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

Xun You watched Wang Yue's retreating figure and sighed helplessly.

Wang Yue returned to his tent and, unwilling to accept defeat, smashed the teacup in front of him.

Every time he tried to kill Liu Bei, someone would appear to stop him.

This time, with a great deal of effort, they had 150,000 troops against Liu Bei's 50,000, but they still couldn't defeat Liu Bei.

Even with such an advantage, he was still no match for Liu Bei. He wondered if he still had any chance to defeat Liu Bei.

Just as Wang Yue was thinking about these things, a soldier walked in.

"General, the lord summons you and needs you to go to the rear. General Shi A will also be going with you."

"Hmm? Our lord is looking for us at this time?"

Upon hearing this news, Wang Yue immediately realized that this was a trap.

There are only two famous generals at the front, and Shi Xie actually wants to send both of them away at the same time. This must be a scheme by Liu Bei.

Just as Wang Yue was about to refuse, a soldier handed him a letter.

Looking at the handwriting, Wang Yue was certain that it was a letter from Shi Xie.

The letter stated that Shi Xie had summoned them back solely to discuss Xun You's governance of Youzhou and the discontent among the people towards the soldiers.

Wang Yue already knew what the letter said, but he had never been able to change it, and these issues were only known to those on the inside.

This means that the letter was indeed sent by Shi Xie.

Wang Yue knew that the situation in the city was getting worse and worse. Some civilians had even formed groups to fight against the Western soldiers. If this continued, it wouldn't be long before the two sides clashed. If that happened, it would be a civil war. This problem had reached a point where it had to be solved.

"Tell the lord that we will make arrangements and depart immediately."

"Yes, General. Also, the lord said not to let Military Advisor Xun You know the purpose of your return. Just say that the lord needs to see you and you have to leave for a few days."

"it is good!"

This matter was an internal affair of Youzhou, and Wang Yue did not want Xun You, an outsider, to get involved.

Soon, Wang Yue found Shi A and told him what had happened.

Following Wang Yue's orders, Shi A said nothing, quickly packed his bags, and then followed Wang Yue to Xun You's place.

"Xun You, we have some business to attend to and need to see our lord. We'll be back in a few days, so please bear with us these next few days."

"Something wrong? What is it?"

The sudden departure of two generals made Xun You suspect that it was a conspiracy by Gu Rubing.

"It's nothing, just something internal to Youzhou. We'll be back soon. Thank you and the two from the Gu Clan for your hard work these next few days."

After saying this, Wang Yue, fearing that Xun You might have guessed something, quickly left the camp with Shi A.

However, less than an hour after Wang Yue and his group left.

A letter was delivered to Xun You.

The letter stated that he wished to meet Xun You, and that they would meet early the next morning at a mountain outside the city.

Now, I am the only one in the city who has the ability to mobilize a large army. If I also leave, wouldn't it be very dangerous if Liu Bei attacks the city?

Just as Xun You was about to refuse, the messenger suddenly took out something.

Upon seeing this, Xun You had no choice but to agree to Gu Rubing's request.

Because this thing is none other than another letter.

The letter also bears Cao Cao's unique markings and his handwriting.

The letter contained very simple words: listen to Liu Bei.

Xun You had no idea what had happened in between.

Why did Cao Cao choose to listen to Liu Bei? Did Cao Cao reconcile with Liu Bei? Or did Cao Cao have other motives?

Xun You knew that it was common for the feudal lords to separate and unite, and the situation was constantly changing.

So he didn't think much of it; since it was Cao Cao's order, he naturally had to obey.

However, just to be on the safe side, Xun You temporarily handed over military power to Meng Huo, since Meng Huo was the only person he could rely on at the moment.

To keep it a secret, Xun You didn't say what he was going to do, only that he was going out for a bit and would be back soon.

Wang Yue and Shi A had only been gone for half a day when they received another message from Shi Xie.

Shih-hsieh said he had considered it and realized that the front line was so dangerous that it would be risky to send them away. He decided to come to the front line in person after a while to discuss the matter with them and ask them to return to the front line immediately.

Wang Yue didn't know what was going on with Shi Xie; one minute he was being sent back, the next he was being sent back to the front lines.

However, in the end, Wang Yue could only follow Shi Xie's advice and return to the front-line camp with Shi A.

