Chapter 1792: Harsh Words

"Haha, Gongjin, look, even that old guy Huang Zu can't hold back anymore; it seems Gu Linzhi will not be able to escape today!" Sun Ce laughed and patted Zhou Yu on the shoulder, his eyes full of excitement and expectation, "With our pincer attack from both sides, I see how much of Gu Yi's ninety thousand troops will remain!"

Zhou Yu frowned, the unease in his heart not dissipating because of Sun Ce's words. He looked at the Jiangxia naval force approaching rapidly, secretly calculating in his heart: Although Huang Zu is brave, he lacks wisdom; why would he suddenly change the plan? Could it be...

"Bofu, there is something suspicious; Huang Zu's move is likely not voluntary, perhaps there is Gu Yi's calculation behind it." Zhou Yu lowered his voice, trying to let Sun Ce calm down.

Upon hearing this, Sun Ce's smile faded a bit, but the confidence in his eyes remained undiminished: "Gongjin is overthinking; Gu Yi is at the end of his rope now, where would he have the energy to lay out such a complex trap? Huang Zu must see that we are advancing like a hot knife through butter and wants to come and share a piece of the pie."

Zhou Yu shook his head, insisting on his own opinion: "Bofu, on the battlefield, one must not underestimate the enemy. Gu Yi is cunning and treacherous; we need to act cautiously."

Just as they were speaking, a scout ran over, knelt on one knee, and reported: "My Lord, Governor Zhou Yu, Huang Zu's fleet does not seem to be directly joining the battle, but is bypassing to our rear, seemingly intending to encircle us!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the smile on Sun Ce's face completely disappeared, replaced by solemnity: "What? Encircle? Is Huang Zu going to betray the alliance?"

Zhou Yu's heart sank; the thing he worried about most seemed to be happening: "Bofu, I fear Gu Yi has already colluded with Huang Zu in secret; this battle is I fear not as simple as it appears on the surface. We need to immediately adjust our tactics to prevent being attacked from both front and rear."

Sun Ce clenched his fists, his gaze like a torch: "If this is truly the case, I, Sun Ce, swear to personally behead Huang Zu to rectify the name of the alliance!"

Immediately, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu discussed quickly and decided to concentrate their strength to deal with Gu Yi's frontal troops, while sending fast ships to contact generals like Cheng Pu in the rear, being vigilant against Huang Zu's surprise attack.

……

On Gu Yi's warship, he stood at the bow, looking at the movements of Sun Ce and Zhou Yu's fleet in the distance, a faint smile hooking at the corner of his mouth.

"Prime Minister, Sun Ce seems to have noticed Huang Zu's abnormality and is adjusting his deployment." A strategist reported softly.

Gu Yi nodded: "It is as I expected; Zhou Yu is after all a wise man and will not be easily fooled. However, this is exactly what I want—to let Sun Ce fall into a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat."

"Pass the order down: Generals Zhang Liao and Xu Huang are to wait in ambush on the riverbank with iron cavalry, and wait until Sun Ce and Huang Zu clash before launching a surprise attack from the flank; you must disrupt their formation." Gu Yi issued the instruction calmly.

"Yes, Prime Minister!" the messenger took the order and left.

At this time, Gan Ning and Gao Shun came to Gu Yi again, their expressions anxious: "Prime Minister, let us attack; if this continues, if Sun Ce notices something, the entire plan might change."

Gu Yi smiled slightly, his gaze deep: "Xingba, Boping, don't be anxious. The key to this battle lies in letting Sun Ce think he has the victory in his hands, but giving him a fatal blow at the critical moment. You are my final trump card; unless absolutely necessary, you must not easily reveal yourselves."

Gan Ning and Gao Shun looked at each other; although they were unwilling, they also understood the depth of Gu Yi's strategy and had to take the order and withdraw.

……

On Sun Ce's warship, the atmosphere became increasingly tense. Zhou Yu was commanding the ships to adjust their formation to prevent Huang Zu's sudden attack.

"Gongjin, what is Huang Zu's intention with this move?" Sun Ce frowned, his heart full of confusion.

