Honglou: This bastard is too persuasive.

Chapter 736 Division of Troops
Zhou Yu stepped forward first and said with a resolute look: "My lord, rumors stop at the wise. These rumors are groundless and are obviously a conspiracy of the enemy. We should put the overall situation first and not believe them easily. I suggest that my lord issue a military order, strictly ordering the officers and soldiers in the army not to spread such rumors again, and those who violate the order will be severely punished. At the same time, strengthen the security management in the city, thoroughly investigate the source of the rumors, and find out the mastermind behind them."

Sun Quan nodded slightly and said, "Gongjin is right. The military discipline must be strict. But it is not easy to thoroughly investigate the source of the rumors. These rumors are like ghosts, spreading everywhere in the city, and it is difficult to find out for a while."

Lu Su stepped forward, bowed and said, "My lord, in addition to strengthening discipline and thoroughly investigating the source, we also need to calm people's hearts. The reason why rumors can have such an impact is that they touch upon the doubts in everyone's hearts. My lord, why don't you gather all the generals and have an open and frank talk to show your trust in them and eliminate the suspicion in everyone's hearts."

Sun Quan thought for a moment and said, "Zijing is right. I should indeed appease the hearts of the generals. However, I still need to think of a way to make everyone truly believe that these rumors are false."

Lu Meng clasped his fists and said, "My lord, I think we can take the initiative. Since we know that the enemy is behind this, we might as well send someone to investigate secretly to see which force is targeting us. If it is Jia Changsheng, Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and others who did it, we can give them a taste of their own medicine and spread rumors in their territory to disrupt their morale."

Sun Quan's eyes lit up and he said, "Ziming, this is a good plan. But when you send people to investigate, you must be careful and cautious and not alert the enemy."

Lu Xun continued, "My Lord, I think that while we are dealing with rumors, we should not ignore the improvement of our own strength. Rumors are only a temporary measure. If our own strength is strong enough, the enemy will not dare to use such means against us easily. We should strengthen military training, store food and grass, and repair the city defense to prevent the enemy from taking the opportunity to attack."

Sun Quan nodded and said, "Bo Yan is right. At any time, our own strength is the foundation. However, the morale of our Dongwu people is unstable at present. If we want to strengthen military training, I am afraid it will be difficult to achieve the expected results."

Zhang Zhao stepped forward and said worriedly, "My lord, rumors are spreading everywhere now, which not only affects the morale of the army, but also makes the people panic. We need to take measures as soon as possible to stabilize the people's hearts. We can post notices to tell the people that these rumors are false and tell them not to believe them easily. At the same time, we can open the granaries to release grain and provide relief to the victims to demonstrate the lord's benevolence and win the trust of the people."

Sun Quan said, "What Mr. Zhang said makes sense. The people are the foundation of our Eastern Wu. If the people's hearts are unstable, everything will come to an end. Although opening the granaries to release grain can temporarily appease the people, we must also consider the long-term grain and grass reserves."

Zhuge Jin cupped his hands and said, "My Lord, for now, we can take a multi-pronged approach. On the one hand, we can follow Gongjin's advice to enforce strict military discipline and thoroughly investigate the source of the rumors; on the other hand, we can follow Zijing's advice to appease the hearts of the generals; at the same time, we can send people to investigate the mastermind behind the scenes, as Ziming said, to fight tooth for tooth; furthermore, we can strengthen our own strength, as Boyan said; and finally, we can stabilize the people's hearts, as Zhang Gong suggested. In this way, perhaps we can resolve this crisis."

Sun Quan pondered for a long time and said, "Everyone has their merits in what you said. Let's follow Mr. Zhuge's advice and take multiple approaches. Zhou Yu, I will leave the responsibility of maintaining military discipline and thoroughly investigating the source of the rumors to you. Make sure to find out as soon as possible and find out who is behind it."

Zhou Yu clasped his fists and accepted the order: "My lord, rest assured, I will fulfill my mission."

Sun Quan then said to Lu Su: "Zi Jing, it is of vital importance to appease the hearts of the generals. You go and make arrangements and gather the generals. I want to be frank with everyone and eliminate suspicion."

Lu Su replied, "Yes, my lord."

Sun Quan looked at Lu Meng and said, "Ziming, secretly investigate the mastermind behind this. Select smart and capable people and carry out the investigation in secret. Once you have any information, report back immediately."

Lu Meng said: "Don't worry, my lord. I will act with caution."

Sun Quan said to Lu Xun: "Bo Yan, you and other generals will be responsible for strengthening military training, storing food and grass, and repairing city defenses. You must improve the military strength of our Eastern Wu in a short period of time."

Lu Xun accepted the order: "My lord, rest assured, I will do my best."

Sun Quan then said to Zhang Zhao, "Mr. Zhang, I rely on you to stabilize the people's hearts. You must arrange matters such as posting notices and opening warehouses to release grain."

