My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 637: Cao and Liu race to seize Jingzhou
Liu Biao was already 68 years old and had been seriously ill for more than a year. The probability of his natural death was quite high.

However, Liu Qi had just asked for authorization from his father to negotiate terms with his uncle Xuande. Less than ten days after leaving Xiangyang, Liu Biao, whose mood had improved slightly, suddenly died.

In this case, it is understandable that Liu Bei and Liu Qi insisted on determining it as an abnormal death and murder.

The civil and military officials in Liu Bei's camp also held this view.

After his initial grief and indignation and swearing, Liu Bei calmed down a little and immediately sent someone to discuss important matters with Zhuge Jin.

Before the attendant he sent out even left the Taiwei Mansion, he ran into Zhuge Jin who had come to ask for a meeting, so he quickly led the man into the inner hall.

"How come you're here so quickly?" Liu Bei was stunned when he saw Zhuge Jin walking quickly into the room.

Zhuge Jin: "I heard that Liu Jingsheng passed away, and I have something to think about. I want to tell my lord about it."

Liu Bei waved his hand and pulled Zhuge Jin to sit down. "Sir, I think the same thing as you. For now, I want to immediately mobilize all the troops in Jingnan and Yangzhou, kill Cai Mao, take back Xiangyang and Nanyang, and avenge Brother Jingsheng. What do you think?"

After Zhuge Jin sat down, he straightened his sleeves and said calmly, "Cai Mao has just killed his master and his foundation is not deep. We should really raise an army as soon as possible and try to recapture the counties of Jingzhou while the enemy is still unstable.

But when Cai Mao was under Liu Biao, he served as the governor of Zhangling County for many years and held the military power of Xiangyang City Defense for a long time. This time, he probably had the help of Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue. If our army wants to rely on the righteousness to force the Xiangyang defenders to turn against them and easily capture Xiangyang, it will be difficult.

Therefore, my lord must be prepared for a tough battle, especially since Cao Cao sent an envoy to Xiangyang to announce his decree two days before Liu Biao's death. Cai Mao also welcomed the envoy into the city and into the governor's mansion in Jingzhou, which shows that he was deeply in cahoots with Cao. Perhaps Cao's army had already moved south at that time. "

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei couldn't help but sigh.

After all, I was a little radical and impatient when dealing with Liu Zhang. So when dealing with Liu Biao, I wanted to save my reputation and didn't want to leave any evidence, so I acted a little slower.

Unexpectedly, Cao Cao had a slight advantage. Cao Cao had no psychological burden at all and used all means to gain time.

However, this is a price that must be paid.

It is like when two countries go to war in later times, and both want to put the other side in the unjust position of the aggressor, then you have to bear the losses caused by the enemy firing the first shot in order to arouse internal hatred of the enemy and defend the country. Sometimes, as long as no powerful weapon is used, the first shot will not actually cause much substantial damage, but the moral bonus it brings is very obvious.

After Liu Bei realized the reality, he changed his tone to a more negotiating one, saying: "Since Cao's army may have already moved south, our army cannot underestimate the enemy. Tomorrow we will send light cavalry to the north first, try to take over the counties along the way, and approach Xiangyang.

If we really encounter Cai Mao's stubborn resistance, or discover Cao's army after advancing deep into the enemy's territory, we should avoid fighting, harass and contain the enemy, and not underestimate the enemy.

The rest of the infantry and navy will need two or three days to prepare, and then we will advance northwards slowly and steadily. What do you think, Tzuyu?"

Zhuge Jin: "My Lord, it is indeed a prudent and prudent strategy to advance like this. It will also not delay the capture of as many counties as possible. It can be said to be the best of both worlds."

"In that case, it's settled."

After calming down, Liu Bei was not so conflicted anymore.

Everything has been agreed upon and the next step is to proceed according to plan.

That night Liu Bei ordered the cavalry unit in Wuchang to prepare for battle, and crossed the river to Hanyang City on the opposite bank overnight.

Even Liu Bei, Zhuge Jin and the cavalry generals who were going to the expedition had to cross the river by boat overnight.

After all, the banner of "revenge for Liu Biao" should not be carried by Liu Bei.

