Chapter 339: Sun Quan in White Clothes Crosses the River and Attacks Jingzhou
In early June of the 24th year of Jian'an, we were in Ruxukou, Jiangdong.
While it is raining heavily in Nanyang, it is raining lightly in Jianye. The drizzle is mixed with a slight breeze, bringing a slight coolness in the summer season of June.
Sun Quan was sitting cross-legged on the porch of the backyard of his mansion in Ruxukou, with willows floating in the courtyard. He looked at the letter in his hand and remained silent.
Next to him, Lu Xun was kneeling respectfully with a cup of tea in his hand. Seeing Sun Quan's expression of silence, he said, "Marquis Wu, what about Zhao Yun's reply?"
"He said it has been raining in Xiling these past few days, making marching inconvenient. He hopes we can postpone it for a few more days and wait until the rain stops."
Sun Quan put down the letter in his hand and shook his head.
He has been preparing for the attack on Jingzhou since the beginning of the year. Now a large amount of grain and grass has been transported to Chaisang and Guiyang, the materials, equipment and baggage are almost ready, and the personnel training has basically been completed.
Next, Sun Quan hoped to weaken the defense forces of Xiling and Jiangxia, so he wrote to Zhao Yun and Huang She, asking them to attack Hefei together.
In April, Sun Quan received letters from Liu Bei and Cao Cao. Liu Bei hoped that he could attack Hefei to relieve his pressure on the western front, while Cao Cao hoped that he could attack Jingzhou and share the south with him.
Between Huainan and the entire Jingzhou, Sun Quan naturally chose the latter without hesitation, so he hoped that Cao Hong could hold back Shen Chen's main force.
However, in the past few days, the battle reports have been sent. Cao Hong has been almost suppressed by Shen Chen in the past two months. Taiting was violently attacked by the Nanyang army and almost fell. This made Sun Quan start to worry about whether Cao's army could withstand the pressure.
If Cao Hong loses, won't he be embarrassed?
"Where's Huang She?"
Lu Xun asked again.
Sun Quan said: "Huang She said he could send troops, but he said he would go north from Wankou, station troops in the nest, and then go straight to Hefei together after we send troops."
"Um."
Lu Xun thought for a while, nodded and said, "This is normal. It seems it's time to send out troops."
Sun Quan said: "Zhao Yun doesn't send troops for fear that he will be on guard."
Lu Xun smiled and said: "No, it would be strange if he sent troops. There are only more than 10,000 people in Xiling, and they have to garrison several counties. There are only 5,000 in Xunyang City, so there is some hesitation. Huang She has the number of naval troops.
Ten thousand, and it is not raining heavily now, and the river has not risen, it is only reasonable to send troops with us, otherwise Liu Bei is so tight on the Western Front, there is no way he would not have told Huang She and Zhao Yun."
Sun Quan pondered for a moment, then stood up and said, "Then send troops?"
"send troops!"
Lu Xun nodded seriously.
Sun Quan then said to the guards on the left and right: "Send an order to Lu Meng. Once Huang She's ship passes Chaisang and enters Juchao from Wankou, he will immediately release the carrier pigeons and attack Nanjun in both directions."
"only!"
The attendant took the order and left.
On the fifth day of the sixth lunar month, Huang She, the commander of the Jiangxia navy, sent his generals Su Fei and Chen Sheng, each with 8,000 men and a fleet of five to six hundred ships, to sail southward toward Wankou.
When Sun Quan heard the news, he immediately took action. He used the Northern Expedition to Hefei as an excuse to march to Shu County.
Then the army suddenly moved south and surrounded Juchao.
The reason why they had to wait until the navy entered the city before taking action was because they were not sure of destroying the Jiangxia navy fleet if intercepted on the river.
Once you escape from any ship, you can quickly alert Xunyang and Xiakou and alert Huang She and Zhao Yun.
Moreover, the navy's combat effectiveness is strong on the ship, but when it enters the city on land, its combat effectiveness is obviously much worse. Therefore, luring the enemy to land is the best way.
Sun Quan's sudden attack obviously caught Su Fei and Chen Sheng off guard. Juchao was quickly surrounded, and they could only defend themselves in the city.
On the seventh day of June, Zhang Liao and Xue Ti from Hefei also learned the news and led an army of 5,000 people to come to help.
The two sides fought for half a day. Sun Quan believed that his first task should be to quickly move Nanjun, Jiangxia and Xiling counties southward, and should not delay here, so he left 10,000 people behind to cooperate with Zhang Liao's army to besiege Su Fei, and took 50,000 soldiers for himself.
People went straight to Xiling.
On the same day, Sun Jiao, the guard of Guiyang County, received the news that Sun Quan ordered to send troops. The fleet immediately went north along the Lei River and captured Ling (ling) County of Hengyang County, which was later known as Hengyang City.
At that time, the garrison in Jingnan was almost exhausted, and Changsha County, Lingling County, Wuling County, Yuanling County and Hengyang County were almost undefended.
Sun Jiao's 30,000 troops easily captured Hengyang, and immediately went north to take Changsha.
