The Three Kingdoms: Rise to Power Starting with Intercepting Liu Bei

Two difficult days passed.

During these two days, the Jingzhou army made no progress, not because they were lax in their attack, but because Sun Quan's army launched an exceptionally fierce counterattack.

It was as if everyone was going to live or die with the city, and no one dared to desert in the face of battle.

Their ability to achieve such a feat despite being based in a small, low-lying town was entirely due to the death order given by Sun Quan and Zhou Yu: they would not retreat until reinforcements arrived.

They pinned their hopes for survival on the unseen reinforcements.

The intense siege had exhausted the Jingzhou army. In order to annihilate the enemy forces in one fell swoop, the commanding general ordered a rest and reorganization, waiting for General Cai Mao's main force to arrive as reinforcements to wipe them out in one fell swoop.

Both sides enjoyed a brief period of peace.

Inside Yingpu City, Zhou Yu and Sun Quan rested in the county government office, still fully armored. The officials and yamen runners there had long been imprisoned by them, and the area was under military occupation.

"Gongjin, it's been two days already, and we haven't even seen a trace of reinforcements from Shidu!"

Sun Quan asked with a worried expression, "The reason they have been able to hold out for so long is entirely because of this reinforcement. If they hadn't come, their men would have been in an uproar and might have surrendered to seek their own survival."

In life-or-death situations, don't have overly optimistic expectations of people.

"Zhongmou, I don't think reinforcements are coming!"

Zhou Yu looked up at the wooden roof, his eyes flickering, his tone low and somber; he was utterly disappointed.

"How...how could this be?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Quan straightened up, his eyes widened, and his voice rose considerably, as if he were about to devour someone.

"hehe!"

Zhou Yu smiled dismissively and continued:

"Why not? Our signal fires have already been sent out. Nanping is less than a hundred miles away. The reinforcements should have arrived by now, no matter how fast they rush!"

Even if they were ambushed on the way, the number of troops attacking us did not decrease, so there are only two possibilities.

Either Shi Du and his ilk refused to help, or they were too preoccupied to care for him themselves; there was no other possibility!

Although he mentioned two possibilities, deep down he believed that the other party would definitely not help him in his time of need.

As for the Shidu army being unable to protect itself, that's impossible, unless Liu Biao is willing to risk fighting on two fronts and mobilize a large force.

The Shidu army is the elite force of Jiaozhou. To eliminate them, we must use superior forces.

"..."

Sun Quan remained silent, clearly agreeing with Zhou Yu's analysis.

"What do we do next? We can't just stay here and die, can we?"

Yingpu is a small town nestled in a gorge, built against the mountainside. It has a sparse population and a shortage of food and supplies. It is impossible for them to defeat an enemy several times their size with just this one town.

The only way out is to abandon the city and retreat, which is also Yingpu's biggest advantage, as it will not face a situation of being surrounded by enemies on all sides.

Zhou Yu slowly rose, walked out of the hall, looked at the still-cold wind and the gray sky outside, and said firmly:

"Pass down the order: retreat and abandon the city in batches late at night. Also, capture another group of civilians, dress them in our clothes, and bring them up to defend the city to distract the enemy."

At this critical juncture, Zhou Yu could no longer concern himself with such trivial matters of benevolence and morality.

"Okay, we'll evacuate tonight!"

Sun Quan immediately had a leader to rely on.

···········

Just as Sun Quan and Zhou Yu were discussing using the city's inhabitants to distract the Jingzhou army and then retreat out of the city under cover of night, the Jingzhou army, which was encamped ten miles outside the city, was met by Cai Mao's troops.

"General Huang Yi, what's the situation? When will you be able to capture Yingpu?"

Upon arrival, Cai Mao sternly rebuked Huang Yi, a general of the Jiangxia army, using extremely unfriendly language.

This greatly intrigued Liu Bowen, who was serving as Cai Mao's advisor, as he couldn't understand why Cai Mao was targeting this person.

"Reporting to General Cai, our army has been launching a fierce offensive for several days, but the enemy is putting up a tenacious counterattack. I plan to rest and regroup before taking them down in one fell swoop!"

Huang Yi suppressed the urge to beat the other party up and reported the truth through gritted teeth.

He was born into the Huang clan of Jiangxia, whose clan included the great general Huang Zu. He and Cai Mao were at odds, which led to the Huang and Cai clans being at odds with each other. This was the first time they met, and the atmosphere was tense and filled with murderous intent.

"Hmph, what a waste! They can't even conquer such a small town. They're utter idiots!"

Cai Mao's explanation only fueled Cai Mao's anger, making him even more aggressive. This caused Huang Yi to lose his temper and grip his sword hilt tightly, as if he were about to draw his sword and draw blood on the spot at any moment.

Seeing that a bloody incident was about to break out between the two sides, Liu Bowen immediately stepped in to smooth things over, since now was not the time for infighting.

"Generals, please calm your anger. With a formidable enemy at hand, you must not let petty matters cause you to lose sight of the bigger picture!"

Liu Bowen's interruption immediately calmed things down, and Cai Mao stopped targeting Huang Yi.

When Huang Yi saw Liu Bowen interrupting, he glanced at him but didn't think much of it, since all the generals in command of troops had advisors like chief clerks by their side.

Let's just assume this is a new advisor that Cai Mao has hired.

Sure enough, his guess was confirmed the next second.

"Registrar Liu, tell me, what should we do next? Should we continue the fierce attack, or think of another way?"

Cai Mao addressed him in this way as Liu Bowen had instructed, since the fewer people in the Jingzhou army knew his identity, the better.

Liu Bowen did not answer, but instead looked at Huang Yi, who was kneeling to the left of the main seat in the tent, and asked in a gentle voice:

"General Huang, based on your observations over the past two days, have you noticed any unusual movements by the enemy forces in Yingpu?"

"Unusual activity?"

Huang Yi slapped his forehead and thought about it, reflecting on his discoveries over the past few days. In the end, he did discover some unusual circumstances.

"On the day our army launched the attack, there was a beacon fire in Yingpu City. At the time, we thought it was a fire lit by the enemy to keep warm. Now that Chief Clerk Liu has asked this question, I feel that something is not right."

"Moreover, the resistance of the defending soldiers was extremely tenacious, something I had never encountered since I joined the army."

Finally, Huang Yi added one more sentence.

At the time, the army was attacking, smoke filled the air, and the sounds of battle echoed through the sky, but he didn't take it seriously. Now that Liu Bowen asked him this question, he realized that something was really wrong.

The smoke was much thicker than usual.

After listening, Liu Bowen fell into deep thought. Cai Mao was curious when he saw Liu Bowen's expression, as he hadn't been able to glean any useful information from his words!

"This is bad! The enemy is about to abandon the city and flee, and it should be soon!"

After a long while, Liu Bowen uttered something astonishing, causing the two generals in the tent to become restless.

"Registrar Liu, what makes you say that?"

Liu Bowen then proceeded to his analysis, combining the advantages and disadvantages of the city of Yingpu with very solid evidence.

"Then...?"

Cai Mao was about to ask what to do when Liu Bowen interrupted him with a raised hand after he only managed to say one word.

"Pass down the order to send people to keep a close watch on the movements at Yingpu City, day and night, and to report every half hour."

Order the troops to cease rest and reorganization and prepare for combat.

Zhou Yu and his men cannot escape.