My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 442 Huang Zu Seeks Aid
"Liu Zitai, do you know who I am?"

Zhou Yu thanked Gan Ning, then walked up to Liu Xun, looking down at his enemy who lay at his feet like a dead dog, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

Liu Xun, however, lay limp on the ground like a dead dog, not daring to look up at Zhou Yu.

"General, although this thief is your mortal enemy, he is also the leader of the bandits. Killing him without authorization may violate military law."

Gan Ning stepped forward and advised, "Why not send him to the Lord for punishment? The Lord is wise and sagacious, and his actions are just. He will not disappoint the General."

Zhou Yu closed his eyes, remained silent for a moment, and then opened them again: "Xingba is right. I am the lord's general, and I cannot break the lord's military law."

"Somebody come!"

Zhou Yu turned around and shouted, "Send this thief's fast boat to the Lord of Yangzhou!"

"Here!"

Gan Ning and the other generals responded in unison.

After capturing the Xisai Mountain camp, Echeng County, which would later become Huangshi City, was within reach, so there was no reason to let it go.

To express his gratitude to Gan Ning for capturing his enemy, Zhou Yu appointed Gan Ning as the commander-in-chief and dispatched 6,000 troops to attack Echeng.

When the garrison commander of Echeng heard that Xisai Mountain had been burned and the camp had been breached, he was so frightened that he immediately led a thousand garrison soldiers out of the city to flee.

When Gan Ning arrived, Echeng County had become an empty city, having fallen into the hands of the Yangzhou army.

A day later, Zhou Tai led his army to Zhucheng County, which is now Huanggang City, across the river from Echeng County.

In this way, there were almost no river defense fortifications before reaching Xiakou, allowing the army to drive straight into the river outside Xiakou city.

*
A few days earlier, Huang Zu received an urgent report from Huang Dao in Xiakou. He was immediately terrified and summoned the generals of the army for a meeting.

Huang Zu had generals such as Huang She, Zhang Shuo, Deng Long, Su Fei, Chen Jiu, Lü Jie, Zhang Hu, and Chen Sheng under his command. They were all elite and capable generals, and the Jiangxia Army he formed was also an elite amphibious force.

Upon hearing that the Yangzhou army had indeed launched a major invasion, all the generals were shocked. As the old saying goes, the mobilization speed of the Yangzhou army is now unmatched, and even unimaginable, by other warlords.

Deng Long even questioned the reliability of the information Huang Zu received, suspecting that there might be a problem with the intelligence from the front-line spies.

But when Director Huang described the situation in detail and even produced Liu Xun's letter requesting reinforcements, the generals finally realized that the Yangzhou army had already entered Jiangxia County.

"You mean, Qichun and Xiazhi counties have now fallen, and Liu Xun is leading troops to block the enemy at Xisai camp?"

Su Fei carefully questioned Director Huang, and after a moment of contemplation, he stood up, cupped his hands in a salute to Huang Zu, and said, “My lord, the invasion of Yangzhou is a foregone conclusion. At this critical moment, we should immediately send someone to Xiangyang to request an urgent request for reinforcements from the governor. In addition, our army should immediately assemble at Shaxian, with Xiakou as the forward position. I implore my lord to move to Shaxian immediately.”

Lü Jie added, “My lord, I think what Colonel Su said is quite right. However, Xiangyang is not the only place to ask for help. My lord, don’t forget that Grand Commander Kuai is leading 70,000 troops under the walls of Linxiang. Even if the army cannot retreat in time, the navy will be able to join forces with our army at Shaxian within ten days, as they travel day and night.”

"good!"

Huang Zu slapped his forehead, agreeing wholeheartedly: "What Captains Su and Lü said is quite right. I will act accordingly."

Xiakou was strategically located, a small but fortified city. It was more like a riverside fortress than a city, requiring only a small number of elite troops to defend it. Huang Zu himself left Xiakou and went to Shaxian to gather his naval forces.

Naval battles differ from land battles. Naval battles rely heavily on ships; as long as there are ships, there is still a chance to fight. Once all ships are lost, the battle is over.

Therefore, Huang Zu must be in a place where the navy can easily gather, rather than in Xiakou City.

Unlike Xiakou, Shaxian is a major port city that can stockpile a large number of ships and supplies.

Su Fei's arrangement of using Xiakou as a base and Shaxian as a counterattack base was in line with the secrets of naval warfare. Furthermore, Lü Jie's addition further highlighted the advantage of gathering troops at Shaxian, making it easier to successfully join forces with the southern expeditionary navy.

At the end of the meeting, Huang Zu made a decision: he sent men by water to Xiangyang and Linxiang to request reinforcements. He then left General Lü Jie with 3,000 elite troops to garrison Xiakou, while the rest of his troops went to Shaxian to assemble and wait for an opportunity to fight the Yangzhou navy on the Yangtze River.

Jiangxia now has 30,000 troops. Previously, 2,000 troops were lost at Xisai. At this time, 3,000 troops were divided into three groups: 3,000 at Xiakou, 3,000 at Xiling, and 3,000 at Zhangling County.

