Chapter 220: Hundred Thousands of Urgent

There are too many aspects to involve in the large-scale mobilization of 200,000 troops. Any changes such as food, equipment, soldiers, war horses, and subordinates will leave clues.

The news of sending troops to Jiangdong everywhere and bluffing the brigade of Xuyu border was the most appropriate excuse for Cao Cao. The distance from Runan County, the southernmost tip of Yuzhou, to Jiujiang County, Yangzhou, was not much different. There were some low hills in the middle. For the cavalry with storms like lightning, it was like a no-man.

On the contrary, for Gao Chong in the south, the situation is very different. The continuous and majestic Funiu Mountains split Jingzhou and Yangzhou in half. If you want to open the soil, you will have no other way except relying on the waterway of the Yangtze River.

After all, Zhou Yu's actions of climbing over the vast jungle alone like in the previous episode are extremely dangerous. The large number of reductions in personnel on the way will make the reinforcements not have any combat effectiveness even when they arrive on the battlefield. It is precisely because of Gao Chong's inherent weakness in defense that Guo Jia offered his plan to take the risk of attacking Jing Xiang before his death.

Cao Cao, who is over 50 years old, is not the opponent of Gao Chong, who is in his thirties.

Compared with strength, the Gao Feng people, the country and the country have been unified by Yang, Jing, Jiao, Yi and Liang, and the people are stable and the confrontation will be delayed, which will only be even more unfavorable for Cao Cao.

After thinking about it, the only aspect that was beneficial to Cao Cao was the right place.

The terrain of the north is flat and flat, which is conducive to the rapid-running cavalry reinforcements and supplies. Although Gao Chong is located in the south, although there are large rivers and rivers as transportation arteries, they cannot be directly interspersed in support, especially Huaibei and Jingbei, which are on the frontline of the war. The two armies of Zhou Yu and Zhang Liao, who are stationed in the two places, are blocked by the mountains and jungles. Once one side is attacked by the enemy, it will be difficult for the other side to quickly reinforce.

Of course, discovering the enemy's weakness does not mean that you have won the victory. In the implementation of the specific strategy, whether Cao Cao can successfully break through Jingbei, whether he can consolidate his territory after occupying Jingxiang, and successfully block the attacks from Bashu and Xiliang are all key points.

October 8, the 11th year of Jian'an in the Han Dynasty.

Chenliu County, Yanzhou.

When Xu De (Wu Ming) was dressed neatly and walked out of the inn in the early morning, the Grand Secretary of the State (Shangshi of the Ministry of Personnel) Xun Yu's subordinate office——Although this official position is not high, it is very important.

Xun Yu, whose courtesy name is Wenruo, is not "weak in literature". It is not an exaggeration to describe his talent and agility based on his ability. At the same time, he was also the first counselor under Cao Cao. As early as when Emperor Liu Xie was in trouble, Xun Yu fully advised Cao Cao to welcome him, thus establishing the political advantage of "using the emperor to command the princes" in one fell swoop. Later, Xun Yu recommended important counselors such as Guo Jia, Xun You, and Cheng Yu to Cao Cao.

It is not easy for Xu De to possess Xun Yu's tent. After several years of testing as an official in another county, Xu De, who was cautious, won the favor of Xun Yu, which means that he has slowly approached Cao Cao's decision-making center.

The Shangshutai in the Han Dynasty had a total of the Ministry of Personnel, Zuomin, Guichou, Five Army soldiers, and Duzhi Five Army soldiers. The Ministry of Personnel is also called Selection Department, which is in charge of selecting officials; the Zuomin is in charge of repairing and repairing works, Yanchi Garden; Guichou is in charge of ethnic minorities and foreign affairs; the Five Army is in charge of central soldiers, foreign soldiers, cavalry, and other soldiers, and Duzhi is in charge of military and national affairs, among which the Minister of Personnel is the most important.

School officials are a temporary official position under the Minister of Personnel. Although the rank is not high, they are responsible for examining the political achievements of officials from all over the country. If you want to get the opportunity to be promoted, local officials must first curry favor with school officials.

However, Xun Yu is honest and honest. If some officials want to get close to Xun Yu directly, they mostly come back from the wall. Therefore, letting those school officials in charge of recording say a few good words to themselves between the lines has become the first choice for most officials.