By June 10th, almost all of Chong'an, Yinshan, Rongling, Liling, Southern Hunan, Western Hunan (north of Hengshan County), Xiangxiang and other places along the Xiang River had surrendered. Only Linxiang still had one or two thousand county soldiers.
But they only resisted for no more than an hour before Kaicheng surrendered.
In the next few days, Sun Quan's decision was almost announced throughout Jingnan. The various aristocratic families in Jingnan rushed to tell each other and celebrated each other. Not only did they send a large number of clan members to join, they also provided grain, grass and supplies to Sun Quan's army to help Sun Jiao occupy Jingnan.
In just seven or eight days, Jingnan fell completely into Sun Quan's hands, and the number of soldiers increased to more than 40,000. People at the time euphemistically called it "the right way will help you many, but the wrong way will help you few."
Only those officials, county magistrates, and county guards who abandoned the city and fled knew that those aristocratic families were dissatisfied because they were deprived of their hidden property by Liu Bei's policy.
They have only sent out more than 10,000 troops, which is considered good.
If there were still a large number of hidden servants in the past, I am afraid that each family could produce hundreds or even thousands of people. With the large number of Jingnan families, especially Lingling County with a population of one million, it is not difficult to raise an army of tens of thousands.
But now with the support of the aristocratic families, the people at the bottom cannot organize quickly. The officials under Liu Bei in Jingnan cannot resist and can only evacuate.
On June 12, Sun Jiao's fleet crossed Dongting Lake and headed straight for Jiangling.
Four days ago, on June 8, when Sun Quan surrounded Juchao and Sun Jiao was quickly seizing Jingnan, Lu Meng, who was stationed in Chaisang, finally started to take action.
At the beginning of lunch, there was still a light mist on the Yangtze River, and it was raining lightly in the sky. It was a real light rain. I stood outside and looked up at the sky, and a few raindrops fell on my face like fur, and I couldn't feel it at all.
The kind that's raining.
But the sky is dark, not dark, but gray. The clouds in the sky are also gray, and leaden. Only the bright light of day shines in the east, but the sun cannot be seen.
Lu Meng walked out of the Chaisang military camp, with groups of soldiers behind him. Countless ships were lined up neatly on the Chaisang pier, swaying in the wind and rain.
In the inner lake harbor on the westernmost side of the fleet, there are still a large number of ships parked densely. These ships are completely different from those warships. Although they are large and small, they do not have military facilities. They are ordinary merchant ships, and their names are Lu.
.
The outside of Chaisang City has become muddy and wet due to the moderate rains in the past few days, and the yellow soil has become increasingly slippery. Looking at the Yangtze River from the pier, you can vaguely see Jiangxinzhou in the north and the rippling waves of Penglize.
Quan Cong raised his head and glanced at the sky, and said to Lu Meng: "The governor still needs to be careful. It has been raining heavily in Wu County these days. I am afraid that heavy rains will also come in Yuzhang and Jiangxia."
"Um."
Lu Meng nodded calmly and said: "In this battle, you will attack Xunyang with the Marquis of Wu, and we must fight it quickly. As long as I break the Xiakou Pier, you must rush to help quickly."
"rest assured."
Quan Cong nodded: "This is the battle for the rise and fall of Jiangdong, and it is also the battle for me to avenge my father. Back then, Shen Chen in Yixian County flooded the army, and my father also drowned. From today on, I will demand repayment with his blood." "
"Walk!"
Lu Meng waved his hand, and the soldiers behind him poured out of the barracks like a tide and headed towards the dock.
Soon, tens of thousands of people came to the dock, arranged in order. Under the command of generals at all levels, they did not wear battle armor, but ordinary clothes, disguised as businessmen, and boarded the ship one after another.
After everyone got on the boat, with a long and melodious sound of the horn, hundreds of Leru boats left the port and poured into the Yangtze River in batches in order.
Nowadays, Jiangdong's ships have been modified. After acquiring Shen Chen's paddle wheel ship technology, wheel paddles are installed on both sides of the ship.
The soldiers did not do anything in the cabin, but used pedals to turn the wheel axle to drive the ship.
At this time, it was the time of summer and autumn, and the southeast wind blew in Yangzhou. It was the southeast wind that pushed the clouds from the East China Sea to the Jingzhou area. Therefore, with the help of the sail, they sailed very fast, against the current and the wind, all the way westward.
There were no beacon towers along both sides of the Yangtze River in Xiling County, but Lü Meng crossed the river in white, disguised himself as a businessman and dispersed across the river, successfully deceiving the guards stationed at the beacon towers.
He quietly sent people to pull out a large number of beacon towers. By the evening of June 10, Lu Meng's fleet had arrived at Xiakou.
As night falls, at the junction of the Yangtze River and Mianshui River in Xiakou, which is probably the Nanhu area southeast of Wuhan City in later generations, a city stands under the hills in the distance. On the lake dock to the north of the city, there are countless ships.
Historically, Xiakou was founded only after Sun Quan got Jingzhou. There was no such city before because most of the area of Wuhan City was originally located on the bottom of the Yangtze River and Yunmengze Lake.
It is only in recent years that large amounts of land have surfaced.
