Chapter 336: Sun Shiwan has never won a battle, yet he's the heir

Yuzhang, Nanchang City,

Liu Bei sat in the main seat and laughed,

"Wen Chang, your surprise attack on Yuzhang this time was a success, and occupying Nanchang City is a great achievement!"

Wei Yan cupped his hands,

"It is all thanks to the Lord's brilliant strategy and his tireless efforts in drawing Sun Ce's attention that we were able to launch a surprise attack on Nanchang City."

Wei Yan is a person with a strong adventurous spirit, which is the exact opposite of Zhuge Zhang Liang's steadiness.

Winning by surprise has both pros and cons; it can lead to a great victory, but it can also lead to a total loss.

The Ziwu Valley strategy was never implemented, so no one knows if it would have succeeded.

Liu Bei looked around,

"What do you all think our army should do now to deal with Sun Ce?"

Wei Yan cupped his hands,

"Lord, I suggest sending troops to attack Geyang City first. From there, our army can raid Kuaiji Commandery in Jiangdong."

Huang Zhong, however, said,

"Lord, Sun Ce is stationed in Panyang City. As long as we can pin him down there, Jiangdong will surely collapse without a fight!"

Pang Tong stepped out,

"Sun Ce is valiant, and the defenses of Panyang City are not poor. If our army attacks, we will inevitably fall into a bitter struggle. The powerful clans of Yuzhang, seeing that our attack is not going well, may not be willing to defect."

Guo Jia also said,

"Lord, I also agree with not attacking the city for now. We should focus on recovering other counties in Yuzhang and pacifying the powerful clans and the Shanyue."

Liu Bei looked at Lu Su,

"Lu Zijing, you are the Administrator of Yuzhang. What are your thoughts on how we should act?"

Lu Su had long since prepared his plan,

"Lord, we can issue a broad call to heroes, inviting the powerful clans and Shanyue chieftains of Yuzhang to visit Nanchang City. Additionally, we can send troops south along the Gan River, dispatching soldiers and civil officials to govern the local areas."

Liu Bei nodded,

"Let it be done."

"Since Sun Ce likes to defend cities, let him stay in Panyang City to his heart's content."

Guo Jia added,

"Lord, from what I have observed, Sun Ce's relationship with the Jiangdong scholar-gentry is poor. However, although his younger brother Sun Quan is a disaster at warfare, he gets along well with the Jiangdong scholar-gentry and is a patient man. If Sun Ce dies, he is very likely to inherit Sun Ce's position."

Although Sun Quan has not yet earned the 'reputation' of 'Sun the Hundred Thousand' at this time, it is already recognized in Jiangdong that he is no good at fighting.

Previously, while serving as a County Magistrate in Danyang Commandery, he was chased in a panic by the Shanyue, and it was fortunate that Zhou Tai saved him.

Later, he was ordered to lead tens of thousands of men to attack Guangling in Taking Xuzhou. Despite having ten times the troops of Chen Deng, he was ambushed by Chen Deng and suffered a crushing defeat!

The following year, he continued the attack and was defeated by Chen Deng again!

As for the Battle of Red Cliffs, that was fought by Zhou Yu!

Pang Tong frowned,

"I have received intelligence that Sun Ce's third brother, Sun Yi, is valiant and very much like his brother Sun Ce."

Liu Bei laughed,

"Although Sun Yi is valiant, he is no match for Sun Quan when it comes to power struggles. If we pin down Sun Ce, Sun Quan will be our next opponent."

"Half a month ago, I already ordered Leng Bao and Pang Xi to bring thirty thousand Yizhou troops by boat. By then, our army will have one hundred and twenty thousand men. If Sun Ce does not want to return to Jiangdong, he will never go back."

Xing Daorong said boisterously,

"Lord, send me to duel Sun Ce when the time comes. Within three moves, I will surely cut him down from his horse!"

Everyone laughed!

Zhang Fei laughed heartily,

"Xing Daorong, would you die if you didn't brag?"

Xing Daorong felt depressed; he was being so serious, how was that bragging!

Liu Bei laughed,

"Daorong, I will give you eight thousand troops to take the other cities of Yuzhang for me along the Gan River."

Xing Daorong cupped his hands,

"Lord, rest assured, I will be like a hot knife through butter!"

