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Chapter 2735 Jiangdong is still here, but it has a new master!
Zhang Liao was still preparing to consolidate the defenses when he received news that Runan had been captured by Guan Ping's 30,000-strong army. Now, facing Liu Feng's 30,000-strong army, he did not hesitate to retreat to Hefei to hold the line.

Hefei is located in a region crisscrossed by waterways, making it unsuitable for large-scale military operations. This is exactly why Sun Quan was defeated. Under normal circumstances, Liu Feng would not have been able to conquer it either.

However, after seeing Jiangxia's catapults, Liu Feng brought them over, just in time to use them during the siege.

However, this thing was a bit troublesome to assemble, so it gave Zhang Liao and the others a few days to organize their defenses. So Zhang Bao threw all the stones he could and even smashed the city gate, but Zhang Liao, Li Dian and the others still held on firmly.

However, Liu Feng received Wang Yue's order to expel Zhang Liao and head south to capture Sun Quan.

So he wasn't in a hurry at all, and instead waited for the next stone.

Zhang Liao, on the other hand, couldn't wait any longer, because they had received news that Chen County, where Man Chong was located, had also been captured by Guan Ping. If they didn't retreat soon, they would basically be trapped and die south of the Huai River.

Therefore, Zhang Liao and his men secretly withdrew northwards under cover of darkness, leaving behind only a damaged Hefei city.

Liu Feng did not enter the city, but pursued them all the way to Shouchun. Seeing Zhang Liao and his men cross the river, he turned back and captured Hefei, then headed towards Jianye.

Meanwhile, Wang Yue and Guan Xing led 3 naval troops, while Zhang Bao led 3 infantry, conquering cities and fortresses along the way, and finally arrived at Jianye City.

At this time, Sun Quan had a total of nearly 100,000 troops. Although only 10,000 to 20,000 were elite soldiers and the majority were auxiliary troops, he still had some confidence.

However, when Sun Quan received this news, Liu Feng, Guan Ping, and Wang Yue's army of more than 90,000 men immediately backed down.

Therefore, Sun Quan placed himself in a very low position and sent Zhuge Jin to inquire about Wang Yue.

As Zhuge Liang's brother, Zhuge Jin was not afraid of Wang Yue at all. After he arrived, he politely asked, "Jiangdong has already submitted to the Han Dynasty. We are all subjects of the Han Dynasty. Why does the Earl of Fangcheng still want to attack?"

Wang Yue's reasoning was also very strong. He coldly rebuked, "Sun Quan is the Marquis of Wu, and his fief is in Wu Commandery. He should go to Wu Commandery, not stay in Jianye."

As the governor of Yangzhou, I have the right to expel Sun Quan and supervise him to stay properly in his own Wu Commandery.

Zhuge Jin, the envoy, was rendered speechless and could only return to inform the Marquis of Wu.

Upon hearing the message from the returning messenger, Sun Quan immediately roared in fury.

"How dare this brat insult me ​​like this! Someone, inform General Zhou Tai..."

"No!"

Before Sun Quan could finish speaking, someone immediately stood up to stop him.

Sun Quan squinted and saw that the man was Zhang Zhao. He said with a gloomy face,
"You dare to obstruct my orders?"

Zhang Zhao, however, was not afraid of Sun Quan at all. He calmly said, "Your Majesty, we are at the mercy of others. There is no need to make a futile struggle at this time and let the fine men of Jiangdong shed blood on the battlefield."

After hearing this, Sun Quan frowned and said, "Zhang Zhao, you have served my father and brothers for three generations. What do you mean by saying this?"
Could it be that after receiving Liu Bei's rewards, you intend to be on equal footing with me?

Zhang Zhao looked calmly at Sun Quan, shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, don't you understand? The morale of the Han Dynasty is high, and a sword is already at our throats."

If we resist at this time, at best our property will be confiscated, at worst our entire clan will be exterminated! You make it simple, you have a younger sister who is an imperial concubine, but what about the rest of us?
Are you really going to make us risk our entire families just so you can experience a few more days of the King of Wu's pleasure?"

Other prominent local clan leaders also stepped forward, saying, "My lord! You should go to Wu County!"

"Yes, please be patient and wait until Cao Cao and Liu Bei have a result before making any decisions."

"..."

Sun Quan then suddenly remembered something: their father's base was in Changsha, and their mother's base was in Wu County. They had no real foundation in Jianye; all they had were the families they had previously supported.

Now Wang Yue is blocking Jianye City with his army. If they really want to fight, even more Han soldiers will surge in. At that time, the families of these officials will all be destroyed.

The minister's impulsive cry of "Lord Marquis" made Sun Quan realize that if he persisted, the consequence would be that these ministers would tie him up and send him away.

He sighed and then solemnly said, "In that case, inform General Zhou Tai that we are returning to Wu County!"

Zhang Zhao and the other ministers immediately bowed to Sun Quan and said, "Your Excellency is wise!"

Sun Quan was still very angry. He made a decision to lead his troops back and wait for the right opportunity to first eliminate these two-faced people, and then join forces with Cao Wei to deal with the Han Dynasty.

In Sun Quan's view, although Liu Bei's army is strong and powerful now, the struggle for the Central Plains is never a small matter. With Liu Bei's current strength, he simply cannot occupy so much territory, otherwise his troops will be scattered too much.

Therefore, Sun Quan felt he still had a chance, so he agreed to the ministers' opinion.

However, information gathered by other ministers from various sources made them realize one thing: regardless of how Liu Bei and the Cao family fought, the Sun family was certainly doomed.

Leaving aside whether Sun Quan's army could defeat Wang Yue, Liu Feng on the other side of the river had already made contact with Guan Ping of Yu Province, and most of Yu Province had already been captured.

If Sun Quan had other ideas, Liu Bei's army would probably abandon the Cao family immediately and march directly towards Jiangdong.

By then, with Wang Yue providing support in Jiangnan, taking over the entire Jiangdong region would be a piece of cake; there would be no chance at all.

Seeing that Sun Quan had other ideas, Zhang Zhao and some other prominent families immediately went back and wrote letters.

Therefore, when Sun Quan returned to Wu Commandery and Zhou Tai arrived with his troops, he was met with a disheartening message.

Of his 100,000-strong army, only 10,000 were naval troops and less than 30,000 infantrymen remained. Of the remaining 30,000 soldiers, more than 30,000 followed Zhang Zhao to Minyue, while some did not leave but instead surrendered to Wang Yue.

Sun Quan was furious when he heard the news. He angrily cursed the ancestors of those ministers for eighteen generations, but it was no use in venting his anger, because he was already destined to have no chance of turning things around.

After all, this was no longer a time of warlord chaos, and Sun Quan did not possess the domineering power of Sun Ce, nor could he acquire more soldiers.

However, regardless of what Sun Quan thought, after Sun Quan withdrew, Wang Yue led his men directly into Jianye and declared Jianye as the seat of Yangzhou.

(End of this chapter)