Therefore, when Huang Zu was guarding Jiangxia, he did not defend against Sun Ce and Sun Quan's attack in the urban area of Wuhan in later generations, but in a city called Shaxian to the west of Wuchang District of Wuhan in later generations.
But now that a small part of Wuhan City has emerged from the bottom of the lake, Shen Chen asked Huang She to build a city and dock in Xiakou, and the main force of Jiangxia Navy was basically stationed here.
At this moment, the sky is darkening. As the intersection of the Yangtze River and the Han River, Xiakou is connected to the treaty ports of Nanyang, Nanjun, Jiangxia, and Zhangling counties. Grains and goods from Jingbei will also be shipped to Yizhou, and Yizhou will be sent to Yizhou. It brought salt and Shu brocade and became an important trading center for Jingyi and Yangzhou.
The reason why Yangzhou can participate in trade is that Sun Quan and Liu Bei are allies. In his early years, Zhou Lin himself was a merchant who often transported goods to Jiangdong for sale. There were many of them on the Yangtze River, so Xiakou became increasingly prosperous. Even during the war, there were countless merchants. Merchants gathered here.
The most frequent merchant ships at the lake ports in Neiwan were merchant ships. Lu Meng's fleet arrived at Xiakou Port in the evening. The flag on his ship represented the merchant ships of a certain family in Jiangdong. This family often traveled between the three states of Jing, Yi, and Yang. The soldiers at the dock on the shore had long accepted their bribes and recognized this fleet.
Stationed at the dock today was a subordinate named Xu Fan under Huang Shooter. Since it had been raining in many areas of Jingzhou and Yangzhou recently, business had been slightly stagnant. Suddenly he saw a fleet coming from Jiangdong, which made him a little confused.
But when Xu Fan saw the flag on the fleet, he felt relieved.
Because there is a big word "深" on it.
That is the Shen family of Wu County.
There are hundreds of powerful families in Jiangdong. The Shen family in Wu County is famous for its "rich family and rich fortune." By the end of the Han Dynasty, the Shen family was already a wealthy family in Jiangdong. After the Eastern Jin Dynasty, there was a descendant Shen Jing Shen He joined the army for Xie An, and Huan Chong joined the army. Shen Yue, the author of "Song Shu", also came from this family.
At this time, the Shen family of Wu County was not the Shen family of Wuxing in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Their ancestor was Shen Jing, the prefect of Jiyin in the early Eastern Han Dynasty. Shen Jing's son Shen Rong served as Guang Luxun, and later moved to Riyubu Township, Wucheng County, Kuaiji County. Later, Wucheng County was transferred to Wu County, so it was called the Shen family of Wu County.
And where is the ancestral home of Shen Rong?
That's right.
In Gushi, Runan.
He is probably the same ancestor as Shen Chen two or three hundred years ago.
With this irreplaceable relationship, and the Shen family's good conduct and management skills along the way, the Shen family's business in Wu County went all the way to Yizhou.
Therefore, when Xu Fan saw that it was the Shen family's fleet, he didn't take it to heart.
Who doesn’t know that Shen’s business in Wu County is the largest?
Not to mention that it has been raining in many places in Jingzhou and Yangzhou these days. Even if there is hail in the sky, their fleet will probably be able to sail without delay.
The fleet quickly approached the dock, and Xu Fan just watched from outside the military camp on the dock without moving.
According to past practice, someone will take the initiative to give money anyway.
really.
After a while, the steward of the Shen family came over with a few people, said some kind words, handed over gifts, and then asked the soldiers in Xu Fan's camp to help carry the goods.
On weekdays, there are a large number of workers at Xiakou Wharf, but the rainy season has recently arrived, the off-season for trade, and it is approaching dark. The workers have already dispersed without any work to do, and the city is about to close, so it is normal that there are few people on the wharf.
In the past, soldiers would not steal laborers' jobs. This was a rigid rule from above. Firstly, soldiers had military pay and could support their families. Secondly, they were afraid that soldiers would be arrogant and deprive those workers of their livelihood.
But this time the workers were not around, so Xu Fan thought it would be good to let his brothers earn some extra money, so he agreed and brought hundreds of guards on the dock over to prepare to help.
As densely packed ships sailed into the pier, Xu Fan walked over and said to the steward: "Let your people move the things to the shore first, and then I'll ask the brothers to transport them to the warehouse."
Outside Dongcheng City in Xiakou, there is a warehouse farther east than Su City outside Dongcheng City, Luoyang. Merchants would rent warehouses there for temporary storage of goods.
The steward responded with a smile, then whistled.
Immediately afterwards, at least several hundred people came out of the cabins of the ships on the dock. They had no goods in their hands, but instead carried weapons.
Xu Fan's expression suddenly changed.
A sharp knife stabbed his chest.
In the last eyes of his life, he only reflected the attendants around the steward who were smiling apologetically just now, but now they were showing cruel smiles.
The issue of Ling Tong and the paddle steamer has been revised. I have been busy with resignation and moving these days, and it is indeed in a hurry. As for crossing the river in white clothes, will you be on guard against merchants traveling back and forth from three places for more than ten years?