In order to better utilize the righteous cause, the person who should be the one to take revenge should be Liu Qi, the filial son. Liu Bei only assisted Liu Qi in his revenge as an uncle.

Therefore, the oath-taking ceremony the next day should be held outside the city of Hanyang, not in Wuchang.

In this way, he could also take over Liu Qi's territory, put Hanyang City in Liu Bei's hands first, and accept unified wartime dispatch arrangements.

……

After hasty preparations, Liu Bei hastily built a stage in the north of Hanyang City early the next morning, and then took Liu Qi to the stage to swear an oath.

Naturally, Liu Qi had to wear heavy mourning clothes, including sackcloth and mourning clothes.

At the beginning, Liu Bei also wanted to give enough face and use the rituals to commemorate Liu Biao's deceased brother.

However, Zhuge Jin and some other officials in charge of rites and laws dissuaded him, saying that their lord once served as the Lord of the Imperial Clan, and was the head of the royal family. He should not simply discuss seniority with Liu Biao, but also consider the size of the clan, and the closeness of the family.

Liu Bei declined the offer modestly: "But Your Majesty has already appointed Liu Ai, the former Minister of Rites, as the successor to the position of Minister of the Imperial Clan..."

Zhuge Jin immediately made a loud statement in front of the public: "That was a forged imperial edict by Cao Cao! Why should the lord be trapped by a forged imperial edict!"

Since Zhuge Jin had said so, Liu Bei had a way out. After some final humility, he just tied a piece of white silk with neatly sewn edges around his head.

In contrast, the headscarf Liu Qi wore was cut directly from a piece of coarse linen with a knife, without any hems.

After everyone dressed neatly and paid tribute in turn, Liu Bei poured three bronze cups of distilled liquor on the stage in front of his soldiers, then broke three arrows in public again, inserted the broken arrows into the incense burner, and announced the Northern Expedition.

"All soldiers, listen to my orders! Follow me to the north, first capture Xiangyang and kill Cai Mao! Then defeat Cao Cao and fight for the country!"

Thousands of cavalrymen and Liu Qi's soldiers also shouted in unison: "First, take Xiangyang! Kill Cai Mao! Then defeat Cao Cao! Fight the rebellion for the country!"

Seeing that the people had the support, Liu Bei personally led nearly 10,000 cavalrymen and set out north that day.

However, because time was too short, Liu Bei had few generals available immediately. The only one who could follow him and lead the cavalry was Chen Dao.

Among the five top generals in Liu Bei's camp, Guan Yu is now in Hefei, and it will take ten days or half a month for him to arrive immediately.

Zhang Fei and Gan Ning are in Shu, and one of them will be left to guard the house, while the other will go out of Shu to help in the war. It will take at least July, which is nearly one and a half months later.

As for the others, Zhao Yun and Taishi Ci are in Youzhou and Qingxu respectively. Those places are also very important and it is impossible to transfer them.

Generals such as Ma Chao and Wei Yan could go down the Han River from Hanzhong to Shangyong to threaten Xiangyang from the flank, but it would take a lot of time to communicate and prepare.

The others, Zhang Liao and Gao Shun, were also in the battlefield of Xuzhou, and Zhou Yu was in Bohai, so it was difficult to mobilize them for the time being.

So in the end, Liu Bei had to ask Liu Qi to borrow a general, and let Huang Zhong follow him to lead the cavalry to take revenge first.

Liu Qi naturally had no objection to this and gave Huang Zhong a few instructions.

Huang Zhong was also very happy to serve Liu Bei directly, and he bowed directly: "I am honored to be appreciated by the Grand Commandant. I dare not disobey your orders! I have been in Jingzhou for a long time, and I know Xiangyang and the surrounding counties very well. I will definitely fight hard and defeat the enemy!"

So Liu Bei took Huang Zhong and Chen Dao with him and prepared to set off as soon as possible.

Liu Qi also wanted to go and avenge his father himself, but Liu Bei advised him not to:
"My dear nephew, you want to fulfill your filial duty. How can I stop you? But my dear nephew is weak and can stay here for ten days. You can follow the rear infantry and go north by water.

