Jingzhou, Panlongzhai,
Liu Yizheng, who was "seriously ill", and Xi Sengshi, the Nanman captain, were playing chess in the house, fighting in black and white, and they were inseparable.
Xi Sengshi put down a sunspot, stroked his beard and said: "Brother Xile, count the time and it's almost time for me to leave from the capital and come to Jiangling." Liu Yi stared at the chessboard, thinking about where to place the stone, and said in his mouth : "Yuan Zhi wrote a letter to Yu when he left Guangling. He should arrive in mid-October."
"Brother Xile, are you going to ask Yuan Zhi to go to Wuling, Jianping, and Tianmen to recruit troops and then attack Qiaoshu?" Liu Yi put the white pieces on the chessboard, reached for the tea beside him and took a sip, saying: "Huituo deserves it. As Yu's good friend, he guessed Yu's thoughts at once. Liu Yuzhang became famous all over the world for pacifying the Yan Kingdom. How could Yu be weaker than him? In just two years, Yu could raise 40,000 soldiers and horses, pacify Qiaoshu, and let Liu Yuzhang win the battle. People in the world can see that Liu Nanping is not inferior to Liu Yuzhang." Xi Sengshi pointed at the chessboard with the chess pieces between his arms and said: "It's a great chess game, each one has half." Liu Yi smiled and said: "It should be three parts of the world, don't forget to return There is Yang Hongnong." The two were joking, and the attendant called softly from outside the door: "My lord, Mr. Hongnong sent someone to write a letter." Liu Yi was stunned. He had no friendship with Yang Anxuan and had never exchanged letters in private. .
The last time Yang Anxuan surrendered Dangyang City, it was because he was frightened by his own power that he had to hand over the counties and counties as well. "
"Send it up," Liu Yi commanded in a deep voice. The letter was very thick. Liu Yi did not rush to tear open the seal. Instead, he pointed at the words on the envelope and said with a teasing smile to Monk Xi: "Yang Hongnong's literary name is famous in the world. This handwriting can compete with Liu Yuzhang." When Yu was a child, his family was poor. He was only fluent in calligraphy and his handwriting was ugly. Liu Muzhi asked him to deliberately make his handwriting larger, which could hide his clumsiness and make him powerful. Liu Yi often used Liu Yu's words when gathering with gentry and literati. The word is funny.
Monk Xi smiled while stroking his beard and said: "If you are inferior to Duke Yu Zhang in terms of martial arts, and inferior to Duke Hong Nong in terms of poetry, but in terms of writing and painting, you are beyond your reach, Duke Nan Ping." Liu Yi laughed proudly. Laughing loudly, he tore the letter open and opened it to read. After reading a few lines, he stood up in shock and knocked the chessboard in front of him away. The black and white pieces scattered on the mat, making it a mess.
Seeing Liu Yi's change of color, Xi Sengshi hurriedly asked: "Brother Xile, what did Yang Anxuan say in the letter?" Liu Yi quickly read the letter, handed it to Xi Sengshi with a pale face, and said: "Yang Anxuan said that Liu Yu had falsely killed Yuan Zhi and Shu Yuan, and was raising an army to attack." Xi Sengshi's hand shook when he took the letter, and he said anxiously: "How is it possible? Yang Anxuan is lying, how dare Liu Taiwei Brave the disapproval of the world and come to attack the lord." Liu Yi quickly walked a few steps indoors and loudly ordered: "Hurry and prepare your horses, I want to go to the Governor's Mansion." The lobby of Jingzhou Governor's Mansion was full of people, Liu Yi was much calmer at this time, but Xi Sengshi beside him was a little restless.
Liu Yi coughed twice, and everyone fell silent. Liu Yi said: "I have received an urgent report that someone pretending to be the right general Liu Fan came to attack Jiangling. No matter whether it is true or false, we must not slack off." Everyone looked at each other, some were suspicious, Xi Sengshi bowed and saluted: "The imperial court ordered Duke Nanping is in charge of Jingzhou and has the responsibility to defend the territory. Please give Duke Nanping an order." Most of these people were officials brought by Liu Yi from Jiang and Hezhou. They were quite loyal to Liu Yi. They all raised their hands and said, "We are willing to listen to Nanping. At your command." Liu Yi said to Yang Sui, who proposed to join the army: "You quickly send someone to send a message to Zhao Hui in Xiakou and ask him to intercept the ships coming to Jiangling. If there is any abnormality, make a decision immediately."
