Chapter 359: Silver Bells Ringing, Brocade Sails Rising

Jiang Wan could see clearly that the Jiangdong Army outside Jiangling City had a visible commotion.

To be fair, Jiang Wan was not too unhappy during this period.

After all, when Guan Yu built Jiangling City, the Eight Ox Crossbow was already the standard for defending Jiangling.

When it was decided to temporarily abandon Gong'an County and retreat to Jiangling, the Eight Ox Crossbows connected to the Water Power Square along the Hudu River were also dismantled and transported away.

These Eight Ox Crossbows were sent to Jiangling and Xiangfan, and turned into the city defense of Jiangling City and the sharp weapons on the ships of the Jingzhou Navy.

Huang Yueying also upgraded the pedals of these "Water Power Square Special Edition Eight Ox Crossbows" to make it easier to wind them.

Lu Meng was completely unaware of this. When the troops in Gong'an County were reorganized and marched to attack the city, he understood what fire suppression was.

The twin cities of Jiangling are surrounded by water on three sides. Lu Meng ordered some warships to make noises along the three sides of the river to attract attention, and then personally led a large number of soldiers to go around to the west to land and try to attack the city.

Lu Meng had expected that this city would be difficult to attack.

But Lu Meng did not expect it to be so difficult to attack.

A soldier from Jiangdong got off the boat at a loss after hearing the order from his superior.

The simple armor on his body and the sharp but easily broken long sword in his hand could not provide people with a sense of security.

Lu Meng had a very beautiful imagination of his grand plan to rule the river.

The soldier hated that he could only go out with the army and stab General Guan in the back.

If possible, this soldier would miss the hoe in his hand a month ago.

But unfortunately, the fertile land he cultivated was not his own land, and he was a slave and had no choice.

At the order of the boss, he would go through fire and water, fight for the boss's boss, and die for the boss and the big bosses of Jiangdong.

For him, the biggest luxury of this battle was just "if I could survive..."

But when he arrived at the foot of Jiangling City with the army, this "if" was shattered.

After getting off the boat and facing this strong city, the luck completely disappeared, replaced by fear and a hint of unwillingness.

If I had the courage to escape to Jingzhou with my fellow countrymen a year ago, it would be great, he thought.

Then maybe I could stand on the city wall and watch this group of "Jiangdong scoundrels" safely.

The scolding of the military commander interrupted this extravagant fantasy. Seeing the sword in the hand of the military commander, the Jiangdong soldiers had to move forward.

Use your chest to meet the whistling eight-bull crossbow.

One eight-bull crossbow is more of a deterrent to the infantry.

But if dozens of eight-bull crossbows are lined up on the top of the city and fired continuously, it will not only destroy the morale of the infantry, but also the bodies of the soldiers.

To make matters worse, the naval warships that were shouting along the river were also treated equally by the Eight Ox Crossbows.

The specially made crossbow arrows passed through the ships, leaving holes that could not be plugged by human power. After several rounds of volleys, the navy of Jiangdong also retreated.

Keeping the farthest distance and making the loudest noise, this was the best execution of General Lu's order they could make.

So after several rounds, the soldiers who got off the boat would rather face the sword of the military commander than use their thin chests to meet the crossbow arrows.

So far, all of Lu Meng's ideas about Jiangling could only turn into bubbles, and the only solution was to be trapped to death.

Leaving the headquarters in Gong'an and Jiangling to confront each other, the remaining troops began to attack in the three directions of north, south and west with this as the center.

Jiang Wan, who saw everything clearly on the top of the city, was not worried.

After all, the population of Jingnan was not large. After the prosperity of Jiangling and Gong'an, the common people basically chose to come to these two places to find a job.

The remaining few people were also transferred to Xiangfan by him with documents signed.

After General Guan's campaign to the north, Fancheng and Xiangyang became empty cities as the soldiers left.

But in the final analysis, Liu Jingsheng had his reasons for choosing Xiangyang as the seat of Jingzhou. It was a good place with good farmland, natural barriers, and mountains and rivers.

The people from Dangyang and Yicheng moved north to Xiangfan, which could not only avoid the front of Jiangdong, but also serve as the first batch of residents to revive Xiangfan. It was a win-win situation.

Therefore, Jiang Wan's defense of the city was almost safe and sound. Except that the merchants were a little depressed because they could not open official markets for trade, the other impacts were not great.

On the contrary, Jiang Wan had less official business to deal with, and he had time to take a walk on the city wall with Zhou Qun every day and look at the Jiangdong camp in Gong'an County from a distance.

Under "nothing to do", the changes in Lu Meng's camp were soon seen by Jiang Wan.

"The enemy wants to return... or the Shanyue attacked Yunmengze to the west."

