Chapter 114: Attack Xiakou! Take all four counties in southern Jing!

Chapter 114: Attack Xiakou! Take all four counties in southern Jing!

Outside Jiangling City, beside the river.

One night passed,
The mist on the river slowly dissipated,

The confrontation between Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Young has not yet ended. Each of them serves his own master, and the matter at hand concerns the great cause of their respective masters, so neither of them is willing, let alone able, to retreat.

"Shi Yuan..." Mr. Wolong, who had been standing on the bow all night, said with a tired face: "You and I have been deadlocked here all night. It is unknown whether Liu Huangshu is alive or dead in the city now."

"No matter what, Liu Wu cannot... kill his father."

at last,

Zhuge Liang still said the two words he least wanted to say, "patricide"!
Mr. Kong Ming has always believed that Liu Wu is by no means a foolish person and would never do such a stupid thing as "patricide" that would cut off his own foundation.

But after the night passed, there was no news from Uncle Liu. Even Zhuge Kongming was unsure. Things in the world change rapidly. Who can guarantee that the father and son can have a peaceful conversation after meeting?
Zhuge Liang didn't dare to gamble...

"It's not only to protect my uncle, but also to protect the eldest son..." Zhuge Liang looked directly at Pang Tong: "Whether you give way or not, I must cross the river now!"

Zhuge Kongming's words are powerful.

behind him,
There are endless densely packed warships.

The layers of masts and sails cover the sky and the sun!

Ever since Liu Wu occupied Jiangbei, Zhuge Liang had vaguely seen through Liu Wu's intention to conquer the four counties in southern Jing. During this period of time, he had been constantly recruiting the navy of Jingzhou and gathering troops in Gong'an.

That night, Pang Tong was dragging his feet.

Kong Ming didn't stop either!

The final assembly was finally completed tonight, and even the military formation has been completely deployed!

The 20,000-strong navy of Jingzhou stood tall behind him.

On the Gong'an shore, 30,000 soldiers had already been spread out on the ground in a black mass, and the murderous atmosphere filled the riverside.

As long as Kong Ming gave the order,
Twenty thousand naval forces!

Thirty thousand infantrymen!

Today, I must dye the river red! !

Sitting opposite Kong Ming on the boat, Feng Chu, who had been confronting Wo Long on the raft all night, also looked exhausted. The wine gourd in his hand had been drunk empty by him.

Looking at the mighty and powerful army behind Kong Ming, Pang Tong's back felt slightly wet.

He understands,
This old friend was not threatening me, but stating a fact to me. If I didn't give way, the other party would really attack me.

Jiangling City now has only 5,000 new soldiers and 5,000 veterans.

If Zhuge Kongming really led tens of thousands of troops to attack, how could the 10,000 defenders in Jiangling resist them?
Can be biased,
At the moment, Pang Shiyuan seemed unable to stop the other party...

"Kong Ming!" Pang Tong's voice suddenly rang out.

Zhuge Liang frowned slightly.
Feng Chu's voice reached Wo Long's ears clearly: "Why are you so aggressive?"

"Zi Lie is the eldest son of Emperor Liu after all. He would never do such a foolish thing as killing his father. You can rest assured about Emperor Liu's safety."

"Besides, Zilie knelt on Wolong Hill for three days and three nights. Isn't that better than Liu Xuande visiting you three times in your thatched cottage?"

Feng Chu mentioned the old things.

At the bow, Zhuge Liang looked stunned, as if he was recalling the past...

Under the scorching sun, in front of the thatched cottage on Wolong Hill.

The young man knelt for a long time, looking haggard.

Uncle Liu prepared generous gifts and invited Zhuge Liang to come out of seclusion. However, after visiting him twice, he did not even see Zhuge Liang, so he had to leave helplessly.

The young man came to the thatched cottage alone and knelt for three days and three nights, just to see Zhuge Kongming.

Finally, the door of the thatched cottage opened.

A young scholar wearing a crane cloak and holding a feather fan looked at the boy kneeling on the ground and sighed: "Liang has no intention of becoming an official, why do you do this?"

The young man said in a weak voice: "My father, Liu Xuande, is a relative of the Han Dynasty and the current emperor's uncle. He wants to revive the Han Dynasty and protect the world. I hope you can come out and help."

"If the master doesn't come out, what can we do to the common people?!"

……

If the master doesn't come out, what can happen to the common people?
The voice of Liu Wu from that year seemed to ring in Zhuge Kongming's ears again.

Zhuge Liang sighed.
Now, is it really going to come to this between me and the eldest son?

As long as he gave the military order, he and the eldest prince would become real enemies.

