The battle of Aoshan became the turning point of the entire Henan battle. After this battle, Jianwuhan collapsed in Henan County in an instant, and was basically hit by a heavy punch and died suddenly.

The fifth army defended Aoshan alone and killed Chen Jun in the battle, almost turning the entire battle situation around with one force. Because of his brave performance in this battle, he was called the "Fifth Evil God" by the Jianwu Army and became an existence that scared the enemy.

Ji Zun retreated in a panic due to lack of food on the front line, and was chased by Liu Mao, causing heavy losses. In order to raise military rations and allow the army to persevere, Ji Zun plundered everywhere, threatened the people, and blackmailed the powerful, which was unanimously boycotted by the scholars and people in Henan.

The Henan tyrants had a feud with Liu Xiu in the case of Ouyang She, and saw that the Jianshi Han army was strong and unstoppable, so they raised troops to respond to Liu Mao, constantly attacking Ji Zun and Lai She's army, scrambling to meet Liu Mao, King of Hejian, and welcome the Luoyang King's Army. Ji Zun and Lai She's army were unable to gain a foothold in Henan under the attack of the enemy and their own people. The entire army was completely defeated and fled in scattered.

Liu Xiu's army was in Hanoi at this time and had just won the battle at the ferry. His generals were going to send troops south to reinforce Henan with the power of victory.

Liu Xiu sighed: "The matter in Henan is not that it is a lack of soldiers and generals, but that it has lost Ao Cang and there is no food in the army. The more soldiers sent, the more food it is... The matter in Henan is no longer possible. Let Ji Zun and come to She to retreat and protect Chenliu!"

He was worried and looked at himself in the mirror. The more white his head was, the more gray his beard became.

In half a year, Jianwuhan lost major counties in succession, and his strength was greatly reduced. He was obviously at a disadvantage in the confrontation with Jianshihan. In the final analysis, in addition to his serious lag behind his opponents in military equipment, the more important reason is the economy, which is food shortage.

Now that Ao Cang has lost its food shortage, Liu Xiu is no longer able to launch a strategic counterattack, so he can only temporarily shrink the defense line and strive to defend first and withstand the attack from building Wuhan. When the enemy is tired and the food and grass has accumulated, he will try to counterattack.

Liu Xiu hoped that his strategy of farming and the system of gaining mills and paying titles would be effective, so that he could quickly restore his strength within one or two years, and he could compete with Emperor Jianwu again.

Of course, protecting prosperous and prosperous places with a large population such as Qi Liang is also the key to preserving their strength. However, many armies of Wuhan are advancing eastward, with the strong army in full swing. Liu Xiu was also unsure whether those fertile places could be preserved.

Even so, from the perspective of population, Wuhan still has the upper hand. Although it lost more than 200,000 elite troops in the wars between Luoyang and Henan, there are still enough troops in the territory to spread the troops and enrich the army.

However, the more people, the more grain they need, the more severe the food shortage becomes. The more young and strong people join the army, they are snatching labor from the ground, and the less people who farm, and the less output in the fields. This is an unsolvable vicious cycle.

What's more, those who lost their lives in Luoyang were veterans, and the elite soldiers who fought for a hundred battles were simply incomparable to them. In addition to farming, Liu Xiu also had the arduous task of training.

There are many iron mountains in Youji area, and Liu Xiu can build stirrups and upgrade military equipment. However, after the battle between Luoyang and Taiyuan, the cavalry of Youzhou suffered heavy losses, and the Shanggu of Dai County was lost, and Liu Xiu's cavalry source was severely reduced. Youzhou was in the northern border county. In his so depressed situation, it is also an unknown whether he would still support the Handan court unconditionally.

Even if Liu Xiu could create enough stirrups, he would not have enough cavalry and would have no place to install if he built too much. On the other hand, Jianshihan not only built the Yulin cavalry directly under the emperor, but also Liangzhou horses, Bingzhou military cavalry, Dai County and Shanggu Tuqi, and the number of cavalry far exceeded that of Liu Xiu.

