Chapter 38 Liu Wu defeated Cao's army, and the battle report spread throughout Jiangdong! Liu Xuande was shocked!

Chapter 38: Liu Wu defeated Cao's army, and the battle report spread throughout Jiangdong! Liu Xuande was shocked!

The sun is at its zenith.

The snow melted under the warm winter sun.

The thick snow had almost melted, but the strong smell of blood still lingered outside Xiling City, covering an area of ​​several miles.

Da da! ~
Snow and water splashed,

In the distance, more than ten riders were coming from the direction of Jiangling.

"My lord, we are back." Gao Shun looked at Xiling City that appeared in his field of vision, he was even a little dazed.

However, within just a few days, they first kidnapped Cao Ren from the midst of thousands of troops, rushed to Jiangling day and night, and completely controlled Jiangling, looted all the food and grass in the treasury, and finally handed it over to Liu Bei...

Liu Wu looked at the top of Xiling City for a while before saying, "Lu Xun did not disappoint us."

They have done so much in the past few days that they have hardly had a moment to breathe!

Liu Wugaoshun had no idea what was happening in Xiling City since they left.

It was not until this moment that they were sure that Xiling City was still there!
"Let's go into the city." Liu Wu and his group of thirty riders rode forward.

Before they reached the city gate, the drawbridge was slowly lowered.

Liu Wu looked up and saw Wei Yan and Lu Xun on the city wall...

……

……

Half an hour later,
In the main camp of Xiling City, inside the central army tent,

Liu Wu sat in the throne, and Lu Xun, Gao Shun, Wei Yan, and Gan Ning were also forcibly pulled over.

"My lord, we in Xiling have won a great victory in this battle."

Lu Xun excitedly began to report the results of the battle: "Relying on the Lord's divine power, after kidnapping Cao Ren, General Wei Yan and General Gan went out of the city to defeat the enemy. The morale of Cao's army was shaken, and the army was frightened and collapsed!"

"In this battle, our army beheaded 3,000 people, captured 9,000 people, seized 20,000 sets of armor, and more than 2,000 war horses..."

"As for our army's losses, General Wei Yan's troops suffered very little, with only a hundred casualties, and the Xianzhen Camp that the lord temporarily gave me suffered no losses."

"It's just that the Shanyue were used to defend the city before, and the losses were relatively large. Now there are only about 3,000 left."

Lu Xun reported the battle results one by one.

Obviously, this was a great victory with minor losses but remarkable results!

Apart from some heavy casualties in the Shanyue battle, our troops suffered almost no losses.

Liu Wu silently calculated in his heart. Xiling City originally had some money, food and weapons, and this time he seized a lot more, plus the things he looted from Jiangling...

In these troubled times, he has accumulated a considerable fortune.

"Nine thousand captured soldiers, what are you going to do with them?" Liu Wu took the bamboo slips handed over by Lu Xun and read them carefully. They contained statistics of the captured soldiers.

Lu Xun said, "My lord, although there are 9,000 captives, I'm afraid we may not be able to use these 9,000 men."

"Five thousand of them are from the north. I'm afraid they won't be useful in battle, and there's even a chance they'll turn against us. So I think we should send these five thousand to Jiangdong and exchange them for five thousand Shanyue soldiers."

Liu Wu nodded. This was a good idea. Although the Shanyue soldiers had no way of fighting Cao's army in the field, they could still defend the city.

I don't feel bad even if I lose something.

Lu Xun continued, "My lord, the remaining 4,000 captives are basically local people in Jingzhou, and many of them were once General Wei Yan's subordinates. We can actually recruit them without any worries."

Before Lu Xun could finish, Liu Wu suddenly closed the bamboo slips: "Gao Shun!"

Gao Shun immediately stood up and said, "I am here!"

Liu Wu: "Choose 1,200 men from the captured soldiers and assign them to the Xianzhen Camp. All the captured war horses will be allocated to you. All armor and protective gear will be given priority. I want a cavalry of 2,000 men who can charge into the enemy's formation when mounted and break into the enemy's formation when dismounted!"

