Fu Hongzhi gritted his teeth: "There are only three thousand horses in the city now. If you want me to lead two thousand cavalry to attack, then you will have almost no cavalry here. Is it really okay? Just to grab a few hours, Brother Daogui , please think twice before you act.”
Liu Daogui said in a deep voice: "Rescuing troops is like putting out fire. The news of beacon fire warning coming from Wulin means that the current Wulindu has probably fallen. The distance between Ma Tou Camp and Wulindu is much closer than ours. The distance to the Tou Camp is even closer. If we don’t hurry up and seize the time, if the Ma Tou Camp is lost, everything we discussed will be useless. Hongzhi, seize this speed, if Ah Ji still stays in the camp and has not dispatched , everything is easy to say, if the main force in the camp is no longer there, then we must respond to their retreat as quickly as possible."
Fu Hongzhi turned around and ran down the city without saying anything. His voice came down the wind: "I will definitely arrive at the Matou camp within two hours."
Soon, there was a sound of horse hooves under the city. I saw Fu Hongzhi riding his horse first, rushing out from the city gate, and running towards the cavalry camp more than ten miles away. Behind him, twenty or thirty cavalrymen were riding closely. Followed closely, and soon, everything was wrapped in a puff of smoke. Only a large flag with the word "Fu" above the smoke was fluttering in the wind.
Tan Daoji curled his lips: "Brother Daogui, let's go to the camp outside the city to recruit troops for the expedition. Leave it all to me. There are 8,000 troops. I guarantee that we can set off within an hour."
Liu Daogui waved his hand: "No, not eight thousand, but fifteen thousand. We have to leave within half an hour."
Everyone's expressions changed, and Yanzhi opened his eyes wide: "Fifteen thousand? Now that Hongzhi has left, the entire city's military strength is only 17,000. Does Jiangling City want it?"
Liu Daogui said calmly: "Two thousand men are enough to defend the city. Wang Changshi, you can mobilize all the men in service in the city, and then ask the officials in each district to mobilize all the men and have them line up. Go to the arsenal to assemble, you can bring 500 troops to maintain order there, distribute weapons, and then organize them all into a defensive sequence according to our previous drills."
Wang Zhenzhi's eyes widened: "Leave this matter to me? Then Zhengxi Qian..."
Liu Daogui nodded and said calmly and forcefully: "I will personally lead the troops in this attack. As I said just now, I want to seek a decisive battle with the demon thieves. Since it is a decisive battle, I, the governor of Jingzhou and the general of Zhengxi, will We can’t cower in the city behind us, let’s watch the soldiers in the front fight hard.”
Wang Zhenzhi murmured: "Are we really going to finish our work in one battle? Are we really not going to defend the city in Jiangling? Is this a bit too risky?"
Liu Daogui smiled slightly: "If the Ma Tou Camp cannot be defended, then Jiangling will not be able to hold out for long. Our Jiangling City is designed to mainly deal with attacks from the river. If the enemy comes from the east or the north, it has always been It is difficult to defend. Zhenzhi, you and General Mao Dezu stay here to maintain order in the city. The old, weak, women and children must all leave the city before dark. As long as people can walk, there is no need to bring anything."
Wang Zhenzhi gritted his teeth: "During the previous drills, many people were reluctant to part with these family properties. If we really want to let them all out of the city now, it probably won't be that easy."
Liu Daogui said calmly: "You just said that the people of Jiangling and even Jingzhou, now mention that when Liu Bei took the people of Xinye to flee two hundred years ago, they were overtaken by Cao Cao's cavalry in Dangyang and killed with corpses everywhere. Dozens of people were killed. When all ten thousand people die in a tragedy, everyone will become distraught. Just tell everyone that the monster thieves are more ferocious than Cao Cao's soldiers. If the front line cannot withstand it and they invade Jiangling, the outcome will be worse than that of back then. The people of Dangyang are even more miserable. Where to go is up to them to choose."
Wang Zhenzhi's brows widened and he said with a smile: "The people in Jiangling all believe in you, Zhengxi. Now that the monsters and thieves are coming, and you personally lead the troops to go on an expedition, I'm afraid there will be tens of thousands of people who want to sign up to join the army." Of course, they will send their families away first, especially their wives, children, and children. When I visited the city these days, most people thought so."
Liu Daogui nodded: "Those people in each village who want to leave are allowed to leave. Those who don't want to leave or want to stay and fight will be incorporated into the order of defending the city. Let me tell everyone that the current difficulties are only temporary. As long as we can withstand the demon After this most ferocious wave of attacks by thieves, we will be safe. If we allow the monster thieves to attack Jiangling City and we are unable to retreat, then the entire people of Jingzhou will suffer. In this battle, I just want to protect the people of Jiangling. Likewise, the people scattered throughout Jingzhou must buy time for them to evacuate. The military situation is urgent, so please understand."
Yanzhi's brows were still furrowed: "Brother Daogui, although we have fought side by side with the people of Jingzhou for more than a year, living and dying together, this time you personally led the troops to leave, and the number of troops in the city was only 2,000. These news, Will some Jingzhou nobles who are accustomed to sit on the fence and wait and see take the opportunity to cause chaos, just like when Huan Xuan was destroyed in the past, some Jingzhou nobles turned to Huan Zhen's side, killed the civil servants in the city, and dedicated the city to show their loyalty? "
Liu Daogui said calmly: "I believe that after getting along with each other in the past few years, the nobles in Jingzhou should have a heart of loyalty. They should also understand that Jingzhou is the Jingzhou of the Jin Dynasty. Only the Jin Dynasty can protect the peace of Jingzhou and follow the demon thieves. There is no future. The last time Huan Qian attacked, he brought barbarian cavalry, which made Jingzhou's chickens and dogs restless. These facts should make Jingzhou's scholars and common people see clearly who is protecting them and who is harming them."
Yanzhi nodded: "Indeed, we are definitely more popular than the demon thieves, but this time the demon thieves attacked with force. When faced with life and death, we cannot expect everyone in Jingzhou to be loyal."
Liu Daogui smiled slightly: "If you don't have confidence in us, you can leave the city and take refuge. After a while, we will see who wins and come back. In this situation, our army goes out of the city to fight against the thieves. It does not mean that we will never come back. There are thousands of soldiers in the city." Horses, and if they are willing to join the army to serve the country, then within a day or two, the garrison of Jiangling City will not be less than 10,000. Why bother to do such a betrayal of the Lord when the victory or defeat is not decided. Really If the battle ahead is unfavorable, you can just lay down your weapons and surrender to the monster thieves. Is there any need to kill the old master at this time and cut off the retreat?"
Tan Daoji laughed: "It seems that everything is as you expected, Brother Daogui, so shall we set off now?"
Liu Daogui's gaze swept across the faces of everyone in the city. Everyone's eyes were shining with excitement and desire, as well as the belief in victory. He nodded, drew out the sword from his waist, and said loudly: " Brothers, come with me, kill the demon thieves and return them to the river to feed the fish!"
(End of chapter)
