"Haha, haha!" Sun Ce had settled down with the help of Lu Meng on the shore. He smiled bitterly as he looked at the battle report in front of him. Of the 60,000 soldiers that came out, less than 6,000 were saved. Many of them were burned. Even if these 6,000 soldiers were brought back, it would be difficult for them to return to their original elite status.
This was because they were completely frightened. The fire had completely frightened these Jiangdong elites. Now, many of them who bravely fought on the battlefield and were not afraid of death were now trembling.
"Milord, restrain your grief!" Lu Meng stepped forward and whispered to Sun Ce. Most of the 60,000 soldiers were burned to death. This was a kind of irony. Below them was the Yangtze River, but they were still burned to death. This was because the fire was too big. Even those who jumped into the water were either swept to the bottom of the Yangtze River by the whirlpool of the sunken ships or frozen to death by the cold river water.
The physical exhaustion in the cold river water was already great. They could only rely on themselves to swim back to the shore. This battle could be said to have completely crippled the Jiangdong Army.
"It's all over, it's all over!" Sun Ce's mouth was full of bitterness. His Jiangdong foundation, his Jiangdong soldiers, were all that was left.
"Big Brother, you still have us!" Zhou Yu stepped forward to comfort Sun Ce.
"Haha!" Sun Ce did not refute or agree. He just laughed at himself. "Gong Jin, I am tired. I will leave this place to you! " Sun Ce said as he entered the tent and closed his eyes. He did not want to see all this in front of him. He was escaping from reality.
"Sigh!" Zhou Yu could only helplessly shake his head and walked out of the tent with Lu Meng.
"Viceroy, what about the Milord?" Lu Meng pointed to Sun Ce in the tent and asked Zhou Yu.
"Let the Milord rest! Let's go. Let's settle down the 6,000 soldiers and return to Kuiji! "Zhou Yu said to Lu Meng.
"Return to Kuiji? What about Jiang Xia? " Lu Meng froze for a moment. It must be known that the area around Wuhu belonged to Jiangdong. Zhou Yu's Jiangdong Navy should have been stationed at Wuchang and Sanjiangkou.
"Ziming, do you think we can still live in Jiang Xia now?" Back then, the 60,000 elite Jiangdong Army was unable to conquer Jiang Xia. Now, only 6,000 of the 60,000 elites were left. How were they going to conquer Jiang Xia? It was impossible to defend the remaining territories. What Zhou Yu needed now was time to return to Kuaiji and recruit new soldiers to form the Jiangdong Navy. He wanted to trade space for time, and not just Jiangxia. Even in Jiujiang, he was prepared to abandon all defenses. He could only hope that the Jingzhou and Yangzhou alliance would leave them a way out.
If Jiangdong was like this, how much better would Jingzhou be?
Wen Pin left faster than Sun Ce because when the Jingzhou Navy was fighting, Wen Pin knew that everything was over. His Jingzhou Navy was weaker than the Jiangdong Army. Wen Pin also discovered that the Jiangdong Army was not honest. There were more jiangdong army soldiers hidden in the warships. It looked like they were ready to wipe out the Jingzhou Navy.
Knowing that things could not be changed, Wen Pin left. He fiercely looked at the monstrous fire. The 30,000 soldiers that he brought, the 15,000 soldiers of the Jingzhou Army, were now completely finished. The Jiangdong Army could save 6,000 soldiers, but the Jingzhou Navy was left with the six captains by Wen Pin's side.
"Milord, Milord, Wen Pin has let you down, let you down! After today's defeat, Wen Pin no longer has the face to see you. I can only atone for my sins by dying. Milord, take care! "Wen Pin pulled out the sword at his waist and was about to cut his neck.
"General, you can't, you can't!" The captains on the side were scared to death. Wen Pin did not dare to go back to see Milord Liu Biao, but did they dare to go back? They originally wanted to follow Wen Pin back to Jingzhou. Even if Milord Liu Biao wanted to punish Wen Pin, he would be the one to take the blame. After all, he was the main general.
Therefore, they could not let Wen Pin die. If Wen Pin atone for his sins with his death, who would be the scapegoat for this defeat? They grabbed onto Wen Pin and did not let Wen Pin have the slightest impulse to commit suicide.
"Don't stop me, don't stop me! Let me die, let me die! "Wen Pin shouted loudly.
"General, you can't, if you die, what will happen to the Jingzhou Navy?"
"The Jingzhou Navy is already finished!" Under the fire, only six of the thirty thousand Jingzhou Navy were left. Was it not considered a complete wipeout?
"Are you done? Don't we still have troops in Xiakou?" Someone suddenly reminded Wen Pin.