In the next few days, I need you to go to Jiangling in Nanjun as soon as possible to ensure that the civil and military officials of Jiangling submit to our army and do not let Cao thieves take over first. This is also a matter of vital importance and cannot be missed!"

Seeing that his uncle was burdened with a heavy burden, Liu Qi stopped bargaining and said that he would definitely take it to heart:
"Uncle, rest assured. Jiangling is now guarded by my younger brother Liu Pan. Liu Pan knows how to choose between me and Liu Cong.

I must make him understand the righteousness of the cause and make him believe that my father was murdered by the bastard Cai Mao!"

With the death of Liu Biao, now is the time when the five counties in northern Jingzhou are dividing up the territory. Some counties and prefectures may not have received the news in time and do not know that Jingzhou has changed hands.

At this time, the decision of each prefect and county magistrate was very important, as it determined how much territory Cao and Liu could occupy without bloodshed.

These are all things that can be obtained without fighting. Compared to the current situation where Xiangyang City has been controlled by Cai Mao and the probability of directly retaking it without blood is low, it is better to devote more energy to grab what can be obtained first, and then fight the enemy who must be fought.

Although Liu Qi was not good at fighting and had poor health, his bloodline advantage as Liu Biao's eldest son made it just right for him to do this kind of thing, and it was considered that he was making the best use of his talents.

……

Liu Bei and Liu Qi prepared for another half a day and then parted ways, one heading north and the other west, and attacked separately.

Before Liu Bei left, he also gave a general account of the subsequent deployment of the armies, the military strength of each state, and the dispatch of generals, and left behind several troop mobilization documents stamped with the seal of the Grand Marshal.

The rest of the specific details are all handled by Zhuge Jin.

Later that day, after weighing the pros and cons, Zhuge Jin first sent someone to deliver Liu Bei's order to Guan Yu. The order required Guan Yu to quickly mobilize troops from Hefei along the Yangtze River to Wuchang on the day he received the order, and to serve as the main force in the subsequent Jingbei Campaign.

In addition to Liu Bei's order, Zhuge Jin also added a few points, asking Guan Yu to bring Gao Shun, who was also in the Xuhuai war zone. As for the defense of the Xu and Huai defense zones, Lu Su, Chen Deng and Zhang Liao could be responsible for it.

Zhuge Jin specifically mentioned Gao Shun because he took into account that the subsequent Jingbei Campaign might require a long-term siege. Some strong cities that had been controlled by Cai Mao for a long time might be occupied by Cao Cao's reinforcements in the future, so Liu Bei's army needed some famous generals who were good at siege.

In history, when Guan Yu fought the Battle of Xiangfan, although he defeated Cao's army in field battles, captured Yu Jin and killed Pang De, he had no good way to deal with the city defended by Cao Ren, and could only rely on siege, which was difficult to break through by force.

Since Zhuge Jin knew this historical lesson, he would of course let Guan Yu make up for the shortcomings in attacking the stronghold.

Zhang Liao and his kind may not be able to use their skills if they are moved to the Jingbei battlefield. There are not many plains suitable for large cavalry groups to fight here, but there are many hills and basins. Zhang Liao may not be able to play a role, so it is better to let Zhang Liao guard Shouchun Hefei and other places.

As for the generals below Zhang Liao and Gao Shun, it was up to Guan Yu to decide who to bring with him and who not to bring with him.

After completing the dispatch task of the Yangzhou garrison, the next step is to dispatch the Yizhou garrison.

The strength of Liu Bei's army stationed in Yizhou now far exceeds that of Xuzhou and Yangzhou. After all, the Xuzhou-Yangzhou area has been peaceful for many years, and only needs some troops to fill the line. In Yizhou, the war with Liu Zhang has just ended less than two months ago, and there are still more than 100,000 Liu Bei troops being dragged there.

However, because there are still 70,000 to 80,000 surrendered soldiers of Liu Zhang's army in Yizhou who have not yet been reorganized, this is also an unknown factor of stability.

In the north, Cao Xiu and Guo Huai had previously harassed Hanzhong, but because of the mountains and rivers, and Zhuge Jin was in southern Jing, it was not known for the time being how the outcome would be, or whether the enemy had been completely repelled.

