In October of the 13th year of Jian'an, Yecheng was finally captured.
Yuan Tan fled to Bohai.
It was at this time that Cai Mao got the news of Liu Bei's departure.
Jiangling has tens of thousands of troops stationed at this moment.
Not only Jiangling, but also Chaling, Huarong and other places, a large number of Xiangyang soldiers and horses were stationed.
The fleet of the Yangtze River Navy sailed in Yunmengze and the Yangtze River area day and night, and the Jiangxia Navy was not to be outdone, cruising in the north of Dongting Lake and the Chibi area.
The place they were in has become land in later generations, such as Jianli City, Hubei City, Shishou City, etc., but at that time they were still lakes.
Therefore, in addition to the land around Hongkou, their confrontation sites range from Yunmengze in the north to Dongting Lake in the south.
No one on either side started a dispute. Even when the Jiangxia Navy was provocative, the Yangtze River Navy deliberately backed down and gave up the north and south of Hongkou, which would later become Dongting Lake and Honghu areas, while it retreated to Xiaoling and Huarong counties.
.
But in October, when Cai Mao heard that Liu Bei had officially entered Sichuan and had passed Baidi City and headed towards Linjiang in a mighty manner. He immediately made many preparations, and Jiangling suddenly became active.
Jinxiang is located three miles east of Jiangling City. To the east of this place is Yunmeng Ze. Hundreds of square kilometers to the southeast from Jiangling in the Han Dynasty were the Yunmeng Ze area, and the water area was very large.
At this moment, countless ships were docked at Jinxiang Pier, and the ships were all locked up with iron ropes.
Yunmengze could not simply be regarded as a lake at that time. Even though Yunmengze had begun to shrink significantly during the Qin and Han Dynasties, it still had an area of tens of thousands of square kilometers, which was larger than the five Dongting Lakes.
So at least if you look at this large lake from the river bank, you will feel like you are looking at the vast ocean, with rolling waves and waves.
Such a large area of the lake is vast and boundless, and the wind and waves are extremely strong. Naturally, the ships cannot be dispersed and fixed on the dock. The only option is to connect the ships with iron locks or wooden boats to prevent the ships from being blown away by the wind and waves.
This method is the "Iron Chain Boat" used by Cao Cao in the Battle of Chibi. It is not a strategy proposed by Pang Tong to Cao Cao. It is a common method of stopping ships in Chu, Wu, Yue and other southern regions during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. No matter who was at that time
This is how the boats stop.
Therefore, to a certain extent, Cao Cao's defeat in the Battle of Chibi was not due to the "iron ropes and boats" method, but because he believed Huang Gai's false surrender and allowed the false surrender fleet filled with fish paste to approach easily.
Arriving at Wulin Pier where he parked his boat.
Under normal circumstances, when the warship fleet is parked at night, of course you cannot go near it. Especially during such war-torn times, there have been controls on the Yangtze River, and merchant ships from various places are not allowed to travel to prevent people from prying into the river.
However, there are a large number of ships coming in and out of Jinxiang Wharf at this moment, some coming and going from the Yangtze River port in the south, and some coming from the Yunmengze Lake in the east. A large number of small and medium-sized ships enter and leave the port every day.
In the distance, a group of sergeants walked out of Jiangling City, making a sound of squeaking on the rammed earth. The docks stretched for more than ten miles, and thousands of ships seemed to have no end at a glance. People were coming and going on the river bank.
There were so many. After the team of sergeants entered the pier, they lined up and stood on the pier.
The person in charge of stationing in Jinxiang today is Zhonglang General Li Ying. He was originally Zhang Yun's subordinate. Later, because Cai Mao's generals suffered too many losses in the Battle of Badong, several middle and senior generals were transferred from Zhang Yun.
, which also includes Huo Jun.
Huo Jun's elder brother Huo Du once showed great glory in the Battle of Yingchuan when Liu Biao attacked Cao Cao, but he died of illness within two years. His younger brother Huo Jun inherited his tribe and is now a captain in Cai Mao's tent.
"Are we going to call in four hundred ships? This is not like a reconnaissance mission."
