Li Cunxu heard that the Khitan army had been defeated, so he decided to march south. Li Cunxu transferred back Li Siyuan and other soldiers to the capital of Youzhou to prepare for the day of departure. At this time, it happened to be freezing cold and the river was frozen. The King of Jin was overjoyed and said

: "We have been fighting for several years, but it was difficult for the army to cross because of the water separation. Now the ice on the river has closed, it is God who has helped me!" So he rushed to Weizhou and mobilized his troops south.

At this time, Zhu Liang's Liu Wei, who was left behind in Liyang, had already been recalled to the court. Zhu Youzhen, the leader of Liang, blamed him for losing Heshuo and demoted him to the training envoy of the Bozhou regiment. Without this general in Hebei, no one could resist the Jin army. The king of Jin saw the river.

The ice was strong, so he led the infantry and cavalry across the river. There was a city of Yangliu in Henan, and three thousand soldiers of the Liang army were stationed here. The Liang army had fortifications facing each other along the river for dozens of miles. The king of Jin quickly launched an attack and conquered these fortifications. Then he attacked Yangliu City,

They sent infantry to capture Liang Jun's camp first, then filled the defensive trenches with reeds, launched an attack from all sides, captured Yangliucheng on the same day, and captured the defender An Yanzhi.

Shortly before the fall of Yangliucheng, Liang Zuyong envoy and Minister of Household Affairs Zhao Yan once said to Liang Zhu Youzhen: "Since your Majesty came to the throne, you have not gone to the southern suburbs to worship heaven. People who discussed this matter thought that your Majesty was no different from the princes.

He is despised by all parties. Please go to Xidu to perform a suburban ceremony and pay homage to Xuanling."

Jingxiang remonstrated: "Since Liu Xun's defeat, both public and private affairs have been in a very difficult moment, and people are in panic. Now if you want to sacrifice to Yuanqiu, you must give rewards. This is for the sake of fame and real harm. Besides, Jin State

The powerful enemy is close to the Yellow River. How can the imperial chariots and horses be dispatched easily? It will not be too late to go to the suburbs to worship after the north is pacified."

Zhu Youning did not listen to Jingxiang's advice. Soon after, Liang Zhu Youzhen came to Luoyang, inspected the imperial carriages and uniforms, and decorated the palace. The day for going to the southern suburbs for sacrifices was set, and suddenly he heard that Yangliucheng had been lost.

Everyone said that the Jin army had arrived in Daliang and was holding the Si River. The officials who followed Zhu Youzhen were worried about their homes and cried to each other. Zhu Youzhen panicked and lost his mind, so he stopped the suburban sacrifice and hurried back to Daliang.

Li Cunxu attacked Puzhou and Yunzhou one after another and looted massively before returning to Taiyuan. At this time, the envoy of King Chu Ma Yin came to Taiyuan to pay homage to King Jin. It turned out that Ma Yin heard that King Jin had captured the Hebei area and listened to Gao Yu's instructions.

In response, he sent an envoy to ask for friendship with the King of Jin. The King of Jin was overjoyed and agreed, and then sent an envoy to report back to the King of Chu, Ma Yin.

The envoy from the King of Jin soon arrived in Tanzhou, and Ma Yin immediately received him. The envoy conveyed the greetings from the King of Jin, and Ma Yin was overjoyed. After the envoy went down, Ma Yin asked Gao Yu: "Sir, please let me make friends with the King of Jin. My king

Although we did this, we still don't understand. Will we offend Emperor Liang by doing this?" Gao Yu said: "Your Majesty, it's okay. Since Zhu Wen's death, Liang Court has become more and more chaotic and its strength has been greatly reduced. They have no thoughts at the moment.

If he takes care of us, even if he knows, he will turn a blind eye or close an eye. And Jin King Li Cunxu is extremely powerful, and he may destroy Zhu Liang one day. Therefore, we must establish a good relationship with Jin King in advance and prepare for a rainy day.

As for Emperor Liang, he will try his best to deal with the King of Jin, and he will not completely fall out with us over this matter. Don't worry, Your Majesty!"

