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

Chapter 91 Zhou Yu: A generous reward for capturing Xiao He alive! Xiao He: My handsome Zhou Yu is about to suffer again!

At noon, the two Jiangdong fleets met in the Xiakou River area.

Zhou Yu then summoned all the generals on the flagship to discuss the strategy of capturing Xiakou.

He Qi, Xu Sheng and other generals who came later were all shocked when they saw the miserable state of Zhou Yu and Lu Meng, one with a limp and the other with a broken finger.

"Gongjin, before I left, my lord instructed me to lead my army to Xiakou to meet you, march north to block the Han River, and west to block the Yangtze River."

"Gongjin, not only did you fail to capture Xiakou City, but you were also injured like this. What on earth is going on?"

Veteran Cheng Pu looked surprised, and there was a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

Zhou Yu naturally heard the sarcasm in Cheng Pu's words.

As an old minister during the Sun Jian era, Cheng Pu could be considered a veteran of three dynasties of the Sun family. Naturally, his seniority and qualifications were unmatched in Jiangdong.

However, as the leader of the young faction, his power in the Jiangdong army was higher than that of Cheng Pu.

It was well known to everyone that even an experienced person like Cheng Pu was somewhat dissatisfied with him.

Now that he had suffered such a defeat, it was not surprising that Cheng Pu took the opportunity to say something veiled and ambiguous.

"I originally planned to cross the river in white clothes, remove the beacon towers along the river, and launch a surprise attack on Xiakou."

"Who would have thought that there was a spy for Liu Bei in our army who secretly leaked the news to him, allowing Liu Qi and Wei Yan to be prepared early, which led to our defeat in this battle."

In front of Cheng Pu, Zhou Yu did not mention that Xiao He had seen through his plan. Instead, he attributed the reason for the defeat to the existence of a "spy" in the army.

There was no other way. He had to maintain his dignity and prestige in front of Cheng Pu, otherwise this old fox would be even more dissatisfied with him.
"Gongjin, this plan of crossing the river in white clothes is a secret of our army. Only a few people know about it. How could it be easily discovered by spies?"

"As far as I know, there are rumors in the army that it was Liu Bei's military advisor Xiao He who saw through your plan, Gongjin, and used the same trick against you to severely injure you."

Cheng Pu refused to give in and insisted on getting to the bottom of the matter.

Zhou Yu's face darkened and his brows furrowed.

"General Demou, our army only lost a thousand soldiers in this battle. It's not a serious loss. There's no need to worry too much."

"Now that the two armies have joined forces, our top priority is to capture Xiakou City before Liu Bei can withdraw his troops to reinforce us."

Lu Su quickly stepped forward with a smile to smooth things over, and took out the defense map of Xiakou city.

"Old General, you've been on the battlefield for a long time and have fought countless sieges in your life. You have the most experience in this kind of siege warfare. Do you have any advice?"

Lu Su raised the city defense map in front of Cheng Pu, looking like he was humbly seeking advice.

Cheng Pu could not ask any more questions, so he turned his gaze to the map and pointed at it with the demeanor of a veteran.

Zhou Yu saved his face and breathed a sigh of relief. He suppressed his displeasure and looked at the map.

Listening to what Cheng Pu said, Zhou Yu couldn't help but nod slightly, with a bit more admiration in his eyes.

I have to admit that although Cheng Pu relies on his seniority to bully others, he does have some real skills.

Cheng Pu knew exactly where the weaknesses of Xiakou City were, how to deploy siege troops, and which tactics to use to attack which gate.

"Gongjin, what do you think of my siege strategy?"

After saying this, Cheng Pu stroked his half-white beard and looked up at Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu showed respect and praised with a smile:

"The tactics that General Demou described are truly the best way to attack an enemy. Today, I have truly witnessed the saying, 'Old Ginger is Still Wisest.'"

Cheng Pu was very pleased to hear this compliment. He couldn't help laughing and looked a little proud.

Cheng Pu patted Zhou Yu on the shoulder and said:

"Gongjin, don't worry. I will raze Xiakou to the ground and capture Wei Yan, Liu Qi, and that Xiao He alive. I will hand them over to you to avenge that arrow!"

These words meant that Cheng Pu temporarily put aside his prejudice against Zhou Yu and was ready to work together and unite against the outside world.

