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

However, just as they were preparing to vent their anger completely...

A whistling arrow exploded in the air.

The thousand-strong group turned and entered the woods.

With the trees providing cover, these people quickly disappeared completely.

Now, not only the soldiers, but even Xun You himself was seething with anger.

"Chase them! Make sure they are killed!"

Xun You's murderous intent surged at this moment.

Soon Xun You led them into the depths of the forest.

Three more days passed, and Xun You and his companions had reached their physical limits. Even taking one more step was extremely difficult.

Ultimately, they had no choice but to rest where they were.

At that moment, another volley of arrows suddenly appeared.

This time, however, they didn't even think about raising their shields; instead, they all hid behind trees to avoid the rain of arrows.

When the rain of arrows stopped, Xun You plopped down on the ground, his body covered in sweat from exhaustion.

The soldiers even took off their armor to lighten their load.

Xun You wanted to make them wear them, at least as a layer of protection, but seeing the soldiers' exhaustion, Xun You had completely given up.

We hadn't even rested for twenty minutes.

A second volley of arrows rained down.

This time they had some strength and finally managed to lift the shield.

The mere act of raising a shield was enough to leave all the soldiers panting heavily; they were completely exhausted.

"retreat."

Xun You knew that they could no longer pursue them.

Moreover, he was incredibly calm at that moment.

He already sensed that something was wrong.

It was obvious that the other party was trying to lure him forward.

Moreover, they basically didn't rest along the way.

For six whole days, every time they tried to rest, someone would come out to stop them. Clearly, this was part of their plan, and they had fallen into a trap.

After figuring it out, Xun You had only one thought in his mind: to run away as fast as he could.

Xun You finally understood, but it was too late.

Just now.

Suddenly, Gu Rubing led a large army and attacked from behind Xun You.

At the same time, more than 10,000 people appeared in front of Xun You and blocked them.

"Liu Bei, how did you end up behind us?"

"Haha, Xun You, do you really think my losses are that great? I expended a lot of effort to lure you out."

Hearing Gu Rubing's words, he immediately felt flustered.

"Kill out."

With Xun You's command.

Fifty thousand Youzhou soldiers charged toward Gu Rubing's direction.

However, these people had exhausted their strength in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and their fighting power was not even in the same league as the well-rested and prepared Lie Jun.

Just an hour.

Xun You's 50,000 men were reduced to half.

Wang Yue knew that he was doomed to lose this battle.

"let's go!"

Wang Yue and Shi A, along with Xun You, retreated directly from another direction.

Gu Rubing kept his eyes on them, and after discovering the direction they were retreating, he immediately ordered Zhang He, Zhang Liao, and Wei Yan to intercept them.

Five hundred Ironclad Cavalry followed them.

The unique conditions of the forest prevented the Ironclad Pagoda from fully unleashing its combat power.

However, their task was simply to stop these three people.

Soon, the Iron Pagoda suffered some casualties, but they were certain that they had completed their mission and successfully held off the three men until Zhang Liao and his men arrived.

Upon seeing Zhang Liao and his men, Wang Yue and Shi A knew that it would be difficult to evacuate in this way.

The two exchanged a glance, then took out the Gu Clan's pills and swallowed them in one gulp.

In the blink of an eye, the aura within the two of them rapidly increased, and their eyes emitted a red light.

Seeing this, Zhang Liao and his men understood perfectly well that they were not prepared to fight back directly and could only try to outmaneuver them.

Wang Yue and Shi A had no intention of fighting; instead, they grabbed Xun You and started running.

Anyone who tries to stop them along the way will be killed on the spot.

Seeing Wang Yue and Shi A run away with Xun You, Gu Rubing looked disappointed.

This time, he went all out, clearly intending to keep Xun You here.

However, given the current situation, Gu Rubing had no other choice but to devour the 50,000 people in front of him.

After dealing with these people, Gu Rubing immediately led everyone towards Yangle County.

After escaping Gu Rubing's encirclement, the three rushed back to Yangle County immediately.

However, at this time, Yangle County was already filled with Liu Zi flags of Gu Rubing.

Xun You knew that he had been tricked again.

The claims of the camp being destroyed and the troop strength being greatly reduced are all lies to him.

"Liu Bei, I will definitely kill you, I will!"

