Chapter 343: The beginning of the decade, the fall of Linyuan Not to mention that Liu Pan in the rear was slow to realize the situation, Qin Zhen's troops had already captured Luo County by then. It was also because Liu Pan did not inform when he went south, so cities like Yiyang and Luoxian were not prepared. This is understandable, after all, these people didn't know that Qin Zhen had arrived. In the eyes of the defending general, Zhang Xian had already died of illness, and Liu Pan was attacking Linxiang fiercely in the south. All this created an illusion for everyone that the enemy was still far away. Therefore, under Qin Zhen's sudden attack, the Jingzhou army was unable to react at all. After the fall of Yiyang, Luo County fell one after another. Qin Zhen spent half a day preparing dry food and then fought his way into the Dongting Lake Water Fort. All the ships Liu Pan used to sail south were anchored here, and there were only 800 soldiers and horses guarding the garrison. Under the leadership of Taishi Ci, the battle was resolved in less than half an hour.

Although Qin Zhen's army was not a naval force, it was composed almost entirely of people from Yuzhang, and thanks to the existence of Penghu, almost everyone could swim. After seizing the ships, Qin Zhen sank the small boats, with forty people on each boat. A hundred people boarded the large ships and sailed towards Wuling again. The county seat of Wuling was named Linyuan, which is the later Changde City of Hunan. In later generations, due to the change of the Yangtze River's course, this place became one of the main veins of the Yangtze River. But in this era, there was only one tributary of the Yangtze River in this area, named Yuanshui. After leaving Dongting Lake, go west along the river, first pass Hanshou, and then you will reach Linyuan City. This Hanshou was not the place where Guan Yu was granted the title of Marquis of Hanshou Ting, but a county town. After arriving here, Qin Zhen ordered his subordinates to change the flag to that of the Jingzhou Army and continue forward. However, Liu Rui, the prefect of Wuling, was a famous local scholar in Wuling and was good at astrology and divination. Long before Liu Biao entered Jingzhou, the prefect of Wuling was Cao Yin. Because he had a disagreement with the governor Wang Rui, he was killed by Sun Jian. Later, Liu Biao entered Jingzhou and quickly put down the banditry and issued an edict to pacify the various counties. Fearing that Liu Biao would purge him, Cao Yin resigned and summoned Liu Rui to take charge of the county. After Liu Rui took office, he submitted a letter of surrender to Liu Biao and was thus appointed by Liu Biao. It’s a pity that although Liu Rui had some talent and knowledge, he had no ability to govern. He had been in charge of Wuling for many years but had achieved nothing. Therefore, many of his subordinates were dissatisfied and often wanted to replace him. On that day, the weather was clear. The man climbed up to a high platform to observe the stars. He saw that the Big Dipper was dim and the Ten-day Star was beginning to appear. He was shocked. In the middle of the night, regardless of the lateness of the time, he quickly summoned all the officials in the county to discuss: "I just observed the sky and saw that the Northern Dipper was covered by the sun. A disaster is about to happen!"

