Yiling, the first pass on the western line of Gangneung, is a natural barrier with many low-lying swamps. Just a year ago, Liu Bei and Sun Ce fought here, which eventually led to the strategic success of Sun Ce's entry into Jingnan.

Of course, if Xun Gang hadn't secretly taken Jiangling, Sun Ce's white-clothed crossing of the river would have been perfect.

Xun Gang never expected that the first thing Cao Cao did after coming to Jiangling was to consolidate the western defense line, and the main commander of this defense line was himself! Cao Cao, on the other hand, plundered most of his talents and settled down in Jingzhou, which has the meaning of occupying the magpie's nest.

Now Xun Gang only has Xu Shu, Lu Xun and Li Yan under his command, and the soldiers and horses are greatly reduced, and only 10,000 are left in his hands. The rest of the soldiers, horses, and talents all fell into the clutches of Cao Cao.

Xun Gang understood that although the defense line of the Western Front had to be defended by himself, what Cao Cao was most afraid of was that he would suddenly defect and attack him with Sun Ce.

However, fortunately, Xun Gang had a plan, and before Cao Cao arrived in Jiangling, he withdrew Ma Chao, Gan Ning, and all his soldiers and horses; One is entrenched in the mountains, the other is floating on the river, obeying only his own orders.

Moreover, the Jiangxia guard general Chen Zhi and the Xiangyang guard Gao Shun only obeyed Xun Gang's dispatch, even if Cao Cao changed the guards, the real military power has always been firmly in his hands.

But these don't matter anymore, Xun Gang seems to have figured out the laws of history, no matter how strong you are, as long as you need to lose on the historical trend, then you will definitely lose.

This is the reason in the previous battle of Yaoting, Sun Ce's labor division expedition, the soldiers and horses were tired, and the grain and grass were insufficient, but Liu Bei was still broken. The same is true of the battle of Chibi now.

Xun Gang seems to have seen the scene of Cao Cao being burned and abandoning his armor and fleeing in embarrassment.

However, seeing Cao Cao suffer a loss was not Xun Gang's goal, this was a perfect opportunity to kill Cao Cao. As long as Cao ** goes, the Wei State that has not set up an heir will inevitably fall into turmoil, and the princes will definitely kill each other, and then it will be a good opportunity for Xun Gang to raise troops!

Xun Gang has been waiting for this day for more than ten years, not everyone can persist for more than ten years without forgetting the original intention, perhaps these ten years are enough to wear out Xun Gang's mind. But now is the hottest time in Xun Gang's heart, how could he let go of such an opportunity?

Didn't Huarong Dao let Cao Cao run away? Then let Cao Cao die in Huarong Dao!

However, it was still early to say that the two sides were camped on both sides of the Yangtze River, and they did not know when the real decisive battle would begin; And Xun Gang was isolated in Yiling at the moment, as if he couldn't do anything. If you leave with your own troops, I'm afraid it will arouse suspicion......

Xun Gang sat in the big tent and fell into a dilemma, and suddenly saw Xu Shu dispatching troops and horses outside the tent, so he hurriedly asked him to come into the tent to speak.

"Yuan Zhi, what do you think about this battle?"

Xun Gang was naturally talking about the decisive battle between Sun Ce and Cao Cao. Xu Shu pondered for a moment and said, "Cao Cao has an army of 250,000, and Sun Ce is no more than a fraction of what he has; However, Jiangdong is good at water warfare, Cao Cao's soldiers and horses are not familiar with oars, and the battle situation is unknown in my opinion! ”

"I want to kill Cao Cao, is this a good opportunity?"

The two had long been friends with each other, so Xu Shu had known Xun Gang's plans for a long time, but he was still taken aback when he learned that he was going to attack Cao Cao here.

Xu Shu said worriedly: "If Cao Cao is defeated, this matter is not impossible; However, how did the lord get close to Cao Cao here? Gao and Chen Erjiang are now involuntarily killed, who can assassinate Cao Cao? ”

"Who said I was going to assassinate? I'm going to kill him in the right way!" ”

Xu Shu was obviously panicked: "This ...... My lord, even though I have been prepared for an incident for a long time, how can I make such a high-sounding disloyal act? How will future generations evaluate the lord? How will the world view the lord? Think twice! ”

Xun Gang chuckled and said, "I didn't say I wanted to do it myself......"

