On July 3, Liu Jing took Liu Zong, the lieutenant general of the Sui Army, as his general, military advisor Zhuge Liang, Zuo Sima Pan Jun, and Ling County Magistrate Liu Cheng as his military governors, and led the cavalry captains Cai Sheng and Liu Liang, and the western captain of Changsha Shan. Ri Xi, Fenwei Colonel Xizhen, Yingyang Colonel Feng Xi, Li Feng Colonel Gao Xiang, Pirates Colonel Chen Jin, Bandit Colonel Huang Wu and other generals commanded 18,000 water infantry troops and hundreds of boats. , set out to conquer Wuling.
Liu Jingzi led Han Guang, the lieutenant of Jianwu, Gan Ning, the captain of the bandits, Wei Yan, the captain of the enemy, Huo Du, the captain of Pinglu, Huo Jun, the captain of Yangwu, and other generals, together with more than a hundred warships and ten thousand soldiers, rushed to Ba Qiu, together with Lingjiang captain Liu Zhu, jointly controlled the north. The right commander Xu Shu, the chief secretary Jiang Wan, and the army enlisted Deng Zhi accompanied him.
Liu Xiu, the commander-in-chief of the military governor, stayed behind in Linxiang. Liu Ba, the commander-in-chief on the left, Huanjie, the commander-in-chief on the right, and Lai Gong, the captain of the school, were in charge of the daily government affairs in Jingnan.
Zhechong Zhonglang moved Chu Fang to Ling County to supervise Ling and Gui counties.
But it is said that Liu Jing's army marched northward in a mighty manner, splitting Luoxian County into two. Liu Jing continued to go north, while Liu Zong went west. Liu Rui, the prefect of Wuling, did not realize it until Liu Zong's army appeared in Changsha and the border area of Wuling. .
This is not to blame for Liu Rui being unprepared, he was actually "deceived" by Liu Jing's previous performance.
Last year, Liu Jing defeated the Northern Army and recaptured Changsha. Liu Rui immediately wrote to Liu Jing to mediate between the two parties. He relied on his elders in the clan and relied on his elders to betray his elders. There were many criticisms of Liu Jing in the letter.
At that time, Changsha was just settled, and Zhang Jin led the people from Jiaozhou to invade Lingling. Liu Jing couldn't care about Liu Rui for the time being, so he simply gave him a favor and even released some of the Xiangyang nobles.
Liu Rui was quite proud of this, thinking that Liu Jing respected him very much and would definitely not invade Wuling County in the future...
"Snapped!"
Liu Rui threw the bamboo slips to the ground, his clear face filled with anger, and shouted: "Liu Jing, you are bullying me too much!"
When all the officials in Wuling heard that the Changsha army was coming to kill them, they were all horrified and said: "The Ming government immediately sent people to ask for help from the envoy. If it is too late, it will be too late."
Someone else suggested: "There are few soldiers in the city today and are not enough to defend against the enemy. The Ming government can use the gold and silk in the treasury to lure the Wuxi barbarians to help."
Wuxi Man is the general name for the Jing Man who live in Xiongxi, Manxi, Youxi, Wuxi, Chenxi and other places in the west of Wuling County.
Liu Rui was a literati and a Confucian, and he had no power, so the Jingmans often attacked and harassed him. However, there were also Jingmans who accepted his kindness and were willing to be driven by him.
At this critical moment, Liu Rui made a decisive decision and sent envoys to Xiangyang and Wuxi.
Hanshou County is located in the east of Linyuan, Wuling County. When Liu Jingjun entered, Hanshou was the first to enter. However, before the army could approach the city, the Hanshou soldiers and civilians coerced the county magistrate and brought cattle and wine to welcome him.
Firstly, the soldiers and people of Hanshou were afraid of the might of Liu Jing's army, and if there was a war, Hanshou would surely be devastated. Secondly, Pan Jun himself was from Hanshou County, and the Pan family belonged to a large family of Hanshou. Since this year, Pan Jun had written frequently with Kun's brother in the clan. It turns out that this time it was the Pan clan who joined forces with the Hanshou heroes to kidnap the county magistrate and surrender the city.
When Han Shou was over, the army no longer had any worries. Liu Zong used Xi Zhen to supervise more than a thousand people to guard Han Shou, and then he led the army straight to Linyuan.