Zhou Yu then laughed heartily and said proudly:
"Then tomorrow at this time, I will join hands with you, General Demou, to enter Xiakou and drink celebratory wine together!"

Lu Su and others breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that the relationship between Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu had eased.

"Generals, obey the order!"

Zhou Yu stopped laughing and cast a stern look at the generals:

"He Qi and Xu Sheng, listen to my orders! I'm ordering you to lead 7,000 elite soldiers to first seize the water camp and then attack the south gate of Xiakou!"

"Jiang Qin and Dong Xi, listen to my orders. After the army lands, I will order you to lead 6,000 elite soldiers to attack the east gate."

"Lü Meng and Ling Tong, listen to my orders. I order you to..."

Zhou Yu issued several orders and deployed siege tactics according to Cheng Pu's method of attacking the city.

The Jiangdong generals accepted the order with enthusiasm, and each of them was eager to take action, wishing to flatten Xiakou immediately to avenge Zhou Yu's arrow attack.

"Commander-in-Chief, our army's advantage has always been in naval battles. Although our generals are highly motivated, we must also be prepared for both scenarios."

"Su believes that we should send another army upstream of the Han River to prevent Liu Bei from sending his navy south to support Xiakou."

However, Lu Su remained calm and gave advice to Zhou Yu calmly.

Zhou Yu naturally understood the implication.

The Jiangdong Army is good at water battles, and attacking cities has never been its strong point!
Lu Su was afraid that the siege of Xiakou would take too long and Liu Bei got the news and sent his entire army south along the Han River to provide support.

After all, two days had passed since his failed sneak attack on Xiakou. If he had ridden faster, Liu Bei should have received the military report.

"Zi Jing's words make sense. We should be prepared for both scenarios."

Zhou Yu nodded in agreement and glanced at the remaining generals:
"Pan Zhang, I order you to lead 5,000 naval forces into the Han River and advance 20 miles to provide security. If you encounter Liu Bei's navy heading south, intercept them immediately!"

Pan Zhang was worried that he would be left out, but he immediately became excited and accepted the order with great enthusiasm.

"Our army is unfamiliar with the Han River. I think it would be best to send a military officer from Jingzhou to accompany General Pan north to provide security."

Lu Su made another suggestion.

Zhou Yu's gaze immediately glanced at a low-key general in the corner.

Su Fei, a native of Jingzhou, was originally a general under Huang Zu.

Last year, after Sun Quan captured Xiakou, he captured Su Fei alive and originally planned to kill him directly.

Because of Gan Ning's plea, Sun Quan showed mercy and instead accepted Su Fei as his surrender and incorporated him into the army.

"The Han River is not as great as the Yangtze River. A battle on the Han River would indeed require a Jingzhou native to serve as Pan Zhang's deputy general..."

After a brief consideration, Zhou Yu shouted, "Su Fei, listen up! I'm ordering you to be Pan Zhang's deputy commander. Follow him across the Han River to stop Liu Bei's reinforcements from advancing southward!"

When Su Fei heard this order, a subtle look flashed in his eyes.

When Sun Quan broke through Xiakou, the person who captured him alive was none other than Pan Zhang!
Even though he is now a minister of the Sun family, he can never raise his head in front of Pan Zhang, his victim.

Su Fei didn't understand whether Zhou Yu had forgotten about this matter or had done it on purpose, and actually made him Pan Zhang's deputy general.

Is this intended to humiliate him?

"I obey your command!"

Although he was dissatisfied, Su Fei did not dare to show it and could only obey the order.

However, Lu Su saw that Zhou Yu's arrangement was inappropriate and wanted to remind him immediately.

Zhou Yu had already turned to face Xiakou, sword drawn, and pointed fiercely:
"All commanders, listen to my orders! Immediately attack the north bank and crush Xiakou!"

"I will reward anyone who captures Liu Qi and Wei Yan alive with a hundred gold coins."

"Whoever captures Xiao He alive will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins!"

The blood of Jiangdong generals immediately boiled, and they roared and yelled as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

The order was given and all the generals returned to their ships.

The sounds of trumpets and drums soon resounded on both sides of the river.

Five thousand Jiangdong troops, led by the flag with the character Pan, entered the Han River from the north.

Twenty-five thousand main forces of the Jiang army and a thousand warships swept towards the north bank in an overwhelming manner.

