Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1131 Battle of Hanzhong
At this moment, in Zhou Yu's mansion, there were bursts of piano sounds, sometimes gentle, sometimes high-pitched.

After a while, the song ended and someone clapped in praise.

"Excellent, excellent! Gongjin's long river poem is full of lofty aspirations, like the force of waves crashing against the shore and the might of the wind sweeping away the remaining clouds. What a pity..."

Zhou Yu glanced at Pang Tong and asked with interest, "What a pity?"

Pang Tong looked regretful, "It's a pity that the lingering sound has a hint of unfulfilled ambitions. Gongjin became famous at a young age, and it is the time to display his talents and make achievements. Why is there such a melancholy sound in the music?"

Zhou Yu was a little surprised, and then delighted: "Shi Yuan is indeed a genius of the time. I have played this song for several years, and only Shi Yuan can understand its deep meaning."

As he spoke, he stood up and walked to the corridor outside the door.

"Bofu and I have known each other since we were young and have supported each other till now. We followed our old master to capture Yuan Shu and entered Jiangdong. Today, we should be full of energy and show our strengths."

He then changed the subject: "But time waits for no one. At that time, Liu He was already in Ji and Bing, and his influence had already been established. By the time we had worked so hard to gain a foothold in Jiangdong, all the land in the north had already belonged to him. Liu He was a great man of his time, and he had the legacy of Emperor Guangwu. It was really hard to compete with him."

Pang Tong smiled slightly and did not comment.

"As the saying goes, do your best and leave the rest to fate. Now that you and I are assisting the lord together, we may be able to accomplish great things. Although Liu He has tens of thousands of naval forces and more warships than me, our Jiangdong is still far superior to him in naval warfare. With the natural barrier of the Yangtze River, we can defend ourselves, block the enemy, and wait for an opportunity to inflict heavy damage on them. There may be a glimmer of hope."

After hearing this, Zhou Yu's thoughts became much clearer and his eyes became firm again.

"You are right. A real man in this world should move forward courageously."

However, he suddenly turned around and looked at Pang Tong.

"Listening to what Shi Yuan just said, do you think that our army should rest and recuperate now, while fully preparing for battle by the river to prevent the Northern Army from being overwhelmed?"

Pang Tong knew that this question was both a request for advice and a test. He gently waved his feather fan, walked to Zhou Yu's guqin, and stretched out his hand to play a few tunes.

"Guan Yu, Zhang Yong, Gao Shun, Zhu Ye, Liu Bei, Xu Huang, Jiang Huan and others are talented generals who are far superior to our Jiangdong generals, but..."

Zhou Yu asked, "But what?"

Pang Tong smiled proudly, walked to Zhou Yu, pointed his feather fan at the sky and said, "However, a sparrow can't fly higher than the eaves. Even if you are the best among sparrows, you are still a sparrow. How can you compare with the phoenix that soars into the sky?"

Zhou Yu frowned slightly, obviously dissatisfied with the fact that he was flattering himself by stepping on the people of Jiangdong.

"Sir, you should not underestimate the heroes of the time. Moreover, the Xuzhou warships are extremely formidable. Even though our navy is more familiar with the water, it is not easy to really fight against such a huge fleet."

In the battle on the river that day, if Jiang Huan, Xu Shu and others had not been poisoned and had difficulty commanding the entire army, with tens of thousands of exhausted and defeated troops on their side, they might not have been a match for the enemy.

Zhou Yu swore that it was the largest, most majestic and strongest warship he had ever seen. The hull was very broad, but the height was ordinary. Even when sailing on the sea, it could be safe and stable. In addition, it was equipped with catapults, heavy crossbows and other military weapons. It could definitely be called a water fortress.

Pang Tong used a series of strategies to fight the enemy. He first poisoned the food and then put the antidote in the wine. This would not only prevent Jiang Huan and others from becoming suspicious, but also protect Liu Xun and others from suffering from the poison.

Then they raised hidden stakes and iron chains in the water to separate the warships of Jiang Huan and others, and then the soldiers on the shore fired rockets at them. Even so, they could only barely repel the enemy and failed to seize any spoils.

Originally Zhou Yu had hoped to leave behind a huge warship, but that warship was too powerful. It broke through several iron chains with almost no effort, and he did not dare to pursue it.

It was precisely because he had witnessed the power of such ships that Zhou Yu felt countless worries in his heart. If Jiang Huan attacked again, he really didn't know how to deal with it. After all, Jiang Huan had been in Qingzhou and had fought against pirates for many years. Although Jiang Huan was not as good as himself in naval warfare, he was definitely no ordinary person. Coupled with such a magnificent fleet, it was really difficult to deal with.

Pang Tong glanced at Zhou Yu disapprovingly and said, "Gongjin, just relax. You can have a good rest for a few days. When the northern army attacks, I will go to meet them. Gongjin will stay by the river. Watch how I kill those rabble and make them lose their armor and weapons."

Zhou Yu was about to say something when someone came to report that the lord wanted them to come and discuss matters. The two did not dare to delay and stood up immediately.

In Sun Ce's general's mansion, a giant map that is more than two meters long and wide is hung in the middle of the hall.

"Gongjin, Shiyuan, come here..."

