The Yellow River does not divide Qingzhou into two. Among the six counties of Qingzhou, the Yellow River only flows through the two counties of Jinan and Le'an, and it only occupies a small part of the two counties.
At the mouth of the Yellow River flowing into the Bohai Sea, there is a city called Lijin City.
Zhang Xiu personally led 2,000 Jinggan troops, 1,000 Qiang troops, 1,000 Xiongnu troops, 1,000 Wuhuan troops, 1,000 Xianbei troops, a total of 6,000 cavalry, and quietly entered the residence of Lijin City and became the leader of Dajing. At the temporary general headquarters, battle reports from various places were transmitted to Chang'an as quickly as possible. After analysis by Jia Xu and others, they were then transmitted to Lijin City.
These foreign soldiers are brave men selected from each tribe after strict screening and formed into the new members of the Jingqian Army. Everyone wears chain armor, has a hundred forged steel knives across their waists, carries three stones on their backs, and rides carefully. The selected high-quality war horses, holding Ma Shuo, are majestic.
You must know that in ancient times, a one-stone bow was already a strong bow. Most soldiers usually used one-stone bows. However, for the six thousand men led by Zhang Xiu himself, the qualification for selection was that they could fire a three-stone bow.
The foreign military force was led by Tulichen, with Armand (Margaret's brother and Zhang Xiu's direct disciple) as the deputy commander. The troops and horses were arranged in the city and took over Lijin's city defense.
Chen Yu, the governor of Qingzhou and the former magistrate of Luoyang, served Zhang Xiu.
"Your Majesty, the second and third teams on the northern front have sent battle reports," Chen Yu respectfully sent the sealed urgent letter to Zhang Xiu.
"Um."
Zhang Xiuzheng was looking at the maps of Qingzhou and Xuzhou. He took the secret letter and opened it. He read the letter slowly and laughed: "General Zhang Ren is so fast! He broke through the Wei army's Yellow River defense line overnight, and guarded Cao Cao. He committed suicide out of pure fear of crime, and now he is going up the Yellow River in the opposite direction, joining forces with Zhang Liao of the Third Route Army to surround Xiahou Chun's 40,000 soldiers and horses.
Chen Yu smiled apologetically and said: "Once Xiahou Chun is destroyed, there will be no more opponents for our army in Yanzhou. At that time, we can encircle Xudu, and Wei will be destroyed!"
Zhang Xiu laughed, looked at Chen Yu and said, "Because of Li Xiuju's incident, I transferred you to Qingzhou as governor. Do you feel aggrieved and complain about me?"
Chen Yu smiled brightly: "I dare not hide it from the emperor. To be honest, I must have some grievances, but I never dare to blame the emperor. I can still understand my own weight. Although I am not talented in running state affairs, I There are also small talents who govern one side. I have been with the emperor since Nanyang. Over the years, veteran ministers such as Zhang Xian and Deng Zhi have all been granted the title of marquis, but I have been demoted instead of being promoted."
Zhang Xiu laughed: "If a prefect becomes a governor, doesn't that mean he gets promoted?"
Chen Yu muttered: "Qingzhou is not as big as Luoyang."
Zhang Xiu laughed loudly. Although Chen Yu was not outstanding in ability, he was one of the first to follow Zhang Xiu. He was the magistrate of Duyangcheng County at that time and was naturally loyal to Dajing. Zhang Xiu smiled and said: "Okay! Isn’t it because I dislike Qingzhou’s Xiaoma! I am here to conquer Qingzhou. By then, all six counties of Qingzhou will be complete. Are you still willing to be the governor of Qingzhou?”
Chen Yu smiled with satisfaction: "If so, I am willing."
"Go and do your work!" Zhang Xiu shook his head and smiled, "Hurry up and prepare the things I asked you to prepare. If you are not ready when I want to use them, don't blame me for being merciless!"
Chen Yu assured: "Your Majesty, don't worry, I guarantee it will be completed!"
