Chapter 339: Liu Bei Raises His Army, Attack and Defense of Changsha As if he had anticipated Liu Bei's hesitation, Qin Zhen sent troops. Without any notice, he led his troops directly into Jingnan. This news obviously caught everyone by surprise, including Liu Bei. After all, although Qin Zhen does things unconventionally, he always gives instructions in advance before doing anything. But now he was still hesitating, and Qin Zhen had already acted without consulting anyone later. This kind of behavior is a taboo for the emperor no matter which dynasty it is in. But Liu Bei always trusted his subordinates. After hearing the news brought by Jian Yong, he asked: "We haven't declared war on Jingzhou yet, why did Zixuan send troops?" He believed that Qin Zhen must have a reason for sending troops, otherwise Qin Zhen would not act like this.

As soon as he asked the question, Jian Yong presented the wooden tablet in his hand and said: "The governor sent out troops because he received a letter from Zhang Xian asking for help." "The letter said that Zhang Xian was critically ill and would not live long." "The attack on Liu Biao was carried out under the order of the imperial court, not as a rebellion." "So he requested the governor to lead his troops to Jingnan to also resist Liu Biao!" At this point, he took out a piece of letter from his sleeve and said: "This is the news reported by our spies, saying that Zhang Xian left at the end of the twelfth lunar month." "From this point of view, the governor did receive Zhang Xian's request before going north!" After that, he presented the intelligence he had received to Liu Bei. Liu Bei read the two letters one by one and nodded secretly. Judging from these two pieces of news, Qin Zhen obviously didn't know that they were still hesitating about this matter. Therefore, the reason for sending troops this time was not because we knew he was hesitating and wanted to force him to do so. Thinking of this, he held up the two letters and looked at everyone and said: "Zixuan wrote to the emperor, saying that Zhang Xian rebelled against Liu Biao because Liu Biao was overstepping his authority." "Now he has contacted Yuan Shao and plotted to murder the emperor. His crime is unforgivable." "So our army should quickly mobilize to attack Liu Biao. What do you think?" As he said this, his words clearly leaned towards sending troops. Regardless of whether he could get over what was in his heart, Zhang Xian was now coming to him. Qin Zhen has already sent out his troops, so he naturally cannot slack off. When everyone heard this, they all pondered and thought, only Liu Ye stepped out and said:

"My lord, this is a great opportunity given by God for our army to seize Jingzhou!" "Liu Biao is a wicked man. Although he is a relative of the royal family, he has established his own territory and does not respect the king's orders." "He acted presumptuously before, and now he is plotting to murder the emperor. His intentions are clear!" "Our army knows that if we do not attack, we will certainly lose the expectations of the people of the world." "I hope you will not hesitate and raise an army to attack Liu Biao!" After he made this statement, Zhang Fei stepped forward to reconsider the matter, and Qin Song and Chen Duan all bowed. Zhang Zhao and his companions saw this and knew that it was imperative to attack Jingzhou, so they simply bowed and said: "Please raise an army to attack Liu Biao, my lord, and do not let the world down!" Seeing everyone expressing their opinions, Liu Bei nodded and said: "Since this is the case, even though Liu Biao is from the same clan, I cannot take him lightly!" "Now that Zhang Xian has asked for help, we will send troops to help him!" After saying this, he no longer hesitated and ordered the troops to be mobilized. As soon as Liu Bei expressed his position, the war machine of Liu Bei's army started moving. However, before taking action, a war of public opinion must be fought first. At Liu Ye's suggestion, Liu Bei asked Wang Can to write a "Proclamation to Punish Liu Biao" and send it to Jingzhou and Guanzhong. The manifesto sent to Jingzhou was intended to declare war on Liu Biao; As for heading towards Guanzhong, it was to gain the legitimacy to attack Liu Biao. As mentioned earlier, there was a personal grudge between Wang Can and Liu Biao. After receiving the order, Wang Can exercised his subjective initiative and directly wrote down the evidence of Liu Biao's crimes. Unlike Chen Lin's manifesto against Cao Cao, Wang Can's article did not start by cursing Liu Biao's eighteen generations of ancestors. He simply recounted all the rebellions by royal families throughout history, and then listed the evidence of Liu Biao's crimes one by one. First, he colluded with the rebels Li Jue and Guo Si to gain personal benefits, and then planned a rebellion with Shen Mi and others in Yizhou, intending to disrupt the country's politics. He also sent troops to murder Sun Jian, a great hero of the Han Dynasty, and presumptuously offered sacrifices to heaven in the suburbs. Now he refuses to pay tribute to the imperial court and is colluding with the traitor Yuan Shao in an attempt to assassinate the emperor. In short, their attack on Liu Biao was not for private annexation, but to fight against the enemy for the country! Wang Can is one of the Seven Sages of the Jian'an Period. He wrote very beautiful articles. Even Old Liu felt that Liu Biao's actions should be punished! Then the proclamation was distributed throughout the prefectures and counties, and posted at various passes and narrow passes. As for the late January of the sixth year of Jian'an, Liu Bei appointed Liu Ye, Zhang Hong, Qin Song and others as military advisors, and Zhang Fei, Zhang Liao, Chen Dao and others as generals. He let Yuan Huan, Zhang Zhao, Liu Fu and others stay in Huainan, and raised 30,000 troops in Huainan. In addition, he also had 30,000 troops under the command of Wei Yan, Gao Shun, Zhao Yun and others from Jiangdong, as well as more than 10,000 naval forces under the command of Gan Ning.

