Chapter 118: Zhou Yu made great plans, but was ultimately no match for the auspicious sign from heaven!

Facing the imperial court's "Great Han Navy" fleet, Yuan Shu's army in Huainan was defeated and could not hold on alone.

Even Huainan learned that the imperial court still had spare strength, so they divided their troops into two routes - one to attack from the mouth of the Huai River, and the other to encircle the enemy via the mouth of the Yangtze River.

If the imperial navy fleet really surrounded the area, Jiujiang County and Lujiang County where Huainan was located, and even Guangling County in Xuzhou, would all be trapped!
Finally, there was no other choice but Huainan decided to ask for help from Sun Ce's "Jiangdong Navy" and order it to block the imperial navy fleet on the Yangtze River!

When the news reached Jiangdong, Sun Ce was leading his naval fleet to besiege Nanchang.

The governor of Yangzhou Liu Yao, the prefect of Kuaiji Wang Lang, the prefect of Yuzhang Zhu Hao, and the former Jingzhou official Zhuge Xuan were blocked in Nanchang.

However, Sun Ce's army followed Zhou Yu's strategy and surrounded the city without attacking, intending to cause internal strife in Nanchang and cause it to collapse without a fight.

They have been besieging Nanchang for more than a month. According to their estimates, the food and grass in Nanchang City are already at the end of their strength.

"Bofu, you can shoot a letter of persuasion into Nanchang City, which will surely sow discord among the troops."

Seeing that the time was almost up, Zhou Yu decided to add fuel to the fire, making the situation in Nanchang City even more critical.

"Gongjin, this is a brilliant plan!"

When Sun Ce heard this, his eyes lit up and he did it immediately!

Dense arrows carrying letters of persuasion for surrender were shot into the city, which indeed made many people in Nanchang city become disloyal.

Liu Yao, Wang Lang, Zhu Hao and Zhuge Xuan not only needed to guard against Sun Ce's naval and land troops that could attack at any time, but also needed to suppress the unrest in the city.

This chaos would not only alienate the morale of the troops and undermine the confidence of the defenders of Nanchang, but would also increase the consumption of food and supplies.

This is just adding fuel to the fire and making things worse!
"According to Nanchang's current situation, it won't last much longer!"

Zhou Yu looked at the information sent back and a smile appeared on his face.

As long as Nanchang City is captured, the four counties of Yangzhou south of the Yangtze River - Danyang County, Wu County, Kuaiji County, and Yuzhang County - will gradually fall into their hands!

Opposition forces such as Yangzhou Governor Liu Yao, Kuaiji Prefect Wang Lang, Yuzhang Prefect Zhu Hao, and Jingzhou former official Zhuge Xuan will be wiped out!

From now on, they can grow and develop in Jiangdong.

Zhou Yu not only paid attention to the four counties in Jiangdong, but also paid close attention to Lujiang County and Jiujiang County north of the Yangtze River!
These two counties are now under the strong control of Yuan Shu of Huainan!

Zhou Yu obtained a lot of intelligence, and Yuan Shu's ambition to become emperor was growing more and more inflated.

In the future, if Yuan Shu attempts to ascend the throne and become emperor, they can immediately cut ties with Yuan Shu.

At that time, Sun Ce will no longer have to bear the stigma of betrayal!
This is a two-birds-with-one-stone strategy!
however.

The arrival of a piece of news disrupted Zhou Yu's plan!
"Gongjin, your majesty personally led the army to the south with thousands of ships. Yuan Shu's Huainan navy met them at Yuzhou Mountain, but was defeated and fled. The imperial court's Han navy pursued them relentlessly and tried to penetrate deep into the Huai River basin!"

Cheng Pu read out Jiang Huai's first-hand information with a shocked look!
All the civil and military officials present were horrified!
Zhou Yu jumped up and said in disbelief:

"How is this possible?! Why did the imperial court suddenly have a fleet of thousands of ships?! And a powerful fleet that can defeat the Huainan Navy?!"

"The intelligence did not mention it!" Cheng Pu and other generals looked solemn.

Huang Gai and other generals were also horrified and said:
"Incredible! The imperial court clearly lacks a naval fleet, and Liu Bei's Qingzhou navy is the only naval fleet the imperial court can provide. How come thousands of warships suddenly appeared out of nowhere!"

"In this way, we are in a passive position!" Cheng Pu said solemnly.

Zhou Yu also had an unpleasant expression on his face. They were not only in a passive situation, they were in an extremely critical situation!

All of Zhou Yu's plans were based on the court's lack of a naval fleet!
Ever since Liu Bei's Qingzhou navy was completely annihilated, the imperial court had wanted to build a naval fleet, but it would be impossible to do so without three to five years, or even ten to eight years!

This time is enough for Sun Ce, Zhou Yu and others to grow and develop in Jiangdong!
They can first seize the four counties of Jiangdong, eliminate the power of the imperial court and Yuan Shu, and then completely control the four counties of Jiangdong.

