Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 236 Hongkou meeting, alliance with Jiangdong

Jian'an 13th April [-]nd.

After noon, the morning white mist floating on the river has dispersed.

On the vast and turbulent Yangtze River, a large ship sailed from east to west on the rolling waves.

Sailing against the current, the speed of the boat is not fast, but there are almost no boats on the wide river except for some fishermen's fishing boats on the shore.

Therefore, the rowing soldiers worked hard and sailed with all their strength. The big ship braved the wind and waves, and galloped all the way to the southwest.

Standing on the boat, Shen Chen looked at the hills on the south bank and the forest on the north bank. The hills were majestic and tall, and the forest was vast and boundless.

The broad Yangtze River is full of turbulent waves, and there is a wide lake mouth in the northwest. After the lake mouth is Yunmengze, which is as endless as an ocean.

"This is Chibi?"

Shen Chen asked Qu Gan, the lieutenant beside him, that he had never been here before.

Because before going from Jingzhou to Jiangxia, he took the Han River directly to Shaxianxiakou, but here is hundreds of miles away from Shaxianxiakou, and he will go back to Dongting Lake if he walks south, so this is his first time. come once.

Qu Gan said with a smile: "This place is indeed called Chibi. The south bank of the 160 li along the river from Puqi is called Chibi, and the north bank is called Wulin. There is a lake mouth in Wulin that enters Yunmengze. Going south along Chibi, you will arrive at Qingcao Lake, which is also known as Qingcao Lake. Baqiu Lake is close to Baqiu Mountain, and from then on down the lake is Jingnan."

"Jing Nan?"

Shen Chen looked to the south, if this is the case, then Qingcao Lake seems to be Dongting Lake, after Dongting Lake.

Dongting Lake..

Going further south, it is my hometown before I crossed.

Just thinking about it, the fleet turned to the right, entered Yunmengze along the mouth of the lake, and headed northwest.

The boundless expanse of Yunmeng Zemang is like a vast ocean. Shen Chen looked around and confirmed that this place should be the battlefield of the Battle of Chibi at the end of this year in history, because only here can accommodate the battle between Cao Jun and tens of thousands of ships from Jiangdong.

And Wulin is a long and narrow piece of land on the north bank, or it can be said to be a huge island between the lake and the river. To the north of Wulin is Yunmeng Lake, and the whole piece of land is sandwiched between the Yangtze River and Yunmeng Lake.

It is estimated that Cao Jun was stationed on the bank of Wulin at that time, and the ships were also anchored here, while the Sun Liu coalition army was stationed at Chibi on the southeast bank of the Yangtze River.

A fire caused Cao Cao to flee north in embarrassment.

So strictly speaking, this battle should be called Burning Wulin, or the Battle of Yunmengze.

There are few people here. Although Wulin is a narrow and long island, the land is actually very large, probably hundreds of square kilometers.

Many villages have been established along the coast of the island. Although no administrative area has been planned as a town, it has obviously become a paradise where human beings can thrive.

After the fleet entered Yunmengze, which is the area of ​​Honghu Lake in later generations, they continued to go west.Shen Chen estimated that after Cao Cao's disastrous defeat in Chibi, he fled to Huarong County by boat to the northwest.

However, they did not go to Huarong County, but went all the way west to a place called Hongkou, which was probably located in Zhuhe Town, southeast of Jianli City, Hubei Province in later generations.

At this time, this place is a rare continent, with the majestic Yunmengze to the north, the Yangtze River to the west, and Dongting Lake to the south. It belongs to two large lakes and a place like an island in the middle of the Yangtze River. When Yunmengze disappears in later generations , it became land.

And Jianli City in later generations, as well as 70 to [-] kilometers to the north of Jianli City, more than [-] kilometers to Jiangling County in the northwest, and Honghu Lake in the east, are now Yunmeng Lake, that is to say, Jianli City in later generations is still soaked in Yunmeng Blowing bubbles at the bottom of Zehu Lake.

