The Three Kingdoms: Zhaolie, the strategist, and the rise of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 283 Li Yi: This is a trick that my master and I have played to death.

In the early spring of the twelfth year of Jian'an (208 AD).

Jiangdong Governor Zhou Yu led tens of thousands of Wu troops across the river to attack Nan Commandery.

Several thousand vanguard soldiers arrived first and lined up below the city.

Banners covered the fields, and drums and horns shook the heavens.

Cao Ren climbed the city wall and looked out into the distance. Seeing the sharpness of the Wu army, he said to his men:

"Although their army is numerous, they are arrogant after their victory, and we can blunt their momentum."

He then recruited three hundred brave men and ordered his subordinate general Niu Jin to lead them out of the city to challenge them.

Niu Jin accepted the order and led three hundred brave men out of the city and charged straight into the Wu formation.

Seeing that their troops were few, Wu's army surrounded them.

Niu Jin fought bravely, but the disparity in numbers was too great, and he gradually became unable to hold out.

Surrounded and caught in a struggle, unable to escape.

Cao Ren and Man Chong stood side by side on the city wall. When they saw Niu Jin and others trapped in the encirclement, the soldiers on both sides turned pale with fear.

Cao Ren, however, was furious and ordered his men to bring horses, as he wanted to personally lead his troops out to rescue Niu Jin.

Man Chong urgently advised:
"The rebels are at the height of their power and cannot be stopped."

"What is the loss if we abandon these hundreds of people?"

"General, the safety of this city rests on your shoulders. You cannot act rashly. You must risk your life for us!"

Cao Ren, enraged, drew his sword and shouted:
“Zhou Yu, that brat, has gone too far in bullying me. He can bully me, a strong man, on the water, but that’s fine.”

"Now that we are on land, how dare we be so arrogant?"

Ignoring all advice, he donned his armor, mounted his horse, and personally led a hundred elite cavalrymen to break through the city walls.

Cao Ren was furious. He had been brutally beaten by Li Yi in Hebei and bullied by Guan Yu in Runan.

I never imagined that I would be trapped in Nanjun and subjected to all sorts of humiliation by Zhou Yu.

If I can't defeat the Qi people, can't I defeat you Wu people?
At that time, Wu's army was besieging Niu Jin when suddenly the city gates reopened.

A general brandishing his spear leaped onto his horse and charged straight at them; it was Cao Ren.

Before Wu's vanguard could even form ranks, Cao Ren had already rushed to the trenches.

Man Chong and others watched from the city walls, thinking that Cao Ren was holding the moat to provide support. Unexpectedly, Cao Ren rode his horse across the moat and charged into the enemy lines alone!

Wu Jun was greatly alarmed and loosened his siege slightly.

Cao Ren shouted and charged forward, swinging his sword with all his might.

Unstoppable, they broke through the encirclement.

All the Wu generals rushed forward, but could not withstand them.

Cao Ren stormed to the heart of the enemy stronghold and rescued Niu Jin.
Seeing that their lord was about to arrive, Niu Jin's morale was boosted, and he followed Cao Ren in a desperate breakout.

However, Wu's army had formed a tight encirclement, and several dozen cavalrymen were still unable to break through.

Cao Ren looked back, reined in his horse, and charged back into the enemy ranks.

Wu general Chen Wu charged forward with his spear to block the attack, but Cao Ren swung his sword and beheaded Chen Wu's deputy general, causing the Wu army to retreat.

Cao Ren then rescued all the trapped soldiers, and the two armies fought a fierce battle while retreating.

Upon seeing this, Man Chong on the city wall immediately ordered a volley of arrows to cover the Wei army's entry into the city.

Upon their return, Cao Ren led the victorious army back.

Man Chong held his hand and sighed:

"General, you are truly a celestial being!"

As a result, all the soldiers and officers of the three armies were terrified and submitted.

The morale of the garrison in Jiangling was greatly boosted.

The two sides were locked in a stalemate in Nan Commandery for half a year, and Cao Ren knew he could not outlast them.

They then dismantled the secret plan left behind by Cao Cao.

After reviewing the plan, Cao Ren was overjoyed and exclaimed that it was a brilliant strategy.

So he ordered people to prepare food at dawn.

By daybreak, all the troops, large and small, had abandoned the city and fled.

Flags were planted all over the city walls, a mere show of force.

