My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 464 Mid-term Scheduling
At that time, the troops in Gong'an and Lexiang had been completely withdrawn, leaving only a few hundred local county officials and able-bodied men in the city.

Upon hearing the news that the Yangzhou army had marched westward in force, captured the port of Jinxiang on the opposite bank, and surrounded Jiangling, these people were filled with fear and tension. They watched the movements on the Yangtze River day and night in a state of constant anxiety, barely managing to maintain order within the city.

Even so, the people in the city were still filled with fear and unease, and a sense of oppression and anxiety permeated the streets. Wealthy families, merchants and ordinary people continued to flee the city.

At this moment, Jiang Qin and Dong Xi led their armies in a grand procession, their well-organized fleets and fluttering flags showcasing the formidable military might of the Yangzhou army.

The garrison troops of these two river port cities, seeing the enemy troops surging in like a tide outside the city, knew that their strength was far inferior and did not put up any resistance. They hurriedly opened the city gates and surrendered, raising the surrender flag.

Compared to Gong'an, Lexiang was much smaller in scale, and its city walls were far shorter. Moreover, Lexiang did not draw water from the Yangtze River to serve as a moat, which put it at a clear disadvantage in terms of defense.

Knowing the weaknesses in Lexiang's defenses, Dong Xi, after careful consideration, left only a thousand naval troops in Lexiang and solemnly granted them the authority to withdraw at their own discretion during wartime, in order to deal with any possible emergencies.

Meanwhile, on the Gong'an side, Jiang Qin led his entire army to occupy the city and take control. After settling his troops, he immediately dispatched a quick-thinking messenger to return to Jinxiang by fast ship to report the military situation to Zhou Tai, Taishi Ci, and Zhao Yun.

Two days later, Taishi Ci in Jiangling City received news from the other side of the river that Chanling had been occupied by Kuai Yue's vanguard, and that the main force of the follow-up troops had also successfully entered the city.

The enemy seemed to know that Gong'an and Lexiang had been occupied by the Yangzhou army, but instead of sending troops to fight for these two places, they sent soldiers to the countryside to collect grain and fodder, with the aim of replenishing the treasury of Chanling and making sufficient material preparations for subsequent military operations.

Upon receiving the news, Taishi Ci quickly summoned his generals to discuss countermeasures.

After a heated discussion, he decisively ordered the abandonment of Lexiang.

However, at the same time, Taishi Ci also asked Zhou Tai to assist Dong Xi in transferring all the people and supplies of Lexiang to Jiangling and Jinxiang to prevent these resources from falling into the hands of the enemy.

At the same time, he dispatched a battalion of troops under Xu Ding, who was under Zhao Yun's command, to quickly go to Le'an to replace Jiang Qin's navy.

After that, Taishi Ci closely monitored the every move of Kuai Yue's troops in Chanling, carefully looking for possible opportunities to fight, while anxiously awaiting Liu Feng's new orders, ready to respond to any changes in the battle situation.

**
The news from the west arrived at Liu Feng's desk as swiftly as the wind.

He unfolded the intelligence report, his eyes quickly scanning the lines.
After a moment, Liu Feng's expression gradually became a mix of amusement and exasperation, filled with helplessness and surprise.

Liu Feng sighed inwardly and muttered to himself, "This war is truly as unpredictable as the changing winds and clouds. A slight change at a crucial point can be enough to turn the entire battle situation upside down!"

Take the western front as an example. Kuai Yue had a large army, but when facing Zhou Tai, he hesitated and dared not engage in a direct confrontation. Instead, he chose to abandon the waterway and take the land route, fleeing in a sorry state to Chanling in order to seek temporary peace.

This action was truly unexpected by Liu Feng, who came after him.

In Liu Feng's mind, Kuai Yue was a genius with extraordinary wisdom and strategy. He was always good at planning, decisive and courageous, and could often come up with ingenious strategies to turn the tide of battle.

He never imagined that Kuai Yue would make such a seemingly expedient decision as to flee to Chanling, which in reality would trap him in a deadly situation and only address the symptoms, not the root cause.

However, Kuai Yue's unexpected move also brought considerable trouble to Liu Feng.

Originally, Liu Feng's carefully crafted plan was to first concentrate his forces to annihilate the Jingbei expeditionary army led by Kuai Yue in one fell swoop, and then gather all his strength to march north and capture Xiangyang.

But now, Kuai Yue, with his massive army, is like a heavy stone, trapped in Chanling.

Although Kuai Yue was in dire straits, Liu Feng was unable to find an effective solution to resolve the situation in a short period of time, which gave him a major headache.

"Here comes someone!"

Liu Feng raised his voice and loudly ordered, "Quickly go and invite Mr. Zhuge and Mr. Lu to come and discuss matters."

