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

Zhou Yu and Sun Quan were thus eliminated, killed by a hail of arrows from the dragon cavalry in the heavy snow.

Caught off guard by this sudden turn of events, Cai Mao stammered for a long time, pointing a trembling finger at the cold corpse of Huang Yi on the ground, before managing to utter a single sentence:

"Lord Liu, what do you mean by this? Huang Yi was a general in the Jiangxia camp. How could you kill him?"

Cai Mao couldn't understand what Liu Bowen was thinking; even he wouldn't dare to do it so openly.

If Huang Yi's trusted confidants in the army find out about this and report it to Liu Biao, he'll be finished.

"General Cai, I'll explain later. Right now, you must deal with all of Huang Yi's trusted men."

As Liu Bowen spoke, he gestured as if to kill someone. Cai Mao understood what he meant. Although he was puzzled, he still ordered his men to do as he was told. Afterward, he followed Liu Bowen to a place where no one was afraid of being overheard and listened to the latter's explanation.

"Huang Yi has just heard my true identity. If he reveals this, everything we have done may be in vain. Therefore, he must die, otherwise it will be the two of us who die."

Liu Bowen wasn't just making empty threats. The fewer people in Jingzhou knew about his collusion with Cai Mao, the safer it would be. Moreover, Huang Yi was a member of the Huang family, and he and Cai Mao were at odds, so it was even less likely that he would be spared.

"Understood!"

After hearing this, Cai Mao finally understood Liu Bowen's good intentions. If Huang Yi were allowed to live, he would surely be the one to die. The Cai and Huang families had long been locked in a bitter struggle with no room for reconciliation.

"So what do we do next?" he asked again, having already achieved a major victory by defeating the invading Jiaozhou army.

"Send messengers by fast horse to inform Liu Biao to continue reinforcing his troops and effectively control the four southern commanderies of Jingzhou. This is the best time to act!"

Liu Bowen replied without hesitation.

"Yes!" Cai Mao nodded in agreement.

·············

Xiangguo, Governor of Jizhou.

Since Qin Xuan marched north, he has stationed his troops here, serving as a strategic mobile force.

Since the establishment of the anti-Qin coalition, the three prefectures of Ji, You, and Bing, which bordered the northern nomadic peoples, have suffered repeated raids and invasions of varying scales.

Therefore, Yue Fei and Yu Yunwen led the main force of the Jizhou army to patrol and defend the border, attempting to fight a major battle with the enemy to eliminate future troubles, while Qin Xuan was in charge of the Sili direction.

"Ding~~~"

"Congratulations, host! Your Great Snow Dragon Riders have killed Zhou Yu and Sun Quan, eliminating a major obstacle on your path to unification. The system rewards are as follows:"

The grain reserves amounted to three million shi (a unit of dry measure), and the Great Wall Army infantry had 20,000 sets of standard equipment.

Qin Xuan was dealing with a pile of official documents when he heard the long-lost system voice in his mind. He was stunned for a moment, and then a huge joy welled up in his heart.

"Zhou Yu and Sun Quan were both shot and killed? That's quite unexpected!"

For Qin Xuan, the food and standard equipment rewarded by the system were barely enough. He had plenty of manpower and supplies. If it weren't for the need to be cautious and prevent multi-front warfare, he would have launched a war of annexation long ago.

The deaths of Zhou Yu and Sun Quan are a good thing, as it means that he will only face Liu Bei and Cao Cao as formidable enemies from now on.

Liu Biao, Liu Yan, Ma Teng, Zhang Lu?

Sorry, neither of them are great talents or strategists, and they are not worthy of Qin Xuan's high regard.

"Someone come here!"

Qin Xuan then called out loudly, and Meng Guang, who was waiting outside, came in upon hearing the sound, awaiting Qin Xuan's instructions.

"Immediately send a messenger to Jinling with a letter, informing the Qiao sisters that Zhou Yu and Sun Quan are dead, and Lu Su will soon join them in the afterlife. I have fulfilled my promise to them, and I hope they will not be consumed by grief."

