Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 858 Zhou Yu Seeks Death
Cai Mao looked at the endless Pengli Lake in front of him and suddenly felt happy.

"Zhou Yu, Zhou Yu, you have used some inferior tricks to cause great losses to our army. Now we are at Pengli Lake, and the navy of both sides is facing each other head-on. I wonder what countermeasures you have."

He was extremely confident in his naval combat skills and immediately ordered the fleet to head straight for Chaisang City.

However, after they walked for a while, there was still no one to be seen around the lake, which made Cai Mao worried again.

"Although Jiangdong has no navy, I heard that Zhou Yu has trained two to three thousand sailors. Why don't they come out to fight? Even the scouts who were sent to spy on our army's whereabouts are nowhere to be seen."

"Report..."

A boat came quickly and when it arrived in front of Cai Mao's ship, a soldier said, "General, there is a Jiangdong water fort ahead. There are no flags in the fort, and no soldiers are patrolling."

Now Cai Mao became even more suspicious.

Zhang Yun asked in confusion, "What is this young man planning?"

Another general said, "I think Zhou Yu is a man who only knows how to play tricks. Now that he sees our army has reached the city, he is naturally afraid and has abandoned the city and fled."

"Well, that makes sense. It must be so."

"Yes, General Cai is famous in Jing and Yang. Who doesn't know him? Zhou Yu is still a child and doesn't dare to fight with the general. It is understandable."

The generals spoke with such conviction that Cai Mao felt that this was indeed the case and that it was reasonable and logical.

However, he was still a little worried, so he said to a general, "Take a thousand men to investigate. If there are indeed no traps or ambushes in the village, send someone to report back."

"Yes." The general took the order and immediately set off on a warship with several ships.

Soon, a boat came back and said, "General, there is indeed no one in the water fort, and the fort is in a mess. The equipment and food are all there. There are more than ten boats and two warships with oars and sails, but they are also empty and parked in a very disorderly manner, as if they were abandoned here in a hurry."

"Sure enough, they abandoned the camp and fled." The generals were very happy, but Zhang Yun was a little unwilling.

"How annoying that Zhou Yu escaped..."

Cai Mao said, "In that case, our army will set out now. However, Zhou Yu is full of tricks. To prevent any accidents, our army will be divided into three groups. This general will lead 3,000 soldiers to the water camp. Zhang Yun, you will lead 2,000 people to Chaisang City. Huang Zu, you will lead the remaining soldiers to rest somewhere between the water camp and Chaisang City. After finding out the enemy's movements, we will make plans. Remember, patrol the camps day and night, on land and on water, and don't take it lightly."

"I will obey my orders."

Cai Mao led a fleet of ships and soon arrived at the gate of the water fort. The general had already been waiting there.

"I respectfully welcome General Cai."

The fleet slowly sailed in. Cai Mao looked at the water fort carefully and nodded frequently.

"This Zhou Yu is a talented person. The layout of this water fort is loose on the outside and tight on the inside, with both offensive and defensive capabilities. Although it is not a perfect work, it is also excellent. If this person is a general in Jingzhou, I should promote him and make more use of him. He will surely become a great man in the future."

The general beside him sneered and said, "What a pity, he overestimates his own capabilities and wants to be an enemy of General Cai. He is simply courting death."

When Cai Mao heard this, he immediately looked pleased.

"Come on, take this general to check the equipment and food left by the Jiangdong rats."

The general was very proud: "General, please come this way. Those incompetent people have sent 30,000 stones of grain and more than a thousand sets of weapons to our army in vain just in this water fort. I am afraid there are even more in Chaisang City. With such a harvest, the lord will definitely reward you handsomely."

He brought Cai Mao with him and came to the place where food, fodder and equipment were stored in the village. After opening the door of the treasury, the aroma of rice wafted in the air.

"Um……"

Cai Mao took a deep breath and said, "It's the new grain harvested last year. Sun Ce is willing to give it away."

"General, you are really amazing. You can tell the year of production of the millet just by smelling it from a distance. I admire you very much." The general lost no time in flattering him.

Cai Mao stepped forward and stabbed a bag of grain with his sword, and the rice inside fell out instantly.

