Chapter 1067 Outside Jiangling City

Chapter 1067 Outside Jiangling City

Chapter 1067 Outside Jiangling City
The army marched south for only two months before it reached the city of Jiangling. These were the two most successful wars that Shao had ever fought - the other one was obviously the western expedition to Liangzhou.

Jiang Ke, commander-in-chief of the Western Army, counted the troops at his disposal and found that there were more than 70,000 combat and auxiliary troops, and more than 40,000 of them had arrived at the front line.

It's not that we don't want to pull all of them to the front line. First, the logistical pressure is too great, and second, the terrain is like that and we can't deploy them all.

For example, he really wanted to fill up the ponds and lakes in the northwest and northeast of Jiangling City.

According to the "Book of Local Diseases", ponds so close to the city attract mosquitoes and are prone to breeding malaria. Of course, this is a matter for the future.

His first move was not to deal with Jiang Ling, but Ji Nancheng.

The prefect Tao Zhen did not live in the same city with Tao Kan, but chose Ji'nan, the old city of Jiangling, as the capital of Nanjun.

There were three thousand soldiers in the city, and it seemed that some servants had been temporarily conscripted. They gathered together and were determined not to attack.

On the 22nd, Jiang Ke climbed to a high place to look at the two cities of Ji'nan and Jiangling, and finally decided to attack Ji'nan City, which was further north, first.

His style is different from Shao Shen's.

Shao Shen had been trying to lure the defenders of Xiangfan into battle, so he did not dig a long trench to encircle them at the beginning.

Jiang Ke did not seem to expect the defenders to surrender, so the first thing he did was to dig a trench outside the city and compact the excavated soil on the spot to form a wall.

After seeing the Liang people do this, Tao Zhen on the top of Ji Nan City felt a little panicked.

They are going to surround you and then slowly discipline you.

In such a situation, it would be really difficult to break through the siege by internal force alone without external reinforcements.

However, he was the commander and could not pass on his inner worries to others.

"Don't worry, everyone." Tao Zhen looked at the officers and scholars around him and forced a smile, saying, "The enemy soldiers have come from afar and have spent a lot of money. They will not be able to hold out for long. From today on, we just need to work together and we will be able to defend this city."

"We will follow the Lord's orders." Everyone looked at each other first, and then someone responded loudly.

After the first person jumped out, the others stopped talking and expressed their opinions one after another.

Tao Zhen was very satisfied.

But he was very clear-headed. The enemy had just arrived and had not yet made any serious moves. The people in the city had not yet had time to reveal their thoughts and could only follow the crowd and express their opinions.

As time goes by, there will inevitably be differentiation, and then things will become more complicated.

This battle is about who can persevere longer.

It is true that they could not defeat the Liang soldiers, but there were things that could destroy them, such as acclimatization.

Tao Zhen looked at the children of the Ma and Xiang families again. They were the two people who expressed their opinions the fastest just now.

Before the enemy army arrived, a servant of the Ma family came from Yicheng to complain, saying that the Shao soldiers had very poor discipline and demanded food and fodder after they captured Yicheng County. The Ma family members tried to refuse, and then the thieves broke into their manor.

Unfortunately, the Ma family was not strong to begin with, and they struggled quite a bit during the Jin Dynasty. Now it is all ruined. The Ma family and the Xiang family were both powerful families in Yicheng County, Xiangyang Prefecture. The former produced Ma Liang and Ma Su, and the latter produced Xiang Lang and Xiang Chong.

I don’t know if it was because of Liu Bei, but the Ma and Xiang families didn’t do very well in the Jin Dynasty and were even worse than the Pang family.

Tao Zhen’s grandfather was General Yangwu of the Eastern Wu. The gathering of the Tao, Ma, and Xiang families makes people sigh that so many years have passed since the Three Kingdoms, but in the end, these people are still fighting against the "new Cao thieves."

Tao Zhen quickly got down from the city wall.

Before leaving, he did not forget to emphasize: no reckless fighting.

Everyone understood and was even happier with it.

******
Compared with Tao Zhen, Tao Bin, a military officer of the shogunate, was more cautious.

Only half of the 300 cavalrymen he had sent out a few days ago returned, which made him very sad.

There were few horses in Jiangnan and their cavalry tradition was even weaker. Losing a hundred and fifty cavalrymen at once was really painful.

There were still some cavalry in Wuchang, but their horses were obtained from Ningzhou. They were relatively short and not very easy to use, and they had no momentum when charging, so they were only suitable for chasing defeated troops.

On the 22nd, a group of naval ships entered the water fort south of Jiangling City.

After nightfall, the shogunate's chief secretary Zhou Fu entered the city.

"Daoming, to be honest, I really don't want to enter this city." Zhou Fu said after entering Tao's house.

