My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 144 Motivating People
Yuan Shu simply couldn't accept the loss of Guangling after its acquisition.

In fact, Yuan Shu was well aware that, apart from the Sun family army which might not be afraid of the Xuzhou army, the strength of his other troops was inferior to that of the Xuzhou army, with a combat strength ratio of 1.5 to 1, or even 2 to 1.

That is, it takes two Yangzhou soldiers to fight against one Xuzhou soldier.

But if one possesses Guangling, things will be completely different.

At that time, Yuan Shu had a fortified city behind him and plenty of food and weapons. Facing the Xuzhou army that came from afar, the gap between the two sides might have returned to 1:1.

Moreover, the supplies for the Xuzhou army had to be transported hundreds of kilometers to reach the front lines, which was still a heavy burden even with the help of rivers.

This would give Yuan Shu's army a significant advantage.

But now, Sun Ce has withdrawn his troops without authorization.

How could this not enrage Yuan Shu?

However, Yuan Shu also understood that Sun Ce was showing off to him.

It's because he repeatedly broke his promises and became fat.

The first time, he promised Sun Ce that he would be the governor of Jiujiang, but in the end, the position was given to his protégé Chen Ji.

Later, Yuan Shu sent Sun Ce to attack Lujiang, promising him the position of governor of Lujiang, but in the end, the position was given to Liu Xun.

Now he's sending Sun Ce to attack Guangling, but he hasn't even made a promise.

Sun Ce was dissatisfied; he was demanding an official position and a higher rank from me.

As his anger subsided, Yuan Shu calmed down again.

Many people only know that Yuan Shu lived a life of extravagance, lacked wisdom and strategy, and was incompetent in battle.

Little did they know that Yuan Shu himself was actually very strategic and had great planning abilities.

In fact, when he was in Nanyang, he was already in dire straits after Sun Jian's death.

At that time, to the south of Nanyang was Liu Biao, who was already locked in a life-or-death struggle with Yuan Shu. To the northwest was the Liangzhou army. Because of Ma Ridi, they realized that they had been completely manipulated by Yuan Shu, and thus broke with Yuan Shu completely.

In the east, Xu Qiu blocked Yuan Zhong's support for Yuan Shu, while in the north, Cao Cao was simply Yuan Shao's loyal follower, a henchman sent out to expand the territory of Yan Province.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe Yuan Shu's situation at this time as a desperate predicament, would it?
At that time, Yuan Shu's Nanyang Commandery suffered a significant population decline due to his excessive exploitation and constant warfare. The fertile fields were left uncultivated, and the commandery was no longer able to support Yuan Shu's tens of thousands of troops.

But Yuan Shu, in this desperate situation, actually began to make extreme maneuvers.

He first mentioned that his former subordinate, Chen Yu, had been appointed as the governor of Yangzhou, with his capital at Jiujiang and stationed in Shouchun.

Then, together with Jin Shang, the governor of Yanzhou sent by Li Jue and Guo Si, they marched north to attack Yanzhou.

With Liu Biao constantly encroaching on his rear, Yuan Shu surprisingly went all out, bypassing the now-defunct Yingchuan and Chenliu counties and stationing himself in Fengqiu, setting a trap for Cao Cao and waiting for him to fall into it.

As long as Cao Cao dares to attack Kuangting, Yuan Shu will follow suit, staging a coordinated attack from within and without, creating a siege and reinforcement strike.

This entire plan and action was executed flawlessly, truly demonstrating the style of a master.

But why did they lose in the end?

There are two reasons, one subjective and one objective.

The subjective reason is that this strategist is too out of touch with reality.

Yuan Shu's love of ease and aversion to work meant he had no interest in actually surveying the terrain; he only knew how to do map work and command battles based on maps.

As a result, he overlooked a very important issue: the differences in terrain.

Yuan Shu planted a spies at Kuangting, intending to lure Cao Cao into attacking, and then besiege and attack Cao Cao's reinforcements.

In terms of distance, the distance from Juancheng, where Cao Cao was located, to Kuangting was indeed much farther than the distance from Fengqiu, where Yuan Shu was located, and not just a little farther, but much farther.

In theory, Yuan Shu could easily launch a surprise attack from Fengqiu and catch Cao Cao off guard at Kuangting.

However, Yuan Shu made an extremely foolish mistake: he failed to notice that it required crossing four rivers to get from Fengqiu to Kuangting, while it only required crossing one river to get from Juancheng to Kuangting.

Everyone knows how difficult it is to cross a river, especially for a large army, which is extremely slow and arduous.

This resulted in Yuan Shu, who was closer to the city, taking much longer to reach Kuangting than Cao Cao, who was farther away, once the battle actually began.