At this time, the guard came to report: "The envoy of Liu Chongjing, the governor of Yuanzhou of Wu State, wants to see me." Ma Yin was greatly surprised and asked Gao Yu: "Sir, why did the governor of Wu State send someone to see me?" Gao Yu said:

"Your Majesty, no matter what, let's listen to what he says before making a decision." Ma Yin nodded and sent the order for the envoy to come in. After the envoy came in, he visited Ma Yin and presented Liu Chongjing's letter. At the same time, he said: "My family

The governor is well aware of the benevolence and kindness of the King of Chu, and is willing to surrender the whole state to His Highness the King of Chu."

Ma Yin was overjoyed after hearing this. He took the letter and read it, and found that it was indeed Liu Chongjing's handwritten letter requesting surrender. Ma Yin thought for a moment and asked Tuoba Heng to take the envoy down and treat him well. When the envoy left, Ma Yin handed the letter to him.

Gao Yu then asked: "What do you think of this matter, sir?" Gao Yu said: "Your Majesty, this is a good thing. If we take advantage of this opportunity to establish a stronghold east of Luoxiao Mountain." Ma Yin nodded and said: "

In this case, we will accept his affiliation. But he also asks for support, what do you think we should do?"

Gao Yu said: "Since we have accepted him, we must send troops there. We might as well divide the troops into two groups to attack Wu State, and send them all the way across Luoxiao Mountain to Yuanzhou to assist. However, there should not be too many troops on this route, ten thousand

It's okay if we can defeat the Wu army. Otherwise, if the battle is unfavorable, we can quickly retreat to the defense and prevent them from entering our hinterland. At the same time, we will send naval troops to attack Ezhou to disperse the Wu army's forces as a containment."

Ma Yin thought for a moment and found out that General Qin Yanhui was old and frail recently and was bedridden, so he was unable to lead the army. Lu Shizhou was guarding the newly pacified Xuzhou and Chenzhou and could not be mobilized. Li Tang was guarding Guizhou to guard against Liu Yan's invasion, so he could not escape.

Kaishen. Yao Yanzhang guarded Langzhou and defended Jingnan. He could only let Li Tang's deputy general Yang Dingzhen lead an army of 10,000 to Yuanzhou to help Liu Chongjing, and let Xu Dexun and Wang Huan lead the navy to attack Ezhou.

Ma Yin made up his mind and summoned Liu Chongjing's envoy and told him that he accepted Liu Chongjing's surrender and would soon send troops to help. The envoy was overjoyed and thanked him before returning. Ma Yin then sent people to convey orders to Xu Dexun and Yang Dingzhen respectively. Xu Dexun

and Yang Dingzhen received Ma Yin's order and each led their troops to set off.

This Liu Chongjing is the son of Southern Wu general Liu Wei. Since Li Yu was exterminated by Xu Wen,

Later, the veterans of Southern Wu chose to surrender to Xu Wen. People such as Liu Wei were more cautious, fearful, and did not dare to be disobedient. After Liu Wei died of illness, Liu Chongjing was unwilling to be controlled and restrained by Xu Wen. Liu Chongjing acted as

The descendants of the meritorious veterans of the Wu Kingdom were very dissatisfied with Xu Wen's monopoly on power. His father Liu Wei was almost killed by Xu Wen, and Liu Chongjing became increasingly aware of Xu Wen's cunning and terrifying.

But the lessons learned from Li Yu’s mistakes must be learned. If Liu Chongjing wants to get rid of Xu Wen’s control, he must first find a backer. Because Yuanzhou is close to Tanzhou, and Chu army has defeated Wu army many times, and its strength is not bad. Besides, he has seen

Those who took refuge in Ma Yin, such as Deng Sijin, the Peng Gan family, Liao Shuang, Lu Shizhou and others, were doing well, so Liu Chongjing was also moved. He then sent people to Tanzhou to express their allegiance to Ma Yin.

Besides, Xu Wen was naturally very angry about Liu Chongjing's rebellion. When he saw Li Yu's fate, he did not seem to be intimidated by the veteran generals. Xu Wen mobilized his troops and generals, dispatched the famous general Chai Zaiyong, and Mi Zhicheng led his troops to attack Liu Chongjing's rebellion.

