Wuling County is the largest county among the four counties in Jingnan, but its population is almost the same as Guiyang County. Wuling borders Yizhou to the west and Jiaozhou to the south. There are more foreigners in the west and south (now Chongqing, Guizhou, etc.)

), the population in those places is sparse and scattered, and the entire economic and political center is concentrated in the Linyuan area in the northeast.

To capture Wuling County, it would be a decisive battle as long as Linyuan was captured. Gao Shun slowly advanced northward as planned.

At this time, Gan Ning had led his army to You County and asked Liu Pan to send troops to capture Changsha.

Liu Pan hesitated: "Changsha is originally under the rule of Jingzhou, why do we need to raise troops to conquer it? Besides, Mr. Cong is the new lord of Jingzhou, and the eldest son is just the prefect of Lingling..."

Gan Ning said: "Recently, Cao Cao went south to Jingzhou, and Liu Cong listened to Ni's words and surrendered the state. Now the north of the Yangtze River has fallen into the hands of Cao's thieves. Liu Shijun has declared that the eldest son will be the governor of Jingzhou and take over the four counties in Jingnan.

Why not?"

"When did this happen?" Liu Pan asked in shock.

"In the past few days, the eldest son has already known in Jiangxia, and the news will be sent to various places soon." Gan Ning said firmly.

In ancient times, news spread slowly. When Liu Bei announced that Liu Qi would be the governor of Jingzhou, Lantian immediately took action.

There is about to be a decisive battle with Cao Jun, and the only thing to seize is time.

"What about Guiyang and Wuling..." Liu Pan asked again.

"Prefect Zhao of Guiyang County has long been loyal to the eldest son. Mr. Ziyu has sent General Gao Shun to fetch Wuling. Now only Changsha is left for the general to fetch." Gan Ning replied.

"General, since the eldest son has succeeded as the lord of Jingzhou, we should obey his orders." Huang Zhong, the commander-in-chief, reminded him.

"Then I will prepare my troops immediately, but the people of Changsha are also the people of Jingzhou, so it is best not to fight if possible." Liu Pan suggested.

Gan Ning nodded, "Mr. Ziyu means the same thing. As long as Prefect Han is informed and sensible, we will naturally not use swords and guns. But the general with a heavy army should understand that it is useless to talk the truth with a smooth tongue."

..”

"I understand." Liu Pan also nodded. This kind of truth is simple to him.

Gan Ning and Liu Pan joined forces with 12,000 troops and marched north to Linxiang, the capital of Changsha. The defenders here recognized Liu Pan's troops.

Prefect Han Xuan thought Liu Pan had some kind of military action. The last time such a large scale of troops crossed the border, it was the eldest son Liu Qi who came south by water.

Han Xuan came out of the city to work for the army with a smile. As soon as he walked outside the city, he felt something was wrong in the atmosphere.

"General Liu, where are you going?"

Liu Pan clasped his fists and said, "By order of the general, I came here to take over Changsha."

Han Xuan almost fell off his horse after hearing this. He thought to himself that Liu Cong, a child with a yellow mouth, had not been in power for a long time, so he would reach out to Jingnan so soon?

"Ahem, General Liu, what kind of joke are you talking about? A few days ago, the prince took office and sent you a reward. You..." Han Xuan was puzzled.

"Liu Cong has surrendered to Cao Cao's thieves, and everything north of the Yangtze River has fallen into the hands of the enemy. Liu Yuzhou has declared that the eldest son is the governor of Jingzhou. Now you still want to recognize Liu Cong as the master?" Liu Pan asked.

Han Xuan looked surprised, thinking that his boss was replaced too quickly.

"The governor has other considerations?" Gan Ning saw that this guy was a little slow and couldn't help but ask.

"No...I don't dare...I don't dare. Han Xuan is willing to be loyal to the eldest son and invites the generals to enter the city..." At this time, Han Xuan was outside the city. How could he dare to say no?

After Changsha County was easily captured, Liu Qi had to wait for Liu Qi to appoint him as the governor of Changsha. All military affairs in the county were taken over by Liu Pan.

Gan Ning then led his troops to support Gao Shun's attack on Wuling by water.

Because Wuling County is located outside, neither Gao Shun nor Gan Ning are familiar with it.