"Zhu Xianzhi, lead 3,000 troops to garrison Baling; Zhao Cai, lead 300 warships and 6,000 soldiers to guard Yuzhangkou; Huituo, hurry up and recruit troops, and try to recruit 5,000 troops within a month." One after another. After the order was passed, the whole Jingzhou became tense. Many people found that there were many more soldiers patrolling Jiangling City. War horses came and went from time to time. The number of merchant ships on the river became scarce. Could it be that there was another war?
Champion General Tan Daoji, Jianwu General Shen Linzi and Ningshuo General Liu Zhong led a hundred ships as the vanguard and rushed all the way to attack Jiangling.
Shen Linzi suggested to Tan Daoji: "It is difficult to cover up people's eyes and ears during a long-distance attack. It is better to pretend to be Liu Fan and go to Jiangling. The guards along the way will not be suspicious." Tan Daoji adopted Shen Linzi's strategy and hung the flags of the right general Liu Fan on the left and right sides of the battleship. Sure enough, it went smoothly all the way to Xiakou.
Xiakou is the estuary of the Han River entering the Yangtze River. It is the only place where Xiangyang and Jiangling go to Xunyang. It is under the jurisdiction of Jiangxia County, Jingzhou.
After Liu Yi took office as the governor of Jingzhou, he replaced a large number of county officials in Jingzhou. The position of Jiangxia County was so important that Liu Yi appointed his trusted general Ningshuo Zhao Hui as the prefect.
Zhao Hui received an urgent letter from Jiangling, informing him that someone was pretending to be the right general Liu Fan and attacking Jiangling. It is self-evident who dares to impersonate Liu Fan, but as a subordinate of Duke Nanping, Zhao Hui must of course obey Liu Yi's orders.
Zhao Hui immediately led his troops from Jiangxia County to Xiakou, and ordered the navy stationed in Xiakou to block the river and search for ships coming from the east.
Half a day later, Tan Daoji's warship arrived at the Xiakou River. When he saw the sails covering the sky and the sun on the river, he felt darkly, wondering if the news had been leaked.
Tan Daoji secretly ordered the warship to be ready, and asked the signal soldiers to wave flags and ask questions and ask for release.
Zhao Hui was on a boat in the middle of the river. When he saw the ship coming from the opposite side, it turned out that it was the ship of General Liu Fan heading to Jiangling. Zhao Hui said: "Tell them, just say that General Zhao Hui, General Ningshuo of General Right, invited him to go to Xiakou for a break. He washes away the dust and meets the wind." Tan Daoji felt bad. He knew that Zhao Hui was the governor of Jiangxia County and Liu Yi's favorite general. Why did he come to Xiakou? It seemed that he couldn't get away with it.
He immediately ordered: "Charge over." Zhao Hui saw the opponent's ships suddenly speeding up, but he was already prepared, and the powerful crossbows exploded, tearing apart the first few warships that charged.
Tan Daoji saw the large number of soldiers and horses in Jingzhou and ordered the evacuation of Zhengrongzhou, which was twenty miles downstream of Xiakou. When Liu Yi defeated He Danzhi and captured Fankou, he garrisoned here.
Liu Yu's army was in Xunyang. After receiving the news that Tan Daoji was blocked in Xiakou, he led his army to Zhengrongzhou on the third day.
Liu Yi received an urgent report from Zhao Hui and learned that Liu Yu had led an army of 40,000 to attack. He panicked and sat in the hall in despair.
On the surface, he is not afraid of Liu Yu, but in fact he is deeply afraid of Liu Yu's combat power. If the two armies really fight, Liu Yi has no confidence to defeat Liu Yu.
When Yang Sui proposed to join the army, he saw that Liu Yi was confused and said: "My lord, you need to be calm and react when the situation comes. The imperial court must have misunderstood the lord when it sent troops to attack. Why don't the lord send someone to the capital to appeal to the emperor and ask the court to withdraw the troops." "Now that the situation has come to an end, Liu Yi said repeatedly: "That's right, quickly report to the court and ask for withdrawal." When Xi Sengshi saw Liu Yi and learned that Liu Yu's army was approaching, he was not at all calm and calm as usual. He was an elegant and charming man, and secretly regretted in his heart. If he had known that Liu Yi was a disciple, why would he abandon Danyang Yin and choose Nanman Colonel.
At this moment, he was on the same boat with Liu Yi. Liu Yu even killed Shangshu Zuopu She Xiehun, so naturally he would not let him go.