"Xiakou? Jiang Xia's troops? " Wen Pin was stunned for a moment. It would have been fine if this captain did not mention Jiang Xia's troops. Once he mentioned Jiang Xia's troops, Wen Pin immediately had the intention to kill. If it were not for those Jiang Xia's troops, his Jingzhou Navy would not have internal strife. They would not have been completely wiped out by the fire.
"By the way, General, did you find out why those Jiang Xia's troops had a conflict with us?" A captain on the side asked.
"What other reason could there be? General, you asked them to be on standby and prepare to ask the Jiangdong Army for the new warships. However, they did not listen to orders, which led to the conflict!"
"No, it seems that the Jiangxia Army did not allow us to board their warships." Someone found a little clue.
"General, if it was just a fire, it would not be so big. The wind today is also not strong."
"What do you mean?" Wen Pin also fell into deep thought.
"Everyone, have you seen Military Advisor Zhuge Liang?" The captain who found the clue asked.
"Military Advisor Zhuge Liang? Isn't Military Advisor Zhuge Liang in the Jiangdong Army? Oh no, what should we do? " Wen Pin wanted to cry even more. It was fine if the 30,000 troops were lost, but now Zhuge Liang was also lost. Zhuge Liang was a member of the Lumen Academy. If he died, Wen Pin would not be able to escape the blame.
"General, when I was escaping, I accidentally found out that the Jiangxia Army's warships were not carrying Jiang Xia's troops!"
"If it is not Jiang Xia's troops, then what is it?"
"It is fire! There's hay and sulfur, "the lieutenant said earnestly.
"Sulfur?" After being reminded by the captain, someone on the side also remembered. "Yes, I also smell sulfur!" If it was hidden in the cabin, it could be covered to prevent the smell from leaking out. However, once the fire started, it would not be able to stop the flow of air.
"The fire on the river cannot be set by the Jiangdong Army. Then it can only be …" The captain covered half of his words. Wen Pin immediately took it. The Jiang Xia's troops were brought by Zhuge Liang.
"You are saying that Zhuge Liang wants to harm me?" Wen Pin said with his eyes wide open. However, he quickly denied it. "Impossible. Zhuge Liang graduated from the Lumen Academy. He is a disciple of Master Pang and Master Shui Jing. How could he do such a despicable thing?" If Zhuge Liang wanted to harm Wen Pin, it would be nothing more than taking over the position of Jiang Xia's general. However, although Zhuge Liang was only a general, his reputation in the Jiangxia Army was higher than Wen Pin's. Even if Zhuge Liang did not say anything, Wen Pin was already prepared to help Zhuge Liang after the war. Just like when Lord Liu Biao recommended Zhuge Liang to be the general, he, Wen Pin, would be Zhuge Liang's assistant.
"No, no. General, Zhuge Liang might not be harming you. He might be dealing with the Jiangdong Army!"
"What do you mean?"
The captain explained to Wen Pin. "General, although we lost 30,000 elite troops, it is different if you look at it the other way around!" “
"The other way around?" “
"General, although our Jingzhou Navy lost 30,000 elites, who lost more in this fire?"
"Naturally, it is the Jiangdong Navy!" Wen Pin's Jingzhou Navy suffered a great loss. Out of the 30,000 elite troops given to him by Lord Liu Biao, only three were left. However, it was not as bad as Sun Ce. He lost 60,000 troops in a single move. No one was worse than Sun Ce.
"Our army lost 30,000 troops while the Jiangdong Navy lost 60,000 troops. It can be considered half of Jiangdong's elite troops. General, don't you think we won?" The captain's words made the eyes of the other captains turn red.
Yes, although we lost 30,000 troops, the Jiangdong Army lost 60,000 troops. One for two is a profit.
"But our enemy is the Yangzhou Navy!" If it was half a month ago, this would have been a great victory. 30,000 troops for 60,000 Jiangdong Navy. Wen Pin would have laughed in his sleep. However, Liu Biao gave the order to attack the Yangzhou Navy. Now, the Yangzhou Navy ran away while the Jiangdong Navy suffered.
"General, although the Yangzhou Navy escaped, their warships were also seriously injured. After this battle, they will not be able to fight for at least a few months. Therefore, General, this battle can be considered a victory. Moreover, the Yangzhou Navy cannot threaten our Jing Province. However, the Jiangdong Navy is different. The Little Overlord, Sun Ce, is a wolf with wild ambitions. Our lord also killed Sun Ce's father, Sun Jian. The enmity of killing one's father is absolutely irreconcilable!" The lieutenant on the side persuaded Wen Pin.
"Yes, yes, General. We did not lose this battle, we won!" The others were also in agreement. After all, the treatment of winning and losing when they returned to Jingzhou was completely different. If they lost, they would be on tenterhooks and would have to rely on others to find connections. It would also depend on whether their lord was in a good mood. If their lord was in a good mood, then they could still return alive. If their lord was in a bad mood, then forget about continuing to be a lieutenant, they might not even be able to keep their lives. They might even implicate their families.