Someone had already informed Zhou Yu, and Zhou Yu said:
"I besieged Nan Commandery for half a year, and Cao Ren could not withstand it, so he abandoned the city and fled."

"If we catch up and kill them, Jingzhou will be ours."

So he personally led a large army to pursue Cao Ren, and when they reached the city, the troops on both flanks came out at once.

Cao's army could not hold them off and suffered a crushing defeat, scattering in all directions.

Zhou Yu then spurred his horse and charged straight into the barbican.

As soon as they entered, they heard a clapper sound.

Both sides unleashed a barrage of arrows, like a sudden downpour.

The Wu soldiers who rushed into the city all fell into the pit.

Zhou Yu hurriedly reined in his horse and turned back, but was struck by a stray arrow that hit his ribs, causing him to fall from his horse.

Cao Cao's troops rushed out from all sides, intending to capture Zhou Yu.

Ling Tong, Chen Wu, and Ding Feng risked their lives to rescue Zhou Yu.

Cao's soldiers surged in from all directions like a tidal wave.

The Wu army was thrown into chaos, trampling each other and countless soldiers fell into the trenches.

Cheng Pu, who was leading troops outside the city, saw that Zhou Yu had been ambushed and hurriedly ordered his troops to retreat.

After a fierce battle, Wu's army suffered a major defeat and retreated to their camp.

Zhou Yu was rescued and brought back to his tent, where he summoned the army medic to remove the arrowhead with iron pliers.

Applying wound medicine to the wound caused unbearable pain, making it impossible to eat or drink.

Zhou Yu then summoned his generals and said:

"Now that I have been shot by an arrow, I can pretend to the outside world that I am seriously injured and dying."

"Then he ordered the army to retreat slowly, but set up an ambush within the army to counter it."

"If Cao Ren knows I am dead, he will surely lead his army to raid my camp."

"Therefore, we can take it down in one fell swoop, and defeating it will not be difficult."

The crowd followed his advice and began to cry out in mourning under the tent.

The soldiers were greatly alarmed, and rumors spread that the commander-in-chief had died from a severe arrow wound, and all the villages wore mourning clothes.

Cao Ren, who was in the city, heard that Zhou Yu had been hit by a stray arrow, but did not know the extent of his injury.

Suddenly, a report came that soldiers from Wu Village had come to surrender; these were Cao soldiers who had been captured by the Wu army earlier.

Cao Ren hurriedly asked Zhou Yu how things were going.

The sergeant replied:

"Zhou Yu was shot by an arrow today. He urgently summoned a physician to treat him, but the delay was too long, and he died upon returning to the camp."

"Now that all the generals are in mourning and the army is lax in its defenses, we have been able to escape this great calamity."

"Report this to the general."

Cao Ren was overjoyed and immediately discussed raiding the camp that night.

They seized Zhou Yu's body, beheaded him, and sent his head to Xudu.

The agreement was reached, and Cao Ren appointed Niu Jin as the vanguard while he himself led the central army.

In Jiangling City, only a small number of troops were left to guard Man Chong.

The remaining soldiers rose up and left the city after the first watch of the night, heading straight for Zhou Yu's main camp to attack.

Upon reaching the gate of the village, there was no one in sight, only flags and spears planted in the air.

Cao Ren realized he had fallen into a trap and hurriedly ordered a retreat.

The drums sounded simultaneously from all four sides.

Han Dang attacked from the east, and Ding Feng attacked from the west.

Cheng Pu attacked from the south, and Lü Meng attacked from the north.

Zhou Yu rose up and personally beat the drum to boost the morale of the soldiers.

Those around Zhou Yu, knowing he was injured, urged him to come down and rest.

Zhou Yu said resolutely:
"A true man who eats the emperor's salary should die on the battlefield, his body wrapped in a horse's hide."

"How can we abandon the affairs of the state for the sake of one person?"

Ignoring all advice, he insisted on leading his generals into battle to kill the enemy.

All the soldiers of Wu's army were in high spirits and charged into battle bravely.

Cao's army suffered a major defeat, and all three armies were scattered, unable to support each other.

After a night of fierce fighting, Cao Ren managed to escape the encirclement with only a few dozen cavalrymen.

In this battle, the Wu army achieved a great victory.

Cao Ren led his defeated troops back to Jiangling City and urgently consulted with Man Chong.

