In the past few days, Liu Bei's days had not been easy. He had taken the risk of offending Liu Biao of Jingzhou to take down Fan City. Originally, he wanted to take Fan City to threaten Jingzhou's Liu Biao and extort money from Liu Biao. Then, he would break the alliance between Liu Biao and Yangzhou.
However, who would have thought that not only did the alliance not break, Liu Bei did not get the rations from Jingzhou. Instead, when he was transporting the rations back to Yuzhou, he was robbed. And the person who robbed him was Yangzhou's Liu Mang, Liu Hanyang, whom Liu Bei hated to the bone and wanted to kill even in his dreams. Two times, 400,000 rations. In one day, 200,000 rations were stolen. Although it was set on fire, who knew how much was stolen in the end. In any case, Liu Bei did not have any plans for the 400,000 rations.
This was not the end. Liu Bei stayed in Fan City. He wanted to defeat the Jingzhou and Yangzhou alliance in Fan City. He wanted to use Fan City's victory to make Jingzhou's Liu Biao sober and make him afraid. This way, Liu Bei would be able to get rations from Liu Biao again.
Unfortunately, Liu Bei's wishful thinking was wrong. The Jingzhou and Yangzhou alliance did not directly attack the city. In other words, they did not come to fill up the moat or climb up the city walls like ants.
Instead, they used something called a ballista to throw countless heavy stones at Fancheng. Jingzhou was beside the Yangtze River, while Fancheng had rivers and mountains in the distance. Naturally, it didn't take much effort to obtain the stones. The ballista were made on the spot by the Yangzhou army. With the 30,000 Jingzhou laborers, everything was convenient. Soon, more than 20 ballista were built. Thus, Fancheng's nightmare began. For 24 hours a day, as long as they could see, the ballista never stopped firing. During the day, if the moonlight was bright enough, they would also be hit by the stone cannons at night.
Although the city walls of Fan City were tall, they were still full of holes. Although Liu Bei's army did not suffer many losses, their morale was about to collapse. Who could withstand the continuous bombardment? They were on tenterhooks all day, afraid of being smashed into meat patties by the stones.
If it was just this, Liu Bei could rely on his charisma to appease these soldiers. However, the Jingzhou and Yangzhou alliance were simply shameless. Not only were they bombarding, they were also building walls. That's right, they were building walls.
Originally, Liu Bei thought that this was a joke. A tall wall was not something that could be built in a day or two. However, he did not know what the enemy was using. It was a type of black ash. This ash was mixed with water and stones, and it actually solidified in a few days. It was even harder than bricks.
Half-moon actually managed to build a small city wall that was three meters tall.
Although the wall was small, Liu Bei was still afraid. This was because Liu Bei could not take down the Jingzhou alliance. They were holed up in their camp. If Liu Bei decided to attack, then the one who would suffer would be Liu Bei. The heavy cavalry was used for field battles, and the infantry under Liu Bei were just second line troops. The Qingzhou army was still there, so Liu Bei could still attack. But without the Qingzhou army, Liu Bei could not do anything to the 30,000 soldiers.
In terms of rations, they had the support of Liu Biao from Jingzhou, so they were still lacking in rations. Even if Fan City ran out of rations, the Jingzhou alliance would still have rations. The Jingzhou alliance would not be able to do anything to Liu Bei. Fan City was tall, and the moat was wide. Without a hundred thousand soldiers, it would be hard to take down Liu Bei's army. However, Liu Bei was afraid. This was because the wall was built in half a month. If it continued like this, then Liu Bei would really become a turtle in a jar.
Gritting his teeth, Liu Bei could only lead his army to break out of the encirclement. Chen Deng's Jingzhou and Yangzhou alliance outside the city did not stop Liu Bei, allowing Liu Bei to smoothly leave Fan City. As for the fire that Liu Bei released when he left, the Yangzhou army did not care. After all, Fan City was not their territory.
Chen Deng's troops did not stop him, but that did not mean that the other Yangzhou troops would not stop him. Needless to say, the White Horses under Zhao Yun's leadership showed Liu Bei what guerrilla warfare was. As for the Deputy General, Deng Tian, who was previously the leader of the Huang family's private army, did not disappoint Liu Mang.
