In the seventh year of Jian'an (AD 202), it was sunny on March 10.
Liu Jing, dressed in military uniform, stood in the royal chamber on the top floor of the ship, looking at the north bank of the Yangtze River. What caught his eyes was the endless wheat field like a green ocean.
The climate in Jingnan is humid and rainy, and the main crops are rice. Only a few places such as Changsha and Wuling County grow wheat, and the scale is small.
Gangneung is located in the Han River Plain, with fertile land, abundant water resources, and pleasant climate. It is not only suitable for growing rice, but also for growing wheat.
Compared with rice, which is planted in spring and harvested in autumn, wheat is planted in autumn and winter and will mature in the next summer, which spans nearly a year, so it is called Yunsu wheat.
The wheat harvest season is between May and June, but if you need food urgently, you can harvest it as early as April.
In other words, as early as next month, Liu Jingjun can "defeat the enemy with food."
This is very important. Sun Tzu's Art of War says: "If a country is poorer than its divisions, it will lose far; if it loses far, its people will be poor." The reason why a country becomes poor due to war is because the army has to carry out long-distance transportation. Long-distance transportation will inevitably lead to
The people are poor.
Although Liu Jing's army had the convenience of water conservancy and could transport grain from Jingnan, the losses were still staggering. It would be best if they could use grain to defeat the enemy.
After Liu Jing's death, in addition to Zhuge Liang, Xu Shu, Jiang Wan, Deng Zhi and other staff, generals such as Feng Xi, Gao Xiang, Huo Du and Huo Jun were also among them.
They all have one thing in common, that is, they are from Nanjun and know everything about Nanjun. Liu Jing must reuse them in this northern expedition to achieve twice the result with half the effort.
Liu Jing pointed to the north bank of the Yangtze River and asked: "Is this the Jin Township where Cen Peng conquered Tian Rong in the past?"
Cen Peng ranked sixth among the twenty-eight generals in Yuntai. The only generals in ZTE were Cen Peng and Feng Yijian. Deng Yu also had a chance, but unfortunately he was defeated in Guanzhong and fell short.
Tian Rong was a separatist who was entrenched in the Yiling and Jiangling areas of Nanjun at that time. If he had not read "Dongguan Han Ji", even the locals in Nanjun would probably not know who he was.
Feng Xi and Gao Xiang looked confused at this moment, but Huo Jun was familiar with "East View of Han Dynasty" and replied: "General Bo Wen Qiang Ji. In the past, Cen Peng defeated Tian Rong here and captured tens of thousands of people. After this
By fighting, the country's majestic virtue can be spread in the south of the Yangtze River, and the message can be spread from Changsha to Jiaozhi."
Liu Jing shook his head and said: "Tian Rong is just a common man, but facing the Han army marching south, he knew he was outmatched, but he still dared to fight. Liu Qi and Cai Mao, who were sitting on strong soldiers, knew I was coming, but they still dared to fight.
Huddled in Jiangling and not daring to fight, you are worse than Tian Rong."
Jinxiang is located in the east of Jiangling County. Liu Qi and Cai Mao must have known about the arrival of Liu Jing's army in Jinxiang, but there was no movement in Jiangling. It was obvious that the two of them had made up their mind not to leave.
Huo Jun said in a deep voice: "The Art of War says: "The first is to attack the enemy, the second is to attack the enemy, the second is to attack the enemy, and then the second is to attack the city. The method of attacking the city is as a last resort." Liu Qi and Cai Mao stayed in Jiangling and did not leave, but they attacked me.
The army is at a disadvantage."
Liu Jing nodded lightly. Jiangling is a famous city in Jingchu. It has high walls and thick walls, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack. During the Three Kingdoms period, Jiangling had two famous battles: the first was after the Battle of Chibi, when Zhou Yu defeated Chibi.
Taking advantage of the power, he marched into Jiangling and attacked for a full year before forcing the defender Cao Ren to abandon the city and return north.
