The Nameless of the Common Clans

"You are also a veteran of battles. Before entering the city, why don't you send someone to check it out first?" Outside the ruins of Xinye or Xinye City, Zhang Liao looked at Zhu Sheng, who was covered in dust. Whether in the era of Lu Bu or now after joining Chen Mo, the Nanyang Army rarely suffered defeats. Now that the battle has not even started, they have suffered several defeats. Although it is not a big defeat, it is also a shameful thing for the Ming Army. It feels like they are being beaten by the Jingzhou Army. Even for Zhang Liao himself, it is also a shameful thing.

"I am incompetent, please punish me!" Zhu Sheng bowed to Zhang Liao with some shame.

"Fine one year's salary, 30 military sticks, and make meritorious contributions while guilty." Zhang Liao did not directly order the fight. He still needed people for the next battle, so it was not the time to punish him.

"Thank you, General!" Zhu Sheng bowed.

"General, now that Xinye has been destroyed, how about moving the army to Deng County and stationing troops there to wait for the Lord's army to arrive?" A general frowned as he looked at the ruined city in front of him.

Zhang Liao looked at the collapsed city wall. It was impossible to rebuild a city, but as for moving the army to Deng County, the geographical location of Deng County could not be compared with Xinye. As the gateway to Jingxiang, occupying Xinye would not give the Jingzhou army much room to play.

"No need, just set up camp with the ruins of Xinye as the center and prepare to welcome the Lord!" Zhang Liao shook his head and looked into the distance and said, "Send more scouts, especially the nearby woods and hills, and explore them. Don't let the enemy take advantage of you again!"

Huang Li had some slackness before when he lost Xinye. He rushed out without exploring the surrounding situation. Not only did he lose Xinye, but he also lost Deng County. The people of the two counties have now been relocated. The Jingzhou army is really good. They are addicted to robbing people.

Nanyang does not have too many troops. Facing a strong city like Xiangfan, and a defense line that is closely connected, it is almost impossible for Zhang Liao to break through with the few troops he has. He can only wait until Chen Mo's army arrives before making plans, but the intelligence needs to be ascertained.

"Yes!"

The generals took the order and went to arrange things.

Zhang Liao set up camp and arranged defenses on this side. On the other side, in Xiangyang City, Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu and Ji Ling were discussing the next layout. Zhang Fei rushed in and said to Zhuge Liang: "Kong Ming, the spy reported that Zhang Liao has led his army to Xinye and is now setting up camp in Xinye. How about letting me lead the troops to challenge him?"

Zhang Fei has always remembered that he suffered a loss from Zhang Liao in Nanyang last time. Now that the two sides are facing each other, Zhang Fei naturally wants to avenge his previous shame.

"Zhang Liao is different from Huang Li and Zhu Sheng. He is a general under Chen Mo. He was a wise general beside Lu Bu before. He is both civil and military. You can't underestimate him when fighting him." Zhuge Liang shook his head after thinking for a while.

It's not difficult to deal with ordinary generals like his father, but he thinks he should be more cautious when facing a general like Zhang Liao who is both brave and wise. Zhuge Liang is not sure if he can deal with Zhang Liao like he cheated Huang Li and Zhu Sheng.

There are not many generals under Chen Mo that Zhuge Liang is afraid of, but Zhang Liao is definitely one of them. Even if the opponent is Lu Bu, Zhuge Liang will not be too worried.

"Then watch him show off his power in Xinye?" Zhang Fei said a little unhappy.

"Now is the time for us to negotiate with Jiangdong. The previous few small victories are enough, but if we are a little careless at this time and lose the last one, our army will be in a disadvantageous situation. Now Chen Mo is heading south, and we need Jiangdong's help!" Zhuge Liang explained patiently.

Zhang Fei was still somewhat dissatisfied, but seeing Zhuge Liang's serious face, he did not bring up the issue of sending troops again. He only waited until he had reached an agreement with Jiangdong before talking about this matter.

"Kong Ming, Jiangdong is good at naval forces. If they agree to send troops now, they will send troops from Jiangxia. Once they are on land, Jiangdong may not be able to help much." Guan Yu frowned.

"Yunchang doesn't know that when Cao Cao was defeated, he was ready to surrender to Jiangdong. Many of Cao's generals are now in Jiangdong, training elite soldiers for Jiangdong. This war is probably still dominated by Cao's generals. Cao Ang, Cao Xiu, and Cao Zhang are all Cao's heroes. Cao Zhen, Xiahou Ba and other Cao's generals can also be generals. Jiangdong's land warfare is not weak now!" Zhuge Liang smiled.

Guan Yu frowned. He knew Cao Hong, Cao Ren, Xiahou Dun, and Xiahou Yuan among the Cao's generals. As for the few mentioned by Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu thought they were just juniors. How could they be compared with Chen Mo's Ming army?

"Military Advisor, if Jiangdong agrees to send troops this time, how many troops can he send?" Ji Ling asked on the side.

This is a key question. Chen Mo is coming with great momentum this time, claiming to have 500,000 troops. If Jiangdong only sends a few thousand or 10,000 troops symbolically, it will not be of any help at all.

"30,000 to 50,000." Zhuge Liang thought for a while and said that Jiangdong might still have resentment towards Liu Bei. Under the pressure of the situation, he will definitely send troops, but it is impossible to bet all his assets on this battle. After all, as Guan Yu said, Jiangdong's strongest force is still the navy.

If there are 30,000 to 50,000 troops, plus the troops gathered in Jingzhou now, and they are on the defensive, they can fight against the Ming army. After all, they have a strong city and a good location. If Liu Bei can come back in time, it will be enough to fight Chen Mo.

