Chapter 183: Emergency Interception
“Ah! Why do you think that?” Liu Qi said in great alarm.
Yi Ji sighed and said: “The reason is simple. Cai Mao and Liu Cong absolutely won’t let you see the Governor for the last time. They will worry that the Governor will hand over great power to you at the end, so the news you received about seeing Father for the last time must be fake. The Strategist said that if you don’t believe it, you can capture the messenger and torture him to find out. The messenger should be one of the Governor’s confidants!”
“The messenger is indeed one of my father’s personal guards, but he left yesterday.”
Yi Ji smiled and said: “The Strategist said that this person definitely hasn’t left. He must confirm that the Young Master has returned to Xiangyang before he will release the carrier pigeon letter to report to Xiangyang. This person must be nearby!”
Liu Qi hurriedly opened the carriage window, stuck his head out to look toward the city wall, and sure enough saw someone on the city wall staring at him. When he stuck his head out, the person on the city wall quickly dodged.
Liu Qi immediately understood and shouted: “Capture the messenger on the city wall for me!”
Hundreds of guards rushed up. Soon, they captured the peeping person. To be precise, this person was caught by the patrolling soldiers on the city wall. He ran desperately, the patrolling soldiers grew suspicious and intercepted and captured him.
Liu Qi recognized him at a glance. He was the messenger, Father’s confidant guard Li Ze.
“Li Ze, I trusted you so much, and almost fell for your trick!”
Li Ze knelt on the ground and cried bitterly: “Eldest Son, I really had no choice. The Second Young Master took my wife and children. If I didn’t come to deliver the letter, they would die. I had to come!”
“Alright! I can let you off, but you must tell me the truth. How is my father really?”
Li Ze lowered his head and sobbed: “My Lord… My Lord has passed away!”
Upon hearing that Father had already died of illness, Liu Qi’s body swayed, and he nearly fainted. Yi Ji hurriedly supported him. “Eldest Son!”
Liu Qi collapsed on the desk and wept loudly. Everyone accompanied him silently with tears. After a long while, Liu Qi wiped away his tears and asked: “When did Father pass away? How many people know?”
“The Governor passed away on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month half a month ago. At that time, only I and Zhao Hui were by his side. Then Cai Mao and the Second Young Master sealed off the news and only spread word that My Lord was critically ill.”
“How did my father die?” Liu Qi pursued.
“He died suddenly from drinking too much. This subordinate saw it clearly. That night the Governor was very excited and suddenly collapsed after drinking three large cups of wine.”
Liu Qi let out a long sigh. Yi Ji whispered a few words to him beside him. Liu Qi nodded and said to the messenger guard Li Ze: “I understand. I won’t make things difficult for you. Go back and tell Cai Mao that I have fallen ill. Of course, if you tell the truth, you won’t survive either.”
“This subordinate dares not!”
Liu Qi waved his hand and had the guards release him.
He asked Yi Ji again, “What does the Strategist want me to do next?”
“The Strategist said that the Eldest Son has fallen ill in the manor. Cai Mao won’t be able to delay for long. Once he announces the Governor’s death, the Young Master can raise the banner of clearing the ruler’s side and crusade against the traitorous thief Cai Mao. The Imperial Uncle will also send troops in sync.”
Liu Qi hesitated a bit. “I’m afraid my troop strength is too small and not a match for Liu Cong.”
Yi Ji smiled faintly: “Strategist Zhuge will arrive soon. We have already deployed everything and are fully prepared!”
Inside the Xiao Yang Tavern in Fancheng, it was empty. Old Yang stood absentmindedly behind the counter, constantly checking the situation outside.
Liu Bei ‘s army had arrived under the city wall. All troops were on the city wall, even the commander Liu Hu had gone up to the city wall.
Old Yang had already prepared the carrier pigeon. He was just waiting for the final news to immediately send out the carrier pigeon.
At that moment, noisy shouts suddenly came from the distance, as if something big had happened.
Old Yang hurriedly ran to the door. At this time, countless soldiers were fleeing toward the barracks. One soldier knew Old Yang and shouted: “Old Yang, hurry and leave. The city has fallen!”
“Ah! What’s going on?”
“Huo Jun surrendered the city. Liu Bei ‘s army has already entered the city!”
Old Yang hurriedly closed the tavern and ran toward his home.
At this time, Liu Bei ‘s army had already killed into Fancheng. At the same time, two carrier pigeons took flight toward the direction of Chaisang.
Pang Tong hurriedly came to Gan Ning’s official residence again. This time it was a high-level meeting, including Lu Su, Jiang Wan, and Xu Shu.
“Reporting to the General, we just received intelligence that Huo Jun surrendered the city gate. Liu Bei ‘s army has already taken Fancheng.”
Gan Ning pondered for a moment and said: “Huo Jun seems to be Liu Hu’s subordinate!”
Pang Tong nodded. “Exactly right. Huo Jun is a colonel under Liu Hu. Liu Hu is the commander of Fancheng. Huo Jun would certainly hold a position on his own and had the opportunity to surrender the city.”
Lu Su smiled and said: “I don’t know how many people this Liu Huangshu has secretly won over. It’s said that the garrison commander of Luyang Pass, Liao Hua, was also pulled in by him long ago.”
Jiang Wan also smiled and said: “Not surprising. Liu Bei is very good at winning hearts. Moreover, there is a group of Imperial Loyalist Faction in Jingzhou who support Liu Bei in secret. So people like Zhuge Liang, Yi Ji, Pang Shanmin, Wen Pin, Huo Jun, and Liao Hua defecting to Liu Bei is actually directly related to this group of Imperial Loyalist Faction.”
Seeing Gan Ning silent, Lu Su asked: “What is the General worried about?”
Gan Ning sighed and said: “What I worry about is Cao Cao. Cao Cao absolutely won’t give up this opportunity. He will surely send a large army south.”
Xu Shu also said: “My Lord is right. Cao Cao has hundreds of thousands of troops, and the northern campaign is already nearing its end. He can completely detach 100,000 troops to kill into Jingzhou. We must make a choice and prepare.”
Gan Ning nodded. “This is the reason I summoned everyone for the meeting. We must make a choice.”
“What ideas does the General have?”
Gan Ning slowly said: “Actually, I have considered three plans, which can be called the best, middle, and worst strategies. The best strategy is to send out a large army to participate in the contention for Nan Commandery. I don’t need to explain this; everyone understands. If lucky, we can occupy the entire Nan Commandery. The middle strategy is to wait for an opportunity and occupy Jiangling County, driving a wedge into Nan Commandery. The worst strategy is to not participate in the contention for Nan Commandery, send the navy to seal off the Han River, and protect Jiangxia Commandery.”
Everyone exchanged glances. Lu Su said: “General, the biggest variable here is Cao Cao. If Cao Cao’s army comes south, with our current strength, we can’t stop his powerful cavalry. So I suggest abandoning the first plan. The third plan is too conservative. If the Cao Army doesn’t come south, we will miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. So I choose the second plan.”
Jiang Wan also said: “I also support the second plan, but I suggest not rushing. Wait until they fight to mutual exhaustion or it is clear the Cao Army won’t come south, then we act to take Jiangling.”
“What are your thoughts?” Gan Ning asked Pang Tong and Xu Shu again.
Both expressed support for the second plan.
Gan Ning nodded. “Then the second plan it is!”
Gan Ning looked at Pang Tong again and said: “The plan is just the direction, but the specific implementation will be planned by Strategist Pang.”
This was the first time Pang Tong was in charge of military affairs. Gan Ning had given him the opportunity.
