In Xunyang, Huan Xuan received a secret letter from Huan Qian and learned that Yu Kai had secretly communicated to the court. He ordered the capture of Yu Kai and his son, and the army began to move north.
Huanxuan did not entangle with the towns along the river, and only sent a small number of troops to contain them. The army went all the way north and arrived at Gushu on February 28th.
Gushu was originally a ferry town in Danyang County. In the second year of Taikang (281), the city was built and garrisoned. Salt and rice accumulated here and it became an important town.
Gushu is adjacent to the Yangtze River to the west and Gushu River to the south. Above it is the majestic East and West Liang Mountains, which are like gates of heaven, guarding the throat of the Yangtze River. It has become the southwestern gateway to Jiankang, the capital city.
The building boat docked at Gushu, and Huan Xuan was filled with emotions. He was born here, and his father died when he was five years old. He stayed here as a filial piety for more than two years, and then left with his uncle Huan Chong.
His father Huan Wen worked here for eight years, reinforcing the city wall, building the commander's palace, building barracks and martial arts arenas, building ships, training infantry and cavalry, strengthening military defenses, strengthening troops and horses, and conducting three Northern Expeditions. The town of Gushu grew rapidly because of his father's presence in the town. .
Back then, my father was in charge of Gushu, holding a large number of troops and controlling the capital. The career and destiny of the officials in the capital were in his hands. There was a lot of traffic in front of Da Sima's mansion, and there were many officials who came to please and flatter themselves.
Bian Fanzhi, who was on the side, noticed that Huan Xuan was in agitated mood and said with a smile: "When my lord was born, there was a strange appearance from heaven. Now that the spirit treasure has returned to its place, the prime minister's unfulfilled wish for many years will be realized in my lord's hands. This is God's will."
According to folklore, when Yuan Zhen, the prefect of Liyang, presented three beauties to please Huan Wen, he was sitting under the moon one night when a meteor fell into the water in a copper basin, and two inches of fire beads floated in the water, bright and clear. The three girls scrambled to catch it with ladles, and Huanxuan's mother, Ma Shi, grabbed it and swallowed it. She felt pregnant and gave birth to Huanxuan.
When Huanxuan was born, a bright light shone brightly in the room, illuminating the four walls. Huanwen was very different. He asked a fortune teller to predict the birth of his son. Take the nickname "Lingbao".
Bian Fanzhi's words revealed what was on Huanxuan's mind. His father dethroned the emperor in the evening and established his authority, forcing the court to add the gift of nine tins. Unfortunately, Xie An and Wang Tanzhi deliberately delayed it. As the New Year was not a holiday, his father died of illness with regret, and his uncle and others Not wanting to make progress, he was humiliated by Sima Daozi in front of the banquet.
Huan Xuan looked down at the officials and gentry who came to greet him at Gushu Wharf, and said proudly: "Fools should carry on the ambition of my late father."
When Huan Wen was in charge of Gushu, he planned to build straight streets with restaurants, teahouses, shops, and inns on both sides. When he learned that the son of the late Sima Huan had arrived, the people lined the streets to welcome him.
Huan Xuan was riding on his horse, waving to the people on both sides frequently. Bian Fanzhi on the side said with emotion: "These people have been blessed by Prime Minister Huan, and I still feel grateful for it. Under the governance of Prime Minister Huan, I am three points better than the capital." "
"I must fulfill my late father's will and avoid the humiliation of the past." Huan Xuan looked in the direction of Jiankang and said with ferocious pleasure.
The straight street leads directly to the commander's mansion. Huan Wen dismounted in front of the mansion gate and looked up at the plaque above the gate.
After the Huan family left Gushu, the Shuai Mansion became the county government, and the plaque bearing the title of Chief Sima was also replaced. Upon learning that Huan Xuan had led his army, the county magistrate Xu Hua quickly found the dusty nanmu plaque from the warehouse, washed it, painted it with new paint, applied gold powder, and hung it again.
Seeing Huan Xuan looking at the plaque in a daze, Xu Hua stepped forward and said with a flattering smile: "Nanjun Gong, this plaque is the same one from back then. I ordered someone to tidy up the house according to the layout of the year, and asked Nanjun Gong to move inside and take a look. See where you need to adjust."
Stepping into the Marshal's Mansion, every brick and pillar here carries Huan Xuan's full memories. Huan Xuan walked slowly through the corridor and walked towards the handsome hall. The scene of him running and playing in front of the hall came to his mind.
When his father had free time to deal with official duties, he would carry himself out of the commander's mansion and go to the street to chat with the people in the city...
