Chapter 323: Attacking Jiaozhou and Taking Over the South China Sea In June of the fifth year of Jian'an, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao met at Guandu, and the two families fought again. Since the war broke out last year, the Cao and Yuan families have been in friction for more than a year. During this journey, Cao Cao always won small victories and Yuan Shao suffered small defeats, and Cao Cao fought and retreated at the same time. Yuan Shao, relying on his large number of troops, continued to steadily advance his front line. It was not until after the Battle of Guandu that Yuan Shao saw Cao Cao's intention when he saw Cao Cao digging trenches for defense. Therefore, following the advice of his adviser Feng Ji, Yuan Shao set up camps along the north side of Cao Cao's camp. Yuan Shao could be considered a master of civil engineering in the late Han Dynasty. While arranging the camps, he also built garrisons on the sand piles. They built a mound of earth outside Cao's camp and made high oars, and attacked Cao Cao's camp from high to low. The intention was to force Cao Cao to give up the advantageous terrain and withdraw from Guandu.

Faced with this situation, Guo Jia, a counselor under Cao Cao, suggested fighting back with catapults. There were not many offensive and defensive methods in the late Han Dynasty. After Liu Ye's death, Guo Jia took over Liu Ye's job. Following the advice, Cao Cao made catapults overnight to counterattack and blocked Yuan Shao's offensive. Upon seeing this, Yuan Shao went back to his old ways and dug a tunnel in preparation for a surprise attack on Cao's camp. However, Cao Cao had already been prepared for Yuan Shao's three-pronged attack and simply dug a deeper trench outside the camp. In June, Yuan Shao followed Xu You's advice and sent his general Gao Lan to lead cavalry to launch a surprise attack on Xuchang, which was in Cao Cao's rear. Gao Lan followed the plan and took a detour from Dongjun and reached the territory of Chen State. This move surprised Cao Cao, and he quickly ordered his general Ma Chao to meet the enemy. The two armies fought a fierce battle in the territory of Chen State. Gao Lan was defeated and retreated, and Cao Cao also lost a large number of troops. As of early July, the two companies entered a strategic stalemate. From Hedong to the Central Plains, the two families continued to fight, looking for a breakthrough. At the end of June, Qin Zhen, who had been preparing in the south for more than two months, launched a full-scale attack on Jiaozhou. There are naturally various complex reasons why it takes two months to prepare. Indeed, Qin Zhen had already pacified the enemies around Dongzhi in April. However, what follows is a lot of preparation and management and deployment work. The first issue is the military. Although Qin Zhen’s navy is well-equipped, he also has Taishi Ci to help. But he had no intention of underestimating the troops of Jiaozhou. After all, even if Zhang Jin was incompetent, Jiaozhou still had many soldiers. In addition, there are far more Yue people in Jiaozhou than those in the surrounding areas of Dongzhi, and their fighting power should not be underestimated! If Zhang Jin invites local natives to fight, then these outsiders will be in a very disadvantageous position! So after conquering the Shanyue people, Qin Zhen selected 15,000 young and strong men among them and added 5,000 Nanyue soldiers to form a southern expedition army.

