Chapter 80: Seeking Help
Wancheng, Black Bear's troops began to evacuate.

The withdrawing team was extremely large, in order to safely escort all the captured Qingzhou and Taishan soldiers to Xi County.

Black Bear invited Liu Qi to join him, and Liu Qi's 3,000 men also set out along the Wuguan Road.

Among them, there were more than 3,000 prisoners in the Battle of Bowangpo alone.

The captives from the Duyang battle were divided into three types. Hei Xiong had moved the captured garrison and families willing to serve to Xi County, while the families unwilling to serve were given to Liu Qi.

These families were easy to control, and Liu Qi had already sent people to escort them to his manor.

Liu Qi was not someone who could easily take in the captives. These people were natives of Nanyang, and their relatives and friends would find ways to redeem them from Liu Qi.

Liu Qi was concerned about his own reputation and would not refuse this redemption.

Not only Liu Qi's own subordinates, he was also asked to redeem the captured garrison soldiers, men and women in Duyang City from Black Bear.

He and Black Bear sat in an open carriage, under the shade of a curved green umbrella.

Liu Qi told this story with an embarrassed look on his face.

"Han Xi is a general under my father's command. I will do him a favor no matter what. I will not make it difficult for Hei Jun. I will also recruit young men from Guanzhong for the lieutenant through Han Xi, Wen Pin and other Nanyang officers."

Most of the people from Guanzhong who are still staying in Nanyang are servants.

No one is willing to be a slave, but if you flee to Nanyang, your whole family will starve to death, so it is not up to you whether to be a slave or not.

Once you become a slave, you lose your freedom.

Not only Nanyang, but also many people from Guanzhong were sold to the four counties of Jingnan.

"I can give Duyang civilians the rights, but the captured garrison soldiers cannot be released easily."

Black Bear observed Liu Qi's expression from the side and explained, "I lost some men in order to capture Duyang. It was a fluke that I was able to capture the city in one night attack. If the prisoners are in my hands, then outsiders will not know how I attacked the city and it will be difficult for them to defend against it in the future. If I can capture Duyang by night attack, I can also capture other cities."

This is a military secret and the prisoners cannot be released for the time being.

As long as this secret exists, it will be a deterrent.

Liu Qi questioned: "During night battles, the visibility is not clear. From what I know, many residents were unaware of the battle situation before the Black Lord broke into the city. Most of the defenders were also defeated suddenly, and I guess they didn't know what the Black Lord was doing."

"They may not have known that night, but now that they have been detained for half a month, they have communicated repeatedly and must have known my method of breaking into the city."

Black Bear's face was expressionless. "There is no need to discuss this matter any further. I can assure you that in the future, I will only arrange for the Duyang captives to do labor and will not force them to fight in battle. The limit is three years. After three years, their relatives and friends, or they themselves, will be allowed to redeem themselves."

Jingzhou still retains the order of the late Han Dynasty, and people can still find ways to redeem themselves.

The idea of ​​redeeming oneself is somewhat ridiculous in the Central Plains.

Seeing that Liu Qi still had hope, Black Bear said, "I will take a step back. I will at most arrange for the captives from Duyang to work in Shangluo and Shangxian, but I will not take them into Guanzhong."

After a pause, Black Bear said, "You don't have to worry about these people. Liu Yuzhou's Donghai Mi Zhu has taken over Nanyang County. These Duyang captives are the people under Liu Yuzhou's rule. He will definitely negotiate with me."

Only individual defenders were captured, and their families lived in the counties northeast of Wancheng.

After the war stops, the wishes of the families of the defenders will be reported to Liu Bei layer by layer, and Liu Bei will not be allowed to be careless.

Behind every captive is a family, indirectly clan relatives, in-laws, fellow villagers, and finally a large group of people.

This group of captives is directly related to the people's loyalty in the counties northeast of Wancheng.

If Liu Bei wants to completely win the hearts of the people in these places, he must solve this problem first.

Liu Qi was satisfied and said, "Many people in Nanyang hate my father and me. I didn't expect Han Xi to come to me for help."

"This matter has put Lord Black in a difficult position, and I am not a sentimental person. When the Jiangxia fleet arrives to transport the Qingzhou prisoners, I will give Wang Wei 500 more soldiers to complete the battalion, so that he can help Lord Black advance into Guanzhong."