Cavalry is the king of the battlefield, and can often make a final decision at the critical moment of the battle and determine the situation. Without this key force, what will Liu Xiu compete with Liu Yu?

Nowadays, the large-scale cavalry that built Wuhan is all under the hands of Wu Han. Wu Han had just wiped out Li Xian in Huainan and stationed troops in Shouchun, and his troops were in full swing.

With Cen Peng and Ji Zun defeated, Feng Yi was captured, and Geng Yan surrendered to Chang'an, Wu Han became the only remaining general in the field of building Wuhan. Liu Xiu hoped that Wu Han could show his might again, achieve a big victory, and restore some decline.

He wrote a letter to Wu Han, warning him to assemble the army and maintain sufficient troops, then seize the opportunity, attack hard and fight the enemy. He also reminded him not to divide his troops, so as not to be defeated by the enemy. It is best to annihilate the enemy and do not care about the gains and losses of a city and a place.

Liu Xiu arranged defense on the front line along the river, and kept Geng Chun and Pi Tong clean up the mess in Henoi, striving to drive Tian Kuan back to Hedong, so he returned to Handan to prepare for his plan to train military farms.

Changle Palace in Chang'an, Jianshi Hall. Zheng Shen, Geng Yan, Banden and others were on duty.

The emperor looked very happy when he was reading the battle report sent back from Luoyang.

"The Fifth Evil God?" Liu Yu put down the battle report and smiled, "It's up to him to blame his surname. If he had the first surname, wouldn't he be invincible in the world?"

Geng Yan sighed: "The Fifth Captain, with his own courage, directly attacked Ao Cang and cut off the enemy's food route. This is a model work of cutting off firewood from the bottom of the pot."

"This is a great courage!" the emperor exclaimed: "The fifth uncle, Yu Yu, is both wise, brave and tough, is enough to take on a great responsibility!"

Geng Yan said: "It's a coincidence that this incident is so strong that it's not early or late. Why did it get up while sailing and blow the fifth lieutenant to Ao Cang? Isn't this God's will?"

Zheng Shen stood up and said, "Your Majesty, although this matter seems to be a coincidence and an accident, the root cause is that Your Majesty's fortune is strong. God wants the Han Dynasty to revive in His Majesty's hands. I remember that when the Tongma Emperor fought in Kunyang, his reputation spread all over the world. He entered Hebei alone, got the support of nobles, wiped out the refugees, defeated Wang Lang, and laid the foundation. There was no one in the limelight for a while. At that time, the Tongma Emperor's fortune was prosperous and no one could go out of his right hand. But when Your Majesty ascended the throne, he settled Guanzhong, pacified Longxi, gathered Bingzhou, came back from Hexi, and bowed to the head of Bashu. Your Majesty left the pass and fought with the Tongma Emperor.

The battle of Luoyang was a great victory. The Bronze Horse Emperor has always been invincible, and the 400,000 troops in Xinmang were no problem. Why did you repeatedly defeat your Majesty and lose your troops and land when you meet your Majesty? I think this is Your Majesty's strong fortune, far better than Liu Xiu. Your Majesty does not come out, and you still allow him to circulate Guandong. As soon as Your Majesty came out, Liu Xiu could not do anything and could only bow down and submit to his ministers. Therefore, the Fifth Captain's battle seemed accidental, but it was actually God's will. Your Majesty responded to the will of heaven and followed the people, and could achieve great achievements like the emperor."

He wears thousands of clothes, but does not wear flattery, not to mention that as a great scholar, Zheng Shen is so good at flattery. The emperor Long Xin was very happy and said, "It is up to all the ministers to work together and soldiers to have the best situation at the moment. I have obtained the power of all the ministers and restored the foundation of my ancestors. I remember that the achievements of the fifth uncle Yu should be highly rewarded."

