"Haha, that Jiangdong general is about to die!" In Jiang Xia's Xiakou Barracks, warships were slowly entering the barracks in an orderly manner. The soldiers and generals disembarked from the warships one after another. The warships were obviously stained with blood and broken parts. They had just returned from a battle.
Jiangxia had now turned into a tug of war between the Jiangdong Navy and Jiangxia Navy. The two armies fought back and forth. Neither side was willing to submit to the other. However, neither side had the upper hand. Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang seemed to be natural enemies. They used all kinds of strategies and tactics to fight in the water. After a day of fighting, the two sides had finally reached a stalemate.
Two generals walked down from the warship with a smile. When you walked closer, you would find that these two were Huo Jun and Li Yan, Zhuge Liang's subordinates. Huo Jun, also known as Zhongmiao, was from Zhijiang. His brother, Huo Du, once gathered hundreds of people in his hometown to help Liu Biao conquer the world. After Huo Du died, Liu Biao let Huo Jun inherit his troops. He gave Huo Jun the position of a county's gate officer.
Li Yan, also known as Zhengfang, was from Nanyang County. When he was young, he was a full-time official in the county and was famous for his ability. Liu Biao, the Governor of Jingzhou, had heard of him but only gave him a position in the county. At best, he was a county's officer.
These two people may not have any contact with each other, and may even be unknown for their whole life. But now, they are standing on the stage of history. The reason for this is Zhuge Liang, the military advisor of Jiangxia.
After Zhuge Liang entered the world, he was rewarded by Liu Biao as the military advisor of the Jiangxia Army. This Liu Biao wanted to buy horse bones with a thousand gold coins. He wanted to show off to the Lumen Academy. After all, Zhuge Liang was the disciple of the Lumen Academy's Master Shui Jing, Sima Wei. However, who knew that Zhuge Liang's ability was more powerful than the rumors. The Jiangxia Navy began to decline under Zhuge Liang's leadership and began to attack. Huo Jun and Li Yan were Zhuge Liang's first subordinates after he came to Jiang Xia.
Zhuge Liang heard about the two of them when Zhuge Liang was traveling. The two of them did not disappoint Zhuge Liang. Now, both of them held important positions in the army. Li Yan and Huo Jun were now generals of ten thousand men. Li Yan was even in charge of Zhuge Liang's personal guards. It can be said that the two of them were almost comparable to the governor.
This was also the reason why the two of them were very grateful to Zhuge Liang. They were willing to serve under Zhuge Liang because only Zhuge Liang would use and dare to use them.
Today, the two of them were ordered to go to Sanjiangkou for a battle. Their harvest was bountiful. They sank and damaged several enemy ships. Even the veteran Han Dang was almost killed by Li Yan's ballista. Jiangdong's strength lies in the fact that its veteran generals are still around. But now, the veteran generals are old and frail. Zhuge Liang took advantage of this weakness and defeated them.
The old generals were very arrogant. When the old generals were in the army, the young generals naturally did not have the opportunity to command the army alone. Zhuge Liang used the arrogance of the old generals in the Jiangdong Army to win many battles. Now, the Jiangdong Army in Sanjiangkou was already in a half-abandoned state.
"Generals, the military advisor wants you to go to the military advisor's tent when you return." Just when the two of them were discussing where to go for fun at night, a messenger ran over and said to the two of them.
"The military advisor is looking for us?" Li Yan glanced at Huo Jun. Generally speaking, Zhuge Liang would not look for them for no reason. They were the ones who looked for Zhuge Liang. If Zhuge Liang looked for them, it naturally meant that something important had happened.
The two of them looked at each other and did not even bother to wipe off the blood on their bodies. They directly went to the military advisor's tent.
"Generals Li Yan and Huo Jun have arrived." The two of them entered the tent and a guard came to inform Zhuge Liang.
Zhuge Liang was reading a wooden slip. The military advisor Zhuge Liang was very studious and did not forget to study. It was because of this that Zhuge Liang became famous.
"This general Li Yan greets the military advisor."
"This general Huo Jun greets the military advisor." The two of them cupped their fists and said to Zhuge Liang who was sitting on the main seat.
