Wei Xiaobao's Three Kingdoms Adventure

Chapter 141 The solution to the problem lies outside the game

Huang Zu's life was not easy at all.

Liu Biao's ambition was to hold on to Jingzhou, and he missed several opportunities for expansion. Huang Zu, however, had greater ambitions, but was constantly limited by Liu Biao, who even withheld military rations from Jiangxia.

Liu Bei and Sun Quan both sent people to Jiangxia, and Huang Zu knew that his chance had come.

No matter who he chose to cooperate with, it was a great opportunity to break away from Liu Biao. However, this was a gamble, a gamble that affected his own and Jiangxia's future. If he won, he would rise to prominence, but if he lost, he would even lose his life.

If Liu Bei is the enemy, Jiangxia will be hard to defend against attacks from Xinye and Runan. If Sun Quan is the enemy, the navy from the south will pose a threat to Jiangxia.

Huang Zu hesitated, but he didn't have much time to hesitate.

In desperation, Huang Zu decided to meet Lu Su first.

The conditions brought by Lu Su were simple. As long as Huang Zu was willing to assist Sun Quan in attacking Liu Bei, the Sun family was willing to put aside their past grudges and conspire with Huang Zu of Jiangxia for great things.

Lu Su was not in a position to say clearly what the so-called big event was, but Huang Zu knew it in his heart, that it was nothing more than grabbing Liu Biao's territory and dividing it among everyone.

Huang Zu pretended to agree to Lu Su's request, and then let Lu Su return to Chaisang with peace of mind.

The conditions offered by Guan Yu were not that tempting. Liu Bei only promised Huang Zu that after defeating Liu Biao, he would recommend him to be the governor of Jingzhou.

Huang Zu also knew that the position of Governor of Jingzhou promised by Liu Bei was just a nominal one, and that it would be Liu Bei who would ultimately control Jingzhou.

In the end, Huang Zu didn't help anyone and chose to watch the fire from the other side of the river.

When Cao Cao and Yuan Shao fought a decisive battle, Liu Bei made the same choice and secretly expanded his power. Huang Zu also wanted to follow suit, but he overlooked the most important point: he did not have a talent like Zhuge Liang under his command, and Liu Bei would not give him time to develop.

After Guan Yu returned to Xinye, he told Liu Bei in detail about his trip to Jiangxia. Not long after, a letter from Liu Bei arrived in Xinye from Xuchang.

The letter was very short and had only one meaning: to capture Jiangxia by surprise as quickly as possible.

Along with Liu Bei's letter, there was also Zhuge Liang's battle plan.

Huang Zu was still at home thinking about how to develop secretly, whether he should attack Lujiang in Yangzhou or Jiangling in Jingzhou first, when Zhou Tai and Ling Cao's navy had already arrived at Xiakou Port.

Following Zhuge Liang's plan, Guan Yu abandoned Zhonglu and Huyang Ports and used all his naval forces to attack Xiakou Port. At the same time, Guan Yu and Zhang Liao attacked Jiangxia City from land.

Attacked from both sides, Huang Zu had no choice but to divide his forces. He ordered Gan Ning to lead the navy out of Xiakou Harbor to fight Zhou Tai and Ling Cao, while he himself led his troops to the west of Jiangxia to fight Guan Yu and Zhang Liao.

Huang Zu strategically misjudged the situation and chose to establish independence. He also made a tactical mistake, thinking that Gan Ning and himself could stop Guan Yu's joint land and sea forces.

Most of the soldiers in Jiangxia City are archers. If they hold the city firmly, they may be able to resist for a few more days.

However, the arrogant Huang Zu decided to annihilate the enemy outside the city.

Guan Yu and Zhang Liao's troops, already battle-hardened from their experiences in pacifying Jiangdong and capturing Xuchang, showed no fear at all when facing the archers led by Huang Zu. Their infantry and cavalry worked together, quickly breaking through the defensive line and charging into Huang Zu's ranks.

Poor Huang Zu, before he could figure out why he lost, he was killed by the rebel army and his body was never found.

