Hengdao Sixteen Kingdoms

Chapter 599: Owl Minister
"Haha, your Majesty said that all the people in the east of the Yangtze River are rats!" Zhang Hao laughed.

Among the generals of Heiyun, Zhang Hao is the bravest, but he is also rude and forthright. He says whatever he wants and asks whatever he thinks.

Back then, he had a disagreement and made his adoptive father's concubine into a concubine. Afterwards, he felt very guilty and felt sorry for Zhang Ping, so he committed suicide in the palace with a knife...

Huan Wen would never come for a decisive battle, so Li Yue simply burned the Han River to scare Huan Wen and tell him clearly whose world the Han River belonged to.

Try to force him to fight on land.

The soldiers returned one after another.

Li Yue rewarded each person with two hundred coins, and doubled the pension for those who died in battle.

The five-baht coin is linked to gold and the credit of the court. It has extremely strong purchasing power. When converted into grain, it can buy about four or five shi. The price of one shi of grain fluctuates from [-] to [-] yen. Millet and millet are cheaper, while rice and wheat are more expensive.

It's quite a reward.

Driving a fire ship seems dangerous, but in fact, it is not very dangerous to abandon the ship and escape just three to four hundred steps away from the enemy.

After repelling the vanguard of the Jin navy, the Jin army shrank further and further.

Huan Wen has been stationed in Xiakou, guarding the junction of the Han River and the Yangtze River.

Huan Chong mobilized troops from Wuling and Yuzhang to assist in defense.

Huan Huo mobilized the young men in Xiangyang City to be vigilant day and night and never let up for a moment.

The three Huan brothers are worthy of being born from the same biological father. They are all as steady as old dogs. You can say that they are hesitant, or you can say that they are as fearful of enemies as tigers.

But this shrinking strategy is extremely effective.

Mi's offensive did not go smoothly, with Qin Biao taking the lead. The cities in various places strengthened their defenses, fortified the walls and cleared the fields. The people either fled south or took refuge in the mountains.

Xu Cheng forcibly attacked Xiangyang several times, but achieved nothing. Xiangyang City is really strong. From the end of the Han Dynasty to the present, it has been at the forefront of the confrontation between the north and the south and has experienced the baptism of countless wars.

As Huan Wen's hometown, there is a lot of food and grass in the city. If it is used up, Li Yue may be brought down.

Huan Wenton's troops at Xiakou stood still because they wanted Liang's army to be exhausted under Xiangyang City before he could counterattack.

"Order Qin Biao to send the people, money and food from Jiangling to Fancheng with great fanfare. I'll see if Huan Wen comes out or not!" Li Yue thought again.

Huan Wen, Huan Chong, and Huan Huo can attack all the way casually, and the overall situation of Jingzhou is decided.

"Your Majesty, a secret message has arrived from Fu Liu and Fu Sui!" The guards came in from outside.

The south is not over yet, the west is imminent.

Li Yue felt depressed for a while, couldn't Fu Liu, Fu Shou and the others wait any longer?Save up more strength before taking action?

Why are you so anxious to jump over the wall...

Xiakou, navy camp.

Even without this fire, Huan Wen would not have rashly entered the Han River.

No one would risk their property. Even if Xiangyang was lost or Jingzhou was lost, Huan Wen would not send his [-] elite soldiers up.

Xiangyang is lost, but Jiangdong is still in hand.

But if the 3 men and horses in his hand were gone, Huan Wen would be immediately turned upside down by the Jiangdong gentry.

After receiving the news that Liang Jun had transferred Jiangling's people, money and food, all the Jin generals could not restrain themselves and asked for war one after another.

"The Liang thieves deceive me and there is no one in the east of the Yangtze River? The general is willing to lead an army ashore to intercept and kill the Liang army!" Zhu Yao, the supervisor of the navy army, said angrily.

But Huan Wen just glanced sideways and fell silent.

Liang Jun wanted to go ashore for a decisive battle.

The battle in Hefei that year has left a lingering shadow on Huan Wen to this day.As people get older, they become more conservative and lack the courage to fight decisively. What's more, Huan Wen has been in a high position for many years and is no longer the passionate forward commander he once was.

"Liang Jun is waiting for you to come ashore. He has a fine cavalry in hand. How can you fight on foot?" Huan Wen said tepidly.

