In the fourth month of the fourth year of the Jian'an Era, the war for Jiangdong reached a decisive turning point.
Under Liu Bei's all-out offensive, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu personally formed a defensive line at Piling.
After more than half a month of fierce fighting, Sun Ce ultimately could not withstand the assault and prepared to abandon the camp and withdraw into the city.
Yet after repeated defeats, Sun Ce's once-formidable authority could no longer keep his subordinate generals in check.
Among them, Ding Fan of Kuaiji and Gui Lan of Danyang rebelled and informed Liu Bei of the situation.
Liu Bei then dispatched nearly all the troops under his command to block Sun Ce's retreat into the city.
In this battle, Liu Bei's army committed more than thirty thousand men, while Sun Ce and Zhou Yu together deployed over ten thousand.
Yet the result was the rout of Sun Ce's force of over ten thousand, with his core force of eight thousand utterly annihilated.
The more than three thousand reinforcements that had arrived fled in disarray, leaving only several dozen riders to escort Sun Ce into Piling City.
Great generals Cheng Pu and Lü Meng died in battle, while Jiang Qin, Sun Fu, and others were captured one after another.
In contrast, Liu Bei's army suffered fewer than four thousand dead and wounded, while taking more than five thousand prisoners.
Had this battle not taken place, Liu Bei's process of unifying Jiangdong might still have encountered twists and turns.
But after this battle, Liu Bei's entry into Jiangdong as its master was merely a matter of time.
After securing victory, Liu Bei was not overly delighted. Instead, he first entered his tent to meet the meritorious officers and surrendered generals from this battle.
To be honest, Liu