Lu Meng successfully captured Donghai, issued a notice to reassure the people, sent people to inquire about the news in Shouchun, personally trained troops, and prepared to capture Xuzhou in one fell swoop and rule the Central Plains.
There was a map of Xuzhou on the desk in the government office. Lu Mengzheng was sketching out the route to capture Pi and Pengcheng and advance into the Central Plains. He was just waiting to meet up with Sun Quan, and then he offered ten strategies to conquer the Central Plains.
While he was planning, a personal soldier came running in and reported that Sun Quan had suffered a great defeat in Shouchun and that a large group of Cao's troops were heading towards the East China Sea.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!" Lu Meng stood up suddenly and asked anxiously, "My lord, how could an army of 100,000 be defeated when besieging Shouchun?"
The personal soldiers reported in detail the incident of Cao's army flooding Shouchun. At that time, outsiders did not know that Sun Quan had secretly sent people to dig canals, and they all thought that Cao Ren was using the same old trick again.
"How dare you be so cruel, Cao thief?" Lü Meng was furious. He broke the pen in his hand and roared, "Cao Ren ruined my plan. I will never coexist with you!"
The Wu army had lost all its elite troops, and Sun Quan had retreated back to Hefei, unable to go north to provide support, which meant that the Central Plains plan had failed and the chance to become famous in one battle had disappeared.
Ling Tong rushed over upon hearing the news and advised: "My lord, your army is defeated and we will be isolated. We should retreat before Cao's army arrives."
"We have gone through life and death to achieve this extraordinary feat. How can we retreat without fighting?" Lu Meng's face was gloomy, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Cao Ren is trapped in Shouchun, and the army cannot leave. The enemy must be the garrison troops in various places. In fact, there is no need to worry. Is this achievement a sign of cowardice?"
Ling Tong was young and full of vigor. His face immediately turned red. He clasped his fists and said, "A general should fight to the death on the battlefield and be proud to die wrapped in horsehide. I am a man of Jiangdong and I will definitely sweep across the Central Plains."
"That's right!" Lü Meng nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile, "Cao's army is now facing battles on all sides, and the elite troops are all in Guanzhong and the Central Plains. Most of the people in Xuzhou are a motley crowd. As long as we hold the East China Sea and wait for an opportunity to take Langya, we can join forces with the Grand Commander to seize the Central Plains and expand the Jiangdong base without the Lord's support. This extraordinary feat will be recorded in history!"
Ling Tong's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he shouted, "If the Grand Commander and the General join forces, who in the Central Plains can rival them?"
While they were discussing, a scout came to report that 20,000 reinforcements from Xia Pi had arrived.
Ling Tong asked for orders and said, "With only 500 soldiers, I will be able to defeat the enemy."
Lü Meng sneered, "Cao's army has mobilized troops many times. They are coming here at a rapid pace. They must be eager to seize the city, but they are afraid that Zhu Ran's army will attack them from behind. They must go east to cut off my connection with Zhu Ran. We only need to use a little trick to defeat them."
He then ordered Ling Tong to leave the city and ambush at the Yi River, dividing his troops into three groups, waiting to attack Cao's army when it was halfway across the river.
The Wu army waited for a whole night, but did not see Cao's army arrive. Ling Tong sent people to inquire again, but reported that Cao's army did not cross the river to the east. The army advanced north along the river and went straight to Tan County. Ling Tong was shocked and hurriedly led his troops to retreat.
Lü Meng had heard the news a long time ago, and frowned, saying, "I didn't expect that it was Sima Yi who was leading the troops. This guy is quite strategic. He was the first to leave Shouchun, and the flooding plan must have been his. He is so cruel at such a young age. If he is not eliminated soon, he may be a great threat to Jiangdong!"
Ling Tong said: "When Cao's army besieges Tan County, we can order General Zhu to attack from behind, and defeat them in one fell swoop with the help of both inside and outside forces."
Lü Meng sneered, "I ordered Zhu Ran to take Houqiu for this very reason. Since Sima Yi is so careless and looks down on us, we must make him regret it."
Ling Tong guarded the city and patrolled, while Lu Meng sent someone to deliver a letter to Zhu Ran, ordering him to support Tan County and attack Cao's army from behind.
After much thought, he was still unwilling to withdraw his troops, so he wrote another letter to Sun Quan, urging him to transfer troops northward from the Han Canal, and occupy the land along the coast of the East China Sea with the Huaiyin navy. By advancing both by land and sea, they could work with Zhou Yu from the north to the south to capture Xuzhou and the Central Plains.
Ling Tong was touring the city with Lü Meng's nephew Deng Guang when they saw dust rising in the distance. The vanguard of Cao's army was approaching the city, each of them looking unruly and murderous.
