Zhou Yu is dead.
True or false?Either way, a chance for merit through slaughter!
The moment Yue Jin heard the news, these thoughts burst into his mind almost simultaneously.
Who in the realm had not heard of the Grand Commander of Jiangdong's ability?
Cao Zixiao, famed for charging first and breaking enemy lines, had been beaten into a defensive turtle in Nan Commandery, eventually forced to abandon the city and flee.
Yue Jin, who shared that same forward-assault style, raised his vigilance to the highest level the moment he arrived at Xiangyang.
In just two months, countless reports had flown in.
Some claimed Zhou Yu's merit had grown too great, and Sun Quan feared him.
Some claimed Zhou Yu had gathered troops at Baqiu, intending to march into Yi Province and establish his own power.
Some even claimed Sun Quan had handed Jiangling over to Liu Bei, which sounded utterly ridiculous.
Being brave enough to charge first did not make Yue Jin a fool. On the contrary, the reason he had survived so many battles while always fighting at the front was precisely because he was cautious.
He swallowed a few more mouthfuls of soup noodles, set the bowl aside, wiped his beard, and gestured for his guard to read the latest intelligence.
"Report from Hefei. Zhou Yu has died of illness. Officials and generals of Jiangdong have all gone to Dantu to mourn."
Yue Jin closed his eyes and said nothing. After a moment, he spoke.
"Send scouts. Probe Dangyang, Jingyang, and the defenses of Jiangling."
"Yes!"
The guard departed at once. Yue Jin rose and drew the refined iron blade hanging from the pillar beside him.
Fierce generals often favored spears, but for storming walls and taking cities, a long blade was superior.
A cold sheen slid along the blade as he flicked it lightly. It rang with a clear metallic note.
"For my lord's great cause, what is one life?"
By mid-August, Yue Jin led his troops into Dangyang. The city gates stood open, and it fell in a single drumbeat.
"Where is your general?"
Seated on horseback, Yue Jin looked down at the trembling clerk dragged forward by his soldiers, sounding almost bored as he asked.
The man collapsed to the ground, weeping uncontrollably, words stumbling over themselves.
"I surrender… Dangyang surrenders. I want no office, no land, I beg the general to spare my life…"
Crack.
Yue Jin's whip lashed across his face, leaving a bloody mark.
"I asked you. Where is the defending general?"
Pain proved effective. The clerk shut his eyes and wailed.
"They returned to Jiangdong! All of them! They went back to mourn the Grand Commander!"
Yue Jin turned his horse and rode off immediately.
"Advance to Jingyang… no, advance directly to Jiangling. Send light cavalry ahead. Scout twenty li."
Orders were relayed. Soon, several teams of scouts galloped out, vanishing from the sight of Dangyang's people.
Behind them, the clerk remained kneeling in the dust, ignoring the blood on his face as he shouted in gratitude.
"Great mercy, General! Great mercy!"
The next morning, Yue Jin received further reports.
Dangyang and Jingyang were both weakly defended. Along the road, scattered refugees could be seen fleeing. Those captured confirmed that the officials and commanders had returned to Jiangdong.
The scouts did not dare approach Jiangling too closely, fearing detection, but they observed that construction on the new city outside Jiangling had halted, and the guards at the gates were even playing in the river.
Perhaps it's a trap... but Zhou Gongjin is dead. What is there to fear?
Without hesitation, Yue Jin led six thousand troops straight through Dangyang toward Jiangling.
As for the clerk's cries, he had not given them a second thought. Once Jiangling fell, Dangyang's fate would no longer be decided by its people.
Surrender or not made no difference. The dust outside a city never lacked for blood to soak into it.
Could six thousand men take Jiangling?
Yue Jin rode forward, reins in hand, thinking.
Jiangling's northern side faced the river. As his army approached, the soldiers who had been splashing about in the water scrambled back into the city in panic, yet the gates were not immediately closed.
After a short while, several riders burst out from within, carrying torches and tung oil, racing toward the pontoon bridge as if to burn it.
No orders were needed. A volley of arrows drove them back.
The riders hesitated, then, as if resigning themselves to fate, hurled what they carried toward the bridge before turning and fleeing without looking back.
Laughter broke out among Yue Jin's troops.
"So this is Wu's army. One Han soldier equals five barbarians, and a Wu soldier equals half a barbarian."
The noise was loud, but the formation remained steady. All awaited Yue Jin's command.
"Advance."
