Governor Zhou designed to scare Cao Ren away, but it was only to scare him away.
It's not that Zhou Yu didn't want to set up an ambush. The key point was that he was really injured by an arrow. The morale of the army was unstable and morale was low. He could hold on and ride on his horse to confront Cao Ren. He was already risking the wound bursting. How could he do it? Command the soldiers to fight.
Therefore, Zhou Yu's purpose was to scare Cao Ren away so that he would not dare to send troops to harass him in a short period of time, so that he could rest in peace and recuperate.
Cao Ren lost several hundred men and fled back to Jiangling City in embarrassment. From then on, he held on to the city wall and could not be beaten to death.
As for Governor Zhou Zuo, because he was wounded and went into battle, he couldn't hold on in the end. The arrow wound that had only been healed for three days collapsed and he lay back on the bed in the central military tent.
But in the days that followed, Governor Zhou could finally rest in peace in the military tent without having to worry about Cao Ren coming to attack at any time.
The Jiangdong Army's siege continued, but the intensity had been reduced to the point where it only prevented the Jiangling defenders from repairing the city wall.
That is to say, they would send people to shoot arrows at the city wall from time to time every day, launch a symbolic attack on the city, and then return to the camp.
After a decisive battle, both sides were unable to start another war in a short period of time, and the battlefield gradually became calm.
Zhou Yu could afford to wait, but Cao Ren really couldn't afford to wait.
In the month after the decisive battle, Cao Ren in Jiangling City had to be prepared for possible sieges by Jiangdong at any time. On the other hand, he had to send an urgent document to Xiangyang in two days to request food, supplies, and reinforcements.
Recently, the supplies and food shipped from Xiangyang have become less and less. Only one food transport team has arrived this month, and the food delivered is not enough to feed the Jiangling garrison for half a month.
If this continues, Jiangling's treasury will be running low on food, and Cao Ren finally couldn't help it and began to collect food from the wealthy households in the city.
Cao Ren was not Liu Biao. He relied on the troops in his hands to suppress Jiangling City, and he did not need to rely on aristocratic families to help him manage the place. Zhou Yu was still outside besieging the city. God knows what these aristocratic families were thinking in their hearts.
Therefore, Cao Ren first took action on a few small aristocratic families who had been uneasy recently and confiscated grain.
If he gives it happily, Cao Ren will not fall out, but if there is a little delay, Cao Ren will not mind killing the chicken to show the monkey.
Several small aristocratic families who had been dancing happily in the morning were so unlucky. Either a large amount of grain was requisitioned, or their heads were chopped off by Cao Ren and hung in the market as a warning to others.
What Cao Ren did was indeed a little thoughtless, and it made the aristocratic family in Jiangling City panic.
But Cao Ren had no choice. If he continued to let the undercurrents of these aristocratic families surge, when he really ran out of food and grass, these aristocratic families would be the first to open the city gates and surrender.
Kill a group of people temporarily to shock them. As long as they can defend Jiangling City in the end, these wealthy families will naturally become honest.
Cao Ren continued to hold on inside Jiangling City, while at the Sun-Liu coalition camp outside the city, Zhou Yu was equally furious, and then summoned Zhang Xi urgently.
"Recently, I received a letter from Jiangnan. Liu Yuzhou led his troops to camp at the mouth of Youjiang River. Does Yuan Chang know what Liu Yuzhou wants to do?!"
Zhou Yu was in the Chinese military tent and questioned Zhang Xi coldly.
Zhang Xi was stunned when he heard this, and then answered with a smile and said, "I think my lord is worried about the war in Nanjun, so he specially led his troops to help the governor."
"Yuan Chang is bullying me?!" Zhou Yu stood up and scolded him for standing a little too hard, as if he had touched the wound. He immediately covered his lower ribs and sat down again.
Zhang Xi quickly stepped forward to help him and said, "The captain's arrow injury has not healed yet, so he needs to take care of himself."
take care? !
Your lord has already taken advantage of me, and you want me to take care of myself? !
Zhou Yu really wanted to yell at Zhang Xi, but after all, they had worked together and fought together, and now was not a good time to fall out with Liu Bei, so Zhou Yu endured it.
