There was a dead silence in the lobby of the state capital.
Liu Biao, who was described as withered, sat there helplessly, his old face as gloomy as ashes.
In those eyes, resentment, disappointment, fear, and all kinds of complicated expressions flickered.
The civil and military officials at the rank and the celebrities who usually spoke loudly seemed to be mute at this time, keeping silent and not even daring to speak loudly.
Everyone's eyes were focused on the person kneeling in front of the steps.
Cai Hao, whose face was covered with soot, knelt there in shame, not even daring to raise his head.
The second strongest navy among the three major naval armies of Xiangyang, Jiangling, Xiakou and Jingzhou was destroyed in his hands.
A fire burns everything cleanly.
That fire destroyed not only the navy, but also Liu Biao's hope.
Such a fatal defeat made even Cai Mao, his brother-in-law, feel so guilty that he had to kneel down and beg Liu Biao for forgiveness.
At this time, Liu Biao could have ordered Cai Mao to be pushed out and killed. No matter how powerful the Cai family was in Jingzhou, no one would dare to stop Liu Biao.
After being in a daze for a long time, Liu Biao sighed, waved his hands and said: "The matter has come to this. Instead of blaming yourself and asking for sin, it is better to think about how to deal with the current situation and atone for yourself."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Cai Mao's heart dropped, and he kowtowed repeatedly in thanks, then got up in shame and retreated to the side dejectedly.
Liu Biao glanced around at his subordinates and said feebly: "The water army is gone and most of the infantry has been damaged. Yan Liang's land and water army is approaching Xiangyang. The situation is like this. Do you have any countermeasures?"
There was silence in response to Liu Biao.
In today's crisis, no one among those celebrities who are good at talking dares to say anything.
Liu Biao became angrier as he watched, and said sternly: "I have supported you for so many years, and now Jingzhou is in great danger. Why have you all become mute? Speak!"
Liu Biao, who had always liked raising scholars, felt extremely disappointed at this moment. Only then did he truly realize that all he had raised were a bunch of trash.
"Lord, our army has lost all its elite troops. Even the navy has disappeared. It is really difficult to defend Xiangyang. In the opinion of my subordinates, it is better to move the headquarters south to Jiangling immediately. After reuniting the soldiers, we can then think of ways to regain Xiangyang.
.”
Someone finally spoke, and it was Han Song who spoke.
Other celebrities who were not borrowed from Jingzhou, such as Wang Can, expressed their agreement.
Liu Biao also nodded slightly, seeming to agree. After all, with his current broken strength, he really had no confidence to defend Xiangyang anymore.
Unexpectedly, Han Song trailed off, and Pang Ji said anxiously: "Xiangyang is the foundation of Jingzhou. If Xiangyang is lost, the whole Jingzhou will be shocked. And once that evil thief Yan Liang takes over Xiangyang, the amount of money and food will increase dramatically.
, the geographical advantage alone will make us completely passive, and my subordinates believe that Xiangyang must not be abandoned."
As soon as Pang Ji said this, all the Xiangyang native celebrities agreed.
Pang Ji and others belong to a large clan in Jingxiang, and their sphere of influence is mostly near Xiangyang. If they follow Liu Biao and retreat south, they will abandon the foundation of their ancestral business, and of course they are unwilling to do so.
Han Song sneered, "With tens of thousands of troops gone, even if we have to defend Xiangyang, what can we do to defend it?"
Pang Ji was startled and speechless for a moment.
At this time, Cai Mao, who recovered from his shame, said: "Although Yan Liang has won several battles, his troops are only more than 10,000. I still have 10,000 troops in Xiangyang City. With the help of the strong city,
It is expected that we can withstand Yan Liang's attack, and when the time comes, we will mobilize troops and horses from Jiangling to go north, and cooperate internally and externally, and we can turn defeat into victory."
"Although there are tens of thousands of soldiers in Jiangling, their combat power is far inferior to that of Xiangyang's army. Even if they are mobilized, they will never be able to defeat Yan Liang's tiger and wolf army." Han Song immediately poured cold water on them.
When Cai Mao was stunned and speechless, Pang Ji immediately said: "In addition to mobilizing troops, my lord also wrote a letter to Yuan Shao and asked him to attack Yan Liang from behind. When Yan Liang's rear is lost and our reinforcements arrive, most of them will not be able to defeat him."
Fight and retreat."
After Pang Ji finished speaking, other celebrities from Jingxiang and Xiangyang also made loud remarks, saying that they should defend Xiangyang to the death.
Han Song's advice was soon drowned in a sea of opposition.
Liu Biao was originally a man without any ideas, but now that he saw Pang Ji and others gaining the upper hand, considering his foundation in Jingzhou, he thought over and over again and decided to stick to Xiangyang.
While Liu Biao and his ministers were still arguing, 15,000 elite cavalrymen led by Yan Liang had already broken out of camp and headed straight for Xiangyang.
Before dusk, Yan Liang finally saw Xiangyang City.
This seat of government in Jingzhou stands majestically on the bank of the Han River. Its towering and long city walls highlight its status as the core of Jingzhou.
"This is the legendary Xiangyang City. It is indeed extraordinary. Liu Biao, thank you for spending so much time to help me, Yan Liang, build such a feng shui treasure city..."
Yan Liang sighed as he looked at the city. In his mind, the memories about Xiangyang came up one after another.
In the original history of the Three Kingdoms, Xiangyang City was like a nail planted under the nose of the Wu State by the Wei State. Even though the Wu State defeated Guan Yu and seized important places such as Jiangling, it was still in trouble day and night.
