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

Without reinforcements, Lu Su could only passively defend.

During this period, Cao Ren sent the Xiahou brothers to provoke him, but they all ended in failure.

Because of the lack of supplies, it took Gu Rubing nearly two months to reach Yizhou.

It is winter now.

Although Yizhou wasn't that cold, it was still so cold that you couldn't even take your hands out of your pockets.

Under normal circumstances, all parties are reducing unnecessary battles in order to avoid a large number of non-combat casualties.

However, Gu Rubing had already decided to take action against Cao Cao. He not only did not reduce his offensive, but also intensified it.

However, Gu Rubing had a good plan on the way.

After entering Jiangzhou City and learning about Cao Cao's situation, Gu Rubing couldn't help but sigh.

Upon learning of Gu Rubing's arrival, Lu Su immediately opened the city gates to welcome him into the city.

Lu Su then informed Gu Rubing about the situation in Yizhou.

Gu Rubing then realized that Cao Cao's army in Linjiang City had reached a terrifying 250,000.

As Lu Su explained, he gestured on the map.

"My lord, there are two large camps outside Linjiang City, forming a defensive triangle with the city. Xiahou Dun has led 50,000 troops to form the right camp, while Xiahou Yuan has led 50,000 troops to form the left camp. Cao Ren, on the other hand, is guarding Linjiang City with Xu Huang and 150,000 troops."

Looking at the location marked by Lu Su on the map, Gu Rubing knew that if they continued to attack Linjiang City, it would be difficult to minimize their losses.

"Furthermore, my lord, Cao Ren has already driven all the people out of the city, and Linjiang City has now become a fortress!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing noticed that Cao Ren's actions were quite different from before; he was no longer seeking stability but instead had the intention of a decisive battle.

Could this be Jiang Wei's idea?
Gu Rubing noticed that Cao Ren's style had changed and immediately thought of Jiang Wei.

But soon, Lu Su's words gave Gu Rubing a negative answer.

"My lord, according to our information, Xun Yu is in Linjiang City and has already taken over the affairs of Linjiang City."

"Xun Yu has arrived?"

Gu Rubing was surprised that Cao Cao had released Xun Yu.

It seems that Cao Cao is very confident about this great battle.

How many soldiers do we have left?

"Reporting to my lord, we currently have 150,000 troops in Jiangzhou City. The Prime Minister has not provided us with any support, but we have received news that 200,000 new troops have begun to arrive as reinforcements. The nearest reinforcements are still half a month away from us."

Gu Rubing nodded upon hearing this.

With only 150,000 men at his disposal, facing Cao Cao's 250,000, wanting to win and minimize losses seems unrealistic at this point.

Thinking of this, Gu Rubing looked at the map.

This strategic position is indeed well-suited for an army of 250,000, but it also gives them an opportunity.

If all 250,000 troops were to hide inside Linjiang City, it would actually put us in a difficult position.

However, what surprised Gu Rubing the most was that Sun Jian had also gotten involved.

Although Cao Cao acquired some troops from Sun Jian through purchase, this method might fool others, but it was clearly impossible to fool him. It was obvious that Sun Jian was helping Cao Cao.

But Zhou Yu seemed terrified before, so why would Sun Jian dare to help Cao Cao and rebel against him now? Did something happen after he left that gave Sun Jian the confidence to do so?

Just as Gu Rubing was pondering, Lu Su's voice woke him up.

"My lord, what should we do now? Should we defend the city and not come out, or should we fight Cao Ren? Besides, the current season is not suitable for a major battle. Many soldiers are not available, let alone ready for battle. I suggest we cease hostilities and wait until next spring to fight again."

"Ceasefire? That's not my style. I've come back from outside too. If I can fight, so can everyone else. Passive defense isn't my style. Now everyone knows that a cessation of hostilities is necessary, which is a good opportunity for us. Xun Yu's pincer movement is because he doesn't want to fight anymore. How can we let them have their way?"

After Gu Rubing finished speaking, an idea had already taken shape in his mind.

News of Gu Rubing's arrival had already reached Cao Ren.

The main reason is that Gu Rubing brought such a large amount of grain this time, making too much of a commotion, and Gu Rubing couldn't hide it even if he wanted to.

Cao Ren immediately sought out Xun Yu.

"Sir, Liu Bei has already entered the city. Given his personality, he will inevitably launch an attack on us. Should we adjust our strategy?"

