It was a beautiful day with bright sunshine. Liu Qi led Huang Zhong, Gan Ning and his party out of Xiangyang and headed straight for Jiangling.
Although Jingzhou is not as large as Yangzhou, it occupied the two provinces of Hunan and Hubei in later generations, plus Nanyang, Henan. Although it seems to be only one place, its territory is actually not smaller than the entire Central Plains.
Overall, Jingzhou is divided into three major blocks due to the Han River and the Yangtze River: the Nanyang Basin, the Jianghan Plain and the Xiangjiang Plain, which are basically independent of each other.
In this era, the areas were separated by land and water, transportation was inconvenient, and troops could not reach directly, so effective control could not be formed. This was also the main reason why Liu Biao had high authority only in Nanjun but could not control the two important areas of Nanyang and Jingnan in the north and south.
As an important town in Nanjun, Jiangling, like Jiangxia, controls the strategic location of the Yangtze River. It faces Chibi to the east, connects to Yizhou to the west, and overlooks Dongting Lake to the south. Its geographical location is even more important than Jiangxia.
The governor of Jiangling was originally a member of Cai Mao's clan. After the family was liquidated, Liu Qi appointed Du Ji as the governor of Jiangling, Yu Jin as the Sima, and Xi Zhen as the chief clerk. All new officials were replaced to thoroughly govern Jiangling.
In order to advance into Xichuan, Zhou Yu once fought against Cao Ren and Liu Bei here, hoping to open up a way for Dongwu to advance westward and take over the entire Yangtze River defense line.
In the later period, the Eastern Wu used iron chains to block the Xiling Gorge in an attempt to stop the Yizhou troops, but they encountered the famous general Wang Jun, whose navy marched eastward all the way to Jianye and was unstoppable.
The advantage of occupying the upper reaches of the Yangtze River is very obvious. Now Zhou Yu is training the navy in Poyang Lake, and Liu Qi has set up the Jingzhou navy base in Dongting Lake in order to intimidate Jiangdong and prepare to plot against Xichuan.
Guan Yu was guarding Jiangxia, and his troops were still mainly infantry. The navy was only strengthened on the basis of Huang Zu's troops. It was enough to control the waters of Xiakou!
Jingzhou’s real navy will be fully formed in Dongting Lake, and its commander will be Gan Ning of the Jinfan Army, the strongest man in naval warfare!
After a day's rest, everyone set out from Wulin Water Fort to Changsha. The headquarters of the Jingzhou Navy was located here. After screening and reorganization, 8,000 elite soldiers were selected from the 20,000 navy soldiers and went to Dongting to rebuild the water fort.
Hundreds of warships sailed out of the port and traveled across the broad river. The cool breeze and fluttering flags were a heart-stirring sight.
Gan Ning stood at the bow of the ship, leaning on his sword, looking at the rolling waves with a deep gaze. After more than ten years of wandering, he finally waited for a wise leader and was able to realize his ambitions.
"Xingba, you will become the freest person on the sea!"
Gan Ning turned around and saw that it was Liu Qi. He laughed and said, "The sea? That's beyond the mountains and rivers. I can help the general take over the entire Sanjiang defense line. I can gallop along the Yangtze River as far as I can. That's enough!"
"Ah, this pattern is still too small!" Liu Qi shook his head slightly.
He held the side of the boat, pointed to the mouth of Dongting Lake in the distance, and said slowly: "Dongting and the Yangtze River are just places for fish and shrimps to play. Xingba is a dragon, so he should travel in the sea, from the South China Sea to the East China Sea. The vast blue waves, the fairy mountains and islands are the places for a good man to gallop!"
"The sea..." Gan Ning's eyes were slightly stern. He didn't expect that Liu Qi was not joking. He said with emotion: "To be honest, although I, Gan Xingba, can walk on water as if it were flat ground, fight tigers in the mountains, and catch dragons in the sea, I have never been to the sea. I am ashamed!"
Liu Qi smiled and said, "Within ten years, you and I will be sailing on the sea and enjoying its magnificent scenery!"
“Hahaha, how magnificent!” Gan Ning laughed loudly, opened his arms and shouted, “Da Hai, here I come!”
At this moment, Gan Ning suddenly felt that Zhou Yu's training of 100,000 naval forces in Chaisang was nothing special.
