In Xinye, the Chinese army's tent was as lively as a pot exploding.
Those two turtle sons of Liu Biao finally started a fucking fight!
This is the information just sent from Xiaozuo, and it is absolutely true.
Liu Qi from Changsha led 7,000 troops and horses to the north along the Xiang River, while Huang Zu, the prefect of Jiangxia, led more than 25,000 elite naval troops to march westward along the Yangtze River. The two armies marched directly to Jiangling.
Liu Cong of Jiangling City was not idle either. He immediately ordered the governors of Wuling, Guiyang and Lingling counties in Jingnan to lead their troops to march to Changsha to attack his rebel brother and cut off his retreat.
At the same time, Liu Cong ordered Cai Mao to take full command of Jiangling's 40,000 land and sea army and rush eastward to Baqiu Fortress to block the eastward advance of the two rebel armies.
Baqiu is a fortress connecting the two water systems of the Yangtze River and the Xiang River. The purpose of Liu Cong's move is obvious, which is to block Liu Qi in Changsha so that he cannot join Huang Zu, and then concentrate all his efforts on dealing with Huang Zu.
In the big tent, all the generals were so excited that their blood boiled. After waiting for a long time, this day finally came.
The passion for hunting surges in everyone's body. They know that the war is about to begin, and the time has come to show off their skills on the battlefield and make a name for themselves.
Yan Liang made a decisive decision and immediately made new arrangements.
First of all, he sent people to Wancheng quickly, and ordered Wen Chou, who was pretending to attack Xudu, to immediately lead his cavalry south and must gather in Xinye within two days.
Secondly, he ordered Wei Yan, who was guarding Xiangyang, to lead his army south and pretend to attack Jiangling, forcing Liu Cong to leave enough troops in Jiangling to secretly help Huang Zu and keep him as far away from Xiakou as possible.
Yan Liang gave the last order to Gan Ning, instructing him to quickly prepare disguised merchant ships according to the plan, and to sail south along the Han River as soon as the outcome of the Battle of Baqiu came out.
Yan Liang himself will lead his army to secretly move towards Fancheng, where he will board Gan Ning's navy. Follow them closely, and after they remove the beacon tower, they can go straight to Xiakou City.
As the order was passed on, the armies commanded by Yan Liang began to move quickly like the undercurrent under the sea.
While Yan Liang was gathering his troops, he was also paying close attention to the war at Baqiu with great vigor.
In the Battle of Baqiu, if the coalition forces of Huang Zu and Liu Qi win, they will definitely take advantage of the situation and attack Jiangling. This is exactly what Yan Liang wants to see the most. In this way, he can safely attack Xiakou by surprise.
What if Liu Qi's rebels are defeated?
Yan Liang had also thought about this outcome. If it were true, the situation at that time would be a completely different world, and his layout would also be broken.
However, Yan Liang did not prepare countermeasures for the latter outcome because he absolutely believed in his own judgment.
Moreover, he knew that there was Zhuge Liang working as a dog-headed strategist on Liu Qi's side, and Yan Liang was full of confidence in this person who was secretly against him.
"Zhuge Liang. Don't you want to go against me? Then use your ingenuity. Get rid of Liu Cong first. Otherwise, you won't even have the qualifications to go against me."
At dusk three days later, Yan Liang was on the trestle of Fancheng Water Village, looking at the sunset in the distance and feeling secretly.
The red light of the sunset shines through the gaps in the clouds, and the layers of clouds are like golden prints. The rays of rays cast tiny golden scales on the river surface, shining up and down, which is very spectacular.
Looking at the sunset between the clouds and the water, Yan Liang felt surprisingly calm.
Footsteps sounded from behind, and Yan Liang could hear it without turning around. It must be Xu You's voice.
"Lord, good news, great news." Xu You was so excited that his tongue felt a little uncomfortable.
Yan Liang turned around and saw Xu You with an excited face, and he had vaguely guessed it.
Xu You took a few steps closer and said excitedly: "Baqiu just sent the information. Cai Hao used the main force to fight Huang Zu, but Liu Qi's army attacked Baqiu's camp at night. As a result, Cai Hao's army collapsed and marched all the way to Jiangling."
Escape, Huang Zu and Liu Qi's troops are taking advantage of the victory to pursue them, my lord, the opportunity we have been waiting for has finally arrived."
Xu You spitted Xingzi from his mouth in excitement, and presented the silk book of information with both hands.
Yan Liang's blood was boiling as well, and the Yangtze River was just in front of him, and the pride in his heart surged like a furious wave.
On the surface, Yan Liang was calm, waving his hands and saying: "Don't look any further. Since the time has come, there is nothing to hesitate about. Go and pass on the general's orders, and all armies will immediately send troops southward!"
After the order was passed, the 25,000 Yan family soldiers who had been preparing for a long time immediately divided into two groups and headed south.
Along the way on land, Wen Chou commanded four thousand divine cavalry heading south. The terrain along this route was relatively rugged, and several cities had to be passed along the way, which was not conducive to a surprise attack by the cavalry. The soldiers and horses along this route could only be used as auxiliary troops.
The most important thing is naturally along the route south of the Han River.
Because Huang Zu's main force had already attacked Jiangling from the west, Jiangxia's defenders numbered no more than five thousand, and most of them were gathered in Xiakou City. They could move southward along the Han River almost unimpeded.
Along the way, Yan Liang personally commanded an army of 20,000, with Gan Ning's disguised caravan as the forerunner. As long as he could successfully remove the beacon towers north of Xiakou, his army could take a boat to reach the city of Xiakou.
If you have some luck, you can even catch the defenders off guard and charge directly into the city.
…
The boat moves like the wind.
At dusk, there are golden waves on the Han River.
