My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 443 Jingbei's Choices
Before he could reach a conclusion with the important officials in Xiangyang, Huang Zu's requests for help arrived in Xiangyang one after another and were placed on his desk.

After reading the document, Liu Biao's hands trembled slightly.

The Yangzhou army captured two cities in a single day and took Xisai in half a day, their advance already pointing towards Xiakou.

At this time, Liu Biao was unaware that Xiakou City had been completely besieged by Zhou Yu, and that Huang Zu had fled to Shaxian several days earlier.

At this point, Liu Biao became nervous. He showed Huang Zu's letter requesting aid to his ministers while racking his brains for a solution.

When this document was circulated, everyone was greatly alarmed.

"My lord, we must send reinforcements immediately!"

Han Song stood up and walked up to Liu Biao, saying, "Xiakou is a crucial point where the Han River flows into the Yangtze River. Once it falls into the hands of Liu Yangzhou, it will be much more difficult for the Xiangyang navy to enter the Yangtze River."

“What Degao said is very true.”

Liu He stood up and agreed, saying, "Prefect Huang is a veteran general. He wouldn't be so frightened unless it's a crisis. Besides, Xiakou is still in our hands. At this time, the reinforcements only need to rush out of Xiakou and enter the Yangtze River to join forces with Prefect Huang. Only then will we have the strength to wait for an opportunity to fight a decisive battle on the river."

"But there are only about 30,000 troops in Xiangyang now, most of whom are naval forces. How many would we need to send to reinforce them?"

Liu Biao also knew that he needed to rescue Huang Zu, but the question was never whether to rescue him or not, but how to rescue him.

Han Song replied as always, "We will do everything in our power to save them. There are 20,000 naval troops in Xiangyang City. We will also send 5,000 infantrymen on ships to reinforce Huang Futai."

Upon hearing this, Liu Biao was startled, and someone in the hall exclaimed, "No! If we do that, won't Xiangyang only have five thousand men left? Xiangyang is a large city; how can five thousand men defend it? My lord, this is absolutely unacceptable!"

Liu Biao went to see the person who was speaking, and this person was Fu Xun, Fu Gongti.

This person was from Niyang County, Beidi Commandery, and was a descendant of Fu Jiezi, the Marquis of Yiyang in the Western Han Dynasty. His family was quite prestigious in Beidi Commandery and could be considered a renowned family.

Fu Xun was tall and imposing, and learned and knowledgeable. He was recruited by the Three Dukes at a young age and started his career as a Minister, which was an extremely high honor, demonstrating the profound heritage of the Fu family.

However, he now had no choice but to flee south to seek refuge, residing in Xiangyang and serving under Liu Biao.

After Liu Biao's death, Fu Xun strongly urged Liu Cong to surrender to Cao Cao, making significant contributions to Cao Wei. However, his most famous achievement was his ability to recognize talent.

Of the three people he recognized in his life, the most legendary were Pei Qian, who was praised for his "pure and upright character, renowned far and wide," Wei Feng, who was said to be "inevitably plotting rebellion," and Pang Tong, who was described as "half a hero." All three were accurate and insightful, demonstrating his keen eye for talent.

Fu Xun's words at this moment were exactly what Liu Biao was worried about.

Liu Biao also strongly agreed with Fu Xun's words. Xiangyang was a large city with a population of no less than 100,000, of which more than 30% were refugees from the north.

Having lost their land, these people could only make a living by doing odd jobs in Xiangyang, and their lives were far from secure. Five thousand men were in danger even garrisoning Xiangyang; if something else were to happen, their foundation in Jingzhou would be in jeopardy.

Seeing the unusual expression on Liu Biao's face, Han Song understood that Fu Xun was not wrong. However, in Han Song's view, the most urgent task was to solve the problem of Xiakou, and there were actually quite a few solutions within Xiangyang City.