"Write another order, instructing Liu Bowen to cooperate with Gan Ning and other generals to capture Jiaozhou in one fell swoop and eliminate Shi Xie."

"Here you go!"

Although Meng Guang didn't understand where Qin Xuan got the information, he didn't dare to ask and could only agree.

After Meng Guang left, Qin Xuan looked at the hazy sky outside the palace and finally let go of his worries.

During his time in Jizhou, he frequently received letters from Cao Yuan and others. Apart from some everyday concerns, the letters mostly discussed the mental state of the two Qiao sisters, Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao.

Knowing the crux of the problem, Qin Xuan had no good ideas. He could only ask Cao Yuan and others to keep an eye on the two women in his reply. Now that the news of Zhou Yu and Sun Quan's deaths had arrived, Qin Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

·············

Just as Qin Xuan was secretly pleased to learn of the deaths of Zhou Yu and Sun Quan, the defeated anti-Qin coalition finally received reinforcements from Ma Teng.

A riverbank at the border of Runan Commandery and Nanyang Commandery.

Liu Bei, Sima Yi, Huang Quan, Zhang Lu and others led the remnants of their army to this place to rest and regroup, and also joined up with Ma Teng's army, which had arrived late.

As soon as the two sides met, Ma Teng asked the group in a puzzled tone, voicing his doubts:

"Are you all incompetent fools? Why did you launch an attack on the Qin army when your supplies were running low? And in the dead of winter no less?"

His words left everyone present, except for Sima Yi, completely bewildered. They had no idea what had gotten into Ma Teng, who had come all this way to launch a tirade.

"General Ma Teng, what do you mean by that? We're a little confused."

The other leaders remained silent, and Zhuge Liang, who held the lowest position among them, humbly inquired about the reason in a low voice.

"snort!"

Seeing that the others were still pretending to be stupid, Ma Teng snorted coldly and said angrily:

"A few days ago, Cao Cao's army suffered an attack on their grain supply camp at Yangqu by Qin Xuan's Great Snow Dragon Cavalry. All their grain supplies were destroyed, and the defending general, Li Dian, was killed in battle. How dare you launch an attack when your grain supplies are in danger? Isn't that stupid?"

It's no wonder Ma Teng was so angry. He thought the anti-Qin coalition would achieve great things, but who would have thought they were all a bunch of useless bastards who became defeated soldiers.

Anyone would want to give them a good scolding!

"·····"

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei and the others all turned to look at Sima Yi, who had a mature and wise appearance. Liu Bei, being quick-witted, immediately understood what was going on by combining all the past events.

Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, Sima Yi knew he could no longer hide it, so he calmly stood up, bowed, and expressed his apology in a flat tone.

Since it has already happened, we should just deal with it as it comes. Their defeat is a foregone conclusion, and no one can change it.

Seeing Sima Yi so ruthless, Zhang Lu wished he could rush up and beat him up. If he hadn't suggested attacking Gao Shun and Zhang Liao's army, would he have suffered such heavy losses?

The troops they brought back suffered a third of their personnel losses; it's heartbreaking!

"Zhongda, why didn't you report this in time? Instead, you urged us to attack the Qin army!"

Huang Quan asked, wanting to know what the other party was trying to do by making such a foolish move.

"I······"

Faced with the questioning gazes of the group, Sima Yi dared not hide anything and explained his original plan in detail.

After hearing Sima Yi's plan, the group looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Could they blame Sima Yi?

can.

But if we put ourselves in their shoes, they might do the same thing. It's simply not feasible to let soldiers fight on an empty stomach, let alone in the cold winter.

And just like that, the interrogation session, which was full of accusations and blame-shifting, came to an abrupt end, completely turning the page.

However, the anti-Qin coalition had not yet disbanded and was waiting for Liu Biao's logistical supplies to arrive before they could rest and regroup for another battle.