The battlefield in Hebei was fierce, and Yanzhou and Yuzhou in the Central Plains also looked like they were facing a powerful enemy because of Qin's troops and horses.
Both sides of the Yellow River were so lively, and the princes on both sides of the Yangtze River were a little unable to sit still.
Especially Cai Mao of Xiangyang City, since he received 20,000 cavalry, he paid less and less attention to Liu Bei.
After running hundreds of miles from Xiangyang for the first time and showing off his power at the foot of Jiangling City, Cai Mao seemed to be addicted.
Not long after, Cai Mao launched his second surprise attack at the end of the sixth year of Jian'an!
The gains this time were quite substantial. Not only did they take down a thousand-man grain transport team under Liu Bei, but they also took away all the grain and grass.
Faced with such a shame and humiliation, Liu Bei was so stunned that he didn't even dare to say a thing.
The momentum generated by the 20,000 cavalry attack seems to have frightened Liu Bei!
Cai Mao was the kind of person who became more arrogant as he became more proud. He ordered his soldiers to cut off the heads of Liu Bei's soldiers and rushed to Jiangling City to provoke him.
Liu Bei couldn't hold on, so Cai Mao ordered people to smash their heads against the city wall.
After some humiliation, he returned to Xiangyang with satisfaction.
The two victories did not satisfy Cai Mao, but instead gave rise to more desires in his heart.
Nanjun was originally the territory of the Cai family, why should an outsider occupy it?
Cai Mao's ultimate goal is to drive Liu Bei out of Nanjun.
The cavalry was invincible in field battles, and Liu Bei was so frightened that he did not dare to go out of the city to fight.
But the shortcomings were also very obvious. Facing Liu Bei's inability to hold on, Cai Mao could only stare.
This successful battle made Cai Mao realize that if he wanted to drive Liu Bei out of Nanjun, cavalry alone would not be enough.
Within half a year, Cai Mao vigorously developed armaments and continuously lobbied the Jingzhou family to join.
Finally, 30,000 infantry troops were assembled again, and countless ladders and arrows were built.
Twenty thousand cavalry were used in field battles and thirty thousand infantry were used in siege. Cai Mao was always ready to start the battle to regain Nanjun.
This time Cao Cao and Yuan Shao started a fierce battle, and the Central Plains was threatened by Liu Zhang, which made Cai Mao feel that an opportunity had come.
The entire foreign troubles in Jingzhou disappeared almost in an instant!
Cao Cao and Liu Zhang have no time to separate themselves, and the Sun family in Jiangdong has Huang Zu watching over them. This is undoubtedly the best time for Cai Mao to take revenge.
However, when Cai Mao proposed to compete with Liu Bei for Nanjun, he was immediately opposed by Kuai Liang.
Kuai Liang's meaning is very simple. At present, the Xiangyang Prefectural Mufu's power is insufficient to protect itself, let alone go out to attack Liu Bei?
The two families of Cai and Kuai were the two most powerful forces in the Prefectural Mufu. For a time, the families all lined up to support each other, and the forces of the Prefectural Mufu could not be unified.
Just when Cai Mao was extremely agitated because he could not convince Kuai Liang to get support from the Kuai family, news suddenly came from the Ma family in Jiangling.
The Ma family is a traditional family in Jingzhou, but Cai Mao has always looked down upon the Ma family, thinking that the two are not on the same level.
Ever since Liu Biao succeeded Zhou Mu, the Ma family has been fawning over Cai Mao.
Before Jiangling was lost, the Ma family also asked their children to join Cai Mao's command, but Cai Mao did not agree.
Since Jiangling changed hands, the Ma family has had extremely frequent contact with Cai Mao.
The last time Cai Mao was able to successfully attack the grain transport team was also due to the Ma family's intelligence.
From that time on, Cai Mao's relationship with the Ma family became closer.
This time, the Ma family sent someone to bring news that Liu Qi, who had been staying in Changsha, suddenly fell ill and seemed to be critically ill!
Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang have all returned to Changsha, and are accompanied by many soldiers led by Guan Yu.
The entire defense of Jiangling City has been handed over to Liu Bei's third brother Zhang Fei.
The Ma family is a traditional family in Jingzhou, and Cai Mao firmly believes that they will not betray the entire Jingzhou family alliance.
Therefore, after receiving the news, Cai Mao was overjoyed without any doubts.
When Liu Bei personally led the army and was stationed in Jiangling, it was not the right time to attack.
So what if Liu Bei is gone?
Now Liu Bei has not only left, but also asked Guan Yu to take away many soldiers. This obviously means that Liu Qi is about to die, and Liu Bei is going to compete for power in Jingnan!
The Jingnan family is weak, so Cai Mao is not particularly clear about the situation in Jingnan.
However, Cai Mao can be sure that if Liu Qi dies, Liu Bei will not be able to successfully take over the four counties of Jingnan.
If the name is not right, the words will not go smoothly, and if the words are not right, the things will not happen!
Liu Qi is Liu Biao's son, so Jingnan nominally belongs to the Prefectural Mufu.
Now that Liu Qi is dead, Jingnan will undoubtedly return to the Prefectural Mufu!
But Cai Mao knew that Liu Bei would never give up, so he would seize this opportunity and seize a large area of land in Jiangbei in one fell swoop.
Even if Liu Bei cannot be eliminated in one fell swoop, Liu Bei must at least be suppressed in the Jingnan area.
When the time is right, destroy Liu Bei in one go!
With the decision made, Cai Mao once again convened a group of noble families to discuss the matter of entering the army.
Unfortunately, Kuai Liang still disapproved of Cai Mao's sending troops, and even said that this might be Liu Bei's trick.
Cai Mao didn't believe it at all. He would never believe that the Ma family dared to betray the Jingzhou family.
Perhaps because good opportunities are hard to find this time, more aristocratic families have expressed their willingness to support Cai Mao, and even the Pang family has expressed support.
Whether it was based on the principle of the minority obeying the majority or for other reasons, Cai Mao finally decided to march against all opinions.
Three days later, Cai Mao personally led an army of 50,000 people southward, pointing directly at Dangyang!
This place, which Cai Mao once almost hated, can now finally wash away its shame himself.
Everything went as Cai Mao expected. Liu Beijun was well prepared and launched a tenacious resistance.
Unfortunately, with the 50,000-strong army, Dangyang City only lasted for half a day before it was declared defeated.
The cavalry surrounded the city, and all Liu Bei's soldiers were wiped out. No one could escape.
After this battle, the morale of the three armies was greatly boosted, and even Cai Mao became more confident.
From Dangyang to Jiangling, there is no city in between to rely on.
However, the originally smooth road had many military camps in the middle.
Cai Mao was not surprised by this. Liu Bei must have guessed that he would take the opportunity to attack and prepared a defense in advance.
The city should not be able to stop Cai Mao's progress, let alone an ordinary camp?
Cai Mao did not hesitate and immediately ordered the entire army to attack.
The result can be said to be beyond everyone's expectations, Cai Mao's army swept through like a tiger descending the mountain.
In one day, three enemy camps were destroyed!
In front of the powerful Cai Mao army, the camp was like a paper tiger and did not play any blocking role.
Seeing this situation, Cai Hao felt as if he had been given a shot of blood, and desperately ordered the soldiers to move forward bravely.
Along the way from Dangyang to Jiangling, Liu Bei set up a total of fifteen camps.
It's a pity that Cai Mao was only blocked for ten days in the end, and the casualties of Cai Mao's army were extremely limited!
Ten days later, Cai Mao personally led an army to Jiangling City.
