Chapter 28: First Arrival in Wuchang

  Jiangxia County is a heavy county in the eastern part of Jingzhou, with the Yangtze River winding through its territory, and a dense network of rivers, making water transportation very convenient. Jiangxia County borders Changsha County to the south, Anluo County to the north, and Qichun County to the east. From Xia Kou, it can be directly reached to Xiangyang via the Han River, with extremely important strategic position.

  Jiangxia Commandery was also the first stop for Jiangdong Army's attack on Jingzhou. From Sun Jian's crossing of the Yangtze River to attack Liu Biao, the armies of Jingzhou and Jiangdong had been engaged in a series of battles centered around Jiangxia Commandery, where even Sun Jian met his untimely death.

  Since Sun Ce launched the Jiangxia Campaign in the fourth year of Jian'an, Jiangxia Commandery has entered a period of turmoil.

  Zhang Wu and Chen Sun were originally bandits in Jingzhou. After their troops were defeated by Liu Biao, they surrendered to him. Liu Biao appointed them as marquises and stationed them separately in Yangxin County, Jiangxia Commandery. As time passed, they were gradually forgotten.

  At this time, Sun Quan of Jiangdong had been in power for a year and urgently needed to establish his prestige. His attention turned to Jiangxia, but Sun Quan's position was not very stable either, and he also worried that if the army of Jiangxia were defeated, it would endanger his position.

  At this time, General Lu Su proposed a plan to stir up internal strife in Jiangxia and take advantage of the situation. Zhang Wu and Chen Sun became the knives in the hands of Jiangdong.

  Zhang Wu and Chen Sun had occupied Yangxin County, plundering homes and gathering over 8,000 bandits. Meanwhile, the 30,000-strong naval force of Jiangdong was stationed at Lake Pengze under the command of Lu Su, eyeing Jiangxia, making the situation in Jiangxia very complicated.

  Wuchang County, this city is the seat of Jiangxia Prefecture, with more than 20,000 troops stationed here, and General Huang Zu is also stationed here.

  Wuchang County was also the commercial center of Jiangxia Prefecture, with merchant ships coming and going on the Yangtze River, carrying all kinds of goods to trade in Wuchang, completely unaffected by the disturbances caused by Zhang Wu and Chen Sun.

  Wuchang County is adjacent to the Yangtze River, about one mile away from the river surface. There is a special canal from the Yangtze River leading into the city, and cargo ships loaded with goods sail along the canal into the county seat, where they engage in commercial transactions.

  That afternoon, three merchant ships carrying about 500 tons of cargo slowly sailed from the Yangtze River to the Caohe River. From the waterline of the ship, it can be seen that the merchant ship was also fully loaded with goods.

  On the bow of a boat in the middle stood a girl about eleven or twelve years old, although her figure and appearance were still slightly immature, she had already grown into a slender and beautiful little beauty.

  Her face is plump and her chin is slightly pointed, fair and crystal clear like transparent jade, her eyebrows are very long and black, densely curved into the temples, but the most beautiful are her slightly melancholic and charming eyes.

  She wore a beautifully woven bamboo hat on her head, a light red cloak around her upper body, a black sable jacket underneath, a silver-white silk belt around her waist, and a long black pleated skirt below, revealing a pair of delicate leather boots.

  This girl gives people a stunning beauty, but she wears two three-foot-long swords at her waist and a bow and arrow on her back, which also makes her beauty accompanied by a hint of murderous aura, making people dare not to look directly at her.

  However, what showed her identity and status was not her attire or temperament, but a triangular black-edged apricot-yellow flag inserted at the bow of the boat, with a golden carp embroidered on it, which was the logo of Chaisang Tao's business.

  The Tao family is a prominent clan in Chishang, who became extremely wealthy through business and gained great prestige among the people by helping the poor and weak. Its influence has spread beyond Chishang to the entire Yangtze River region, where the name of the Tao family's business is known to everyone.

  The merchant fleet owned over 800 ships and employed more than 3,000 sailors, monopolizing the grain and salt trade in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, while also engaging in other businesses. The wife of the head of the household, Tao Sheng, was a sister of Huang Zu, and had very close ties with the Jiangxia government.

