My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 446 The decisive battle is coming
This Xiakou is located south of the Yangtze River. It was later built by Sun Quan and is situated on Snake Hill, which is now part of Wuhan. However, at present, it is just a small fishing port, and the port is densely packed with ships.

At this time, this place was set up as the front-line command post, and Liu Feng personally stayed here.

Numerous camps and tents sprang up from the ground, forming a massive fortified camp capable of accommodating tens of thousands of people, built against Snake Mountain.

Liu Feng led a large contingent of elite troops and capable generals on this expedition. All the generals leading the troops were renowned figures from the Three Kingdoms period in the original timeline, and the strategists were all top talents such as Zhuge Liang, Dong Zhao, Lu Xun, and Yang Xiu.

Soon, Gan Ning's report reached Lu Xun. After reading it, Lu Xun felt that the letter was very important and immediately went to Liu Feng's tent.

"Oh? Xingba has already taken Sha Xian's body?"

Liu Feng was somewhat surprised: "What is Huang Chengde thinking?"

According to General Gan's report, Huang Zu should have suddenly and voluntarily given up Shaxian.

Lu Xun respectfully replied, "When General Gan entered Shaxian, the port was still burning various supplies, which shows that his withdrawal was hasty."

Liu Feng pondered for a moment, then took the initiative to ask, "What do you think of this matter?"

The importance of Sha Xian goes without saying. Huang Zu's retreat without a fight is extremely unusual. Without understanding the opponent's intentions, it will be difficult to plan our next move.

"Could it be that Liu Zhendong sent a letter telling him to retreat?"

Yang Xiu was the first to speak, speculating, "Lü Jie is a close general of Liu Biao, and has been assigned to serve under Huang Zu in Jiangxia. He is currently holding the line in Xiakou City. Without Liu Zhendong's order, how could Huang Chengde dare to abandon him?"

"Liu Biao's reinforcements are about to arrive?"

As soon as Liu Feng finished speaking, he denied his own opinion: "No, at least not along the route to Xiangyang, and Huang Zu did not launch a forced attack on Xiakou."

Liu Biao's army was much slower to mobilize than Yangzhou's, even though the navy could mobilize much faster than the army. After all, ships could not only assemble much faster than infantry, but also carry a large amount of supplies and could be replenished at ports along the way.

Even so, according to the estimates of Liu Feng's staff, the Xiangyang navy would take at least eight to twelve days to reach Xiakou.

Moreover, Huang Zu's retreat at this time was heading towards the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. If he wanted to join forces with the reinforcements from Xiangyang, then attacking Xiakou and heading north along the Han River would be the optimal solution.

After hearing Liu Feng's words, Yang Xiu's eyes lit up: "So Cai Mao's reinforcements are coming?"

"That's not the case. If Cai Mao's reinforcements were to arrive, Huang Chengde would not abandon Shaxian."

Lu Xun shook his head, denying Yang Xiu's speculation. He continued, "It seems that Huang Chengde wants to gamble on the big picture. General Gan's order to harass Shaxian must have put tremendous pressure on Huang Zu. He is likely worried about being tied up by our vanguard and unable to break free, which is why he is abandoning Shaxian and trying to disengage from our army."

"Indeed, they were willing to give up such a strategic location as Shaxian. Their intentions were far from shallow."

Zhuge Liang also spoke up, saying, "My lord, in my opinion, there are two strategies."

Liu Feng replied, "I would like to hear the details."

Zhuge Liang immediately said, "First, move the capital to Shaxian, where we can rest and wait for Huang Chengde and Cai Degui's impending counterattack. Second, assemble a large army at Shaxian and set off immediately to force Huang Zu and Cai Mao to engage in a decisive battle with our army."

Dong Zhao laughed, his eyes narrowing into slits: "Neither of these two strategies is the best."

Although Dong Zhao's words were unpleasant to hear, they were correct.

Choosing strategy one, while seemingly about holding key positions, waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out, and shifting the balance of power, actually means handing over the strategic initiative to the enemy.

Leaving aside the battle in Jingnan, Huang Zu and Cai Mao continued to withdraw their troops, joining forces with Kuai Yue to retreat to Nanjun.

This would make Liu Feng feel indescribably nauseous and uncomfortable, and the pressure would immediately shift to the city of Xiakou.

At this time, although Zhou Yu was besieging Xiakou, with Liu Feng's instructions, Zhou Yu's attack was quite easy, mainly by using siege weapons to weaken the city's defenses.

However, once Huang Zu and Cai Mao retreat to Jiangling in Nanjun, Xiakou will become the breaking point. At that time, Zhou Yu will probably not have enough time.

Similarly, strategy two is not without its drawbacks.

If they were to assemble a large army and continue the pursuit westward, it would take them 150 li to reach Zhouling City, and they would also need to navigate a zigzag waterway, which would be very dangerous. Moreover, even if they did reach Zhouling, Huang Zu could still continue his retreat.

