NOVPUB"Hmm, with this in mind, there shouldn’t be any problems. Gan Ning has his ways, and I have my own survival strategies. Besides, Kongming isn’t someone easy to deal with. Even if Zhou Yu defies the heavens and indeed enhances the ships, we should be able to leave without them stopping us. It’s still best to prepare a double layer of insurance."
Chen Xi thought about his own method, silently unfolding his folding fan one rib at a time. In an era where one could summon wind and rain, catching people off guard was genuinely not difficult.
Meanwhile, in Lujiang City, the battle had been raging for days. Lul Kang made it clear that he had no intention of surrendering. Even though he had no valiant generals under him, the four people of the Lul Family, from the eldest to the youngest, were all tough nuts to crack. Besides, they were fighting on their home ground. The city’s residents were united, determined to fight to the death without surrendering. Sunx Ce even declared that if Lul Kang didn’t surrender, after taking the city, he would massacre its inhabitants. However, Lul Kang, an old man, clung to the broken parts of the city wall, cursing Yuan Shu and labeling Sunx Ce a rebel.
Enraged, Sunx Ce charged forward with his spear, only to be ambushed by nearly a hundred elite archers and crossbow carts arranged by Lul Jun, shooting a barrage of arrows at him. If Zhou Yu hadn’t been worried about Sunx Ce’s impulsiveness and ordered Zhou Tai to stay by his side no matter what, Sunx Ce would have been hit by at least two or three of those hundreds of arrows.
After taking a loss, Sunx Ce, although cursing loudly at the foot of the city walls, did not act recklessly again. Because of him, Zhou Tai had already been hit by two arrows.
Intent on killing Sunx Ce, the Lul Family didn’t plan on following the rules of warfare, going so far as to poison their arrows. The poison was extremely potent; a normal person would have no place to be buried if hit. Unfortunately for them, Zhou Tai was known as the "Undying Monster," and he had mastered Inner Qi Separation. Such intense poison was just light rain to him, and he was up and hopping around the very next day.
It wasn’t that the Lul Family underestimated Inner Qi Separation; it was just that, before this, only Xiang Yu had demonstrated it, and the Lul Family simply didn’t understand what kind of being someone who had mastered Inner Qi Separation was. Their poison, which could easily kill those who had refined Qi to Gang once dosages were increased, would only make Sunx Ce experience nausea, dizziness, and numbness in the limbs and stomach for about half a month, even if all the poison from a hundred arrows was ingested.
The day Zhou Tai was shot, the Lul Family celebrated. But the next day, they were dumbfounded when Zhou Tai, completely unharmed, charged up the city walls, released water, and injured more than a dozen of the Lul Family’s private soldiers. Three generations of the Lul Family were stunned; he had been hit just the day before, and now he was alive and kicking. Even if the Lul Family didn’t understand the full extent of Inner Qi Separation’s strength, they realized that poison and such tricks were completely ineffective against such individuals.
What followed was a standard siege warfare. It can be said that this was the most difficult and painful battle Sunx Ce had fought since he began his career. Before, either Zhou Yu would come up with an ingenious strategy to resolve the situation, or the enemies would surrender at his feet during the battle. Sunx Ce had never encountered the kind of resistance where the enemies would rather die than surrender like the Lul Family.
"Gongjin, do you have any good plans? Fighting like this, even if we take Lujiang, we will lose the momentum to conquer Eastern Wu," Sunx Ce said to Zhou Yu, watching Zhou Tai fight on the walls, then being forced to jump down due to a barrage of arrows, speaking helplessly as Zhou Yu had just hurried over.
"I’m afraid not. Both Lul Kang and Lul Jun are cautious and prudent. They are determined to defend, and it’s exceedingly difficult for us to lure them into battle," Zhou Yu said with a bitter smile. This was why he had advised against attacking Lujiang; both Lul Kang and Lul Jun were capable, and the Lul Family was fighting on home territory. However, now it had become essential to bring things to a swift conclusion.
"What should we do then? Every day, watching my subordinates get injured and die in battle, while the Lul Family mocks us from atop their walls—how can I stand it?" Sunx Ce was brash and lacking in guile. Ever since his father’s death, things had always gone his way. Now, being blocked outside Lujiang City by the Lul Family, his anger surged!