Li Ying looked at the warrant and saw that it was indeed the handprint of the Taiwei currently stationed in Jiangling, and there was a seal on it.
Wang Jie and Li Ying, who were leading the team this time, were also old acquaintances. They were both old generals who had followed Zhang Yun. At this time, they said with some complaint: "Go and die."
Li Ying saw the resentment of her colleagues and joked: "Why, the Taiwei asked you to go to Qingcao Lake and fight Jiangxia Navy?"
"That's not a big deal, but it's about the same. Send me south to work in the Tang Dynasty."
Wang Jie shrugged.
"Let's go to Tang Tianmai's residence."
Li Ying glanced at Wang Jie with some sympathy and said, "Didn't you ask the captain for help?"
Wang Jie spread his hands and said, "What's the use? It was the Taiwei who asked me to persuade him to surrender."
"Liu Pan saved Tian Mai's life, I'm afraid he won't surrender, and your sister"
Li Ying hesitated for a moment.
Wang Jie smiled bitterly and said, "Let's take it one step at a time."
While the two people were talking, the people on the dock had already begun to unlock the ship, preparing to let Wang Jie's army board the ship.
Not far from where they were chatting, there were several desks beside the official building at the wharf. Behind the desks, more than a dozen clerks were checking the accounts.
For example, there are now 50,000 to 60,000 troops stationed in Jiangling. In addition to the surrounding mausoleums and Huarong, the soldiers, ships, grain, grass, and ordnance coming and going every day must be counted.
Therefore, there are many assistants like them, up to hundreds of them, who have to register all goods and personnel coming in and out of the dock every day.
Among them was a military chief clerk, about thirty years old, who was sitting on his knees on the table, holding the account book in his hand and looking at it. He seemed to be looking at the account book seriously, but he was listening to the conversation between Wang Jie and Li Ying.
After a while, the ships on the pier finally set off.
There are a total of 400 ships of all sizes, including three flat ships, stern ships, more than 30 fighting ships, more than 100 warships, patrol ships, barges, first boarders, scouts, yachts, flying boats, red horses and so on.
More than a hundred ships.
Seeing the ship coming out, Wang Jie and Li Ying said hello, then returned to the team and issued orders. Thousands of troops began to board the ship and prepare to set off.
After noon, another army slowly came from Jiangling City.
This time Li Ying had a different look when she saw this general, because this man was his mortal enemy in the army, Han Hu. Han Hu was also working under Zhang Yun at the beginning, and the relationship between the two was not very good. Now,
Still the same.
Neither of them wanted to talk to each other. Han Hu slapped the military order in his hand on Li Ying's desk, and then waited for the auxiliary soldiers and civilians on the dock to adjust the ship.
Li Ying snorted and said nothing. Naturally, the chief clerk next to her couldn't hear what Han Hu was going to do.
Soon more than 300 ships left Jinxiang Pier.
Two days later.
On October 18, the 13th year of Jian'an, Changsha County, Luo County.
The rolling waves of the Yangtze River were vast, and Zhuge Liang was sitting cross-legged at the foot of Qipan Mountain in the northwest of Luo County. This place was not Miluo City in later generations, but the Quyuan Management Area in the northwest of Miluo City.
This area belonged to the Luo Zi Kingdom during the Spring and Autumn Period, including Miluo City, Yueyang County, and Xiangyin County in later generations, and Luo County in the Han Dynasty was located here.
Luo County is between the Xiangjiang River and the Mi River. To the northwest, the other side of the Xiangjiang River was a large landmass in later generations, but at this time it was a vast lake.
Several flying boats came upstream and finally slowly stopped at the Tingshe Pier at the foot of the mountain.
Zhuge Liang stood up to greet him.
The cabin of the spaceship opened, and a strong and strong young man with resolute eyebrows walked out. When he saw Zhuge Liang, he immediately smiled and said, "Brother."
"Xiaoqing."
Zhuge Liang was wearing a green robe, a white cloak outside, a Jinxian crown on his head, and a pair of gold silk cloud-headed silk shoes on his feet.
Because it was October, and it was getting colder in the south, he did not hold the feather fan in his hand, but put his hands behind his back. His whole body was as elegant as an immortal, and he looked at Shen Chen with a smile.