It can either allow powerful clans to temporarily provide troops as a substitute, or it can recruit soldiers from the wealthy population of Xiangyang to expand the army.

However, Han Song also understood that these two strategies were somewhat too slow to be effective and contained risks.

Just as Liu Biao was hesitating, a man stood up, bowed to Liu Biao, and said, "My lord, I have a plan that may solve this problem."

Liu Biao turned his head and was overjoyed, saying, "Youlin, what brilliant plan do you have? Please teach me quickly."

The person who spoke was none other than Pang Ji.

Pang Ji did not delay and immediately said, "My lord, in my opinion, Magistrate Huang will surely come to our aid, Xiakou City will surely be saved, and Xiangyang City will surely be safe. These three points are the foundation of everything."

Liu Biao nodded repeatedly, his eyes gleaming. If all three conditions could be met at the same time, then in his opinion, it would be a brilliant plan.

Pang Ji didn't keep him in suspense and said directly, "If that's the case, we should prioritize the important over the trivial. In my opinion, the number of troops sent south to reinforce should be increased, not decreased. However, the defense of Xiangyang is insufficient. Why doesn't Your Excellency consider the surrounding areas?"

Liu Biao, Han Song, and the others exchanged glances and understood Pang Ji's meaning.

“Nanyang still has more than 10,000 soldiers, and Zhangling also has three or four thousand elite troops. In my opinion, it would be better to draw troops from these two places to reinforce Xiangyang. At the same time, Your Excellency should open the treasury to reward the three armies and recruit new soldiers.”

Pang Ji's suggestion was indeed good, and although it was meant to help Han Song, it ironically drew criticism from the Nanyang Gang.

"Nanyang is the shield of Xiangyang; how can we so easily abandon it?"

Liu He stood up and bowed to Pang Ji, saying, "With Nanyang, there is Xiangyang; without Nanyang, Xiangyang is in danger. It is already the end of June, and according to past practice, Zhang Ji of Guanzhong will soon be raiding the border. We have already drawn troops from Nanyang; if we draw more now, how can Nanyang be protected?"

Reinforcing Huang Zu was for the greater good, and there was nothing wrong with that. However, sacrificing Nanyang to reinforce Huang Zu was unacceptable to Liu He, Han Song, Deng Xian, and others.

Half of the more than 20,000 troops defending Nanyang had already been redeployed, which caused dissatisfaction among the Nanyang faction. They only agreed because there were still 30,000 troops in Xiangyang, who could be deployed to reinforce Nanyang at any time.

But now we have to draw troops from Nanyang, and this is before Zhang Ji invades the border. Liu He, Han Song, Deng Yi, Song Zhong and others are all from Nanyang. How can they not worry about the safety of their hometown?
Pang Ji stood up and returned the gesture with a cupped hand, looking helpless as he said, "Then perhaps we could wait until new soldiers are recruited in Xiangyang before supplementing Nanyang?"

Liu Biao listened to the conversation between Pang Ji and Liu He from the seat of honor, his expression shifting as he clearly considered the matter.

A moment later, Liu Biao's gaze turned to Han Song, who was not only the leader of the Nanyang Gang, but also the Prefect of Jingzhou.

Han Song's opinion should not be ignored.

"De Gao, what do you think?"

Upon hearing Liu Biao's question, Han Song sighed inwardly, stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Youlin's view is indeed insightful."

Han Song's words immediately caused a huge uproar. Even the members of the Nanyang Gang did not expect Han Song to "betray" them.

Fortunately, they quickly continued talking.

"Nanyang merely shields Xiangyang, making it a mere mortal meat, while weakening Xiangyang in reality."

Han Song then changed the subject: "My lord, in my humble opinion, we could draw troops from Nanyang and Zhangling back to Xiangyang, temporarily filling the gaps with the retainers of the powerful families in Xiangyang, while awaiting newly recruited soldiers to alleviate the immediate crisis, would that be acceptable?"

