Chapter 249: Sudden bad news, bleak reality The reason why Sun Ce was so anxious was simple - he finally realized Qin Zhen's strategic thinking! Simply put, there is actually no problem with their current troop deployment. They divided their troops to guard the important roads to prevent Liu Bei from entering the Jiangdong Plain. This can rely on the terrain advantage to engage in a strategic stalemate with Liu Bei. This strategy is the safest one they can adopt at the moment, no doubt about it! But this method has a huge drawback, their overall military strength is not as good as Liu Bei's. Qin Zhen's strategy was obviously to seize this point and mobilize all available troops to launch an all-out attack on their single point. This strategy was extremely effective when they were unable to reach Liu Bei's front line. This means that they must gather most of their military forces to stop Liu Bei's troops. This was what felt most strange to him. Liu Bei clearly did not divide his troops, so why was the offensive so weak?

You know, Liu Bei's army has more than 30,000 soldiers stationed in Fanchang, and winter is about to come. Since Liu Bei had mobilized his troops to break through a single point, he had to launch a fierce attack. Under such circumstances, Liu Bei still held out against him for more than half a month. This is obviously not about cherishing the soldiers, but about waiting for the opportunity. What was he waiting for? Taishi Ci had already rushed from Yuzhang to Chungu, so what else did Liu Bei need to wait for? The only possibility was Zhao Yun and others who went south to Lingyang first. Half a month was enough time for Zhao Yun and others to cross mountains and get to their rear! Their troops were originally at a disadvantage, and Liu Bei had an army of 30,000. With the addition of an army lurking in the shadows, it would be basically impossible to defend the Fanchang stronghold. So after thinking all this through, Sun Ce was completely panicked. No matter how important Chungu is, how can it be compared to his Fanchang Dazhai? Once Fanchang is lost, not only will the troops be damaged, but even Huang Gai, Han Dang and others will be in danger! So under his order, the 5,000-strong army did not even take down their tents, but gathered together and rushed towards Fanchang in the cold rain. But after all, his soldiers had been marching for quite some time, and it was already late at night, so how could they move forward any further? They walked like this for two hours and only covered more than ten miles. As the rain stopped and the sun rose, Sun Ce felt a chill in his heart and kept urging his troops to advance. Hong Zi saw this, although he didn't know what Sun Ce was thinking about, but he saw the soldiers complaining non-stop, so he stepped forward and said: "My lord, we set out yesterday evening and have been on the march until early this morning." "The soldiers are all exhausted. Marching like this will do more harm than good!" "Even if the military situation is urgent, there is no need to waste a moment." "Since the rain is about to stop, why not take a break and wait for the soldiers to have their breakfast before marching?" But when he stepped forward, he saw that Sun Ce's eyes were bloodshot and he looked exhausted, so he couldn't help but ask him the reason.