After Liu Mang rescued Deng Tian's family, Deng Tian left Jingzhou. His family was sent to Liu Mang, and Jia Xu sent people to send them to Yangzhou. Deng Tian went straight to Fan City, found Zhao Yun's troops, and became Zhao Yun's deputy.
With such a knowledgeable Deputy General, Zhao Yun's effect was not small. The White Horses fell behind Liu Bei's army, making it difficult for Liu Bei's army to fight.
If you fight, you won't be able to catch up to them. If you don't fight, the White Horses would come to harass them from time to time. Originally, Liu Bei wanted to withdraw his army, but because of this, the White Horses left behind thousands of infantry.
As long as the infantry fell behind, they would be eaten up by the White Horses. The White Horses could only make things difficult for Liu Bei, but the other unit, the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry, made things difficult for Liu Bei. Although the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry did not have two horses like the White Horses, the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry's horses were the most elite in Yangzhou. Many of them were Arabian warhorses that Liu Mang brought from the modern world. The White Horses had amazing horsepower, and the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry directly charged. Regardless of whether it was the Xiliang Cavalry or other infantry units, as long as they were separated from the main army, the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry would charge. The power of heavy cavalry was very strong. When Liu Bei's main army arrived, the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry used their horsepower to shake off the Xiliang Cavalry.
In the end, Liu Bei was left with two choices. The first was to stay behind and continue to transport rations and be slowly swallowed up by the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry. The second was to give up on the rations and retreat with the Xiliang Cavalry.
Liu Bei had no other choice. The short distance of 40 li took him two and a half days to travel. He lost two thousand men of the Xiliang Cavalry and six thousand infantry units. If this continued, by the time he reached Yuzhou, Liu Bei's army would not have much left.
As for the provisions troops, they were in an even more miserable state. The White Horses had brought alchemical fire oil with them. With this, more than half of Liu Bei's provisions that were left with over a hundred thousand were burned.
Even if the rations were transported to Yuzhou, there would not be much left. Liu Bei gritted his teeth. He ordered the Xiliang Cavalry to bring enough rations and a sack of rations. He then abandoned the infantry units and left. Those infantry units were sacrificed to stop the enemy.
Even so, Lü Bu gave Liu Bei a big gift. Liu Bei lost another two thousand Xiliang Cavalry.
In total, Liu Bei lost five thousand Xiliang Cavalry. He could not care less about Nanyang County. He directly abandoned all the cities in Nanyang. The rations that the Xiliang Cavalry carried were only three dan of rations. In total, they did not have more than thirty thousand rations. It could be said that this was a crushing defeat.
… …
The Governor's Mansion of Xiangyang Province was decorated with lanterns and streamers. The entire scene was very lively. The reason for this scene was the victory of Fan City. Not only was Fan City captured, even Liu Bei's Nanyang County was captured. Naturally, everyone was very happy.
"Your Highness the King Of Shu, come, come, let this old man drink first!" Liu Biao's face was flushed red. To be honest, this could be regarded as the only great victory in Jingzhou in recent years. In the past, Jingzhou was always suppressed. As long as Jiangdong's Little Overlord was there, Jingzhou would not be able to gain any advantage.
But now, they had won a great victory in Fan City. Although they did not manage to hold back Liu Bei's army, they at least took back Fan City and drove Liu Bei out of Nanyang. If this was not a great victory, then what was?
"Heroes come from the young. The wisest thing this old man did was to ally with Your Highness the King Of Shu's Yangzhou." Liu Biao happily drank a few more cups. His tone was very warm for Liu Mang.
"My Lord is wise!"
While drinking, the two of them called each other uncle and nephew very happily.
"Your Highness the King Of Shu, I, Zhang Zhang, propose a toast to Your Highness the King Of Shu!" Zhang Yun stood up and proposed a toast to Liu Mang. "This toast is for the soldiers of Jingzhou and Yangzhou on the frontline. I hope that Jingzhou and Yangzhou will be on good terms forever."
"General Zhang is too polite." Liu Mang also nodded. He did not stand up and directly raised his cup and drank it in one gulp. Although the victory in Fan City was within Liu Mang's expectations, Liu Mang was also very happy to hear the news.