Both sides agreed that they had suffered a major defeat and their soldiers had been scattered.

Zhou Yu will definitely take this opportunity to attack; Jiangling City can no longer be defended.

So, after some hesitation, they finally decided to abandon the city.

They took all the supplies they could carry from the city and headed straight for Xiangyang.

Zhou Yu led his army to Jiangling, only to find it an empty city.

Thus, after nearly a year of fighting, both Wu and Wei suffered heavy casualties!
That's how they captured Jiangling City.

Although the novel describes Zhao Yun taking the opportunity to lead his troops over and steal the peaches.

Taking advantage of Cao Ren's abandonment of the city, they seized Jiangling before Zhou Yu could.

However, the Battle of Jiangling in history was a complete "meat grinder".

The two sides fought more than a dozen battles, large and small, with extremely heavy casualties.

Although Zhou Yu eventually succeeded in capturing Jiangling, he paid a heavy price.

Jiangling is the capital of Nanjun. Once Jiangling is captured, the remaining cities and towns can be pacified with a simple proclamation.

The capture of Nanjun is essentially complete.

Zhou Yu held a banquet to celebrate the victory and congratulate the three armies.

Meanwhile, he sent someone to report the victory back to Sun Quan.

Not to be discussed.

……

Huainan, Lujiang.

The Prefect of Lujiang at that time was Zhu Zhi, a veteran official of the Sun family who served three emperors.

He served under Sun Jian in his early years, and later abandoned Yuan Shu to assist Sun Ce.

After Sun Ce's death, he joined forces with Zhang Zhao and others to support Sun Quan.

Zhu Zhi indeed made great contributions to the Sun family.

Therefore, Sun Quan entrusted him with the important position of Lujiang.

However, the troops in Lujiang numbered less than 10,000, as the main Wu army had been taken to the front lines by Zhou Yu.

Did the Eastern Wu ever consider guarding against Lujiang?

We have considered that.

However, Zhang Zhao and other high-ranking officials of Eastern Wu believed that Jingzhou was far more prosperous than Lujiang.

The people of Qi would not abandon Jingzhou for Lujiang.

Furthermore, Li Yi took the initiative to show weakness and withdrew his entire army, which made the Wu people even less vigilant.

Even if we assume, hypothetically, that the Qi people would actually launch a surprise attack on Lujiang...

Zhou Yu's army is on the front line in Jingzhou. As long as they cross the river, they can return to provide reinforcements at any time.

Therefore, they did not take Lujiang seriously.

On this day, Zhu Zhi was inspecting the city walls, occasionally gazing northwards.

The lieutenant asked from the side:
"What is the general thinking about? Why do you keep looking so worried?"

Zhu Zhi sighed, stroked his beard, and said:

"Zhou Yu is leading a large army in Jingzhou, while my Lujiang has less than ten thousand soldiers."

"What should we do if the people of Qi attack us?"

Upon hearing this, everyone realized that Zhu Zhi was overthinking things.

They all comforted Zhu Zhi, saying:

"Qi Fang is in charge of the conquest of Jingzhou; how can he forgo the richest meat and choose the least desirable?"

"Is Jingzhou, with the wealth of a single prefecture, far superior to Lujiang, a single county?"

"I hope the general will not be worried."

Although no one knew what Li Yi was up to, everyone firmly believed that the Qi people would not abandon Jingzhou for Lujiang.

Zhu Zhi was uneasy and ordered his soldiers to patrol according to protocol and not to slacken their vigilance.

Suddenly one day, the beacon towers were lit, and scouts rushed to report:
"The Northern Army has arrived!"

"The Northern Army has arrived!"

"..."

Upon hearing this, the guards on the city wall were all horrified.

Zhu Zhi hurriedly climbed the city wall to look into the distance, and saw a troop of soldiers rushing down to the city.

Like dark clouds pressing in, the banners bearing the character "关" (Guan, meaning pass/gate) fluttered in the wind.

"...It's...it's the Qingzhou Army!"

Those who knew the person exclaimed in surprise.

"...The Qingzhou Army? Could the newcomer be Guan Yu?"

Zhu Zhi frowned, a chill running down his spine.

By this time, Guan Yu's heroic spirit had already shaken the entire nation, and people trembled at the mere mention of his name.

But that wasn't all; then came troop after troop of cavalry sweeping across the fields like frost and snow.

