Three Kingdoms: Madam, I am a decent person

Chapter 785 A Letter from Guo Jia
Zhang Sui felt an indescribable sorrow as he watched Liu Bei draw his sword and commit suicide, falling off the city wall.

This feudal lord, whom many in later generations considered a "hypocrite," died just like that.

There was nothing dramatic or spectacular about it.

Yet it evokes a powerful urge to burst into tears.

Zhang Sui couldn't bear to look any longer, so he turned his horse around and ordered Shi A to personally collect Liu Bei's remains.

Shi A led two Tiger Guards forward.

Hearing the cheers of the people and soldiers, Zhang Sui sighed and then sent someone to summon Wen Ping to the commander's tent.

Wen Ping was unaware that Liu Bei had died.

He was overwhelmed by the sight of civilians and soldiers reuniting.

When Zhang Sui told him that Liu Bei had committed suicide, he froze on the spot.

Seeing his expression, Zhang Sui didn't bother to say anything more. He simply gestured for him to organize the soldiers of Maicheng and prepare to catch up with the main army and continue south.

Now that things have come to this point, Zhang Sui naturally won't give up.

He wanted to seize Jingzhou and Jiangdong in one fell swoop.

Wen Ping snapped out of his daze, accepted the order, and quickly left.

Zhang Sui waited in his command tent for the arrival of civil and military officials such as Kuai Yue, Chen Zhen, Zhao Yun, Gao Shun, Xu Rong, Chen Dao, and Cao Chun, and then discussed the specific details of attacking Zhou Yu in Nan Commandery.

The final agreement was reached, and the army will depart at 7:00 AM tomorrow.

This time, the eight thousand cavalrymen did not march hastily.

Eight thousand cavalrymen will don heavy armor, preparing for one last crushing defeat.

The 30,000 soldiers of the five powerful clans in Jingzhou and the 15,000 soldiers of Wen Ping in Maicheng joined together to form an army of 45,000.

The army set off first, and camped in Jiangling County, the seat of Nanjun County.

Although Nan Commandery had been captured by Zhou Yu's army, everyone believed that Zhou Yu's army could not withstand the attack of Jingzhou's 45,000 troops and 8,000 cavalry, and could only retreat to Jiangling, the capital of Nan Commandery, and rely on the city walls for defense.

The materials that Liu Ye, Huang Yueying, and all the craftsmen in Jingzhou had prepared to deal with the trebuchets in Maicheng were all disassembled and transported to Jiangling County.

Just as everyone was discussing the specific deployment of the army, a personal guard rushed up and shouted, "My lord, the Qiao family caravan in Maicheng has received a message by carrier pigeon from Lujiang!"

Everyone turned to look at the entrance of the command tent.

Zhang Sui said, "Let him in."

The guards quickly retreated.

A moment later, a young man dressed in plain clothes strode in.

The young man handed a small note to Zhang Sui and bowed, saying, "Qiao Ze of the Qiao Family Merchant Caravan greets my lord!"

Zhang Sui took the note and smiled, "You've worked hard. Go and rest first. I'll have someone bring you some treats later."

Qiao Ze thanked him and then left.

Amidst the curious gazes of the crowd, Zhang Sui opened the small note.

The sadness that had permeated Zhang Sui all day vanished at this moment.

Zhang Sui handed the small note to Liu Ye beside him and said with a smile, "This time, Liu Ye will lead the three armies to attack Jiangling."

"Xu Rong's Flying Bear Army, come with me."

Everyone looked at Zhang Sui in confusion.

What does it mean?
After discussing it for a long time, the commander-in-chief was replaced at the last minute.

Admittedly, Zhang Sui's role as commander-in-chief was always symbolic, and he did not participate in actual command.

After reading the contents of the note, Liu Ye smiled and said to the bewildered crowd, "The note was written by the strategist general Guo Jia to our lord."

"He and his strategist Li Ru led the Huang family soldiers of Jingzhou to successfully reunite with Zhuge Liang, the governor of Lujiang County."

"The army launched a surprise attack on Pengze Port in Chaisang County with lightning speed."

"Jiang Qin, the garrison commander of Pengze Port in Chaisang County, obviously did not expect this."

Of the three thousand defenders of Pengze Port, more than eight hundred surrendered, while the rest of the enemy troops were all killed in action.

"General Jiang Qin, the commander of the defending force, was killed in battle."

"Currently, the army is divided into two groups."

"Guo Jia left Su Fei with a thousand men to guard Pengze Port and deal with the battlefield."