"Your Highness the King Of Shu, I, Zhang Yun, propose another toast to Your Highness the King Of Shu." Zhang Yun drank a cup and raised another cup. "This toast is for the people of Fan City. It was Your Highness the King Of Shu's Yangzhou army that helped Jingzhou and allowed the people of Fan City to return to Jingzhou's embrace."
Zhang Yun was on Cai Mao's side. Liu Mang could not refuse and drank another cup.
"This is the third cup." Zhang Yun raised his cup again. "This third cup is for my unfilial younger brother to Your Highness the King Of Shu." After winning the Battle of Fan City, Fan City returned to Jingzhou and naturally belonged to the Zhang family again. His younger brother, Zhang Gui, could also atone for his sins. All of this was caused by Liu Mang's urging. Zhang Yun was very grateful to Liu Mang.
"If General Zhang Gui did not have the ability to lead the army, even with this King's recommendation, Fan City would not have been taken!" Liu Mang also smiled in response to Zhang Yun.
After Zhang Yun, there were only a few people in Jingzhou who had the face to invite Liu Mang for a drink. Liu Mang could be said to have completely integrated himself into Jingzhou's civil and military affairs. The Cai family and Lumen Academy officials who had kept Liu Mang in check now also nodded in agreement with Liu Mang.
After eating and drinking to their fill and flattering each other, Liu Mang did not immediately leave. He knew that Liu Biao had something to discuss with him. As expected, before Liu Biao could speak, Cai Mao spoke first.
"Your Highness the King Of Shu, we won the Battle of Fan City, but there are many things that need to be dealt with in Fan City." Cai Mao said a lot, but only one sentence was the most useful: Nanyang County.
Liu Bei had been defeated and returned to Yu Province. Not only had he lost Fan City, but he had also lost Nanyang County. Now, Nanyang County could be considered an ownerless land. Jing Province had new ideas about this place that used to belong to Jingzhou.
However, it was impossible for Jingzhou to directly annex Nanyang. After all, the main force in the Battle of Fan City was Liu Mang's Yangzhou Army. Therefore, Cai Mao brought it out to discuss with Liu Mang.
"I wonder what Your Highness the King Of Shu thinks of Nanyang County?" Zhang Yun also chimed in.
"Nanyang County!" Liu Mang picked up his tea. After drinking too much, he naturally needed tea to clear his head. "It's a good place. There are mountains and water beside it." Liu Mang blinked. Liu Mang deliberately pretended to be ignorant. How could these people not know what Liu Mang was talking about? After all, it used to be Jingzhou's territory. "Nanyang is good, good!"
"Your Highness the King Of Shu, we will bid fifty thousand gold!" Cai Mao called out a price.
Fifty thousand gold? The price wasn't small, but wanting to buy Nanyang County was a joke. Liu Mang deliberately pretended not to understand. "Nanyang County was occupied by the Suicide God Bai Qi. Qin Zhaoxiang appointed it as Nanyang, and that's how it got its name!"
"Your Highness the King Of Shu, fifty thousand gold and two hundred thousand fodder!" Cai Mao increased the price again.
If it was before, Liu Mang might have been interested in two hundred thousand fodder. But now, Liu Mang wasn't so reluctant. "Since entering my Great Han Dynasty, Nanyang County has become even more famous. There are mountains and rivers here. Everyone wants to live in seclusion here in their later years!"
"Your Highness the King Of Shu, five thousand sets of heavy armor." Cai Mao continued to increase the price for Liu Mang. Five thousand sets of heavy armor was enough for Liu Mang to form a new heavy armor unit. Although Liu Mang was encouraging iron production in Yangzhou, it was difficult for him to take out five thousand sets of heavy armor.
However, Liu Mang wasn't moved. These things couldn't be exchanged for a county.
"Three thousand war horses!" Cai Mao began to raise the price. He even took out the war horses. It had to be known that in the Central Plains, war horses were very precious. Three thousand war horses were worth at least thirty thousand gold.
Liu Mang didn't mind having too many war horses. It had to be known that it was difficult to breed war horses in the Central Plains. Those war horses were basically disposable items. Liu Mang also had a lot of cavalry units. Before the estuary was opened, he naturally needed war horses.
