As for how Jiangdong should wage war toward the west, Lü Meng felt that Zhou Yu had already provided a flawless template.
Troops were gathered at Chaisang.
The oath was sworn at Baqiu.
Both places were small cities on the southern bank of the Yangtze, and both were adjacent to vast marshlands.
To the east of Chaisang lay Pengli Marsh—today's Poyang Lake—where countless lakes interconnected, making it ideal for drilling a navy and issuing orders to assemble troops.
West of Baqiu stretched Yunmeng Marsh—Dongting Lake—its waters wide and expansive, perfectly suited to serve as a naval base and as a springboard for attacking Baxi.
That was why Zhou Yu, dragging his sickened body, had first gathered troops at Chaisang, then moved to Baqiu. His next step would have been to strike Jiangling.
But his illness worsened, and in the end his body could no longer endure it. He passed away suddenly.
With Gongjin's brilliance as precedent, Lü Meng was more than happy to follow the established path step by step.
The only thing that left him feeling stifled—
was Jiangling.
Thinking of it made Lü Meng faintly irritated. He reached into his robe and pulled out a silk map.
The silk was finely made, its woven patterns alone enough to show that it was expensive. Unfortunately, the crooked, misshapen drawings scrawled across it utterly ruined the elegance of the piece.
And yet, thinking of how much this silk had cost, Lü Meng felt a sharp pain in his heart.
"Those merchants really deserve to be killed," he muttered.
Unfolding the silk, he revealed an extremely rough map depicting the surroundings of Jiangling and Gong'an.
Even if Guan Yu himself were looking at it, he would probably need to study it carefully before recognizing the place.
But for Lü Meng, it was already sufficient.
That Jiangling was difficult to attack was obvious to the naked eye. When Zhou Yu had garrisoned Jiangling in the past, Lü Meng had been stationed there as well.
With water on two sides, it was already a fortress that was easy to defend and hard to take. And Guan Yu, utterly unhinged, had gone even further—repairing the old city and constructing new walls, making it even more impregnable.
But from another angle—
Lü Meng recalled what Lu Yi had said:
"A place that is easy to defend is also a dead end."
"Moreover, Jiangling is prosperous in trade. The population within the city is bloated. Just feeding them for a single day likely requires a thousand shi of grain."
"If we surround it with a great army and use light boats to sever the waterways and cut off its supply routes, Jiangling will become a lonely city upon the river."
"There will be no need to attack. In three to five months, the city will break on its own."
From the words alone, Lü Meng would never have imagined that Lu Yi was a refined, scholarly-looking gentleman.
When Marquis Sun's handwritten letter introducing him had first arrived, Lü Meng had dismissed it outright.
But Lu Yi's strategy—hold the river, defend quietly, and wait for the right moment—had made Lü Meng's eyes light up, as though he'd found a lamp in the darkness.
And now, with Lu Yi filling in the gaps, Lü Meng made his decision swiftly:
"We strike Gong'an and Cangling first, cutting off Jiangling's connection to Jingnan!"
This time, Lü Meng would serve as the main attacking force against Jiangling. At the same time, Pan Zhang, Ding Feng, Jiang Qin, and others would lead troops from Yichun in Yuzhang and Gan County in Luling, striking directly at Changsha, Guiyang, and the other four commanderies of Jingnan.
Once Jiangling's routes to Jingnan were severed, Lü Meng was confident that taking all four commanderies would only be a matter of time.
With a single order, the warships moved in unison.
Led by Lü Meng, the Jiangdong navy advanced upstream along the Yangtze.
Gong'an was as good as his.
He would wash away the humiliation of the past!
That said, the Jiangdong navy was a mixed lot.
The Jiangxia garrison that followed Lü Meng was fine—at the very least, they could obey orders precisely.
But aboard the ships reinforced from Jiangdong's heartland, whispers had already begun.
"Just our mengchong ships—can we really handle Guan Yu's giant vessels?"
"They say one ship can conquer a city! That thing's probably stronger than even Marquis Sun's flagships!"
"Why don't we just jump into the water when the fighting starts? These ships aren't ours anyway—if they're gone, they're gone. Staying alive matters more."
"Let's wait and see. I heard Marquis Sun hasn't been in a good mood lately. Best not to invite trouble."
"How so?"
"Apparently, he lost two great generals."
"That's odd—how do great generals just disappear—"
"Quiet!"
The Jiangxia troops finally had enough. One of them snorted coldly.
The Jiangdong sailors exchanged glances, then collectively pursed their lips.
Perhaps worried about morale, after letting them shiver in the cold wind for a quarter hour, a Jiangxia soldier spoke up to explain:
"When we departed Jiangxia, General Lü had already blocked the Han River. And now it's the dry season—those giant ships won't be able to sail south."
Then he raised his voice to rally them.
"The general has said it clearly—whoever takes Jiangling will be rewarded!"
But most of the sailors were still those conscripted from Jiangdong's interior, and they laughed openly.
"So if Jiangling isn't taken, that means no rewards."
"No reward? Not being punished is the reward!"
"Ah, the general's divine might is unparalleled. A mere Jiangling is nothing. Once we take it, the general will surely lead us straight into Yi Province to capture Liu Bei alive!"
Laughter immediately erupted across the ship.
The atmosphere grew even more relaxed.
Lü Meng's personal troops were visibly annoyed—but in the end, they said nothing.
For this battle, even among Lü Meng's own men, not everyone fully agreed from the heart.
They simply wouldn't voice it so bluntly.
And as soldiers, their duty was to obey the general's orders.
Still, in the depths of his heart, that Jiangxia soldier couldn't help but think—
If only he could serve under General Guan.
Last year, Guan Yu had marched north to strike Cao Wei, his might shaking all of Jiangdong.