A total of more than 70,000 soldiers and horses by sea and sea marched towards Jingzhou in a mighty force. At this time, in Changsha County, Qin Zhen was fighting a fierce battle with Liu Pan in Changsha. But Liu Pan was originally the nephew of Liu Biao, and was quite brave and good at fighting. Long before Qin Zhen raised his army, Liu Pan was the chief general of Liu Biao's army in the southern expedition. He and Huang Zhong fought in southern Jing and defeated Zhang Xian, forcing him to retreat step by step and besieged in Changsha. But last summer, a major epidemic broke out in southern Jing, and Liu Pan had no choice but to retreat to Chanling City in Wuling County. He originally wanted to wait until spring came before advancing, but unexpectedly, he received news from Changsha before spring came. The letter said that Zhang Xian was critically ill and requested Qin Zhen to send troops to southern Jing to rescue him. Upon seeing this letter, Liu Pan was shocked and hurriedly called everyone to come and discuss the matter: "I heard that Liu Bei used Qin Zhen to govern Jiangdong, and then he went south to Jiaozhou and killed Zhang Jin." "Now we have all the nine counties of Jiaozhou, with strong troops and many generals." "Now that Zhang Xian is about to die of illness, our situation is solved. If we ask this man to lead the army, how can we resist him?" In front of him were Pan Jun from Wuling, Huang Zhong from Nanyang, as well as the captains Yuan Long and Yang Ling. When everyone heard Zhang Xian asking Qin Zhen for help, they all looked solemn. As the saying goes, even if you have never eaten pork, you have seen pigs run. Who doesn’t know the name Qin Zhen? Since joining Liu, Qin Zhen's reputation has gradually spread throughout the world. Take Pei State, seize Huainan, occupy Runan, take Xuzhou, and seize Jiangdong! And the attack on Jiaozhou not long ago, each of which proved Qin Zhen's strength. No matter how powerful Qin Zhen is, he has little to do with them. But now if this news is true, it will be very difficult for them to pacify Jingnan! When Pan Jun, who had met Qin Zhen, heard this, he hurriedly said to Liu Pan: "Qin Zhen is famous throughout the world, and it is not an ordinary person who can fight him." "We should report this to the Lord immediately and let him make the decision!" Speaking of Pan Jun, he was also one of the famous officials of Wu and Shu in history. In history, he and Guan Yu were quite at odds with each other. But after the Eastern Wu attacked Jingzhou, everyone surrendered except him, who stayed at home and cried bitterly. It was not until Sun Quan carried him out of the house and met him in person that he was finally convinced. Later, he commanded the army on horseback and governed the people on foot in the Eastern Wu, and was a man of both civil and military talents. But at this time, he was just a military officer serving as a disciple of Song Zhong and his status was not high. After hearing what he said, Liu Pan hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and sighed: "How could I not know Qin Zhen's name? I should have told my uncle first." "However, Qin Zhen is currently stationed in Jiaozhou and will be on the march north for at most a month. It is too late for us to receive the news. Qin Zhen may have already sent troops north."