"Yes." Gao Shun accepted the order and left the tent directly.

He has to do this right away!
After all, Cao Cao's army is about to march south, and time waits for no one.

It is difficult to expand the Xianzhen Camp from 800 people to 2,000, but that doesn't mean Gao Shun can't do it!

Liu Wu: "Wen Chang, how much did your troops lose in this battle?"

Wei Yan stood up and saluted, saying, "Thirty-six dead, twenty-eight seriously injured, and seventy-four slightly injured."

Liu Wu: "That means 138 casualties. You must take 2,138 prisoners immediately to make up the total of 5,000. Intensify the training!"

"Yes!" Wei Yan took the order and retreated immediately.

In other words, Wei Yan now has 5,000 people under his command.

Finally, Liu Wu looked at Gan Ning who was forced to be a conscripted man and said, "General Gan Ning will lead the three thousand Shanyue soldiers. I will trouble you with the training."

Gan Ning looked bewildered.

Are you kidding...

Seeing that Gan Ning didn't react, Liu Wu slowly stood up. Gan Ning immediately felt the pressure from the other party...

Liu Wu walked towards Gan Ning step by step and said: "Although our army barely won a battle, it is still very difficult to deal with Cao Cao's army heading south."

Gan Ning's hairs were already trembling. He couldn't bear to think about how he was knocked away that day...

"The location of Xiling City is extremely important, especially for Jiangdong."

For the first time, the rude, brutal, violent and bloodthirsty Gan Xingba realized that he had someone he was afraid of, and he was really afraid of Liu Wu!
"General Gan Ning, you don't want Xiling City to fall into Cao Cao's hands, do you?"

Speaking of last,
A big hand has landed on Gan Ning's shoulder.

Gan Ning felt that this hand was as heavy as a thousand pounds. Although it was only lightly placed on his shoulder, it made him unable to breathe...

“Yes…Yes!”

Liu Wu got the answer he wanted, and without staying in the military tent, he walked out directly.

Inside the tent, Gan Ning was sweating profusely.

Lu Xun looked at Gan Ning meaningfully, then smiled and flashed past the most powerful general of Jiangdong, chasing Liu Wu out of the tent.

"Lord!"

"My lord, Lu Xun has something to say!"

Liu Wu turned around, looked at Lu Xun who had chased him, and asked, "What else does Boyan want?"

Lu Xun looked a little conflicted, but he still said, "My lord, when you were away, I took over your duties and sent a letter to Wu Hou of Jiangdong in your name."

Liu Wu was stunned.

What Lu Xun meant was that when he was not in Xiling, Lu Xun had contact with Jiangdong, still using the name of Liu Wu...

This is indeed taboo in some respects.

What's more, Lu Xun is originally from Jiangdong, so how can people not think too much?

Lu Xun bowed his head and said nothing, waiting for Liu Wu's decision.

After a moment, Liu Wu spoke up: "Cao Ren had just been defeated, and Cao Cao's army was about to arrive. I was in Jiangling at the time and couldn't turn back. Time was really tight. Please write a letter to the Marquis of Wu in my name, asking Jiangdong to send the second batch of Shanyue soldiers as soon as possible..."

"If I wait until I return to do this, I'm afraid Cao Cao's army will have already arrived at Xiling, and the 5,000 Shanyue soldiers may not be able to be sent over."

"Boyan, you mean well."

As soon as Liu Wu finished speaking, Lu Xun bowed deeply and said, "My lord, I understand!"

At this moment, Lu Xun was extremely excited because he realized that Liu Wu was not only extremely powerful in martial arts, but also extremely intelligent!

Before Lu Boyan said anything, Liu Wu had already guessed everything!
Liu Wu stood with his hands behind his back and sighed: "But, you are still overstepping your authority."

