Soldiers come to the world

Spring has come, the air is full of soft sunshine and warm breath, the woods have already been covered with green buds, and larks are flying and singing over the woods.

The river became greener, groups of teals and geese were rolling in the river, and fishing boats passed by from time to time, with a few cormorants standing on the bow, like generals in black armor.

The spring breeze is blowing, and the big flag on the head of the southern city of Fancheng is fluttering with the wind. On the top of the city, Liu Hu is wearing iron scale armor, an eagle-prismatic helmet on his head, and a sword on his waist. Half of the iron tower, holding a sixty-pound sword in his hand, looks majestic.

He is now the commander of Fancheng Defensive Qu, and he is in charge of a hundred soldiers. Fancheng Defensive Qu is Liu Jing's army. This army is somewhat similar to the independent battalion of later generations, consisting of [-] soldiers.

This army is in charge of the north and south gates of Fancheng. It is not under the jurisdiction of the school captain Wenpin who is stationed in Fancheng, but is subordinate to Liu Biao's yamen army and is directly responsible to the captain Wang Wei.

This is also the special feature of Liu Biao's army. Some strategic cities are controlled by Liu Biao's directly subordinate yamen, such as Wuchang, Fancheng, Jiangling, Public Security and so on.

So Liu Jing controls this 500-man army, which is almost an independent kingdom, and he can enter and leave the city freely without affecting his martial arts training. This is also Liu Biao's painstaking arrangement for him.

This morning, it happened to be Liu Hu's turn to be on duty. He has been the head of the village for nearly three months, and he has already become one with his subordinates.

Although Liu Hu is the nephew of the state shepherd, he is very popular and has no pretensions as an officer. No matter soldiers or other officers, everyone likes him and calls him "Brother Hu!" '

"Brother Tiger!"

A soldier rushed over and knelt down on one knee to report: "There is an urgent military report from Xinye!"

Liu Hu smiled and kicked him, "You bastard, when you're talking about business, you should call me the head of the village."

The soldier scratched his head embarrassedly and said with a smile: "Remember, I will definitely not make a mistake next time."

Liu Hu quickly walked down the top of the city, looked around at the city gate, "Where is the Marquis?"

"Brother Hu, the Marquis seems to have returned to the barracks."

"Hey! I have to run another time, Tiger." Liu Hu had no choice but to turn around and run quickly into the city.

The camp of Fancheng Defense Song is not far from the city gate. It is a medium-sized military camp covering an area of ​​about [-] mu. It consists of five rows of brick houses and a training school field. It is surrounded by walls and there is a three-foot-high sentry tower beside the gate. , There are sentries patrolling day and night, and soldiers stand guard in front of the gate, and idlers are not allowed to enter.

Liu Jing's barracks is located on the far left of the first row of barracks. It consists of three rooms. In addition to his own main room, there are two auxiliary rooms. One room is stacked with various documents and bamboo slips, and the other room is To deal with documents and materials, there are two clerks working in the room.

Liu Jing has been in the position of military marquis for nearly three months. From the initial excitement to the gradual calm, he is busy every day, doing almost the same things, guarding the city on duty, training soldiers, mediating disputes, and writing a book every month. A report, business flat and boring.

For the past three months, Liu Jing spent most of his time in Fancheng, and rarely went to Xiangyang, so his life gradually returned to calm, and no incidents occurred again.

However, Liu Jing has gained a lot in his own martial arts. The hard training every night has made his strength stronger day by day. He can already wield a weapon weighing nearly forty catties with ease.

The improvement in martial arts greatly increased Liu Jing's confidence and made him full of hope for the future.

In the room, Liu Jing was concentrating on reviewing the March report. This is a summary report that he must write every month. It is usually drafted by the secretary, revised by him, and then submitted to his boss Wang Wei.

Although these are trivial matters, Liu Jing still dare not be careless. Wang Wei is an extremely serious person, and he will check some data carefully.

In the report last month, there was a slight discrepancy between the amount of money and food received by the army and the amount allocated. Wang Wei went to the barracks to check it himself, only to find out that it was because some moldy food was removed in the report. Even so, Liu Jing learned from Wang Wei. Stern and aboveboard attitude.

I heard that my predecessor was severely punished by Wang Wei for embezzling money and food, and he is still in prison.

In addition, the armory in Jingzhou was stolen a month ago, and many bows and swords were lost. Liu Biao was furious and ordered the entire army to search. Every barracks had to be checked and counted by special personnel. , or nothing.

At this time, there was a rush of footsteps outside, and Liu Hu rushed in like a gust of wind, "Brother Jing, Xinye is about to start a war!"