Gan Ning stood on the bow of the boat with his hands behind his hands. The attire of a businessman made him feel very uncomfortable.
He turned around and glanced behind him. More than thirty merchant ships were following closely behind him. On the ship's mast, the merchant flag with the word "Pang" was fluttering in the wind.
This time, disguised as a caravan heading south to Jiangling, Gan Ning was flying under the banner of the Pang family.
Although the Pang family is one of the four major families in Jingxiang, only Pang Ji, the concubine of the Pang family, serves Liu Biao. The influence of the Pang family in the Liu Biao group is far less than that of the Kuai and Cai families.
Therefore, after Yan Liang conquered Xiangyang, he severely attacked the Cai and Kuai families, but spared the Pang family.
The Pang family is a very wealthy family. Not only does the family own numerous fertile fields, but it also relies on the Pang family's friendship with the government to engage in business.
Prior to this, the Pang family's merchant ships often traveled between the Han River and the Yangtze River, so the appearance of this Ganning merchant ship team here was nothing unusual.
On the surface, each merchant ship only has a few boatmen rowing oars and hoisting sails, but each ship has more than fifty elite navy soldiers, hiding in the cabin, and they are not allowed to show up on the deck without orders.
.
Towards evening, the merchant ships sailed into the waters near Xiakou. More than thirty miles to the south, the city of Xiakou is located.
As soon as they entered this place, there were more patrol boats from the Jiang Xia Army on the Han River. Since there were only about thirty small boats and they were under the banner of the Pang family's caravan, they easily passed through the patrol boats.
After the boat traveled more than ten miles, we finally saw the shadow of the beacon tower on the east coast.
Gan Ning's nerves became tense and he quickly ordered the ships to approach the shore where the beacon tower was.
His merchant ship team could cross these beacon towers and go straight to Xiakou City. But Yan Liang's army dozens of miles behind him could not ignore the beacon towers.
After taking down the beacon tower and clearing the way for Yan Liang's follow-up army, Gan Ning kept his important mission in mind.
As soon as they saw a ship approaching the shore, a dozen Jiangxia soldiers at the beacon tower immediately became vigilant. The captain at the head of the ship asked his subordinates to prepare to light the fire, while standing on the shore and shouting loudly, ordering the approaching merchant ships not to go near the shore.
.
"Master, don't worry. The civilians are the caravan of the Pang family in Xiangyang. It's getting late now, so I don't dare to continue sailing. I just want to stop here for one night, and I hope you can be kind to me."
Gan Ning held his hands and laughed with him. Before the boat even reached the shore, people jumped out and waded a few steps ashore.
When the captain heard that he was from the Pang family, he relaxed his guard a little, but said with a straight face: "There is an order from above that no one can get close to the beacon tower. You should find another place to dock and rest."
"Master Jun, it's late at night and the guys are all tired. Could you please do it for me, Master Jun?"
Gan Ning raised his hand, took out a money bag from his sleeve, pretended to hold it in his hand, and quietly handed it to the captain.
Money can make the world go round, and Gan Ning, who is used to this business, knows this well.
The captain's eyes lit up when he saw the money, and he quickly put the money into his arms. He waved his hand and said: "It's really dangerous to sail at night. That's all. Sir, I will make an exception and let you stay here for the night. We will sail at dawn tomorrow."
You have to leave right away, you know."
"Yes, thank you, Master."
Gan Ning thanked him repeatedly and hurriedly called the other merchant ships to dock. He also asked for the food and wine prepared on board to reward more than a dozen soldiers.
As soon as they got the money and drank the wine, the Jiangxia soldiers became even more relaxed. They completely relaxed their vigilance and allowed these merchants to walk on the shore.
Before I knew it, it was already night.
Gan Ning saw that the time had come, so he whistled, and dozens of soldiers hiding in the cabin quietly disembarked in the dark, and took advantage of the cover of night to go straight to the beacon tower.
Bang!
Gan Ning flew up and kicked away the firewood under the beacon tower. Two halberds appeared in his hands, and he scurried into them as agile as a leopard.
Seven or eight soldiers were warming themselves around the fire, while the rest, who had had enough wine and food, huddled together and snored.
As soon as the door opened, the captain was the first to wake up from his drowsiness. He looked up and saw Gan Ning rushing in with a pair of halberds in his hands. A look of shock and anger suddenly appeared on his face.
"You fucking-"
When the captain was about to question him, Gan Ning swung his arms and a human head flew out. The bloody head fell into the charcoal basin and suddenly ignited.
"It's worth dying if you can let me call you "Lord".
Gan Ning sneered and waved his hand, and the tigers and wolves from outside the door rushed in, like wolves entering a sheepfold, and pounced on the still frightened Jiangxia soldiers.
The sound of screams floated in the night, and a beacon tower was captured so easily.
After capturing this first beacon tower, Gan Ning led his fleet to continue moving forward, following the same pattern along the way, and captured all the more than twenty beacon towers along the river.
Yan Liang's 25,000-strong army, riding on more than 400 warships, headed straight for Xiakou without any hindrance.
At dawn, when the first ray of sunlight penetrated the morning fog, Yan Liang, standing on the bow of the boat, finally saw the majestic and magnificent city facing water on both sides.
Xiakou City is right in front of you.
After not sleeping all night, Yan Liang was not sleepy at all at this time. Looking at the drowsy Xiakou City looming in the morning mist, a cold smile could not help but appear on his stern face.
Taking a deep breath, pointing the sword in his hand, Yan Liang shouted sternly: "All the troops, attack the city! Whoever enters Xiakou City first will be rewarded heavily!"
At the command, the flag of the flagship moved like the wind.
Four hundred warships, like dragons freed from restraints, rushed towards Xiakou City in front of them in a mighty manner.
