Liu Jing firmly grasped the initiative on the battlefield from the moment he led his army to Quanling. The reason is simple. Compared with Zhang Jin, he had an overwhelming water advantage.
Whether Zhang Jin took the initiative to attack Liu Jingshui's military camp on the north bank of the Xiang River or chose to withdraw his troops, he could not escape the attack of Liu Jingshui's army.
Although Zhang Jin was a scribe and had no knowledge of military affairs, he was not an idiot. How could he not know that he had fallen into a disadvantageous situation? The only reason to blame was that he greatly underestimated Liu Jing's strength, so that he was now riding a tiger and was unable to advance or retreat.
In comparison, Liu Jing seemed much more calm. Since his soldiers were tired all the way, he was not in a hurry to start a war. Instead, he ordered the soldiers to stay in the camp, eat well all day long, and recharge their batteries. He took Zhuge Liang and Xu Shu with him.
The others went out to inspect the terrain and scout out the enemy's situation.
For several days, Liu Jing already knew himself and the enemy, and had a plan in mind. The soldiers also regained their energy and were eager to fight. Liu Jing saw that the time was ripe and immediately ordered to summon the generals.
Prior to this, Liu Jing had made general arrangements with Zhuge Liang, Xu Shu, Lai Gong and others. After symbolically consulting the generals for their opinions, Liu Jing immediately ordered that more than a thousand soldiers be left to guard the camp. His clan brother Liu Zong
The navy governor was on standby in Shenzhen, Hunan, as backup, and Liu Jing himself sent 22,000 infantry and cavalry troops to fight.
The generals left as ordered. In the evening of that day, Liu Jingjun's soldiers had dinner, went to bed at sunrise (17-19 o'clock), and woke up at the beginning of the rooster's crow (1 o'clock). At this time, the food was already prepared, and the soldiers had a full meal.
Then, wearing armor and holding weapons, under the command of their respective garrison commanders and commanders, they marched out of the camp in an orderly manner, and crossed the Xiang River with the help of boats and pontoon bridges.
Although Liu Jingjun had the rank of Liegu, the actions of tens of thousands of people would inevitably cause a lot of noise. Sure enough, it didn't take long for the Jiaozhou Army scouts to discover Liu Jingjun's actions.
Zhang Jin was awakened from his dream and was unhappy at first, but when he heard the news about Liu Jing's troops, he immediately woke up and without thinking, ordered his people to beat the war drums and prepare for battle.
When Liu Jing's entire army passed through the Xiang River and landed on the south bank, it was already Pingdanzhong (4 o'clock). However, it was now the autumn and winter season and the sky was not yet clear. Liu Jing ordered his soldiers to rest for a while and then immediately sent his army southward to the outside of Quanlingguo.
The north gate of Quanling was opened wide. Cai Sheng and Xi Zhen led more than a thousand people to join Liu Jing's army. Liu Ba and Jiang Wan also came out of the city to see Liu Jing.
Liu Jing took Liu Ba's and Jiang Wan's hands and couldn't help looking up and down. He found that their eyes were dark and their hair was withered. They were much thinner than when they last met. He couldn't help but sigh: "Zi Chu, Gong Yan, you have worked so hard."
You guys..."
Liu Ba slowly shook his head and said, "Mencius has a saying: 'If a ruler treats his ministers like his brothers and feet, then his ministers will regard him as their heart and soul.' When the ruler of the government is appointed to entrust him with the affairs of the county, we should do our best to live up to our expectations.
Mr. Fu’s trust.”
Jiang Wan said calmly: "I am a low-level official in Lingling. Thanks to the Ming Dynasty, I have been valued, promoted, and trusted. I am grateful and have nothing to repay. I can only pledge myself to the country."
Liu Jinghan smiled and said: "Zichu, Gongyan is a talented person from Jingchu. With you two, I am willing to imitate Zongzi and become Jin."
During the reign of Emperor Huan, when Zong Zi and Cheng Jin were serving as the governors of Runan and Nanyang, they appointed Fan Pang and Cen Hao to manage the affairs of the county, and entrusted them with major and minor affairs in the county. Therefore, the folk song goes: "Fan Mengbo, the governor of Runan, and the patron of Nanyang Zong Hua Nuo; Nanyang
The prefect Cen Gong is filial, the farmer is prosperous but he sits and whistles."
