flstandardbreds Chapter 161 Father and Son Reunite at the Gates of Jianye
Chapter 161 Father and Son Reunite at the Gates of Jianye
Although Deng Hong only said a few words, they contained a lot of information. First of all, Liu Bei's messenger had arrived, so there was no need to worry about things at home.
Secondly, with Lü Meng withdrawing his troops, Guan Yu was finally able to leave the city and expand his gains. As long as he captured Wu County, he and his son would not have to worry about food supplies for a short period of time.
Finally, Wu Jun left, and Wei Jun should arrive. The final test for father and son has arrived. Whether they will remain in Jiangdong or become fugitives depends on this.
In other words, I haven't had a few days of rest before I have to prepare for another big battle.
Guan Xing opened the letter, and before he could finish reading it, he couldn't help but exclaim, "Father wants me to capture Zhang'an, build a shipyard there to manufacture warships, and then lead my troops north to join him?"
These are two separate tasks. Besides, building warships is a technical job. Where is he going to find skilled shipwrights who understand the technology?
Guan Yu overestimated him; he was just using him to the point of exhaustion because he was so useful.
Deng Hong replied, "I'm asking you to attack Zhang'an first to pave the way. As for the timber and shipwrights needed for shipbuilding, Prefect Deng will gather them from Wu County and transport them by sea."
"This was a suggestion from strategist Zhuge. Zhuge's original idea was that if General Guan could not withstand the Wei army, he should retreat south to Jiaozhou or take a warship north to Liaodong. However, the strategist did not know that the old general already had the strength to fight the Wei army, so the old general rejected this plan."
"However, it is still very necessary to build warships and a navy. Once the navy is built, we can go north along the coast to harass the counties of Xuzhou and attack the rear of the Wei army. Besides, the Wei army also has a navy. If we don't have one, we will easily suffer losses."
The Wei army did indeed have a navy. In order to conquer Wu, Cao Cao had sent generals to build and train a navy in Chaohu Lake several years ago, and it was now taking shape.
Although the Wei navy was inferior to the Wu navy, it was still better than nothing.
Moreover, if the Wei army captures Ruxukou, it is highly likely that they will take over the Wu navy. In that case, Guan Yu will be in big trouble. Without a navy to fight back, the coastal counties of Wu Commandery will never have peace.
After a moment's thought, Guan Xing understood the importance and necessity of building a navy; a navy was a must, and there was no other way.
Moreover, Guan Yu had an advantage that the Wei army did not have when it came to building a navy: most of the excellent shipwrights in Jiangdong were concentrated in Wu County, which he could directly recruit.
Jiangdong's shipbuilding technology was unparalleled in the world, and the multi-storied ships they built were already capable of long-distance voyages. Historically, Sun Quan allied with the Gongsun clan of Liaodong to jointly resist Cao Cao, but unexpectedly, the Gongsun clan tricked him. Sun Quan was furious and sent his navy north to Liaodong, where they plundered the Gongsun clan.
This move alarmed Cao Wei, prompting them to hasten their coastal defenses, fearing that Sun Quan might also launch an attack on them.
If the Eastern Wu navy could even seize Liaodong, the northernmost point, then seizing Xuzhou and Qingzhou, right on their doorstep, would be child's play. How could they not defend against it?
The reason why the shipbuilding technology of Eastern Wu was so excellent was because there was a group of skilled craftsmen who were good at shipbuilding. These craftsmen were basically located in the major shipyards along the coast of Wu County. If Guan Xing could get his hands on them, not to mention the tower ships of Eastern Wu, he was confident that he could even build the treasure ships of Zheng He in the early Ming Dynasty.
If they could really build an ocean-going fleet like Zheng He's, hehe, the coastal counties of Cao Wei would be their backyard.
Besides the coastal counties, Guan Xing could also raid Japan for grain. With grain, he could grow rapidly. As for whether raiding Japan's grain would cause the Japanese people to starve to death, what did that have to do with him?
Thinking of all the benefits of building a navy, Guan Xing hurriedly said to Xie Chong, "Old Xie, appoint Wang Tao as the magistrate of Zhang'an County. He should immediately lead his troops to Zhang'an and recapture it. Also, appoint Qian Yun as the assistant magistrate of Zhang'an County and the chief naval officer, in charge of building the port and preparing for the preliminary work of shipbuilding."
Qian Yun was a wealthy merchant whom he had rescued from prison when he first arrived in Wushang. He had been following Xie Chong to divide the land and had accumulated enough experience. Zhang'an was a small county surrounded by mountains with almost no troops stationed there. Wang Tao and Qian Yun could easily handle it.
