Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

At the beginning of June in the 24th year of Jian'an, Ruxukou in Jiangdong.

When it was raining heavily in Nanyang, it was raining lightly in Jianye. The drizzle was mixed with a slight breeze, which brought a little bit of coolness in the summer season of June.

Sun Quan sat cross-legged on the porch in the backyard of his mansion in Ruxukou, with willows fluttering in the courtyard, he looked at the letter in his hand and remained silent.

Lu Xun beside him was kneeling respectfully, holding a cup of tea in his hand. Seeing Sun Quan's expression was silent, he said, "Marquis Wu, what about Zhao Yun's reply?"

"He said that it has been raining in Xiling for the past few days, and it is inconvenient to march. He hopes that we can delay for a few more days and wait until the rain stops."

Sun Quan put down the letter in his hand and shook his head.

He has been preparing for the attack on Jingzhou since the beginning of the year, and now a large amount of food and grass has been transported to Chaisang and Guiyang, the supplies, equipment and supplies are almost ready, and the personnel training is basically completed.

Next, Sun Quan hoped to weaken the guards of Xiling and Jiangxia, so he wrote to Zhao Yun and Huang She, asking them to attack Hefei together.

In April, Sun Quan received letters from Liu Bei and Cao Cao. Liu Bei hoped that he could attack Hefei to ease his pressure on the western front, and Cao Cao hoped that he could attack Jingzhou and share the south with him.

Between Huainan and the entire Jingzhou, Sun Quan naturally chose the latter without hesitation, so he hoped that Cao Hong could hold back Shen Chen's main force.

But these days the battle report came, Cao Hong was almost beaten by Shen Chen in the past two months, and the pavilion was attacked by the Nanyang army, and almost fell.This made Sun Quan start to worry about whether Cao Jun could withstand the pressure. If Cao Hong was defeated, wouldn't he be embarrassed?

"Where's Huang She?"

Lu Xun asked again.

Sun Quan said: "Huang She said that he could send troops, but he said that he would go north from Wankou and garrison troops in the nest. After we send troops, we will go straight to Hefei together."

"Ah."

Lu Xun thought for a while, nodded and said: "This is normal, it seems that it is time to send troops."

Sun Quan said: "Zhao Yun doesn't send troops, I'm afraid he might be prepared."

Lu Xun said with a smile: "No, it would be strange if he sent troops. There are only more than 1 people in Xiling, and there are several counties to be garrisoned. There are only [-] in Xunyang City, so there is some hesitation. Huang She has a number of navy troops. Wan, and it is not raining heavily and the river is not rising, it is reasonable to follow us to send troops, otherwise Liu Bei is so tight on the western front, it is impossible not to tell Huang She and Zhao Yun."

Sun Quan pondered for a moment, then stood up and said, "Then send troops?"

"send troops!"

Lu Xun nodded seriously.

Sun Quan then said to the left and right guards: "Send an order to Lu Meng that once Huang She's boat passes Chaisang and enters the nest from Wankou, it will immediately release the carrier pigeons and attack Nanjun in two directions."

"only!"

The servant took the order and left.

On the fifth day of June, the Jiangxia navy commanded Huang She's dispatched generals Su Fei and Chen Sheng to lead 8000 people each, and a fleet of five or six hundred ships, sailing southward toward Wankou.

When Sun Quan heard the news, he immediately started to act. He used the northern expedition to Hefei as an excuse to advance to Shu County.

Then the army suddenly went south and surrounded Juchao.

The reason why they had to wait until the navy entered the city was because if the river intercepted them, they would not be sure to destroy the fleet of the Jiangxia navy.

Once they escaped from any one of them, they could quickly warn Xunyang and Xiakou, and alert Huang She and Zhao Yun.

Moreover, the combat effectiveness of the water army on the ship is strong, but on land and into the city, the combat effectiveness is obviously much worse. Therefore, it is the best way to lure the enemy to land.

Su Fei and Chen Sheng were obviously caught off guard by Sun Quan's sudden attack, Juchao was quickly surrounded, and they could only defend themselves in the city.

On the seventh day of June, Zhang Liao and Xue Ti of Hefei also got the news and led an army of 5000 people to help.

The two sides fought for half a day. Sun Quan believed that his first task should be to quickly move the three counties of Nanjun, Jiangxia, and Xiling to the south, and he should not delay here. Therefore, he left 1 people to cooperate with Zhang Liao's army to besiege Su Fei, and he took 5. People went straight to Xiling.

On the same day, Guiyang County.Sun Jiao, the guard general of Guiyang, got the news of Sun Quan's order to send troops, and the fleet immediately went north along the Leishui River and captured Ling (ling) County of Hengyang County, which is later known as Hengyang City.

At that time, Jingnan's defenders were almost completely empty, and Changsha County, Lingling County, Wuling County, Yuanling County and Hengyang County were almost unguarded.

Sun Jiao captured Hengyang easily with [-] troops, and immediately went north to take Changsha.