Han Song's suggestion was quite clever. He saw that Liu Biao was already interested, and that the powerful clans and gentry in Jiangxia, Nanjun, and even Xiangyang supported sending troops to support Huang Zu.

The local powerful clans and gentry of Xiangyang were not truly so selfless; their concern was not for Huang Zu, but for the expeditionary army far away in Linxiang.

This army contains a large number of Xiangyang natives. If Huang Zu cannot hold out, Liu Feng will cut off the expeditionary force's retreat. At that point, the expeditionary force would be considered a great success if they could escape back to Jiangling; otherwise, the entire army would be wiped out.

Therefore, their best option was to provide strong support to Huang Zu and facilitate the retreat of the expeditionary force to northern Jingzhou.

Han Song saw this point and understood that even if his side did everything in its power, it would not be able to stop Liu Biao's decision.

Since we can't stop him, we should support him and try our best to minimize our own losses while supporting the other side.

This was Han Song's idea.

After listening to Han Song's advice, Liu Biao fell into deep thought.

What Han Song said actually makes some sense.

After the Jingzhou troops in Nanyang and Zhangling withdrew, Xiangyang had 20,000 men, and its self-defense was no longer a concern. The Nanyang front was mainly defensive, and sending the powerful clans and their retainers from Xiangyang to pacify and fill the gaps was indeed a good move.

Liu Biao immediately made a decision: "What the Prefect said can be said to have gathered the strengths of many opinions, and it is very much in line with my thoughts."

"I've made up my mind."

Liu Biao reached out to stop the others in the hall from speaking, and decisively said, "I appoint Zhang Yun as general, commanding 25,000 troops by land and water, to march south to Xiakou to aid Huang Zu. I also summon 8,000 troops from Nanyang and 2,000 troops from Zhangling and recall them to Xiangyang."

"Gather five thousand troops from various families in Xiangyang and rush to Rangcheng to garrison it. If Zhang Ji attacks, we can hold out for our lives and wait for reinforcements."

Liu Biao gave instructions one by one: "De Gao, starting tomorrow, recruit new soldiers from the various counties of Jingzhou. The number of soldiers will be set at 20,000... no, 30,000."

"Here!"

Han Song rose to obey the order.

Liu Biao's gaze swept over the crowd, then he bowed and said, "Gentlemen, my Jingzhou is currently in a precarious situation. I urge you all to contribute your efforts to help my state safely overcome this calamity."

Everyone rose to return the greeting: "We are all your subjects, how could we not do our utmost?"

After the meeting ended, Liu He and the others naturally gathered around Han Song.

Liu He asked with great concern, "De Gao, Nanyang is so vulnerable. What will we do if Zhang Ji attacks?"

Deng Yi agreed, saying, "Although Your Excellency wants to expand the army, recruiting soldiers is such a troublesome matter. Now, Jingnan has undergone tremendous changes, and Jiangxia is also engulfed in war. Only Nanjun and the area around Xiangyang have soldiers to recruit. Not to mention that it is currently summer planting season, even after the autumn harvest, it is not certain that we can recruit 10,000 men. The number of 30,000 is just an exaggeration. Moreover, even if we could recruit enough soldiers, how could newly recruited soldiers deal with the fierce and ruthless army of Guanzhong? I think Your Excellency is abandoning our old territory of Nanyang."

Han Song slowly shook his head: "It's not that bad. At least now, Your Excellency has also mobilized troops from the powerful clans of Xiangyang to deploy defenses in Rangcheng County. The people of Xiliang are not good at attacking cities. As long as they hold the city and do not lose it, their plundering of the area will not last long, and they will have to retreat sooner or later."

Liu He and Deng Yi's eyes were filled with disappointment, but they also knew that what Han Song said was true, and that this was the only way to deal with the situation now.

Liu Biao then left Zhang Yun behind alone.

Zhang Yun was Liu Biao's nephew. Zhang Yun's mother was Liu Biao's sister. Both Zhang Yun and his father died early, so Zhang Yun followed Liu Biao from a young age.

