mesbooks Chapter 411 Cao Ren makes the decision, Jia Kui carries it out.
Chapter 411 Cao Ren makes the decision, Jia Kui carries it out.
Crisis, danger, and opportunity are always intertwined; the greater the danger, the higher the chance of turning things around.
The prerequisite is that you must have keen insight and the courage to think big and act boldly.
Jia Kui possessed both of these qualities. Facing the steady and reliable Guan Yu, Jia Kui felt powerless, like a tiger trying to eat the sky but having nowhere to start. However, when he shifted his gaze to Sun Quan, he was surprised to find that everything became clear, because the Wei army had too many cards to play on Sun Quan's side.
Firstly, Wu Commandery had the four great families of Zhu, Gu, Lu, and Zhang, and Jingzhou also had the four great families of Kuai, Cai, Huang, and Pang. Moreover, most of the four great families of Jingzhou surrendered to Cao Cao during the Battle of Red Cliffs, and only a small portion remained in Jingzhou. They could easily have members of the four great families in Luoyang write letters to their clansmen in Jingzhou to persuade them to surrender.
Secondly, Wu Jun's crossing of the Yangtze River in disguise and Mi Fang and Fu Shiren's surrender of the city were not individual actions of Mi and Fu, but rather the collective will of the Jingzhou gentry. In other words, the Jingzhou gentry collectively betrayed Liu Bei, which led to Guan Yu's defeat at Maicheng.
Now that Guan Yu has turned the tables, he is very likely to join forces with Liu Bei to launch a pincer attack from the east and west to reclaim Jingzhou. The end is near for these traitors.
Compared to Sun Quan, these traitors were the ones who least wanted Liu Bei and Guan Yu to return to Jingzhou. They dreamed of Liu Bei and Guan Yu being utterly defeated so that they could sleep soundly.
But now that Liu Bei is coming back, they will definitely be filled with anxiety and desperately need to find a new patron for protection. Cao Wei is their biggest and only patron. They have no other choice but Cao Wei.
The Jiangdong gentry had their land seized and divided by the Guan family, so they must hate the Guan family to the core. Unless they had no other choice, they would never surrender to Liu and Guan.
Moreover, Zhu Huan, the head of the Zhu clan, the most prominent of the four great families in Wu Commandery, had already surrendered to Cao Ren and been granted a high-ranking official position. With Zhu Huan as a ready-made example, coupled with his influence as the head of the Wu Commandery gentry, he could definitely persuade most of the important officials of Eastern Wu to surrender to Wei.
From any perspective, the possibility of Cao Wei peacefully taking over Jingzhou was much greater than that of Liu Bei.
So there's no need to fight Guan Yu to the death; let's quickly turn around and head towards Jingzhou.
Zhang Liao said, "I agree with Doctor Jia's opinion, but shouldn't we fight Guan Yu first, defeat him and let Sun Quan see our strength before turning around and taking over Jingzhou?"
Jia Kui sighed helplessly, “General, you’re right. Winning a battle before persuading Sun Quan to surrender would be more convincing. But don’t forget we’re facing Guan Yu. Can we win quickly? What if we end up losing more than we win? If we suffer heavy losses at Guan Yu’s hands, even if Sun Quan is willing to surrender, we may not have the strength to accept him.”
"So hurry up and retreat to the area around Yi County, Lingyang, to rebuild our defensive positions, block the Guan family father and son, and at the same time seize Jingzhou. After taking over Jingzhou, Your Majesty can decide whether to attack Guan Yu first or deal with Liu Bei first."
A strong urge appeared in Cao Ren's eyes. He had neither the confidence nor the ability to launch an offensive against Guan Yu, but if he simply established a defensive position and held his ground, Cao Ren thought that with his high health and defense, he could withstand several rounds of beatings from Guan Yu.
but……
Cao Ren frowned and said, "Suddenly changing the battle objective is a major matter. Should we consult the King?"
According to procedure, such matters require a decision from the central government, and Cao Cao personally gave the order; these few frontline generals really couldn't make that decision on their own.
Jia Kui said, "It's too late. It would take so many days to get the imperial court to come back and forth. Fei Yi is currently in Jiangling and can make a promise on behalf of Liu Bei to appease the Jingzhou gentry at any time. As long as Liu Bei promises not to settle scores later, the Jingzhou gentry are very likely to defect again and return to Liu Bei's side. So we must race against time with Fei Yi now."
"General, a general in the field may disobey the emperor's orders. Now is the time for you to show the courage of a commander-in-chief and act first and report later. Please make a decision as soon as possible."
Cao Ren pondered for a moment, then slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and said, "Doctor Jia is right. Let's do it your way. I will bear all the consequences if the King asks about it in the future."
As the commander-in-chief of the three armies, Cao Ren certainly had the courage to do so, and he also had the authority to make decisions on the spot. Changing the battle objective suddenly was not really overstepping his bounds.
Jia Kui rose and bowed, saying, "General, you are wise."