The banner bearing the character "Zhao" shone brightly in the sun, and those around him all called him the White Horse Righteous Followers.

"...Could these be the cavalry of Youyan?"

Zhu Zhi felt immense pressure upon seeing the ranks of white-clad cavalry.

The strongest cavalry forces at the end of the Han Dynasty were none other than those in Bing, Liang, and You provinces.

The White Horse Cavalry led by Zhao Yun was a direct successor to the cavalry of the Gongsun clan.

Not only are they well-equipped, but they are also battle-hardened and have rich combat experience.

Trained and instructed by Zhao Yun and Gongsun Xu, they can be considered a top-tier (T0) cavalry formation in the world.

Even in the state of Qi, the Qingzhou Army and the Youzhou Cavalry would be among the top-tier troops.

How much resources did Liu Bei invest in Lujiang?
Seeing that the Qi people were up to no good, Zhu Zhi hurriedly ordered people to prepare boats.

In case of any unforeseen circumstances, at least control the water source and leave yourself a way out.

The order had just been given when a soldier came to report:

"The Qi people have cut off the water supply, and my boats can no longer travel by water!"

Zhu Zhi was greatly alarmed and rushed over to check.

The Huainan fleet appeared like dragons emerging from the water, with their sails and masts covering the river as they sailed down.

The three armies advanced side by side, and dust and sand obscured the sky.

Qi Chancellor Li Yi personally held the yellow battle-axe in the central army, displaying a majestic and imposing presence.

The Wu soldiers on the city wall looked at each other in shock, and the subordinate general Lü Fan pointed and said tremblingly:

"This is not a bluff; it is the full force of Qi's elite troops!"

Clearly, the Qi army came prepared.

Do not!
It's not as simple as just being prepared.

It's likely that preparations began as early as the withdrawal of troops from Jiangxia.

We prepared for a full six months.

One has to admire its high efficiency.

They attacked almost in one fell swoop, leaving the Wu army completely defenseless.

They didn't even give the Wu people a chance to react before their army was at the city gates.

Zhu Zhi couldn't even imagine how much preparation the people of Qi had done before this day.

Judging from their meticulous work alone, they've probably already thoroughly infiltrated Lujiang.

Zhu Zhi's face turned ashen, and he immediately ordered the gates to be closed and the area secured.

The soldiers guarding the city were all horrified by what they saw.

Despite being the defending general, Zhu Zhi still forced himself to straighten his hat and climb the city wall.

Outside the city, black armor gleamed in the sun, and spears and halberds stood arrayed in a menacing formation.

A hundred thunderbolt chariots have been erected, and ladders have been set up at the city's edge.

The Huainan navy's warships covered the river, their sails obscuring the sky.

Zhu Zhiqiang, with his hand on his sword, raised his voice and questioned:

"Since Qi and Wu have formed an alliance, Prime Minister Li has brought a large army here today."

"What is the reason for deploying troops beneath my city walls?"

Qi and Wu are still considered allies on the surface, but Zhu Zhi first occupies the moral high ground, putting himself in a favorable position in terms of public opinion.

However, Li Yi had prepared for this day for half a year, so how could he be stumped by such a single sentence?
He appeared in golden helmet and on white horse, slowly riding to the moat, and answered loudly:
"According to the old system in Huainan, the emperor ordered Xiahou Yuanrang to guard the area."

"Later, Cao Cao usurped the throne, and this place was originally Han territory."

"Our lord Liu Xuande is a descendant of the Han Dynasty and a member of the imperial family."

"Under the whole world, is it not the king's land."

"Within the whole land, all are subjects of the king."

"Since our lord has received the imperial edict to govern the east, he should naturally reclaim the lands under our rule." Having said this, he produced the edict and ordered it to be read aloud:
"Imperial edict: Lujiang is an important prefecture. Zhou Youping is hereby appointed as the Prefect of Lujiang and shall take immediate control of the prefecture."

"Anyone who dares to resist the royal army shall be charged with treason!"

After reading it, Li Yi took the imperial edict, held it up to the people on the city wall, and shouted:
"The Emperor has issued an edict here!"

"Your occupation of Lujiang is illegal."

"As the Prime Minister of Qi, I am authorized to act on behalf of the King and have the right to reclaim this land on behalf of the Emperor."

This is where the power to control the emperor and command the feudal lords comes into play.