Upon hearing this, Xun Yu glanced at Cao Ren and burst out laughing.

"General Cao, you've been fighting Liu Bei for quite some time now, haven't you? I see some panic in your expression. Liu Bei is only human, and humans make mistakes. Why are you so alarmed? Losing a battle isn't terrible, but if you keep dwelling on this defeat, that's the most terrible thing. You're almost losing the courage to fight Liu Bei."

Upon hearing this, Cao Ren looked at Xun Yu, and the panic on his face gradually subsided.

"General Cao, rest assured, our army's current formation is precisely to defend against Liu Bei's attack."

Cao Ren nodded.

According to their intelligence, Liu Bei only has 150,000 men, while their side has 100,000 more than Liu Bei, so they really don't need to worry about anything.

Using this idea, Cao Ren suppressed the fear he felt towards Liu Bei.

But soon, the little bit of faith that Cao Ren had just built up collapsed again.

Because early the next morning.

The city gates of Jiangzhou opened, and after counting the soldiers, they slowly entered the city.

Moreover, at night, another number of troops entered Jiangzhou City.

With these people entering, the gates of Jiangzhou City were tightly closed, and no one was allowed to enter or leave. This completely deprived Cao Ren of accurate information about the interior of Jiangzhou City.

However, intelligence sent back by spies outside the city indicated that the two reinforcements had already reached nearly 100,000 men.

Gu Rubing now commands an army of 250,000.

But this puzzled Cao Ren. According to their intelligence, Gu Rubing's reinforcements would take at least half a month to arrive. Why would they arrive so early?
When Xun Yu received the intelligence, he summoned everyone overnight and began to discuss it.

Meanwhile, Gu Rubing stood on the city wall, enjoying the night breeze.

Lu Su came to Gu Rubing's side.

"My lord, I have some questions, and I would appreciate it if you could explain them to me!"

"Oh? Zijing, is there something you don't understand?"

"My lord, our reinforcements have not arrived. Why did you order the soldiers in the city to leave at night and enter the city during the day to create the illusion of reinforcements? Was it just to mislead the enemy? If so, there is no need for such trouble. Even with only 150,000 men, there will be no problem in defending Jiangzhou City."

At this moment, Lu Su's face showed only bewilderment.

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing's smile gradually faded.

"Because I'm not going to defend the city, I'm going to attack it. I want to take the initiative to attack. The 150,000 troops will definitely have to be deployed in full force. At that time, there won't be many troops left in Jiangzhou City. I must create the illusion that there are a large number of troops in the city, at least until the arrival of the new army." Upon hearing that he was going to lead all his troops to attack, Lu Su couldn't help but gasp.

If the army suffers a defeat, or if their plan is exposed and the enemy launches a surprise attack on Jiangzhou City, then the 150,000-strong army will be completely cut off from their supply lines. At that time, the 150,000-strong army will be completely wiped out, and the entire Yizhou battlefield will face huge problems, which may even affect the Jingzhou battlefield.

"My lord, wouldn't you like to reconsider?"

"Let's not think about it anymore. If we want to win by surprise, this is the best way, before Xun Yu can react."

Seeing that Gu Rubing insisted, Lu Su didn't say anything more.

Soon, news came from Cao Ren's side that another 100,000 troops had arrived as reinforcements within a day.

This caused some panic among everyone present, except for Xun Yu.

After all, their soldiers' combat effectiveness was not as high as that of the Lie Army, and now the Lie Army's numbers far exceeded theirs. Once they made a move, they would undoubtedly be defeated.

Such reinforcements aroused Xun Yu's suspicion.

After all, the speed of the reinforcements far exceeded his expectations.

But soon, the next piece of information dispelled Xun Yu's doubts.

Gu Rubing had already led an army of 140,000 out of the city, and his generals included Zhang Liao, Wei Yan, Zhang He, and Deng Ai. Zhong Hui was left in Jiangzhou City to be responsible for defending the city and managing the supplies.

Upon hearing this news, Xun Yu couldn't help but believe that Gu Rubing's reinforcements had indeed arrived.

Otherwise, wouldn't that mean that Gu Rubing has turned Jiangzhou City into a ghost town?
Knowing that 200,000 troops would arrive within half a month, Gu Rubing had no need to take a desperate gamble.

