The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 53 Southward Rescue Efforts, Liao Hua Takes Command

Sun Jiao went south, while Xi Zhen and Fan Zhou were trapped.

Bu Zhi marched north, and Guan Ping and Zhao Lei were defeated and forced to retreat.

Guan Ping's fate is unknown.

One bad news after another exploded in my ears like muffled thunder.

Mi Wei, Zhang Yi, Secretary Pan, County Magistrate Fan, and others looked at each other in silence, each lost in thought.

How did the situation suddenly take such a sharp turn for the worse?

It was clear that Liu Bei's reinforcements from Yizhou would arrive in Jiangling soon and successfully lift the siege.

But at this critical juncture.

The two prefectures of Wuling and Lingling were suddenly in grave danger!

Upon closer examination, the real turning point here is revealed.

It was those eight thousand Jiaozhou soldiers who descended like divine warriors.

"oops!"

Zhang Yi suddenly stomped his foot, his face full of annoyance.

"I thought I was clever enough to escape successfully."

"Now it seems that it was Bu Zhi's army's rapid northward advance that left Jiaozhou vulnerable, which is why they were able to travel without any obstacles!"

"It's a shame I was only focused on escaping and didn't even think about this!"

Upon hearing this, some memories from his past life surfaced in Mi Wei's mind, and he gradually came to his senses.

First of all, Bu Zhi's eight thousand Jiaozhou soldiers were not some kind of miracle of turning people into living beings.

As early as the middle of Jian'an 15, Sun Quan appointed Bu Zhi as the governor of Jiaozhou and appointed him as the General of the Martial Guard, leading several thousand troops south to Jiaozhou.

Subsequently, Bu Zhi devised a plan to lure and kill Wu Ju, the governor of Cangwu appointed by Liu Biao, and subdued the local powerful clans, the Shi brothers, thus gaining control of Jiaozhou early on.

Why did Yong Kai of Yizhou Commandery kidnap Prefect Zhang Yi and take him to Jiaozhou?
The idea was to establish a connection with Sun Quan through Bu Zhi.

Historically, Bu Zhi was not to submit the state troops for the northward march until the later stages of the Battle of Yiling.

He helped Sun Quan eliminate the barbarian tribes of Wuling County who were allied with Liu Bei.

It's only been a little over a year earlier than it started, and the troop strength is still slightly less than originally recorded in history.

It's not some unimaginable operation.

Moreover, the fact that the other party went north ahead of time just happened to allow Zhang Yi, this treasure of an old boy, to fall into his pocket.
In fact, Miwei is a beneficiary.

That is the only one.

At this moment, because of Bu Zhi and his eight thousand Jiaozhou soldiers who had gone north ahead of time.

The two counties of Jingnan, which were originally able to hold out, are suddenly on the verge of collapse.

What's even harder to maintain is...

Because Guan Yu's forces were truly stretched thin.

Even Miwei had to go south to join the battle this time!
"Sima!"

"According to military orders, my unit must, by the evening of the third day, lead our troops and the necessary provisions to Shengjiangzhou to join forces with Liao Zhubu's troops, and then be at his command!"

"Time is of the essence. Sima, please prepare the troops immediately and march south at once!"

Mi Wei only came to his senses after Zhang Yi reminded him.

Yes.

Although he himself was also going south to join the war.

But the primary task remains supervising the transport of supplies.

Moreover, they can later rely on Liao Hua's coattails.

Feeling somewhat relieved, he instructed Zhang Yi and County Magistrate Fan to guard Huarong well before going to muster his troops.

……

Thanks to previous maintenance of the grain transport routes.

Three days later, Mi Wei delivered the army's supplies to Shengjiangzhou on time, and successfully joined forces with Liao Hua's troops.

Shengjiangzhou is similar to Jiangjinzhou in the southern suburbs of Gangneung.

They are all sandbars in the river formed by siltation.

Similarly, this area also features a dense and continuous sandbar landscape.

It is sufficient to build a river passage connecting the north and south using a simple pontoon bridge during the dry season of the Yangtze River.

This is why the two armies chose to meet here.

Currently, the upstream and downstream waterways are basically controlled by the enemy, while our side lacks sufficient transport ships.

The army was about to cross the Yangtze River to the south, and Shengjiangzhou was one of the few options available.

After the armies joined forces, it was already late afternoon.

The entire army started fires to cook.

Before long, smoke from cooking fires filled the riverbank, obscuring the sky and the sun.

Miwei is now quite experienced.

Based on the number of banners and the scale of cooking smoke, it can be deduced that Liao Hua brought a full five thousand regular soldiers this time.

The number of auxiliary soldiers was even greater.

Including Zhao Lei, Guan Ping, and Mi Wei's troops in Huarong.

Guan Yu has already sent more than 20,000 troops southward in succession.

More than half of the total strength of Guan Yu's army in Jingzhou.

This will inevitably lead to a weakened defense of Jiangling.

The reason Guan Yu dared to make such a decision was...

