Chapter 87 It’s up to people to plan things
In the afternoon, Gan Ning's troops arrived first.

He has already filled up the establishment of 800 people. At this moment, Gan Ning came here excitedly and even felt that the armor on his body had become 33% lighter!

The pent-up anger over the years now became the burning fuel in his chest.

Compared with the revenge on Cai and Liu Biao, opening up Guanzhong is a trivial matter.

It really freed the people of Jingzhou from their shackles. With the help of Jingzhou, they received even more support in opening up Guanzhong!
Black Bear stopped his horse by the river to greet Gan Ning. Seeing Gan Ning riding his horse and gradually approaching, he immediately rode forward to meet him.

Gan Ning also drove his horse to the roadside, and eight hundred-man teams followed in a line.

Gan Ning swiftly dismounted from his horse, raised his head and clasped his hands, his face filled with uncontrollable excitement: "General Qu!"

Black Bear simply dismounted and asked Gan Ning: "I heard that the Nanyang people have a deep hatred for Liu Biao. If I give Lü Chang a chance, maybe I can recruit them and use them for my own benefit?"

"If it is the present situation, these more than 700 people will naturally be a help."

Gan Ning thought for a moment and replied, "I am afraid that after the battle, Lü Chang will have other ideas. His fellow countrymen are strong, so we must guard against them."

Black Bear thought for a moment and said, "I have no intention of staying in Xiangyang. I will retreat to Nanxiang after the battle. What can Lü Chang and others do in the army?"

"General Qu, when we recruited Lü Chang and others in Xi County, we already made it clear that if we force them to join the army, they would find it difficult to accept."

Gan Ning advised: "It is not worth it for Lü Chang to have seven hundred men."

Feeling that Black Bear might like Lü Chang's ability, Gan Ning said, "In my opinion, the only thing missing to wipe out the Cai clan is the timing, not the fact that the Cai clan is too strong to be defeated. From now on, his great cause can only be Guanzhong. People like Lü Chang are reluctant to leave their homeland. If they are forced to stay in the army, if they leak secrets, it will ruin the whole thing."

Seeing Black Bear pondering over the pros and cons, Gan Ning said, "The previous battle at Duyang was a public matter. Now his commander is ordering them to attack the Cai tribes, which is also a legitimate matter."

"Lü Chang will not hate official business, nor will he slack off because of his work."

"Opening up Guanzhong is his own business, so it is difficult to ask Lü Chang to serve. Moreover, the Qingzhou soldiers are strong, but they are outsiders. His general asked Lü Chang to go with him, and Lü Chang acted from within. If something unexpected happens, it will be too late to regret."

Gan Ning calmly explained that it was not easy to lead Lu Chang and his group to Guanzhong to start a business.

Especially after the successful campaign against the Cai clans, the Jingzhou provincial government and the Zhennan shogunate would undergo in-depth reorganizations.

The people of Nanyang might no longer be hostile to Liu Biao, and might even support Liu Qi.

The previous conservative culture of Jingzhou was changed and became radical.

By killing the Cai clans, Liu Biao and his sons would lose a strong pillar, and it is possible that their strategy for ruling Jingzhou would change from extreme isolation to tough external interference.

Cai Mao's family would be burdened with heavy crimes and sink into the abyss, becoming sacrifices for the peace between Liu Biao and his son and the scholars of Jingzhou.

Gan Ning was a pragmatic man, and he smelled a similar scent in Lu Chang.

If sincerity is there, he believes that Lu Chang will make a pleasant choice.

The most helpless thing in this world is that everything has a limit.

For example, a person's sincerity and his status in a group.

If one could be Guan Yu or Zhang Fei under Liu Xuande, who would be willing to be like Mi Fang or Wei Yan?
It’s not that Gan Ning was jealous of Lu Chang’s talent, but that Lu Chang was a regional leader who could lead a large number of people to make choices.