Feeling that his eyes were a little moist, Huan Xuan raised his head, strode into the handsome hall, and sat in the middle.
The entourage behind him waited for Huan Xuan to sit down. Under the leadership of Bian Fanzhi, he knelt on the ground and shouted, "I have seen Duke Nanjun."
Signaling everyone to stand up, Huan Xuan looked at the civil and military men standing on both sides, placed his hands on the desk, and ordered: "Feng Gai, you and Huangfu will lead 10,000 troops to seize Liyang City."
Feng should step out of the queue and take orders with his fists clasped.
"Wu Fuzhi, lead the navy to cut off the Yangtze River, cut off the connection between Liyang, Dongpu, and Hengjiang, and look for opportunities to annihilate the Yuzhou navy."
Wu Fuzhi promised loudly.
"Fu Hong." Huan Xuan glanced at the former Qin prince and said, "Yang Qiu, who is stationed at Hengjiang, is your old general. See if you can persuade him to submit. If Yang Qiu persists, you should seize Hengjiang earlier. Open up the waterway to the north."
Fu Hong was the legitimate son of Fu Jian and was once the crown prince. Fu Jian died in the 10th year of Taiyuan (385). Fu Hong led thousands of people from his clan and mother clan to defect to the Jin Dynasty. The whole family received good treatment from the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and the court settled Fu Hong. In Jiangzhou, he was awarded the title of general of the auxiliary state and prefect of Jiujiang County.
Huanxuan was appointed as the governor of Jiangzhou, and Fu Hong became his subordinate. Hengxuan treated the former Qin prince very kindly, and Fu Hong was very grateful.
Feng Gai attacked Liyang City from land. There were only three thousand soldiers in Liyang City. General Longxiang and Xiangcheng Prefect Sima Xiuzhi ascended the city to defend the city, and a fierce battle was going on.
Sima Shangzhi sent troops to the shore of Dongpu and used catapults and giant crossbows to block Xiping from landing. Liu Zhong received news that the Western Army was attacking Dongpu and led his navy to come to the rescue.
Although the number of the Yuzhou Navy was only one-third of the Huanxuan Navy, and the scale of the battleships was not as large as that of the Huanxuan Navy, it was well-trained, flexible, and focused on containment, just like fish swimming flexibly in the water. Wu Fu There is nothing you can do for a while.
At Hengjiang, Yang Qiu received the letter of persuasion to surrender from Fu Hong. He pondered for a long time and asked Lieutenant General Wen Xiang to come to discuss it. Wen Xiang was originally the prince of the Later Yan Dynasty, who later returned to the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
When the Wei army went south, Wen Xiang abandoned Yingchuan and fled back to the capital. He gave a generous gift to Sima Yuanxian. Sima Yuanxian did not hold him accountable and allowed him to continue serving under Sima Shangzhi, the governor of Yuzhou.
Yang Qiuping withdrew and handed Fu Hong's surrender letter to Wen Xiang. After Wen looked at it carefully, he said, "I would like to advance and retreat with General Yang."
Wen Xiang fled from Yingchuan City and returned to the service of King Qiao. Sima Shangzhi disliked him very much and gave him a sinecure. Wen Xiang was not angry.
Those who talk about right and wrong are right and wrong. Yang Qiulai asked him what he wanted and made it clear that he wanted to surrender to Huan Xuan. If he objected, the guards outside the door might come in and kill him.
What's more, Huan Xuan now has strong soldiers and horses, and everyone with a discerning eye knows that the imperial court is no match. Wouldn't it be a good idea to surrender and take advantage of the opportunity? Wen Xiang has no intention of being a loyal minister of the imperial court.
Half an hour later, Fu Jian and his troops crossed the river, and Yang Qiu and Wen Xiang led their troops to surrender.
In Dongpu, Sima Shangzhi learned that Yang Qiu had surrendered to Huan Xuan. The morale of the army was in chaos, and Wu Fuzhi took the opportunity to launch an offensive.
Sima Shangzhi saw his men fleeing in all directions and knew that the situation was over. Fortunately, he was reminded by Yang Anxuan in advance and Sima Shangzhi fled to Liyang with the remaining soldiers.
Feng Gai learned that Sima Shangzhi was defeated and led his army to intercept Sima Shangzhi. After a fierce battle, Sima Shangzhi escaped back to Liyang City under the protection of his personal guards. Only less than 2,000 soldiers and horses remained out of 9,000.
