According to this pace, it wouldn't take too much effort to incorporate the entire Yu Province into Yang Rui's territory, and it wouldn't take too long.
After all, Yang Rui had a geographical advantage for Yu Province. After the fall of Yuan Shao, the closest and strongest force around was Yang Rui's force.
From Si Li Province to Yan Province, and then to Xu Province, Yang Rui's forces almost surrounded Yu Province. They could pose a threat to Yu Province from three directions, not to mention that Yang Rui had once again included Nanyang into his own territory.
As a result, it wasn't just one and a half encirclement, but almost three. People with knowledge might not necessarily be unable to see Yang Rui's coveting of Jingzhou. At that time, the situation of Yu Province would of course be another situation.
And not only was it geographical, but in fact, in terms of popularity, Yang Rui was also the closest to Yu Province. It must be known that before Yuan Shu collapsed, only Yang Rui had always maintained a "good" relationship with him.
No matter what the purpose was, Yang Rui was almost the only force that provided all kinds of resources and even intelligence to Yuan Shu.
Even if Yuan Shu had become a thing of the past at this time, many of his subordinates had experienced the relationship with Yang Rui. Even if it wasn't a deep affection, it was always an excuse to take advantage of the situation.
Therefore, there were previously remnants of Yu Province who wanted to submit to Yang Rui. It was also because of this that Yang Rui was sending troops in the direction of Yu Province, and the situation of surrendering at the sight of the wind could occur again and again.
Perhaps it wasn't just because of old affection. Yang Rui's reputation, his attitude towards captives, his benevolence towards the Liegeman under his jurisdiction, his role in supporting the entire Great Han, and even his control over the Han Dynasty could be very important factors.
Overall, the situation in Yu Province was much better than Yang Rui's initial estimation. This also laid a foundation for Yang Rui to fully focus on Jingzhou, and to deal with the changes in Jingzhou in the future.
On the other hand, although Liu Qi had expended a lot of energy and time to conquer Jiangling City, and had also lost a lot of men, the morale of his troops had increased immeasurably after conquering a city.
Liu Qi took advantage of this opportunity and even made an impromptu oath on the city wall after Jiangling City was broken through. This had never happened before when his troops set out from Jiangxia.
At that time, Liu Qi only organized his troops and did not say much. Strictly speaking, it could not be considered an oath. However, the current situation was different. Taking advantage of the high morale after breaking through Jiangling City, Liu Qi directly pointed the spearhead at Xiangyang City.
At this time, Liu Qi and Yang Rui had already unified their statements. Their statements were the same as what the outside world had said. They said that his father Liu Biao was threatened by the nobles and had sent troops to suppress him.
Under such circumstances, Liu Qi's decision to send troops was to save his father and also to defend himself. No matter what, it was justifiable.
Although there was a slight discrepancy with Yang Rui's propaganda, from an outsider's point of view, it could be seen that Liu Qi was deliberately protecting his father's reputation. There was no problem with it.
In the end, the effect of Liu Qi's impromptu oath was very good. Actually, before this, most of Liu Qi's troops did not know the purpose of this attack. Correspondingly, their morale was somewhat affected.
Now that Liu Qi had used the prestige of the battle at Jiangling City to make his troops appear as a righteous act, the soldiers no longer had any doubts. Their morale and faith were naturally raised.
After the battle at Jiangling City, Liu Qi ordered his troops to rest for half a day. That night, they immediately set out. On the afternoon of the second day, the army rushed to Dangyang City and quickly took over the city.
When Yang Rui heard this news, he was very surprised by Liu Qi's military strength and tactics. After careful investigation, he found out that there were Liu Qi's direct subordinates in Dangyang City. With the cooperation from the inside and outside, Dangyang City naturally fell quickly.
This once again highlighted Liu Qi's advantage as a member of the Liu Biao Family. Just like his spies in Xiangyang City, even Yang Rui's Ethereal Ninja and the Imperial Guards could not obtain information, Liu Qi was actually able to obtain it through his informant.
However, after Yang City was taken, Liu Qi took the initiative to look for the messenger that Yang Rui had arranged to stay by his side. He confessed that his next target city was Yi City. Although his navy had been attacking Yi City for several days, other than causing some harassment, there were no results.
Under such circumstances, Liu Qi's purpose in looking for his envoy was to request Yang Rui to cross Wusheng Pass. Even if they did not besiege the city, they could directly threaten Xiangyang City and take over Yi City.
Up until now, Liu Qi had been fighting alone and did not make any excessive requests. After his request, Yang Rui immediately ordered Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu to go down the pass and set up camp 100 li north of Xiangyang City.
According to the news sent back by the Kongling Secret Ninja Division, Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu's actions were immediate. Xiangyang City was in chaos both inside and outside.
If it weren't for the timely intervention of the guards in Xiangyang City, countless wealthy families and even landowning households would have fled in droves. The guards promptly closed all the city gates and implemented scorched earth measures to contain the chaotic situation on the surface.
Yang Rui also did not expect his army to play such an important role and could not help but admire Liu Qi's foresight and decisiveness.
In fact, Yang Rui was very clear that the chaos in Xiangyang City was not only caused by his troops but also by the news that Liu Qi's army was approaching Yi City.
Liu Qi's navy had already caused quite a bit of chaos in Yi City. At the same time, Liu Qi's navy, which had the advantage in equipment, had even broken through to a position extremely close to Xiangyang City.
Before the two armies had even reached the city, Xiangyang City was already somewhat unstable. Yang Rui was becoming more and more optimistic about Jingzhou.
"Reporting to my lord, the Gangdong Sun family's navy is gathering below …"
In the imperial city of Luoyang, Yang Rui had only learned about the situation in Xiangyang for half a day. At this time, the Gangdong Sun family had actually made a move. He did not know if it was a coincidence or if they had received the latest news.
With Jingzhou so lively and Yuzhou so delicious, the Gangdong Sun family seemed to be somewhat impatient, just as Yang Rui and the others had expected.
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