Then, by taking advantage of Yuan Shu's attempt to ascend the throne and become emperor, or even deliberately pushing Yuan Shu to become emperor, and cutting ties with Yuan Shu, the conditions for establishing Jiangdong independently could be met!

Even if Yuan Shu had done favors for the Sun family, if he usurped the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, and Sun Ce split from him, that would not be a betrayal!

By then, Yuan Shu would usurp the throne and the whole world would rise up to attack him. The imperial court would have to attack Yuan Shu, but it lacked a naval fleet!

At this time, Jiangdong can echo the imperial court and attack Yuan Shu to clear itself!

Relying on the merit of conquering Yuan Shu who usurped the throne, the aristocratic families in Jiangdong can even use it to bargain, hoping that Your Majesty's reform of the land-based tax can be postponed or weakened!
But now, all the calculations have been disrupted by the imperial court's march south! "We must capture Nanchang City as soon as possible!"

Zhou Yu acted decisively. They must deal with Liu Yao and other rebel forces as soon as possible, gain complete control of the four counties of Jiangdong, and stabilize the rear.

Cheng Pu, Huang Gai and others will strongly agree!
however!
Before they could mobilize to attack Nanchang City, more intelligence came from Jianghuai.

"Not good!!! The imperial court's 'Han Navy' has already breached the defense line at the mouth of the Huai River and has penetrated deep into the Huai River Basin! Why is it so fast?! Yuan Shu's Huainan Navy seems to be vulnerable!"

"In this way, the Huai River's natural barrier will be defenseless to the imperial court! No, the Huai River can no longer be called a 'natural barrier'! Because the imperial court's navy can come and go at will, as they please!"

"Not good!!! Intelligence reports say that the imperial navy fleet has split up and is continuing to move south, going deep into the Huai River estuary and trying to move south to the Yangtze River estuary to encircle Huainan from behind!"

"We must stop the imperial navy fleet and not let them linger on the Yangtze River! Remember - to defend the Yangtze River, we must also defend the Huai River!!!"

"Report - Huainan Yuan Shu requests the general to dispatch the Jiangdong navy to block the imperial court's Han navy at the mouth of the Yangtze River!"

"..."

The bad news came one after another, shaking the morale of Sun Ce's army. The top leaders were all in disbelief and terrified!
Because the Huainan navy was defeated too quickly!
Because the imperial navy fleet was too strong and too large!
"Gongjin, are we still going to storm Nanchang City?!"

Sun Ce looked at the horrified Zhou Yu for a long time without saying anything, and finally opened his mouth and asked.

"That's too late!"

Zhou Yu shook his head solemnly and said:

“The imperial navy fleet attacked the city and plundered the stronghold so quickly that before we could capture Nanchang City, they had already penetrated the Yangtze River defense line, and we would be in a passive position!

“Even if Yuan Shu did not ask for help, we must immediately dispatch the Jiangdong Navy to block the imperial navy fleet outside the Yangtze River estuary.

“If we let them penetrate the Yangtze River, the coast east of the Yangtze River will no longer be defended, and they can even go up the river and attack Jingzhou.

"The entire Jianghuai and Jingxiang defense lines will be completely defeated!"

After hearing this, the generals looked solemn.

Sun Ce asked anxiously, puzzled, "If that's the case, then why are we still stuck here at the mouth of the Yangtze River?!"

Zhou Yu sighed and said:

"Because if we withdraw our troops, Liu Yao, Wang Lang, Zhu Hao and Zhuge Xuan in Nanchang will not retreat to the city, but will send troops to stop us!

"This will make us vulnerable from both sides and make us lose sight of the big picture! This is why I am hesitant and in a stalemate!"

Veteran generals such as Cheng Pu and Huang Gai nodded!

This time, they planned everything, but ended up shooting themselves in the foot and trapped themselves outside the city of Nanchang!
If they stayed outside Nanchang and launched a forceful attack, they would not be able to capture the city in a short period of time, and instead the imperial navy fleet would be able to march straight into the Yangtze River, where they would be attacked from both sides.

If they immediately turned to attack the Yangtze River estuary and blocked the imperial navy fleet, then Nanchang City would move and send troops to block it, and they would be dragged here, unable to move forward or backward.

This situation was something Zhou Yu and other generals had never imagined!

Because they couldn't figure out why the imperial court, which lacked a naval fleet, suddenly had thousands of warships? !

It can't be... a blessing from heaven, right?!
"Gongjin, we can't waste time here. Should we attack Nanchang City or attack the Yangtze River estuary? If we continue to hesitate, we will end up losing sight of the big picture!"

Sun Ce asked anxiously: "Why don't we split up our forces?!"

Zhou Yu thought for a moment and said:

"I'm afraid that if our forces are dispersed, they will be defeated one by one. Don't divide our forces until it's absolutely necessary!

"Well, let's pretend to withdraw our troops first, retreat to advance, lure the enemy out and see if we can capture Nanchang City."

"Okay!!!" Sun Ce nodded.

The generals also nodded in agreement.

(End of this chapter)