Chapter 855: Condemning Jingzhou

In July of the sixth year of Jian'an, Liu Biao, the herdsman of Jingzhou who had once been a powerful figure and one of the eight heroes, died of illness. Cai Mao, the governor of Jingzhou, supported Mrs. Cai and appointed Liu Cong's youngest son Liu Qi as the shepherd of Jingzhou. At the same time, he sent envoys to Luoyang and Pengcheng respectively, hoping that the imperial court would issue an edict to recognize his legitimacy.

At this time, Luoyang.

"General, please make the decision for me!"

Liu Qi fell to his knees, grabbed the ground with his head, and cried bitterly.

"Eldest Young Master, please wake up. Please explain to me exactly what is going on." Liu Ye said with a majestic expression.

"It was Cai Mao who was rebellious and harmed my father. In order to support Liu Cong's rise to power, he ordered me to be arrested and killed. I had no choice but to flee to Luoyang and ask the general to make the decision for my family." Liu Qi cried.

Guo Jia and Jia Xu's eyes flashed, and they looked at each other with faint smiles on their lips.

"What a Cai Mao! The emperor is still here, but he ignores the majesty of the court. He is really daring!"

Liu Ye looked sullen and said: "Eldest Young Master, please go down and have a good rest. I will discuss with the court officials what to do."

"I don't dare to disturb the general's court discussion. I will leave." Liu Qi retreated.

"This Cai Mao led his army to invade our Nanyang County many times, but was beaten back by Zhang Junyi. Unexpectedly, he is so bold now, directly daring to murder the old master and support the new master." Guo Jia sighed.

"General, this is a good opportunity to send troops."

Jia Xu smiled and said: "Jingzhou has repeatedly offended me, just because the princes in various places have not been eliminated, and the naval army has not been fully formed. Now that Hebei has been settled, Bashu has been leveled, and the training of our naval army is also somewhat large-scale, it is not as good as How about sending troops directly south to pacify Jingzhou?"

"Well, that's a good statement. The navy has been training for so many days, and it's time to come out and practice."

Liu Ye ordered: "Order Gao Chong to lead the Yellow River Navy to go south, merge with the Yangtze River Navy, strengthen the momentum, and raise troops to go south to conquer Jingzhou. Be sure to include northern Jingzhou in our army!"

"Here!"

The infantry of the Xiliang Army have been fighting in the north and south for many years. The naval army formed a few years ago has basically not experienced much battle except for transporting supplies and soldiers during the expedition to Yecheng. Now it is time for them to experience the iron battle. Tempered with fire.

The Yellow River Navy has been highly reorganized and drilled over the years. It now has more than 12,000 navy soldiers, three battleships, more than 30 stern ships, and more than 100 boats. Although it cannot keep up with the Jingzhou Navy in its heyday, and Jiangdong Navy, but its scale is no less than that of Liaodong Navy.

The total number of the Yangtze River Navy was only over 5,000, formed with Gan Ning's Jinfan thieves as the core. Gan Ning had a high reputation among the many water thieves in the Yangtze River. After hearing that he had joined the army, many water thieves on the Yangtze River came to join the army. Therefore, although the Yangtze River Navy did not have the support of the General's Office, its scale was not large. Small.

If the Yellow River Navy and the Yangtze River Navy join forces, their strength will reach nearly 20,000, which is definitely a force that cannot be underestimated.

However, just before the army was dispatched, a letter of accountability arrived in Jingzhou before the army.

Xiangyang.

"The emperor's decree, why don't Liu Cong and Cai Mao kneel down to receive it?" the angel said coldly.

Cai Hao hurriedly took Liu Cong's little hand, knelt on the ground together, and whispered: "The last general, Cai Hao, is listening to the imperial edict with Liu Biao, the shepherd of Jingzhou."

"Hmph, what is Jingzhou Mu? I have never heard of a high-ranking official like Zhou Mu, who can succeed his father after his father dies. He is simply despising the court, damn it!" Angel scolded in a sharp voice.

