My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Chapter 105: The rat turns into a mad dog! Liu Bei: Whose general is this? He is so brave!

Everyone was horrified, having never expected Ling Tong to suddenly attack Gan Ning.

And in front of Lord Sun Quan!

Gan Ning frowned, and would not sit still and wait for death, so he drew his sword immediately.

"clang!"

The two swords collided, and Ling Tong was knocked back two steps.

Gan Ning held his sword horizontally and shouted:

"Ling Gongji, are you crazy?"

Ling Tong ignored him and jumped up with his sword, ready to attack Gan Ning again.

Sun Quan finally reacted, his face darkened, and he winked at the generals on his left and right.

Lu Meng, Chen Wu and others rushed forward and hugged the mad Ling Tong.

"Gong Ji, are you crazy? How dare you act rashly in front of the lord!"

Zhou Yu also stopped in front of Ling Tong and shouted at him harshly.

Ling Tong lost control of his emotions and continued to shout:
"Let me go, Commander Zhou, please move aside and let me kill this Jinfan thief!"

Everyone didn't know how to persuade him, so they turned their attention to Sun Quan.

Sun Quan's face darkened as he said in a deep voice:

"Gong Ji, although your father was killed by Xingba's arrow, they were still serving different masters."

"Gongji, you are a man of honor. You should understand the greater good. How can you be so fussy about this matter?"

The generals nodded in agreement.

Ling Tong gasped for breath, his sword pointed angrily at Gan Ning:

"My Lord, kill this thief, not because he shot my father, but because he killed General Cheng!"

Sun Quan and everyone were shocked

Gan Ning looked surprised.

According to what Ling Tong meant, Cheng Pu had actually died in battle.

But even if Cheng Pu fought to the death, he would have died at the hands of Liu Jun. What did it have to do with Gan Ning?
"Gongji, what exactly do you mean by this?"

Sun Quan rushed forward, grabbed Ling Tong and asked excitedly.

Ling Tong was filled with grief and indignation, and recounted the events of the Battle of Xiakou, where Su Fei defeated their 10,000-strong navy with fire and Cheng Pu was burned alive.

Sun Quan sucked in a breath of cold air, his body stiffened, and in an instant he felt as if he had fallen into an icy abyss, and the ice turned him into an ice sculpture.

Cheng Pu, the third-generation elder of the Sun family, the chief military commander of Jiangdong whom he had exchanged for tens of thousands of men, actually died?
Moreover, he had clearly returned to Jiangdong safely, but he insisted on asking for a fight and returning to Jingzhou, traveling thousands of miles to get himself killed?

Or be burned to death in the flames!

It was a cruel, painful and ridiculous death!
"If I had known this, I shouldn't have agreed to General Cheng's request. I shouldn't, I shouldn't—"

Sun Quan's mentality exploded, and his face was filled with endless regret.

Zhou Yu, Lu Meng and other generals all sighed silently.

"The lord originally wanted to kill Su Fei, but it was this thief Jinfan who pleaded for him, so the lord spared his life!"

"If it weren't for this, how could that bastard have killed Pan Zhang and surrendered to Liu Bei? How could he have had the opportunity to burn General Cheng to death with fire today?"

"My lord, this Jinfan thief is the culprit who killed General Cheng!"

Ling Tong pointed his sword at Gan Ning again and cursed.

Gan Ning's heart was shocked, and only then did he understand why Ling Tong pointed his sword at him.

The root of the problem lies with Su Fei!
When the generals heard this, they all glared at Gan Ning with resentment in their eyes.

After all, Gan Ning was an outsider to them, while Cheng Pu and Ling Tong were their own people.

Even when Sun Quan glanced at Gan Ning, there was a subtle and imperceptible look in his eyes.

There was clearly a hint of resentment in that look.

Gan Ning put down the sword in his hand, sighed helplessly, and a look of guilt appeared on his face.

There was no way, Su Fei was indeed recommended and saved by him.

Now Su Fei surrendered to Liu Bei first, and then burned Cheng Pu to death with fire. In a blink of an eye, they became the sworn enemy of Jiangdong.

How could he, the person who recommended him in the first place, be free from responsibility?
Taking a deep breath, Gan Ning bowed to Sun Quan:

"Ning has always been clear about gratitude and resentment. Initially, it was because Su Fei had done Ning a favor that I spoke out to plead for him."

