With Cao Cao by my side, what do I have to fear from the world?

Liu Bei was not interested in other people's orders, so he naturally had no objections.

However, after hearing Zhou Yu's arrangement, Liu Bei was completely stunned.

Liu Bei originally thought that since he had few soldiers and generals, and his troops were lent to him by Sun Quan, Zhou Yu would not put him in the front.

Perhaps he will be arranged to follow at the back of the group, or there may be other arrangements.

However, Zhou Yu unexpectedly placed Liu Bei in front, right behind Huang Gai. This arrangement surprised even Lu Su and Jiang Qin.

Seeing Liu Bei's stunned silence, Zhou Yu asked, "Uncle, is there something wrong?"

Liu Bei hurriedly cupped his hands in greeting, though his movements became somewhat stiff. "I will obey the Grand Commander's orders!"

Zhou Yu nodded and laughed heartily, "Alright, Imperial Uncle, go and make preparations. I will be in charge of the central army to support you and give you encouragement. You can rest assured."

Liu Bei said nothing more and left.

After Liu Bei left, Lu Su could no longer hold back. He pulled Zhou Yu aside and asked, "Gongjin, what were you thinking? The two sides formed an alliance. You knew that Liu Bei had few soldiers and was not good at naval warfare, yet you placed him in front of our army. Wasn't that clearly sending him to his death?"

Zhou Yu glanced at Lu Su and laughed, “Zijing, the Sun-Liu alliance is real, but we don’t need to pay too much attention to Liu Bei. Don’t forget, the troops in his hands were lent to him by us. He should help us charge into battle. We can’t be the ones fighting in front while Liu Bei leisurely watches from behind.”

Zhou Yu had this plan from the beginning: to have Sun Quan lend troops to Liu Bei so as to have a legitimate reason to control him.

“But he’s not good at naval warfare,” Lu Su sighed, his emotions running high.

“Zijing, I have my reasons for making this arrangement. Although the two families have formed an alliance, he is still surnamed Liu and is the current emperor’s uncle. The emperor is on the other side right now, so we have to be on guard.”

"Just as you said, Liu Bei is not good at naval warfare, but as long as Huang Gai successfully completes the task of setting fire, Cao Cao's army will inevitably panic and collapse. Liu Bei only needs to lead his men to charge across the river. He has been driven to a dead end by Cao Cao, and tonight I have given Liu Bei the opportunity to take revenge. He should be grateful to me!"

Zhou Yu looked in the direction of Chaisang and said, "Zijing, I am doing this all for our lord and for Jiangdong!"

Lu Su sighed. He knew that Zhou Yu had no ulterior motives, but the two had a difference of opinion on how to treat Liu Bei.

Lu Su's approach was more moderate; he hoped to show more respect to Liu Bei and maintain harmony between the Sun and Liu families.
Get along better and have a better relationship.

However, Zhou Yu never fully trusted Liu Bei. He always harbored suspicions about Liu Bei and never treated him as an equal.

Zhou Yu felt that since Liu Bei had come to Jiangdong to avoid trouble, he should obey Jiangdong's orders.

Zhou Yu's decision to send Liu Bei as the vanguard was very thoughtful, after all, Liu Bei was the imperial uncle of the Han Dynasty, and it was necessary to test him further.

Let's see if Liu Bei and Sun Quan are of one mind and whether they will fight desperately to advance.

In addition, Liu Bei should be made to understand who should be in charge of the Sun-Liu alliance.

When Liu Bei found Guan Yu and Zhang Fei and told them the orders he had just received, Guan Yu's face immediately darkened, and Zhang Fei exploded like a lit firecracker.

Zhang Fei angrily said, "This is outrageous! What does Zhou Yu take us for? He doesn't even respect us!"

Liu Bei glanced around instinctively and hurriedly said to Zhang Fei, "Third brother, keep your voice down."

Zhang Fei's cheeks puffed up with anger. "What are you afraid of, brother? I'll go find Zhou Yu right now."

Liu Bei grabbed Zhang Fei, saying, "Third brother, you must be patient and not ruin His Majesty's important plans."

Liu Bei sighed, "Alas! Now we are living under someone else's roof, dependent on Sun Quan. No matter how powerful Zhou Yu is, or how he orders us around, we must endure it."

Liu Bei invoked the emperor to appease Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, and at the same time, he was also comforting himself.

He felt that he had done this, enduring humiliation and bearing heavy burdens, and now he had a very good reason: it was all for the Han Dynasty and for the Emperor.

But what if Liu Xie didn't forgive him and didn't send someone to contact Liu Bei to act as an inside agent? In the eyes of Sun Quan and Zhou Yu, Liu Bei still wouldn't be respected.

Because from the day Liu Bei chose to rely on Jiangdong, many things were already destined.

