"Prince, if you want to take Zhijiang, why don't you come here directly instead of taking a detour and staying for a long time on the way?" Liu Feng asked in confusion.
The army did not have much rations and grass, so it consumed a lot in vain, and he was a little worried about this.
Liu Chan chuckled and said, "Let Lu Xun fly for a while."
Liu Feng: "?"
Why can Lu Xun still fly?
"If our army follows up and captures Zhijiang, it will inevitably encounter the main force returning to support. Lu Xun's army has at least 20,000 men, including many elites. Even if our army is lucky enough to win, it will be a tragic victory. How about taking Sun Quan's main force afterwards? "
Liu Feng nodded to express his understanding, but it seemed that he still didn't understand why he had to go around in this circle.
Guan Yu understood it in his mind and said with a smile: "This is a plan by Adou to divert the tiger away from the mountain. While Lu Xun's army goes to the upper reaches of Mianshui River to intercept, our army will take Zhijiang and Yidu.
"Then the army can be stationed in Yiling to protect the west line of the Yangtze River! Although Lu Xun had the advantage of attacking first, he did nothing."
Liu Chan smiled and said nothing. What his second uncle said was a solution, but he greatly underestimated his appetite.
The army marched to the Zhangshui River with all flags and drums silenced. They cut down trees to make driftwood sampans and set up large yellow crossbows on the bank to prevent the Zhijiang defenders from crossing the river and attacking.
It's a pity that the Dongwu Zhijiang garrison, who had no idea that the Jingzhou Army would return here, only garrisoned the county town every day and did not send anyone to patrol the Zhangshui River.
"All the troops, forcefully cross the Zhang River!"
In the afternoon, following Liu Chan's order, the army and horses crossed Zhangshui one after another.
The first group to arrive on the other side were all Liu Chan's prince's personal troops. As soon as they landed, they immediately sent out their manpower to guard, while the rest received the first batch of equipment and baggage on the shore.
After dragging it ashore, they immediately put on armor and stood ready to cover the rear troops crossing the river.
All subsequent troops crossed the river in this way. By the time the entire army successfully crossed the river, the last ray of sunshine had gone west.
The army adjusted its formation briefly, then lit torches and immediately killed Benzhijiang County...
The Soochow guard general in Zhijiang County is called Chen Gang. He is nearly fifty years old, and now he only has a tooth guard.
This is the result of many years of experience. He has no dazzling achievements at all, he doesn't talk much, and his sense of presence is extremely low.
Of course, he also has advantages, that is, he is obedient and does whatever he is told without discounting.
For example, Chen Gang carried out this very well against Bao Minqiu. A soldier "borrowed" a fire sickle from Bao Min's house and was beheaded by him as soon as he found out.
It's a pity that Zhang Zaigong's matter is at hand. No matter how he behaves, the people of Zhijiang are extremely indifferent.
Chen Gang felt that he had gotten a good job. Although he could not take advantage of this place, it was still very safe. As long as he could ensure that this place was not lost, he would have a share of the credit after the war.
Maybe I'll even use this to move my butt...
Today is another uneventful day.
With longing for a better future, Chen Gang is about to fall asleep.
Bang!
The door was suddenly knocked open by the guard, which immediately shocked Chen Gang out of his sleepiness.
"What's wrong?!"
"General! Guan Yu's army has returned. It has surrounded us and is attacking the east, south and north city gates!"
"...Huh?" Chen Gang was dumbfounded.
Isn't the main force of our army going to intercept Guan Yu?
Why did Guan Yu's army appear here? !
"General!" Before he could understand, another soldier rushed in. "When the people in the city learned that Guan Yu was not dead, they rioted and stormed the city gate from within! The squires also came to the county government with their private soldiers. !”
The clanking sound of gold and iron outside the house can be clearly heard.
"Quick! Put on my armor, general. Where is my sword? Where is my sword?!"
"Ah——!" A soldier who was stabbed in the chest and abdomen flew in and lay on the ground, twitching a few times and then stopped moving.
The excited squires led their private soldiers to the county government. Since the main force was stationed to guard the four gates of the county, the county government was relatively empty.
Chen Gang, who strictly abided by orders and was very friendly to the people, did not imprison the county officials and servants.
At this time, they all rebelled, and by working together internally and externally, the county government was quickly breached.
"Tie him up and go see General Guan."
"It's better to hack him to death!"
"Maybe he is still useful to General Guan, so I'd better tie him up."
"Yes, tie it up."
The veteran Chen Gang, who had not yet had time to put on his armor, was kicked to the ground. The half-wearing leather armor and the clothes inside were stripped off. In the cold weather, only a single jacket was left for him. The cold made Chen Gang shiver.
As the Jingzhou army stormed the three gates, the common people who learned that Guan Yu was still alive also held fire and picked up daggers and farm tools. With guilt and anger for Zhang Wenxuan's death, they attacked the Soochow defenders at the city gate from the inside regardless of their own safety.
This time, they saw hope of victory.
The fire that Zhang Wenxuan's heroic death planted in their hearts finally encountered the east wind and began to burn violently, out of control...
The three city gates were breached quickly and successively. The defenders in the city fled from the west gate in a hurry, and were ambushed by Liu Chan's ambushes. They suffered heavy casualties.
In this battle, more than 1,300 enemies were wiped out and more than 600 were surrendered.
It wasn't that Wu soldiers fought to the death, but that the angry county people didn't even give them a chance to surrender...
