EBE Chapter 14 Cao Cao acquires Cao Cao's navy? Gongsun Zan's general!
Chapter 14 Cao Cao acquires Cao Cao's navy? Gongsun Zan's general!
Sun Jian, returning to the allied camp, angrily led his troops to confront Yuan Shu.
When the two sides met formally, even the arrogant Yuan Shu realized that something was wrong.
But being proud by nature, he could neither allow himself to apologize to Sun Jian.
Although the matter ultimately ended with Yuan Shu paying Sun Jian a portion of the grain and funds.
However, the seeds of discord and distrust between the two sides have already been sown.
Yuan Shao's goal had been quietly achieved without anyone noticing.
But if we're talking about the most miserable person in this entire battle, it has to be Liu Bei!
Of the thousand White Horse Cavalry, only a dozen or so remained to follow him back to the main camp.
No matter how good the relationship between Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei was, upon hearing this battle report, his vision went black and he almost fainted.
You should know that the White Horse Cavalry is Gongsun Zan's most prized possession!
This elite army was defeated by Liu Bei, who lost a thousand men.
Although Gongsun Zan didn't say it aloud, he certainly harbored a lot of resentment in his heart.
Cao Cao, on the other hand, suffered no losses and earned Sun Jian's gratitude.
Taking this opportunity, Su Yu suggested to Cao Cao that he earnestly request Sun Jian to send some soldiers to help Cao Cao's army train its navy.
Cao Cao asked in confusion:
"Ziyi, what's the purpose of training sailors?"
"The turbulent Yellow River is simply unsuitable for naval warfare."
"Even if we train sailors, I'm afraid they'll be of no use."
Su Yu smiled and said:
"My lord, the Yellow River is useless, but the Yangtze River is useful!"
"Could it be that our lord's ambitions are limited to this mere north, and not to the south?"
"You bastard!!!"
Cao Cao took a deep breath and bowed to Su Yu in gratitude:
"Thank you for the reminder, Ziyi. It was Cao's narrow-mindedness."
Su Yu shook his head and said:
"My lord, there's no need for that."
"It is a subject's duty to share the ruler's burdens."
"If my lord can do everything perfectly, what need is there for me?"
Upon hearing this, Cao Cao laughed heartily, and his trust and reliance on Su Yu deepened even further.
Cao Cao had just done Sun Jian such a great favor and even saved Zu Mao.
Sun Jian naturally couldn't refuse Cao Cao's offer to lend him some soldiers to train his navy.
He waved his hand and said:
"Mengde, do not mention borrowing troops."
"These five hundred naval soldiers will henceforth serve under Mengde."
Upon hearing this, Cao Cao bowed to Sun Jian and thanked him.
Sun Jian was also overjoyed.
In this way, Cao Cao's kindness in supporting him was finally partially repaid.
It is a pity.
Sun Jian, however, was unaware of this.
His actions today will cause immense trouble for Sun Ce and Sun Quan in the future!
Historically, Cao Cao, despite leading so many northern troops, still couldn't cross the Yangtze River.
Ultimately, it's because he doesn't have an online army.
Cao Cao had considered training a navy, but the results were unsatisfactory.
At Xuanwu Pool, Cao Cao used the artificial pool to train his Xuanwu Pool navy for several years.
When they crossed the Yangtze River to the south, the Xuanwu Pool naval force was completely unable to adapt to the rapids and waves of the Yangtze.
The Xuanwu Pool naval force, built at great expense, ultimately became nothing more than a facade.
The Jingzhou navy was mostly in the hands of Huang Zu, the governor of Jiangxia.
After Huang Zu's death, the Jingzhou navy came under Liu Qi's control, which in turn fell into Liu Bei's hands.
Cai Mao, Zhang Yun, and others who surrendered to Cao Cao mostly commanded the Jingzhou army, with few naval forces.
This is equivalent to Cao Cao using the Xuanwu Pond Navy, which was just for show, to fight against the most elite Jingzhou and Jiangdong navies in the world during the Battle of Red Cliffs!
Use your weaknesses to attack the enemy's strengths.
How could the Battle of Red Cliffs have ended in defeat?
As for other schemes like the chained stratagems, borrowing arrows with straw boats, or borrowing the east wind, they are merely icing on the cake.
Without a navy, even if Cao Cao had an additional 20 troops, he would still have been unable to cross the Yangtze River and conquer Jiangdong.
But now, Sun Jian is giving Cao Cao five hundred soldiers skilled in naval warfare.
These soldiers could become the foundation of Cao Cao's naval forces in the future!
With these soldiers as the foundation, Cao Cao's navy could be expanded. Even if they still couldn't necessarily defeat the Jiangdong navy, they could at least achieve a 30/70 or even 40/60 advantage!
One can only imagine how angry and regretful Sun Ce and Sun Quan would feel many years later when they looked back on what their father Sun Jian had done!
……
汜水关
Hua Xiong sat in the main seat with a grand and imposing air.
Hua Xiong was very unhappy that he failed to take Sun Jian's head.
Before being sent to Dead Water Pass by Dong Zhuo, Hua Xiong had patted his chest and promised Dong Zhuo that he would use the heads of the warlords of Guandong as a sacrifice!
However, although Hua Xiong defeated Sun Jian, he did not actually achieve much.
Where does this leave Hua Xiong's pride?
"no!"
"Those bandits from Northeast China are nothing but a bunch of petty scoundrels."
"I am about to lead my troops to attack the allied forces' camp. What suggestions do you have?"
Zhao Cen, Hu Zhen, and Li Su all remained silent.
In any case, even if the three of them did offer suggestions, Hua Xiong was unlikely to listen.
So what's the point of saying anything at all?
Just keep quiet.
"Heh heh, you lot are cowards too."
"Fine, I will personally lead the Xiliang cavalry to block the allied camp."
"I doubt those petty villains from Guandong would dare to fight this general."
Hua Xiong acted immediately upon his word.
In fact, the reason he dared to do this was not only because of his somewhat reckless personality, but also because of his confidence in the Xiliang Iron Cavalry!
Although the Kwantung Army had two to three hundred thousand troops.
However, the Xiliang cavalry under Hua Xiong's command were all four-legged cavalrymen.
If we can't beat them, can't we at least outrun them?
Barring unforeseen circumstances, Hua Xiong, with nearly 20,000 Xiliang cavalrymen by his side, would never lead his army to be besieged by the soldiers of the Guandong Allied Forces.
Hua Xiong set the date for the expedition as early morning of the following day.
……
Time flies.
The night before Hua Xiong launched his attack
Su Yu and Cao Cao suddenly appeared beside Gongsun Zan's camp.
"Ziyi, does Gongsun Zan really have generals under his command who are no less fierce than Liu Bei's two sworn brothers?"
As Cao Cao spoke, his mouth was practically watering.
As is well known, Cao Cao had two great hobbies.
One is popularity, which is the enemy's family members.
The other one is a fierce general!
Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, Yue Jin, and others were all quite skilled in martial arts.
But even if he was good, he wasn't at the top level of his time, and couldn't be called a peak warrior.
The martial arts skills of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were clearly a level higher than those of the generals in Cao Cao's camp.
Cao Cao dreamed of acquiring fierce generals like Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.
But...
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei had already sworn brotherhood with Liu Bei; they were loyal and righteous, and it was impossible for them to betray Liu Bei easily.
There's a saying that Guan Yu was like a goddess Cao Cao could never have, someone Cao Cao longed for his entire life.
But at this moment, Gongsun Zan had another general under his command, one that Cao Cao had originally wanted in history!
This man was none other than Zhao Yun, who had only recently entered the world of martial arts!
……