Now it was too late for Liu Bei to send a message to the north bank, because the time for the battle was fast approaching, and Zhou Yu had only made arrangements before the battle.

"Anyway, our opponent is Cao Cao, my second and third brothers. I've already thought it over, let's just do as Zhou Yu says," Liu Bei said after a while.

Zhang Fei muttered loudly, "Since my elder brother has said so, we have no choice but to do so. But I am really frustrated. That brat Zhou Yu is truly hateful."

Guan Yu said nothing, but turned his head and glanced in the direction of Zhou Yu's command tent. In that glance, he narrowed his eyes, and his gaze, like his Green Dragon Crescent Blade, shone with a frighteningly cold light.

After Zhou Yu made the arrangements, Jiangdong immediately became busy. Even Zhou Yu did not expect that Sun Quan would arrive from Chaisang an hour before the battle.

Sun Quan's arrival at the front line thrilled the soldiers, and their morale soared to unprecedented heights. Zhou Yu promptly quelled the commotion.

The battle had not yet begun, and Zhou Yu was extremely cautious, paying attention to every detail.

Zhou Yu was unaware that he had unknowingly fallen into Guo Jia's trap.

Zhou Yu invited Sun Quan into the main tent. Tonight, Sun Quan was unusually dressed in armor, wearing military attire. His armor gleamed, exuding a unique heroic aura, as if for a moment one could see the shadow of the Little Conqueror Sun Ce in him.

Sun Quan was extremely excited. He said loudly to the crowd, "Gentlemen, this battle will determine the fate of Jiangdong. I entrust this to you all. I hope you will fight bravely and defeat Cao Cao. The success or failure of Jiangdong depends on this battle."

As Sun Quan spoke, he bowed deeply to everyone, showing no airs of a monarch at this moment.

Zhou Yu and the others were deeply moved, and they all clasped their hands in a respectful gesture, saying, "We will certainly live up to our lord's expectations!"

Lu Su was somewhat worried and advised Sun Quan not to come to Chibi, but Sun Quan was very determined, saying, "Tonight I will stay in the camp, prepare a feast, and wait for your triumphant return."

Zhou Yu was full of confidence and gave Lu Su a reassuring look, as if to say: Don't worry, our army will surely win tonight, and the lord will be safe here.

Afterwards, Sun Quan met with Liu Bei alone. Sun Quan did not object to Zhou Yu's arrangements for Liu Bei, but simply offered Liu Bei some polite words of comfort.

Time ticked by, and the appointed time drew ever closer.

Huang Gai had made preparations well in advance, leading dozens of small boats, each of which was piled high with firewood and a considerable amount of kerosene.

When Huang Gai was about to depart, Zhou Yu personally came to see him off.

Standing on the riverbank, Zhou Yu said to Huang Gai with anticipation, "General Huang, I entrust everything to you." Huang Gai nodded to Zhou Yu and cupped his hands in return, "Rest assured, Commander, Cao Cao will undoubtedly be defeated tonight."

Beside Huang Gai were Han Dang and others; although their numbers were small, they were all elite soldiers and fierce warriors.

Seeing that the time was almost right, Huang Gai ordered his men to raise the Azure Dragon Flag, and dozens of small boats headed straight for the north bank.

Tonight, a southeast wind is blowing, and everyone is sailing smoothly and fast, cutting through the waves with the wind.

Zhou Yu stood on the shore, watching Huang Gai and the others depart. Zhou Yu was under great pressure at this moment, but the greater the pressure, the more it stirred up his boundless ambition.

He yearns for challenges, for clashing with formidable adversaries, and for achieving great things.

Faced with an opponent like Cao Cao, Zhou Yu ignited his strongest fighting spirit.

At this time, Zhou Yu was unaware that Cao Cao had already led his troops to the riverbank. Everything was normal on the riverbank, and soon some lights appeared on the river surface, which were Huang Gai and his group approaching.

When Huang Gai approached by boat, he was obstructed by Cao Cao's patrol boats. After confirming that Huang Gai was standing at the bow, the patrol boats made way and even opened the gate of the water fortress.

Huang Gai's journey was smooth sailing, but as a veteran general, he remained vigilant, constantly observing his surroundings as he advanced.

Cao Cao's naval camp was filled with ships of all sizes, densely packed together, showing no signs of anything unusual. As they drew closer, Huang Gai felt the time was right and hurriedly ordered, "Quickly pour on the oil and set it on fire!"

Soon, everything was ready, and dozens of small boats were set ablaze. With the help of oil and wind, the fire burned brighter and brighter, approaching Cao Cao's ships at an extremely fast speed.

This quickly alerted Cao's soldiers, and some of them shouted in panic.

The Jiangdong ships quickly approached, and the Jiangdong soldiers on board were skilled swimmers; some had already jumped into the water.

