Chapter 597

Guards rushed over to protect Sun Ce with their lives,

"My lord, the battle is going against us; you should retreat first."

Sun Ce also knew that this was not the time to be impulsive.

He turned his horse and fled toward the rear.

Huang Zhong hurriedly nocked an arrow and shouted,

"Sun Ce, watch out for this arrow!"

"Twang!"

The sound of the bowstring came.

Sun Ce hurriedly ducked,

But the iron arrow still struck Sun Ce's right arm!

Sun Ce let out a muffled groan and retreated with his soldiers!

Sun Ce's army scattered all the way, with Huang Zhong and Zhang Fei leading their troops in pursuit.

Sun Ce's army fled to the Pan River, near Jingdezhen, before stopping. Upon counting, there were only six thousand men left!

Very few were killed; most had run off without a trace.

Following the main force made them too big a target, so many soldiers ran in all directions.

Sun Ce's arrow wound was not serious, but his mood was extremely depressed.

This crushing defeat could signal that Yuzhang was about to be captured by Liu Bei!

"Damn that eared thief!"

Suddenly, dust rose in the rear, and several thousand troops chased after them.

A round-faced general stepped out from the ranks and roared,

"Sun Ce, dismount and surrender immediately!"

Sun Ce frowned,

"And who are you!"

The round-faced general roared with laughter,

"Say my name, and I'll scare you to death! I am Xing Daorong, a great general under Lord Xuande!"

Sun Ce frowned,

"Never heard of you!"

Xing Daorong was furious. Even a defeated general dared to look down on him?

"I will take your life in three moves!"

Sun Ce was even more furious. Could any Tom, Dick, or Harry bully him now?

Sun Ce spurred his horse and charged at Xing Daorong!

With a loud clang,

The two horses crossed.

Xing Daorong's expression changed drastically. This Sun Ce was stronger than him; he was another tough nut to crack!

Sun Ce frowned. Having been shot by Huang Zhong earlier, he could not use his full strength.

Dong Xi, Ling Cao, and others hurriedly spurred their horses to charge at Xing Daorong.

Xing Daorong hurriedly turned his horse and shouted,

"Brothers, Sun Ce can't beat me in a duel, so he's actually getting several great generals to gang up on me. That's too much!"

"Charge and cover me!"

The soldiers fired a volley of crossbow bolts at Sun Ce's side!

Sun Ce had never seen anyone so shameless!

Sun Ce's troops had been fleeing for so long that they were already like birds startled by the mere twang of a bowstring. After fighting for only a short while, they scattered again.

After another half day of pursuit,

Sun Ce looked at the three thousand or so stragglers, feeling bitter in his heart!

"I regret not listening to Gongjin's advice and abandoning Yuzhang directly; then I wouldn't have suffered this defeat."

Jiang Qin cupped his hands,

"My lord, our foundation still remains; we can just regroup and reorganize."

Sun Ce lifted his spirits,

"I built the Jiangdong foundation with three thousand troops; now I have only lost one battle."

Ling Cao cupped his hands,

"My lord, the road to the Peng Ze water fortress has been cut off, and the road to Kuaiji has also been blocked. Our army can only cross the mountains and retreat to Danyang Commandery."

Sun Ce nodded,

"So be it, there is no other way."

Geyang City was burned to the ground by Cheng Pu, who led ten thousand troops to retreat into Kuaiji Commandery to garrison Dingyang City.

Huang Zhong moved east from Geyang City and built a fortress at Shangrao.

Zhang Fei, Wei Yan, Taishi Ci, and others led their troops back to Nanchang City.

"My lord, we were unable to pin down Sun Ce; please punish us."

Liu Bei laughed,

"You broke Sun Ce's great army and have already achieved great merit; I should be rewarding you instead."

"Sun Ce is brave and fierce; it is normal that you couldn't pin him down."

Xing Daorong cupped his hands and said,

"My lord, Sun Ce, Jiang Qin, Dong Xi, and that Ling Cao ganged up on me, which prevented me from capturing Sun Ce. Please punish me as well."

Everyone was stunned; this Xing Daorong could really spin a yarn.

Liu Bei nodded,

"Very well, I will punish you by having you duel with Yide until you win!"

Zhang Fei laughed,

"Big Brother is wise!"

He had long wanted to teach this Xing Daorong, who bragged without batting an eye, a lesson!

Xing Daorong's face fell,

"My lord, have mercy!"

Everyone laughed.

A few days later,

Lu Xun sent news,

Zhou Yu, seeing Sun Ce defeated and retreating into Danyang Commandery, also led his naval forces back to Jiangdong. The emptied Peng Ze water fortress was occupied by Lu Xun.

With this, the entire Yuzhang Commandery was taken by Liu Bei.

He transferred a group of talented people from Jingzhou to begin governing Yuzhang.

As for Jingzhou,

After Cao Cao learned of the situation regarding Sun Ce, he also withdrew his troops in batches.

Zhuge Liang did not gain much advantage either.

Liu Bei ordered Zhuge Liang to lead troops to garrison Xiangyang, Gao Shun to guard Wancheng, and Li Yan and others to assist them.

Wen Pin was transferred to be the Governor of Jiangxia Commandery, with Deng Zhi as the Commandery Registrar.

After more than half a year of military operations, Liu Bei controlled the entire Jingzhou in one fell swoop and also acquired Yuzhang, the most populous commandery in Yangzhou.

It was equivalent to the three provinces of Hunan, Hubei, and Jiangxi today!

His prestige was even greater, and many of the Han people felt that Liu Bei seemed to have a chance to touch that throne.

The netizens in the broadcast room also marveled,

"My Brother Bei went from a small peddler to where he is now; he is truly amazing!"

"Indeed, looking back at what Brother Bei has experienced, no one could have done better than him."

"Yuan Shao is bedridden, Sun Ce suffered a crushing defeat and lost the great commandery of Yuzhang, and Cao Cao was blocked by the village rustic and didn't gain any advantage at all!"

"When will Brother Bei declare himself Emperor? I'm ready to throw flowers."

"Just now, our Xia Kingdom received another system reward. With Brother Bei in our generation, we are simply a generation that can just lie flat!"