Chapter 617

"Are they mocking my crushing defeat?!"

"Or is it that these people have long been in secret contact with Liu Bei!"

Sun Quan could trust very few people now; besides Zhou Yu, Zhou Tai, Zhuge Jin, and old ministers like Zhu Zhi, Cheng Pu, and Huang Gai, there was basically no one else.

Zhang Zhao? If you ask him, it's surrender!

Zhuge Jin cupped his hands, "My lord, Liu Bei is recruiting soldiers on a large scale in Danyang; it is said that Liu Bei has already recruited more than twenty thousand Danyang elite troops."

Sun Quan angrily slapped the table,

"These unruly people; I only got a few thousand when I recruited!"

Zhuge Jin paused,

"My lord, Liu Bei also took the Xu woman as a concubine; it is said that the people of Danyang support him very much."

Sun Quan was about to crack; this Liu Bei was too shameless. It wasn't enough to steal his Bu Lianshi, but he also took in his third brother's widow!

Zhuge Jin sighed with emotion,

"The Xu woman is a remarkable woman; it is said that she calculated her marriage with Liu Bei through divination herself. Now, it is spreading secretly throughout Jiangdong that Liu Bei has dragon energy and two lives."

Sun Quan was furious,

"This Liu Bei is building momentum for himself; he is the greatest rebel of all!"

Cheng Pu rushed in, his expression worried,

"My lord, it's bad! Huang Zhong and Shamoke have broken He Qi, occupied Dingyang City, and the great army is pressing on Kuaiji Commandery!"

Sun Quan was greatly alarmed; Liu Bei was advancing from both Danyang Commandery and Kuaiji Commandery, and the Yangtze River defense line was in name only.

Zhou Yu's thirty thousand elite naval troops couldn't play any role; it could be said that he was bound to lose!

"What should be done?!"

Zhou Yu also rushed back at this time,

"My lord, I have brought back news from Dantu."

The dust-covered Zhou Yu had a look of joy on his face,

"My lord, great joy."

Sun Quan really didn't know what he had to be happy about; could it be that Liu Bei was about to go crazy and die?

If Bu Lianshi had achieved merit, Sun Quan's joy in his heart would also far exceed his sorrow.

Zhou Yu cupped his hands,

"My lord, Yuan Shao is critically ill and cannot be cured; he is already dead!"

"What?! Yuan Shao is dead!"

Sun Quan was somewhat stunned, then immediately overjoyed.

Once Yuan Shao died, Liu Bei's focus would inevitably be on competing with Cao Cao for the three provinces of Hebei, and Jiangdong would have a chance to catch its breath.

Jiangdong at this time was not the densely populated and economically developed region of later generations.

It was only because of the chaos in the Central Plains in recent years that a large population had migrated south, which had caused Jiangdong's prosperity.

The population and economic center of the Han dynasty was still in the north.

The three provinces of Hebei had a population of nearly nine million, Jizhou's mulberry fields were flourishing, and there was also the world-class city of Yecheng; Liu Bei naturally wanted to obtain it.

Cheng Pu was also overjoyed,

"My lord has a chance to catch his breath; by the time Liu Bei comes to Jiangdong again, the situation may not be like this."

Zhou Yu, however, frowned,

"My lord, although Liu Bei wants to obtain Hebei, he has left behind fierce generals like Guan Yu, Zhao Yun, and Xu Huang, and also has strategists like Ju Shou, Xun You, and Jia Xu; he may not be in a hurry to rush back."

"Perhaps he will wait until he takes Jiangdong before going back; it wouldn't be too late."

683 Sun Quan had no ideas at this time,

"Then what should be done? Our army's troops are too few now."

Cheng Pu cupped his hands,

"My lord, even if I have to fight to the death, I will not let Liu Bei succeed!"

Zhou Yu had long since had a draft in his heart,

"My lord, if Liu Bei returns north, that's fine; if he doesn't return north, we can only show weakness to the enemy. Liu Bei is extremely lustful; we can arrange for him to take Miss Shangxiang as a concubine."

Sun Quan??

"Gongjin, isn't Shangxiang supposed to marry Cao Pi?!"

Everyone was also somewhat confused,

Zhou Yu sighed deeply,

"My lord, times have changed. Cao Cao's thoughts are all on Hebei, and he has no intention of rescuing us at all. In this moment of life and death for our army, we can only rely on ourselves. My plan is..."

Sun Quan was shocked,

"You want me to surrender to Liu Bei and let him take Shangxiang? And then kill him while he relaxes his vigilance?"

Zhuge Jin frowned,

"Gongjin, although Liu Bei is lustful, he is meticulous in his thinking and may not fall for the trick. Zhao Fan used this trick back then and ended up in a crushing defeat."

Zhou Yu nodded,

"Ziyu is right, so we must plan meticulously, not let the wind leak out, and the implementers must also be valiant and reliable! My lord should try his best to cooperate and make Liu Bei believe it."

"It's just that we have to talk to the Grand Empress Dowager and Miss Shangxiang again..."

Sun Quan knew this was his last chance and naturally didn't want to let it go,

"Keep this from them for now; just act as if I really surrendered. Doesn't Shangxiang want to marry Liu Bei? This time, I will fulfill her wish."

Zhou Yu felt a chill for no reason; Sun Quan usually loved this younger sister very much, but at a critical moment, he sacrificed her without even blinking. Although this was a necessary personality for a king, still...

He thought of Sun Ce; he estimated that if Sun Ce were still here, he would very likely not agree to his strategy, yet Sun Quan agreed without hesitation. The difference between the two was indeed very great!