Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3224 A destined betrayal

Jiangling, Jiangdong Navy Camp.

"Could it be a miscalculation?" ” Zhu Zhi felt quite depressed.

Failure is common when the layout is not perfect. After all, the chances are slim from the beginning.

Zhu Zhi comforted himself, feeling that it was not his own fault.

He thought he had done his best...

Isn't it? Even Zhu Ran joined in, and I don't know if the Sichuan-Shu Army can spare Zhu Ran's life?

Although Zhu Ran is not his biological son, after so many years, it is better than his biological son. It is really impossible to make Zhu Zhi grit his teeth and stamp his feet.

Jiangdong lost this time, but it didn't mean he lost much.

After all, what Jiangdong lost was just a dispensable opportunity, but he, Zhu Zhi, would lose his love... Ahem, my beloved son!

As time goes by, Zhu Zhi's psychological construction gradually improves.

To say the least, it's all the fault of others.

But it would be wrong to say that Zhu Zhi had no regrets at all about this war.

It's just that he is getting older, and his thoughts are more on inheriting the family business. Naturally, he has gradually become less interested in hard work. While the world is in chaos, pull up the lintel of your own family. When the world is in peace, you can be on an equal footing with other aristocratic families.

This is the ultimate goal in Zhu Zhi's mind.

As for Jiangdong or Tianxia, ​​it comes with gifts. It would be nice to have them, but it doesn't matter if you don't have them.

Since he first accepted the governor of Jiangdong, although he has shown himself to be relatively tough, in fact Zhu Zhi knows that Jiangdong is not a good place. Even if Zhu Zhi's whole family is involved, what's the use? Jiangdong is not named Zhu, only the Zhu family in Wu County is named Zhu!

Logically speaking, Jiangdong's army retreated in Yufu, and there were many retreat points, such as Zigui, which could be used as a base to regain a foothold and organize a counterattack, but Zhu Zhi still chose to retreat all the way to Jiangling.

Zhu Zhi didn't even think about cooperating with Zhou Tai. He just threw Zigui and some of the remaining soldiers to Zhou Tai and returned to Jiangling.

Although it was announced that Zhu Zhi was injured, in fact Zhu Zhi no longer focused on Sichuan and Shu to the west, but was eyeing Jiangling.

Because Jiangling is the root of what Jiangdong wants.

To be precise, it is the greatest interest of the Jiangdong gentry at present.

Zhu Zhi doesn't understand what diminishing marginal utility is, but he knows that the current rate of return for acquiring the land of Jiangling is obviously greater than that of acquiring Sichuan and Shu.

Capturing Jiangling would cost little and gain a lot, while marching into Sichuan and Shu would take a long time and might not yield any big benefits.

Of course, it would be great if we could really capture eastern Sichuan and western Sichuan, including Jiangling and Jiangdong, as Zhou Yu planned. In this way, Jiangdong will completely control the upstream and downstream, and can use the advantages of ships to form a complete Yangtze River defense line...

Ahem.

Yangtze River Defense Line.

Well, that's right, Jiangdong actually never thought about competing for hegemony from the beginning.

Even Yujiang is limited to dividing the world into two, and it is impossible to even think about further unifying the country.

Of course, it is also possible that Yujiang died too early in history and that his strategy was incomplete.

Even the idea of ​​building such a defensive line was not something the Jiangdong nobles were happy with. For these Jiangdong nobles, their biggest interest point was not Sichuan and Shu, but Jiangling.

Sichuan and Shu are too far away, but Jiangling is very close.

In the historical battle of Liu Bei at Yiling, the point of contention was not Yiling, but Jiangling. Because Jiangling is the upper reaches of Jiangdong and directly affects the home defense line of Sun Quan and the Jiangdong nobles, this area is very important.

In other words, if Sun Ce were still there, he might choose to attack the Huainan area, control the Huai River, rule between the Jianghuai River, and then threaten Xu, Luo and other Central Plains areas. Jiangling would not affect the national destiny of Jiangdong.

It's a pity that Sun Ce died early, so the Jiangdong gentry will never let the Sun family expand their influence in Jianghuai.

It is very understandable that Zhu Zhi chose to retreat directly to Jiangling.

This is Jiangdong's bottom line.

This is also Zhu Zhi’s bottom line.

So why has Jiangdong been unwilling to open a second battlefield in the Huaisi area in history? On the one hand, the Huaisi area is indeed not as prosperous as Jiangling, and the terrain is not as wide and flat as in later generations. Instead, it is mostly swamps and tidal flats. On the other hand, The Sun family was born in Huaisi, so as long as Sun Quan achieved a little success in Huaisi, the Jiangdong Army would immediately start to destroy it and fundamentally cut off the Sun family's chance to grow again.

