Jiangling, Liu Bei had just retreated here when he received the bad news.
"My lord, Xiling was captured by Zhang Liao, General Huang Zu died in Xiling, Jiangxia County...is gone!" Jiangling, who had escaped from Xiling, said sadly to Liu Bei.
Previously, Zhang Liao led his troops to bypass Xinye and march directly to Jiangxia. After Jiangxia's defenders were defeated and retreated, Liu Bei immediately ordered Zhang Yun to lead his troops to support Jiangxia. No matter what, even if Huang Zu was in a state of disobedience, Jiangxia must be saved.
However, Zhang Yun was defeated faster than Liu Bei imagined. Almost the entire army was wiped out. Zhang Yun even managed to escape by jumping into the river. Later, Guan Yu was defeated in Xinye. Liu Bei and a group of civil and military officials discussed moving the government from Xiangyang to Xiangyang.
Jiangling, leave Guan Yu to guard Xiangyang, and Liu Bei can live in Jiangling to make arrangements.
But they had just moved to Jiangling, and before their buttocks got too hot, they received news of the fall of Jiangxia.
Huang Zu's death in battle is small, but the loss of Jiangxia is of great strategic significance. Not only will Liu Bei's flanks be threatened at any time, but most importantly, the strategy of uniting Sun Yat-sen to fight against Chu will be affected.
Jiangxia is located to the east of Nanjun, passing Xunyang. The north of the river is within the Lujiang River, and the south of the river is Chaisang. If Jiangdong sends reinforcements to Jingzhou, it can be said that they will pass under Zhang Liao's nose.
Even if Zhang Liao had no navy, attacking with arrow formations along the river would still have a huge impact.
"Xiling is the seat of Jiangxia County, and the city's defense is full of green energy. How could it be broken so easily!?" Cai Mao didn't believe it. How could Huang Zu be killed so easily? Why could Jiangxia be broken through so easily?
"Returning to the general, the last time Jiangdong entered the country and plundered the people, the prefect did not stop him. As a result, the people's resentment grew and the green energy of the city defense dispersed a lot. Zhang Liao's troops were quite ferocious. The prefect wanted to re-condensate the green energy of the city defense.
However, due to the heavy resentment among the people, the speed was extremely slow and could not keep up with the opponent's speed in breaking the city. In just two days, Xiling was captured. The prefect wanted to break out, but he was blocked by the bandit general Zhang Liao, who was killed by Zhang Liao's horse.
"The general who escaped from Jiangxia quickly explained.
"Xinye was defeated, and Chu Nan's troops approached Xiangfan. Now that Jiangxia is defeated, Zhang Liao can attack Fancheng at any time. In this way, Xiangfan will become an isolated city. What should we do!?" Cai Mao was a little anxious. He didn't expect Chu Nan.
So strong, once the war started, our side lost cities and territory one after another, and now even Jiangxia has been lost. Can Xiangfan still be able to defend it?
"De Gui, don't be anxious." Xu You shook his head and signaled Cai Mao to calm down. After thinking for a while, he clasped his fists at Liu Bei and said, "Xuan De, the war is at this point, and we have nothing to do. For the current plan, one of us, get it as soon as possible.
The secret of the Chu army's bravery was to interrogate the captured soldiers all night long, and capture as many as possible, and send generals to take action, so as to capture the largest number of enemy troops in the shortest time. If we didn't know the secret of the enemy's army, we would surely be controlled by others."
Liu Bei nodded: "Bei has ordered someone to do this."
Xu You continued: "Furthermore, please Jiangdong to send troops quickly. Jiangxia can be ceded to Jiangdong, and Zhou Yu is asked to send troops to Jiangxia. Zhang Liao has just captured Jiangxia, and his foothold is not stable. It is the time to take back Jiangxia. It is better to give Jiangxia to Sun Quan than to be lost to Chu."
With the gains from the south, even if Jiangxia is in the hands of Jiangdong, at least for now it can ensure that our army's food route is smooth and the Han River is in our hands."
