On August 10, Yang Anxuan returned to Xiangyang City and ordered to recruit new soldiers from the garrison.
There is an endless stream of young men and women applying for military service in the garrison. Although the garrison is also called an army, it is half peasant and half army. Its treatment is far different from that of regular soldiers. After destroying the Qin Dynasty and pacifying Shu, these two battles resulted in tens of thousands of soldiers being rewarded, many of whom were selected from the garrison.
Watching brothers who were originally equals be promoted to captains, village chiefs, Sima and even school lieutenants, and return to their hometowns with generous rewards to visit relatives. The rewarded fields are hundreds of acres, and the wives at home put on new clothes and wear gold and silver. The children in the family can go to school and study in Xiang, which makes people jealous.
Of course, there will inevitably be soldiers killed and disabled in wars, but these people's families receive generous benefits, the whole family does not have to worry about food and clothing, and the government often sends people to visit them. This makes many people want to fight for fame on the battlefield.
Every few months, the army would select strong men from the garrison and recruit them into the army. The young men who wanted to join the army were trained very hard. After the Qin Dynasty was defeated, there were tens of thousands more original Qin troops in the garrison, which made many People feel the pressure.
Yonggong announced the recruitment of 20,000 troops, and many garrison troops signed up enthusiastically. Those Qin troops who surrendered were even more active, because Yonggong declared that as long as they became regular soldiers, they would be treated as soldiers in the army, and they would be treated the same as soldiers of the Jin army, and they would be exempted from prisoners of war. Status, family land grant, and meritorious service are all equally rewarded.
The matter of recruiting troops was left to Sima Zhaotian, and Yang Anxuan secretly confessed that the number of Qin troops recruited to surrender should be controlled within five thousand. After all, people's hearts are unpredictable, and they must prevent these Qin troops from rebelling.
It takes time to recruit, gather, and train a large army. Lu Gui rushed to Xiangyang excitedly, and Yang Anxuan asked him to drill the new army. At present, the lord's subordinates
The generals were scattered in all directions. It was obvious that Duke Yong wanted him to lead the troops to fight against the imperial troops.
Every day, he inquired about the situation of raising grain, grass and baggage, then went to the military camp to see Lu Gui training the new army, and went to the Ordnance Department to check the research and development of new ordnance. The gunpowder factory was moved to Mianzhu City, which left a shortage of gunpowder for the upcoming war.
Seeing Yang Anxuan's large-scale recruitment of troops, Liu Zhong took advantage of the situation and proposed to Yang Anxuan to increase the number of naval forces. New grain was put into storage in July, and this year's grain yield was bumper again. In order to prevent low grain prices and hurt farmers, Yang Anxuan asked Xin He to purchase a large amount of grain, enough to support the needs of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses.
With food in hand and no panic in his heart, Yang Anxuan waved his hand and asked Liu Zhong to recruit five thousand navy troops.
Yang Anxuan ordered Lu Gui to lead the new army to the south for training. They would train and eliminate bandits while marching. During the training, they would enhance their physical fitness, increase their combat effectiveness and cohesion.
Yongzhou was preparing for the war intensively, but Yang Anxuan was actually not in a hurry. It was more than 500 miles from Xiangyang to Jiangling and could be reached within ten days. If he rode lightly, he could reach it within five days.
Yang Anxuan secretly told Lu Gui to slow down his march. Lu Gui smiled and said: "Don't worry, my lord, Yu will arrive before Jiangling City is broken."
Seeing that Lu Gui fully understood what he meant, Yang Anxuan smiled and said: "Xiang Tooth has been on the battlefield for a long time, so he can seize the opportunity. Nothing big will happen in Jiangling. Even if Liu Yu captures Jiangling, he will not be able to hold it. If you want to take advantage of it, you will be able to seize the opportunity." Teach him a lesson."
On August 18, Xu Kui led 16,000 soldiers and horses by boat from Shanghan River in Xiakou to Yangkou and landed at Jingling City. The 16,000 soldiers and horses commanded by Xu Kuizhi were the elite of the Beifu Army. The weapons they carried were all newly made swords and guns, and they also carried thousands of kilograms of pill fire with them. These pill fires belong to Cai Zhou
Liu Yu delivered all the inventory to Xu Kuizhi, hoping that his son-in-law would achieve military exploits.