Zhu Zhi retreated to Jiangling, but there were still some troops in Yiling to guard the gate of Jiangling, but he knew that Yiling could not resist for long. The key is not the important point, the important point is that he lost!

If the news reaches Jiangdong, it will inevitably cause huge waves!

Zhu Zhi could even imagine that Sun Quan's face in Jiangdong was getting more and more red and purple.

He is different from Huang Gai.

Huang Gai did not have territory in his hands, only soldiers. Therefore, Huang Gai needed the privileges granted by Jiangdong to raise his troops, and these powers were in the hands of Sun Quan. Therefore, even if Huang Gai was defeated, Sun Quan would not specifically target him, and would even Encouragement and comfort, not suppression.

But Zhu Zhi is different. Not only does he have soldiers, but he also has real territory...

Sun Quan will definitely use this opportunity to suppress the Zhu family, invade his land, and deprive him of his authority.

Therefore, Zhu Zhi must find a way to deal with Sun Quan's measures before they are cut off.

The "shield" Zhu Zhi found was Jiangling.

He can retreat, but he cannot retreat again and again.

Zhu Zhi knew very well that he was defeated because he was only ashamed of Sun Quan. For the Jiangdong nobles, they valued Jiangling and Jingzhou more. Therefore, if Zhu Zhi can protect Jiangling, or even go one step further and capture Jingzhou, then he can't say that he has no fault, but he also has merit!

"Someone is coming!" Zhu Zhi greeted and asked, "Xiangyang hasn't replied yet?" 』

The subordinate reported: "No reply yet." 』

Zhu Zhi nodded, "Very good." 』

Zhu Zhi stood up and raised his head, "Send the order!" Beat the drums and gather together! 』

…

…

"what happened? ! 』

Kuai Liang's eyes widened, looking at the chaos that suddenly broke out, his heart felt like it was violently tugged by someone, and his eyes felt a little dark.

He seemed a little uneasy when he came today, but he didn't know what went wrong, so he went out with some guards and walked along the street. As soon as he reached the city gate, he suddenly I heard an amazing noise outside the city gate!

Kuai Liang immediately felt that the most terrible thing seemed to have happened.

Kuai Liang sent someone to check forward hurriedly. After a while, Kuai's guard who went to investigate the situation replied, his face pale.

"Someone is attacking the city!" 』

At almost the same time, there seemed to be a riot in Jiangling City, and the entire city seemed to be boiling instantly.

A fire started in a shanty town in the south of Jiangling City, and black smoke rose into the sky!

In the blink of an eye, Kuai Liang figured out the whole story.

"Jiang Dongjun!" 』

Kuai Liang gritted his teeth.

"There are Jiangdong spies in the city!" 』

This is the second question Kuai Liang wants to understand.

But after thinking about it later, there is nothing strange. The key is whether prevention can be done in advance...

It is a pity that Kuai Liang may have been vaguely aware of this problem, but he did not take any preventive measures before.

Because Jiang Dongjun was very polite when he first came to Jiangling.

Not only will they not invade the villages and houses around Jiangling, they will sometimes help the Jiangling defenders to eliminate some surrounding water thieves.

In any era, there are always some people who will become thieves for one reason or another.

Perhaps it was such a move that made Kuai Liang and some people in Jiangling City relax their vigilance...

The original alliance between Jiangdong and Jiangdong was to borrow the land of Jiangling and build a navy camp on the bank of the river to facilitate the march into Sichuan and Shu.

If you need some supplies, you can also purchase them through trade with Jiangling City.

There are many people in the military camp, and it is normal to sometimes lack some salt and vinegar.

But who would have thought that Zhu Zhi would take advantage of this opportunity to send people to infiltrate Jiangling City early, and now he would suddenly attack!

Long before forming an alliance with Cao Jun, Kuai Liang was unwilling to lend the road to Jiangdong, expressing Jiangdong's ambition. Now it has become a prophecy!

Once Zhu Zhi captured Jiangling City, he could be said to have established a firm foothold in Jiangling. There is a naval base in the south and Jiangling City as a stronghold in the north. Even if Jiangdong does not make any other moves later, it may not be easy for Cao Jun to drive Jiangdong's army away from the Jiangling area!

If there are still soldiers from Jiangdong to follow, then their front will directly threaten the Jingzhou battlefield, and may even cross Xiangyang and point directly at Xu County!

