Chapter 1073: Surrender

Chapter 1073: Surrender
To everyone's surprise, Tao Kan was actually reluctant to exchange hostages at first. After all, Tao Zhen was only his nephew, not his son.

However, he later agreed for the same reason: Tao Zhen was his nephew, not his son.

If you sacrifice your son, others may praise you, but if you sacrifice your nephew, you may be criticized by your clan members. This was an era when family cohesion was very strong, and people lived together, ate together, and sacrificed together. Tao Kan finally agreed reluctantly.

Before this, Deng Yue had actually already been secretly in contact with her.

This information could not be kept strictly confidential and was soon leaked by "someone with ulterior motives", making the entire surrender process irreversible.

In other words: there is no turning back.

Starting from the fourth day of the first lunar month, Jin soldiers gradually left the city and were placed in a separate camp, where they were fed hot soup and hot meals.

As a result, the Xiangyang defenders lost their last bit of fighting spirit.

On the fifth day of the first lunar month, Deng Yue, feeling that he was being completely led by the nose, crossed the floating bridge to Caizhou Island.

The Cai family mansion covers an extremely large area and has hundreds of houses of various sizes. In terms of scale, it exceeds that of many noble families.

The only downside is that it's a bit old.

Some of the houses were built as early as the end of the Han Dynasty. Although they have been renovated many times over the past hundred years, they still look old overall.

The other part was built during the Cao Wei and Sima Jin periods. It is also relatively old, but is made of solid materials and is very sophisticated.

The wood was obtained from various counties in southern Jing at great expense.

It costs a lot to make bricks and tiles by yourself.

They even took stones from other places to build walls, gates and houses.

In short, the shape of the Cai family mansion gives us a vague glimpse of the glory of the Xiangyang Cai family in the past.

Liu Biao entered Jingzhou alone, but who did he rely on after he entered Jingzhou? The Cai family.

Cao Mengde went south to Jingzhou, but who helped him persuade other places to surrender and even force their former masters? The Cai family.

This family has a bad reputation, but it really has a deep foundation, but now it has all disappeared.

When he got on the island, Deng Yue took a few deliberate glances.

Large groups of warriors in bright armor stood in awe. A large number of cavalry, both light and heavy, moved in from further away, standing guard everywhere.

Officials traveled between Cai's house and Xian Mountain. It was obvious that this place had become a temporary palace where the emperor resided.

While passing through the corridors, Deng Yue could even hear the conversations of officials.

"Although Jiang Ke's fierce attack on Changdi was a brilliant move, he could only defeat Zhou Fu, not completely annihilate him. If he comes again after some time, we will be unable to defend ourselves against him."

"He may not dare to come. In the battle against Li Yang a few years ago, no less than 2,000 people were beheaded. Does Zhou Fu know how to fight like Li Yang?"

"Don't look down on others like that."

"I'm not looking down on you, I'll just beat you up."

……

The voice gradually faded away, but Deng Yue was extremely shocked when he heard it.

Li Yang was a Zhonglang official in the Jingzhou government. He should have been ordered by Tao Shiheng to attack the Liang army from the flank. As the saying goes, you have come from afar and have not yet established a firm foothold, so I will give you a warning first. However, he failed.

The attack on the causeway is even more complicated.

Jiangling is not right next to the Yangtze River. In fact, there is a dike and a tidal flat to the south. The connection between Jiangling City and the Yangtze River is through inland rivers and lakes. The water fort is located in the pond east of Jiangling City.

The Liang army attacked the river embankment, obviously intending to bypass the rear of the navy camp and try to cut off Jiangling's external connections.

It seems that Zhou Fu fought a battle with the Liang people here, and Zhou Fu was defeated. If nothing unexpected happened, Zhou Changshi should have led the defeated troops to escape into the water fort, but I don't know what's going on with him now.

This is a real fight, and we won’t stop until we capture Jiangling.

