Chapter 442 Huang Zu asks for help
"Liu Zitai, do you know who I am?"
Zhou Yu thanked Gan Ning, then walked up to Liu Xun, looking down at his enemy who looked like a dead dog at his feet, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
Liu Xun, however, was like a dead dog, paralyzed on the ground, not daring to raise his head to look at Zhou Yu.
"General, although this thief is your mortal enemy, he is also the leader of the thief. Killing him without authorization may violate military law."
However, Gan Ning took half a step forward and persuaded: "It is better to send it to my lord for punishment. My lord Shenwu Mingrui will deal with it justly and he will not disappoint the general."
Zhou Yu closed his eyes, was silent for a moment, and then opened them again: "What Xingba said is true. I am your lord's general, and I cannot destroy your lord's military law."
"Come here!"
Zhou Yu turned around and shouted: "Send this thief to Yangzhou by speedboat."
"Here!"
Gan Ning and other generals responded in unison.
After capturing the Xisai Mountain fortress, Echeng County, which would become Huangshi City in the future, was within easy reach, so there was no reason to let it go.
In order to express his gratitude to Gan Ning for capturing the enemy alive for him, Zhou Yu used him as the main general and divided his troops into six thousand to capture E city.
When the Echeng garrison heard that Mount Xisai had been burned and the fortress had been destroyed, he was so frightened that he immediately led a thousand garrison troops out of the city and fled.
When Gan Ning arrived, Echeng County had become an empty city and fell into the hands of the Yangzhou Army.
One day later, Zhou Tai led his army to Zhucheng County on the other side of Echeng County, which was later known as Huanggang City.
As a result, there were almost no river defenses until Xiakou, and the army could march straight into the river outside Xiakou City.
*
Back to a few days ago, Huang Zu received an urgent report from Director Huang in Xiakou. He was so frightened that he broke into a cold sweat and immediately summoned the generals of the army to discuss the matter.
Huang Zu had generals Huang She, Zhang Shuo, Deng Long, Su Fei, Chen Jiu, Lu Jie, Zhang Hu, Chen Sheng and others under his command. They were all capable generals, and the Jiangxia Army he formed was also an elite amphibious force.
All the generals were shocked when they heard that the Yangzhou Army had really invaded the country. As the old saying goes, the current mobilization speed of the Yangzhou Army is unmatched by other princes, and even unimaginable.
Deng Long even questioned whether the information Huang Zu received was reliable. He also suspected that there was something wrong with the front-line espionage.
But when Director Huang described the specific situation in detail, and even took out Liu Xun's request for help, the generals really realized that the Yangzhou Army had invaded Jiangxia County.
"You mean, now that Qichun and Xiazhi counties have been lost, Liu Xun is leading his troops to stop the enemy at the Xisse camp?"
Su Fei asked Director Huang carefully, and after pondering for a moment, he stood up and raised his hands to Huang Zu and said: "My lord, it is a foregone conclusion that the Yangzhou army has invaded the country. At this time, we should immediately send people to Xiangyang to report the emergency, and beg Uncle Fang to go early." Reinforcements. In addition, our army should immediately gather in Shaxian, with Xiakou as the front enemy, and I beg the lord to move to Shaxian immediately. "
Lu Jie also added: "My lord, I think what Su Xiaowei said is true. It's just that Xiangyang is not the only place asking for help. My lord, don't forget that Governor Kuai is leading an army of 70,000 under Linxiang City. Even if The army has no time to retreat, and the navy, working day and night, will be able to join forces with our army at Shaxian within ten days. "
"Good!"
Huang Zu slapped his forehead and agreed very much: "What the two captains Su and Lu said is true. I should act according to their plan."
Xiakou was in a key location, and the city was small but strong. It was more of a fortress along the river than a city. Only a small number of elites could defend the city. Huang Zu himself left Xiakou and went to Shaxian to gather naval forces.
The naval decisive battle is different from the army decisive battle. The naval army focuses on ships. As long as there are ships, there are still fights. Once all the ships are lost, it is completely over.
Therefore, Huang Zu must be at a place where naval forces can easily assemble, not in the city of Xiakou.
Shaxian is different from Xiakou. It is a large port city that can store a large number of ships, and a large amount of materials are also stored in the city.
Su Fei uses Xiakou as his stronghold and Shaxian as his counterattack base. This arrangement can be said to be closely aligned with the secrets of the navy. Lu Jie's addition highlighted Sha Xian's advantage in gathering troops. It was more convenient to successfully join forces with the Southern Expedition Navy here.
At the end of the meeting, Huang Zu made a decision and sent people to Xiangyang and Linxiang by sea to ask for reinforcements. He then left General Lu Jie to lead his 3,000 elite troops to garrison Xiakou. The rest of his troops went to Shaxian to gather and wait for an opportunity to fight with the Yangzhou navy. A decisive battle on the river.
Jiangxia now has 30,000 soldiers and horses. Previously, 2,000 soldiers and horses were lost in Xisai. At this time, 3,000 soldiers and horses were divided into Xiakou, 3,000 in Xiling, and 3,000 in Zhangling County.