In addition, Zhuge Liang made drastic changes in his first three steps upon taking office in Yizhou and forcefully promoted many reforms in governing Shu, which required a large number of troops to maintain order.

Therefore, Zhuge Jin did not dare to give too urgent orders to the Yizhou army. He just asked them to act according to circumstances and gather the troops in Jiangzhou one by one.

Yizhou is a vast territory, and it would take a month or so just to assemble the troops, so we certainly cannot rely on them in a short period of time.

In Zhuge Jin's design, at the beginning when both sides were scrambling to grab land and quickly confirming the rights of their respective territories, it was enough to rely on Huang Zhong and Chen Dao to barely hold the situation.

During the middle stage of attack and stalemate, Guan Yu can rush to take on the main force.

And once Zhang Fei arrives, Liu Bei's camp will be able to launch a full-scale counterattack.

Three batches of troops were deployed one after another, and the rhythm was able to fully meet the needs of the battle.

After all, it was Cao Cao who chose the time to start this battle, and Cao Cao chose this time because he saw that a considerable number of Liu Bei's troops were tied up in the Yizhou battlefield.

If Liu Bei's army had not revealed this flaw, Cao Cao would not have chosen this time to cause trouble.

Therefore, when things developed to this point, we cannot blame Liu Bei’s military leaders for “not foreseeing it in advance and not taking precautions in advance.”

This was the unfavorable price Liu Bei had to bear in order to seize the opportunity to annex Liu Zhang. He had no choice. It had nothing to do with the intelligence of his advisers or whether they could accurately judge the situation.

All Liu Bei's army could do was to use the resources at hand to fight the battle as well as possible, occupy as much territory in northern Jing as possible, and weaken Cao's bandits when the rhythm of troop deployment could no longer be changed.

……

The waterway between Hanyang and Xiangyang is seven or eight hundred miles long.

The land route does not require winding along the river, so the distance can be slightly shorter, but it is still more than 600 miles.

If Liu Bei's army ignored their physical strength and "ran 300 miles a day and a night with light cavalry", they could only reach the vicinity of Dangyang, and then continue to rush for another day to reach Xiangyang. But if they really did that, it is estimated that the troops would be exhausted.

Historically, Cao Cao dared to run from Xiangyang to Dangyang in one day because he only needed to run 300 miles. If there was another 300 miles, he would have to slow down and rest.

No matter how anxious Liu Bei was, he did not dare to violate the great taboo of military strategy, so his cavalry troops only kept their daily march between 150 and 200 li.

On the first day, they rushed from Hanyang to Jingling. Because Jingling County still belonged to Jiangxia Commandery and was directly under the jurisdiction of Liu Qi, no accidents occurred.

When the military commander guarding the city saw their own flag, he directly allowed Liu Bei and Huang Zhong to enter the city and rest for the night.

The next day, Liu Bei's army rushed from Jingling to Dangyang County and rested for half the night. When entering Dangyang County, it took a little negotiation because this county already belonged to Nanjun, and Liu Qi had not previously served as the governor of Nanjun.

The officials and garrison commanders of Dangyang County had room to waver and could have recognized either Liu Qi or Liu Cong. But in the end, intimidated by the military might of Liu Bei and Huang Zhong, and Liu Bei's indignant exhortation of justice, the officials of Dangyang County hesitated for only an incense stick of time before opening the gate and releasing the prisoners.

After Liu Bei entered the city, he could not help but reward the local county magistrate and the military officers guarding the city, and promised to promote them.

On the morning of the third day, when Liu Bei had finished his rest and was about to continue his journey north, he received good news from the southwest - although Liu Qi himself had not arrived in Jiangling yet, the messenger he sent had already rushed to Jiangling.

After weighing the pros and cons, Liu Pan of Jiangling also believed Liu Qi's statement that "your uncle was poisoned to death by the thief Cao and Cai Mao", and chose to support his eldest cousin and join the army under the Grand Marshal.

At this point, Liu Bei had at least ensured control over the county seats of Jiangxia and Nanjun.

Although Jiangling City was not the political core of Jingzhou, it was definitely the core of the treasury where Liu Biao had accumulated money and grain over the years.

