Jingchu was next to the Yangtze River and Xiangyang was next to Jing Mountain. There was a saying in ancient times that mountains were not high and immortals were famous because of water and dragons. They had never met an immortal dragon before, but there were many dragons and phoenixes that came from Jingchu. Every place was nourished by its own environment.
As usual, the gate of Xiangyang City was opened as soon as dawn broke. A group of soldiers and horses took the lead to leave the city. They were not marching to war, nor did they have urgent military information to report. Instead, they were serving the carriages behind them.
"Is Lady Cai going to Jingshan again?" It was impossible to hide such a big commotion, but the people of Xiangyang seemed to be familiar with it. Seeing the soldiers clearing the way and the soldiers surrounding the carriage, they began to discuss.
Lady Cai went to Jingshan once a month. Everyone was used to it.
"Is Xiao Cui here?" There was still some distance between Xiangyang and Jingshan. A noble and cold voice came from the carriage surrounded by military horses.
"Young Miss isn't here yet!" Xiao Cui replied. Xiao Cui had been by Lady Cai's side ever since they were in the Cai Family so she was used to calling Lady Cai 'Young Miss'. Xiao Cui poked her head out and looked at the scenery outside. They had left Xiangyang and the city had disappeared from her sight. "Young Miss, we'll be here soon!"
"Okay!" Madam Cai nodded and leaned against the carriage. Every month, she would only spend a few days outside the city that she could truly call her own. Just as Lady Cai was about to take a short nap, the carriage suddenly stopped, and Lady Cai's brows furrowed.
"Young Miss, there's a scholar who wants to see you!"
Lady Cai waved her hand. She didn't want to see any scholar. "He says he's from Lumen Academy and can help Young Master Zong!"
"Lumen Academy?!"
…
"Jingzhou is really a good place!" Liu Mang also left Xiangyang. Previously, Liu Mang had to disguise himself to see Liu Mang. There were bound to be many people keeping an eye on Liu Mang. However, now that Liu Mang and the Kuai Family were connected by marriage, even some of the Kuai Family's subordinates started helping Liu Mang cover his tracks.
Therefore, Liu Mang was able to walk out of the city gate very easily. Naturally, Liu Mang felt very comfortable.
Were there poor people in Jingzhou? Yes! There were. There were many poor people near Kuai Liang's residence. Their houses were made of straw but they didn't starve to death. At least, they had enough to eat and wear.
Therefore, it was hard to see any corpses inside or outside the city of Jingzhou, unlike Yuzhou and Yangzhou. Some places were simply filled with dead bodies and rotting corpses. No matter how beautiful the scenery was, one wouldn't have the heart to look at it.
There were people working in the fields, birds flying in the sky, and white clouds in the blue sky. Such scenes couldn't be seen in his previous life.
"I hope this paradise in troubled times can avoid the past!" Jia Xu also sighed. The world was united for a long time but divided for a long time and united for a long time. These were the struggles of aristocratic families and ambitious families. However, it was the common people who suffered.
Liu Biao was conservative and did not have the spirit of pioneering. In the whole world, the only enemy was Sun Ce of Jiangdong. It was also because of this that the people of Jingzhou were able to live in peace and contentment. They were not like other places that were militaristic.
However, this world wasn't peaceful. Liu Biao's Jingzhou was a big piece of fat meat. It was impossible for people to not drool. Why did Jiangdong's Sun Ce attack Jingzhou instead of going to the Central Plains? It was because he knew that once he conquered Jingzhou, not only would he be able to make up for his losses, but he would also have greater potential to conquer the world. If he went to the Central Plains, Yangzhou and Xuzhou could be regarded as rich places. But now, Yangzhou was in Yuan Shu's hands. Xuzhou had changed hands three times and was in tatters. If he took them, not only would he not be able to make up for his losses, but because of his territory, Sun Ce's troops would be scattered.
Right now, Escapist Liu and their Yangzhou Army are on the side. Even Cao Cao of Xu Du is constantly thinking about Jingzhou. Jingzhou is stronger than the strength of several states. Jingzhou is stronger than several states.
"Liu Biao, Liu Qi, Liu Zong?" Liu Mang was also thinking about these three people in his heart. Liu Biao was already old. If Liu Mang remembered correctly, he didn't have many years left to live. So, the position of Lord of Jingzhou would be in the hands of Liu Qi and Liu Zong. But can Liu Qi really fight against Liu Zong?
Liu Mang shook his head and didn't think about it anymore. The matter of Jingzhou had nothing to do with him. What he wanted now was provisions, provisions.
"Have those two grain merchants already transported the provisions to Yangzhou?" Liu Mang and Jia Xu were sitting in the carriage. Liu Mang asked Jia Xu.
"They haven't arrived in Yangzhou yet. They should be in the Zaoyang area now!" Jia Xu replied. Fatty Liang and the others had gathered a total of 30,000 provisions, which was not a small number. They were transferred from Xiangyang to Xinye. With Liu Qi's help, Xinye was like a fish in water.
"A cup of water on a burning cart of firewood!" 30,000 provisions was enough for one army to go to war. But for Liu Mang's Yangzhou, it was still a drop in the bucket.
"What about Zilong's White Horses?" Liu Mang forgot about the 3,000 White Horses in Zhao Yun's hands. Liu Mang had spent a lot on these 3,000 White Horses. They were all good horses, plus the silk, arrows, stirrups, saddles, and two horses per person. It could be said that except for the lack of heavy armor, the cost of this cavalry was not lower than the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry.
"General Zilong has been avoiding the battle!" Jia Xu got the news that although Zhao Yun's army went north to Wancheng, they didn't fight with Liu Bei's army.
