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After Liu Jing's reinforcements arrived in Xiangyang, the strength of the Han army in Xiangyang increased to 70,000, and confronted Cao's army across the river. Liu Jing ordered the burial of Huang Xin, who died in death, and posthumously named him as General Yonglie. A few days later, 1,000 warships from the Jiangling Navy also sailed into the Han River, increasing the total strength of the Han army in Xiangyang to 90,000.

However, Cao Cao did not order the withdrawal of troops, and still stationed troops to confront the Han army in Fancheng. Not only that, Cao Cao also ordered Cao Chun to lead 20,000 cavalry who had arrived in Wancheng to continue to move south, station heavy troops on the north bank of the Han River, and put on a stalemate without fighting.

Cao Cao's strategic purpose was also very obvious, which was to drag Liu Jing and the main force of the Han army to Jingzhou, so that the Han army could not carry out the northern expedition on the Western Front, and to gain time for Xun You's defensive deployment on the Western Front.

As time passed, half a month later, the situation in Jingzhou was still in a stalemate. The Cao army showed no sign of withdrawing. The Han army calmed down and confronted Cao army. The 20,000 Jiangdong Army was stationed in southern Hefei, but it was reluctant to launch an attack for a long time. Sun Quan's silence and sarcastic attitude became more and more obvious.

It was mid-month, and it was mid-spring. The north and south of the Yangtze River were full of colorful flowers and spring. Huainan County also entered the most vibrant moment of the year. Huainan County is located on the north bank of Danyang County, and was originally the core area where Yuan Shu dominated. Yuan Shu's capital Shouchun was located in the north of Huainan County.

Huainan County is an important geographical location. It is the hub between the northeast of Jiangyuan and the bridgehead for the Central Plains to the south of the Central Plains. With Hefei as the center, Cao's army stationed 50,000 troops in Hefei at most. However, because the Jingzhou Battle broke out, Hefei's troops were transferred to Jingzhou, leaving Hefei's troops with only 10,000 troops, led by the general Man Chong.

That morning, a fleet of fifty thousand stone warships sailed in line on the vast Chaohu Lake. The blue sky was like an empty and quiet sea, without a trace of clouds, the air was fresh and moist. In the sun, the fleet bulged its sails and walked through the waves.

At the bow of the first large ship, Gan Ning, wearing armor, held the hilt of the sword in his hand and looked to the north. This was the 10,000 Jiangxia naval army led by him. He took fifty large ships and advanced east along the Yangtze River, entering the Ruxu River from the mouth of Ruxu on the Yangtze River. Once he went north, he entered Chaohu Lake two days later, then entered the Feishui from Chaohu Lake, and finally arrived in Hefei. Their target was Hefei.

Gan Ning's ears seemed to be still echoing Liu Jing's words. This time, the responsibility of Cao's army to conquer the Han River defense line in Yicheng County was not Xingba, but my Liu Jing. There are only 200,000 Han troops, and Jingzhou has only 50,000 elite troops. Jingzhou has weak defenses. How could Cao's army not take advantage of the situation, so I will not blame the Jiangxia naval army.

Gan Ning sighed softly. Although the provincial governor did not blame him for his poor defense against the Han River, he himself felt tremendous pressure. Especially if he could not succeed in this trip to Hefei, he would really be ashamed of the provincial governor. Gan Ning knew the importance of this trip to Hefei.

Although the Jingzhou naval army had completely blocked the Han River and Cao's army could no longer go south, the battlefield was in Jingzhou, which had a great impact on the morale of the Han army, the agriculture, trade, and the stability of the people in Jingzhou, and ultimately harmed the interests of Jingzhou. It can be said that the longer the Cao army stationed in Fancheng, the greater the damage to the interests of Jingzhou.

From a strategic perspective, the Han army's focus is currently on the western front, so the strength and attention of Jingzhou naturally weakened, which allowed the Cao army to take advantage of the opportunity and break the strategic balance of Jingzhou. Liu Jing was particularly worried that delaying for a long time, the Cao army would form a de facto occupation of Fancheng, which would push the forefront of the power from the south of Wancheng to the front line of the Han River, which would pose a great threat to Jingzhou. In particular, Cao army successfully evacuated from the Longzhong Ferry Crossing with sheepskin raft, which shows that the Han River could no longer stop Cao's army.

Therefore, we must force Cao Cao to withdraw his troops as soon as possible. To break the current deadlock in Jingzhou, we can only break the situation from the eastern front. However, the Jiangdong Army was in vain and did not work hard. In desperation, Liu Jing could only order Gan Ning to attack Hefei for thousands of miles and open up a new battlefield in Hefei.

"General, our wardrobe is back," a soldier shouted in the distance.

Gan Ning also saw that the fast ship was heading towards the fleet from the east, with the red flag of the Han army being inserted on the bow, which was particularly eye-catching in the sun. Gan Ning waved his hand and "slowed up"

The fleet gradually slowed down, and soon, the fast ship approached the Han army's ships.

This clutch was the scout ship that went to contact the Jiangdong Army first. They brought information from the Jiangdong Army. At this time, Gan Ning saw a burly Jiangdong Army general standing on the clutch, and was smiling and bowing to him. Gan Ning recognized it at a glance. This person was Lu Meng, the general of the Jiangdong Army.

This surprised Gan Ning a little. Why did Lu Meng follow him? He quickly met him and smiled and said, "General Lu, are you okay?"

Lu Meng was the deputy general of the Jiangdong Army's dispatch of troops to Hefei this time. He was commissioned by the chief general Huang Gai to discuss the coordinated combat with the Han army. This time, the Jiangdong Army sent troops to Hefei. Although Sun Quan's order was to attack but not attack, it was to make an attacking attitude, the Jiangdong Army's military strongly advocated taking advantage of this opportunity to seize Hefei.

