Liu Qi used a trick to flood Cao's army at Baihe River. When the news reached Chaisang, Zhou Yu made a prompt decision and prepared to send troops.
Sun Quan hesitated and said, "Although Cao's army has been defeated, its strength is intact. As long as we transport more food from Xuchang, we can reorganize our troops and prepare for war. It is too early to send troops now."
Zhou Yu laughed and said, "If Zhuge Liang really had the talent that Pang Tong said, how could he have allowed Cao Cao to transport food as he wished? Even if Zhuge Liang was not smart enough, it would take Cao Cao half a month to mobilize troops after the food and grass were transported, which is enough time for me to take Huainan!"
Sun Quan was delighted and said with a smile: "In this case, Gongjin will lead the navy from Poyang to attack Xunyang and take Lujiang, and I will lead the army to attack Chaohu and take Shouchun. We will attack from two directions and catch Cao's army off guard."
During this period, Sun Quan often discussed military affairs with Zhou Yu, and he had a good understanding of the situation in Jingzhou and Central Plains. He believed that taking Huainan was more meaningful in the long run than attacking Jiangxia, and he was already impatient.
Zhou Yu frowned and said, "My lord, if you lead the troops yourself, I'm afraid..."
Sun Quan's face suddenly darkened, and he said unhappily, "Gongjin, do you think I don't know how to command troops?"
Zhou Yu clasped his fists and said, "I have no such intention. My lord, your life is related to the safety of Jiangdong. How can you go out lightly? It is better to stay in Jiangdong and dispatch the rear, and send Cheng Pu and Han Dang to the north."
Long before Sun Ce was assassinated, he had ordered Sun Quan to lead troops to attack Xuzhou. The 100,000 troops were in Guangling, but were scared off by Chen Deng's strategy of confusing the enemy. The Wu army trampled on each other and suffered countless casualties, forcing Sun Ce to go to Dantu in person to mobilize troops, where he unfortunately died.
Whenever Zhou Yu thought of this, he felt a dull pain in his heart. If any other general had been replaced, the current situation might not have happened. How could he dare to let Sun Quan lead the troops
Sun Quan stroked his beard and smiled, "Zhang Zhao, Gu Yong and others are enough to dispatch the rear. Since Gongjin recommended Cheng Pu and Han Dang, I will use them as deputy generals and lead the army north to strengthen the army's prestige."
Zhou Yu tactfully advised: "My lord, you have never led an army before, and I am afraid you will not be able to endure the hardships of military life..."
"I have made up my mind, Gongjin, no need to say more!" Sun Quan was displeased, with his hands behind his back, looking towards the north of the Yangtze River, and said in a cold voice: "Liu Qi was able to stop Cao Cao's 300,000 troops, and he has 100,000 elite soldiers alone, so can't he take the small Shouchun?"
Zhou Yu knew that he could not persuade Sun Quan, so he clasped his fists and said, "Zhang Liao must have extraordinary ability to be entrusted with an important task by Cao Cao. Since my lord is determined to send troops, we must advance step by step. When I capture Lujiang, we will meet at Chaohu Lake and work together to pacify the Huainan area."
"It's a deal!" Sun Quan nodded, and immediately left Poyang Water Fort and took a boat back to Jianye.
The big boat was sailing in the river, going with the wind and the current, breaking through the waves. Sun Quan stood at the bow, looking at the mountains and rivers on both sides, his heart surging.
Since taking over Jiangdong, Sun Quan has been busy stabilizing the internal situation. Although the situation is stable, he knows that many people still compare him with his brother.
Sun Quan naturally could not match the bravery of the Little Overlord, but people secretly laughed at him for being a person who only guarded the status quo and could not expand the territory. Sun Quan was holding his breath and wanted to prove it to everyone.
This time Cao Cao's army has entered Nanyang, leaving Huainan empty. If he doesn't personally take part in this good opportunity now, when will he do so
Looking at the rising and falling waves, Sun Quan said to himself: "Liu Qi can conquer Nanyang, and I can also take Huainan."
Jiangdong now has sufficient money and food, and its soldiers are well-trained and its generals are brave. Am I worse than Liu Qi, who has just recovered from a serious illness and is rushing into battle
After seeing Sun Quan off, Zhou Yu stood staring at the river for a long time before returning to Chaisang to deploy his troops.
Although he was not confident in Sun Quan leading the troops, he was the lord of Jiangdong after all, and he urgently needed a big victory to establish his prestige. With veteran generals such as Cheng Pu accompanying the army, even if the advance was not going well, he would at least be invincible.
The most urgent task is to speed up the journey, pacify Lujiang as quickly as possible, and go to meet Sun Quan.
