Liu Zhang sat in the cabin and punched his forehead several times. His head still felt empty and he couldn't use any strength to think about the problem.
But just after escaping from the Jiangdong tiger's mouth, all his previous thoughts were spent on how to get out of the Jiangdong territory. He was about to face a bigger enemy, the Jingzhou Army in northern Jingzhou, and Liu Zhang had to work hard to straighten things out in Jingzhou.
Gan Ning sat next to Liu Zhang, his burly body seemed to be filled with moisture. Even though his body was extremely dry, Liu Zhang could still feel a cold breeze. Maybe this was the special physique developed by walking on the water for a long time.
"My lord, please forgive me. Gan Ning came late and frightened my lord. He deserves death." Gan Ning bowed.
Liu Zhang held his forehead with one hand, waved his hand and said: "I know there must be a reason for General Gan's late arrival, but I don't care about this now. I am more concerned about the situation in Jingbei now. General Gan is going down the river. He should
There may be some news."
Gan Ning said: "The general is about to say this, and the future will be related to this. Originally, most of the Jingzhou navy was deployed in the Jiangxia area. This time Liu Qi's army went south, and the navy also deployed along the coast of Jingnan. Finally,
We could have flowed down the river without any delay, but something happened in the middle."
"What's happening."
"Jiangling, the county seat of Nanjun in northern Jingbei, was captured."
"What?"
As soon as Gan Ning finished speaking, all the Sichuan generals in the ship looked at him. Liu Zhang felt that his headache was gone and he was sober.
As the former state capital of Jingzhou, Jiangling is now the second largest city in Jingzhou. In terms of importance and defensive power, it is extremely important in the entire Han Dynasty. How could it be possible to just win it?
"Jiangling has been captured? What happened?" Liu Zhang had always been calm, but at this time, his words could not help but have a little urgency, and he vaguely guessed a result.
"It was captured by Wei Yan with only 10,000 troops and horses. Not only that, Wei Yan also burned the grain and grass garrisoned by the Jingzhou army in Dangyang Valley. I heard from Jiangling's defeated soldiers that after Wei Yan burned the grain and grass in Dangyang Valley, he immediately launched a sneak attack.
Jiangling.
Jiangling is far behind Zigui, and the defenders did not expect the enemy to attack. They were unprepared and were defeated by Wei Yan. Because of this, most of Jiangling's defeated troops went south, and some of them met our army on the water. I didn't want to
I got entangled with them, but almost got trapped in the reeds by them."
There was too much information in Gan Ning's words, and the Sichuan generals were a little overwhelmed. They whispered in horror, but didn't know what to express. Fa Zheng was the first to clarify his thoughts and said to Liu Zhang.
"Lord, the situation is very clear now. The most critical person is Wei Yan. If Wei Yan does not betray, then we will occupy Jiangling and cut off the retreat of Liu Qi's army. The initiative in the battle of Jingzhou will return to our hands again, and we will occupy Jiangling.
Absolute advantage.
But if we do the opposite, we will lose 80,000 troops and horses, and Yizhou's vitality will be seriously damaged, and it may not be able to recover within three years."
"What do you think?" Liu Zhang asked Fazheng, thinking about his next action.
"I think we should return to the center of Shu first. We can advance, attack, retreat or defend. No matter whether Wei Yan betrays us or not, we will be safe."
The boat was going upstream, and the river was gurgling. Liu Zhang buried his head in thought. After a long time, he raised his head and said resolutely: "No, let's go to Jiangling."
"What?" Fazheng said in surprise: "If Wei Yan really betrays us, the trip to Jiangling will be extremely dangerous."
Liu Zhang shook his head, waved his hand and said: "That's it, I've decided. It's very stuffy in the boat. Ronger, come with me out to get some fresh air."
Xiao Furong wanted to help Liu Zhang, but Liu Zhang signaled to stop her. They walked out of the cabin and stood on the bow of the ship, with a panoramic view of the mountains, rivers and mountains.
