Chapter 582

“Milord. Is Yangzhou’s new warship really so terrifying?” Sun Ce’s subordinates asked.

“Yes. That ship is completely unheard of!” Sun Ce nodded and sighed. He initially thought it was just a ‘mengchong’ and believed that Yangzhou screwed up. After all, Yangzhou did not have much of a background in regards to naval battles and Gan Ning had been sent off to the ocean. The current commander was just someone with no experience. How dangerous could they be? He ended up being dumbstruck in a single day.

“Each of that ship could hold several dozen ballista.” Sun Ce felt his head ache as he recalled the scene. His own ship could only carry five ballista while the enemy could carry several dozen. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the enemy could also ram him. Jingzhou’s towered ship broke apart like paper. Sun Ce did not believe that his own ships could fare much better.

“That man is called Lu Xun?” Sun Ce mumbled to himself. He had people gather information on Yangzhou’s new naval commander.

“So this is Lu Kang’s grandchild!” Sun Ce felt his head ache. Lu Kang was Sun Ce’s enemy. Despite being an enemy, Sun Ce respected Lu Kang a lot.

When Sun Ce visited Lu Kang when ordered by Yuan Shu to borrow food but Lu Kang refused to meet him in person. As a result, Sun Ce was angered. Meanwhile, Yuan Shu was thinking of attacking Lu Kang but feared that his own reputation would fall because Lu Kang was also from an influential family. As a result, Yuan Shu sent Sun Ce to attack Lu Kang.

Initially, Sun Ce thought that Lu Kang would be easy to deal with because he was old. However, Lu Kang had a lot of support from the people. They helped fight Sun Ce which caused the battle to last several years. Finally, Lu Kang was defeated when he could no longer bear the civilian casualties. Despite that, he refused to admit defeat. He brought his whole family with him to the prison in Wancheng where they starved to death.

How could Sun Ce forget such a person with moral integrity? Lu Kang’s actions had given Sun Ce a deep impression. He never expected there was still a Lu Xun Lu Boyan who would be more difficult to deal with. Lu Kang only had the people’s support but Lu Xun also knew how to command troops.

Sun Ce shook his head as he reminded himself it was not the time to think about Lu Xun and Lu Kang. He needed to find a way to wipe out Yangzhou’s navy.

“Gongjin. Has the envoy we sent to Jingzhou returned yet? When can Jingzhou accompany us to attack Lujiang?” Sun Ce asked. Jingzhou’s navy had taken damage and needed to reorganize. Sun Ce understood that much. However, it was about time for them to have finished reorganizing their navy. On top of that, Sun Ce impatiently wanted to send troops to wipe out Yangzhou’s navy. He could not allow them to exist even if the Jingzhou Navy was not around and no rewards were being offered.

“Milord, I think you can forget about the benefits.” Zhou Yu shook his head bitterly.

“What happened?” Sun Ce asked.

“Milord. Jingzhou are changing their minds.” Zhou Yu replied.

“What?” Sun Ce raised his voice. He initially ignored Yangzhou to deal with Jingzhou but Jingzhou’s actions made Sun Ce fear Yangzhou’s navy. Sun Ce would have trouble sleeping as long as the Yangzhou Navy is still around. Is Jingzhou just going to stop their attack here after provoking Yangzhou?

“No! We must wipe out Yangzhou. Even if our Jiangdong Navy is the only one to fight, we cannot allow the Yangzhou Navy to continue existing.” Sun Ce commented. The Yangzhou Navy was too dangerous. If they continued to expand, Jiangdong would have to surrender to Yangzhou as they would be significantly weaker in both land and sea. Besides this, Sun Ce also had another intention. He wanted Yangzhou’s ships. With those ships, he would no longer need to fear the Jingzhou Navy.

“Milord. The Jingzhou Navy will fight.” Zhou Yu shook his head.

“Didn’t you say they changed their minds?” Sun Ce asked. He would be happy if Jingzhou stepped forward to be cannon fodder.

