Han Xi stood up and said: "Mr. Zirou, what you said is wrong! The incident last year ended up because of a private dispute. If we send troops for this, it will be a revenge for the public and a laughing stock. The Lord is the shepherd of Jingzhou, and he appoints and dismisses various counties.
Being a prefect is a matter of duty, and there is no need to find any excuse, so why should the master go out of nowhere? In the past, out of benevolence and righteousness, the lord was worried about hurting innocent people, so he held back. Now the court has issued a strict order. If the lord still lets them do their own thing,
Then my lord has neglected his duty, and I hope my lord will see clearly."
The Korean Opera came here well prepared today, and what he said was righteous and precise. Everyone nodded, and even Kuai Liang felt that he had nothing to say.
Liu Xin waited for everyone to calm down a little, and then said: "I invite you to come here today, not to discuss whether to send troops, but to announce how to send troops. However, I will also put the ugly words first. I know that you are in Jiangxia
There are also many relatives and friends in the four counties of Lingling, Wuling and Guiyang. As long as the prefects, county magistrates and other officials in these places take the initiative to submit, I will not blame them. If there are those who are stubborn, Bei Yu is their role model!"
After hearing these words, Kuai Liang felt needles pricking his heart, and couldn't help but sigh secretly. Although the Kuai family and the Huang family are closely related, the relationship between the Cai family and the Huang family has never been unfamiliar. At the end of the day, Cai Mao is not
After becoming a hostage in Huang Zu's hands, I originally had some thoughts and said a few words to Huang Zu to persuade Liu Xin to give up the idea of using force, but now I don't dare to come forward. What's more, what Han Xi said is so righteous.
, if I try to persuade him again, I might get the Kuai family involved, and the gain will outweigh the loss.
Liu Xin stopped talking nonsense with them and started to dispatch troops directly. He had already said what needed to be said. He believed that his subordinates knew which side they should be on. This time he was determined to completely solve the problems of Jiangxia and other four counties.
, almost all of his own possessions were put on him. There should be no threats from Jingzhou's periphery now, and all uneasy factors come from within. Only by uniting our thoughts and working together can we ensure the final victory.
He has never worried about whether he can capture Jiangxia. It is almost certain that after a year of hard training, his army is much stronger than Jiangxia in terms of total number of troops and individual combat power. If even a small Huang
If Zudu can't deal with it, why talk about fighting for world hegemony? All he has to consider is how to minimize casualties in the war and achieve the greatest victory at the smallest cost.
Liu Xin made careful arrangements this time. His strategy was to capture Huang Zu first and kill the monkeys to scare the chickens, because Jiangxia was the strongest among the four counties. Then he crossed the river and attacked the other three counties, and finally
Fortunately, we can force the prefects of the three counties to surrender voluntarily.
Except for Zhang He who led his army to stay in Xiangyang, other civil and military personnel have been sent out. As the foundation of Liu Xin, Xiangyang City must not allow any loss. This time, even Ma Yun personally went into battle, leading the flying tiger guards in the city day and night.
Conduct inspections to prevent those who take advantage of the opportunity to cause chaos.
Ever since his son was captured by Liu Xin, Huang Zu had not slept peacefully. Until he exchanged his son with Cai Mao, he still had lingering fears. Jiangxia's defenses suddenly became much tighter. Often, the city gates of each county would be closed before the sun set.
This situation lasted for a long time, and did not relax even during the Spring Festival. Gradually, the detailed work sent out returned the news that there was no special movement in Xiangyang, and Liu Xin stayed at the house all day long to accompany him.
He had not even been to the military camp without his wife and children, and Huang Zu's tense nerves relaxed.
In fact, when exchanging Huang She, Kuai Liang had someone secretly give him a message, asking him to take the initiative to submit to Liu Xin. According to Kuai Liang, Liu Xin treated the people benevolently and righteously, won the support of the people, and had many capable and wise men under his command.
, treats his subordinates very well, and never shows mercy to those who oppose him. For a person like Liu Xin, you'd better be friends with him, and never become his enemy.
However, Huang Zu and Kuai Liang were in different positions, so their views were naturally very different. Kuai Liang was originally just the magistrate of Xinye County, and there was also the prefect Bei Yu above him. He did not have much power. After joining Liu Xin, although Kuai Liang
He also became a prefect, but Liu Xin implemented a separation of military and political affairs, which was far from Huang Zu's integration of military and political affairs. Huang Zu felt that Kuai Liang could not experience the pleasure of holding great power in his hands, so he did not take his words seriously.
, but he still put forward the conditions for his surrender to Liu Xin and retained the relative independence of Jiangxia, which meant that he would listen to the tune but not the propaganda. Historically, the relationship between him and Liu Biao was positioned in this way.
After learning about Liu Xin's recent performance, Huang Zu felt relieved again. It turned out that Liu Xin, who was regarded as a god in Kuai Liang's mouth, was nothing more than mediocre. He began to live a life of leisure and debauchery with peace of mind.
In the early morning of the fourth day of February, Huang Zu was still lying in the county government office, still hungover, when the sound of rapid footsteps came from outside the room. Chen Cheng, the county official, shouted outside the door: "Your Majesty, something bad has happened! The Xiangyang army is leaving.
The city is only five miles away!"
Huang Zu was shocked when he heard the report in his drunken dream. He had woken up from the wine and hurriedly got up and ordered to summon all the civil and military officials to discuss the matter in the front hall. He was really drunk and confused. Did he still have the time to discuss the matter at this time? If Liu Xin's
The army was really only five miles away from the city. By the time all the civil and military men under his command arrived at the hall of the governor's mansion, they would have already entered Jiangxia City.