Deng Yue felt a little dizzy after turning so many winding corridors that he cursed in his heart, "No wonder the Cai family is going to decline. One family monopolizes a sandbar in the river and built such a magnificent mansion. Who else should they mess with if not you?"

At this time, there was a dense sound of arrows breaking through the air in front.

He calmed himself, waited for a while outside the wall of a small courtyard, and then was led in.

Shao Xun was idle and was testing the archery skills of his personal soldiers in the courtyard and giving rewards to those with the best archery skills. When he saw Deng Yue, he took two steps forward, helped him up as he was about to bow down, then pointed at the personal soldiers who were shooting arrows and asked, "Do you think Boshan is okay?"

Deng Yue took a closer look and said with a sincere heart, "Such an archer is hard to find in the world."

Shao Xun laughed when he heard it.

The guards also looked at Deng Yue. Archers? Who are you looking down on? We are also very skilled in close combat, and can even defeat the enemy on horseback.

Spear, bow, ring-handled sword, heavy sword, horse lance, horn bow, hook-and-sickle spear, wooden club, long halberd, and broadsword. If you don't master any of them, you will be scolded to death. Go back and practice well!

Deng Yue didn't understand and didn't dare to speak for a moment.

Shao Xun sat on a Hu bed, then pointed to the opposite side and said, "Please sit down." "Thank you, Your Majesty." Deng Yue calmed himself down and sat down.

"When I arrived in Yuyang, many people recommended Boshan, saying that you are brave and strategic." Shao Xun said, "I always like brave men, and I wish I could meet Boshan right away and recruit him under my command. I wonder if I can get what I want now?"

What could Deng Yue do when the emperor said that? He just stood up, bowed to the ground, and said, "I am willing to fight for your majesty."

"Sit down and talk." Shao Xun stretched out his hand and said.

Deng Yue sat back, a subtle feeling rising in his heart.

Emperor Liang did a good job of putting on a good show no matter what. No, maybe it was more than just putting on a good show, he even tried every means to help you get your family back and relieve your worries.

At the same time, he was gentle and polite, treated people sincerely, and what he said made the warriors feel very pleasant and happy. It seemed very good to follow such a horse-riding emperor.

"Does Boshan have any strategy for the Fancheng incident?" Shao Xun asked.

Deng Yue thought for a moment and replied: "Your Majesty, Mao Bao may not surrender."

Shao Xun did not ask why, but said: "If he does not want to surrender, then let him do it. Xiangyang has surrendered, how can Fancheng survive alone?"

Deng Yue was shocked when he heard this. The emperor spoke so... straightforwardly.

"Do you have any idea to capture Fancheng?" Shao Xun asked again.

"Your Majesty, why don't you give Mao Shuozhen another chance?" Deng Yue said, "I am willing to send someone to Fancheng to persuade him to surrender."

"No need to go to such trouble." Shao Xun waved his hand and said, "After you return to Xiangyang, you can select reliable confidants and station them in Fancheng under the pretext of reinforcing it. Mao Bao has few soldiers, so it must be difficult for him to refuse. I don't believe it. If Mao Bao wants to die, don't the soldiers under him want to live?"

Deng Yue heard this and thought to himself that this trick would most likely work. After the overall situation was decided, Mao Bao had no other choice.

Unlike Mao Bao, Deng Yue had been the governor of Xiangyang for quite some time, and had led his troops for several years. Mao Bao was a military officer in the shogunate, and he usually did not lead troops. When he entered Fancheng, he brought thousands of troops from Jiangling as reinforcements. It was not certain that he could fully control his troops.

If the Xiangyang defenders return to their original position and take action brazenly, the morale of the Fancheng defenders will be greatly reduced and they will not offer much resistance.

It can basically be said that after Deng Yue surrendered, the fate of the Fancheng defenders was doomed.

"Alas, Mao Shuozhen is in trouble." Deng Yue sighed in his heart, "Try to save his life, so that we can maintain the friendship between colleagues."

"As for the south, Lord Deng, where do you think I can reach?" Shao Xun no longer paid attention to the affairs of Fancheng and asked instead.

