At Three Rivers Estuary stood Zhou Yu's naval camp.
Sun Ce was conferring with Zhou Yu.
"Today is the day the Lu Clan agreed to surrender to Yuan Xi," Zhou Yu said. "Yuan Xi has linked his ships with chains and is crossing south. I've had elite troops pose as Lu Clan retainers. They're bringing more than twenty fast boats piled high with firewood and oil, but they'll claim they're carrying grain. Once they reach the enemy, they'll set them all ablaze. Hundreds of thousands of Yuan Army soldiers will end up at the bottom of the river."
"Even the heavens favor us today," Sun Ce said, elated. "A strong southeast wind has risen. Once we've burned the Yuan Army, we'll pursue them with our navy and capture or kill Yuan Xi. Then we can march north into the Central Plains and settle the realm."
They raised their cups, drank together, and burst out laughing.
Suddenly, a messenger reported that Zhang He and Jia Xu had led troops out of Lingling Commandery in Jingzhou to attack Luling.
Sun Ce frowned. "How many men does Zhang He have?"
"Judging by their banners, thirty to fifty thousand," the messenger replied.
"That must be a bluff," Zhou Yu said firmly. "The mountains and rivers between Lingling and Luling make the route rugged and difficult. It's no place for a large army to advance. If it were, why would Yuan Xi go to the trouble of fighting us on the water?"
Zhou Yu was right.
The route Bai Xiaowen had assigned Zhang He and Jia Xu lay south of the Yangtze River, so they would not need to cross it.
But it was also true that the rugged terrain made it unsuitable for a large army.
Someone had once taken that route to attack