Lu Xun: "Lu Xun is willing to accept any punishment!"

"No need." Liu Wu said calmly: "Although you have acted beyond my authority, after all, when I left Xiling, I entrusted the entire Xiling City to you. Of course, you have the right to act on my behalf."

"Boyan, you did a great job this time."

Lu Xun is already crying...

At the beginning, Liu Wu subdued Lu Xun with absolute force. But over the past few days, Lu Xun has witnessed Liu Wu's intelligence and his generosity towards others.

With such a lord, why worry about failure? !
"Among Cao's surrendered prisoners, weren't there still five or six hundred left?" Liu Wu asked.

Lu Xun: “Yes.”

Liu Wu: "Pick a few hundred more people from the Shanyue and mix them into a thousand. This team will be under your command. I know Boyan doesn't know how to train soldiers, so let Gan Xingba train you."

At this time, Lu Xun, Lu Boyan, the Jiangdong talent, was already crying and didn't know what to say...

Lu Xun had one thousand soldiers.

Wei Yan had five thousand men.

Gao Shun had two thousand cavalry.

Currently, there are 3,000 Shanyue soldiers who have Gan Ning's help in training, and Jiangdong will send another 5,000 Shanyue soldiers later.

All in all, the total number of troops is 16,000.

But Liu Wu had no idea.

The time is too short, and most of them are newly captured prisoners, so it’s better not to talk about their combat effectiveness...

It might be useful for defending the city, but if it comes to a field battle, I'm afraid they will just flee.

He knew the nature of these newly recruited soldiers under his command. Even if they were to face off head-on, even if they were all added together, they would hardly be a match for the 10,000 elite Cao troops. Even if Liu Wu used Cao Cao's troops to attack Liu Bei, there were more than 10,000 Cao troops in Xiling...

If he had a year or two, Liu Wu would have absolute confidence in training them into strong soldiers, but Cao Mengde would not give him that time.

Next, Liu Wu will face Cao Mengde, who is full of counselors and generals, and will personally lead an expedition to Xiling! !

Liu Wu felt unprecedented pressure...

……

……

"I have already handed over 5,000 Shanyue to Xiling..."

"When Su arrived at Xiling, he did not see the Xiling commander and Lu Xun and others. According to the soldiers guarding the city, the Xiling commander seemed to have gone out to scout the camp..."

In Jiangdong, there were no other officials in the main hall of Wu Hou Mansion, only Lu Su's voice echoed in the hall.

Sun Quan frowned slightly and said, "Zijing, in your opinion, what is the outcome of the battle between Xiling and Cao Ren?"

Ever since Sun Shangxiang, Lu Xun and Gan Ning were trapped in Xiling, Jiangdong began to increase the number of spies near Xiling. Cao Ren mobilized all 30,000 troops in Jiangling and set up camp 30 miles away from Xiling. How could Jiangdong not know about this?

Lu Su hesitated slightly: "That thief general is indeed brave, but the Cao army that attacked Xiling this time has 30,000 soldiers, while there are only a few thousand soldiers in Xiling City, and the food, fodder and weapons are also limited."

"Besides, the commander of Cao's army is Cao Ren, a famous general in the world. Judging from this, I'm afraid that the Xiling bandits will suffer more defeats than victories."

As he finished speaking, Lu Su's heart became heavy.

According to his original plan, if Xiling won, Jiangdong could take advantage of the situation to recognize Liu Wu as Jiangdong's son-in-law, and then secretly and slowly sideline Liu Wu and take control of Xiling.

If Xiling is defeated, Jiangdong can also take the opportunity to exit and reap the benefits while both Cao's army and Xiling are defeated.

But the current situation is that, not to mention that Cao Ren's 30,000 troops are only the vanguard of Cao Cao's army heading south, it is still unclear whether Xiling can fight Cao Ren to a mutual defeat.

As a result, Lu Su's plan was about to fail.

