Liu Ba and Jiang Wan had the same opinion. Tao Zhang, the meritorious officer, Li Da, the postmaster, and Huang Cheng, the postal supervisor, could only obey orders even if they had objections in their hearts.
In order to buy as much time as possible, Liu Ba wrote a long letter to Zhang Jin, bluntly stating that Liu Jing was recommended by Zhang Jin, the late governor of Changsha, and was recommended by Lingling's people. He was not the self-appointed thief of the country as Zhang Jin accused him of.
Now Liu Jing has defeated Liu Biao's unjust army and saved the people of Lingling from the suffering of the war, and everyone in Lingling has inherited his kindness. Therefore, although Zhangjin has the emperor's edict, Dong is in charge of Lingling and Guiyang counties. You can't betray Liu Jing, otherwise you will become a person who forgets his origin and his righteousness.
After explaining the objective reasons why he could not welcome Zhang Jin, Liu Ba changed his tone and made a "kind-hearted" suggestion to Zhang Jin, saying that Liu Jingsu was famous for his benevolence and righteousness in the world, and now he has the virtue of protecting Xiangheng, so he won the favor of Zhang Jin. The people of Jingnan are happy. If Zhang Jin uses force against Liu Jing for no reason, he will definitely lose his heart. Gui Zhixin. It is better to write a letter to communicate with Liu Jing first and see if both parties can come up with a way to get the best of both worlds.
In order to enhance his persuasion, Liu Ba even said that Liu Jing was a benevolent and righteous gentleman. Although he was in a remote place, he still had a loyal heart and might not obey the emperor's edict.
Even if Liu Jing doesn't want to give up Lingling, doesn't he still have Guiyang? The two of them can definitely divide Lingling and Guiyang, and everyone will be happy.
Of course, this was all to stabilize Zhang Jin's rhetoric. On the day Zhang Jin's envoy arrived, Liu Ba ordered people to rush to Ling County to inform Liu Jing. At the moment, he didn't know that Linxiang had been recovered and Liu Jingye had left Ling County and took a boat. Return north.
The people who are currently staying in Lingxian are Liu Zong and Zheng, who are also the people Liu Jing relies on the most. After the war and disaster, there are so many things in Lingxian. It is not difficult to imagine that Liu Jing should have handled it personally, but Linxiang treated him too much. It's important that I have to be a hands-off shopkeeper.
Liu Zong was shocked when he received Liu Ba's letter seriously. Although Liu Jing had said before that he should be wary of Jiaozhou and Zhangjin, they didn't take it to heart. Jiaozhou has been a place of chaos since ancient times, a world of peace. There is no peace, let alone a time of chaos. Zhang Jin himself has no time to take care of himself, so how can he pose a threat to them.
This undoubtedly once again proves that Liu Jingji has foresight and plans like a god.
Fortunately, Liu Jing only took away dozens of warships when he went north, and there was still a considerable number of troops left in Ling County.
Now every moment is crucial to them. At this time, sending people to Linxiang to ask Liu Jing for instructions will only waste precious time. "The Art of War" says: "If you are outside, your orders will not be accepted." They must now Making their own decisions, the two men immediately summoned the generals for discussion.
Chu Fang, Cai Sheng, Ma Zhou and others came as quickly as possible after hearing the news. As for Liu Xiu, Liu Liang, Han Guang and others, they had followed Liu Jing northward.
After a short and intense discussion, everyone finally decided that Chu Fang, Cai Sheng, and Xi Zhen would lead 3,000 people to rush to Lingling urgently.
Xi Zhen is a descendant of Xi Yu, Marquis of Xiangyang. She comes from a wealthy family in Xiangyang. She has a stern temperament and is familiar with the art of war. She followed Cai Mao to the south last year. After being abandoned, she led the rest of the army to surrender to Liu Jing.
However, Liu Jing's power was still relatively weak at that time, and Xi Zhen was not optimistic about Liu Jing's future, so he did not choose to actively integrate into it.
Facts have proved that he was mistaken. After the Jingzhou army was destroyed, Xi Zhen no longer had any doubts in her heart and completely turned to Liu Jing. After that, many Xiangyang generals surrendered under his persuasion.