So the emperor issued an edict, proclaiming the fifth Lun as General Aoshan and granting him the title of Marquis to express his merits.

Taking the Battle of Luoyang at the end of last year as the starting point, in just half a year, Liu Yu won the five counties of Yingchuan, Nanyang, Dai County, Shanggu, and Henan, and the limelight was very strong.

In the south, Ma Yuan and Sun Yi led a huge fleet to advance eastward, with 110,000 soldiers under his command, rising from both water and land, advancing across the river, aiming at Yiling.

Yiling is a strategic location after the river leaves Bashu. It is called "Yiling" because "water reaches here and mountains arrive here and mountains arrive here and they arrive here". In other words, the Yangtze River leaves Bashu and has been traveling through the mountains and ridges, with many canyons and upsurges. However, when it comes to Yiling, the mountains are gone and the level is quiet, and the Yangtze River has become gentle from then on.

The Han army was eager to fight a big battle, but as soon as they saw the warships in Manjiang and the soldiers all over the mountains, Tian Rong, the king of Yiling, became a little timid. Without much hesitation, Tian Rong chose to surrender. Because he turned in time, he was named a marquis by the Chang'an court and was conquered to the court. Tian Rong's years of accumulation in Yiling returned to the Han Dynasty.

Ma Yuan's fleet continued to advance eastward, and the next important town was Jiangling. Jiangling King Cheng Fan had some backbone and refused to surrender. He connected with Qin Feng, King Li of Chu and some small local forces, and tried to resist the city. He was surrounded by Ma Yuan's army in Jiangling. It had been three months since the inside and outside were cut off, and it was almost impossible.

As Ma Yuan's army advanced eastward, Da Shang from Bashu, they brought their own large ships, filled with grain. The grain ships followed the army of the eastern expedition, wherever the army fought, the grain would be transported, and the grain from Shu continued to come out in a steady stream. Although Ma Yuan had many troops and horses, there was no need to worry about not being able to supply food.

It was the idea of ​​Li Xiong, the Grand Secretary of the Cheng family, to hand over the transportation of food to the merchants. He made this great contribution and was expected to be valued, but he lost his life because he persuaded Ma Yuan to become independent.

Zhang Yun, the general of the Jianshi Hancai, sent troops from Hanzhong, and went south along the Han River, heading straight to Shandu. Qin Feng, the King of Li of Chu, personally led his army north to meet the enemy.

In the late Wang Mang, Qin Feng seized the Liqiu area of ​​Nanjun and established himself as King Li of Chu. He had a 100,000 troops, which was the largest force in the south.

When Qin Feng raised his army in the second year of Dihuang (21st AD), Liu Xiu was still farming at home, and Liu Yu was still herding cattle in the stables of cattle and horses. However, Liu Xiu occupied the entire Hebei in more than a year, from having nothing to having a soldier of one million. Liu Yu pacified Guanzhong in half a year. Not only did he receive hundreds of thousands of Red Eyebrow Army forces, but he also surrendered to various counties and contributed to the powerful and became one of the top major forces in the world. However, Qin Feng, King Li of Chu, was always the same as his old territory when he started his business for ten years.

Qin Feng kept hiding in Nanjun like this, and when no one was able to take care of him in the Central Plains, he did not take the opportunity to expand his power. Perhaps he lived a comfortable life in Liqiu, or perhaps he was the only one in the local family and had no competitors, so he did not have a sense of crisis and had enough enterprising spirit, and missed the best opportunity to expand outward.

But his unchanging does not mean that others remain unchanged. In a few years, the world has undergone drastic changes, and many separatist forces have been eliminated. Now the Central Plains are two heroes competing for hegemony. With the increase of its power, Liu Yu and Liu Xiu have expanded to a large enough extent, so they finally have an intersection with Qin Feng, which makes him unable to live a comfortable life.

Qinfeng's old nest, Liqiu, is not well-known in history, but from Liqiu, it goes up north by a hundred miles along the Han River, it is a very well-known city - Xiangyang.