When Sun Ce heard this, he shook his head and said in a deep voice: "It's not that I'm being harsh, but what you said yesterday woke me up!" "I'm afraid the enemy's Lingyang troops have circled around to our rear." "We were not in the camp last night, and we are afraid that our camp may be attacked by Liu Bei!" "If we don't return quickly, I'm worried that the stronghold will be difficult to defend!" Hong Zi was also confused for a moment after hearing this, but looking at the tired look of the soldiers behind him, he said: "Although the situation is urgent, there is no time to lose. Since the lord is worried, you might as well send troops to order Han Yigong and others to hold on." "If they can hold on, we won't have to work for even half a day." "If it's really a big deal, we'll go there, what will happen?" When Sun Ce heard his words, although he felt the situation was urgent, he also knew that Hong Zi's words made sense, so he had to order the soldiers to stop and rest, and cook. As wisps of smoke rose up, the aroma of rice filled the air. After taking a sip of millet porridge, Sun Ce's spirits recovered a lot. But at this moment, two figures were seen walking towards us from a distance. In the morning sunlight, one could see that the two men were dressed in ragged clothes, and looked like two young men. Seeing the two of them like this, Sun Ce pointed at them from a distance and said: "Go up and ask them whether they are soldiers or civilians, and find out where they came from!" At his command, a rider rushed out and headed towards the two of them. But just as the knight arrived, he heard a loud cry: "Brother Bofu is in front of you, and your foolish brother Sun Guoyi is here!" As soon as he shouted, Sun Ce stood up with a bang. At the same time, with a thud, the man carrying Sun Fu fell to the ground. Upon seeing this, Sun Ce quickly jumped on his horse and went forward to check. Sun Fu's face was covered in mud and blood, and his hair was disheveled. It was obvious that he had been through a great battle. Sun Ce felt his breath was blocked, and he grabbed Sun Fu and said: "Brother, why are you here, and why are you like this?" As Sun Fu looked at Sun Ce, tears began to flow down his cheeks: "Our army was attacked by Liu Bei's army yesterday, and the main camp has been captured by the enemy!" "I was incompetent and failed to defend the camp with Bofu. We were almost caught up by the enemy. Fortunately, Ziming rescued us all the way and we are now here!" As he spoke, he recounted what happened yesterday. It turned out that after the defeat yesterday, their soldiers immediately fled upon hearing the news of Huang Gai's death. In order to capture the deserters, Zhang Fei and others went up the mountain to hunt them down. At that time, the whole mountain was in chaos and there were a lot of voices. Lu Meng carried him all the way up the mountain and fled along the way.

Until they found a bush, Lu Meng put him down and hid himself under dead leaves. Fortunately, Huang Gai fought to the death, giving Zhang Fei and others the illusion that their leader was dead. So after searching for a while, he retreated with his troops, allowing the two men to escape being captured. After escaping, Sun Fu wanted to go to the nearby Chungu, but Lu Meng refused to let him. It is said that Chungu may have fallen into the hands of the enemy, and they must find Sun Ce's troops as quickly as possible. Then he carried Sun Fulian on his back all the way through the night, searching along the way, and the scene just now happened again. At this point, Sun Fu looked at Lu Meng and choked up several times: "If it weren't for Ziming, I would have fallen into the hands of the enemy this time!" Sun Ce was moved when he heard that Lu Meng was carrying Sun Fu along the way to report the news. Seeing him lying unconscious on the ground, he said with tears in his eyes: "What virtue and ability does Ce have to have a loyal and righteous man like Ziming to assist him?" He immediately squatted down and picked up Lu Meng. He carefully felt Lu Meng's breath, then asked someone to bring water and poured it into Lu Meng's mouth himself. As the clear water flowed into his mouth, Lu Meng suddenly woke up and hurriedly grabbed the kettle to drink. After drinking half a pot of water, he finally saw Sun Ce in front of him and couldn't help muttering: "My lord? Why are you here?" As he spoke, he looked at Sun Fu, whose face was covered in blood. He suddenly remembered the battle yesterday and burst into tears again. He turned over and knelt in front of Sun Ce, crying: "My lord, my lord! They are all gone, they are all gone!" "General Han and General Huang have both gone." "I am incompetent and failed to help you defend the stronghold. I hope you will punish me!" Seeing Lu Meng like this, Sun Ce's eyes also turned red, but he felt a dark cloud floating in his heart that could not be dispelled no matter what. Faced with the news of Huang Gai and Han Dang's death, he felt both angry and regretful! If he had thought more yesterday, they wouldn't have suffered such a crushing defeat! But amidst the anger and regret, there is also a sense of powerlessness. Faced with the crushing strength of Liu Bei’s army, what can he do even if he is angry? This is reality! Such a bleak reality! Even someone as strong as Sun Bofu could only accept this reality silently. While thinking, he held his breath, knelt on one knee in front of Lu Meng, helped Lu Meng up, forced a smile and said: "Even if there is a mistake, it is Ce's fault alone." "Everyone, please follow me to create a great cause. If the great cause fails, what's wrong with that?" "I was the commander in this battle. Such a defeat is unforgivable!" "You all are blaming yourselves like this, I am too ashamed to face myself, please stand up immediately and stop talking!" "But my lord! I, your humble servant..."

