I, Zhou Cang, am the number one tank in the Three Kingdoms.

"It's absolutely true! That ship is General Sun Quan!" A Jiangdong prisoner captured by Guan Yu's troops in Hefei said to Pang Tong with certainty.

"That's not surprising. I was quite surprised to hear that Guan Yu fought four against one, and it turns out that Sun Quan himself has come," Pang Tong muttered to himself.

This matter has become complicated. If it were someone else coming to the rescue, Pang Tong would not hesitate to do everything in his power to annihilate them all. However, if Sun Quan is also present, it would be best to consult his lord.

"General Chen Lan, please go to Lord Shushui's camp immediately and inform him of this matter," Pang Tong ordered Chen Lan.

"Yes, sir!"

Chen Lan quickly dispatched a small boat to the mouth of the Shushui River.

"Yuanzhi has a good eye! It really is Sun Quan who has come?!" Upon hearing Chen Lan's report, Liu Bei looked at Xu Shu in surprise.

A few hours earlier, at dawn, when Sun Quan's fleet passed by the mouth of the Shu River where Liu Bei's camp was located, although the distance was far, Xu Shu immediately recognized that the person surrounded by a crowd of stars on the ship was none other than Sun Quan himself.

So he made a bet with Liu Bei, who insisted that Sun Quan would not come in person. The two then used their respective swords as stakes and bowed to each other from afar to see how the other would react.

Now that the information had been confirmed by Pang Tong, Xu Shu coughed lightly and extended his hand to Liu Bei: "My lord?"

Liu Bei withdrew his gaze and calmly asked, "What is it?"

"My lord's sword..." Xu Shu whispered a reminder.

"Yuanzhi, why be so serious..." Liu Bei said seriously, but still reached out and took off his sword, placing it in Xu Shu's hand.

Xu Shu drew his double-edged sword, the two swords gleaming coldly, their sword aura intimidating.

"I once heard that my lord once used this sword to fight against Lü Bu. Seeing it today, it is indeed an unparalleled sword!" Xu Shu exclaimed, stroking the blade of the double-edged sword.

After admiring it, Xu Shu put the sword back in its sheath and returned it to Liu Bei.

"What? Does the strategist look down on my sword?" Liu Bei teased deliberately.

"How dare I? The bet was just a joke. Please don't take offense, my lord. I would never dare to take away what you love!" Xu Shu said with a smile.

Liu Bei then feigned reluctance to sheathe his sword, and then asked Xu Shu, "Strategist, now that Sun Quan has come personally, what are our chances of victory?"

Xu Shu replied, "The odds of victory depend entirely on your decision, my lord."

Liu Bei was not surprised by Xu Shu's answer. He stood up and paced back and forth in the camp, deep in thought.

Seeing that Liu Bei was still hesitant, Xu Shu reminded him, "My lord, if you want to build a foundation for Hefei for ten years..."

"In that case, just pretend you don't know and do your best." Upon hearing this, Liu Bei immediately interrupted Xu Shu and uttered these words.

Xu Shu smiled with satisfaction and looked at Chen Lan.

Chen Lan understood, turned and left, returning to Hefei to relay the order to Pang Tong.

That evening, Sun Quan's fleet finally encountered the Jingzhou navy that Zhou Tai had described, which had blocked the river mouth with its ships.

Dozens of fully loaded warships were linked together horizontally, connecting the north and south banks of the river mouth. Behind the warships were hundreds of driftwood logs, also connected by ropes. Behind the driftwood logs were the fighting ships and warships of the Jingzhou navy, which blocked the river mouth.

The warships had to stop. Sun Quan stood on the upper deck, looking at the blockade, and asked his men, "Generals, is there any way to break through this blockade?"

Xu Sheng said, "My lord, I think there is nothing to fear. With the strength of our warships, breaking through the blockade will be as easy as turning one's hand."

"What Wenxiang said is incorrect. My lord, please look at the warships that are linked together. Although they are fully loaded with supplies, they are very shallow. I'm afraid the enemy has other plans." Huang Gai was more observant and noticed the clue at a glance.

At this moment, Cheng Pu ran upstairs from the deck to report: "My lord, I have seen it clearly; even the cargo on the ship is flammable!"

These words sparked a flurry of discussion among the crowd.

"My lord, the enemy is using this situation to prevent us from advancing. Why don't we send a small boat to set all the ships on fire? Then the enemy will have nothing to rely on," Zhuge Jin suggested.

Upon hearing this, Sun Quan's eyes lit up; it was indeed a good idea.

"Who is capable of undertaking this great feat?" Sun Quan asked, looking at the generals around him.

"This humble general is willing to go!" Xu Sheng strode forward.

"Good! Bring the wine!" Sun Quan's eyes showed a look of satisfaction.

After all, this is an extremely dangerous act. Putting aside whether one can escape after setting the fire, just looking at the enemy's deployment on both sides of the river, it's hard to say whether one can break through the enemy's long-range attacks and reach the ship.

A servant brought over some wine, which Xu Sheng drank in one gulp. "Thank you for the wine, my lord!" Xu Sheng said, and then strode away.

Looking at Xu Sheng's retreating figure, Sun Quan regained some confidence. Although he was no match for Guan Yu, Xu Sheng's resolute determination to die showed that he was still a hero of Jiangdong!

Two quarters of an hour later, three small boats simultaneously emerged from the fleet and sailed downstream. Each boat carried twelve men, all of whom, except for the helmsman, held a shield in one hand and a torch in the other, intending to set the linked boats ablaze.

On the ship, Sun Quan personally beat the drum to send Xu Sheng off.

"Boom boom boom boom!" The war drums sounded, and Zhou Cang's troops in Juchao and the Jingzhou navy behind the floating logs were already prepared to respond.