Xu De came to Chenliu this time under the order of Xun Yu. His main task was to examine the achievements of Chenliu's prefect Zhang Cheng during his tenure. Zhang Cheng's courtesy name was Gongxian, and was the younger brother of Zhang Fan, the military chief. After Cheng Yu was promoted to Xudu, through Zhang Fan's activities, Zhang Cheng took over the position of Chenliu, the largest city in Yanzhou. He was also a prefect. Since Chenliu was the place where Cao Cao started his career, most of the generals in Cao's army now came from Chenliu. If he was an official here, he could get more information than in other places and could get promotion opportunities.

"School Xu, I got up so early!" Xu De had just stepped into the Chenliu meeting hall when the prefect Zhang Cheng, who heard the news, appeared in front of him with a smile on his face.

"Ah, everyone is busy, but what's the important thing?" Xu De glanced around and replied with a smile. As an official in the court, trying not to offend people with a deep background like Zhang Cheng is the primary factor in safety.

In the prefect's mansion, the secretary and the chief masters are all working hard. For a big city like Chenliu, which is in a core position, it is inevitable that there are so many people, but in the early morning, many of them have black eyes, which is obviously because they haven't been asleep all night, which is a bit abnormal.

Zhang Cheng sighed and muttered, "It's not that the military supplies are being urged. The officials in the court didn't think about it. It's too difficult to get the county government to raise so much food and grass. Uh, don't blame the school affairs, I'm not talking about you." Seeing Xu De's expression strange, Zhang Cheng thought he was saying the wrong thing, so he hurriedly said with a smile.

"The prefect is so rude. I, a little school affairs, can't take care of military and national affairs? I just thank you for your hard work and you're here for the night!" Xu De said, while throwing sympathetic eyes to everyone busy around.

"It is really rare for the school officials to be so sympathetic to us officials from other counties. Cheng is grateful for it. If there are any inadequate care in these few days, I hope the school officials will speak out without hesitation." Zhang Cheng said, signaling the attendant to show Xu De's seat.

Chenliu's coldness in October penetrated into the house with the north wind and then poured into the person's neck. Xu De seemed to accidentally move the position to the charcoal fire plate. He glimpsed a folded bamboo slip on the edge of the fire plate. The content recorded on it was the number of food, armor, and swords and guns handed over to the army this time by Chenliu County.

Taking advantage of Zhang Cheng's turn, Xu De bent down and tried to pull out the charcoal fire, but his elbow gently pushed the folded bamboo slip a little, and the numbers on the bamboo slip made Xu De secretly shocked. Chenliu County alone would provide 100,000 hu of food and grass and 20,000 leather armor. Based on this, it was inferred that the scale of Cao Cao's southern expedition army this time would be unprecedentedly large.

Just when Xu De was frightened, a thin soap book suddenly appeared at the innermost layer of the bamboo slip. Judging from the faint lines of ink words on it, it was a letter written by Zhang Cheng's brother Zhang Fan to his family. The content was not surprising, but it only told Zhang Cheng that he was about to follow Cao Cao to the south and asked him to take good care of his family. However, the two words in the final signature made Xu De tremble and his heart pound.

These two words are - Wancheng.

Wancheng is the capital of Nanyang County, and Zhang Fan is Cao Cao's military adviser. At this important juncture that is about to go to the expedition, Zhang Fan was not with Xudu and accompanied Cao Cao, and the other was not on the Xuzhou front line to inspect military information. What did he do when he ran to Wancheng, which was not the main attack direction of the southern expedition? This question puzzled Xu De.

Zhang Fan was Cao Cao's confidant and was deeply loved by Cao Cao. Otherwise, Zhang Cheng would not have been able to get the official position of Chenliu Prefect. You should know that in this position, the first two prefects were Xiahou Dun and Cheng Yu. One of these two people was Cao Cao's close relatives, and the other was an important adviser who helped him make countless contributions.

"Can you say that the main target of this southern expedition is not Lianghuai, but Jingbei?" Xu De seemed to notice some very different clues.

"Does the school affairs feel cold?" Zhang Cheng turned around and saw Xu De's body trembling slightly, so he asked kindly.

"Oh no, thank you, Lord Tai, for your peace of mind. By the way, have you been back in the past few days?" Xu De said seemingly unintentionally.

Zhang Cheng smiled bitterly and said, "Pongyi is in the Prime Minister's Office, where can he come back if he has time? I'm sent to Wancheng two months ago. I haven't returned yet?"

Two months are 60 days - Zhang Fan stayed in Wancheng for two consecutive months, and there must be unusual secrets. As a long-term undercover intercourse in the enemy camp, "Wu Gou" Xu De has both the keen skills of an assassin and excellent dark analytical ability.

