Choose Liu Bei at the start, I am the only one who knows the plot of the Three Kingdoms.

"Everyone be careful, retreat slowly, and get out of the encirclement quickly."

Shi A, now a seasoned veteran, quickly grasped the current situation.

Moreover, Shi A knew that once Gu Rubing started plotting against them, he would never let them leave safely.

Just as they were slowly retreating, shouts of killing suddenly arose from all around them.

Suddenly, the surrounding yellow sand flew up.

One by one, figures emerged from the yellow sand and charged towards the 20,000 people.

Seeing this, Shia immediately commanded his army to stop the attackers.

"Haha, Shi, we've been waiting for you for a long time."

As soon as the words fell, Zhang He brandished his Five Tiger Soul-Severing Spear and charged towards Shi A.

Shi A was entangled with Zhang He and had no one to command him, so the two sides engaged in a pure contest of combat power and combat skills.

However, the soldiers that Shi A brought were all veterans who had been through many battles, but in terms of military ability and military skills, they were not on the same level as Gu Rubing's army.

Such a battle did not last long, and Shia's men began to show signs of defeat.

Shi A could only fight and retreat.

As planned, Zhang He deliberately let some of Shi A's men escape first, but this time, he reinforced the entire encirclement.

"Haha, Shi, this time you have no chance of escaping."

Upon hearing this, Shi A realized he had been tricked. It seemed that the entire operation had been planned from the very beginning, when Wang Ping was ambushed.

Thinking of this, Shia immediately led his army to charge left and right, hoping to find a breakthrough.

But after several attempts, Shia was ultimately disappointed.

Zhang He's encirclement was airtight. They only had 20,000 men, while Zhang He had 30,000 troops, which could completely surround them.

Just as Shi A was preparing to fight to the death, Zhang He suddenly noticed some noise and even screams coming from the outer perimeter of his encirclement.

Zhang He immediately looked in the direction of the sound.

It turned out that Wang Ping had actually led the 10,000 people who had escaped back to fight their way back.

Moreover, the goal of these 10,000 people was very clear: to rescue those people from Shia.

Zhang He couldn't help but frown slightly.

Surrounding 20,000 people with 30,000 men might be possible using the terrain, but surrounding 30,000 people with 30,000 men is basically impossible.

Moreover, the enemy has now formed a pincer movement, and if we continue fighting like this, it won't be long before they break through our encirclement. At that point, the two armies will converge, and our losses could become very significant.

After a moment's hesitation, Zhang He had no choice but to retreat.

With Zhang He's order given, the encirclement was quickly broken.

Shi A and Wang Ping finally reunited.

Neither of them wanted to give up this great opportunity, so they began to pursue Zhang He.

Zhang He fought and retreated, and surprisingly, his retreat target was not Gu Rubing's camp, but Sun Jian's territory.

This pleased the two of them greatly, and they began an endless pursuit.

Gu Rubing couldn't help but smile wryly when he saw the intelligence sent by Zhang He.

Although the current situation has exceeded his and Lu Su's expectations, fortunately the plan is still proceeding in an orderly manner.

This is exactly the effect they wanted; only the roles have been reversed.

Gu Rubing wrote a letter directly to Sun Jian, instructing them to protect Zhang He, and then began to wait.

Two days later, Shi Xie also received intelligence that Shi A was surrounded.

Shi A was one of their own, and Shi Xie immediately became anxious.

He then ordered a deputy general to lead 10,000 troops to support Shi A, and handed over command to Shi A.

Upon hearing this, the deputy general immediately nodded and led his 10,000 troops slowly out of the city.

Seeing another 10,000 troops leave Pinggu, Gu Rubing knew that his opportunity had come.

Then Gu Rubing looked at Lu Su, who was standing to the side.

Lu Su nodded at him as well.

"Everyone, go back and rest. We'll move out tonight."

"Yes!"

Everyone nodded immediately.

Watching the ten thousand troops depart, Xun You couldn't help but frown.

He had a feeling that something was wrong with all of this.

Gu Rubing's actions have always exceeded his calculations.

First they ambushed 20,000 reinforcements, then another 20,000, and now they've sent out another 10,000.