"You are here." Zhuge Liang did not put down the book and asked the two of them, "How is the battle today?"
"Reporting to the military advisor, today's battle situation, our army was defeated by Jiangdong's Han troops. Several enemy ships sank and countless were injured. Old General Han was defeated by Li Yan and his death is unknown." Huo Jun reported to Zhuge Liang.
"What about our army's losses?" Zhuge Liang asked again.
"Our army sank one ship, injured three ships and lost hundreds of men." Li Yan replied.
"Good, good. Another new victory. I will ask for credit for you." Zhuge Liang put down the wooden slip in his hand and his face was expressionless.
Huo Jun and Li Yan were happy and immediately knelt down and said, "It is all because of the military advisor's guidance. We will not dare to be greedy for credit."
"There is no need to be modest in front of me." Zhuge Liang shook his head and said to the two of them, "If this goes on, Jiang Xia can be taken back and returned to Jingzhou. What a pity!" Zhuge Liang sighed and said helplessly.
"Military advisor? What's wrong? "Li Yan asked when he saw Zhuge Liang's helplessness.
"Take a look. This is a letter from Jingzhou." Zhuge Liang threw an envelope on the table to the two of them.
The two of them opened it up and looked at it together.
"This, this, how can this be?" Li Yan was the first to shout. Huo Jun also did not understand and asked, "Military advisor, could this be a mistake?"
"Mistake? Haha. Take a good look at the seal. How can this be a mistake? " Zhuge Liang said to the two of them. The two of them saw that the seal at the end was indeed the seal of the Governor of Jingzhou. This meant that this was a real order.
"But, but why would the Governor do this?" Huo Jun did not understand because the letter in their hands said that they would cooperate with the Jiangdong Army to encircle and suppress the Yangzhou Navy. After that, they would withdraw from Jiang Xia and return to Jingzhou.
Jiangdong and Jingzhou were enemies. Wasn't Jiangdong and Jingzhou allies?
Zhuge Liang shook his head and did not speak.
"Military advisor, attack the Yangzhou Navy? Withdraw from Jiang Xia? Even if we are willing, the soldiers under our command will not be willing to! " Li Yan was a little anxious. These days, they had been fighting to the death with the Jiangdong Army. Countless soldiers had died in the hands of the Jiangdong Army. The two armies had already formed enmity. Among the 70,000 soldiers in Jiang Xia's camp, there were three types of soldiers with the most fighting power. The first was the soldiers brought by General Wen Pin. These soldiers were the direct subordinates of the Governor of Jingzhou, Liu Biao. The second was Zhuge Liang's personal guards under Li Yan. They were brought by Zhuge Liang when Zhuge Liang came to Jiang Xia. The third was the Jiangxia Army. These soldiers were left behind by Zhuge Liang when Huang Zu left and were recruited from the locals.
The most fighting power was the Jiangxia Army. This was because this was their hometown. Seeing Jiang Xia being invaded by foreign forces, they were naturally heartbroken. These years of war made the people of Jiang Xia hate the Jiangdong Army to the bone.
If they were to ally with the Jiangxia Army and withdraw from Jiang Xia, how would Huo Jun and Li Yan explain to the Jiangxia Army under their command?
"Explain? Aren't soldiers just following orders? " Zhuge Liang said to Li Yan and Huo Jun. "Moreover, these things are not for us to consider. Naturally, someone will be troubled."
Sure enough, as soon as Zhuge Liang's words fell, a messenger came over and told Zhuge Liang that General Wen Pin wanted to see him.
"Let's go! Let's go to the General's tent! " Zhuge Liang stood up and walked towards Wen Pin's tent. However, he was stopped by Li Yan.
Li Yan approached Zhuge Liang and asked. "Military advisor, are we attacking Yangzhou? Do you want to? " Li Yan's words were simulated. Before this, there was a trend of Jingzhou attacking Yangzhou. At that time, it was Pang Tong who stirred up the situation. At that time, Zhuge Liang almost rebelled. But now, Zhuge Liang did not move at all.
