Although it is said that the situation is urgent and the troops are dispatched quickly, Chang'an and Xiangyang are thousands of miles apart after all, especially the area from Shangluo to Danshui. The mountainous and rugged areas are dangerous, so the people in Guanzhong have to move slowly, while Wu and Shu take advantage of the spring and summer. When the tide rises, there are continuous surges. Therefore, Chen Chong hurriedly and slowly traveled all the way, traveling day and night, but in the end he was one step behind Liu Fan and Sun Ce.
By the time the Westerners arrived at Fancheng, it was already May 11th. It was the rainy season at this time, with dark clouds in the sky and heavy rains for days, making the roads soft and muddy, and there were puddles with yellow water everywhere. The water level of the Han River has also skyrocketed. The mighty river facing Japan is now more than four miles wide. The two banks face each other from a distance, as if they were divided between north and south, not wanting to allow mortals to fly across.
Compared with the surging river, Westerners are more amazed by the tall ships anchored on the south bank. Most of them were born in the solid and broad land of Guanlong. The largest river they have seen is naturally the Yellow River. However, except for the cold and flood period, the Yellow River is mostly smooth and gentle, and floating boats can travel freely. Therefore, the largest ship they have ever seen is also It's nothing more than a canoe to transport grain, or a stern that can carry a hundred people.
But from a distance, the building boat on the other side is about four feet tall, which is no less than the city walls of some important military towns. They are all made of high-quality fir wood from Badong or Yuzhang, and are said to be invulnerable. There are hundreds of oarsmen alone on the building ship. Several floors of battle towers are built on the deck. There are crenellations on each floor, and there are countless crossbowmen and spearmen, making it suitable for fighting at both distance and distance. Once they are close to the arrow range, the crossbowmen will shoot from a high position, and ordinary small boats will not be able to withstand them.
Not to mention there are two specially-made building ships, which are said to be the flagships of Sun Ce and Liu Fan. Sun Ce's flagship was called "Feiyun". It had six floors and was more than a hundred feet long. The ship could accommodate more than 3,000 people. The momentum of Liu Fan's flagship is even more impressive. It has as many as nine floors, and the entire ship is painted red. There are brocades on the parapets, so it is called "Lin Pavilion".
Chen Chong and Liu Biao arrived at the shore of the Han River. From a distance, they saw these warships lined up on the south bank, like a natural moat. Then they sighed sincerely: "The ships of Wu and Shu are so huge. It is really eye-opening, but I don't know where the navy is?"
Liu Biao, the king of Chu, just shook his head and smiled bitterly, with a look of desolation on his face. He said slowly: "Why should Ting Jian be sarcastic? I have no intention of hiding the defeat. It was just a failure to manage the army and a lax defense against the enemy. That's why we are here today." After being established in Jianghan for twenty years, just attracting famous people is nothing more than deceiving myself and others in the end. Not being able to sink into the bottom of the river and play with the fish and shrimps is a fluke in life. "
What Liu Biao was talking about was the battle of Yuliangzhou that happened at the end of last month.
After the Wu-Shu coalition camped in Liqiu, they marched northward with both land and water armies, aiming directly at Xiangyang City. At this time, the Chu army still had 20,000 naval troops, led by Cai Mao, stationed on Yuliang Island in the southeast outside the city. . Yuliangzhou is located in the middle of the river. There are more than a hundred watchtowers on it and thousands of fine crossbows, echoing the navy in the river. As a precaution, Cai Mao divided a small number of troops upstream of the Mianshui River, planning to set fire to the boats as a deterrent when they were defeated, which would be enough to force the coalition forces to retreat.
Unexpectedly, the Wu-Shu allied forces were also prepared. Liu Fan sent Gan Ning and twenty battleships as the vanguard to break through the blockade at night and boarded Yuliang Island with 600 people. They then set fire to the island, and the wooden buildings on the island were as bright as fire. The lamp successfully guided the coalition forces to find the enemy. The Chu navy was so frightened that one part went ashore to put out the fire, and the other part faced the enemy head-on. As a result, the coalition forces took advantage of the situation and rushed into Dongjin, dividing the Chu army into two. Then they attacked from east to west, flying like locusts, so that the Chu people did not dare to raise their heads, let alone go upstream to put down the fire ship.