Sure enough, as soon as Xu Sheng's three ships entered the firing range of both banks, Zhou Cang ordered a barrage of arrows. Although the boats were moving very fast downstream, three or four people on each ship were still hit by arrows and fell into the water.

As they drew closer to the linked ships, arrows rained down not only from both banks, but also from the archers on the warships and fighting vessels of Jingzhou.

A dense rain of arrows shot at the three ships from the left, center, and right without any blind spots. In just a few breaths, one ship was completely destroyed, and Xu Sheng and the other ship together had only five people left.

"We're almost there! Charge!" Xu Sheng shouted to the other ship, whose helmsman was dead and which was relying entirely on the current to approach the Lianchuan defense line.

Xu Sheng stopped talking a few breaths after he finished speaking, because the other ship had also been completely destroyed, leaving only the two people on his ship.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!" This time, the rain of arrows was all aimed at Xu Sheng's ship.

Xu Sheng reacted quickly, grabbing his men before the arrows riddled him and his soldiers with holes, and they all jumped into the water.

Although he was hit in the back by an arrow before entering the water, Xu Sheng and his men eventually swam back to the ship.

"My lord, Xu Sheng is willing to go again!" Xu Sheng said defiantly.

"Wen Xiang is truly a brave warrior!" Sun Quan offered him wine again.

This time, with experience, Xu Sheng prepared five ships to set off one after another, and sixty suicide soldiers once again attacked the linked ship defense line.

What the Jiangdong army didn't know was that, apart from the armored soldiers, Zhou Cang had stationed archers at Juchao, who had been waiting for this.

This time, Xu Sheng saw the dawn of victory. Although the first three ships were wiped out again in a short time and he was hit by two arrows, he had now reached a point closer to the linked ships than before.

Two of the three people on the boat threw away their torches and instead picked up the shield of their fallen teammate, wrapping it around Xu Sheng.

Closer and closer! Xu Sheng was ready to throw the torch!

"Whoosh!" Just as the small boat carrying three assassins was about to approach the main boat, two thick ropes suddenly appeared on the river, capsizing the last boat.

"Alas!" Sun Quan, on the ship, watched his hope being extinguished just as it was about to be realized, and in his anger, he pounded the railing with his fist.

I underestimated them after all.

What was even more disheartening was that the eight boats that had charged twice were swept away by the current and blocked the linked boats again. If they used small boats like the Zouge to charge again, it would be even more difficult to get close to the linked boats. However, if they used large boats, they would inevitably end up perishing together.

This time, Xu Sheng was hit by three arrows, which affected his strength. It took him a long time to swim back to the ship. After boarding the ship, he saw the several boats blocking the way and knew that he could not make another attempt. After being comforted by Sun Quan, he returned to his cabin to rest.

Seeing that there was no hope of breaking through the defenses, the Jiangdong rulers and ministers on the warship fell silent once again.

Pan Zhang was wounded by Guan Yu, Lü Fan was shot by Guan Yu, and Xu Sheng was hit by three arrows. With fewer and fewer people available, Sun Quan began to feel anxious.

"My lord, now that things have come to this, I am willing to lead the navy to storm the linked ships and set them ablaze!" Huang Gai stepped forward and said with righteous indignation.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Pu immediately waved his hand and said, "Gongfu, absolutely not!"

"Now that things have come to this, there is no other way!" Huang Gai said firmly.

In fact, Sun Quan had already thought of this method, but since it would come at the cost of sacrificing his soldiers, he was unwilling to think about it in detail.

"Why not negotiate peace?" Zhuge Jin, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly uttered a startling statement.

"In my opinion, our army should not have come to Hefei in the first place. We have fallen into Cao Cao's trap." Facing the surprised looks of the crowd, Zhuge Jin explained in detail.

"Liu Bei's construction of Hefei is not favorable to Jiangdong, but the climate is not yet ripe, and Jiangdong is not yet firmly established enough to contend for the Central Plains."

"Liu Ye and his ilk are spreading heretical rumors to seduce our lord into sending troops, ostensibly to seize the benefits of Huainan, but in reality to divert disaster eastward. We beseech our lord to see the truth!"

After Zhuge Jin finished speaking, he bowed deeply to Sun Quan.

Sun Quan had certainly considered this possibility. He had already thought of it when his defeated troops were ambushed and killed by Guan Yu on the south bank of Chaohu Lake, but he was unwilling to admit it or negotiate peace with Liu Bei in such a disadvantageous situation.

"Ziyu's words are reasonable," Sun Quan said slowly. "However, I believe that if we negotiate peace now, Jiangdong will likely become a laughingstock of the world in the future."

Zhuge Jin was taken aback upon hearing this, closed his eyes tightly, and remained silent. It seemed that his lord was not convinced and had not yet come to terms with reality... There was no point in saying more.

Upon hearing this, Huang Gai knew that a desperate battle was inevitable, and stepped forward again to request permission to fight, saying, "My lord! Please allow Huang Gai to fight!"

Sun Quan remained silent, stroking his chin with one hand.

"My lord!" Huang Gai shouted again, urging Sun Quan to make a decision quickly.

The others also knew that negotiating peace was truly the only option.

After a long pause, Sun Quan finally spoke: "Huang Gai, listen to my command!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

"I order you to lead one warship, four large warships, and five hundred naval troops to break through the blockade!" Sun Quan finally decided to fight to the death!

"Huang Gai obeys!"

"Chen Wu, heed my command!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

"I order you to lead thirty small boats to follow Huang Gai's warships and provide immediate support and rescue!"

"Yes, sir!"

Two generals, one old and one young, stepped forward to receive their orders, and Sun Quan's clenched fist loosened slightly.

Success or failure hinges on this!