Liu Feng gave Dong Zhao a disapproving look and teased, "Does Gongren have a better strategy to teach me?"

Dong Zhao replied with a smile, "Reporting to my lord, although there is no best strategy, I think Kongming's second strategy is more advisable."

Liu Feng slowly nodded. From a strategic perspective, Strategy One was actually more advantageous tactically. However, Strategy Two, while pursuing the matter, was also closer to the Jingbei Expeditionary Army and thus had greater strategic significance.

At this moment, Lu Xun whispered to him, "My lord, what Lord Dong said makes a lot of sense, and I wholeheartedly agree."

Yang Xiu nodded in agreement, and all eyes turned to Liu Feng.

“Alright, if that’s the case, then let’s proceed according to Strategy Two. Order all naval forces to assemble at Shaxian City, with Jiang Qin as the vanguard, Huang Gai as the second vanguard, Zhou Tai as the commander-in-chief, and Dong Xi and Gan Ning as the deputy commanders. Continue westward to find the Jiangxia and Xiangyang naval forces for a decisive battle.”

Seeing that everyone agreed, Liu Feng readily agreed and said, "Let Ling Cao and Chen Wu's troops stay behind, one to garrison at Xiakou and the other to garrison at Shaxian."

"My lord, two units of eight thousand men may not be enough."

Zhuge Liang offered timely advice. Although no one knew how many troops would come to Xiangyang to provide reinforcements, they all judged that it would be no less than 20,000.

That's why Zhuge Liang reminded Liu Feng.

"That's enough."

Liu Feng waved his hand: "Now, earthen mounds have been built on both sides of Xiakou, with catapults placed on them. Combined with eight thousand naval troops, it is enough to blockade Xiakou."

Liu Feng had his reasons for making this arrangement. Currently, the navy has four brigade command headquarters, which are under the jurisdiction of eight captains, each with four thousand men, totaling thirty-two thousand men.

Huang Zu is now withdrawing his troops along the Yangtze River. Whatever his purpose may be, he will join forces with Cai Mao in a short period of time.

In this way, Huang Zu and Cai Mao's navy would have at least 40,000 men and at most 50,000.

The Yangzhou navy was clearly outnumbered, and in terms of the number of ships, it was far behind.

Although Liu Feng and the Yangzhou navy were fully prepared, Liu Feng wanted more than just to defeat his opponents; he wanted to inflict the greatest possible damage on the Jingzhou navy, and ideally, to annihilate them in one fell swoop.

In order to achieve this goal, the decisive battle fleet must maintain a certain strength.

The number 24,000 was a red line for Liu Feng; any reduction would inevitably affect the outcome of the main battlefield. Lu Xun and Zhuge Liang exchanged a glance and reminded him, "My lord, it is now July, and the flood season is approaching. We must be prepared."

Lu Xun's words reminded Liu Feng that the Han River is the largest tributary of the Yangtze River, and its water volume varies considerably throughout the year.

Take the Xiakou section of the Han River as an example. During the dry season, the width of the river at the mouth of the Han River is only a little over 100 meters. Even if only bows and arrows were placed on both banks, let alone catapults, it would be enough to block the entire river.

However, during the high-water season, the width of this section of the river will increase dramatically, rising tenfold from over a hundred meters to over a thousand meters. If there is a flood, the width of the river will double or triple again, reaching as high as five or six thousand meters.

However, the Han River has rarely flooded in recent years because the weather has turned cold and rainfall has decreased, keeping the water level of the Han River relatively low.

According to data collected by Liu Feng over the past ten years on the width of the Han River estuary, even in the year with the most abundant data, the width did not exceed one thousand meters.

In this way, the catapults on both sides of the river would be sufficient to block the river. However, explaining this to Zhuge Liang and his men would be quite troublesome.

"Gentlemen, there is no need to worry."

Therefore, Liu Fengqian made a decisive statement: "This westward advance is going against the current. If things don't go well, we can go straight down the river and return to Xiakou."

Zhuge Liang and the others were somewhat worried, but they also realized that Liu Feng had his reasons for making such an arrangement, so they had no choice but to put it aside for the time being.

Subsequently, Liu Feng adjusted part of the army deployment, reinforced and raised the mounds where catapults were placed, and built tall buildings on both banks, placing crossbows on them to threaten the safety of the people on the ships.

Meanwhile, naval forces from Echeng, Zhucheng, Xisai and other places began to gather at Shaxian.

Two days later, apart from the naval forces of Chen Wu and Ling Cao, all other main forces gathered together, set sail, and headed west towards the west of the Great River.

**
After Huang Zu retreated to Zhouling, he hadn't even caught his breath when he discovered that the Yangzhou navy had caught up with him. Moreover, this attack was far more serious than the one at Shaxian.