In the seemingly unintentional subtle clues, he had already judged the true direction of Cao Cao's southern expedition.

"This information must be notified to the coach as soon as possible." Xu De slowly stood up straight, and he quickly calmed down his excitement. When he looked up and looked at Zhang Cheng, there was no trace of surprise in his eyes.

After saying goodbye to Zhang Cheng, Xu De didn't even go back to the post house. He went directly to the manger to ask for a post horse, then rode his horse out of the city and headed straight for Yecheng in the north.

Xu De wanted to inform Gao Chong that he should go south according to the distance, but if he went to Yecheng, he could only go further and further. Of course, as the secret room under Gao Chong, "Wu Gou" Xu De did not make any mistakes in this regard, because there was a secret contact point specially set up by Gao Chong for Xu De in Yecheng. In order to prevent exposure, this stronghold that transformed into an inn merchant has not been opened once since its establishment.

Walking from Yecheng and northeast is the Nanpi area, which is close to the seaside. As long as the personnel who obtain information successfully board a fishing boat and go out to sea, they can meet with the Weiwen fleet that has arrived in the Bohai Bay.

Moreover, under the heavy pressure of Gao Chong, Cao Cao had moved his main forces to Xuzhou and Nanyang. Taking the northern route was safer than going to Xuzhou.

Just three hours after Xu De rode his horse out of the city, a group of soldiers rushed from Xudu. After entering the city, they headed straight to the mansion of the prefect Zhang Cheng.

The one who led this army was no one else, but the Prime Minister's Office Bo Sima Yi.

"Where is Wu Gou?" At the door of the mansion, Sima Yi, who had no time to dismount, asked Zhang Cheng, who was at a loss to welcome him.

"Wu Gou--, what Wu Gou?" Zhang Cheng, who was not sure, was asked for some reason and could only blush and murmur.

Seeing that Zhang Cheng was so dissatisfied, Sima Yi raised his horse whip, pressed his angry mood, and said, "Wu Gou is Xu De, the intercourse sent by Gao Chong's little thief to the north."

"Xu School Affairs is the enemy's room, the room--!" Zhang Cheng was suddenly frightened by this amazing news.

"Tell me quickly, where is he now?" Sima Yi, who was impatient, interrupted Zhang Cheng's stammering words and asked afterwards.

Zhang Cheng's face turned pale and said, "He, he just ran out of the north gate."

"Chasing—!" Sima Yi spat viciously at the ground in front of Zhang Cheng, and then rode his horse and led the soldiers to the north gate.

Xu De's true identity was exposed because of the destruction of another contact point. It was this stronghold located in Pengcheng that conveyed the first important information for Gao Chong and Xu De, that is, Jia Xu was appointed to work in Liangzhou and was about to arrive in Yongzhou. By questioning the spy captured by this contact point, Sima Yi learned that Gao Chong had been lurking in the north for a long time, and this person would undoubtedly be Cao Cao's confidant.

At the moment when the war was approaching, both Cao Cao and Gao Chong were stepping up preparations, and they were also increasing the internal investigation. A spy and intelligence meant to a certain extent the outcome of a war. For this reason, under Cao Cao's instruction, Sima Yi specially formed a department to specifically investigate the whereabouts of "Wu Gou". Finally, after more than half a year of secret evidence collection, Sima Yi could almost conclude that Xu De was the "Wu Gou" who had been tracking for a long time.

If you ride a fast horse for three hours, you can directly cross the Yellow River from Chenliu to Yecheng. Xu De, who was working non-stop along the way, finally contacted the informant from Yecheng before Sima Yi caught up with him. Then, he was relieved and left the south gate of Yecheng and went through Henoi to Luoyang.

Hanoi-Luoyang, the direction of the journey is southwest, just the opposite of the direction to Nanpi. Somehow, along the way to Yecheng, Xu De seemed to be pressing a huge rock in his heart, as if his mission would be over after the information was sent.

"Sooner or later, there will be hunting soldiers in front of you, but this is not terrible, because I have proved myself that I am the best spy!" When I thought of this, Xu De's mood was calm, just like a gurgling stream, rushing into the river without hesitation.

"What? Xu De has left the West Gate? What are you doing?" Sima Yi, with a dusty face, whipped the face of the Yecheng Commander. If Xu De escaped in this net of heaven and earth, then Sima Yi would be too shameless.
Chapter completed!