On the flagship, Lu Meng stood with his sword in hand, looking south.
He could vaguely see the outline of Huang Zu's water camp, but he did not encounter the stubborn resistance of Huang Zu's navy as he had expected.
Five thousand enemy troops were huddled in the water stronghold, but they were in a position that they could not stand.
This behavior of Huang Zu's navy surprised Lu Meng.
Now that the Yan family's army is approaching, with Liu Qi's current weak military strength, he can only take advantage of Yan Liang's infantry and cavalry army to fight first, defeat his navy commanded by Lu Meng, and seize the water control rights of the Xiang River.
Hope of reversing the situation.
In Lu Meng's view, this was Liu Qi's only choice at the moment.
However, Huang Zu's action of standing still was contrary to common sense.
"Liu Qi, are you scared and confused? Why don't you let the navy go to war..."
Lu Meng's brows furrowed and his eyes flashed with suspicion.
Without vision, the Xiang River was rolling, and the outline of the enemy camp became increasingly clear.
"I see……"
Suddenly, a strange color flashed in Lu Meng's eyes, as if he had figured something out, his frown quickly dispersed, and a sly smile quietly appeared at the corner of his mouth.
After figuring out the link, Lu Meng shouted: "Give me the order not to launch an attack on Huang Zu's navy for the time being. The whole army will land and camp ashore, waiting for the lord's army to come and join us."
After the order was passed, four hundred warships slowly docked, and seven thousand soldiers landed one after another. A water camp was quickly built, forming a north-south confrontation with Huang Zu's water camp more than ten miles away.
At the same time as the camp was set up, a traveling boat quickly headed north to report the news to Yan Liang, who had arrived at Baqiu.
…
Port of Bachu.
Hundreds of warships entered Dongting Lake from the Yangtze River and slowly sailed into Baqiu Water Camp.
The more than 20,000 cavalry led by Yan Liang were about one day's water journey behind Lü Meng's vanguard.
Most of the 20,000 horsemen are not accustomed to water, and taking a boat is tantamount to torture for them.
From Xiangyang to Xiakou, and then from Xiakou to Baqiu. After several days of bumpy water on the river, many soldiers became seasick, vomited, and exhausted.
The war was about to begin. In order to ensure the physical strength and mental strength of the soldiers, Yan Liang had to slow down his schedule and order the warships to enter the harbor so that the soldiers could disembark and land for a night's rest.
As soon as they entered the Chinese army's tent, Xu Shu followed him.
"My Lord, this is an urgent report from Linxiang from Lu Ziming. Please read it, Lord." Xu Shu said and handed over the silk book.
Yan Liang didn't have time to take a breath, put on his armor and sat down, unfolding the information and taking a closer look.
As he watched, a strange color gradually appeared on Yan Liang's face.
When Yan Liang raised his head, he saw Xu Shu stroking his beard and smiling, with a strange look in his eyes.
Yan Liang also raised the corner of his mouth slightly and put down the silk book. "Yuan Zhi, the situation has changed slightly from what we thought. What do you think?"
"If I haven't guessed, Huang Zu's decision to stand still was definitely not Liu Qi's intention. It was because he wanted to preserve his strength."
Xu Shu said and sat down, with a confident look on his face.
Xu Shu's words were exactly what Yan Liang was thinking, but he was not eager to express his attitude. He only asked: "How can you see Yuan Zhi?"
"If I remember correctly, before taking Jiangxia, my lord had used a divorce plan to make Liu Biao suspicious of Huang Zu, and the one who suggested something to Liu Biao was none other than Kuai Yue. It can be said that the relationship between Huang Zu and Kuai Yue
During this time, suspicion must have been deeply buried.”
Recalling what happened before, Yan Liang nodded slightly.
Xu Shu went on to say: "Now Liu Qi is using Kuai Yue as his mastermind again, and Huang Zhong is marching south to Guiyang and taking away Huang Zu's nearly 5,000 naval troops. Shu makes a bold guess that it must be Kuai Yue who is proposing a plan to Liu Qi again.
Huang Zu's military power was manipulated to reduce Liu Qi's reliance on Huang Zu. Due to various factors, Huang Zu must be dissatisfied with Liu Qi. Now it coincides with our army's massive attack, so Huang Zu stood still.
"
Xu Shu's eloquent words were roughly the same as what Lu Meng said in his letter. Yan Liang couldn't help feeling that all the wise men in the world had the same idea.
At that moment, Yan Liang smiled happily, "Since Yuan Zhi and Zi Ming have the same judgment, there is no need to be suspicious. Originally, I wanted to pacify Liu Qi. I wanted to have a big battle at least. I first pulled out Huang Zu's nail. Now it seems
, things have become much simpler.”
Yan Liang looked bold, but there was another mystery hidden in his words.
"But I don't know what my lord's plan is?" Xu Shu asked.
Yan Liang sneered, "What else can I plan? Of course I'm going to invite Mr. Huang to go to Changsha with me."
Xu Shu stroked his beard and laughed. That smile was obviously what Yan Liang said and was deeply appreciated by him.
…
One day later, Yan Liang's 20,000 cavalry arrived in Linxiang.
At this time, Liu Qi's troops in the city were less than 3,000, and Yan Liang's army of more than 20,000 could be said to have an absolute advantage.
After fighting in Jingzhou for so long, Yan Liang had such a big advantage for the first time. Even when he attacked Jiangling before, his total force was only 10,000 more men than Liu Qi.
On the day they arrived in Linxiang, Yan Liang ordered his generals to completely surround Linxiang City, completely cutting off the connection between Liu Qi and Huang Zu's navy.