Chu Fang, Cai Sheng, and Xi Zhen acted quickly and led their troops to sail southward on the same day.
…………
In the southern suburbs of Shi'an, by the Lishui River, there is the Jiaozhou Army Camp.
Zhang Jin was sure that the Lingling officials would come to greet him soon. After all, he had the king's mandate and had strong soldiers. The Lingling officials had no reason and did not dare to reject him.
Therefore, for the past few days, he kept asking Shi Anjin to offer wine, meat, and grain, and he and the generals in Jiaozhou hid in the camp to drink and have fun, and almost every day he was not drunk.
That day, Zhang Jin was very drunk again. He was supported by the servants on his left and right back to the room, where he lay down on the bed, with his chest exposed and his breasts exposed, and fell asleep soundly.
The envoys sent to Quanling returned empty-handed and wanted to see Zhang Jin. Unfortunately, the servants tried to wake Zhang Jin several times but failed.
It was not until nightfall that Zhang Jin woke up. When he learned that the envoy had returned alone and failed to complete his mission, he immediately became furious. It was only after he read Liu Ba's long letter that his face softened.
Regarding Liu Ba's suggestion that "peace is the most important", Zhang Jin still agrees with Liu Ba's suggestion. Using force with Liu Jing is the next best thing, and resolving the problem through negotiation is the best way.
Moreover, if he really wants to use force, Zhang Jin may not have much confidence. As Jiang Wan analyzed, nearly half of the more than 10,000 troops under his command are barbarians, and there are also barbarian leaders among the generals. Qu Shuai wants to rely on them to seize the opportunity. Lingling and Guiyang counties are nothing more than idiots talking about dreams.
Zhang Jin's advantage has never been the tens of thousands of soldiers and horses under his command, but the fact that he has the emperor's decree.
Zhang Jin endured the discomfort after a hangover, read Liu Ba's letter again, and then fell into deep thought.
Although he decided to use negotiation as a means, Liu Jing is not an easy person to deal with. He will probably not hand over the interests he has obtained. Only relying on negotiation, I am afraid it will be difficult to force Liu Jing to compromise and transfer Lingling and Guiyang counties. It's in the pocket. Therefore, if you want to get the maximum benefit, you must adopt a tough stance even if you don't use force.
Thinking too much about things, Zhang Jin felt more and more dizzy, so he had to give up temporarily and lie down on the bed to rest.
The next day, Zhang Jin no longer held a banquet and had fun with the generals. Instead, he locked himself in his dormitory and wrote at his desk.
Zhang Jinnai was a famous scholar in Nanyang who was familiar with classics and had considerable literary talents. In his letters, he cited various scriptures and references, as if Liu Jing did not return Lingling and Guiyang counties to him, and he was a sanctimonious national traitor who was causing trouble to the country.
It took Zhang Jin half a day to write thousands of words, but he thought it was all worth it. Liu Jing must have been sweating after reading this letter, which was irrefutable.
After Zhang Jin sent the letter, he summoned the county magistrate of Shi'an and asked him to prepare military supplies.
The county magistrate of Shi'an complained in his heart. Although they had just received a bumper harvest, they could not stop Zhangjin's tens of thousands of soldiers from eating their horses.
But then he heard that Zhang Jin planned to continue going north, and the county magistrate of Shi'an couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. After returning to the city, he immediately emptied the county warehouse, collected hundreds of carts of grain, and sent them all to the Jiaozhou Army Camp, sending them away like a plague. Zhang Jin.
Zhang Jin led his army north along the Li River, crossed the Lingqu Canal, and reached the Xiang River. Their destination was Lingling County.
Lingling County has the same name as the county and is located more than a hundred miles northeast of Shi'an. The road during this period was relatively flat. It only took the Jiaozhou Army three days to successfully reach Lingling County.
The Lingling County Magistrate did the same thing as the Shi'an County Magistrate. They did not choose to resist, but rather sensibly worked for the army with food and wine. However, Lingling County is located on the bank of the Xiang River, and like the county's Quanling, it was flooded. There is not enough food for personal use and it is difficult to supply the Jiaozhou army.