How many soldiers did Liu Bei have? Could he have 70,000?
Otherwise, if they had ambushed their 50,000 troops, how many people would have been left to defend the city?
Just as Xun You was wondering what was going on, a soldier walked up to him.

"Sir, a letter from our lord."

"My lord?"

Xun You curiously took the letter and discovered that it was sent by Cao Cao.

The meaning above is quite clear: it is essential to ensure that Shi Xie does not die. As long as Shi Xie does not die, Liu Bei will have no opportunity to take action against these warlords.

Even without Cao Cao saying it, Xun You understood the reasoning behind it.

This letter also prompted Xun You to start planning his own letter, and he completely forgot about the things he had considered before.

late at night.

A group of men in black quietly arrived at the foot of the city.

Meanwhile, inside the city, a patrol of soldiers had arrived at the city gate.

"who?"

A centurion on the city wall saw a stranger approaching the city gate and immediately became alert.

“I am a centurion under the King of the Others, and it is our turn to stand guard.”

As they spoke, the other party produced the token of the Otherworldly King.

The centurion on the city wall was relieved after seeing that there was nothing wrong with the token in the other party's hand.

The city is now filled with too many Yizhou and Jiaozhou troops, as well as some Youzhou troops. The three armies are now mixed together and do not know each other at all, so they can only identify each other by using tokens.

However, these so-called Jiaozhou soldiers, after arriving at the city gate, secretly opened it.

By the time the centurion on the city wall noticed, it was too late.

"What are you doing?"

The centurion roared in alarm, followed by a bloodcurdling scream. An arrow had pierced right through his body.

Immediately afterwards, countless men in black rushed into the city. They first occupied the city gates, then the city walls, but made no further moves.

Behind them, an army of nearly 20,000 was slowly entering the city.

Shi Xie and the others inside the city were still resting when they were awakened by the shouts of battle outside.

Who's making noise outside?

Shi Xie couldn't help but shout.

"My lord, the Lie army is charging in! We must leave quickly, Pinggu cannot be defended."

Upon hearing this, Shi Xie was greatly alarmed.

He was a little confused. Gu Rubing only had 20,000 men at most, so how did he manage to enter the city so quietly? Were his 10,000 men just for show?
Where is Wang Yue?

"The general has already organized a large army to stop them, but the enemy's numbers are too many for us to handle. We urge our lord to leave Pinggu."

After the guard finished speaking, he knelt down on the ground.

At this moment, Xun You also walked in.

"Governor, I was careless this time. Let's hurry. Liu Bei and his men have already entered the city. The faster we leave, the fewer troops we will lose. Let's go!"

Upon hearing this, Shi Xie finally had to admit defeat.

Although I was unwilling, for my own safety, it was best to leave as soon as possible.

Gu Rubing hadn't expected things to go so smoothly.

Clearly, Xun You did not interfere this time, otherwise they would not have been able to succeed so smoothly.

In fact, Gu Rubing owes his success to Cao Cao's letter.

Upon entering the city, Gu Rubing immediately ordered his soldiers to begin clearing out the remaining rebels.

After clearing everyone out, Gu Rubing finally announced that he had taken over Pinggu. As for Shi Xie and the others who had escaped, Gu Rubing had no intention of pursuing them.

Now he only has Wei Yan as a famous general, and his troops number only a little over 10,000. His only legendary general is Zhao Yun.

The opponent's strength was not much different from his own. He only managed to seize the city gate and enter the city by taking advantage of the darkness and having some spies he had planted. Otherwise, with the men he had, it would have been impossible to take down the opponent.

And under such an easy circumstances.

Gu Rubing stood at the entrance of the county government office, his mind still filled with thoughts of Zhang He who had left.

He was somewhat worried whether Sun Jian would actually protect Zhang He as he had promised, since Sun Jian was currently secretly causing him trouble.

Seeing the expression on Gu Rubing's face, Lu Su guessed what Gu Rubing was thinking and then came to Gu Rubing's side.

"Don't worry, my lord. Sun Jian isn't stupid. He will definitely make a clear choice. Moreover, Junyi has 30,000 troops. Even if there are losses, there should still be around 20,000. With so many people, plus General Junyi's own abilities, even if Sun Jian wanted to make a move, he wouldn't have the guts."