By June [-], almost all of Chong'an, Yinshan, Rongling, Liling, Xiangnan, Xiangxi (north of Hengshan County), and Xiangxiang along the Xiangshui River had surrendered. Only Linxiang still had one or two thousand soldiers. But it was only resisted for less than an hour before Kaesong surrendered.

In the next few days, the entire Jingnan Sun Quan was almost determined. The various families in Jingnan rushed to tell each other and celebrated each other. They not only sent a large number of clan members to join, but also provided Sun Quan's army with food, grass and supplies to help Sun Jiao occupy Jingnan.

In just seven or eight days, Jingnan completely fell into Sun Quan's hands, and the number of soldiers increased to more than 4.

Only those officials, county magistrates, and county guards who abandoned the city and fled knew that those aristocratic families were dissatisfied with being deprived of hidden households and hidden properties by Liu Bei's policy.

They only dispatched more than 1 horses, which is considered good.

If there were a large number of hermit servants in the past, I am afraid that each family would have hundreds or even thousands of people. There are many families in Jingnan, especially Lingling County with a population of one million. It is not difficult to generate tens of thousands of troops.

But now with the support of the aristocratic families, the people at the bottom cannot be organized quickly. The officials under Liu Bei in Jingnan can't resist and can only evacuate.

On June [-], Sun Jiao's fleet crossed Dongting Lake and headed straight for Jiangling.

And four days ago, on June [-], when Sun Quan surrounded Juchao and Sun Jiao was quickly capturing Jingnan, Lu Meng, who was stationed in Chaisang, finally started to act.

At the beginning of the meal in the morning, there was still a faint mist on the surface of the Yangtze River, and there was light rain in the sky. It was real light rain. Standing outside the house and looking up at the sky, a few raindrops fell on the face like fluff, and I couldn’t feel it at all. The rainy kind.

But the sky is dark, not the darkest, but gray.The clouds in the sky are also gray, leaden gray at that.Only the east side is full of daylight, but the sun cannot be seen.

Lu Meng walked out of the Chaisang barracks, behind him were groups of soldiers, countless ships lined up on the Chaisang pier, swaying in the wind and rain.

In the Neihu harbor on the westernmost side of the fleet, there are still a large number of ships parked densely. These ships are completely different from those warships. Although they are large and small, they do not have those military facilities. .

The outside of Chaisang City became muddy and wet due to the heavy rain in the past few days, and the yellow mud land became more and more slippery. Looking at the Yangtze River from the wharf, you can vaguely see Jiangxinzhou in the north and the rippling Penglize huge waves.

Quan Cong raised his head to look at the sky, and said to Lu Meng, "The governor still has to be careful. It has been raining heavily in Wu County these days, and I am afraid that Yuzhang and Jiangxia will also have heavy rain."

"Ah."

Lu Meng nodded calmly and said, "You will attack Xunyang with Marquis Wu in this battle, and you must finish it quickly. As soon as I break the Xiakou Wharf, you must rush to help."

"rest assured."

Quan Cong nodded: "This is a battle for the rise and fall of Jiangdong, and it is also a battle for my father to avenge. When Shen Chen in Yi County flooded the army, my father was also drowned. From today onwards, I will demand his blood to pay for it. "

"go!"

Lu Meng waved his hand, and the soldiers behind him poured out of the barracks like a tide, heading towards the pier.

Soon tens of thousands of people came to the pier, arranged in order.Under the command of generals at all levels, they did not wear battle armor, but ordinary clothes, disguised as businessmen, and boarded the ship one after another.

After everyone boarded the boat, with a melodious horn sounding, hundreds of deer ships left the port and poured into the Yangtze River in batches in sequence.

Now Jiangdong's ships have been remodeled. After obtaining Shen Chen's paddle steamer technology, wheel paddles are installed on both sides of the ship.

Soldiers didn't do nothing in the cabin, but turned the wheel shaft with their feet to drive the boat.

It was the time of summer and autumn, and the southeast wind was blowing in Yangzhou. It was the southeast wind that pushed the clouds from the East China Sea to Jingzhou. Therefore, with the support of the sails, they sailed westward at a very fast speed against the current and with the wind.

There are not no beacon towers along the banks of the Yangtze River in Xiling County, but Lu Meng crossed the river in white clothes, disguised as a business traveler and scattered there, successfully deceiving the guards stationed at the beacon towers.

A large number of beacon towers were quietly removed by him, and by the evening of June [-], Lu Meng's fleet had already arrived at Xiakou.

As night fell, the junction of the Yangtze River and the Mian River in Xiakou was probably the South Lake area in the southeast of Wuhan City in later generations. Under the hills in the distance, there stood a city. In the lake dock to the north of the city, there were countless boats.

Historically, Xiakou was founded only after Sun Quan acquired Jingzhou. This city did not exist before because most of the area of ​​Wuhan was blowing bubbles at the bottom of the Yangtze River and Yunmengze Lake.