When he arrived at Kuangting, Cao Cao had already removed the spies he had planted, and the enemy was even rested and waiting for him.

This leads us to the second objective reason: Yuan Shu's opponent was Cao Cao.

Cao Cao astutely perceived Yuan Shu's weakness and, without any intention of delaying, immediately dispatched troops to raid Kuangting. He first captured the city and then, taking advantage of the situation, completely crushed Yuan Shu's 50,000-strong army.

Even though Yuan Shu suffered such a crushing defeat, the situation changed dramatically once he successfully fled to Jiujiang.

To everyone's surprise, Yuan Shu had come back to life.

Let's not even talk about a full recovery. Yuan Shu, who suffered a crushing defeat and was chased and beaten by Cao Cao for 600 miles, actually recovered most of his health.

Not only did they regain control of Jiujiang County, which had never experienced war, but they also regrouped tens of thousands of troops and expanded their influence directly to Jiangdong. They directly appointed their general Wu Jing as the governor of Danyang, and took over two counties and kingdoms in Yangzhou without bloodshed. They even extended their reach into Wu County.

This maneuver was nothing short of a divine performance.

If Yuan Shu had won the Battle of Kuangting, he would have been the righteous Left General of the Imperial Court. Together with Jin Gong, the legitimate Governor of Yan Province appointed by the court, he would have decisively defeated Cao Cao, the imposter supported by Yuan Shao. He would have rightfully seized control of the entire Yan Province, and then joined forces with Yuan Zhong, the Chancellor of Pei Province in Yu Province, as well as his original stronghold of Nanyang, thus expanding into the most powerful warlord in the land, possessing ten commanderies and kingdoms.

Even if he failed, there was no threat to his life. Cao Cao would kick his buttocks while escorting him for 600 li to Jiujiang, Yangzhou, to become the King of Jiangdong.

Upon arriving in Jiangdong, he immediately gained control of three commanderies and was able to take over Guangling in Xuzhou and Lujiang in Yangzhou. Later, riding the wave of the Little Conqueror's success, he directly swept through Wu Commandery and Kuaiji Commandery. No matter how you look at it, he had a long-term vision.

In other words, Yuan Shu was ultimately defeated and killed. If he had been able to successfully unify the country, this experience would probably have been as exciting as Emperor Guangwu's solo journey north to Hebei.

Yuan Shu paced back and forth in the hall, his brow furrowed in deep thought, clearly plotting something.

Finally, he stopped, raised his head, and said to Yang Hong, "Tell Bofu that as long as he can take Guangling, I will immediately recommend him as the governor of Guangling. I will not break my promise this time! Also tell Zhongyi that I originally intended for him to be the governor of Guangling, and he should know that. It's a pity that Bofu is being stubborn with me now. I did break my promise to him last time, and I'm sorry to him."

"For now, we can only temporarily demean Zhongyi and let Bofu temporarily serve as the governor of Guangling. After we defeat Liu Bei, we will launch a three-pronged attack on Jiangdong and will surely allow Zhongyi to resume his post as governor of Danyang."

Wu Jing, courtesy name Zhongyi, was Sun Jian's brother-in-law, Sun Ce's maternal uncle, and Sun Ce's mother's younger brother.

At this time, Wu Jing was an important general under Yuan Shu. Like Sun Ce's cousin Sun Ben, he was Yuan Shu's trusted and beloved general, and was actually more favored than Sun Ce.

"Yes, my lord."

Yang Hong respectfully agreed, then summoned paper and pen, wrote a letter, and had Yuan Shu read it and confirm that it was correct. After sealing it, he quickly sent it to Jiangdu.

"Let Qiao Rui stop staying in Liyang. It's time for her to go to Jiangdu."

Yuan Shu retorted, "Are you giving him 20,000 men just so he can watch a show?"

Yang Hong replied again, "Yes, my lord!"

***********
Liu Bei received the news not much earlier than Yuan Shu, but unlike Yuan Shu, he received the news on horseback.

Because a large number of ships were provided to Liu Feng's vanguard, Liu Bei could not advance by both land and water. He could only rely on waterways and ships for logistical support, while his army marched south on foot, which was much slower than Liu Feng's troops.

Liu Feng had already fought a battle in Guangling and captured the county seat.

When the news reached them, Liu Bei was still in Xiapi County and had not yet set foot in Guangling County.

"Good! Ziyang has done a great job, and Ziyi deserves secondary credit. Both are good!"

Upon receiving the news, Liu Bei repeatedly expressed his admiration.

Liu Bei was originally prepared to fight a fierce battle at the gates of Guangling.