  However, the Tao family did not rely on any particular faction, and it maintained its independence. With the great influence of the Tao family business, Tao Sheng became a honored guest of both Sun Quan and Liu Biao at the same time.

  Before entering Caohe River, they need to go through the Guanpan inspection, so outside the river, there are thousands of merchant ships crowded in the river, all queuing for inspection and entry into the city.

  The golden carp flag on the bow brought great convenience to the three merchant ships, and the boats on both sides gave way one after another, allowing the three merchant ships to pass through the crowded boats smoothly without queuing up and go straight to the Caogang checkpoint.

  The sailors on both merchant ships whispered among themselves about the girl at the bow of the ship. "Do you think that could be the daughter of Old Tao's family?"

  "It's very likely, you see the bamboo hat on her head, look closely, it seems to be inlaid with gems, shining brightly, and she's even wearing two swords and carrying a bow and arrow, this is no ordinary young lady!"

  The surrounding gossip, the girl was completely unaware, she was concentrating on a fleet of warships sailing in from afar on the river surface, the fleet was magnificent, with hundreds of warships.

  At this time, a middle-aged man in his forties walked out of the cabin behind her, wearing a white brocade robe, with a clear and thin face, bright eyes, and three strands of black whiskers floating on his chest. He looked at the water gate not far away, which was about to enter the city, and smiled at the girl: "Aren, we're about to enter the city, go back to the cabin first!"

  The girl nodded, a faint sweet smile appeared at the corner of her mouth, and she pointed to the distant fleet of warships and asked: "Uncle, what is that fleet?"

  The middle-aged man finally saw the fleet on the river, he stared for a while, his face turned serious, and muttered to himself, "Is that Huang Zu's naval force?"

  "No! That must be the reinforcements from Xiangyang."

  Another youth of sixteen or seventeen years old came out from the cabin, with a height of about eight feet, tiger eyes and thick eyebrows, strong and majestic physique, wearing a sharp war knife at his waist, full of strength all over his body.

  He gazed out at the fleet on the distant river and sneered, "One day, I will personally capture this fleet and boost our military prestige."

  A middle-aged man sighed and smiled wryly, "My greatest regret is bringing you siblings here, especially you, this foolish kid. What if something happens and I have to answer to your mother?"

  The girl walked back with a smile and said: "Uncle, didn't brother promise? As long as the mule is fine, he will never cause trouble, Fourth Brother, right?"

  The young man nodded, "I just expressed my ambition, I won't get into trouble, nor will I ruin Uncle's big deal."

  "Hold on," the young man asked anxiously, "Uncle, the reinforcements from Jingzhou have arrived, they must be going to attack Zhang Wu and Chen Sun, and Lu Ma is in Zhang Wu's hands. Why don't we go directly to Yangxin County?"

  The middle-aged man shook his head, "With your identity, how can you directly contact Zhang Wu? Later when we meet Lord Su, he will send someone to ask Zhang Wu for the war horse. You can rest assured!"

  At this time, a steward on the first merchant ship in front shouted: "Into the river!"

  The ferry terminal has arrived, and the middle-aged man hastily told his siblings: "Get on board! Once we get to Caohe, it's natural for the Tao family to take care of things. Let's not draw attention to ourselves."

  The two siblings nodded and followed the middle-aged man into the cabin, with the girl walking behind. She stopped again, turned her head and took a deep look at the fleet of warships on the river surface.

  The fleet of warships passed by their boats, and on a large ship, she seemed to see a young general with a gun standing at the bow, gazing at them.

  Liu Bei led the 20,000-strong Jingzhou army from Xiangyang by boat, and set off for Wuchang County, first to secure the safety of Wuchang County, then to enter Yangxin County inland to quell the rebellion of Zhang Wu and Chen Sun.

  On the big ship, Liu Xuan silently gazed at the dense merchant ships not far away, having changed into a suit of armor, wearing an eagle helmet, wearing fish scale armor, holding a two-meter-long bright silver spear, temporarily taking on the role of a garrison commander.