"Xuan Degong occupied the four counties in Jingnan, and now he is stationed at the mouth of Youjiang River. Our retreat and food supplies are all under the control of Xuande Gong." Zhou Yu calmed down a little, and then said, "Yuan Chang, you He is also the one who leads the troops, so what should he think in such a situation?!"
What do I think? Did I say that my lord came here just for Nan County? !
Then you, Zhou Yu, are so angry that you have to be angry.
Moreover, Zhang Xi didn't quite understand why his lord was marching into Youjiangkou right now.
Didn't I just send a letter two months ago saying that the four counties in Jingnan were captured? There was no need to consolidate and manage them. Now they are stationing troops at Youjiangkou. This is really irritating Zhou Yu's nerves.
It's not that it can't stimulate Zhou Yu's nerves, it's mainly because the time is wrong.
Isn't it possible that his lord is not afraid that Zhou Yu will not attack Nanjun, but will turn against him and return to attack Youjiangkou? !
Youjiangkou was later known as the Public Security Bureau. It was across the Yangtze River from Jiangling City, one on the south bank and the other on the north bank.
The important relationship between these two cities can be seen, and Guan Yu has quite a say in this.
Therefore, Zhou Yu, who is also a famous general, obviously will not let Youjiangkou fall under the control of others. This is not only the retreat, but also related to the supply route of Jiangdong Army.
Although Liu Bei attacked the four counties in Jingnan, several places on the Yangtze River side of Changsha and Wuling were the starting points for Zhou Yu's march into Nanjun, so Zhou Yu still arranged for people to guard them, including Lukou, which is now under the control of Zhou Yu's army. middle.
From the perspective of grain supply channels, the grain supplies in Jiangdong, starting from Chaisang, must pass through Jiangxia County controlled by Liu Bei, first transported to Lukou, then sent from Lukou to the north bank of the Yangtze River, and finally transported by land to the Jiangling front line.
Along the way, only the Jiangxia County section was originally under Liu Bei's control. After Lukou, everything was under the control of Jiangdong Army.
But now that Liu Bei is stationing troops at the mouth of the Youjiang River, it is equivalent to having an extra territory of Liu Bei's power in the south of the Yangtze River, and it is right behind the entire army.
This puts Jiangdong Army's grain and grass supply line under Liu Bei's surveillance almost the entire time.
Can Zhou Yu endure this? !
If Liu Bei unexpectedly cuts off Zhou Yu's food supply line one day, Zhou Yu will still be alone even if he captures Nanjun.
Therefore, Liu Bei's move is equivalent to stabbing Zhou Yu in the back, but due to the alliance agreement, the stab has not been completely stabbed.
But as a military commander, how could Zhou Yu allow someone to pull a knife out of his back? Even if he took it out and looked at it, it would not work.
But Zhou Yu's current situation is also very delicate.
Nanjun has not been captured yet, Cao Ren still has the capital to hold on, and Zhou Yu still hopes that Guan Yu will continue to defeat the North Road and cut off Jiangling's food and grass supplies.
Furthermore, because the alliance is still there, Zhou Yu also has to consider the impact of a fall out, not only the threat from Cao Cao in the north, but also the opinions of Sun Quan in the east of the Yangtze River.
That's why Zhou Yu summoned Zhang Xi to question him instead of directly sending troops to the mouth of the Yangtze River to conquer Liu Bei.
Seeing that Zhang Xi remained silent, Zhou Yu breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhang Xi's performance at least shows that Liu Bei does not want the Sun-Liu alliance to break up. In this case, it is not impossible to solve it.
"I still need to trouble Yuan Chang to go to Youjiangkou to meet Duke Xuande about this matter and ask him in detail."
After Zhou Yu said these words, he excused himself that he still needed to rest, and then sent Zhang Xi out of the tent.
Sending Zhang Xi to ask also showed that Zhou Yu did not want to fall out at this time. Zhang Xi naturally understood this truth.
But there are some things that have to be guarded against. Even if the leading commander is Zhou Yu, Zhang Xi does not trust the integrity of Jiangdong Army.
Therefore, after Zhang Xi returned to the camp, he told Zhang Fei about this matter and told Zhang Fei to be more vigilant and retreat as soon as possible if there was any disadvantage.
After all, there are now less than 500 soldiers in Zhang Fei's camp. If Jiangdong Army suddenly attacks, even Zhang Fei will have a lot of trouble to deal with it.