.

Ezhou is a strategic military town located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. It has been controlled by the State of Wu since the fall of Du Hong. Ma Yin launched several exploratory attacks on Ezhou, but all failed. Taking advantage of Liu Chongjing's rebellion, Ma Yin decided to attack Ezhou again.

Attack Ezhou. After receiving Ma Yin's order, Xu Dexun and Wang Huan boarded the ship from Yuezhou and arrived in Ezhou.

Seeing that Ezhou was heavily guarded, Xu Dexun prepared to take action without intending to fight with the Wu army. One day, Wang Huan, then the commander of the Yuezhou capital, followed Xu Dexun on an inspection tour of the Yangtze River in Ezhou. Suddenly, strong winds broke out in the air, and Wang Huan

He felt that this was an excellent opportunity to ride eastward and attack the prefectures and counties along the Yangtze River in Huainan. So Wang Huan suggested to Xu Dexun that he should take the opportunity to attack immediately.

Xu Dexun thought for a while and agreed to Wang Huan's suggestion. Xu Dexun took Wang Huan as the vanguard and ordered the warships of the navy to raise their sails and ride the wind eastward. They traveled hundreds of miles along the river overnight and bypassed Ezhou.

, arrived at Huangzhou City. Huangzhou is on the north bank of the Yangtze River and is already the hinterland of Wu State. Naturally, the Huangzhou defenders never dreamed that the Chu army would dare to bypass Ezhou and come to Huangzhou City.

Wang Huan immediately led his troops to the city, and while the Huangzhou defenders were still asleep, they attacked Huangzhou City overnight, captured the Huangzhou defender Ma Ye alive, and plundered the loot. But how to return to Yuezhou at this time was a big problem. After all,

To return to Yuezhou from Huangzhou, you have to pass through Ezhou, and you are going upstream. It is easy to be intercepted by the Wu army in Ezhou, and Xu Dexun can't help but feel a little worried.

Xu Dexun said: "The Ezhou army is likely to intercept us, and we should be prepared for their attack." Wang Huan, however, was confident and said very calmly: "The news that our army captured Huangzhou is probably not known to the Ezhou defenders. Now our army is passing through Ezhou.

, they thought we were coming to attack Ezhou, and it was too late to protect ourselves, so how could they dare to intercept us?" According to Wang Huan's plan, the Chu army sailed forward, displayed flags and drums, and made a huge noise, making a preparation for an attack.

The posture of attacking Ezhou. The defenders of Ezhou were indeed prepared as if facing a powerful enemy, and they did not dare to leave the city to meet the enemy. The Chu army returned to Yuezhou safely, and Wang Huan's reputation was greatly shaken.

Ma Yin was overjoyed when he received the good news, and immediately ordered to commend Wang Huan. The victory in the Battle of Huangzhou stimulated Ma Yin, and Ma Yin immediately ordered Yang Dingzhen to rush to Yuanzhou as soon as possible to join Liu Chongjing. Naturally, Yang Dingzhen did not dare to neglect, and went ahead with both tasks. However,

By the time he arrived at Yuanzhou, Liu Chongjing had already been defeated from the front line.

It turned out that Liu Chongjing learned that the Wu army was approaching Yuanzhou and hurriedly led Yuanzhou soldiers to Wanshenggang, a barrier to the east of Yuanzhou. Wanshenggang, also known as Niulan Gorge, is twenty miles east of Yuanzhou. There is Jinji Mountain on the left of Wanshenggang.

There is Yinping Mountain on the right, facing each other like a fence. The terrain is dangerous and easy to defend but difficult to attack.

Chai Zaiyong and Mi Zhicheng were famous generals of the Wu army, and they led the Wu army's elite, so they were naturally not easy to deal with. Mi Zhicheng, in particular, was superb in martial arts and had first-class archery skills. In May of the eleventh year of God's blessing, Chai Zaiyong

He Mi Zhicheng led his army to approach Wansheng Hill. Chai Zaiyong knew that if he could capture Wansheng Hill in one fell swoop, Yuanzhou would be within easy reach. So Chai Zaiyong lined up his troops at the foot of the hill every day, waving flags and shouting, and beating drums loudly.

