Just as Yang Zijing led his army out of Wuyang City and fought with the Yan army led by Sima Guofan in Fancheng, Liu Jingxuan sent his troops out of Jiangling City and divided his troops into two groups to march towards Chengdu. The war in central Shu officially began.
Liu Jingxuan led his army along the waterway to Jiangzhou, Bajun. The counties in Liangzhou had received orders from Yang Siping in advance to allow the imperial troops to pass through. Meng Longfu, the governor of Bajun, led Shen Qingzhi out of the city to greet him and reward the army.
When Wang Gong raised troops to clear the emperor's side, Liu Jingxuan once led the navy to confront the river patrol camp. At that time, Yang Anxuan had been promoted to the prefect of Runan, but the river patrol camp he left behind left a deep impression on Liu Jingxuan.
Meng Longfu was the younger brother of Meng Huaiyu, the prefect of Xiapi. Liu Jingxuan heard Meng Huaiyu say that his brother was very brave and he laughed and said: "General Meng is very powerful. Huaiyu often mentions it in foolish ears."
Since Meng Longfu defected to Yang Anxuan and then went north to aid Luoyang, the two brothers met only a handful of times. Now Meng Huaiyu is the Marquis of Poyang County, General Ningni, and the Governor of Xiapi, with thousands of households in the city; Meng Longfu is General Jianwei, the Governor of Bajun, and a man of Linyuan County. Each of the two brothers protects his master.
Listening to Liu Jingxuan talking about his eldest brother, Meng Longfu said with great nostalgia: "I haven't seen my eldest brother in more than three years. Last month I received a letter from him saying that he had given birth to another son. Yu sent someone to Xiapi to congratulate him, but unfortunately he was far away. Jiangzhou, otherwise Yu Zhen would like to go and see his two nephews."
Liu Jingxuan stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Brothers Longfu are serving the country and we are far apart. Why don't we ask you to transfer Ren Yang and Xu to the area, so that the two brothers can see each other often."
When Shen Qingzhi heard that Liu Jingxuan was openly poaching, he couldn't help but snorted. Liu Jingxuan looked at Shen Qingzhi and asked with a smile: "Who is this heroic young general?"
Meng Longfu said: "Danglu General Chen Qingzhi."
Liu Jingxuan stopped, looked Shen Qingzhi up and down, and said, "I heard that Yang Hongnong's sister-in-law is a descendant of the Shen family of Wu Xing. Could it be this one?"
Shen Qingzhi didn't like it when people mentioned that he was Yang's brother-in-law, as if he relied on nepotism to achieve what he did today. Meng Longfu knew what he was thinking and said: "That's right. General Shen is brave and good at fighting, and he can't be defeated by fools."
When Liu Jingxuan saw Shen Qingzhi's tense face, he immediately understood and said with a smile: "The Shen family in Wuxing are many heroes. Yu, brothers Shen Linzi and Shen Tianzi are all good friends. General Meng praised General Qingzhi for his bravery. This time he defeated the puppet Shu. It's time to make great achievements and become a prince thousands of miles away."
Shen Qingzhi looked excited, Liu Jingxuan smiled slightly and continued to encourage: "General Shen is still weak in his youth. If he makes great achievements in pacifying Shu this time, he may be more successful than Yang Hongnong in the future, hahahaha."
Then, Liu Jingxuan introduced to Meng Longfu and others the accompanying warriors Mao Xiuzhi, Feng Qian, Zhu Lin and others.
After the reception banquet, Shen Qingzhi returned to his residence. He was deeply moved by Liu Jingxuan's words of "being a prince for thousands of miles".
To be honest, to this day he still can't believe that he can really marry Yang Qiu. The Shen family of Wuxing where he was born is far inferior to the Yang family of Hongnong. Moreover, as Yang Anxuan is the governor of Yongzhou and the Duke of Hongnong, his sister How could it be possible to marry an illiterate martial artist? No wonder others looked envious when mentioning it.
Before getting married, Yang Anxuan made a special trip to find Shen Qingzhi and told him that Yang Qiu really liked him and that family status was not important to Yang Anxuan.
Shen Qingzhi remembered that his third uncle patted him on the shoulder and encouraged him: "Qingzhi, you are witty and brave. You can win fame and wealth from the battlefield. Your future achievements will never be inferior to your stupidity."
After getting married, Shen Qingzhi also heard from his wife that his third uncle had high hopes for him, believing that he would be able to become a duke and a general, and that he would be a highly respected minister. Yang Qiu firmly believed in his third brother's words, which made Shen Qingzhi grateful and eager to repay him with meritorious deeds.