If we bring Lu Chang into the group now, we will definitely be on par with him.

How to say it, Gan Ning looked down on Lu Chang.

This is the contempt of the top-notch for the first-rate. Lu Chang is already over 30 years old, and his growth in this life is limited, so it is difficult for him to have a breakthrough in his personal abilities.

Not to mention Lu Chang, Gan Ning also looked down upon Wen Pin and Han Xi, two generals under Liu Biao.

Seeing Black Bear was silent and deep in thought, Gan Ning felt a little uneasy, so he said, "It is difficult to share the hardships of people like Lu Chang. After he has established a foothold in Guanzhong, he can send back the Qingzhou soldiers and then recruit him. During this period, we can detain him and wear down his spirit. When his hair grows well, we can send people who are good at speaking and eloquent to persuade him repeatedly, and then we can get him."

"So that's it... I did go a bit too far by shaving my hair."

Black Bear suddenly smiled and said, "Let him be. My rules cannot be broken."

It is difficult for people to overcome the fear of death, but the destruction of reputation and the death of social personality are also a heavy mental burden.

From now on, when we capture a city, we will shave the defenders’ hair...even if he gets so angry that he jumps up and down and curses while doing so.

But only I know the secret joy in my heart.

If you do this more often and make it a tradition, you can save yourself a lot of trouble.

He originally wanted to intercept Lu Chang halfway, but Gan Ning had already reminded him that there was no need to run over and cause trouble.

Even if Lu Chang wanted to surrender, shaving his hair was a very humiliating thing.

We have to wait until Lu Chang's hair grows out before considering this matter.

Behind Gan Ning followed more than 700 people from Lu Chang's army.

Lu Chang's troops did not march very fast. They were responsible for transporting the extra spears, halberds, swords and sabers in Xi County.

Behind them, there were seven hundred men led by Wang Wei.

The two teams led by Wang Wei and Gan Ning were all armored soldiers, while the more than 700 people led by Lu Chang in the middle lacked armor and had no combat effectiveness at all.

The road between Xi County and Nanxiang County runs parallel to the Xishui River and is a river valley road.

There are mostly mountain gorges on both sides, and people like Lu Chang have nowhere to escape.

It was getting dark when they arrived at the temporary camp outside Nanxiang City.

When Lu Changchang saw the previously captured Qingzhou soldiers re-arming, his heart began to beat wildly.

It was impossible for Yi Ji to betray Liu Biao and join the imperial court, and it was impossible for the Qingzhou soldiers to surrender and rebel easily.

Therefore, there must be a huge secret in this!
When Lü Chang saw a group of Jingzhou soldiers bringing them a large pot of pounded rice, he immediately stepped forward and stopped the leading officer: "I am Lü Chang from Bowang, and I would like to pay a visit to the governor of the prefecture."

The military officers looked at Lü Chang, who was wearing a short coat and had his head wrapped in white linen. Some of them did not believe that this man could be the mighty commander Lü Chang.

Wu Meng Du Wei was one of the cavalry du Wei, who was mainly responsible for controlling the Hanoi Knights. The title of the Hanoi Knights was Wu Meng Knights.

After thinking for a while, the military officer nodded and said, "I will report this matter to the county government. It is up to the governor to see it or not, not me."

"Thank you."

Lu Chang bowed his hands and thanked him. He watched the military officer leave before he went to the edge of the camp to observe the surroundings.

Seeing that the Qingzhou soldiers had completed their reorganization, they cooked beef, mutton, pigs and dogs in the camp and enjoyed the meal very much.

The people of Nanxiang are now providing so many livestock that they can get double compensation after destroying the Cai clans!

The campaign against the Cai tribes was in line with the demands of the people in the south.

Ordinary people don't understand, so do poor families not understand? Inside the city, Liu Qi finally woke up.

It was just that his head was dizzy and painful after a hangover, and Black Bear just stood by and let Liu Qi suffer from the headache.

