Chapter 172 The cloud of war is approaching
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On the Yangtze River outside Pengze Lake, a fleet of more than 2,000 warships is heading westward, stretching for dozens of miles, with a spectacular and grand momentum. On a ship nearly 3,000 stone in front, a large flag was flying on the mast. The snow-white gold-edged flag was written with the word "Sun", which was dazzling red and dazzling, visible from miles away.
There was a man standing on the bow of the boat with his hands in his arms, with a medium figure, but very strong. He was wearing a purple Zen suit, wide-sleeved shirt, a golden crown on his head, and was born with purple beard and blue eyes, with bright eyes, square chin and big mouth, and his appearance was different from ordinary people. This person was Sun Quan, the lord of Jiangdong.
It has been three years since the fifth year of Jian'an ascended the throne to Jiangdong. Over the past three years, Sun Quan has worked hard to govern and recuperate, making Jiangdong rich in finances and elite soldiers. The Jiangdong army has been ready to send troops to Jingzhou.
Taking Jingzhou west and unifying Jiangnan was the dream of the three generations of Jiangdong monarchs for more than ten years. Although Liu Jing and the measures to ease Jiangdong appeared in the middle, that was only Liu Jing's personal behavior after all, and did not mean that Jingzhou was sincere. There was even a scene where Sun Quan sent someone to Xiangyang to report the funeral but was rejected by Jingzhou. This seriously damaged the atmosphere of reconciliation that Liu Jing and Jiangdong had just reached.
By the autumn of the eighth year of Jian'an, the time was ripe. With the unanimous support of the court officials, Sun Quan resolutely sent 60,000 troops and mobilized 20,000 boatmen. Sun Quan personally served as the commander, appointed Zhou Yu, the guardian as the subordinate general, and the captain Ling Tong as the vanguard, and appointed Deputy Governor Lu Su as the governor of logistics, food and grass, leading 2,400 warships toward Jiangxia.
Sun Quan stared at the river with his hands behind his back, and after a long time, he turned around and said to Zhou Yu, "Gongjin!"
Zhou Yu hurriedly stepped forward to salute, "I'm here!"
"You can order someone to go to Chaisang to inform Liu Jing. The Jiangdong army is coming soon and order him to surrender as soon as possible to ensure the safety of the military and civilians of Chaisang."
Xu Sheng, the general next to him, stepped forward and said anxiously: "Marty Wu, I'm afraid Liu Jing will not surrender."
Sun Quan smiled indifferently, "It's better not to surrender! He can abandon the city and leave. I will also spare the military and civilians of Chaisang, otherwise I will avenge my last year."
Zhou Yu nodded, "I understand, so I will send someone to deliver the letter."
Sun Quan looked at the vast river in the west and couldn't help but sigh slightly, "Liu Jing is a good person and can be called a talent. Unfortunately, he is Liu Biao's nephew. If he can't be used by me, it's better to get rid of it as soon as possible!"
Speaking of this, Sun Quan turned around and said to the generals: "After conquering Chaisang, those who captured Liu Jing will be promoted to two levels and will be rewarded with ten thousand taels. Those who take his head will be promoted to one level and will be rewarded with five thousand taels!"
With the heavy reward, the soldiers of Jiangdong were eager to try, and their hearts all flew towards Chaisang.
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Three pillars of beacon fires have been lit at the head of the Chaisang city, and the raging fires spurted into the sky, sending a signal of war to Jiangxia, and the entire Jingzhou.
The city of Chaisang was already in chaos, and Liu Jing received exact information. More than 80,000 troops in Jiangdong were about to arrive in Jiangxia. Chaisang will be the first stop for the Jiangdong army to attack. Liu Jing knew very well that the reason why he was able to defeat the Jiangdong army a year ago was because of the death of the old lady of Jiangdong and the Jiangdong army was forced to retreat.
Now that 80,000 troops in Jiangdong attack Jiangxia are all prepared. Chaisang can no longer resist the offensive of the Jiangdong army. Liu Jing resolutely made a decision. All the soldiers and civilians of Chaisang retreated to Xiazhi County and Yangxin County. He led two thousand troops to defend Chaisang.