He valued Wang Wei and supported Wang Wei. This person was Liu Qi's representative in commanding the troops.

Black Bear couldn't help but ask again, "Sir, do you really want to give all the Qingzhou soldiers to Huang Zu?"

This matter has not been settled yet. It depends on the price offered by Huang Zu. If the price offered by Huang Zu satisfies Black Bear, the matter will be finalized.

Therefore, there is still room for maneuver in the affiliation of these more than 3,000 Qingzhou soldiers.

Otherwise, when the Jiangxia fleet transported supplies to Nanxiang County, they would take away these Qingzhou and Taishan soldiers on their way back.

Liu Qi shook his head: "I understand Lord Hei's concerns. The situation in Jingzhou cannot be changed by 3,000 Jingzhou soldiers. If you need troops, I can always have thousands of soldiers available. This will not change the general trend of people's hearts. If I give these 3,000 Qingzhou soldiers to Huang Zu, many people will be grateful to me."

"Sir, there are few people who value friendship in this chaotic world. I owe you too much and don't want to pay it back, so I have no choice but to ask you to die."

Seeing that Liu Qi's expression did not change, Black Bear said, "Huang Zu gives me food and equipment, and I will give him soldiers. Three thousand Qingzhou soldiers, at least give me three thousand young and strong people from Guanzhong."

"Don't worry, Lord Hei. Huang Zu has a wide network of friends and a rich family. He can gather three thousand strong men."

Liu Qi looked at the scenery on both sides of the road and said, "He and the Sun family have a deadly feud because he killed Sun Jian. Killing Sun Jian will ensure peace in Jingzhou. No one in this state will forget the source of this blood feud."

Seeing that Black Bear was also looking at the scenery and had no intention of talking, Liu Qi said, "King Black is good at fighting and sailing. If the war in Guanzhong goes wrong, would you be willing to condescend to Jiangxia? I can persuade my father to divide several counties into a new county so that King Black can support his army." "It's difficult. If my army goes wrong, it will be difficult to escape the pursuit of the Guanzhong cavalry."

Black Bear thought for a moment and said his dilemma: "Liu Yuzhou is good at fighting, and his officers and soldiers are the best in the world. I cooperated with him in the battle, but it was not smooth at first. How can Huang Zu compare with Liu Yuzhou's troops? Besides, Gan Xingba and Huang Zu have many dirty tricks. If I go to the Jianghan area, how can Xingba gain a foothold?"

He really looked down upon the current Jiangxia army. With Gan Ning around, Black Bear knew Huang Zu's background very well.

Huang Zu had completely given up on field battles and attempted to build super battleships for defensive operations in the hope that Liu Biao's reinforcements would intervene.

Liu Qi asked again: "If Sun Quan attacks and the north is peaceful, will the Black Lord come to our aid?"

At this point, Black Bear looked at Liu Qi in surprise, puzzled: "I am not a guest general from Jingzhou. The officers and soldiers have traveled over a thousand miles to fight, so it is inevitable that they are not used to the climate and environment."

Liu Qi gritted his teeth and said, "I can convince my father to give Hei Jun a large amount of weapons, armor, cloth, and other valuables."

"Why is this happening, sir?"

Black Bear was even more confused: "This Jingzhou belongs to the people of Jingzhou. If Jingzhou men, women, old and young want to live a peaceful life, they all have the responsibility to defend the land."

"To be honest, when Sun Ce invaded Jiangxia, he killed 30,000 soldiers in Jingzhou in one battle, and the troops in Jingzhou were already scared."

Liu Qi raised his hand and gestured: "I will discuss it in detail with Yi Jibo, and will work with Hei Jun to dredge and build the Danshui Canal. From Lantian to Shangxian, it is only 300 miles, and the captain will travel light. When we arrive in Shangxian, we can take a boat along the Danshui River into the Han River and go straight to Jiangxia to join the battle."

Wang Wei followed the black bear out of Wankou and fought fiercely on Jackdaw Road. He knew very well how courageous the black bear was.

In the Battle of Bowangpo, in Wang Wei's eyes, Black Bear was still very brave. Before the specific outcome of the Battle of Bowangpo was clear, Black Bear led 800 people to the vicinity of the battlefield.

