Chapter 323

"Good, you take your own ten thousand, plus five thousand each from Zhang Ren and Gan Ning’s troops, and head to Xiangyang to help my Lord!"

"Understood!"

"The rest of the generals follow me to resist the Cao army and adapt to circumstances!"

"Understood!"

Jiangxia County,

Sun Ce was like a hot knife through butter. After defeating Huang Zu, he pursued and killed all the way to Shaxian City, successfully occupying the county seat of Jiangxia. This time he also killed Huang Zu, finally avenging his father Sun Sun Jian!

He was naturally high-spirited, his long spear pointing toward Xiangyang!

"Liu Biao, the hatred of killing my father, you wait for me!"

Soon,

Zhou Yu brought bad news.

"My Lord, Liu Biao is dead, and Liu Bei has already controlled Xiangyang, obtained the recognition of the Jingzhou gentry, and become the new master of Jingzhou!"

Sun Ce’s good mood instantly turned bad!

"How could this be?!"

"Wasn't it said that Liu Biao was feigning illness?!"

The two of them studied the intelligence in their hands carefully and were somewhat speechless.

Zhou Yu muttered,

"Liu Biao’s feigned illness became a real illness, and he was successfully taken advantage of by Liu Bei to occupy Jingzhou!"

Sun Ce kicked over the table.

"No, absolutely not! The big-eared thief is treacherous; it must be him who plotted against Liu Biao. I want to avenge Liu Biao!"

He seemed to have forgotten that he had just wanted to seek revenge on Liu Biao.

He and Cao Cao had recently caught Ding Yuan Shao’s "red-eye disease"!

Zhou Yu cupped his hands.

"My Lord, Liu Bei taking Xiangyang and obtaining the troops of Xiangyang has become a fact. Don't forget our previous strategic deployment; we still have a chance!"

Sun Ce rescued himself from the red-eye disease.

"Right, I will rely on the Yangtze River in Jiangxia and let Liu Bei suffer a big loss!"

Zhou Yu nodded.

"My Lord, as long as we defeat Liu Bei in a water battle, and with the threat of Cao Cao in the north, he won't even be able to stay in Jingzhou!"

"At that time, it will be the perfect time for our army to take Jingzhou. At worst, we can take the four southern Jingzhou counties, Jiangxia County, and part of Nan County, and fight Cao Cao for Xiangyang!"

Sun Ce laughed.

"Zhou Gongjin, you will be the Grand Governor of Jingzhou then, and you and I, brothers, will plot the great cause together!"

"Understood!"

"Report~!"

A scout came to report.

"My Lord, Liu Bei’s subordinate, Hanzhong Prefect Zhuge Zhang Liang, used a water-attack strategy near Xinye, greatly defeating the Xiahou brothers. The Cao army’s vanguard was defeated in one battle!"

Sun Ce and Zhou Yu’s expressions changed drastically. After reading the intelligence, they were speechless for a long time.

"This Liu Bei’s eye for people is truly excellent. Zhuge Zhang Liang, a village-man, has been entrusted with heavy responsibilities repeatedly, and Zhuge Zhang Liang is also full of wisdom!"

Zhou Yu cupped his hands.

"My Lord, Cao Cao will likely be blocked on the Xinye line. Our army needs to make arrangements early and strive for the support of the four southern Jingzhou counties first!"

"Good, quickly contact the four southern Jingzhou counties and send a letter of challenge to Liu Bei; I will invite him to a decisive battle in Jiangxia!"

"My Lord is wise!"

Xiangyang City,

Liu Bei also knew about Zhuge Zhang Liang’s great victory over the Xiahou brothers.

The Jingzhou civil and military officials were instantly spirited.

Over the years, Liu Biao had also fought Cao Cao several times, and all were defeats!

Although the scale was not large, they were still bitter masters. Once Liu Bei came, it was different; everyone could stand straight and do things!

Guo Jia cupped his hands.

"My Lord, Cao Cao’s army currently has less than seventy thousand left. With Zhuge Zhang Liang holding him off, and with Gao Shun, Ju Yi, Pang De, and others helping, there won't be too much of a problem."

Liu Bei nodded. Zhuge’s caution was not a bad thing. It might be a bit difficult for him to use a surprise attack to defeat Cao Cao, but blocking Cao Cao and letting himself defeat Sun Ce with peace of mind was completely fine.

Liu Bei looked around.

"Ma Chao, Zhang Nan, you two go to Xinye to help Kongming."

"Understood!"

Liu Bei looked at Ma Chao.

"Mengqi, you are Cao Cao’s bitter master. This time his beard has grown long again!"

Everyone laughed loudly.

The Jingzhou civil and military officials finally remembered Cao Cao cutting his beard and throwing away his robe after being beaten by Ma Chao!

Their moods instantly relaxed!

Ma Chao felt very honored.

A day later,

Huang Zhong arrived in Xiangyang with twenty thousand troops.

Liu Bei’s hands were instantly wealthy.

He began to deploy troops and generals.

"De Gui, you are proficient in water warfare. After Sun Ce defeated Huang Zu, he didn't cross the river; he should want to have a decisive battle with our army on the Yangtze River."

"I appoint you as the main commander for this water battle, and you will hold off Sun Ce on the Yangtze River!"

Cai Mao’s eyes lit up; he was still being heavily used, and in the field he was most proficient in!

Liu Bei used Cai Mao for two reasons: First, Cai Mao had been a Jingzhou military advisor for many years, so he had prestige, and most of the Jingzhou navy recognized him.

Second, Zhou Yu used a counter-espionage strategy to plot against Cai Mao, which actually showed he was wary of his water warfare ability.

"De Gui, you lead forty thousand Jingzhou navy troops, and I will send Gan Ning, Lu Xun, and Xu Sheng to lead fifteen thousand troops to assist you."

"Thank you for your trust, my Lord!"

Cai Mao also felt the pressure; Sun Ce on the opposite side was not bad, and he might not necessarily be able to win.

Liu Bei added,

"De Gui, for this battle, you don't need to defeat Sun Ce; you just need to drag him down."

Everyone was a bit puzzled and looked over one after another.

Liu Bei pointed at the map.

"Everyone, southern Jingzhou still has sixty or seventy thousand troops. I have already ordered Wei Yan and Yan Yan to lead troops out of Yizhou. Once I gather the southern Jingzhou troops and head to Jiangxia by land, Sun Ce’s plan to use the Yangtze River as a natural barrier will fall through!"

Everyone’s eyes lit up. Lord Liu Xuande was indeed wise; Sun Ce’s idea of wanting to defeat them by relying on the navy was directly broken!

Yi Ji cupped his hands.

"My Lord, the prefects of the four southern Jingzhou counties have connections with Sun Ce and Cao Cao, and may not necessarily defect sincerely."

Liu Bei nodded.

"De Gui, so I have to rely on you to drag Sun Ce’s main force down more."

Cai Mao cupped his hands.

"My Lord, rest assured, your subordinate will definitely complete the task!"

Just dragging Sun Ce down, Cai Mao still had confidence.

Two days later,

Cai Mao led fifty-five thousand navy troops along the Han River toward Jiangxia to resist Sun Ce!

Liu Bei ordered Zhang Ren to lead twenty thousand troops to guard Xiangyang City,

and he himself led more than fifteen thousand troops, bringing Huang Zhong, Taishi Ci, Zhang Fei, and others along the land route toward Jiangling in Nan County.

As for Sun Ce’s letter of challenge, naturally, let Cai Mao take it over and reply to Sun Ce that he really had no time, so let Cai Mao play with you!