However, as soon as Wang Yue returned to the camp, he heard that Xun You had gone out. No one knew what Xun You had gone to do. All they knew was that before leaving, he handed over military power to Meng Huo.

Wang Yue suddenly had a bad feeling.

After regaining control of the military, he immediately sealed the city gates and watched the surroundings warily.

Xun You left the camp early in the morning, accompanied only by a hundred personal guards, and went to the mountaintop where he had arranged to meet Gu Rubing.

Meanwhile, Gu Rubing was already on the mountaintop, warming a pot of wine and waiting for him.

Upon seeing Xun You arrive, Gu Rubing immediately stood up.

"Gongda is here! I've been waiting for you for a long time. Come and have a drink to warm yourself up. It's chilly on the mountaintop, don't catch a cold."

Gu Rubing warmly poured Xun You a glass of wine.

Xun You was very wary and did not drink.

Seeing that Xun You did not move, Gu Rubing smiled, then drank the wine in Xun You's cup directly, and then poured Xun You another cup of wine.

"Don't worry, this wine isn't poisoned. If I wanted to kill you, would I need to resort to such a despicable method as poison? Do you think these hundred men around you could protect you if I wanted to kill you?"

After Gu Rubing finished speaking, he once again presented Cao Cao's letter to Xun You.

"Don't forget what your lord said."

Looking at the letter, Xun You sighed and drank the wine that Gu Rubing had poured for him.

"Hey, that's right. Just do what I tell you to do. We're both resting right now, it's not like we're fighting, so why be so reserved?"

As he spoke, Gu Rubing poured Xun You another cup of wine.

The two drank one cup after another, and after four or five cups, Xun You finally couldn't take it anymore.

"King Lie, just say it directly. What is it you want to do by summoning me here? Although it's not time for war now, and the lord has told me to listen to you, you should at least tell me why you called me out. Just drinking like this makes me suspicious of your motives."

"My purpose? Haha, I just want to invite Gongda for a drink. What purpose could I possibly have? And to put your mind at ease, look, besides Zijing, I've brought Wei Yan and Zhang He along, and even Zhang Fei and the others are here. I certainly don't have the ability to raid your camp. You know that, right?"

Xun You looked around and thought, "That's right."

Zhao Yun, Zhang Fei, and even Huang Zhong were not far away, while Wei Yan and Zhang He stood guard nearby. All the famous and legendary generals under Gu Rubing's command had arrived.

Seeing this, Xun You breathed a sigh of relief, at least eliminating the possibility of Gu Rubing launching a sneak attack.

After all, no matter what, Lu Su couldn't possibly lead 100,000 troops to launch a surprise attack on a 150,000-strong camp guarded by two legendary generals.

Thinking about this, Xun You was even more confused about what Gu Rubing was up to.

"King Lie, so what exactly do you want from me?"

"It's nothing, I just wanted to chat with you."

"Chatting? I'm sorry, I don't have as much free time as Prince Lie. If there's nothing else, I'll head back now."

After saying this, Xun You drank the last cup of wine in front of him, then turned and left with a hundred men.

Throughout the journey, Xun You pondered what Gu Rubing wanted to see him about.
Just for drinking?
Isn't Gu Rubing a bit too idle?
Throughout the journey, Xun You had a bad feeling, but he still couldn't figure out what was wrong.

Upon seeing Xun You return, Wang Yue immediately went to Xun You's side.

"Strategist, what brings you out so early in the morning?"

"It's nothing, I just went to see a friend. General Wang, weren't you going to see the Governor of Youzhou? Why are you back?"

"Our lord said he would be coming here in a while, so he sent us back first."

Xun You nodded, not paying much attention.

However, after making inquiries, Wang Yue learned that Xun You went to see Liu Bei.

After all, Xun You had only brought a hundred men to meet Liu Bei, so it was impossible to completely block the news.

Upon learning this news, Wang Yue immediately went to see Xun You.

And they exposed the truth without any mercy.

Xun You was not surprised that Wang Yue knew about this; he knew that it could not be kept secret.

When Wang Yue asked what the two had talked about, Xun You recounted his conversation with Gu Rubing, omitting the part about receiving Cao Cao's secret letter.