"What do we want? Obey the military order. If we want to attack Yangzhou, then we will attack Yangzhou. We are now the Jingzhou Navy. We must obey the orders of the Governor of Jingzhou. " Zhuge Liang also gave a simulated answer. This made Li Yan a little confused. If you are loyal to Liu Biao, why don't you call him Milord but Governor of Jingzhou?
A group of people arrived at Wen Pin's camp. Wen Pin's tent was not far from Zhuge Liang's tent. Because of Xiakou, Wen Pin sometimes stayed in Xiakou City.
"Military advisor, General Li Yan. General Huo Jun has arrived! "Someone reported to Wen Pin.
"Quickly, invite him in!" Wen Pin sat on the main seat and said to his subordinates.
"Yes!" Soon, Zhuge Liang, Li Yan, and Huo Jun were invited in. Zhuge Liang and the others saw that there were already many generals in the tent. It seems like they were waiting for them.
"Great General!" Under Zhuge Liang's lead, Huo Jun and Li Yan saluted Wen Pin.
"No need for formalities. No need for formalities. Come, sit! " Wen Pin was now very appreciative of Zhuge Liang. Because of Zhuge Liang, the situation of Jiangzhou was getting better day by day. Naturally, Wen Pin was also happy. Moreover, because of his misunderstanding of Zhuge Liang, Wen Pin felt very guilty.
"Thank you, Great General." Zhuge Liang and the others thanked and sat down.
"Let's skip the formalities. Military advisor must have already seen the secret order from Jingzhou!" Wen Pin said straightforwardly.
"I have already read it." Zhuge Liang nodded and said.
"What do you think?" Wen Pin asked.
"Not good!" Zhuge Liang directly showed his attitude. Wen Pin also nodded. What kind of order was this? The situation of Jiangzhou was getting better day by day. Not only did he form an alliance with the Jiangdong Army, but he also wanted to hand over the whole of Jiangzhou. How could Wen Pin act like this?
"I also think so. But do you want me to write a letter to Milord and ask him to correct it?" Wen Pin was now thinking of writing a letter together with Zhuge Liang to ask Liu Biao not to do this.
"Why should he change it?" Zhuge Liang asked. "As a general, I naturally have to solve the problems for His Excellency and listen to his orders." Zhuge Liang said. "Moreover, does General Wen Pin not know why His Excellency wants to attack Yangzhou?" Zhuge Liang said to Wen Pin.
"Sigh!" Wen Pin sighed. How could he not know? His Wen Family was also a noble family. With such a big movement in Xiangyang, it was impossible for him not to know. His Excellency Liu Biao was a cuckold. It would be strange if he did not attack Yangzhou.
"But we can attack Yangzhou alone. Why do we have to bring the Jiangdong Army?" Wen Pin had an opinion. This was because he also knew that Sanjiangkou, Wuchang and Huangzhou were now in the hands of the Jiangdong Army. If they did not defeat the Jiangdong Army, they would not be able to go over. If they went over without permission, they would not be able to defeat the Yangzhou Army for a long time.
"Haha!" Zhuge Liang laughed and did not express his opinion.
"Military advisor, even if we obey the order, how can we mobilize the Jiangxia Army?" In the past few days, the Jiangxia Army had been very effective. This was because they knew that Yangzhou and Jingzhou had formed an alliance. They wanted the Yangzhou Navy and Jingzhou Navy to attack the Jiangdong Army and restore peace in Jiangxia. However, the situation was reversed. They wanted to attack the Yangzhou Navy with the Jingzhou Navy. They also wanted to lose Jiangxia.
If Wen Pin went out and announced this to the soldiers, Wen Pin believed that if Wen Pin did not give the soldiers an explanation, he would be torn apart by the soldiers.
"Since it won't take that long, there is no need to use it." Zhuge Liang continued.
"No need?" Wen Pin was stunned. "What do you mean?"
"General, how strong is the Yangzhou Navy?" Zhuge Liang asked.
Wen Pin shook his head. The Jingzhou Navy had not fought with the Yangzhou Navy. How could he know? "I don't know." Wen Pin thought for a moment. They had not fought with the Jiangdong Army. However, they had fought with the Jiangdong Army. "The Yangzhou Army has more than ten thousand soldiers. Their fighting power is really hard to say."