The second time was after the Battle of Yiling. Cao Pi was afraid that Sun Quan would annex the Shu Han Dynasty, so he sent Cao Zhen, Xia Houshang, Zhang He and other generals to attack Jiangling. This battle lasted for more than half a year, but in the end Cao Pi's army returned without success, and the defender Zhu Ran was
His reputation shocked the enemy's country.
From this we can see how strong Jiangling is. However, although the city is important, the people are more important. People like Mi Fang, who are ignorant of loyalty and greedy for life and fear death, sit on the strong city of Jiangling, but open the door to surrender the enemy, and their death is laughed at by the world.
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Although Liu Qi and Cai Mao are not as capable as Cao Ren and Zhu Ran, they are Liu Biao's eldest son and brother-in-law. They will both prosper and lose with Liu Biao, so they will never surrender the city.
Liu Jing could only resort to forceful attacks. Although he had developed secret weapons such as flying stone chariots (trebuchets), serial crossbows (bed crossbows), and "Linchong Liu Jun chariots" (siege towers), he could not attack
Going down to Jiangling is still not an easy task.
Fortunately, Liu Jing could learn from Zhou Yu's historical method of attacking Jiangling: the first was to "Jue North Road", sending troops northward to harass and block reinforcements from the north. The second was to "take Yiling", occupying the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, cutting off support from the west, and making Jiangling
It was completely reduced to an isolated city, which further broke the will of the defenders, and finally launched an all-out attack to capture Jiangling in one fell swoop.
Liu Jingjun has hundreds of warships and more than a thousand cavalry. However, the Jingzhou navy led by Cai Mao has been defeated by Liu Jing three times in recent years and was wiped out twice. Now let alone Jiangling, even Xiangyang cannot assemble an army that can compete with Liu Jingshui's army.
The situation of the rival fleet and cavalry was roughly the same as that of the navy. The more than a thousand war horses that Liu Biao had accumulated over the years were all in vain at an advantage to Liu Jing. Now Liu Biao only had three or four hundred horses under his command, which was not as good as the visiting army of Liu Bei.
Liu Jing's army had an absolute advantage over Liu Biao's army in terms of navy and cavalry. Whether it was the North Road or Yiling, he could advance and retreat freely. I believe that the final effect achieved would never be inferior to Zhou Yu's.
Liu Jing ordered: "Since Liu Qi and Cai Mao voluntarily gave up the natural dangers of the Yangtze River, stayed in Jiangling and allowed us to go ashore, then we should not let down the good intentions of each other and pass on my order: land in Jinxiang."
"No." All civil and military officials said in solemn obeisance.
In addition to the ferry at Jinxiang, Liu Jing also ordered the navy to set up another camp on the island in the middle of the river.
The Jiangling and Zhijiang sections of the Yangtze River extend from Jinxiang in the east to Shangming in the west. There are ninety-nine continents on the river that is more than a hundred miles long.
Of course, the so-called ninety-nine states are just an approximate number, and in reality they are only a few more.
These islands in the river vary in size. The largest one is called "Baili Island". There are residential cities and mulberry fields and fruit fields on the islands. The county seat of Zhijiang County is located on this island.
In history, Sun Quan once asked Sun Sheng to garrison tens of thousands of people in Bailizhou and build a fort as a foreign aid to Jiangling.
Liu Jing asked the navy to set up camp, not on Bailizhou, but on the continent near Jiangling.
Liu Jingjun's cavalry was the first to land at Jinxiang Ferry. As soon as the scout cavalry landed, they galloped in three directions: east, west and north.
In a regular army, cavalry is an indispensable part. The army may not have elite cavalry that can overwhelm powerful enemies and confuse the masses, but it must have a scout cavalry.
The scout cavalry can play a very, very huge role, such as warning, patrolling, reconnaissance, reporting, communication, etc.
It is no exaggeration to say that cavalry scouts are the eyes of the infantry. Without cavalry scouts, the infantry would be no different than blind.
After the cavalry, infantry also began to land continuously.
