Almost at the same time, the newly appointed Ningyuan General Xu She, also known as Xu Yuanzhi, led an expedition southward and arrived outside of Xinye City, which is one hundred and fifty miles north of Xiangyang.
Xinye City serves as an important garrison location for Jingzhou on the north bank of the Han River. The arrival of Xu She, the general with authority, naturally requires notification to the garrison commanders along the way.
"Finally came back to Xinye again..."
Xu She looked at the distant walls of Xinye and felt a trace of melancholy.
"As one grows old, they should also cherish the old."
In the sixth year of Jian'an, Liu Bei was defeated by Cao Cao and retreated to Xinye. Xu Shi came to Xinye from the vicinity of Yangling to join him. The small city of Xinye witnessed Xu Shi's strategic planning, discussions, military drills, and growth over the most unforgettable seven years of his life.
Until the thirteenth year of the Jian'an era, when Emperor Cao Cao's forces attacked Jingzhou, Xu Shi, along with his family, fled south with Liu Bei. However, during their journey, Xu Shi's mother was captured by the Cao army, which led him to defect north to join Cao.
There was no longer any meaning in arguing right or wrong between Cao and Liu. Xu Shi had married and fathered children in the Grand Wei, and then he was able to be restored to his former glory. For several decades, time flowed like water. If he did not return to Xinye, Xu Shi would never have realized how active and turbulent the memories he had accumulated in his heart were.
Old friends, old stories, old place.
The old friends have moved on, the stories remain in mind, but the old place is still there.
"Meng Fang, go to the city and announce it for me," Xu Shi sat on his horse and looked at the person beside him. This person was called Zuo Shi, who was the commander of 500 cavalry in the middle military command.
When Xu Shi was heading south from Ye, the emperor had dispatched this person to lead a hundred riders to accompany and protect Xu Shi on his journey south.
Beforehand, arrangements had been made for Xu Shi to travel by carriage south, but he had declined at the last moment. There were important matters requiring his immediate attention, and he couldn't afford to delay his arrival because of comfort. He was more concerned with his responsibility and the urgency of the situation than taking things slowly.
It must be said that Xu Shi made the right choice.
Zuo Shi left with the seal in his hand, and it was not even half a bell's time before Shen Dan, the general in charge of the troops in Xinye City, also came out of the eastern gate of Xinye with Zuo Shi and arrived in front of Xu Shi who was waiting there.
Over a dozen riders galloped out of the city, stopping a foot away from Xu Shi. The leader, dressed in Sichuan silk robe, dismounted and bowed respectfully:
"I am Shen Dan, paying my respects to General Xu." Shen Dan did not act haughtily and showed great respect to Xu Shi.
It must be said that only ten years had passed since the establishment of the Grand Wei, and they still retained the generals who had been granted titles for political reasons. Shen Dan, in front of Xu Shi, was one of the most well-known among them.
Shen Dan was originally a prominent family in Shangyong. In the eighteenth year of Jian'an, he was granted the title of general by Emperor Cao Cao and appointed as the Prefect of Shangyong. However, such a local warlord's political stance naturally fluctuates, and they will swear allegiance to whichever power occupies Shangyong.
In the twenty-fourth year of the Jian'an era, when Meng Da captured Shangyong, Shen Dan and his brother Shen Yi yielded to Shu Han and were appointed by Liu Bei as the General of Northern Campaign. Later, when Meng Da led his troops to submit to the Grand Wei, along with Xiahou Shang and Xu Huang at that time, they attacked Liu Feng, and Shen Dan submitted to Wei again.
After that, Shen Dan and Meng Da were summoned by Emperor Cao Pi together, and Shen Dan was appointed as the General of Gathering Troops. He was left in Nanyang to command troops, no longer concerned about his loyalty.
Zhang Xiu, Liu Xun, and a series of other defectors in the early years have all proven that the Grand Wei has been credible in dealing with defectors. With Shen Dan having no direct lineage under his command, he was merely a general leading troops under imperial command, which posed no threat. As troops stationed in Jingzhou gradually moved southward, Shen Dan's garrison also relocated from Yanyang to Xinye.
Shen Dan is someone who has seen Xu Shi and recognizes his face.
Xu Shi slightly nodded and dismounted, bowing respectfully to Shen Dan: "General Shen, as the military commander of Jiangxi, I am ordered by the emperor to lead the army southward with this seal of authority. All the seal decrees are here. Please allow me to show them to you."
"General Xu is a high-ranking court official. He certainly would not dare to forge anything, so why would I need to verify it?" Shen Dan said this, but he didn't hesitate to take the seal and imperial edict from Xu Shi's chest and examine them.
Fine words should be spoken, and things should also be done.
With great respect, he returned the seal and imperial edict to Xu Shi, bowing once more: "At this critical time in Jingzhou, with General Xu holding the seal of authority, our subordinates will also have someone in charge."
Xu Shi gradually furrowed his brow: "What's happening in Jingzhou?"
Shen Dan slightly bowed and made a gesture of invitation with his left arm, speaking softly, "This matter is confidential. Please, General Xu, enter the city for a rest. Allow me to explain slowly."
"Okay." Xu Shi nodded, following Shen Dan towards the city.
More than twenty years without setting foot in Xinye, the city wall's design remained much the same as back then. Xu Shi did not need Shen Dan to guide him. The only difference was that many of the houses in the city had been demolished and rebuilt into military camps.
Deng Ai, who once lived in Xinye, was relocated to the area around Xuanchang for military farming. Now, the city of Xinye has actually transformed into a military garrison city.
Shen Dan guided Xu Shi towards the military official's mansion, carefully explaining the situation along the way. Before they entered the mansion, Xu Shi already had a clear understanding of what had happened.