Zhang Yun was relatively loyal to Liu Biao, but his relationship with Liu Biao's sons and nephews was not harmonious. In particular, the relationship between Liu Biao's eldest son, Liu Qi, and Zhang Yun was originally barely acceptable, but it deteriorated rapidly after they came to Jingzhou, and now they dislike each other.

The reasons are complicated, but there are two main points. First, Liu Qi disapproved of Zhang Yun's corrupt nature. Second, Zhang Yun was very close to the Cai family.

Liu Pan and Liu Hu were both close to Liu Qi, so their relationship with Zhang Yun was also very bad, even worse than that with Cai Mao.

It was for this reason that Liu Biao did not appoint Zhang Yun as the naval commander, but instead kept him by his side. He was also worried that a conflict between Zhang Yun and Liu Pan and Liu Hu would affect the southern expedition.

Kuai's southern expedition took away almost all of the elite troops and generals of the Jingbei army, and the remaining strong generals were all under the command of Huang Zu of Jiangxia.

Now, Liu Biao can't even muster a few capable generals and officers.

Therefore, sending Zhang Yun to lead the army south to reinforce Huang Zu became the best choice. However, the problem was that Zhang Yun was very close to Cai Mao, but his relationship with Huang Zu was not good.

Therefore, Liu Biao needed to give his nephew a good talking-to before Zhang Yun set off.

"Ziyue, do you know what to do when you go south to aid Xia this time?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yun was startled.

Zhang Yun is different from Cai Mao. Cai Mao in the novel is actually quite vilified, and he still has many commendable qualities. But Zhang Yun is different. Although he has some cleverness, he is extremely selfish, greedy, and extravagant, and is really not a good person.

Although Zhang Yun was greedy and disregarded righteousness, he was not stupid and naturally understood the meaning behind Liu Biao's words.

Zhang Yun was silent for a moment, then managed to say, "Nephew will naturally listen to his uncle."

Liu Biao was well aware of Zhang Yun's greed, but he didn't think there was anything wrong with it. If he wasn't greedy for money, would he be so eager for power that he was only thinking about his own position?

Therefore, Liu Biao ignored Liu Qi's advice and instead comforted Liu Qi, telling him to get along well with Zhang Yun.

However, at this moment, Liu Biao's face darkened: "I have long known that you and Huang Chengde are not on good terms, but this time when you march south, Huang Chengde is the commander-in-chief of the entire army. When you join forces with him, you should hand over military power to him. Do you understand?"

Huang Zu, courtesy name Chengde.

Zhang Yun felt somewhat resentful, never expecting that in his uncle's eyes, he was not even as good as an outsider.

Fortunately, he was still clear-headed and understood Huang Zu's position in Liu Biao's heart. He nodded and replied, "Uncle, rest assured, I understand."

Although Zhang Yun expressed his opinion, Liu Biao's instructions were not yet finished.

"This time, in addition to 20,000 naval troops, we also have 5,000 infantrymen to lead the expedition to Runan."

Liu Biao carefully instructed, "If there is an opportunity, you should naturally aim to join forces with Huang Chengde. If that is not possible, you can send 5,000 infantrymen to reinforce Xiakou. If that is still not possible, you can reinforce Xiling. Do you understand?"

Five thousand soldiers, plus the military equipment and supplies accompanying the army, was obviously a considerable burden.

If the Yangzhou navy were to blockade Xiakou, the speed of the large fleet rushing out would be paramount, therefore this part of the land force needed to be unloaded in advance. Liu Biao was worried that Zhang Yun would not be able to adapt to the situation, so he explained the details to him in detail and also arranged the tasks for this part of the land force after they landed.

Zhang Yun suddenly realized and quickly nodded repeatedly: "Uncle, rest assured, I will keep it in mind and will not make any mistakes."

(End of this chapter)