Chapter 211: Is Lü Meng a mere idiot, and is he worthy of competing with Military Advisor Xiao? Shoot yourself and perish! Give Sun surprises!

On the embankment, Huang Zhong stood proudly with his sword in hand, looking down at the panicked Jiangdong army on the embankment.

"When it comes to brilliant strategies, the military advisor is truly the best in the world!"

"How ridiculous it is that a mere Sun Quan kid dares to plot against the lord!"

Huang Zhong looked down at the enemy army coldly and sighed.

This is Xiao Fang's strategy of taking advantage of the opponent's strategy.

He predicted that Sun Quan would not dare to dig up the Zhenze Dam openly during the day, and would definitely order his soldiers to sneak back on bamboo rafts at night and dig the dam under the cover of darkness.

In this way, they can successfully conceal the secret from the eyes and ears of their own scouts.

At the same time, at nightfall, tens of thousands of soldiers had already fallen asleep. By the time they realized the flood was coming, it was too late to hide and they would be completely submerged.

Therefore, Xiao suggested a plan to Liu Bei and pretended to fall into the trap. The army continued to be stationed in Wu County, but he sent Huang Zhong to lead a group of elite soldiers to ambush on the outer slope of the lake embankment at night.

As soon as the Jiangdong army arrived to dig the dike, the entire army immediately climbed over the dike and killed the enemy by surprise.

What he saw now proved that everything was within Xiao Fang's expectations.

"All troops, listen to my orders. Follow me and kill all the remaining evildoers in Jiangdong!"

Huang Zhong put away his emotion, let out a sharp whistle, and rushed down the embankment with his horse and sword in hand.

The Jiangdong soldiers on the inner dike were still swinging their pickaxes, preparing to dig the last layer of the dike.

Unexpectedly, Liu Jun's soldiers suddenly appeared like gods descending from the sky.

While they were still shocked, panicked and at a loss, Liu's soldiers, who had flooded the dike, had already arrived right in front of them.

The blade slashed through, and groups of Jiangdong soldiers were chopped to the ground before they could react.

Huang Zhong swung his long sword left and right, like the god of death, madly harvesting the heads of Jiangdong soldiers.

In an instant, a thousand Jiangdong soldiers were killed and screamed like ghosts and wolves.

"Ambush? There are enemy ambushes hidden on the outer slope of the dam?"

"Could it be that Xiao Fang has seen through Lu Ziming's plan and knew that we were going to dig the Zhenze Lake to flood Wu County?"

"So he asked Liu Bei to set up an ambush here in advance, waiting for us to fall into his trap?"

Zhang Zhao froze in place, his expression dazed and stunned, with thousands of horrifying thoughts buzzing in his head.

The next moment, I woke up suddenly, and endless despair enveloped my whole body.

"I should have thought of it earlier. Even though Zhou Lang is so smart, he is no match for Xiao Fang, let alone a mere Lu Meng."

"The destiny does not lie with Bofu or Zhongmou, but with Liu Bei..."

Zhang Zhao looked up to the sky and let out a long sigh. Then he turned around and fled towards the bamboo raft with the defeated soldiers.

The Jiangdong soldiers, like frightened birds, scrambled to board the bamboo rafts. Without waiting for other comrades to board, they pushed the rafts away from the embankment.

As soon as Zhang Zhao boarded the bamboo raft, he ordered his soldiers to paddle the raft and escape to Zhenze.

"Zi Bu, wait for me, wait for me——"

A hoarse cry was heard, and on the slope, Sun Fu was seen whipping his warhorse like mad and running towards him.

"Quickly drive the bamboo raft back--"

Zhang Zhao was about to order the bamboo raft to sail back to pick up Sun Fu, but he swallowed the words back.

Sun Fu was being pursued by Liu Jun's troops. If they sailed back to the shore, they would not only fail to save Sun Fu, but also lose their own lives.

After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Zhao had to change his tone and shouted:
"Slow down so that General Sun can jump onto the raft!"

This loud shout was directed not only to the soldiers on the left and right, but also to Sun Fu on the shore.

It's impossible for me to go back and save you. I can only slow down the raft. If you want to save your life, just jump on board.

Sun Fu had no choice but to grit his teeth and whip the warhorse under his crotch like crazy. Suddenly, the horse's four hooves rose up and leaped towards the bamboo raft.

The warhorse leaped out of the water and was about to jump onto the bamboo raft.

