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Jiangling built a water viewing platform next to the wharf on the north bank of the Yangtze River. It is six meters high and about the size of acres. It can be seen on the river surface. Every morning, Cao Cao would come to the viewing platform without any obstacles to wind and rain to check Cao's army's training in the river.

The training has been going on for a month. With the full cooperation of the Jingzhou naval generals such as Zhang Yun, Cai He, Deng Ji, etc., Cao's water battle capabilities have gradually improved. They can start to arrange some simple water formations, but the training progress is still very slow, and the navy is still mainly the surrendered Jingzhou army.

More than 200,000 northern Cao's soldiers were unable to fight on the water at all. Less than half of them stopped vomiting violently on the boat, which made Cao Cao very anxious. He planned to train for two months, but following this, half a year was not enough.

That morning, Cao Cao was training on the water viewing platform as usual. There were nearly 50 large ships in the Yangtze River. Today, the wind and waves on the river surface were quite strong, causing the ships to rush up and down violently. This was a good opportunity to train northern soldiers to adapt to the boat ride. A total of 20,000 people participated in the training.

The training is very simple, it is to cross the river four times by boat, each time training 5,000 soldiers. Seeing that the big ships began to dock one by one, the first batch of 5,000 soldiers were finished training, and groups of soldiers walked down from the boat with pale faces and struggled to get off the ground with difficulty, and immediately collapsed on the shore, in pain, almost as if they were about to die.

Cao Cao was so angry that his face turned pale and said angrily: "After training for a month, why is this dying ghost still like this? Haven't made any progress?"

He turned around and ordered, "Go and find Zhang Yun for me."

Soon, Zhang Yun, wearing armor, hurried to the water viewing platform, knelt down on one knee and saluted, "Meet the Prime Minister."

Cao Cao snorted heavily, pointing the painful soldiers on the shore with a horse whip, "I'll ask you, is this group of soldiers training for the first time?"

Zhang Yun was frightened and whispered: "Report to the Prime Minister, this is the fourth time they have boarded the ship."

"It's been four times, why are you still looking like a ghost? How did you train?" Cao Cao was stern and scolded Zhang Yun angrily.

Zhang Yun was so scared that he was trembling all over and did not dare to stand up. He said tremblingly: "They have made some progress. The first trip across the river is fine. When someone came back, he vomited first. The Prime Minister also knew that as long as there was one person vomiting first, everyone would not be able to bear it. In addition, the cabin was filled with sour smell, so..."

"Hmph, what you mean is that no matter how many times you train, it's useless?"

"It's not the case. The key is an adaptation process. I think it's much better to train for another two months."

At this time, Cheng Yu next to him said, "Governor Zhang, you probably don't understand what the Prime Minister means. The Prime Minister doesn't just let him take a boat, but wants them to participate in water wars and run and fight on the big ship. Is this possible?"

Zhang Yun's face was pale. How could this be done? The Jiangdong Navy and Jiangxia Navy, those soldiers grew up on the riverside and were finally selected as naval forces. Not all soldiers were competent for naval forces, even the Jiangdong and Jiangxia Army, not to mention the Cao Army soldiers who grew up on the northern plains.

In desperation, he had to answer: "To achieve what Mr. Cheng said, we need to train for two years at the earliest. The Jiangdong Navy and the Jiangxia Navy have been trained for more than five years, and it is impossible to do a humble position in two months."

Cao Cao had no choice but to scold, "Go and let the soldiers adapt to the boat as soon as possible. I don't care what you use, and give you another month. All soldiers must be able to take a long journey on the boat, otherwise I will use your head to sacrifice the flag."

Zhang Yun was so scared that he ran away with his head in his arms. Looking at Zhang Yun running away, Cao Cao finally couldn't help but sigh and said, "Zhongde, is it my decision to attack Jingzhou wrong?"

Cheng Yu shook his head and smiled, "Actually, I think the Prime Minister takes the navy seriously, but there is actually no need."

"How do you say this?" Cao Cao asked in confusion.

"We do not have to engage in water wars in the south. We just want to cross the Yangtze River. The soldiers can march east from land. I asked the local natives that as long as the ships arrive in Puqi, the army can directly march towards Jiangxia, and then the water will be advanced together."

Cao Cao shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Although he said that, he still has to take a boat thousands of miles to travel."

At this time, Liu Ye, a counselor next to him, said: "I also have a plan, I don't know if it is feasible."

