The New Year of the ninth year of Jian'an was spent in an extremely lively environment.
Because of the victories in the wars in the north and south, the people celebrated particularly wildly this year.
Lu Yan and his wife Lu Lingqi's separation was better than their wedding. Zhao Yun finally married his junior sister Zhou Yan at the strong request of Lu Yan, Lu Lingqi and others.
Overall, the ninth year of Jian'an was a difficult year.
But fortunately, with the concerted efforts of everyone, this year that started with a bitter taste has been turned into a year that ends with a sweet taste.
Of the three Xianbei tribes in the north, only the eastern Xianbei are now left to survive. With the threat from the north gone, Cao Cao can free up his hands to fully prepare for the southern expedition.
Compared with the joy of the Central Plains in the north, Jingzhou and Jiangdong in the south now seem dull.
Xiangyang City, Prefecture Mufu.
Liu Qi sat high on the main throne, Pang Tong sat on his lower left hand, and the other civil and military officials stood in two rows in the hall.
At this moment, the main surrender faction and the main war faction were already quarreling.
Pang Tong's plan for the Northern Expedition failed, which directly led to huge divisions within Jingzhou.
The main surrender faction, which had been suppressed before, now has a straight back because of Pang Tong's defeat, and their confrontation with the main war faction has also become fierce.
The capitulation faction was led by the Kuai brothers. They were now making a fuss about Pang Tong's failure, trying to persuade Liu Qi to give up resistance and rejoin the embrace of the Han Dynasty.
The main fighting faction is dominated by Pang Tong, Zhuge Jin and most of the generals.
In the past, because they held military power, they were able to suppress the main surrender faction. However, with the failure of the Northern Expedition, their suppression of the main surrender faction has been loosened.
"You sacrificed the lives of so many soldiers, as well as manpower and financial resources, but what did you get in exchange?"
"The common people cut down their clothes and went on a diet to collect food and grass for the army, but ended up throwing it away in Jingbei... What are we doing here?"
"..."
Faced with the questioning from the surrender faction, Pang Tong, Zhuge Jin and others remained silent.
It's not that they don't want to argue, but the news they just received seems to have made the main battle a little weak and pale to them.
If Cao Jun did not have a navy, they could still rely on Han Sheng to resist Cao Jun's march southward; but Lu Yan's more than 100 ships were parked in Deng County, and sometimes they would even come out to show off their strength.
prestige...
The Jingzhou Navy was completely destroyed with the disappearance of Cai Maoji's brothers.
Facing more and more Cao Jun's navy, what should they do in Jingzhou to resist?
There was a noise in the hall for nearly an hour.
It wasn't until the general of the main war faction, Wenpin, who had always had a good temper, was driven into panic that Wenpin asked Pang Tong for help: "Military advisor, please say something!"
Pang Tong's thoughts were interrupted by Wenpin's shouting.
Although he really didn't want to tell the news, even if he didn't, others would know it sooner or later.
Pang Tong took out a secret letter from his sleeve, handed it to Liu Qi respectfully, and said: "My lord, my subordinates received news not long ago... The Xianbei people in the north were attacked by the cavalry general Lu Bu, and Cao Cao's son Cao Ang.
, destroyed."
Pang Tong's tone was as calm as possible, but as soon as his words came out, the entire hall exploded as if a bomb had been dropped!
"The... Xianbei people were wiped out like this???"
"After Wuhuan in the three counties, another powerful grassland tribe was wiped out! How powerful is Cao's army?!"
"The war in the north is over... Doesn't that mean that Cao Cao can go south with all his strength?"
"Isn't that a complete failure?!"
Zhuge Jin only now knew the news about the northern border. He looked at Pang Tong in astonishment and felt gloomy in his heart.
The powerful Xianbei people in the north were wiped out just like that!
Cao Cao's strength... is simply too powerful.
It was so powerful that Zhuge Jin actually felt helpless.
Liu Qi, who was in charge, felt a little mixed after reading the contents of the letter.