Although he and Liu Feng had discussed it several times, they both felt that Yuan Sui was too soft-hearted and would surrender the city to avoid war if given the chance.

If they don't surrender the city, then a battle is inevitable.

The Xuzhou army was determined to win.

Now that Liu Ye, Taishi Ci, and others have captured Guangling, they have saved the Xuzhou army from a fierce siege, saving them an unknown amount of money, food, and the lives of soldiers.

Surrounded by generals such as Zhang Fei, Zang Ba, and Xiahou Bo, Liu Bei was surprised and delighted to hear that Guangling had fallen, but also felt a sense of regret and relief. Everyone knew that Guangling was a formidable city, easy to defend and difficult to attack.

With the capture of Guangling, the biggest nut to crack in this southern campaign has been cracked. They no longer need to sacrifice their men's lives, but the greatest achievement is also gone.

I can't say whether I'm relieved or unhappy.

Liu Bei could tell what his generals were thinking from their faces, but this did not affect his good mood.

"Pass on my order to temporarily appoint Liu Ye to manage the affairs of Guangling Commandery, with Li Luo as Chief Clerk, Li Zhang as Assistant Commandant, and Taishi Ci as Commandant, to command the troops of Guangling Commandery."

Liu Bei was in high spirits. He had just set out and completed the most difficult part, which made him understand what it felt like to be triumphant.

"Order the entire army to set up camp early tonight, have an extra meal, and travel at full speed tomorrow. Once we reach Guangling City, we will reward the entire army with wine and meat and hold a grand banquet for the three armies."

Liu Bei's orders and good news from the front spread through the messengers, greatly boosting the morale of the Xuzhou army, with shouts of "Ten Thousand Victories!" echoing everywhere. Since Liu Bei entered Xuzhou, he had won every battle, conquering every city he attacked and defending every city with unwavering resolve, which continuously enhanced the fighting strength of the Xuzhou army.

A seed called self-confidence began to take root in the Xuzhou army, waiting for time and victories to nurture it so that it could sprout and grow.

"By the way, have the messengers sent to fetch Ziyang's family set off yet?"

Liu Bei suddenly thought of something and turned to ask Xiahou Bo.

Before this operation, Liu Ye volunteered to persuade Guangling to surrender, so Liu Bei sent someone to pick up Liu Tao and his son.

If it were only Gaoyou, Liu Ye's achievements wouldn't stand out. But once he actually persuaded Guangling to surrender, Liu Ye would naturally attract attention.

Given Yuan Shu's personality, with Liu Tao and his son under his rule, it was impossible to predict what Yuan Shu might do.

Although Yuan Shu might do nothing, if he does, it would be a huge blow to Liu Ye.

Therefore, Liu Bei personally arranged for Fu Shiren to lead a team to Chengde to pick up the people.

Xiahou Bo cupped his hands and replied, "My lord, please rest assured. Junyi set off before we departed, traveling day and night to Chengde. I expect he should be able to bring the person out in time."

Liu Bei was then relieved.

On the other side, Liu Feng was standing on the city wall of Guangling City, gazing towards the canal.

Before Liu Feng traveled through time, there was a famous historical reference: the Great Wall of Qin and the Grand Canal of Sui.

This means that some people only recognize the Great Wall from the Qin Dynasty, and therefore believe that the Great Wall before the Qin Dynasty is fake or fabricated.

Some people only know about the Grand Canal of the Sui Dynasty, so they think that China only had canals after the Sui Dynasty.

In fact, the Great Wall is a very old structure. During the Eastern and Western Zhou Dynasties, there were already short sections of earthen walls built to prevent invasions by nomadic tribes from the north.

During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the states of Yan, Zhao, and Qin began to build city walls on a large scale, which were eventually connected by the Qin Dynasty to form the Great Wall.

The same goes for canals. Historical records show that canals were built during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. The Yangzhou area is the most famous and historically significant part of the Grand Canal, which was built by the unparalleled King Fuchai of Wu in order to compete with Qi and Jin for hegemony in the north.

This is the Hangou Canal.

Later, during the Western Han and Eastern Han dynasties, this canal was also repaired and expanded.

Liu Feng traveled south, taking this very canal.

However, this canal has not been able to withstand the erosion of time, and now there is obvious siltation and blockage.

Liu Feng was thinking to himself whether he should transfer Chen Deng to Guangling, as was done in history, and have him take charge of dredging and expanding the canal.

The benefits are obvious: Guangling will not only be greatly strengthened in its centripetal force towards Xuzhou, but Xuzhou's influence will also reach the three counties of Yangzhou directly through the Grand Canal.

"Youping, which place do you think is more suitable as a naval base, Guangling or Jiangdu?"