When the fleet arrived at the bank of Hongkou, reeds were overgrown on the shore, and weeds and basil were taller than people. Since the Yangtze River in the Han Dynasty was in flood season, it might be submerged here, so there were hardly any people in the area for a hundred miles.

However, after the fleet docked, everyone could see a small hill in the distance, and there was smoke rising from the fire.

The small hill is located on the bank of the river connecting the Yangtze River to Yunmengze.

"over there!"

Qu Gan pointed to the direction of the small hill and said.

Shen Chen nodded: "Get off the boat, Qu dare you to stay here."

"only."

Qu Gan got the order and shouted: "Get off the boat."

The soldiers on the side of the boat lowered the boat with ropes, and Shen Chen and several rowers rowed into the river mouth in this kind of scout flying boat.

Soon the small hill was getting closer and closer, and from a distance, the boats and soldiers stationed by the river under the hill could already be seen.

"Sir!"

After the boat docked, there were already people shouting on the shore.

Shen Chen looked over and saw that a pavilion was temporarily built under the forest not far from the river. There were several people waiting outside the pavilion.

"Mr. Xuande!"

"Mr. Xianhe."

"Mr. Gongyou."

"Brother Kong Ming!"

Shen Chen greeted them one by one, and these people were Liu Bei, Jian Yong, Sun Qian and Zhuge Liang.

A few days ago, he received news that Liu Bei asked him to meet here today to discuss strategies against Liu Cong.

Historically, Liu Biao treated Liu Bei well, although he was secretly suspicious, and even Cai Mao and Kuai Yue wanted to murder him.

But anyway, Liu Biao did not substantively persecute Liu Bei, so Liu Bei is very grateful to Liu Biao.

According to the "Book of Wei", Liu Biao even wanted to give Jingzhou to Liu Bei before his death, but Liu Bei repeatedly refused, which eventually led to Jingzhou being acquired by Liu Cong.

Later, when Cao Cao attacked Nanyang and Xinye fled south and passed Xiangyang, many aristocratic families in the city were willing to defect to Liu Bei, opened Xiangyang City and let him in, but Liu Bei couldn't bear to attack Liu Cong and gave up.

But now because Liu Biao proclaimed himself emperor, Liu Bei, who had a heart for Hanxian Emperor Liu Xie, was furious. Although he had not turned against him, he no longer felt grateful to Liu Biao.

After all, no matter what, Liu Biao lost his righteousness when he came to proclaim himself emperor.Secondly, since he works for Liu Biao, he doesn't owe Liu Biao anything.

So after Liu Biao's death, Liu Bei decided to help Liu Qiping destroy Liu Cong.

Because Liu Qi has always been firmly opposed to Liu Biao's proclaiming the emperor, and he himself has no intention of succeeding Liu Biao's so-called "Emperor of the Han Dynasty", and even urged Liu Biao to respect the Emperor Chen Du, so Liu Bei still has a good impression of him on this point. .

At this time Liu Bei went to Hongkou in person, Liu Qi asked Shen Chen to come over, and Zhuge Liang also arrived here from Jingnan.This is the intersection of the three places, with Jiangling and Yiling in Nanjun in the west, Shaxian and Xiakou in Jiangxia in the east, and Changshaluo County and Linxiang in the south.

The most important thing is that it is barren and inhabited, almost a wasteland.Although there is also a Xiangyang garrison in the Jiangling area, it is Cai Mao's Yangtze River Navy army, but they hardly check the ships on the river, so they are very concealed.

At this moment, after Shen Chen got off the boat, he greeted Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang and others one by one. Seeing that Liu Bei was only accompanied by Jian Yong and Sun Qian, he asked out of curiosity, "Mr. Xuande, could it be that Uncle Yide is in charge of the Zigui army?"

"How dare you."