This kind of thing can be cured by a peach.

Giving peaches to someone like Liu Qi is really disrespectful to yourself.

Liu Qi endured the headache and sat in front of the map sand table, lowering his head to calculate.

There was a map on the table, on which were marked the cities, military camps, water forts and the number of garrisons.

This was written by Yi Ji, and now needs to be verified and supplemented by Liu Qi.

Liu Qi thought about it several times, raised his hand and pointed at Xuanchi near Fancheng: "This is the navy station. The Han River is drying up day by day, and the navy warships are having difficulty sailing, but there is no shortage of boats."

This was the only obstacle in his eyes.

Yi Ji was an honest man who had no experience in mutiny. He nodded and said, "Indeed, when you seize the arsenal in Fancheng, you might as well invite Zhang Shuo, the governor of Xuanchi."

Seeing that Liu Qi did not object, Yi Ji looked at Black Bear again and said, "Lord Black, can you please ask Gan Xingba to accompany you so that we can capture the water stronghold?"

Gan Ning on the side was tempted and looked up at the black bear. He knew that the black bear would not hold back once it attacked.

People like Wang Wei will have to stay in Jingzhou in the future, so they are unwilling to do such things. When they do this, they are hesitant and may lose their lives.

He, Gan Ning, will never show mercy to the officers and soldiers of the Jingzhou army.

Black Bear shook his head: "We are following Liu Zhennan's secret order to fight the bandits. We only need to control the Fancheng arsenal. Why would we disturb the navy?"

He raised his hand and pointed at Xinye: "The navy cannot be moved. With the navy, Liu Xuande's men will not be able to cross the Han River. If the navy is moved, it will be tantamount to announcing to all parties that we are the ones causing the rebellion."

Liu Qi spoke up at this time: "Sir Hei, Xiangyang City is strong and it is difficult to capture Cai Mao. If you want to break the power of the Cai clan, you must first break Caizhou. If you want to break Caizhou, if the navy blocks you, it will definitely be bad."

After conquering Caizhou and capturing all the Cai clan members, the problem with Cai Mao was easily solved.

"The navy cannot be touched. If I were Liu Zhennan, I would not allow anyone to touch this navy."

Black Bear took a deep breath and said firmly: "The Cai people are like pigs and dogs. How can we fail when we close the door and beat them? Liu Xuande is a great hero in the world. I am afraid that he will intervene in the affairs of the South Bank. The Xuanchi navy is our barrier and must not be touched."

As he spoke, Black Bear placed the broken finger-long bamboo slips on the map, and wrote a number on each short bamboo slip.

He took a stack of crude war chess and played with it: "We are very short on time, so we should not try to advance by land and water. From Nanxiang to Xiangyang, the waterway is 230 miles. The water is shallow now, but it is not difficult to travel 200 miles a day."

"Xingba and the young master will go ahead tomorrow and reach Zhuyang before sunset. They will rest here and not make any unusual movements."

"The rest of us will make a bamboo raft and set off later."

Zhuyang is already within the alert area of ​​Xiangyang.

"Tomorrow night, we will have dinner in Zhuyang. Each person should bring a day's worth of dry food. At the second watch, we should bring torches and go down at night."

"I will lead the vanguard, and you will go to the north bank first to capture Fancheng, then cross the Han River and station at the dock on the south bank."

Black Bear turned his head and looked at Liu Qi: "We need to raise more flags and write on them that Cai Mao is plotting a rebellion and we are ordered to attack him."

After a pause, Black Bear hesitated and thought: "When the prince captured Fancheng, he immediately sent a trustworthy person to Xiangyang to report the matter to Liu Zhennan. Cai Mao has incredible power and wealth. If Liu Zhennan is not careful, he may be kidnapped by Cai Mao. At that time, we will be passive."

Liu Qi listened and nodded repeatedly. Revealing the secret to Liu Biao just before being exposed could protect Liu Biao while reducing his disgust.