Liu Chan, Liu Feng, and Guan Yu reunited in the county, and high-level officials temporarily stationed in the county. Except for controlling important places and city gates, the rest of the army rested in place and did not disturb the people.
"Kneel down!"
In the county house, an angry young man kicked Chen Gang, who was tied up, to the ground.
Under the firelight, his face was bruised and bruised, and it was obvious that he had been treated very cordially before arriving.
Chen Gang, who had been dominated by fear for a long time, did not resist. Instead, he kowtowed and cried: "The general only acted according to orders and did not harm the people. The prince has mercy, General Guan has mercy!"
Liu Chan and Guan Yu, who were sitting at the same table, looked at each other. Liu Chan was the first to ask, "Where is Lu Xun's army?"
Chen Gang cursed in his heart at that time. This was the question he asked the sky countless times tonight.
"Go...to intercept General Guan."
Chen Gang was almost in tears. What did they cut?
"Where to intercept?"
"Well……"
At this time, Guan Yu, who had been listening to Liu Chan's question with squinted eyes, suddenly opened his eyes: "Huh?"
The strong pressure instantly frightened the veteran who had no enterprising spirit.
"Jingcheng, they are going to Jingcheng!"
[Guan Yu’s favorability +5]
[Guan Yu's favorability is 60, his constitution is +10, his military talent is +10×2, his equestrian talent is +10×2, and his water fighting talent is +10×2]
[Current favorability: 60]
[Liu Feng’s favorability +5]
[Current favorability: 55]
[Guan Ping favorability +5]
[Guan Ping's favorability is 70, constitution +8, long soldier talent +8×2, equestrian talent +8×2, water warfare talent +5×2]
Guan Yu's eyes immediately lit up: "Adou, you actually have Lu Xun's whereabouts under your control. My second uncle looked at you with admiration several times, but I didn't expect that I still underestimated you."
Liu Feng also praised: "The prince's divine calculation makes Feng feel inferior."
The other generals also praised him a lot, but Liu Chan was not lost in the praises.
Knowing Lu Xun's marching route in advance and knowing the results of the battles in each city, we can naturally deduce his approximate location and calculate the shortest interception route.
But in the eyes of others, it is very magical. After all, Jingcheng is not the only place where Mianshui is suitable for interception.
Chen Gang asked tremblingly at this time: "Prince, General Guan, the last general has reported truthfully, are you..."
Liu Chan smiled slightly and said, "I will not kill you."
Chen Gang was overjoyed and was about to kowtow. The young man who had been standing behind him with a knife was also about to say something, but he heard Liu Chan continue: "Drag him out and hand him over to the people of this county."
Strictly speaking, the joy on Chen Gang's face did not disappear, it just transferred to the face of the young man holding the knife beside him.
"Thank you, Prince!"
"No! That's not possible...!"
Chen Gang was dragged out by the young man, tied to a tree, and shot into a hedgehog at close range by the common people using the bows and arrows of the Jingzhou Army...
Rationally speaking, Chen Gang was quite unjust. He was not the one who gave the order to shoot the arrows, and he indeed did not harm the people here.
It's a pity that the people of Zhijiang don't have that much sense to give him at this time. He is a general of Soochow, and that is enough.
After the victory over the thieves, the people saw Liu Chan, Guan Yu and others coming out of the county government, and they kowtowed incessantly.
"General Guan, you are finally here. Zhang Zai Gong died miserably... Wuwu."
For a while, there were endless cries in the county town. Guan Yu looked ashamed when he saw it, and clasped his fists and said: "It was Guan's fault that gave the rats from Jiangdong an opportunity to take advantage of it. As a result, County Magistrate Zhang died tragically. All the fellow villagers... are suffering!"
After that, he and Liu Chan and others bowed deeply together.
The people were so frightened that they didn't even dare to say anything and leaned over.
"Fellows, Liu Chan, the crown prince of Hanzhong, hereby swears that anyone from Soochow who dares to invade Jingzhou will be punished! When the bandits of Soochow are driven out, I will be the king of Hanzhong, and I will reduce taxes and reduce corvee for the elders who have suffered losses, so that everyone can Recuperate and never break your promise.”
"Drive out the Dongwu bandits! Protect my home in Jingzhou!"
"I swear to fight the Jiangdong rats until death!"
Liu Chan ordered people to open the granary, and together with the Wu army's grain and grass captured in this battle, nearly half of it was given to the people in the county.
The people in the county refused and instead offered their own rice and grain to support the army.
After some persuasion from Liu Chan, I accepted it.
This is a conspiracy, rice and grain are distributed to the people in the county. If the Wu army comes back again, they will not dare to take it so as not to lose the support of the people.
Of course, Liu Chan didn't think they would have a chance to come back.
Seeing this, the wealthy gentry families in the county donated their own grain reserves and ordered their healthy sons to lead private soldiers to join the army to attack Soochow.
Among the common people, there were also young people who volunteered to join the army to fight against Wu.
After the Zhijiang War, Liu Chan and Guan Yu's Jingzhou army's food and supplies increased instead of decreasing, and the number of troops increased to more than 22,000. If the soldiers surrendered by Soochow are included, it could reach more than 25,000!
Both the new soldiers and the surrendered soldiers were broken up and mixed into Guan Yu's Jingzhou Army, which not only accelerated the growth of the new soldiers, but also made it easier to monitor the surrendered soldiers.
Liu Chan, who was getting more and more people and food, calmly started his next plan...
(End of chapter)