Liu Bei smiled wryly and said, "Yide is fond of wine and easily makes mistakes, so I made Yuan Zhi the commander-in-chief and Zi Zhong as the deputy. I hope I can take care of Yide and not let him cause trouble."

Shen Chen said with a smile: "Although Uncle Yide is good at wine, he is rough and fine. I used to be afraid that he would make a mistake and had a quarrel with him, but later I found out that if it was for Xuande's great cause, Uncle Yide would go all out. Life will not be cherished, so this is a critical moment, I believe he will not be like this."

"Ah."

Liu Bei also laughed: "Yide is indeed the case. Come, Mr. Xiao, let's go to the pavilion and sit down."

While walking, Shen Chen said with some emotion: "Unknowingly, more than ten years have passed, and now that I have reached the crown, Duke Xuande still calls me like before."

"Don't Mr. Little like it?"

Liu Bei smiled and said: "At the beginning, I also saw you talking in front of Grandpa Gong, looking like a little adult, and like a gentleman, so I called you like this. If Xiaoqing didn't like it, I called you." .”

"That's not it."

Shen Chen shook his head and said: "It's just that time flies by, time flies by, and I am full of emotion. If Mr. Xuande doesn't give up, you can call me Mr. Xiao as long as you want."

The two of them arrived at the pavilion, where a few mats had already been laid out, and there were many soldiers guarding outside.

After everyone sat down, Zhuge Liang said, "Xiaoqing, how is Xinye?"

They all knew that Cai Mao had gone north to attack Xinye a few days ago, but since Xinye was too far away from Jingnan, and Jiangxia was closer, no one knew what was going on in Xinye.

Shen Chen said solemnly: "It's not optimistic, although Gan Ning fought hard to repel the enemy, but the morale of the army is not very stable, I am afraid that he will retreat to Huangmen Pavilion."

"The morale of the army is unstable?"

On the side, Jian Yong wondered, "Why is it unstable?"

Liu Bei said: "It must be because the soldiers' families are all in the city, and they are fighting in the same room. The Jingzhou soldiers fought among themselves."

"Yes."

Shen Chen nodded, it was indeed as Liu Bei guessed.

The source of Gan Ning's army was not like Shen Chen's, who used Huang Menting's own clan as the backbone, and then recruited elite young men for training, but Liu Biao's army.

When Liu Biao gained a large population, the Nanyang Basin prospered again, and food and grass gradually became sufficient, so he recruited more soldiers.

This means that Cai Mao's army and Gan Ning's army were essentially one team.

Now the two armies suddenly started to fight among themselves, fighting against each other, and they were afraid that their families would be harmed, so the fighting spirit was not high.

The good news is that Cai Mao's level of siege is terrible. Although Gan Ning is a rush general and has never commanded a large-scale battle in history, he is actually very talented in tactics.

When Sun Quan attacked Huang Zu several times, and in the battle of Zhou Yu's defeat of Cao Ren in the battle of Nanjun, he offered strategies to help Jiangdong capture Jiangxia and Nanjun.

Therefore, although the soldiers' fighting spirit was not high, Gan Ning was still able to handle Cai Mao's attack with ease. He repelled the invading enemy several times and shocked Xinye.

It’s just that it’s not a good thing to go on for so long. The morale of the army has never been raised. Once Cai Mao deploys more troops to besiege, I’m afraid that the more than 1 Jingzhou soldiers in the city will choose to turn against the water, and it will be bad at that time.

So you have to think of another way.

Shen Chen continued: "I plan to send a partial division from Zhangling to the north, join forces with Huangmenting soldiers, and harass Cai Mao's rear."

"Do you want me to lead the army to attack Xiangyang, encircle Wei and rescue Zhao?"

Liu Bei asked.

Zhuge Liang said: "My lord, don't be impatient, take it slow."

"good."

Shen Chen also said: "It is true that the strategy should be laid out first, and then the tactics of dispatching troops should be thought of."

