My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 440 Liu Xun Sai Jiang
To put it simply, they had to first wipe out the Jiangxia navy on the Yangtze River, either by completely destroying them or by forcing them to retreat into the Xia and Mian rivers, and then sealing off the Xiakou.

At the same time, the Jiangxia naval defense line on the Yangtze River must be cleared.

The river defense line consisted not only of warships, but also of iron chain nets, made of large quantities of fine iron chains, used to block the river defenses.

The phrase "iron chains across the river" refers to this.

Zhou Tai and his group's mission was actually quite heavy, not only important but also extremely tedious and troublesome. This was because, in this era, Yunmeng Marsh was still quite large, with many areas bordering the Yangtze River.

Therefore, the best approach is to annihilate the enemy's navy in one decisive battle.

Xiakou is located at the confluence of the Mianshui and Xiashui rivers. Once the navy is lost, Huang Zu will either have to leave Xiakou and flee inland, or he will be trapped in the dead city and lose contact with all the counties and towns in Jiangxia Prefecture.

Zhou Tai and the others were well aware of this situation and had already made preparations.

"Please rest assured, General, my naval forces have been replenished and are ready to set off at any time to clear a path for the main army."

Zhou Tai was extremely confident this time. He had gathered six naval units in Liyang City alone. In addition, after the army set off, it would join Chen Wu and Huang Gai's forces in Chaisang, bringing the total strength to 32,000 men.

The naval forces alone numbered almost as many as the Huang family army in Jiangxia.

"good!"

Taishi Ci was a skilled and courageous general, proficient in cavalry, infantry, and mountain warfare, but utterly clueless when it came to naval warfare. Moreover, at this time he was merely issuing orders on behalf of Liu Feng; when the actual battle began, Liu Feng would undoubtedly lead the campaign personally, and Taishi Ci would only need to prepare and replenish the navy.

Immediately afterwards, Taishi Ci arranged the order in which the various troops would act and inquired about the preparation of the transport ships.

After receiving a proper report, Taishi Ci stood up proudly: "Liu Jingsheng of Jingzhou has gained control of the province and is now arrogant and overconfident. He no longer respects the emperor and protects the people. The warlords' conquests have become a great scourge to the people. None of them are loyal ministers. The uprising in Jingnan, which is a rebellion against tyranny, exposes Liu Jingsheng's crimes."

"Today, his traitorous general Liu Xun has again murdered a renowned scholar of Yangzhou and ravaged the people of Lujiang, leaving hundreds of miles of starving corpses. He is utterly wicked. My lord has raised a righteous army, and the people of Jingzhou and Xiangyang will surely welcome the king's army with food and drink."

Taishi Ci's gaze swept over the generals in the hall: "In this battle, I encourage you all to strive together, to establish merit and serve our lord. The opportunity is right before us. We are a righteous army, fighting against rebellion and tyranny. How dare you not be willing to die for us?"

The generals in the hall were already filled with fervor, and immediately stood up, roaring loudly along with Taishi Ci: "We are a righteous army, fighting against the tyranny and rebels, and we are willing to die for our lord and general!"

At Taishi Ci's command, the army of Liyang City seemed like a giant beast, quickly awakening from its slumber.

Four days later, the warships stationed in Jiangdu, Jiangcheng, Dantu, Liyang, Niuzhu and other places gathered together, totaling more than 24,000 men.

However, despite the large number of people, the number of warships was very small.

Compared to the thousands of warships of various sizes in Jingzhou, Liu Feng's Yangtze River navy consisted of only a little over a thousand warships.

Unlike the Jiangxia navy, Liu Feng's navy was not large in number, but its scale was frighteningly large.

There were as many as twelve large warships capable of carrying hundreds of people, averaging two per naval unit. Secondly, there were as many as two hundred and forty large warships, capable of carrying fifty people, which were sturdy, fast, and had moderate to high attack power, averaging forty per naval unit.

The rest were red horses that could carry ten people, and small boats that could carry five people, numbering in the thousands.

It wasn't that Liu Feng was reluctant to invest and keep so many small boats; it was because river warfare is different from ocean warfare, as there are many areas such as mudflats, streams, reed marshes, and swamps that require small boats to navigate.

At the same time, large ships also need a large number of smaller ships for protection. After all, although large ships are sturdy and have strong offensive capabilities, their maneuverability is a real headache. Especially when changing direction, without the cover of smaller ships, they will inevitably become targets for the enemy.

Zhou Tai set off from Liyang City, led his navy into the Yangtze River and went upstream, passing Lujiang but not entering it, heading straight for Jiangxia County.

At the same time, the alarm sounded in the west.

While fleeing westward in a panic, Liu Xun relayed the police report to Huang Zu in Xiakou.

Liu Xun still had seven or eight thousand soldiers at this time, but some of them were scattered in various counties and could not be gathered together for a while.

