Chapter 271 The sudden northern expedition moment!
Gan Ning made great contributions in the Battle of Chibi and the Battle of Cangting, and was promoted from a miscellaneous captain to a miscellaneous general, but he still only had the 800 cavalry under his command.
However, under Cao Cao, as long as you have military exploits, you don't have to worry about promotion opportunities. Gan Ning has been promoted by leaps and bounds in just one year, which is many times better than under Huang Zu.
Gan Ning took two sips of wine and suddenly his whole body began to feel hot.
He could no longer suppress the thoughts in his heart and simply asked: "May I ask Lu Qiaoqi, when can we attack Yuan Shao in the north?"
After hearing Gan Ning's sudden question, Lu Yan picked up his wine glass and took a sip of white wine, but he replied calmly: "When the time comes, the Northern Expedition will naturally begin."
Lu Yan's words have not yet fully come to fruition.
Not long after they left, Xia Houlan and Chen Dao rushed over again, and between the two of them, there was a travel-worn messenger.
"Sir! Sir!"
"Northern Expedition! The Northern Expedition has begun!!!"
"Ah! This has started???" Gan Ning looked at Lu Yan in shock after hearing this.
Lu Yan was also shocked when he first heard about it, but he had already developed the attitude of being unworthy of his appearance, so his face did not show the slightest difference.
Seeing Gan Ning's eyes, Lu Yan replied calmly, "Look, isn't this coming?"
Gan Ning couldn't figure out the depth of Lu Yan, let alone the thoughts in Lu Yan's heart. At this moment, he was just enamored and impressed by Lu Yan's magnanimity, so he stood up and cupped his fists and said: "Lu Qiaoqi is really good at predicting things!
"
The Northern Expedition was definitely necessary, but the time was much earlier than Lu Yan expected.
Lu Yan accepted Gan Ning's compliment without blushing and out of breath. He felt a little ashamed of his shamelessness...
After the messengers were put down by Chen Dao and Xia Houlan, they came to Lu Yan and presented Cao Cao's autographed letter with both hands.
Lu Yan quickly took the letter, read it quickly, and suddenly realized, "I thought it was Yuan Shao who returned to the West, but I didn't expect that it was Zhang Yan of the Black Mountain Army who surrendered to Boss Cao in advance."
After thinking about it, Lu Yan thought to himself: "But it's okay. Zhang Yan's Black Mountain Army has conquered Yecheng before and has always been one of Gongsun Zan's staunch allies. He and Yuan Shao are mortal enemies. With the help of a local snake like him, it would be impossible to start the Northern Expedition!
"
After Yuan Shao unified Hebei, he originally planned to deal with Cao Cao, a serious enemy, and then deal with Zhang Yan, a clown...
Who would have thought that with the defeat of Guandu and the subsequent defeat of Cangting, Yuan Shao would have been severely injured. Later, when the Wuhuan people went south to plunder Youzhou, Yuan Shao would be severely injured and lose face.
After being annoyed by the conflict between the north and the south, Yuan Shao began to think of taking out his anger on Zhang Yan.
Yuan Shao sent his most powerful general Gao Gan to lead a reorganized army of 100,000 to attack Montenegro.
Gao Gan is the governor of Bingzhou. He has been secretly observing and planning Zhang Yan, who has been a thorn in Bingzhou's side for a long time.
This time, he was able to defeat Zhang Yan with great skill and was as powerful as any.
Zhang Yan was beaten back by high-ranking officials and was forced to retreat. In desperation, he could only use the mountainous terrain to deal with Yuan Shao's army, while he began to think about his future.
He had two choices: either give up Heishan, which he had managed for a long time, and flee to Hedong or even Liangzhou; or he could seek refuge with Yuan Shao's mortal enemy Cao Cao, and then enter Hanoi to join forces with Cao Ren and others to fight against Yuan Shao.
Anyway, it is impossible for Zhang Yan to seek refuge with Yuan Shao. They have already lost their wits.
After much deliberation, Zhang Yan finally decided that it would be best to seek refuge with Cao Cao.
Firstly, you don't have to give up your own foundation, and secondly, you can counterattack Yuan Shao and vent the evil anger that has been in your chest for many years.
After receiving the support of his subordinates, Zhang Yan sent his son Zhang Fang to detour to Hanoi, Henan Yin, and finally arrived at Xuchang.