Liu Jing stood up abruptly, "Is the news true?"

This is the news he has been waiting for. As early as ten days ago, there was news from Nanyang that Cao Jun had increased his troops by 3, and the Nanyang garrison increased from [-] to [-]. Henan Yin Xiahou Dun personally led the army to Nanyang.

This is a bad omen. As people from Nanyang continue to drag their families to the south to take refuge, the defenders of Fancheng are like ducks in the spring river. What did they realize first?

Liu Jing, who was guarding the gate of Fancheng, also felt the smoke of war approaching, but he was looking forward to it, looking forward to being on the battlefield.

He has been in Jingzhou for nearly half a year, and his mentality has changed a lot. At the beginning, he fled to Jingzhou through the battlefield, and he had an inexplicable fear of war.

But it was different now. He was eager to experience a war to sharpen his hard training for the past three months. Just like a soldier who had just picked up a gun, he always had a natural desire for war.

He thought Liu Hu's answer was too slow, so he asked again, "Where's the messenger soldier?"

"I have already crossed the Han River to go to Xiangyang."

Liu Jing pondered for a moment, "Then I will go too!"

． ． ． ． ． ． ． ．

In Liu Biao's office in the prefectural government, Liu Biao was discussing with Cai Mao about the military situation in Nanyang. Liu Biao got the news ten days ago that Cao Cao sent general Xiahou Dun to lead an army of [-] reinforcements to Nanyang, bringing the number of Cao's elite troops in Nanyang to more than [-], posing a huge threat to Xiangyang.

Just now he received an urgent military report from Liu Bei that Xiahou Dun sent general Li Dian to lead an army of [-] troops to harass the border of Xinye County, and a small-scale battle broke out between the two sides.

Liu Bei's garrison only had 6000 men, and he could deal with Li Dian's 5000 men. However, if Xiahou Dun led [-] troops to the south, Xinye would be hard to protect. Liu Bei urgently asked Liu Biao for help.

The news of Cao Jun's attack on Xinye made Liu Biao very worried. He also got the news that Yuan Shao was seriously ill, and several nephews competed for the position of the son, causing internal strife.

Liu Biao was worried that Cao Jun would take advantage of Yuan's son and nephew fighting for the throne, and the army would go south to attack Jingzhou. Xiahou Dun was probably just the vanguard.

But at this time, Liu Biao was furious at Huang Zu's refusal to send troops again. Sun Quan's mother was critically ill.

But Huang Zu reasoned that there was an epidemic in the army and it was not suitable to work with teachers, so he refused to come, Liu Biao soon knew that there was no such thing as an epidemic, it was clearly Huang Zu who did not listen to his orders.

This is not the first time, and finally Liu Biao couldn't bear it anymore.

"The first time Cao Jun attacked Wancheng, I ordered him to mobilize [-] troops, but he refused to come. The second time he attacked Wancheng, I ordered him to mobilize another [-] troops, but he still refused. In the battle of Runan last year, we I ordered him to send another [-] troops, but he refused again, again, again, and again, does he still regard me as the lord?"

Liu Biao was so angry that he almost went crazy, Cai Mao was terrified at the side, and after repeated persuasion, Liu Biao's anger was finally calmed down.

But Liu Biao became gloomy and cold. He stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back, and he had murderous intent in his heart. After a long time, he said coldly, "He should regard Jiang Xia's army as his Huang Zu's army."

"My lord..."

Cai Hao wanted to persuade him again, but Liu Biao waved his hand, "Don't talk about this anymore, let's talk about Cao Jun! How should I respond?"

"Yes!"

Cai Hao sighed, had to pull back his thoughts, pondered for a moment and said: "My lord, the key is that Cao Cao has not settled in the north, and he is unable to go south for a while, and the garrison in Nanyang is just a threat, so Liu Bei has the obligation to fight against Cao's army. Moreover, we I think his pressure should be greater than that of the lord."

After all, Cai Mao was the military adviser in Jingzhou, and he had the first say in the issue of military aircraft. Although he was a pro-Cao faction, it was not in his interest for Cao Jun to go south at this time, so he also advocated adding troops to Xinye to fight against Cao Jun.

But Cai Hao has deeper thoughts. If he can use Cao Jun's hand to annihilate Liu Bei, it can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

He persuaded Liu Biao again: "Now Xinye has more than [-] troops. I suggest adding another [-] troops to Liu Bei, so that Xinye's strength can reach [-], which can barely resist Cao's army. The reinforcements cannot be handed over to Liu Bei, but must be commanded by our own people."

