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

"Boom boom boom boom!" The sound of war drums signaled the arrival of the Jiangdong navy.

Zhou Yu personally led 12,000 naval troops to rescue Jiang Qin and Ling Cao's forces.

Originally, Zhou Yu and his men were just waiting for news in the Chaisang camp when a scout reported that Guan Yu's army in Xiakou had mobilized a large force. Zhou Yu immediately sensed something was wrong and sent out all his elite troops.

Gan Ning was engaged in fierce fighting on his warship when he suddenly heard the sound of drums behind him and stopped to investigate.

Zhou Yu commanded a single warship, flanked by four large warships. Generals Taishi Ci, Lü Fan, and Dong Xi each commanded a ship, and over a hundred smaller vessels accompanied him in battle.

Soon, Gan Ning, who was standing in the middle of the Yangtze River, became the target of concentrated fire from Jiangdong. Three warships broke away from the main force and accelerated toward Gan Ning.

Gan Ning immediately ordered the ship to be turned around to prepare to meet the enemy.

Taishi Ci and Dong Xi's warships first approached Gan Ning's flanks, seemingly forming a pincer movement.

Gan Ning was already struggling to turn his ship around, and the archers in the crossbow windows didn't have time to react before being suppressed by a rain of arrows from Taishi Ci's warship.

Dong Xi even ordered his warships to ram Gan Ning's warship directly.

"Bang!" The huge impact caused everyone on Gan Ning's deck to lose their balance.

Before the ship could regain its balance, the hooks on Taishi Ci's warship had already struck, smashing several sections of the ship's side.

Once Gan Ning's warship had stabilized slightly, Taishi Ci, wielding two halberds, led more than twenty soldiers from the ship to leap out of the spear windows and onto Gan Ning's deck.

"You traitorous general, prepare to die!" Taishi Ci brandished his double halberds and slashed at Gan Ning.

Caught off guard by the Jiangdong army's series of continuous attacks, Gan Ning hurriedly raised his broadsword to defend himself.

Fortunately, Gan Ning had some experience in piracy before, and he quickly adjusted his pace according to the swaying of the warship.

After blocking Taishi Ci's halberd strike, Gan Ning pretended to be outmatched, circled half a circle around the mast, then suddenly turned around, crouched down, and slashed at Taishi Ci's chest as he was chasing after him.

Caught off guard by Gan Ning's trickery, Taishi Ci quickly swung his halberd with his left hand to parry.

"Clang!" A solid slash sent Taishi Ci staggering back several steps.

Although Taishi Ci was brave and could fight Sun Ce, the Little Conqueror, who was "as brave as Xiang Yu," to a standstill, that was on land. In naval warfare, especially on ships, he was still no match for an old hand like Gan Ning.

Seeing that Taishi Ci was at a disadvantage, Dong Xi also led his troops from the other side to jump onto Gan Ning's warship to help him in the battle.

The two fierce generals fought back and forth, working together from both sides, and finally forced Gan Ning to the bow of the ship.

The soldiers on Gan Ning's ship were also killed in hand-to-hand combat by Dong Xi and Taishi Ci's troops.

Seeing that he was at a disadvantage and that more and more soldiers were gathering around him, Gan Ning began to consider abandoning his ship.

Suddenly, Dong Xi's soldiers panicked. It turned out that Su Fei, the governor of Jiangxia, saw that Gan Ning was surrounded and rushed to his rescue, crashing directly into Dong Xi's warship.

Dong Xi, disregarding the need to continue the encirclement and suppression of Gan Ning, jumped back onto his own warship to engage Su Fei's troops in battle.

Taking advantage of Dong Xi's retreat, Gan Ning immediately rushed forward, dodging Tai Shici's fierce attack. Taking advantage of the warship's swaying, he charged wildly across the deck, carving a bloody path straight towards the cabin, intending to use the narrow terrain of the cabin entrance to engage the Jiangdong army in close combat.

As soon as they reached the cabin entrance, they saw four or five grappling hooks being thrown onto the ship's side, and several small boats of the Jiangdong army also surrounded them, preparing to board and assist in the battle.

Just as Gan Ning was lamenting that Heaven was going to destroy him, the Jiangdong army began to sound the retreat.

Taishi Ci and the others turned around and saw several large warships appearing in the distance behind Zhou Yu.

"This is bad, it may be the main force of the Jingzhou navy." Taishi Ci shouted to his subordinates, and quickly abandoned Gan Ning and returned to support Zhou Yu.

Meanwhile, Dong, having repelled Su Fei's attack on the warships, also planned to return to his base.

