Hengdao Sixteen Kingdoms

Chapter 598
Jingzhou has always had two core places, one is Xiangyang, the gateway to the north, and the other is Jiangling, the important place for money and food.

It was called Yingdu in ancient times and was one of the capitals of Chu State. The capital of Shu and Wu once used this place as a base to resist Cao Wei.

After Qin Biao went south, he went straight to Jiangling with light troops and fast horses, and attacked the city at night. The city was completely defenseless and fell...

Compared with Fancheng and Xiangyang, this victory was really easy.

But if you think about it deeply, it is natural.

Jing Xiang's troops were already empty, and Huan was so careless that he did not care about the tail.

Taking Jiangling was equivalent to stabbing Huan Wen in the lungs, opening up a new situation for this war.

Li Yue had to increase his efforts and said, "Send an order to transfer Xu Cheng's troops south. Only three thousand Heiyun troops will be left in Xincheng County. The rest will cross the river and besiege Xiangyang."

"Qin Army..." Dou Feng said worriedly.

"Fu Jian is too busy to take care of himself. If he dares to come out, I don't want him to."

By capturing Jiangling, Liang Jun had a focal point to cut off reinforcements from Xiangyang, and could also use this as a basis to encroach on the entire territory of Jingzhou.

On the water, Li Yue admitted that he was no match for Jiangdong, but in a decisive battle on the Jianghan Plain, it was clear who would win.

Jiang Ling's mistake quickly affected the situation.

It no longer made sense for Huan Chong to stay in Luocheng. The navy went south, entered the Yangtze River, and went up the river to occupy important Yangtze River towns such as Gong'an, Xinling, Yidao, and Lexiang.

People in Jingzhou were panicked.

And Liang Jun, who was north of the Han River, continued to move south.

Taking advantage of the fact that the water flow was not strong in winter, three pontoon bridges were built so that horses and ox carts could pass directly.

Li Yue put on a posture that he would not give up until he captured the whole of Jingzhou. He built deep ditches and high bases around Xiangyang, waiting for Huan Wen to come to relieve the siege.

Then he sent Mi Jin to lead [-] black cloud troops and [-] town troops to pull out all the small towns between Xiangyang and Jiangling, completely isolating Xiangyang.

Half a month later, Huan Wen finally arrived belatedly. The army stopped at Xiakou. Seeing that Liang Jun was in a decisive battle, he stood still and only sent a small naval force up from Xiakou to invade the Han River.

Control of the Han River will determine the outcome of this war.

"If Jingxiang does not exist, how can Jiangdong exist? The situation is extremely dangerous, and Huan Wen is still hesitant. If we gather all the troops and fight decisively in the Han River, our army may not be able to win." Even Cui Hong saw that Li Yue was bluffing.

Huan Wen attacked from the Han River, relying on his navy, and attacked the Xiangyang defenders from both inside and outside, with at least a [-]% chance of victory.

Li Yue did not bring a naval force here. As long as Huan Wen breaks through the three pontoon bridges on the Han River, Liang Jun in the south of the Yangtze River will become a turtle in the urn.

Of course, this requires courage and determination.

With a [-]% chance of winning and a [-]% chance of failure, Liang Jun will also fight to the death. The Han River is not the Yangtze River and is not that vast. The upper reaches are in the hands of Liang Jun. Even if Huan Wen wins, he will suffer heavy casualties.

"Perhaps Huan Wen saw that our army did not have the strength to take over all of Jingzhou." Xu Cheng said with cupped hands.

From another perspective, as long as Xiangyang is here, Jingzhou cannot be lost.

"Huan Wen has always been hesitant." Li Yue really wanted to force Huan Wen to fight decisively, whether on land or on the Han River. If he wins, Jingzhou will be reduced to Liangtu, and Jiangdong downstream is also finished. If he loses, the worst he can do is to retreat.

"The general dares to ask your majesty to return to Fancheng, as long as there is a general on the front line of Xiangyang." Xu Cheng said extremely straightforwardly.

If a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall, and the soldiers are in danger, anything can happen on the battlefield. Li Yue himself is the biggest strategic target.

Huan Wen was really desperate to kill Li Yue, and he might not be able to lock Li Yue in Jiangnan.

