Chapter 236: The situation reversed and Zhou Yu was defeated On the other side, after discovering the problem, Zhou Yu led his troops all the way to Pengli Lake. But now, the consequences of his pursuit became apparent. Although sailing on the river is less tiring than marching on the road, he still marched all the way. It was fine to go downstream before, but now we are going upstream, and without the help of wind, so the march is naturally slow. On the contrary, Lu Su’s navy had fewer ships than Zhou Yu’s, but nearly three times more soldiers and horses! The soldiers were exhausted after fleeing all the way, but now they are chasing them with a new wave of boat operators. The two armies chased each other for more than fifty miles, and the distance between them was less than ten miles. Seeing this, Lu Meng, who was the vanguard just now, hurriedly sent someone to report: "Commander-in-chief, something terrible has happened. The enemy is pursuing us very quickly and has already reached ten miles behind our army!" At this time, the two armies had not even reached Tongyang. When Zhou Yu heard this, he felt at a loss. It is true that he is a military genius, but he has been plotted against one after another. He has no idea how the war in front of him is going, and the pursuit from behind is very urgent. He is naturally anxious.

He looked at the east which was about to turn white, his face covered with cold sweat and waves of fatigue. He didn't know what to do for a moment! Seeing that Zhou Yu remained silent, Lu Meng quickly asked, but Han Dang shouted angrily: "Since the enemy troops have arrived, you should urge the soldiers to speed up. Why do you need to ask the governor for instructions?" "Don't you know what to do with this kind of thing? What use is there for you, my lord?" At this time, Lu Meng was far from experiencing Sun Quan's persuasion to study, and was still just a brave A'mon from Wu. Faced with Han Dang's angry rebuke, he felt depressed. He gritted his teeth and returned by boat to urge his soldiers to speed up their march. After Han Dang angrily scolded him, he obviously saw that something was wrong with Zhou Yu and said hurriedly: "Commander-in-chief, our army is currently facing enemies on both sides, and the soldiers are exhausted. We need to decide whether to fight or retreat. I hope you can make a decision as soon as possible." "If you hesitate any longer, our army will be defeated here!" His persuasion brought Zhou Yu back to his senses. His handsome face was covered with sweat. He stared at Han Dang and muttered to himself: "Our army has been chasing for a whole night. The soldiers are exhausted and can no longer fight." "Lu Su has a large number of troops and horses. Since he is pursuing us, he must have some spare strength." "We cannot turn back now. The soldiers will have a hard time resting and will be no match for the enemy!" "Furthermore, the enemy troops in Pengli Lake are attacking very quickly. Even if we ask for help, I'm afraid the outcome will be decided." "It is unknown whether we can rescue them in time if we go there now." "There is no way out in front, and there are pursuers behind. What can I do?" As he thought about this, his expression changed from time to time, which frightened Han Dang. He hurriedly said: "Commander-in-chief! Don't do that. Our army won't be able to rescue us in time. Just retreat!" "Lu Su has few ships, how can he stop our army?" "Commander-in-chief, don't be too thorough, look around and miss the opportunity to fight!" He could see that Zhou Yu was panicking. He wanted to keep the western front but also wanted to reduce the casualties! Taking care of both ends has put Zhou Yu into an overloaded state.

