Chapter 62 How Did It Come to This

Nanjun, Yiling.

Gan Ning led his elite troops in a sudden dash and raid. There were no garrison troops stationed here by Cao Ren, so he captured the city in a single assault.

After taking the city, an old acquaintance actually came forward to meet him of his own accord.

"Lord Xuande really defeated Mengde's army of over one hundred thousand at Wulin?" Xi Su, one of the generals dispatched by Liu Zhang to provide reinforcements from Yizhou, asked with utter disbelief.

Gan Ning's eyes widened with intense excitement. Although the Battle of Wulin had passed many days ago, he was still too thrilled to calm down. He spoke in a loud voice, "Naturally! Our lord personally devised the strategy, ordering me to feign surrender to Cao Cao, and then launched a fire attack taking advantage of the eastern wind. Cao Cao's army of over one hundred thousand vanished into ashes in an instant!"

"At the time, I boarded a mengchong warship, and after it was ignited, I transferred to a zhaoke boat. You know my valor well; although it was merely a zhaoke, under my seamanship, it possessed the might of a fighting doujian warship..."

Gan Ning slapped the table and stood up, beaming with radiance, eagerly recounting his own martial prowess before Xi Su, an old acquaintance from Yizhou.

Xi Su's expression was conflicted, and his heart surged. Such a great victory was truly unimaginable. Having languished in Yizhou for many years, he had long desired to achieve great things, but under Liu Zhang's command, there was no room to display his talents.

Sensing Xi Su's hesitation, Gan Ning immediately said, "Our lord is a hero of the realm. What are you still hesitating for? A great man born in turbulent times should display his martial valor and leave a renowned name for posterity. If you follow Liu Zhang, you will eventually be reduced to submissively surrendering to others. Are you willing to accept such a fate?"

"Ah..." Xi Su let out a long sigh, his gaze shifting before it suddenly locked. Raising his head, he said in a loud voice, "Please introduce me to Lord Xuande, Xingba!"

Gan Ning burst into loud laughter, then suddenly lowered his voice, "Our lord also has the intention of taking Yizhou."

Xi Su was startled. Taking Yizhou? Wouldn't that give him a tremendous stage to put his talents to use? He immediately burst into hearty laughter, "Splendid! All of us brothers will be able to return home in glory!"

...

West of Yiling, at the border between Yizhou and Jingzhou, Zhang Song also received the news of Cao Cao's crushing defeat. Instantly, all his pent-up grievances were released, and he laughed aloud, "The situation of the realm has changed drastically!" Gazing toward Jingzhou, he said fiercely, "Cao, you thief, you looked down upon me. Did you ever think this day would come?"

"Liu Xuande, since you could defeat Cao Cao, you can naturally defeat Liu Zhang as well. If you wish to revive the Han dynasty, I too wish to find an enlightened lord and display my ambitions..."

...

Jiaozhou, Jiaozhi, Longbian.

Shi Xie, who had been waiting for news of the military campaign in Jingzhou, also received the outcome.

Liu Dai—no, Liu Bei had heavily defeated Cao Cao!

For a time, the entire prefectural manor fell into absolute silence.

Shi Hui, who had previously clamored incessantly to attack Liu Bei, was now completely devoid of temper.

Who could have imagined that Cao Cao with his hundreds of thousands of troops would be defeated by Liu Bei's mere tens of thousands.

Shi Xie glanced at his subordinates, especially Shi Hui, and could not help but smile faintly. This son of his still possessed some sense of proportion after all. Pausing for a moment, he said, "Shi Xuan, set off for Jingzhou immediately to congratulate Liu Xuande on his victory over Cao Cao."

"If, upon your arrival in Jingzhou, Liu Xuande has already captured Jiangling and firmly established himself in Jingzhou, you are to remain in Jiangling and petition Liu Xuande: Shi Yi is in frail health and no longer suited to continue serving as the Administrator of Hepu, so we request him to dispatch someone else to take over."

Hearing this, everyone present was shaken.

Shi Xie was backing down.

Yet not a single person raised an objection. Even Shi Hui merely opened his mouth slightly before hanging his head in dejection.

Shi Xuan felt even more depressed at the thought of going to act as a hostage, but given the circumstances, he could only reply, "Understood!"

...

Jingling.

Zhao Shaojie, Huang Zhong, and the others escorted their prisoners there to rest.

After making arrangements for Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhuge Liang, and others, Liu Bei dispatched Yin Guan and Xiang Lang with their retinues to Wuling and Lingling to summon them to surrender. In this lifetime, Liu Bei had not even needed to mobilize his main forces.