And if they won, so what if they lost 30,000 soldiers? They would still be rewarded and promoted. To these captains, soldiers were just a number. If they lost soldiers, they could always recruit new ones. They just needed to spend some money on those bumpkins.
"Then let's go back to Xiakou!" If what the captains said was true, then Wen Pin would have made a great contribution. Therefore, Wen Pin prepared to go back to Xiakou and see what Military Advisor Zhuge thought.
"General, we cannot go to Xiakou! We should go directly to Xiangyang! "The captain explained to Wen Pin.
"Go to Xiangyang and not Xiakou? Why? " Wen Pin asked doubtfully. Wen Pin was indeed good at military matters, but he was a novice when it came to politics.
The captain could not say that going back to Xiangyang in advance was a preemptive strike to gain the credit. If they were late, the credit of destroying the Jiangdong army and defeating the Yangzhou navy would not be Wen Pin's. At most, he would only get the leftovers. He might even lose the 30,000 elite soldiers and 15,000 soldiers of Xiangyang. That would be a huge loss.
However, although he thought this, he could not say it out loud. Fortunately, the other nobles had thought it through.
"General, we need to go back to Xiangyang and report to the Lord. Otherwise, the fire in Manjiang might be misunderstood. That would be bad!" If the Lord got the wrong information, it would be bad. The Lord was old and could not be frightened.
All of them spoke as if they were loyal officials of Jingzhou.
Wen Pin also nodded his head. One wrong information can lead to many wrong decisions. If Milord thinks that Wen Pin was the one who lost the battle, then he might be punished for it or he might be afraid of Yangzhou Army's retaliation and retreat from Jiangxia. That wouldn't be good.
"Okay, let's go directly to Xiangyang!" Wen Pin nodded. The few of them went along the Yangtze River and found a boat to go to Xiangyang.
…
In Xiangyang, in Liu Biao's Prefecture Overseer Manor, a group of Xiangyang officials and military officials were present.
This was because there was a report from Jiangxia that there was a huge fire in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. It could be seen from dozens of li away. Because it was close to the end of the day, it was even more eye-catching.
Not to mention other people, even the merchants knew about it. That was why Liu Biao gathered a group of officials and military officials for a meeting. He wanted to know what had happened.
However, all of the officials and military officials did not know anything. This made Liu Biao's heart sink.
"Father, the fire in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River must be caused by the military. Today, our Jingzhou and Jiangdong allied forces should have fought the Yangzhou navy. However, the report from Xiakou has not been sent. Could it be?" Liu Pan was the first to hit Huang Zu when he was down. Liu Pan wanted to take control of the military. Therefore, the only person in front of him in the military was the civil servant. Huang Zu had gone to Changsha. Now, the Huang family's troops were the old capital of the Huang family. Liu Pan did not want them even if they were given to him.
Cai Mao also had military power. The 30,000 Xiangyang navy, but under Zhang Yun's command, they did not come to Xiangyang. They stayed in Fancheng and did not leave, saying that they needed to be trained. Therefore, even if Cai Mao was stripped of his position as military advisor, Liu Pan did not have military power.
That left only Wen Pin. Wen Pin's 70,000 Jingzhou navy in Jiangxia made Liu Pan salivate.
Therefore, if he wanted to get military power, he had to kick Wen Pin aside. This defeat was an opportunity.
Hearing Liu Pan's gloating voice, a 'loyal official' of Jingzhou spoke up. "Milord, is this a war? Defeat? Second Young Master, do you know anything about war? "
Huang She was always undermining him. Liu Pan could see that. War? Hehe. Liu Pan sneered. Even if he did not know anything about war, he was still better than Huang She. Moreover, if he did not know anything about war, how could Liu Pan command his 20,000 elites?
"Brother Huang, are you saying that I do not know anything about war? Then let me ask you, where did this fire come from? You can't tell me that it was the Yangzhou navy's warships that caught fire, right? There are only 20 warships in total. How could there be such a big fire? " This fire could be seen from dozens of li away. This meant that it was very strong. Even if 20 warships were dismantled, they would not be able to burn to this extent.
"That is not necessarily the case. Just like some people, they had to bring thousands of troops to catch a person. In the end, they even set fire to the entire mountain. That fire was much bigger than this!" Huang She sneered at Liu Pan.
"You!" Liu Pan was angry. As the saying goes, hit someone but not hit their face. Huang She directly opened up Liu Pan's scar. Last time, when they caught the King Of Shu, Liu Mang, Liu Pan went to catch them confidently. He thought that victory was in his hands and even set fire to the entire Jing Mountain. However, in the end, he went back with a face full of dirt. This became a big joke in Xiangyang City.