Even Zhou Lang of Jiangdong only had his sights on the Yangtze River, but Liu Qi had already set his sights on the sea. What a broad mind!
Just as I was daydreaming about the sea, suddenly a patrol boat came flying over, and in a blink of an eye it was under the big ship, turned twice in the water, and stopped steadily.
A sailor reported: "Liu Biejia wants to see the general!"
"Quickly invite the two of them onto the boat!" Liu Qi never expected that Liu Xian would personally drive the boat to chase him, and Xu Shu would come with him. He didn't know what was going on.
This command ship had two floors and was much taller than the small boat. The defenders worked hard to bring Liu Xian onto the deck by throwing ropes and setting up a ladder. They saw that Liu Xian looked pale, with disheveled hair and beard, and it was obvious that they had been chasing him all the way.
There was a bumpy ride on the water just now and Liu Xian was dizzy and couldn't get up from the boat. Xu Shu, on the other hand, looked calm, worthy of being an experienced man.
Without waiting for Liu Qi to ask, Xu Shu reported, "Liu Biejia received a letter yesterday saying that his nephew and his party were kidnapped by bandits from Dongting Lake, so he came here overnight to chase them. Please rescue us, General."
"There are pirates in Dongting Lake?" Liu Qi frowned and asked, "Why have we never heard of reports from Changsha and Wuling counties?"
Xu Shu said: "These pirates gather on the islands in the lake, mostly fishing for a living, occasionally going out to rob, just like the powerful bandits, it has been a long time, and the government is powerless to stop them."
"Hehe, with me, Gan Xingba, here, which pirate dares to act so arrogantly?" Gan Ning crossed his arms and sneered, "My navy has just arrived at Dongting Lake and is worried about where to train. This pirate is a good choice for us to sacrifice."
Liu Qi nodded and smiled, "Any pirate would be like a fool if they met Xingba. This gang of pirates seems to have been here for a long time, and they may have a lot of savings. We can confiscate them to use as military supplies. If they are not the most heinous criminals, they can be incorporated into the army and become the main force of the navy."
"General, don't... don't underestimate these pirates!" Liu Xian drank some water and rested for a while, then stood up and said, "These pirates have been entrenched in Dongting for decades. They are the remnants of the Changsha pirate Qu Xing. They are very powerful and have tens of thousands of people under their command."
Xu Shu said: "This must be the result of the fact that after Qu Xing was defeated by Sun Jian, the remaining bandits fled to Dongting Lake, gathered together and gradually became powerful."
Liu Qi was surprised. He had never thought that there was such a large force in Dongting Lake. He immediately laughed and said, "Isn't this a navy given to me by God?"
Gan Ning also smiled and said, "Don't worry, my dear. The more pirates there are, the better. I am worried that the navy is short of manpower. If we recruit them to surrender, the Jingzhou navy will begin to take shape."
Liu Xian sighed, "General, you don't know that these Dongting water pirates are not ordinary thieves. They are called the Dongting Twin Dragons. The eldest, the Sea-making Dragon, is highly skilled in martial arts, and the second, the Two-Headed Dragon, is quite intelligent. I heard that they are not only good at training soldiers, but can also transform warships and move freely on the water. Once an official ship enters, it will be destroyed by them. They must not be underestimated."
"How could there be such a talented person?" Liu Qi frowned slightly. Anyone who could transform a warship was not an ordinary thief.
If this group of thieves can really build a new type of ship, they must have a lot of craftsmen. Others only see the danger, but Liu Qi takes a fancy to these talents, who are the core of forming a navy.
Gan Ning was puzzled and said, "You rushed here overnight to ask for help, but now you are emphasizing that the enemy is powerful. Isn't this encouraging others and destroying your own prestige? Aren't you afraid that you won't be able to rescue your nephew and his group?"
Liu Xian stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "I know that the general is rebuilding the navy in Dongting and will have a battle with these bandits. I came here in person, firstly to ask for help, and secondly to remind the general not to underestimate the enemy, so as to avoid losing troops and generals. My nephew has been smart and clever since he was young, and he must know how to protect himself."
Seeing that Liu Xian was not worried about his nephew, Liu Qi was curious: "I wonder how old your nephew is and what his name is?"
Liu Xian showed a proud look on his face: "My surname is Zhou Buyi, and I just turned 18 this year."