"More than ten thousand?" Zhuge Liang smiled. "General, your information is somewhat outdated." Zhuge Liang walked to the map in the tent. "The Yangzhou Army only has eight thousand soldiers."
"Eight thousand?" Wen Pin was stunned. "Where did the remaining two thousand go?" In the Yangtze River, Lujiang was the largest camp in Yangzhou. Where did the remaining two thousand go?
"General, do you know Guangling?" Zhuge Liang asked.
"Xuzhou Guangling?" Wen Pin was stunned for a moment. Wen Pin had been to Xuzhou before. Therefore, he knew a lot about Guangling.
"On the surface, the Xu Province, north of Huaiyin and Guangling are under the command of General Yuan Shao. However, the real master is Liu Mang of Yangzhou. As for the remaining two thousand Yangzhou, no! The remaining two thousand soldiers should have gone to Guangling and entered the sea. "Zhuge Liang explained to Wen Pin.
"Five thousand soldiers?" Wen Pin's eyes lit up. The original Yangzhou Army only had ten thousand soldiers. Now that five thousand were gone, there were only five thousand left.
"Yes." Zhuge Liang nodded. "The Yangzhou Navy in Lujiang has lost five thousand soldiers. Now, they are replenished with three thousand new soldiers. Moreover, the general has changed."
"The general has changed? Gan Ning left? " Wen Pin knew about Gan Ning. This guy used to be a captain of the Jingzhou Army. At that time, he was not doing well in the Jingzhou Navy. Wen Pin had also stopped Gan Ning. If Gan Ning was still in the Jingzhou Army, perhaps he would have to call Wen Pin General. However, when he went to Yangzhou, he shone brightly. In the battle of Lujiang, he defeated thirty thousand Jiangdong's elite navy in one fell swoop. That battle shocked the world.
It was also Gan Ning who completely changed the rules of naval warfare. In the past, it was just a rain of arrows. Now, although it was still a rain of arrows, the number of arrows was much larger than before. This also increased the momentum of the warships.
Originally, Wen Pin was still wary of Gan Ning. But now, Zhuge Liang told Wen Pin that Yangzhou had changed its general. Gan Ning had left. Isn't this a good thing?
"En. I have not seen Gan Ning in Lujiang for a long time. "Zhuge Liang nodded.
"Then who is the current general of the Yangzhou Navy?" Wen Pin asked.
"Lu Xun." Zhuge Liang said such a name.
"Lu Xun?" Wen Pin froze for a moment. He had never heard of this name before. "Who is this person?" Wen Pin asked.
"Lu Xun's courtesy name is Bo Yan. He is from Wu County. If the general does not know Lu Xun, then you should know his grandfather, Lu Kang." Zhuge Liang explained.
"Lu Kang?" Wen Pin frowned. This Lu Kang's name was famous in the Yangtze River. This was because this person was a rare official who loved the people. Lujiang had become one of the few big cities in Yangzhou under his rule. The people lived and worked in peace. It was not inferior to Jingzhou's Xiangyang and Jiangling.
Unfortunately, this person was defeated by Jiangdong's Little Conqueror, Sun Ce. Sun Ce relied on Yuan Shu's support. At that time, Yuan Shu's forces were stationed in the neighboring Jiujiang County's Shouchun. Because his army lacked food, he asked Lu Kang for thirty thousand bushels of rice. Lu Kang thought that Yuan Shu was a traitor. He closed his doors and did not have any contact with him. Moreover, he was preparing for war. Yuan Shu was furious and sent Sun Ce to attack Lu Kang. He surrounded Lujiang. Lu Kang led his army to defend the city. His soldiers who were on vacation returned to Lujiang. They climbed the city walls at night to help defend the city. Lu Kang defended the city for two years before Lujiang was broken. In the end, Lu Kang and his family died in Lujiang.
Lu Kang had only died a few years ago. This Lu Kang's grandson? "A child?" Wen Pin opened his mouth and realized that he had said something wrong. This Lu Xun should be around the same age as Zhuge Liang. If Lu Xun was a child, then Zhuge Liang was also a child.