Yang Anxuan fought with the Wei army, led Shen Qingzhi across the Yellow River to fight the enemy, and personally taught him how to march and fight. In the battle against Wei, Shen Qingzhi fought bravely to kill the enemy and made many military exploits. Afterwards, the imperial court awarded him the title of general, and he was not yet weak at this time.
The soldiers who accompanied him to the battle naturally knew about the bravery of the young general, but some uninformed people secretly discussed that Governor Yang intended to let his sister-in-law perform meritorious service to pave the way for his promotion.
Shen Qingzhi heard Feng Yanfeng's tone of voice, which was very dull and difficult to explain. After Yang Qiu learned about it, he whispered in Yang Anxuan's ear and asked his third brother to help enlighten him.
Yang Anxuan said to Shen Qing, "If you don't make people jealous, you are mediocre." He was also criticized back then. A good man should speak for himself by his military exploits.
Shen Qingzhi secretly regarded Yang Anxuan as his teacher and naturally listened to his words in his heart. He practiced hard on the school field every day, waiting for the opportunity to make meritorious deeds again.
When the Liangzhou war started, Yang Anxuan sent him to lead 5,000 troops to Jiangzhou, Bajun. Shen Qing was so happy that he didn't even feel sad about leaving Qiu'er.
After arriving in Jiangzhou, Meng Longfu was transferred from the prefect of Shangluo to the prefect of Bajun. Both of them were martial arts idiots. They would fight each other on the school field and get along well with each other. At the beginning of the year, the two received orders from Yang Anxuan to train their troops and prepare their supplies, and took advantage of the imperial court's attack on Qiaoshu to seize Guanghan County.
Meng Longfu said with a smile: "The Lord's letter specifically asked Qingzhi to lead the army to Dianjiang City. It seems that he is going to make you the vanguard."
Shen Qingzhi geared up and said: "I will live up to my lord's expectations and seize Guanghan County."
The next day, in the government office lobby, Liu Jingxuan asked people to hang up maps and make arrangements for the attack on Shu. Liu Jing declared a holiday and supervised the military expedition of Shu. In name, Liangzhou's soldiers and horses also had to obey his orders. Of course, whether they cooperated or not depended on Meng Longfu. Meng Longfu could find any excuse to shirk.
"Yu prepared to divide his troops into two groups. On the first group, Longxiang General Mao Xiuzhi led Wuling Prefect Feng Qian, Zhenwu General Zhang Jiren and others, leading 5,000 soldiers and horses along the southwest to attack Jiangyang County. After capturing Jiangyang, they turned north to Jianwei County. Attack Nan'an and Wuyang all the way to Chengdu Prefecture from the south. This road can be used as a suspect, and there will be a lot of fanfare along the road to attract troops from Shu."
Liu Jingxuan glanced at everyone and said: "Yu Qin led the main force north to Dianjiang, went up the Fujian River to attack Suining and Guanghan, occupied Guanghan and sent three troops to Fu County in Zitong County. At that time, Liangzhou Governor Yang will order the army to go south. Encircle Fu County."
Meng Longfu nodded secretly. Liu Jingxuan's battle route map was almost the same as Yang Anxuan's idea. However, Liu Jingxuan's ultimate goal was Chengdu Prefecture, and Yang Anxuan ordered them to take Zitong and Guanghan counties.
Chengdu is surrounded by mountains. The mountains are high, the valleys are deep, the roads are rugged, and the terrain is extremely dangerous. Qiao Zong is very popular among the people of Shu. If the Jin army approaches the city, they will definitely let the Shu people take advantage of the danger and hold on.
If Liangzhou supplies grain, grass and other supplies in time, the Jin army may have a chance of success. However, Yang Anxuan regards Yizhou as his treasure. He will inevitably fight Liu Yu in the future, so how can he let Liu Jingxuan occupy the important city under his arm.
"After occupying Fu County, we will use this as a basis to seize Mianzhu Pass and Luoxian County and attack Chengdu Prefecture." Liu Jingxuan glanced at the crowd with blazing eyes and said: "Jianwu General Zhu Lin, Fenwu General Yuan Daozhi, Danglu General Shen Qingzhi will go to war with Yu."
Meng Longfu received secret instructions from Yang Anxuan and took the opportunity to seize Guanghan County. He just took advantage of the power of the imperial troops and horses and said: "General Shen Qingzhi is familiar with the terrain of Guanghan. He can be ordered to lead his troops as the vanguard to capture Suining City first." .”