He personally led Pang Tong and others from Wulin down the Yangtze River, returning to Xiakou, and headed straight for Anlu to seize the several northern counties of Jiangxia that had been occupied by Cao Cao.

These men had entirely failed to anticipate that Liu Bei would come personally. Just as they received the news of Cao Cao's crushing defeat on the heels of the previous reports, they saw Liu Bei himself arriving to attack, leaving them naturally incapable of offering any resistance.

Thus, apart from the few counties previously seized by Sun Quan, all the territories in Jiangxia County that had been occupied by Cao Cao were recovered by Liu Bei.

Upon recovering them, Liu Bei stationed Huo Jun there, spreading the false rumor that he intended to attack Xiangyang from the north of Jiangxia, while actually leading his troops south, taking the Han River route toward Xiangyang.

On this day, Liu Bei and Pang Tong happened to be resting in Jingling and ran into Zhao Shaojie and the others.

"So many prisoners?" Upon hearing the names of the captives, Liu Bei was overjoyed, finding it almost hard to believe.

That Cao Cao had escaped with only his life—such wretched misery was something even Liu Bei had never anticipated.

Liu Bei could not even spare the time for polite pleasantries with Zhao Shaojie, heading straight to inspect the captives.

"How have you gentlemen been!" Liu Bei looked toward Xun You and the others and offered a greeting.

Naturally, Xun You and the others made no response. Each of them sat with the calm composure of veterans, casting a side glance at Liu Bei without uttering a word.

Liu Bei did not mind either. Instead, his gaze shifted toward members of the Cao family such as Cao Hong and Cao Chun, and he smiled, saying, "I must ask Zilian to comfort these distinguished gentlemen of the Cao family well, and not to engage in any rash attempts to escape. Otherwise, in the heat of pursuit, our soldiers might commit deeds too regrettable to speak of."

After all, Cao Hong belonged to the same generation as Liu Bei and was acquainted with him. He nodded and said, "Lord Xuande need not worry; we shall patiently await our Prime Minister to redeem us."

Liu Bei also knew that it was impossible to make the Cao family members serve him and that he could only wait for Cao Cao to ransom them. He nodded and said, "Very well then." With that, he turned his gaze to the others: "Gongming, Yunxuan—Yunrong has often mentioned your martial prowess; your fame is known throughout the realm!"

Xuang Huang cupped his fists and replied, "Yunlong flatters me undeservedly!"

Liu Bei then looked toward Yue Jin: "Wenqian beheads generals and seizes flags, pressing forward with unstoppable momentum. You are truly a fierce warrior of our time!"

Yue Jin sighed. "Had I truly been a fierce warrior, I would not have ended up in this state!"

Liu Bei smiled and proceeded to praise Man Chong and others.

Finally, Liu Bei's gaze landed upon Cai Mao. His expression turned cold, and he said sternly, "Were it not for you, how could Jingzhou have suffered this calamity? In the days to come, I shall surely use your head to sacrifice to Brother Jingsheng!"

Cai Mao knew that falling into Liu Bei's hands would bring him no good end. Now that history was written by the victors, he said nothing more, merely letting out a cold snort.

Zhang Yun, however, abruptly dropped to his knees and wept bitterly, crying out, "I long knew that Lord Xuande possessed the capability to bring peace to Jingzhou, but alas, Liu Jingsheng failed to employ you, and the young fool Liu Cong succeeded him, coerced by Cai Mao and his faction. Now that I submit to Lord Xuande's command, I am willing to lay down my life in your service!"

Liu Bei could not be bothered to acknowledge him, his gaze falling instead upon Wen Pin. He smiled and said, "Zhongye garrisoned Xiakou! How do you feel about guarding your ancestral homeland?"

"Ah..." Wen Pin sighed. On that day when he encountered Guan Yu on the Han River, Guan Yu had already attempted to persuade him to surrender, but he had refused. Never did he expect that, after twisting and turning, he would still end up in Liu Bei's hands.

"Many thanks, my lord!" Wen Pin knelt and bowed to the ground.

Among the captives Liu Bei sought to win over, aside from Wen Pin and Zhang Yun who surrendered on the spot, all the others were waiting to be ransomed by Cao Cao's side.

Liu Bei did not mind. He had the remaining prisoners escorted to Xiakou for confinement and continued on his way toward Xiangyang.

At the same time.

Nanjun, Jiangling.

Cao Cao flew into such a rage that he violently shoved a low table away, sending bowls, chopsticks, and dishes scattering across the floor.

"How could it come to this!" Cao Cao found it utterly unacceptable that he should ever experience such a wretched plight, as wave after wave of disastrous news poured in simultaneously.