The army that Shaxian can gather is only around 20,000, and that depends on whether the local gentry and powerful families are willing to put in a lot of effort.

In terms of troop strength, Huang Zu has fallen into a clear disadvantage.

Unfortunately, the three thousand men from Xiling could not be spared. If the three thousand men were left in Xiling, along with the local strongmen and able-bodied men, they could barely hold out. If Liu Feng were to divide his forces to attack, it would tie down a significant portion of the enemy's troops.

But if these three thousand men are withdrawn, the powerful clans of Xiling might just surrender the city. And if Xiling falls and falls into Liu Feng's hands, at least a third of Jiangxia County will be doomed.

Therefore, despite the shortage of troops, Huang Zu ultimately did not dare to withdraw the three thousand troops stationed in Xiling.

**
After capturing Echeng County and Zhucheng County, the Yangzhou army slowed its advance.

Firstly, they needed to wait for reinforcements; secondly, they needed to consolidate the front line and adjust their deployment; and thirdly, they needed to replenish the fleet's supplies and allow the army to land and rest.

However, just four days later, Liu Feng led the main force to arrive.

Upon arriving in Echeng, Liu Feng convened a general meeting of all the army's commanders, rewarded the entire army that evening, and began resting the following day.

In late June, Liu Feng personally commanded the central army, and thousands of sails raced across the river, heading upstream towards Xiakou.

Huang Zu's navy dared not engage in battle and immediately retreated to Shaxian.

The Yangzhou army landed at Xiakou, a flat plain suitable for a large army to encamp.

Zhou Yu led his own force of 20,000 to accompany the expedition, dividing 1,000 troops into Qichun and Xiazhi counties, 2,000 troops into Echeng, and 4,000 troops into Zhucheng county.

At this time, Zhou Yu's main force had only 12,000 men left, along with more than 7,000 prisoners of war.

Liu Feng ordered Zhou Yu's troops to land and attack Xiakou.

In addition to allocating over seven thousand prisoners of war and captured military equipment and supplies to him, Liu Feng also allocated an additional five thousand able-bodied men to him. These men were surplus soldiers selected from various armies during the expansion of the army, and all had military experience, ready to be deployed again at any time. In open field battles, they might not be as capable as the current field army.

However, in the brutal and deadly world of siege warfare, they would undoubtedly be a valuable addition. No matter how fortified Xiakou City is, it only has three thousand Jiangxia soldiers inside. Even if it's a war of attrition, they will wear down Xiakou City.

In addition, Liu Feng knew that Xiakou City was small but sturdy, and that it was surrounded by water on two sides, with the moat sourced from the Yangtze and Han Rivers, making it very difficult to fill in.

Therefore, Liu Feng added an extra battalion of special troops to Zhou Yu's forces, including newly established engineers and artillery, to bolster his strength.

After making the arrangements, Liu Feng did not forget to instruct Zhou Yu: "Xiakou is a strategically important location. If we do not capture the city, our navy will not be able to enter the Han River. Our next move depends on when Gongjin can take Xiakou."

Zhou Yu nodded respectfully. In the early stages, the Yangzhou army had been unstoppable, capturing several strongholds in succession, enjoying a smooth journey. However, the situation had now entered the mid-stage, and one of the biggest challenges in the mid-stage—Xiakou City—stood in the way of the three armies.

If Zhou Yu can quickly capture Xiakou City, then Liu Feng can decisively divide his forces here. One force will continue upstream along the Yangtze River, forcing Huang Zu to fight a decisive battle on the river, while the other force will escort a portion of the army up the Han River to open up the road to Xiangyang.

As a result, Xiangyang had even less time to respond and found itself in an even more passive position.

Zhou Yu was both excited and grateful.

Xiakou City is now the seat of Jiangxia Prefecture and the place where Huang Zu stayed. This means that Xiakou is difficult to attack, but it also means that Xiakou is of great importance. Apart from Taishi Ci's Cuifeng Army, which was stationed in Echeng and waiting for an opportunity, Zhao Yun's Wanlan Army and Jia Kui's Army had both volunteered to fight.

Liu Feng's decision to leave Xiakou to Zhou Yu was both a sign of his high regard for Zhou Yu and a reward for Zhou Yu's troops' swift breakthrough of the Xisai Mountain defense line and capture of key riverside strongholds such as Echeng County and Zhucheng County.

Zhou Yu declared with great enthusiasm, "Within a month, I will surely conquer Xiakou!"

"good!"

Liu Feng was overjoyed and specially bestowed wine and meat upon Zhou Yu's troops to boost their morale.

The landing of Zhou Yu's troops lasted for six days. The landing of his soldiers actually only took one day, but the landing of the large siege weapons that followed was much more troublesome.

Not only did they need to build temporary ports and wharves, but they also needed to construct simple roads. However, even though unloading was troublesome, it was still simpler than cutting down timber on the spot and rebuilding. Not to mention that Zhou Yu simply took a two-pronged approach, unloading the siege equipment carried on the large ships while simultaneously setting up camp and building on the spot.

Just as Zhou Yu was methodically preparing to attack Xiakou City, Liu Biao in Xiangyang also received an urgent message, along with a proclamation from Yangzhou.