Liu Jingxuan naturally didn't get what he asked for, so he smiled and said, "Thank you, General Shen."
…………
Qiao Daofu, the governor of Shu and Liangzhou, was stationed in Guanghan County. When he learned that the Jin army had arrived in Jiangzhou City, he ordered all cities to strictly guard the pass and not to fight in dangerous positions.
Suining was originally named Deyang. After Huan Wen pinged Shu, he changed Deyang to Suining, which meant "an end to chaos and tranquility". Suining City is located in the upper reaches of Dianjiang River, guarding the road from Bajun to Guanghan. The guard general Jian Liang ordered his people to strictly guard the road checkpoints, and rammed earth on both sides of the Fulishui River to form platforms, and set up ballistas to guard the river.
The city of Suining is heavily fortified, and the mountain roads are rugged and difficult to navigate. There are checkpoints set up according to the dangers. One man can guard the pass and ten thousand people cannot open it. There are five checkpoints on the land road from Dianjiang to Suining. Relatively speaking, attacking by water was smoother. At the beginning of the year, Yongzhou sent thousands of navy troops into Jiangzhou, and hundreds of warships docked at the Dianjiang City Pier.
Jian Liang also knew that the Jin army was more likely to attack by water, and built earthen platforms along the coast to guard the river. If they attacked by force, the loss of troops and horses would be too great, so Shen Qingzhi did not rush to send troops.
I have been standing in front of the map for nearly half an hour. This map is a new version just sent from Xiangyang a few days ago. It has mountains, rivers, roads, and river tributaries marked on it. It is much clearer than the imperial map. This picture was drawn by the secret guards who accompanied the monks who came to Shu to investigate and build temples and set up temples.
The main route from Dianjiang to Suining is Fujiang. Liu Jingxuan brought 800 warships to Liang this time. The troops were divided into two groups and also traveled along the waterway by boat.
Suining City is on the south bank of the Fujiang River, and the Shu army's defense focus is also in the south. Shen Qingzhi's eyes are on the mountains and forests to the north of the Fujiang River. The deep forests and dense trees are easy to hide, and the barbarian tribes in the mountains and forests can provide supplies for ambushes.
Soldiers outside the lobby came in and reported, "Jianwu General Zhu Lin is here." Although Liu Jingxuan agreed to let Shen Qingzhi be the vanguard, he also sent Jianwu General Zhu Lin and thousands of people to help.
Zhu Lin is a general in Beifu and is an old acquaintance of Liu Yu. He was Liu Yu's deputy general when Liu Yu was fighting against Sun En. Liu Yu raised his troops at Jingkou, and Zhu Lin followed Liu Yu to fight, making him a feudal military general. This time Liu Jing announced the expedition to Shu, Liu Yu equipped him with strong soldiers and generals, and Zhu Lin followed him.
Shen Qingzhi signaled to put away the map and walked out of the lobby to greet him. As soon as he reached the door, Zhu Lin was already striding over.
"General Shen, I have been to Dianjiang for two days. I wonder when General Shen will go out?" Zhu Lin urged with slight dissatisfaction.
In his opinion, Fang Ruuguan fought in several battles in the year of Shen Qing, and it was clearly Yang Anxuan who sought military exploits for his brother-in-law. Zhu Lin was not surprised that many powerful people in the army were trying their best to gain credit for their nephews. However, Shen Qingzhi was reluctant to send troops, so he had to ask about the delay in fighting.
General Zhu Lin of Shen Qing let him into the lobby, pointed to another map drawn by the imperial court and said: "General Zhu, according to the scouts' report, Suining City is heavily guarded, and the march will suffer too much damage if forced."
Zhu Lin said coldly: "How can we march and fight without casualties? If General Shen has any concerns, he would lead the army first."
Shen Qingzhi heard the contempt in Zhu Lin's words and said in a deep voice: "I am not afraid of war, but I want to use clever tricks to seize Suining City."
Pointing to the map, Chong Qing said: "General Zhu, please see, Jian Liang has set up defenses at these places, and ballistas have also been set up on both sides of the waterway. However, these defenses are all on the left side of Fulishui."
Zhu Lin stood in front of the map, stroking his beard and said: "General Shen wants to dive to the right side of Fu River and take a detour to Suining."
Shen Qingzhi nodded and said: "Yes, please let General Zhu lure the enemy. If Jian Liang dares to attack, Yu will take the opportunity to seize Suining City."
Some people died, but not completely...