Cao Jun can go south with all his strength. Liu Qi said in his heart that he is not afraid, which must be a lie; but on the other hand, since he cannot resist, should he simply surrender?
Thinking that there was a high probability that he could surrender, Liu Qi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
To be honest, he doesn't like fighting, and he has no ambition to conquer the world... What he likes most is to recite poems and compose poems with talented people and beauties, and find unique fun in drinking and drinking...
After receiving the news about Pang Tong, the two brothers Kuai Yue and Kuai Liang became more confident.
They repeatedly stated to Liu Qi the benefits of voluntarily surrendering to Cao Cao, and even patted their chests and promised that they would definitely be able to win for Liu Qi the benefits of continuing to be the shepherd of Jingzhou!
Liu Qi is already moved. He himself is a weak and unconfident person.
For so many years, Liu Qi has been able to live safely and even become the Lord of Jingzhou. In fact, it was almost all with the help of Zhuge Jin and Pang Tong.
But after all, Liu Qi still didn't like war... So he turned his questioning eyes to Pang Tong for the first time and asked: "Military advisor, what do you think...if we surrender?"
...
Changsha County, Dongting Lake.
A ragged man stood by the lake. After seeing dozens of boats in the lake, a flash of excitement flashed in their eyes.
The leader was Cai Mao, the former Jingzhou general, and behind him were his brothers, Cai Zhong and Cai He.
Looking back at where he came from, a flash of hatred and resentment flashed through Cai Mao's eyes!
They went all the way south, avoiding the encirclement and suppression of the army sent by Pang Tong. If they had not been well-connected, they might not have been able to get through Jiangling before being captured and killed by Pang Tong's army.
After passing Jiangling, Cai Mao and others fled into Wuling.
Faced with Cai Mao's "surrender", Jin Xuan, the prefect of Wuling, naturally did not dare to accept it; he also did not want to see a powerful army wandering around in his territory, so he gave them some food and grass and sent them away.
But Jin Xuan also chose to ignore the pursuers sent by Pang Tong, so Cai Maofi had no choice but to run further south.
After you chased me and fled, Cai Mao ran all the way to Guiyang County and finally got rid of his pursuers. However, of the more than 10,000 soldiers he brought out before, there are now less than 2,000 left.
Cai Mao hid his hatred and resentment deep in his heart.
He turned to Cai Zhong and said to Cai He: "I also need the help of Duke Cao's shadow guards. Not only did they help me cover up my whereabouts and get rid of my pursuers, they also helped us get these dozens of precious transport ships."
Cai Zhong also nodded in agreement: "Yes! These shadow guards are really powerful."
"Not only were they not surrounded and suppressed by Pang Tong, they even slowly took root in Jingnan... These people are really scary!"
Yes, more than a dozen shadow guards from the Jiazi camp headed by Yan Feng not only escaped Pang Tong's encirclement and suppression, but also moved frequently in Jingnan and wooed and corrupted many anti-Liu Biao and Liu Qi family forces.
Among them, Han Xuan, the governor of Changsha, was the most thoroughly wooed, and he is also the one with the highest official position so far.
Han Xuan is an impatient person who prefers killing and is greedy for money and lust. Faced with the offensive of money and beauties from the Shadow Guards, he was quickly defeated and completely fell into the arms of Cao Cao.
This time, the Shadow Guards provided a transport ship from Changsha to Cai Mao through Han Xuan, otherwise Cai Mao would have had to spend a lot of effort to go north.
Dongting Lake connects to the Yangtze River.
Now that the Jingzhou navy is almost disabled, as long as Cai Mao and others are careful about staying out at night and day, they should be able to successfully avoid Jingzhou's eyes and ears and reach Deng County.
Upon arriving in Deng County, Cai Mao would directly join Cao Cao.
After that, he could, as an officer of the Han Dynasty, avenge himself for being driven out of his home by Liu Qi and Pang Tong!