Wang Yue became even more suspicious of Xun You's frankness.

Their enemy, Liu Bei, met with their own strategist in a secret meeting on a mountaintop, but all they did was chat about everyday matters? Who would believe that?
But Wang Yue knew that even if he didn't believe it, there was nothing he could do if Xun You didn't want to talk about it.

In the end, Wang Yue had no choice but to leave and found Shi A, telling him about his doubts.

Shi A was like Wang Yue, and in some ways even inferior to Wang Yue.

After discussing it, the two actually came up with a plan.

That's a branch camp.

Xun You was ultimately not one of their Youzhou people. Wang Yue suspected that Xun You had ulterior motives, and all military power was currently in Xun You's hands.

Wang Yue worried that if Xun You rebelled, he would surrender with a large force, leaving them without any troops.

Ultimately, Wang Yue decided to divide the camp into two sections, north and south, separated by a road city three hours apart. He and Shi A led 50,000 troops to the north camp, while Xun You led 100,000 troops to the south camp.

Xun You did not object to Wang Yue's proposal. After all, this division of troops would create a pincer movement between the two sides, which would naturally increase the scope of their operations. However, he had some reservations about Wang Yue and Shi A going to the northern camp together.

However, seeing Wang Yue's insistence, Xun You couldn't say anything.

From then on, the two camps were completely separated.

This indeed fell right into Gu Rubing's trap.

Upon hearing this news, Gu Rubing burst out laughing.

He knew perfectly well that Xun You couldn't possibly miss his little scheme, but it was all because of Cao Cao's secret letter.

Xun You saw through it but didn't care because he didn't know what Cao Cao meant, and even thought that what Gu Rubing was doing was what Cao Cao had ordered him to do.

In just three days, the 150,000-strong camp was completely separated.

After doing all this, Xun You sent a secret letter to Cao Cao, naturally inquiring about the plans between Cao Cao and Gu Rubing.

However, it would take Cao Cao at least a month to receive and reply to this letter.

This was also the time that Gu Rubing had bought for himself.

Gu Rubing decided to use this month to completely eliminate the 150,000-strong army, and possibly even recover Youzhou.

Now that his goal had been achieved, Gu Rubing began to carry out the plan he and Lu Su had devised.

Five days later.

Wei Yan and Zhang He, leading their army, began their march towards Wang Yue's northern camp.

Upon receiving the news, Wang Yue and his men immediately sent someone to inform Xun You.

Send Xun You and his men to provide reinforcements.

Xun You did indeed send 50,000 troops to support Wang Yue.

However, Xun You's side lacked a renowned general to lead the vanguard, so he could only dispatch a few deputy generals to lead the army to Wang Yue's northern camp.

On the road.

The deputy general in the lead was hurrying along without paying any attention to his surroundings.

One of the lieutenants, however, looked around cautiously.

"General Wang, something's not right."

The deputy general immediately called out to the leader.

“General Sun, what’s wrong? Don’t forget, the strategist told us that we must reach the North Camp within two hours. If we rush, we won’t be able to get there in two hours. If the strategist holds us accountable, neither of us can bear the responsibility.”

General Wang looked around but didn't find anything wrong, so he looked at General Sun with some dissatisfaction.

“Something’s really not right. Haven’t you noticed? It’s too quiet around here. There aren’t even any birds chirping. This could very well mean that there are people around the woods.”

"Someone? Are you kidding me? Even if we march slowly, our North and South camps will arrive in three hours. At that distance, who would dare to ambush us here? Besides, have you forgotten that the North camp said they saw Wei Yan and Zhang He on the battlefield? Liu Bei only has these two generals, and they are both in the North camp now. Who could ambush us here? If you're so cowardly, go back. I'll lead the troops to support the North camp myself."

After saying this, General Wang continued leading his troops on their way.

Seeing this, General Sun sighed and could only follow.

However, they had only taken a few steps when the cavalryman in front of them suddenly screamed in agony.

A large crater appeared in front of them.

There were also traps made of bamboo stuck in the ground at the bottom of the pit.

The cavalrymen who fell inside were all pierced through the body by bamboo.

"Oh no, there's an ambush. Be careful of your surroundings."

General Sun reacted immediately and began directing everyone to assume a defensive posture. (End of Chapter)