Liu Bei and Guo Jia and the others discussed how to lure Sun Ce out of the city.

Over the next few days,

The powerful clans and Shanyue chieftains of Yuzhang received the invitations, and most of them set off for Nanchang City.

Since the world-renowned Lord Liu Xuande had extended an invitation, how could they not show him respect?

Lord Liu Xuande has newly acquired Jingzhou and now occupies Nanchang City; he has already gained more than half of the world. If they don't defect now, when will they?

The heads of the powerful clans, such as Xiong Xun and Xiong Zhao of the Xiong family, as well as the Yang and Nie families of Yuzhang, all arrived in Nanchang City one after another.

There were also the Panyang bandit leaders Peng Hu and You Tu, who led several thousand troops to defect.

Even the Shanyue chieftains in the mountains of Danyang Commandery, such as Tong Zhi and Jiao Yi, sent people to deliver gifts.

Liu Bei began a major reshuffle, appointing the talented descendants of these powerful clans as local County Magistrates and other positions.

He enfeoffed Peng Hu and You Tu as Commandants, to serve under Wei Yan.

He also gave titles to these chieftains in Danyang Commandery, encouraging them to continue resisting Sun Ce's brutal rule!

Everyone was overjoyed!

While eating, drinking, and building relationships with everyone, Liu Bei secretly mobilized his troops and generals, preparing for a grand plan.

Panyang City,

Sun Ce felt that he had been guarding in vain. He reinforced the city's defenses, waiting for Liu Bei to come and attack.

He wanted to give Liu Bei a head-on blow, but Liu Bei was holding grand banquets in Nanchang City, winning over the hearts of the people in Yuzhang.

In less than half a month, Sun Ce felt that he had already lost Yuzhang. The fruits of his previous efforts, which had cost countless manpower and resources to conquer, seemed to have vanished.

"Bang!"

Sun Ce slammed the table in anger,

"Liu Bei has lowered the land tax in Yuzhang by half. The powerful clans and the commoners of Yuzhang are all very happy. That big-eared thief is too good at buying people's hearts!"

Lu Meng cupped his hands,

"Lord, Liu Bei's reinforcements from Yizhou have arrived. His troops in Yuzhou have reached one hundred and twenty thousand, while our army has less than seventy thousand. We are now trapped in the area of Panyang City and Pengze Water Base..."

Sun Ce also knew that this could not go on.

Zhou Yu also wrote to him, urging him to make a quick decision and abandon Yuzhang.

However, Sun Ce was unwilling. Should he just give up Yuzhang, which he had worked so hard to conquer, to Liu Bei?

"Report~!"

A guard presented a bamboo slip.

Sun Ce took one look,

"Not good! Liu Bei has sent Huang Zhong, Leng Bao, and Pang Xi to lead fifty thousand troops east to attack Geyang City, which is guarded by Cheng Pu!"

Everyone looked at the map.

Ling Tong cupped his hands,

"Lord, once Liu Bei breaks Geyang City, he can send troops to cross the mountains and attack our Kuaiji Commandery."

Everyone had been terrified by Liu Bei's habit of crossing mountains and launching sneak attacks!

Dong Xi said with concern,

"General Cheng Pu only has ten thousand men; he may not be able to hold them off. Kuaiji Commandery doesn't have many troops either."

He was a native of Yuyao in Kuaiji, so naturally, he feared his hometown being occupied by Liu Bei. Whether to fight or surrender would be a difficult dilemma.

Kuaiji Commandery had always been the rear base and granary of Jiangdong. If it were occupied by Liu Bei, and Wu Commandery were besieged, the Sun army would be in danger!

Sun Ce frowned,

"Order He Qi to lead the army to hold Dingyang City in Kuaiji to guard against a surprise attack by Liu Bei from Yuzhang Commandery."

He thought for a moment and had to make the decision to abandon Panyang City. There was no point in continuing to guard this place.

"Gentlemen, I intend to lead the thirty thousand men here to attack Huang Zhong's fifty thousand-strong army. What do you think?"

Lu Meng cupped his hands,

"Lord, Liu Bei is exceptionally cunning. Our army must deploy scouts widely to guard against being ambushed."

Sun Ce nodded; that was only natural.