"How can I not accept General Xu Cheng's words of seeking for the country?" Li Yue always listens to others' advice, not to mention that Xu Cheng is his subordinate, so he is putting himself in his shoes.

It doesn't make much sense to stay in the south of the Yangtze River. Returning to the town of Fancheng will allow you to control the Han River more accurately.

"Your Majesty is wise." Xu Cheng handed over his hand again.

Li Yue then led the [-] Xuanjia battalion back to Fancheng and stayed in Jiangbei to take charge of the overall situation.Huan Wen's small navy went up the river. Li Yue said nothing and ordered the soldiers who knew the water to directly hit them with fire boats.

However, the Black Cloud Army are all from the north. Even if they know how to swim, they don't know how to operate a boat.

It was Liu Laozhi who selected more than [-] people from the town army and civilians. Many of them were locals and made a living fishing by the Han River all year round.

Liu Laozhi led hundreds of soldiers and sailed behind with powerful crossbows. Any escapees were shot and killed. The fleet sailed down the river and headed straight for Huan Wen's navy.

Li Yue stood on Fancheng and looked to the southeast.

In order to intimidate Jiangdong and build momentum, more than 100 fire ships were dropped to give Huan Wen a disincentive and also to show off to the Xiangyang defenders.

After fighting so many times, Li Yue had already figured out Huan Wen's character. He did not lack strategy, but determination. Being able to station troops in Xiakou showed that he realized that the key to victory lay in the Han River.

So Li Yue wanted to arouse his anger.

A fire boat is said to be a boat, but it is actually a raft. The firewood on it is not valuable, but the kerosene is valuable.

In the early years, you could conquer the world with a knife, bare feet, and two sips of northwest wind, but now you can't. Every move of your troops and horses costs countless money and food.

"Your Majesty, look!" Cui Hong pointed to the southeast.

A small fire lit up, then two, three, four...

Densely rippling on the Han River, the entire Han River is decorated like a galaxy.

But soon, flames rose from the water and the shouts shook the sky.

To the southeast, flames shot into the sky and black smoke billowed, as if the entire Han River was on fire.

The fire also ignited the dead grass and trees on the shore. The fire spread for several miles, like a fire dragon beating in the southeast.

"Bang the drum to cheer!" Li Yue's enthusiasm was also ignited.

Murder and arson have long been ingrained in the bones of people of this era.

The roaring war drums shook both sides of the Han River. At the top of Xiangyang City, countless soldiers looked eagerly towards the lower reaches of the Han River.

Huan Wen came up with more than a hundred naval warships, and Li Yue sent out more than 2000 fire ships. Going down the river with the wind, he could burn them with a fire even with his eyes closed.

The fire continued to spread toward the shore.

About half an hour later, the fire on the river gradually dimmed, and the woods on the south bank were set on fire. It burned for a long time, getting bigger and bigger, and seemed to blacken the blue sky.

"Report to Your Majesty... As soon as the Jin army saw our fire ships, they turned around and left. Only more than twenty ships were burned..." The scout came to report.

Creating such a big battle has left me feeling lonely...

Li Yue felt distressed for a while.

However, the deterrent effect should be achieved.

Huan Wen's large ships such as tower ships, fighting ships, and stern ships could never stop the fire ships.

"Why didn't your Majesty wait for Huan Wen's ship to arrive and set the whole thing on fire?" Zhang Hao was puzzled.

Li Yue said: "When did you see Huan Wen take the initiative to fight in a decisive battle?"

Huan Wen's only decisive battle in his life was in the middle of Shu. However, when he saw Cheng Han's desperate counterattack, he decided to retreat. Unexpectedly, the drummer accidentally beat the drum, and the forward Yuan Qiao fought to the death. The Jin army was greatly inspired, and they were defeated by an unexpected combination of circumstances. Cheng Hanjun...

Historically, he committed this hesitation twice in succession.

There are striking similarities. One is to rein in the troops at Ba River, and the other is to stop the troops at Fangtou. They both stood still when they were half a step away from the enemy, giving Fu Xiong and Murong Chui a chance to breathe. Then they both returned in defeat due to lack of food and fodder. …

(End of this chapter)