Only in recent years has a large amount of land surfaced.

Therefore, when Huang Zu guarded Jiangxia, he did not defend against Sun Ce and Sun Quan's attacks in the urban area of ​​Wuhan in later generations, but defended a city called Shaxian in the west of Wuchang District, Wuhan City in later generations.

But now that a small part of Wuhan City was exposed from the bottom of the lake, Shen Chen asked Huang She to build a city and dock in Xiakou, where the main force of the Jiangxia Navy was basically stationed.

At this moment, the sky is getting dark. Xiakou, as the confluence of the Yangtze River and the Han River, connects the four counties of Nanyang, Nanjun, Jiangxia, and Zhangling. The grain, grass, and goods in Jingbei will also be transported to Yizhou, and Yizhou will send them to Yizhou. Salt and Shu brocade came here, so it became an important trade distribution center for Jingyi and Yangzhou.

Yangzhou was able to participate in trade because Sun Quan and Liu Bei were allies.In his early years, Zhou Lin himself was a merchant who often transported goods to Jiangdong for sale. There were a lot of them on the Yangtze River, so Xiakou became more and more prosperous. Even during the war, many merchants gathered here.

Merchant ships are the most frequently parked at the port of Neiwan Lake. Lu Meng's fleet arrived at Xiakou Port in the evening. The flag on his ship represented the merchant ships of a certain family in the east of the Yangtze River. The soldiers at the docks on the shore had already accepted their bribes and recognized the fleet.

Today, Xu Fan, a general under Huang Saoshou, was stationed at the pier. Since it was raining in many areas of Jingzhou and Yangzhou recently, the business was slightly stagnant. He suddenly saw a fleet of ships coming from Jiangdong, which made him a little puzzled.

But when Xu Fan saw the flag on the fleet, he felt relieved.

Because there is a big "Shen" on it.

That is the Shen family of Wujun.

There are many powerful families in Jiangdong, and there are hundreds of them. The Shen family of Wujun is famous for "the family is rich and wealthy, and the wealth is rich". By the end of the Han Dynasty, the Shen family was already a wealthy family in Jiangdong. He joined the army for Xie An, Shen He joined for Huan Chong, and Shen Yue, the author of "Book of Songs", also came from this family.

At this time, the Shen family of Wu County was not the Wu Xing Shen family of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The ancestors were Shen Jing, the prefect of Jiyin in the early Eastern Han Dynasty. Afterwards, Wucheng County was assigned to Wujun, so it was called Shenshi of Wujun.

And where is that Shen Rong's ancestral home?

That's right.

In Runan Gushi.

He and Shen Chener were roughly the same ancestor 300 years ago.

With these irreconcilable relationships, plus the fact that the Shen family knew how to be a man and manage things along the way, the business of the Shen family in Wu County went all the way to Yizhou.

So when Xu Fan saw that it was the Shen family's fleet, he didn't take it to heart.

Who doesn't know that Wujun Shen's business is the biggest?
Not to mention that it is raining in many places in Jingzhou and Yangzhou these days, even if there is hail in the sky, their fleet will probably be able to ship as usual.

The fleet quickly approached the pier, Xu Fan just watched outside the barracks at the pier without moving.

According to past practice, someone will take the initiative to send money anyway.

really.

After a while, the steward of the Shen family brought a few people over, said some good things, handed over gifts, and begged the soldiers in Xu Fan's barracks to help carry the goods.

On weekdays, there are a lot of workers at Xiakou Wharf, but it just so happened that the rainy season came recently, the business off-season, and it was getting dark. The workers left early after they had no work to do, and the city was about to close soon, so it is normal that there are fewer people on the wharf.

In the past, soldiers would not rob laborers for work. This was a rigid rule from above. Once soldiers were paid, they could support their families.Secondly, I was afraid that the soldiers would be arrogant and deprive the workers of their livelihood.

But this time the laborers were not here, Xu Fan thought it would be good for his brothers to earn some extra money, so he agreed wholeheartedly, so he brought hundreds of guards on the pier to help.

The densely packed boats sailed into the pier, Xu Fan walked over and said to the manager: "Let your people move the things to the shore first, and then I will let the brothers transport them to the warehouse."

Outside the east city of Xiakou, there is a warehouse further east of Sushi outside the east city of Luoyang. Merchants will rent warehouses there for temporary storage of goods.

The manager responded with a smile on his face, and then whistled loudly.

Immediately afterwards, in the cabins of those ships on the dock, at least several hundred people came out, with no cargo in their hands, but weapons.

Xu Fan's expression changed drastically.

A sharp knife stabbed his chest.

In the last eyes of his life, he only reflected the steward's attendants who were smiling just now, but now he has shown a cruel grin.

The question about Ling Tong and the paddle steamer has been revised. I have been busy with resignation and relocation these days, and I am indeed in a hurry. As for the matter of crossing the river in white clothes, will you have been guarding against merchants who have been traveling back and forth for more than ten years?