me a headache!
"The reason is actually very simple!"
"Our army is marching south this time, and the flags we are flying all the way are to help Zhuge Xuan secure his position as the governor of Yuzhang!"
"Our army is stationed in the northeast of Pengli Ze, so naturally everyone will think that I want to help Zhuge Xuan fight Zhu Hao."
"So Zhu Hao will definitely be on guard in Pengze, while Huang Zu's people will relax their guard if they think the matter has nothing to do with them."
"If Zheng Bao is caught off guard and attacks Chai Sangzai from behind, he can naturally succeed with one blow."
After listening to this, Lu Su looked thoughtful, and suddenly showed an expression of enlightenment:
"So the young master gathered everyone for discussion a few days ago to explore our thoughts?"
"If even we all agree that fighting Peng Ze is the best option, it just means that no one would have guessed the young master's goal. In fact, it was Chai Sang from the beginning!"
Seeing that Lu Su finally figured out the joint, Yuan Yao nodded and said:
"This is called doing the opposite!"
It wasn't until this moment that Lu Su fully realized that the heir apparent of the Yuan family in front of him was not just an ordinary heroic lord, but a truly heroic lord with a strategic mind.
Lu Su was finally convinced and couldn't help but worship: "As the old saying goes, the first step is to attack the enemy with the enemy, then the second is to attack the enemy, the second is to attack the enemy, and then the second is to attack the city."
"Young Master puts strategy first when using troops. His foresight and foresight are truly beyond ordinary people. I am deeply impressed!"
Yuan Yao quickly helped Lu Su up and said modestly: "Although I am capable of planning, I still need Zijing and all of you to attack the enemy, and I cannot use Boyu to attack the city!"
"Although I have captured Chaisang, I don't want to be enemies with Huang Zu and Liu Biao just yet."
"Zijing is not as good as me in formulating strategies, but in terms of vertical and horizontal skills, I am not as good as Zijing."
"Zijing, are you willing to fight for me?"
Lu Su quickly said: "Su is willing to do it!"
"Chaisang County originally belongs to Yuzhang County, and Yuzhang County belongs to Yangzhou. Yangzhou Mu, who is officially appointed by Ma Rixi, the imperial tutor appointed by his father, has the power to inspect and govern the counties under his jurisdiction!"
"Huang Zu is the governor of Jiangxia and belongs to Liu Biao's Jingzhou governor's department. It is an act of overstepping the boundaries to send troops to occupy our counties!"
"It is natural for a son to serve as his father's soldiers and inspect the counties of Yangzhou and expel soldiers from other counties."
"I should issue a proclamation to denounce Huang Zu's evil deeds. I should also write to Liu Jingsheng and accuse him of his crimes!"
"If Liu Jingsheng still can't be restrained, then report to the Ming court and accuse Liu Jingsheng of being a clan member of the Han Dynasty and committing an act of disobedience by sending troops across the border!"
Yuan Yao was very satisfied with Lu Su's statement. This is the Lu Su he wanted!
"I have told my father to appoint Zijing as the magistrate of Chaisang County. When we get to Chaisang later, it will all depend on Zijing!"
After saying these words, Yuan Yao turned around and glanced at Liu Fu, Zheng Hun, He Kui and others.
"You all work together with me and move forward. Only in this way can we achieve true great achievements!"