If Liu Bei had retreated at that time, it would have been difficult for Black Bear and his 800 men to easily evacuate the battlefield.

As a result, the black bear made the right bet and boldly approached the formation of Xiahou Dun and Yu Jin, cutting off their water source in one fell swoop.

In Liu Qi's eyes, when he appeared on Bowangpo with three thousand reinforcements, Black Bear's eight hundred men and Liu Bei's three thousand men were attacking Xiahou Dun and Yu Jin from both sides, and the fight was very fierce.

It is common sense that Liu Bei's troops fought fiercely, but Black Bear's hastily assembled army also fought fiercely, which only shows that no matter how bad Black Bear was, he would not be much behind Xiahou Dun and Yu Jin.

Seeing Black Bear in deep thought, Liu Qi raised his stakes: "I will set up an arsenal and a mansion in Nanxiang County. The captain will take a boat to Nanxiang to collect armor and equipment. When the arsenal and mansion are completed, they will be handed over to the captain for supervision."

Seeing that the black bear was unmoved, he did not refuse.

Liu Qi didn't know which side to add, so he said: "Sun Quan is Cao Cao's lackey, and we are allies. Help me resist Sun Quan's invasion of Jingzhou, and we will gain from his weakness. It's good for us to be allies."

"Since you are so sincere, I can't refuse you. I just have one request and one concern."

"But please be clear."

"My request is that when I send troops to help, you must send troops to join me in the battle. I will lead the front troops to fight, and you will lead the rear troops to carry supplies. I don't trust the big families in Jingzhou. If you can agree, I will talk about my concerns."

"This is as it should be. Protecting Jiangxia means protecting Jingzhou."

Liu Qi let out a long sigh and smiled: "With the help of Lord Black, we can defeat the invading bandits from Jiangdong, and my position will be secure. It is reasonable for me to send troops to cooperate with Lord Black. May I ask Lord Black, what is your concern?"

“It’s the dry season.”

Black Bear turned his head to look at the mountains in the north. "If the Danshui River dries up and the transport capacity is exhausted, please forgive me for stopping the troops. The water will dry up in three months at most. Can Jiangxia hold out for three months?"

Liu Qi was also lost in thought after hearing this. He frowned and said, "If the Jiangdong troops cannot break through the city, they will retreat. The battle will last no more than a month."

The Jiangdong Army did not dare to fight a protracted siege, perhaps because they were concerned about the instability in the rear, or perhaps they were worried that Jingzhou would complete a full mobilization during this period.

This is how fighting on the Yangtze River was done. Troops were deployed by relying on fleets, and whoever took action first would have a local military advantage.

The problem with Jingzhou is that it cannot be fully mobilized. If it enters a full-scale war state, with Jingzhou's current advantages in manpower and terrain, it should be able to suppress Jiangdong.

Liu Qi thought about it and said, "No matter what, I will build the arsenal and the palace in Nanyang as promised, and the Black Lord will send people to supervise it. When the battle in Jiangxia is urgent, if the Black Lord is free, you may help. In this way, I will also give instructions to the people of Jingzhou so that they will not look down on me."

"In this case, this matter is not difficult."

Black Bear agreed immediately. Liu Qi wanted to use his prestige to increase his own weight.

With the reserves and productivity of Jingzhou, relying on the Danshui canal transportation, it is easy to replenish the equipment in the Nanxiang armory and the food in the mansion.

After knowing Liu Qi's real purpose, Black Bear formally put forward a request: "Give me another hundred craftsmen, and I want to build more small boats in Shang County, at least 500 boats. If Jingzhou is in danger and the Dan River dries up, I can send out a thousand elite soldiers to help in the battle with three or five people on each boat."

When the Dan River dried up, large ships could not sail, but small boats could still barely navigate.

Folk craftsmen rarely had freedom and were mostly dependent on manors and controlled by the powerful.

If one wants to obtain a large number of craftsmen, one can either rob the imperial court's Jiangzujian, or rob the local craftsmen camp, or rob the powerful.

Most of the craftsmen in Jingzhou were controlled by Cai Mao.

It would be great if we could encourage Liu Qi to take action and kill Cai Mao together...

(End of this chapter)