Wenpin said that as a general in Jingzhou, he had been greatly favored, but he could only watch the country's defeat and do nothing. He felt sad and humiliated in his heart, and he had no shame to meet Liu Jing earlier.
Wenpin's words sounded reasonable to outsiders, but they were not the real reason for his delay. The real reason was that he was hesitant after receiving Liu Cong's letter inviting him.
Wenpin didn't only have the option of surrendering to Liu Jing, he could also go north to defect to Cao Cao.
The old master Liu Biao perished at the hands of Liu Jing, and Wenpin was deeply benevolent to Liu Biao, so it was difficult for him to surrender to Liu Jing with peace of mind.
On the contrary, there is no need to worry about taking refuge in Cao Cao.
Cao Cao served the emperor to challenge the emperor, and he had a reputation of righteousness. All wise people in the world were committed to virtue. There were many people from Jingzhou who defected to Cao Cao, such as Li Tong from Jiangxia, Deng Zhan from Nanyang, etc.
Even Wenpin's Kun brothers, many of them defected to Cao Cao. After all, Wan County, where the Wen family was located, was under Cao Cao's rule.
However, Wenpin wanted to lead his troops to BeiTou Cao Cao, but there was an unsolvable problem, that is, he and his soldiers and their families were all in Xiangyang. Even if he could be ruthless and abandon his wife and children, his soldiers might not be willing to do so.
Moreover, Liu Jingshui's army had already moved from Mian to Qiao, cutting off Wenpin's way back to Xinye from the north. Liu Jing's infantry also landed on the north bank, eyeing Fancheng with eager eyes. It would be even harder to escape than to reach the sky.
Wenpin thought about it for a long time, but finally had to succumb to reality and chose to surrender to Liu Jing.
Of course, Liu Jingnai was an outstanding figure in the world. He was wise, powerful, magnificent, noble, and a powerful weapon. He was worthy of being a master of the Ming Dynasty. Wen Pin chose to serve under him, so he was not dissatisfied.
"The defeat of Jingzhou is not Zhongye's fault." Liu Jing stroked the back of his hand and comforted him, "Zhongye was brave and resourceful, guarding the northern border, breaking through the foreign defenses, and intimidating the enemy. If Liu Jingzhou used Zhongye to defend Yicheng,
Who will win the victory is yet to be determined."
"The general's strategy is extraordinary and his troops are like gods. Since the beginning of the army, he has been invincible in every battle and conquered all attacks. How can he be a general's rival if he hires a mortal?" Wenpin is quite self-aware. Among the famous generals in Jingzhou, every one of them can count against Liu.
He didn't think he would be an exception unless he was defeated in every situation.
Liu Jing smiled and said: "If Zhong Ye were a mortal, there would be no one in the world who could be called a good general."
Then he introduced Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, Jiang Wan, Wang Can and other close ministers to Wenpin.
Wenpin did not dare to neglect, and greeted everyone with courtesy.
After that, Liu Jing took Wenpin to sit down and asked about things in the north. Wenpin immediately answered without any reservations and told him that Zhangling County has 14 counties under its jurisdiction, with 30,000 households and more than 100,000 people.
The troops and horses in Zhangling were in the hands of Wenpin and Huang She, the prefect of Zhangling.
Huang She is not in Zhangling at the moment. Jiangdong's army invaded Jiangxia in a large scale before. Huang She received help from his father Huang Zu, and personally led his troops and horses to rush south to help. Now Wenpin and his troops have returned to surrender, which means that Zhangling has no available troops.
, Liu Jing can take it into his pocket at any time.
The territory of Zhangling County borders Cao Cao's forces and is the northern barrier of Jingzhou. No matter how bold Liu Jing is, he does not dare to hire this newly surrendered person to guard Zhangling. He is only suitable for the deputy position for the time being.
Those who can occupy this important position must not only be Liu Jing's close confidant, but also have the ability to care for the people internally and defend against powerful enemies externally, so that Liu Jing will not worry about the north when he conquers Jiangdong in the future.
Liu Jing looked around at his generals, and the most suitable candidate was none other than his clan brother Liu Zong.