Seeing that the Yangzhou army was about to move, Liu Xun had no time to wait for them. He could only send a message to these troops, telling them to go west to join him. Then he led his four thousand men westward and fled until he reached Xunyang before he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

However, a letter arrived from the east that the Yangzhou army in Liyang City had begun mobilization. Liu Xun was terrified and dared not linger in Xunyang any longer, so he immediately continued his westward escape.

At this time, there were only a thousand of Liu Biao's troops in Xunyang City. The previous army of more than ten thousand had already withdrawn to Xiangyang and then followed Kuai Nan down to quell the rebellion.

The thousand men were initially quite happy to accept Liu Xun's troops, but they never expected that after eating their fill, these guys would try to run away and even demand more military rations from them.

Liu Biao's army was slightly dissatisfied, so Liu Xun's men simply tied up people and looted the granary.

After daybreak, they continued their westward escape, fleeing along the north bank of the Yangtze River all the way to Qichun County where they encountered Huang Zu's men.

"Qichun cannot be defended!"

Liu Xun held Huang Zu's nephew, Huang Dao's hand: "Liyang City alone has tens of thousands of naval troops and at least a thousand warships of various sizes. How can we possibly defend Qichun with our limited troops?"

Director Huang was shocked; he was merely sent by Huang Zu to verify the situation after receiving the police report.

Who would have thought that the Yangzhou army would come and attack like this?

In Director Huang's mind, the Yangzhou army would need to be mobilized for at least a few months.

Take Huang Zu's elite navy as an example. If they wanted to send troops out, apart from a very small number of elite troops who could set off within seven to ten days, the rest of the troops would need at least half a month to a month to mobilize. Otherwise, it wasn't that they couldn't set off, but it would be difficult to guarantee the combat effectiveness of their troops.

The tighter the departure time, the greater the reduction in combat effectiveness.

The Yangzhou army actually moved out immediately upon receiving a command. Were they here to die?

Seeing Director Huang's expression, Liu Xun guessed what he was thinking and quickly explained, "The Yangzhou army has been eager to move for a long time. All the troops in Liyang City are on high alert. Therefore, the army can set off as soon as the order is given."

Director Huang was once again shocked, his lips trembling as he said, "Our state and Yangzhou are allies, how can we act in this way?"

Liu Xun cursed inwardly what kind of ally was he? If he were truly an ally, would Liu Biao accept him?
Even if Liu Biao considered Liu Feng and Liu Bei as allies, after accepting his surrender, Liu Feng and Liu Bei could no longer regard Liu Biao as a friendly ally.

"Liu Bei and his son are ambitious and ruthless. Within a few years, they swallowed up the southeast. What doubt is there about their ambitions towards the General Who Guards the East and Jingzhou?"

Liu Xun was quite capable, and immediately suggested, "Qichun is indeed indefensible. Our army should retreat quickly and garrison at Xisai Mountain in Jiangnan, which may be able to block the Yangzhou army's westward advance."

Xisai Mountain was located east of Huangshi City and southeast of Echeng County in later Hubei Province. Fortifications had long been built on Xisai Mountain, making it the forward position for Jiangxia Prefecture to defend against threats from Yangzhou. The exact location of the Xisai Mountain fortress coincides with the later Huangjiawan Reservoir, where the Yangtze River makes a bend, and Xisai Mountain juts out into the Yangtze River at this point, forming a bend in the river. Standing on the mountaintop, one feels as if they are in the middle of the river, a location known as "the head of Wu and the tail of Chu."

This Xisai Mountain fortress not only controls the vital Yangtze River route, but is also surrounded by numerous lakes, making it a strategically important pass.

The fact that Liu Xun chose this place shows that he possessed a high level of military talent.

Director Huang hesitated, but Liu Xun kept urging him on.

It wasn't that Liu Xun valued the other party that much; Liu Xun wanted to drag Huang Dao into his scheme. As long as Huang Dao agreed, the 1,000 Jingzhou soldiers captured from Xunyang, the 2,000 garrison soldiers in Xisai Mountain Fortress, and the 1,000 Jingzhou soldiers in Qichun County could all be used by him.

So far, not a single one of his four thousand old subordinates in Lujiang has been seen. He doesn't know if they failed to catch up or... simply surrendered to the Yangzhou army.

With only four thousand soldiers at his disposal, Liu Xun, having decided to block the Yangzhou army on Xisai Mountain, naturally wanted to find ways to increase his leverage.

As for why Liu Xun didn't go directly to Xiakou to join Huang Zu, the reason is even simpler: he only had four thousand men at the moment, and if he went to Xiakou, he would be devoured alive by the other side in no time.

Since that's the case, we might as well take a gamble at the Xisai Mountain Fortress. Firstly, we can maintain our independence, and secondly, if we can defeat the Yangzhou army, we might have a chance to launch a counterattack on Lujiang with Jiangxia County.

Director Huang was naturally unaware of Liu Xun's ulterior motives, but on the surface, Liu Xun's opinion was not only correct, but also quite excellent.

