Tiger Owl

Chapter 279 Collapse on All Sides
The Xu family was not a surrender faction, but a centrist faction. The centrist faction and the anti-Cao faction shared the same goal: to protect Jiangdong. However, they chose different methods: one insisted on resisting by force, while the other resolved the crisis through political negotiations.

However, when faced with a life-or-death situation, the centrists may very well turn into the anti-Cao faction.

More importantly, the centrists' appeasement attitude was only directed at Cao Cao, but when it came to dealing with Sun Ben, their stance immediately became hardline.

Based on this understanding, Jia Xu abandoned the idea of ​​sending someone to persuade the Xu family, and instead adopted a more realistic and bolder approach.

As night fell, an army of two thousand men gradually arrived at Wu County. The general in charge was Cao Zhen. All two thousand men were selected from Cao's army and were the elite of the elite. They all dressed as soldiers of Jiangdong County and carried the banners of local county soldiers.

At dusk, the army arrived at the south city of Wu County. The soldiers guarding the city had already noticed the approaching army and hurriedly closed the city gates.

Zhao Chu spurred his horse forward and shouted, "I am Zhao Chu, the garrison commander of Qiantang. Who is on duty on the city wall?"

After a moment, a general peeked out and replied, "My name is Zhou Ming. Are you General Zhao?"

"Yes, it is I. Open the city gate quickly and let us into the city to rest."

When the on-duty general Zhou Ming saw that there were two thousand county soldiers outside, although he knew that they were from Qiantang County, there were too many of them, so he did not dare to make a decision. He immediately sent someone to report to the commander Xu Yi.

Xu Yi also received the news and was rushing towards the south city. After hearing the report, he went up to the city wall and looked down. Sure enough, there were two thousand county soldiers, and the general in charge was Zhao Chu, whom he knew very well.

"General Zhao, what's going on?"

"By order of Lord Wu, we went to Dantu to provide support. It is getting late, and the soldiers are starving and thirsty. We have come to ask for lodging for the night!"

This reason is valid. Sun Ben is mobilizing troops to prepare for an attack on Jiangdong, and Jiangdong will naturally have to respond actively. It is normal for them to send local troops north.

Zhao Chu raised the command arrow high, "This is Lord Wu's order to mobilize troops!"

Xu Yi had no doubts whatsoever; he was just a little worried that the soldiers entering the city might disturb the residents.

"General Zhao, I need your promise that the army will remain in the barracks until you leave tomorrow."

"I assure you, General!" Zhao Chu immediately promised.

Xu Yi waved his hand, and the drawbridge slowly lowered, the city gate slowly opened, and Cao Zhen, in the ranks, narrowed his eyes to slits, revealing a horrified killing intent.

He waved his hand lightly and commanded, "The army enters the city!"

Two thousand soldiers marched into the city, while a few miles away, forty thousand troops were rapidly advancing towards Wu County.

In order to protect the safety of the people in the city, Xu Yi ultimately chose to surrender rather than fight in the streets. Sun Ben's army captured Wu County, the most important city in Jiangdong, without bloodshed.

Just two days after Sun Benjun captured Wu County, Zu Lang, the chieftain of the Yue tribe in the mountains, also led an army of 30,000 to occupy Wanling County, which was sparsely defended.

The loss of Wu County and Wanling County was like a landslide for Jiangdong. Wu County had strong political significance, being the ancestral home of countless officials. Its loss directly shook the foundation of Sun Quan's rule.

However, the loss of Wanling County had even more serious consequences. It was a crucial logistical base for the 100,000-strong Jiangdong army, where 500,000 shi of grain and countless supplies were stored. Its loss meant that the 100,000-strong garrison of Danyang County could not hold out for more than a month.

Silence reigned in Sun Quan's office. Zhang Zhao, Lü Fan, Gu Yong, Yu Fan, Xu Kun, and Zhou Yu and Lü Meng, who had just returned, all wore grim expressions. They all realized that Jiangdong was facing a life-or-death situation.

