My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 433 War in the Central Plains
Sun Ce's words were reasonable and well-founded. Although Zhang Xian, Huan Jie, and the others were very disappointed, they had nothing to say.

Next, Zhang Xian, Huan Jie, and others began to discuss, while Sun Ce remained silent and listened quietly to their discussion.

After much discussion, Zhang Xian still couldn't give up Baqiu City. In addition, apart from a few people who supported Sun Ce, most of the senior officials believed that Baqiu should not be abandoned.

After some discussion, Zhang Xian finally made a decision.

With Zhang Cheng as commander-in-chief, Qu Xiong as deputy commander-in-chief, and Wen Chun as military advisor, the three led 4,000 county soldiers to reinforce Baqiu, joining forces with the Baqiu garrison to a total of 6,000, including 2,000 able-bodied men, to hold their ground and await reinforcements.

Meanwhile, the Changsha army, which was formed with the remnants of Sun Jian's forces as its core, split off two thousand troops and one thousand naval troops, and was stationed in Yiyang County by Colonel Chu Fang.

Another thousand soldiers from the prefecture and county were dispatched to garrison Wangcheng.

In this way, Changsha can still retain 20,000 elite troops, plus more than 10,000 able-bodied men, which can barely make Changsha's defenses work.

At the same time, these troops, all gathered in Changsha, could be sent down the Xiang River to reinforce Baqiu, Wangcheng, and Yiyang at any time, serving as a strategic reserve.

Zhang Xian, Huan Jie, and others were quite satisfied with the plan, and even felt that it gave Sun Ce face, so they made modifications based on Sun Ce's suggestions.

Sun Ce was furious, feeling that Zhang Xian and his group had absolutely no military common sense.

I emphasized to the other side that we should concentrate our forces and not defend non-critical areas, but the other side, while seemingly being considerate of my face, actually dispersed its forces even further.

In Sun Ce's view, it would be better if the other side refused to divide its troops in Yiyang and instead stationed a large force in Baqiu, rather than dividing its troops in both Baqiu and Yiyang.

With the current deployment, Baqiu only has 8,000 men, including 2,000 able-bodied men. Not only can Baqiu's city defenses not be maximized, but 6,000 troops have also been committed, which is almost one-fifth of the total military strength of Jingnan.

In addition, the troops sent to Yiyang numbered only three thousand by land and water, which could at most harass the enemy's logistics, but had no effect on threatening the enemy's rear.

In this case, it would be more effective to send these three thousand people to Luo County.

After holding a war meeting, Sun Ce felt extremely angry. After leaving the prefecture, he immediately went back and recorded all the details. Then he ordered his trusted confidant to send the records to Yangzhou at full speed.

Zhang Xian reacted swiftly, and the other lords also responded in their own ways.

After receiving the news, Liu Zhang did not shift his attention.

This was not because Liu Zhang was stupid. On the contrary, Liu Zhang had great strategic vision. He knew very well that without Hanzhong there was no Yizhou. Hanzhong was the gateway to Yizhou and a place that was easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Most importantly, the land of Hanzhong is sufficient to support the army of Hanzhong.

If Hanzhong could be captured, its population, land, and output alone would be enough to support an army of 50,000 to 80,000 men. Such an army, stationed in Guanzhong, would be able to withstand any internal problems, even if a million men from Guanzhong marched south to attack Hanzhong, they would only be trapped and die in the Qinling Mountains.

What's to the east?
Even if they capture Yiling and Yidao and break through the Three Gorges, they will still face Liu Biao's main force on a vast plain. The outcome is still uncertain. Moreover, even if Liu Biao is defeated, he can still rely on the strong city defenses to buy time for mobilizing the rear forces.

Therefore, Liu Zhang only sent an army of three thousand men to Baidi, pretending to be wary of Liu Biao's southward campaign to quell the rebellion, but actually intending to attack Xichuan.

