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There were seventy thousand of the Jingzhou navy at Xiakou in Jiangxia. They were the main army.
“Military advisor. Why is the entire army here at Sanjiangkou?” Wen Pin was overseeing the main camp at Xiakou. On the other hand, Zhuge Liang was the military advisor. The soldiers brought along were supposed to be from Sanjiangkou. However, Zhuge Liang had brought the soldiers out to Xiakou and only left behind about three thousand men. Wen Pin felt that this was odd.
“General Wen Pin. Didn’t Milord order us to go and eliminate Zhang Shuo?” Zhuge Liang replied with a smile as he shook his fan.
“That river bandit Zhang Shuo?” Wen Pin thought about what this individual was like. Although Zhang Shuo would have several thousand men, they were just mobs. They would only have small boats. They would have already been eliminated had the nobles in Jingzhou not desire to use them for secretive actions. However, Zhang Shuo had made a mistake of fighting against the wrong people, that was the merchandise of the Cai Family. As a result, Liu Biao gave the order for their elimination. If it was just to teach them a lesson, a few thousand men would be enough. To eliminate them, twenty thousand men was more than enough. However, Zhuge Liang brought thirty thousand men, leaving behind only a few thousand old weak soldiers and ships that had not been outfitted with ballistae. This made Wen Pin feel suspicious.
Zhuge Liang continued to wave his fan as he detected Wen Pin’s suspicion. His eyes glinted and said, “General Wen Pin. I believed that Milord asked for their elimination, so I brought the soldiers over. Besides that, we need to replenish the provisions. There is also a new ship coming in, so I thought of going over to take it back!”
“Provisions? New ships?” Wen Ping finally ‘understood’ that Zhuge Liang came for the new warships and provisions. It was also true that a new ship would be coming from Jingzhou. This was because ships would be somewhat decayed after a long time regardless of whether they were remodelled or not. So, new ships would be sent over along with provisions. Zhuge Liang was really effective at obtaining information. Wen Pin had planned to first give his subordinates the new ships. He was unsure whether it was because Zhuge Liang was popular. However, Wen Pin himself was unable to keep things a secret and could only take a portion of the new warships.
“Now that you have brought all the soldiers here, what about Sanjiangkou?” Wen Pin was in a bad mood now that he knew that his new ships would be divided. That being said, he must not have a falling out with Zhuge Liang. So, he could only give Zhuge Liang a hard time.
“Haha. General. Have you forgotten that Milord is now having a truce with Sun Ce?” Although Zhuge Liang said this, he actually felt really uncomfortable from this fact. He would not have behaved is such a risky manner if Liu Biao had not been so short sighted. Jingzhou would only be stable if there had been balance. However, the situation has changed. An overlord would appear in the North after Cao Cao and Yuan Shao’s decisive battle. This would cause instability in the South. If the overlord were to attack, the first to fight would be Liu Bei and Lu Bu. Meanwhile, Sun Ce would also not dare to attack Jingzhou. However, Liu Biao insisted on watching them kill each other, before entering the fray. This would be good if he was someone that forges ahead. He would be able to benefit from the others. However, Liu Biao was already half dead. Once Lu Bu is defeated, Jingzhou would be their next targets.
Liu Biao’s actions were not good for Jingzhou and was also bad to the Lu Bu’s Army. Right now, the Lu Bu’s Army lacked soldiers and provisions to hold back Sun Ce. Now that his great cause was about to disappear, the optimistic Zhuge Liang started to take risks.
“Yes. There is a truce.” Wen Pin also felt somewhat emotional. Both sides had been at war for a long time as the Yangtze River was dyed red with blood. Wen Pin also knows that Jiangdong were their worst enemies. However, they had indirectly helped Jiangdong from the truce.
“So, there is nothing to be worried about!” Zhuge Liang said with a smile, stopping Wen Pin’s questions.
“We still need to be careful. After all, they are very ambitious!” Wen Pin still felt reserved.
“Hm?” Zhuge Liang gave Wen Pin a look and asked, “General. What is your opinion on Lu Bu?”
“My opinion?” Wen Pin shook his head and waved his hand. “I have no opinion on him! I am simply unable to understand Milord’s thoughts.” Wen Pin was also speechless. It was obvious that Lu Bu could somewhat be considered an ally as none of Jingzhou’s neighbours were good people. Aside from Liu Zhang who does not want any dealings with anyone, Sun Ce, Zhang Xiu and Liu Bei were people who were waiting for an opportunity to lay their hands on Jingzhou. Once Lu Bu is gone, they would set their sights on Jingzhou. This was why he could not understand Liu Biao’s thoughts.
“Haha.” Zhuge Liang could not help but nod at Wen Pin. Liu Biao could not be blamed for this. After all, the man is old and he was no longer as brave. Besides that, the Cai and Kuai families controlled half of Jingzhou. Once the war in the North is over, they would give Quanzhou away. Why would they want to give their soldiers and provisions away to the Lu Bu’s Army?
“I will divide fifty of the new ships with you!” Wen Ping said to Zhuge Liang. However, Zhuge Liang was still looking at Wen Pin. Wen Pin believed that Zhuge Liang was not satisfied with this and gritted his teeth. “Sixty ships! I cannot go any higher!” This was a total of about one hundred ships. As Zhuge Liang’s main camp was stationed at Sanjiangkou which was the front lines, more than half was given to him. “You can have ten thousand provisions!”
“Sixty ships and ten thousand provisions it is then.” Zhuge Liang replied. He was not actually here for either of those.
“If there is nothing else, take the ships and return to Sanjiangkou.” Wen Pin waved his hand and replied. Zhuge Liang cupped his fist and then bid him farewell.
After Zhuge Liang left the barracks, Li Yan and two bodyguards approached him. “Military advisor. How was the discussion?”
“Ten thousand provisions and sixty new ships! Quickly dispatch people to receive it and avoid daydreaming!” The two bodyguards then moved quickly. “Oh right. Zheng Fang, how was business?”
Li Yan looked around him and saw nobody. He then quietly replied, “It is almost done. We already control half of the wall. I am not sure about the remaining half but Zhong Miao had already made preparations. We would receive news about it soon.”
“This is a matter of great importance and must be done carefully! If we cannot control the other half of the walls, we kill our way in! Kill all those that refuse to surrender and spare none! We must let none know about what we are doing.” Zhuge Liang viciously suggested.
“Also, spare Wen Pin regardless of whether he surrendered or not. Just tie him up and throw him on my flagship!”
“Understood.” Li Yan nodded.
“Zheng Fang. Do you regret following me?” Zhuge Liang asked. “There is still time if you feel regrets. I will not make things difficult for you. You just need to say that this was all my idea!” Zhuge Liang’s actions were very serious. It would be great if it succeeded but failure would mean the extermination of his entire family. Not even his teacher would be able to protect him. Even if he was successful, his reputation would be destroyed. Rather than having one’s good name go down in history, he would be wishing for his name to not go down history at all.
“Military advisor. Are you saying you don’t need me anymore?” Li Yan knelt in front of Zhuge Liang.
“Haha. Zheng Fang. I, Kong Ming, promise you that as long as I have the position, I will not neglect you! Go and make the preparations and wait for my order to act in unison!” Zhuge Liang patted Li Yan’s shoulder.
The navy at Xiakou was caught in an indescribable mood.