"Does the Chief Secretary think this is a dangerous place?" Tao Bin clapped his hands with a smile, and asked the servants to bring wine and food, and he and Zhou Fu enjoyed it together. He said casually: "I sent people out of the city to investigate today. The enemy cavalry was very fierce and drove my people back. Ji Nan City must be surrounded."

Zhou Fu was just about to talk about this, so he asked, "Why doesn't Yan Xia (Tao Zhen) give up Ji'nan and retreat to Jiangling?"

"You think he doesn't want to?" Tao Bin said helplessly: "Jinan is the seat of Nanjun, how can we abandon it so easily? It's normal that Yanxia doesn't want to leave."

"We have to defend this and that. If we have equipment everywhere, we will be unprepared everywhere." Zhou Fu sighed, "If I were in Ji'nan, I would have led the troops back long ago. Wouldn't it be better to defend Jiangling City together?"

"Now that things have come to this, there's no point in saying all that." Tao Bin shook his head.

The servants brought wine and food, and Tao Bin directly invited Zhou Fu to eat.

Both of them were preoccupied with their meals and finished their meal in silence.

"My father is here?" Tao Bin asked after finishing cleaning.

"Mingsong is still in Huarong." Zhou Fu said, "I have brought three thousand Yiling barbarian soldiers to see if they can help. The navy has also set foot in the camp, so they may be of use."

"It's useless." Tao Bin said directly: "If the bandits hold the river bank, can you break through the blockade? To be honest, my father didn't expect that the bandits Shao were determined to attack Jiangling, right?"

"I have some guesses." Zhou Fu said, "But we only have so many soldiers on hand. What's the point of guessing right? Shao the thief is clearly using his superior forces to bully his inferiors. You can only respond to his moves."

"So, what's the move now?" Tao Bin asked.

"We must hold on for at least a few months. By the beginning of next spring, the enemy troops will be in trouble," Zhou Fu said.

"Does the court have any comment?"

"There is a big fight in Huainan. My brother (Zhou) Guanggang led the Xunyang soldiers into Shaobei and defeated the Liang navy. However, it was cold and he was afraid that Shaobei would freeze, so he withdrew." Zhou Fu said, "There is also a fight in Xuzhou. The rebel general Li Chong led his troops south, besieged the city for more than a month, and broke through Beiling. The people of the Chen family in Huaipu were lured by him and surrendered. At this time, the Shao soldiers are probably clearing the cities in Huaibei."

"Why did the Chen family of Huaipu surrender?" Tao Bin asked in surprise.

"The Huai River has been fighting north and south for so many years. The Chen family was once a powerful family, but their property was greatly damaged. Is it strange that they surrendered?" Zhou Fu said, "Some people say that the late emperor was kind to the Chen family, but the late emperor is no longer with us. The Chen family doesn't want to fight anymore, that's all."

Tao Bin seemed to hear the sigh in his heart. Why did so many people surrender? It was as if Cao Mengde went south to Jingzhou.

If anyone in the navy surrenders again, how can we fight the war?
"Let's not say these depressing words." Tao Bin said helplessly: "My Tao family's property is all here, we have to protect it anyway. Shao thief has to target my family when he can attack anywhere else. It's really bad luck. If the army goes straight to Hefei, Shan Yanlin will be in a mess, isn't it better?"

His words actually imply that he treats Jingzhou as his own territory.

This is not surprising, because Jingzhou is far away from Jianye and is not as easy to control as Liyang, Jingkou or even Penkou (Jiujiang).

At the end of the Han Dynasty, Jingzhou and Jianye had nothing to do with each other, and there was even some hatred between them. If it weren't for the Eastern Wu sending troops to attack, this place would have belonged to the Shu Kingdom.

Once Wang Dun and others came here, they felt somewhat alienated from Jianye, and their own family felt the same way.

Once, after drinking, Tao Bin asked his father if he would lead troops to rescue if someone in the east rebelled.

My father was obviously hesitant, but he finally nodded and said he would lead the army to defend the king.

The Shao bandits are marching south in large numbers. Even if they fail in the end and are forced to retreat, Jingzhou will suffer. It is normal for Tao Bin to be unhappy.

"You can keep the Yiling barbarians." Tao Bin calmed down and said, "They are more useful outside the city than inside. They may make Shao's soldiers feel like thorns in their backs and unable to attack the city with all their strength."

"Okay." Zhou Fu thought to himself that this was a good idea and agreed.

There is actually nothing else to do next but a stalemate.

******
While earthwork was underway outside Ji'nan City, a group of big families from Jingzhou arrived in the area north of Dangyang.

Outside a manor, hundreds of riders came one after another.

A moment later, more than a thousand soldiers arrived.

They set up long ladders and acted extremely ferociously.

In Xi Gu's eyes, these soldiers from the north were very skilled.

