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

Just as Sun Quan was determined to fight to the death, Pang Tong in Hefei once again made his move.

Pang Tong, accompanied by Gan Ning, used the thirty ships left by Jiangdong at Xiaoyao Ford and personally led eight hundred men to cross Chaohu Lake from Xiaoyao Ford, launching an attack from behind Sun Quan's fleet.

Of course, Pang Tong also knew that thirty ships could not shake Sun Quan's fleet of over a hundred warships, but his goal was not to annihilate the enemy. Just like the previous two attacks by Liao Hua and Guan Yu, the main purpose was to launch surprise attacks and harass, with annihilation of the enemy as a secondary objective.

Of these thirty warships, there was one fighting ship and four warships, all of which had been modified by Liu Ye to have catapults. This was also the reason why Pang Tong had previously ordered Zhou Cang to send men to return the warships to Hefei after arriving at Juchao.

Apart from five warships equipped with catapults, Pang Tong equipped the remaining twenty-five ships with crossbows, sacrificing nearly half of their capacity for long-range attacks. Therefore, this fleet was essentially a long-range force on the water.

"Boom boom boom boom!" The warships at the stern of Sun Quan's fleet quickly spotted Pang Tong's approaching fleet and began beating drums to warn them.

At Pang Tong's command, the twenty-five small boats continued to advance, while the fighting ships and warships began to launch stone attacks on the warships at the stern of the Jiangdong fleet.

This caught the Jiangdong army, which was dispatching ships to prepare to attack the linked ships at the river mouth, off guard.

"Report—My lord! Warships are attacking Hefei! About thirty ships!" A soldier rushed from the deck onto the warship to report to Sun Quan, who had just relaxed a little.

"Liu Bei...you've gone too far!" Sun Quan cursed angrily.

"Cheng Pu! Zhou Tai!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

"Quickly engage the Hefei navy!"

"Yes, sir!"

After dispatching his last two generals, Sun Quan only had Zhuge Jin left by his side.

Zhuge Jin looked at Sun Quan, who was still angry, with a blank expression. He felt that Sun Quan was just like he was when he pacified the Shanyue in Danyang, and he would not listen to good advice.

"Mr. Ziyu, do you really think I shouldn't have interfered in the affairs of Hefei?" Sun Quan suddenly looked at Zhuge Jin.

"My lord, please calm your anger. I believe you should intervene, but this is not the time," Zhuge Jin replied truthfully.

Upon hearing this, Sun Quan was lost in thought. Lu Su had said the same thing when Liu Ye came to ask him to send troops.

"I understand your intentions, sir. However, since my elder brother passed away, there have been many discontented people in the various prefectures of Jiangdong. I originally intended to take this opportunity to demonstrate my military might to them, but alas..."

With no one else present, Sun Quan finally opened up to Zhuge Jin.

"Zijing once advised my lord that only by establishing a foothold in Jiangdong, observing the troubles of the world, and securing the extreme of the Yangtze River, can one then establish an imperial title and conquer the world... My lord, this is the right path, and you must never forget it!" After saying this, Zhuge Jin knelt down and kowtowed to Sun Quan, his emotions running high.

"Mr. Ziyu!" Sun Quan was shocked and hurriedly got up from his seat to help Zhuge Jin up, letting out a long sigh.

"My lord! General Huang Gai has set off!" The soldier's announcement broke Sun Quan's reverie.

Sun Quan hurriedly ran to the railing to watch Huang Gai's attack.

This time, the defenders of Juchao were completely unforgiving. Unlike before when they only used arrows to block the small boats, they started using trebuchets to launch stones at the boats from a distance!

"Quick! Throw it in the direction of the fire!" Zhou Cang quickly commanded the soldiers operating the trebuchets.

The Jiangdong army never expected that the Hefei garrison would actually transport the trebuchets to Juchao, and the terrifying memories resurfaced.

"Bang! Bang!" The leading warship became the target of concentrated fire and was hit by three large rocks in succession. Two rocks pierced the deck and one pierced the hull. River water rushed into the cabin. The soldiers did not have time to seal the holes. In just a moment, one of the four warships sank.

"Full speed ahead!" Huang Gai shouted to the soldiers, holding a shield in one hand and a torch in the other.

Several warships accelerated and rushed towards the linked ships!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Another warship was hit by concentrated fire from the defending troops. Fortunately, all three large stones only hit the deck and did not cause any vital damage.

However, the next round of attacks still sank the warship.

As Huang Gai's warship and two other warships broke through the range of the first round of projectiles, they finally entered the attack range of Zhang Liao's Jingzhou navy.

A dozen or so large rocks hurtled toward Huang Gai's suicide squad. Although most of them landed in the riverbed, a few rocks were still enough to cause fatal damage!

Two!

One!

Finally, only Huang Gai's most sturdy warship remained charging forward. The suicide soldiers on the deck had prepared rockets, ready to set the ship ablaze once it entered the range of the arrows.

As long as there is even a glimmer of hope, the sacrifice of all the warships that sank before will be worthwhile!

"Thump!" A muffled sound suddenly came from the bottom of the warship!

Upon hearing this sound, Huang Gai and everyone on the boat felt utterly hopeless.

Hidden stakes!

Huang Gai never expected that in just one day, the Jingzhou navy and the Juchao garrison would be able to lay hidden stakes in the river!

The warship could no longer move.

"Bang! - Bang bang!" The warship, blocked by the hidden stakes, became a sitting duck for the defenders!

The rocks whistled and crashed down on the warship!

Smash! Pierce! Sink!