Among these people, the Shanyue people were easier to deal with, but the Nanyue people were difficult to subdue. Then Qin Zhen used his ultimate weapon against these people - military training. For two months, he conducted intensive military training for South Vietnamese soldiers. He did not seek to train these Yue people into elite troops, as long as they obeyed his orders. After two months of continuous training and the killing of hundreds of unruly Yue people, this foreign army was finally formed. Of course, organizing the army is only the first step, and the second step is to raise combat supplies. Thanks to Dongzhi's good climate, two rice crops can be produced here a year. Early rice can mature in July, while late rice is sown in July and matures at the end of the year. Qin Zhen promised to reduce taxes starting next year, so they can harvest two seasons of grain here. Together with the grain allocated by Kong Ming from Jiangdong, Qin Zhen raised a total of 120,000 hu of grain. In addition, there are many diseases in the south, including dysentery, malaria, and scrub typhus, each of which is extremely lethal to the army. In response to this, Qin Zhen not only trained his soldiers to identify and collect medicinal herbs, but also issued strict military orders, ordering the soldiers to maintain hygiene. These include instructions such as hair cutting, bathing, drinking water, and marching. The generals naturally had some doubts about this, but after Qin Zhen took the lead in implementing it, everyone had no objections. As these preparations were completed, it was time for Qin Zhen to march! However, there is one more point, which is the biggest obstacle blocking Qin Zhen's advance. The flood season, a climate that does not require attention in the north, must be avoided in Jiaozhou. Because from March to July every year is the flood season in the Pearl River Basin. Jiaozhou at that time was not like later generations, and there were not many drainage projects. When the flood season arrives, the river overflows, which not only submerges fertile fields but also roads, which is obviously not conducive to the advance. As the flood season passed, the people affected by the disaster in Jiaozhou needed comfort. If we continue to march at this time, not only will there be less resistance, but we will also be able to win over the hearts of the people. It can be said that in order to pacify Jiaozhou as quickly as possible, Qin Zhen planned almost all situations. Even Zhou Yu couldn't help but sigh when he saw how well prepared Qin Zhen was: "Since ancient times, those who are good at fighting have never achieved great success. The reason why you are good at fighting is not because you can seize the opportunity to win, but because you are fully prepared." "Make thorough preparations before the war, so that when the war comes, you can act accordingly!" "There is no one in the world who can prepare for war before it starts, and no one can match you, Lord Fu!" In fact, until the moment of his defeat, Zhou Yu had not yet figured out why he and his men were defeated. Was it because of strategic decision-making problems? Or was it because of insufficient grasp of the fighter planes?

This question has been lingering in his mind like a dark cloud. But after meeting Qin Zhen, he discovered that Qin Zhen's strength was not in the battle, but before the battle! Before every battle, Qin Zhen would find out the opponent's situation and then make a careful plan. This, combined with the judgment of the battle situation and strategy, can ensure that there will not be too many problems. Sometimes a war is not about the wisdom of both sides, but about which side makes fewer mistakes. As long as your side makes as few mistakes as possible, victory is only a matter of time. Just like Qin Zhen’s attack on Jiaozhou now, if they are well prepared, it will be difficult for them to lose. Qin Zhen naturally had no idea what Zhou Yu was thinking. Since this sightseeing trip turned into a military mobilization, he sent the big and small bridges back to Wujun for temporary residence. It is worth mentioning that during this expedition, Ohashi was also pregnant. By the time the discovery was made, she was already two months pregnant, which made Qin Zhen even more delighted, and she quickly asked Xiaoqiao to accompany Daqiao north. By mid-July, everything was ready, and Qin Zhen began to attack Jiaozhou. At this time, Taishi Ci had already reached Longchuan City in Jiaozhou. In order to support Taishi Ci, Qin Zhen chose to divide his troops into two groups and march south. Along the way, he personally led 20,000 newly trained soldiers and marched into Jieyang with Xu Sheng, Lu Dai and Lu Xun. Zhou Yu led the navy along the waterway and headed straight for Panyu, the capital of Nanhai County. On July 17, Qin Zhen suddenly dispatched his troops and marched into Jiaozhou. On the same day, Zhou Yu and Gan Ning sent out troops, with the navy leading the way and advancing westward along the coastal route. Since no one was informed of this advance, Zhang Jin had not yet reacted when Qin Zhen entered Jiaozhou. Thanks to this, Zhou Yu and Gan Ning did not even encounter any resistance on the way and reached Panyu. The so-called Panyu is the Guangzhou of later generations, but the land reclamation had not been completed at that time. Therefore, most of the land is still covered by sea water at this time, and the entire Guangzhou is a huge bay outside Panyu City. This special terrain provided great convenience to Zhou Yu's navy. Their marching speed was fast, so they could reach Panyu first. So before the navy set out, Zhou Yu sent Gan Ning to use a small boat to scout the situation outside the city, and then sent soldiers to ambush inside Panyu City. The original intention of this move was to seize Panyu by taking the initiative and cooperating internally and externally. However, when their navy arrived outside Panyu City, the county magistrate did not resist and welcomed them into the city. Not only that, the county magistrate also treated Zhou Yu, Gan Ning and others well. He even asked Zhou Yu and Gan Ning what purpose it was for them to lead their troops here. Faced with this situation, Zhou Yu and Gan Ning were both at a loss whether to laugh or cry. It seemed that the entire Jiaozhou was still in a state of unpreparedness. The county magistrate had no idea that they were "enemies" from afar.