Under Liu Xun's repeated urging, Director Huang decided to adopt Liu Xun's suggestion, but he added at the end, "I still need to go back and ask my uncle about it. In that case, I will leave Xisai Mountain to Prefect Liu."

Upon hearing this, Liu Xun was secretly delighted and repeatedly assured him, "My dear nephew is on important business, so I will return as soon as possible to inform Prefect Huang of everything. Wherever Xisai Mountain is, I will fight the bandits to the bitter end."

The two hit it off immediately. Director Huang mobilized ships in Qichun to transport Liu Xun's troops and two thousand Jingzhou soldiers across the river to Xisai Fortress.

Then he went upstream to Xiakou, and at the same time sent a letter to Xiling, instructing the Xiling garrison to prepare for defense.

Although Xiling is no longer the seat of Jiangxia Commandery, it remains a fortified city with high walls, deep moats, and a large population, still the largest city in Jiangxia Commandery.

If Xiling City falls, it will have a significant impact on Jiangxia and Jingzhou.

After crossing the river, Liu Xun led his troops to the Xisai Mountain camp.

With official documents from Director Huang and corroboration from the Jingzhou Military Academy, the Xisai camp quickly accepted Liu Xun's troops.

The Xisai camp was originally designed to block the Yangtze River. It not only contained a large number of weapons and stones, but also camp walls large enough to accommodate 10,000 people.

Liu Xun's troops numbered only six thousand, so there was naturally no problem.

After entering the camp, Liu Xun became extremely ruthless in order to save his own life.

He checked the camp's weapons, supplies, provisions, catapults, and stone projectiles day and night, and also ordered the soldiers to make more deer antlers.

Liu Xun believes that the first wave of attacks from the camp likely came from the land.

The Xisai camp stood atop Xisai Mountain, which was only a little over 170 meters high. Even so, the threat from the fleet coming from the river was virtually nonexistent.

Only by landing can they truly threaten the Xisai Mountain camp.

Zhou Tai set off from Liyang and arrived at Chaisang. Chen Wu and Huang Gai's naval forces joined the main force, along with Zhou Yu's own 20,000-strong army.

Of these 20,000 troops, not all were under Zhou Yu's command. Fourteen thousand were Zhou Yu's former subordinates, while another six thousand were stationed at key garrisons within Poyang County. The extra six thousand were Yue people from the mountains under Zu Lang and Zu Duan.

When Zu Lang and Zu Duan heard that Liu Xun had killed Zhou Yu's paternal uncle, they were immediately enraged and swore an oath of blood to volunteer for the campaign, willing to avenge Zhou Yu's family and punish Liu Fangbo for the rebellion.

Zhou Yu, who already knew Liu Feng's intentions, naturally wouldn't refuse the enthusiastic offer from the Shanyue people.

The 20,000-strong army boarded the prepared ships and arrived in Jiangxia County in just one day and one night.

At this time, there were no troops stationed in Qichun and Xiazhi counties. Even if there were, they would be intimidated by the sight of thousands of sails on the river and would immediately surrender.

Zhou Yu ordered that Qichun and Xiazhi be used as forward bases to stockpile grain, weapons and other supplies.

The army then continued westward and arrived at the foot of Xisai Mountain the following morning.

Zhou Yu had already scouted the terrain around here, and his troops landed in front of the mountain in an orderly manner.

Standing atop Xisai Mountain, Liu Xun gazed into the distance and saw thousands of sails like stars on the river and armored soldiers like clouds on the shore. A sense of despair welled up within him.

But where can they run to now?
The only option was to hold Xisai Mountain and wait for Huang Zu and Liu Biao to come to their rescue.

After Zhou Yu's troops landed, several dozen cavalrymen, led by Zhou Jun, bypassed the Xisai Mountain camp and headed west of Xisai Mountain, followed by more than two thousand soldiers.

This move to divide the troops left Liu Xun puzzled.

Although Xisai Mountain is not large, it is not just Liu Xun's place.

The area east of Huangshi is actually the Xisai Mountain area, and the territory occupied by Liu Xun is only one-tenth the size of the entire Xisai Mountain area. It just so happens that this one-tenth is in an excellent location, extending into the Yangtze River and causing a bend in the river, which is why it has become a strategic military pass.

Now that Zhou Yu has divided his troops to go to the western part of Xisai Mountain, this has attracted Liu Xun's attention, but he can't figure it out.

This Yangzhou army numbered only around two thousand. To attempt to attack Echeng was simply wishful thinking. Echeng was defended by a thousand soldiers. To think that two thousand could take it down was to seriously underestimate the fighting strength of the Jingzhou army.

But if the other party wasn't heading towards Echeng, then what were they trying to do?

Could there be some kind of conspiracy involved?

However, Liu Xun soon forgot about this divided force.

The appearance of Zhou Yu's general's flag on the shore meant that Zhou Yu's main force had landed.

The Xisai camp is about to face its greatest test.

(End of this chapter)