But if we don't cross the river, then my lord's life...

"Kong Ming! You must know that Jiangdong is now eyeing us covetously, and Cao's army has already moved south!" Pang Tong saw that Zhuge Liang's expression seemed to be hesitant, so he immediately took advantage of the situation and followed suit.

"If you go further, Jiangling City will see a large army approaching. I am afraid that the people in the city will be furious, and it will be hard to predict whether Liu Huangshu will be in danger or not, and Liu Zilie's foundation will be overturned!"

"If you take a step back, I, Pang Shiyuan, swear to heaven that I will protect Liu Xuande's life!"

"Whether to advance or retreat, Kong Ming should decide for himself..."

After Pang Tong finished speaking, the river became calm again.

Zhuge Liang looked silent...

The most important thing right now is the safety of our lord.

Liu Wu was an ambitious man. As long as he wanted to rule the world, he would not dare to take action against his uncle Liu Huangshu and bear the infamy of "patricide". If he led a large army to approach Jiangling and really forced Liu Wu into a desperate situation, wouldn't that be self-defeating?

No matter what, I can't take risks with my lord's life...

After a long silence, there was a low sigh: "Shi Yuan, I hope you will keep your word."

Wolong turned around and waved his feather fan towards Gong'an City: "All troops, retreat to Gong'an!"

……

……

Wow! ~
On the river,

The Jiangdong navy rode the wind and waves, with thousands of sails setting out in a mighty force with no end in sight.

On the boats, the soldiers were heavily armed and the air was filled with murderous intent.

In the cabin of the leading ship, armor is fully equipped and red tassels are flying!

The Twelve Generals of Jiangdong gathered with Zhou Yu, Taishi Ci, Gan Ning, Lu Xun and others.

Lu Xun felt strange...

Now, almost all the elites of the Jiangdong military have gathered on this ship, but the person these many Jiangdong generals are serving at the moment is not Marquis Wu, but their own lord.

If you don’t know, you might think that the entire Jiangdong military has rebelled against Jiangdong!
If the lord would bring all the generals under his command...

Lu Xun shook his head. Now was not the time to think too much.

Liu Wu stood in front of the map.
Holding a long sword, he pointed at a place with two words written on it...Jiang Xia.

"The first battle of our southern expedition will be at Xiakou." Liu Wu said in a low voice, "Jiangxia was originally one county, but now it has been divided into two. One is our Xiling, and the other is Xiakou."

All the Jiangdong generals present understood what Liu Wu said.

They also knew the relationship between Xiakou and the four counties in the south of the Yangtze River.

But now there is a key question...

“Zi Lie.” Zhou Yu spoke first. “There are still 10,000 former Liu Qi’s men in Xiakou. They are defending the city. It will be difficult for us to attack by force. If they knew that it was Zi Lie who came to attack the city... I’m afraid they would definitely fight to the death!”

"I'm afraid this battle will be difficult to fight."

Zhou Yu's words were vague, but all the Jiangdong generals present understood it in their minds.

A few days ago, when Liu Xuande crossed the river to meet the ruler and ministers of Jiangdong, he said that Liu Zilie had poisoned Liu Qi, the former governor of Jingzhou, without his knowledge. Although we don't know if this is true or not, if it is true...

Liu Qi was a kind and benevolent man, and he was deeply loved by his subordinates. If these 10,000 former subordinates of Liu Qi saw the "culprit" who killed their former master coming to attack the city, how could they not fight to the death?

Looking at the Jiangdong generals below with different expressions, Liu Wu naturally knew what they were thinking.

But he was too lazy to explain all this now, and directly stated his plan: "If we want to take Xiakou, this battle can only be a surprise attack..."

……

The sun sets in the west and the night deepens.

Xiakou Tower,

The guards on duty were yawning and looking listless.

"Everyone, cheer up!" A voice like thunder frightened the yawning defenders.

Looking up, they saw the captain who patrolled the city tonight staring at them coldly: "Xiakou City is adjacent to Changsha County, and it is a key place to protect the four counties in southern Jing!"

"The land of Jingxiang is quite unstable right now. How dare you be so lazy?!"

The patrol captain scolded these people and then turned and left.

When the few people saw the captain leave, they breathed a sigh of relief and complained:
"Peace? Since the death of our old master Liu Jingsheng, when has this Jingxiang land ever been peaceful?"

"Alas, it's a pity for our Master Qi. If Master Qi had succeeded to the throne of Jingzhou, our Jingzhou might not be in such chaos."

"Fortunately, we are still serving under Lord Xuande. Lord Xuande is even more kind and benevolent than Master Qi. Our luck is not bad."

