Zhou Yu is dead.
True or false?
If true... a promotion is waiting to happen!
These were the first thoughts that exploded in Yue Jin's mind the moment he heard the news.
Who did not know the sheer talent of this Jiangdong Grand Commander? Cao Zixiao, famous for his fearless vanguard charges, had been beaten into a turtle hiding in his shell at Nan Commandery, ultimately forced to abandon the city and flee.
Sharing a similarly aggressive style, Yue Jin's guard was instantly maxed out the moment he arrived at Xiangyang.
Within a short two months, countless rumors flew in:
Some claimed Zhou Yu's merit overshadowed his master, and Sun Quan deeply feared him.
Some claimed Zhou Yu was gathering troops at Baqiu, intending to march on Yizhou and declare independence.
Some even absurdly claimed Sun Quan had handed Jiangling over to Liu Bei.
Yue Jin rolled his eyes at that last one. Bah. How ridiculous!
Being brave enough to lead the vanguard did not mean Yue Jin's brain had turned to pure muscle.
The very fact that he could charge into death in every battle and survive to this day proved the exact opposite: he was exceptionally cautious.
Slurping down the last of his noodle soup, Yue Jin set down his bowl, wiped his mustache, and signaled his aide to read the latest intelligence.
"News from Hefei: Zhou Yu has died of illness. Jiangdong's civil and military officials have all traveled to Dantu to offer condolences."
Yue Jin closed his eyes for a heartbeat. Then:
"Send scouts. Map out defenses at Dangyang, Jingyang, and Jiangling."
"Yes, sir!"
As the aide departed, Yue Jin stood and pulled the wrought-iron broadsword from the nearby pillar.
Fierce generals often favored spears and lances because they worked best in open fields, but for vanguard city breaches, a long blade was superior.
A cold, dim light reflected off Yue Jin's armor.
He flicked the edge of the blade with his thumb, producing a clear, ringing hum.
"For my lord's great cause, let us go rampage!"
Mid-August. Yue Jin marched on Dangyang. The gates swung open before he even knocked.
"Where is your general?" he called down from horseback.
The poor scribe they had dragged forward was shaking so hard he could barely speak. "I... I surrender! Dangyang surrenders! I do not want a post! I do not want land! Just please do not kill me!"
SMACK!!!
The whip bit across his cheek.
"I asked where the defending general is."
The pain was highly effective. The scribe squeezed his eyes shut and wailed, "All gone, back to Jiangdong! They all went back to Jiangdong! To attend the Grand Commander's funeral!"
Yue Jin wheeled his horse around and issued his orders:
"Advance to Jingyang... no, advance directly to Jiangling. Scout cavalry in the lead, patrol a twenty-li radius."
An aide reined in his horse, relayed the orders to the scouts, and soon several squads galloped away, vanishing from the sight of the Dangyang civilians.
The ignored scribe remained kneeling in the dust, ignoring the stinging pain on his face, and shouted after them:
"Great mercy! The General is merciful!"
Yue Jin did not care about the scribe's wailing. As long as Jiangling fell, the fate of Dangyang would no longer be up to the people of Dangyang. Surrender or not made no difference. The dirt by the city walls did not lack for a few ounces of hot blood to irrigate it.
'Could six thousand men take Jiangling? Yue Jin pondered this as he rode, holding the reins.
Jiangling's northern side faced the water.
As his army approached, the few guards playing in the water panicked and scrambled back into the city, but the gates were not immediately closed.
A short while later, a few riders bolted out of Jiangling, carrying torches and tung oil, heading straight for the ferry bridge, seemingly trying to burn it down.
Without needing orders, a volley of arrows forced the riders to halt. After a moment of hesitation, they seemed to decide to just do their duty and tossed their supplies toward the bridge, then turned and fled without looking back.
This clumsy attempt provoked a wave of mockery from Yue Jin's ranks.
Yue Jin's men jeered. "That is Wu soldiers for you! Trash! One Han soldier can take five tribesmen, but one Wu soldier is barely worth half a tribesman! Garbage!"
Though noisy, their formation remained intact. They were all waiting for Yue Jin's final decision.
"Advance!" Yue Jin called.
Zhou Yu is gone. Who is left to stop me? Even Cao Zixiao had said it: in Jiangdong, only Sun Ce and Zhou Yu were worth worrying about. The rest? Just rats.
A small vanguard crossed the river first to secure the ferry bridge, then immediately began felling trees to build pontoon bridges.
The crossing needed to be widened, and one bridge was not enough.
Throughout this process, Jiangling's city gates remained open. Small groups of cavalry would occasionally ride out to harass them, but it barely affected their progress. This harassment did not feel like the desperate struggle of an impending disaster. It felt more like going through the motions.