One after another, burning ships crashed into Cao Cao's ships without any doubt. With the help of the southeast wind, the fires roared up. The panicked Cao Cao soldiers ran around on the ships, shouting desperately at the top of their lungs.

Seeing this, Huang Gai finally breathed a sigh of relief.

A huge fire broke out on the north bank, with flames shooting into the sky. Zhou Yu naturally noticed it, and his heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down.

Immediately afterwards, Liu Bei led his men into action, and Zhou Yu summoned Jiang Qin and Zhou Tai together, and they also began their operation.

Before leaving, Zhou Yu glanced at Lu Su, wanting to give him a few words of advice, but after thinking about it, Zhou Yu smiled to himself.

Sun Quan was the ruler of Jiangdong. Zhou Yu originally wanted Lu Su to take good care of Sun Quan and protect his safety, but after thinking about it again, Zhou Yu felt that he had really overthought things.

After successfully setting the fire, Huang Gai raised his steel sword and was about to charge at Cao Cao's soldiers when someone suddenly warned him, "Something's wrong! Enemy ships are approaching from behind us."

Huang Gai turned around abruptly and was surprised to find that some ships had suddenly appeared behind him. They were moving very fast, and the Cao soldiers on board were armed with bows, crossbows, swords, and spears, all looking menacing and murderous.

Cao Ren was standing on one of the ships. When Huang Gai burned the ships, Cao Ren had already quietly led his men to approach this place at high speed.

Cao Ren had previously ordered that no one was allowed to light torches, so Huang Gai did not discover it.

At this time, Liu Bei and Zhou Yu had not yet arrived, and Cao Ren's appearance was the perfect opportunity.

Upon approaching, Cao Ren immediately launched into a tirade, "Huang Gai, the Prime Minister sent me to greet you, but you dare to mock him and set the boats on fire!"

In this way, Huang Gai would naturally not suspect anything and would not think that Cao Cao had already seen through their plan.

Cao Ren didn't waste any more words. He waved his hand and ordered, "Fire arrows! Kill them all, leave no one alive!"

On Huang Gai's side, only a few ships remained. Most of the ships had already been set on fire to burn Cao Cao's ships. The Jiangdong soldiers who had jumped into the water beforehand were still in the water and had not yet had time to get back on their ships.

Cao Ren's timing in making his move was absolutely brilliant.

Whoosh whoosh!
Deadly arrows whistled through the air, and before the Jiangdong soldiers could react, more than ten of them were shot dead.

Huang Gai swung his sword to defend himself, blocking three arrows in succession, but the people around him fell one after another.

"Fire! Keep firing!"

Cao Ren remained expressionless, urging his soldiers on as if he wanted them to fire all their arrows at once.

These Cao soldiers continued to approach while shooting arrows. They were traveling in small, maneuverable boats, not large ships chained together with iron chains.

Soon, Huang Gai was hit by an arrow, and blood gushed from his chest.

Meanwhile, Cao Ren and his men were getting closer and closer, and the arrows continued to rain down, with screams echoing everywhere.

Under the blazing firelight, Huang Gai and his men were being mercilessly slaughtered; the outcome was foreseeable.

Huang Gai had few boats and few men, and was clearly in dire straits.

Huang Gai also ordered his men to fire arrows in retaliation, but to little avail. In no time, Cao Ren led his men to the front, and the ships collided, with the soldiers on both sides engaging in a chaotic battle.

Despite his injuries, Huang Gai remained incredibly brave, hacking down three or four of Cao's soldiers with his sword. Cao Ren rushed over, jumped onto Huang Gai's boat, and delivered a fierce slash to Huang Gai.

Unexpectedly, Huang Gai suddenly swayed, and Cao Ren immediately lost his footing, his body rocking violently along with the boat.

The two fought several rounds on the boat. Huang Gai was not at a disadvantage, but his men were hit by arrows one after another, and there were not many left. Cao Ren was able to calmly lead his men to surround and attack Huang Gai, eventually forcing Huang Gai to fall into the water.

Huang Gai, relying on his excellent swimming skills, tried to escape, but Cao Ren also had many skilled swimmers who surrounded and intercepted him in the water, giving Huang Gai no chance to escape.

In addition to his injuries, Huang Gai had difficulty moving in the water. Even when diving, he could not stay underwater for too long and had to surface from time to time.

Cao Ren snatched a bow from a soldier next to him, nocked an arrow, and coldly aimed at the river.

When Huang Gai surfaced again to catch his breath, Cao Ren seized the opportunity and shot him in the throat with an arrow.

Cao Ren was still not entirely at ease, so he sent someone to swim over and cut off Huang Gai's head.

Seeing Huang Gai killed and his head cut off, the remaining Jiangdong soldiers were terrified. Han Dang also managed to escape, but this battle had only just begun.

Killing Huang Gai was merely an appetizer for Cao Cao! (End of Chapter)