Three Kingdoms: I choose Xiao Qiao and Da Qiao, why are you crying, Diao Chan?

Chapter 373 Cruel Zuo Rong! (Thanks to brother Xue Lian Zhi Meng for the monthly ticket support~)
In the meeting hall.

Lu Bu summoned a group of civil and military officials to discuss the attack on Zuo Rong.

Wang Lang, a member of the Book Office, was the first to step forward:

"Zao Rong currently only occupies Guangling City, the seat of Guangling County, and other counties should still be under the control of our army.

"My lord, you can negotiate with Zuo Rong first and ask him to surrender voluntarily. You can forgive him for killing Zhang Chao and capturing Guangling City.

"Otherwise we'll just use gunpowder jars to storm the city!"

As soon as Wang Lang finished speaking, Chen Gong denied it:
"No, no! Guangling County is connected to Liu Bei's army.

"Zao Rong's sudden attack might not be the work of Liu Bei's army!
“By the time we get there, Liu Bei’s army may have already set up an ambush in Guangling County.

"In my opinion, it would be best if we do not send troops to Guangling for the time being.

"After we take over the Nanzhong region of Yizhou and completely resolve the future troubles, we can consider attacking Guangling!"

After listening to Chen Gong's words, Lu Bu felt that this was good advice.

If Zuo Rong really had secret contact with Liu Bei's army, then after his army entered Guangling County, it would be very likely that they would be tricked by the enemy.

But if we ignore Zuo Rong for the time being, he will definitely become dependent on Liu Bei in the future.

The land of Guangling County was essentially handed over to the enemy.

This is something Lu Bu is very unwilling to accept...

Lu Bu turned his head and looked at Lu Su who had recently returned from Xia Pi, and asked:

"Zijing, what do you think, should we fight or give in?"

After all, Lu Su had stayed in Xia Pi for a long time and had a relatively good understanding of the situation of Liu Bei's army.

Lu Su gathered his scattered thoughts, stood up, bowed and said:

"Based on my understanding of Liu Bei's army, their strategic focus is currently on Yuan Shao in the north.

"Zuo Rong's sudden attack was most likely his own action.

“After all, Xuzhou is the main place where Zuo Rong spread Buddhism, and you can see many Buddhists there.

"The reason why Zuo Rong attacked Zhang Chao was probably because Zhang Chao strongly advocated the Five Pecks of Rice Sect and strongly suppressed the Buddhism promoted by Zuo Rong.

"That is why Zuo Rong gathered Buddhists in Xuzhou and launched a fatal attack on Zhang Chao.

“So in my opinion, Guangling County has most likely not fallen into the hands of Liu Bei’s army at this moment.

"But as time goes by, Zuo Rong will definitely ask Liu Bei's army for reinforcements.

"Therefore, if we want to fight, we must capture Guangling City before Liu Bei's army enters Guangling County!

"Otherwise, once Liu Bei's army stabilizes its position, it will be even more difficult for us to take back Guangling."

After listening to Lu Su's words, Lu Bu nodded seriously:
"Zijing's words are exactly what I want. I don't want to hand over Guangling County to someone else!"

Hearing this, Chen Gong fell silent.

Lü Bu knew how to take care of his subordinates, so he said to Chen Gong:
“What Gongtai just said makes sense, but we are now the most powerful vassal in the world, so there is no need to be too low-key.

"If we choose to be tolerant today, then everyone in other border counties will be in danger in the future."

Chen Gong's expression changed slightly, and he nodded to Lu Bu:

"My Lord, you are right. I am too conservative."

Lu Bu teased:
"In that case, let's send Gongtai and some generals to lead the army to conquer Guangling City. I wonder if Gongtai is willing?"

Chen Gong was immediately interested when he heard this, and he stood up and said:
"I am willing to share my lord's worries!"

Lu Bu nodded with satisfaction:

"In this case, Gongtai can select suitable generals to lead the troops with you." Chen Gong's eyes immediately swept over all the generals.