"What do we do now?" Sun Quan's voice was hoarse, his eyes were bloodshot, and he hadn't slept for two days.

The hall was completely silent. After a long while, Zhang Zhao said in a deep voice, "The most urgent task now is to defend Dantu County. Once Sun Ben's 40,000 troops march north from Wu County, Dantu County will be lost."

Lu Meng frowned. "If the army returns to defend, our hard-won Yangtze River defense line will be torn apart."

"No way!"

Lu Fan decisively said, "Military Advisor Zhang is right. Protecting Dantu County is of paramount importance now. The garrison on the Yangtze River must withdraw immediately. We can use the navy to intercept them on the river to make up for the shortcomings of the land defense. In addition, we should focus on strengthening the defense of Niuzhu. If we do these two things well, it will be difficult for Sun Ben to cross the river and land."

Sun Quan sighed deeply and said to Lü Meng and Zhou Yu, "That's settled then! Let's move out immediately."

No one mentioned that the Shanyue army had occupied Wanling County. The Shanyue army was a major problem that they couldn't solve at the moment. They were just hoping that the Shanyue people had only occupied Wanling County for food and supplies and would not continue to move north.

There was no room for negotiation now. Zhou Yu nodded silently, bowed, turned and left the Wu Hou Mansion, heading towards Jingkou. Lü Meng also rushed back to the Yangtze River defense line in Danyang County overnight.

Of the 100,000 troops in Danyang County, 60,000 were to retreat back to Dantu County. It had to be 60,000, plus the 20,000 troops in Dantu County, for a total of 80,000 troops to guard the capital, which would give people some peace of mind.

Danyang and Wu prefectures have a river stretching for a thousand miles, but only two thousand warships and thirty thousand naval troops are far from enough. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen defenses on land as well, so that the navy can focus on defending a few strategic locations, while the rest can be left to the land forces.

However, the eastward withdrawal of the Danyang army created a significant gap in the Yangtze River defense line.

Many places that originally did not require naval defense were forced to allocate a large number of warships and naval forces for defense. This was like pushing over dominoes; a problem in one place triggered a series of problems. Moreover, it was far more than just one place that was out of control.

Xun You, stationed on the north bank of the Yangtze River, had been closely monitoring the changes in the deployment of the Yangtze River naval forces. He had conducted a thorough analysis and knew that Jia Xu and Cao Zhen's 40,000 troops would threaten the survival of Dantu County. The enemy's Yangtze River defenses would inevitably be withdrawn, and the consequence of the withdrawal would be a change in the deployment of the naval forces.

Xun You pointed to the map and said to Sun Ben, "Here!"

Xun You pointed to Jiangning County on the map. "There aren't many warships deployed here, mostly medium-sized warships. I've calculated that there are at most two thousand troops. The troops can land here."

"But if our warships move eastward, they will inevitably be discovered by the enemy's scouts."

Xun You smiled slightly, “We will use civilian ships to land at Jiangning with 30,000 troops, while we will leave 800 warships and 10,000 troops in Liyang County to mislead the Jiangdong army. Our battle plan is to land, not to fight a naval battle.”

Xun You's last words suddenly made Sun Ben realize something: Yes! Their goal was to land, not to fight a naval battle, so of course any kind of ship would do.

Xun You immediately made arrangements: Wang Kun, a general under Sun Ben, led 10,000 troops and 800 warships to make a show of force in Liyang County, while Le Jin and Han Dang led 30,000 troops to quietly move to the opposite bank of the Yangtze River in Jiangning County.

Xun You was making arrangements discreetly, reducing the army under Sun Ben's control by 10,000 men, which was Han Dang's 10,000 troops. Meanwhile, Wang Kun, the general who commanded another 10,000 troops, had already quietly surrendered to Cao Cao.

Two days later, the time to cross the river arrived.

(End of this chapter)