I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 509: Lord Su Takes a Different Approach

It can be said that Zhang Rang's words touched the heart of Empress Dowager He.

For Empress Dowager He who lived in the palace, eunuchs were not only kind to her, but also her eyes, ears and hands.

If she wanted power, she would never allow the outside court to cut off her hands and feet.

There was such a serious conflict within the He family over the issue of killing eunuchs.

Empress Dowager He, who represented the imperial power, sat high in the palace. Her behavior of sheltering eunuchs, just like Liu Hong had done in the past, made everyone furious.

He Jin was undecided and could do nothing about his younger brothers and sisters, and Yuan Shao and others were pressing him hard.

Caught in a dilemma, He Jin decided to follow Yuan Shao's plan and summon more powerful generals and heroes from all directions, and have them lead their troops to the capital to stage such a drama to threaten Empress Dowager He.

"absurd!"

Cao Cao flicked his sleeves:
"The general has been ordered to lead the imperial guards. All the soldiers and civilians in Luoyang obey him. My elite Tiger Guards are also in your hands."

"To kill the eunuchs, it would be enough to send a jailer in an upright manner. Why summon foreign troops to the capital and commit fraud?"

"I think this great general's plan will definitely be exposed, and this matter will cause another wave of trouble."

Cao Cao naturally hit the nail on the head.

"He Jin was indecisive, slow-witted and lacked strategy. Bringing foreign troops into the capital was a foolish move."

"This is the time for us to advance in one fell swoop!"

Xun Yu saw the opportunity at a glance.

At this time, He Jin was secretly mobilizing foreign troops to enter the capital with the intention of threatening Empress Dowager He.

However, when foreign troops gather together, those with the strongest soldiers and horses will keep their word.

During this time of chaos, when everyone was thinking about marching to Luoyang, no one cared about the actions of their troops.

This is truly a godsend.

The question is, how did Lord Su calculate that the situation would develop to this point?
This would be impossible to do without absolute confidence.

Even he himself could not be sure that He Jin would succeed before the situation evolved to this point.

Take that night for example. If no one had informed on him, He Jin would probably have been beheaded and the eunuchs would have helped Liu Xie ascend the throne.

However, Lord Su seemed so confident that he let the army wait patiently at Baishui Lake for more than a month.

That’s right, Baishui Lake, this place is the predecessor of today’s Hongze Lake, and is located in Guangling, Xuzhou.

Su Yao is no longer in the sea.

That day he set sail from Liaodong, cutting through the waves, first circled along the coast of Qingzhou, and after showing his presence, he ordered his ship to sail towards the deep sea with the northwest wind.

"No, no!" the old captain screamed in fear.

"Sir, this vast ocean is endless. If we rush into it, we may lose our lives!"

The old captain fell to his knees, clasped his hands together, his eyes full of fear and pleading.

Although the Han Dynasty already had a compass, Sinan, at that time, it was mostly made of natural jade and used for sacrifices and divination, and was not widely used in navigation.

According to historical records, the compass was not used for fleet navigation until the Tang Dynasty.

Before this, ships had to rely on stargazing to determine their positions, which naturally had great limitations.

Therefore, even the most experienced old captains have a deep fear of the deep sea today.

However, Su Yao was determined:

"Don't worry, old captain. I know my limits. This trip is not a blind move."

After saying this, he turned around and winked at Guan Yu, who understood and stepped forward and said:
"Old Captain, my lord is both wise and brave, and has escaped danger many times before. We have made careful preparations for this voyage, including this latest nautical chart and a portable Sinan, which are enough to ensure that we will not lose our way in the vast ocean."

"What, this?" The old captain looked up doubtfully. He looked at the exquisite nautical chart and the Si Nan that was smaller than a chessboard, and couldn't help feeling a sense of awe in his heart.

He slowly stood up, bowed, and said:
"Since you are so confident, I will do my best to help you accomplish your mission!"