Liu Yu then led 20,000 naval troops up the river, and Baling watched the wind and descended. Liu Yu led his navy to rest for a while in Baling, hoping that Xu Kui would attack Jiangling City first.
On August 20, Sima Xiu, the governor of Jingzhou, went to the imperial court to spread the word and accuse Liu Yu.
"...Since he is a poor pastor, he has the power to dominate others, he cannot use the right way to get merit, he is worried about favors and arrogance, and he wants to reward himself. Since he is strong, his love is supreme, his punishments and killings are indiscriminate, and his government is harsh. He is striving for the top spot. The traces are becoming more and more obvious, and the etiquette of people and ministers is suddenly missing... Today, Yonggong is so righteous that he leads the army to defeat the rebels and jointly prevent the national calamity. The flag points, and we will definitely be able to defeat the enemy and win..."
In Xiangyang, Yang Anxuan received the memorial from Sima Xiuzhi and said with a smile: "It is so eloquent that it has more than a thousand words. How can the people in the world have the leisure to listen to this. Yu Ying, you write it..."
Yang Anxuan thought for a while and said: "Liu Yu was disobedient, bullied the emperor, and killed dissidents, in order to carry out Huan Xuan's story. I hope that after the enlightened people in the world have learned this, they will raise up a righteous army to fight against the rebellion, and the court will discuss the merits and reward him." "
After Liu Yu received Sima Xiuzhi's memorial, he sneered: "The bones in the grave are just struggling to death."
Along with the memorial came a letter from Han Yanzhi, who was in charge of Jingzhou. In the letter, Han Yanzhi sternly rejected Liu Yu's solicitation and stated that he would live or die with Jingzhou.
Liu Yu showed the letter to his left and right and sighed: "This is how things should be."
When Yang Anxuan's message arrived, Liu Yu was sweating profusely and said: "If we cannot win this battle, I'm afraid the whole world will raise a flag of rebellion."
Liu Yu no longer waited for news from Xu Kuizhi, and headed from Baling to Jiangling. There were crossbows and catapults along the coast to seal the river. However, the Yongzhou gunpowder that Liu Yu was most worried about did not appear, and he suffered a small loss.
After collecting the ships and soldiers, Liu Yu came to Jiang'an City.
Jiang'an City is less than sixty miles away from Jiangling. Liu Yu clearly felt that there were many arrow towers on both sides of the river, dense catapults and crossbows, and arrows and stones like rain. Moreover, Sima Xiu ordered people to sink stones in bamboo baskets into the river to block the waterway. Ships cannot pass at all.
After discussing with his subordinates, Liu Yu decided to send troops ashore to break the stronghold and seize the archery towers and ramming platforms on both sides of the strait first to ensure that the navy could safely reach Jiangling City.
The two sides are very steep, with walls standing several feet high, making it difficult to climb. Liu Yu ordered Liu Zhong and Liu Cui to each lead three thousand troops to attack the north and south banks. Sima Wensi led his troops to guard the north bank, and Sima Shufan guarded the south side of the river.
Liu Zhong and Liu Cui ordered Shi Deng to walk close to the shore to find a landing place. Sima Wensi ordered to shoot arrows and throw stones, but the imperial troops were still unable to land until dark.
The two men came dejectedly to give orders. Liu Yu was furious and ordered them to be tied up and beheaded. Liu Zhong said anxiously: "Song Gong, I would rather die in front of the battle. I would like to lead a night attack tonight."
At midnight, the night is dark and moonless, and torches are burning on the arrow towers on both sides of the Yangtze River, like two fire dragons stretching on both sides of the river.
The river was surging, and there were camps of the Jing army on the gentle river bank. Liu Zhong led more than a hundred people and two walking boats quietly came to a cliff.
The wall was more than two feet high, with an arrow tower standing on it. Liu Zhong listened carefully, and there was only the sound of running water.
Liu Zhong used his spear to dig out a hollow in the cliff, about half the width of a foot, which he could stand and climb up. Half an hour later, Liu Zhong quietly climbed up the cliff and saw an arrow tower not far away.
When the soldiers who landed reached more than 40 people, Liu Zhong led them towards the archery tower. There was a tent under the archery tower, and there was thunderous snoring inside. Draw the sword and cut inside
Killing Jing Jun in his sleep without alerting the guards on the arrow tower.