Thinking of this, Xi Sengshi said: "My lord, there are 40,000 people in the imperial army. Xiakou may not be able to resist. I ordered General Zhao to abandon Xiakou and return to Yuzhangkou to fight to the death with Liu Yu." Liu Yi thought for a while and said : "Yes, go quickly and inform Zhao Hui, let him return to Yuzhangkou. Yu still has 30,000 troops in his hands, enough to fight Liu Yu to the death."
"Liu Taiwei has always been afraid of Hongnong Gong. My lord, why don't you ask for help from Hongnong Gong? As long as the Yongzhou army goes south, Liu Yu will not dare to go deep alone. He must send heavy troops to garrison Xiakou to prevent his retreat from being cut off." Xi Sengshi continued.
"Not bad," Liu Yi spat out again.
"Not bad". When Yang Anxuan was mentioned, Liu Yi calmed down a little and said: "Liu Yu came to attack Jingzhou in the name of the emperor. It was Hong Nonggong who reported the news to Yu. He definitely didn't want to see Liu Yu pretending to be the emperor." To eliminate dissidents, as long as Yongzhou soldiers and horses are willing to help, why should we be afraid of Liu Jinu." From Xiakou, Zhao Hui led his troops to withdraw overnight, but the imperial navy suddenly appeared and fought in the dark night.
At dawn, the remains of battleships were scattered on the river, with little bits of flames and black smoke floating away.
Zhao Hui abandoned the baggage ship and fled towards Jiangling with more than 200 warships. It was time, and the imperial troops moved to Xiakou City.
The county magistrate Shen Yu brought the gentry from the city to work for the army. Liu Yu offered comfort and sent General Longxiang Yu Qiujin to lead 2,000 soldiers and horses into the city. He used Xiakou City as a base to transport baggage, grain and grass.
In the temporary camp, Liu Yu summoned the generals to discuss matters. The movement of the Yongzhou Army was the biggest controversy. General Ningshuo Zang Xi believed that the Yong army was being troubled by the Qin army and had no time to look south; General Wang Zhongde of the Fu Kingdom suggested issuing an order in the name of the imperial court so that Yang Anxuan could not intervene in the battle of Jing; Shen Tianzi, who joined the army in the Taiwei Mansion, thought that he should be careful The Yongzhou army took advantage of the fishermen... There are different opinions. Liu Yu said: "The Jingzhou soldiers and horses already knew that the imperial troops and horses were coming to attack. The plan of the sneak attack failed. The army rested for a few days and stocked up food in Xiakou. When the troops were dispatched, a special team was sent to Xiangyang to inquire. We will wait until the conclusive information from Yongzhou is sent." Shen Tianzi, who joined the army in the Taiwei Mansion, vaguely knew the inside story. After Liu Yu was appointed as Taiwei, a wealthy family in Xiangyang secretly communicated with him. Obviously, the Taiwei was waiting for news from Xiangyang.
On October 20, a secret letter was delivered to Liu Yu. It was a letter from Xiang Chou, the head of the Xiang family in Xiangyang. Liu Yu was speechless for a long time after reading the secret letter.
Yang Anxuan sent the Qin army to attack Shangluo. Liu Yu thought that the Yongzhou army would be too tired to cope with it. Unexpectedly, Yang Anxuan counterattacked and broke through the Aoguan Pass to threaten Chang'an.
Not only that, Yang Anxuan mobilized five groups of soldiers and horses to attack Qin together, with the potential to destroy Qin. It is estimated from Xiangchou's letter that the number of soldiers and horses attacking Qin was at least 70,000. Including the troops stationed there, the number of soldiers and horses in Yongyanliangsi and other places exceeded 100,000.
Liu Yu was horrified. He had always thought that the number of soldiers and horses in the imperial court was twice that of Yong Yan's army, so he planned to seize Xiangyang after destroying Yan. Now it seems that it is fortunate that he did not take action, otherwise he might never return.
If he knew that Yong Yan was so powerful, he would not regard Liu Yi as the first target to be eliminated. Instead, he would first join forces with Liu Yi to suppress Yang Anxuan. In comparison, Yang Anxuan poses a far greater threat to him than Liu Yi.
Now that I have killed Liu Fan and Xie Hun, I have no choice but to fire the arrow on the string. I can only hope that when Yang Anxuan attacked Qin, he lost his troops and his vitality was severely damaged. After successfully defeating Liu Yi, he took advantage of the situation and went north, taking advantage of Yong Yan's troops and horses being trapped in Qin. Capture Xiangyang and secure the Central Plains.