  This expedition was quite disappointing for Liu Jue, who had originally planned to take the opportunity to learn horseback riding and archery from Zhao Yun, but did not expect that Liu Bei would decide to travel by boat, dashing his hopes.

  Riding and shooting are basic skills for a general, but he doesn't possess them, which has always been his greatest worry.

  At this time, Zhao Yun walked to Liu Xuan's side. He knew Liu Xuan's loss and smiled slightly: "There is no secret to practicing horse shooting, the key is to practice hard, winter training three nine, summer training three fu, I was 17 years old when I started practicing horse shooting, at the most bitter time, I had not gotten off my horse for a month. This requires long-term and arduous practice, not just for a moment."

  Liu Jiong nodded silently, "I know."

  Zhao Yun looked at him and said with a heavy heart: "The key is marksmanship. I taught you the thirteen-style gun method, you must make it familiar to your heart, and then combine it freely in actual combat. This depends on talent. My master has passed this set of gun methods to more than 100 disciples, but only I have practiced it successfully. Do you understand what I mean?"

  Liu Xuan understood what he meant, which was that the master led him in the door, but cultivation relied on the individual. Zhao Yun taught him his spear techniques, but whether or not he could achieve anything would depend on his own comprehension.

  Liu Xuan smiled and said, "I feel that the shooting technique must be combined with the Luofeng Kung Fu that General taught me earliest to truly exert its power."

  Liu Xuan only now realized that Zhao Yun's master was Changshan Yuzhen, who became a Taoist in Changshan County and created the Luofeng method, which has been passed down to only four people so far. Liu Xuan is the fifth person, showing how deep Zhao Yun's kindness towards him is.

  Zhao Yun burst out laughing, "Well said, go on."

  Liu Xuan thought for a moment, then continued: "For example, when General Gao Lan was counterattacked by the enemy at first, the gun technique actually combined the horseback gun and the hammer gun, but simply using the gun technique had no effect. It required gathering strength to strike once, adding force midway, increasing speed, and only then did Yu Jin suffer a great loss. I now understand this, but unfortunately, understanding it doesn't mean I can use it, which is frustrating."

  Zhao Yun secretly praised Liu Xuan's cleverness, saying that he was completely right. His comprehension was indeed extraordinary. He patted Liu Xuan on the shoulder and smiled: "The key to learning martial arts is comprehension. Since you have already comprehended it, what remains is time. One percent of innate talent plus ninety-nine percent of hard work, years of accumulation, can eventually lead to success. Use time to prove your abilities!"

  Zhao Yun stopped for a moment and said, "The spear technique I taught you is just a simplified version, only to give you a rough understanding, not the complete set of moves. In fact, there are hundreds of moves in total, which I will teach you slowly later."

  Liu Xuan nodded, "Thank you, brother!"

  The two of them chatted for a few more sentences, when Liu Xuan suddenly saw the three ships of the Tao family's merchant fleet. He pointed at the triangular flags on the ships and curiously asked: "Brother, have you seen that triangular flag before? Whose emblem is it?"

  Zhao Yun concentrated his mind and looked for a moment, shaking his head, "I have never seen it before."

  At this time, General Wang Wei slowly walked up and smiled: "That is the golden carp flag of Chaisangtao's business firm. The first great merchant in Jiangnan, the old master Tao Jun was once conferred as Tinghou by the imperial court, and made a significant contribution to the military expenses and grain taxes of Jingzhou. Even our lord has to give the Tao family some face. Last year when Sun Quan took office, he specially invited the current master Tao Sheng as the top guest."

  Liu Jue nodded, it seems that Tao Sheng is very clever. He sends money and grain to Liu Biao, secures his position in Jingzhou, and then provides benefits to Jiangdong, so he becomes the honored guest of Sun Quan, benefiting from both sides, profiting from both business and official circles.

  He suddenly had a thought in his mind and remembered that Tao Qian of the later generation was from Xunyang, could it be that this was a descendant of the Tao family?

  "A loud shout suddenly came from afar: 'We're ashore!'"

  Everyone looked west and saw the fleet slowly approaching the dock on the riverbank. After three days of traveling by boat, they finally arrived at Wuchang County.

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