The military and civilians of Chaisang have begun to evacuate on a large scale. Ships loaded with people and grain have left Chaisang and headed towards Xiazhi County and Yangxin County to the west.
On the top of the city, Liu Jing stared at the crowds of people on the pier for a long time. The people of Chaisang helped the elderly and young, carrying bags of valuable soft and soft, were patiently waiting to get on the boat.
At this time, Xu Shu slowly walked forward and stood beside Liu Jing. After a long time, Liu Jing asked him, "Can you send someone to deliver a letter to General Huang?"
"It has been sent, and the letter to the provincial governor and Huang Zu have also been sent to deliver it."
Liu Jing smiled, "Then I'll feel relieved."
After a moment, Xu Shu couldn't help asking: "Why don't you evacuate all of them and leave an empty city for Jiangdong?"
Liu Jing shook his head and sighed: "I can't afford the loss of this 'Xinyi'. If I evacuated all of them, I, Liu Jing, will be criticized by thousands of people. At the critical moment, I abandoned the city and fled. How can I face the elders of Jingzhou?"
Xu Shu nodded silently. He could understand Liu Jing's decision, but he had another kind of worry in his heart.
"But... the young master personally led his soldiers to defend Chaisang. Once Chaisang lost, who can guarantee the safety of the young master? If the young master has two shortcomings, what should we do? Can the young master consider Yi Jiang defending the city?"
"No!"
Liu Jing shook his head decisively, "As the chief general, I am Sima of the other tribe of Chaisang. If I don't defend the city, how can I convince the public?"
Xu Shu wanted to persuade him again, but Liu Jing waved his hand to stop him, "Yuanzhi, don't persuade him anymore. I have decided to defend Chaisang. I will retreat and will not throw my life to Chaisang."
After saying that, Liu Jing smiled and patted Xu Shu on the shoulder, turned around and went downstairs.
Liu Jing came to Tao Mansion, and the Tao Mansion was also arranging a retreat. For this retreat, the Tao family also mobilized 1,500 merchant ships to assist the Chaisang defenders in transporting grain, steel and other strategic materials.
Liu Jing quickly walked into the Tao Mansion and met her maid Xiao Baozi. She ran over in a panic, "Young Master, I'm going to find you."
"What happened?"
Liu Jing looked behind her again, but did not see Tao Zhan, frowned and asked, "Where is Jiu Niang?"
"Young master, Jiu Niang is in the inner house. She refuses to leave and says she wants to stay with her grandfather."
Liu Jing felt a headache, not for Tao Zhan, but Tao Lie made him feel a headache. The old man was extremely stubborn and had to stay. It was useless to stay in the mansion, and Tao Zhan was just going to stay. Now Tao Zhan is actually going to stay.
"Okay! Go pack your things first, and go and leave with Jiuniang later. I'll persuade them."
Liu Jing had no choice but to walk quickly towards the inner house of Tao Mansion.
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Most of the people in the Tao Mansion had been withdrawn, making the Tao Mansion appear deserted. Liu Jing walked all the way and walked to the inner house without any use to meet his family. When he was wondering, he suddenly heard footsteps coming from behind. When Liu Jing turned around, Tao Zhan came from another small door.
"Jiu Niang!" Liu Jing stopped and called her.
Tao Zhan went to Dongwu for a while and did not come back until half a year later. He didn't meet Liu Jing many times after coming back. Although he had feelings for his husband and concubines, Tao Zhan was filial to him after all.
Tao Zhan is sixteen years old this year, and she is more beautiful and dignified and has a very dignified appearance. Although her mother's death has made her a little depressed, rarely dressed up, and mostly wears a plain white dress, this simple and elegant style has added a bit of sadness to her.
At this time, she didn't see Liu Jing. She was walking with her head down and was worried. Suddenly she heard Liu Jing call her. She immediately raised her head and looked around. Finally, she saw Liu Jing next to a big tree in front of her.