But the problem now is not a simple choice between the two, because they are now very far away from Pengli Lake and have no idea what the situation is ahead. Once Pengli Lake has fallen, they will need to advance urgently and may be attacked from both sides. At that time, if they rushed over, they would be committing suicide. Therefore, Zhou Yu needs to make a decision as quickly as possible so that they will have enough energy to break out. His words were like thunder to Zhou Yu's ears. He suddenly woke up and realized the hidden dangers of the current situation. Almost instantly, he gave the order: "Pass on my military order, mobilize the elite troops aboard, with the tower ships in front and the light boats in the back, forming a long snake formation, and speed up the westward advance!" The long snake formation is a marching formation commonly used by troops on the road. It is divided into three parts: the head, the tail and the center of the formation. Generally, the cavalry is on its two wings. Once it is in motion, it attacks like a giant python with fierce force. But among the navy, basically no one uses this kind of formation. Because naval battles are straight forward and backward, with only the head and tail, and no formation. Therefore, when Zhou Yu said this, Han Dang was stunned for a moment, and then he suddenly woke up and said happily: "The governor is truly a god, this formation is truly wonderful!" He was also a good general and understood Zhou Yu's intention in just a moment. Their biggest problem now is that the soldiers are tired and the marching speed is slow, but their advantage is that they have many ships! In this situation, changing the formation and using large ships in the front can greatly reduce the wind resistance on the river surface and save the resistance experienced by the light boats. In this way, if Lu Su did not change his formation, he would not be able to catch up with them. Once he changed his formation, he would not be able to block the river. After the two armies approached, their fleet could move directly downstream and use the water force to break through Lu Su's blockade. This move is a stroke of genius at a time like this. If he was not proficient in both naval and infantry combat, he would never have been able to think of such a countermeasure. Seeing Zhou Yu's anxiety, he thought of this method and hurried down to report Zhou Yu's order. But when Zhou Yu saw this, he felt his body lighten and he leaned weakly on the railing, with the worry on his face still not fading away. At the same time, Lu Su also learned about the change in the front army's formation. After learning about Zhou Yu's change of formation, Lu Su stroked his beard and said with emotion: "When it comes to making decisions in battle formations, there is no one in the world who can surpass Gongjin!" After saying this in praise, he naturally did not dare to change his formation, but simply ordered his ships to move forward at a constant speed. The distance between the two armies widened again, and the generals of Jiangdong were all delighted when they saw this! The two armies marched for a while, and then they saw the sky turning pale and the morning sun rising. They finally returned to their starting point - Congyang! It was as if God was playing a joke on Zhou Yu. He chased down from here last night. But this morning, Lu Su led his troops all the way here.

At this moment, a dozen warships were seen in the distance, guarding a ship with the Jiangdong flag on it. Seeing this, Zhou Yu hurriedly ordered his scouts to go forward to investigate, and then saw Deng Dang and Chen Bao boarding the ship with blood on their faces and said: "Commander-in-chief, we failed to live up to your trust and were defeated by the enemy yesterday!" "The water stronghold has been lost, and Generals Jiang Qin and Dong Xi are nowhere to be found." "We were no match for the enemy's navy, and only the remnants are left here!" After hearing this, all the generals were stunned, except Zhou Yu, who felt a black screen in front of his eyes and almost fell down. Fortunately, Han Dang was quick to support him and finally stabilized him. He said weakly: "With our army's defenses like this, how can the enemy break through our water fort?" Chen Bao and Deng Dang heard this and both shook their heads and said: "We don't know. We only know that after the governor left, a fire suddenly broke out on the south bank." "We led our troops south to rescue them, but the enemy blocked the river mouth and attacked us from both sides, which led to our defeat!" When Zhou Yu heard this, he had no idea that his hidden secret force had been discovered. He felt suffocated and his face flushed, as if he was having a heart attack. The generals were shocked when they saw this, and they rushed forward, and saw Zhou Yu's eyes were red as he said: "My plan failed, and I have failed Bofu's trust!" All the generals were saddened when they saw Zhou Yu like this. To be honest, if Zhou Yu lacked wisdom and strategy and acted carelessly, then that would be fine. But Zhou Yu had tried his best, and yet it still turned out like this. Who could blame Zhou Yu for not trying his best? Seeing how worried and angry he was, Han Dang burst into tears and said: "Gongjin, please don't be like this. My lord is very lucky to have Gongjin as his confidant. How can I say anything that would let you down?" "Now that there are powerful enemies outside, I hope Gongjin will take care of himself and stop thinking like that." Everyone heard this and tried to persuade each other, but Lu Meng frowned and said: "Commander-in-chief, our army has lost its water stronghold and there are pursuers from behind. What should we do?" Everyone was trying to persuade him, but his appearance naturally made everyone angry. Deng Dang shouted at Lu Meng: "You little bastard, I have never seen the governor act like this before, how can you force him like this?" When Lu Meng heard this, he was naturally indignant. Just as he was about to explain, Zhou Yu waved his hand and said: "Ziming is right. The current situation is urgent. Our army must make a quick decision!" "Pass on my military order. Rest here for a moment, and then break out to the east immediately!" As he spoke, he propped himself up and stood up and said: "I hope you will sacrifice your lives to help our army break through this place!" Seeing how he was holding on, all the generals shed tears and hurriedly ordered the troops to stop advancing westward. Their actions naturally reached Lu Su's ears. Seeing Zhou Yu stop advancing westward, he ordered: "All troops, be on alert. Heed my command. Block the river mouth with me. Don't let Zhou Yu break through the encirclement!" Under his command, the ships under his command slowed down and waited until the two armies were five miles apart, and then they confronted each other without advancing. After waiting for more than a moment, Zhou Yu suddenly drew out his sword, pointed toward the sky and said: "All troops, listen up! Follow me and charge through the enemy's blockade!" As he moved, Lu Su in the distance ordered his men to put the prepared palm rope on the boat, connected it to the river bank, and killed Zhou Yu's army along the way.