These eunuchs have become increasingly arrogant with the rise of the Luoyang court in recent years. However, even the emperor Liu Xie was suppressed by Liu Ye, so they naturally no longer had the majesty of the "Five Marquises" under Emperor Huan and the "Ten Constant Attendants" under Emperor Ling, but when they came out, they were naturally majestic.

Hearing these words, Cai Mao felt a chill in his heart. He probably guessed the content of the imperial edict.

"By God's blessing, the emperor issued an edict saying that although Liu Biao, the shepherd of Jingzhou, was a member of the imperial family, he had repeatedly rebelled against the imperial court in recent years. He should have been severely punished, but now the dead are the highest priority and will not be held accountable. Cai Mao, the traitor, supported his son as his successor. The high-ranking official of the Prefecture Mu is worthy of death! Order Cai Mao to tie himself up and go to Beijing to plead guilty, but let bygones be bygones, I admire this." The angel read slowly.

After hearing this, Cai Hao felt cold all over and couldn't stand up for a while.

"Cai Mao, have you heard everything? This is His Majesty's order. If you are sensible, you should quickly tie yourself up and go to the capital to plead guilty. Otherwise, if the emperor and the general are blamed, can you afford it?" Angel from Luoyang said coldly.

"I am aware of my guilt, and I have invited the angels to go to the post house to rest. I have made preparations in the past few days, and then I will go to the capital to plead guilty." Cai Mao said respectfully.

"Huh, you know what's going on." The angel nodded, twisted his waist and walked away.

As soon as the angel left, everyone around Cai Mao became anxious.

"Brother, what should we do?"

"Yes, is it possible that we really have to surrender?"

Liu Cong also grabbed Cai Mao's clothes and said in horror: "Uncle, are we going to Beijing to plead guilty?"

Cai Hao shook his head, turned around and coldly ordered Cai Xun on the side: "Cai Xun, go and lock up the angel, and don't allow him to step out of the post house!"

"Ah? Brother, what is this?" Cai Xun was a little frightened. He was rampant in Xiangyang because the Cai family controlled most of the military power in Jingzhou. And the angel represents Luoyang. In recent years, the Xiliang army has been invincible and so powerful that the children of Jingxiang were so scared that they did not dare to wet the bed when they heard the three words "Liu Yuqing".

If the angel of coercion leads to Liu Ye's revenge, wouldn't Jingzhou be in danger?

"When we support Cong'er as the state shepherd, Liu Ye has long been dissatisfied. If I really surrender and take him to the capital, he will be beheaded alive."

Cai Mao said with a cold expression: "In this case, we might as well struggle a little, at least there is a chance of defeat, otherwise we will have no chance at all!"

Cai Xun gritted his teeth, cupped his fists at Cai Mao and said, "Here!"

"Cai Zhong, you go to Pengcheng! Go to see Prime Minister Cao and tell him that the Cai family is willing to support Prime Minister Cao and the Emperor of Pengcheng. Please send troops to help Prime Minister Cao. I am very grateful!" Cai Mao said again.

"Here!"

Nowadays, among the princes in the world, Cao Cao is the only one who can compete with Liu Ye. Gongsun Du and Yuan Shao are fighting fiercely in Youzhou. The Sun family in Jingnan and Jingzhou have always been feuding, so they will not beat up the fallen dog. That's good, you can't count on it at all. The only thing you can count on now is Cao Cao.

Cai Mao issued the order, and he himself gathered the Jingbei army, about 30,000 people. It is ridiculous to say that there are millions of soldiers and civilians in the nine counties of Jingxiang. When Liu Biao was at the peak of his power, he had more than 100,000 troops under his command. However, he suffered repeated defeats and the rebellion of the three counties of Jingnan, leaving only the huge Jingzhou. A mere 30,000 troops were disembarked.