Chapter 209

"It's not Sun Ce's fault; it's just that Lord Liu Xuande is too strong!"

The Ding Yuan lady was also excited; it was her first time seeing a duel between two armies, and she saw Liu Bei display his divine might!

"Is this my future husband? So strong, I... I'm scared, I need to exercise my body."

Lu Lu Lingqi sighed; only she felt that sense of power more deeply.

Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu, and others surrounded the injured Sun Ce and fled wildly!

Liu Bei stood on his horse and did not pursue.

He didn't want to kill Sun Ce yet; if he killed Sun Ce, Sun Quan would emerge.

Although his combat power wasn't as good, he was good at winning hearts and could tie the commanderies of Jiangdong together, making him difficult to deal with in the future.

Sun Ce killed many people and offended many, so in the future, once Sun Ce is defeated, it should be much easier to incite the Jiangdong gentry to rebel.

The pursuit lasted for half a day.

Of Sun Ce's nearly thirty thousand troops, five or six thousand were killed, and nearly ten thousand were captured!

Zhou Yu and others gathered over ten thousand routed soldiers and retreated toward Hefei!

The people of Huainan and the soldiers who had just defected to Liu Bei were all in high spirits; with such a Lord Liu Xuande, who was there to fear?

Crushing the Cao Army!

Defeating Sun Ce!

The momentum was like a rainbow!

Xun You cupped his hands.

"My lord, what should we do with the nine thousand captured soldiers?"

Liu Bei thought for a moment.

"Those willing to join our army, accept them; those who are not, give them two days' rations and let them return to Jiangdong."

Xun You praised him greatly.

"My lord is benevolent; the elders of Jiangdong will surely be grateful for your benevolence."

Fa Zheng also said,

"My lord's action forms a good bond with the people of Jiangdong, and these soldiers will return and promote your bravery and skill in battle. Great goodness!"

Guo Jia added,

"It can also reduce grain consumption."

Liu Bei smiled.

"We also have to thank Sun Ce for transporting the grain, which allows us to eat for a few more days."

Everyone laughed heartily!

The newly joined generals like Le Jiu thought to themselves that they had indeed chosen the right lord!

Xia Xia Houyuan heard that Liu Bei had crushed Sun Ce's army of thirty thousand and was fearful, not daring to continue the pursuit.

Ding Yuan Shu had also run to the Liuan area.

Hearing that Liu Bei had crushed Sun Ce, he sighed.

"The big-eared thief is too fierce; it's fortunate I acted according to the situation and sent my daughter over!"

Ding Yuan Shu smiled immediately.

Seeing the traitor Sun Ce beaten until he vomited blood made him feel great!

"Damn traitor, it would be best if he vomited blood and died this time!"

All of Huainan was greatly shaken!

Hearing that Lord Liu Xuande intended to take the people north to Guanzhong, the people of Jiujiang Commandery, who could no longer make a living, packed their luggage and gathered toward Liu Bei's immigrant army!

In the future, this would become the main battlefield for the Cao Army and Sun Ce to fight over; there had been a great drought in Huainan in recent years, and Ding Yuan Shu had been extorting taxes, so life was truly unbearable.

Liu Bei's immigrant army soon swelled to three hundred thousand people!

At Sun Ce's temporary camp,

Sun Ce's injuries had improved somewhat, but he was still pale.

He had intended to challenge Liu Bei this time and take the throne of the Great Han's number one fierce general,

but he hadn't expected to be defeated by Liu Bei in one move.

"Zhou Gongjin, I was careless this time; I didn't expect Liu Bei's strength to be so great."

Zhou Yu took the opportunity to offer advice.

"My lord bears the burden of the people of the six commanderies of Jiangdong; do not easily engage in duels in the future."

Sun Ce nodded in agreement, indicating he would not be so reckless in the future.

"Report~!"

"My lord, Lu Fan, who is on the north bank of Chaohu, sent word that the naval forces were raided by Liu Bei's subordinate Pang De with one thousand cavalry, and the two thousand naval troops have been routed!"

"What?!"

Sun Ce felt sweetness in his throat, vomited blood again, and fainted!

Zhou Yu hurriedly had the physician enter the tent.

He frowned deeply.

"I didn't expect Liu Bei to be so capable, actually laying out these one thousand cavalry in advance. I truly didn't expect it!"

Zhou Yu called for Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, and others.

"Generals, the lord is injured and the warships have been snatched; we can only retreat to the Yangtze River now. Be careful to guard against Liu Xun's raid."

Thinking of something else, he sent personal guards to secretly head to Wancheng; the two Qiaos of Jiangbei were also to be brought back to Jiangdong.

In Wancheng,

Liu Xun looked at the battle report before him in a daze.

"Liu Bei is actually this capable! Ten thousand broke Cao Cao's sixty thousand, and he also crushed Sun Ce's army of thirty thousand?!"

"He is actually this brave and skilled in battle!"

"Ziyang, Liu Bei wants to borrow the route through Lujiang Commandery; what should I do?"

"Cao Cao is an old acquaintance and asked me to intercept and kill Liu Bei."

Liu Ye cupped his hands.

"My lord, Lord Liu Xuande's might shakes the nine provinces, and his benevolence is spread throughout the world; our army should not be his enemy."

"Sun Ce is the lord's true enemy in the future; he occupies Jiangdong. Last time he took Lujiang Commandery, Ding Yuan Shu had the lord appointed as Administrator of Lujiang, and he has long held a grudge."

"As for Cao Cao, he was defeated himself, yet he wants the lord to fight Liu Bei so he can sit back and reap the benefits?"

Liu Xun nodded.

"Ziyang is right. Then notify Sun Gan that my Lujiang welcomes Lord Liu Xuande to borrow the route."

"My lord is wise."

Outside Wancheng,

in a bamboo courtyard,

a woman who was peerless, charming, and beautiful ran into the house and said coquettishly,

"Sister, good news! Lord Liu Xuande defeated Cao Cao's army in Shouchun and is leading the people south."

The woman called sister stood tall, her beauty was peerless, and she had the air of a young lady from a great family.

"Xiao Qiao, I already knew. I also heard that Lord Liu Xuande defeated Sun Ce in one move and crushed the thirty thousand Sun troops!"

Xiao Qiao smiled instantly.

"Sun Sun Bofu spent a year attacking Lujiang Commandery and killed many people; this time he finally got a good lesson!"

Da Qiao also said,

"He also killed dozens of Administrator Lu Kang's clansmen; he is ruthless. Administrator Lu loved and cherished the people, yet he was able to lay a hand on them!"

Da Qiao frowned immediately.

"I also heard people say that Sun Ce will send men to the clan, and he and Zhou Yu intend to take us as concubines separately."

Xiao Qiao slapped the table fiercely.

"What? Sun Ce dares to do this? He treats us as spoils of war?! And one each!"

"No, we absolutely cannot let him succeed."