Three Kingdoms: I, Ma Su, just want to die

Chapter 697 I'll Take Charge*
In March of the 24th year of Jianxing, the quiet Guandong began to move.

Yuzhou and Xuzhou were the first to move, and a large number of soldiers and food began to be transported southward along the Central Plains water system. A large amount of supplies and troops continued to gather in Shouchun, and the war against Wu was about to break out.

This time, Ma Su planned to deploy 120,000 troops in the Huai River and Huai River regions at once, heading south from Hefei and attacking Yangzhou directly from Ruxu.

At the same time, Xiang Chong of Jingzhou and Guan Yinping of Jiaozhou will join him in the impulsive movement and attack Jiangdong from three directions at the same time, thus removing Sun Quan's last stronghold in one fell swoop.

This was the largest military operation since the Han Dynasty swallowed up Guandong. A total of at least 200,000 troops were dispatched, and nearly a million civilians followed.

However, just when Ma Su was about to leave, Zhuge Liang arrived in Shouchun, and as soon as he met Ma Su, Zhuge Liang stated his purpose.

He wants to personally lead the army to destroy Wu!

"You Chang, the water in the southeast is very deep, you can't control it, let me take charge, and you go down to lead the troops."

Zhuge Liang spoke to Ma Su leisurely, looking very calm. However, people who were familiar with Zhuge Liang could see the excitement of this great Han Prime Minister.

Compared with Ma Su, Zhuge Liang's hatred for Eastern Wu was more specific.

Whether it was the national hatred of Liu, Guan, and Zhang, or the family hatred of Zhuge Liang, Sun Quan was always the first. If it weren't for Cao Cao's massacre of Xuzhou in his early years, Sun Quan would definitely be Zhuge Liang's number one enemy.

So at this critical moment, Zhuge Liang took the initiative to come out of seclusion, contrary to his usual practice.

Ma Su could also sense Zhuge Liang's excitement, so he very tactfully gave the commander's flag to Zhuge Liang.

Thus, the commander of the attack on Wu became the prime minister of Ji Han from the general of Ji Han in such a short period of time.

Under the personal command of Zhuge Liang, 120,000 Han troops set out from Shouchun and marched southward in great momentum.

Because Ruxu Fort had been destroyed, the Eastern Wu no longer had a foothold in the north of the Yangtze River. Therefore, the Han army encountered no obstacles at all and easily reached the Yangtze River.

In this battle, almost all the generals of the four expeditions and four towns were dispatched. With so many masters taking turns to serve, how could Sun Quan be so convinced?
The Han army successfully approached the Yangtze River, but Zhuge Liang did not immediately order a crossing of the river. Instead, he ordered the Han army to set up camp along the river and stabilize the camp first before discussing crossing the river.

Because of the large number of troops this time, the Han army set up camps for hundreds of miles along the Yangtze River. The flags covered the sky and the momentum was huge. Many people were extremely excited when they saw this scene.

Of course, the excitement of the Han camp made the Wu army in the south of the Yangtze River terrified. Across the Yangtze River, Ma Su could see the lights in the south of the Yangtze River day and night, and was afraid that the Han army would cross the river.

However, what surprised Ma Su was that this time the Yangtze River was no longer unobstructed. At some point, hundreds of warships reoccupied the river and blocked the Han army.

"Jiangdong Navy? Weren't they held back in Jingzhou? Why are they back?"

Ma Su was naturally familiar with this force, as it was the last bargaining chip of the Eastern Wu.

"General, I received a letter saying that the Wu army in Xiakou has retreated without a fight. Jingzhou has recaptured Xiakou and is approaching Chaisang."

"It seems that Sun Quan is not planning to take over the west and is ready to defend Jianye with all his strength?" Ma Su raised his eyebrows, and a trace of fear flashed in his eyes.

He had seen the strength of the Jiangdong Navy, which was definitely the strongest navy at present. Now that Sun Quan had withdrawn this unit, it would not be so easy to force a crossing of the Yangtze River.

"What does the Prime Minister say?"

"The Prime Minister plans to launch a forced crossing directly from multiple directions such as Ruxuwu, using continuous forced crossings to suppress the Eastern Wu navy." Liu Yin was silent for a moment, then carefully reported to Ma Su.

"What the Prime Minister means is that our army has an absolute numerical advantage. Although the Eastern Wu navy is strong, as long as our army crosses the river from multiple directions, the enemy will not be able to take care of them all..."

"That would be a huge loss..."

"The Prime Minister said this is the best outcome."

"Hiss... It seems that the Prime Minister really doesn't know how to fight on water." After listening to Liu Yin's report, Ma Su immediately came to the conclusion.

If the prime minister knew a little about naval warfare and had a little confidence in naval warfare, he would not have used this method. Ma Su shook his head slightly and then spoke.

"Forget it. I guess I can't count on the Prime Minister. I'll have to break the impasse."

After all, Zhuge Liang hadn't fought in a war for more than five years, so he was a little rusty. Ma Su thought it would be better for him to go on his own, so that he could destroy the Wu Kingdom sooner rather than later.

"The Eastern Wu army is indeed not very good. The only problem is this river. If we can sneak across with a small force, we can do something..." Ma Su touched his chin and looked at the Yangtze River in deep thought.

At this time, Jiangdong was already a frightened bird, and many Jiangdong officials began to quietly submit surrender letters. Ma Su was sure that as long as he quickly crossed the Yangtze River to the south, the Eastern Wu would surely collapse.

However, the focus now is how to smuggle across the Yangtze River.

Deng Ai immediately provided a solution to this problem.

"Sir, the Baiyue in Wujun have ships. They have also contacted us and are willing to support the Han Dynasty in recovering Yangzhou."

"But they don't have many ships, and they are all small boats, so there won't be many people available for smuggling..."

"Then let that troop go." Ma Su answered without hesitation.

"Which one? General, are you sure?" After Ma Su said this, Deng Ai hesitated.

"Of course, I believe in their training results." Ma Su nodded and then added.

"I will personally lead them across the Yangtze River to the south. As for who among you is willing to come with me..."

"I'll go!" Jiang Wei and Deng Ai jumped up at the same time and wanted to follow. Then the two looked at each other, and the more they looked at each other, the more they felt disgusted.

"I'll go! I can protect the envoy's safety!"

"I'm not bad at martial arts either, and I'm a local, so I'm more reliable than you!"

"You? You're not good enough!"

"Not good enough? Are you looking for trouble?"

"Let's go out and practice. Whoever wins will follow the general!"

"Uh..." Just as the two were arguing, Zhang Yi and Shu Ji hesitated and stood up.
“We also think we can…”

"Come on, whoever can fight the best will follow the general!"

Ma Su almost laughed out loud when he saw several pillars of the Han army bickering with each other like children.

However, Ma Su soon discovered that Liu Yin had been standing aside and did not join them in the trouble.

"Xiu Ran, don't you plan to practice with them?"

"If you don't go, it's all nonsense." Liu Yin said righteously.

Well, Xu Ran is still steady...

However, before Ma Su opened his mouth to praise him, Liu Yin changed the subject and looked at Ma Su with longing.

"Besides, I have followed the general for so many years. When encountering such a major event, I believe the general will not forget me."

Ma Su: "..."

You're the smart one, right?
(End of this chapter)