Zhou Qun also got close to Jiang Wan and Fa during his daily walks, and he had time to joke with Jiang Wan.

Jiang Wan smiled and shook his head when he heard about the Shanyue attacking to the west.

Zhou Qun also smiled and bowed his hands and said:

"Then it should be our navy that went south to attack Jiangxia. In this way, the siege of Jiangling will be lifted. Congratulations, Gongyan."

Jiang Wan looked around, thinking about something, and thought about it on the top of the city. One figure after another passed through his mind, and finally the figure of Gan Gui, the young general, appeared in his mind.

So his brows relaxed, put on a little smile, and shook his head and said:

"Looking at Lu Meng's situation, the navy should go straight into the heart of Jiangdong."

Zhou Qun didn't ask on the side. Although Jiang Wan was approachable, Zhou Qun always kept in mind the other party's high position and power, and he must know a lot of confidential information that he was not qualified to see.

But going straight into the heart of Jiangdong... Zhou Qun immediately understood.

The warships of the Jingzhou navy are better. If you abandon the advantage of warships and want to occupy Jiangxia to resist the enemy, it is unwise.

However, Zhou Qun also admired this man's courage to ignore Jiangling and go straight to Jiangdong!

Jiang Wan said nothing. Relying on sufficient intelligence in advance, he felt that he had almost grasped the general direction of the current war.

Since Gan Gui was obviously planning to attack the enemy and rescue them, he must cooperate with Gan Gui to try to keep the Jiangdong army here or delay it for a while.

In this case... With a struggle in his heart, Jiang Wan gradually made up his mind.

With a loud laugh, Jiang Wan pulled Zhou Qun with an ecstatic look on his face and said:

"Now that the enemy troops have retreated, it must be God's blessing on Lord Xuande! Zhongzhi should have a feast with me!"

Zhou Qun was confused, but he was always meticulous, so he handled it perfectly at this time:

"This should be celebrated, and a big banquet should be held to inform the people in the city to celebrate."

Jiang Wan's face was full of joy: "Zhongzhi still understands me! Please ask General Zhenwei to move to the government office to celebrate."

Zhou Qun naturally cooperated: "Good."

Under Jiang Wan's deliberate promotion, the officials in Jiangling City soon knew the news that Jiangdong would retreat. After being spread by people with ulterior motives, the whole city soon fell into a subtle restlessness.

For the officials in Jiangling, the banquets in the government office were no secret. Jiang Taishou, who never drank alcohol, rarely had banquets and soon got drunk.

"The enemy's retreat is the result of the defenders in the south of the city!"

The banquet participants all laughed. The governor seemed to be quite drunk. The enemy was defeated by the crossbowmen in the west of the city. How could the defenders in the south of the city be the first to achieve success?

But Jiang Wan did not stop there. He blushed and burped:

"Come on, pass on the governor's order. The defenders in the south of the city are given wine to celebrate!"

Someone tried to dissuade him, but was almost kicked down by the drunk Jiang Wan. Liu Zhang came to make peace. He burped and persuaded them with a big tongue, saying that the enemy was about to retreat, so how could they have the time to attack the city? There was no need to panic.

With the tacit consent of Jiang Wan's confidants and the persuasion of Liu Zhang, this inappropriate order was quickly executed.

Afterwards, Jiang Wan fell asleep on the table, and so did Liu Zhang.

The host was drunk, so the banquet naturally stopped. As the worried guests dispersed, the news about the wine table spread to a small range.

Most people expressed their understanding. After all, the fact on the surface was that Sun and Cao had joined forces, and General Guan was unable to help and could not protect himself. Under such circumstances, the pressure on the governor can be imagined. Now that he was suddenly ecstatic after knowing that the siege had been lifted, it was expected.

But for those who were rooted in Jingnan, today was the last chance to take action.

After drinking, the guards in the south of the city became much more exhausted, and the defense line on the city wall also had flaws. With the cooperation of those who were interested, a hanging basket soon fell quietly from the top of the wall. A person who was good at swimming and carrying a secret letter on his body saw the direction of Gong'an on the other side of the river, and dived down. The river surface returned to calm, and only a wooden basket was left slowly sinking into the river.

But before these people who were interested could congratulate themselves, a team of defenders kicked open the door of the mansion with a rather arrogant kick.

"By order of the governor, Pan Zhubu and all of you, let's go together."

Pan Jun's face suddenly turned pale. This timing was too clever, and it was hard not to suspect that the servant who was successfully sent out of the city was deliberately let out.

After the group saw Jiang Wan sitting on the high hall, Pan Jun's guess became more and more certain.

Jiang Wan's face was calm and his eyes were dangerous. How could he look drunk?

