During the first Northern Expedition of Shu Han, Jiang Ji was entrusted with an important task by Cao Pi to lead 10,000 elite Chinese troops to support Xu Huang, and then he was appointed by Cao Pi as the central protector and stayed in Pengcheng to counsel the southeast military aircraft.

Later, with the death of Xu Huang, Zang Ba and others, Jia Kui was promoted to Yanzhou Assassin and Pengcheng Guard, although Jiang Ji was occasionally transferred back to the central government by Cao Pi and Cao Rong for a period of time, but he would soon be transferred back to Pengcheng.

There's no way, who let the discord between the defenders of the two strategically important places in the southeast be known to the whole world!!

If there is no adhesive in the middle to buffer this, God knows what will erode into the southeast once there is a war!!

Therefore, Jiang Ji was basically fixed in the area of Yanzhou and Pengcheng, in charge of military affairs as a counselor.

As for why he didn't go to Runan to stay in Jiang Ji said that the ghost was willing to associate with that asshole who was ambitious and talented.

The relationship between Jiang Ji and Cao Xiu is really not very good, and the main reason is Cao Xiu's personality.

Cao Xiu is not inferior to his life-saving benefactor Jia Kui, and he is okay to dump the pot on Jia Kui, such a person, how can Jiang Ji get along with him.

Although Jiang Ji made some mistakes in his later years and mistakenly believed in Sima Lao's thief, it is not incomprehensible that Jiang Ji would choose to support Sima Yi when the beginning of the change was made, an arrogant and nepotistic second ancestor, and an old minister of the Three Dynasties who had the ability and merit and had always kept a low profile.

Jiang Ji didn't know that after Sima Lao Thief took power, he dared to blatantly violate Luoshui's oath At that time, if he wanted to oppose it, it was too late, Sima Yi had completely controlled the government, and in the end, Jiang Ji could only end up depressed.

In essence, Jiang Ji is still a relatively upright type of civil servant, and he is not compatible with a military general with Cao Xiu's character, on the contrary, the communication between him and Jia Kui has always been good.

Therefore, Jiang Ji either stayed in Yanzhou, or happened to be in Pengcheng this time Jiang Ji happened to be in Pengcheng to inspect military affairs to prevent Eastern Wu from violating the border, and then he was arrested by Jia Kui, and the two of them discussed Cao Xiu's proposal to send troops this time.

To tell the truth, when Jiang Ji saw Cao Xiu's letter, his first reaction was actually similar to Jia Kui.

The first is unbelievable, and the second is that I feel that Cao Xiu is starting to be whimsical again, and he is so happy.

But after Jiang Ji completely read the content of Cao Xiu's letter, Jiang Ji also didn't know how to evaluate it.

Whimsical is still a bit, but it's not completely whimsical either.

It's a bit of a big success, but this time the plan to send troops, Cao Xiu considered it relatively comprehensive, and it was not that there was no possibility of success.

First of all, Cao Xiu wrote in the letter that even if Zhou Yi broke off his ambition, Cao Xiu said that he still couldn't fully trust Zhou Yi.

Sending troops is not only because it is necessary to curb the development of Eastern Wu, but also because it is also a plan to use Zhou Yi's "surrender" to lead troops into Dangtu County and establish a springboard for attacking Shouchun.

Regardless of whether Zhou Yi is sincere or not, Cao Xiu wants to enter the army as Tu County, and it is impossible for Zhou Yi to refuse.

Sincerely, Zhou Yi needed Cao Xiu to lead his troops into Dangtu County to help him resist the counterattack of Eastern Wu.

Pretending to surrender to sincerity, Zhou Yi wants to win the trust of Cao Xiu to carry out the conspiracy, when Tu County must let it out, otherwise, there is no room for the next plan at all, Cao Xiu sees that something is wrong, he can directly retract back to Runan, and Dongwu does not have enough confidence to directly enter Runan.

Therefore, Cao Xiu believed that as long as he sent troops to occupy Dangtu County, it was inevitable.

And at that time, Cao Xiu mastered the springboard for the eastward march to Shouchun, and then he could take me as the main one, according to his own pace, and begin to clear Shouchun's outer defense line, and finally choose to attack Shouchun.

As long as you fight steadily and steadily, using Dangtu County as a springboard to move forward, it is not a wishful thinking to capture Shouchun.

Taking a step back, Cao Xiu only needs to ensure the safety of the passage from Runan to Dangtu County as much as possible, so even if there is fraud in Dongwu, Cao Xiu can return to Runan at any time to ensure that the main force is not lost.

Theoretically, Cao Xiu's plan to attack Shouchun did not have particularly big loopholes.

Now Cao Xiu wants to implement this strategic plan, and there are two problems that Jia Kui needs to help solve.

The first is the problem of insufficient troops.

Of course, Cao Xiu also had no whimsical hope that Jia Kui would lead the defenders of Pengcheng south and cooperate with him in attacking Runan. Do you want Pengcheng anymore?!

Cao Xiu just hoped that Jia Kui could put on a posture of counterattacking Xiapi County at the junction of Pengcheng and Xiapi before he launched an attack, so as to attract the attention of Lu Xun and Xu Sheng in Xiapi.

When Cao Xiu really sent troops to Tu County, it was okay to let the Eastern Wu soldiers of Xiapi County not dare to divide their troops to support Runan, and to contain the troops of Xiapi County.