"Ning never expected that Su Fei, unable to die for his lord in such a desperate situation, would surrender to Liu Bei. Nor did he expect Liu Bei to dare to use him so highly that he killed General Cheng with a fire attack."

"No matter what, as Su Fei's guarantor, I cannot escape the blame. If my lord wishes to punish me, I am willing to accept it."

Sun Quan clenched his fists secretly, his face gloomy, and he really had the urge to punish Gan Ning.

"Even if Xingba made mistakes, they were simply due to his poor judgment of people. Yu believed that the deaths of Pan Zhang and General Cheng were the fault of Su Fei and even more so of Liu Bei, but not Xingba."

"Although Ziming's plan failed, our main force has already reached Fankou. Our strategy of seizing Xiakou must not be abandoned halfway."

"Among all the generals, no one is more familiar with Jiangxia and Jingzhou than Xingba."

"At this critical moment, if you take your anger out on Xingba, wouldn't that be exactly what Liu Bei wants, hindering your grand goal of seizing Jingzhou?"

At the critical moment, Zhou Yu stood up and spoke "fair words" for Gan Ning.

However, his implication was to hint to Sun Quan that in order to seize the overall situation of Jingzhou, you cannot be angry with Gan Ning, the "Jingzhou expert".

Sun Quan's heart trembled, and the resentment in his eyes disappeared instantly.

After rolling his eyes a few times, Sun Quan supported Gan Ning and sighed:

"Xingba, I am not the kind of foolish ruler who cannot distinguish right from wrong, loyalty from treachery. You are underestimating me, Sun Quan, by apologizing like this."

Gan Ning breathed a sigh of relief.

Sun Quan's words clearly showed that he did not intend to put the blame on him for Su Fei's "crimes".

Seeing that Sun Quan did not pursue the matter, the generals, although angry, did not dare to say anything more.

"Lord!"

"Public achievements!"

Sun Quan interrupted Ling Tong's indignation and said in an unquestionable tone:

"I have already said that this matter has nothing to do with Xingba. I hope you can also understand the greater good and put my great cause of seizing Jingzhou first. Don't be so stubborn!" Ling Tong was full of resentment and blocked Sun Quan's words abruptly.

My lord has made it so clear. If you still refuse to listen, then you don't understand how to be a minister.

Ling Tong was unwilling in his heart, but he could only sigh and forcefully swallow his resentment.

Zhou Yu raised his hand and pointed in the direction of Xiakou, and said confidently:

"Liu Bei's main naval and land forces are currently being pinned down at Baqiu by Liu Cong's Jingzhou troops. Xiakou only has over 10,000 infantry."

"As long as we can break through the fortifications on both sides of the river, Liu Bei's iron chain blocking the river will naturally be useless."

"My lord, victory is still in our hands!"

These confident and bold words immediately pulled Sun Quan out of the grief and anger of losing his troops and generals.

Sun Quan, filled with rage, drew his sword and marched westward:
"All troops, listen up! Continue marching westward!"

"In this battle, I will fight to the death alongside you. I will not withdraw my troops until I have taken Xiakou and avenged General Cheng!"

The Jiangdong generals were ignited with rage for revenge, and they all roared and shouted, clamoring to avenge Cheng Pu.

Tens of thousands of Jiangdong navy troops rushed westward like mad dogs, heading straight for Xiakou.

...

Bachu Fortress, the central military tent.

"That scoundrel Sun Quan has betrayed us once again, disguising himself as a surrendered soldier's family member and attacking Xiakou again!"

"Fortunately, Military Advisor Kong Ming was on guard early on. Bo Wen, you set up this iron chain blocking the river. Otherwise, the consequences would be disastrous!"

Liu Bei showed Wei Yan's battle report to everyone, and his face was filled with indignation but also with relief.

There was an uproar in the tent, and all the generals were angry at Sun Quan's shameful behavior.

"It's easy to change a country, but hard to change one's nature. Sun Quan's betrayal of the alliance was to be expected."

Xiao He remained calm as usual and only asked Wei Yan about the results of the battle.

As soon as the battle results were mentioned, the anger in the tent immediately turned into excitement.

"Military Advisor Bo Wen, your fire attack plan burned ten thousand Jiangdong troops without a single soldier being killed. This is truly a great victory!"