Now, the three year old children in Xiangyang City knew a saying. It was called 'Second Young Master Burning the Mountain'.
"Alright, alright! Stop talking. Let's wait for the scout to come back! "The place where the fire started was Jiangdong. Therefore, they had to be careful when sending scouts.
Just when Liu Biao was about to leave, a guard ran in. "Reporting, reporting to Milord, General Wen Pin requests to see you."
"Wen Pin?" Everyone was in an uproar when they heard the name. Liu Biao repeated it. Wasn't he at the front line? Why did he come back? Could it be?
"Haha, as I said, the fire must be related to General Wen. Did General Wen come back to ask for reinforcements?" Liu Pan's words were full of sarcasm. What did he mean by asking for reinforcements? In fact, he was asking for reinforcements when he was defeated. Just like in World War II, when Little Notebook was defeated, he was too embarrassed to say that he was defeated. Instead, he said that he wanted to ask for tactical guidance. In fact, he was just asking for reinforcements when he was defeated.
"Ask Wen Pin to come in!" Liu Biao sat down again. Soon, Wen Pin and the others were brought in by Liu Biao's guards.
When they came in, Liu Biao frowned. Wen Pin and the others were in a sorry state.
How could Wen Pin be blamed? They dared to come all the way here and didn't even dare to rest. When they entered Xiangyang City, they didn't even go back to their house. Their professionalism was touching.
"General Wen Pin pays his respects to Milord!" Wen Pin walked in and saw all the civil and military officials of Xiangyang. He immediately knelt down and the captains behind him followed suit.
"General Wen Pin, why are you in such a sorry state?" Liu Pan looked at Wen Pin in surprise. Liu Biao didn't even look at Liu Pan before Liu Pan spoke.
"This is?" Wen Pin had been fighting outside for many years. He hadn't seen Liu Pan many times.
"This is my son, Liu Pan!" If it was in the past, Liu Biao would definitely introduce Wen Pin to him. However, Liu Biao wasn't in the mood today.
"Second Young Master!" Wen Pin finally knew who this person was. He cupped his fist and greeted Liu Pan.
However, Liu Pan obviously didn't buy it.
"Milord, Wen Pin came all the way from Wuhu. He didn't dare to rest for several days. That's why he's in such a sorry state!" Wen Pin explained to Liu Biao.
"General Wen Pin, where are your troops? Are there only a few of them? " Liu Biao was now the military advisor of Jingzhou. He had also taught the city defense to his second son. Therefore, Liu Pan naturally knew if there were any troops outside the city.
Liu Pan also knew that Wen Pin and the others came back empty-handed.
When Liu Pan asked this question, Wen Pin immediately knelt down. "Please forgive me, Milord. General Wen Pin has let you down. Those 15,000 soldiers have already sacrificed themselves for the great cause of Jingzhou!"
"Sacrificed?" Liu Biao couldn't sit still and stood up. "Say that again?"
"Those 15,000 soldiers have been sacrificed!" Wen Pin repeated. Liu Biao almost fell to the ground. Those 15,000 soldiers were the direct descendants of the Liu family. Just like the Xiangyang Navy under Zhang Yun's command, they only listened to Cai Mao and Zhang Yun. They didn't even listen to Liu Biao. This was a loyal army. Liu Biao gave Wen Pin such an army. However, he didn't expect that Wen Pin would lose it.
"Only 15,000 soldiers?" Liu Pan added fuel to the fire. "The fire can be seen from dozens of miles away!"
"Milord, I brought 30,000 soldiers. In the end, there were only six left. The fire on the Yangtze River was too big. It was difficult for me to silence them! " Wen Pin lowered his head and said to Liu Biao.
Only six of the thirty thousand remained. Well, now everyone finally knew why the fire on the surface of the Yangtze River was so strong. It was because Wen Pinbing was defeated and burned.
"Men, drag Wen Pin away!" Liu Biao's heart began to ache. 30,000 soldiers were gone in an instant.
"Wait!" Wen Pin didn't speak. The lieutenant behind Wen Pin said, "Milord, we won this battle!"
"Won? Haha, losing 30,000 soldiers is called winning? Is war a competition of who dies more? " Liu Pan sneered. Wen Pin had lost the first battle. Now that he lost another battle, it could be said that the 30,000 soldiers were squandered.
"Second Young Master, war is indeed a competition of who dies more!" The lieutenant knew that Liu Biao was the second young master of Liu Biao, but he was not afraid to argue with him. If he didn't argue, he would be imprisoned with Wen Pin.
"Milord, although General Wen Pin lost 30,000 soldiers, they were not sacrificed in vain. The Little Overlord of the Jiangdong Navy, Sun Ce, lost 60,000 soldiers!"
"Wow!" When the lieutenant spoke, many of the Xiangyang Civil and Military Officials opened their mouths wide.