, assuming a posture of all-out attack.

When Yuan Zhoubing heard the drums and shouts from the opposite side, he thought that the Wu army was about to attack. He was very nervous and immediately put himself on full alert. However, after waiting for a long time, the Wu army did not launch a real attack. Over time, Liu Chongjing and his men became quite lazy.

.Although Liu Wei was a famous general in the Wu army, Liu Chongjing did not learn his father's fighting skills.

After a few days, Chai Zaiyong suddenly formed a large formation in Gangnan. Liu Chongjing and his men saw this and were forced to come out to fight. However, the morale of Yuanzhou's soldiers was already declining. Chai Zaiyong took the lead in leaping on his horse and rushed into Yuanzhou's formation.

He personally beheaded dozens of Yuanzhou troops with his sword. Liu Chongjing came to greet him with his horse and sword, but was shot in the arm by Mi Zhicheng with an arrow. Liu Chongjing had no choice but to retreat. Chai Zaiyong took the opportunity to use his army to cover up the killing. Liu Chongjing was defeated and had to give up.

Sheng Gang, returned to Yuanzhou.

After Yang Dingzhen heard about it, he quickly joined forces with Liu Chongjing. The next day, they set up a formation at the foot of Yuanzhou City, with the Chu army on the left and Yuanzhou soldiers on the right. The Wu army also set up a formation on the opposite side. Chai Zaoyong swung his sword and took the lead, and Yang Dingzhen stepped forward.

After several exchanges of moves, Mi Zhicheng used his troops to cover up the enemy. After all, the Chu army led by Yang Dingzhen was battle-hardened and extremely powerful. They immediately fought with the Wu army, and a stalemate formed between the two sides. Liu Chongjing's Yuanzhou soldiers were already fighting.

It's just bad, plus he was just defeated by Wu Jun, so

He was extremely afraid of Wu Jun.

Under the attack of the elite Wu army, the Yuanzhou soldiers had no power to fight back. They were quickly defeated by the Wu army and were defeated first. Many remaining soldiers fled to the Chu army's formation, hoping to rely on the Chu army to save their lives. In this way,

Instead, it disrupted the formation of the Chu army. Yang Dingzhen had no choice but to lead his army to retreat. Chai Zaiyong took the opportunity to cover up the attack. The coalition forces of Yang Dingzhen and Liu Chongjing were defeated and suffered heavy losses. They had to abandon Yuanzhou in a hurry and fled to Liling.

Chai Zaiyong reoccupied Yuanzhou City, but he did not continue to advance. Mi Zhicheng asked: "General Chai, why don't we attack Chu in one go?" Chai Zaiyong said: "Ma Yin and I knew each other in Caizhou, we know

His ability. He is not an easy person to deal with. We should accept it as soon as we see fit, without adding any further details. Once we go deep into their hinterland, the outcome will be unpredictable. This time, Ma Yin only sent more than 10,000 people, and it is not Ma Yin’s real

The main force." Therefore, Wu Jun stopped and did not take the opportunity to pursue.

After Yang Dingzhen and Liu Chongjing returned to Liling, they saw that the Wu army did not pursue them. After arranging defenses, they rushed to Tanzhou to plead guilty to Ma Yin. After listening to Yang Dingzhen's report, Ma Yin knew that Liu Chongjing's army collapsed first, leading to the defeat of the war, so he

He did not blame Yang Dingzhen. As for Liu Chongjing, after all, he had just surrendered, so Ma Yin naturally could not blame him. Therefore, Ma Yin still treated Liu Chongjing favorably and appointed him as the governor of Liling.

Ma Yin saw that Wu State was still strong, and as he was already sixty-two years old, he was a little tired of killing people. Since his eastward advance was thwarted, he gave up his intention to compete with Wu State for hegemony and concentrated on domestic affairs.

Of course, this was not a good thing for the people of Sanxiang. At this time, Liu Yan from Lingnan sent someone to propose marriage to Ma Yin, hoping to marry Ma Yin's daughter and become a good friend of the Qin and Jin Dynasties.