Guan Yu stroked his beautiful beard and admired it, obviously very satisfied with the results of the battle.

After reading the battle report, Xiao He also showed sarcasm and sneered:

"The funny thing is this Cheng Pu. He had clearly returned to Jiangdong, but he volunteered to lead his army back to die, and was burned to death by Su Fei."

"Cheng Pu's action can be described as sending someone's head a thousand miles away."

All the generals laughed and mocked each other.

"Cheng Pu was also a famous general of his time. It's a pity that he ended up like this."

After sighing, Liu Bei looked at Xiao He:
"Bo Wen, Sun Quan has already shown his power. In your opinion, how should I respond?"

The big tent fell silent, and everyone's eyes turned to Xiao He.

"Although Sun Quan lost Cheng Pu, his main force remains intact and has likely already passed Fankou. I suspect he will still be determined to attack Xiakou."

"This time, Sun Quan has mobilized the entire nation's army. With Wei Wenchang's ability, defending Xiakou City should be a piece of cake, but how long the iron chain blocking the river can hold is still unknown."

"So, my lord, what you need to do now is to defeat Cai Mao's Jiangling navy and Bachu and Seinan's Jingnan coalition forces before Sun Quan breaks the iron chain blocking the river!"

Xiao stood up and pointed at the map:
"After Cai Mao's navy reached Jianli, they halted their advance and allowed the Jingnan coalition to advance overland towards our Baqiu. It's clear he wanted to conserve his strength while allowing the Jingnan coalition to wear down our forces."

"Those prefects in southern Jing are not stupid. Not all of them are truly willing to work for the Cai and Kuai families. Most of them are just there to work but not put in any effort. We don't need to worry about them for now."

"My lord, you must now order General Guan to lead the navy westward, heading straight for Jianli. Before Cai Mao learns of Sun Quan's defeat in his surprise attack, we must force him into a decisive battle across the Yangtze River and defeat him in one fell swoop."

"If Cai Mao learns of Sun Quan's defeat, he might become afraid and retreat to his water camp, daring not to fight. This would be detrimental to our army's quick victory."

"In short, the purpose of our battle can be summed up in one sentence: race against time with Sun Quan!"

Liu Bei and everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Yunchang, listen to my orders!"

Liu Bei stood up and said proudly:

"I order you to lead your navy westward immediately. Before Sun Quan breaks through my iron chain blocking the river, you must defeat the Jiangling navy commanded by Cai Mao!"

"Yunchang, do you have confidence?"

Guan Yu jumped up and bowed generously:

"Brother, don't worry. I regard Cai Mao as a man who is willing to sacrifice his life for a price!"

"Within five days, I will return with news of victory!"

The decision was made, and Guan Yu immediately led nearly 20,000 naval troops out of the Baqiu water camp and headed straight for Jianli, 20 miles away.

Liu Bei personally led the crowd to the shore and watched the navy go away.

Just as Guan Yu was sent away, the sound of war drums and horns blew from the south of the fortress.

The soldiers came to report that more than 20,000 Jingnan coalition forces had lined up outside the wall of the pass, with great momentum, as if they were about to attack Baqiu Pass.

Liu Bei immediately rushed to the southern camp wall and took charge of the situation personally.

Climbing up the camp wall and looking around, I saw that the Jingnan coalition forces were already a huge mass on the plain to the south.

The four flags of "Han", "Liu", "Jin" and "Zhao" were dancing in a disorderly manner, indicating that the four county governors were personally leading their troops to come.

"Bo Wen, looking at this situation, are the Jingnan coalition forces really going to storm our Baqiusai?"

Liu Bei frowned slightly and pointed outside the camp and asked.

Xiao He smiled and said disapprovingly:
"Don't worry, my lord. Those four people each have their own agenda. How could they possibly unite and attack Baqiu with all their might?"

"I think they are just bluffing, making a big noise to shut Cai Mao up."

Liu Bei was confused, so he ordered all his troops to guard the camp walls strictly and not go out to fight, waiting to see what the coalition forces were up to.

Just then.

In the coalition army, a man and a horse galloped out and arrived directly in front of the border wall.

The burly general pointed his axe and shouted proudly:
"Listen, Liu Bei! I am General Xing Daorong of Lingling!"

"Where is Guan Yu? Send him here to die!"

(End of this chapter)