Xu Shu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized, and said in surprise: "The lord said to let Ma Chao ......"

"Shh......h

Xu Shu hurriedly silenced, but kept praising Xun Gang in his hands; Unexpectedly, Xun Gang had let Ma Chao go deep into the mountains before, and he had today's intentions!

"However, Cao Cao's defeat has not yet appeared, what should he do if Sun Ce is defeated?"

Xun Gang said: "Let me ask you, Cao Cao has 250,000 soldiers and horses, how many ships do you need to cross the river?" ”

Xu Shu calculated: "For regular warships, you need 30 ships and about 500 ships." ”

"What if such a large number of ships were attacked by fire?"

Xu Shu understood what he meant, but he couldn't help shaking his head: "It's just self-immolation in case of fire, but how can Sun Ce burn all of them with such a large number of ships?" Just drive the burning ship out of the camp, and the rest of the ships will be preserved. Furthermore, if Sun Ce wanted to set fire, how could he let the arsonist ship approach the building ship? Fire attack is not advisable! ”

"This method is very easy, and Your Excellency is worried a lot!"

Lu Xun appeared at the door at some point, with a confident smile on his delicate face, and his blue helmet and white armor looked extraordinary.

"Bo Yan said that it is easy to tighten, what is the reason?"

Xu Shu looked at Lu Xun in puzzlement, but found that Lu Xun and Xun Gang looked at each other and smiled, as if they had a clever plan in mind.

"The chain crosses the boat, and the flame does not collect; The opportunity to break Cao, Jiangdong offered his head. ”

The two of them said this almost in unison, and after saying that, Xun Gang couldn't stop laughing and said, "Bo Yan, this matter will be handled by you!" ”

"Yes!"

Lu Xun heard the order, but Xu Shu looked at it with a blank face; After a while, Xu Shu finally asked, "Lord, what did you and Boyan say...... What does that mean? ”

Xun Gang smiled mysteriously and said, "In a few days, you will understand." ”

"I don't understand, although I understand some words, but now that the place of the decisive battle has not yet been decided, why are you in a hurry to use a plan?"

Xun Gang said with a smile: "The Yangtze River is the dominant area of Jiangdong people, Zhou Yu and others have been in Jiangdong for many years, and they know the climate and water potential of the Yangtze River well. No matter where Cao Cao chooses, Zhou Yu can easily deal with it, and we are just adding fuel to the fire! Even if there is no help from us, with Zhou Yu's talent, why is it difficult to break Cao? ”

"I only heard the meaning of the iron chain crossing the boat in those sixteen characters, so it can indeed expand the advantage of fire attack, but how can Cao Cao listen?"

Xun Gang said with a smile: "Cao Cao's first time going south, the soldiers and horses in his hands are not familiar with water, and he will find a way to stabilize the ship." Chaining the ship is the best way, even if I don't say it, Cao Cao will do it himself. ”

In fact, it was not Pang Tong's work to tie up the ship with iron chains in history, but the bitter fruit of Cao Cao's own making.

Xu Shu breathed a sigh of relief, it seems that Xun Gang has already made plans, so there is no need to worry about it. As for the enemy who will give his head...... It should be the way to let the fireboat approach Cao Cao!

Xu Shu suddenly looked at this young man, he was only three years old when he met him, how many years have passed now? It's been 20 years, the child has grown up, and he has his own family, this is growth......

I just don't know, what kind of waves can he set off?

"Fengxiao, Fengxiao, you changed your mind halfway, but you don't know that the lord of our waiting for is only stronger than that Cao Cao!"

When he learned that Xun Gang was willing to succumb to Cao Cao, who was less powerful than himself, Xu Shu understood that even if a real hero was subservient, what did it matter? Sooner or later, he will get back on his feet, overcome obstacles, and open a new chapter!