Now he is gradually sobering up, although he is very reluctant to let things come to this point.

But he also understood that he had no room for regret.

If he dared to regret, Hei Xiong and Yi Ji might let him go, but Cai Mao would not.

"I will lead Xingba's troops, Qingzhou troops, and Wang Wei's troops down the Han River and attack Caizhou directly."

As he spoke, he placed various war chess pieces on the map, and in the end, the one that won was the war chess piece for the ragtag group of 2,000 soldiers from Nanxiang County.

After thinking for a while, Black Bear still put him at the Xiangyang Wharf so that he could join forces with Liu Qi.

With limited skills and no understanding of the internal situation in Jingzhou, there is a high probability that the attempt to divide the troops and operate on multiple lines will backfire.

By increasing the military strength and letting Liu Qi stand firmly at the Xiangyang dock, Liu Biao will naturally wait and see the situation.

Allowing the Nanxiang soldiers and the Jingzhou soldiers under Liu Qi to check and balance each other can maintain the stability of the army structure.

This was a mutiny after all. Liu Biao had been in power for twelve years, and Cai Mao was Liu Biao's most trusted and trusted member. During these three years, he served as the governor of Nanjun County and had connections everywhere.

There must be some of Cai Mao's spies and old officials among Liu Qi's subordinates.

Black Bear looked at Yi Ji and said, "Let people in and out of Xiangyang City freely, and don't disturb the people. Wait until I conquer Caizhou, and the situation will be settled."

Yi Ji nodded seriously. In the eyes of the black bear, Yi Ji's biggest advantage is that he does not have the habit of showing off.

Similar to Liu Qi, Yi Ji can be roughly classified as an honest person to a large extent.

There's no need to think too much, especially when it comes to something like a mutiny. The more realistic your intentions are, the easier it is to succeed.

Yi Ji also had doubts, and pointed to Yicheng, south of Xiangyang and south of Xianshan Mountain. He said, "There is a troop of county soldiers here, about 3,000 strong. They are called county soldiers, but they are actually Cai Mao's troops, and they are very elite. When the Black King attacks Caizhou, this troop of county soldiers will definitely come to the rescue."

Seeing Black Bear looking at the map with lowered eyebrows, Yi Ji explained in detail: "When the four counties in southern Jing followed Zhang Xian in rebellion, the lord appointed Cai Mao as the governor of Nanjun, and he was stationed in Jiangling at that time. After Zhang Xian's rebellion was quelled, Cai Mao led the county as before, but moved back to Xiangyang from Jiangling. Most of the soldiers and horses he had gathered in the past were dismissed, and the remaining 3,000 elite soldiers were stationed in Yicheng to respond to the rebellion in the north, south, and Jiangxia in the east."

"Three thousand people must be exhausted from traveling from Yicheng to Caizhou."

Black Bear looked down as he thought and analyzed, "Our troops will go down by boat and attack Caizhou directly, which will consume less energy. When we besiege Caizhou, we will drive away the boats upstream and downstream. Even if these three thousand people reach the bank of the Han River, they can only stare blankly!"

As for dividing the troops to defend the river bank, there was really no need for that. The battle was fought quickly, so quickly that Cai Mao could not react in time.

Now it depends on whether Liu Biao and Cai Mao are prepared.

Cai Mao sent people to investigate Liu Qi on the pretext of delivering a letter. At that time, Liu Qi was in Xi County. He opposed the mutiny and rejected his instigation.

But what about Liu Biao?

As a powerful leader, it is only natural for him to keep a few spies around his son.

Even so, there is nothing to worry about. It's just a matter of letting go and fighting hard.

Every inch of land in the suburbs of Xiangyang is valuable. How could Liu Biao allow the war to spread so recklessly?

The damage to the house can be easily repaired, but the broken face of General Zhennan cannot be repaired!

(End of this chapter)