Shen Chen walked over with a smile, looked up and down and said: "Brother, he has lost some weight. Compared with the busy military affairs and daily affairs, there is no time to eat."
"I can handle daily life, but Xiaoqing is getting stronger and stronger."
Zhuge Liang did not respond directly, but the lack of response was basically acquiescence. Now he and Guan Yu are in charge of the army alone, and Guan Yu is in charge of the army. He has to take care of all the affairs of the army. Indeed, sometimes he is too busy and does not eat on time.
Shen Chen walked side by side with him, looking at the rolling Mi water on the east bank, and suddenly said with emotion: "This is the Mi Shui River? I just don't know where Qutan is where Jia Changsha paid his condolences?"
"That's it."
Zhuge Liang pointed to the left bank of Mi River a mile away and said: "This is where Qu Jun threw himself into the river."
Shen Chen looked in the direction he pointed and saw lush water and grass on the left bank of the Lishui River. The dense basil weeds were taller than a person. The water was turbulent. The cold wind of mid-October blew, as if it was carrying a whistling sound like a ghost crying or a wolf howling. .
Four hundred and eighty-six years ago, Qu Yuan threw himself into the river here.
There are no remains on the riverside. Except for the later Chu people who spontaneously built a mausoleum on the riverside in memory of Qu Yuan, nothing is left.
Even the cenotaph mausoleum is now only ruined. There were still people commemorating it in the Western Han Dynasty. Celebrities such as Jia Yi and Sima Qian came to express their condolences and worship him. But in the wars at the end of the Western Han Dynasty, and in today's troubled times, no one can protect themselves. Do you still care about dead people?
Looking at such a desolate Miluo Yuan, Shen Chen said with some emotion: "The country is broken by mountains and rivers, and the city is full of spring grass and trees. I am so moved that the flowers shed tears, and the birds are frightened. I didn't know that the capital of Chu State was conquered at that time. When the news reached Qu Jun's ears, with what kind of grief and anger did he jump into the cold river and die for his country?"
Zhuge Liang couldn't help but whispered: "Taifu Jia wrote a letter to express his condolences to Qu Jun. When Tai Shigong was twenty years old, he went to Luocheng to worship Zhengze. Presumably at that time, they could also feel Qu Jun's desolation when he encountered the country's ruin. It feels painful."
"I don't think they feel it."
Shen Chen shook his head: "There is no such thing as empathy in this world. When Jia Yi and Sima Qian were here, the Han Dynasty was booming. What they felt was just the same as Qu Yuan's neglect of talents."
Zhuge Liang thought for a moment and said, "That's true."
Shen Chen pointed to the north and said: "When a country is truly destroyed and a family is destroyed, isn't that what we can feel right now? Everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of a country, and my brother and I have to work hard."
"mutual encouragement."
Zhuge Liang nodded.
The two of them walked step by step to the pavilion by the river.
In fact, the surrounding area is not uninhabited. As the old land of Luozi Kingdom, Luo County is a large plain area formed by the alluvial accumulation of Xiangjiang River and Miluo River, covered with rice fields and countryside.
It's just that no one lives on the river bank because they are afraid of flooding and destroying the villages and fields, but there is still a pier.
There are pavilions on the pier, and the nearest village is two or three miles away. From the chessboard to the pier at the foot of the mountain, there are countless sentries and beacon towers. To the northwest, it is close to the intersection of the Xiangjiang River and the Mi River, overlooking Dongting Lake.
There are also a large number of military fortresses in this place.
Now Liu Pan is stationed in Luo County. Since Yunmengze in the Han Dynasty covered a large area, including the northeast of Yiyang City in Hunan Province, the west of Xiangyin County, and the west, north, and east of Yuanjiang City, it is still a vast swamp at this moment.
Therefore, if Cai Mao's army wanted to go south, they had to take a waterway and take a boat to the Xiangjiang River. Otherwise, they would have to cross the Wuling Mountains and Xuefeng Mountains, so this place was the only way to go.
Liu Pan's troops were stationed here, obviously for the strategic purpose of guarding the main road.