She was surprised in her heart, and she ran a few steps quickly and came to Liu Jing, "Why are you here?"
Liu Jing reached out to clean her hair with a little messy hair, and smiled and said, "I'll see you, can't?"
"No! Of course."
Tao Zhan shook his head hurriedly. Seeing Liu Jing's eyes were bright and full of enthusiasm, she couldn't help but blushed. She lowered her head and whispered: "Of course I'm very happy to see me, but... I think you should be very busy now and don't have time to take care of me."
Liu Jing gently hugged her into her arms and whispered in her ear: "Now that the war is coming, everyone is worried about their relatives. You are my only relative, how can I ignore you?"
A sweet feeling of being loved and cared for poured into Tao Zhan's heart. She pressed her face against his chest and murmured: "But you refuse to leave. Do you know my concern for you?"
Liu Jing then realized that Tao Zhan was worried just now, and it turned out that he was just to worry about himself. He was moved. He kissed her plump and smooth forehead with his lips and smiled: "I am the chief general, of course I want to evacuate the last one. For the sake of honor, I will not let the Jiangdong Army get Chaisang City so easily, but I promise you that I will return to you safely."
Tao Zhan sighed, "Can you persuade my grandfather to leave? He refused to leave, and I didn't want to leave either."
Liu Jing nodded with a smile, "I'll give it a try."
Tao Zhan immediately became excited, "Come with me!"
She took Liu Jing's hand and ran to the backyard. The two of them came to Tao Lie's study. From a distance, they saw Tao Sheng, Tao Li and several Tao family elders standing outside the study. Tao Zhan whispered to Liu Jing: "Now, there is no one except me. He has a bad temper, so you can take it a little bit."
Liu Jing smiled, "Don't worry!"
When everyone saw Tao Zhan bringing Liu Jing, they dodged one after another. Tao Sheng stepped forward and whispered: "Young master, my father refuses to leave, and he doesn't listen no matter how he persuades him, and he loses his temper."
"What's the reason?" Liu Jing asked.
Tao Sheng sighed, "I guess he felt that he could not explain to Jiangdong, so he decided to stay and give Jiangdong an explanation."
Liu Jing nodded silently, and he also felt that it was the reason.
At this time, Tao Zhan stepped forward and knocked on the door, shouting crisply: "Grandfather, it's me, I'm Jiuniang!"
A cough came from the room, and then Tao Lie Cang's voice was heard, "Come in!"
Tao Zhan turned around and gave Liu Jing a wink. Liu Jing followed her and walked into the study. The hearts of several elders of the Tao family outside suddenly became hung, and they all raised their ears to listen carefully to the movements in the room.
Everything was as usual in the room, and the incense burner in the corner of the room emitted a faint smell of sandalwood. Tao Lie half leaned against a rattan bed, covered with a quilt, and a cup of tea on the small table next to him. He was wrapped in a headscarf and closed his eyes peacefully. His gray-white hair and beard made him look particularly old.
Suddenly, Tao Lie opened his eyes and stared at Liu Jing behind Tao Zhan. After a while, he smiled like a child and said, "Jiu Niang, are you here to bring reinforcements?"
Tao Zhan knelt down in front of his grandfather and whispered: "I can't leave either if my grandfather doesn't leave, but if I don't leave, he will lose his temper again. What should I do?"
Liu Jing hurriedly stepped forward and knelt down and bowed, "I'll pay homage to my grandfather!"
"Hey! You annoying children won't let me live."
Tao Lie struggled to sit up, Tao Zhan hurriedly helped him up. Tao Lie sat upright in panting, and turned around and glared at Tao Zhan, "What does it have to do with you little girl or not? Why don't you leave?"
Tao Zhan smiled pursed his lips, "The family unanimously decided to let me stay and take care of my grandfather, but I can't help it."
"Nothing!"
Tao Lie cursed and said to Liu Jing helplessly: "Prince Jing, please sit down, let's talk."
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Chapter completed!