Jinxiang has a population of over 10,000 and is quite prosperous. The people of Jinxiang heard in advance that the Jingnan Army was coming. Although Liu Jing had a reputation of being "benevolent, righteous and caring for the people", the people of Jinxiang did not dare to believe it. They brought their families with them or hid in Jiangling, the county town.
Or they took refuge in the fortress of a wealthy family. Not only did most of the people in the countryside escape, but even the common people living in the towns also fled.
Facing the menacing Liu Jingjun, the officials and people of Jinxiang surrendered immediately, and Liu Jingjun occupied the town of Jinxiang without a fight.
Soon, Liu Jing, accompanied by a group of civil and military guards, disembarked from the ship and entered the township of Jinxiang.
Liu Qi and Cai Mao stood side by side on the east wall of Jiangling, looking at the dozens of Liu Jingshui warships cruising unscrupulously on the river. Both of them were so angry that their faces were livid.
Jiangling currently has more than a hundred ships, large and small, which may seem like a large number, but in fact most of them are light boats and gondolas that are not suitable for fighting. There are only a few large ships such as tower ships, fighting ships, and stern ships, and their strength is not as strong as the partial division of Liu Jingshui's army.
Therefore, Liu Qi, Cai Mao, and the Jiangling soldiers and civilians could only watch Liu Jingshui's army show off its power outside the city, but they had no choice but to do anything.
Liu Qi is very similar to Liu Biao. He is tall, has a gentle appearance and a handsome man. He has been out of Jiangling for more than a year and has taken charge of the military and political power. This makes him less flashy and more majestic, making him more like Liu Biao.
Hearing the sound of footsteps coming from behind, Liu Qi withdrew his gaze and turned to look, but it was the envoy sent to Dangyang who had returned.
The envoy walked quickly to Liu Qi and Cai Mao, took out a letter from his arms, presented it with both hands, and said: "Master, military advisor, this is Zhang Zhonglang's reply."
Zhang Zhonglang, also known as Zhonglang General Zhang Yun, was asked by Liu Biao a few days ago to lead 5,000 men south to support Jiangling. At present, he has led his troops to Dangyang County, which is more than 100 miles north of Jiangling.
It is said that the relationship between Liu Qi, Cai Hao and Zhang Yun was not harmonious, and could even be called bad. Among the scholars, he was the most like Liu Biao, so he was the most loved by Liu Biao. However, after Cai Hao married his niece to his second brother Liu Cong
, everything changed. Cai Mao and his stepmother Cai Shi, both external and internal, repeatedly slandered him in front of Liu Biao and praised Liu Cong. Liu Biao didn't listen at first, but he couldn't stand the Cai brothers and sisters' constant slanders day and night. Liu Biao gradually changed.
His attitude towards Liu Cong became increasingly fond of him, while he became increasingly distant from him.
Although Zhang Yun is his younger brother, Zhang Yun and Liu Cong are similar in age. They grew up together and have a very close relationship. They often help Liu Cong and fight against him.
In the past, Liu Qi always hated the two of them, but Liu Jing's sudden rise threatened Jingzhou's foundation, so he could only temporarily put aside his personal grudges. For more than a year, he and Cai Mao were at peace with each other.
Liu Qi opened the letter, glanced at it hastily, and couldn't help but frown.
Zhang Yun had previously explained to him the reason why he did not come to Jiangling. He believed that Jiangling had more than 10,000 soldiers and a year of grain support would be enough to defend itself. If his five thousand men were stationed in Jiangling, not only would they have little effect, but they would also be self-defeating.
Instead of being trapped in a tight siege, it is better to station in Dangyang, which can not only provide foreign aid to Jiangling, but also serve as a barrier to Xiangyang. It can be said that it kills two birds with one stone.
Liu Qi was naturally unhappy about this. Who would dislike having too many soldiers in his hands?
However, Zhang Yun obtained the consent of his father Liu Biao, so Liu Qi could not say much.
But he felt that five thousand men to garrison Dangyang was a bit too wasteful, so he asked Zhang Yun to divide him into two thousand men to garrison Jiangling. This request was not too much, but Zhang Yun unexpectedly refused.