Could it be that there is not even a defending general inside Jiangling?
Three pontoon bridges, wide enough for four riders to cross abreast, were constructed. Yue Jin's main force finally arrived at the walls of Jiangling.
Only then did the city gates hurriedly slam shut.
Yue Jin's Evaluation of Jiangling:
"Building a whole new city right next to the old one... Zhou Gongjin really was sharp. If those twin cities were finished, you would need ten times the men to take them."
He glanced at the fresh foundations and felt a surge of relief. "Lucky for us he died early. Once that is done, the entire southern route through Nan Commandery is cut off forever."
He looked at the young rice shoots growing outside the walls and nodded. "They have taken such good care of the place... if we take it, we might actually owe him a thank-you note."
Then his eyes drifted to the repeating crossbows mounted on the battlements. He smirked. "Huh. It is just a matter of size, right? Okay, you got big contraptions. Bet they are more for show than anything else. Useless."
Whizz. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Before his words even settled, a sharp whistling sound tore through the air. In a straight line across his formation, men and horses were sent flying!
Simultaneously, shouts erupted from all directions. Yue Jin's heart skipped a beat, but he instantly executed the most correct tactical response:
"Two squads, hold the bridges! Everyone else, hold formation and fall back slowly!"
Due to the inexplicable barrage, the ranks fell into chaos. At this exact moment, the gates of Jiangling flew open once more. Thousands of soldiers poured out in an orderly fashion, led by none other than Zhang Yide!
"Yue Jin, you little brat! You know who I am?! I am your Grandpa Zhang!"
His thunderous roar caused the morale of Yue Jin's formation to drop another notch.
And then, from the northeast... drums. A fleet of ships was gliding in, the beat shaking the riverbanks.
Oh no.
The unknown repeating crossbows on the walls of Jiangling did not cease. Every ten breaths, they sent another wave of men and horses flying. There were hidden reinforcements in the city, and a naval force on the river. The enemy had been waiting for him here all along!
"Fight your way out! To the bridges! Hold them so the rest can cross!" Yue Jin's blood was roused. Drawing his long blade, he charged toward the pontoon bridge first.
The only way out now was to hold the bridge, allow his subordinates to withdraw, and reorganize their formation to fight another day.
But very soon, the ships drew near. One vessel turned sideways, revealing a battery of repeating crossbows along its flank.
In Yue Jin's despairing gaze, a volley of bolts was fired. The hastily constructed pontoon bridges instantly shattered into a scattered pile of wood.
At the bow of the ship, a long-bearded general sat with perfect composure.
"General Yue, why not stay and join us in crusading against the Cao thief, to achieve this grand enterprise together?"
Yue Jin remained silent, only staring at the subordinates who could no longer cross the river.
Earlier, he and a few personal guards had crossed the river first. He had assumed the enemy would ambush this shore to cut off his retreat, but he never expected them to have ships and repeating crossbows, destroying the bridge without even needing an ambush.
Thus, he was completely cut off from his main force.
Those personal guards seemed to realize the situation as well. One after another, their desperate shouts rang out:
"General! Cross back while you can!"
"Xiangyang needs you, sir! Go!"
Taking one last, deep look at his comrades of past days, Yue Jin closed his eyes in agony, then wheeled his horse and fled.
"Yue Jin has fled! Surrender and you will be spared!"
"Yue Jin has fled! Surrender and you will be spared!"
The shouts followed him all the way. He felt like he was going to cough up blood right there in the saddle. But he kept riding, toward Xiangyang.
Watching the Wei soldiers whose retreat was cut off and whose morale had completely collapsed, Wei Yan, standing beside Guan Yu, asked in confusion: "General, why did we not keep Yue Jin here? If we had emerged just a moment earlier, he certainly would not have escaped."
Guan Yu shook his head. "Yue Jin is just a good fighter. Killing him wins us some bragging rights. But it would push Cao Cao to send a massive army down here. Then everything in Jingzhou falls apart."
"We are following the Strategist's intent. It is enough to make Yue Jin afraid to harass us again. Securing Yizhou is the top priority."
This was the final strategy settled upon by Zhuge Liang and the others. Killing Yue Jin would only bring a more tenacious Cao Ren down upon them. A deteriorating situation would only waste financial and military resources here, which would in turn delay the campaign for Yizhou.
At the same time, Liu Bei's small boat arrived at the ferry of Gong'an County. Sun Qian, who had come to welcome him, saw his lord's exhausted face, Mi Zhu by his side, a refined scholar whose temperament was seventy percent similar to the Strategist, and a young general whose eyes were wide open, looking left and right in awe.