After defeating Sima Shang, Wu Fuzhi went up the river to look for the navy led by Liu Zhong. Liu Zhong learned of the battle situation and knew that it was difficult to resist, so he ordered the navy to retreat to Xiezhou and rely on the Beifu Army.
Wu Fuzhi pursued him to Liezhou and saw that the Beifu army was well prepared. He did not dare to take risks and withdrew his troops back to Dongpu.
When Huan Xuan learned that Sima Shangzhi was defeated and retreated to Liyang City with his remaining troops, he breathed a sigh of relief. One of the two stones that blocked his way to Beijing had been kicked away, and the only ones left were the Beifu Army led by Liu Laozhi. . …
After garrisoning in Xinye, Yang Anxuan did not immediately launch an offensive against Nanyang County. Instead, he waited for Yang Shangbao to deliver news from Xiangyang City before deciding on the movement of the army.
On February 28, when Huan Xuan attacked Liyang, Yang Anxuan finally received the secret report from Yang Shangbao.
"...After Diao Chang learned that Xinye was lost, he returned the defenders from Fancheng and defended Xiangyang City with all his strength. There were 5,000 defenders in Xiangyang City, and Diao Chang forced nearly 10,000 young men to join the defense..."
Yang Anxuan frowned, what he was most worried about happened. Diao Chang made it clear that he would stick to Xiangyang and wait for Huan Xuan's army to come back for reinforcements. He didn't have many troops, and Xiangyang was easy to defend and difficult to attack. It was really difficult to deal with Diao Chang who was shrinking into a turtle shell. difficulty.
Yang Shangbao mentioned that the situation in which he contacted the Xi, Zhang, Liu and other aristocratic families was not ideal. These families obviously did not think highly of Yang Anxuan and did not comment on Yang Shangbao's proposal to seize Xiangyang by cooperating internally and externally.
Yin Ji spoke first: "Since Xiangyang is heavily fortified, I'm afraid it will be difficult to capture it for a while. We should go north to attack Wancheng and capture Nanyang."
Wang Zhene knew Yang Anxuan's thoughts. Only by occupying Xiangyang and relying on Xinye and Runan counties could he have any chance to compete with Huanxuan.
Otherwise, when Huanxuan takes over Jiankang and sends troops to conquer in the name of the world, everything achieved in front of him will be in vain, and he will have no choice but to flee to Qin and Wei.
"If you want to gain a foothold, you must take Xiangyang," Wang Zhen said evilly: "And before Huanxuan enters the capital, the general can go to the court and ask for the appointment of the governor of Yongzhou to occupy the righteousness. Even if Huanxuan sends troops to attack, he must I have some scruples."
Yang Anxuan nodded with satisfaction, Wang Zhene's words hit his mark.
Standing up, Yang Anxuan glanced at everyone and said: "It is almost impossible to attack Xiangyang by force. The only way is to use wisdom."
"The four gates of Xiangyang are tightly closed. We have to let Diao Chang open the city gate to take advantage of it." Yang Anxuan said solemnly: "If we garrison Jiyang, I guess Diao Chang would not dare to open the city gate."
Since sending troops, Yang Anxuan has been thinking about ways to capture Xiangyang, and it is expected that Xiangyang will be closed.
"Tomorrow, Yu will lead two thousand light cavalry and one thousand infantry to Nanyang, and cooperate with Yang Siping to capture Wancheng."
Everyone was stunned. Just now Yang Anxuan said he wanted to take Xiangyang, so how could he lead his troops north?
Wang Zhene smiled and said, "The general is deliberately being lenient."
Yang Anxuan nodded and said: "There must be Xiangyang's Xizuo in the city. Let Xiangzuo tell Diao Chang the news about Yu leading his army northward. Only then can Diao Chang take advantage of it with peace of mind."
"Yin Ji, the remaining troops and horses are under your command. You must drill them every day." Yang Anxuan ordered.
Yin Ji already understood Yang Anxuan's intention and said, "General, don't worry, Yu will drill twice a day and let Xiangyang Xizuo know the number of soldiers and horses."
"Quai En, you secretly select 400 elites and follow Yu to Xiangyang with sharp blades, looking for an opportunity to seize the city." Yang Anxuan ordered.
Wang Zhen'e stroked his short beard and said: "It is too risky to seize Xiangyang with hundreds of people. Diao Chang likes to accumulate wealth, so the general might as well make a fuss."
Yang Anxuan laughed loudly and said: "Heroes have the same idea. Yu has ordered someone to prepare a box of colored porcelain and is about to go to Xiangyang to "give gifts." "
