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

Moreover, the murderous aura that Wei Yan had just displayed made Xun You secretly alarmed.

Xun You knew that keeping such a person around would definitely be a disaster.

He had already begun to consider killing Wei Yan.

But then he thought, killing Wei Yan wouldn't make much difference. Gu Rubing still had more than a dozen generals like Wei Yan under his command. One more or one less wouldn't make a difference either. The most crucial thing now was that his hundreds of thousands of troops were without food and supplies and couldn't hold out for long.

Tens of thousands of soldiers may seem like a lot, but without food and supplies, it's like having tens of thousands of knives pointed at you. If food shortages cause instability in the army, these tens of thousands of knives could kill you in an instant.

Xun You already had a plan in mind.

Soon, under Xun You's command...

Tens of thousands of people set up camp not far from Yangle County.

Gu Rubing stood on the city wall, looking at Xun You's camp stretching to the horizon in the distance, and couldn't help but frown.

"My lord, the city's defenses are in place, but Wen Chang has not been found within the city. He may have been captured, or perhaps..."

Before Zhang He could finish speaking, Gu Rubing waved his hand to stop him.

"They must have been captured. They don't have the guts to kill Wen Chang."

Gu Rubing snorted coldly, then looked at Lu Su standing to the side.

How confident are we in defending the city?

"My lord, Xun You's supplies are insufficient. They captured Wen Chang probably to exchange for supplies and cities. You should be prepared. As for the chance to defend the city, I think there's no point in trying."

Before Lu Su could finish speaking, a soldier walked over.

"My lord, there is a messenger outside who says he is from the Youzhou army and wants to see you."

Gu Rubing knew what this person was there for. Looking at Xun You's camp in the distance, Gu Rubing could only meet with the envoy.

Upon seeing Gu Rubing arrive, the envoy immediately stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

"Greetings, King Lie."

Gu Rubing waved his hand.

"Alright, let's skip the pleasantries and get straight to the point: what brings you here?"

“As expected of Prince Lie, you are a straightforward person. Then I will get straight to the point. My strategist wishes to meet with you to discuss the resettlement of General Wei Yan.”

"Wei Yan is indeed in your hands. Fine, we'll meet outside the city early tomorrow morning. But please tell your strategist that if Wei Yan suffers even the slightest loss, I will annihilate his entire army of over 100,000 men, and I will also make Cao Cao pay with his life for Wei Yan."

Upon hearing this, the envoy immediately looked at Gu Rubing.

He could sense Gu Rubing's anger at that moment.

"Rest assured, Your Majesty, I will definitely convey this message to the strategist."

After the messenger finished speaking, he turned and left.

He dared not linger here for too long. If Gu Rubing got angry and killed him to vent his anger, he would be in deep trouble.

Xun You would never turn against Gu Rubing over a mere messenger; his death would be pointless.

Watching the envoy's departing figure, Gu Rubing was already calculating how to bargain with Xun You.

On this battlefield, no matter who you are or what your status is, once you are captured, you are no longer a human being, but a commodity to be exchanged for goods of equal value.

Lu Su and Gu Rubing discussed things for a long time in the room.

They have outlined the maximum tolerance they can accept.

Early the next morning.

Gu Rubing led Zhao Yun directly to the outside of the city.

On the city wall, Zhang Fei watched the two men disappear into the distance and couldn't help but chuckle and mutter to himself.

"Big brother, that's really something! Why does all the good things go to Zilong? Why don't you include me, Lao Zhang, or even Second Brother?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Su, who was standing nearby, burst out laughing.

“Third General, don’t think that our lord is biased. General Guan has the talent to command the three armies, so he must be placed in the most important position. Third General, you have the demeanor of a great general, so you should be placed on the battlefield. As for General Zilong, he is excellent in strength and has great patience, so he is naturally suitable to follow our lord. These are all things that our lord has planned long ago.”

Hearing Lu Su's somewhat flattering words, Zhang Fei was overjoyed, and his previous dissatisfaction vanished.

When Gu Rubing and Zhao Yun arrived at the agreed place, Xun You and Wang Yue were already waiting there.

"Greetings, King Lie."

Xun You smiled and stepped forward, bowing respectfully to Gu Rubing.