Fan Pang and Cen Hao are not just ordinary people. They are among the "Eight Heroes" and are famous party members with worldwide reputation. The only one of the "Eight Jun" who is still alive today is Liu Biao, the shepherd of Jingzhou. Liu Jing's general Liu Ba,
Jiang Wan is compared to Fan Pang and Cen Hao, which is already a very high evaluation.
Lai Gong said from the side: "Liu Zichu is a man of great talent and talent, and he is a scholar of the country. Although I have never met Jiang Gongyan, I have heard of his talent. With these two helping you govern Lingling, Zhongda can indeed rest easy."
Lai Gong was both a famous scholar in Jingchu and an elder in the county. Liu Ba and Jiang Wan did not dare to neglect and hurried to meet Lai Gong. Liu Jing took the opportunity to introduce Zhuge Liang and Xu Shu to them.
Although Liu Ba had been in Jingnan for a long time, because he repeatedly refused Liu Biao's conquests and even dismissed talented people, he was famous for the Chu land.
You must know that once you become a talented person, the lowest you can do is to be the magistrate of Qianshi County who is in charge of ten thousand households. Since this dynasty, there are only a handful of people who should not be talented, and all of them are domestic scholars.
Because of this, Liu Ba's reputation has been rising all the time. All the scholars and people in Jingzhou have heard of his name, including Zhuge Liang and Xu Shu.
Jiang Wan's reputation is limited to Lingling and is not known to outsiders.
Liu Jing looked at the four people with great interest. Historically, they all joined Liu Bei's account. Except for Xu Shu who left midway, the other three later became Shu Han's ministers.
"Dong...dong...dong..."
A thunderous drumbeat sounded from the south, and everyone's conversation was interrupted.
Liu Jing couldn't help laughing and said to his left and right: "Is Zhang Jin demonstrating to me?"
Liu Ba said: "Jiaozhi is thousands of miles away from Quanling. Zhang Jin only spent two or three months on the road. Now he has been trapped in Quanling City for more than a month. The soldiers are already exhausted and complaining.
It's worth fighting." Liu Ba's grandfather Liu Yao once served as the prefect of Cangwu County in Jiaozhou, so he was familiar with the geography of Jiaozhou.
Liu Ba continued: "As the saying goes, 'when the charging wind is weak, it cannot raise feathers; when the strong crossbow is at its end, the strength cannot reach Lu Zhen.' What Zhang Jin did was just a bluff. With the bravery and clear judgment of the prince, he used his troops like gods and led the river.
"If the people of Hunan attack the exhausted enemy and follow the swift wind and set fire to it, they can be defeated in one battle."
"Good." Liu Jing clapped his hands and laughed.
Jiang Wan was always interested in the military, so he volunteered to join the army, but Liu Ba was just the opposite. His father, General Liu Xiang, the governor of Jiangxia, died in an attack, and he was very repulsive to the military. The war for more than a month has made Liu Ba
I am troubled and unwilling to "ask for trouble".
Liu Jing did not force it, and ordered Liu Ba to stay in Quanling, with more than a thousand cavalry as the vanguard, and each battalion formed a column, advancing one by one and filing southward.
At this time, the sky was getting brighter, but it was still difficult to see far away. The lights of the Jiaozhou Army camp were brightly lit, like the bright moon in the night sky, guiding Liu Jingjun forward.
Zhang Jin did not choose to defend the camp. They were thousands of miles deep into the enemy's territory. They did not have an advantage in strength and lacked naval forces. Once they were surrounded by Liu Jing's army, they would immediately become a turtle in the urn. Therefore, Zhang Jin made a desperate move and left only a few hundred wounded soldiers in the camp.
The remaining 14,000 people came out in full force and formed a formation behind the camp to meet the enemy.
Zhang Jin stood on the watchtower and looked at Liu Jingjun, who was advancing in the darkness like the top of a mountain, and felt sweat on his forehead.
He had previously speculated based on Liu Jingjun's boats that the opponent's forces were greater than his own, but how much more was not clear, and now the mystery was finally revealed...