Chapter 143 This arrow was not taken in vain! A plan to achieve success in one fell swoop! No one is more suitable than this person!
North Shore Water Camp.

The rain of arrows has stopped and the sky has returned to calm.

Only dozens of fireboats remained on the river, drifting eastward downstream.

These dozens of fire ships also confirmed Xiao Fang's judgment:

Sun Ce did not come to launch a night attack, but to imitate others and try to use the strategy of borrowing arrows with straw boats to get back the 100,000 arrows that were taken away yesterday.

"Just as Jinglue expected, that little tyrant really came to borrow arrows from the straw boat!"

"The military advisor set the fire just in time!"

Liu Bei stroked his thin beard, pointed at the fireboats on the river and smiled, exclaiming in admiration.

All the generals on both sides were excited.

Zhang Fei grabbed it with his snake spear and shouted excitedly:

"Brother, what are we waiting for? Let's march our entire army to the south bank and kill that mad dog Sun Ce!"

All the generals were eager to fight and were ready to take action.

"Yide, don't be impulsive."

"Although we have burned the enemy's straw boats, according to the military advisor, Sun Ce's navy will surely ambush them in the dark."

"If we charge out blindly at this moment, we will be ambushed by that little bully."

Old Liu remained calm and was not driven to lose his mind by the fire in front of him. He suppressed Zhang Fei's will to fight with just a few words.

Although Zhang Fei was reckless, he was not stupid. He immediately understood the reason and had to suppress his impulse.

"Jinglue, Sun Ce has suffered a setback. In your opinion, what will he do next?"

Liu Bei turned his gaze to Xiao Fang beside him.

Xiao Fangyuan looked at the fire on the river with a meaningful look in his eyes:

"That depends on whether Zhou Lang died on the fire ship."

"If he is not dead, I predict that an envoy from the south bank will cross the river and come to see the lord again."

Zhou Yu, the messenger, crosses the river...

Old Liu understood these words separately, but when he heard them together, he was confused.

Pondering Xiao Fang's words in his mind, Liu Bei raised his head and looked towards the south bank again.

...

On the south bank, Fankou camp.

Zhou Yu in the military tent has gradually woken up.

The first thing he did after waking up was to ask the guards to bring him the bronze mirror.

When he tremblingly raised the bronze mirror and finally saw with his own eyes the hideous wound on his left cheek, he froze for a moment.

The two things he was most proud of in his life were his wisdom and his handsome appearance.

Not only has her plan failed, but even her appearance, which she was so proud of, has been ruined like this!

At this moment, Zhou Yu felt as if his heart was being cut by a knife. He tightly grasped the bronze mirror with both hands, and his eyes gradually became bloodshot.

"Bang!"

The bronze mirror was thrown out fiercely and hit the ground.

At this time, the tent curtain was lifted, and Sun Ce, Lu Su and Huang Gai entered the tent one after another, and the bronze mirror fell right at their feet.

"Gongjin..."

Sun Ce looked at the broken bronze mirror on the ground and guessed something. He wanted to comfort his good friend and strategist, but he didn't know how to start.

After Zhou Yu smashed the bronze mirror, it seemed as if he had released a lot of his anger and his mood calmed down a little.

When he looked up at Sun Ce, a hint of guilt flashed across his face. He quickly stood up and bowed to Sun Ce.

"Bofu, I miscalculated for a moment and underestimated Liu Bei and Xiao Fang, which resulted in the loss of arrows and hundreds of soldiers."

"I am to blame, please punish me, Bofu!"

Sun Ce was originally resentful, but when he saw Zhou Yu was so badly injured and took the initiative to ask for forgiveness, the resentment in his heart was suppressed.

"Gongjin, please get up quickly. Victory and defeat are common in the military. Why worry too much about it?"

Sun Ce helped Zhou Yu up, with a hint of pride on his face:
"Just tens of thousands of arrows and a few hundred soldiers, I, Sun Ce, can still afford it."

"I guess that big-eared thief just fired the rocket by chance, and it's not that Xiao Fang was so smart that he really saw through your plan, Gongjin."

"If he really has such ability, then he must be a demon with the third eye opened?"

"I just don't believe that there are such people in this world!"

Sun Ce's arrogance and conceit did not change because of this small setback.

Although it seemed that he lost face after these two battles, the actual losses were not great, and were far from the point where he was seriously injured.

Perhaps the only serious injury was the arrow wound on Zhou Yu's face.

Seeing Sun Ce being so magnanimous, Zhou Yu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He was also very moved and admired Sun Ce's magnanimity.

"Bofu has such a heroic spirit. I, Zhou Yu, was right about him!"

Zhou Yu bowed his hands in admiration, and then changed the subject:
"But after last night's defeat and being hurt by this rocket, it can be considered a blessing in disguise."

"Just when I was drowsy, I had thought of a plan that might be able to wipe out Liu Bei's 40,000 troops in one battle and capture Jingzhou in one fell swoop!"

Completely destroy Liu Bei’s 40,000 troops!

All his efforts are accomplished in one battle!
Take Jingzhou in one fell swoop!
These few short sentences were like thunder exploding overhead, instantly boosting Sun Ce's spirits.

"What a brilliant plan this is, Gongjin, please tell me quickly."

Sun Ce helped Zhou Yu sit down, and asked excitedly. Lu Su and Huang Gai behind him also looked surprised, and stared at Zhou Yu expectantly.

"If you want to destroy Liu Bei's army, you must first destroy his navy."