"Alright, Xun You, we've known each other for a long time, so let's skip the formalities and get straight to the point: what do you want to exchange Wen Chang for?"

"Haha, King Lie is very direct. Then I'll be frank. My request is simple: I need enough food for 200,000 troops for a year, plus the entire territory of Youzhou."

Gu Rubing had guessed that Xun You would make an exorbitant demand before he arrived, but he did not expect Xun You to make such a huge demand this time.

The entire territory of Youzhou? If he really gave it to them, wouldn't all his hard work and sacrifices over the years have been for nothing? The provisions for 200,000 troops for a year—if they were all given to them, his hundreds of thousands of troops would go hungry.

Xun You wasn't negotiating with me; he was offering his own life in exchange for Wei Yan's.

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing no longer wanted to talk about it. He even wanted to send his three legendary generals straight into the enemy camp, each unleashing a powerful attack to wipe out the hundreds of thousands of soldiers.

However, after calming down a bit, Gu Rubing gave up on his idea.

Once I set this precedent, what can other warlords do? What's the point of fighting then? This legendary general is enough.

Moreover, after this war, the Han Dynasty will probably have no people left. Without people, what's the point of keeping these territories?

"Xun You, I've figured it out. You might have been born into the wrong family. You're really cut out to be a bandit. You want the whole of Youzhou in one go. Why don't you just rob it? You could have just robbed it, but you insist on negotiating with me. Do you think I have a lot of time to play with you?"

Upon hearing this, Xun You said nothing more, but waited quietly for Gu Rubing to make his offer.

This negotiation is, after all, about business; it's about give and take, that's what business is all about.

“I cannot give you Youzhou. I can only give you Liaoxi Commandery. This is the most I can afford.”

Xun You already knew that Gu Rubing would never give him the entire Youzhou.

In fact, Xun You didn't care about territory at all. After all, this was Youzhou, not Yizhou, and it was Shi Xie's territory, not Cao Cao's. No matter how much territory he acquired, it wouldn't benefit him.

What Xun You really wanted was grain and provisions.

"Liaoxi Commandery isn't out of the question, but that would put us at a slight disadvantage. Surely Prince Lie can't haggle over the grain and provisions?"

"You're joking with me. You're only going to be able to feed 200,000 troops for a year. At most, you'd be able to feed 100,000 troops for half a year."

"No, it's enough for at least a year's worth of food for an army of 100,000. Without that, there's no point in discussing it."

Gu Rubing only asked for these things from Cao Cao. If it weren't for the time difference in communication, Gu Rubing would have suspected that Xun You knew he had extorted money from Cao Cao.

"Alright then, King Lie, let's not have 100,000 or 200,000 troops. How about this, I have 150,000 troops. Give me a year's worth of provisions, and I'll return Wei Yan to you."

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing's face darkened.

For Gu Rubing, 150,000 troops and a year's worth of provisions were a truly dire situation.

After hesitating for a moment, Gu Rubing sighed. Just as he was about to refuse, he saw Wei Yan, who was tied up on the ground not far away.

After a long silence, Gu Rubing finally agreed.

"Haha, what a grand gesture you have, Prince Lie! When you give me everything you promised me, I will return Wei Yan to you."

"I hope you remember your own words. As for what I have to say, your messenger should have already told you, right? If Wei Yan has any problems, none of you will be alive."

"Rest assured, Your Majesty, this is my honored guest, and I will naturally treat him well." Gu Rubing snorted coldly and led Zhao Yun back into the city.

When Lu Su learned that Gu Rubing had actually agreed to provide Xun You with half a year's worth of provisions for his 150,000-strong army, he was completely stunned.

"My lord, you are truly amazing."

Lu Su looked at Gu Rubing with a blank expression.

"What's the meaning?"

"You're talking about the provisions for an army of 150,000 for a year. Do you know how much that is? We don't have that much."

"Really not?"

Gu Rubing looked at Lu Su with some helplessness. He didn't want to agree under the circumstances, but seeing Wei Yan's expression, he had no choice but to agree.

"Really, there isn't any. If we gave it to them, we might not have any food left. This involves the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers; we can't joke about it."