If the situation really has deteriorated to this point...

Kuai Liang stood on the city wall, his hands and feet feeling cold at the scene in front of him.

The sudden attack by the Jiangdong Army in front of me is really a bit...

shameless.

Nowadays, the entire battlefield of the Han Dynasty is undoubtedly the two heroes Cao Cao and Fei Qian vying for hegemony, while Jiangdong is just a small prince who associates with Nanman Shanyue in the corner. Cao Cao was willing to take little brother Jiangdong with him, which in itself was considered to be very kind to Jiangdong. Unexpectedly, little brother Jiangdong came to steal the house while old classmate Cao was away...

Are you thinking that Jiangdong’s surname is not Wang?

Kuai Liang naturally didn't know that Jiangdong had a tradition of carrying out sneak attacks.

Later, it was heard that many people from Jiangdong went to Japan to escape the war, and they brought this custom of suppressing the upper class with them...

Kuai Liang turned around, looked at the twenty or so Kuai guards behind him, and pointed forward with trembling hands, "We are in trouble today!" Everyone...just please! 』

Everyone's faces turned pale.

Kuai Liang took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and assigned tasks. On the one hand, he sent people to the rear to inform his children and prepare to escape from Jiangling in case of emergency. On the other hand, he sent people to intercept Jiangdong soldiers. Try to resist Jiangdong's attack, but if it doesn't work, you can try to buy some time!

The Jiangling area's position in the entire strategy actually has a very different upper and lower limit.

In history, when Liu Biao was separatist, Xiangyang and Jiangling had equally important positions. Before the Battle of Chibi, after Cao Cao forced Liu Cong to surrender, he sent tiger and leopard cavalry straight to Jiangling without stopping. After the Battle of Chibi, the first thing Zhou Yu did after his victory was to go straight to Jiangling, risking his own life and death to capture it. Because Jiangling was the starting point for Cao Cao to launch the Battle of Chibi and conquer Jiangdong. It is also the life and death line for Soochow to maintain its own safety.

Can Cao Cao not have Jiangling?

Can.

Is it okay if there is no Jiangling in Jiangdong?

no.

This resulted in Gangneung being a city that might be prosperous economically, but militarily without any danger. In the hands of ambitious people, it was the place where dreams began and the starting point for attacks. In the hands of conservatives, it is the beginning of a nightmare and a complete liability.

Just like in history, Zhou Yu and Lu Meng both envisioned a major strategic layout with Jiangling as the core. However, with the deaths of Zhou Yu and Lu Meng, these strategic layouts immediately turned into ashes...

When Zhu Zhi attacked Jiangling, it was actually not that Zhu Zhi had any ambition to enter the Central Plains, but that he wanted to seize the wealth of Jiangling to subsidize his own losses, and apply some powder to cover up his failure.

Kuai Liang's hand sank, but a guard beside him stuffed a sword into his hand. Immediately, the guard led the rest of the people and rushed forward, "Master! Take care...brothers! Kill! 』

Kuai Liang held the sword in his hand and stood there for a moment, and then he roared angrily, "The ashes in the sky will make you a cripple, and the ashes on the ground will make you a lying man. I will dig up your ancestral graves, and I will dig up your ancestral graves in Jiangdong!" 』

…

…

Because Jiangling was not prepared for Jiangdong's sudden betrayal, when Jiangdong's soldiers captured the city, the suspension bridge outside Jiangling City was already down.

The leading Jiangdong troops had already rushed onto the suspension bridge and were swinging their axes towards the rope pull ring of the suspension bridge.

The following Jiangdong soldiers rushed into the city along the suspension bridge and fought with the Jiangling defenders near the city gate.

In Jiangling City, there were only a thousand soldiers and no cavalry at all, so the naval force was basically useless.

Originally, when Jiangling was in the hands of Liu Biao, Cao Cao could be intimidated from the north, and Jiangdong was suppressed from the south. If Liu Biao was still alive, Jiangdong soldiers would not dare to attack so boldly, not to mention Zhu Zhi's men and troops, even if Jiangdong was defeated. If you go out, you may not be able to get down to Jiangling.

Now that Kuai is in control of Jiangling, his power is more or less insufficient.

The Kuai family failed to get much support from the Cao family. In addition, Jiangling had suffered from war before, and the economic and population recovery was slow. Moreover, most of the income was supplied to Xiangyang. As a result, the Kuai family was unable to expand its manpower, with more than a thousand people. Not only do they have to be assigned to various places in the city, but they also have to face the water thieves in Daze around Jiangling on weekdays. Low combat power and insufficient equipment are the current dilemma of the Kuai family.