But the more so, the more terrifying it is.

The entire Yu family had just been wiped out in his hands, and the emperor and princes of the Sima family were dismissed at the drop of a hat. Their power reached its peak, and no one dared to disobey him face to face.

"Liang Jun attacked the east and west, but my subordinates did not expect the enemy to be ahead. Please punish me, Chief Sima." Xi Chao took the initiative to plead guilty.

Huan Wen waved his hand and said, "It's not your fault. Li Yue was so deliberate that even I was deceived. However, now that Xiangyang is besieged and Jiangling has been defeated, our army is in an unfavorable situation. Does your guest have any good ideas?"

When Xi Chao heard this, he looked at Huan Wen but didn't say a word.

Huan Wen stroked his long beard and had known him for many years. Naturally, he knew his scruples, "It doesn't matter if you say it as a guest."

Xi Chao cupped his hands and said, "I have three strategies: upper, middle and lower."

"Speak quickly." Huan Wen perked up.

When Liang Jun attacked Jingxiang this time, everyone in the court was waiting to see the joke, hoping that both sides would suffer losses.

Yesterday, the imperial court also issued an edict, asking Huan Wen to quickly recapture Jiangling, relieve the danger in Xiangyang, and urge him to advance his troops.

The edict was thrown directly into the river by Huan Wen.

"The best strategy is to gather all the troops, advance by land and water, regardless of the cost of casualties, storm Fancheng, and capture Fancheng. All the Liang troops in the south of the Yangtze River will be turtles in the urn, and the Liang Lord is also under Xiangyang City. If we can capture and kill him, the Central Plains can be restored and the Jin Dynasty can be prosperous. Yes!" Xi Chao looked at Huan Wen hopefully.

The fact that Liang Jun made such a big splash in the Han River just shows that they are also afraid of the Jiangdong navy's desperate measures.

The key to this battle is the Han River first and Xiangyang secondly. By capturing Fancheng, we can regain control of half of the Han River and coordinate Xiangyang at the same time.

Attacking Fancheng will gain the most, but it requires the courage to fight decisively.

Huan Wen's eyes panicked and he avoided Xi Chao's eyes.

Xi Chao sighed deeply in his heart, "Zhongce, the Liang Lord raised an army this time and only had [-] elite black clouds. This shows that he has no intention of annexing Jing and Xiang. That is, he has no such intention and can negotiate peace with him. Liang's thoughts are on Di Qin. It is impossible to waste time with our army in Jingxiang."

Huan Wen said "hmm" and waited for Xi Chao's next move.

"It's a bad idea to delay. As long as you delay, Liang Jun will stop. However, the risk is extremely high. Liang Jun has already conquered Jiangling and obtained its money and food. There is no guarantee that he will not conquer Xiangyang..."

Xiangyang was broken, and Huan Wen's life was also broken.

The reason why Jiangdong was able to suppress Jiangdong was entirely due to the advantages of the upper reaches of Jingxiang.

Now that Liang Jun has brought in a steady stream of reinforcements from the north of the Han River, no one can guarantee that Xiangyang can hold on forever. If it stays for a long time, it will be lost.

In addition, Huan Wen also had to consider the influence of the imperial court.

"The upper policy is too urgent, the lower policy is too slow, the middle policy should be adopted!" Huan Wen chose to talk as expected.

It is best to negotiate a solution. Whether it is fighting or delaying, it will actually be detrimental to Huan Wen.

So what if we win?With all the elite in his hands, what will the Jiangdong court do to him?

Back then, Tao Kan and Zhou Qi were fighting in the south and in the north. One of them put down Su Jun's rebellion, the other pacified Jiangdong, and helped the Jin Dynasty. They were still unavoidable from the court's suspicion...

Going forward, people like Zu Ti, Li Ju, Su Jun, Zu Yue, and Guo Mo who fought bloody battles with the Hu people in the north all ended up worse than the last...

So from Huan Wen's point of view, he would never go to a decisive battle with Liang Jun.

Now he is not the general he was then, but a qualified minister who puts his own interests first.

"First send someone to explore Li Yue's thoughts. Now that Fu Jian is reorganizing Guanzhong and accumulating national strength, he will be in great danger. Li Yue will not know about it." Huan Wen made up his mind.

(End of this chapter)