Liu Xin's army set out on the afternoon of the second day of February. After nearly a year of repairs, the road from Xiangyang to Jiangxia was wide and flat, which was very suitable for large groups of people to march. This time, Liu Xin did not want to expose his strength prematurely.
Therefore, the newly formed three thousand cavalry were not used, and infantry was still the main force.
On the morning of the third day of February, the army arrived at the gate of E County, which is closest to Xiangyang. Zheng Shuang, the magistrate of E County, did not offer any resistance. When he heard that it was Jingzhou Mu who was coming, he immediately opened the city gate and welcomed Liu Xin's army in.
Liu Xin comforted him and still appointed him as the magistrate of E County, and he did not offend the people in the city.
The army entered Jiangxia territory almost without any hindrance. It passed several county towns along the way, and the defenders surrendered upon hearing the news. The defenders in these counties only had less than a thousand people. They were asked to deal with such a menacing force.
An army with more than 20,000 people is like hitting a stone with an egg. Who among those who can become a county magistrate is a fool? Even if the county magistrate's brain is slow, he will have a few useful people to remind him.
The war went unusually smoothly, and it was not until the evening of that day that we encountered a problem in Xiyang County. This is already the west gate of Jiangxia City. After passing here, you can see Xiangyang City in a short walk.
The magistrate of Xiyang County was a distant nephew of Huang Zu, named Huang Jin. The garrison in Xiyang County was larger than other places, with more than 2,000 people. When Huang Jin knew that Liu Xin's army was approaching, he sent some troops
When he went to Jiangxia to ask for advice, he ordered the city gates to be closed, the people to be recruited, and the people to refuse to defend the city.
The army surrounded Xiyang County. Xu Huang rode his horse to the city and shouted loudly: "People in the city listen, Huang Zu, the governor of Jiangxia, has disobeyed the imperial court's orders and has not paid a penny in taxes for two years. He has withheld it for personal use.
Now, Mr. Liu, the Shepherd of Jingzhou, has ordered his dismissal from the post of Jiangxia Governor and personally led a large army to arrest him. If you quickly open the city and surrender, you will be safe."
The soldiers on the top of the city were all frightened when they saw the mighty and majestic forces of the three armies below the city, and they couldn't help but make a commotion. When Huang Jin saw this, he did not talk to Xu Huang, but opened his bow and fired an arrow as an answer. Xu Huang did not panic.
Not busy, he swung the big ax lightly, and the arrow whirled around and fell into the dust.
Xu Huang turned the horse's head, returned to the main formation, leaned towards Liu Xin and said: "Brother, attack the city!"
Liu Xin also knew the importance of speed. He could have bypassed the various counties and attacked Jiangxia directly. But since watching the city attack and defense drill at the training center, Liu Xin had a more intuitive impression of attacking the city.
Knowing that the party attacking the city would definitely suffer heavy casualties. In order to reduce casualties, when he went to Jiangxia this time, he and everyone agreed on the policy of clearing out the counties first, isolating Jiangxia, and forcing Huang Zu to leave the city for a decisive battle. Therefore, he did not
The purpose of blocking the news is to let Huang Zu know that he has called, and hope that Huang Zu can take the initiative to attack.
Unexpectedly, the journey along the way went smoothly beyond Liu Xin's expectation. The county magistrates all chose to surrender without exception. It was not until Xiyang County that the path was blocked for the first time. The outpost sent by Liu Xin was completely
He was able to intercept several of the envoys sent by Huang Jin to ask for help from Jiangxia, but deliberately let them go in the hope that they could lure Huang Zu's army over.
Now, Huang Jin wants to defend Xiyang City. For Liu Xin, that is a great thing that he can only hope for. He can finally stage a siege and call for reinforcements. Liu Xin looked back at the generals around him and said in a deep voice: "Attack the city."
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This was planned in advance and was just a feint attack, so the charging team did not use any large siege equipment. In fact, Liu Xin's army did not have many large siege equipment, only a few ladders and two assault vehicles.
He still wants to keep the car for use when he attacks Jiangxia City. As for the catapult, although he has asked the research institute to develop it, it has not yet been successfully developed.
Following Liu Xin's order, the soldiers lifted up the long bamboo ladder, held up shields, waved steel knives, shouted, and lined up neatly to press against the city wall. The city wall in Xiyang County is not high, just
It was two or three feet long. There was no moat under the city, and the city wall didn't look very strong. There were lots of holes on the surface, so it was obviously made of rammed earth.
There were already many defenders and temporarily recruited civilians gathered on the top of the city. The defenders were picking up their bows and arrows, while the civilians were busy carrying rolling logs and stones. Seeing the soldiers below the city rushing over, there was a panic on the top of the city.
As Huang Jin screamed at the top of his lungs, the defenders fired a barrage of arrows at the bottom of the city.
This wave of arrows was fired too early, and the soldiers attacking the city were still a stone's throw away, so it had no impact on their progress at all. Although it was just a feint attack, the soldiers did not relax at all. After all, this was not a training ground.
, but they were really fighting, and no one would take their own lives for granted. When they took a few steps forward, the sound of "dong dong dong" war drums came from behind, and everyone let out an earth-shattering roar in unison.
Shouting, the speed of the team suddenly accelerated several times. The soldiers spread their legs and ran towards the city wall together. At this time, the team had completely dispersed and was not as neatly lined up as before. However, this momentum was overwhelming.
The defenders on the top of the city were out of breath, and for a moment they even forgot to shoot arrows.