Gu Rubing nodded upon hearing this.

He knew that he had been somewhat abrupt this time.

Gu Rubing turned around and looked at the map beside him.

However, after looking at it for a long time, he still couldn't come up with a solution.

"My lord, we are certain that we will not have enough food for this army of 150,000 for a year. The only solution is to borrow food."

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing's eyes finally settled on one spot.

That is the Anluo Empire.

Currently, all the warlords are short of provisions, but Sun Jian has a large amount of provisions in his hands.

"Since we have no food supplies, let's go ask Sun Jian for some."

After saying this, Gu Rubing immediately took Zhao Yun and headed to the Anluo Empire.

Lu Su then sent a letter to Xun You, telling him not to worry, as they were preparing food supplies.

Gu Rubing, accompanied by Zhao Yun, hurried towards the Anluo Empire without stopping.

a few days later.

Gu Rubing stopped his horse.

"We've been traveling for the past few days, so we should take a good rest."

"My lord, why don't we go into the city to rest? If we travel for another day, there will be a small county town where we can rest for a while."

"No need, it would be bad if we were recognized. Let's rest here. The scenery is beautiful, perfect for relaxing."

After saying that, Gu Rubing sat down under a tree, looked at the sunset in front of him, and slowly closed his eyes.

Just as he was about to fall asleep, he suddenly heard some sounds coming from around the woods.

That was the sound of someone walking on dry leaves.

Gu Rubing suddenly opened his eyes. At this moment, Zhao Yun was already standing beside Gu Rubing, looking in the direction from which the sound came.

"My lord, there seems to be someone nearby."

"Ok!"

Gu Rubing also drew his sword at this moment.

"Gentlemen, if you don't want trouble, just throw your valuables on the ground and leave quickly. Otherwise, don't blame us for taking action."

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing burst out laughing.

This was the first time he had ever seen someone rob someone without even showing their face, just wanting money.

"Gentlemen, if you want to rob us, at least let us see who we are, right?"

"You don't need to look. You just need to know that we are robbing you. Quickly leave your valuables behind."

"If that's the case, then don't blame us. We're not going to listen to you."

After saying this, Gu Rubing took Zhao Yun, turned around, mounted his horse, and prepared to leave.

"You wait a moment."

Soon, several burly men emerged from the woods.

Gu Rubing observed that although these people appeared strong, they did not exude much murderous intent; on the contrary, they seemed somewhat timid.

However, judging from their clothes, they were undoubtedly robbers.

"Are you the bandits here?"

"Yes...yes, hand over your valuables, or don't blame us for being ruthless."

The leader sounded a little flustered as he spoke.

Hearing this, Gu Rubing smiled helplessly.

"I say, is your bandit gang's requirements really that low? Anyone can join you now?"

After saying that, Gu Rubing waved to Zhao Yun.

Zhao Yun planted the spear he was holding directly into the ground.

However, these people could only hold out for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before they all knelt on the ground, wailing incessantly.

Gu Rubing stepped forward helplessly.

"I'm telling you, is this all the skill you bandits have? There are only six of you, and you still want to rob someone?"

"Sir, we've only been here for less than two days. The main force is still not far ahead, raiding villages. We're just keeping watch here."

"Stand on guard?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing immediately had a bad feeling.

Soon, Gu Rubing arrived at the location indicated by those people.

"Chief, we really have no food left, please spare us."

"Yes, chieftain, if we had grain, wouldn't we have handed it over to you long ago?"

Gu Rubing and Zhao Yun were lying in ambush outside a village when they witnessed a bandit wielding a knife, forcing the villagers to hand over their stored grain.

Gu Rubing's face was now extremely gloomy.

"These people are here, doesn't the county government care?"

Upon hearing Gu Rubing's words, Zhao Yun immediately said, "My lord, why don't I go find the people from the county government and see what they mean?"

"Well, go and come back quickly."

Gu Rubing wanted to see what exactly the county government office was doing.

However, not long after Zhao Yun left, Gu Rubing witnessed a bandit killing a person right in front of the people.

And it was a child who was only about ten years old.

"brute!"

Gu Rubing stood up abruptly, drew his sword, and walked towards the bandits. (End of Chapter)