"Haha, good. These rice grains are full, which is rare even in the military rations of Jingzhou. Give orders to the whole army tonight to abandon the porridge and use white rice instead."

"Thank you, General." Everyone hurriedly bowed to express their gratitude.

Although Jingzhou is considered rich, the army can only eat white rice during the day when they are on an expedition. The rest of the time they have to eat porridge and coarse grain cakes to fill their stomachs. But how can porridge be as delicious and filling as white rice?
Soon, Zhang Yun's messenger arrived from Chaisang City.

"General Cai, there is no enemy soldier in Chaisang City either. The towers are full of broken armor and broken flagpoles. I asked the people in the city and they said that the defenders hastily evacuated about two hours ago without having time to pack up. They were in a panic. There are still more than 50,000 stones of food and fodder and more than 7,000 sets of military equipment in the city."

"Little Zhou Yu, you really ran away for your life." Cai Mao no longer had any doubts.

"Order the three armies to rest tonight and set off tomorrow. Go to Yuzhang first, then capture Lujiang. After you have accomplished your mission, the general will surely reward everyone."

Soon, night fell. The 10,000 Jingzhou navy soldiers were happy and their morale was high. Whether they were in the city or in the water fort, there was a festive atmosphere.

"Come, drink..."

Cai Mao and all the generals came to Chaisang City and had a banquet in the prefect's mansion. There were music and dance, bells and drums, and it was a very joyful occasion.

"This time our army won a great victory. Not only did we capture Chaisang in one fell swoop, but we also seized 80,000 shi of grain and nearly 10,000 sets of weapons. The gains are so rich. When the general learns of this, he will definitely promote General Cai greatly."

"Yes, I hope General Cai will not forget me and others by then."

"Come, let's toast to the general together."

All the generals raised their wine jars together. Cai Mao was also very happy. He did not even bother to wipe the wine drops off his beard. He picked up his own wine jar and drank with everyone else.

"Ha... good wine, good wine. Although Sun Jian's military experience is average, the food and wine in the city are really good. It's a pity that we got them for free, haha."

"General, you are right. Let's drink tonight. Tomorrow we will follow you to conquer Yangzhou and clear Jiangdong. With such great achievements in hand, I am afraid that Xiahou Dun and Cao Ren may not be able to defeat you."

The words of these people made Cai Mao's eyes light up and his heart was bright. When he was under Liu Biao, he was second only to one man and above ten thousand people. If Liu Biao had not been bewitched by Liu Yu and demoted him to the position of city gate lieutenant, he would not have surrendered to Cao Cao, who only had the power of one and a half states.

Now that he has become a member of Cao's army, with Cai Mao's ambition, he naturally is unwilling to be inferior to the Xiahou Cao. Now that this great opportunity is right in front of him, he can't help but be excited.

"Report..."

Everyone was having a great time, but an anxious and hurried voice interrupted the generals' interest.

Cai Mao's face darkened, and just as he was about to reprimand him, a soldier knelt down at the door and said, "General, Zhou Yu suddenly led a fleet of naval ships and appeared outside our water fort."

"What, he dares to come back?" Cai Mao was surprised.

Zhang Yun asked hurriedly: "How many people are there on the other side?"

"General, it's dark and windy, so it's hard to see clearly, but there is one tower ship, five warships, and more than fifty or sixty sailing ships."

"Hiss... How is this possible? When did a navy of this scale appear in Jiangdong?"

Zhang Yun was shocked and couldn't believe it at all.

A tower ship can carry at least two thousand people, a warship can carry three to four hundred people, and a captain can carry more than ten to twenty people. Based on this calculation, the Jiangdong navy has at least five to six thousand people.

Cai Mao sneered and said, "Even if there are only five or six thousand people, what can they do? My Jingzhou navy still has ten thousand soldiers and horses, and the advantage of ships is even greater than that of Jiangdong. What is there to be afraid of? These kids think that this mere night attack can defeat our army, but they don't know that it is actually a way to death. All generals, listen to my order, follow me to the water stronghold to meet the enemy, capture Zhou Yu alive, and control Pengli, tonight."

(End of this chapter)