More than a month had passed since the start of the campaign and the Battle of Red Cliffs was nearing its end.
Outside Yiling, Zhou Yu's encampment.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers surrounded Yiling. As far as the eye could see, the undulating land outside the city was filled with black tents that stretched for miles. It was extremely noisy and dirty water flowed everywhere.
The general's flag fluttered in the cold wind.
A few lumberyards had been set up in the forest further away from the tents. Thousands of craftsmen were forcibly conscripted from Jiangling City, using the wood that was cut nearby to build all kinds of siege weapons.
On the muddy road, there were also thousands of laborers who had been conscripted by force. They wore old and tattered clothes and walked against the cold wind as they gathered stones from deep in the mountains with great difficulty. They used simple carts to transport them to the battlefield.
Outside the military camp, there was now a huge temporary military equipment processing base. Zhou Yu was not going to attack Yiling until he had enough siege weapons built, because he had no chance of winning.
From time to time, scattered troops could be seen returning from "foraging".
The villages around Yiling had been swept clean by the army. Not a single grain was left. If the army wanted to gather more food, they had to travel to further villages.
Most of the laborers in the encampment were "volunteered" by the people in the nearby villages. If they did labor, they could at least eat. If they did not, they could only wait for death when their families ran out of food.
The dark cloud of a food crisis gradually loomed over Zhou Yu's army. Since yesterday, the army had started limiting food rations. The first to be squeezed were the craftsmen and laborers.
They were forcibly conscripted. Not only were they unpaid, they could not even fill their stomachs.
This was how the lives of the common people were in chaos.
Similarly, the Cao army in Yiling was not having a good time. More than a hundred thousand soldiers were stationed in a small city. Even if they had stored food, it could not sustain the army's consumption.
Running out of food became a common crisis for both sides.
Now it all depended on who gave up first. Zhou Yu was very confident of this. After all, they had the upper hand and were able to gather some food every day.
The Yiling garrison was running out of food.
Zhou Yu was like a patient hunter, actively preparing his hunting tools and laying traps while waiting patiently for his prey to be at its weakest to deliver a fatal blow.
Of course, that was if there were no other accidents.
The fall of Chai Sang was the biggest accident and the biggest variable in the war.
…
After traveling for more than ten days, the warship carrying Zhang Zhao and the others finally docked at the river port outside of Yiling City. With the token from Sun Quan, Zhang Zhao and the rest were able to meet Zhou Yu without any trouble.
"Commander-in-chief, Chai Sang is in trouble!"
Without hesitation, Zhang Zhao handed the letters written by Sun Quan and Ouyang Shuo to Zhou Yu.
Zhou Yu opened the letter, and the more he read, the uglier his expression became. When he was done, he let out a long sigh and said, "It's all my fault. I underestimated the Shanhai City fleet and overestimated Xiong Ba's plan."
"Commander-in-chief, the enemy is too cunning," Zhang Zhao consoled.
"Let's not talk about this anymore." Zhou Yu waved his hand. He didn't have a good relationship with Zhang Zhao, so he didn't want to show too much emotion in front of Zhang Zhao. He firmly said, "I'll issue the order right away. Break camp and return immediately."
With Sun Quan captured, Zhou Yu had no choice but to return.
As soon as the military order was given, the entire camp was in an uproar. The first to receive the military order were naturally the twenty thousand River East elites under Zhou Yu's direct command.
This force had been arranged by Zhou Yu as a reserve force during the attack on River Tomb City, so they didn't suffer too many losses.
Zhou Yu wasn't stupid. He knew that if he didn't have a strong army, he wouldn't be able to suppress the mutant army that was ten times their size.
Di Chen and the others were happy to play dumb and use this opportunity to earn contribution points.
…
The news of Zhou Yu's withdrawal reached Di Chen's ears in less than half an hour.
Di Chen was shocked. He personally rushed to the central tent and asked, "Commander-in-chief, why is this happening?"
Zhou Yu sighed in his heart. He didn't dare to face Di Chen's question. With an ugly expression, he said, "Chai Sang has fallen, and the lord has been captured. I have to rush back."
"What? Chai Sang has fallen?" Di Chen was so shocked that he couldn't speak.
"Take a look for yourself!"
Zhou Yu handed Sun Quan's letter to Di Chen.
"Could this be a trick?" Di Chen still couldn't believe it.
"With General Zhang Zhao as the witness, how could it be a trick?" Zhou Yu shook his head and introduced Zhang Zhao to Di Chen.
Seeing this, Di Chen's heart sank.
"So Dai Wuyi still can't beat you to my heart's content after all?"
Di Chen was conflicted. He still didn't want Zhou Yu to withdraw his army just like that. He said emotionally, "Commander-in-chief, the preparations for the siege are almost done. We're about to take Yiling. Isn't it a pity to withdraw now?"
"There's no other way. The lord is in the enemy's hands." Zhou Yu also felt a little regretful.
"Commander-in-chief, I can guarantee that Dai Wuyi won't dare to do anything to General Sun. Don't forget that his subordinates are still in Yiling. We can't afford to hurt them. "Di Chen said. "Moreover, Yiling is so far away from Chai Sang. It'll take more than half a month to go back and forth. As long as we make use of the time difference, we can definitely take Yiling first. "
For a moment, Zhou Yu was tempted.
