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Chapter 298 The Return

After breaking out from Ling County, Cai Mao took the only [-] or [-] remaining ships and fled all the way to Hengshan Township in a hurry, where he joined Kuai Qi. Hengshan Township was too close to Ling County, so Cai Mao didn't dare to stay longer. The next day He left in a hurry early in the morning.

After several days of non-stop running around, Cai Mao and his party finally fled back to Linxiang.

Linxiang is located in the lower reaches of Ling County, and it was also affected by the flood. The people couldn't help complaining. Linxiang just ended the war disaster, and now it is flooded again. It seems that all the bad things in the world have happened to them.

Lamenting the misfortune is useless, and the top priority now is to harvest the flooded crops as soon as possible.For this reason, the people in Linxiang, regardless of their age, were dispatched by the whole family. For a while, there were busy figures everywhere on both sides of the Xiangshui River.

The appearance of the Cai Mao fleet immediately attracted the attention of the people in Linxiang. The scarred hull and the desolate soldiers gave the people in Linxiang a vague sense of familiarity. Looking back at the memory, isn’t this exactly the defeat of the Jingzhou navy last year? As for what it looked like when they returned, could it be that the Jingzhou Army was defeated by Liu Jing again this time?

At this time, even if the people of Linxiang were to break their heads, they would not think that the Jingzhou army had been wiped out. At most, they thought that the Jingzhou navy had suffered a small defeat or setback, and they couldn't help gloating.

When Liu Biao sent troops to the south, in order to win over the hearts of the people in Jingnan, he repeatedly told generals such as Kuai Yue and Cai Mao to be strict with their troops and not to harm the people in Jingnan at will.Kuai Yue, Cai Mao and others tried their best to restrain the soldiers under their command, but it is simply unrealistic to completely eliminate them.

Moreover, since ancient times, when raising troops to conquer the enemy's country, there is no exception to feed the enemy with food, and the Jingzhou Army is no exception.

In the face of the Jingzhou army's plunder, the people of Linxiang neither dared to be angry nor dared to speak out, and could only bear it silently. Therefore, they were happy to see the Jingzhou army's misfortune.

The fleet sailed slowly into the Beijin camp. As soon as Cai Maofu landed, he immediately sent people to Linxiang to invite Han Xuan, the prefect of Changsha, to come and discuss.

Han Xuan is a native of Nanyang County, and previously served as the governor of Jingzhou. Earlier this year, after the Jingzhou army captured Linxiang, Liu Biao immediately appointed Han Xuan as the prefect of Changsha to take over Linxiang.

When Han Xuan heard the news, he felt a little uneasy. Why did Cai Mao suddenly return to Linxiang?You know, he is the commander-in-chief of the Jingzhou navy, and he cannot easily leave the frontline battlefield.

Han Xuan rushed to the Beijin government office worried, and it turned out that his worries were right.

When Cai Mao said in person that the Jingzhou army was invaded first by the flood and then by Liu Jing's army, almost completely wiped out, Han Xuan stared at Cai Mao in a daze, feeling a chill rushing from the tailbone to the back of the head.

He has only been in charge of Linxiang for more than four months, and he is about to lose his position as prefect?

It's no wonder that Han Xuan is so pessimistic in his heart. At present, Linxiang is still stable on the surface. However, this has little to do with him. It's just because the Jingzhou Army currently has an absolute advantage, and Changsha's heroes and wise men have to stay dormant for a while.

For example, Han Xuansu, the former Changsha Gongcao Huanjie, knew his name. After he took office, he visited many times and wanted to ask him to come out to help him, but unfortunately, after several months of searching, he didn't even see a person.Huan Jie was obviously avoiding him on purpose.

If the advantage of the Jingzhou army can be maintained, Han Xuan's position as prefect will be as stable as Mount Tai.But now that the Jingzhou army is almost completely wiped out, once the news spreads, those heroes and wise men of Jingzhou who have been hiding in the dark and coveting will definitely be ready to stir up wind and rain.

In the future, Linxiang will be like a volcano that may erupt at any time. If Han Xuan sits on it, he will definitely die without a place to bury him.

Seeing Han Xuan's frightened face, Kuai Qi said in a hoarse voice: "Han Changsha, the defeat of our army was due to natural disasters, not due to war. Although the current situation is not good for us, it is far from a critical situation. .”

Kuai Qi was originally a young scholar with outstanding appearance and elegant temperament. Due to long-distance travel and worry about his uncle Kuai Yue, now he has become haggard and his demeanor has been greatly reduced.

Seeing that Han Xuan had calmed down a little, Kuai Qi asked, "Han Changsha, how many soldiers are there in Linxiang?"

Han Xuan replied: "Two battalions, 2000 people."

Kuai Qi nodded slightly and said: "Mr. Cai and I still have three thousand men who can fight. With our strength, it is not difficult to defend Linxiang. Although Liu Zhongda won this battle, his water infantry was only more than ten thousand. There will only be fewer troops to attack Linxiang. As long as we hold out for ten months, reinforcements will arrive, and by then we will be able to defeat Liu Zhongda."

Han Xuan showed a wry smile. Things are not as simple as what Kuai Qi said. Liu Jing's reputation in Linxiang is not inferior to that of Zhang Xian. The flames of war are everywhere.Under internal and external troubles, not to mention sticking to the ten-month period, it is their fortune to be able to hold on for ten days and eight days.

Han Xuan was not optimistic about Kuai Qi's plan in his heart, thinking that it was a road doomed to failure, but he had no choice.

Even if Cai Mao and Kuai Qi ran away, he couldn't back down, otherwise, even if he survived, his future would be ruined and he would be blamed. For Han Xuan, this was far more terrifying than death.

Han Xuan quickly reached an agreement with Kuai Qi on guarding Linxiang, while Cai Mao seemed a little taciturn. Except for explaining the annihilation of the Jingzhou army to Han Xuan when he arrived, he seldom spoke.

Kuai Qi turned his head and asked Cai Mao, "Mr. Cai, are you coming to Linxiang with me?"

Cai Mao shook his head without thinking, "If I leave, there will be no one to command the navy."

This is of course his excuse, and now the Jingzhou Navy only has [-] to [-] ships, so there is no need for him to lead it personally, his brothers Cai He, Cai Xun and others are all capable.

In the final analysis, it was still Cai Mao who was reluctant to enter Linxiang. He believed that once he entered the city, he would be like a fish swimming in a cauldron, and his life and death would be in the hands of others.But if they stay in the Beijin camp, they can escape by boat at any time if the situation is not good.

Both Kuai Qi and Han Xuan saw Cai Mao's careful thinking, but the latter had a legitimate reason, and it was not easy for them to criticize him.Then the three discussed for a long time, and finally Kuai Qi led the people and followed Han Xuan back to Linxiang.

Cai Mao and Kuai Qi returned to Linxiang in the middle of the day, and in the evening of that day, hundreds of warships suddenly appeared on the Xiangshui south of Linxiang, covering the river with masts forming a forest.

The people in Linxiang who were busy with farm work and hadn't returned home couldn't help looking around curiously. At first they thought it was the fleet of the Jingzhou Army, until someone recognized that the flag flying on the tall battleship was "Lingling Prefect Liu".

"Lingling prefect...Liu..."

"Liu Jun is the prefect of Lingling..."

When the Linxiang people recognized that the huge fleet in front of them was Liu Jing's navy, one can imagine the commotion it caused.

(End of this chapter)