Liu Bei was curious for a while: "What is strategy?"

Zhuge Liang then explained: "It is to achieve the goal through war. War is the means to complete the strategy. For example, my master's plan to seek Bashu in the west and seize Jingzhou in the south is a strategy."

The word strategy comes from the Tang Dynasty. There was no strategy in the Han Dynasty. Zhuge Liang and Shen Chen had talked before before they knew that strategy and tactics should be separated. Before that, they were unified and called planning.

"I see."

Liu Bei thought for a while, and if he planned it this way, it would indeed make people's minds clearer.

"So what are our strategic goals?"

Shen Chen asked a question.

Liu Bei said without hesitation: "Naturally, Kuang Fu Han."

"It's grand strategy."

Shen Chen said: "Right now we are going to implement a small strategy in Jingzhou, such as getting Jingzhou or Yizhou."

Zhuge Liang said with a smile: "Defeat Cai Mao Kuaiyue, abolish the false emperor Liu Cong, support the eldest son, and rule Jingzhou together with the eldest son, then take Bashu in the west, Jiangdong in the east, and then go north to aspire to the world."

"good."

Shen Chen nodded and said: "Then we should consider how to implement it, what do you think, brother?"

Zhuge Liang pondered and said: "We have obtained Liu Pan in Jingnan, and then the prefects and soldiers of the four counties in Jingnan belong to Xiangyang. If we go north, we may be flanked by front and back, so we must cut off the trouble."

"Take the four Jingnan counties first?"

"Correct."

"That's right, but the union between Duke Xuande and the eldest son must be dominated by someone."

Shen Chen made an opinion.

A snake can't do without a head. Who will be the master when wars start in the future?
Therefore, although it is a joint army, there must be a unified command, otherwise they will not be subordinate to each other and will cause harm.

Zhuge Liang smiled and said, "Didn't Xiaoqing persuade the eldest son?"

Shen Chen also laughed: "It's going to be a matter of course. The eldest son has indeed agreed, and I have brought the covenant with you. You can just sign it at that time."

"Is that up to me?"

Liu Bei asked tentatively.

"Yes."

Shen Chen nodded: "Jiang Xia will definitely be the main attack of Cai Hao, Kuai Yue and others in this battle, so naturally, Duke Xuande cannot be hindered."

Zhuge Liang shook his feather fan lightly, and continued: "If the lord is the leader of the alliance, we will first take the four counties in southern Jing to solve our worries, and then immediately go north and take Xiangyang directly from Jiangling!"

"It's really the right tactical direction."

Shen Chen frowned: "I will find a solution to Gan Ning's side. At worst, I will retreat to Huangmen Pavilion and give up Xinye. Now my only worry is other places."

"Let's go to Jiangdong."

Zhuge Liang smiled and said: "Xiaoqing is afraid that when we take Nanjun, Xiangyang will attack Jiangxia aggressively, and Jiangdong will take the opportunity to attack. If the east and west attack from both sides, Jiangxia will not be able to protect."

"Yes."

Shen Chen sighed: "Sun Quan will not let go of this opportunity."

Zhuge Liang said: "So Jiangdong can only help him. Jingzhou has many soldiers and horses, and Sun Quan will be afraid. Even if he wants to attack, he will definitely come when the eldest son and Liu Cong are both defeated. Covenant to prevent them from attacking Jiangxia at a critical moment."

Shen Chen's furrowed brows became even more serious: "Jiangdong is the most untrustworthy person. To conclude an alliance with them, isn't it just seeking skin from a tiger? What's more, Sun Quan is eyeing Jiangxia like a tiger, how could he form an alliance with us and abandon Jiangxia?"

"Will not."

Zhuge Liang shook his head and said: "If they don't want to go down, the eldest son will retreat to Jingnan and rule across the river from Xiangyang. At that time, what Jiangdong will face is the more than [-] Jingzhou army currently under the control of Cai Mao, Kuaiyue and others. Not so stupid."