In the Southern Song Dynasty, it was precisely because the Mongolian army captured Xiangyang and lost the gateway to the middle reaches of the Yangtze River that the country finally fell.
Yan Liang knows how important Xiangyang City is, and now, this legendary city is only a stone's throw away from Yan Liang.
On the same day, Yan Liang joined Gan Ning's five thousand troops and completed the siege of Xiangyang from the north, east and west.
At Xu Shu's suggestion, Yan Liang left the south gate alone.
The soldiers and civilians in Xiangyang City were panic-stricken, and most of them were thinking of escaping south. However, once Yan Liang surrounded them on all sides, it would encourage the enemy to defend the city to the death.
Yan Liang knew that he had few troops. If the enemy insisted on defending, it would not be easy to capture Xiangyang, the strongest city in the world. Even if he captured it, his own army would have to pay a heavy price, which Yan Liang did not want to see.
Leaving one gate unencircled is tantamount to leaving a way out for the people of Xiangyang, giving them one more option to abandon the city and flee.
The siege was over, and Yan Liang was not in a hurry to launch an attack. Instead, he started a psychological war.
From that battle in the northern suburbs, Yan Liang still had thousands of heads of soldiers who surrendered in Jingzhou, which came in handy now.
Yan Liang ordered that all these heads be thrown into Xiangyang City with a trebuchet. He wanted to use these bloody heads to shock the hearts of those who resisted in the city.
Sure enough, when the heads raining down from the sky fell, the already panic-stricken people in Xiangyang City immediately became even more uncontrollable because of the enemy's terrifying act.
In addition, Yan Liang also fired thousands of letters of surrender into the city. He advised the soldiers and people in the city to open the city and surrender, otherwise once the city is breached, all men, women, children, and men will be killed. This is their punishment for "helping Zhou to do evil" and assisting Liu Biao.
Under the multiple psychological warfare, according to the intelligence sent by the city's detailed operations, Xiangyang City is in a state of turmoil at this time, and the people in the city are confused and looking at a situation of self-destruction.
Yan Liang did not attack the city for the time being. He just waited and watched Liu Biao escape, and then he could enter the city without any bloodshed.
However, to Yan Liang's surprise, as time went by, the expected civil strife did not occur, and Xiangyang City remained rock solid.
A few days later, Yan Liang suddenly realized the latest secret report sent by the craftsmen.
At the critical moment, the powerful clans in Jingxiang began to exert their strength.
The wealthy families in Jingzhou, headed by the Kuai family and the Cai family, donated generously and brought out their own Tongke tribe to assist Liu Biao in defending the city.
The Kuai family and the Cai family alone mobilized nearly 4,000 troops. Together with the other powerful native tribes, Liu Biao had nearly 10,000 more troops under his command in just a few days. .
Although the combat effectiveness of these private soldiers was not as good as that of the regular army, the number of 20,000 soldiers and horses combined with the original more than 10,000 remaining soldiers gave Liu Biao a lot of confidence.
Liu Biao relied on the support of these powerful families to firmly control the four key points. He also invited famous people from all ethnic groups to go around to appease the people of Xiangyang and persuade them not to be deceived by Yan Liang and to firmly support Liu Zhoumu.
The influence of these powerful families among the people is even greater than that of Liu Biao, a state shepherd. Once they came forward, the panic in Xiangyang City quickly stabilized.
New rumors quickly replaced the old ones. Rumors were circulating in Xiangyang City that Jiangling's army was already on its way north. General Huang's navy from Jiangxia was coming. Yan Liangxiao would soon be wiped out in a few days...
Snapped!
Yan Liang photographed the piece of information on the case, a trace of hatred flashed across his brows.
"These aristocratic families in Xiangyang are so hateful, they are not afraid that when I break the city, I will destroy them all!"
Yan Liang was angry all his life, and all the generals on his left and right were in awe.
Xu Shu smiled faintly, "Those local tycoons in Xiangyang are just outsiders. They are just following the Kuai and Cai clans. As long as the general can conquer Xiangyang, these people will turn to the general."
Wen Chou next to him said: "Mr. Yuan Zhi said it well, but Xiangyang must be defeated first."
After saying this, Wen Chou cupped his hands and said: "Brother, since the people of Xiangyang are ignorant and seeking death, let's not be merciful to them. Brother, let's order the attack on the city. I, Wen Chou, risk my life and I will definitely give Xiangyang City to the enemy." Brother, take it down."
As soon as Wen Chou asked for battle, the other generals were all excited and clamored to attack the city.
"Of course it's possible to attack by force, but I won't do such a thing as killing a thousand enemies and damaging myself eight hundred."
Yan Liang waved his hand to calm down the excitement of the generals.
Conquering Xiangyang is Yan Liang's stated goal, but his eyes are not limited to the small profit in front of him. If it is just for a Xiangyang city, the elite soldiers he has gathered with great difficulty will suffer heavy losses. Yan Liang will never accept this loss-making business. will do.
Unless, it's absolutely necessary.
Xu Shu nodded secretly and thought to himself: "It's really not easy for General Yan to be so calm. I really saw that right."
When he was convinced in his heart, Xu Shu said: "Liu Biao only values Kuai Cai and other aristocratic families. Liu Biao does not pay attention to him in Xiangyang City. There are countless people who are dissatisfied. Don't worry, my lord. According to Shu's opinion, among them there must be people who are bolder than others." Will respond to the Lord."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Cang suddenly entered the account, whispered a few words to Yan Liang, and handed over a letter.
Yan Liang became more energetic, and he quickly opened the book, looked at it for a few times, and suddenly laughed loudly, "It turns out it's him, God helps me, God really helps me, haha——"