Even when Jiangdong soldiers made a sneak attack, Jiangling City's reaction speed was still slow. If Kuai Liang hadn't happened to be nearby and sent his own guards, it would be impossible to say that the city gate had been attacked at this time!

The reason is very simple. When Jiang Dongbing came to buy before, he would deliberately give the city gatekeeper a little sweetness.

Every time.

This method is not unusual at all. If it is exposed, someone will scream. How come you are not even vigilant? How could you be fooled? Then he yelled about sugar-coating, eating the cannonballs, and hitting them back...

But in fact, in history, this was used every time when foreign invaders invaded, and every time the compradors within China greeted them with a smile.

So this time, the Jiangling city guard thought that the sugar-coat was coming again, so he ate it first and then fired back when the cannonballs came. Unexpectedly, Jiangdong soldiers cut off his head as soon as they came up!

As soon as the city guard died, there was chaos at the city gate!

Everyone was shouting and running around, not knowing how to deal with this sudden change.

"The people of Koto are going crazy!" 』

"Killed!" 』

At this time, two completely different directions appeared at the city gate.

Most people, even some of the soldiers on duty at the city gate, subconsciously ran into the city.

Because these people think the city is safer.

And only a handful of people are rushing up against the flow of people...

But the flow of people retreating makes it difficult for even those who yearn to move forward. The private soldiers of the Kuai family who were rushing upward were trying to get out of the way of the Jiangling people while pushing forward to block the Jiangdong soldiers. If they felt a little shaken in their hearts, they only had to follow the flow of people and scream a few times, and then they could turn around and run away. .

In the midst of this chaos, Zhu Zhi's private soldiers came in!

They didn't stop and slashed in without any hesitation. No matter whether they were civilians or soldiers who stood in front of them, they would kill them all!

The sound of shouting and killing suddenly erupted!

At the city gate, everyone is running into the city!

Everyone became Jiang Dongbing's support and helped knock the private guards sent by Kuai Liang into pieces.

"Why don't you come up?" 』

"quick! Help me! 』

"Mom..."

Kuai Liang's private soldiers rushed forward in twos and threes, and were quickly killed by Jiangdong soldiers.

Originally, the Kuai family was not a family that was good at military affairs. They were better at scriptures and competing for interests verbally. If they really want to use swords and guns, the Kuai clan will have some difficulty facing the water thieves around Jiangling, let alone when facing a Jiangdong veteran like Zhu Zhi?

The elite Cao army was concentrated in the Jingbei area, and most of Jiangling were ordinary defenders.

Although some of Kuai's private soldiers rushed forward bravely, their personal bravery still had to rely on numbers before achieving a qualitative change. In the chaos of Jiangling City, the courage of individual Kuai's private soldiers could not To restore the overall decline, and after the death of these private soldiers of the Kuai family who blocked Jiangdong soldiers, there were fewer and fewer resisters. Jiangling city gate was quickly occupied by Jiangdong soldiers, and soon a large number of Jiangdong soldiers rushed into Jiangling city. .

Outside Jiangling City, Zhu Zhi looked up at the black smoke burning in the city and remained silent.

"Report!" 』

A soldier from Jiangdong came and worshiped in front of Zhu Zhi, "Report to the Commander-in-Chief!" The south gate has been secured! The thieves' army is defeated! 』

"Get ready to enter the city!" Count the warehouses! ” Zhu Zhi nodded, “Besides... let the boats be prepared to move the people to Jiangdong! 』

Zhu Zhi understood that Jiangling was surrounded by no danger. Even if he captured it now, if Cao Jun counterattacked, he might not be able to withstand it, and even if he resisted, he would definitely suffer heavy losses, so he still It would be better to just move Jiangling into an empty shell, and it would be easier when the time comes to retreat.

What's more important is that Zhu Zhi moved the population of Jiangling. On the one hand, it can be his own merit. On the other hand, it can also supplement his own strength. He can also share the profits with the Jiangdong nobles. In this way, the result of his defeat will be Naturally, with the cooperation of everyone, big things turned into small things...

Of course Zhu Zhi would not miss this triple win!

"Someone is coming!" Pass on someone's words..." Zhu Zhi said with his hands behind his back, "Just say that Cao is a thief who has no virtue and is causing trouble to the place. To save Jiangling's father from old age, it is our duty to... Oh, these people are really suffering... 』