Sha Xian can only gather about 20,000 troops. This depends on whether Sha Xian's local nobles are willing to make a big effort.
In terms of strength comparison, Huang Zu has fallen into a clear disadvantage.
However, the three thousand people in Xiling cannot be mobilized. Three thousand people are placed in Xiling. Coupled with the powerful tribes and young men in Xiling City, they can barely hold on. If Liu Feng divided his forces to attack, he could still contain many of the opponent's forces.
But if these three thousand people are taken away, the powerful Xiling might just surrender the city. Once Xiling is lost and captured by Liu Feng, at least one-third of Jiangxia County will be hopeless.
Therefore, despite the lack of troops, Huang Zu did not dare to take away the three thousand garrison in Xiling.
**
After capturing Echeng County and Zhucheng County, the Yangzhou Army's military front slowed down.
The first is to wait for follow-up reinforcements, the second is to consolidate the front line and adjust deployment, and the third is to replenish the fleet's supplies and also allow the army to go ashore to rest.
But just four days later, the main follow-up force led by Liu Feng had arrived.
On the day he arrived in Echeng, Liu Feng convened a general meeting of the entire army, rewarded the entire army in the evening, and began to rest the next day.
In late June, Liu Feng personally took command of the Chinese army. Thousands of sailboats raced across the river, heading upstream towards Xiakou.
Huang Zu's navy did not dare to fight and immediately retreated to Shaxian.
The Yangzhou army landed at Xiakou, where there are plains where the army can be stationed.
Zhou Yu led 20,000 troops from his headquarters to accompany the expedition, and divided them into two counties, Qichun and Xiazhi, with 1,000 troops each, 2,000 troops stationed in Echeng, and 4,000 troops stationed in Lucheng County.
At this time, there were only 12,000 people left in Zhou Yu's headquarters and more than 7,000 prisoners of war.
Liu Feng transferred Zhou Yu's troops to land and attack Xiakou.
In addition to allocating more than 7,000 prisoners of war and captured ordnance materials to him, Liu Feng also allocated 5,000 young men to him. These young men were selected from the remaining armies during the expansion of the army, and they all had military experience. , you can wear it again at any time. They may not have enough combat power during the field battle, and they were not as good as today's field army.
But in siege warfare, a meat grinder with heavy casualties, they will undoubtedly be a good complement. No matter how strong Xiakou City is, there are only 3,000 Jiangxia soldiers in it. Even if they are wasted, they will still consume Xiakou City.
In addition, Liu Feng knew that Xiakou City was small and strong, and it was bordered by water on both sides. The moat was sourced from the Yangtze River and the Han River, so it was very difficult to fill it up.
Therefore, Liu Feng gave Zhou Yu an additional battalion of special troops, including newly installed engineering troops and artillery, to assist Zhou Yu.
After the arrangements were made, Liu Feng did not forget to tell Zhou Yu: "Xiakou is a dangerous place. Unless its city is breached, the navy will not be able to enter the Han River. The next move of our army depends on when Gong Jin can capture Xia." ”
Zhou Yu nodded respectfully. In the early stage, the Yangzhou Army was unstoppable and conquered several strongholds. It can be said that it was smooth sailing. But now the situation has entered the mid-term, and one of the biggest difficulties in the mid-term - Xiakou City lies in front of the three armies.
If Zhou Yu can quickly pull out Xiakou City, then Liu Feng can decisively divide his troops here, continue to go up the Yangtze River, force Huang Zu to fight decisively on the river, and escort part of the army up the Shuohan River along the way to Xiangyang. road.
As a result, Xiangyang's response time became shorter and shorter, and it fell into greater passivity.
Zhou Yu was both excited and grateful.
Xiakou City is now the seat of Jiangxia and the place where Huang Zu was stationed. This not only means that Xiakou is difficult to attack, but also means that Xiakou has great achievements. Except for Tai Shici's Destroying Front Army which could not move and was stationed in Echeng on standby at this time, Zhao Yun's Turning the Tide Army and Jia Kui's Army had both requested orders to go into battle.
Liu Fengneng left Xiakou to Zhou Yu, not only as a sign of respect for him, but also as a reward for Zhou Yu's troops to quickly break through the Xisai Mountain defense line and capture key strongholds along the river such as Echeng County and Lucheng County.
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Zhou Yu said impassionedly: "Within one month, Yu will conquer Xiakou!"
"Good!"
Liu Feng was overjoyed and gave Zhou Yu's troops meat and wine to boost his ambition.
The landing of Zhou Yu's troops lasted for six full days, and the landing of his soldiers actually only took one day. However, the subsequent landing of large siege equipment was more troublesome.
Not only temporary ports and plank roads must be built, but also simple roads must be built. But in comparison, no matter how troublesome it is to unload, it is still easier than cutting down the wood on the spot and rebuilding it again. Not to mention that Zhou Yu simply took a two-pronged approach, unloading the siege equipment carried on the ship and setting up camp and construction on the spot.
Just as Zhou Yu was preparing for the attack on Xiakou City step by step, Liu Biao of Xiangyang also received an urgent document, and at the same time, he also received a message from Yangzhou.