Sixty thousand soldiers? Now, the entire Jiangdong was only this number. This was probably the biggest capital that the Little Overlord Sun Ce could take out. He was not afraid of biting his tongue when bragging.
"If you don't believe me, you can go to Jiangdong to investigate!" The Lieutenant was very confident. He had seen the fire burn out of control. He did not believe that the Jiangdong Army would be able to survive if the Jingzhou Navy were to be burned down.
"Is the Yangzhou Army really that strong?" Liu Pan could not believe it. They went with the Jiangdong Army to deal with the Yangzhou Navy. Now, the Jingzhou Navy lost 30,000 soldiers and the Jiangdong Navy lost 60,000 soldiers. How many soldiers did the Yangzhou Navy have?
"The Yangzhou Navy has new warships and improved ballistae. They are very powerful, but …" Suddenly, the lieutenant changed the topic. "But the Yangzhou Navy will not appear in the Yangtze River for a few months! My army has been heavily injured! " The word 'heavily injured' had a deeper meaning. Sinking one or two ships was considered a heavy injury. Sinking three or four ships was also considered a heavy injury.
Moreover, the Yangzhou Navy had sunk five warships, so it was correct to say that they were heavily injured.
Using 30,000 of the Jingzhou Navy to seriously injure the Yangzhou Navy and sending 60,000 of the Jiangdong Navy's forces into the Yangtze River, this was not a defeat but a great victory.
"My army and Sun Ce's army joined hands and heavily damaged the Yangzhou Navy at the Iron Chain River. After that, General Wen Pin already knew that Sun Ce was a wolf with wild ambitions. He placed 60,000 troops on the 200 ships to destroy the Yangzhou Navy and then destroy my Jing Province!" Liu Mang said. "My army and Sun Ce's army joined hands and heavily damaged the Yangzhou Navy at the Iron Chain River. Therefore, General Wen Pin beat him at his own game. He placed gunpowder on the ships and ignited them. In order to make the Jiangdong Army not suspect anything, he could only reluctantly bring the 30,000 Jingzhou Elites onto the ships. In the end, they died together with the 60,000 Jiangdong Navy! "The lieutenant said so miserably that Wen Pin felt embarrassed.
This was because the lieutenant gave all the credit to Wen Pin. However, Wen Pin knew that this was not his idea. Therefore, he added a few words. "It was only with the help of Military Advisor Wen Pin and everyone else that we were able to achieve such a result!"
"Is this true?" Liu Biao also frowned. He could not believe the lieutenant's words. He turned to look at Wen Pin. Wen Pin was loyal to Liu Biao. Liu Biao also believed that Wen Pin would not lie.
When he saw Wen Pin nod, Liu Biao knew that this was the truth.
"Haha, congratulations Milord. Not only did you get your revenge, but you also eliminated the Jiangdong Navy. After this battle, the Jingzhou Army will be able to move unhindered in the Yangtze River. General Wen Pin is truly worthy of being Milord's subordinate. Admirable, admirable!" Huang She immediately stood up. First, he flattered Liu Biao, then Wen Pin.
This made Wen Pin confused. He felt that Huang She looked familiar, but he could not remember where he had seen him. However, when he heard someone call him General Huang, Wen Pin remembered. Wasn't this the deceitful Huang She? You really can't judge a book by its cover. When Wen Pin mentioned Huang She, he was completely disdainful. Because of Huang She, Huang Zu lost the Jiangxia Town that the Huang Family had been operating for several years.
If it were not for the Lord's benevolence and could not bear to see the Huang Family decline, Huang Town might not have been able to rise for a while.
However, looking at Huang She now, he had a different feeling. This was not surprising. Huang She now had a strategist called Yi Ji behind him.
"Congratulations Milord, Hexi Milord. You have taken your revenge and eliminated your greatest threat!" The rest of the Xiangyang civil and military officials also knelt and kowtowed to Liu Biao.
"Haha, haha!" Liu Biao immediately laughed after confirming that it was true. "Good, good, good!" Liu Biao praised Wen Pin three times in a row. Although the Jingzhou Navy lost 30,000 soldiers, Wen Pin and the others said that there were still 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers in Xiakou. Under the command of Zhuge Liang, Sun Ce's main force was eliminated. The Yangzhou Navy was also heavily damaged and would not be able to come out in a short period of time. It could be said that the Jingzhou Navy was the biggest force in the Jiangxia. With 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers in Xiangyang City and another 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers in Jiangxia, they could not only conquer Jiangxia but also expand their territory. Jingzhou had been badly beaten by the Jiangdong Navy for many years and had always wanted to take revenge. Now, the opportunity had come.
The Jiangdong Sun Ce's 60,000 soldiers were burned by them. Wasn't the Jiangdong Army very powerful? Didn't they always suppress the Jingzhou Navy? Now, the tables have turned. This year, it is my turn.