A massive offensive began.

At Xiakou, Wei Yan was already on full alert.

Considering that the enemy was numerous and we were few, Wei Yan, at the suggestion of Xiao He, abandoned the water camp and withdrew all his troops into Xiakou City.

The Jiangdong army easily captured the ferry south of the city.

Zhou Yu once again set foot on the sad place where he had once been saddened, and immediately urged his generals to lead their troops to launch a fierce attack on Xiakou City.

For a moment, arrows flew like locusts over Xiakou City, covering the sky and blocking out the sun.

On each city wall, hundreds of ladders were leaning against the walls, and the Jiang army soldiers were like ants, densely swarming all over the walls.

Shooting logs and flying stones were thrown down at all times.

Every moment, soldiers were lying in pools of blood, both inside and outside the city.

Although the Jiangdong army was large in number and its offensive was fierce, it was overshadowed by Wei Yan's military talent.

Under the command of Wei Yan, the 5,000 defenders guarded the four gates like an impregnable fortress, defeating the Jiangdong army's repeated attacks.

The siege lasted for three days.

The city walls were stained with blood, and a thick layer of corpses had piled up underneath. The Jiangdong army had suffered thousands of casualties.

But it still couldn't shake Xiakou City at all!

Zhou Yu was able to keep his composure, but Cheng Pu was a little embarrassed.

The Jiangdong army's siege deployment was all based on his ideas.

Originally, Cheng Pu thought that with an army six times his size and his own siege tactics, he could capture the city in two days at most.

Who would have thought that after three days of fierce attack, with over a thousand casualties, they still could not shake Xiakou?

In anger, Cheng Pu took up his sword and rode his horse to the city to supervise the battle.

The head of the three veteran generals of the Sun family personally took command, which greatly encouraged the soldiers of the Jiangdong army and they launched an offensive like a tide.

On the city wall, the pressure on the defenders doubled.

The Jiangdong army climbed up to the top of the city wall more and more frequently, and the situation of defending the city gradually became serious.

"Military Advisor Bo Wen, the Jiangdong Army's offensive is too fierce. If this continues, I'm afraid Wen Chang won't be able to hold on."

Liu Qi rushed into the city wall with a sword in hand and shouted at Xiao He with an anxious look on his face.

"Don't panic, Master Gongwei. Wenchang is not that weak. He can still hold on. We need to remain calm."

Xiao He's tone was calm and relaxed, his eyes never leaving the telescope, and he chewed some dried meat with relish from time to time.

Zhao Yun and Guan Yinping beside him also looked calm and relaxed, and obviously did not take the seemingly "serious" situation seriously.

There were many spies in Jiangdong at Xiakou. In order to prevent Xiao He's plan from being leaked, after Zhao Yun arrived at Xiakou, he only told Liu Qi that Guan Yu had led the navy south to provide support, but did not reveal Guan Yu's marching route.

Liu Qi didn't know the inside story, so he was naturally extremely anxious.

"I naturally believe in Wenchang's military talent, but..."

"coming!"

Xiao He's eyes suddenly lit up, interrupting Liu Qi's worries.

"Coming? What's coming?"

Liu Qi looked confused.

"Master Gongwei, please read for yourself."

Xiao He smiled and raised the telescope in front of Liu Qi.

Liu Qi knew that this magical device had the magical power of "clairvoyance", but it was his first time seeing it with his own eyes, so he felt a little nervous and it took him a while to get used to it.

Southwest of Xiakou, in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, from the flank and rear of the Jiangdong Army, a navy consisting of hundreds of warships was marching towards them in a mighty force.

When the flag with the word "Guan" came into view clearly from afar, Liu Qi was shocked.

"General Guan's reinforcements! General Guan's reinforcements have arrived!"

Liu Qi looked back at Xiao He in ecstasy.

Xiao He also secretly breathed a sigh of relief, raised a hint of sarcasm at the corner of his mouth, and sneered:
"Zhou Lang was so focused on attacking Xiakou, but he didn't expect to be kicked in the ass by General Guan. Looks like he's going to suffer again!"

Liu Qi was ecstatic, but suddenly realized something was wrong and asked curiously:
"That's not right. If General Guan wanted to rescue us, he should have come from the Han River. Why did he come from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River?"

(End of this chapter)