"Judging from Liu Bei's current actions, it is clear that he wants to stay indoors until he can integrate the Jiangxia navy to fight a decisive battle with our army."

"We can't wait until then. We must fight quickly and destroy Liu Bei's navy while our navy still has the advantage."

"But Liu Bei is avoiding fighting. Then we can only take the initiative to attack and destroy his water camp, so as to annihilate his navy."

Zhou Yu had completely regained the composure of a strategist and slowly began to outline his own strategy.

Sun Ce's originally surprised look faded a little after hearing Zhou Yu's words.

I thought Zhou Yu would have some brilliant plan, but it turned out to be just a storm attack on Liu Bei's water camp.

"Gongjin, our army's advantage lies in naval warfare, not land warfare."

"If we attack the enemy's water camp, it would be like using our weakness to attack the enemy's strength. I'm afraid we may not have enough chance of winning."

Lu Su spoke for Sun Ce.

Zhou Yu raised the corner of his mouth and a sly smile flashed in his eyes.

"Liu Bei's army is still stronger than ours. If our army only attacks the enemy's water camp, our chances of winning are naturally slim."

"That's why we have to achieve a surprise victory and use extraordinary means to make it impossible for that big-eared thief to stop us!"

A surprise victory?

Extraordinary means?

Sun Ce's expectations, which had faded, were suddenly revived.

"Last night, Yu's straw boats were borrowed by fraud. More than 50 straw boats were easily destroyed by the big-eared thief's rockets."

"Yu was inspired by this. Why don't we also use fire to attack the enemy camp?"

"We have dozens of fire ships fully loaded with kerosene and firewood that will crash into the enemy camp. The raging fire is unstoppable. In an instant, we can burn Liu Bei's navy and his two camps into a sea of ​​fire."

"Even if Liu Bei had a million troops, their morale would surely collapse, and they would have no choice but to flee hastily to Xiakou by land."

"We can then send our navy up the river, land upstream first, and set up an ambush to intercept them on the route they must take to retreat to Xiakou."

"In this way, why should we worry about not being able to completely destroy Liu Bei's 40,000 troops?"

"It is possible to capture and kill Liu Bei alive!"

Zhou Yu became more and more excited as he spoke. He jumped up and slapped his hand on the map:
"If we capture and kill Liu Bei alive, his remaining troops will collapse, and Jingzhou will be conquered!"

"Even if Liu Bei managed to escape, his main force had already been destroyed in Mount E. Bo Fu took advantage of the victory and pursued them into the heart of Jingzhou. What could he use to resist?"

"Jiangxia, the four counties of southern Jing, Jiangling and even Xiangyang, won't our army be able to conquer them easily?"

"In this way, Jingzhou will also be within easy reach!"

Sun Ce's eyes lit up.

He walked a few steps to the map, chewing over what Zhou Yu said, his eyes becoming more and more excited.

"What a fire attack!"

"Since ancient times, in naval battles, is there any more powerful tactic than fire attack?"

"Gongjin, Gongjin, I've already said that the wisdom of that country bumpkin can never be better than yours!"

"Only you, Zhou Lang, can come up with such a brilliant plan that can achieve success in one fell swoop!"

Sun Ce slammed his fist on the map, and he seemed to have been enlightened. He was full of praise for Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu smiled without saying anything. Although his handsome face was no longer there, the demeanor of being in control of the affairs of state had returned.

"My lord, Gongjin's plan of fire attack is indeed a brilliant plan that will achieve our goal in one fell swoop."

"But if our army wants to launch fire ships, we must be close enough to the enemy camp. Otherwise, the distance is too far and Liu Bei will have enough time to send warships out of the camp to intercept them."

"Then this distance must be at least within one arrow."

"But if we get so close, our ships will be exposed to the enemy's sight and will also encounter enemy patrol ships. How can we successfully launch the fire ships?"

Lu Su, an upright man, once again poured cold water on him as usual.

Sun Ce's body was shocked, the excitement on his face immediately faded, and his brows couldn't help but frown.

He was an expert in naval warfare and knew very well how to launch a fire attack. How could he not know the concerns mentioned by Lu Su?

Zhou Yu had expected this and smiled faintly:
"How could Yu not have thought of the concerns Zijing raised beforehand?"

"So we have to implement a false surrender plan before the fire attack plan!"

A false surrender?
Sun Ce and the other two were stunned and looked at Zhou Yu in confusion.

"If you want to successfully launch the fire ship, you must be able to successfully approach the enemy camp without being blocked by the enemy's sentry ships."

"So my lord, you should choose a general from our army, secretly pretend to surrender to Liu Bei, claiming that you will steal our army's grain ship and go to the north bank to offer grain and surrender."

"When Liu Bei saw the boat coming, he thought it was a surrender, so he naturally neglected his guard and did not send the patrol boat to stop it."

"This way, our grain ships can approach the enemy camp unimpeded, and we can catch them by surprise and ignite the grain ships, launching a fire attack in one fell swoop!"

"How can Liu Bei resist in such a situation?"

With a confident and mysterious sneer on his face, Zhou Yu also told the second step of the plan.

Sun Ce suddenly realized, his face was full of joy again, and he nodded repeatedly:
"Gongjin is indeed a thoughtful person. If we want to successfully launch a fire attack, we must first use this false surrender plan!"

After praising him, Sun Ce hurriedly asked:
"Then according to Gongjin, who should we send to the north bank to pretend to surrender so that Liu Bei would believe it?"

Zhou Yu smiled slightly and said slowly:
"Yu already has a candidate in mind. Looking at our army, no one is more suitable than this person."

(End of this chapter)