Su Yao nodded in satisfaction, but in order to make his disappearance this time more credible, he still asked Guan Yu to select two speedboats, disguise them as being in distress, and land on the coast of Qingzhou controlled by the Han army to spread the news that they were lost in a storm.

After making careful preparations, Su Yao's fleet set sail again. This time, they were no longer drifting aimlessly, but were heading towards their predetermined goal - Baishui Lake in Guangling, Xuzhou, at full speed.

Baishui Lake in Guangling is the predecessor of Hongze Lake and belongs to the Huaihe River system.

The Huai River flowed into the sea at Xuzhou during the Han Dynasty.

Although the water volume is not as abundant as that of the Yangtze River, compared with the Yellow River, which has some siltation, dry flow, and cannot support navigation in the entire section, the navigation conditions of the Huaihe River at this time are sufficient for small ships to pass through, and even the middle and lower reaches can accommodate tower ships!
Contrary to the impression of many people that the Yangtze River divides the north and the south, in the history of Chinese wars, the important dividing line between north and south China is actually the Huai River.

This river also gave birth to many well-known sayings, such as oranges grown in the south of the Huai River are oranges, ships go south and horses go north, and to guard the Yangtze River, one must guard the Huai River.

Hefei, which Sun Quan had been thinking about day and night and had fought for countless times, was the central location in the fight for the Huai River Basin.

If we take Hefei, we will control the Huai River, and only those who control the Huai River in the south can fight for the Central Plains!

That’s right, the Huai River is a must-take place for southern forces on their way to the Central Plains.

The Huai River originates in the Tongbai Mountain area of ​​Nanyang, and its tributary Yingshui can reach Xuchang directly!
If we control the Huai River, the door to the Central Plains will be wide open.

This is the reason why Sun Quan fought to the death in Hefei.

At this time, Su Yao also set his sights on the river.

When He Jin was too busy to take care of him, Su Yao went up the river with the emperor's personally issued imperial edict to enter the capital. There was no place that could stop him.

Except for those reckless Yellow Turban bandits.

"not good!"

"Boss, this is bad!"

"The soldiers are coming! The soldiers are coming!"

“So many boats!”

The Yellow Turban bandits around Baishui Lake were all terrified and rushed to fight.

Their small boats were no match for Su Yao's warships, and soon the army headed towards the water fort.

These Yellow Turban bandits are really unlucky.

As mentioned before, when the Yellow Turbans rose up again in Qingxu, Guangling belonged to Xuzhou, so this place would naturally be no exception.

More than 10 years ago, a peasant uprising led by Zhang Ying broke out here and lasted for more than years.

Although Zhang Gang, then governor of Guangling, averted the disaster with his eloquent words, the seeds of unrest remained. With the rise of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, many former veterans and their descendants took up arms again and joined the battle.

Today, Zhang Chao, the prefect of Guangling, is not as trusted by the people as Zhang Gang was in the past. As the economy worsens, civil uprisings are emerging one after another.

In addition, the terrain of the middle and lower reaches of the Huaihe River is complex, and it intersects with various lakes and ponds, making it difficult for the imperial army to further clear out the rebellion.

The Yellow Turban pirates built a water fort here, occupied lakes and ponds, harassed various places along the river, and gained control of the area around the river.

Originally, these Yellow Turban bandits would have stayed here for quite a long time.

It was not until several years later when Zhang Chao came to rescue Tao Qian and was defeated by Cao Cao, and Chen Deng was appointed as the prefect of Guangling, built Gaojia Weir, diverted water from the lake to irrigate the fields, and created the predecessor of today's Hongze Lake, that these people gave up their careers of being pirates because of the improvement in living conditions.

However, now Su Yao is here.

"Zhazha!"

From a distance, Su Yao shot an arrow at the Yellow Turban bandits on the boat and shouted:

"Attack with all your forces, don't waste time on these trash!"

(End of this chapter)