After the failed assault, Huang Gai glanced back at the direction of the warship and then ordered everyone to abandon ship and escape.

Sun Quan witnessed the entire charge, and at the moment when Huang Gai's warship sank, he finally couldn't hold back his tears.

"My lord! My lord! The pursuers from Hefei are despicable! They retreated when we chased after them!" Zhou Tai shouted as he rushed onto the warship to complain to Sun Quan, but seeing Sun Quan's pained expression, he quickly shut his mouth.

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Jin walked to the railing facing behind him. In the distance, seven or eight warships at the rear of the fleet had been destroyed by the Hefei navy with flint and fire arrows. They were burning and sinking at the same time. Hundreds of Jiangdong soldiers were floating on the water. Some were clinging to the wreckage of the warships and waiting for rescue, while others had already become corpses.

Zhuge Jin couldn't bear to watch any longer, so he returned to his cabin, sat down, and closed his eyes.

Sun Quan staggered from the east railing to the west railing, and finally staggered back into the cabin, where he slumped into his seat.

When Huang Gai, soaking wet, returned to the ship, he found all the important civil and military officials gathered together, including the wounded Pan Zhang, Lü Fan, and Xu Sheng.

Clearly, Sun Quan has finally made a decision.

"Gentlemen, with this expedition to Hefei, we in Jiangdong have already lost 16,000 men, and our supplies will not last much longer."

"After much agonizing reflection, I do not wish to see more Jiangdong men perish here." Sun Quan had calmed down.

"Therefore, after discussing with General Lü and General Cheng, I decided to negotiate peace with Liu Bei."

After Sun Quan finished speaking, he scanned the crowd's reactions.

Neither seasoned veterans like Huang Gai, Cheng Pu, and Lü Fan, nor young generals like Chen Wu and Pan Zhang, stood up to express any opinion at this time.

The reason is simple: without exception, almost everyone had experienced the fighting power of Liu Bei's army on the front lines.

Although theoretically there is still a possibility of escape, such as launching a suicide attack under the cover of nighttime fog on the river, sacrificing warships and soldiers to set the linked ships on fire, and then fighting a desperate battle with the Jingzhou navy hiding behind the linked ships...

However, everyone was too exhausted to fight anymore. From the moment Zhang Xun's troops were defeated by Zhou Cang and the siege of Hefei was lifted, all the Jiangdong soldiers who came to Huainan felt as if they had experienced a nightmare.

During the siege, they were attacked by trebuchets; at night, they were threatened and driven away by the defenders; when boarding the ship, they were ambushed by cavalry; and when escaping, they were attacked from both sides...

Although none of the Jiangdong army has fully reconstructed how they lost, Liu Bei's army's reputation for fighting prowess is well-deserved.

If we were in Jiangdong territory, we might be able to fight them to a standstill if they attacked. But once we were on their territory, we would be completely at their mercy.

Blame Liu Ye...

"Zhuge Jin, listen to my command." Sun Quan issued the final order in a calm tone.

"Your subject is here."

"I hereby appoint you as a special envoy, with full authority to negotiate peace with Liu Bei."

"I obey your command."

After Sun Quan finished speaking, he stood up and left without looking back. Seeing this, everyone else also got up and dispersed in silence.

"Lord Lü, Lord Cheng, please wait." Out of courtesy, Zhuge Jin kept the two most senior civil and military officials behind to discuss the peace negotiations, intending to hear their thoughts first.

"I'm afraid that Jiangdong will not be able to get its hands on Hefei for several years," Lü Fan said with considerable regret.

"I've always heard that Liu Bei is a benevolent and righteous man, and he shouldn't make things difficult for our lord," Cheng Pu whispered.

"I don't know. Even if Liu Bei was benevolent and righteous, the likes of Xu Shu and Pang Tong around him were certainly not good people."

"If Liu Ye were still alive, we could have bound him and pleaded guilty to Liu Bei, but alas...

Lü Fan and Cheng Pu talked back and forth, mostly speculating and complaining, which Zhuge Jin found utterly annoying.

"How about this, Lord Cheng, please order the entire army to retreat ten miles immediately and take down all the banners. Tomorrow I will go to Juchao alone to report to Liu Bei, and then we can discuss our plans," Zhuge Jin said to Lü Fan and Cheng Pu.

"I'll take care of it right away." Cheng Pu immediately cooperated and hurriedly stepped off the ship.

Zhuge Jin nodded, then looked at Lü Fan and said, "Our lord is still young, so I hope General Lü will offer more advice."

Lu Fan cupped his hands and said, "Ziyu is absolutely right. My lord is inevitably hot-tempered and needs more guidance. I will take care of this matter." After saying that, he also got up and left.

Now that Zhuge Jin was all alone, he could finally think carefully about the peace talks with Liu Bei.

After Zhou Cang's and Zhang Liao's troops withstood three attacks from Jiangdong, seeing that the enemy had not made any moves for a long time, they assumed that the Jiangdong army was preparing for a larger-scale night attack. They were on high alert, after all, Huang Gai's warships had almost broken through not long ago, and the accidental collision with the hidden stake was purely a matter of luck...

In such a short time, it would be a pipe dream to fill the 60-zhang-wide riverbed with hidden stakes. So, only four hidden stakes were set up, which luckily blocked the enemy's final charge.

After dark, fog began to shroud the river, making the torches of the Jiangdong warships increasingly blurry.

Zhou Cang stared at the trebuchet in Juchao for a long time until his eyes became sore and tired. He went back to the camp to get some wine. He had only taken two sips when a soldier rushed in.

"General Zhou! The Jiangdong army has retreated!"