"Yes..." Xie Chong bowed and accepted the order, then asked, "So what do we do?"
Guan Xing said, "Pack your things and head to Zhuji. First, we'll recapture Shanyin, then head north to Jianye."
Shanyin must be recovered. To repel external threats, one must first secure internal stability. Since he has gone north to build Jianye, he cannot leave such a huge hidden danger behind him.
In fact, he could have recovered Shanyin when he forced Zhang Cheng to surrender, but there were too many surrendered soldiers at the time, and continuing the war would easily cause turmoil. Moreover, Zhang Zhi was still in Fuchun and could provide support at any time, so he let Chunyu Shi of Shanyin City go.
But now that the surrendered soldiers have been reformed and Zhang Zhi of Fuchun has raised the banner of rebellion again, Shanyin City is isolated and helpless. What are we waiting for if we don't take it back?
Besides, he is now the governor of Kuaiji, appointed by Liu Bei himself. What kind of governor is he if he can't even take over the county seat of Shanyin?
Therefore, Guan Xing's plan was to first recapture Shanyin to secure the rear, and then head north to Jianye to join his father in fighting against the Wei army.
"Yes..." Xie Chong bowed and turned to leave.
An army marches on its stomach, and this time, with tens of thousands of troops under construction, logistics had to keep up. So Guan Xing prepared for three whole days before leading his troops out on the fourth day.
In addition to the three generals Xie Chong, Meng Jun, and Ji Jie, and 30,000 elite troops, Guan Xing also brought Zhang Cheng, Zhou Xun, Zhuge Ke, and Quan Cong. These four were specifically requested by Guan Yu, and Guan Xing also wanted to get rid of these four burdens, so there was naturally no need to keep them in Wushang.
In addition, Cheng Li insisted on going along, saying that he wanted to prepare medicine for Guan Xing and Zhou Xun, and at the same time observe their physical condition.
Guan Xing had no choice but to take it with him and drink the foul-smelling Chinese medicine every day.
Conditions were rudimentary on the way to the expedition, and the Chinese medicine was not brewed properly. One day, Guan Xing saw a piece of feces in the medicine bowl and was so angry that he went to confront Cheng Li on the spot. Cheng Li explained that the thing was called black borneol, which was wild boar feces. Guan Xing vomited on the spot, but after vomiting, he had to pinch his nose and continue drinking.
Getting back to business, Guan Xing led his troops to Zhuji, where they met up with Gan Xun. He then ordered Xie Chong to set off first to Shanyin to persuade Chunyu Shi, the governor of Kuaiji, to surrender.
Chunyu Shi currently only has about three thousand men under his command. With Lü Meng's retreat and Zhang Zhi's rebellion, Chunyu Shi has no one left to serve. There is really no need for him to defend the city.
Chunyu Shi probably wanted to surrender a long time ago. If Guan Xing had just offered him a way out, he would have gone down the aisle. Under these circumstances, there was really no need to attack. It would be a waste of time and energy. What was the point?
As Guan Xing had predicted, as soon as Xie Chong arrived at the city gates and explained his purpose, Chunyu Shi opened the city gates, surrendered, and came with Xie Chong to pay his respects to Guan Xing.
Before Guan Xingren even arrived, he had already recaptured Shanyin City. He then appointed Xie Chong as the Prefect of Kuaiji Commandery and Ji Jie as the Military Commander of Kuaiji Commandery. He left 10,000 troops for the two men to guard Kuaiji Commandery, while he himself led 20,000 troops led by Gan Xun and Meng Jun, along with Chunyu Shi and his 3,000 surrendered soldiers, north to Jianye.
As for the coastal counties of Yuyao and Juzhang in Kuaiji Commandery, Xie Chong will handle them.
On the way north, counties such as Qiantang and Yuhang surrendered without resistance. These counties had already received news that Lü Meng had withdrawn his troops and abandoned Jiangdong, so they naturally would not put up any more futile resistance.
As a result, Guan Xing's army advanced unimpeded and arrived at the gates of Jianye City in just twelve days.
As soon as Guan Xing arrived outside the city, he saw the city gates open in the distance. Guan Yu and Wang Fu were waiting patiently on horseback. Guan Xing couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Old Guan actually came out of the city to greet me personally. Is he being so kind to me?"
No one answered him, nor did he expect anyone to answer. As he spoke, he jumped off his horse and sprinted towards Guan Yu at top speed.