Marquis Sun had personally led troops to attack Hefei—and returned in crushing defeat.
Both events were described with the same four words:
"Shaking Jiangdong."
To this very day, whenever southerners chatted idly, someone would inevitably bring up how mighty General Guan had been, how the Cao armies had fled in panic.
As for the defeat at Hefei—no one dared discuss it openly. But when people sat down for tea, a single exchanged glance and a sigh was all it took.
Who wouldn't understand?
Thus, in private, Jiangdong could not help but compare General Guan with Commander Zhou.
Opinions differed, but one thing was undeniable:
Both were heroes.
And so the Jiangxia soldier couldn't help but feel a pang of melancholy.
Three to five years ago, I followed Zhou Gongjin. At Red Cliffs, he won a fierce victory and shook the world.
Now today, at Baqiu, we swear an oath—and strike Guan Gong from behind.
Does the Commander know?
On the walls of Jiangling, Zhuge Qiao politely borrowed a low stool from a soldier.
He placed it carefully beside the battlements, gave it a gentle shake to ensure it was stable, and only then lifted his younger sister onto it.
Zhuge Guo's small head—braids tied neatly—popped out through a gap in the parapet.
She gasped.
"Big Brother! Our home is on fire!"
Zhuge Qiao let out a helpless smile. Fortunately, there were many people on the walls at the moment, all craning their necks toward the southern bank. No one paid much attention to what a little girl said next.
Affectionately patting his sister's head, Zhuge Qiao corrected her gently.
"We moved into Jiangling with Mother nearly a year ago. Gong'an is only our old residence now."
Zhuge Guo blinked, unconvinced.
"But it's still our home. If it burns down, Mother will definitely be sad—and she didn't even come up to see it."
That part was true.
Zhuge Qiao knew exactly how much time and effort their mother had poured into studying engineering in Gong'an.
Although back in the first month of the year, following Master Jiang's orders, everything that could be dismantled or relocated in Gong'an County had already been quietly transferred into Jiangling—
leaving Gong'an little more than an empty shell—
watching it turn to ashes with his own eyes still felt different.
This was all to prepare for Jiangdong's attack.
Gong'an was bordered by rivers to both north and south. Although some of the water-powered workshops along the banks were fitted with great crossbows, they ultimately couldn't hold against a full Jiangdong offensive.
Moreover, Huang Yueying had discussed it with Jiang Wan: compared to territorial gains or losses, the Eight-Ox Repeating Crossbows absolutely could not be allowed to fall into Jiangdong's hands.
And besides, as Jiangling grew increasingly prosperous, Gong'an's registered population had not increased—if anything, it had declined.
After all, Gong'an only earned its name as "the place where Xuande rested." Before that, it was little more than wasteland.
Now that Jingbei had been recovered, whether one sought fertile land or opportunities for profit, heading north was the better choice. Gong'an had remained relevant mainly because its workshops were still operating.
But now, with this great fire—
Zhuge Guo took one last look, then jumped off the stool without the slightest hesitation, her feet pattering as she ran.
"I'm going to find Mother!"
She said it and left, just like that.
This left Zhuge Qiao scrambling. He hurriedly apologized to the soldier, explaining that he needed to chase after his sister and wouldn't have time to return the stool.
The soldier knew him well and merely waved him off.
Once off the wall, Zhuge Guo darted through narrow alleys with practiced ease. After passing through two tight lanes, she slipped in through the back door of a quiet residence.
The courtyard inside was elegantly arranged.
Despite the cold weather, a corner of the yard was filled with flowers blooming in vivid colors.
Even in her haste, Zhuge Guo couldn't help but glance at them.
The plants were enclosed beneath a glass structure, and steam rose gently from within.
A small underground channel had been dug from the kitchen, with a tiny stove kept burning day and night to provide warmth exclusively for this space.
Although her mother had explained the principle to her before, that didn't stop Zhuge Guo from thinking her mother was incredible—almost like one of the immortals.
After a quick look, she didn't slow down. She crossed the central courtyard, passed through a covered corridor, and burst straight into Huang Yueying's study.
"Mother! The house across the river is on fire!"
Huang Yueying nodded to show she knew.
Her hands never stopped moving, ruler and hard pen flying across the page, her eyes not lifting even once.
Seeing that her mother didn't react, Zhuge Guo rolled her eyes, puffed out her cheeks, and said plaintively:
"Big Brother took me up on the wall. He cried really hard."
Huang Yueying's wrist never wavered, but her tone shifted slightly, carrying a hint of amusement.
"If your brother heard you slandering him like this, he would certainly be displeased."
Zhuge Guo didn't mind at all. Hearing that her mother was in a good mood, she immediately hugged her mother's leg and began climbing up.
This finally forced Huang Yueying into flustered motion as she scooped her daughter into her arms.
Zhuge Qiao heard all of this clearly from outside. He shook his head with a smile and turned away.
Curled in her mother's embrace, Zhuge Guo tugged at her clothes and peeked at the drawings on the desk. Her eyes quickly lit up.
"This is Gong'an!"
Letting her daughter sit on her lap, Huang Yueying lifted her arm slightly.
"The old Gong'an workshops were cluttered, interconnected, and difficult for craftsmen to move through. Extremely inconvenient. Burning it down is for the best."
"Your father wrote recently that the number of workshop categories has already exceeded twenty. Without proper planning, production will suffer."
Thus, Huang Yueying had recently begun arranging land according to both defensive and logistical needs—attempting to design a true Workshop County.
Zhuge Guo only half-understood, but that didn't stop her from cheering.
"When will Father come back?"
Huang Yueying smiled.
"Your father said he will definitely return this year."
The study instantly filled with Zhuge Guo's joyful shouts.