After leading several people to the arrow tower, Liu Zhong saw two guards sitting on the ground dozing off little by little. After easily disposing of the two men, Liu Zhong saw that the Jingzhou army was not alerted, so he hurriedly sent people to report the news and let people disembark from here.
Half an hour later, the inspecting Jingzhou Army passed by and was surprised to see hundreds of people gathering on the archery tower. Only then did they discover that the imperial troops had landed ashore.
Arrows sounded as a warning, and the sound of killings was everywhere. The imperial troops launched an offensive. The Jingzhou army was unable to resist the enemy. Sima Wensi retreated in panic with his troops, and the north bank was captured.
The next day, Liu Yu led his army to land ashore. On September 2, they arrived at Jiangling City. Sima Shufan, who was stationed on the south bank, had to withdraw his troops and return to Jiangling to defend.
Sima Xiu was so anxious that he urged Yong's army to come for reinforcements several times a day. Lu Gui's 20,000 soldiers and horses were still training outside Dangyang Pass.
When Liu Yu heard the news, he sneered and said: "Yang Anxuan wanted to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight and profit from it. He sent someone to persuade Sima Xiuzhi to surrender, which would protect the lives of his family."
Before the messenger left the camp, a detective horse galloped to report that the vanguard Xu Kui was defeated in Jingling City. Xu Kui, Wang Yunzhi, and Shen Yuan were all killed in the battle. Only Dao Yanzhi and his remaining soldiers struggled to support themselves and asked the Duke of Song to quickly send troops for reinforcements.
"What?" Liu Yu stood up in shock and asked, "What do you think happened to Kui Zhi?"
"General Xu fell into Yong's army's trick to lure the enemy. He led his army to chase Shen Qingzhi, accidentally entered the swamp, and was killed by an arrow. Generals Shen and Wang were also killed by Yong's army in order to save General Xu." Tan Ma was frightened. Earthly nature said.
Liu Yu's vision went dark and his body tilted. Xie Hui, who was beside him with sharp eyesight and quick hands, hurriedly stepped forward to support him and said: "Song, take care, the overall situation is the most important."
Feeling tightness in his chest and the faint smell of blood in his mouth, Liu Yu burst into tears, "It's so sad for Kui, it's so painful for Kui. I swear to kill my son Shen Qingzhi to avenge you. Send troops to Jingling to avenge Kui." "
Everyone advised Liu Yu to put the overall situation first and capture Jiangling City first before avenging Xu Kui's death. Langzhong Marquis Zhao Lunzhi was Liu Yu's uncle. Seeing blood oozing from the corners of Liu Yu's mouth, he secretly thought something was wrong and said: "Deyu, you are the leader of an army. You must not make any mistakes, otherwise where will these tens of thousands of men go?" "
Liu Yu calmed down a little, wiped his tears, turned around and sat down, and said: "After Kui's defeat, Yong's army in Jingling is like a thorn in the back. It may attack our army from behind at any time. No matter what the considerations are, it will be stupid." Go and pull out this evil thorn. Although Kui Zhi was defeated, there are still more than 8,000 soldiers and horses gathered by Dao Yu, all of whom are elites in the army. If we don't go to the rescue, even if we capture Jingzhou, our army will still be strong. Serious injury."
Shen Tianzi and Shen Linzi's eldest brother Shen Yuanzi also died in the battle. Shen Tianzi said: "My lord, I am willing to lead my troops to Jingling and behead Shen Qingzhi to avenge General Xu and my brother."
Liu Yu shook his head and said: "Our army has already arrived at Jiangling City. The soldiers have already defeated the city once before. We are full of confidence in fighting again this time. Jiangling will attack sooner or later, and it can be attacked and besieged. Yu decided to go to Jingling in person, not just for the sake of To avenge Kui, I want to take advantage of the opportunity to uproot Jingling and attack Xiangyang directly to the north."
"Transmit an order to order Wang Zhongde to lead 10,000 naval troops from Xiakou to Yangkou; order Liu Qianzhi, the governor of Jiangxia, to lead his army south and attack Jingling City; order Liu Jingxuan, Liu Daolian, and Tan Shao to assemble their troops and attack Yanzhou."