Military generals including Lu Su, Huang Gai, Lu Meng, Shi Ci, Lu Xun, Han Dang and other military generals hoped to actually send troops to attack Hefei. Even Cheng Pu, who had always been hostile to Jingzhou, suggested to Sun Quan twice to seize Hefei. Even the opinions of the officials were divided, and senior officials such as Zhang Hong, Lu Fan, and Bu Zhi also began to support the military's opinions.

It was under repeated pressure from the military and some officials that Sun Quan's position finally shook a little, and he ordered Huang Gai to wait for an opportunity. This order was still very vague. He neither agreed to attack Hefei nor could he say that he could not fight. In fact, it was just to let Huang Gai wait for an opportunity. If the opportunity was right, then he could consider attacking Hefei.

The arrival of the Han army's 10,000 naval troops undoubtedly gave Huang Gai an opportunity, but at the same time he also had some doubts. Why did the Han army attack Hefei and who would own this strategic location after the capture of Hefei? It was precisely because of these doubts that Huang Gai sent Lu Meng to communicate and negotiate with Gan Ning.

Gan Ning and Lu Meng exchanged a few greetings, then walked into the cabin. The two sat down facing each other. Gan Ning smiled and said, "I didn't expect General Lu to come here in person. I think it must have brought news that interested us."

Lu Meng hurriedly bowed and said, "Because it is of great importance, General Huang hopes to communicate fully with your army. If possible, we hope to be able to fight together."

Of course, Gan Ning understood the real purpose of Lu Meng's arrival. It should be that the sudden appearance of the Han army caused their doubts. They were worried that the Han army would also participate in the battle for Hefei. In fact, this was Liu Jing's intention to send troops to Hefei and force the Jiangdong army to actually send troops to Hefei. Otherwise, it would be almost impossible to seize Hefei with ten thousand naval troops.

Gan Ning smiled faintly, "Because the confrontation between Xiangyang and Cao's army has a lot of impact on Jingzhou, my lord hopes to break the deadlock in Hefei and force Cao Cao to withdraw his troops. He originally expected the Jiangdong Army to take Hefei, but more than a month later, the Jiangdong Army has never taken action. Of course, my lord is also understanding the difficulties of the Jiangdong Army, so we decided to work harder and take Hefei by ourselves."

Lu Meng's face heated up, and Wu Hou's small movements could be seen clearly, which made him feel ashamed. Lu Meng said a little embarrassedly: "We are indeed a little difficult, because we are insufficient supplies and the army's food has not been transported for a long time, so we cannot launch an attack on Hefei. Now the problem of food and grass has been solved, and your army is also here. General Huang's intention is to hope that the two armies will fight together and take Hefei. I don't know what General Gan wants to do."

This is not Lu Meng's decision without authorization, but Huang Gai's meaning. The key is that Wu Gong had already let go, and Huang Gai decided to jointly attack Hefei with the Han army. He must not give Hefei to the Han army. Gan Ning was waiting for this sentence. He smiled heartily and said, "Of course we are willing to fight with the Jiangdong army again, but can General Huang make the decision or not to report to the Marquis of Wu first."

Lu Meng shook and said solemnly: "General Huang can make the decision on the attack on Hefei. If General Gan thinks that details need to be discussed, he can wait for General Huang to come."

"No, I have a plan, we might as well talk about it."

Gan Ning turned around and ordered the personal soldiers at the door and said, "Get the map for me."

The Jiangdong Army was stationed about fifty miles away from Hefei and only a few miles away from Chaohu Lake. The military camp covers several acres and is compacted with soil and wood. The walls are tall and strong. There are rows of tents neatly arranged, with a total of 20,000 garrisons.

The Jiangdong Army has been stationed here for nearly a month, but they have never launched an attack on Hefei City. Similarly, the Cao army has not launched an attack on them. Both sides seem to have a tacit understanding and do not test each other.

At noon, Lu Meng rushed back to the military camp and came directly to Huang Gai's tent. At this time, Huang Gai was pondering the plan to seize Hefei in front of the map. This was the second time the Jiangdong Army attacked Hefei. The first time was during the Battle of Chibi. Sun Quan took advantage of the opportunity that Cao's main force was restrained in Chibi to launch a battle against Hefei. Unfortunately, he was defeated by Cao's army's void plan and hurriedly withdrew his troops.

This time, Sun Quan had no actual idea of ​​attacking Hefei, but he just wanted to make a gesture, which disappointed Huang Gai. However, he was unwilling to give up and wrote letters to Sun Quan. With the joint efforts of other senior officials, Sun Quan finally promised him to wait for an opportunity to act.

Now that the Han army attacks Hefei, Huang Gai believes that this is an opportunity. If Hefei is really captured by the Han army, the Jiangdong army will suffer huge strategic losses. In any case, Huang Gai will never allow Jingzhou to seize Hefei. Of course, he will not cooperate with the Cao army to prevent the Han army from acting, but will seize Hefei before the Han army.

At least in this way, he could find a reason to explain to Sun Quan. This was undoubtedly an exciting thing for Huang Gai, who was determined to conquer Hefei.

At this time, soldiers outside the tent reported: "Report to General, Captain Lu is back."

"Let him in"

Lu Meng quickly walked into the tent and bowed, "I'm lucky to be a humble job and I've gotten good news."

"Ming sat down and said."

Lu Meng sat down and then smiled and said, "I met Gan Ning. They were indeed going to attack Hefei. After we discussed, Gan Ning agreed to cooperate with both sides to conquer Hefei."
Chapter completed!