The river and the surrounding mountains and rivers merged into a green sea, and the field of vision was wide. Liu Zhang stretched out comfortably.
No matter how bumpy the road ahead was, Liu Zhang felt the natural comfort at this moment. He gently held Xiao Furong's hand and let himself enjoy this moment of tranquility.
because.
Once we set foot on land, there will be another bloody storm.
Liu Zhang didn't know the danger of going to Jiangling. He was just gambling and felt that he had a better chance of winning this time. Liu Zhang felt that Wei Yan really did not rebel.
The reason is very simple. Why did Wei Yan rebel? If he wanted to defect to Jingzhou, he could have surrendered with the 80,000 Sichuan troops at Yubeli Pass. This would be a great contribution to both the pass and the army. He led 10,000 troops to burn the grain and grass in Jingzhou.
,What are you doing with the sneak attack on Jiangling?
Excluding Wei Yan's intention to defect to Jingzhou, then the only reason for his betrayal is self-reliance and self-reliance? Are you kidding me? Wei Yan is a warrior with no status or reputation. What's more, the 80,000 troops have been with him for less than half a year.
He has no prestige. If he is independent, will anyone follow him? With Wei Yan's shrewdness, he would not fail to understand this truth.
As Fazheng said, everything would be fine if we retreated to Shu, but the results of several months of battles were really in vain. I was running for months and was in danger several times, just to travel to Jiangdong?
Liu Zhang was unwilling to give in. If Wei Yan had not rebelled, he would have missed the opportunity to cut Jingzhou in two. Liu Qi had as many as 80,000 troops. Without food and grass, they would not be able to sustain themselves in Jingnan for long.
This was the most critical decision to win Jingzhou, and Liu Zhang decided to take a gamble on Wei Yan.
Liu Zhang also knew that he had already made several risky bets. Without the support of his family, he would still have to make gambles in the future, trying to win in danger again and again. Maybe one day he would lose the bet, lose everything, and become a pauper with nothing.
, even death.
But Liu Zhang had no choice. Since he had chosen the path of 19, he could only keep gambling as long as he lived, and there was no turning back.
"Wei Yan, are you really rebellious?"
Liu Zhang let the steamy river wind hit his face and remained silent in his thoughts. Xiao Furong felt her little hand hurt from the force of his accidental grabbing. She looked at Liu Zhang several times. She didn't know what her husband was thinking, but
Xiao Furong didn't ask, but was held by him quietly.
Accompany him to watch the scenery along the river.
"He said that he can only feel truly relaxed when he is by his side, so no matter what, he cannot cause him any trouble."
It wasn't until a long time that Liu Zhang recovered from his thoughts. He breathed a sigh of relief and suddenly caught a glimpse of a ship that was traveling side by side with the ship he was on. There was a man in Tsing Yi standing quietly on the bow of the ship. The man in Tsing Yi was not wearing a military uniform.
Li Duxing seems to have a very high status in the navy, but he has never seen him as the lord.
When he entered the ship just now, his mind was blank. Now when he took a closer look, he found that not only the man in blue, but also many sailors without military uniforms, all of them extremely muscular and with cold expressions. Liu Zhang immediately called Gan Ning out.
"General Gan Ning, are these your new navy soldiers? What is the name of the man in Tsing Yi?"
Liu Zhang only felt that although the man in green was young, his expression was stern, and his scholar-like face had a vague murderous intent. At first glance, he looked like a gentle and murderous person, and he couldn't help but become curious.
Gan Ning glanced at the man in green. Even though he was as arrogant as Gan Ning, the leader of the Jinfan thief, he couldn't help but show respect and said to Liu Zhang.
"My lord, I didn't have time to say it in the cabin just now. The man in Tsing Yi is the famous leader of water thieves in Yunmengshuize (Dongting Lake). Those who don't wear military uniforms are his subordinates. This time I will be captured in the Yangtze River Waterway.
When Jingzhou was besieged by naval forces, it was because of his rescue that he escaped from the catastrophe and was able to arrive in Baling in time to meet the lord."