"Liu Xuande? Oh, you must have forgotten that our Master Qi died at the hands of Liu Xuande's eldest son Liu Wu! Liu Wu was so cruel, I'm afraid Liu Xuande wasn't a good person either!"

"I heard that Liu Wu is now..."

The soldiers guarding the city hadn't finished speaking yet.
suddenly,
There was a sharp sound of breaking through the air!
call out! ~
"Uh……"

An eagle feather arrow,

It was inserted coldly into the soldier's throat.

After a moment, the soldier fell powerlessly on the city wall and there was no sound anymore.

The soldiers around stared at this scene in a daze.
The next moment, they finally reacted.

"Enemy attack!!!"

Sharp, terrified shouts suddenly resounded on the city wall.

Almost at the same time,

Whoosh whoosh whoosh! ~
The rain of flaming arrows roared towards the top of the city like a fire dragon.

"Ah!~" "The enemy is attacking the city! Go and shout..."

In an instant, there were screams from the top of the city.

"kill!"

outside the city,

Cries of killing arose.

Boom~
Torches were lit outside the city.
Each torch represents an enemy.

Dense torches, like a sea of ​​fire, suddenly ignited outside the city!
The Xiakou City in the dark night was illuminated brightly.

The defenders who climbed to the top of the city wall looked at the scene in front of them and their hearts sank to the bottom.

This enemy army came so suddenly that they were completely unprepared.

There was a lack of preparation for rolling logs, battering stones, and arrows.

The most frightening thing was the flags erected outside the city. They were so dazzling under the light of the fire:

"Zhou, Huang, Gan, Taishi... Whose generals are these?!"

"Wait! They, they are wearing Jiangdong's armor!"

"Then these people are not..."

"It's Zhou Yu, Huang Gai, Gan Ning and Taishi Ci! Are all the generals from Jiangdong here?!"

Koto!

It’s Sun Quan’s man!
Fourteen flags,
The fourteen generals of Jiangdong are all here? ! !

After realizing this, a feeling of despair enveloped everyone in Xiakou City.

Whoosh! ~
But the Jiangdong soldiers under the city did not give them much time to react emotionally.

Fierce arrows of fire,
Shoot round after round!
Almost the entire Xiakou city wall was set on fire. Countless Xiakou soldiers on the city wall were hit by arrows and finally burned to charcoal amid screams and wails.

"kill!"

Ladders were placed on the city walls, and countless Jiangdong soldiers, with sharp blades in their mouths, climbed up to the Xiakou city wall.

"Stop them, stop them quickly!!"

The Xiakou defenders shouted in fear and rushed forward waving their spears.

But the Jiangdong soldiers have already formed a battle formation!

"kill!!"

Several Xiakou defenders rushed forward with red eyes and swords, but what greeted them were more than ten spears gathered together.

Poof! ~
The sharp spear tips pierced the chests and abdomens of the defenders, and immediately a group of corpses fell to the ground.

This scene is just a microcosm of the city...

On the tower,
More and more soldiers from Jiangdong arrived, and the bodies of the defenders fell one after another. Blood flowed like a river, and corpses piled up like a mountain!

The defenders in the city tried again and again to retake the city tower, but the only fate waiting for them was to become one of the corpses of those defenders!
The generals and captains defending the city knew that the situation was hopeless:

"With all the generals from Jiangdong coming out, they are determined to capture Xiakou City!"

"The tower is now occupied by Jiangdong soldiers. Our people can't get up there at all!"

"Xiakou is now Liu Bei's Xiakou. Liu Bei's eldest son has harmed Master Qi. Do we still have to defend the city for Liu Bei?"

All the discussions finally came down to one sentence: "Surrender! Let's surrender!!"

Looking at the expectant eyes of his subordinates, Xiakou garrison commander sighed dejectedly: "This is the will of the people, how can I go against it?"

The sky turned white.

The city of Xiakou was broken open with a loud bang, and the defender of Xiakou surrendered!
Tap tap tap~
Liu Wu was supported by Sun Shangxiang and slowly climbed up the city wall.

He stood on the tower, quietly watching the large number of Jiangdong soldiers entering the city...

"My lord!" Gan Ning stood behind Liu Wu, his face full of excitement: "We have gained a lot from this battle!"

"There is a huge amount of food and fodder in the city, as well as a lot of military equipment..."

"We captured all the soldiers in Xiakou alive, about 10,000 people!"

Xiakou was taken.

Several surrounding counties are also in our pockets.
Since then, Jiangxia County, which spans both sides of the Yangtze River, has been repeatedly fought over by the Sun, Liu, and Cao factions in history. The various divisions of Jiangxia County were especially enjoyed by Liu Wu alone.

of course,

The war against Liu Xuande has officially begun!

