A great battle came to a complete end amid Huang Zu's rout and retreat.
It was because Gan Ning's martial prowess had let him kill Ling Cao with a single arrow, shattering Zhou Yu's tactical deployment to encircle and annihilate the Jing Province navy.
Seeing one of his own great generals fall and Huang Zu's main force escape, Zhou Yu could only gather his ships and withdraw eastward.
This battle could be called Zhou Yu's first time independently commanding a major battle after joining Sun Ce's ranks, and also the first clash between the Jiangdong navy and Jing Province since the navy's founding.
Yet in a single battle, Huang Zu had been taught a harsh lesson, beaten until he threw away his helmet and cast off his armor.
Of the more than seven thousand naval troops deployed, nearly two thousand had been lost. More than six or seven main vessels, including tower ships and fighting ships, had been destroyed, while over a hundred smaller boats had been lost.
General Chen Jiu had jumped into the river during battle and vanished without a trace. Vanguard Deng Long had suffered several wounds and barely made it back alive.
Even after escaping death, Huang Zu still felt lingering fear and retreated all the way toward Shaxian.
Only after a red-horse boat came to report that the Jiangdong navy had withdrawn did he finally set his mind at ease.
Once he counted the losses among his troops, he flew into a rage and hurriedly summoned the generals, roaring, "I have always told you to train the troops well, yet every one of you spends your days boasting and praising yourselves!"
"Now Jiangdong had fewer troops, yet they defeated us instead. What was the reason for this?"
At those words, all the generals showed shame