When it was daytime, Liu Biao looked far away from the top of the wall of Fan City. He saw only smoke and birds on the river. The island was in a mess. Among the ships still rising and falling in the waves, there were all the flags of the Wu and Shu armies, and the blue bird flag of the Chu army. He also fell to the bottom of the river silently, completely submerged in the surging river water.
After the fiasco at Yuliangzhou, all Liu Biao's naval forces were wiped out. Among the more than 100,000 troops in Jingzhou, there were now less than 10,000 who listened to his orders. Of the seven counties in Jingzhou, only Nanyang in northern Han Dynasty was in his hands. With the Nanfu Army stationed, although Chen Chong did not say it explicitly, both of them knew it well: Liu Biao had actually lost his independence, and Nanyang County would also be taken back by the state, making its state capital completely reduced to Vassal of the Western Dynasty.
After the death of Liu Yu, Liu Biaogui became the king of Chu and his vassal. He was highly respected and famous, and could be called the head of the clan. And his measures to build a large academic palace and support bachelors became famous all over the world, even Guan Ning of Liaodong heard about it. Therefore, Liu Biao often regarded himself as a member of the imperial family, and secretly made arrangements for the emperor's carriage, which seemed to be disobedient. However, after this defeat, Liu Biao looked away.
After watching the boat, the two of them took a car back to the city. On the way, Liu Biao said to Chen Chong simply: "In just two months, I have lost thousands of miles of land and abandoned the people of the state. How shameful! Why do you do this to the country? Your Majesty gave me the title of foreign vassal. Now, Thinking about it, I feel ashamed. Ting Jian, I am willing to take the title of Wang Zun and work for the court, what do you think?"
Because it was too abrupt, Chen Chong initially thought that Liu Biao was worried about his future prosperity, so he politely tried to test it and immediately stated that the court had no intention of withdrawing from the vassal. It was only after Liu Biao repeatedly begged that Chen Chong understood his true intention. Chen Chong was quite emotional for a moment and sighed to Liu Biao: "Jing Shenggong does not admire glitz, which is really admirable. After Jia Yue died of illness the year before last, the position of Taifu has been vacant. If Jing Sheng doesn't give up, he can take the position temporarily. "The Taifu position is the same as that of the Third Duke. Although he has no practical work, he is extremely noble. Chen Chong treats Liu Biao like this, which can be said to be a return favor.
However, these are all chores to deal with the aftermath. The most urgent task now is how to deal with the enemy troops in Xiangyang. Therefore, after returning to Fancheng, he immediately compared the map and carefully studied the situation in Jingxiang with Liu Biao, Pang Tong and others.
The geographical situation of the Jingxiang area is: the Mianshui River (Han River) comes from Hanzhong from west to east. After entering the Nanyang Basin (today's junction of Henan and Hubei), it collects many tributaries flowing from the north, such as the Dan River and the Feishui River. , Xianshui, etc., so he changed his route south to the Yangtze River. The confluence of many rivers above is the important towns of Xiangyang and Fancheng. Fancheng is in the north of Mianyang, and Xiangyang is in the south of Mianshui River. They face each other across the river and control the throat of water and land transportation between the north and the south. The Mianshui River flows south from Xiangyang, passes through Jingling (Zhongxiang, Hubei), and turns southeast until it joins the Yangtze River at the junction of Xiling and E County (now Wuhan). At Jingling, leave the Mianshui flowing eastward and head directly to the southwest. After passing Changlin, you can reach Jiangling City, which was the capital of the Chu Kingdom in Ying 800 years ago.
Now Xiangyang is controlled by the combined forces of Liu, Fan and Sun Ce, but south of Liqiu, the territories controlled by the two armies are clearly distinct. The Shu infantry were shuttling back and forth between Dangyang, Yiling, and Jiangling, trying to establish Shu order in the Jianghan Plain, while the Wu army was rushing to Xiyang, Anlu, Pingchun and other places. In seizing the dangerous fortresses of Tongbai Mountain and Dabie Mountain in the north.
