Chapter 498 Yan Yan surrendered, Berkshire was pacified
Zhao Wei lay on the ground in despair, with no trace of light in his eyes.
This time he completely lost, and not just in the war.
Gan Ning, whom he ignored and sent to die in the past, has now become Liu Zhang's top general.
Especially Gan Ning's arrogant eyes completely defeated Zhao Wei's psychological defense.
Maybe what Gan Ning said was right. From the beginning, he should not have been an enemy of Liu Zhang...
It's a pity that it's too late. There is no regret medicine in the world, let alone possibility!
There is a possibility that Zhao Wei will soon die, and the Zhao family will also be wiped out!
"Zhao Wei, think about it first, how you will face my father when you get down there!"
Liu Zhang didn't want to say anything more, so he waved his hand directly, and soldiers stepped forward to support Zhao Wei.
Zhao Wei did not react at all, and did not even insult Liu Zhang anymore. He let the soldiers drag him down like a dead dog, waiting for his final outcome.
The fall of Zhao Wei was not the end of the dispute in Ba County, because there was still the Yan family in Zhi County.
Yan Yanzheng, leading an army of 10,000, was ready and was confronting Xu Huang.
Three days later, after leaving Wu Yi, Zheng Du, and Zhang Song to guard Jiangzhou, Liu Zhang personally led Huang Zhong, Zhao Yun, Taishi Ci, Dian Wei, Zhang Liao, and Zhang Ren, together with an army of 50,000 men, and rushed to Zhi County with Xun You as his military advisor.
It is true that Yan Yan was a general in Yizhou, but he was also a rebellious person.
Liu Zhang wanted to use strong troops to suppress Zhi County, and then make a forced landing at Yan Yan to achieve the goal of truly regaining this Yizhou general.
The result was very different from what Liu Zhang expected. When Liu Zhang led his army to the city of Zhi County, Yan Yan did not hesitate and directly chose Kaicheng to surrender.
After Liu Zhang met Yan Yan, he realized that he had done a stupid thing that wasted military power.
Yan Yan had no intention of resisting at all. When he learned about the destruction of Jiangzhou City and the death of Zhao Wei, he was already ready to surrender.
Not only that, all the counties from Pingdu to Yufu east of Zhi County were ordered to surrender by Yan Yan!
So far, all 14 counties in Bajun have surrendered, and Bajun has been completely pacified.
Liu Zhang left his army in Zhi County and handed over all state and county affairs to Xun You. He ordered Zhang Liao to recover Fuling, and he personally led Dian Wei, Xu Huang, Gan Ning, Yan Yan and others to continue eastward, preparing to personally inspect the counties.
There was no combat mission this time. Liu Zhang only led 10,000 troops under Xu Huang, Gan Ning's remaining 600 Jinfan troops, and Dian Wei selected 2,000 escorts to accompany them.
With Yan Yan's presence, the road was smooth and all the county towns surrendered.
Zhi County is nearly 700 miles away from Yufu. Fortunately, Liu Zhang and others were able to go down the river. Finally, a month later, they reached the junction of Bajun and Jingzhou, Yufu.
Only after Liu Zhang visited in person did he realize that he had mixed up the historical records. There is now Baidi City on the other side of Yufu, and it was as early as the late Western Han Dynasty.
As for the fact that Yong'an does not exist now, Liu Zhang firmly believes that it will never exist again in the future, because Liu Bei has no chance to die here, and he will not make the same mistake as Liu Bei.
Standing on the top of Yufu City, Liu Zhang once again appreciated the east gate, known as the "Gate of Fortune and Misfortune" of Yizhou.
Yufu and Baidi City rely on each other and guard the entire Three Gorges area.
If you want to enter Shu from Jingzhou, whether by water or land, you cannot avoid Yufu and Baidi City.
If you take the water route, you have to endure the rapids of the river caused by the convergence of the Three Gorges, and if you take the land route, you have to face the steep peaks of the mountains.
"Gongming, as long as we guard the two cities of Yufu and Baidi, what should we fear even if there are hundreds of thousands of enemy troops?"
Liu Zhang brought Xu Huang to Yufu with a very clear intention, which was to hand over the defense here to him.
Yufu is garrisoned with elite troops led by Xu Huang, and I believe that Liu Biao of Jingzhou will not be bored.
"Lord, don't worry, Jingzhou will never be able to steal a single soldier!"
With such an excellent strategic location, if he is still not confident in guarding the east gate of Yizhou, then Xu Huang does not need to lead troops here, but should return to his Hedong County as a clerk as soon as possible! After all, Liu Zhang does not want to be a waste.
"Gongming, Yufu has a great relationship with Baidi City, and it may serve as a barrier for our Yizhou for many years to come. Therefore, you must put some thought into making this place an indestructible strategic location, so that enemies who come to invade can't stop it.
I feel scared in my heart!"
"Don't worry, my lord, the general will definitely live up to his mission!"
Liu Zhang also had other purposes for doing this. First of all, Xu Huang could not sit here all the time. He would definitely be needed to conquer Liangzhou in the future.
Therefore, Yu Fu's defense was handed over to Xu Huang during this period, and he was asked to try his best to check for leaks and fill in the gaps, so that the defense pressure would be less when he sent someone to take over in the future.
Xu Huang, on the other hand, did not feel any pressure and was filled with excitement.
Yufu can be regarded as the real first position of external defense, and Xu Huang also became a general guarding the border.
Liu Zhang smiled and nodded, giving Xu Huang a comforting look.
He has said enough. I believe that with Xu Huang's ability and mind, he will be able to understand his good intentions.
"My lord sent General Xu Huang to build Yufu. Didn't he intend to go down the river and go straight to Jingxiang?"
Gan Ning, who was standing by, had been very puzzled. After Liu Zhang and Xu Huang stopped talking, he expressed his doubts.
"Xing Ba, first of all, this general is the Yizhou Mu who has been granted the title of Mu by His Majesty. If he raises troops to march eastward without any reason, wouldn't he be suspected of treason?"
"Secondly, whether it is Jingzhou or Yangzhou, it is not something I can get involved with now. The navy alone can make us beat our chests and feet."
Gan Ning nodded with some understanding. After this period of understanding, he also understood the composition of Liu Zhang's subordinates.
Most of them are infantry, and a small part are cavalry. The composition of these two arms can only be used for land warfare, which is really not enough for the water towns of Jiangnan where rivers are distributed.
The navy is a general term. It not only consists of soldiers fighting on the water, but also requires a series of supports such as warships.
Cao Cao led an army of nearly 200,000, but was still defeated by the Sun and Liu coalition forces in Chibi. The biggest reason was that the navy was immature.
No matter how strong Liu Zhang is, is he still stronger than Cao Cao who unified Hebei in the Central Plains?
Therefore, Liu Zhang's forced attack on Jingzhou would inevitably end in the same outcome as Cao Cao.
"Xingba, I don't understand the navy, but I know you are good at this! From now on, the position of navy commander will naturally belong to you!"
Gan Ning's eyes widened and he couldn't help but clenched his fists.
Liu Zhang's expectations for him were ridiculously high! He would give Gan Ning new surprises every time.
"Don't worry, my lord, the general will definitely create a navy legion for my lord to roam the rivers and seas!"
Other Gan Ning would not dare to boast about Haikou, but the navy Gan Ning is absolutely confident! With his current army of 600 brocade sails, he can also sail across the Yangtze River!
"With the rise of hegemony, chaos in the world is a foregone conclusion. The feudal princes are fighting. The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period are about to begin again. Therefore, Jingzhou and Yangzhou will become our enemies in the future. Whether we can defeat the enemy or not depends entirely on you."