Suiyang, the Prince of Wei's residence.
"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened. Huaipu and Huaiyin have fallen." Shen Pei strode into the hall, his face filled with urgency.
The hand holding Cao Cao's brush stiffened slightly, and a huge blot of ink appeared on the white paper.
Cao Cao set down his brush and slowly raised his head. Looking straight at Shen Pei, he asked in a low voice that revealed neither joy nor anger, "Speak."
"Yes." Shen Pei straightened his expression and recounted how Gan Ning had suddenly led the navy north to attack Huaipu and Huaiyin, then continued upstream with the fleet.
"When did this happen?"
"Eight days ago." At this, the corner of Shen Pei's mouth twitched. He could not help recalling what had happened years ago when he had served under Yuan Shao. It had been Gan Ning then as well, using the same methods: taking a commandery in seven days and cutting off communication between Jizhou and Youzhou in fourteen.
Clearly, Cao Cao had thought of it too. After pondering briefly, he continued, "In your opinion, where will Gan Ning strike now?"
"I don't know either, but..." Shen Pei hesitated briefly before continuing, "Still, I suspect that after seven or eight days, taking advantage of the boats and traveling day and night, he may already have reached Jiujiang Commandery. We will have to wait for further intelligence to know the exact situation."
Cao Cao raised a hand to support his left temple and rubbed it continuously. His migraines were an old problem, and being hit by this news had brought one on again today.
Enduring the pain, he turned his head toward the map hanging on the wall. His gaze moved slowly along the Huai River. Those were three generals at the level of externalized