“I was referring to Jiangxia.” Zhou Yu replied and then explained what he heard from the envoy. There was a capable person in Jingzhou that knew Jiangdong would be the one most worried about Yangzhou now. As a result, Jiangxia was no longer being offered.

“Fine. As long as they fight!” Sun Ce smiled bitterly. With their help, Sun Ce would have more confidence that he could wipe out Yangzhou’s navy. Yangzhou’s ship was not something neither of them compete against.

“Milord. Jingzhou have also taken interest in Yangzhou’s ships.” Zhou Yu said helplessly. If Jiangdong could see the strength of Yangzhou’s new warship, Jingzhou would be able to see it too. After all, they have their capable general, Wen Pin.

“No!” Sun Ce immediately refused. If Jingzhou also get their hands on the new ship, they would be back at the starting point. Sun Ce would have to spend forever fighting at Jiangxia. If this was the case, it might be better for Sun Ce to attack on his own.

“Milord. We have to agree to their request.” Zhou Yu replied and explained his thoughts. It was impossible to keep the new warship a secret. Jiangdong would need fifty thousand men to deal with Yangzhou’s ten thousand men. As Jiangdong only had sixty thousand men, they would not be able to fight back against Jingzhou after defeating Yangzhou. Jingzhou would simply profit off their misfortune.

“We will just fight them when they come!” Sun Ce said aggressively.

“Milord. That is easier said than done.” Zhou Yu smiled bitterly. How could Sun Ce’s Army of ten thousand fight back against Jingzhou’s Army of seventy thousand? Even if Jiangdong’s Navy were to become more powerful, they would be outnumbered. That was why they could not keep everything for themselves.

“Then what should we do?” Sun Ce felt indignant. He could not lend troops for nothing. On top of that, the opponent was the Yangzhou Navy.

“Milord. We have to agree with them. However, we have to add the condition that they would have to give us Xiakou.” Zhou Yu replied. With Xiakou, they would be able to attack on land. This would give them more leeway than just fighting Liu Biao on water.

“Just Xiakou?” Sun Ce was a bit unwilling. Initially, he was an unrelated party but now it felt like he would die if he did not act.

“Xiakou is enough.” Zhou Yu placated. Jingzhou might be able to compete against Jiangdong on water but that does not mean that they could compete on land. After all, Jiangdong had warriors from the Refinement Stage.

“Alright. I will listen to your advice.” Sun Ce said as he gritted his teeth. He could only think of how to deal with Jingzhou after settling matters with Lujiang.

“With these new type of warships, we would not need to fear Cao Cao once he attacks in the future.” Zhou Yu added. He also feared Yangzhou’s warships due to the number of ballista they could use.

“Men! Send someone to ask Wen Pin and Zhuge Liang from Jingzhou when are we going to attack the Yangzhou Navy together?” Sun Ce said impatiently.

“Report! Milord, Jingzhou has sent an envoy!”

“What do they want now?” Sun Ce was dissatisfied. Jingzhou had just only changed the terms of the agreement. What other demands do they have now?

“Should we announce your arrival?” One bodyguard asked.

“Have them wait first!” Sun Ce replied angrily. Jingzhou’s actions had really annoyed him.

“Yes.” The bodyguard replied and was going to leave when he was interrupted.

“Is this the way Jiangdong treats guests?” A nonchalant voice was heard as a man with a white gown and a white fan walked in.

“It’s you?” Zhou Yu commented in surprise before Sun Ce could shout at the figure for his insolence.

“It is me.” Zhuge Liang nodded. “I believe you must be Zhou the Beautiful Youth. Your reputation is well deserved.”

“You flatter me! My reputation cannot be compared to yours, the Sleeping Dragon.” Zhou Yu said as he looked at Zhuge Liang. It was as though sparks flew as the two locked eyes. Perhaps this was an encounter determined by fate.