Liu Biao had ruled the Jianghan Plain for more than a decade, but had not fought many major battles. The military rations stored in Jiangling City had reached more than two million dan. After Liu Pan decided to surrender with his cousin, he sent someone to send the treasury accounts to Dangyang County.

Liu Bei took a quick look at the numbers and was overjoyed.

At least this time, before the battle even started, more than 2 million dan of military rations were directly deposited into the account. In this way, no matter how long Cao wanted to fight in the Jingzhou battlefield, Liu Bei would definitely be able to accompany him to the end, without having to worry about the army running out of rations after a long stalemate.

Liu Bei didn't even have to transport grain from other states over thousands of miles. He could just rely on the grain from Jingzhou to keep fighting the war!

However, Liu Bei did not have much time to be happy about the victory of occupying Jiangling, nor did he have time to rest.

Because the race between Cao and Liu to divide up territory is far from over.

Both sides had to spare no effort to save time and first ensure that all the counties originally under Liu Biao's rule raised their flags to express their stance and were divided into two, so that there would be no more gray areas for waving lances.

Liu Pan's letter only delayed Liu Bei's army for more than an hour to reply. After replying the letter of reassurance, Liu Bei mounted his horse again and continued northward from Dangyang.

A day later, Liu Bei's army marched north from Dangyang County, passed through the northernmost county of Nanjun, and entered Yicheng County of Zhangling County.

The place of Yicheng, also called Yicheng in later generations, is the southern gateway of Zhangling County and the throat guarding the south side of Xiangyang. It is the first county town through which the Han River flows southward from Xiangyang.

Originally in history, when Liu Bei was kidnapped in Xuzhou and surrendered to Cao Cao, he was given the title of "Marquis of Yicheng".

When Liu Biao rode alone into Jingzhou 18 years ago, he was prevented from taking office by clan thieves, so he first came to Yicheng quietly. He met with Kuai Liang, Cai Mao and others, gained the support of the Kuai and Cai clans, and arranged a marriage with the Cai family. Only then was Liu Biao able to use the Cai family's military force to kill the clan thieves and return to Xiangyang to officially take office.

It can be seen that Yicheng was originally the base of the Kuai family and had been operating for many years. The county's loyalty to the Kuai family was even higher than its loyalty to Liu Biao.

Before Liu Bei set out, Liu Qi and Zhuge Jin reminded him of this situation, so Liu Bei lowered his expectations and was not so arrogant as to think that "just by relying on righteousness, he could take Yicheng without bloodshed."

But no matter what, since we are here, we should give it a try if things can be resolved through writing.

Liu Bei led tens of thousands of cavalrymen and made a round of inspection around the city. Seeing the flags on the top of the city and the tight security, he ordered Huang Zhong to bring a hundred loudmouths to stay away from the city wall to ensure that they were out of the range of the crossbows to shout and persuade the surrender.

Although Huang Zhong was a military general and not good at speaking, Liu Bei gave him a few pieces of paper and asked him to memorize the reasons and then express himself freely.

Huang Zhong knew that these words of persuasion were specially prepared by Zhuge Situ in his busy schedule before his lord sent out his troops. He memorized them with great confidence, and then rushed to the city and shouted:

"Brothers of Yicheng, I have been in Jingzhou for eighteen years. I have imposed light taxes and levies, and I have never forced you to fight a war! It has always been other princes who have invaded our Jingzhou territory!

The envoy has been so kind, but now he is being murdered by Cai Mao. This is really outrageous! I am following the order of the eldest son to avenge the envoy. Why don't you open the city early and join us in this great cause!"

Huang Zhong shouted several times, but there was no response from the city walls.

I don't know how long it took before a county magistrate ran out and shouted at the people below the city:

"Huang Zhong! Don't be deceived by Liu Bei! Before the envoy died of illness, he changed his mind and accepted the order of the Xudu court, entrusting the post of governor to the second young master!

If the eldest son wants to respect filial piety, he should obey the envoy's will and appoint the second son as the governor of the state!

"You have been ill for more than a year, and everyone knows it! Now you have just died of old age, so how can you say that you were murdered? Don't listen to the nonsense of outsiders!"

(End of this chapter)