"Military advisor, please don't blame me!" Wen Pin awkwardly said to Zhuge Liang.
"General, why do you have to be like this?" Zhuge Liang did not care about others questioning his age as long as he had strength.
"Is this Lu Xun also like a military advisor?" Wen Pin thought in his heart. However, he immediately laughed at himself. How many monsters like Zhuge Liang could there be? This Lu Xun was just a child. Although Yangzhou had a lot of generals, there were not many navy generals who were famous. Once Gan Ning left, who would be left? This Lu Xun was probably the tallest among the shorties. He was just a nameless rat.
"That is why general!" Zhuge Liang seemed to know what Wen Pin was thinking. He said, "When we attack the Yangzhou Navy, we will only obstruct Sanjiangkou, Huangzhou and Wuchang's Jiangdong. As long as they open up a path, the Yangzhou Navy will be easy to capture. Moreover, we will also have the help of the Jiangdong Army. Why do we need the entire army to attack Yangzhou? Just let the Jiangxia Army stay. " Zhuge Liang said to Wen Pin. What Zhuge Liang meant was that the biggest obstacle to attacking the Yangzhou Navy was not the strength of the Yangzhou Navy, but the path was blocked. Originally, it was impossible to pass through the Jiangdong Navy's territory. After all, both sides were enemies. However, it was different now. If they gave Jiangxia to Jiangdong, Jiangdong would not only open up a path, but also allow the Jingzhou Navy to attack the Yangzhou Navy. They would even help the Yangzhou Navy. Wouldn't it be easy to capture them?
Naturally, the biggest obstacle to eliminating the Yangzhou Navy was gone. The Jingzhou Army did not need to dispatch the entire army, tens of thousands of soldiers and horses were enough. Wen Pin was worried that he would not be able to give an explanation to the Jiangxia Army. After all, he cannot let them fight side by side with those who killed their fellow soldiers and occupied their homes. So, he simply did not want to give an explanation.
He would just let the Jiangxia Army stay here. The Jingzhou Navy could send out the remaining troops.
"Remaining troops?" Wen Pin frowned. If the Jiangxia Army did not move, then Wen Pin could only send out 30,000 troops. Among them, 10,000 were the elites under Liu Biao. These elites were loyal to Liu Biao. Therefore, before they moved out, Liu Biao had told Wen Pin that he would rather have 100,000 die than let these 10,000 troops suffer heavy casualties. Therefore, these days, Wen Pin treated Liu Biao's troops as a supervision team and did not let them go out to fight a hard battle.
However, now that the Jiangxia Army could not move, he had to send out Liu Biao's troops.
"What's wrong, general? Are you still hesitating?" Zhuge Liang stepped forward and said to Wen Pin. "If you continue to hesitate and let the Jiangxia soldiers know about Milord's plan, then not only will you not be able to complete Milord's mission, you might even cause a mutiny in the army!"
Zhuge Liang said to Wen Pin. If the Jiangxia Navy knew that they were going to ally with their enemy, the Jiangdong Army, and lose Jiangxia, they might really mutiny. Once there was a mutiny, Wen Pin would have to send troops to suppress it. Then, he would not be able to complete the mission given by Milord Liu Biao.
Therefore, they had to end the battle quickly. They could only take down the Jiangxia Army first. When it became a reality, even if the Jiangxia soldiers were dissatisfied, they could only swallow their anger.
"Good! I will listen to the military advisor! " Wen Pin stood up. He was ready to risk it all. So what if they were Liu Biao's troops? Weren't these troops used for war? Wen Pin's troops had more than 15,000 soldiers. In addition to Zhuge Liang's troops and some other troops, the entire army had a total of 35,000 soldiers.
Such an army could be considered large in the Yangtze River. The enemy was only the Lujiang Navy which had less than 8,000 soldiers.
"Then, as long as the general gives the order, Lujiang will be broken!" Zhuge Liang looked at Wen Pin. Li Yan looked at Zhuge Liang and felt that the military advisor's smile was very strange.
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