After explaining to Zhang Fei, Zhang Xi packed up his salutes, took ten personal soldiers with him, and took a carriage to the mouth of Youjiang River.
Along the way, Zhang Xi thought carefully, but still couldn't figure out why Liu Bei would station troops at the mouth of the Youjiang River at this time.
If he waited for Zhou Yu to capture Nanjun and Liu Bei stationed troops at the mouth of Youjiang River, Zhang Xi would understand. He would intimidate Zhou Yu from Nanjun and prepare for the complete occupation of Jingxiang.
But now that troops are stationed at Youjiangkou, doesn't this make Zhou Yu wary in advance? How will things unfold in the future?
After traveling for five or six days, Zhang Xi finally arrived at Youjiangkou and met Liu Bei in the city, as well as Wei Yan and Xu Shu who were stationed at Youjiangkou with Liu Bei.
Liu Bei was very happy about Zhang Xi's arrival, and quickly took Zhang Xi to ask about the battle situation in Jiangling City.
Liu Bei has heard about the decisive battle at Jiangling City, but the versions are very different. Some say that Cao's army won and Zhou Yu was killed, while others say that the Sun-Liu coalition won and Cao's army suffered heavy losses. Of course, Liu Bei must ask clearly what happened to this matter. what's going on.
Zhang Xi quickly introduced the specific situation to Liu Bei and informed Liu Bei that although both sides suffered injuries to each other, the final result was that Cao Ren could not retreat and Jiangdong's army continued to besiege the city.
As for Zhou Yu, this guy is very lucky, and even the arrow in his ribs didn't cause any serious problems. Even the wound is slowly recovering.
Apart from the slower recovery, there seemed to be no signs of death.
Liu Bei breathed a sigh of relief.
Next, it was Zhang Xi's turn to ask Liu Bei why he stationed troops at Youjiangkou now. The cautious left governor was anxious.
Why? He hadn't heard the news that Zhou Yu might be killed in battle. Liu Bei was worried that the Sun-Liu coalition forces on the front line might retreat because of this, so he specially marched into Youjiangkou to plot against Nanjun.
It is impossible to say that Liu Bei does not want Nanjun, and for his own development, Nanjun is also a place that Liu Bei must acquire.
Can Jingnan and Jiangxia County develop in the Year of the Monkey and the Horse in the Year of the Monkey alone? !
But it's different with Nanjun.
Although Nan County may have no harvest this year due to the war, Nan County has a good foundation, with a large population and mature fields. With a little tidying up, it will be fully developed in three to five years.
If the Sun-Liu coalition retreats because Zhou Yu is killed, then Liu Bei will definitely come to pick this fruit.
If Zhou Yu is fine, Liu Bei can be said to have led troops to help in the battle. At worst, he will send some troops to the front line of Jiangling and continue to sit at the Youjiangkou in the rear. Zhou Yu can't do anything to Liu Bei!
After listening to Liu Bei's explanation, Zhang Xi immediately glanced at Xu Shu. Who gave this bad idea? !
Xu Shu was noticed by Zhang Xi and turned his head slightly, not daring to look at Zhang Xi's eyes.
Yes, he didn’t run away, it was Xu Yuanzhi.
It's not that this plan is bad. Zhang Xi went back to deal with Zhou Yu according to Liu Bei's rhetoric, and believed that Zhou Yu would not say anything.
But the problem is that just because Zhou Yu doesn’t say it, it doesn’t mean that Zhou Yu will truly believe it.
If after Zhou Yu captured Nanjun, before he had time to rest and his lord Liu Bei marched into Youjiangkou, Zhou Yu wouldn't even have the capital to turn against him, so he could only hold his nose and admit it.
But sending troops to Youjiangkou now will make Zhou Yu more vigilant. If he sends his lord Liu Bei to fight in Jiangling in the name of an ally, should we go or not? !
Go ahead, I'm afraid you'll suffer heavy losses.
If you don't go, Zhou Yu will seize the opportunity and make excuses, saying that Liu Bei didn't abide by the alliance agreement first.
With Xu Shu's eyes, he shouldn't be able to see this kind of thing. Why are you so anxious all of a sudden? !
Moreover, even if Xu Shu is confused, what about Zhuge Liang? !
Did that dead fish head also become confused? !
(End of chapter)