…………
Northern Hebei
In Chenggucheng, Sima Prefecture, Sima Daoci received a secret letter from his uncle Sima Xiuzhi. In the letter, Sima Xiuzhi asked him to wait for an opportunity to get rid of Liu Jingxuan. At that time, he would be crowned King of Qi together with Yong Gong and guard Northern Jizhou.
The emperor's decree to attack Jingzhou was known to the world, and Sima Daoci knew that Liu Yu was killing the Sima clan and clearing the way for him to usurp the throne. As a member of the clan, Sima Daoci was frightened and full of resentment, but felt powerless to resist.
Sima Xiuzhi secretly told him in the letter that as long as he removes Liu Jingxuan, Duke Yong will send troops from Yanzhou to help, and Yang Zijing from Beiqingzhou will also send troops at that time.
I was very moved by King Qi's title of Sima Daoci. He was just an ordinary clan member. His namesake, King Sima Daoci of Xincai, was the grandson of King Sima Tan of King Jing of Hejian, the son of King Sima Guozhen of Hejian, and the Marquis of Danyang. Sima Shufan's nephew is now in Jiangling City. With the same name and different destiny, Sima Daoci often lamented the injustice of his fate secretly. As a clan member, he could only be a state Sima.
It was already late at night, and Sima Daoci was still pacing back and forth in the room, weighing the pros and cons. He knew full well that Liu Jingxuan was surrounded by more than ten thousand soldiers and horses, all of whom obeyed his orders. Even if Liu Jingxuan could be killed in a rash assassination, he would not escape death.
The windows were bright, Sima Daoci gritted his teeth and stamped his feet, seeking wealth and honor in danger, even if he risked his life for the king of Qi, not to mention the soldiers and horses in Yanzhou and Beiqingzhou to help him, he could survive the danger as long as he could last ten days and a half.
This matter could not be accomplished by himself alone, so Sima Daoci thought of Liu Jingxuan's side, Pilu Daoxiu, who joined the army. Pilu Daoxiu was the son of Pilu Hun, the former governor of Youzhou. In the third year of Long'an, Murongde captured Guanggu City, killed Pilu Hun, and pardoned Pilu Daoxiu.
Pilu Daoxiu fled to Guangling City
, Liu Yu led his army to attack Yan, and Pilu Daoxiu accompanied the army on the expedition. Liu Jingxuan was appointed as the governor of Northern Jizhou, and Pilu Daoxiu joined the army and captured the generals under his command. He had more than a thousand soldiers and horses under his command.
Sima Daoci and Pilu Daoxiu had similar temperaments, and the two often drank and had fun together. Sima Daoci knew that Pilu Daoxiu was deeply dissatisfied with his resignation as a sixth-rank official. He often lamented that his father was the governor of the state and his son was a sixth-rank official. If he can be persuaded to assassinate Liu Jingxuan together, great things can be expected.
After leaving the Yamen, Sima Daoci invited Pilu Daoxiu to have a banquet in his mansion. During the dinner, he deliberately asked Pilu Daoxiu what he thought of Song Gong's conquest of Jing. Pilu Daoxiu was already half drunk and said: "Song Gong just wants to kill the clan and make plans for the future. Everyone in the world knows it."
Sima Daoci left the table, came to Pilu Daoxiu and bowed deeply to the ground, saying: "I want to get rid of Liu Jingxuan and lead the soldiers of Northern Jizhou to join forces with Duke Yong to attack Liu Yu. I ask Daoxiu to help me."
Pilu Daoxiu was startled and said: "This is a serious matter, so don't be careless. I will speak with caution."
Sima Daoci cried and said: "Song Gong is pushing hard and the clan has no place to stand. Sooner or later it will be removed by him. In this case, how can I be willing to sit back and wait for death? It is better to risk my life and give it a try."
Pilu Daoxiu was surprised and doubtful.
Sima Daoci continued: "Liu Yu's army is attacking Jing, and my uncle has joined forces with Duke Yong to attack Liu Yu. We will see a message soon. If Daoxiu can help me, I will propose to my uncle and Duke Yong to move north Jizhou. The position of governor was conferred on Daoxiu."
Pilu Daoxiu was depressed and frustrated. After hearing the promise from the governor of Northern Jizhou, he raised his eyebrows and said with emotion: "It is my duty to eliminate thieves for the country. I am willing to follow Dao's instructions and assassinate Liu Jingxuan."