"Now your army is marching south, and I have heard that Qin Zhen is marching north. This is an ominous sign." "I would like to advise General Liu to withdraw his troops quickly to avoid disaster. What do you think?" The so-called Xunshi Star is located next to the Big Dipper, and its light is like a rooster. But in ancient astrology, if the Xunshi star appears, it is a very bad omen. Everyone was unhappy about being summoned by him in the middle of the night, and now seeing him discussing military affairs with astrology, Gong Cao Wu Huai immediately said: "The way of astrology is vague and illusory. You can enjoy it, Lord, but how can you discuss state affairs with it?" "Now the general has been ordered to go south. This is the order of the envoy, and none of us can stop him." "Besides, Zhang Xian is dead, and Changsha is likely to be taken. How can we ask them to withdraw their troops at this time?" "I am afraid that if we fail to withdraw the army and suffer a defeat, the general will blame you for this!" "So in my opinion, if you know that the situation is serious, you should not say anything more and just defend the city!" After he said this, Liu Rui was displeased, but he also knew that people did not believe him, so he hurriedly said: "Since Dong Zhongshu, there has been a theory of the interaction between heaven and man, and that all celestial phenomena respond to changes." "You know I am good at this, but now I know it but don't say it, I will definitely be surprised in the future!" He ignored everyone's advice and ordered the messenger to send the letter. Unexpectedly, at this time, he saw a soldier entering the palace and reporting: "My Lord, there is a group of people outside the city, claiming that the general has been defeated and is coming. Please enter the city!" When everyone heard this, they were all shocked, only Liu Rui smiled and said: "I used astronomical calculations and saw a bad omen. Now that we have been defeated, it is a good omen." He immediately gave orders to his soldiers to go and invite the defeated soldiers outside the city to come in. When the ministers saw this, they were all shocked and said to Liu Rui who looked confident: "It's hard to tell in the dark. We don't know if they are our troops. How can we let them into the city?" But in the face of the ministers' dissuasion, Liu Rui looked directly at the soldier and said; "Can you see the banners of the people coming? Where are they coming from? How many soldiers do they have?" When the soldiers heard this, they answered one by one, saying that this army had come by boat and destroyed the flag of the Jingzhou army, and that there were only less than 10,000 soldiers. When Liu Rui heard this, he thought that Liu Pan had more than 20,000 soldiers and horses, but there were less than 10,000 soldiers outside the city. Wouldn't that be a great defeat? All this now just confirmed what he had seen, the phenomenon of the beginning of the ten-day period covering the Big Dipper. Since the bad omen has already come true, it means that the possibility of it happening to him is very small! After thinking about it for a while, he looked around at everyone and finally looked at Wu Huai and said: "Just now you advised me not to judge state affairs based on astronomical phenomena, and now that the general is away, you are trying to dissuade me again." "In that case, you should go and see if it is real or not, and decide whether to let it into the city!" After saying this, he asked his subordinates to take Wu Huai to identify the soldiers outside the city. Actually, Liu Rui is not stupid. He knows that opening the door at night is dangerous, but he also knows who Liu Pan is! Liu Pan is Liu Biao's nephew. If he offends Liu Pan, he will be in big trouble. Just then Wu Huai came out to persuade him, so he simply pushed the matter to Wu Huai and let him decide whether to let him enter the city.

If Wu Huai met Liu Pan and decided to let Liu Pan wait outside, then he would not be the one who offended Liu Pan. Wu Huai had good intentions originally, but he never expected that Liu Rui would just push it to him! For a moment he had no choice but to walk towards the city wall reluctantly. As for this place, he looked outside and saw that the outside of the city was densely packed with soldiers. In the darkness, you could only see the crowds of people, but you couldn't see the appearance of the soldiers outside the city. Seeing this, he wondered how he could see clearly, so he shouted for Liu Pan to come out and meet him. As soon as he shouted, he heard someone from the city wall answer: "It's freezing cold today, and the general is already injured, so I don't have the energy to talk to you." "If you want to see the general, you can go down to the city in a hanging basket and come to see him yourself!" "If not, we will enter the city tomorrow and you will bear the consequences at your own risk!" Hearing this, Wu Huai was naturally terrified. Seeing that there were many soldiers under the city, he could not help but comfort himself that he had not heard the news of Qin Zhen heading north. Perhaps he was just suspicious. Thinking of this, he no longer had the determination he had when he came, and hurriedly ordered the soldiers in the city to open the gates. As soon as he gave the order, the city gates opened and the soldiers and horses below the city rushed into the city. Wu Huai was afraid that Liu Pan would be displeased, so he hurried down the city to ask for an audience with Liu Pan, but he saw the bearded general smiling and saying: "I don't know who Liu Pan is, but have you ever heard of Taishi Ci of Donglai?" With a laugh, he placed his hand on Wu Huai's shoulder and shouted in a deep voice: "I am the governor of Luling under the command of General Zhengdong, and I am here to take the city under the order of the governor!" "Where is your governor? Take me to see him immediately. Otherwise, I will die here!" As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers under his command drew their swords and became alert. When Wu Huai saw this, he was immediately horrified and hurriedly raised Taishi Ci's knife handle and said: "Don't blame me, sir. I am the Gongcao of Wuling. I am willing to surrender and beg for your mercy." "The governor is in the city now. I am willing to lead the general to capture him!" After saying that, he looked at the soldiers who had drawn their swords and said: "Now that the king's army is coming, you don't want to welcome them, how can you draw your swords to fight against them?" "Put away your swords quickly, and do not resist the royal army's entry into the city. Anyone who disobeys will be killed!" Seeing Wu Huai say this, the confused soldiers were naturally stunned on the spot, while Taishi Ci stroked his beard and smiled: "You are sensible enough to know that we are the king's teachers. Well, I will not kill you." "Lead the way with me. After we capture the governor, I can count you as one of my heroes!" When Wu Huai heard this, he was overjoyed and immediately led the troops with Taishi Ci towards the mansion. On the other side, Liu Rui arranged for Wu Huai to go out to greet Liu Pan, and he prepared a simple meal in the mansion. According to his thinking, Liu Pan came here with a defeated army and should be hungry. If he could have a simple meal, he would be much calmer. Unexpectedly, while he was still giving instructions, the chief clerk came to report: "My Lord, something bad has happened. The soldiers outside the city are Qin Zhen's men who are here to rob the city." "Wu Huai has already surrendered to the enemy and is leading his troops to capture you!"