"Guo Jia and Li Ru led 15,000 naval troops and captured the entire Chaisang County. They are currently dressed in Jiangdong naval uniforms and are controlling the land port of Chaisang County."

"Zhuge Liang is leading Gan Ning and 6,000 naval troops to attack Hukou Port in Yuzhang County."

Guo Jia trusted Zhuge Liang very much.

"This time he wrote to the lord, firstly to ask the lord to launch a strong attack on Maicheng, then Jiangling County, to force Zhou Yu to retreat to Chaisang County, so that the army of Chaisang County could catch him off guard."

"We might be able to capture Zhou Yu alive."

"If Zhou Yu were to escape, he would most likely head straight for Hukou Port in Yuzhang County from the Yangtze River."

"If Zhuge Liang takes that place, then Zhou Yu will face certain death." "Secondly, Guo Jia wants to invite our lord to the Yangtze River to witness this final battle."

"Zhou Yu has 30,000 elite troops in Nan Commandery."

"They should all retreat to Chaisang this time."

"If we wipe out Zhou Yu's 30,000 men, Jiangdong will be completely finished."

Everyone was overjoyed when they heard Liu Ye say this.

"I see!"

"With Zhou Yu's 30,000 elite troops wiped out, Jiangdong truly has no power to resist."

"Hahaha, even without Sun Quan's intervention, those powerful clans will be in a panic!"

Zhang Sui also laughed out loud.

Those powerful clans and Sun Quan were never of one mind.

Sun Quan's humble compromise only secured temporary stability.

Gu Yong is one of my people.

Lu Xun was right beside him.

Of the four great families of Jiangdong, two were located on his side.

Zhang Sui smiled and looked at everyone, saying, "Do you have any objections to my arrangement? If not, I'll take Xu Rong's Flying Bear Army to watch the excitement tomorrow."

"I'm leaving Nanjun to you."

"Just driving Zhou Yu's 30,000 elite troops from Chaisang down the river shouldn't be too difficult, right?"

Liu Ye raised his head high and said, "My lord, do not underestimate people."

"Although I, Liu Ye, am not talented, I am leading 45,000 Jingzhou naval troops. If I cannot drive away Zhou Yu's 30,000 men, then please cut off my head!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Zhang Sui nodded and looked at Wen Ping, saying, "General Wen, you will be the vanguard."

"His official position will remain unchanged for the time being."

"But this is not your end."

"The reason I made you the vanguard isn't because I look down on you, but because you're definitely more familiar with the terrain of Nanjun than anyone else—"

Wen Ping said, "My lord, please don't worry about it. I will obey your orders!"

Zhang Sui then scanned everyone and said, "I will wait for you to meet up in Qu'a, Jiangdong."

"After that, we will return to Xuchang together, and then to Yecheng to discuss the matter of sweeping through Jiaozhou, Yizhou, Hanzhong, Liangzhou and other places."

After letting out a breath, Zhang Sui continued, "Finally, there's the matter of heading north to wipe out the Xianbei and other barbarian peoples."

"I will not participate in the extermination of the Xianbei and other barbarian peoples; you should understand that."

"However, as long as you don't make any big mistakes, you all have a chance."

Zhang Sui glanced at the crowd and said jokingly, "Go north to the Xianbei and other Hu peoples, and further north there is an even wider territory."

"Whoever takes over these territories will be his fiefdom, and I will appoint him as the king of this land."

"As you all know, I always keep my word."

Upon hearing Zhang Sui's words, everyone was overjoyed.

Is there such a good thing?

Seeing the ecstatic expressions on everyone's faces, Zhang Sui smiled and said, "However, the due tribute must still be paid."

"Also, I don't care what you do in the places you go, but you are all my people."

"All the maps have to be sent to me."

"Perhaps in the future, this world will belong entirely to the descendants of people like us."

"With maps to prove it, wouldn't it be great to visit each other's homes in the future?"

When everyone heard Zhang Sui say this, they all burst into laughter.

Even Wen Ping, who was depressed because of Liu Bei's death, smiled.

He had never considered this kind of thing before!
It has not been recorded in historical books.

Who would have thought that this great general harbored such ambitions!

However, this ambition is not annoying; on the contrary, it is quite delightful.

A king of a different surname?

Who doesn't have a little ambition?
He thought of Liu Bei again, and his expression darkened.

If he hadn't been after Jingzhou, and had instead pledged allegiance to the General earlier, with the abilities of the brothers, they might have actually had a chance to become a king of a different surname.

(End of this chapter)