In the Yangzhou proclamation, Liu Biao was accused of harboring Liu Xun, allowing him to brutally murder Zhou Chong, a renowned scholar from the Huai and Si regions, to oppress the powerful families of Lujiang, and to plunder the local people, resulting in widespread famine and death in several counties of Shucheng, with almost no survivors.

Despite committing such heinous crimes, Liu Xun was still protected by Liu Biao and fled into Jiangxia County.

In order for Yangzhou to carry out this campaign against the rebels, it is hoped that Liu Biao will be able to reflect on his actions in time.

"How dare you insult me, you brat?"

Even though Liu Biao was good-tempered, he was so angered by Liu Feng that he lost his composure.

When they were begging for grain, they patted themselves on the back and bragged that they were righteous men of the world. Now they have turned their backs on them and accused themselves of harboring filth and corruption. They are truly not human.

If it were at another time, Liu Biao would not have tolerated or indulged the other party, and might even have seen the present as a great opportunity to take control of Yangzhou.

Liu Bei and his son had only one or two hundred thousand men, and he also had 140,000 elite troops, not counting the troops of local gentry and powerful families.

In order to achieve a swift victory over a slow and deliberate opponent, Liu Biao did not use these troops during this southward campaign, but that does not mean he could not use them.

Liu Biao has been governing Jingzhou for nine years and has gained the support of top Jingzhou gentry such as Kuai, Cai, Pang, and Huang. As long as he doesn't act unilaterally, his mobilization power over Jingzhou is still quite strong.

Moreover, Liu Biao also had his own opinion. In his view, both the Xiangyang navy and the Jiangxia navy were battle-hardened and experienced naval forces.

Liu Bei and his son were from the north, and had only been in Xuzhou for three years, and had only taken over Yangzhou for a year. What kind of navy could they have trained?

Not to mention that online trolls rely not only on people, but more importantly on ships.

The entire Jingzhou fleet numbered in the tens of thousands, with the two strongest naval forces in Xiangyang and Jiangxia each possessing over four thousand warships of various sizes. Even if Liu Feng were to take over the shipyards of Huaisi and Yangzhou, it would take him at least three to five years to catch up.

However, Liu Biao was unaware that Liu Feng had valued the navy much earlier than he had imagined.

As early as when he was in Xuzhou, he began to use the weak navy of Xuzhou as a foundation, and appointed generals such as Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin to cultivate talents and accumulate warships.

Subsequently, a large number of ships were captured in various battlefields, including Guangling, Huaisi, Yuzhou, Qingzhou, and Yangzhou, among which were large warships left over from the Eastern Han Dynasty.

In particular, Yuan Shu and Liu Yao each possessed a considerable number of warships, all of which were brought under Liu Feng's command following the surrender of Sun Quan's army and Liu Yao. In addition, Liu Feng had been producing a large number of ships in Xuzhou in recent years, and after acquiring the Zongyang Shipyard, he added a large number of manpower to expedite the construction.

With the addition of powerful maritime figures like Zheng Bao and Xue Zhou investing their capital, the Yangzhou navy was no less formidable than the Jingzhou navy, and in terms of warships, it surpassed the Jingzhou navy by a significant margin.

This is not because Liu Biao's data is completely inaccurate.

In fact, Liu Biao's data on Jingzhou was reliable, but his data on the Yangzhou navy was indeed incorrect.

However, Liu Biao overlooked a problem: the Jingzhou navy had been relying on its past strength. After ambushing and killing Sun Jian and driving away Yuan Shu, the entire Jingzhou was nominally under Liu Biao's complete control. Although there was Zhang Xian in Jingnan, the relationship was not so tense from the beginning. Moreover, even Zhang Xian only cut off Jingnan's tax and grain supplies after he raised an army.

So although small battles continued in Jingzhou, there hadn't been a major battle for five or six years.

A large portion of the money and grain allocated to Huang Zu by Liu Biao from the provincial treasury was misappropriated by Huang Zu for his extravagant lifestyle. In Huang Zu's view, the Jiangxia navy already had 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers and 3,000 to 4,000 warships of various sizes, and there was no need to replenish them.

Moreover, the annual repair and maintenance costs are very high, so why would there be any need to continue building new structures?
In the past four or five years, the Jiangxia Navy has only added twenty new warships of the size of a Mengchong, and only three Louchuan. As for the Chima, Feidie, and Zouge ships below the size of a Mengchong, Huang Zu has not allocated any funds to them.

After all, these ships are warships in wartime and fishing boats in peacetime. In Huang Zu's eyes, they only need to be requisitioned in wartime, so there is no need to waste funds.

Sun Tzu said: "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle. If you know yourself but not your enemy, you will win one and lose one. If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will suffer defeat in every battle."

Liu Biao is now barely a half-confident friend, but he is completely ignorant of his enemy. He is unaware that his chances of winning are precarious, and he thinks it is only because Zhang Xian is holding him back.

Although Liu Biao was furious when he received the proclamation, he was not too worried because he thought Huang Zu could hold off Liu Feng, or at least buy him some time.

(End of this chapter)