When Liu Rui heard this, he was immediately shocked and started to curse: "How dare the thief do this? He was allowed to confirm the troops, but he dared to surrender to the enemy." "Where are they now? Hurry up and prepare your horses to leave the city!" As soon as he finished speaking, he heard shouting outside the mansion, followed by a loud voice: "Let's surround this house and don't let Liu Rui escape!" This was a deep voice that Liu Rui had never heard before. He was so frightened that his face turned pale and he paced back and forth, saying: "They have surrounded the house now. What should we do?" He was so anxious that he was flustered, but the chief clerk hurriedly said: "Why don't you quickly present your seal and surrender directly to Qin Zhen?" "Not only can you save your life, but you may also be able to continue to serve as the governor in the future!" After being reminded like this, Liu Rui reacted immediately and turned around to get the seal. At this moment, Taishi Ci led his troops into the palace, and Liu Rui stepped forward and bowed directly, saying: "Wuling Governor Liu Rui, upon hearing that the royal army is coming, is willing to surrender!" He slid to his knees directly, which surprised Taishi Ci. He also thought that if he encountered resistance after breaking into the city, he would kill a few people to establish his authority. I didn’t expect that these officials surrendered more easily than each other! "Do you really want to surrender and not resist our army?" He raised his eyebrows, looking suspicious, as if he was thinking there was something fishy going on. But Liu Rui saw that he was suspicious, so he raised the seal in his hand a little higher: "We have long wanted to abandon darkness and join the light, but there is no way to do so." "Now that I see your army coming, how can I not surrender? Please accept the seal, General!" When Taishi Ci saw this, he was speechless for a moment and took it in his hands. Seeing that Linyuan could be taken so easily, he immediately ordered a notice to be posted to reassure the people, and had Qin Zhen, who was outside the city, invited in. When Qin Zhen entered the city, Taishi Ci stepped forward and told him everything. Then he asked in confusion: "Commander-in-chief, Wuling County also has several thousand soldiers and horses. Why did they surrender as soon as our army entered the city?" Qin Zhen played with the seal of the Wuling County Magistrate, looked at Taishi Ci and said with a smile: "Ziyi, do you know that Liu Rui and Wu Huai are both local scholars from Wuling?" Upon hearing this, Taishi Ci nodded. He knew about this matter. But as soon as he nodded, Qin Zhen handed the seal to him and said: "That's the reason. Liu Biao rode alone into Jingzhou before, without any trusted followers." "The people we employ are either from aristocratic families or local scholars." "And these people are the most disloyal. They will help whoever wins!"

"Now that he sees us here, he thinks Liu Pan has been defeated, so how can he resist our army?" Taishi Ci listened to the explanation and suddenly understood. He smiled and said: "I see. No wonder they surrendered right away when they saw us." As he said this, he thought of Jiangling City in the north and said hurriedly: "If that's the case, why don't we use the same old trick again and defraud Jiangling?" The reason why they did not take Jiangling was because there were too many soldiers and horses in Jiangling. But if these scholars were not so loyal to Liu Biao, they might have directly attacked Liu Biao's hometown! However, when he made such a suggestion, Qin Zhen simply shook his head and said: "No, Wuling is located in a remote area with many barbarians and a sparse population, so this is acceptable." "Jiangling is the heartland of Liu Biao's army and cannot be captured easily." "Besides, even though we have disbanded our troops, Liu Pan will not be unaware of this." "If he knew that we had taken Wuling, he might get angry and come to attack the city!" "We should quickly prepare our troops and wait for Liu Pan to attack the city!" When Taishi Ci heard him talk about Liu Pan, he looked serious. Since Liu Pan is here, his powerful general Huang Zhong should be here as well, right? (End of this chapter)