Lu Meng's eyes were red and his face was full of guilt. "Stand up first, do you want me to force you to stand up?" Sun Ce's smile became brighter and brighter, which made Lu Meng feel sad. He had to force himself to stand up. After helping Lü Meng up, Sun Ce stood up again, looked around at everyone and said with a smile: "Why are you all like this? Victory and defeat are common in the military. Don't be so upset over a small defeat!" "Lord!" "Lord!" "General!" As soon as he finished speaking, everyone started talking. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that something was wrong with Sun Ce! But when Sun Ce saw this, he waved his hand and said with a smile: "No need to do that. We have already had breakfast. We can rest for a while and then march!" "Now that the main camp has been lost, let's go to Wanling and meet Gongjin before we talk!" While speaking, he waved to everyone and smiled at Hong Zi: "Come here, Bo Xun. I have something to discuss with you!" Upon seeing this, Hong Zi hurried forward and asked the soldiers to prepare breakfast for Sun Fu and Lu Meng. After making some arrangements, he followed Sun Ce to a distance and asked: "I wonder what else my brother wants to discuss with me." But just as he finished speaking, he saw Sun Ce turned around, the smile on his face no longer there. After looking at each other for a moment, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. Hong Zi was shocked and quickly stepped forward to support Sun Ce, saying: "Someone, come quickly!" But as he shouted, Sun Ce suddenly grabbed his shoulder. He covered his mouth and said in a vague voice: "Don't call for help, I'm fine!" Seeing him like this, Hong Zi immediately became anxious and said hurriedly: "I know my lord is deeply saddened. It would be better to cry loudly than to keep it in your heart!" "Why do you have to hold on so hard to this point?" As soon as he finished speaking, Sun Ce raised his head, with sadness, despair, and determination in his eyes, and said in a hoarse voice: "Han Yigong and Huang Gongfu were both pillars of our army. Now they are gone, and the morale of the army is shaken!" "If I don't do this, and let the soldiers see it, how can I fight in the future?" "Don't say anything more, and remember my transfer order!" Seeing him trying so hard, Hong Zi felt sad and couldn't help but wipe away his tears: "My lord, please tell me what you want to say. I will remember this!" Seeing this, Sun Ce wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, stood with his hands behind his back and said: "Pass on my military order, immediately promote Gongjin to the position of Grand Commander, and order him to withdraw his troops to defend Yuyang." "Also, order Cheng Pu and Zhu Zhi to lead their troops north to reinforce and defend Danyang, Shicheng and other places to the death, and place them under Gongjin's command!"

"Order Sun Ben to mobilize all the troops to withdraw from Jing County and defend Wanling with me!" "If I die in battle, let Gongjin choose his own. If he can still fight, then Zhongmou will be made the leader to rule Jiangdong. " "If you cannot fight, then you must bring all your subordinates to surrender to Liu Bei. No mistakes!" Hong Zi listened to the transfer order and remembered the first two sentences, but when he heard the last sentence, he was shocked and said: "Now our army has only been defeated, how can you speak like this, my lord?" He knew that the current situation was unfavorable, but it was far from the time for Sun Ce to entrust his son to him. Now all power is entrusted to Zhou Yu. If Zhou Yu rebels on the battlefield, Jiangdong will be finished! When Sun Ce heard this, he smiled bitterly and said: "From your perspective, our army suffered a mere defeat. But if we had not left the camp yesterday, you and I might have died!" "Now the enemy is approaching us in great force. If I join forces with Gongjin, we will have no chance of winning if we are defeated again!" "Only by dividing our forces into two parts and forming a pincer attack can we fight the enemy again!" "Right now, our army is short of soldiers and horses. If I don't personally guard Wanling, who else can defend this place?" "No one in my army can compete with Gongjin in terms of decisiveness in battle formations!" "He is my childhood friend. In this time of crisis, he will not let me down!" "I have made up my mind. There is no need to discuss further. Just pass on my order. Gongjin will understand my intention!" Seeing that his expression was so determined, Hong Zi knew that it would be difficult to persuade him, so he could only sigh slightly and nod in agreement. (End of this chapter)