Sudden.

A cold light flashed behind him like lightning and hit Sun Fu's back accurately.

"Ah~~"

Accompanied by a tragic howl, Sun Fu fell off his horse in mid-air and fell into the water.

Zhang Zhao watched Sun Fu fall into the water and saw a sharp arrow stuck in his back. He realized that someone had shot him dead at the last moment.

Sun Fu, who fell into the water, was hit by an arrow in the back and was struggling desperately in the water.

Zhang Zhao raised his head tremblingly, and saw an old general with half white hair and beard riding a horse towards him on the shore not far away, holding a bow in his hand.

"Huang...Huang Zhong?"

Zhang Zhao blurted out the name, his face turned pale with fright, and he shouted anxiously:

"It's Huang Zhong. He has the skill of shooting an arrow through a target from a hundred paces away. Get away from the shore as quickly as possible, the farther the better!"

Huang Zhong is no longer the unknown Huang Zhong of the past. With Liu Bei killing Yuan Shu and Sun Ce, he has already become a famous general known throughout the world.

Zhang Zhao naturally knew that Huang Zhong was powerful, so he did not bother to rescue Sun Fu who fell into the water. He hurriedly ordered his soldiers to row and escape.

On the embankment, Huang Zhong had reined in his horse and was watching hundreds of Jiangdong soldiers who were still lucky enough to escape into Zhenze.

"Do you think that you can escape the disaster by escaping on the bamboo raft?"

"Tonight, none of you will be able to escape the net set by Military Advisor Xiao!"

Huang Zhong sneered and shouted, "Light the beacon fire!"

The order was given, and three beacons were lit on the dam and rushed into the night sky.

In the distance of Zhenze, tiny sparks of fire lit up the surface of the lake, illuminating half of the lake in an instant.

That was the second ambush.

In addition to the ambush of Huang Zhong's infantry, Liu Bei, at the suggestion of Xiao Fang, also ambushed thousands of naval forces in Zhenze.

As soon as the beacon signal was sent, they would rush out from the darkness and intercept the fleeing enemy from the water.

At this moment, on the lake a hundred steps away.

Ling Cao stood at the bow with his sword in hand, leading his two thousand sailors and more than a hundred boats and bamboo rafts, roaring towards the fleeing enemy army.

"My lord, you can entrust me with such an important task. This shows your trust in me. This magnanimity is ten times greater than Sun Ce's!" "I, Ling Cao, will fight to the death tonight to repay my lord's trust and prove my strength..."

After Ling Cao's thoughts surged, he raised the long sword in his hand and shouted:

"All troops, listen up! Charge forward quickly and kill all the enemies. Don't let any escape!"

When the order was given, boats and rafts rushed forward and crashed into the enemy's group.

How could the fleeing Jiangdong soldiers have expected that there was a second ambush of Liu's army above Zhenze? They were scattered in an instant.

Screams rang out one after another, bamboo rafts were overturned, and soldiers fell into the lake one by one...

More than 500 defeated soldiers were either shot to death, knocked into the lake, or hacked to death by Liu's army who climbed on their rafts. In the blink of an eye, they were all dead or wounded.

"They actually set up a second ambush in Zhenze?"

"This Xiao Fang's wisdom is so unfathomable. What kind of demon is he?"

Zhang Zhao looked at the Liu army's boats and rafts that were surrounding him from all directions with a dazed and stunned expression, and he stood still as if his soul had been frightened away.

Just when he was in despair and trance, Ling Cao had discovered his location with the help of the firelight and urged the boat to rush towards him.

"boom!"

With a dull thud, the bamboo raft was overturned.

Zhang Zhao's body shook violently, and when he woke up it was too late. Like the other soldiers on the raft, he was thrown into the water.

He fell into the water and was soaked through. Driven by the belief of survival, he struggled desperately.

After choking on water several times and feeling terrified and desperate, a big hand reached out, pulled Zhang Zhao out of the water, and threw him hard onto the deck.

When Zhang Zhao spat out several times and came to himself from his dizziness, he saw Ling Cao looking down at him coldly.

"Ling Cao~~"

Zhang Zhao gritted his teeth, blood gushed from his eyes, and he struggled to get up.

The blade in Ling Cao's hand was already on his neck.

Zhang Zhao's body shuddered, not daring to move. He could only kneel on the ground in humiliation, raising his head and staring at Ling Cao angrily.