Although this was Shen Dan's military office, Xu Shi's arrival meant that Shen Dan could only sit on the secondary position.
"This is the situation," Shen Dan looked at Xu Shi with caution, "Everything that needed to be said to General Xu, I have already said."
"General Zhao is in the city of Xiangyang, and the Han River is blocked by Wu forces. There is no communication between north and south. The court has not yet responded, and General Xu holds the seal of authority here." Shen Dan bowed respectfully: "If General Xu has an order, I will follow it."
Seeing Shen Dan's respectful attitude, Xu Shi stroked his beard for a moment and said, "The invasion by the Wu army indeed is a time of crisis. I have come here with the seal of authority. Although the emperor has ordered me to lead troops to Jiangxia, General Xiahou has already gone there, and there is an ongoing battle, so there is no need for me to go to Jiangxia again."
"Since General Shen is willing to follow my orders, I have something I need to clarify first." Xu Shi looked at Shen Dan: "Xinye is said to have a hundred thousand troops stationed there. If we were to deploy them immediately, how many people would be able to go?"
Shen Dan hesitated for a moment in his heart: "Reporting to General Xu, there are 7,600 people who can be deployed."
"Seven thousand six hundred?" Xu Shi furrowed his brow: "What about the remaining more than two thousand?"
"It is indeed more than seven thousand." Shen Dan explained with great care: "Since Huang Chu III, there has been no major battle in this area of Jingzhou. Since Taihe, many troops have been transferred from Jingzhou to the territories of Longyou and Gansu. The old and sick in this area are not eliminated yet, and they have been transferred to Xinye instead of being stationed in front line areas such as Xuanbing or Xiangben."
"If they stay here to defend the city, it might be just about enough. If we want to engage in open combat with the Wu troops, it might be a bit difficult. It's better not to deploy them and leave all of them here."
Xu Shi helplessly nodded.
After hearing what Shen Dan just said, Xu Shi believed about eighty-nine percent of it. Over the past few years, the court had paid the least attention to Jingzhou, and Xinye was the farthest outpost in Jingzhou from the enemy.
Considering the military discipline of the Grand Wei at that time, and the abilities of Chen Qun and Zhao Yan, it would not have led to such a serious problem as empty payroll. However, moving old and weak soldiers to the rear, such things are possible.
"Why don't you send someone to check it out, General Xu?" Shen Dan thought Xu Shi might be dissatisfied and cautiously smiled to accompany him.
How can such a thing be checked? Moreover, as Shen Dan is someone who is so amiable, Xu Shi does not want to create any misunderstandings with him.
"No need." Xu Shi shook his head slightly: "How can I not believe what General Shen says? It's already evening now, and it would be too late to deploy troops today. Let's deploy 7,600 soldiers tomorrow morning. Will that work?"
"Understood! We will definitely be ready to deploy troops tomorrow morning!" Rising to his feet, Shen Dan bowed respectfully and asked, "May I ask General Xu where we will deploy the troops tomorrow?"
"Deng County to the north of Yan City!" Xu Shi said confidently with these words.
If Xu Shi were leading troops in a different location, he would probably need to carefully study geographical features, river conditions, and road layouts as well.
But this is Xinye in Jingzhou, it's close to Xiangfen.
Xu Shi had lived in the area of Xinye and Xiangfan for seventeen years, from 192 to 209. He had lived in his old residence on the north side of Tanxi water to the west of Xiangyang since he moved there under Liu Bei in 196.
The commander of Fancheng is named Lu Shi, also a competent general. He came here with the late Marshal Cao Ren in the second year of Huangchu, and has been in Jingzhou ever since. He is a direct subordinate of Cao Ren, though his seniority is slightly less than that of Niu Jin.
When the Wu army captured the Wei military camp to the west of Fancheng ten days later, Lu Shi had already dispatched messengers to send urgent intelligence reports towards Luoyang as quickly as possible. With a distance of nearly nine hundred miles between Xiangben and Luoyang, the report could be delivered in three days at the most.
On September 13th, at noon, inside the study of Beibei Palace in Luoyang, the newly appointed chief military advisor Liu Ye hurried in to see.
"Your Majesty, there is an alert in Xiangyang," Liu Ye said urgently as he stepped into the study. "Reporting to Your Majesty, Sun Quan of Wu has led his navy to press against Xiangyang and has blocked the Han River."
"This is the urgent military report sent by Lu Shi, the commander of Fancheng."
"Bring it to me!" Cao Rui jumped up from his lying chair, frowning and taking the military report from Liu Ye's hand.
Cao Rui remained silent, looking at the report word by word with seriousness. Liu Ye also said softly beside him, "The Han River has overflowed, Sun Quan must be taking advantage of this opportunity to launch a northward attack. I fear that Xiangyang is in danger of being overthrown."
"How dare they!"
Cao Rui threw the military report to the ground and coldly said, "Sun Quan is constantly overstepping my bottom line. How can he forget the defeat at Wu City just a few years ago?"
"I was hoping to be on good terms with him for a few more years, to accumulate some strength for the Great Wei. This man is used to surprise attacks; if I do not take action now, it seems that Sun Quan's audacity will grow ever bolder!"
Liu Ye bowed and advised, "Sun Quan's evil heart cannot be changed. Please Your Majesty not to anger him. Foreign invaders must be met with military might, showing them the thunderous anger of our army."
"Of course, a war will be waged." Cao Rui laughed coldly: "Since Sun Quan has initiated the conflict, there is no way to stop it. Sir Liu, summon the west and east pavilions, the chief military advisor and the imperial censors here!"
"According to your order!" (The chapter is over)