Sun Ce, who was looking at a map, saw the two coming and hurriedly greeted them. Zhou Yu looked at the place where Sun Ce had pointed with the tip of his sword with great interest and said with a smile: "Shangyong? Could it be that Bofu is interested in the land of Xichuan?"

Sun Ce was overjoyed and said, "Haha, the one who understands me best is none other than Gongjin."

Pang Tong's eyes rolled. "A few months ago, Liu He's eldest son Liu Zheng led his army into Sichuan. Now, in name only, Yizhou is headed by the governor Huang Quan and the governor Wu Yi, but in reality, the eldest son of the emperor has full control. Liu He promoted Fa Zheng to the rank of military advisor and lieutenant general to assist Liu Zheng. His ambition is to go down the river and seize Jingzhou. Rather than waiting for them to start an attack, it's better for us to strike first."

Sun Ce was very happy to see that his ideas were supported.

"Shi Yuan is right. This plan was proposed by Zhong Da, and now Shi Yuan agrees with it. It seems that it is feasible."

"Sima Yi?" Zhou Yu was stunned, but then he understood.

The supplies and food that Sima Yi collected from Lingnan yesterday have been transported to Xiangyang City. His letter must have been brought along with the baggage train.

"Come on, come on..."

Sun Ce seemed particularly excited and pulled the two of them to the map.

"Look, if our army wants to march north, there are only three ways. First, we can use the troops of Jingzhou to march out of Wancheng and attack Yuzhou. Then, we can use Yuzhou as a base to confront Luoyang."

"Second, use the troops of Yangzhou to advance by land and sea, encircle and attack Xuzhou from the front and back, and then use Jingzhou and Xuzhou to attack Yuzhou and Yanzhou from both sides."

At this point, Zhou Yu took over the conversation: "Liu He has accumulated no less than 500,000 troops in Sili, Yanzhou, and Xuzhou. If he attacks Yuzhou, he will be besieged on three sides. In this battle of Yuzhou, I have made all the calculations and thought that I could defeat the troops one by one, but I was always one step behind. Therefore, the first plan is not feasible."

"Gongjin is right." Sun Ce also immediately expressed his agreement.

"Originally, it was the best strategy to seize Xuzhou. However, now that it has been confirmed that Xuzhou also has such a powerful navy, and our ships are good at fighting on the river, if we want to go around the coast of the East China Sea, land on the beach, and outflank Xuzhou, we will definitely not be the opponent of Jiang Huan's fleet."

"Well, it seems that this plan is not feasible. In this case, the only thing left is the third plan - first take Yizhou, and then march north to Liangzhou."

Zhou Yu and Sun Ce were in perfect sync with each other. When Sun Ce said half of the sentence, Zhou Yu had already thought of the second half.

"Hahaha, Gongjin is indeed extremely wise, that's right." Sun Ce's face was full of joy.

Pang Tong raised his eyebrows and said, "If we can successfully seize Yizhou, we can then send troops to the north to attack Liangzhou. Then the troops from Jing and Yang will also attack Yu and Xu to support us. The three armies will be strong and weak, and the enemy will not be able to take care of each other. We can also contact some Qiang tribes and march together. This is a perfect strategy."

"That's right. Liu He has just taken Yizhou, and the people's hearts are still unsettled, and the army's morale is unstable. Now is the right time to attack Yizhou. If we want to take Yizhou, we must first take Hanzhong. As long as Hanzhong is occupied by our army, we can cut off their retreat and demoralize them. At the same time, our army's reinforcements and food can all be taken from Jingzhou and go up along the Han River, and we can be sure of victory."

Sun Ce looked eager to try, as if he could no longer hold back and wanted to send troops immediately.

Zhou Yu pondered for a moment, then slapped the pillar next to him and said, "Rather than waiting to die, it is better to take the initiative to attack. Moreover, our army has just been defeated, and the enemy will never expect it. If our army dares to take the initiative to attack at this moment, as the saying goes, "the arrogant army will be defeated", we can attack them when they are unprepared. My lord, I am willing to lead 50,000 troops to take Hanzhong directly."

"Good! I have Bo Fu to help me, so why should I be afraid of a mere kid like Liu Zheng?"

Sun Ce and Zhou Yu high-fived each other and smiled at each other.

"My lord, I have a plan that can help Gongjin."

"Oh? Shi Yuan, tell me quickly."

Pang Tong pointed to a city on the map and said, "To attack Hanzhong from Jingzhou, you must pass through Shangyong. Now Shangyong is nominally under the control of Liu He. When Liu He's army entered Chengdu, the governor Liu Qi preferred to serve his former master Liu Zhang rather than surrender. Liu He, because of his loyalty, appointed him as the governor of Shangyong. However, this man is incompetent. The powerful brothers of the Shen family in Shangyong are dissatisfied with Liu He's equal-field system and have long had the intention of rebellion."

"My lord, you can send someone with generous gifts to secretly meet the two Shen brothers and teach them to wait for an opportunity to kill Liu Qi. In this way, our army can pass through Shangyong without anyone noticing. By then, it will be like a divine army descending from the sky, and the Hanzhong defenders will be caught off guard, and our army will surely win."

"Great plan, let's do it this way."

(End of this chapter)