Liu Feng was accompanied by Pan Zhang and Zhou Tai.

Everyone else was very busy, but he took the opportunity to slack off and come here to observe the terrain.

"It must be Jiangdu."

Zhou Tai said decisively, "Although Guangling is connected by a canal, the water is shallow and silted up, making it impossible for large ships to pass. On the contrary, Jiangdu has a better terrain and is a natural harbor. It's just that historically there is Niuzhu to the south and Dantu to the east, so there has been no need for Jiangdu to build a port."

Liu Feng nodded: "Youping can recruit more people and craftsmen. They will be of great use to my navy."

Zhou Tai nodded gratefully. In this era, naval commanders were always inferior to others; otherwise, the position of general of the warships would not have been abolished.

It's worth noting that even at its most glorious, the Lou Chuan General was merely a permanent General, considered one of the more outstanding Generals among the miscellaneous ones. This gives you an idea of ​​how embarrassing the navy must have been.

"Youping, come and see."

Liu Feng pointed towards the mouth of the Yangtze River and said to Zhou Tai, "I often think about the great river flowing into the sea, but what lies at the end of the sea? Do you know, Youping?"

Zhou Tai smiled憨厚ly and shook his head: "If even a wise man like you, young master, doesn't know, how could I possibly know?"

Liu Feng smiled gently: "Youping, do you think there might be another continent on the other side of this sea, and on that continent, someone is also discussing this sea with his confidant?"

Zhou Tai was taken aback, and then he became thoughtful. The more he thought about it, the more likely Liu Feng's words seemed.

Since this side of the sea is the shore, why can't this side be the end? The other side of the sea may also be the beginning.

Seeing that Zhou Tai seemed to sense something, Liu Feng continued, "Moreover, there are actually many treasures in this vast ocean, which require larger, better, and heavier ships to utilize."

"Putting everything else aside, if a large ship were to travel north to Liaodong by sea, it might only take twenty or thirty days to arrive, while by land it would probably take several times longer."

As Liu Feng continued to recount his story, Zhou Tai's eyes gradually brightened.

Although he was honest and simple, he was not stupid at all.

On the contrary, he is actually quite intelligent, but he doesn't like to show off and has a low-key personality.

From Liu Feng's words, one could tell that the other party had high expectations for and valued the navy, and wasn't he himself the most skilled naval commander in the Xuzhou army?
Isn't Liu Feng's conversation with me about these things precisely a reflection of his expectations for me?

"Young Master, rest assured, Tai knows your intentions and is willing to do anything for you."

Zhou Tai declared his resolve, saying, "I am but a bandit from Jiujiang. If you, young master, do not abandon me, I will surely serve you to the death."

"Thais often traveled on the river and frequently needed to repair their boats, so they were familiar with boatmen and craftsmen. These people lived along the river and could only get a few jobs a year, so they could only work for the local tyrants to earn a living."

Zhou Tai became more and more excited as he spoke: "If the young master is willing to recruit them, I can guarantee that within three months, I can recruit four hundred craftsmen for the young master."

Liu Feng nodded and praised Zhou Tai a few times.

There are actually several government-run shipyards in the Jiangdong area.

However, due to the financial problems of the Eastern Han Dynasty, these policies were abolished in the final years.

These craftsmen likely came from these shipyards. After leaving the shipyards, they had almost no other options but to work for powerful workshops.

To put it simply, Guangling itself already had small shipyards, and the neighboring Lujiang County of Yangzhou even had shipyards large enough to build multi-story ships.

According to the Book of Han, Geography, the Han Dynasty established a "floating ship official" in Lujiang County. Each of these floating ships weighed several hundred tons, or even over a thousand tons.

The Eastern Wu once built multi-story ships such as "Flying Cloud" and "Covering the Sea," each with five decks and capable of carrying three thousand soldiers and sailors.

Even if it's halved, it's still a fairly large ship.

"it is good!"

Liu Feng patted Zhou Tai on the shoulder: "Youping, I'm really glad you recognize the importance of craftsmen. You can recruit as many as you can. After the recapture of Guangling, the state's grain reserves have increased day by day, so supporting a thousand more people is not a problem."

After Guangling, only four county towns remained: Tangyi, Jiangdu, Hailing, and Yuxian. The rest were already under the control of Xuzhou.

Moreover, Hailing County is relatively isolated, which presents an opportunity to strive for its development.

The place most likely to encounter a fierce battle is Jiangdu, followed by Yuxian. Although Tangyi is influenced by Yangzhou, its location is too remote, so it is unlikely to be involved in this war.

Liu Feng was quite confident in taking Jiangdu.

(End of this chapter)