Just as Qin Tian had feared, Jiangdong had in fact dispatched troops long ago.
To trace how matters had developed to this point, one had to go back to the battle of Lujiang.
Back in March, Qin Tian had led his forces to wipe out Chen Ce, Liu Xun, and their troops, then seized Liu Xun's naval fleet with Lu Su's cooperation.
Yet through Zhou Yu's planning, that fleet had been blocked within Chaohu, and even some of Liu Xun's warships had fallen into Sun Ce's hands.
After his victory, Sun Ce had prepared to eliminate Taishi Ci, Zu Lang, and the rest.
Before he could make a move, however, Taishi Ci had once again obeyed Qin Tian's orders and headed south to Yuzhang. Thus, Sun Ce could only call off the fighting and lead his troops back toward Wu Commandery.
After resting for a little over a month, he received a report from his spies: Liu Bei had already sent troops north and was preparing to eliminate Yuan Shu.
Sun Ce was greatly alarmed upon hearing this. Then, when he learned that Liu Chong had been assassinated, he summoned his officials to discuss the matter.
"Now, I have heard that Liu Bei and Liu Chong were close. Who would have thought Liu Chong would actually be assassinated by Yuan Shu?"
"Liu Bei's power is now so great. If he acquires Chen State as well, how will our army withstand him?"
At Sun Ce's words, the officials immediately began discussing among themselves. They had never expected so many events to erupt across the realm over these past two years, one after another, leaving them scarcely time to catch their breath.
After pondering for a while, Chen Duan advised Sun Ce, "The present situation in Chen State may well be within