Sun Quan naturally thought of this, and could only sigh helplessly: "What a pity, the situation has changed so much, it seems... the Sun-Liu coalition forces will have to join forces to fight against Cao thieves again."

"In the next few days, Jiangdong should also plan to rescue my little sister, Lu Xun and Xingba from Xiling."

Sun Quan's voice was a little low.

Before this, Sun Shangxiang, Lu Xun and Gan Ning were trapped in Xiling, and Jiangdong could pretend to be deaf and dumb because Xiling was profitable at that time and Jiangdong needed these people to serve as a link with Liu Wu.

But now the situation has changed. Seeing that Xiling is not profitable, Jiangdong is naturally unwilling to let these people be buried with Xiling.

Lu Su sighed slightly in his heart, his lord has determined that Xiling will be defeated!
He said no more, but just bowed and said: "I have completed my report, Lu Su will take his leave."

After saying that, he turned and walked away.

Looking at Lu Su's back as he left the hall, Sun Quan sighed softly, "What a pity for Zi Jing's good advice."

Outside the hall, Lu Su slowly walked down the steps, thinking about the battle between Xiling and Cao Ren, and the final decision of the Marquis of Wu. He couldn't help but sigh: "The situation has changed so much, what can I do?"

At this moment, a shout from a distance interrupted his thoughts:

"Zijing!"

"Mr. Zijing, take care!"

Lu Su looked up and saw more than a dozen generals rushing towards him.

The visitors were the twelve generals of Jiangdong, led by Cheng Pu and Huang Gai!

Cheng Pu didn't say anything polite, and hurriedly bowed: "Zijing, you have been to Xiling twice, have you ever met the commander of Xiling?"

"And now Cao Ren's army is approaching Xiling. Zijing, what do you think of the outcome of the battle at Xiling?"

As soon as he finished speaking, all the generals around him stared at Lu Su with burning eyes.

Ever since they learned from Zhou Yu that the young general from Shentingling was in Xiling, they have wanted to cross the river to see their old friend every day.

However, they are all generals in the army, shouldering many responsibilities and cannot leave without permission.

This time, when they learned that Lu Su had returned from Xiling, they made an appointment to stop Lu Su here and find out the details of the situation in Xiling.

Except Zhou Yu, the other eleven generals have already gathered.

Lu Su shook his head helplessly: "Su went to Xiling twice, but the Xiling commander didn't want to see me, and I never met him."

"As for the Battle of Xiling..."

"Cao Ren is a famous general in the world, and this time he leads an army of 30,000. There are only a few thousand soldiers in Xiling City. Even if I send 5,000 soldiers across the mountain, there will be no time to train them into an army."

"You generals are all veterans of the battlefield, so why do you need to ask Lu Su about this matter?"

Lu Su spoke in a tactful way, but everyone present understood.

Huang Gai sighed: "Although the old man from Shenting Ridge is brave, the situation is like this."

The rest of the generals were also silent. In the battle of Shenting Ridge, although the young general was brave, how could the outcome of a battle between two armies be determined by the bravery of just one person?
Cao Ren was a great general who followed Cao Cao and defeated the princes in the Central Plains!
He led 30,000 soldiers to attack Xiling. I am afraid that the brave old man will suffer a bitter defeat!

The other generals also sighed:

"What a pity! I still want to fight him again to avenge my past humiliation, but unfortunately I no longer have the chance."

"Even a brave man like Xiang Ji, the Overlord of Western Chu, could not avoid committing suicide by slashing his throat at the Wujiang River when surrounded by Emperor Gaozu's army, let alone him?"

"The world has lost another hero."

In the battle of Shentingling that year, although the Twelve Generals of Jiangdong were all defeated by Liu Wu, they all respected him in their hearts. Now, seeing their old friend on the verge of defeat, they couldn't help but feel sad.

"Urgent news! Urgent news from Xiling City!!"

Suddenly, a hurried voice interrupted the sadness of the generals.