The probability of this was almost zero, so Liu Zhang simply dealt with it normally, sending only three thousand men.

As for taking the opportunity to gather a large army to march out of the Three Gorges and attack Jingzhou, Liu Zhang refused without even thinking about it.

He had no intention of risking his life for Zhang Xian.

In Jiaozhou to the south, Shi Xie was temporarily in charge of the administration as the Prefect of Jiaozhi, awaiting the arrival of the Governor or Governor of Jiaozhou. The people of Jiaozhou were not particularly ambitious. As long as you did not wage war, impose exorbitant taxes, or seize local power, the powerful clans and gentry of Jiaozhou were quite cooperative, willing to share the spoils, only asking that you not cause trouble, so that everyone could prosper together.

Their attitude towards the war in the north was extremely detached. They were neither worried that after Zhang Xian's defeat, Liu Biao would continue to move south and take the opportunity to annex Jiaozhou, nor were they worried that after Zhang Xian's great victory, he would expand towards Jiaozhou.

Those most concerned about the great battle between Liu Biao and Zhang Xian were undoubtedly the generals of Guanzhong, Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, and Liu Feng.

Among them, the generals in Guanzhong were too weak and were also divided into several groups.

The two men most concerned about Jingzhou were undoubtedly Zhang Ji and his nephew Zhang Xiu, but they only had about ten thousand men in total, which was really powerless to shake Liu Biao's rule.

Zhang Ji hesitated about whether to send troops, but sending troops now would affect the spring planting in Jingzhou. Zhang Ji's biggest source of revenue and food was the grain-grabbing activities he carried out every autumn when he went out of Wuguan and into Nanyang.

If it affects spring planting in Nanyang, wouldn't that be like shooting yourself in the foot?

Therefore, after much hesitation, Zhang Ji decided to give up. Even if he wanted to go south, he would have to wait until the autumn harvest season in September or October.

At this time, Cao Cao was waging war against Guanzhong, with his main targets being Li Jue and Guo Si.

These two still have more than 30,000 troops, but they have fallen out again and were still fighting each other before Cao Cao launched his campaign.

When they saw Cao Cao leave Tongguan, Li Jue and Guo Si were so frightened that they quickly negotiated peace, wanting to join forces to fight against Cao Cao. They even sent a letter to Zhang Ji to come north and join their troops.

Zhang Ji is now also hesitant and can no longer care about the affairs of Jingzhou.

After receiving the news, Cao Cao was also caught in a dilemma.

When Huan Jie stirred up trouble in Jingnan and persuaded Zhang Xian to raise an army, Cao Cao not only knew about it, but also gave Huan Jie official support.

The reason is simple: Cao Cao wanted to take action against Liu Biao.

Liu Biao and Yuan Shao were old acquaintances and also old allies.

Liu Biao's ability to establish himself in Jingzhou was largely due to Yuan Shao's support. Later, as relations between Liu Biao and Yuan Shu deteriorated, his relationship with Yuan Shao naturally improved.

In Cao Cao's eyes, it was good for him to maintain an alliance with Yuan Shao, but once they broke off relations, Liu Biao would almost certainly choose to side with Yuan Shao.

Since that's the case, he might as well strike first and seize Nanyang County to cover out Luozhong and Yingchuan.

Cao Cao originally estimated that, given Liu Biao's personality, he probably wouldn't be able to raise an army so quickly.

Cao Cao decided to act early and deal with Li Jue and Guo Si in Guanzhong first. Once Guanzhong was pacified, he could take the Wuguan Pass, go down to Nanyang, and catch Liu Biao off guard.

If we can take all of the land north of Xiangyang, that would be ideal. At the very least, we should seize the northern part of Nanyang.

If Cao Cao was all smiles and eager to make a move, then Yuan Shao was furious, cursing Zhang Xian and denouncing him as a disloyal and unjust scoundrel.

He had previously sent someone to Jingzhou, and the news that came back satisfied him greatly.