Zhuge Liang and Shen Chen entered the pavilion and sat opposite each other. This time they came here to conduct a comprehensive strategic review and prepare for tactical arrangements.
In fact, the general strategic principles and tactics have already been implemented, but the war is also changing all the time, and others will also adopt different strategies, so they must maintain communication at all times to facilitate response.
"Cai Mao must take Jingnan first and then Jiangxia. On this point, brother and I are consistent."
Shen Chen took out a rough map of Jingzhou. This map was drawn by himself. Although it was not comparable to satellite maps, it was much clearer than the popular maps at the time. He pointed to the location of Jiangxia County on it and said: "Cai Mao is afraid
After capturing Jiangxia, we will face the threat from Jiangdong, so we must first defeat Jingnan and then capture Jiangxia."
"good."
Zhuge Liang nodded slightly: "The situation of Jiangdong and the second young master is actually the same. They are like a tripod. Jiangdong and the second young master are strong while the eldest son of Jiangxia is poor and weak. But no one dares to attack Jiangxia. Once Jiangxia is destroyed, the eldest son will definitely flee to Jingnan.
At that time, the Second Young Master was bordering Jiangdong, and the two sides were in the same situation."
This is where Sun Quan and Liu Cong are both embarrassed about each other. They are three pillars of each other. Originally, Liu Cong and Sun Quan were in conflict with each other. But once Liu Qi was beaten away or eliminated, Sun Quan would die to get Jiangxia into his hands. Liu Cong
Cong will never give up.
In this way, even if Liu Cong defeats Liu Qi, he will have to deploy at least 30,000 to 40,000 troops in Jiangxia to defend against the invasion of Jiangdong. How many troops will he still have if he wants to regain Jingnan?
Therefore, the smartest way for Xiangyang is to ignore Jiangxia for now, concentrate their firepower and immediately go south to attack Jingnan, and recover Jingnan first.
And there is an advantage in taking Jingnan first.
That was a situation that would make Liu Qi obviously passive.
When he comes to save Jingnan, Jiangxia is empty, and Jiangdong may take advantage of it.
If he doesn't come to rescue, then Jingnan will definitely not be able to resist.
So Liu Qi will be in a dilemma.
But what Cai Mao didn't know was that they had already formed an alliance with Jiangdong, and at least Sun Quan had promised not to attack at this time.
"Cai Mao takes Jingnan, so what choice will he make?"
Shen Chen pointed to Zuotang, Hanshou and Linyuan and said: "The waterway from the south of the Xiang River was blocked by Liu Pan. It is very likely that he divided his troops into two groups, attacking both land and water. He took Linyuan first along the way, followed Yiyang to attack Changsha, and then attacked Changsha through Yiyang.
They faced us all the way on Qingcao Lake."
Linyuan County in the Han Dynasty was the seat of Wuling County in Jingnan. In later generations, it had another name, Changde.
In fact, if you look at the maps of later generations, you will feel that Changde should not belong to Hunan, because it is also on the Jianghan Plain, a city on the south bank of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River plain, and is not surrounded by mountains like Hunan.
But if you look at Changde in the Han Dynasty, it is easy to understand why it belonged to Hunan.
Because the entire northeastern part of Changde City at that time belonged to the Yunmengze area, including Huarong County in Yueyang, Hunan Province, Nan County in Yiyang, Hunan Province, and Anxiang County in Changde. This large area was a lake in the Han Dynasty until the Tang Dynasty.
It will only surface after Song Dynasty.
In other words, the vast plain from the north of the Yuanjiang River to the Yangtze River in later generations is about the size of Huarong County, Anxiang County, Nanxian County, Shishou City, Jianli City and several other cities and counties. It is still there today.
Blowing bubbles at the bottom of Yunmengze Lake.
Therefore, in terms of geography during the Han Dynasty, Changde should obviously be located in Hunan.
This is also the main reason why Changde is obviously located in the north, closer to Hubei, but has been part of the four counties of Jingnan since the Qin and Han Dynasties.
It is also the magnificent Yunmengze that separates Jingnan and Jingbei from here.
If Cai Mao's army wanted to go south, they could only go by water.