Obviously, the two armies had a secret agreement in advance, using the Han River as the dividing line in the north of Jing, so that Shu would occupy the southern county and Wu would occupy Jiangxia. As for the division of power in Jingnan, there is no information to speak of. Judging from Jingzhou Biejia Kuai Liang, there is a high probability that the Xiangshui River will be used as the boundary, with Shu taking western Hunan and Wu taking eastern Hunan.
Comparing the strength of the enemy and ourselves, the navy behind the Wu-Shu Alliance is the best in the world. However, the Nanfu army brought by Chen Chong only numbered 20,000, and there was no one to accompany them. It was impossible to break through the Han River and regain the lost territory. . At this point, no matter whether the court is willing to admit it or not, it can no longer save the overall situation in Jingzhou. The only thing that can be done now is to try to save the remaining troops in Jingnan.
Chen Chong asked Liu Biao: "Mr. Jing Sheng, how many naval forces are left in Jingnan?"
Liu Biao nodded slightly, and then replied slowly: "I am in Quanling, Changsha. Each of us has two hundred troops, which can carry ten thousand troops. And Liu Hu and Han Xi in the mansion are going to gather at these two places." Soldiers. Calculating the time, it should have arrived. However, if the news of Xiangyang reaches Jingnan, the morale of the army will definitely be shaken, the hometown will be lost, and the road will be blocked. I don’t know how many people will still be willing to return north. "
Chen Chong leaned back slightly. The situation in the secret passage was very bad, which was very different from what I thought. However, his expression remained unchanged and he still said in a deep voice: "This is the reason why our army is here! If the morale of the army is shaken, the envoy must know how to deal with it." In the interests of the country, if traffic is cut off, we must try to dig a road. The so-called Han people in the world are all Han people. If I give up here, won't I make the two thieves arrogant and the common people of Hannan feel chilled? "
Speaking of this, he asked the people accompanying him: "I want to send an envoy to Jingnan to calm down the troops of Liu and Han, and lead them back north. Who among you is willing to go?"
He asked "Who is willing to go", but everyone saw that he was looking at Deng Zhi, which showed that he already had the best candidate in mind. Deng Zhi was born in the Deng family of Xinye, Nanyang, after the famous general Deng Yu. When Liu Biao took over Jingzhou, he also traveled between Jiangling and Xiangyang, so he was at least familiar with Jingzhou's waterways. He is indeed the perfect choice for the mission. Deng Zhi was also prepared. When he saw this, he immediately stepped forward and said, "Students will fulfill their mission."
Chen Chong said hello a few times, and then told Deng Zhi: "After you find Liu Hu and Han Xi, persuade them to join forces, and then go north to Linxiang or Yiyang to stay, and then contact me. As long as I am here, With a large army to contain it, there must be a way out." After that, he wrote another handwritten silk letter, appointing Deng Zhi as the executive in the name of the imperial court, granting him full power to handle all matters in Jingnan, and at the end it was stamped "Sili Xiaowei" Seal and the seal of the King of Chu.
Deng Zhi led seven or eight people to leave Fancheng that night. He planned to disguise himself as a businessman, enter Jiangxia from the Xi River, bypass Xiangyang via Caiyang, then take a boat into the Han River, and then go straight to Jingnan.
】
Chen Chong, who stayed in Fancheng, began to confront the Wu and Shu armies in Xiangyang. Someone suggested that Chen Chong might as well take advantage of his old relationship with Sun Ce and send an envoy to Xiangyang to intercede, maybe he could divide the two armies.
Chen Chong thought otherwise and sighed: "If Bo Fu attacked Chu alone, he might still have some friendship, but since he joins forces with Liu Fan, he regards the two palaces as treason, and we can no longer rely on human relationships."
After thinking about it for a moment, he thought hesitantly: "Ke Bofu and Liu Fan conspired together, just like tigers and wolves sharing the same bed. One of them will die. For Wen Tai's sake, I'd better remind him and see if he can If you don’t go astray, find your way back.”