Cao Cao was originally thinking about when Yuan Shao would return to the west, but he didn't expect that Zhang Yan and a hundred thousand troops from Heishan would suddenly fall from the sky to join him.
Cao Cao was overjoyed and immediately decided to start the Northern Expedition now without waiting for Yuan Shao to return to the west!
Urgently summon Xun Yu, Xun You and Cheng Yu who are in Xuchang.
Cao Cao walked back and forth in the general's residence, sorting out his ideas for the Northern Expedition over and over in his mind.
After Xun Yu and the others hurriedly arrived, Cao Cao asked his question, "Gentlemen, what strategy should we adopt in the Northern Expedition?"
Xun Yu, who had always been steady, immediately held up his hands and said: "Prime Minister, this Northern Expedition should be carried out with lightning speed. The armies from Hanoi, Baima, and Qingzhou will all come out to quickly defeat Yuan Shao and occupy Yecheng!"
After hearing this, Cao Cao quickly understood what Xun Yu meant, "Okay, I will send a fast horse to inform Zixiao and Wenhou now!"
"Soldiers are valuable and quick. The Prime Minister can now assemble the army and set off towards Baima." Xun You said with cupped hands.
"Yes, when our soldiers and baggage arrive at Baima, the news must have been sent to General Cao Zixiao and Marquis Wen, and they should also send troops."
Seeing that all the counselors agreed to attack Yuan Shao with thunderous force, Cao Cao sent dozens of cavalry towards Hanoi, Chenliu and Qingzhou.
Going to Hanoi and Qingzhou is to inform Cao Ren and Lu Bu, and going to Chenliu is to tell Lu Yan to prepare his troops and start the Northern Expedition together with Cao Cao!
Lu Yan put the letter away and thought to himself: "It came so fast!"
Gan Ning was a little anxious at the moment. He was about to start the Northern Expedition, but Zhao Xue's affairs were not completely settled yet.
Moreover, he did not want to miss this grand battle to gain meritorious service. He was anxious and drank strong alcohol. Gan Ning felt a severe itching on his face for a while, so he began to scratch his ears and complain...
"Sir! Lan requests to fight!" Xiahou Lan immediately clasped his fists and asked for a fight.
"And I, Chen Dao, request to fight!"
"And I, Huang Xu! Request to fight!"
The sudden sound made Lu Yan, Xia Houlan and Chen Dao all turn to look at Huang Xu.
"Uh... I... I can fight for twenty rounds with Brother Zi Heng now..." Huang Xu, who was standing behind Chen Daoxia Houlan, couldn't help but shrink his head and whispered.
Xia Houlan couldn't help but blush when he heard this, and defended: "I was merciful, do you understand?"
"Yes...Thank you, Brother Ziheng, for showing mercy..." But there was no hint of gratitude in Huang Xu's tone...
Xia Houlan couldn't argue with this young man who was only a teenager, but he felt a sense of crisis that he had not seen for a long time. He secretly warned himself: "You can be behind the wheel, but you can't be surpassed by a junior."
Ah! Huang Xu is so talented, Xia Houlan, you have to work harder to practice and study!!!"
Naturally, Lu Yan couldn't agree to Huang Xu's request. This was Huang Zhong's precious son, and he was alone!
It’s okay to go, but at least give birth to Lao Huang’s grandson first, so Lu Yan replied: “If you can convince your father, I can let you go to the battlefield.”
When Huang Xu heard this, he immediately fainted, "If I want my father to agree to go to the battlefield, it may be harder than climbing to heaven..."
Lu Yan turned back to look at Gan Ning, who was scratching his head anxiously, and said: "It will take three to five days to gather the soldiers and baggage... Xingba, why don't you take Zhao Xue to General Zhendong quickly?"
"Oh! The general will set off right now...but, the general also has a request..."
"When did you, Jinfan Ganning, learn to hesitate?"
When Gan Ning heard this, he immediately showed his usual invincible attitude across the Yangtze River and said: "To be honest with Lu Qiaoqi, the last general also wants to participate in the Northern Expedition against Yuan Shao!"
"Don't worry, Mr. Cao will not forget you... If he forgets, just come to me!" Just kidding, wouldn't it be too wasteful to keep such a good wage earner at home?
Gan Ning was so happy when he got Lu Yan's promise that he rubbed his hands together, "That's great! I'd like to thank Lu Xiuqi first. Without further ado, I'll take a step away now!"
"Go ahead and take me to say hello to Xiaoxue. It's true that I haven't seen this girl for a while."