Liu Biao not only agreed to deepen the alliance with him, but also stated that as long as he raised an army to march south, the Jingzhou army would definitely move from south to north and attack Cao Cao's rear.

If Liu Bei dared to join the war, Liu Biao would cross the Yangtze River to attack Yangzhou, thus tying down Liu Bei's main force and buying Yuan Shao time to defeat Cao Cao. With Liu Biao being so cooperative, how could Yuan Shao possibly be dissatisfied?
At this moment, Zhang Xian suddenly jumped out and raised an army in Jingnan to rebel against Liu Biao. Yuan Shao wished he could crush Zhang Xian into pieces on the spot.

Bad news kept coming. At the beginning of the year, Yuan Shao sent an envoy to Yi County to try to persuade Gongsun Zan to make peace with him and cease hostilities.

Yuan Shao's offer was that he would recognize Gongsun Zan's authority in Yi County, and as long as Gongsun Zan did not leave Yi County, Yuan Shao would never attack him. At the same time, all taxes and land revenues of Yi County would belong to Gongsun Zan, and he would not have to hand over a single penny to Yuan Shao or the imperial court.

Yuan Shao believed he had shown the utmost sincerity. He was determined that as long as Gongsun Zan was willing to negotiate peace and did not collapse under the pressure of the negotiations, he would wholeheartedly fulfill the agreement.

After all, wouldn't it be better to free up resources and head south to deal with Cao Cao first?
Compared to Cao Cao, Gongsun Zan was merely a minor ailment, while Cao Cao was a major threat.

After discussing the matter with his ministers, they decided to proceed with the original plan and launch an attack on Gongsun Zan.

Liu Biao's territory was too far away, separated by the territories of Cao Cao and Liu Bei. Even with Yuan Shao's superior military strength, he was powerless to reach him. He could only hope that Liu Biao's southern campaign to quell the rebellion would be a swift victory, allowing him to return north.

When Liu Bei learned that Zhang Xian had raised an army and that Liu Biao had marched south to quell the rebellion, he was greatly astonished.

Unexpectedly, my eldest son guessed correctly again.

So, in that case, the outcome of this battle will likely be just as my eldest son said.

Therefore, Liu Bei sent a letter to Yangzhou, inquiring about the progress of Liu Feng's plan, and also indicating that if there was anything needed, he could contact Liu Feng directly.

Liu Feng was very happy to receive the letter.

This change in Liu Bei's mind was naturally a good thing, and Liu Feng did indeed want to transfer another batch of grain from the north.

Currently, there are still over 2.6 million bushels of grain in the government granary. If we calculate based on 300,000 bushels of grain per month, it is enough to last for eight months. By then, it will be the autumn harvest of this year, and naturally, new grain will be stored in the granary.

However, food is the lifeblood of an army, so the more prepared we are, the better, and we must also take into account any additional expenses.

Our objective is to annihilate Liu Biao's southward-bound army. Therefore, we must be prepared to feed tens of thousands of prisoners. Furthermore, eliminating Kuai Yue's army is not the ultimate goal, but merely a strategic objective.

The real ultimate goal was to swallow up Jingzhou. After eliminating Kuai Yue's army, the army would continue north to attack Xiangyang, Jiangling, and Xiling, while also cooperating to pacify Jingnan in the south.

Therefore, the more reinforcements and food, the better, and Liu Feng did not stand on ceremony with Liu Bei.

After exchanging letters, Liu Feng and Liu Bei finally reached an agreement.

First, Liu Bei allocated another 500,000 shi of grain from Xuzhou to Liu Feng, which was temporarily stored in Liyang City north of the Yangtze River.

This is a port on the north bank of the Yangtze River, and a key location where Sun's army has been stationed for many years. The city has many granaries, complete facilities, and a port that can accommodate a large number of ships, making it one of the best forward bases.