However, more than half of his Yangtze River Navy was lost. Although the remaining more than 20,000 Yangtze Navy has the ability to fight on the water, the rest of the army is from Nanyang. It will obviously be a problem in the battle with the Jiangxia Navy if it completely uses water routes.
At a disadvantage.
Therefore, Shen Chen believed that, in addition to the navy, he would most likely divide his troops into two groups, one with the Yangtze River Navy to contain the Jiangxia Navy and Liu Pan's army blocking the Xiangjiang River in Luoxian County, and the other with the Yangtze River Navy heading south from Xiaoling.
Although the northeast of Changde was still a vast land at this time, the direct north, probably the northwest of Anxiang County in later generations, Li County, Jinshi Beef Powder, Jinshi City, Linli County and other places, was already a piece of land.
The area was called Zuotang, and to the north was Chiling, which later became Gong'an County.
After crossing the Yangtze River from Jiangling to the south, you can go to Hanshou County and Linyuan County directly, and then follow the foothills of the Xuefeng Mountains from Linyuan to Hanshou County and Yuanjiang City in later generations.
Kill and rush to Yiyang County, and finally capture Changsha from Yiyang.
Historically, Liu Bei garrisoned troops in Xiaoling after the Battle of Chibi, and then renamed Xiaoling Gong'an, which means "left public security camp". He followed this route to go south and captured the four counties of Jingnan as his foundation.
Zhuge Liang listened to Shen Chen's analysis, nodded slightly and said: "Xiaoqing is right, I think the same way, if you want to take Jingnan, you must take Hanshou, Linyuan, and Yiyang."
"Now we are working in the three counties of Tang, Hanshou and Linyuan. We don't have many soldiers and horses. I'm afraid it will be difficult to resist Cai Mao's army."
"Luo County also needs soldiers and horses to garrison. Does Xiaoqing have any solution?"
"What do you think, brother?"
Shen Chen looked at Zhuge Liang with a smile. He couldn't just let him figure out a way for everything. He didn't believe that Zhuge Liang had no idea.
Zhuge Liang rolled his eyes at him and said: "I have visited Linyuan and Hanshou areas several times in the past few months. These two cities are both north of the Yuanshui River. I am afraid it will not be possible to defend them by the river, even if the enemy
As long as the three city gates of the east, west, north and west are surrounded, Linyuan will be easily defeated, so it must give way."
"Um."
Shen Chen nodded: "I knew brother had an idea."
Zhuge Liang pointed to a place on the map and said: "This place is called Yaoshan, and to the north of the mountain is Qingcao Lake. This is the only way from Linyuan to Yiyang."
Yaoshan is a mountain range southwest of Yuanjiang City in later generations. At that time, Yuanjiang City was still blowing bubbles at the bottom of the lake. Only an area near the Xuefeng Mountains was exposed on the water. Therefore, the exchanges between Linyuan and Yiyang Changsha in the Han Dynasty were You have to rely on the foothill lake road formed between the mountain and Yunmengze.
However, since the mountains around Yuanjiang City are not rugged mountains and are not as exaggerated and difficult to navigate as Bashu, Sichuan, it is still a broad road, and there are even many small roads in the mountains and forests, so there is no problem in marching.
Shen Chen had never been to these places, so he naturally didn't know what the geographical environment was like there. But since Zhuge Liang thought it was okay, he said: "Okay, then I will follow my brother's arrangements and set up an ambush here!"
"No rush."
Zhuge Liang waved his hand and said: "Now we are just conducting tactical simulations, we still have to see it in practice."
After being with Shen Chen for a long time, he also learned what tactical simulation and sand table deduction are.
However, at this moment, a scout suddenly came hurriedly from outside. He entered the pavilion and knelt down on one knee and said to Zhuge Liang: "Report, military advisor, please report carefully. Three days ago, Cai Mao sent a school of troops south to attack the Tang Dynasty. He also sent I found out that people from another school were missing, so the general asked me to report to the military advisor immediately."
After hearing this, Shen Chen looked at Zhuge Liang and said, "Cai Mao is very anxious. It seems that we have to be anxious too."