General Zhenwei Liu Zhang, who had always lived in seclusion in Jiangling City, also sat aside, looking up with a calm face, as if he was carefully observing the beams.

Without Jiang Wan speaking, Pan Jun had already said in a trembling voice:

"The official documents from Jingnan that I have seen with my own eyes in the past month..."

"Half of them are forgeries." Jiang Wan said lightly.

There was no need to say anything more. Pan Jun smiled strangely twice, took a step forward and stared at his distant brother: "Jiang Wan, do you really want to cut yourself off from your hometown?" Jiang Wan, who was sitting on the top, said nothing. He stared at Pan Jun with a look that seemed to have a thousand words in his eyes, but in the end he just sighed and waved his hand in disappointment. The confidant no longer gave Pan Jun the opportunity to speak nonsense, and dragged these people away. Trying hard to get rid of the influence of his cousin on himself, Jiang Wan also raised his head and said dryly: "After receiving the secret letter, Lu Meng should divide his troops. He should not only help Jiangdong, but also seal Jiangling and attack Hanshou." "In this way, the siege of Jiangling will be lifted, and there will be an opportunity for counterattack." Jiang Wan's dry voice echoed in the hall of the government office, but Liu Zhang said nothing. Jiang Wan was not discouraged, and said in a gentle tone:

"Recently, a lot of colored glaze ornaments have been fired in the glass workshop, which will inspire the general..."

Liu Zhang, who seemed to have spoken out of turn, laughed at the first moment:

"How dare I refuse the generous gift from the governor?"

Watching Liu Zhang leave, Jiang Wan rubbed his head and went over what he had just said in his mind, ready to check for omissions at any time.

As for this cousin...it's better to hand him over to General Guan for disposal.

He is obviously talented, but why does he only have his hometown in his eyes? Jiang Wan couldn't figure it out.

Gan Gui, who was going down the river, didn't know the complicated and trivial things happening behind him.

The breakthrough of Jiangxia had consumed all the small boats in the navy, which in turn made the navy faster.

This kind of boat is a small and narrow boat without a sail. In wartime, it relies on the desperate paddling of the sailors to achieve the speed of an arrow.

But when there is no battle, the walking boat is naturally not so fast. Most of the time, it is tied behind the big ship and towed, and then gets on when needed.

Now that these small boats are gone, the Jingzhou Navy sailing down the river with the wind and current is extremely fast.

In order to expand the influence as much as possible, Gan Guiming's men hung up all the flags they could fly, such as the Chinese character flag, the Liu character flag, and the Guan character flag of General Guan.

There was no way. Gan Gui never thought that he could lead a division by himself beforehand, so he didn't have his own flag, but it didn't matter.

The giant boat was already eye-catching, but now there was a huge silver bell on the front end, and the small sail in front was replaced by a rather eye-catching brocade sail. These were enough to illustrate its identity.

These two simple arrangements made Gan Ning's eight hundred old men very excited, as if they had returned to the carefree days of wandering on the Bashu waterway, and even their bodies became a little lighter.

However, there were also objections from the stable old troops: What if Jiangdong saw these two things and Sun Quan beheaded General Lao Gan in anger?

But more people sneered: With General Lao Gan's keenness and alertness, how could he be in such a situation?

The opinions of the minority were suppressed, so the group continued to head towards Jianye happily, queuing up to ring the silver bell, which made Gan Gui even more proud. She only wished that her father had not witnessed this scene with his own eyes. .

Gan Gui and others were extremely happy, but the commotion caused by this navy also spread behind this navy.

From Chaisang to Pengze, from Nanling to Wuhu, the cities along the river can be clearly seen. There is a naval force heading downstream under the banner of General Guan!

Although Jiangdong will not publicize his betrayal of the alliance, countless gossips have spread wildly in Jiangdong since the siege of Jiangling for half a month.

Now seeing the Jingzhou Navy clearly showing off its banner and heading towards Jianye without any ceremony, everyone felt that the previous rumors had been more or less verified.

Wherever Jingzhou Navy passed, hundreds of rumors merged into one voice:

General Guan defeated Jiangxia and went to settle the score with Marquis Sun!

Where is my former Jiangdong Navy? Of course he lost!

General Guan is really powerful!

Gan Gui had no time to inquire about the impact he had caused, but three days later, Jianye was already in sight.

Yelling and commanding the fleet to move closer, Gan Gui watched with a smile on her face as the traders and footmen on the shore ran away in panic.

When the people were almost dispersed and enemy troops gathered on the city wall, Gan Gui suddenly grinned:

"The whole army is armed with crossbows, aiming for Jianye, and saying hello to Marquis Sun!"