Wuling County has been harassed by Wuxi barbarians all year round. The county is located in Linyuan, adjacent to the Yuanshui River in the south, with a large lake in the east and Pingshan Mountain in the west. The city is well-defended and easy to defend but difficult to attack.
In addition, Liu Rui resisted resolutely and defended the city. Liu Zong knew that Linyuan would be difficult to conquer, so he ordered his army to build a camp to the north of Linyuan, go into the mountains to cut trees, build siege equipment, and make preparations for the war in an orderly manner.
When Liu Biao received Wu Ling's request for help, it was already late July. Liu Jing's actions did not surprise him. He did not believe Liu Rui's previous statement that "Liu Jing respected his elders and would not invade Wu Ling."
Liu Jing was ambitious and had different ambitions, and he wanted to annex Jingzhou. He already had three of the four counties in Jingnan. How could he be indifferent to Wuling County? The reason why he did not invade Wuling was because he had more ambition than strength.
Things went as expected, but last year's defeat was too tragic. Tens of thousands of elites were wiped out in one battle, and their vitality was severely damaged. Now they can only respond passively and take advantage of every opportunity.
Liu Biao urgently summoned his staff to discuss, and finally decided on the strategy of "Cai Mao leaves Jiangling, Huang Zu leaves Jiangxia, and jointly attack Baqiu".
However, both Liu Biao and his staff were in a heavy mood.
With the current strength of Cai Mao and Huang Zu, I am afraid that even Baqiu will be difficult to capture, let alone rescue Wuling.
After all, Huang Zu's navy was almost completely destroyed by Sun Ce's army at the end of the year before last. Cai Mao's navy was even more miserable than Huang Zu's navy.
Although ships in the Han Dynasty were easy to build, ship materials were not easy to obtain. Huang Zu's situation was slightly better. Cai Mao's navy had been rebuilt twice. Nanjun's ship materials were plundered by him, and it was only restored to 30% of its heyday. .
Therefore, even if Cai Mao and Huang Zu joined forces, they would still be unable to defeat Liu Jingshui's army.
However, he knew that he couldn't do this, so Liu Biao had no choice but to do it. Because everyone in Jingzhou was watching him at this moment, if he didn't save Wu Ling, he would lose the hearts of the people. When Liu Jing came with his army, all the people in Jingzhou would be watching. .
Huang Zu was Liu Biao's confidant. After receiving Liu Biao's order, he did not hesitate at all. He immediately sent half of the warships in his hand, that is, more than 4,000 soldiers and more than 100 ships. Under the command of the governor Chen Ju, he went up the river and killed him. Bachu.
In comparison, Cai Mao seemed much more hesitant. Although he faced Liu Jing, he was defeated several times, but he still didn't lose his spirit. But now that his strength has not been restored, wouldn't he be humiliating himself by taking the initiative to find Liu Jing? But what is your destiny? It was difficult to disobey, even if Cai Mao was unwilling in his heart, he could only bite the bullet and gather the warships to go to Baqiu.
Rice in Jingnan matures early. In the north, it takes September to harvest, but in Jingnan, it can be harvested in August.
As soon as August arrives, Changsha, Lingling, and Guiyang immediately become lively, and there are busy figures everywhere in the suburban fields.
Last year, the three counties of Changsha, Lingling, and Guiyang suffered from floods. Although Liu Jing opened warehouses to provide food and provided relief in various ways, he could only ensure that no one would starve to death. The people in the severely affected areas all had something to eat. Fortunately, God has a gift. Eyes, this year is good, the weather is good, and people finally don't have to worry about going hungry anymore.
As one of the four counties in Jingnan, Wuling County is naturally no exception. However, among the numerous autumn harvest troops, the soldier Liu Jing, who is wearing crimson clothes and a red turban on his head, looks particularly abrupt.
On both sides of the Yuan River, thousands of Liu Jing's soldiers were buried in the fields, harvesting rice. Liu Rui and the officials and people of Linyuan could only stand at the top of the city, glaring angrily and gnashing their teeth.
Only a small part of the rice collected by Liu Jing's soldiers was kept in the army, and the rest was transported back to Hanshou County in the rear for storage.
Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, August is already halfway through. While Liu Jingjun finished harvesting the rice on both sides of the Yuanshui River, he also completed the task of building siege equipment and filling in the moat.
However, Liu Zong did not choose to attack the city immediately. He had learned that Liu Rui asked Jingman for help, so he was waiting for Jingman to enter the urn.