It turned out that although Liu Yan captured Rongzhou and Gaozhou, he knew that his strength was not as good as that of Ma Yin, so he did not further attack the states under Ma Yin's jurisdiction. At the same time, due to the situation, Liu Yan wanted to change the hostile relationship with Ma Yin. Liu Yan was concentrating on

In internal affairs, he was more wise and promising than Liu Yin. He vigorously developed education, selected talents, and adopted all the good systems of the Tang Dynasty. Lingnan, which was originally full of melee, had a good atmosphere of abundant treasury and clear political affairs.

In the past few years, Lingnan's economy, especially commercial trade, has developed rapidly. At that time, Guangzhou was known as a gathering of thousands of merchants and abundant treasures. The West District also formed a wealthy district, where a large number of foreign wealthy merchants and local tycoons lived.

Luxury houses, gardens, and famous gardens are the most prosperous places in Guangzhou. These are all obtained from Guangzhou's foreign trade.

Guangzhou is bustling with foreign businessmen, and tens of thousands of Arab and Persian merchants have settled there for a long time. There are sometimes as many as 4,000 overseas merchant ships arriving in Guangzhou in a year. This foreign trade is Liu Yan's lifeblood. Liu Yan knows very well that in order to

To maintain Guangzhou's commercial status, it is far from enough to rely solely on the Lingnan products he controls. There is an urgent need for products from the Central Plains, Jiangnan and other places to enrich the supply of goods.

The place controlled by Ma Yin not only controls the trade routes from Lingnan to the Central Plains, but is also a powerful neighbor with strong military strength. These years have made them breathless. Although Liu Yan has gained Rongzhou and Gaozhou, if the two armies really go to war, Lingnan will

There is definitely no way to defeat Ma Yin. If Ma Yin is ignored, Lingnan will have no channels to purchase goods, and it will be difficult to sustain foreign trade.

Liu Yan had no choice but to relent and come to ask for favors. Liu Yan found out that Ma Yin's eldest daughter, Ma Yanmei, was already twenty years old and was about to get married. So Liu Yan sent someone to Tanzhou with heavy gifts to ask Ma Yin.

Yin asked for marriage. Ma Yin received Liu Yan's envoy. After learning about Liu Yan's request, he did not agree immediately. He just asked the envoy to stay temporarily in the post house and wait for news.

After the envoy left, Ma Yin asked Gao Yu for his opinion. Gao Yu thought for a long time and said to Ma Yin: "Liu Yan occupies Guangzhou, and overseas merchants there who go north to do business in the Central Plains have to pass through our territory, which naturally brings us

There are many business opportunities. Moreover, we do not produce salt and have been enemies of Yang and Wu for a long time. The common people are often short of salt. Over time, the soldiers and civilians cannot eat salt and cannot even walk. Lingnan is adjacent to the sea and has sufficient salt, which can meet our needs.

Need. At the same time, we can also concentrate on dealing with the Wu State and avoid the situation of two enemies. If the two families turn their hostility into friendship, everyone will be happy." After listening to it, Ma Yin said: "What you said is very true. Let me think about it carefully.

Fan."

Ma Yin returned to the harem, talked about the matter with Princess Wenxiang, and asked for her opinion. Although Ma Yanmei was born to Ma Yin and Liu Xinglan, when Xinglan died, Limei was less than two years old. Therefore, Yanmei has always been

It was Wenxiang who took her, and Wenxiang treated Yanmei and his own daughter Limei equally, regardless of whether they were rich or poor. Naturally, Wenxiang was reluctant to marry Yanmei to such a far away place, so he objected.

Seeing Wen Xiang's objection, Ma Yin couldn't help but hesitate. At this moment, Ma Yanmei walked in and said: "Father, my daughter is willing to marry to Guangzhou. Mother, my daughter knows that you love your daughter. But if your daughter marries, you can make Lingnan a better place."

Stop the dispute with us and turn the conflict into friendship. The daughter can be regarded as fulfilling her filial piety for the father. After all, the father is old, and the daughter does not want to see the father worrying about state affairs day and night. Besides, this matter can also bring peace to the people on both sides, killing two birds with one stone.

Yes, my daughter has no regrets."
Chapter completed!