He first looked at Gao Shun, but considering that the other party was newly married and not suitable for fighting, he gave up the choice.

Then he looked at the two navy generals Cai Mao and Zhang Yun and said:
"There is a waterway to the south of Guangling City, so it is very likely that Zuo Rong will transport food or weapons via the waterway.

“If this road can be cut off, Guangling City will become an isolated city.

"Generals Cai and Zhang, are you willing to lead the navy and accompany me?"

Cai Mao and Zhang Yun stood up at the same time:

"I am willing to accompany Zhizhong!"

Chen Gong smiled faintly, and then looked at the little tyrant Sun Ce who had returned from Runan County:

"General Bofu, would you like to accompany me as your Lord?"

Sun Ce immediately grinned:
"I couldn't ask for more! I've been idle in Runan for quite some time, and my Overlord Spear is almost going limp!"

Everyone heard the obscene meaning in these words and burst into laughter.

Chen Gong then selected a few more generals and went to the military camp to mobilize troops with the military token given to him by Lu Bu.

Then he and Sun Ce led an army of 20,000 and headed straight to Guangling County!
Cai Mao and Zhang Yun led an army of 10,000 along the Yangtze River towards the south of Guangling City.

From Lujiang County to Guangling County, one needs to pass through Jiujiang County and Xiapi County by land, which normally takes six or seven days on horseback.

Chen Gong ordered the soldiers to march quickly, covering two days' distance in one day. In the end, it only took three days to reach the border of Guangling County!
Chen Gong immediately ordered the 30,000 troops to stop and rest for a day, and began to assemble the Thunderbolt Chariot temporarily.

The parts of the Thunderbolt car are detachable, so it is naturally impossible to push the completed Thunderbolt car at high speed during a forced march.

But it would undoubtedly be much faster to disassemble the parts, load them on horse-drawn carriages and then transport them.

Guangling City is located in the southern part of Guangling County.

In Chen Gong's opinion, it was really a foolish move for Zuo Rong to choose to launch a coup here and occupy the city.

But according to investigation, the 20,000 troops left by Zhang Chao in Guangling County were incorporated by Zuo Rong.

Moreover, in his capacity as abbot, he brought tens of thousands of Buddhists from other places in Xuzhou.

During the turbulent times, there were undoubtedly many people in Xuzhou who believed in Buddhism and prayed to the Buddha for the way to survive.

But these are not problems.

With the gunpowder cans and enhanced rockets invented by the lord, unless the enemies are twice as many, it will not be enough!
After a day of rest, early the next morning, Chen Gong ordered Cai Mao and Zhang Yun, who came by water, to lead 10,000 naval forces to occupy the south bank port.

There were not many defenders at the port, so Cai and Zhang easily cut off Zuo Rong's waterway hub.

Chen Gong and Sun Ce led an army of 20,000 and five thunder chariots and headed straight for Guangling City.

In Guangling City at this moment.

Zuo Rong, wearing a red and yellow cassock, was watching the people in the city building a luxurious temple for him.

Looking at the soldiers whipping the slow-moving civilians, a look of morbid enjoyment appeared on Zuo Rong's face.

But at this moment, General Xue Li suddenly came to report:
"Abbot, Cai Mao and Zhang Yun from Lü Bu's army led 10,000 naval forces to occupy the South Bank port!

"In addition, according to the scouts, the 20,000 troops led by Sun Ce and Chen Gong are also heading towards Guangling City!"

Seeing Xue Li's nervous expression, Zuo Rong, with a face full of flesh, said with disdain:
"Why panic? There are only 30,000 enemy troops. We still have 30,000 soldiers and tens of thousands of civilians in the city.

"The enemy certainly has some powerful jar, but can they blow up all the people in Guangling City?"

Having said that, a cruel smile suddenly appeared on Zuo Rong's face!

(End of this chapter)