The Xiliang Army conquered Jiangling. Liu Bei faced huge pressure. There were 50,000 soldiers and horses in the city, but he had nothing to fear. The key was to gather the strength of the entire Jingzhou together to be able to confront the Xiliang Army. Otherwise, there would inevitably be
The situation in Xuzhou at that time.
"Kong Ming, Kuai Liang just went to the Cai Mansion, probably for the Xiliang Army."
"Lord, there is no need to worry. The aristocratic families in the city are just helpless. As long as the lord can stabilize the situation in Xiangyang, they will not come out to cause trouble. These aristocratic families know how to cherish their wings better than us. You only need to pay close attention to the Cai family.
If it weren't for the Cai family's great influence in Xiangyang, my lord should have imprisoned them all." Zhuge Liang said that after the defeat of Yizhou, he developed the Liannu, which was as powerful as the Xiliang army. In addition,
Cao Jun's fire oil was used to guard Xiangyang, and there was nothing wrong with it.
"Kong Ming, these aristocratic families will do anything for the benefit of the family. We have to guard against it. The Kuai family has been suppressed too much by us, so we have to guard against it." Liu Bei said with concern. Jiangling City is strong and still in the west.
It fell under the attack of the Liang army. Although it caused trouble to the Xiliang army, the losses were relatively heavy compared to the food and grass in the city. As the granary of Jingzhou, the food and grass in Jiangling was enough to support an army of 20,000 for a year.
, that is to say, with this food and grass, the Xiliang army can completely rely on Jiangling's food and grass to attack the entire Jingzhou. Within half a year, Jia Rong does not need to worry about food and grass.
"My lord, the Kuai family, the Ma family, and the Cai family, we have supported the Ma family, and the Ma family has taken the lead in containing it. The other aristocratic families dare not not contribute. When the Xiliang army attacks, the first to be sent are the private soldiers of the aristocratic families.
, let them share weal and woe with Jingzhou."
Cai Mao still made no movement in the house, as if what happened in Jingzhou had nothing to do with him.
Huang Zhong asked Luoyang for help while continuing to move forward. With Jiangling, he didn't have to worry about food and grass, which indeed saved a lot of trouble.
"General, Jiangling was conquered and Wei Yan escaped, but Guan Yu's 30,000 troops in Nanjun are also strong and have to be defended," Ma Teng said.
Huang Zhong smiled and said: "General Ma, Nanjun borders Nanyang, and the city is guarded by strong soldiers. Once Xiangyang is besieged, how will you react if you are Guan Yu?"
After Ma Teng pondered for a moment, he understood the key, clasped his fists and said, "The veteran general is very resourceful, and I admire him for his humility."
"But Guan Yu must be on guard. General Ma, you can lead five thousand soldiers and horses to garrison Jiangling to prevent Guan Yu from attacking," Huang Zhong said.
"promise."
Jiangling was captured, and Jia Rong was very happy. As Huang Zhong said, just by surrounding Xiangyang, he could wipe out the soldiers and horses in other places in Jingzhou one by one. Huang Zhong still had more than 40,000 soldiers and horses in his hands to surround the small town.
Xiangyang is already enough. Even if Jingzhou has an army of 100,000 at this time, it will be wiped out by the force of 40,000.
To be on the safe side, Jia Rong sent Jiang Yu to lead three thousand cavalry to Nanyang.
Among the Jingzhou naval forces, Zhou Tai, who was already a general, kept pacing in the tent. The dispatch of the Xiliang army gave him hope. His forbearance for many years was coming to the end. You can imagine the excitement in his heart.
However, after joining the Jingzhou Navy, he never forgot his mission. When Lone Wolf found him, he immediately agreed to all the requests of the Xiliang Army.
Seeing the soldiers constantly practicing on the water village, Zhou Tai couldn't help but think of the invincible navy army on the river. Although the banner at that time was water pirates, secretly they belonged to the Xiliang Army. A small oversight almost led to Jia's death.
Rong was killed on the river, and the sons of the water village also suffered heavy casualties.
Zhou Tai was a general promoted by Cai Mao. He knew Cai Mao very well. His experience in water marching and fighting was not inferior to his own. It was only because of his unclear relationship with the Xiliang army that he was alienated by Liu Bei.
"General, your Majesty has sent an envoy to invite the general into the palace." A guard came in and said with cupped fists.
The emperor of Jingzhou can no longer be regular, mainly because he has no money in his hands. The land of one state to support hundreds of thousands of soldiers has long been emptied. In addition, the cost of the palace, not to mention the common people, even the generals
The wages cannot be paid on time.
"Yeah, I got it."
After Zhou Tai made some preparations, he led two soldiers and headed towards Xiangyang.
"Thank you for your hard work, General Zhou." Liu Bei came up and said.
"General." Zhou Tai bowed respectfully. At this time, Liu Bei was already the general of the Han Dynasty. In the past, that was a prominent position, but among the current princes in the world, official position is not important. The key is
He has elite soldiers and generals in his hands.
"General Zhou guards the navy and prevents the Jiangdong navy from easily offending him. This is really a blessing for the great man." Liu Bei patted Zhou Tai on the shoulder and said.
Zhou Tai suddenly felt that Liu Bei was so hypocritical. Compared with Jia Rong, he was far behind. Liu Bei was his superior. If he had anything to do, he could just give him direct instructions. Why beat around the bush? Even though he thought so in his heart, he still had to pretend to be impressed on his face.
expression.
