Chapter 92: If We Must Fight, Then Let's Fight

  "Report!" In the military tent of Zhong Jun, Lü Bu suddenly received news from the front that a large army had gathered in Huangzhou.

  "Army!" Lü Bu looked at a crudely made geographical map, which was obtained from Sun Ce's army, showing the terrain of Jiangxia to the entire Jingzhou. Although it was rough, it could be seen that Sun Ce's army had put in a lot of effort, and it seemed that Sun Ce had long been eyeing Jingzhou. Huangzhou already belonged to the Jiangxia region, and among those who could mobilize troops in Jiangxia was also Huang Zu.

  "What is Huang Zu trying to do!" Lü Bu guessed at Huang Zu's thoughts. "We have already sent out our envoy, after all!" Lü Bu wanted to pass through Jiangxia and naturally had to obtain the permission of the master of Jiangxia. From Jiangxia to Xinye, there were only two roads that could be taken. The first was to take the water route, which was not only convenient but also very fast. The second was to take the mountain road, which was rugged and difficult to traverse, making it hard for Lü Bu's cavalry to pass through. Therefore, he had no choice but to ask Huang Zu to dispatch ships to transport his soldiers. But now, Huang Zu had actually assembled his troops? What did he want to do? Did he want to go to war with him?!

  "My lord, my lord, it seems we've really been sold out by Sun Ce!" Chen Gong's hand held an envelope, which was the message sent back by Lü Bu's scout. The whole of Jiangxia was now in a state of war readiness, with the city gates closed and soldiers wearing armor, because they had received news that Lü Bu's army and Sun Ce's army were forming an alliance to attack.

  "An alliance with Sun Ce's army?!" Lü Bu took the letter and scanned it briefly, the contents of which were mostly rumors, the only reliable news being that the entire Jiangxia was on guard against him, and Huang Zu had even dispatched Su Fei and Huang Zhong, two generals, to lead an army of 30,000 to block his advance.

  "Thirty thousand?!" Lü Bu sneered, the entire Jiangxia couldn't possibly have thirty thousand troops, would Huang Zu dare to deploy all his soldiers for battle?

  "Who are Su Fei and Huang Zhong?!" Lü Bu had never heard of these two names, which was quite normal. Su Fei was not very old and could be considered a young general, while Huang Zhong was indeed older and belonged to the same generation as Lü Bu. However, since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Huang Zhong had not appeared on the stage of this chaotic world because he had a seriously ill son. It wasn't until later that Liu Biao's nephew, Liu Pan, discovered Huang Zhong's talent and recommended him to Liu Biao.

  "Su Fei, can be considered one of Jiangxia's fierce generals!" Chen Gong also heard that in the battle between Sun Ce and Huang Zu, Sun Ce's army had talented people like Taishi Ci, Huang Gai, and others, but they were unable to break through Jiangxia. Su Fei was not strong in martial arts, but he had a talent for training soldiers. Under his command, his soldiers admired him greatly, so in every battle, Su Fei's troops would fight to the death without retreating.

  "Huang Zhong, I don't know who he is!" Chen Gong wasn't all-powerful either, after losing Xuzhou, his entire intelligence system had also lost a big half.

  "A banquet for several days, and I'll fight a battle for Sun Ce!" Lü Bu and Chen Gong seemed to have understood. Jiang Xia knew that the armies of Sun Ce and Lü Bu had formed an alliance, and it was likely that Sun Ce had put in a lot of effort. Sun Ce had been eyeing Jiang Xia for a long time, and he and Huang Zu were sworn enemies - the friend of an enemy is also an enemy. Sun Ce treated Lü Bu to banquets every day, calling him "uncle", and even provided free food and grass for his army. This kind of intimacy would have made Huang Zu suspicious if it weren't for the fact that he was already wary.

  "Unexpectedly, he didn't think of it!" Chen Gong shook his head. He had always thought that Sun Ce was planning to attack the Bianzhou Wolf Cavalry, because warhorses were a strategic resource for the south. After the chaos, Northern warlord Gongsun Zan could still smuggle some out, but now that Gongsun Zan had been destroyed by Yuan Shao, it was even less likely that Yuan Shao would let warhorses be taken out - this was one of his advantages over the Central Plains lords.

  The entire Jiangdong army had only a few hundred war horses, and the cavalry units were hard to form. Before leaving, Lü Bu even thought that as long as Sun Ce spoke up, he would send several hundred war horses to Sun Ce.

  But it turned out that Sun Ce and Zhou Yu's plan was much more than just defeating Lü Bu, they actually wanted to use Lü Bu's army to kill their arch-nemesis Jiang Xia. If they could take down Jiang Xia, Lü Bu would thoroughly offend Liu Biao, and with Cao Cao lurking nearby, Lü Bu would have no choice but to form an alliance with Sun Ce. And if they couldn't take down Jiang Xia, the battle between Lü Bu's army and Jiang Xia's army would still deplete Jiang Xia's military strength, allowing Zhou Yu to reap the benefits later on.

  "What should our lord do now!" Chen Gong was waiting for Lü Bu to make a decision, whether to fight or explain things clearly to the Jiangxia army.

  "Gongtai, can you explain now and make it clear?" Lu Bu asked Chen Gong back. Chen Gong thought for a moment and shook his head. They had stayed in Yangzhou for too long, and Sun Ce treated them too well, even better than their own uncle would have. If Lu Bu's army and Sun Ce's army didn't have some secret agreement, how could Sun Ce be so generous? Even an idiot wouldn't believe it.

  "It's war then!" Lu Bu's murderous intent flashed out, and he dared to gather his troops in front of him. Huang Zu was not the first to provoke Lu Bu, but almost everyone who did so was killed by Lu Bu. Moreover, the letter clearly stated that the envoy sent from Jiangxia was beheaded by Huang Zu's son, Huang She.

  "Pass on my military order, the whole army prepares for battle!" After dozens of days of rest, has the world forgotten the terror of Lü Bu's army? Regardless of whether he was used by Sun Ce or not, in this war, Lü Bu must make Huang Zu and the entire Jingzhou, even the entire world know that he is still the God of War, his Lü Bu army can still roam freely across the land!