Chapter 125: If God wants someone to die, he will make him crazy!
After the imperial army took control of Huainan, the "Han Navy" brought by Liu Bian gradually entered the Yangtze River from the Huai River.

There are two waterways between the Huaihe River and the Yangtze River - the "Zhongdu Waterway" in Guangling County of Xuzhou and the "Hefei Waterway" from Huainan to Ruxukou.

Among them, the Zhongdu waterway was somewhat silted up because it had not been desilted for a long time.

The imperial court took advantage of the winter truce and used the "work-for-relief" policy to put the refugees to work.

This is a way to kill three birds with one stone.

It not only provides the poor and refugees with the conditions for production and living, but also increases the tax revenue for the state, which is conducive to the stability of social order and the development of production. It can also clear the blocked rivers and provide convenience for military transportation.

With the joint efforts of the military and civilians, the Zhongdu waterway was dredged and connected.

In addition, Liu Bian also ordered the construction of a dock at Ruxukou so that the imperial navy could be stationed along the Yangtze River.

Just like the soldiers’ camp, warships also have docks for repairs and supplies.

All these preparations are for preparation for war!
Liu Bian had been preparing to send troops to Jiangdong and Jingxiang, but Liu Biao's death accelerated the process.

The imperial court first issued an edict to promote Liu Biao's eldest son: Liu Qi was the governor of Jingzhou, temporarily taking over the power of Jingzhou.

Liu Biao's wife Lady Cai and second son Liu Cong were demoted to commoners, and the Cai family was confiscated and exterminated.

They had good reasons. They rebelled against the imperial court and led their troops to attack the five counties in southern Jing that responded to the imperial court.

Moreover, he tampered with the will and deceived the emperor!

Sure enough, news came from Jingxiang that the Cai family did not sit and wait for death, but chose to rebel against the court, which made the court decisively send troops!

This expedition was to express condolences for Liu Biao, appoint Liu Qi as governor of Jingzhou, and suppress the rebel forces in Jingzhou.

Representing the imperial court’s royal army’s declaration of sovereignty over Jingxiang!

...

As for Jingxiang and Jiangdong, their stubborn resistance was not a declaration of the sovereignty of Jingxiang or Jiangdong.

They have been separatist and rebelling against the imperial court, and have reached a point where they have no other options left. They must unite and fight back.

Even if we finally sit down to negotiate, only those who win a great victory will be qualified to negotiate and have bargaining chips!

So they are not declaring sovereignty, but gaining the qualification to negotiate!
The two armies are bound to fight!
...

The imperial navy fleet set out from Ruxukou, went up the river and headed towards Jingxiang.

Along the way, scouts and spies kept sending in intelligence.

The large-scale mobilization of the Jingzhou Navy and the Jiangdong Navy could naturally not be concealed from the detection of those who were interested.

It's not just one or two ships being mobilized, but hundreds or even thousands. Even a blind man can see that there must be a problem.

But the imperial navy did not retreat or fear the battle!

Because they have cannons!

Because the number of their warships is now even greater!
...

Jingxiang and Jiangdong naturally also knew about the mysterious weapon called "cannon".

The Jiangdong Navy had personally experienced this, suffered a lot, and lost many soldiers and generals, so they naturally understood the power of cannons!
even.

After the imperial court defeated Yuan Shu in Huainan, it seized and levied the Huainan navy. Now the navy is extremely powerful!

Not to mention, the court's original Han navy was already very powerful!
Even if the Jiangdong Navy and the Jingzhou Navy joined forces, they would still be unable to compete with the Imperial Navy and would be completely at a disadvantage!
But they could not retreat. They had to launch a counterattack against the imperial navy under the bombardment of cannons and the imperial navy's larger fleet.

Because they have no way out.

But the power of the cannon was too great. After much deliberation, the two armies decided to set up an ambush at Sanjiangkou based on the terrain map.

They can only rely on the right time, place and people to be qualified to compete with the imperial navy.

...

When the imperial navy went up the river and passed near Pengze from Ruxukou, the Jiangdong navy rushed out from Poyang Lake. However, facing the imperial navy's artillery, they returned without success and even lost a number of warships.

The imperial navy marched straight in without encountering any obstruction at all.

Continuing up the river, they encountered Jiangdong naval forces one after another, winning battle after battle and becoming unstoppable!
The Jiangdong naval commanders were somewhat confused and did not know why Zhou Yu sent the Jiangdong naval fleet to die when he knew that they would inevitably lose.

Zhou Yu simply said: "A proud army will be defeated. If we want to win, we must encourage the pride of the imperial navy officers and soldiers. Only then will we be able to find a flaw in them."

The generals suddenly understood!

This is called the "praise to death" tactic!
If God wants it to perish, it must first make it crazy!
The imperial court's troops have been going smoothly and winning battles one after another, which will definitely boost the soldiers' pride.

This will reveal a flaw and provide an opportunity to exploit!

...

The imperial naval fleet arrived near Sanjiangkou in one day.

At this time, the sky was getting dark, which was not conducive to fighting all night, so they had to station near Sanjiangkou.

At this time, Taishi Ci said solemnly: "The Jiangdong navy knew that they would lose, but they still sent troops to prevent the battle. This is deliberately delaying our march. Compared with the original plan, we are already much slower."

According to their calculations before departure, they could enter the Xiangjiang River from Sanjiangkou before dark, head north to Jingxiang, and lay siege to the city.

However, along the way, they encountered repeated obstructions from the Jiangdong Navy. Although the Imperial Navy remained fearless and repelled the Jiangdong Navy one after another.

However, every time the battle was delayed, their marching speed was slowed down, so that it was more than half slower than the original sailing plan.

"What does Ziyi mean?!"

Zhang Fei looked at Taishi Ci in surprise, "Are they deliberately slowing down our march just to make us spend the night at Sanjiangkou?!"

"It is possible!" Taishi Ci frowned and nodded.

Zhang Fei's eyes lit up, and he said, "This is easy. We can pretend to be ignorant, lure the enemy deep into our territory, and then surround and annihilate the ambush troops!"

Taishi Ci thought this plan was feasible.

They were the vanguard fleet, and their purpose was to open a breakthrough for the follow-up troops. If there was an ambush point, they could just go deep into the tiger's den.

After all the generals worked together to reach a consensus, they were ready to fight at any time, ready for a night attack by the enemy.

They are even prepared for a strong counterattack.

but!

What was unbelievable to them was that they had not slept all night and the enemy had no plans for any night attack!
"All my work in vain?!" Zhang Fei had dark circles under his eyes and looked listless and disappointed.

Taishi Ci sighed and said, "Maybe we are overthinking it, or maybe the enemy is deliberately trying to tire out the troops!"

"What does Ziyi mean?"

Zhang Fei guessed, "They are not planning to attack at night, but are deliberately exhausting us. Is their real intention to attack today?"

“This… this is possible!”

Taishi Ci was not so sure this time. "The soldiers have not slept all night and are exhausted. We should be careful!"

Zhang Fei agreed with this and ordered a full meal.

Even if you are exhausted, you can still boost your spirits after eating and drinking.

Their vanguard fleet set sail and headed for the Xiangjiang River, but they were always on high alert, fearing that the enemy would attack.

But they successfully merged the Yangtze River into the Xiang River, and the enemy no longer made any moves.

This made Zhang Fei and Taishi Ci somewhat confused and uncertain, as they really couldn't guess what the enemy generals were thinking.

……

(End of this chapter)