Before that, Lantian asked Gao Shun to go and inquire about all kinds of information, including the garrison situation of Wuling County, roads, mountains and rivers, and the situation of officials.

This intelligence spying team only has less than a hundred people, but everyone is an elite member of the trapped camp with a flexible mind and strong martial arts. They are comprehensive warriors specially trained by Gao Shun after Lantian opened the martial arts hall.

It can be concluded from the intelligence that there are no famous generals in Wuling County. The prefect Jin Xuan has a headstrong personality and is a descendant of the famous official Jin Rixi. It will be difficult to directly persuade him to surrender. It is estimated that he will have to fight.

The trapped camp had strict discipline and marched across the border very quickly, so it was not until they appeared in Yuannan County that they were discovered by the defenders of Wuling.

The city of Yuannan County was not large, and the garrison had less than a thousand men. They rushed to challenge Gao Shun in panic and collapsed at the first touch.

When news of the war reached Linyuan City, the prefect Jin Xuan and others were shocked.

Jin Xuan summoned his staff to ask for advice, and Gong Zhi analyzed: "General, the emperor appointed Liu Qi as the prefect of Lingling. He originally wanted to take full control of Jingnan, but he didn't expect that he had been dormant for two years. I guess Guiyang and Changsha also

There is a danger of Wuling..."

"But Liu Cong is the new leader of Jingzhou, and Liu Qi's actions are tantamount to treason." Jin Xuan said with a frown.

Jin Xuan's son Jin Yi said: "There are still thousands of elite soldiers in Linyuan City, why not defend the city and wait for reinforcements?"

"When Gong Zhi is engaged, he can speak freely." Jin Xuan asked when he saw that Gong Zhi was about to speak but stopped.

Gong Zhi cupped his hands and said: "Since ancient times, there has been an order of respect for elders and younger ones. Liu Cong's succession to the throne is inherently unethical. Since the eldest son has come to capture Wuling, he will definitely attack Changsha and Guiyang. Instead of waiting for reinforcements from Jiangbei, it is better to lead the crowd to surrender."

..”

"Surrender? Then you have to fight a battle, otherwise you will think that I, Jin Xuan, are a weakling. I intend to take the initiative to weaken his spirit."

Gong Zhi glanced at Jin Yi first, and then said dumbly: "I heard that when the eldest son went to Lingling to take office, Liu Du sent his son Liu Xian to stop him, but he was defeated in the Shenshui Valley. The general must learn from this..."

"I know about this. The eldest son was assisted by Liu Xuande at that time. Neither of them came this time, so he sent a general named Gao to lead the army. He simply didn't take me, Jin Xuan, seriously."

"This person should have some skills, otherwise how could Yuannan fall in an instant." Gong Zhi analyzed.

"Yuannan was defeated because of the small number of troops. I want to personally lead the troops out of the city to fight, and I will leave Linyuan to you and Deyi to guard it." Jin Xuan said sonorously.

"General, please don't get involved in danger personally. Even if you follow Deyi's words, we might as well stay in the city and wait for reinforcements..." Gong Zhi advised.

Jin Xuan frowned and shouted coldly: "I have made up my mind. You can earn your dignity by yourself. Just do your own thing well."

"Wei." Gong Zhi (Jin Yi) said in unison.

Jin Xuan left 3,000 soldiers to guard the city, and then led 5,000 elite soldiers out of the city. He originally wanted to cross the Yuan River and go south to fight, but was told that Gao Shun had already crossed the Yuan River and detoured from the west to Linyuan City.

.

Gao Shun had rich combat experience. Although the distance from the south along the Yuan River was short, he still had to cross the river to capture Linyuan City. He would rather cross the river early and take a detour than take the risk of crossing the river near Linyuan and being attacked halfway.

Taboos in the art of war.

The two armies met a hundred miles west of Linyuan. Gao Shun's soldiers were well-trained and had strict orders. When Jin Xuan's troops arrived, they were already in formation and waiting.

Lantian's army expansion in Lingling was too fast, and the manufacturing of armor could not keep up with the supply. Many of the newly recruited Vietnamese soldiers did not wear armor and were still wearing their own national costumes at this time, but this did not affect their combat effectiveness at all.
Chapter completed!