"Everyone, return to your respective places. Liu Bei only has 150,000 men, so there's no need to worry too much. If you can't hold the city, notify the city immediately."

"Yes!"

Everyone nodded immediately.

After the Xiahou brothers left, Cao Ren looked at Xun Yu with some concern.

"Sir, something feels off to me."

Not only Cao Ren, but even Xun Yu had a strange feeling, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong with it. However, Xun Yu was confident that the current arrangement was absolutely correct.

When Gu Rubing led his army to a place fifty miles outside Linjiang City, he immediately ordered the army to set up camp on the spot.

All four generals arrived at the commander's camp.

"My lord, what should we do next?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing glanced at the map and said, "Cao Ren's current pincer movement indicates that he intends to defend the city and not venture out. This is likely due to the cold weather; they no longer wish to continue fighting. We have already put on quite a show, and in their eyes, we should still have around 200,000 troops inside the city. They certainly wouldn't dare to attack Jiangzhou City, so this is our opportunity."

After speaking, Gu Rubing placed his finger on the right side of the Linjiang City camp.

"This is our target in this battle: Xiahou Yuan on the right flank."

Soon, a series of strategies were arranged, and Gu Rubing looked at Lu Su standing to the side.

"Zijing, is there anything you need to add?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Su smiled helplessly.

Gu Rubing was taking a risky move. Lu Su still believed that with reinforcements coming to their aid, there was no need for such a risky move. However, the die was cast, and there was no point in saying anything. He could only make some minor adjustments to Gu Rubing's strategy.

Soon, all the plans were ready.

Xiahou Yuan patrolled the camp for a whole day, since no one knew who Gu Rubing's target was.

Seeing that it was already dark, Xiahou Yuan prepared to go back to rest.

However, at that moment, Xiahou Yuan saw a large number of flames appear in the distance.

Realizing something was wrong immediately, Xiahou Yuan mobilized all the troops in the camp to prepare for defense, and also sent a message requesting reinforcements back to Xiahou Dun and Linjiang City.

Soon, Wei Yan's figure appeared in the distance from Xiahou Yuan.

Wei Yan also led 50,000 troops behind him.

At the same time, the figures of the Fierce Army also appeared around the Right Battalion.

Xiahou Yuan could only sense that their camp of 50,000 men was now surrounded, but because it was dark, he had no idea how many people were surrounding them.

"Brothers, hold the line! Our reinforcements will be here soon."

As Xiahou Yuan finished speaking, the morale of the entire Wei army rose to a new level.

"Haha, Xiahou Yuan, don't even think about reinforcements. You definitely don't have any reinforcements."

As soon as the words fell, Wei Yan led 50,000 men to Xiahou Yuan's front.

The two sides immediately engaged in combat.

Although the Lie army was stronger than the Wei army, the two sides could not determine a winner in a short time because it was dark and there was no difference in numbers.

Xiahou Yuan knew that as long as he could hold on, there would be no problem waiting for reinforcements to arrive.

However, Xiahou Yuan soon sensed that something was wrong.

Zhang He led an army of 50,000 and surprisingly stormed in through the back gate of the camp.

Xiahou Yuan is now being attacked from both sides by Wei Yan and Zhang He, and he simply cannot hold out for much longer.

Xiahou Yuan couldn't help but feel anxious. Why hadn't the reinforcements arrived yet?

However, this time, Xiahou Yuan truly wronged Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun.

When they received the news that the right wing had been attacked, Xiahou Dun immediately sent troops to reinforce Xiahou Yuan, while Cao Ren sent Xu Huang and 50,000 troops to reinforce the right wing.

However, Xiahou Dun's troops were surrounded by Deng Ai's 20,000-strong army halfway there, while Xu Huang's 50,000 troops were blocked on the road by Zhang Liao.

Xiahou Dun's reinforcements, lacking a commander and consisting only of a few deputy generals, were no match for Deng Ai and could only maintain a stalemate.

Zhang Liao, on the other hand, had a rather difficult journey.

Xu Huang knew the importance of his support route, and disregarding casualties, he began to frantically try to break through Zhang Liao's blockade and enter the right flank.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Liao immediately abandoned command.

Where is the Ironclad Cavalry?

"exist!"

The five hundred Ironclad Cavalry immediately shouted in unison.

"Charge with me! Whoever takes down the enemy leader will receive a reward of ten thousand!" (End of Chapter)