A general in the battle line rode out on his horse and shouted, "How dare you, Jiangdong rats, attack our Xuzhou? Sun Guan, the Taishan general, is here. Come and accept your death."
Ling Tong frowned and asked, "Who is Sun Guan?"
Deng Guang was in charge of intelligence and scouting in the army. Hearing this, he replied, "This man is Zang Ba's sworn brother. Together with Wu Dun, Yin Li, and Chang Xi, they are known as the 'Five Heroes of Mount Tai'. They are all highly skilled in martial arts and have been rampant in Haidai since the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Even Cao Cao is wary of him and ordered him to guard Xuzhou."
"Humph, it turns out to be a bandit!" Ling Tong sneered, "Cao's army is bullying us because we have no one in Jiangdong. It's a good opportunity to kill this bandit and establish our authority."
Deng Guang advised: "The Taishan bandits are fierce by nature, Gongji should not underestimate the enemy."
Ling Tong laughed and said, "Why should we be afraid of such a bandit? If a mere vanguard general dares not go out to fight, how can we defeat the enemy? I will kill the enemy first to boost morale, and then we can deal with Cao's army later."
Seeing that he could not persuade the enemy, Deng Guang had to send more troops to guard the city gate, ordered the beating of drums to cheer, and sent someone to inform Lu Meng and ask him to take charge of the situation just in case.
Sun Guan saw that only 500 Wu soldiers had left the city. A young general in front of the battle line laughed and said, "Is there really no one available in Jiangdong? They sent a brat to fill the number."
Ling Tong raised his eyebrows slightly and said in a cold voice: "I, Cao, am a short and mean-looking thief. All of my subordinates are bandits and thieves. They are all ugly and ugly. After seeing them today, I found that they are indeed so."
"How dare you be so arrogant, boy?" Sun Guan and others had been officials for many years and had been granted titles and appointed as generals. They hated being called "thief" the most. Upon hearing this, they became furious and rode their horses straight to Ling Tong.
Ling Tong held his sword horizontally to block, and the two horses crossed each other. There was a loud bang, and Sun Guan's sword rebounded back. He was secretly shocked. He thought that Sun Guan was a young man who didn't know how to advance or retreat, but he didn't expect that he had such strength. He turned his horse's head and concentrated on fighting.
Ling Tong had killed several Cao generals a few days ago and was full of confidence. Even when he was fighting against a veteran like Sun Guan, he was not afraid. He swung his sword like a strange python and killed the opponent in less than ten rounds.
Sun Guan was terrified, and he swung his sword and rode away. In the nearly twenty years of chaotic fighting, he was able to survive every battle because of his sense of crisis on the battlefield. If he didn't leave now, his life would be in danger.
"Where are you going, old thief?" Ling Tong shook the reins lightly, and his mount caught up with him like a meteor chasing the moon in a few leaps.
Ling Tong was rewarded for his meritorious service in protecting Sun Quan at Xiaoyaojin. After the war, Sun Quan gave his own mount to Ling Tong. This horse was purchased from Liaodong at a large sum of money. There were only three such horses in Jiangdong, and the other two were given to Zhou Yu and Taishi Ci.
Sun Guan heard the sound of horse hooves behind him. When he turned around, he saw Ling Tong had already caught up with him. He was so scared that cold sweats broke out. He shouted, "Don't push your luck, little boy!"
Ling Tong did not say anything more. Instead, he spurred his horse to chase after him and swung his sword across. Sun Guan was in a panic and was killed by the sword.
Cao's army was in an uproar. Ling Tong was about to lead his troops to attack, but he heard the sound of a horn from the city wall. He had to turn around and lead his troops back to the city.
Lü Meng praised: "Gong Ji has killed another enemy general. His bravery is comparable to your father's!"
"What's the point of mentioning such a lowly fellow?" Ling Tong's eyes were slightly stern.
In addition to inheriting his father's ambition to make great achievements, he also has another secret hidden in his heart, which is to avenge his father and heal the shame of being humiliated by Liu Qi in the camp.
In recent years, Gan Ning's reputation has grown and his power has been feared throughout the Central Plains. Ling Tong is well aware of his abilities, and has visited many famous teachers to practice martial arts, not slacking off for even a day. He is not satisfied with just killing Sun Guan and his ilk.
As they were talking, Cao's army approached the city, raising dust, shouting and neighing. They surrounded Tan County. An inexplicable murderous atmosphere enveloped the city walls, and the Wu army was ready for battle.
A general wearing a golden helmet and black armor, with a black face and curly beard, like a god of Mount Tai, rode his horse to the foot of the city and shouted coldly: "Whoever killed my brother, come and pay for your life!"