Liu Jingjun's large ships came over the river and covered the river. For a moment, the sails on the Mian River were like clouds, the red feathers were like the sun, the red flags were crimson in the sky, and the golden drums were beating together. The soldiers shouted to the city, and the Mian River was boiling.
Liu Jing, Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong and other officials of the palace stood in the Feilu of the tower ship, looking at Yicheng on the west bank of Mianshui River.
Compared with Xiangyang, which was just a garrison in northern Chu, Yicheng's predecessor was Yan, the capital of Chu State.
However, Yancheng had long been destroyed by the war, and Yicheng was rebuilt on the ruins of Yancheng. Although its scale was not as large as Jiangling, it was eight or nine miles in circumference, and its walls were high and thick, far better than ordinary county towns.
Yicheng is bordered by Mian River to the east and low-lying swamps to the west. Only the north and south are open. The Jingzhou Army did not huddle in the city, but set up separate camps in the southwest, forming horns with Yicheng.
Liu Jingjing estimated that the size of the Jingzhou Army camp was at least ten thousand, and there should be no less than that number in the city. This was similar to the information he received. The Jingzhou Army in Yicheng numbered about twenty to thirty thousand.
Liu Jing couldn't help but sigh with his surroundings: "Since I started the incident, I have captured hundreds of thousands of Northern troops, but Liu Jingsheng can still gather tens of thousands of followers to deal with me. The wealth of his family is really amazing."
Killing 100,000 prisoners may be an exaggeration, but it is not too far off. Liu Biao lost more than 50,000 water infantry in Jingnan alone. For Liu Biao, the losses were as heavy as Yuan Shao's in the Battle of Guandu.
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This year Liu Jing crossed the river and went north to capture Yiling, defeated Zhang Yun, conquered Jiangling, and captured another 20,000 people.
Adding all up, Liu Jing captured at least 70,000 Northern troops.
Moreover, Liu Biao's enemies were not only Liu Jing, but also fought with Cao Cao, Sun Ce, Sun Quan and others during this period, and the losses were also considerable.
Now that things have happened, Liu Biao still has the strength to fight. How could this not surprise Liu Jing?
Pang Tong said from the side: "The several counties in northern Jing can only support 50,000 or 60,000 soldiers and horses at most. The reason why Liu Jingsheng has enough troops is because he has recruited hundreds of thousands of northern refugees, especially tens of thousands of Guanzhong refugees in Nanyang.
Select the best and strongest to join the army. However, with Liu Jingsheng’s aggressive recruitment and the increasing stability of the three assistants, the refugees in Guanzhong have returned with their families to the north, and now there are basically no recruits.”
Liu Dingding nodded. Historically, Liu Biao pacified Jingnan and unified Jingzhou. The area was thousands of miles away and he had more than 100,000 soldiers under his belt. Therefore, he did not recruit the refugees from Guanzhong on a large scale.
Zhuge Liang's first plan was to suggest that Liu Bei take in the refugees in the Pass for his own use. Liu Bei thus got rid of the dilemma of having few soldiers.
Now, due to the presence of Liu Jing, Liu Biao suffered repeated heavy losses and his troops were stretched thin, so he had to target the refugees in Guanzhong.
Hearing that the refugees from Guanzhong began to return home in large numbers, Liu Jing felt very sorry.
In troubled times, the most precious thing is population. The more people there are, the more taxes can be collected and the more soldiers can be recruited. And you must know that the northerners in this era have more advanced skills than the southerners.
culture, more advanced agricultural technology…
Liu Jing has regarded Jingzhou as his own, and naturally does not want the refugees in Guanzhong to leave.
If they had known that they would become mere guests of Han Sui, Ma Teng and other generals in Guanzhong, I wonder if they would have insisted on returning home.
At this time, Pang Tong spoke again, bringing Liu Jing's thoughts back to reality, "It is precisely because his military strength is exhausted and there is nowhere to replenish it, that's why Liu Cong used gold, silk, seals and ribbons to recruit the barbarians in the area."
