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  Not long after the Beiping soldiers' mutiny, Liu Qi voluntarily gave up most of his military power, handing over the direct command of about 7,000 troops under his command. This means that Liu Qi, who originally had a majority of the army's strength, now has less than 3,000 troops directly under his command.

  Under the remote command of Liu Bei, who was in Fankou, Xu Shu took the opportunity to propose to Liu Qi to adjust the defense of Xiakou. General Zhao Yun led 4,000 soldiers of Liu Bei to take over the various gates of Xiakou, and under the pretext of defending against Eastern Wu, he transferred Liu Qi's 2,000 troops to the water camp south of Xiakou City.

  Liu Qi had always been wary of Eastern Wu, and now Xu Shu's proposal to change defenses was in line with his wishes. After some adjustments, the number of Liu Qi's direct subordinates left in Xiakou City was less than 1,000, which meant that actual control of Xiakou City had fallen into Liu Bei's hands.

  As September arrived, Xiaokou City, which had been calm for less than a month, was shocked again by an astonishing piece of news:

  In the thirteenth year of Jian'an, at the end of August, Cao Pi personally led a western army of 400,000 men, with over 1,000 warships, departing from Jiangling and advancing east along the river to Xia Kou. At the same time, Cao Ren's northern army of 300,000 men, with more than 500 warships, set out from Xiangyang, a major stronghold in the upper reaches of the Han River, and advanced south along the river. The two armies formed a pincer movement against Xia Kou.

  Cao Pi's attack on Jiangxia was a matter of time, and the soldiers of Jiangxia had long been mentally prepared for this. However, what people did not expect was that Cao Pi would force Liu Zong to surrender in mid-July, occupy Jiangling at the beginning of August, and then swiftly march towards Jiangxia after less than a month's rest, which was much earlier than most people had anticipated.

  On the day they received news of Cao Jun's dispatch, Guan Yu and Xu Shu immediately sent someone to inform Liu Bei, who was in Fan Kou, asking him to hurry up and urge Zhuge Liang, who was on his way to Chai Sang, to persuade Wu's army to send troops to support Jiang Xia as soon as possible.

  At the same time, Guan Yu led his troops of over 10,000 water soldiers to advance deep into the Han River and take up their predetermined defensive positions upstream of Xiakou, preparing to resist the attack of Cao's army from Xiangyang. Due to the fact that the reinforcements from Eastern Wu had not yet arrived, Xu Shu could only order his troops stationed at Xiakou to reinforce their camps day and night. If the reinforcements from Eastern Wu failed to arrive in time, he would have to rely solely on these few tens of thousands of soldiers to resist the main force of Cao's army advancing from the west.

  In the autumn wind, the whole Xia Kou was shrouded in the ominous clouds of war that were about to arrive. Whether they were soldiers or civilians, everyone had a sense of trepidation in their hearts. After all, the powerful Cao army came with a fierce momentum, and even the most steadfast warriors couldn't help but waver in confidence when faced with an enemy whose strength was vastly superior.

  The sky is getting late, the sun lazily lies between the line of heaven and water, the rippling river water spreads a layer of golden gauze, the river water rhythmically slaps against the disorderly rocks on the dock.

  Every time the sun sets, Liu Feng would stand on the plank bridge, gazing far into the direction where the Yangtze River flows eastward, where Eastern Wu is located, and like many others, he too was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Wu army.

  Although Liu Feng knew that his change to history seemed very minor, he did not dare to confirm that the butterfly effect caused by his small action would have a profound impact. Therefore, he worried that if the Battle of Red Cliffs could not proceed as he had expected, he really did not know whether he could survive this disaster.

  The sound of horseshoes came from behind, turned back to see, Xu Shu was riding a horse and coming.

  That face, with its clear features and upright demeanor, now also showed a few more signs of fatigue. The deep eye sockets had a faint layer of dark circles, revealing that he had been staring at report after report day and night, racking his brains for countermeasures, causing this once spirited man to become worn out.

  "General Yuan, why are you not in the camp thinking of strategies to counter the enemy, but instead have a mind to come to the riverbank to appreciate the fallen leaves?" Liu Feng asked with a smile.

  Xu Shu dismounted and walked to the riverside, saying to himself: "I'm feeling dizzy and need some fresh air by the river. I'll take a look and see if the Wu army has arrived."

  Liu Feng shook his head and sighed: "I'm afraid we'll be disappointed again, without even seeing half a sail shadow."

  A hint of anxiety flashed in the deep eye sockets, Xushu took a deep breath: "With Kongming's eloquence, it is impossible to fail to move Sun Quan, why has Wu's army not appeared until now, if this continues, the situation will become more and more unfavorable."

  Liu Feng heard something from Xu Xiu's words and hastily asked: "Mr. Yuan Zhi, is there some bad news again?"

  Xu Shu nodded helplessly: "The latest intelligence just received shows that Cao Cao's vanguard has already passed Baling."

  "So fast!" Liu Feng was slightly surprised.

  The Yangtze River divides Jingzhou into two parts, and the Xiang River also divides the four counties of southern Jingzhou into two. The Xiang River then flows into Dongting Lake and connects with the Yangtze River. Bajiao is an important port located on the east bank of Dongting Lake in Changsha County, controlling the south of the Xiang River and connecting to the north of the Yangtze River.

  Cao Cao's fleet has already passed Bajun, which means that within two days they will enter the territory of Jiangxia Commandery.

  "It's only natural, Cao Zhen dreams of wiping out the lord and is likely to send troops eastward within a month of occupying Jiangling. I suspect he fears the lord will join forces with Eastern Wu, so he wants to eliminate the lord before Eastern Wu can mobilize its army."

  "The people's hearts are not yet settled and you hastily send out troops. This is indeed a taboo for military households. It seems that Cao Cao has become too proud this time."

  Liu Feng's muttering caused Xu Shu to look surprised, apparently the sentence "people's hearts are not attached" that Liu Feng was thinking of made Xu Shu feel a bit unexpected, being able to have such a broad view of things at the age of 16, how could it not attract Xu Shu's attention.

  Noticing Xu Shu's unusual gaze, Liu Feng pretended not to notice and muttered: "However, Cao's bandit has eighty thousand troops, his arrogance is also justified, eighty thousand people, one person spitting saliva can drown us."

  It wasn't until then that Xu Shu's look of surprise finally disappeared, and he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  Liu Feng of course knew what he was laughing at, that's exactly the effect he wanted, but pretended to be perplexed: "Mr. Yuan, what are you laughing at? Am I worried for nothing?"

  "Xu Shu nodded in agreement with the beginning of what Xuande said, that Cao Cao's mind was not yet at ease. However, Xuande also worried about Cao Cao's army of 800,000, which was probably an unnecessary concern."

  Liu Feng became even more perplexed: "What's wrong with an army of 800,000? Isn't that what everyone says?"

  Xu Shu smiled and said: "Since the chaos of Dong Zhuo, the warlords have been fighting for over a decade, with countless deaths and injuries among the people. The total registered population of all the northern states under Cao Cao's control would not exceed 3 million, and after deducting the old, weak, women and children, there are at most 800,000 able-bodied men. If Cao thief were to recruit all these able-bodied men as soldiers at once, we wouldn't need to fight him, just those 800,000 mouths would be enough to starve Cao thief to death."

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