But after thinking about it, they understood the county magistrate's mentality. After all, Jiaozhou had no enemies at all! This marginal state far in the south is still in a state of peace, so it naturally would not be as wary of strange armies as the Central Plains. Faced with this situation, Zhou Yu directly told the county magistrate that they were here to attack Zhang Jin. Because Zhang Jin colluded with foreign tribes and bandits and intended to murder imperial officials. They were ordered by General Zhengdong, Marquis of Lucheng County, and Liu Bei of Yuzhou to go south to capture Zhang Jin and bring him to justice! This county magistrate was originally a scholar from Jiaozhou, and the highest official he had ever seen in his life was the county governor. Now after hearing Liu Bei's long list of titles, I knew that he was an important official in the imperial court. Compared with him, Zhang Jin was only a governor of Jiaozhou, and his status was obviously not equal. After a little thought, the county magistrate expressed their full support for Shangguan's decision. At this point, Panyu, the county seat of Nanhai County, became the first city captured by Liu Bei's army. But at this time, Zhou Yu discovered another problem. Since Panyu was the county seat, there should be a county governor. But why did they only see the magistrate of Panyu County but not the county governor when they led their troops here? After some inquiries, he learned that after the former Jiaozhou governor Zhu Fu was killed, the prefects appointed by him were all killed. Subsequently, Jiaozhi prefect Shi Xie submitted a memorial to the court, appointing his younger brother Shi Yi as concurrent prefect of Hepu, and his second brother Shi, the magistrate of Xuwen County, as concurrent prefect of Jiuzhen. As for the prefect of Nanhai County, his third brother Shiwu was concurrently serving as the prefect and did not take up the post. They would only come here to collect taxes after collecting grain every year. When Zhou Yu heard this, he was immediately surprised. He thought that the Shi clan was just the natives of Jiaozhou, but they could actually control most of Jiaozhou! In this way, apart from paying tribute, the Shi family was almost the local emperor of Jiaozhou. No wonder Zhang Jin, a governor of Jiaozhou, did not take office in Jiaozhi, but made Cangwu his seat of government. Obviously, Zhang Jin's influence was far less than that of Shi Xie, the governor of Jiaozhi. Thinking of this, in order to cut off Zhang Jin's retreat, he left more than a thousand soldiers to defend, and led his troops to attack Jiaozhi. At the same time, Qin Zhen's troops arrived in Jieyang and encountered the same situation as Zhou Yu. They encountered almost no resistance, and the county magistrate simply opened the city and surrendered. In order to take advantage of his illness to kill him, Qin Zhen immediately ordered Taishi Ci to speed up his advance and join them. After reaching the city of Boluo, the two armies joined together, with a total of 30,000 troops. In the following half month, Sihui, Zengjian and Zhongsu under the jurisdiction of Nanhai County fell one after another. Qin Zhen took over the entire Nanhai County with almost no effort. After capturing Nanhai County, Qin Zhen continued his efforts and marched non-stop into Cangwu County. It was not until this time that Zhang Jin finally arrived with more than 20,000 soldiers and horses. However, before the two armies engaged in battle, an envoy named Xue Zong arrived at Qin Zhen's army first.

(End of this chapter)