After quickly climbing up the wall, several soldiers from the manor shouted and rushed over, wielding swords, shields, spears, and axes. Some even took a long fork and pushed the man down.

The soldier fell heavily to the ground and struggled for a few times but was unable to get up.

But soon a second and a third person climbed up.

One of them held a large shield and tried his best to squeeze in, while the other roared like thunder, which actually frightened the soldiers on the wall and made them stunned for a moment.

The soldier held a heavy wooden club in his hand and swept it across the crowd quickly, knocking down two or three people in succession, until an arrow from the corner tower hit him in the face.

The soldiers in the manor finally reacted and rushed forward. After suffering several casualties, they killed another soldier on the wall.

But more and more people climbed up. This manor didn't look like it had cost a lot of money, and it couldn't compare to the tall and sturdy forts in the north. After a desperate resistance, they were driven off the wall by the palace soldiers.

The archer on the corner tower was quite skilled. He shot arrows continuously and killed several soldiers until someone rushed over and killed them.

"How cruel." Xi Gu sighed and looked away.

Soon, he discovered that dozens of large and small boats in the lake south of the city showed no signs of leaving. He immediately sent someone on horseback to rush forward and shouted, "Huang He, if you can escape today, can you escape tomorrow?"

Hearing this roar, a man ran from the bow to the stern and asked, "Who are you?"

"This is Mr. Xi's advice to you all."

"Which Mr. Xi?" Huang He already knew who it was when he heard the word "Mr. Xi", but he still asked.

"Who else could it be? General Xi of the ancient Shangong shogunate."

Huang He was startled. It turned out to be Xi Gu. This was a great family in Jingzhou. So he paused and said, "Why is Xi Gong here instead of staying in Xiangyang to enjoy his life?"

"Nothing else, just save your whole family's lives." the man continued to shout.

At this time, Xi Gu took a few quick steps and stood on the grass beside the lake. He put his hands on the pergola, looked at the large and small boats in the lake, and said with a smile: "Bai Yulang brought all his family members. Aren't you afraid that Chengminzhou will be seized by others? Others may not know your nest, but I know it. Come to see me quickly."

There was a sudden uproar in the lake.

Many people heard what Xi Gu said.

Yes, if someone leads the way and the Liang army attacks them in large numbers, what will happen to their wives and children? They may be able to escape by boat, but they will have to abandon a lot of their belongings and suffer great losses.

Huang He noticed everyone's anxiety. After a moment's silence, he waved his hand to let a small boat come over, and then got on the boat.

The boat slowly moved towards the shore.

Xi Gu just stood there, calm and composed.

Dozens of fully armed soldiers came from a distance, each with a bow and sword on their waist, holding a spear, lance, heavy sword, and axe. It seemed that they would rush forward and chop them into meat paste if anything went wrong.

Huang He was also very courageous. He stopped more than ten steps from the shore, took a closer look, and said, "It's really Mr. Xi."

Xi Gu snorted coldly and said, "Bai Yu Lang is so confused!"

Huang He was startled and asked, "What do you mean?"

Xi Gu pointed at the people behind him and said, "These people have lived on the water for many years, and you, Baiyulang, are even more skilled in water. In a land fight, you are not as good as the Daliang Heavenly Soldiers. But in a water fight, I will not deny that you are better than the Heavenly Soldiers, and they are no match for you. The Emperor of Luoyang is now recruiting water warriors everywhere. If you lead your troops to join, you can not only avoid the disaster of being killed, but also gain wealth and honor. Even a three-year-old child can understand this principle, so why are you still hesitating?"

Huang He opened his mouth wide, a little stunned.

"Come here!" Xi Gu waved his hand and said, "Who helped you settle the matter when you killed people and robbed people on the river in the past?"

When Huang He heard this, he reacted immediately and cursed in his heart: Didn’t the stolen property get used to bribe you?
But he was not a fool, and he could not say that at this moment. He just asked subconsciously: "I once burned grain carts by the Zhang River. This..."

"What a big deal!" Xi Gu sneered at the words and said, "Before, they were divided into the north and the south, each serving its own master. That's reasonable. Now as long as you surrender sincerely, I will forgive you for your past."

Huang He struggled a little.

When Xi Gu saw this, he showed displeasure, and he flicked his sleeves and said, "Stubborn people, it is not a pity to die."

"Please stay." Huang He was anxious and grabbed the bamboo pole and paddled the boat to the shore. Then he jumped down lightly, knelt on the ground and said, "I am willing to surrender, I am willing to surrender."

Xi Gu then turned around and said, "You have to be put to the sword before you wake up. Well, I will speak for you. You still have some bad friends, you can recruit them and bring them to Jiang Du's camp to serve you."

"Yes...yes, sir." Huang He stood up, bowed again and responded.

(End of this chapter)