Anyway, Jiangxia has been lost. Liu Bei has experienced consecutive defeats and cannot find enough troops to retake Jiangxia for a while. Moreover, he has to support Xiangfan right now and has no spare time. The best result is to cede Jiangxia in exchange for Jiangdong sending troops.
, it was Zhang Liao and Zhou Yu who restrained each other. They would free up their hands to seize Jiangxia when the time comes. They might be able to retake it by then, but Jiangdong must send troops as soon as possible.
"Brother Ziyuan, Zijing came to tell me last time that Sun Quan was preparing to send troops to join forces to fight on two fronts in southern Chu and Chu. At this moment, I am afraid that he does not have any extra troops to attack Jiangxia." Kuai Liang frowned and said.
"At this moment, at that moment, if Jingbei is lost, and Nanjun and Jiangxia fall into the hands of Chunan, what's the point even if Sun Quan takes Hefei?" Xu You shook his head.
If Chu Nan takes over the land north of Jing, it has the three counties of Nanyang, Nanjun and Jiangxia. It can train its navy on the Han River. What Jiangdong will face then is the enemy navy that appears from Han River and Hefei at the same time.
Especially here in Jingzhou, if Chunan captures Nanjun and Jiangxia, as long as there are naval forces, they can go down the river at any time and capture the cities along the river east of the river. The river is no longer a natural chasm to the east of the river.
No matter what Sun Quan wants to do, he must save Jiangxia.
When Liu Bei heard this, he nodded silently and said, "What Zi Zi said makes sense. Who is willing to go to Jiangdong?"
"If you don't give up, I would like to go and tell you!" Xu You said solemnly.
Liu Bei nodded: "With Mr. Ziyuan going, I will naturally feel relieved. In this case, I will leave this matter to the resource."
Xu You nodded. The situation was urgent and he could not wait any longer. He bowed to everyone and said goodbye. Then, with Liu Bei seeing him off, he left Jiangling and took a boat directly eastward to Moling.
After Liu Bei sent Xu You away, he looked at the generals and said, "I heard about the secret..."
"I know some methods of torture, why don't you leave it to me?" Kuai Yue said with a smile.
Liu Bei looked at Kuai Yue, nodded and said, "I'll bother Xiandu and I will capture more enemy troops as soon as possible and hand them over to Xiandu."
"Thank you, Lord." Kuai Yue said with a smile.
In the next two days, there was little progress in the direction of the Xiangfan front. After all, it was a defense line that had been in operation since Liu Biao's time. Not only were Guan Yu and Le Jin guarding it, but also Shi Tao and other Confucian scholars were working day and night to protect them.
Even Huang Zhong would find it difficult to break Cheng Qing Qi for a while, but things outside the battlefield are much more interesting.
Jiangxia, Xiling.
"Liu Xuande is so poor that he is crazy!?" Zhang Liao heard that another scout was ambushed, and the veins on his forehead jumped.
In fact, when two armies are at war, it is common for the scouts of both sides to fight each other, but it is not common.
But according to the report of the scouts who came back from Zhang Liao, Liu Bei directly sent an entire army to ambush his scouts. This is a bit baffling. From ancient times to the present, have you seen any company that mobilized troops in a war just to capture the scouts?
Just capture them. The scouts who died in battle not only lost their horses, but also their clothes and armor. Some even had their underwear removed. Even Zhang Liao's character was angered by Liu Bei's actions.
"General, there is no need to be angry. I have some suspicions." Yang Xiu said with a smile.
As a traitor, Yang Xiu has now accepted his fate. After all, his father has always stood unswervingly on Chu Nan's side. Even if he gives up the reputation and fame accumulated by the Yang family for generations, what can he, a son, do?
You can only do as you are told.
For this reason, in addition to Xu Shu, Yang Xiu was also placed in the army. This time Zhang Liao went on an expedition and was sent by Chu Nan to serve as Zhang Liao's staff.