Qizhong is located to the north of the Yi (Man) River, between the two counties of Yicheng and Zhonglu. The land here is flat and suitable for planting mulberry and hemp. There are fertile land and water fields. It is the fertile land of Miannan and is home to hundreds of thousands of barbarians.
, living here for generations.
They are said to be barbarians, but they are actually semi-Chinese. The word "柤" in "椤" sounds like the word "tax". From this, it is not difficult to see that the barbarians in "Tai Zhong" pay taxes like the Han people, rather than paying symbolic tribute like the Jing barbarians.
Pay tribute and settle the matter.
Xiang Lang said: "It is said that Meiping, the king of Yi in Zhongzhong, has agreed to Liu Cong's request and led ten thousand people to help in the battle. I don't know whether this news is true or false."
Mei Ping was the most powerful among the people. The Yi and Han clans who relied on him were no less than ten thousand families and had tens of thousands of tribes. Even Liu Biao did not dare to look down upon him.
Liu Jing smiled and didn't care too much in his heart. To be honest, the barbarians in northern Jingzhou were far worse than the barbarians in southern Jingzhou. The Wuxi barbarians had fought bloody battles with the Han army for hundreds of years. Even General Fubo Ma Yuan could not help but end up wrapped in horse leather.
end.
When Liu Zong and Zhuge Liang recaptured Wuling County last year, they defeated the Wuxi Barbarians and captured more than 10,000 people. They were as ferocious as the Wuxi Barbarians, but they were far outmatched by Liu Jing's army, so the barbarians in the mountains were nothing.
While Liu Jing and his staff were watching and discussing, the infantry and civilians began to build camps around a Jindu in the southeast of Yicheng. During this period, neither Yicheng nor the Jingzhou military camp outside the city sent troops to harass.
Seeing that the Jingzhou Army was still unable to retreat, Liu Jing frowned slightly. There were tens of thousands of Jingzhou Army in Yicheng. If they were really determined to defend, they would definitely be a tough nut to crack.
Fortunately, Yicheng is no better than Jiangling, so there is no need to attack Xiangyang regardless of casualties. Xiangyang is close at hand, and he has an absolute water advantage. Liu Zong can lead the navy to march straight along the Mian River to threaten Xiangyang and force Yicheng's Jingzhou army to return for reinforcements.
, making Yicheng self-defeating without attack.
Of course, the Jingzhou Army in Yicheng may not return reinforcements. As we all know, the navy lacks the ability to attack fortresses, and with the help of Liu Bei from Fancheng in Xiangyang, it is enough to resist Liu Zong's navy.
However, there are no absolutes in the world, and Liu Cong is by no means a courageous and knowledgeable person. Once Liu Jingshui's army comes to the city, blocks the Hanmian River and blocks traffic, Liu Cong may not be able to deal with it calmly.
Liu Jingjun's fortification officers strictly followed the camp construction manual, and ordered the soldiers and civilians to build the fortifications. In less than half a day, square fortifications with strong grids and deep moats were built in a semicircular shape on the west bank of the Mian River.
Protect the water barracks in the center.
When Liu Jing got off the boat and landed, it was almost noon, smoke was rising from the camp, and the aroma of rice filled the air.
Liu Jing continued to patrol the camps and inspect the camp curtains as usual. He did not return to the Chinese army's tent until the soldiers had finished eating.
At nightfall, the Jingzhou Army, which had been unable to retreat, went out of character and came to attack the camp. Although Liu Jingjun was on guard, the Jingzhou Army still broke through a camp, killing and injuring hundreds of people.
The Jingzhou Army's harassment of Liu Jingjun's camp lasted the whole night. Even if Liu Jingjun later strengthened the defense in the camp and even went out to attack it, it could only make the Jingzhou Army retreat temporarily and then return soon, causing great trouble.
At the beginning of the next day, when the sky was just getting dark, Liu Jing suddenly received a report from the scouts. The Jingzhou army actually took the initiative to leave the city and formed an array to invite battle.
Liu Jing couldn't help being surprised. This was of course the result he most wanted to see. The question was, why did the Jingzhou army dare to go out of the city to fight with him? Could it be those ten thousand barbarians?
Liu Jing couldn't figure it out for a moment, but this did not prevent him from making the decision to fight.