Besides his continued presence in Jiangling, which provided an undeniable deterrent to both Lü Meng and Lu Xun's forces, the vanguard of the Yizhou reinforcements had recently successfully exited the Three Gorges of Badong and arrived at Yiling.

This is different from the later historical Battle of Yiling-Xiaoting.

At this time, the entire route from Yiling to Jiangling was under Liu Bei's control.

In other words, reinforcements are just around the corner.

Finally, we can go all out and make a gamble in the south.

Even so, Guan Yu gave it his all.

However, in local battles, Sun Quan's side still had a clear advantage in troop strength.

Before setting off, Mi Wei had Zhang Yi help him take stock of everything:

Excluding the Jiangling area and Sun Quan's main forces on the east bank of Dongting Lake, let's only look at the battlefield on the west bank of Dongting Lake:

After several battles to defend the city, Xi Zhen and Fan Zhou of Lin Yuan were left with only three thousand Yi soldiers.

Although Zhao Lei managed to gather five thousand defeated soldiers in Hanshou.

However, due to low morale and lack of supplies, they dared not leave the city to engage in open battle with the enemy.

They also appear to be temporarily trapped.

Therefore, Liao Hua's five thousand regular soldiers, plus the few men under Mi Wei's command, could barely make up six thousand men.

This was the only mobile force in Guan Yu's army that could go south to provide relief.

On the other hand, let's look at Sun Quan's side.

Sun Jiao led 5,000 troops in the vanguard, and Bu Zhi led 8,000 troops from Jiaozhou.

The enemy force of over 10,000 men had won a series of victories and their morale was high.

The city, roads, and rivers around Linyuan and Hanshou are being locked down.

The subsequent generals, such as Zhu Ran, Pan Zhang, and Sun Huan, numbered roughly ten thousand.

Therefore, we should compare the known troop strength based on what is publicly known.

The two sides had roughly 14,000 to 20,000, a ratio of 2 to 3.

It seems that the disadvantages are not significant.

But if we only consider the number of troops that can fight, that is.

That would make it six thousand to more than twenty thousand, nearly one to four.

They are capable of defending cities, but they will inevitably be at a disadvantage in open field battles.

Is there still a chance for Lin Yuan to extricate itself from this predicament?
Is this battle a replay of the Xiang River demarcation four years ago, or a delayed version of Guan Yu's loss of Jingzhou?

Mi Wei couldn't help but look at his new patron, Liao Hua.

However, Liao Hua was busy allocating supplies and directing the setting up of camp, and didn't even have time to eat.

Miwei had no choice but to put aside his extraneous thoughts and do his best to fulfill his duties.

……

The following day, Liao Hua left Mi Wei with ten auxiliary troops.

Then, he led 5,000 regular soldiers, along with sufficient supplies and auxiliary troops, south across the pontoon bridge to the vicinity of "Shengjiangkou," officially entering the Jiangnan region.

The reason for landing on the south bank of the Yangtze River at Shengjiangkou was...

Of course, it's not because it happens to share the same name as Shengjiangzhou, and it's not for good luck.

Rather, it's because this is the closest point on the south bank of the island to the mainland.

This water outlet is part of a small waterway that leads all the way to the banks of the Lishui River.

So why go to the Lishui River?

To reach the Yuan River, one must first cross the Li River.

As the saying goes, "The Yuan River has angelica, and the Li River has orchids."

Since the pre-Qin period, the Yuan and Li rivers have been a pair of famous sister rivers on the west bank of Dongting Lake.

Both rivers flow eastward into Dongting Lake, belonging to the same geographical unit.

Then why go to the Yuan River?
Because the seat of Wuling County, or rather, the troops of Xi Zhen and Fan Zhou who were to be rescued, were located on the banks of the Yuan River.

That's why the city is called "Linyuan".

From Shengjiangzhou to Shengjiangkou, then to the Lishui River, and then to the Yuanshui River.

Although it wasn't the closest route to Linyuan, it was able to rely on river transportation along the way.

As a qualified military commander, Liao Hua was well aware of the advantages of advancing along the river.

They chose this path almost without hesitation.

However, despite his solid military foundation and sufficient literary skills.

But when he actually arrived at the banks of the Lishui River, Liao Hua was almost completely bewildered by the complex hydrological conditions on the west bank of Dongting Lake.

Within a radius of 100 li, there are at least six water outlets that can supply water.

The various tributaries and branching channels form a tangled mess, truly a river network!

Liao Hua had to carefully choose his route across the river.
Otherwise, the army could easily be driven to its doom.

Just then, scouts discovered that Pan Zhang, a lieutenant general under Sun Quan, was entrenched in a small town called "Zuotang" in the Lishui River basin.

Liao Hua was even less inclined to cross the river rashly.

So he decided to go all in and launched a night attack on the city.
After a fierce battle, they successfully seized Zuotang.

Finally, we found a reliable foothold in this complex network of rivers.

But he soon discovered.

More troublesome things are yet to come than the mountains, rivers, and lakes.

(End of this chapter)