The second problem is the shortage of grain and grass.

In this regard, Cao Xiu hoped that Jia Kui, in his capacity as the assassin of Yanzhou, would order the counties of Yanzhou to transport a batch of grain and grass into Runan to help him solve the logistics problem.

This is Cao Xiu's request to Jia Kui.

Even in order to get Jia Kui to agree to his request, Cao Xiu also made it clear in the letter that if this attack on Shouchun was successful, he would be the Son of Heaven and show Jia Kui as the first hero. If it fails, then he will bear all the blame, the grain and grass in the counties of Yanzhou were forcibly requisitioned by him, and the border of Jia Kui's troops was forced by him.

In short, if you succeed, you will take the most credit, and if you fail, I will carry the blame!!

From Cao Xiu's standpoint, looking at the contradiction between him and Jia Kui has always stemmed from the question of who let whom carry the black pot in the last two battles. This time, Cao Xiu took the initiative to stand up and take the blame, and in Cao Xiu's opinion, it was already the greatest kindness to Jia Kui.

But from Jia Kui's standpoint, this is not a question of who is behind the blame, but a question of whether this can win the greatest benefits for Dawei.

Therefore, Cao Xiu's assurance, in fact, Jia Kui doesn't care at all, what he really cares about is to discuss with Jiang Ji whether it is appropriate for Cao Xiu to do this!

Unauthorized border provocation led to a two-front battle in the Great Wei, is it really worth it?!

This is the real reason why Jia Kui has never been able to make up his mind.

Judging from the best results, if Cao Xiu really captured Shouchun, then this border provocation would be opened.

As long as the connection between Qingxu and Jiangdong can be severed, it is equivalent to recapturing the Qingxu Erzhou and Huainan region in one fell swoop, which is a very successful strategy.

But the problem is that if Shouchun can't be captured, it will even lead to a counterattack by Eastern Wu on Runan. If Cao Xiu was defeated and gave Eastern Wu the opportunity to attack the hinterland of the Central Plains, then it would be a big problem.

Therefore, Jia Kui and Jiang Ji mainly had a discussion on this aspect.

And about this, what makes the two of them somewhat relieved is that Cao Xiu has finally made some progress and has taken this aspect into account.

Cao Xiu's response plan is twofold.

The first is that Cao Xiu tried his best to fight steadily in the process of marching into Shouchun, and after occupying Dangtu County, he first cleared the defenses of the outer counties of Shouchun, and then attacked Shouchun.

Slow is a little slow, but generally speaking, the use of troops is relatively stable, as long as the safety of the back road is ensured, theoretically Soochow has no chance to launch a counteroffensive, and it is already a success to hold Shouchun.

The second is that after Cao Xiu set out on the expedition, he will ask Wang Ling of Xuchang to help defend Runan, if he is unfortunate again and is cut off by Eastern Wu, Wang Ling of Xuchang will lead his troops into Runan, and he will retreat from his army, and he will definitely not repeat the fate of being beaten by Zhou Yu last time.

Seriously, Cao Xiu's ability to think of these was enough to make Jia Kui and Jiang Ji happy. This puppet is not without growth.

But that's not enough.

Since we are going to take the initiative to send troops to attack Shouchun, we must not only consider the problem of the rear road, but also need to consider the question of whether the attack can be successful.

What's the point of fighting such a war if it costs a lot of money and food, but there is no gain?!

So, is it possible for Cao Xiu to be able to lay down Shouchun?!

Jiang Ji and Jia Kui discussed this question for a long time and found out. Actually, it's not impossible.

Cao Xiu had 30,000 Runan soldiers in his hands and borrowed 10,000 soldiers from Xuchang. Even Jia Kui intended to let Chen Liu's Gao Tanglong lead 20,000 troops to help, in this case, the total strength would be about 60,000.

The total strength of the Eastern Wu side in Huainan is also about 60,000.

On the surface, the strength of the two sides is about the same, and Dongwu still has geographical advantages and city defense advantages, and Cao Xiu can't beat it at all.

But a careful analysis will find that although Dongwu has 60,000 people in the Huainan area, it is not gathered to smash Shouchun City.

Among these 60,000 people, there are 10,000 Xu Shengjun in the south of Xiapi, 30,000 garrisons stationed in Shouchun, and 20,000 garrisons stationed in Danyang County.

Once Jia Kui made a posture to counterattack Xiapi, then Xu Sheng's 10,000 people would definitely not dare to move lightly, and he must support Lu Xun in Xiapi at any time. The 10,000 people were pinned down.

As long as Cao Xiu can advance quickly enough to clear Shouchun's outer defense line, then he can send troops in the direction of Danyang County to intercept the arrival of Eastern Wu reinforcements and delay time.

In the end, what Cao Xiu needed to face was a total of 30,000 soldiers stationed in Shouchun and the periphery of Shouchun.

If Zhou Yi surrendered sincerely, he would not only provide such a strategic place as Dangtu County as a springboard for attacking Shouchun, but also additionally reduce the defensive strength of Eastern Wu in Shouchun by more than 5,000 people, so what Cao Xiu needed to face was 25,000 Eastern Wu defenders.

And once Cao Xiu can really quickly clear the outer direction of Shouchun, then the defensive strength in Shouchun City may only be 15,000 to 20,000 people.

This battle. Actually, it can be beaten!!

(End of chapter)