Chapter 417 Paper First
To the east of Fancheng is Xuanchi.

Taishi Ci's navy is stationed here, and many officers and soldiers have not yet adapted to this drastic change in status.

However, people generally distrusted Liu Biao and Liu Qi, who occupied Nanjun.

The morale of the army needs to adapt, and Taishi Ci is not in a hurry to make achievements.

Strictly speaking, their foundation was not solid, and the officials and people of Nanyang identified with them far less than they did with Liu Bei.

The transportation with Guanzhong is not very convenient. In a sense, it is more like an isolated situation.

Therefore, when Taishi Ci, who was devoted to starting a business, was patiently building the Nanyang Navy, Zhou Yu came from Xinye and brought secret reports from Xiangyang and Yizhou.

Not only Zhou Yu came, but also Fu Xun, who seemed to be the military supervisor.

They are all Taishi Ci's superiors, but this is Taishi Ci's home court.

So Taishi Ci held the reception high up in the attic, which was not a spacious place with three tables arranged in a regular triangle.

After the servants left, Taishi Ci formally asked, "What is the matter that has troubled the governor to come in person? Is there any change in the relationship between Liu Jingsheng and his son?"

"Ziyi guessed half right."

Zhou Yu smiled at Fu Xun, who then spoke up, "The commander-in-chief has come here to confirm whether Liu Jingsheng is alive or dead. This morning, Xiangyang reported that Liu Jingsheng heard that your Majesty had won Yizhou in one battle, and he died of regret and vomiting blood."

Taishi Ci's brows were stern, his eyes widened, and he asked, "Has Yizhou been conquered?"

This was too fast, so fast that it frightened him. How could Yizhou not have problems in the future?

Feeling that their own importance was declining rapidly, capturing Yizhou meant that with Yizhou's abundant resources, they could easily amass a large fleet of naval warships over a period of time; going downstream, the four counties in southern Jing would have no strategic locations to defend!
The importance of generals' performance on the battlefield will decline, and we will enter a new stage of war where nations fight each other and compete to consume national strength.

Forces that do not have the foundation to consume will be eliminated immediately, such as Liu Biao and his son now... No, only Liu Qi is left.

Fu Xun smiled and nodded: "With your majesty's divine power, this should be true."

After delivering the news, Fu Xun turned to look at Zhou Yu, and Taishi Ci also came to see Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu put away his smile and said solemnly: "Yizhou is located upstream, with abundant resources and a prosperous population. If Your Majesty takes it, how dare the people of Huainan sit idly by and watch?"

He had some contempt for Liu Fu, who moved the capital to Jianye, but he was also aware of Liu Fu's concerns.

Between gambling and protecting his capital, Liu Fu simply chose to retreat to Jiangdong and wait for the times to change.

Such a tyrannical person is hard to deal with as an enemy. Is it possible that there is no one inside who is plotting against him?

People whose fighting power is seriously out of touch with others and far exceeds that of others often die inexplicably, as if their fate has come to an end.

Liu Fu chose to wait patiently, and there is nothing wrong with that.

But now, if Liu Fu continues to wait, then Liu Ba of the four counties in southern Jing and the Huang father and son in Jiangxia will inevitably be completely devoured.

Therefore, Liu Fu lost the opportunity to manage internal affairs and had to mobilize troops to fight in Jingzhou.

At the very least, we must seize Yiling, the throat of Jing and Yi.

By capturing Yiling, the four counties in southern Jing, Jiangxia, and the more distant Hebei could all breathe a sigh of relief.

With the fighting style that is now displayed to sweep across the world, not many troops are needed. Just lead 30,000 Shu soldiers out of Yiling, and almost all the counties in Jingzhou can be conquered by just a single order!

Not to mention that Liu Biao was frightened to death, if he really led the Shu army out of Yiling this winter, Liu Ba and Liu Fu might also hang themselves. What Zhou Yu could think of, Taishi Ci could also think of.