Liu Biao nodded. Cai Mao's suggestion touched his heart. He put Liu Bei in Xinye just to make him a barrier for himself. Since Cao Jun increased his troops to Nanyang, the role of this barrier should be brought into play.

In fact, Liu Biao also has other thoughts. If Cao Jun is not going south in a big way, but just harassing on a small scale, can he make good use of Cao Jun?

Liu Biao agreed: "I will do as you said. We can send 1 reinforcements to Xinye to ensure that Xinye has enough money and food, but who should be in command of the [-] reinforcements?"

"The humble officer recommends Captain Zhang Yun. He is the lord's nephew, his loyalty is unquestionable, and he has led troops to fight against Cangwu prefect Shi Huang many times. He has rich experience and can take on great responsibilities."

Liu Biao pondered for a while, Cao Jun is not Cangwu Army, Zhang Yun can fight in the water, but Liu Biao is really worried if he wants to fight Cao Jun.

At this moment, a guard reported at the door, "Kai Jianjun is here!"

Kuai Yue's official position was General Zhonglang in the army, the third decision-maker in Jingzhou, he came just in time, and Liu Biao also wanted to hear his opinion, so he immediately ordered: "Let him in."

Not long after, Kuai Yue quickly walked into the official room, knelt down and bowed to Liu Biao, "My subordinate Kuai Yue pays homage to the lord!"

"You don't need to be polite, please sit down!"

Kuai Yue sat down, bowed slightly to Cai Mao, nodded and said with a smile, "So the military advisor is here."

The Kuai and Cai tribes have always been in competition in Jingzhou, although they have common interests in some aspects, for example, they both belong to the pro-Cao faction, and for example, they both oppose the reuse of the northern gentry.

However, it is difficult for the Kuai and Cai clans to agree on each other's core interests.

For a long time in the past, the interests of the Cai family were in Xiangyang County, while the interests of the Kuai family were in Nanjun.

But since last year, Liu Biao considered marrying his two sons to the Jingzhou family, which involved the long-term interests of the Kuai and Cai clans, and the contradictions between them began to emerge.

Cai Mao originally supported Liu Qi, but his uncle Cai Xun and his sister Mrs. Cai strongly advocated supporting Liu Cong. More importantly, Liu Qi himself was biased towards the Kuai family, which made Cai Mao deeply disappointed.

He began to change his attitude, supported his second son Liu Cong, and considered marrying his daughter Cai Shaoyu to Liu Cong in order to control Liu Cong.

Kuai Yue, on the other hand, publicly supported the eldest son Liu Qi. He and Liu expressed a tacit agreement to marry Kuai Jing, the daughter of his elder brother Kuai Liang, to Liu Qi to complete the marriage between Kuai and Liu. Although the two parties have not officially expressed their views, this day will come soon.

Influenced by the marriage of the Liu brothers, the four great families in Jingzhou also gradually formed their own teams, forming the two major forces of the Cai Huang Group and the Kuai Pang Group.

But at this time, the two major groups are still in their infancy. Liu Cong has not yet married Cai Shaoyu, and Kuai Jing has not yet married Liu Qi. The interests are mixed, and the differences are unclear. It is the time when the old and new patterns of Jingzhou alternate, just like the dawn of night and day.

Of course, Liu Biao is well aware of this change in the situation. As the highest power holder, he does not want his subordinates to unite and divide them into two opposing groups.

So Liu Biao also began to change his attitude, and no longer forced Liu Jing to marry the daughter of the Cai family. It might not be a bad thing if his second son Liu Cong married the daughter of the Cai family.

It's just that Liu Biao is not in a hurry. He hopes that the evolution of this power structure can be completed slowly under his guidance, and it will take one or two years, so that it will be convenient for his deployment in terms of time.

Although Huang Zu brought him great anger, Liu Biao did not show it on his face. He smiled and said to Kuai Yue as if nothing had happened: "I am discussing with the military adviser about Cao Jun's increase of troops in Nanyang. We They all advocate sending reinforcements to Liu Bei to strengthen the defense of Xinye, do you have any better suggestions?"

Kuai Yue smiled, "I support my lord's plan. Liu Bei is more experienced than us in dealing with Cao Jun. If there are not many reinforcements, we can directly hand them over to Commander Liu Bei. If there are many reinforcements, it is better for our own generals to control them."

It seems that sending reinforcements is already a consensus, now the key is who to send, Liu Biao asked after a moment of pondering: "I plan to send [-] elite soldiers to the north, who do you think is more suitable to be the commander?"