Liu Biao's heart began to beat faster. If Wen Pin's words were true, then Sun Ce would not be able to protect himself. He could conquer Jiangxia and even gain some interest.
The other Jingzhou Nobles were thinking about how to divide the cake if they obtained Jiangdong's land.
Jiangxia was originally a rich place. After all, it was a transit station with countless merchants. Therefore, this transit station was very profitable. The Huang Clan had made a lot of money when they were in Jiangxia. Now, the Huang Clan was rewarded by Liu Biao to Changsha. Therefore, Jiangxia was left behind. If they obtained Jiangxia, it would not be difficult for them to become another big clan after the Huang Clan.
Moreover, the two most powerful clans, the Feng Clan and the Cai Clan, had rested. Without these two behemoths, they could eat more of the cake. Therefore, everyone was trying to curry favor with Wen Pin. They talked about General Wen Pin's military strategy and General Wen Pin being the God of War. This made Wen Pin's face turn red. He could not help but reveal a guilty expression. This was because all of this was planned by Military Advisor Zhuge. In order to carry out the plan, Military Advisor Zhuge even went to the Jiangdong Navy's camp. This spirit was very touching. If it were not for his subordinates reminding him, he would have ruined the Military Advisor's plan.
The only one present who was unhappy was Liu Pan. If Wen Pin won, his prestige in the army would increase. Liu Pan's chances of replacing Wen Pin would decrease. How could Liu Pan not be angry?
Looking at Wen Pin's red face and guilty expression, Liu Biao thought that Wen Pin felt guilty because of the 30,000 soldiers sacrificed. Therefore, Liu Biao magnanimously said to Wen Pin, "Zhongye, are you still feeling bad about the 30,000 soldiers? Don't worry. I will give you 50,000 soldiers this time!" Liu Biao's Jingzhou could be regarded as the richest province in the late Han Dynasty. Therefore, Liu Biao had another name, Liu Biao.
In the past, everyone liked to bully Liu Biao. Sun Ce fought Liu Biao for territory and revenge. Liu Bei fought Liu Biao for money and territory. Cao Cao fought Liu Biao for money and territory.
After being attacked by Sun Ce of Jiangdong for so many years, when Jing Province finally surrendered to Cao Cao, they were still able to provide 300,000 naval troops. Even Yuan Shao and Yuan Benchu during the Battle of Guandu did not have such strength. Naval troops were not cheaper than cavalry. The price of a warship was very considerable.
Jingzhou was rich and had a large population. Many people came to Jingzhou to escape the chaos of war.
"Father, how can there be so many armors and weapons left in the Jingzhou Prefecture's warehouse? Are we going to let these soldiers go to the battlefield empty-handed? Father, the shipyard doesn't have so many warships! "Liu Pan immediately expressed a different opinion.
Liu Pan was now in charge of all the military equipment in Jingzhou. He was in charge of the allocation of provisions and soldiers' salaries. He wanted to seize Wen Pin's military power. How could he increase Wen Pin's power?
"Haha, there aren't many armaments and warships left in the treasury. However, the Righteous Warrior Association will give them to us. These soldiers are the soldiers of the Jingzhou Wei Family! Don't you think so? "Liu Biao turned his head to the group of Jingzhou nobles.
"Yes, yes, yes!" Since their boss had called them out, the subordinates naturally had to show their sincerity. They all nodded to show their loyalty. After all, now that they had won, the cake was about to be divided. If they did not give a gift, how could they be qualified to eat the cake? Therefore, they were all generous. "Don't worry, Milord. Our Hu Family will give 5,000 sets of armor for General Wen Pin's 50,000 soldiers."
"Our He Family will give 10,000 battle swords! They will be made of steel! "Another He Family's head stood up.
"Our Bian Family doesn't have any battle swords. Then, we will give 20 ships!" Another nobleman who was in charge of building ships stood up.
"Our Qi Family doesn't have a shipyard or an armory. We only have some gold and silver to give to General Wen Pin. We will give 5,000 gold!"
"Our Zhang family will give 3,000 gold!" "Another landowning household head spoke up. Over here, each of you will contribute 5,000, and I will contribute 3,000. Very soon, the funds for 50,000 soldiers will be gathered. If not for the navy, we might even be able to form an army of 150,000 soldiers. If they were stingy and formed an ordinary navy, 100,000 soldiers would be more than enough.
"You!" Liu Pan's face was ashen. This person didn't know how expensive money was. Ever since Liu Pan became the military advisor of Jingzhou, he had been very strict with money. Every place needed money. He, Liu Pan, still had to raise his own army. Therefore, he couldn't wait for Liu Pan to spend two pieces of gold in Ba City.