After Xun You finished speaking, he spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted.

Seeing this, Wang Yue and Shi A had no choice but to carry Xun You on their backs and rush back.

after one day.

Xun You regained consciousness at this point.

"Strategist, where are we going now?"

Upon hearing this, Xun You fell silent.

He also wanted to know, where should he go?

Now Yangle County is lost, the troops are gone, and the provisions are gone too.

In this situation, where can they go?
Xun You was even thinking of returning to Cao Cao's side at this point.

Just as Xun You was considering whether or not to leave Youzhou altogether.

A team of one hundred people appeared in front of them.

"What are you three doing here?"

"Who are you?"

They were now almost at Liaodong. Logically, Liu Bei's speed shouldn't be this fast, which meant that the people in front of them were probably not Liu Bei's men.

Upon hearing Xun You's words, the leader immediately stepped forward.

"We are the men of the Governor of Youzhou. Who are you?"

"I am Wang Yue, this is Shi A, and this is the strategist Xun You."

After saying that, Wang Yue took out his token.

"So it's two generals and a strategist. We are a grain transport team. We have brought enough provisions for 100,000 troops, as well as 100,000 troops. We have come from the King of Wu to support you."

"An army of 100,000? And provisions too? Sun Jian, the King of Wu?"

Xun You's eyes widened.

He was just worrying about what to do this time. There were no soldiers and no food. There was no way to fight this battle.

But now, he has everything. "Yes, strategist, what are you doing here?"

"Yanglu County has fallen. Everyone must return to Xiangping immediately. This is my order."

Upon hearing that Xiangping had fallen, the soldiers immediately notified everyone to turn back to Xiangping.

Gu Rubing spent half a month recuperating in Yangle County.

This battle was exhausting not only for Xun You and his men, but also for Gu Rubing and his men.

Those soldiers who initially pretended to cause a disturbance in the camp received very little rest.

This time they can finally get a proper rest.

"My lord, Shi Xie now only has one city left to defend, which is Xiangping. In addition, we have received intelligence that 100,000 enemy troops have appeared in Xiangping. These people should all be Sun Jian's men, and they also have sufficient food and supplies."

"One hundred thousand people?"

Gu Rubing's eyes widened immediately.

Isn't this never going to end? I only spent 100,000, and now another 100,000?
Now our own forces are dwindling while the enemy's are growing stronger with each fight. Isn't this a joke?
"My lord, should we negotiate with Sun Jian and ask him to withdraw his troops? After all, Sun Jian probably still wants to form an alliance with us."

"No need. This Sun Jian is just not honest. If we want him to behave, we have to beat him until he hurts. Once we make them afraid and feel pain, they will naturally behave."

"But my lord, the enemy has 100,000 men. After this battle, we only have 40,000 left. We may not be a match for them."

Gu Rubing was of course aware of what Lu Su was talking about, but even so, he still had to maintain the proper demeanor.

"No matter what, send troops to Xiangping."

Soon, Gu Rubing led an army of 40,000 and approached Xiangping.

Xun You was stunned when he saw that Gu Rubing had only brought 40,000 troops.

Immediately afterwards, a surge of anger welled up inside him.

This is an insult to him, a blatant insult.

In the siege, they dared to send 40,000 men to provoke his 100,000 men, who were still chasing after him.

Noticing that Xun You looked unwell, Shi Xie immediately went to Xun You's side.

"Strategist, what's wrong?"

Xun You was startled awake by Shi Xie's voice and immediately realized what was happening.

"It's nothing, Governor of Youzhou, what brings you here?"

"Alas, Xiangping is our last city, and also the largest city in the entire Youzhou. If we lose it, I don't know what to do. This is a battle for my life and death, so I can't just wait there any longer."

Although Shi Xie said this, it actually showed his complete distrust of Xun You.

Xun You was relentlessly pursued all the way to Xiangping; how could Shi Xie possibly still believe him?

Shih-hsieh now has even more confidence in himself.

"Governor of Youzhou, Liu Bei only has 40,000 troops now. We can charge straight at him. I believe we can defeat Liu Bei in this battle."

"No, it's safer to defend the city for now."

Upon hearing this, Xun You looked at Shi Xie, hesitated for a moment, and finally gave up.