It has almost been determined that the army of the Huainan Pseudo-Dynasty will launch an offensive against Jingzhou in advance to boost morale and make up for the huge strategic disadvantage of the loss of Yizhou.

Taishi Ci thought about the comparison of the enemy's strengths and weaknesses and immediately pointed out his own shortcomings: "General, in any battle, the military orders must come from one place. I think if Liu Biao dies, his son will be in mourning and unable to manage the affairs, so it's a good time to integrate them together."

As he spoke, Taishi Ci bowed to Fu Xun who was eating with chopsticks, "Guardian, I think General Fu Bo is not good at military affairs. We can divide the Nanjun troops into two. Wen Pin will be in charge of the county troops, while Liu's relatives and old troops will be in charge of Liu Pan, the nephew of Liu Biao. Huang Zhong of Nanyang under Liu Pan's command is a strict commander and a brave man, not inferior to me."

Removing Liu Qi and taking control of the command of the various armies in Nanjun would naturally be beneficial to the subsequent command and operations.

Fu Xun also had concerns, so he said, "If Liu Jingsheng had just died, and his son's high position was removed, it would probably lead to slander and dishearten the officials, people, and soldiers of Nanjun."

Although he said this, Fu Xun also wanted to make this happen.

Military power has always been a very sensitive issue, and now under the rule of the Grand Marshal's Office, the only person who truly controls the military and comes from a prominent family is Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu's military power was also rather vague. When he fled, he only integrated some of his clan members and fellow villagers, as well as the remaining troops of the Sun family, which together numbered no more than a thousand people.

If Taishi Ci had not led his troops to follow him, Zhou Yu would not have been able to maintain his position as the governor of Nanyang.

There was also Sun Quan, who was kicked to Nanyang by the Grand Marshal. During this period of time, he had taken back the Sun family's troops.

Zhou Yu himself had less than 300 men under his command, but he was still the commander-in-chief in charge of the military and political affairs of Nanyang.

If Nanjun was taken in one go, the Liu family troops that were difficult to consume would be handed over to Liu Pan for management, and the soldiers from other counties and recruited soldiers could be redistributed.

Zhou Yu could make up for the extremely short supply of followers and trusted troops; Fu Xun, the guard, could at least command one or two battalions of troops.

Seeing that Fu Xun was tempted but unwilling to take the risk, Zhou Yu took a sip from his wine glass and said, "The enemy can invade at any time. We should not delay this matter. I will cross the Han River at night and enter Xiangyang City to investigate."

Now it was just a secret report that Liu Biao was dead. What was strange was Liu Qi's reaction. He did not report this important news.

Either the secret report was inaccurate and Liu Biao was not dead yet, but he was not far away.

But even if it is a serious illness, it should be reported.

Perhaps it is also possible that Liu Qi is too confused to make reasonable arrangements.

In fact, if you think carefully, Zhou Yu currently has no experience of taking the lead and being responsible for overall command.

Before his death, Sun Ce tried his best to improve Zhou Yu's status, but this status was empty and he was never able to convince the people.

Even up to this point, Zhou Yu had never personally commanded a war involving more than 5,000 men.

Even so, Zhou Yu is a rare person who knows military affairs in Jingzhou area.

He is proficient in grassroots military training, familiar with the dispatch and coordination of various armies, and is involved in Sun Ce's core decision-making. He knows very well what should be done before a war.

This kind of experience was not possessed by Liu Ba, the actual ruler of the four counties in southern Jing; Huang Zu of Jiangxia had fought in wars all his life, but he had been separated from the grassroots level and would ignore the emotional needs and objective abilities of the soldiers when mobilizing and deploying troops.

Since Liu Bei and his group left, the military quality in the Jingzhou area has remained the same, and the possibility of rapid improvement has been lost.

After repeated comparisons and measurements, Zhou Yu's comprehensive military qualities are actually the best in Jingzhou.

(End of this chapter)