However, it was still not enough. Look at the Qi Family. A few days ago, they were still complaining about being poor in front of Liu Pan. Because of taxes, they had to pay taxes to do business in Xiangyang. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to do business in Xiangyang. Furthermore, the taxes were under the military advisor's control.
A few days ago, they were still complaining about being poor. Now, they were rich? Five thousand gold coins was not a small number.
As for the He Family and Hu Family, they were even more despicable. They were in charge of making weapons in the mines. Liu Pan wanted to change his army's equipment, so he asked them to buy some superior weapons and armor at a cheaper price. However, they refused in every way possible. They almost ran to Liu Biao to complain.
Liu Pan couldn't do anything to them. However, he was really generous today. 5,000 sets of armor and 10,000 battle swords were taken out at once.
"Alright, alright. Send the weapons and armor to Zhongye as soon as possible so that the men of Jingzhou can form an army and expand our territory!" Liu Biao said with a smile.
"Zhongye, come, come. You and I haven't met for a long time. Tonight, let's hold a welcoming dinner for you! Let's celebrate your great contributions! " Liu Biao said to Wen Pin and the others. This made Wen Pin and the others very happy. Who wouldn't like to be rewarded based on their contributions? They originally thought that they would be beheaded if they were defeated. Who would have thought that there would be a 360-degree turn? Not only was there no punishment, but there was also a reward.
Just as the group of Jingzhou civil and military officials were about to leave happily, a messenger suddenly rushed into the main hall and shouted, "Not good, not good! The Jiangxia Army of Xiakou has sent out troops!"
… …
The Lujiang Navy camp was now silent and desolate. This was because of the 20 warships that went out. In the end, only 12 ships came back. Three ships were disintegrated and sank on the spot in Wuhu. Two ships knew that they couldn't escape and spontaneously combusted. Although they finally broke out, there were still three new ships that couldn't hold on and sank to the bottom of the Yangtze River. Fortunately, the Yangzhou Navy soldiers on the ships were rescued.
Twenty ships with 6,000 people went out. In the end, only 4,000 people came back. Almost half of the soldiers died in this war. Those familiar faces just disappeared and fell into eternal slumber at the bottom of the Yangtze River.
Lu Xun returned to the Yangzhou Navy camp. He got off the warship and locked himself in his room.
"General, you have to eat a little!" After escaping from death, many of the Yangzhou Navy's soldiers were exhausted. Because of this, they were very hungry. When they arrived at the Yangzhou Navy's camp, they immediately went to look for food. Once they found food, they would wolf it down. They were very tired.
But this General Lu Xun did not eat at all. He locked himself in his room and did not say a word. How could he do that? Humans are made of iron, while rice is made of steel.
"Put it at the door. I will eat it!" Lu Xun said indifferently to the soldier outside the door.
"General, it will get cold if you put it at the door. You should eat it while it's hot!" The guard outside the door shook his head. This was already the third time. The first two times, he listened to Lu Xun's words and left the food at the door, waiting for Lu Xun to bring it in himself to eat. But in the end, the food was already cold, and Lu Xun did not even take a bite. Therefore, the guard was very worried.
"I will eat it. I am not hungry now. Let me be alone! "Lu Xun's voice came again.
"Okay! I know! "The guard could only nod helplessly. He put the food at the door and left.
Hearing the sound of the guard leaving, Lu Xun heaved a sigh of relief. Was he not hungry? How could it be? He had consumed a lot of energy today. This was true both physically and mentally, but Lu Xun just couldn't eat it. This was because as soon as he closed his eyes, his mind would be filled with the gazes of those soldiers who had died in battle.
Lu Xun almost couldn't come back. This was Lu Xun's mistake. He should have sent people downstream to investigate. If not for the infighting between the Jingzhou Navy and the Jiangdong Navy, how could Lu Xun escape?
"But why would the military advisor know about the infighting between the Jingzhou Navy and the Jiangdong Navy?" Lu Xun was very puzzled. He took out the letter that Chen Gong gave him in Lujiang. The handwriting was indeed Chen Gong's.
This was because Lu Xun had once taken Chen Gong as his teacher. However, Chen Gong did not accept him. This was because Chen Gong was afraid that he would lead Lu Xun astray. No matter how one looked at it, Lu Xun was an extremely good seedling. Chen Gong was a good strategist but not a good teacher.
Lu Xun had been by Chen Gong's side for a long time. He had been Chen Gong's assistant. Therefore, he was very familiar with Chen Gong's handwriting.
It was Chen Gong's handwriting, but how did Chen Gong know? Could it be that he had made some arrangements? Lu Xun had seen the fire. The fire could be seen from dozens of li away. This meant that the Jiangdong Army and the Jingzhou Army had no way to survive. Even if they managed to escape, the warships would have been burned. That was 400 ships, which was not a small number. Even with Jingzhou's advanced shipbuilding industry, it would take a year and a half to build them.