……

……

At this time,

A speedboat came from Jiangbei.

He is a scout from Xiling City.
He must have received an important message, otherwise he wouldn't have rushed so fast to Jiangxia to deliver the information.

"gentlemen."

"This is an urgent report from Jiangling! It's written by General Wei Wenchang himself!"

Lu Xun quickly took the bag, took out the bamboo slips, untied the hemp rope, and after just a glance, his eyes lit up: "The opportunity for war has arrived!"

He immediately rushed into the city.
In a moment,

Lu Boyan found Liu Wu in the county residence of Jiangxia City: "My lord!"

"There's unusual movement in southern Jing. Except for Jiangxia, which we just captured, all of Liu Bei's troops have now gathered in Gong'an..."

As he said this, he presented the bamboo slips with both hands.

Liu Wu took the bamboo slips.

Start reading,
His eyes became deep.

The letter was sent by Wei Yan. He had already found out that the public security forces on the other side of Jiangling City had gathered at least 50,000 troops...

In other words, except for the more than 10,000 troops in Jiangxia used to guard against Jiangdong, all of Liu Bei's troops had been gathered in Gong'an.

"Mr. Zhuge, you are really prepared for a rainy day..."

Even Liu Wu had to admire Kong Ming's brilliant strategy.

The four counties in southern Jing cover a vast area and the troops are scattered. It is difficult to gather all these troops in such a short time.

There are too many things involved, such as food and military supplies...

Even if we force it, the cost is too high!

It has only been a few months since I left the Public Security Bureau. There is only one possibility: Kong Ming had already started preparing for this matter since the night I left.

He already knew he was going south.

He had long known that he had to take the four counties of southern Jing, so he concentrated his forces and did not give Liu Wu the opportunity to defeat them one by one.

"The person who knows me best today is Liu Xuande."

"But Liu Xuande is unaware of me..."

"Kong Ming, Kong Ming, I'm afraid you are the only one who understands me the most..."

At that moment, Liu Wu couldn't help but sigh!
The person who knows him best is Liu Xuande!

After all, there is no better son than a father.

But once Liu Wu's affairs were linked to Liu Xuande, Liu Bei would always become confused.

Liu Wu remembers,

Many times, many times, Kong Ming said that he couldn't see through him.

But it was not until now that Liu Wu realized that the person who truly understood him was Mr. Kong Ming, whom he had to kneel for three days and three nights to invite.

Just like...

On the snowy night when I left the police station,
He gently waved his feather fan, as if bidding himself farewell in the snowstorm...

To be honest, Liu Wu regretted not taking Kong Ming away by force.

But given the situation at the time, if he wanted to take Kong Ming away, he was afraid that Liu Xuande would not allow him to even leave the city gate of Gong'an City.

Lu Xun said, "My lord, now all the troops in Jingnan have gathered in Gong'an in advance, and it is indeed difficult to fight."

"Zhuge Kongming is indeed a man of foresight..."

"But my lord, the four counties of southern Jing are so vast, and all the troops are gathered in Gong'an City at the northernmost end, so the south is completely empty."

"My lord, do you have any intention?"

"That's exactly what I meant!" Liu Wu sat down slowly, and then said, "Get the map."

brush~
The map was brought.
Suddenly spread out...

"Bo Yan, you and Gan Ning, take 5,000 Chaohu Navy recruits and set off immediately... Remember, don't disturb the people in Jiangdong."

"Enter Dongting Lake, advance eastward, conquer Wuling first, and cut off Liu Bei's retreat to the south."

"After taking Wuling City, we will go south along the Xiangjiang River and take Changsha, Lingling, and Guiyang counties..."

This is a fairly vast area of ​​land.

Although it is not as densely populated as the Central Plains, nor as prosperous as Jiangdong, it has an advantage in strategic depth.

More importantly, in this way, Liu Wu had exclusive access to both sides of the Yangtze River and an absolutely core territory, which was the Jianghan Plain, which was also famous in later generations!

This was the confidence that enabled Liu Biao to defeat Yuan Shu and monopolize Jingzhou!

This was also the basis for Liu Biao to stab Cao Cao from time to time and even suppress Jiangdong!
Liu Wu took a deep breath and said, "Xingba has been to Jingzhou before, so he is the most suitable person to go..."

"Boyan, go call Xingba."

"Speed ​​is of the essence in war, hurry up!"

Lu Xun paused, his expression dazed, as if he hadn't reacted yet. He bowed deeply and said, "Yes!"

　No more today

　　
　
(End of this chapter)