Before long, Zhuge Liang and Lu Xun arrived in a hurry and entered the room.

Liu Feng didn't beat around the bush and directly told the two of them in detail about the problems on the western front and the whole ins and outs of the incident.

"Kongming, Boyan, the situation has changed drastically, and our plans have also undergone significant changes."

Liu Feng looked at the two of them with a deep gaze and said seriously, "The most urgent task is to change the plan, otherwise it will be difficult to continue."

Zhuge Liang and Lu Xun were fully aware of the entire grand plan, and at this moment, they both agreed with Liu Feng's view.

The primary issue at hand is how to deal with the Kuai Yue Group, which is trapped in Chanling.

For a moment, the room fell silent as Zhuge Liang and Lu Xun were both lost in deep thought.

In his heart, Liu Feng naturally trusted Zhuge Liang more and had the highest expectations for him.

But at this stage, he actually hoped to hear Lu Xun's opinion.

Both Zhuge Liang and Lu Xun were well-versed in literature and martial arts from a young age, but Zhuge Liang was still very young and lacked experience in military strategy. Lu Xun, on the other hand, had a clear advantage in this regard.

As a prominent clan in Jiangdong, the Lu family possessed a far greater number of clan soldiers than the Zhuge family. Not to mention, when Wancheng was besieged by Yuan Shu for two years, Lu Xun was at Lu Kang's residence at the time, accumulating considerable practical experience through observation and experience.

Time passed slowly, and after a long while, Zhuge Liang broke the silence first.

He bowed slightly and said respectfully, "My lord, in my opinion, perhaps we can send someone to contact Kuai Yue and test his intentions. Now, the battle report from General Taishi shows that the area below Jiangling is under our control, and Liu Qi has also fallen into our hands. Could we ask Prince Liu Qi to write a letter and, based on his status, persuade Kuai Yue on our behalf?"

Upon hearing Zhuge Liang's words, Liu Feng narrowed his eyes slightly, seemingly lost in thought, and slowly nodded. He himself had actually considered this idea before, and now, hearing Zhuge Liang bring it up, he couldn't help but agree even more.

Inside the study, the candlelight flickered, casting shadows on the faces of the three people.

Lu Xun flicked his sleeves, his posture upright, his eyes revealing wisdom and composure.

He bowed slightly to Liu Feng and spoke slowly, his voice unhurried yet carrying a resolute tone: "My lord, when Kuai Yue marched south this time, he commanded 70,000 elite soldiers, claiming to have an army of 100,000. He came with great force, intending to take over the four commanderies of Jingnan in one fell swoop. However, fate was unkind. In the Battle of Zhouling, Cai Mao went to aid Huang Zu, causing Kuai Yue to lose 30,000 troops, severely weakening him. Then, Liu Hu covered his rear at Baqiu, but was annihilated by Zhou Tai and Sun Ce on the battlefield, losing another 10,000 veteran soldiers by land and water. Now, if we calculate carefully, he has at most 30,000 troops left."

A thoughtful look flashed in Liu Feng's eyes as he glanced approvingly at Lu Xun, while Zhuge Liang stroked his beard and nodded slightly, his eyes revealing his approval of Lu Xun's words.

The two men simultaneously agreed. Having received their approval, Lu Xun remained calm and continued, "Since Kuai Yue is already in such a sorry state, let's just go with him."

Upon hearing this, Liu Feng looked surprised and couldn't help but repeat, "Just let him go?"

His tone was full of doubt, clearly surprised by Lu Xun's suggestion.

Lu Xun's lips curled up slightly, revealing a confident smile, and he said loudly, "Exactly!"

Then, he stood with his hands behind his back and spoke eloquently: "Our lord already knows that in order to escape our pursuit, Kuai Yue had no choice but to abandon his boat and go ashore, leading his remaining troops on a long journey. Along the way, they traveled day and night, covering fifty or sixty li a day. The soldiers were all exhausted. Although they finally arrived at Chanling, all their supplies had been lost, and their boats had long been abandoned south of Dongting Lake."

This was not Lu Xun making things up. In fact, Kuai Yue abandoned a large amount of baggage and only took some food with him when he retreated, just as Lu Xun said.

Otherwise, even with Liu Hu covering his rear, it would have been difficult for him to reach Chanling before the Yangzhou navy.

"Now, Kuai Yue's troops are exhausted and lack military equipment and supplies. I'm afraid even their food supplies may not be sufficient."

Lu Xun continued, “Kuai Yue’s troops are exhausted. Moreover, he is surrounded by the Yangtze River and the Jingnan Pass. My lord, it would be better to order General Taishi to leave only the two strongholds of Gong’an and Lexiang. If Kuai Yue comes to contest them, then give them to him, but you must never let him cross the river.”