"Oh?" Zhang Liao heard this and looked at Yang Xiudao: "What is Dezu's advice?"
Yang Xiu shook his head and said: "I can't speak highly of you, but I think that the other party may have had no choice but to do this."
"Is it forced?" Zhang Liao asked doubtfully.
"Since the beginning of the war between the two sides, our army has almost crushed Liu Bei's army, losing cities and losing ground. The disparity in combat power between the two armies is as great as clouds and mud. It would be fine if the generals were like this, but the gap between Liu Bei's soldiers is also so huge.
It's strange that we are weak and don't arouse suspicion. The reason for arresting our scouts is not for other reasons, but because our scouts are easily left alone. Whenever our soldiers gather in hundreds, they can retreat calmly even if they are defeated. Only the scouts can be at most two
Only with a team of people can the opponent have a chance to capture. As for the purpose, it is nothing more than to ask our army how to move Qi!" Yang Xiu explained with a smile.
Yang Xiu has a profound skill in understanding people's hearts.
Zhang Liao nodded, it was indeed the case, and looked at Yang Xiudao: "If that's the case, then we won't give him this chance."
"At this time, the opponent has captured many soldiers. Once there are more of them, it will be impossible to be harsh." Yang Xiu sighed and shook his head.
If there is only one person, it is possible to regard death as death and keep secrets, but when there are more people, there will always be those who are afraid of death, afraid of pain, and those who cannot bear torture. Even if it is possible, when there are more people, it will be much easier to obtain information.
.
It only takes a few tricks to break people's hearts.
"What Dezu said may be reasonable, but we can't do nothing, Wu Shuang!" Zhang Liao shouted outside the tent.
"The general is here!" Wu Shuang entered the tent carrying his wrought copper stick and saluted Zhang Liao.
"My military order is that from now on when scouts travel, they will be divided into teams of ten. If they are ambushed, they must evacuate immediately without hesitation!" Zhang Liao said in a deep voice.
Two people are easy to catch each other, but with the current gap in combat power between the two sides, it will not be easy to deal with as long as there are ten people. You can't beat them, but you can run away.
You must know that the scouts in Chu Nan's army are equipped with excellent war horses. Together with the ten-man army, they are extremely fast. Even if the opponent ambushes them, they can still run away if they can't defeat them.
"Here!" Wu Shuang agreed, turned and left.
"General, Jiangxia has already invaded, but the war has just begun. I wonder what the general's next step is?" Yang Xiu looked at Zhang Liao and asked with a smile.
Intend?
Zhang Liao pondered for a moment and then said: "Jiangxia is the key point connecting Jiangdong and Jingzhou. At this moment, Liu Bei cannot defeat our army head-on, so he will definitely try to contact Jiangdong to attack our army. Next, one will try to block the river, and the other two will prepare for war. Jiangdong
I'm afraid reinforcements will arrive soon, so we need to be ready."
Yang Xiu originally wanted to remind him, but seeing that Zhang Liao already knew it, he stopped talking. At the same time, he also felt a little emotional. Not only did Chu Nan plan the strategy, but the generals who commanded the army under his account were also rare good generals, and they were not just those who knew how to fight fiercely.
Reckless man.
Yang Xiu thought for a while and automatically kicked Lu Bu out of the group. After all, he was the father-in-law of Chu Nan, not a general under his command. Moreover, he did not quite understand that this southern expedition was a key battle to unify the world, so why Lu Bu did not appear on the battlefield.
superior?
With that person's temperament, he probably wouldn't be able to bear it. Could it be that this is really the so-called struggle between heaven and man?
Yang Xiu thought of the battle between heaven and man that was sold in the Ministry of Industry Bookstore, and immediately gave up the idea. It sounded too mysterious. As for the method of practicing qi, it was probably obtained from some secret place Chu Nan went to.
The dispute was just something used to disgust Jiangdong, but now it seems that with the current combat power of the army, this matter is somewhat unnecessary~