If you want to take Jiangxia, you must first take Xiakou.
Now that Liu Biao is dead and Liu Cong has succeeded, according to the assumptions of Yan Liang and his advisers, Liu Qi and Huang Zu of Jiangxia, who are in Changsha, will send troops from two directions to attack Jiangling together to help Liu Qi seize the position of Jingzhou Mu.
At present, Yan Liang temporarily transferred his army to the north of Jing in the name of attacking Xudu, in order to make Huang Zu take it lightly so that he could free his hands and lead his army to conquer Jiangling westward.
As soon as the main force of Huang Zu's naval force left, Yan Liang's army could suddenly move south. The navy moved southward along the Han River, and the land cavalry rushed forward. In less than two days, they could reach Xiakou City. Taking advantage of the empty defense in the city, they could seize it in one fell swoop.
Xiakou City.
The key to this surprise attack plan was that Xiakou City was unprepared, and Huang Zu was unable to receive news of the attack on Xiakou in time to provide reinforcements.
But now Huang Zu has built beacon towers for dozens of miles along the upper reaches of the Han River. No matter whether Yan Liang's troops come by land or water, as soon as they appear, with the speed at which the beacon towers spread, Xiakou City will fall within an hour.
Can get intrusion alerts.
At that time, the defenders were able to make preparations in advance, close the city gates, organize troops to mount the city to resist, and send a request for help to the main force of Huang Zu who was marching westward.
Even if the number of defenders in Xiakou is not large, as long as people's hearts are not in chaos, Xiakou's fortified city can still resist for several days. As long as Huang Zu's main naval force returns to the main force, Yan Liang's painstaking plan of surprise attack can be
This will go down the drain.
"Huang Zu set up the beacon tower so that it would be difficult for us to surprise Xiakou. I didn't expect that we had put so much effort into planning, but at the last moment we encountered such a big problem."
Xu You shook his head and sighed, thinking hard. It seemed that he couldn't find a solution.
Yan Liang stood up and walked around the tent, recalling those deeply buried memories in his mind.
He actually does not have a mind as extremely intelligent as Xu You, but he does possess a huge memory bank spanning five thousand years, where there are countless cases of information that Xu You does not know for his reference.
"Back then, Guan Yu also set up a beacon tower to defend against Soochow. Now Huang Zu is trying to imitate Guan Yu. If that's the case, then why don't I..."
While Yan Liang was deep in thought, he murmured to himself. A mysterious sneer gradually appeared on the corner of his mouth.
Xu You couldn't hear clearly, but he still heard a few words, and said blankly: "My lord, what did you say about Guan Yu, or something like a copycat? Why does this old man sound a little confused?"
His thoughts calmed down, and Yan Liang suddenly raised his head, with a look of confidence on Yingwu's face.
"How many of the merchant ships from the Kuai and Cai families that were confiscated earlier are left?" Yan Liang deliberately turned a blind eye to Xu You's suspicion, but suddenly asked in reply.
Xu You was startled again, because he couldn't understand why his lord suddenly asked about this unattainable matter.
Startled for a moment, Xu You had no choice but to bang his head and think for a moment before replying: "About a few hundred were confiscated at that time, and most of them were sold to local fishermen at some kind of 'auction' held under the Lord's order.
Now there are probably thirty or forty ships that have not been sold."
"Thirty or forty ships, well, that's enough." Yan Liang nodded with satisfaction.
After saying that, Yan Liang stared at the map, making gestures on it with his fingers, as if he was thinking about something. He seemed to have forgotten the problem of the beacon tower just now.
Xu You couldn't bear it anymore, so he reminded again: "My lord, if the beacon tower issue cannot be solved, all our plans will be in vain. According to the old man's wishes, should we gather everyone together and think of a complete countermeasure?"
."
"That's not necessary. There are already ways to deal with Beacon Tower. You don't have to worry about it anymore. Just concentrate on preparing to send troops."
Yan Liang didn't look back, and his tone was relaxed, as if he didn't pay attention to the beacon tower at all.
Xu You was shocked when he heard this. He was surprised that in just a moment, his general Yan You had already thought of a countermeasure.
Just when Xu You was about to express doubts, he suddenly thought of Yan Liang's strange trick to kill Liu Biao. At that time, he and the others did not believe that Yan Liang had a clever plan, but they never expected that Yan Liang would come up with such an "outrageous" plan.
The plan actually made Liu Biao angry to death.
"My lord's resourcefulness is sometimes not inferior to mine. From time to time, he will come up with some whimsical and strange tricks. It can't be easily judged by common sense. Maybe it will be the same this time. If I have any doubts again, I won't let my lord look down on me...
…”
Xu You's mind turned around a few times. Although he still had doubts, he had to restrain himself and not ask any more questions.
"Then I'll go get ready."
Xu You bowed his hands and said goodbye. Before leaving, Yan Liang told him to call Gan Ning by the way.
At this time, Gan Ning's military position was that of General Hengjiang Zhonglang appointed by Yan Liang. He commanded 7,000 naval troops and more than 400 large and small warships for Yan Liang.
A quarter of an hour later, the curtains were raised, and Gan Ning came in with the wind and a foot of mud. It was obvious that he had just come from the water village.
"My lord, what are your orders for summoning the general?" Gan Ning bowed his hands in greeting.
Yan Liang waved his hand and motioned for him to sit down first.
After letting him take a few breaths, Yan Liangcai asked: "Xingba, have you ever done this robbery on the river?"
Gan Ning was stunned for a moment, wondering what happened to my lord today, and suddenly thought of asking me about my glorious past.