"Send a letter north now. By the time my uncle's troops march south, Qin Zhen may have already settled in Changsha!" "Changsha is the hub of the three southern counties, and borders Yuzhang in the east." "If Qin Zhen can obtain this place, the troops from Jiangdong and Jiaozhou can continue to reinforce him." "Even if my uncle sent troops south by then, it would be too late!" What he was afraid of was not only Qin Zhen, but also the huge power hidden behind Qin Zhen. Apart from anything else, Qin Zhen can now mobilize troops from the two states, at least 80,000 to 90,000 people. Not to mention that behind Qin Zhen, there is the huge Liu Bei Army. Two years ago, the strength of Liu Bei's army was almost the same as theirs. But with the successive falls of Xuzhou, Jiangdong and Jiaozhou, Liu Bei's army is no longer on the same level as theirs. There was already a huge gap in their strength. If Jingnan fell again, it would only be a matter of time before they were defeated! So what he is worried about now is how to stop Qin Zhen from taking control of Jingnan! When Pan Jun heard this, he was extremely worried, but Huang Zhong said: "Although Qin Zhen has a great reputation, he has not yet arrived. General, you sigh here, can you stop Qin Zhen?" "In my opinion, since Changsha cannot be lost, we should take Changsha first." "The general just said that Zhang Xian is critically ill. We might as well attack him now." "If we can take Linxiang first and defend it in a strategic location, even if Qin Zhen comes here, what is there to fear?" Huang Zhong was a man in his early fifties, with a sturdy build, a curly beard, and an extremely majestic appearance. Liu Pan was originally nervous, but seeing how confident he was, he smiled and said; "I have a great general named Huang Hansheng. I think he will be able to fight Qin Zhen when he comes!" Others may not know Huang Zhong's bravery, but he is very clear about it. Although this old general does not have a high position, he is a first-class warrior. He no longer hesitated and led more than 26,000 soldiers and horses towards Changsha. Chanling County, where Liu Pan was stationed, was an important place in Jingzhou and was also the seat of Liu Bei's administration in Jingzhou in history. The reason why the government seat was set up here was because it was across the water from Jiangling. To the west, you can reach the important town of Yiling, and to the east, you can go south along the river and enter Changsha. As soon as he led his troops, he went down the river to Dongting Lake, and Luo County and Yiyang south of Dongting Lake had already been occupied by them. So after arriving here, Huang Zhong thought for a while and then offered Liu Pan a suggestion: "We attacked Linxiang several times before. Linxiang must have been on guard, making it difficult to launch a surprise attack." "Now that Zhang Xian has requested Qin Zhen to go north, we might as well pretend to be Qin Zhen's soldiers." "We will go north from the south to seize the city by deception. If the enemy lets us in, then we can succeed!" When Liu Pan heard this, he followed his plan and quickly made Liu Bei's army flags and ordered Huang Zhong to march south to attack the city. Huang Zhong thought that before he went south to the city, he must make an agreement with the people in the city first. Then he pretended to be Qin Zhen and sent a letter to the city.

However, when they went south, Zhang Xian had just died, and his son Zhang Yi was in charge of the city. Although Zhang Yi was elected as the leader by everyone, he did not have the ability of Zhang Xian. He had to consult Huan Jie before making a decision on ordinary matters. When he saw the letter, he was overjoyed and took the letter to Huan Jie and said: "Sir, now the Qin Jun has led his troops to arrive and agreed to enter the city tomorrow night!" Huan Jie was a man who frowned when he heard this. "Mr. Qin agreed to go north at the end of the twelfth month of last year." "It's been less than a month now, and the Lord has just left. How did they get here?" As he spoke, he took a look at the fake book made by Huang Zhong and said in a deep voice: "This must be the enemy's plan. Liu Pan may have seen that the Lord of the Mansion had left, so he sent troops to defraud the city!" Zhang Yi had no ability to lead an army, so when he heard this, he was shocked and said: "At present, the Qin Lord has not arrived yet, and there are only about 7,000 soldiers and horses left in the city. Now that Liu Pan has arrived, what should we do?" When Huan Jie saw this, he sighed secretly and thought to himself that it was a good thing that he hooked up with Qin Zhen. Otherwise, with Zhang Yi's level, how could he be a match for Liu Pan? "Don't worry, sir. I am here and will not let them succeed!" After saying this, he secretly laid an ambush in the city, waiting for Huang Zhong's troops to arrive. When Huang Zhong arrived at night the next day, he ordered the city gates to be opened. Huang Zhong was overjoyed when he saw this, and hurriedly led his troops into the city. However, he was ambushed and defeated as soon as he reached the city wall. At this point, Huang Zhong's plan to defraud the city failed, and he had to lead his troops back to Yiyang to discuss everything. Liu Pan saw that Zhang Xian was dead, but Changsha's defenses were so tight, and he couldn't help but sigh: "Now that Qin Zhen is approaching, and Linxiang is so difficult to capture, are we going to let Jingnan fall into Qin Zhen's hands?" Amidst the sighs, all the generals bowed their heads and said nothing, except Pan Jun who said: "General, don't worry. I've come up with a plan. Although it may not be as good as taking Linxiang, it can still defeat the enemy first!" As soon as he said this, everyone naturally looked in his direction. (End of this chapter)