As far as the civil and military officials were concerned, when all was said and done, although Jiujiang Commandery was in their hands, Lujiang Commandery was controlled by Sun Ce, leaving only Guangling Commandery.
Moreover, although Guangling Commandery covered a vast area within Xuzhou, it was not wealthy. The territory was full of swamps and tidal flats, while the coastal regions were constantly affected by seawater. The saline-alkali soil could not grow grain at all and was frequently struck by storms. The only suitable farmland was the area in the south near the Yangtze River. Most of the rest was sparsely populated, consisting either of escaped households, refugees, or mountain bandits.
In the future, this area would give rise to Lake Nüshan, Hongze Lake, Lake Chengzi, Lake Baima, Gaoyou Lake, Lake Dazong, and Jianhu, with two canals passing through it. It would become a true land of fish and rice, the richest region under heaven. But in this era, it was indeed a barren wasteland. Thus, Guangling Commandery had never been taken seriously and had practically become the private preserve of the Guangling Chen clan.
Strictly speaking, the Chen clan had suffered the greatest loss. As for Jiujiang Commandery, it had indeed lost a huge chunk of territory.
That was why everyone failed to understand for a moment what had made Cao Cao so furious.
"If you change all the colors to ochre, take another look!" Cao Cao waved his hand, looking somewhat listless.
"This, this, this..."
"Oh my heavens!"
"How could this be!"
A series of exclamations rang out without pause. Only then did everyone realize that although Gan Ning's move had not caused the Cao Army losses as great as they had imagined, the situation it had created had actually sent the Cao Army's position into a sharp