You want to claim the moral high ground and put me in a superior position, but can you really outdo the 400-year-old reputation of the Han Dynasty?

When I produce the Emperor's edict, how will you respond?
Zhu Zhi had no choice but to ask:

"Then what does Prime Minister Li intend to do?"

Li Yi answered without hesitation:
"It has already been stated that we will withdraw from Lujiang immediately."

"Our two armies still have a friendly alliance, and I really cannot bear to turn our weapons against each other."

"I beg General Zhu not to embarrass me in front of the army."

Well, now it's turned out to be my fault.

Zhu Zhi had never seen such an unreasonable person in his entire life.

Therefore, he urgently wanted the people on the city wall to discuss the matter.

"Li Yi's army arrived suddenly, clearly they came prepared."

“Our army guarding Lujiang is less than ten thousand strong. If we were to attack them, it would be like throwing an egg against a rock.”

"Unwise, unwise indeed!"

One person offered a suggestion:

"Let's agree for now and let Li Yi remove the encirclement."

“We will send someone to inform Lord Wu on one hand, and someone to inform Zhou Lang on the other.”

"Only in this way can the urgent situation in Lujiang be resolved."

Having made his decision, Zhu Zhi hurriedly went to the city wall and shouted to Li Yi:
"Prime Minister Li, please rest a while and allow us to discuss this further."

"How about we give Prime Minister Li our reply in two days?"

Li Yi pointed his whip at the enemy and cursed:

"I have come here by imperial decree to recover lost territory."

"I wish I could kill the thief right now, yet you dare to delay."

"Could it be that you are deliberately mocking me?"

Therefore, he ordered his soldiers to attack the city.

In an instant, shouts of battle shook the heavens, and dust and sand swirled up, obscuring the sky and the sun.

Zhu Zhi was horrified and hurriedly shouted:

"Prime Minister Li, please calm your anger. We are willing to surrender the city!"

"We are willing to surrender the city!"

With this small force, they certainly couldn't stop the full strength of the Qi army.

If Li Yi were to forcefully defeat him, how could Zhu Zhi's fate be any better?
"Could you please give us some time, at least allow us to prepare?"

Although he knew in his heart that something was wrong, Li Yi was too domineering and forced him too much.

Zhu Zhi was momentarily stunned and could only ask Li Yi for some time to think.

Li Yi then said:

"...Very well, I, Li, will rest here for a couple of hours."

"If you do not surrender the city in two hours..."

"Then, in accordance with the emperor's decree, he was punished as a traitor."

"Don't blame me for not remembering our alliance when the time comes. When the city falls, I will spare neither the old nor the young!"

After uttering those harsh words, Li Yi reined in his horse and returned to his army.

Zhu Zhi was left standing alone in the wind, his brows furrowed.

Everyone crowded around, asking what to do now.

Before Zhu Zhi could answer, a loud shout suddenly rang out from outside the city.

Everyone was shocked, and Zhu Zhi was horrified. He asked:

"Wasn't it supposed to be two hours?"

"Could it be that Prime Minister Li has broken his promise to us?"

So he hurriedly led everyone to the top of the city wall to take a look.

It turns out that the Qi army had not started attacking the city, but rather was conducting large-scale military exercises outside the city.

The first vehicles to be deployed were over a hundred trebuchets.

The trebuchet was a relatively small catapult, which is why a counterweight catapult was not used.

It's still because the machine is too large and inconvenient to build.

Generally, one only has time to do this when preparing for a long battle.

The relatively smaller Thunderbolt was much more agile.

Leveraging the wealth of the State of Qi, they piled it up with sheer numbers.

That's enough to serve as a deterrent.

boom! ! !
The trebuchets fired in unison, sending boulders hurtling through the air with a thunderous roar.

The soldiers of Qingzhou shouted loudly as they practiced the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation, their swords flashing in the sunlight.

The White Horse Cavalry charged left and right, unleashing a rain of arrows that filled the sky, eventually forming the character "Surrender" a hundred paces in front of the city.

The generals guarding the city were all ashen-faced.

The "country bumpkins" of Jianghuai had never seen such a skilled cavalry unit before.

How many years of training does it take to reach this level?

Meanwhile, soldiers from Huainan were also practicing naval warfare along the river.

In an instant, the waves surged a thousand feet high, and the river surface was overturned.

Li Yi personally held the command flag and directed the entire army.