Did the military advisor really have some arrangements? If this was the case, then the military advisor was really good at foresight. Lu Xun had the idea of worshipping Chen Gong as his teacher again.
If Chen Gong knew about Lu Xun's thoughts, he would smile bitterly. This was because this had nothing to do with Chen Gong.
Chen Gong received this information from an old "acquaintance". This old acquaintance was defined as an enemy.
Chen Gong was very surprised after reading it. However, Chen Gong still didn't fully trust this old acquaintance of his. Therefore, he told Lu Xun not to open the envelope unless it was a critical moment. He thought that if Lu Xun left with his own ability and won the battle, then everything would go according to his plan. If Lu Xun had no other choice, then he would treat it as a last resort, treating a dead horse as a living horse. Therefore, when he was surrounded by the Jingzhou Navy and the Jiangdong Navy, Lu Xun opened the letter. He did not expect that he would really escape.
While Lu Xun was thinking about it, "Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! "When Lu Xun heard this sound, he immediately stood up. This was because this sound was too familiar to a soldier. This was the sound of war drums. Once the war drums were beaten, it meant that they were going to fight.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!" Soon, an alarm sounded in the Lujiang Navy's stronghold.
"En?" Lu Xun immediately put on the armor that he had just taken off and picked up his sword. He ran towards the wall of the camp.
"General! General!" Lu Xun's deputy, Wei Hong, also rushed over.
"Wei Hong, what is going on?" Lu Xun asked as he walked.
"General, outside the camp. There is a large number of enemy troops outside the camp!" Wei Hong explained.
"Enemy troops?" Other than the Jiangdong Army and the Jingzhou Navy, who else could be the enemy? Who else could be the enemy of the Yangzhou Navy? Now, the Jiangdong Navy and the Jingzhou Navy had been turned into turtles by the Yangtze River. How could there be any enemies left?
Lu Xun doubtfully boarded the navy camp. He picked up the binoculars and looked into the distance. He couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air. "Outside this camp, a huge fleet is eyeing the Lujiang Navy covetously. Look at the flag, one is Li, the other is Huo. The flag looks like the style of Jingzhou.
"Jingzhou Navy's Li Yan and Huo Jun?" Lu Xun quickly thought of the names of the two people. He was familiar with them because Chen Gong had pointed them out to Lu Xun. That was why Lu Xun remembered that Chen Gong said that the two people were talented.
"The Jingzhou Navy is worthy of being called the richest army in the world!" Two hundred of the Jingzhou Navy's warships were burned in an instant. However, not long after, another hundred warships appeared. This huge foundation was not something that Yangzhou Navy could compare to. If Yangzhou Navy's main force was destroyed, it could be said that Yangzhou Navy would not be able to rebuild their navy for more than half a year.
The sound of the war drums came from the Jingzhou Navy.
"Good!" Lu Xun said coldly.
"How many warships are there in the camp that can be dispatched?" Lu Xun asked the deputy beside him.
"Ah ah ah ah ah? General, we cannot go out to fight! "Deputy Wei Hong was surprised. Are we going out to fight? Isn't this courting death? They had just experienced a big battle and basically everyone was powerless. Many parts of the warships were damaged and needed to be repaired. Now that the Yangzhou Navy's fighting power was reduced by 70%, can they still go out to fight? Moreover, it was obvious that the Jingzhou Navy's new strength was outside the camp. Are you going to use a tired army to fight with a new army?
It was better to rely on the navy camp.
"30% of the fighting power is enough! This is not our Yangzhou Navy! "Lu Xun said coldly.
"There are still six warships in good condition!" Deputy Wei Hong explained.
"Good! Six warships are enough. Let the soldiers who are not tired board the warships. The rest of the people guard the camp. Wei Hong, you stay behind to command! "
"Ah ah, general, let me go. General, you haven't eaten yet!" Wei Hong rushed to say. Lu Xun had not eaten anything yet. How could he go to the battlefield?
"This is an order!" Lu Xun did not want to explain much to Wei Hong and directly ordered him.
"Yes!" Wei Hong nodded and could only agree.
"Wei Hong, if I lead the fleet and lose on the Yangtze River. Then let the soldiers burn the warships in the camp. Do you want to go to Wan Cheng to find the military advisor? "Lu Xun said as if he was talking about his will.
"General, let me go in your place!" Wei Hong knew this as well. Six warships against one white warship, and these six warships were all exhausted. It was hard for the other party to win if they waited at ease.
"Carry it out!" After saying this, Lu Xun ran towards the battleships. The battleships finished resupplying the ballistae and raised their sails. The gate of the water stronghold opened and the six battleships sailed out one after another.
Every single one of the six warships was damaged, but it was this that made his masculine aura even more apparent.
"Yangzhou Navy, victory!"
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