He made his decision.
Zhou Yu was dead. Who could stop him now? Even Cao Zixiao had said that in Jiangdong only Sun Ce and Zhou Yu were exceptional, the rest were mediocrities.
A vanguard crossed the river first and secured the bridgehead, then immediately began felling trees to reinforce and expand the pontoon bridge. It would not suffice to have just one crossing, and it could not remain so narrow.
During this time, Jiangling's gates remained open. Small groups of cavalry rode out repeatedly to harass them, but the effect was negligible. The harassment lacked the desperation of men facing disaster. It felt perfunctory, almost careless.
Could it be that Jiangling had no commanding general at all?
Soon, three floating bridges wide enough for four horses abreast were completed. Yue Jin's main force advanced to the city walls, and only then did the gates finally shut in haste.
He looked at the new city rising beside the old.
"To build a new city beside the old, Zhou Gongjin truly had the makings of a great commander. If the twin cities were completed, without ten times the force, they would be impossible to take."
He glanced at the young rice growing nearby and continued.
"With such careful management, now falling into our hands, I should almost thank Zhou Gongjin."
His gaze shifted to the repeating crossbows mounted on the walls.
"Large, but useless—"
Before he could finish, a sharp tearing sound cut through the air.
Along a straight line within his formation, men and horses collapsed in succession.
At the same time, shouts erupted from all directions.
Yue Jin's heart jolted, but he reacted instantly.
"Two units secure the bridges. The rest hold formation and withdraw slowly!"
The sudden strike threw the ranks into chaos, and at that moment, Jiangling's gates flew open again.
Thousands poured out.
At their head was none other than Zhang Fei.
"Yue Jin, you little whelp! Do you recognize your grandpa Zhang?"
The thunderous voice shook the field, and Yue Jin's troops lost another measure of morale.
To the northeast, a fleet of ships approached slowly, war drums booming across the water.
This is bad.
The unknown repeating crossbow on the walls continued firing. Every ten breaths, another line in the formation was cut down. There were hidden reinforcements within the city and a naval force on the river.
They had been waiting here all along.
"Then we fight to the death! Follow me, seize the bridges!"
Yue Jin drew his blade and charged forward.
Only by holding the bridges could he allow his men to withdraw, regroup, and fight again.
But before he could reach them, the ships drew closer. One turned broadside, revealing repeating crossbows along its flank.
Yue Jin watched in despair as the bolts were released.
The hastily built bridges shattered into drifting wreckage.
At the prow stood a long-bearded general, calm and composed.
"General Yue, why not stay? Join us in striking down Cao Cao and achieving great deeds together."
Yue Jin said nothing.
He only looked at the soldiers left stranded on the far bank.
He had crossed first with a handful of guards, expecting an ambush on this side to cut off his retreat. Instead, the enemy had used ships and crossbows to destroy the bridges outright.
No ambush was needed.
His connection to his army was severed.
The guards seemed to understand.
"General, return at once!"
"Return! Xiangyang cannot be without you!"
Yue Jin looked at them one last time, then closed his eyes in pain.
When he opened them again, he turned his horse and rode.
"Yue Jin has fled! Surrender and you will not be killed!"
"Yue Jin has fled! Surrender and you will not be killed!"
Hearing the shouts behind him, Yue Jin nearly coughed blood and fell from his horse, but he endured, fixed his direction toward Xiangyang, and rode on.
Watching the enemy troops collapse in morale, Wei Yan beside Guan Yu could not help but ask,
"General, why not keep Yue Jin? If we had moved a bit earlier, he would not have escaped."
Yunchang shook his head.
"Yue Jin is but a brave general. Killing him brings small merit, but it may provoke Cao Cao into greater action, plunging Jing and Xiang into chaos."
"By the Military Advisor's plan, it is enough to make Yue Jin fear to harass us. The priority lies in Yi Province."
This had been Kongming's final strategy.
Kill Yue Jin, and Cao Ren would come, a far more troublesome opponent. If the situation deteriorated, they would waste strength here and delay the campaign for Yi Province.
At the same time, Liu Bei's small vessel reached the ferry at Gong'an.
Sun Qian came forward to receive him and saw his lord, weariness etched across his face, with Mi Zhu at his side.
Beside them stood a refined scholar whose bearing resembled the Military Advisor's by seven parts.
And a young general with wide, restless eyes, looking everywhere at once.
The board was set, and the next move would soon begin.