The soldiers responded to the call as if it were their own arm.

Seeing this scene,

Wu Jun looked at each other in horror, while Zhu Zhi was drenched in sweat through his heavy armor.

The subordinate general Jia Hua trembled and said:
“Their army is ten times more elite than ours.”

Even if Sun Tzu were to be reborn, he could not defend it!

Zhu Zhi remained silent, when suddenly a huge rock flew over the city wall and smashed the watchtower.

They all fell to the ground, looking utterly pathetic.

As everyone stood up and brushed the dust off their clothes, Li Yi had already sent an envoy.

Standing beneath the city walls, he asked with a resounding voice:
"Half the time has passed, yet you still haven't made a decision?"

Before Zhu Zhi and the others could reply, the envoy pointed to the army behind him:
"This is a trivial skill, not worth mentioning."

"If you truly attack the city, you will all be reduced to dust!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he pointed his finger, and three more cannon shots rang out.

The bombardment struck the city wall directly, causing it to tremble.

Zhu Zhi was extremely anxious and hurriedly asked:

"I told you to go out and check if there's a way out."

"How is your investigation going?"

Zhu Zhi delayed the process to see if Lujiang was still worth defending.

If one's messenger could contact Sun Quan or Zhou Yu.

They will definitely try to save themselves.

If they cannot make contact, then Lujiang will be left without internal defenses and without external reinforcements.

There's no point in defending it anymore.

The sergeant reported:
"Our scouts were all blocked by Zhao Yun's cavalry and prevented from passing."

"As for the waterways, they were also cut off by Chen Deng's warships, making it difficult for the navy to pass."

"Our people can't get out!"

Ugh……

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhi was not shocked, but rather felt a sense of relief, as if it were something he had expected.

"...Go and fetch the seal."

Zhu Zhi looked up to the sky and sighed, then bowed to the south:
"It's not that we can't cure it with all our efforts, it's just the will of Heaven."

Soon, the city gates were opened wide.

Zhu Zhi led a group of civil and military officials out of the city, voluntarily bound himself and surrendered, and presented the city's seal.

Li Yi smiled and stepped forward to personally untie him.

Seeing Zhu Zhi's ashen face, she was still afraid.

Li Yinai patted him on the back and comforted him with a smile:

"If the general had made a decision earlier, why would he be so terrified?"

So he ordered someone to bring wine to calm Zhu Zhi's nerves.

Li Yi personally toasted him.

Upon seeing their commander's actions, Wu's soldiers all abandoned their armor and prostrated themselves in submission.

Li Yi ordered that wine, meat, and clothing be given to each person to appease them.

As for senior officers, he personally offered them drinks to appease them.

Then he ordered his men to bring them into the military tent and treat them to fine wine and meat.

They were treated with the utmost courtesy.

This is Li Yi's consistent style of doing things: using both kindness and severity.

If you don't cooperate with my work, I'll spare no effort to exterminate your entire family.

As long as you cooperate with my work, you will save me time and resources.

They'll definitely give you whatever you want.

As for any past grudges or verbal conflicts, those are no big deal.

We're all politicians; we wouldn't care about these things.

Li Yi had Chen Deng and Zhao Yun help him with social interactions and appease the generals of Eastern Wu.

On the one hand, he led Guan Yu into the city to pacify the people.

Generally speaking, to conquer a prefecture, you only need to break through its administrative center to take it over.

In other cities, once their superiors fall from grace, they generally cooperate with your work and are demoted.

Unless one has strong control over the local area, even if the capital is captured, other cities can still put up a stubborn resistance.

For example, Liu Bei's Xiapi served as the political center of the State of Qi.

Even if the capital falls, the surrounding cities can continue to resist.

However, the land of Lujiang was originally seized by the Sun family from the Cao family.

They have very little control over the local area.

This is the basis for Li Yi's plan to use a blitzkrieg to quickly seize Lujiang.

Much work was done in the process to keep the cities and towns in various places neutral.

They swooped down quickly, instantly striking Zhu Zhi's face.

Having lost the buffer time, Zhu Zhi surrendered without resistance, completely bewildered.

Overall, the project is progressing very smoothly.

Despite the large number of troops mobilized and the huge amount of money and supplies spent, it was still a huge undertaking.

However, as long as there is no direct military conflict and Lujiang can be taken without bloodshed, then the State of Qi will have gained something!