After three days of siege, Yan Liang was not in a hurry to attack the city.
It is said in the art of war that attacking a city is the last resort. Yan Liang used his troops to use deceit and change, which frightened the heroes. How could he let his elite soldiers be wasted in a useless siege battle until it was absolutely necessary?
Moreover, Changsha County is the largest county in Jingnan. Although Linxiang, where it is governed, is not as strong as Jiangling, and a famous city like Xiakou is as strong as it is, it has high walls and thick walls.
Moreover, Liu Qi still had about three thousand soldiers and horses in the city. Most of these troops were elite Changsha soldiers trained by Huang Zhong, and they still had quite a bit of combat effectiveness.
That evening, Yan Liang's Chinese army tent welcomed a guest.
This guest is none other than Huang Zu’s eldest son Huang She.
From the fall of Xiakou to the present, the eldest son of the Huang family has been imprisoned for more than a year. Considering that he and his wife Yueying share the same clan, Yan Liang did not kill him, but now this opportunity is used.
his time.
"Brother Huang Xian is here. Please take a seat quickly. Someone is here to serve you the wine."
As soon as he saw Huang She entering, Yan Liang showed considerable enthusiasm, as if he was greeting an old friend whom he had met for a long time.
The gray-headed Huang She looked flattered and stood there motionless. Yan Liang's sudden enthusiasm made Mr. Huang a little at a loss.
"We are all members of our family, why should we be so formal? Come on, brother, I will have a few drinks with you."
Under Yan Liang's kindness, he stood up and pulled Huang She to sit down. Huang She could only drink the glass of warm wine that Yan Liang poured out with trepidation.
After drinking a few glasses of wine, the flattered Huang She gradually calmed down, and a smile appeared on his face. He cupped his hands and said, "But I don't know what the general ordered Huang to do when he was summoned to Changsha overnight?"
At this time, Huang She no longer had any arrogance as the eldest son of the Huang family. Yan Liang's violent beating of him back then, coupled with the decline of his father Huang Zu's power, had left Huang She without the capital to be arrogant.
After drinking a glass of wine, Yan Liang restrained his polite expression.
"Let me tell you the truth. Yan has always admired your father. The war between me and your father was mostly due to the Liu family. Now that Liu Biao is dead, I have captured most of Jingzhou. Now
I have tens of thousands of troops to suppress the situation, and Liu Qi is at the end of his rope. If your Majesty continues to help the tyrants, I think Huang Xiandi can imagine what will happen to him."
In his words, the threat surged like an undercurrent.
Huang She was intimidated by Yan Liang's power and couldn't help but shudder.
With a sigh, Huang She asked sadly: "The general is so powerful in Jingxiang, and She knows very well that if the general has any orders, he might as well say it clearly."
"It's very simple. I would like to ask Brother Huang Xian to persuade you to abandon the secret and surrender to the Ming Dynasty. I am a man who is thirsty for talents. As long as he is willing to submit, I can protect your Huang family's prosperity and wealth."
Yan Liang did not mince words and made his intentions clear.
Huang She was silent for a moment and asked, "What if my father just refuses to surrender to the general?"
"It's also very simple. If your father refuses to eat and drink wine as a penalty, the day he is defeated will be the day when your Huang family will be destroyed."
Yan Liang said this ultimatum-like threat coldly.
Hearing the four words "Huang family Yi destroyed", Huang She was shocked all over, and a strong fear flashed in his eyes.
Huang She knew very well that Yan Liang would definitely do what he said.
After conquering Xiangyang, Yan Liang mercilessly wielded the butcher knife against the Cai Kuai clan. Almost overnight, he killed the two most prosperous clans in Xiangyang, leaving nothing behind.
Such a butcher, who was as violent as Dong Zhuo, was definitely not kidding when he said he wanted to destroy the Huang family.
Deeply frightened, Huang She fell into silence.
However, Yan Liang did not force him and just drank leisurely by himself.
After a long while, Huang She took a long breath and cupped his hands and said: "General Yan is a hero of the world. It is the honor of our Huang family to serve the general. She is willing to accept the general's invitation and do his best to persuade my father to submit to the general."
Seeing Huang She agree, Yan Liang was overjoyed and said, "Brother Huang Xian is indeed a man who knows the current affairs. That's good. I like heroes like you. Come on, I'll give you a toast."
"Don't be fooled. General Huang Moujing is the one." Huang She hurriedly raised his glass.
After several rounds of drinking, Huang She tried his best to be courteous and cautious, and repeatedly promised to persuade his father to surrender.
Yan Liang also showed his belief. When he was enjoying the wine, he wrote a letter in his own hand and asked Huang She to take it to Huang Zu.
At nightfall, Yan Liang, smelling of alcohol, personally took Huang She to the camp gate, comforted him nicely, and then let him go.
Huang She bowed his hands and said goodbye, rode away, and soon disappeared into the night.
When the horse disappeared from sight, Xu Shu appeared behind him, stroking his beard and saying with a smile: "This Huang She behaves very sincerely. It seems like he wants to surrender sincerely."
He snorted coldly and dismissed it.
"He's a little green when it comes to acting in front of me..."
The smile on Yan Liang's face immediately disappeared, and a cold and sly smile quietly appeared at the corner of his mouth.
In the depths of the night, Huang She, who was riding away on horseback, looked back and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that no one was following him.
That respectful expression disappeared with the night wind, and pride and hatred returned to Huang She's face.
"Yan Liang, you thief, who do you think you are? You still want me, the Huang family, to submit to you, bah-"
In his disdain, Huang She took out Yan Liang's handwritten letter from his arms and threw it into the wind.