Cao Ren continued, "Then the problem arises: who will go to Jiangling to persuade Sun Quan? Jiang Ji is definitely not an option. He is currently in Xiangyang receiving Yu Jin's surrendered troops. Sending a messenger to inform Jiang Ji and then having him go to Jiangling would be too time-consuming. Besides, Jiang Ji is not my subordinate, so he might not listen to me."
When Guan Yu flooded the seven armies and captured Yu Jin alive, the 30,000 elite soldiers who followed Yu Jin also surrendered to Guan Yu.
As a result, Guan Yu was quickly defeated and fled in disarray from Maicheng, while Yu Jin and his 30,000 elite troops fell into the hands of Sun Quan.
When Jiang Ji was sent to Jiangling to appease Sun Quan, he also shouldered the important task of retrieving Yu Jin and 30,000 Wei troops.
Although Cao Cao and Sun Quan have not formally signed an alliance, they have tacitly reached a private alliance. Cao Cao has been continuously bestowing titles upon Sun Quan, thereby assuring Sun Quan that he will never send troops to attack him before Sun Quan recovers Jiangdong. In return, Sun Quan voluntarily returns Yu Jin and his 30,000 Wei troops, guaranteeing that Cao Cao will not send troops to annoy Cao Cao when dealing with Liu Bei.
Therefore, after leaving Jiangling, Jiang Ji did not return to Luoyang to report back, but stayed in Xiangyang to receive Yu Jin's surrendered troops.
Jia Kui said, "I'll make the trip myself. I'll go straight to Chaisang along the Yangtze River and ask Zhou Tai to escort me to Jiangling. At the same time, I'll see if I can win over Zhou Tai and Sun Shao first. Oh, and there's also Lü Fan. It's unlikely that Zhou Tai will surrender unless Sun Quan surrenders. But General Lü Fan is different. He once suggested that Sun Quan put Liu Bei under house arrest. He has a grudge against Liu Bei, so we can try to win him over, at least to prevent him from siding with Liu Bei."
"And Yu Fan, have Zhu Huan write a letter to Yu Fan to see if he can be persuaded to surrender. If he cannot be persuaded to surrender, then persuade him to remain neutral. As long as these people do not explicitly surrender to Liu Bei, we still have a chance."
"By the way, General, you should also send a fast horse to Luoyang to report the situation, and ask His Majesty to issue an edict in the name of the Emperor to promote all the important officials of Eastern Wu and try to use the name of the Emperor to win over these important officials of Eastern Wu to our side."
They still have the Emperor as a trump card to play; the Emperor's edict might have unexpected effects.
Cao Ren immediately decided, "That's what we'll do. You pack your things and leave right away. I'll take care of the rest."
"Yes..." Jia Kui bowed and turned to leave, but just as he reached the door, the tent flap was lifted, and a soldier suddenly rushed into the tent, almost bumping into him.
Jia Kui quickly stepped aside to let him pass, and the soldier stepped forward and bowed, saying, "General, Zhang Jing, the Chief Clerk, has returned, and he has brought with him Luo Tong, the General of Jianzhong of Eastern Wu."
Jia Kui was overjoyed and said, "Great, General! Luo Tong is not only the General of Jianzhong, but also the head of the Luo clan of Wushang. He has influence among the gentry of Jiangdong and the officials of Eastern Wu. He is also the adopted son of the Imperial Censor (Hua Xin). If he is willing to mediate, things will be much easier."
Jia Kui was from Hedong and had never been to Jiangdong before. He was not familiar with the Jiangdong gentry. If he wanted to win over the Jiangdong gentry, he had to find an intermediary who was familiar with them. Luo Tong was the best choice.
Just as I was about to head to Jiangling, Luo Tong arrived. It was like someone offering me a pillow just as I was about to fall asleep; it seems that fate is on Wei's side.
Cao Ren said urgently, "Then what are we waiting for? Come with me to welcome General Luo."
The minor position of Jianzhong Zhonglang General was hardly worthy of Cao Ren's personal welcome, but there was nothing he could do. Cao Ren needed his help now, and when asking for a favor, one had to show some respect, right?
Cao Ren, accompanied by Jia Kui and Zhang Liao, rushed out of the tent and headed straight for the camp gate. Upon seeing Zhang Jing standing at the camp gate and the unfamiliar young man beside him, he excitedly laughed and said, "Is that General Luo Tong ahead? I am late in welcoming you, please forgive me, General."
Zhang Jing, who was waiting to be received at the camp gate, was stunned to see Cao Ren, Jia Kui and Zhang Liao coming together. He wondered what merit he had to trouble these three big shots to come out of the camp to greet him.
Hearing Cao Ren's call, he realized that they hadn't come to pick him up, and could only turn to Luo Tong with disappointment to introduce the three of them.
Luo Tong was stunned when he heard this. What did he do to deserve General Cao Ren's personal welcome?
Could it be because of his stepfather, the Imperial Censor Hua Xin?
Surely not? I've never heard of Cao Ren having any connection with Hua Xin. Besides, Cao Ren's status is far higher than Hua Xin's, so why would he need to curry favor with his stepfather?