After thinking for a while, Zhou Yu reluctantly refused. He shook his head and said, "No. I can't gamble with the lord's safety. That's too risky. It's not something an official should do. "
If the hostage was someone else, Zhou Yu would probably take the gamble. But it was Sun Quan. Zhou Yu didn't dare to gamble.
"Commander-in-chief, I didn't come alone to deliver the letter. There are other generals from Shanhai City. I'm afraid that some of them have already entered Yiling, "Zhang Zhao added from the side.
"How foolish!" Di Chen was exasperated.
It was easy to imagine how excited Yiling would be when they heard the news of Chai Sang's fall. Even if they had thought of retreating before, they would probably defend to the end now.
If they really hardened their hearts, it wasn't as if the army couldn't find food in the city. It wouldn't be a problem for them to hold out for ten days to half a month.
In history, there had been a lone city that had held out for more than a year and remained standing.
At this point, Di Chen knew that it was probably impossible to keep Zhou Yu here. His expression was uncertain.
Seeing this, Zhou Yu let out a long sigh. "Retreat!"
Di Chen suddenly raised his head. His eyes were resolute and full of fighting spirit. He said, "No, I will never retreat."
"Are you going to disobey?"
"Commander-in-chief, I'm sorry. I can't comply. You have your choice, and we have ours. This time, we must take Yiling. "Di Chen was determined.
"How dare you!" Zhang Zhao rebuked.
"As you wish!" Zhou Yu looked tired. He waved his hand, signaling Di Chen to leave.
Di Chen stubbornly left. In the end, they parted on bad terms.
"Commander-in-chief, how can you tolerate the mutants?" Zhang Zhao was a little agitated. He had never seen anyone who dared to disobey a military order so openly.
"So what if I don't agree? The mutants' army is several times larger than ours. We can't force them. "
In the end, the right to speak in the army depended on the strength of the army.
Zhang Zhao was speechless when he heard that. As someone who had led troops before, how could he not understand this logic?
Some of the people in the tent became quiet.
…
The next day, Zhou Yu led the River East soldiers on their way back.
Di Chen led nearly two hundred thousand mutants and prepared to attack Yiling.
Thus, the two armies parted ways.
Just as the army was about to set out, a small incident occurred.
The general of Shanhai City who came with Zhang Zhao made a request to Zhou Yu. He wanted Zhou Yu to leave on a warship and hand over the River East army to another general.
"Don't go too far!" Zhou Yu couldn't say anything, but Zhang Zhao couldn't help it.
How was this an invitation? It was clearly a detention and imprisonment.
"I am only following orders. Please don't make things difficult for me." The general of Shanhai City was neither servile nor overbearing. "My lord has said that for the sake of General Sun's safety, I hope that you will understand."
"You!" Zhang Zhao was infuriated by this blatant threat.
"Since this is Commander Wuyi's request, then I shall accept it. Speaking of which, I was just about to see your huge warship. "Zhou Yu was rather open-minded and didn't mind.
He turned to Zhang Zhao and said, "General Zhang, please lead the troops back!"
"Yes!" Zhang Zhao nodded helplessly.
Ouyang Shuo did this because he had no other choice. He didn't dare to underestimate Zhou Yu. Who knew what would happen if he let Zhou Yu lead the army.
Therefore, the best way was to invite Zhou Yu to the warship.
This was also a way to protect Zhou Yu. Ouyang Shuo didn't dare to determine if there were still Di Chen's men in Cao Cao's mutant army. He didn't want anything to happen to Zhou Yu.
In order to get Zhou Yu, Ouyang Shuo had put in a lot of effort.
In a certain mansion in Yiling City.
When Bai Hua and the rest received the secret letter from Ouyang Shuo, they could finally relax a little.
"Wuyi really didn't disappoint us!"
Feng Qiuhuang revealed a smile. During this period of being trapped in Yiling City, they had been under a lot of pressure.
"It's just that we have been reduced to supporting roles in this campaign." Feng Qiuhuang was a little stubborn.
When Ouyang Shuo decided to follow the fleet, Feng Qiuhuang's heart was filled with vigor. She wanted to use this rare opportunity to prove herself.
She didn't expect to lose to a mole.
Although the rebellion of South of Rosy Clouds and the rest had nothing to do with Feng Qiuhuang, she still felt very sullen.
Bai Hua glanced at Feng Qiuhuang and said indifferently, "I'm guessing that Di Chen definitely won't surrender obediently."
"That guy is so focused on defeating Wuyi on the battlefield that he's almost possessed. It wasn't easy for him to win half a round against us. How can he give up so easily? " Feng Qiuhuang also saw through Di Chen. She changed the topic and said with killing intent, "If we can't even deal with Di Chen, then we don't deserve to be Wuyi's allies."
"That's right!" Bai Hua nodded. His expression was indifferent, but the killing intent in his heart wasn't any weaker than Feng Qiuhuang's. "It's time to have a good fight with Di Chen. We have to settle the score with South of Rosy Clouds."
The two women, or rather, the demonesses, surprisingly reached an agreement on this matter.
"Then we have to plan properly!" Feng Qiuhuang smiled.
Although the two women had different personalities, they had the same unwillingness to admit defeat.
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