Due to his premeditated plan, although he was not fully prepared when he sent out the troops, Liu Qi's advance was still relatively smooth.
In just two days, Liu Qi's 300,000 troops had already left Jiangxia Commandery in the west. The Horse Stance Army had passed Jingling City, and the navy had entered the middle reaches of the Xiangshui River.
Previously, they had been within Jiangxia Commandery, so the Horse Stance Army had not been blocked. Liu Qi's navy had already fought two big battles and several small battles with the navy controlled by the South Commandery's nobles.
With the sharpness of a large number of equipment changes, Liu Qi's navy had been unstoppable after several conflicts. News of victory frequently reached Liu Qi's hands.
When he sent out the troops, Liu Qi only symbolically guarded the navy for a while. The main force was still in the direction of the Horse Stance Army. At this time, Liu Qi had already returned to the land army.
After repeatedly receiving news of the navy's great victories, Liu Qi was happy. He did not misjudge his own strength because of this. It was good that his navy was relatively strong. The navy that could defeat Gangdong Sun Jian could be considered strong.
However, this was all because he had purchased two batches of ships and Mo family's long-range equipment from the King of Donghai, which had increased his combat strength.
Whether it was the ships or the Mo family's long-range equipment, they were all consumable. After they were consumed, they could not be regenerated. Moreover, no matter how strong the equipment purchased was, it would never be stronger than the equipment owned by the seller.
At this time, Liu Qi had already vaguely felt that the navy's main opponent in the future on the Yangtze River was not Gangdong Sun Jian, but the King of Donghai, Blazing Sun.
This time, Liu Qi asked the King of Donghai, Blazing Sun, for help because he had no other choice. Without foreign supporters, Liu Qi's strength in Jingzhou was not enough to fight against the nobles.
As for what kind of threat the foreign forces of the King of Donghai would pose, Liu Qi could only hope that there would be a balance between the forces, as well as the general understanding that the King of Donghai would not take the initiative to invade other forces.
After the King of Donghai was appointed as the Governor of Qingzhou, from the Battle of Yan Province to the Battle of Xuzhou, the Battle of Lieyuan, and even the Battle of Yuzhou, which had just happened against Jingzhou, it seemed that the King of Donghai was the passive counterattack.
In fact, Liu Qi did not have much hope for the second reason. Instead, he believed that the first reason was the balance between the forces.
Of course, Liu Qi also had his own plans. He had decided that after he successfully gained control of Jing Province, he would make a decent move to solidify his position in the Great Han Dynasty.
However, Liu Qi was a little confused and angry. He had been unilaterally dispatching troops for more than two days, but the King of the East Sea was still calm. Every time he asked about it through the emissary, the King of the East Sea said that preparations were in progress.
Liu Qi was not worried that the King of Donghai would go back on his word and not send troops. Instead, he felt that he was under too much pressure at the moment. At the same time, he had lost the best opportunity to attack Xiangyang City.
Without the King of the East Sea's influence, Liu Qi didn't have the confidence to fight all the way to Xiangyang City, let alone conquer Xiangyang City, which had one of the best defenses in the Great Han Dynasty.
Liu Qi kept urging through the emissary. Yang Rui could only smile bitterly. For the first time, he experienced the interference caused by the transmission of information that was too convenient. At this time, he could not be too harsh on Liu Qi, lest the situation changed.
Therefore, Yang Rui could only coax Liu Qi. Previously, Yang Rui, Cheng Yu, Guo Jia, Sun Qian, Xun You, and the others had discussed and decided to delay for one or two days before sending troops. At least, they could gain the initiative in public opinion.
However, Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu, who had arrived at Wancheng City of Nanyang Commandery, sent a message. They suggested to delay for as long as possible because they had captured one of Liu Biao's close attendants in Nanyang Commandery. He said that he did not know about Liu Biao's serious illness.
This also made Yang Rui suspicious. If Liu Qi and Liu Biao were to put on a show, Yang Rui was confident that he could take Jingzhou in one fell swoop. However, it would take a lot of effort and he would have to bear a lot of losses.
In that case, although Yang Rui would not give up on Jingzhou, he would have to adjust his attack plan. After all, if the war in Jingzhou dragged on for too long, Wako Uesugi would also lose a lot of good opportunities.
In Yang Rui's view, the matter in Jingzhou could be delayed for a while. However, Wako Uesugi had already reached the critical point of gradually controlling the situation and could not be delayed.
Therefore, Yang Rui was prepared to follow Jia Xu's suggestion and observe for a while. After all, in history and romance, Jia Xu's suggestion played a decisive role in crucial moments. Yang Rui did not dare to underestimate him.
Under such circumstances, Yang Rui had to endure Liu Qi's urging and continue to pacify him. At the same time, he also stepped up the investigation of Liu Qi's actions.
Fortunately, on the third day, after Liu Qi's army entered the South Commandery, he encountered a fierce battle that exposed the truth in time. There was an important city in the South Commandery close to Jiangxia Commandery, Jiangling City. It was a node that Liu Qi could not bypass. If he did not take it down, he would be in danger of being surrounded and his rear would not be protected.
According to the news from Hollow Ninja, after Liu Qi approached Jiangling City, he began to attack the city fiercely without saying a word. He didn't give the other party any room to ease the situation. Both sides suffered heavy losses.
"All armies, move out!"
Such a situation also reassured Yang Rui. After informing Jia Xu and receiving confirmation, Yang Rui gave the order, and the army that had been waiting for a long time finally moved out.
The war in Jingzhou this time involved a lot of generals. Not only did they need people to fight on the frontlines, they also needed people responsible for defense in various directions. Previously, Yang Rui had already discussed with everyone that they would still follow the framework of the various troops in the "Moon Decheng Plan" and make some adjustments at certain points.
With Yang Rui's order, the various armies began to move. In particular, the armies that were pointed directly at Jing Province charged forward like ferocious tigers descending from the mountains.
The two main directions were Nanyang Commandery and the Changjiang Navy. Zhang Xiu, Jia Xu, Zhao Yun, Taishi Ci, and the other troops were all rushing toward Jingzhou.
The main battle in Nanyang Commandery would be focused on Wusheng Pass and Xiangshui Crossing the River. Before the battle, Yang Rui directly handed the strategist to Jia Xu.
As for Taishi Ci, Yang Rui asked Liu Ba to assist him. Liu Ba was one of the better strategists at naval battles. At the same time, Taishi Ci was not a simple general and was very good at controlling the battle.
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