"Resisting the enemy is a humble duty." Zhou Tai said.
Liu Bei valued Zhou Tai very much. In the past, the Jingzhou navy was headed by Cai Mao and Zhang Yun. Now, Zhou Tai's power has been able to compete with Zhang Yun and he has become an emerging general in the navy. Liu Bei is naturally indispensable for all this.
In order to squeeze out Cai Mao's influence in the army, Liu Bei recruited new generals on a large scale. Regarding Zhou Tai's important role, Liu Bei made the decision after careful consideration.
At the beginning, Zhou Tai was recommended to the army by Cai Mao. This was very clear to Liu Bei. Now the situation in Jingzhou is complicated. Zhou Tai plays a vital role in the navy. If he does anything extreme, he will lose money.
It would be extremely disastrous, so I summoned Zhou Tai here just to see his attitude.
"General Zhou, the Xiliang Army has conquered Jiangling. I wonder if you have any ideas that can resist the Xiliang Army?" Liu Bei changed his tone and brought the topic to the Xiliang Army that shocked Jingzhou.
"General, you are a rough person in a humble position.",
"It doesn't matter, as long as it's a good strategy, it doesn't matter who comes up with it." Liu Bei said with a smile.
"The Liang State has strong national strength. It was General Huang Zhong who led the 50,000 soldiers who attacked Jingzhou. They were well-equipped and well-fed. Furthermore, Zhao Yun won a great victory in Hanoi and his morale was high. Since the Xiliang Army went to war, they have been invincible in every battle.
We are invincible, but using the land of Jingzhou to resist the Xiliang army may be a bit..."
An imperceptible haze flashed in Liu Bei's eyes, and he smiled: "General Zhou knows a lot about the Xiliang Army."
Zhou Tai cupped his fists and said: "General, as long as our army sticks to Xiangyang, even if the Xiliang army has 100,000 soldiers, it will be difficult to do anything. The navy can have an unexpected effect."
Zhou Tai, who observed Liu Bei carefully, naturally noticed the change in Liu Bei's expression.
"Oh, General Zhou, let's talk about it. How will the naval army fight against the Xiliang army?" Zhuge Liang on the side couldn't help but ask.
"The Xiliang Army has cavalry and infantry that are unstoppable to anyone in the world. The combat effectiveness of the navy army is naturally not that great. However, our army is better than the navy army. There is no chance of defeating the Xiliang Army. I heard that when the Xiliang Army attacked Jizhou
, once let the navy make a surprise attack, and achieved unexpected results." Zhou Tai said.
Zhuge Liang nodded slightly and shook his head slightly.
After walking out of Liu Bei's mansion, Zhou Tai did not dare to relax at all. He was not sure how many pairs of eyes were staring at him. What he had to do now was to keep a low profile.
"Kong Ming, who is Zhou Tai?"
"Be careful." Zhuge Liang just said this and continued to arrange the battle with the Xiliang army. He naturally saw Huang Zhong's intention of sending Xiangyang troops, but it was just a conspiracy. Even if Zhuge Liang wanted to break it, he could not
Method, unless the Jingzhou Army can win a big victory, defeat the Xiliang Army, and then restore Jingzhou's current disadvantage.
Three thousand cavalry supported Nanyang, and their momentum was very large. Naturally, they did not hide from Jingzhou's eyes. At this time, Guan Yu of Nanjun had some difficulties even if he wanted to send troops back to Xiangyang.
A shadow fell over Xiangyang. The Xiliang Army was coming. The densely packed soldiers outside the city, the flags covering the sky, and the rumbling cavalry made the defenders on the city feel that the atmosphere was unprecedentedly heavy.
The carriage was racing on the road, and the defenders could not see what was inside. The shadow of the coming war shrouded every soldier's mind.
There were 50,000 soldiers and horses in the city, and Liu Bei was still a little worried. Liu Cong was no better than Liu Qi. Although he was younger, he was extremely intelligent. On the surface, he was at the mercy of Liu Bei, but secretly he had a close relationship with the aristocratic family, especially Liu Biao's former
Officials and generals, the war is imminent, and Liu Bei has no intention to take care of the affairs of the court. The court of Jingzhou is far inferior to that of Liang State. There are so many things every day. The only big thing is how to deal with the Xiliang army.
Siege the city.
Xiangyang is the most important city in Jingzhou. The height of the city and the width of the moat are larger than Jiangling. Even if the Xiliang army has a large number of thunder chariots, it will take a month to fill up the moat.
Huang Zhong only rested outside the city for three days before ordering the soldiers to start filling the moat. Sacks were thrown into the moat one by one from the Thunderbolt Car, causing waves to rise. The defenders on the city watched eagerly.
There was movement outside. Although I knew it would take a long time for the Xiliang Army to attack the city wall, I was still very nervous, especially since there had been various rumors in the city recently. Why did the Xiliang Army not kill the prisoners, but would just kill Liu Bei?
Hand it over, and everyone in the city will forget the blame. Even if Liu Bei suppresses it, it will still spread among the people and soldiers.
In the largest restaurant in Xiangyang, two women were having a drink. They looked out the window at the nervous and hurried soldiers who were constantly patrolling. One of them chuckled and said: "I have always heard that Zhuge Liang is very good at running the army, but now I see that it is nothing more than this."
"Don't talk nonsense. Zhuge Liang's ability to manage an army is indeed inferior to that of a local government, but it should not be underestimated. The ability to defeat Cao's army one after another back then was all due to his handiwork."