"We can try to capture Huarong." Deng Yue said, "In the past, the Eastern Wu sent officials to fish and salt here, and it was an important town. But times have changed, and now we can attack it."

"Why couldn't we conquer it during the Three Kingdoms period, but we can now?" Shao Xun asked.

"The Wu people filled in the swamps near Huarong, reclaimed wasteland, and built a lot of polder fields. After the Wu were pacified, during the Jin Dynasty, they vigorously reclaimed land here, and the population gradually increased. It was no longer the same." Deng Yue replied, "The same is true for Anlu and Shicheng. At first, they were taken by the Wu people, but after the population north of Anlu and Shicheng gradually increased, by the end of the Wei Dynasty, they could already send a large army to attack. Therefore, the places that had changed hands repeatedly before were gradually taken by the Wei and Jin Dynasties."

Shao Xun nodded.

In fact, it is related to the degree of development. When the area was an uninhabited area and the environment was very wild and primitive, there were almost no qualified roads, and it was impossible to collect food and grass nearby. Once the retreat was cut off by the Eastern Wu navy, it was difficult to hold on for a long time. But when the development was sufficient, the Eastern Wu gradually could not hold these places and could only retreat southward step by step.

A very scary fact is that at the border between the two countries, it is very difficult for Wei and Jin to give up the territory they have taken over. Every step back that Dongwu took would be impossible for them to come back unless they won a large-scale field battle.

Compared to the year when Jin conquered Wu, the areas around Huarong and even Jingling and Yangkou have been developed more and more, and the environment is not so harsh anymore. We can try to capture and hold on to them as important frontline military towns.

As for the east and south of Huarong, as well as the south of Jingling and the north bank of the Yangtze River, forget about it for now. They are all vast swamps with only a few post roads passing through. Without a navy, do you have the confidence to protect these post roads?
After Deng Yue finished speaking, he saw Shao Xun nodding in approval, and couldn't help but flatter him, saying: "Your Majesty did not rush south to Wulin like Cao Mengde, but gathered troops to attack Jiangling. It is obvious that you have a strategy in mind. I have always heard that Your Majesty traveled across the north and even the desert, but I didn't expect that you are so familiar with the tactics of the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River."

Shao Xun smiled but said nothing.

Northern plains tactics, grassland tactics, mountain tactics, water town tactics, I also know how to fight jungle warfare...

"Go, take Fancheng for me." Shao Xun said, "Your family should have crossed the river by boat, and will be in Xiangyang in a few days. After you take Fancheng, why should I be reluctant to give you the position of general?"

Deng Yue secretly breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this.

Even the lowest-ranking general has a fourth-grade rank, one level higher than the prefect, which is enough.

However, the prerequisite was that he had to capture Fancheng and surrender the two cities of Xiangyang and Fancheng.

This is actually not difficult.

Sure enough, after Deng Yue returned to Xiangyang, he first took the time to reorganize the internal situation. It was said that he killed several officers. Then he led 3,000 troops across the river and headed straight for Fancheng, and entered it smoothly. Later that day, Shao Shen sent 5,000 troops into Xiangyang to control the entire city.

On the eighth night of the first lunar month, Deng Yue took action and raided Mao's residence, killing all of Mao's personal soldiers and placing Mao Bao under house arrest.

There was unrest in Fancheng throughout the rest of the night, and it was not until the early morning that things calmed down.

On the ninth day of the first lunar month, the Liang army stationed west of Fancheng marched into the city.

Deng Yue led a total of more than 8,000 defenders from Fancheng and Xiangyang to surrender their weapons and set up camp on the tidal flats east of Fancheng.

On the tenth day of the first lunar month, Shao Xun issued an order: all troops should march south in batches to besiege Jingling and Yangkou, looking for an opportunity to fight a decisive battle with Tao Kan.

He began to manage Xiangyang, which was even more important than the fighting on the front line.

(End of this chapter)