After a pause, Gan Ning said with some embarrassment: "My lord, have you forgotten? The general is a water thief, and he was engaged in robbery. But that was a long time ago. Master, please don't laugh at me."
."
"How could I be laughing at you? I'm talking about business." Yan Liang's expression turned out to be serious, "Let me ask you, how do you usually rob?"
Gan Ning didn't know what was going on, so he had to shamelessly reveal his past deeds.
"Who else is there to rob? If you want to rob a merchant ship on the water, if the ship is too fast, you only need to pull up the full brocade sail and kill it directly. If you want to rob a caravan on land or a government convoy, you will have to use some tricks.
Sometimes the generals would disguise themselves as merchant ships, dock quietly, and then suddenly attack, catching them off guard. This trick has been tried and tested, and all those dog officers in Nanyang were killed by me...
…”
When Gan Ning recounted his glorious history, he became excited for a moment and spoke with great passion.
The key point that Yan Liang heard was only a short paragraph. He had gotten what he wanted, and a smile gradually appeared at the corner of his mouth.
After listening patiently to Gan Ning's words, Yan Liang slapped the case together and said happily: "Since Xingba is so experienced, I have a solid foundation. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to go back to your old business this time and pretend to be a businessman in white.
Steal a vote."
Since the white clothes were commoners, Yan Liang wanted Gan Ning to change out of his military uniform and pretend to be an ordinary merchant.
The more Gan Ning listened, the more confused he became. He frowned and asked, "I wonder who the lord wants the general to rob?"
Yan Liang stood up with his hands behind his back and came to the map. He pointed upward and said three words:
"Beacon Tower!"
######
Changsha Administrative Office, Linxiang.
In the prefect's mansion, Liu Qi was sitting high on the throne, glaring at the man below the steps with a livid face.
The man in front of the hall was named Song Zhong. He came here to announce to Liu Qi the death of Liu Biao, the pastor of Xianzhou, and the succession of the new master Liu Cong.
Liu Cong also left some benefits for his eldest brother. After inheriting the titles of Jingzhou Mu and Zhennan General, he gave up the title of Marquis of Yicheng to Liu Qi to show that he valued brotherhood.
But in Liu Qi's view, this is a kind of charity and a kind of humiliation.
Song Zhong read the appointment letter of the new master loudly, raised his head and said loudly: "Eldest Young Master, here is the letter of reward from Master Zhou Mu. The Eldest Young Master has not yet come down and kneel down to receive me."
Snapped!
Liu Qi couldn't bear it anymore and started to protest. His long-suppressed anger finally broke out.
"Young Liu Cong, you just forged your father's will and usurped the position of state shepherd. Now you dare to send a rat like you to humiliate me. It's really abominable. Come on, drag this bitch surnamed Song out and kill him."
Got it!"
At the order, the swordsmen and axemen who had been lying down on the left and right swarmed up, ready to drag Song Zhong away.
In the eyes of Jingzhou people, the eldest son Liu Qi has always been a weak and temperless person, but they did not expect that today, he would openly fall out with his younger brother who had oppressed him for many years, and even dare to kill him.
Song Zhong panicked all of a sudden, and his original arrogance was swept away, and he shouted: "Young man is just following orders, eldest son, spare your life, spare your life!"
As soon as Liu Qi heard Song Zhong begging for mercy, his originally hard heart began to soften, and he couldn't help but glance at Zhuge Liang on the left.
Zhuge Liang was indifferent and only shook his head slightly.
Liu Qi had no choice but to put away his weakness, turned his head and turned a deaf ear to Song Zhong's cries, and allowed his men to drag Song Zhong away.
The lobby became quiet again.
Liu Qiping calmed down and asked anxiously: "Brother Kong Ming, killing Song Zhong right now is equivalent to falling out with Liu Cong. What should I do next?"
"Is there any need to think about this? Just contact Huangzu of Jiangxia immediately, send troops to attack Jiangling soon, and take back the position of Zhou Mu by force."
Zhuge Liang shook his feather fan lightly, his tone as calm as a leisurely cloud.
On the right, Liu Pan also jumped up and said angrily: "Mr. Kong Ming is right, Liu Cong has gone too far to bully others. Brother, just give him the order. I have a veteran general Huang Zhong under my command, who has the courage to be unstoppable.
My foolish brother is willing to lead the way for my eldest brother, go straight to Jiangling, and seize Liu Cong's position."
Kong Ming's calmness and his clan brother's pride gradually allowed Liu Qi to gather his courage, and a look of determination gathered in his eyes.
Just when he was about to make up his mind, Liu Qi said again: "If we send troops, the victory or defeat will all be on Huang Zu. But brother Kong Ming, you said before that Yan Liang moved his troops to new areas, maybe to attack the east and west, and wait for Jiangxia to be empty. In this case, how can
So that Governor Huang can send troops with peace of mind."
Hearing this, a calm and confident smile flashed across Zhuge Liang's face.
"Don't worry, Mr. Liang. In the name of Mr. Huang, Liang has already proposed a strategy to Huang Taishou, asking him to set up more beacon towers along the upper reaches of the Han River as a warning. As long as the beacon towers are 100%, Yan Liang will not dare to attack him.
Xiakou acted rashly."
Liu Qi suddenly realized this and couldn't help but admire Zhuge Liang's comprehensive idea.
Everything is done, so there is no need to hesitate.
At that moment, Liu Qi raised his sword eyebrows and said excitedly: "I have made up my mind to send troops to attack Jiangling soon. I will fight to the death with those villains like Liu Cong and Cai Kuai!" (To be continued. Registered members of Piaotian Literature recommend this work.