After all, Shi Xie holds the highest position here. What right does a mere strategist like him have to command a governor?
Gu Rubing looked at the figures on the distant city wall, feeling utterly helpless.

Xiangping was originally the largest city in Youzhou, and it had been reinforced by itself. Now, even catapults cannot break through the city walls.

"My lord, what should we do if Xun You doesn't come out? Should we attack the city?"

Looking at the towering city walls ahead, Lu Su had no intention of attacking the city whatsoever.

"No, we can't attack by force. Xiangping is not like other places. Our small force can't even get onto the city walls. We can only try to get him out."

Lu Su nodded and stood silently behind Gu Rubing, his mind racing as he pondered a strategy to defeat the enemy.

However, Lu Su thought for a long time but could not come up with any way to defeat the enemy, and in the end he could only place his hopes on Gu Rubing.

Not long after, Gu Rubing made a decision.

"Send Zhang Liao over here."

"Yes!"

Before long, Zhang Liao arrived at Gu Rubing's side.

"My lord, you summoned me?"

"Yes, Wen Yuan, I want you to take the Iron Pagoda and cut off Sun Jian's supply line to Shi Xie. Shi Xie only has this one city left. It should be easy to block his supply line."

"No problem, my lord, leave it to me."

"Go."

Zhang Liao nodded, and soon after, he led the Ironclad Cavalry away from the camp.

"My lord, what do you intend to do?"

"We'll just do nothing and wait."

Upon hearing this, Lu Su looked at Gu Rubing with a puzzled expression.

Zhang Liao disappeared for five days without making a sound.

On the sixth day, news finally arrived that they had successfully intercepted a shipment of grain.

Upon seeing this message, Gu Rubing immediately stood up.

"Someone, send a message to Shi Xie, saying that I want to talk to him."

Now, Shi Xie goes up to the city wall every day to take a look.

He knew that his defeat was inevitable; if it weren't for the support of the other three warlords, he probably would have lost long ago.

However, after the other three warlords gave him countless support, he was already a discarded pawn at that time. He still had some value then, but now he can be said to have no value at all.

Liu Zhang has already given up on supporting him. Cao Cao is making a lot of noise, but in reality, the only support he has given is Xun You, and he keeps losing battles.

At this point, the only person who can truly support him is Sun Jian.

But how could Sun Jian possibly be a match for Liu Bei?

Shih-hsieh felt that every day he looked at the sun, there was one less day left.

Once this thought came to mind, Shih-hsieh wanted to see the sun every day, and there was even a hint of longing in his eyes.

Just as Shi Xie was reminiscing about his previous high spirits, a soldier came to his side.

"My lord, someone has arrived. They claim to be Liu Bei's messenger."

"Liu Bei?"

The moment the name Liu Bei appeared, Shi Xie felt as if he had been plunged into an abyss.

That coldness was heart-wrenching.

Rather than saying Shi Xie was woken up, it would be more accurate to say he was startled awake.

"Yes, Liu Bei, does my lord wish to see him?"

Shi Xie instinctively wanted to send the man back, but then he thought that at this point, he was already destined to fail, and Liu Bei might have other reasons for looking for him now.

"See you, why not?"

Shi Xie soon returned to the governor's mansion.

Meanwhile, Gu Rubing's envoy was already waiting there.

"Meet the governor."

Upon seeing Shi Xie enter, the messenger immediately stepped forward and bowed.

Shi Xie waved his hand.

"Alright, just say it directly. What brings you here? Or what does Liu Bei want me to do? If you're trying to persuade me to surrender, forget it. I've already given so much; I have no intention of surrendering."

Upon hearing this, the envoy immediately shook his head.

"Governor, you misunderstand. I'm just here to deliver a message for my lord."

"What?"

"My lord wishes to arrange a meeting with the governor outside the city tomorrow morning. He said he wants to catch up with you."

"Reminisce? Your Prince Lie is quite something. He's been relentlessly pursuing me, pushing me to the brink, and now he wants to reminisce? If he wants to reminisce, he shouldn't be chasing me around like that."

After saying this, Shih-hsieh sat down in his chair and laughed helplessly.

After a long while, Shi Xie said wearily, "Fine, let's see each other then. Consider it the last time." (End of Chapter)