At that time in Shaxian, Gan Ning was merely conducting armed reconnaissance; he wasn't actually going to war with Huang Zu, let alone forcing him to retreat. Even Liu Feng was surprised that Huang Zu would flee without a fight, abandoning such a crucial pass as Shaxian.

At that time, only Gan Ning's four thousand men went to investigate the provocation. It should be noted that the main forces, such as Zhou Tai and Dong Xi, were still temporarily stationed in Zhucheng and Echeng.

Having learned his lesson, Zhou Tai launched a massive attack this time, overwhelming Huang Zu with his army.

Upon seeing this, Huang Zu immediately took off running.

The city of Zhouling was left to be defended by the local powerful clans, while Huang Zu led the main force of the Jiangxia navy westward once again.

Huang Zu's retreat unexpectedly led him to run into Cai Mao's main force, which was heading east to reinforce them. Both sides were taken aback upon meeting.

Huang Zu was surprised to encounter Cai Mao on the way, and was astonished at how quickly the other party arrived. Cai Mao, on the other hand, was astonished at how Huang Zu could be in Zhouling.

The two sides only learned the truth after they met.

However, Cai Mao's expression was not good. He never dreamed that he would run into the Yangzhou navy head-on. Moreover, this brought the distance between the two sides to almost five to ten miles. For naval forces, this distance was practically face-to-face, which meant that a full-scale war could break out at any moment.

"Chengde, why do you keep retreating?"

Upon meeting, Cai Mao pointed and said, "If Shaxian is lost, how can the Xiangyang navy rendezvous with us? The morale of the Xiakou garrison will also collapse. Once it falls into the hands of the Yangzhou army, we will truly be separated from Xiangyang."

Huang Zu looked displeased. Although he admitted that his withdrawal had caused Cai Mao a lot of trouble, he did not do it for his own selfish reasons.

Just thinking about the Yangzhou navy following behind him, who might catch up with him tomorrow.

He had to suppress his anger and explain, "De Gui, what you say is indeed true, but I had no choice. If I hadn't given up Shaxian, the Yangzhou navy would have forced me to fight long ago, and I wouldn't have been able to wait for your help. You see, even though I gave up Shaxian, the Yangzhou navy is still pursuing me closely, which shows that what they want to take is neither Xiakou nor Shaxian, but the main force of my fleet."

After hearing this, Cai Mao fell silent.

Judging from the Yangzhou navy's relentless pursuit of Huang Zu, the other party was indeed right.

The Yangzhou navy's pursuit was extremely risky, and the fact that the enemy could ignore the risks demonstrates just how determined they were to destroy Huang Zu.

"Then do you know the true strength of the Yangzhou navy?"

Cai Mao and Huang Zu have now joined forces, and the next step is naturally the decisive battle.

Xiakou is now in imminent danger, and the naval forces from Xiangyang have arrived in Xiakou in the past few days.

Cai Mao's side is also starting to run out of steam.

Seeing that the other party seemed to have let him off easily, Huang Zu was immediately thrilled. Partly to atone for his sins and partly to demonstrate his abilities, he laid out the intelligence he had gathered about the other party over the past few days.

Cai Mao was greatly shocked upon hearing this.

He hadn't expected the Yangzhou navy to be so powerful. In his memory, the Yangzhou navy had only been established for two years, and its large-scale expansion and ship production were only a recent development, occurring within the last year.

However, the information Huang Zu provided was quite different from what he had expected.

"Where did the Yangzhou navy get so many warships? Especially the large ships like the tower ships and the warships. Didn't the enemy only start building them on a large scale after they captured Yangzhou last year?"

Cai Mao couldn't help but ask. He was a little flustered at the moment. Although he had to be better than Huang Zu in terms of both literary talent and military strategy, he was really not as good as Huang Zu in terms of courage alone.

Huang Zu frowned slightly, thinking it was foolish for Cai Mao to still be dwelling on these things.

Fortunately, Huang Zu remembered that Cai Mao had come to his aid, so he swallowed his harsh words and explained, "I really didn't know either, but our army has already clashed with the enemy several times, and their number of warships and flagships is indeed no less than ours. Moreover, their sailors are brave and skilled in naval warfare, archery, and boarding. Otherwise, I wouldn't have abandoned Shaxian to preserve the fleet."

Upon hearing Huang Zu's words, Cai Mao was immediately speechless.

Since the other party had put it that way, Cai Mao had no choice but to accept the facts.

"So, how should we respond to this decisive battle?"

The Yangzhou navy was coming in with great force, and Cai Mao felt uneasy. He couldn't help but ask Huang Zu for advice.

Huang Zu was well-prepared: "I had already prepared the iron chains across the river, which can be used in this battle. However, I am short of large ships, so you will have to allocate some warships to me."

The iron chains across the river that Huang Zu originally prepared were intended for use in Xiakou.

Now that the Yangtze River has become the main channel, it's not enough to blockade it, so naturally they have to ask Cai Mao for help.

(End of this chapter)