"Haha, avoiding the battle, that's good, that's good!" Liu Mang heard the news and laughed. He wanted Zhao Yun to avoid the battle. If he wanted to fight with Liu Mang's Xiliang Cavalry, then the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry was enough. Why would he need light cavalry?
Zhao Yun was slowly getting familiar with this tactic.
There was another reason why Liu Mang taught the White Horses to Zhao Yun. Zhao Yun was very loyal and very obedient. He would do whatever Liu Mang told him to do. He was not like Xu Sheng. Although Xu Sheng was also very strong, his temper was very bad. Once he was angered, he would not be able to find himself.
"Milord, our consumption is also not small!" Jia Xu handed over a list. The list clearly showed the consumption of Zhao Yun's army for the past ten days. This White Horses was not an army, it was a money burning ancestor.
One arrow cost twenty gold coins, and one hundred arrows cost two thousand gold coins. Over the past ten days, Zhao Yun had shot out nearly a hundred thousand arrows. Adding the loss of the bows and the loss of the war horses, he had lost several hundred gold coins over the past ten days.
"As long as it can be solved with money, it is not a problem!" Liu Mang grinned. It was not that Liu Mang was rich, but Liu Mang needed to turn all the dead money in his hands into living money. "Moreover, I believe that Liu Mang is not having a good time these days!"
Liu Mang was right. These days, Liu Bei was not having a good time. The whole Nanyang County was under Liu Bei's control, no one would be happy. Nanyang was Liu Bei's territory. How could he let other people enter?
Naturally, he would use cavalry to deal with cavalry. Liu Bei waved his hand and ordered Hu Che Er's Xiliang Cavalry to kill. He was preparing to destroy Liu Mang's light cavalry. In this era, it depended on who had the thickest armor. The reason why the Great Han Cavalry was able to divide the Xiongnu into Southern Xiongnu and Northern Xiongnu was because of their thick armor.
Liu Mang ordered Zhao Yun to lead the White Horses. They were light cavalry. Aside from the silk inside, they did not have any armor. Leather armor was useless in front of these heavy cavalry.
Hu Che Er excitedly went out. He wanted to destroy Liu Mang's light cavalry. He was jealous of the 6,000 horses under the light cavalry for a long time. Although he only had one arm, Hu Che Er's ruthlessness was not weak. Hu Che Er dared to bet that he could directly cut off the light cavalry and swallow it whole.
However, when Hu Che Er rushed out, he found that he was wrong. Don't talk about cutting and swallowing, the light cavalry did not even have the intention to fight.
When Zhao Yun saw Hu Che Er's army moving out, he did not even look at Hu Che Er. He waved his flag and ordered the army to retreat.
Running away without fighting? Are you afraid? Hu Che Er was still excited. Being afraid before the battle was a taboo in military law. Once the enemy caught up, the retreat would turn into defeat.
Hu Che Er expressed his disdain for the commander of the light cavalry. He wanted to take the commander's head as his own merit.
What made Hu Che Er smile the most was that the commander of the light cavalry was kicked in the head by a donkey. He actually wanted to draw his bow on horseback. Moreover, he wanted to draw his bow on a galloping horse. If these were Qiang cavalry or foreign cavalry, Hu Che Er would believe it. After all, they were a race that lived on horseback. Practice makes perfect. However, he could see that these were all Han people. There were even a lot of Qing Zhi's people. They were clearly new recruits. It was already good that you could pull the bowstring.
Mende whipped the warhorse under him. He was about to catch up, but he was just a little bit away, just a little bit away.
Just a little bit was enough to become Hu Che Er's nightmare. The enemy had two horses while Hu Che Er had one horse. The enemy had light cavalry while Hu Che Er was a heavy cavalry. It would be strange if they could catch up.
A rain of arrows covered the sky. The arrows were not very accurate but they could not withstand so many arrows. Although Hu Che Er's men were heavy cavalry, their horses were not heavy cavalry. This made the situation much better. The Xiliang Cavalry fell behind or were trampled to death because their horses were injured or killed by the arrows.
One or two battles could not be seen. However, after accumulating, Hu Che Er could not stand it anymore. In just one day, he had lost nearly three hundred cavalry.
Hu Che Er was angry. You shoot arrows, we will also shoot arrows. Hu Che Er's Xiliang Cavalry had many archers that could draw their bows while galloping. However, there were only a few hundred arrows.
Not to mention whether they could hit them or not. Even if they hit the White Horses, they would not care. The arrows could not pierce through their clothes and would be repelled by the silk.
Since he could not catch up, Hu Che Er decided to stop and rest.
However, Zhao Yun would not let them rest. When Liu Mang left, he gave them a policy. If the enemy advances, I will retreat. If the enemy stays, I will disturb. If the enemy is tired, I will attack. If the enemy retreats, I will chase.
In the beginning, the red cavalrymen were chasing the white cavalrymen. Then, the white cavalrymen were chasing the red cavalrymen. Then, it was the other way around. This was the reason why Zhao Yun had exhausted 100,000 arrows in just a few dozen days.
Liu Bei's face was ashen. The enemy was already at his doorstep but he could not do anything to the enemy. Moreover, because of Hu Che Er's pursuit, he had lost a thousand Xiliang Cavalry in the past few days. How much wealth did Liu Bei have? To be able to withstand this kind of consumption, it would be easy to exchange a thousand Xiliang Cavalry for a few hundred Xiliang Cavalry. However, the enemy had already lost a few dozen Xiliang Cavalry. Moreover, there were no heads or corpses. He did not know how much of it was fake.
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