"I can't drink too much of this wine. It'll cause trouble!" Liu Mang wanted to see what kind of price Jing Province would take out.
Money, provisions, armor, and war horses. Liu Mang didn't want any of them. Cai Mao took out another item, "Your Highness the King Of Shu, five counties near Yiyang and Zaoyang!"
Although Yiyang and Zaoyang were under Liu Mang's command, they didn't seize them in a glorious manner. In order to not provoke Liu Biao, Liu Mang didn't send troops to seize the counties near Yiyang and Zaoyang. However, those counties were too close to Yiyang and Zaoyang. This wasn't good. Therefore, Cai Mao took out a city in exchange.
"There are thirty-seven counties below. Wan City is the county capital." The entire Nanyang County had thirty-seven counties. Even if some counties were removed, there were still over twenty counties. Liu Biao only took out five counties. That was too stingy.
"Your Highness the King Of Shu, what do you want?" Liu Biao also lost his patience. After seizing Fan City, Nanyang County was now ownerless. If Liu Biao took it back, it could be said that he had recovered his lost land. This would encourage the people.
"Nanyang County is where Great Han's Emperor Guangwu started his career. Wan City will be your capital! Imperial Village. " What Liu Mang meant by saying these words is that Nanyang is an imperial capital. It can be said that the position of Nanyang is very important. He was increasing his bargaining chip.
"Xinye County, three counties below it." Liu Mang's meaning was very clear. Liu Mang didn't need Nanyang County, but Liu Mang wanted Xinye.
"Xinye City?" Jingzhou's officials were no longer indifferent. Xinye was the gateway to Jingzhou's north. Only with Xinye could the Jingzhou Army cross the Yangtze River to reach the Central Plains. If they lost Xinye, then the Jingzhou Army would have a hard time crossing the Yangtze River.
"Impossible!" How could they let go of Xinye's connection to the Central Plains? "Your Highness the King Of Shu, change your conditions!"
"Liu Mang, although Xinye is a county capital, it's actually just a county. It's separated from Nanyang." Liu Biao looked at Liu Mang and said.
"Xinye isn't as big as Nanyang, but it's the main route to the Central Plains!" The other places along the Yangtze River were either high or low-lying. Only Xinye had a good harbor that allowed them to pass through.
"Go to the Central Plains?" Liu Mang sneered. "Liu Jingzhou, why is Jingzhou going to the Central Plains? Could it be that Liu Jingzhou wants to go on an expedition to conquer the world? " Liu Mang's words were extremely harsh. After Xinye, Liu Mang's Yiyang and Zaoyang would be the next. If Liu Biao wanted to go, would he be going to attack Yangzhou?
"Your Highness the King Of Shu is overthinking things. Xinye is just a place for Jingzhou to trade!"
"Trade? Yangzhou can also trade. With the Jingyang Alliance, trade is naturally not a problem! "
"Could it be that Jingzhou can only go to the south bank of the Yangtze River?"
"Why does Liu Jingzhou want to go to the north bank? If Yangzhou can rely on the Yangtze River like Liu Jingzhou, I wouldn't want to go to the other side of the river. "
"What if there's unhappiness?"
"Could it be that the Jingzhou Navy is afraid?" Liu Mang continued to ask. "With the Yangtze River's natural barrier, Liu Jingzhou can sit back and relax. With Nanyang Prefecture, Jingzhou can have 20 more counties!"
"As for Xinye, it's not that I have to take it. However, if I were to hand over the twenty counties of Nanyang without any reason, I'm afraid that the soldiers in the army will not accept it. Therefore, I have to give them an explanation!" Liu Mang began to use the Yangzhou General as a scapegoat. In the Yangzhou Army, Liu Mang's words were not of great weight. No one dared to have any opinions about Liu Mang.
Liu Mang's words were very clear. He wanted to use Nanyang to exchange for Xinye. Liu Mang even showed that taking Xinye was just to give the soldiers an explanation. He couldn't just take Nanyang and give it to Jingzhou. Jingzhou should at least show some appreciation.
"Let me think about it for two more days!" Liu Biao frowned and began to ask Jingzhou to leave.
"Haha, this King is also tired. I won't disturb Liu Mang any longer!" Liu Mang got up and prepared to leave.
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