After Chen Yu withdrew, Tulichen and Armand were left in the room standing like nails on both sides of the door, waiting for Zhang Xiu to give orders.
"How is the situation in Nanyang?" Zhang Xiu's eyes shifted to Nanyang County on the map.
"Go back to the emperor!"
Tu Lichen, who was in charge of the battle report, stepped forward and said: "The Chu army marched northward with all its strength and launched a large-scale attack in Fancheng. The momentum was huge, but the intensity of the attack was not strong. It was easily repelled by our army every time. , Prime Minister Li believed that the Chu army was bluffing and had other plans, so he only left the navy and ten artillery pieces to defend along the coast, while the main force was already heading towards Xuchang."
He touched his prickly beard and stared at the land of Jingchu, as if he wanted to see through Liu Chu's ultimate purpose. After a while, he smiled and said: "Li Xiang guessed it well, Liu Bei did have another plan. ! The world is so big, where can his purpose be?" Zhang Xiu pointed at Yangzhou with his finger, "Soochow! Haha! Sun Ce is only focused on galloping through the Central Plains now. I'm afraid he didn't expect that Liu Bei has already sharpened his sword in Yangzhou. Huohuo."
Tu Lichen frowned: "The main force of the Chu army is in Xiangyang, how can they attack Yangzhou, which is hundreds of miles away?"
Armand interrupted and laughed and scolded Tulichen: "You stupid! Didn't you just say that the Chu army couldn't help fighting? Who is Liu Bei? Although his soldiers are not as good as my Dajing, they are definitely not weaker than the Wei army and the Wu army. We and the Wei army Having fought against the main forces, we know that the Wei army is still very powerful. If we can't help but fight, we are certainly not the Chu army."
Turrichen looked at Armand with dissatisfaction: "Then tell me, if it's not the Chu army, where did these soldiers and horses come from?"
Armand raised his chin and said confidently: "Where else can it come from? The nobles are powerful!"
Tulichen looked at Zhang Xiu with searching eyes.
Zhang Xiu said with a smile in his eyes: "Armand is right! The Chu army is using a blindfold to Wei Jun and Wu Jun. We are outsiders, so we can naturally see clearly, but it is difficult for Wei Jun and Wu Jun to tell. Presumably, At this moment, Liu Bei's main force has secretly left for Soochow."
Tu Lichen wondered: "With hundreds of thousands of troops, how could the Chu army avoid the Wu army's spy?"
Armand also looked at Zhang Xiu in confusion.
A faint sneer appeared at the corner of Zhang Xiu's lips, and he uttered four words: "cross the river in white!"
Hundreds of thousands of troops seemed to have escaped Wu Jun's eyes. The only way was to follow the records of later generations and Lü Meng asked his soldiers to dress up as merchants and march eastward. Zhang Xiu also predicted that Liu Bei would have a great chance of victory in this battle.
the reason is simple.
The Yangtze River flows from Sichuan east to Hubei. The river flows between high mountains and ridges. The river surface is either narrow or curved, so the land of Jingchu is dangerous to defend. After leaving Jingzhou, the river began to flow gently and the river surface was wide. Liu Bei occupied the upper reaches. The natural dangers of the Yangtze River were shared with the Wu Kingdom in the lower reaches. Naturally, the flow down the river was unstoppable and could soon threaten the core area of the lower reaches, Jianye.
The upper reaches of Jingzhou are the extension of the lower reaches of Soochow. Nanyang and Xiangyang are closely interdependent in offense and defense, which is the capital of the Yangtze River natural barrier itself.
Now Liu Bei is marching eastwards with all his strength, which shows that Jingzhou must be empty.
After thinking carefully, he sent an order: "Armand! Send a message to Chang'an: I have determined that the heart of Jingchu is in Wu and not in Wei, and Nanyang is a blind eye! Shang Chengge drafted a battle plan for Jingchu and appointed Lu Xun as the commander-in-chief of Xichuan to command the infantry. , navy, prepare to capture Jingchu!"
"Here!"
Armand ordered.