Zhou Yu ordered the veteran Huang Gai to lead 3,000 new soldiers, set up large and small warships, and raise the flag, claiming to have an army of 50,000 to charge towards Xiakou.
He led 50,000 elite troops, crossed the Pengli Lake overnight, entered the country from the Xunyang ferry, and rushed to Wancheng in Lujiang.
Huang Gai marched towards Xiakou with great fanfare. The Lujiang defenders were deceived and were caught off guard. The Wu army crossed the river and marched quickly to Wancheng, where the defenders discovered their plan.
Zhu Guang, the defender of Wancheng, was shocked. A month ago, Sun Quan had submitted to Cao Cao and their envoys had been visiting each other and had a close relationship. Sun Quan was also determined to attack Jiangxia for revenge. How could they suddenly start fighting
When the Wu army was at the gates of the city, Zhu Guang did not dare to go into battle rashly. He reorganized his troops to defend the city while sending people to Hefei for help.
Xu Sheng stepped forward to challenge Zhu Guang, but he refused to come out. Ding Feng had no choice but to lead his troops to charge. Arrows rained down from the city, and the defense was very tight, so they had to retreat temporarily and wait for the baggage to arrive.
When Zhou Yu's troops arrived, Xu Sheng reported, "The defenders are well-defended. We must quickly build ladders and battering rams before we can break into the city."
Lü Meng said, "We are a light force and are here by surprise. It is better to fight quickly. How can we delay for too long? If we alarm the troops in Hefei and the reinforcements come, won't all our efforts be wasted?"
Zhou Yu said nothing, but went to the foot of the city to watch in person. Seeing that the defenders were keeping their troops still and defending in an orderly manner, he ordered them to set up camp and deploy defenses carefully.
The next day, he ordered Lu Meng, Xu Sheng and Ding Feng to take turns fighting with bows and arrows. The Wu army cut down trees, built ladders and battering rams in preparation for the siege.
Lü Meng was impatient and urged: "If we do this, it will take ten days to capture the city. It is better to take advantage of the high morale of the three armies and attack the city with all our strength. I am willing to lead the charge and personally brave the arrows and stones. Commander in chief, we will surely capture the city in one fell swoop."
Zhou Yu laughed and said, "This method can certainly break the city, but it will cost us a lot of soldiers and generals. We are aiming for Huainan, how can we waste our troops here?"
Lü Meng had no choice but to wait patiently. He, Ding Feng and Xu Sheng took turns shouting and cursing at the siege. After two days of fruitless attacks, the Wu army became somewhat slack.
On the third day, the Wu army had built a lot of siege equipment, which was piled up like a mountain in the woods east of the city. The defenders could see it clearly and were getting a little anxious as they waited for reinforcements to arrive.
At night, Zhou Yu suddenly summoned Dong Xi and secretly ordered him to leave the camp at night and act according to the plan.
The next morning, Lu Meng sent troops to attack the city as usual. At this moment, suddenly dust flew up to the east of Wancheng, as if a large army was arriving.
Zhou Yu immediately sounded the call to action, and the Wu army hastily broke camp and retreated, without having time to take away the siege equipment they had built.
Zhu Guang saw it clearly from the city wall. The dust on the official road was flying. Soon he saw the flags of Cao's army appearing. He was overjoyed and said, "The reinforcements have arrived. Follow me out of the city and burn those ladders."
Cao's army came out in full force to burn the weapons. Just as they reached the edge of the woods, drums suddenly sounded and ambushes rushed out.
Zhu Guang knew that he had fallen into a trap and hurriedly ordered a retreat, but the Wu army was well prepared. Xu Sheng on the left and Ding Feng on the right joined forces to defeat Cao's army.
When Zhu Guang was retreating in a hurry, he was killed by Xu Sheng with a single blow. Cao's army fled in panic, and the two generals led their troops to chase them, rushing towards the city gate together with the defeated army.
There were only a thousand defenders on the city wall, and they didn't know whether to shoot arrows in the chaos. While they were hesitating, the Wu army had already entered the city.
Cao's army at the east gate thought that reinforcements had arrived and were happily preparing to open the city to welcome them. But when they got closer, they saw that they were wearing Wu army armor and were all shocked.
At the same time, there were loud shouts and screams at the west gate. The Wu army had already captured the city gate. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Cao's soldiers fled from the north gate one after another.
At noon, Zhou Yu came to Wancheng for the second time. He couldn't help but think of Sun Ce here. He divided the two Qiao sisters, Big and Small, between the two of them, and couldn't help feeling sad.
"We share weal and woe, and we share beauties. You and I are brothers and brothers-in-law, and we are even closer than we are. Hahaha!"