However, Liu Jing is not in a hurry to make a decision, it still depends on the situation in Jiangxia.
Although Liu Cong assured him yesterday that he would be able to convince Huang Zu and Huang She and his son to surrender, nothing in this world is foolproof. We should wait until there is a result in Jiangxia.
Wenpin's current official position was Fenwu Zhonglangjiang, which was appointed by Liu Biao. Now that he was under Liu Jing's command, it was naturally no longer suitable for him to be used again. Liu Jing changed his title to Yangwu Zhonglangjiang.
In the evening, Liu Jing convened the civil and military officials at the state headquarters to hold a welcome reception for Wenpin.
At the cocktail party, Wenpin had the same seat as Liu Zong, Gan Ning, and Han Guang, and they were treated like relatives.
Three days later, Liu Cong's messenger traveled hundreds of miles and arrived at Shaxian to meet Huang Zu.
Although Huang Zu is nearly sixty years old this year, he is tall and tall, with a rosy complexion and does not look old at all.
Regarding Liu Cong's letter, Huang Zu was a little careless at first, thinking it was a letter asking him for help. However, when he opened the letter and read it, he realized that he was wrong, and he couldn't help being horrified.
Liu Jing led his army to the north. In order to guard against Huang Zu, he stationed troops at Zhouling in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and at the mouths of the upper reaches of the Han River. Huang Zu could neither go up the river to attack Baqiu and Jiangling nor rush north along the Han River to help.
Xiangyang.
Although there were not many troops stationed at Zhouling and Zhukou, Huang Zu fought against Sun Quan and Liu Jing, and most of his warships were destroyed, so he was unable to break through the blockade.
Huang Zu was guarding Shaxian, and the news was very limited. Who would have thought that Liu Jing would break through Yicheng, the last line of defense of the Jingzhou Army, in ten days, and then surround Xiangyang. Liu Biao died of illness, and Liu Cong surrendered from the state.
When Huang She saw that his father had lost his composure after reading the letter, he felt bad and asked anxiously: "Sir, what did you say in the letter?"
Huang Zu was so distraught at this time that he couldn't find the mood to speak, so he threw the letter away.
"This..." Huang She took the letter and glanced at it hastily, his face turned pale with shock.
Huang Zu was a vulgar man. He made iron smelting in his early years. Some people still secretly refer to him as "Satin Tin", but Liu Biao did not think that he came from a humble background. He was promoted to the army and was treated with great kindness.
Now Huang Zu, Huang She and his son are in charge of the counties and counties respectively, and their power is overwhelming in Jingzhou, surpassing Jianghan.
When I learned that Liu Biao died of illness, I couldn't help but shed tears because Huang Zu was such a poor person.
Huang She forced himself to calm down and said to Huang Zu: "Sir, now is not the time to be sad. The soldiers and civilians of the two counties are all looking up to you. Whether to fight or surrender, we must make a decision as soon as possible."
Liu Cong's letter mentioned that the day of Liu Biao's burial was scheduled for September 15th, which was eight days later. This was also the ultimatum given by Liu Jing to their father and son. If they did not show up in Xiangyang before September 15th, Liu Jing would definitely
Send his troops eastward to annihilate his father and son.
Jiangxia borders Nan County to the west, Changsha to the south, Jiangdong to the east, and Runan to the north. Except for the west, it borders external forces in the other three directions. It can be said that it is a land of four wars and it is difficult to stand on its own.
At present, Nanjun, which is the rear area, is captured by Liu Jing, and there is no possibility of self-reliance.
Sun Quan of Jiangdong had a deep grudge against him, so seeking refuge in Jiangdong was tantamount to seeking death.
Cao Cao in the north can take refuge, but the problem is that Cao Cao is now trying his best to deal with the Yuan family in Hebei. It is too late to win over Liu Jing at this time, so how can he turn against Liu Jing for a useless enclave in Jiangxia?
After much deliberation, Huang Zu, Huang She and his son had few choices. They could either surrender, flee, or die!
Huang Zu, Huang She and his son did not want to become a lost dog, let alone be buried for Liu Biao, so the only way was to surrender.