Zhou Yu pondered for a moment and said slowly: "Bofu, I guess this might be Gu Yi's strategy of sowing discord. He used Huang Zu's distrust of us, or promised him great benefits, to induce Huang Zu to betray the alliance. At the moment, we need to remain calm, stabilize our position, and wait until we find out the truth before making plans."

Sun Ce nodded, although he felt unwilling, he also knew this was not the time to be impulsive. He took a deep breath and shouted loudly: "Sons of the Sun family army, today's battle concerns the safety of Jiangdong; we must be united as one and overcome the difficulties together!"

The Sun family army soldiers heard this, their morale boosted, and they shouted in unison: "Swear to die loyal to the Lord and protect Jiangdong!"

Just as the two sides were tensely confronting each other, a burst of hurried war drums suddenly came from the river, followed immediately by the iron cavalry led by Zhang Liao and Xu Huang appearing like ghosts on the riverbank, launching a fierce attack on the flank of Sun Ce's army.

"Not good, it's Gu Yi's ambush!" Zhou Yu's face changed greatly, and he hurriedly commanded the ships to turn around to deal with this sudden offensive.

Sun Ce was also shocked, but immediately calmed down, commanding the front ships to meet the attack of Zhang Liao and Xu Huang, while maintaining vigilance against Huang Zu's fleet.

On the river, the situation was changing rapidly. Gu Yi's strategy was like an invisible net, slowly tightening, trapping Sun Ce and Zhou Yu within it. And Sun Ce and Zhou Yu had to find a way to survive in this desperate situation, proving the heroism and wisdom of the sons of Jiangdong.

……

The battle lasted for several hours, and both sides were exhausted. Sun Ce's warship was covered in scars, but the fighting spirit of the Sun family army had not diminished in the slightest.

"Gongjin, it won't work if this continues; we must find a breakthrough." Sun Ce wiped the blood from his face, his gaze firm.

Zhou Yu pondered for a moment, then suddenly his eyes lit up: "Bofu, I remember there is a shallow water area not far ahead; if we can lure Gu Yi's ships into it, we will surely be able to greatly weaken their combat power."

Upon hearing this, Sun Ce's spirit was boosted: "Good idea! But how to make Gu Yi take the bait?"

Zhou Yu smiled slightly, a plan coming to mind: "We will pretend to retreat to lure Gu Yi into pursuing, and when he enters the shallow water area, we will suddenly counterattack."

Sun Ce nodded in agreement, then ordered the ships to retreat slowly, while sending fast ships to pass a false message to Gu Yi, claiming that the Sun family army had decided to retreat temporarily because they were attacked from both front and rear.

Gu Yi received the message; although he had doubts in his heart, seeing that Sun Ce's ships were indeed retreating and Huang Zu's fleet was also restless, seemingly wanting to take the opportunity to snatch the credit, he decided to pursue.

"Pass the order, pursue at full speed; today we must capture Sun Ce!" Gu Yi ordered.

However, when Gu Yi's fleet pursued to the shallow water area, suddenly, Sun Ce's fleet stopped retreating and turned to launch a fierce counterattack. At the same time, Huang Zu's fleet also seemed to have received some kind of signal, stopping the encirclement of Sun Ce and turning to launch an attack on the flank of Gu Yi's fleet.

It turned out that Zhou Yu had long ago secretly reached a tacit understanding with a certain general under Huang Zu, promising him great benefits, causing him to turn against Gu Yi at the critical moment.

Seeing this, Gu Yi secretly cried out that it was bad, but it was too late. His fleet was restricted in movement in the shallow water area, while the coalition of Sun Ce and Huang Zu took the opportunity to launch a general attack.

For a time, war flames flew on the river, and the shouts of killing shook the sky. Gu Yi's fleet fell into a bitter battle and suffered heavy losses.

Finally, with the joint efforts of Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, Gu Yi was forced to retreat, and more than half of his ninety thousand troops were lost. And Sun Ce and Zhou Yu also proved their heroism and wisdom in this battle, and the prestige of Jiangdong spread to the four seas from then on.