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing nodded, agreeing with Lu Su's assessment.

The letter was sent by express courier, so it was naturally faster than what Zhang He and his men could deliver.

When Sun Jian saw the letter, he hesitated for a moment.

They have now agreed that Cao Cao and Liu Zhang will send troops, while they will provide supplies, to jointly fight against Liu Bei.

Now that Liu Bei's men are about to reach his territory, he is being forced to make a choice.

Sun Jian placed the letter that Gu Rubing had given him in front of everyone.

"Everyone, what are your opinions?"

Zhou Yu took the letter and looked at it, then frowned.

Clearly, Gu Rubing already knew that this matter was related to them, but he still wanted to give them a chance. If they managed to protect Zhang He this time, it would mean that there would be room for negotiation later. If they failed to protect Zhang He, then they would definitely be held accountable later.

But if they manage to protect Zhang He, they will be betraying the alliance of the three families, and they will not fare well in the end.

This multiple-choice question made it difficult for them to choose.

After everyone had finished reading the letter, Zhou Yu did not speak, but looked at the others present.

"My lord, now that we are in an alliance of four, we have nothing to fear from Liu Bei. We have already given Shi Xie so much support. If he were to turn against us now, all the grain we gave him would be wasted. Moreover, they would no longer be in an alliance with us. When Liu Bei turns his attention to us, we will be completely isolated and helpless."

Cheng Pu was the first to express his thoughts.

But dissenting voices soon emerged.

Cheng Pu held a high position in the army. Although his strength was relatively weak among the famous generals, he was one of the earliest to rise to power under Sun Jian.

When Cheng Pu speaks, the others present rarely dare to contradict him; even Gan Ning has to give the old general face.

But this time the voices of opposition are quite immature.

Cheng Pu looked at the person who spoke and immediately lowered his head.

Because the speaker was Sun Jian's second son, Sun Quan.

“Father, I suggest that we take Zhang He in, and even protect him.”

Upon hearing this, Sun Jian looked at Sun Quan with curiosity.

"Quan'er, tell me your thoughts?"

“Father, it’s very simple. We have betrayed the alliance, that’s for sure. But in this day and age, interests are the most important thing. Even if we betrayed Cao Cao and the others, they will still come after us if there are benefits to be had. Moreover, Shi Xie has never betrayed them, but what has become of him? In order to prevent the flames of war from spreading to them, everyone has turned Shi Xie’s Youzhou into a battlefield for the decisive battle with Liu Bei.”

"If we give up this opportunity, we'll be next."

Sun Quan's words silenced everyone present.

They all understood this principle; those present were all generals capable of commanding the three armies, and they certainly possessed this strategic vision. However, they were all unwilling to accept this outcome.

Now that there's a chance to turn things around, nobody wants to waste it.

But Sun Quan's words were like tearing away the last fig leaf from their hearts.

Although this is an opportunity, they could very well become the next Shi Xie.

On the one hand, he could become the next Shi Xie; on the other hand, it was an opportunity to suppress Gu Rubing.

These people from Jiangdong had been suppressed too much by Gu Rubing. Now that they had a chance to turn the tables on Gu Rubing, they all chose to suppress him without hesitation, without even thinking about the possibility of becoming the next Shi Xie.

Sun Quan's words silenced everyone.

No one could say anything to refute it.

Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, standing to the side, looked at Sun Quan with satisfied expressions.

At least Sun Quan's words were in line with their thoughts.

Then their eyes met, and a look of surprise flashed in Zhou Yu's eyes.

Everyone knew that if something happened to Sun Jian, the next person to lead them would be Sun Ce.

But as time went on, Sun Quan's voice gradually emerged both in the palace and in the military camp, which clearly indicated that someone was deliberately supporting Sun Quan.

Normally, these two brothers would probably turn against each other, just to fight for Sun Jian's throne.

But no one expected that Sun Ce and Sun Quan would completely ignore the outside noise and continue with their own duties. Even Sun Jian was curious about this and even spoke with them privately. However, the results were surprisingly similar: both advised Sun Jian to ignore the outside noise, suggesting it was a scheme by someone with ulterior motives. (End of Chapter)