"Kong Ming, the war is fierce now. Brother, should we ask your brother to return to rescue as soon as possible?" Guan Yu asked.

Zhuge Liang shook his head and said, "If we don't take Xichuan, even if we hold on to it this time, Sun Quan will not give us another chance to seize Xichuan. If you turn back now, all your efforts will be wasted. I have thought about this battle, so don't worry, we will definitely hold on!"

If Liu Bei comes back, he will be more sure of stopping Chen Mo, but in this case, all the previous plans in Sichuan will be in vain. If this opportunity is missed, Zhuge Liang estimates that he will never have the chance to enter Sichuan again in his lifetime. Chen Mo He would not give them this opportunity, and neither would Sun Quan.

…

Jiangdong, Chaisang.

"Gongyou, since your lord has agreed to this matter, we will naturally do our best to help. However, Duke Xuande is currently attacking Xichuan and is unwilling to return even though he knows that Chen Mo is coming to attack. He can send troops, but he has promised us that Wuling and Lingling counties , but it needs to be delivered as soon as possible!" Zhou Yu looked at Sun Qian and said with a smile: "I don't believe it, but Xuande Gong's actions are indeed too much."

If you can't take Xichuan, you can take Jingzhou. If Liu Bei can really take Xichuan, then let Liu Bei go to Xichuan, and Jiangdong will occupy Jingxiang. In this way, cooperation between the two parties will actually be more beneficial. Liu Bei can conquer Xiliang, San In addition to Jianghuai, Jiangdong can also have more choices.

"Don't worry, Governor. When you come here this time, the military advisor has already told you to hand over Lingling first. After this battle, Wuling will definitely give it to you!" Sun Qian said with a smile.

There is nothing you can do if you don't give in. Now most of Jingzhou's existing forces are concentrated in the Xiangfan area, and the rear is empty. Not to mention Jiangdong's large-scale invasion, even if a few more bandits come randomly, they will be very deadly. Even if Jiangdong wants to take it by force now, Jingzhou people have to hold their noses to admit it. In this case, it is better to accept it openly.

Zhou Yu nodded, this was reasonable. If this battle failed, at least they would still have a deep ground, and they would not be beaten to the point of being homeless, and Liu Bei would not even have a way out.

"Captain, the Ming army is approaching in the near future. I wonder when the governor is going to send out troops?" Sun Qian looked a little anxious. He had received a letter yesterday. Zhang Liao, as Chen Mo's vanguard, has arrived in Xinye. Chen Mo's army is probably not far away. If Jiangdong If we don't send troops, it will be too late.

"Don't worry, my lord is already gathering the army. We can cross the river to Jiangxia tomorrow at the latest." Zhou Yu said with a smile: "Will Gongyou return to the army immediately, or will he go back with the army?"

Sun Qian hesitated for a moment, shook his head and said: "I am a rotten scholar. Even if I go back, I can't help the military advisor to defeat the enemy. I will bother you one more night and go back with the army tomorrow."

"Okay, Ziming, let's arrange for Mr. Gongyou to go back and rest." Zhou Yu nodded and looked at a general beside him.

"Here!" the general agreed and made an invitation gesture to Sun Qian.

"Thank you." Sun Qian nodded, bowed to Zhou Yu, then turned around and left.

After watching Sun Qian's leaving figure disappear, Zhou Yu took the others back to Chaisang Yamen and explained to Sun Quan.

"My lord, it has been decided that our army can enter Lingling at any time. As for Wuling, they will give it to them after the war." Zhou Yu smiled at Sun Quan.

"Gong Jin, I don't believe you, but Liu Bei...if he can win this battle, are he really willing to hand over Wuling?" Sun Quan asked with a frown.

"Actually..." Zhou Yu smiled and said: "Yu hopes that he will not fight with him. In this way, our army can legitimately start a war with him. We just fought with Chen Mo. Even if we can finally retreat, the Jingzhou army will be seriously injured. If he is unwilling to hand over Wuling at that time, our army can justifiably attack Jingzhou, and then not only Wuling, but also Nanjun will belong to the lord."

When Sun Quan heard this, his eyes lit up, he nodded and smiled: "It's good that Gong Jin has an idea. This time to assist Jingzhou, I wonder how many troops Gong Jin thinks our army should send?"

It's impossible to use all your strength. This war is to help Liu Bei take the blame. Liu Bei himself doesn't even want to do anything, but relies on his lips and teeth to cheat on him. It's a ghost that Sun Quan can be happy, let alone have the right to help and send troops. It was Sun Quan who took the overall situation into consideration.

"Our army has trained many infantry troops over the years. The generals in the end thought that they could go on an infantry expedition. The main generals were Cao Ang, Cao Xiu, Cao Zhang, Xia Houba, and Cao Zhen. They are good at land warfare. As for the number of troops, too few troops might block the way. If the Ming army cannot stay, the general will think that he can send all 50,000 troops to the Jiangxia battlefield," Zhou Yu Surong said.

"Fifty thousand!?" Sun Quan felt a little distressed when he heard this.

"Otherwise, it might be difficult to stop the Ming army." Zhou Yu nodded. Even so, the two families' combined total was only 80,000. If they hadn't fought at home, and Jingzhou was not as smooth as the Central Plains, Jiangdong might not have spent all his money. Even if you try your best, you have to put most of your wealth here.

After Sun Quan pondered for a moment, he looked at Zhou Yu and said: "Fifty thousand is fine, but Cao Ang cannot be the commander in this battle. Gong Jin needs to be in charge of the military."

Even if the Cao family surrenders now, they are still worried.

"Here!" Zhou Yu nodded and agreed. This was also a way to reassure everyone.