"I didn't expect that Sun Quan would send you to steal the dike. Military Advisor Xiao didn't expect this."

"Zhang Zhao, you were lucky enough to escape death in the battle of Jinling. You should retire to the mountains and forests to live out the rest of your life. Why do you still want to rely on that Bi Yan'er, continue to work for the Sun family, and oppose my master?"

"Is it worth it to lose your life now?"

Ling Cao expressed a lot of regret for Zhang Zhao in his words.

Zhang Zhao's heart was shaken, his anger turned into horror, and he shouted in a trembling voice:
"Could it be that Xiao Fang has really figured out our plan?"

Ling Cao showed respect on his face and said coldly:
"Military Advisor Xiao not only saw through your plot to use Wu County as bait and dig up the Zhenze Lake to drown our army, but he also figured out this vicious plot. It must have been Lu Meng who offered it to Sun Quan."

"Zhang Zhao, don't you think about it? Even Zhou Lang, who was so smart, could have predicted the death of General Xiao. How can a mere Lu Meng be qualified to compete with him in wits?"

Zhang Zhao felt as if struck by lightning. He was completely hopeless and collapsed to the ground.

Although he had guessed it before, he still had a glimmer of hope and deceived himself by telling himself that this was Liu Bei's luck.

It was not until Ling Cao personally admitted that this dragnet was Xiao Fang's masterpiece that he was forced to accept this cruel fact.

"I should have thought of it earlier. This man is the wisest man in the world. No one in Jiangdong can beat him!"

"How ridiculous that I still deceived myself, thinking that Lü Meng could defeat him, and that Zhongmou was favored by fate."

"How ridiculous and pathetic! I, Zhang Zhao, am really ridiculous and pathetic—"

Zhang Zhao was completely hopeless. He looked up to the sky and cried out to himself, crying and laughing at the same time.

Ling Cao sighed, put away his sword and shouted:

"Since we were once colleagues, I will not kill you. I will leave you to the Lord to judge."

After saying this, Ling Cao summoned his soldiers and tied up Zhang Zhao.

"Liu Bei and I have a grudge against each other for killing my son, and I even persuaded Bo Fu to surrender to Yuan Shu. How could Liu Bei possibly let me go?"

"Rather than being humiliated and killed by Liu Bei, I would rather end my life myself!"

Zhang Zhao gritted his teeth, made up his mind, and jumped into Zhenze first.

He was from Xuzhou and could not swim. Jumping off the boat was obviously an act of seeking his own death.

Seeing that he was determined to die and knowing that he wanted to retain some dignity, Ling Cao did not try to save him.

After struggling for a while, Zhang Zhao's broken body sank into Zhenze.

...

On the west gate tower of Wu County.

Liu Bei and Xiao Fang stood side by side, looking far towards Zhenze.

Inside and outside the city, tens of thousands of soldiers were ready for battle, standing on the newly built rafts.

Although Xiao Fang had suggested to Lao Liu that an ambush be laid at the dam, he still asked Lao Liu to give the order to prepare enough rafts in advance just in case.

Even if something unexpected happened and the Zhenze dam still broke, the soldiers could just board the raft on the ground and avoid the danger of being swept away by the entire army.

The sound of horse hooves rang out, and a scout came galloping over and climbed up the city wall excitedly.

"My lord, General Huang and General Ling have successfully ambushed the enemy!"

"General Huang shot and killed the enemy general Sun Fu, and Zhang Zhao was captured and committed suicide by jumping into the water!"

"One thousand enemy troops have been completely wiped out!"

When the good news came, there was excitement on the city wall.

Liu Bei finally loosened his clenched fist and looked at Xiao Fang with a smile:

"That Lu Meng's evil plan really couldn't be hidden from the sharp eyes of the military advisor. Sun Quan really wanted to secretly dig the dam by water!"

Xiao Fang, however, remained calm as usual, smiled with his feather fan and pointed southward:
"I guess Sun Quan must be on the high ground in the south, waiting for the water to flood Wu County, and then he will take advantage of the situation to come back on a raft to clean up the mess."

"My lord, let Wen Jin attack as planned and give Sun Quan a surprise!"

Liu Bei waved his hand and said happily:

"Send a message to Zhang Xiu to lead the Xiliang cavalry to attack southwards and wipe out the remaining bandits in Jiangdong!"

(End of this chapter)