Because the naval campaign had gone poorly, Qin Tian intended to replace the commander to face Zhou Yu. Meanwhile, Zhou Yu led his fleet back to the Pengli Lake naval camp.
Jing Province's navy had suffered considerable losses in this battle, but Jiangdong's navy had taken no small number of casualties as well.
Had the battle gone smoothly and Huang Zu's navy been wiped out, such losses would naturally have been acceptable.
But Gan Ning's interference caused Zhou Yu's tactics to fail, and he even struck back and killed many Jiangdong soldiers.
By a rough count, they had lost at least five hundred men this time, along with dozens of ships.
Though they had achieved substantial results, Ling Cao's death left Zhou Yu feeling deeply stifled.
Thus, upon returning to the main tent, he summoned the generals and apologized, saying,
"Today, I troubled you all to give your utmost. I had intended to wipe out Jing Province's navy in a single battle, yet I did not expect the enemy to escape."
"I failed to consider every possibility, resulting in General Ling's death in battle. This is truly my fault!"
Seeing Zhou Yu like this, the generals could not help looking at one another, their feelings complicated.
This battle had originally been meant to end in a great victory. Even though they had not achieved total victory in the end, it was still a minor victory.
Had anyone else won such a battle, if they did not sing praises of their own merit, they would at least send out a victory report.
Who would be like Zhou Yu, taking the blame upon himself?
As they considered this, Jiang Qin stepped forward and consoled Zhou Yu.
"Victory and defeat are common in war. General Ling's death today was not the Commander's fault!"