Zhang Zhao said: "My lord, rest assured, I will live up to your trust."

Sun Quan concluded: "Everyone, this rumor incident is both a crisis and a test for our Dongwu. If we can deal with it properly, we can resolve the crisis and make Dongwu more united and powerful. Everyone must perform their duties and not slack off. I believe that with your joint efforts, we will be able to overcome the difficulties."

Everyone responded in unison: "We are willing to die for our lord!" The voices echoed throughout the meeting room, and everyone's eyes were full of determination. Sun Quan looked at his subordinates and felt a little relieved. He knew that the next few days would be full of challenges, but as long as the monarch and his subjects were united, Dongwu would be able to stand firm in this chaotic world. So, everyone took their orders and left, and an action to deal with the rumor crisis was quietly launched in various parts of Dongwu.

Jia Changsheng had been paying close attention to the spread of rumors in Yangzhou City. Seeing that there was an obvious crack in Sun Quan's camp, he felt that the time was ripe. He immediately wrote a letter and sent it to Jiaozhou at full speed, contacting Shi Xie to jointly send troops.

Shi Xie received Jia Changsheng's letter and opened it to see the detailed plan of sending troops. Jia Changsheng suggested that in order to defeat Sun Quan in one fell swoop, they should divide their troops into four groups to form a siege. After reading it, Shi Xie thought this plan was very good, and immediately replied to express his agreement and quickly began to prepare for the dispatch of troops.

Jia Changsheng summoned Huang Zhong, Zhao Yun, Wei Yan and other generals in Jingzhou and began to deploy combat missions. Jia Changsheng stood on the stage with a dignified look, looking at the neatly arranged generals below the stage, and said loudly: "Generals, we have been allied with Shi Xie for a long time. Now Sun Quan's camp has been panicked by our alienation plan. It is a good time to send troops. This time, we will join forces with the Jiaozhou army and divide the troops into four groups. We must catch Sun Quan off guard."

Jia Changsheng pointed at the map and said, "General Huang Zhong, you will lead 10,000 elite soldiers as the northern army and advance eastward along the northern bank of the Yangtze River. Your goal is to directly approach Sun Quan's important military town of Jingkou. Jingkou is the northern gateway of the Eastern Wu and its strategic location is extremely important. You must fight quickly and decisively to attract Sun Quan's main force."

Huang Zhong clasped his fists and accepted the order, saying in a loud voice: "My lord, rest assured. I will not fail in my mission and will kill him without a single piece of armor left under the city of Jingkou!" Jia Changsheng looked at Zhao Yun again and said: "Zilong, you will lead 15,000 troops as the Western Army. Set out from the land route, make a detour and attack the western defense line of Jianye. Jianye is the base of Sun Quan. You must act carefully. If you encounter the main force of the enemy, do not fight hard. Wait for the opportunity to cooperate with the other three armies."

Zhao Yun nodded, his expression calm: "My lord, rest assured, Yun Ding will use the troops carefully and complete the mission."

Then, Jia Changsheng said to Wei Yan: "Wen Chang, you lead 8,000 elite troops as the southern army, set out from the southern part of Jingzhou, cross the Yangtze River, attack Sun Quan's stronghold in the south, disrupt his rear, and prevent Sun Quan from sending reinforcements from the south."

Wei Yan said confidently: "My lord, I will make sure that Sun Quan's rear will not be at peace."

Finally, Jia Changsheng said: "I will personally lead 20,000 central troops to support the armies of other routes. If any route encounters difficulties, my central troops will immediately go to support them. This expedition is related to whether we can defeat Sun Quan, so you must go all out!"

All the generals shouted in unison: "We are willing to die for our lord!"

At the same time, Shi Xie also completed the deployment of troops in Jiaozhou. He called his capable generals Cheng Pu and Huang Gai and said, "Now that Jia Changsheng has invited us to join the army, this is a good opportunity to achieve great things. Cheng Pu, you lead 10,000 Jiaozhou troops as the eastern army, go north along the coastal road, attack Sun Quan's eastern coastal defense line, and cooperate with Jia Changsheng's army to form a siege."

Cheng Pu bowed and said, "Don't worry, my lord. I will fight bravely and kill the enemy."

Shi Xie said to Huang Gai: "Gong Fu, you lead 12,000 troops as the central army, set out from the northern part of Jiaozhou, and respond to Jia Changsheng's central army. On the way, you must pay attention to maintaining contact with Jia Changsheng's army and cooperate in combat."

Huang Gai accepted the order and said, "My lord, rest assured that I will fulfill my mission."

Everything was ready, and Jia Changsheng and Shi Xie agreed on a date for the expedition. On this day, before dawn, the four armies set out at the same time and headed towards the territory of Eastern Wu.