Shen Chen remained silent.

Yes.

Sun Quan does have a high probability of forming an alliance.

Because the power in Xiangyang is very strong at least on paper. There are 5 people in Nanyang, [-] of whom finally choose to support Xiangyang.

The four prefectures in Jingnan plus the prefects and county soldiers from all over the country are about [-]. They also have more than [-] people from the Yangtze River Navy under Cai Mao and more than [-] defenders from Xiangyang under Zhang Yun, with a total strength of [-] to [-]. public.

And Liu Qi's army strength is only [-] even with Liu Pan, so without considering Liu Bei's external force, Liu Qi actually has no chance of winning against Liu Cong.

If Liu Qi chooses to give up Jiangxia, then with the current total force of only 4 to [-] troops in Jiangdong, and after deducting the troops left behind, only [-] to [-] troops can be dispatched to attack Jiangxia. , It is difficult to barely defend Jiangdong, let alone take the initiative to attack.

Therefore, whoever is in Sun Quan's position will happily agree to form an alliance, so that he will choose to stand still and let Liu Qi think that the rear is stable, and Sun Quan will not take the opportunity to attack him, so he can wholeheartedly fight the soldiers sent by Xiangyang.

But the problem is..

When you are at war with Xiangyang, he will not come to attack.

What about after the war?

At that time, both sides will suffer, how could Sun Quan not come to take advantage?

Therefore, Shen Chen is not optimistic about the alliance.

But Zhuge Liang sighed: "I know what you are worried about, but right now, in order to stabilize the overall situation, we have to do this. If Xiangyang troops are repelled, then there will be redundant troops defending Jiangxia and guarding Jiangdong."

"I hope so."

Shen Chen was noncommittal, but he had to admit that there was really no way around it.

Zhuge Liang looked at Liu Bei again and said, "My lord, Sun Quan has a feud with General Huang and will never form an alliance with General Huang. Therefore, my lord should send someone to Jiangdong to sign an alliance in the name of my lord and eldest son."

"Ah."

Liu Bei said, "Okay, but who should we send?"

"I'll go."

Sun Qianmao then recommended himself: "Zhang Zhao and Zhang Zibu are from Pengcheng. In the early years, he visited my master together with Guangling prefect Zhao Yu and Kuaiji prefect Wang Lang. When I went to Jiangdong, I visited him first and asked him to recommend him. Sun Quan."

Liu Bei was overjoyed and said, "Then there will be Lao Gongyou."

Shen Chen said: "In this case, Mr. Gongyou will go to Jiangxia with me, and I will send someone to escort you to Jiangdong."

"it is good."

Sun Gan nodded. His teacher was Zheng Xuan, a great Confucian at the end of the Han Dynasty, and Zhang Zhao was from Xuzhou. He was very close to Beihai, Qingzhou, where Zheng Xuan lived. I won't do anything to him either.

The current meeting is almost over, with a total of three contents.One is to formally integrate the alliance of Liu Bei and Liu Qi, and to determine the dominant position with Liu Bei as the leader.

The second is to take Jingnan first in terms of strategy and tactics, so as to prevent the prefects in Jingnan from causing trouble during the northern attack, so as not to be flanked by front and back, and then attack Nanjun with Liu Qi's army, defeat Cai Mao and Kuai Yue, and completely pacify Jingzhou.

The third is to stabilize Jiangdong and prevent Jiangxia from being trapped by two sides. He sent Sun Quan as an envoy, hoping to conclude an alliance with him.

The meeting covered the three major themes of politics, military affairs, and diplomacy. It was an important turning point for Liu Bei to seize Jingzhou as his foundation, and then follow Shen Chen and Zhuge Liang's grand strategic goal of first taking the south and then going north to the Central Plains.

(End of this chapter)