The two armies marched towards each other, and before they collided, they were rained down with arrows. While the two sides were shooting at each other, Zhou Yu ordered Deng Dang and Lu Meng to form a raiding team and charge into the enemy camp first. Upon seeing this, Deng Dang and Lu Meng took thirty warships, each with thirty soldiers and horses, and rushed forward with swords and shields in hand, without avoiding the arrows, and fought with Lu Su's troops in one place. As soon as the two men left, Zhou Yu ordered Chen Bao to guard the rear and Han Dang to provide support in the central army. For a moment, the ships of the two armies collided, and soldiers fell and collapsed. Because they were major generals under Lu Su, they were killed and defeated. Hu Si and Geng Qi launched several attacks but failed to defeat the enemy. On the contrary, the army formation became disorganized. Seeing this, his subordinates hurriedly said to Lu Su: "Commander-in-chief, our army cannot fight well, so why not let you go?" Seeing this, Lu Su's heart sank. He picked up his longbow and shot one of them himself, shouting: "The army is maintained for a thousand days and deployed for a single moment. The lord has shown us great favors, and if we don't repay them now, when will we?" "The enemy is already weak, and our reinforcements are coming. We only need to hold on for a moment, and the enemy will surely be defeated here!" "I hope you will do your best and follow me to kill the enemies and achieve merit today!" After saying this, he drew out his sword and led his troops to charge out. When his men saw Lu Su personally going into battle, they were all shocked and rushed towards the Jiangdong troops. The two armies stood in one place, and the battle was extremely fierce. Lu Meng and Deng Dang made several attacks, but were shot back by arrows each time. He had no choice but to step forward and ask for orders. Zhou Yu watched his men die one by one, and his heart was bleeding. But he had no choice but to urge them: "Our army has no way to retreat. We must fight to the death. Anyone who retreats will be killed!" When the generals saw this, they knew there was no hope, so they had to fight desperately. They risked their lives to cut off the palm rope and finally opened a gap. Seeing that the gap had been made, Han Dang was overjoyed and said hurriedly: "Look, Commander-in-Chief, our army's way out has been opened!" Because Lu Su was blocking the river bank and using palm ropes to cross the boat, once the rope was cut, the boat immediately tilted and a gap appeared. When Zhou Yu saw this, a hint of joy appeared on his pale face, and he quickly ordered his men to rush out towards the gap. But before he rushed out, he heard a loud laugh from behind: "My dear Zhou Yu, your grandfather Gan is here, why don't you surrender?" Hearing this, Zhou Yu trembled and looked behind him, only to see that Gan Ning, Su Fei and others were leading a large number of ships and attacking them from behind. Zhou Yu was horrified when he saw the pursuers approaching, and he shouted hurriedly: "Withdraw, withdraw, don't fight any longer, follow me and withdraw!" He was so anxious that his face turned red. But this could not change the situation that he had many ships but few soldiers. Although there was a gap at this time, the ships were squeezed together and difficult to escape. After a short delay, Gan Ning led his troops to the rear. There were loud booms again, and Zhou Yu's retreat was completely broken by Gan Ning. The two armies fought again. The river was so red from the killing that under the morning sun, the water was flooded with oars and countless corpses floated on the water. The defeat was impossible to stop.

(End of this chapter)