Before leaving, the two ships rammed Gan Ning's warship again in perfect unison. After Gan Ning finally regained his footing, he gathered his remaining troops on the ship, and of the more than sixty men who had set out, only five survived.

The ship sank rapidly, and Gan Ning had no choice but to climb onto Su Fei's warship to escape.

Behind Zhou Yu were Huang Zu and Chen Jiu from Jiangxia, who led a large army to come to his aid.

Both sides were acquaintances, and upon meeting, they fought each other to the death. The warships, fighting ships, and small boats of both sides were embroiled in a chaotic battle, with soldiers from both sides constantly being hit by arrows or dying in hand-to-hand combat.

The battle raged until dawn, with both Jiangdong and Huang Zu's armies suffering heavy losses.

On the Jiangdong side, Lü Fan rescued Jiang Qin and Ling Tong, who had already fallen into the river and were soaking in it, and also retrieved Ling Cao's body, but lost nearly a hundred boats.

The Jingzhou navy was rescued by Su Fei, but lost one warship and nearly a hundred small boats. Guan Yu, who went to pick up Zhou Cang's grain ships, has not yet returned.

The river was littered with wrecked ship hulls and the bodies of soldiers, as well as countless others struggling in the water.

What was supposed to be a surprise attack turned into a mutually destructive skirmish. Zhou Yu lost his will to fight and ultimately had no choice but to call a retreat.

Huang Zu was also worried about the safety of the Xiakou camp, and almost simultaneously withdrew his troops and returned to port.

After all, the battle resulted in the loss of more than 3,000 soldiers and the death of Ling Cao, a general who had repeatedly distinguished himself in battle since Sun Ce raised his army in Huainan. After the Jiangdong army returned to Chaisang, Zhou Yu immediately convened a military conference.

Zhou Yu personally knelt down to apologize to Jiang Qin and Ling Tong, admitting his negligence in troop deployment. Upon hearing this, Jiang Qin repeatedly begged for forgiveness, saying that his underestimation of the enemy led to the failure of the surprise attack. Ling Tong remained silent throughout the entire process.

Ultimately, Zhou Yu decided to temporarily halt the offensive against Jiangxia, resting his troops while continuing to train his soldiers. He also arranged for Ling Cao to be sent back to Wu Commandery for burial and wrote a letter of apology to Sun Quan.

The atmosphere among the Jingzhou navy was relatively more unpredictable.

After returning to the main camp, Huang Zu ordered everyone to go back to camp to rest. He only summoned everyone after Guan Yu and Zhou Cang had returned to camp that night.

Inside the military tent, Huang Zu, his face full of dissatisfaction, directly confronted his right-hand man, Su Fei.

"Su Fei! You went into battle without my orders. Do you know your crime?"

Su Fei stepped forward and knelt down, saying, "General! General Guan and our army are in a mutually supportive relationship. If we don't come to his aid, our army will also be in danger!"

Huang Zu glanced coldly at Su Fei and said, "Your words are far too exaggerated, aren't they?"

Su Fei didn't reply, but just kept his head down and insisted on his point of view.

Huang Zu paused, then glanced at Guan Yu and the other two, and said, "They are guest generals from Jingzhou, merely serving us. They use our ships and eat our provisions, yet they have not achieved any merit. How can you say that our army is in danger?"

Guan Yu was somewhat annoyed upon hearing this, but out of respect for his elder brother Liu Bei's dying wish, he did not lash out. He merely opened his eyes slightly and gave Huang Zu a fierce glare.

Zhou Cang, who was listening behind Guan Yu, was also very angry and secretly glared at Huang Zu.

We're here to help Huang Zu fight and defend Jingzhou. Everyone gets what they need, so why humiliate people like this?

Only Pang Tong remained expressionless, showing no sign of emotional fluctuation.

"Considering this is your first offense, I will not let it happen again." After saying this, Huang Zu casually waved his hand at Su Fei.

"Thank you for your mercy, General!" Su Fei walked back to his original position with no other choice.

"Where is Gan Ning?!"

"Yes, sir." Gan Ning slowly walked to the tent and bowed.

"Not only did you disregard military law and launch an unauthorized attack, but you also underestimated the enemy and were belligerent, destroying one of my warships! If it weren't for the timely rescue by our main force, my Jiangxia navy would have been destroyed by your hand!"

Huang Zu didn't give Gan Ning a chance to refute him after he finished speaking, and shouted directly to the outside of the tent: "Men! Take this Jin Fan thief to jail. After I defeat that brat Zhou Yu, I will deal with him according to military law!"

Everyone present was shocked!

"What?!"