After Guan Yu led his troops into Jiangxia, he rested for a few days before attacking Xiakou Port. Together with the naval forces of Zhou Tai and Ling Cao, they formed a pincer attack on Gan Ning. Upon learning that Huang Zu had been killed in battle and Jiangxia had fallen, Gan Ning decisively abandoned Xiakou Port and fled by boat to Wulin Port, where he sought refuge with Sun Quan.

Although Liu Bei's army captured Jiangxia and Xiakou Port, they also went to Zhonglu Port and Huyang Port. The entire middle section of the river fell into the hands of Sun Quan and Liu Biao.

When the two sides are in balance, the weight of a feather may break this balance, and the feather that Zhuge Liang was thinking of at this moment was Yuan Tan.

At Liu Bei's Affiliated Middle School in Xuchang, a group of civil and military officials were discussing how to capture Yuan Tan.

Puzzled, Liu Bei asked Zhuge Liang, "How can Yuan Tan, who is far away in Qingzhou in the north, influence the situation in the south?"

Zhuge Liang revealed the secret: "My lord, our army has suffered repeated setbacks on the Yangtze River. This is because our naval commander is defending the north instead of fighting in the south, allowing Sun Quan to gain unparalleled advantages. If we can unite with Yuan Tan, establish our base in Qingzhou, and control the river, we can divert half of our naval forces to attack the river ports. If we can break through Zhou Yu's blockade at Gangguo Port and land across the river, Sun Quan's land forces will be in tatters."

Liu Bei and the others understood what he said and they all admired Zhuge Liang's overall vision, but how to capture Yuan Tan became another problem.

Zhuge Liang said, "The foundation of the alliance between Yuan Tan and Cao Cao is their common enemy, Yuan Shang. Without this foundation, the alliance will naturally collapse."

Liu Bei asked, "What do you mean, military advisor?"

Zhuge Liang smiled and said, "Now Yuan Shang has the Wuhuan to help him and has fought Cao Cao to a draw. If we can help Cao Cao, Yuan Shao can be defeated!"

Everyone was shocked by this bold idea.

Zhuge Liang explained, "Our goal is to trap Cao Cao in the north. No matter how large his territory is in the north, as long as he can't cross the river, he poses no threat to us."

It was a risky move, so Liu Bei adopted Zhuge Liang's strategy.

Soon after, Liu Bei's navy launched a surprise attack on the granary along the Nanpi coast and ambushed the Wuhuan's waterway and grain route.

Cao Cao thought that Liu Bei's navy was just taking advantage of the situation to rob food and supplies, which just happened to help him, and mocked Liu Bei for not understanding the art of balance and military strategy.

Yuan Shang's food and grass were robbed, and the Wuhuan retreated due to lack of food and grass. He was soon defeated by Cao Cao and Yuan Tan, and was finally killed by Gongsun Kang on his way to Liaodong.

What happened next was exactly what Zhuge Liang had predicted. Cao Cao quickly reached a truce with the Wuhuan and then crossed the lower reaches of the river to attack Yuan Tan in Qingzhou.

Zhuge Liang had already ordered the navy to intercept on the river and sent a letter of alliance to Yuan Tan.

Yuan Tan now understood that Cao Cao would not let him go, so he had no choice but to agree to form an alliance with Liu Bei and use Liu Bei's navy to resist Cao Cao's attack.

The Cao army in Yanzhou has been in a state of shortage of manpower and food, and it is unable to launch an attack on Qingzhou even though it wants to.

Cao Cao's army suffered several losses in naval battles and had to retreat to Jizhou, and even dared not to station at the port on the north bank of the river.

With Qingzhou as the garrison base, Zhuge Liang left half of the navy to garrison and dispatched the other half back to Ruxukou and Wanjiang ports for rest and recuperation, preparing to attack the river defense line deployed by Zhou Yu.

When Sun Quan learned that Liu Bei's navy had retreated to Lujiang, he hurriedly sent letters to Zhou Yu and Liu Biao.

After receiving Sun Quan's letter, Liu Biao was so frightened that he fell ill and passed away soon after.

(End of this chapter)