Huang Zhong's northern army was in high spirits, marching quickly along the north bank of the Yangtze River. Along the way, they maintained strict military discipline and did not harm anyone. Wherever they passed, the people welcomed them with food and drink. Huang Zhong rode on his horse, looking at the soldiers with high morale, and he was full of confidence. He said to his deputy general: "This time, we must let Sun Quan know how powerful we are. Pass on my order quickly to speed up the march and strive to reach Jingkou as soon as possible."

Zhao Yun's Western Army was quietly marching through the mountains and forests. Zhao Yun knew the importance of this mission and was always alert to the surroundings. He constantly sent out scouts to get information from the front to ensure the safety of the march. When he learned that there was a small patrol of Sun Quan ahead, Zhao Yun decisively ordered: "The whole army hides, wait for the enemy to approach, and annihilate it in one fell swoop." When the patrol entered the ambush circle, Zhao Yun gave an order, and the soldiers rushed out like a tiger descending from the mountain, instantly destroying the enemy. Zhao Yun said: "Keep moving forward, don't be careless."

Wei Yan's southern army successfully crossed the Yangtze River and entered Sun Quan's southern territory. Wei Yan followed the plan and attacked Sun Quan's strongholds along the way. He commanded the soldiers to quickly build siege equipment and launch a fierce attack on the strongholds. For a time, the shouts of killing shook the sky. Wei Yan led the soldiers and fought bravely. Under his encouragement, the soldiers were full of fighting spirit and quickly captured several strongholds, successfully disrupting Sun Quan's rear.

Jia Changsheng's central army advanced steadily, keeping a close eye on the movements of the other three armies. He maintained close contact with Shi Xie's central army, ready to respond to any emergency. Jia Changsheng said to his adviser Xu Shu, "Yuanzhi, we have the upper hand in this expedition, but Sun Quan is no ordinary man, and we must not take it lightly. You must always pay attention to the battlefield situation and give me advice."

Xu Shu said: "My lord, rest assured, I will observe carefully to ensure that our army's actions are foolproof."

Shi Xie's Eastern Route Army sailed north along the coastal route. The sea breeze was howling, and the warships were breaking through the waves. Cheng Pu stood at the bow, looking ahead, thinking about the battle plan. He said to the generals around him: "This time we will attack from the east, and we must take the enemy by surprise. When we get close to Sun Quan's eastern coastal defense line, don't rush to attack, observe the enemy's deployment, and look for flaws."

Huang Gai's central army echoed Jia Changsheng's central army. Huang Gai knew the importance of coordinated operations, and he kept sending messengers to communicate with Jia Changsheng. Huang Gai said to the soldiers: "Brothers, we will fight together with the Jingzhou army and show the style of our Jiaozhou army. Follow my command and work closely with the Jingzhou army, and we will definitely defeat Sun Quan."

As the four armies advanced, Sun Quan soon received news of the enemy's attack. He hurriedly summoned Zhou Yu, Lu Su, Lu Meng and other generals to discuss countermeasures. Sun Quan said solemnly: "Everyone, Jia Changsheng and Shi Xie have joined forces and are attacking us in four directions. Now our internal morale is not stable, and the enemy is attacking in large numbers. What should we do?"

Zhou Yu said: "My lord, don't worry. Although the enemy is coming fiercely, we should not panic. We should quickly gather our forces and reasonably deploy our defense forces according to the direction of the enemy's attack. I suggest that I lead an army to Jingkou to resist Huang Zhong's northern army; Lu Su goes to the west of Jianye to help defend Zhao Yun's western army; Lu Meng goes to the south to stabilize the situation in the rear and resist Wei Yan's southern army. My lord, stay in Jianye and command the overall situation."

Sun Quan nodded and said, "Okay, let's do as Gongjin said. You must hold the line and not let the enemy succeed."

Thus, a fierce battle began on the land of Eastern Wu. Jia Changsheng and Shi Xie's four armies were aggressive, while Sun Quan's Eastern Wu army was also on high alert. Both sides were determined to win. Who would win in this battle? The situation became extremely tense.

Jia Changsheng knew that if he could capture a key border town by surprise during the four-way attack on Sun Quan, it would greatly boost his morale and disrupt Sun Quan's defense deployment. After careful consideration and intelligence gathering, he set his sights on a border town called Linjiang. Although the town was small in size, it had an important geographical location and was one of the hubs connecting Sun Quan's east-west defense lines.

Jia Changsheng summoned Ma Dai, a wise and brave general under his command, and said in a serious tone: "Ma Dai, now I have an extremely important and dangerous mission for you. Linjiang City is of great significance to our battle. I order you to select 500 elite soldiers, sneak into the city secretly, find an opportunity to open the city gate, and welcome the army into the city. This journey is extremely dangerous, do you have the confidence to complete it?"

Ma Dai knelt on one knee and said with a firm look: "My lord, rest assured, I will fulfill my mission!"

(End of this chapter)