The land of Xiangyang meets water and land, and communicates between the north and south. Its strategic location is extremely important. During the Han Dynasty, Jiangnan was not yet developed, and it was still a wild land in the eyes of the people of the Central Plains. Xiangyang had not yet entered people's sight. After the development of the south, the original wild land became a prosperous and beautiful place, and the importance of Xiangyang was highlighted, especially during the period when the north and south of China were divided, Xiangyang was simply the life gate of the southern regime.

There is a mountain to the east and a mountain to the west. There is a gap between the two mountains. From then on, the Han River goes south and flows into the Yangtze River. Xiangyang is located between the gaps in the mountain range. Next to the Han River, it is the channel to go south to the Jianghan Plain and also the channel to enter the Yangtze River.

Now for Qin Feng, Xiangyang is the northern gate of his territory. After a hundred miles of Xiangyang, it is his old nest Liqiu. There is no way. His core territory is so big that he can't compare with the two big bosses Liu Yu and Liu Xiu.

However, relying on such a piece of land, Qin Feng gathered an armed force of 100,000 people. It can be seen that Nanjun was already relatively developed and had a considerable population density.

In order to resist the northern forces going south, Qin Feng had to defend Xiangyang. He built a defense line from Shandu to Deng County north of Xiangyang. Shandu was northwest of Xiangyang and upstream of the Han River. General Zhang Yun, the Caiguan, led a fleet to Xiangyang south, and had to pass through Shandu in the middle. Now Zhang Yun is besieging Shandu, while General Qiu Zhi, the southern expedition, led his army to attack Deng County, the northern barrier of Xiangyang.

Qin Feng fought his life to resist the northern army's southward advance, but if an army attacked from south to north, his Xiangyang defense line would become useless.

Ma Yuan went out of Bashu and advanced eastward to attack Liqiu from south to north. Therefore, Qin Feng tried his best to win over Jiangling King Cheng Fan and Yiling King Tian Rong. For this reason, he adopted the method to accept his son-in-law. He married his two daughters to Cheng Fan and Tian Rong respectively, trying to let these two sons-in-law guard the southern gate for him and block Ma Yuan in the land of Bashu.

Unexpectedly, King Tian Rong of Yiling was too unreasonable. He accepted the Qin girl and her dowry with her smile, but he simply left her father-in-law behind and surrendered to Ma Yuan as a casual marquis in Chang'an. King Cheng Fan of Jiangling didn't know what was wrong with him, so he really treated the father-in-law as his father-in-law. He struggled to support him in Jiangling, fighting to the death to block the Bashu army for him.

Jiangling was just south of Liqiu. When Jiangling was lost, the southern gate of Qinfeng's territory was immediately opened. Therefore, he always encouraged Cheng Fan to let this good Chinese son-in-law hold on. When his father-in-law defeated the enemy in the north, he went south to save him.

However, Zhang Yun and Qiu Zhi in the north were not Yi and others. They attacked each other at both ends of the northern defense line of Qinfeng. Qin Feng was busy at both ends and couldn't get rid of himself at all, so naturally he couldn't care about his son-in-law.

The southern battle reports kept flying onto Liu Yu's desk. After Liu Yu read it, he sent a group of civil servants to the Ma reinforcements with a large number of seals.

Banden asked strangely: "Your Majesty does not send military generals to support him, how can you send civil servants?"

The emperor said: "Cheng Fan is already a turtle in a jar, and Qin Feng has become a sick cat in a cage. Neither of these two people will last long. After the Nanjun is taken over, the southern counties will be recovered one by one, which requires a large number of officials to manage. I will send officials to them earlier and let these counties accept the kingship earlier."

Banden was dumbfounded, His Majesty the Emperor was too confident.

But the emperor didn't take this seriously at all. He said to Banden: "How is the bird I asked you to find?"

Banden muttered, "How come you play with birds? Be careful that the old gentlemen say you are losing your ambitions."
Chapter completed!