After capturing Lujiang, Li Yi immediately handed it over to Chen Deng.

"...Yuanlong, how did things go today?"

Have I ever broken my promise to you?

When Liu Bei first went south of the Yangtze River, he refused to appoint Chen Deng as governor.

He sent Li Yi to appease the generals in Huainan.

Li Yi then promised to hand over the entire Huainan region to Chen Deng.

Now, Li Yi has once again fulfilled his promise to Chen Deng.

The imperial edict clearly stated that Zhou Tai and Zhou Youping would be appointed as the Prefect of Lujiang.

Zhou Tai was a general in Huainan and a direct subordinate of Chen Deng.

The implication was that Lujiang was being handed over to Chen Deng.

Chen Deng was extremely grateful and bowed to Li Yi in thanks:
"...Brother, you truly understand me!"

“When we were at odds with Cao Wei, I wrote to the King of Qi.”

"Permit me to send troops to take Lujiang directly."

"Unfortunately, the King of Qi refused, so we had no choice but to give up."

"Today, the entire territory of Huainan is finally annexed, and only then can my heart be at peace!"

Because Liu Bei poured all his resources into Li Yi, he was able to fight without any worries in the north.

As a result, Chen Deng's Huainan was also sacrificed.

He simply did not have the resources to launch another war independently to attack Cao Cao's Lujiang.

Unexpectedly, after all the twists and turns, Lujiang has returned to its own hands.

It was obtained without bloodshed.

How could Chen Deng not be pleased?

"...To be honest, brother, today is the happiest day of my life in more than ten years."

"Come, come, let me share some Lujiang fish with you!"

For hygiene reasons, Li Yiping never ate raw fish.

However, seeing that Chen Deng was unusually happy today, Li Yi made an exception for him as well.

Since the last time I tricked Chen Deng into going to Guangling in Xuzhou, I've had some sashimi.

This was only the second time he had ever eaten sashimi.

Soon, a banquet was set up, and the two enjoyed their drinks together.

Suddenly someone reported that Zhu Zhi was requesting an audience.

Chen Deng frowned and said unhappily:

"How dare a defeated general spoil my brother's enjoyment at this time!"

Chen Deng was born with a bold spirit, even though he got Lujiang for nothing.

But he looked down on people who lacked backbone.

However, Li Yi never acted on emotion in political situations, and immediately ordered someone to invite Zhu Zhi in.

Zhu Zhi entered and completed the formalities.

"...Prime Minister Li, I have now voluntarily surrendered Lujiang as agreed."

"When will Your Excellency allow us to return to Jiangdong?"

Hahaha……

Li Yi smiled and said softly:

"General Zhu, do not be anxious. Lujiang is a prosperous place."

"Now that our army has arrived, why don't you stay with us for a couple more days?"

"Here you'll find fine wine, wild game, and beautiful women."

"Why must you be in such a hurry to leave, Junli?"

After saying that, he downed the wine in his glass in one gulp.

Zhu Zhi's face turned ashen, and he said in a trembling voice:

"...This...this...does the Prime Minister intend to place me under house arrest here?!"

Zhu Zhi immediately broke out in a cold sweat, feeling extremely frightened.

He was a veteran of three reigns of the Sun family and a respected elder in the Wu region.

Now, due to a momentary lapse of judgment, he voluntarily surrendered the city, and has been firmly nailed to the pillar of historical shame.

If he is placed under house arrest again, he could be used as a political bargaining chip to blackmail Sun Quan.

Zhu Zhi really had no face to live in this world.

Before Li Yi could speak, Chen Deng slammed his hand on the table and shouted:
"...You are a defeated general, how dare you speak to Prime Minister Li like this!"

"Do you think my state of Qi has no one to rely on?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the warriors on either side drew their swords and glared at him.

Zhu Zhi was horrified and prostrated himself to beg for forgiveness.

"...Hey, you all mustn't be so rude."

Li Yi hurriedly stopped Chen Deng and then stepped forward to personally help Zhu Zhi up.

"Do not worry, my lord. Lujiang has just been pacified, but this is a time of great turmoil."

"You shall stay with my army for now, and wait for some time."

"Li will personally escort you back to Wu, along with your men."

Zhu Zhi was filled with gratitude and bowed deeply.

Upon seeing this, Li Yi and Chen Deng exchanged a glance and both smiled.

……

(End of this chapter)