At this time, Lu Xun was unaware that Taishi Ci had already ordered the abandonment of Lexiang.

The reason why Lu Xun and Taishi Ci were so different was simply because they were in different positions and had different information.

Taishi Ci made his judgment purely based on the battlefield situation. Since Gong'an was there and Lexiang was relatively difficult to defend, he would naturally abandon Lexiang and defend Gong'an in order to preserve the entire army.

However, Lu Xun knew more intelligence, and from a strategic perspective, if Kuai Yue was to be trapped in Jiangnan, then the importance of Lexiang would become apparent.

Gongan is located to the right of Chanling, about 30 li away from Chanling, while Lexiang is located 60 li to the north of Chanling. In addition, there are Jiangling and Jinxiang on the opposite bank, which are located between Gongan and Lexiang.

In this way, the entire Jiangling section of the river was completely under the control of the Yangzhou navy, and there was no longer any fear that Kuai Yue would sneak across the river.

After listening quietly to Lu Xun's analysis, Liu Feng's doubts gradually disappeared, replaced by a look of full appreciation.

"What Boyan said is exactly what I think!"

He stood up, leaning on the desk, and walked to Lu Xun with a smile on his face. He gently patted the other's arm and praised loudly, "Boyan is indeed a man of great wisdom. If we follow this plan, even if Kuai Yidu is full of tricks, he will be trapped in Chanling and unable to escape."

Upon hearing this, Lu Xun immediately bowed and greeted Liu Feng with a humble smile, saying respectfully, "My lord is too kind. This is merely my duty and nothing to boast about." His words and actions were consistent with his humble and low-key character in history, showing no arrogance or complacency despite Liu Feng's praise.

At the end, Lu Xun paused slightly and added, "What Kongming said makes a lot of sense. If we can persuade Kuai Yue to switch sides, that would be the best outcome. In this way, we can not only avoid a pointless battle, but also eliminate all obstacles."

After receiving advice from Zhuge Liang and Lu Xun, Liu Feng had a general strategic plan in mind. He then kept Zhuge Liang and Lu Xun behind, allowing him to personally develop the overall strategy, while Zhuge Liang and Lu Xun provided tactical analysis and refined the details.

By daybreak, a new follow-up plan was formulated and sent to various garrisons along the Yangtze River to begin troop adjustments.

Jiangling is of paramount importance in this deployment.

This is because over 100,000 troops from Yangzhou have already gathered here.

Among them were more than 70,000 elite veterans, plus more than 20,000 civilian laborers, totaling 100,000 people. According to the international practice at the time, this was enough to falsely claim an army of 500,000.

The Yangzhou army held a significant advantage over Kuai Yue's forces, both in terms of troop numbers and the elite quality of its soldiers. Unfortunately, they failed to stop Kuai Yue before he entered Chanling.

Although Liu Feng and Taishi Ci were both confident of capturing Chanling, they did not want to waste their time and resources on this deadly place.

After receiving the order, Taishi Ci immediately summoned his generals to discuss the matter.

Everyone, from Taishi Ci and Zhao Yun to Zhang Liao, Pan Zhang, and Xu Ding, had no objection to Liu Feng's orders.

There are just a few minor issues that they need to discuss further.

The biggest problem is Lexiang.

According to Liu Feng's orders, Lexiang could not be abandoned, at the very least not without a fight. Moreover, Liu Feng's requirement for Jiangling was that Kuai Yue not be allowed to cross the Yangtze River.

Even from this perspective, Lexiang suddenly became extremely important.

Liu Feng's order only required him to garrison Lexiang, without specifying any concrete tasks.

Therefore, Taishi Ci and others were able to devise a plan to defend Lexiang.

As soon as the meeting began, one person stepped down from his seat to volunteer, offering his services.

"General, I am willing to go to Lexiang. Only my own troops are needed. I only request that you allocate some military equipment and supplies, and also provide assistance from several thousand civilians."

The generals looked closely and saw that the person who had volunteered was none other than Sun Ce, Sun Bofu.

Sun Ce was in a rather awkward position in Liu Feng's army at this time. Liu Feng had assigned all of his generals, whether they were his father's former generals or his own newcomers, to their respective roles and allowed them to display their talents.

Sun Ce was the only exception. Although Liu Feng still gave him a real position, he did not hesitate to leave him idle and put him on a pedestal.

But what Sun Ce desired most was to fight on the battlefield and be appointed as a general and granted a title.

It's normal that Sun Ce has never had any direct subordinates. If it weren't for Liu Feng's magnanimity, Sun Ce might not have been able to save his own life if it were anyone else.

But Sun Ce is Sun Ce after all; how could he be content with loneliness?
Therefore, he was willing to risk all kinds of dangers and wanted to seize any opportunity.

(End of this chapter)