Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 491 485. Appointment
The news of Cao Pi's death spread throughout the country in just a dozen days, and Cao Xiu was no exception. The Huainan Army was in a state of anxiety from top to bottom. As a veteran general who had commanded troops for many years, Cao Xiu naturally noticed these clues and immediately summoned all the generals to stabilize the morale of the army. On the other hand, he also sent an envoy to Beijing in front of everyone to inquire about the current situation.

At the same time, Cao Xiu also ordered his scouts to inquire about the situation on the riverside. Cao Xiu instinctively felt that if the Han army on the south bank knew the current situation of the Wei State, they would definitely intervene.

However, as the saying goes, the more you fear something, the more likely it is to come. Cao Xiu's messenger had not returned for several days when he received an urgent report from the front line, saying that the Han army had crossed the Yangtze River to the north with the assistance of its navy. Nearly 10,000 Han troops had directly captured the areas around Wanxian, Juchao, and Shuxian. The local Wei army had been defeated and was retreating to Hefei and other places.

Cao Xiu was not too surprised or angry, because these counties south of Chaohu Lake were originally the territories of Sun Wu. The two sides fought several times over Hefei and Chaohu Lake, but the result was that Sun Quan could not capture Hefei and the Wei army could not cross Chaohu Lake, and the two sides finally had to stalemate here.

Later, when Liu Bei went on an expedition to the east, Sun Quan was defeated in two battles in Yiling and Dongting Lake, losing all his elite troops and running out of manpower. Therefore, he had no choice but to retreat to the south of the Yangtze River, completely abandoning the area north of the Yangtze River around Chaohu Lake and shrinking his defense line by relying on the river. At that time, Sun Wu's main defense target was still the Han army. After all, Sun Quan was nominally the King of Wu in Wei at that time, and the subsequent enthronement of the emperor was another matter.

Moreover, Cao Wei was happy to see the two families fighting each other, and even vacated Jingzhou specifically for the two families to fight. However, they did not expect that the Wu army in this timeline would be defeated so cleanly, as if it were collapsing. Just like in the original timeline, they did not expect that Liu Bei, who had mobilized the entire country's troops for revenge, would be defeated because of a great battle.

Although Cao Wei did not gain any advantage in Jingzhou, Cao Xiu in the Huainan area seized the opportunity and immediately launched an attack, pushing Cao Wei's controlled area directly southward from Hefei and Chengde to the area north of the Yangtze River, officially facing Sun Wu across the river.

However, Cao Xiu also knew that the combat effectiveness of the Han army could not be compared with that of the Wu army. If the Wu army had attacked in the past, it would not have been so easy to capture the Wan County area. He even estimated that he would not have had enough time to personally recruit a group of troops to support the front line.

However, things are different now. It is the Han army that is fighting against the Wei army. Cao Xiu had known about the combat effectiveness of the Han army as early as the Battle of Jingxiang. Although the enemy does not have many cavalry, their infantry and archers are definitely comparable to those of the Wei army, making them definitely a tough opponent.

The loss of the first line of defense in the north of the Yangtze River would not surprise Cao Xiu too much. In fact, the real defense focus of Wei State was still the Hefei area. Losing those places would simply mean returning to the previous Sun Wu period.

Unlike those county towns, Hefei served as a solid defense line against Sun Wu, with high walls and deep moats. Even Sun Quan's 100,000 troops were unable to break through the city of Hefei, which shows its level of defense.

"Immediately order the scouts to investigate, and order General Chang Diao in Hefei City to defend carefully, so as not to allow the Han army to seize the opportunity to take advantage of it."

Cao Xiu arranged his troops in an orderly manner. Since Zhang Liao's death a few years ago, there have been few outstanding generals in the entire Huainan Army, and Chang Diao is already one of the best.

Of course, Chang Diao is also one of the beneficiaries of Feng Xi's butterfly effect. After all, according to the original timeline, he should have died three years ago, in the war when Cao Pi's three armies attacked Wu.

However, due to the appearance of Feng Xi, Eastern Wu was crippled and destroyed early, and Cao Wei was not good at naval battles, so it was naturally out of reach of the war in the south of the Yangtze River. As a result, Chang Diao managed to save his life by accident, and was even promoted to the prefect of Hefei based on his ability and qualifications. It was really a trick of fate.

The good news is that these officers who were supposed to die in the battle with Wu Jun survived because Dongwu was destroyed early. But the bad news is that they are now facing the Han army, which is several times more powerful than Wu Jun.

"Also, go and summon Generals Zhang Hu and Le Chen." Cao Xiu thought for a moment and felt that Chang Diao and his deputy generals alone might not be able to handle the task, so he ordered someone to summon two young generals of Cao Wei.

Zhang Hu is the son of Zhang Liao. After Zhang Liao died of illness, Zhang Hu inherited his father's title. Now he serves as a general under Cao Xiu.

Le Chen is the son of Le Jin, and also inherited the title. He and Zhang Hu are currently serving under Cao Xiu's orders.

Soon, the two young and high-spirited generals strode into the hall, bowed, and paid their respects to Cao Xiu.

"We have met the Grand Marshal. I wonder what instructions the Grand Marshal has for us?"

The two men saluted Cao Xiu very respectfully, because Cao Xiu was not only their immediate superior, but also had great military achievements. Because of Feng Xi's disruption, Cao Xiu did not suffer as many defeats in the war against Wu as in the original timeline, so his prestige was still very high.

"Two young generals, please take a seat. Urgent news from the front line..."

When Cao Xiu told the two of them the intelligence he had just received, Zhang Hu and Le Chen's eyes suddenly lit up. They looked at each other, unable to conceal the surprise in their eyes and brows.

The two men were young and energetic, at the age when they were eager to fight and be brave. They had been passively defending like this on weekdays, so they felt their bodies were rusty. Now that they heard that the Han army was invading, wasn't it a perfect opportunity for them to make achievements?

"I ask the Grand Marshal to allocate 5,000 soldiers to me. I am willing to personally risk my life to help the Grand Marshal share his worries!"

Le Chen reacted quickly and stood up to challenge Cao Xiu. Zhang Hu was a little slow to react. After hearing that Le Chen had finished what he wanted to say, he could only stand up and thought for a few seconds before stammering, "Me too!"

"Well, in that case, how can I let down the two young generals' sincere desire to serve the country. Zhang Hu, Le Chen, listen to my orders! I order the two of you to lead an army of 10,000 to rush to Hefei. After arriving in Hefei, you can first find out the strength and deployment of the Han army, but if you encounter danger, you must withdraw in time. In addition, if you have any disagreements with General Chang Diao of Hefei, the two young generals should follow General Chang."

Cao Xiu threw down his command arrow and gave them a detailed warning, especially the last sentence, which was to prevent them from going against Chang Diao due to their youthful vigor. Since ancient times, it has been a taboo for military strategists to have conflicts between generals and commanders. Even when Sun Quan surrounded Hefei, Zhang Liao, Li Dian and Le Jin in the city had some disagreements. Fortunately, Cao Cao's clever plan and Zhang Liao's concessions helped to suppress the conflicts among the three, and finally Sun Quan was forced to flee in panic.

Therefore, Cao Xiu fully learned his lesson and told the two men in advance to follow the instructions of Chang Diao, the defender of Hefei, in everything, in order to avoid such disagreements on the battlefield from happening again.

(End of this chapter)