Urgent news from Xiling City?

Could it be...

Cheng Pu stopped the soldier who was delivering the message and stared at him intently: "But Xiling was defeated?"

In an instant, everyone, including Lu Su, subconsciously surrounded the soldier.

“Huff!~”

The soldier gasped: "Xiling City, outside Xiling City..."

"The 30,000 Jiangling troops were defeated!"

"Commander Cao Ren has been captured!!"

……

In Jiangling City, large flags with the word "Liu" were planted on the top of the city walls, and soldiers under Liu Bei's command were densely packed on the top of the city walls.

"In the past, I always watched Jiangling from the top of the Gong'an City Tower. Now I can also watch Gong'an from the top of Jiangling City!" Standing on the top of the city wall, looking at Gong'an City on the other side of the river, Uncle Liu was in high spirits.

Guan Yu on the side reminded Liu Bei: "Although we have captured Jiangling now, we must not relax our defenses in Jiangling. Although Cao Ren's army has disappeared, we must be careful that Cao's army may come back."

Zhuge Liang, standing behind the three brothers, waved his feather fan and sighed inwardly...

Guan Yu's words were exactly what he had taught him. Now that his lord had captured Jiangling without a single soldier, he was in high spirits and would not listen to his advice at all.

I can only hope that Yunchang can speak up and make the lord sober up.

"Brother, you are too cautious!" Zhang Fei laughed nonchalantly, "Jiangling City has high walls and we are defending the city now. Even if Cao's army comes back, what can they do to us?"

Liu Bei smiled easily and was about to say something.

Suddenly, a rider arrived at the city gate. He was wearing white armor and a white robe, riding a white dragon horse, with a green sword on his waist and a shining silver spear in his hand. It was Zhao Zilong.

"My Lord! Urgent news from Xiling!!"

Before Zhao Yun entered the city, loud shouts were heard.

Urgent news from Xiling?

Liu Bei's face became solemn, and he immediately walked down the city wall in a hurry.

Xilulu! ~
Zhao Yu rode his horse into the city, dismounted and rushed to Liu Bei, his forehead covered with sweat: "My lord, a spy has an urgent report that Cao Ren's 30,000 troops have arrived in Xiling..."

Cao Ren's 30,000 troops are in Xiling? !

Liu Bei was stunned, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were all stunned.

"Great! Great, Cao Zixiao is so brave!" Liu Bei was the first to react: "No wonder! No wonder there is no soldier guarding Jiangling City! We didn't even know when he sent the Jiangling army to Xiling."

Gong'an is so close to Jiangling, but Cao Ren was so careless that he led all the defenders of Jiangling City to attack Xiling, and even left the city gates open. How dare he look down on me, Liu Xuande? !

At this moment, Liu Bei felt deeply insulted.

But there were more surprises. The reason why Jiangling City was unguarded was finally found, and the hidden worry in his heart finally dissipated.

Only Zhuge Liang on the side still felt something was wrong. Even if Cao Ren sent a large army to attack Xiling, he would not leave behind even the thousands of soldiers defending the city.

But he now has a more important question: "Zilong, do you know what the battle situation in Xiling is like?"

"Why do you have to ask so many questions, military advisor?" Liu Bei, who had completely relaxed, interrupted Kong Ming with a smile: "Cao Zixiao personally led an army of 30,000 to attack Xiling. It is like a mountain crushing an egg. Xiling will definitely lose this battle."

At this point, Liu Bei revealed a hint of a sneer: "It's a pity that the Marquis of Wu had such a good plan. He wanted to take Xiling in the chaos, but it was taken away by Cao's army again."

"My lord..." Zhao Yun's throat moved: "Xiling has never been defeated."

What does it mean that Xiling has never been defeated?
Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang were both stunned.

Zhao Yun: "In this battle, Xiling defeated 30,000 Jiangling Cao troops! Commander Cao Ren was captured on the battlefield!!"

(End of this chapter)