Secondly, Chen Deng's 20,000 troops were at Liu Feng's command and could join the Jingzhou battlefield at any time according to Liu Feng's orders.

In the end, Liu Feng poured cold water on Liu Bei's enthusiasm.

In Liu Feng's view, the war had only just begun, and it was far too early for Liu's army to intervene.

It will be at least three or four months before it is the right time to send troops.

Despite the impressive southward march of Kuai Yue's army along the Han River, their actual advance was not fast. It would take at least another month to reach the north bank of the Yangtze River, let alone Linxiang.

Liu Feng was merely playing a few minor tricks at this point.

The first move was to order Zhou Yu to suspend the campaign against the Yue tribes and concentrate his forces for reorganization and training. In addition, Zhou Yu was given three thousand Yue soldiers to recruit and train.

The second plan was to have Pang Tong return to Jiangling, persuade the Pang family to rebel, and seize the opportunity to win over the Feng, Xi, Ma, Huo and other families.

The third approach was to send people to Jingnan to contact the powerful clans and gentry of Lingling, Wuling, and Guiyang counties, to probe their attitudes toward Liu Bei and his son Liu Feng, and to find potential partners for cooperation.

After a year of peace, the flames of war reignited even more fiercely on the Central Plains.

Yuan Shao dispatched 300,000 troops from Hebei to attack Gongsun Zan, while Gongsun Zan sent his son Gongsun Xu out of the city overnight to seek help from Zhang Yan of Heishan.

Upon receiving Gongsun Zan's letter, Zhang Yan immediately raised an army of 100,000 from the Black Mountain to provide assistance.

For a time, the war in Hebei was raging, with both sides fighting to the death and neither side willing to back down an inch.

Cao Cao then mobilized troops from the Central Plains to march out of Tongguan and threaten Chang'an.

Li Jue and Guo Si joined forces with 30,000 troops and besieged Chang'an without engaging in battle.

Liu Biao led a large army from Jingbei southward, and Liu Zhang sent Pang Xi and Li Si, among others, with 20,000 troops to attack Zhang Lu for the fourth time.

For a time, only Liu Bei and his son, who had been embroiled in years of war, found peace; the rest of the country was engulfed in continuous warfare.

Unbeknownst to anyone, Liu Feng had already begun to secretly mobilize his troops, dispersing his navy and stationing them in places such as Liyang, Wuhu, Pengze, and Chaisang, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Upon receiving Sun Ce's letter, Liu Feng also frowned deeply.

How could Zhang Xian and Huan Jie, among others, have such poor military capabilities?

Moreover, he refused to listen to Sun Ce's sound advice, truly making him hopelessly stupid. No wonder Jingnan, with such a strong hand, only lasted a year; after Zhang Xian's death, Linxiang quickly fell.

In Liu Feng's opinion, since Linxiang is already a fortified city, what is there left to defend in Baqiu?

What Jingnan lacks now is military strength, not fortified cities.

The threat posed by those eight thousand troops in Yiyang would be far greater than if they were placed in Baqiu.

After pondering for a moment, Liu Feng immediately wrote a letter and sent it to Sun Ce in Linxiang.

Firstly, it was a reminder to Sun Ce to protect himself and leave when necessary, rather than necessarily staying in Linxiang City. The reason Sun Ce was asked to stay earlier was to use his abilities to help Zhang Xian and the others, and ideally, to further weaken the Jingbei army.

Now that Zhang Xian, Huan Jie, and others have fully demonstrated their military capabilities, Sun Ce's continued stay in Linxiang has lost its greatest significance.

Since that's the case, it's more important to let Sun Ce leave and preserve ourselves.

Secondly, it was to remind Sun Ce that although Kuai Yue was taking the main road, he was a man of great wisdom and well-versed in military strategy. He should be wary of Kuai Yue using him as bait to secretly devise a cunning plan to launch a surprise attack on Baqiu and Linxiang.

(End of this chapter)