In the Yangzhou appeal, Liu Biao was given shelter to Liu Xun, and he allowed the other party to murder Zhou Chong, a famous scholar in Huaisi, brutally tortured the wealthy people of Lujiang, and plundered local people, so that several counties in Shucheng were starved to death, and every living person was killed.
Liu Xun committed such a heinous crime, but he was still protected by Liu Biao and fled into Jiangxia County.
This time in Yangzhou's crusade against thieves, I hope Liu Biao can reflect on himself in time.
"Shu Zian dares to insult me."
Liu Biaorao had a good temper, but Liu Feng was so angry that he lost his temper.
When he humbly begged to buy food, he boasted that he was a righteous man in the world, but now he has become heartless and accused himself of hiding evil and being unworthy of a human being.
If it were another time, Liu Biao would not tolerate the other party, and might even regard this as a good opportunity to take control of Yangzhou.
Liu Bei and his son only had one or two hundred thousand troops, and he also had 140,000 troops, not counting the powerful gentry from all over the country.
In order to fight the slow with the fast this time, Liu Biao did not use these tactics when going south, but it does not mean that he cannot use them.
Liu Biao has been governing Jingzhou for nine years, and he has the support of top Jingzhou nobles such as Kuai, Cai, Pang, and Huang. As long as he does not insist on his own way, his mobilization power for Jingzhou is still quite strong.
Moreover, Liu Biao also had a small account in his mind. In his opinion, both the Xiangyang Navy and the Jiangxia Navy were experienced lions in the water who had experienced hundreds of battles.
Liu Bei and his son were born in the North. They came to Xuzhou only three years ago, and it took only one year to capture Yangzhou. What kind of naval force could they train?
Not to mention that the navy relies not only on people, but more importantly on ships.
There are thousands of warships in Jingzhou, and the two strongest naval forces of Xiangyang and Jiangxia alone have more than 4,000 large and small warships. With such wealth, even if Liu Feng took over the shipyards of Huaisi and Yangzhou, he would not be able to survive for three to five years. Time can't catch up at all.
But Liu Biao didn't know that Liu Feng had attached great importance to the navy much earlier than he imagined.
As early as when he was in Xuzhou, he began to use Xuzhou's fragile navy as the foundation, appointing generals such as Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin to start cultivating talents and accumulating warships.
Subsequently, a large number of ships were captured on many battlefields such as Guangling, Huaisi, Yuzhou, Qingzhou, and Yangzhou, including many large warships left over from the Eastern Han Dynasty.
In particular, Yuan Shu and Liu Yao each had many warships, and all of them were incorporated into Liu Feng's command following the surrender of Sun Jiajun and Liu Yao. In addition, Liu Feng has been mass-producing ships in Xuzhou in recent years. After acquiring the Songyang Shipyard, he added a large number of manpower to rush the work.
Coupled with the fact that Zheng Bao, Xue Zhou and other powerful watermen from Huze Dayang brought capital to invest, the prosperity of the Yangzhou Navy was not inferior to that of the Jingzhou Navy, and in terms of battleships, it was even higher than the Jingzhou Navy.
This is not to say that Liu Biao’s data is completely inaccurate.
In fact, Liu Biao's data on Jingzhou is still reliable, but his data on Yangzhou Navy is indeed wrong.
But Liu Biao ignored one problem, that is, the Jingzhou Navy has been resting on its laurels. Since ambushing Sun Jian and driving away Yuan Shu, the entire Jingzhou has been completely unified by Liu Biao in name. Although there is Zhang Xian in Jingnan, the relationship was not at the beginning. It was so tense, and even Zhang Xian did not cut off Jingnan's tax and food supply until he raised his troops.
Therefore, although small battles have continued in Jingzhou, major battles have actually not occurred for five or six years.
A large part of the money Liu Biao allocated to Huang Zu from the state government's finances was misappropriated by Huang Zu for his own extravagant life. In Huang Zu's opinion, the Jiangxia Navy already had 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers and horses, as well as 3,000 to 4,000 large and small warships, and there was no need to add more.
What's more, the annual repair and maintenance costs are also very high, so why continue to build new ones?
In the past four or five years, the entire Jiangxia Navy had only twenty more cutting-edge warships above the stern level, and only three large ships. As for the red horses, flying saucers, and walking boats below the stern level, Huang Zu did not allocate them at all. funds.
After all, these ships are warships in wartime and fishing boats in peacetime. In Huang Zu's eyes, they only need to be recruited during wartime, so there is no need to waste funds.
Sun Tzu said: If you know yourself and the enemy, you will be victorious in a hundred battles. If you don't know the enemy but know yourself, you will win and lose once. If you don't know the enemy and don't know yourself, every battle will be defeated.
Liu Biao is now barely a semi-confidant, but he doesn't know the enemy. His winning rate is worrying and he doesn't realize it. He thinks it's just because Zhang Xian is holding him back.
Although Liu Biao was angry and angry when he received the message, he was not too worried because he thought Huang Zu could block Liu Feng and buy a lot of time even if it didn't work.
(End of chapter)