After Liu Jue officially took over Jiangxia, it could be said that he was a new official. After discussing with Yi Ji and the others, he began to issue orders.
Jiang Xia now had 25,000 soldiers, 10,000 navy, 15,000 army, and a total of 100,000 dan of rations.
The plan that Liu Jue and the others made was to defend Xiakou, Xiling, and Wuchang.
As long as these three cities were not lost, the entire Jiangxia would not be out of Liu Jue's control.
West-Hill was located in the north of the Yangtze River, behind Jiang Xia, and also in Cao Cao's territory. If Jiang Dong sent troops to attack, it was highly likely that they would not attack West-Hill.
Liu Jue appointed Xiang Lang as the County Magistrate of West-Hill, commanding Xiang Chong, Zhang Shuo, and 3,000 soldiers to guard this place.
Yi Ji led Wei Yan, Huo Jun, and Deng Long to guard Xiakou.
Liu Jue personally led Huang Zhong, Gan Ning, Su Fei, Chen Jiu, and 12,000 soldiers to set up defenses in Wuchang.
Su Fei, Deng Long, Chen Jiu, and Zhang Shuo were all old subordinates of Patriarch Huang.
Su Fei's ability was not bad, and he could barely be considered a general. Deng Long's ability was slightly weaker, and Chen Ju and Zhang Shuo were very average.
However, now was the time to use people. As long as these people were honest, Liu Jue would not do anything to them.
Liu Jue sent out spies to gather information in River East while training his troops to guard against any possible attacks from River East.
Ancestor Huang hadn't repaired any battle equipment these few years, which led to the lack of military law. The quality of the soldiers left behind was worrying.
Fortunately, Huang Zhong, Wei Yan, and Huo Jun were all professional soldiers, and they didn't know how to train an army like Gan Ning.
However, if Jiang Dong really intended to invade, it would probably only be a matter of one or two months. For Liu Jue, time was quite tight.
Even if they were to train the soldiers now, it would only be a last-minute practice. It would probably not be of much use.
Just as Liu Jue was stepping up his defense, Jiang Dong also took action.
Jiangdong, Wu County.
The news of Ancestor Huang's sudden death had long reached Sun Quan's ears.
When Sun Quan heard this, he said hatefully,""Ancestor Huang and I have a grudge against each other for killing my father. Letting him die like this is really difficult to appease the hatred in my heart.”
Huang Gai said,"Ancestor Huang just died not long ago. Jiang Xia must be unstable." The newly appointed Jiangxia Prefecture Governor Liu Jue was just a brat who was still wet behind the ears. How could he defend Jiangxia? It would be better to take this opportunity to take down Jiangxia and take Jingzhou.”
The others like Lu Su and Cheng Pu felt that Huang Gai's words made sense.
To be honest, they did not take Liu Jue seriously.
What kind of storm could an eighteen-year-old kid cause?
"You're right. This is the best time for our River East to attack Jiangxia!" Sun Quan nodded. However, Ancestor Huang was already dead and he couldn't avenge his father. He felt ashamed as a son!”
Huang Gai said loudly," My lord, you don't have to blame yourself. When we break through Jiangxia, we will dig out Huang Zu's body and whip it. Together with the head of Liu Jue's son, it will be enough to pay homage to the First Lord's spirit in heaven."”
After Sun Quan and his ministers finished their discussion, they sent a letter to Chaisang, ordering Zhou Yu to be the Commander-in-Chief and lead the land and water armies to Jiangxia to attack Liu Jue.
Zhou Yu had been waiting for this day for a long time. After receiving Sun Quan's order, he immediately began to formulate a battle plan against Jiangxia.
Zhou Yu first ordered Lu Meng to be the vanguard, Dong Xi and Zhu Zhi to be the deputy generals, and Ling Tong to be the commander of the other division. He began to organize the army's provisions and gathered 15,000 land and water troops to prepare to attack Jiangxia.
Chaisang was originally a small town near Poyang Lake.
After Zhou Yu stationed his troops here, Chaisang City gradually expanded. In just a few years, it became one of the few big cities in Yuzhang County.
Sun Quan had attacked Huang Zu several times to avenge his father, and he had always set off from Chaisang.
Every time Zhou Yu conquered Jiangxia, he would capture a large number of people, causing the population of Chaisang to exceed 50,000.
As the bridgehead to attack Jiangxia, Chaisang undoubtedly had a high status in Jiangdong.
At this moment, in Chaisang City, the war machine was already in operation. Food, carriages, military tents, and other materials had all begun to gather and transport.
In the main hall of the prefect's manor, Zhou Yu sat on the main seat, flanked by Lu Meng, Dong Xi, Zhu Zhi, Ling Tong, and other generals.
Zhou Yu was indeed worthy of the praise of the beautiful Zhou Lang. His face was like jade, and his eyes were full of spirit. As a famous general of Dongwu, his body was filled with a refined aura.
"The scouts sent to Jiangxia have sent news that Jiangxia has already taken action. It seems that they have long been on guard against our attack.”Zhou Yu said to everyone.
"It seems that Liu Jue is not a fool." Zhu Zhi frowned and said.”
Lu Meng snorted coldly and said," So what? He's just a little smart. As long as our army arrives at Wuchang, let's see how long that Liu Jue kid can hold on."”
Zhou Yu said unhappily," It's a great taboo to underestimate the enemy before the army has even started moving. Moreover, according to the report from the scouts, Liu Jue has more than 20,000 troops under him. I'm afraid there are no less than 10,000 troops stationed in Wuchang.”
" Commander," Lu Meng said disapprovingly," Liu Jue's troops are mostly the old subordinates of the Huang Ancestor. We know their strength very well. How can they compare to the elite troops of Chaisang?"”
"General Lu's words make sense, but before the battle, it's best not to underestimate the enemy."”
"Don't worry, Commander-in-Chief. I won't be careless." Lu Meng immediately said.”
Zhou Yu revealed a satisfied expression and continued,""We will only have a month to attack Jiangxia. The Shanyue forces are restless now, so we must end this battle quickly.”
Hearing the word 'Shan Yue', everyone frowned. The Sun family had been in the River East for many years, but they had never been able to put out the Shan Yue rebellion.
As soon as things settled down here, there would be trouble on the other side. Shan Yue had become the most troublesome problem in River East.
Moreover, Shan Yue lived in the forest. If he couldn't win, he would hide in the mountains. It was very difficult for the Jiangdong army to exterminate him. They were always in a passive situation.
"One month is too tight!" Dong Xi frowned. Even if Liu Jue was not a threat, he had at least 20,000 soldiers under his command. He would not be easily dealt with.”
At this moment, 15,000 soldiers were the limit that Chaisang could mobilize. In terms of numbers, they could not compare to Jiang Xia. However, Zhou Yu believed that the elite soldiers under him were far from what Jiang Xia's army could compare to.
"Everything depends on one's own efforts!" Zhou Yu said in a deep voice. If the war went smoothly, they could conquer Jiangxia in one battle! Even if it was not possible, they could still plunder the population and encroach on Jiangxia's land, dealing a blow to the morale of Jiangxia's army and preparing for the next attack.”
As Zhou Yu spoke, he revealed an extremely confident smile.
This confidence wasn't blind. It was brought about by his past victories.
Just like how Zhou Yu's fame was brought to him by his battle achievements, Huang Zu was not his match in the past, and Liu Jue would not be his match now either.
Seeing their commander so confident, Lu Meng, Zhu Zhi, and the others were also greatly invigorated. Their hearts surged with confidence.
In this battle, Jiang Xia would definitely belong to Jiang Dong!
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