"you say"

"Weichen believes that it is not necessary to set out from Jiangling. The army can march from Fancheng to Anlu County and bypass Yunmengze northward. In this way, we can reach the north bank of the Yangtze River in Anlu County. The other side is Xiakou. As long as our warships can be concentrated on the north bank, we can attack Jiangxia from land as long as we cross the river once."

Cao Cao pondered for a moment, shook his head and sighed: "I'm afraid the warships cannot pass through Xiakou. Although the plan is feasible, it is not realistic, and it is also troublesome to the army."

Not only did Cao Cao not agree with Liu Ye's plan, but in fact, if Zhang Yun or any general who is good at water war is here, they will definitely firmly oppose Liu Ye's plan. It is not that easy to force cross the Yangtze River.

Besides, how could the Jiangxia navy allow thousands of empty ships to sail through Jiangxia to the north bank of the Yangtze River to wait? Liu Ye’s plan is obviously unrealistic.

Cao Cao still did not realize that even if his army occupied the entire Jiangxia territory, it would be useless. The Jiangxia army would still transport all the military and civilian food to Qichun County. The Cao army only occupied one empty county, which was difficult for food supply.

The reason why the Red Cliff War broke out in history was that the Cao army had to wipe out the Jiangdong army completely, not just to cross the river.

At this moment, Yu Jin left the list and said: "When I came from Anlu County, I heard that many people fled to Jiangxia from Jingling County and did not go to the water. I think there must be a way to do it on the land. I am willing to lead troops to take down Jingling County and be the prime minister, and be punished for his merits."

At this time, Zang Ba also came out and said: "I am willing to go with General Yu."

Cao Cao's heart ignited a glimmer of hope and nodded happily, "I will give you five thousand troops. If you can successfully explore, I will relieve you of all your guilt."

.........

At night, Cheng Yu hurried outside Cao Cao's study room. The study door was open and soft lights shot out from the room. You can see Cao Cao walking in the room with his hands covered with worries.

The guard was about to report loudly, but Cheng Yu hushed and told them not to disturb the Prime Minister's contemplation. He did not interrupt Cao Cao's contemplation, but stood at the door and smiled without saying a word.

At this time, Cao Cao felt something. He looked up and saw Cheng Yu at the door. He couldn't help but smile and said, "I was wondering if Zhongde would come to solve my doubts. I didn't expect that it was really here. Please come in quickly."

Cheng Yu walked into the room and smiled, "The Prime Minister's concern is actually completely unnecessary. We are here to solve the problem."

Cao Cao laughed, "That's what I say, Zhongde is my guest of honor, please sit down."

The two sat down opposite each other, Cheng Yu said: "Actually, although Liu Yang's plan was not feasible in the morning, he had already talked about the roots. Why did the Prime Minister refuse to investigate in depth?"

Cao Cao said silently for a moment: "I have also realized something, but I am not thorough. Zhongde might as well point me through it."

Cheng Yu smiled, "What the Prime Minister is worried about is not that the navy is not good and cannot fight the Jiangxia navy. What the Prime Minister is really worried about is that the warships cannot enter Jiangxia, but this is how it is."

Cao Cao sighed, "What Zhongde said is exactly what I know is that the soldiers in the north are not the opponent of the Jiangxia navy for another year. I am worried that the warships cannot advance eastward, and I have no boats to cross the river, and finally return north in a mess. I am willing to use heavy profits to win over Jiangdong, but Sun Quan refused to accept it. In this way, how can I destroy Jiangxia?"

Cheng Yu said again: "Liu Yang also saw this problem, so he proposed to go back to Fancheng and stay on the north bank of Xiakou. It would definitely not work if he returned to Fancheng again, but his thinking was very correct."

"Speak on" Cao Cao already understood a little, and he stared at Cheng Yu with a serious expression.

"Last time, I accompanied the Prime Minister and Liu Jing for a while, and I found that Liu Jing was ambition in the world and was definitely not like Liu Biao retreating to Jingzhou. It was because of his ambition that he could clearly send an elite naval army to sweep the Jiangling warship, just like in Fancheng, but he did not do this. Does the Prime Minister understand his intentions?"

Cao Cao nodded, "He wants to wipe out my hundreds of thousands of troops."

"That's true, so I think that as long as our main force is not on the warship, our warship will definitely be able to sail into Jiangxia, and he will definitely not intercept it."

Cao Cao finally understood the intention of the Jiangxia army revealed by Cheng Yu. If the warships were destroyed too early, Liu Jing would not have the chance to annihilate his army southward.
Chapter completed!