"Well, since that’s the case, let’s just take Lujiang as soon as possible. However, Bofu, don’t really massacre the city after taking it. Once we start that, we’ll be at a disadvantage," Zhou Yu sighed. If Sunx Ce wanted to win, then he would help him resolve the Lul Family quickly.
"Massacre the city?" Sun Ce was startled, "Those were words spoken in anger. I heard the Lu family only has four members. Just slaughtering those four should suffice, and it could be considered as wiping out the entire family. Haha, it infuriates me; why won’t any of those four die!"
"They will die soon, very soon. Don’t worry," Zhou Yu silently wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
Zhou Yu’s biggest worry was that Sun Ce would become cruel from the frustration of the siege and take it out on the innocent people. As for exterminating the entire Lu family, if there were only four in the direct lineage, then killing them all wouldn’t be a big deal. They could simply elevate a branch family with the surname Lu to replace the current main line; in the end, it was just a matter of killing four people.
"They can die soon, good, Gongjin, I’m relying on you," Sun Ce said, immensely pleased when he heard Zhou Yu’s words. He had already been disgusted by the Lu family. He patted Zhou Yu on the shoulder, "I leave the command to you. I’m going to attack the city. If even a minor Lujiang City can’t be taken by me, Sun Bofu, how can I dream of conquering the world!"
Zhou Yu sighed, and did not try to persuade Sun Ce from joining the battlefront again. He had said it many times, but if Sun Ce wanted to fight, there was no stopping him. However, leaving him in charge could at least ensure Sun Ce’s safety.
Sun Ce ran to the front lines with his spear, and Zhou Tai followed him. Han Dang, Huang Gai, and Cheng Pu, worried about something happening to Sun Ce, also followed.
"General Han, General Huang, General Cheng, please wait a moment," Zhou Yu called out to the three veteran generals from Sun Jian’s era.
"Gongjin, if there’s anything you wish to command," Cheng Pu stopped and turned around, bowing respectfully before asking as the eldest among the three.
This was very different from the historical conflict at Red Cliff. In this lifetime, Cheng Pu had followed Sun Ce and Zhou Yu in defeating Huang Zu and Wang Wei, participating in every battle without fail—a stark contrast to the Cheng Pu who had only heard about Zhou Yu’s prowess through tales and had never witnessed it himself. 𝓃𝓸𝓿𝓹𝓾𝓫.𝓬ℴ𝓶
Originally, at the Red Cliff disaster, once Cheng Pu learned about Zhou Yu’s arrangement of the Water Village, he realized his own inferiority and personally admitted his fault. And now, knowing very well just how strong this young master really was, Cheng Pu, ever loyal to the Sun family, never displayed arrogance or complacency before Zhou Yu. After all, every tough battle along the way had been under Zhou Yu’s command.
"It’s like this. We cannot afford to waste too much time at Lujiang. Although Lujiang City’s defenses have no apparent weaknesses, the city’s garrison is undermanned, and there are no reinforcements. I plan to take down Lujiang as quickly as possible, as my older brother is becoming a bit annoyed," Zhou Yu said to the three in a low voice, bowing in respect from his junior position. Even though military protocol wasn’t a concern out of the army, Zhou Yu was still cautious.
"The young lord is rather impatient. But Gongjin, do you have any ingenious plan?" Cheng Pu recalled Sun Ce’s temperament and, thinking of the past smooth victories, understood that Sun Ce was not in the best of moods. However, since Zhou Yu had spoken up, it also meant that taking Lujiang would not be an issue.
"It’s not an ingenious strategy, but since the Lujiang soldiers are few, we could divide our troops into three groups. One to attack the city, another to feign attacks during the day and harass the enemy at night, and a third group to alternate rest with the first two. This way, we can ensure sufficient rest for our soldiers while the Lujiang garrison gets no respite. With our continuous efforts day and night, within three days at most, the enemy will surely be exhausted." Zhou Yu gestured for Cheng Pu not to bother with formalities.
(To be continued. If you like this work, please visit qidian.com to vote for it, purchase monthly tickets, and support me. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)
