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

Upon hearing Wei Yan's plan, Zhang He immediately rolled his eyes at him.

Gu Rubing had already used this plan, yet Wei Yan described it in such a mysterious way.

"Wen Chang, can't you come up with a new method? Don't you know that once a method is used, people will become more cautious?"

"Then tell me, what other methods are there? Although we've tried this method before, I still feel it's a good one. It doesn't matter how many times we use it, as long as it's effective, right?"

Just as the two were arguing, Lu Su came up behind them.

However, the two who were so engrossed in their argument were completely unaware that someone was approaching from behind.

"Do you think you're some kind of master? Hiding inside the city, you think you can come up with a way to defeat the enemy?"

Upon hearing Wei Yan's words, Lu Su immediately sensed something was amiss, unable to discern whether Wei Yan was insulting or praising him.

"So what? It's better than you standing on the city wall, scratching your head and not being able to think of a solution."

"Do you think you have a way out, sir? If he had a way out, would he have stayed hidden all this time?"

"You had no choice either, didn't you?"

Those around them, listening to the argument and seeing Lu Su's face turn pale and then red, all smiled and lowered their heads, going about their own business. No one bothered to listen to what the two were saying.

"Hey you two, I'm right here, could you please give me some face?"

"You have no dignity whatsoever, get lost!"

Wei Yan gave Lu Su a push without any hesitation.

Lu Su, a civil official, was no match for Wei Yan's physique. Wei Yan only needed to exert a little force to push Lu Su away.

Zhang He, who was standing to the side, immediately realized what was happening, and his expression changed drastically.

"Wei Yan, you're finished!"

After finishing speaking, Zhang He hurriedly ran to Lu Su's side.

"Sir, you've arrived. Why didn't you say anything?"

Wei Yan realized he had pushed the wrong person and quickly ran over to help Lu Su up.

"Sir, I thought it was my deputy general, so I did that... Please forgive my rudeness, it was all a misunderstanding."

It took Lu Su a long time to catch his breath, and he couldn't help but marvel at the strength of this military general.

"Alright, alright, do you think I'm the kind of person to hold grudges? But you know what, I actually have a good idea to resolve the current situation. However, our lord said that it's winter now and he doesn't want the soldiers to make any moves. If we act rashly like this, wouldn't we be disobeying our lord's orders?"

"Sir, why don't we wait until our lord returns before telling him your plan, and then let him decide whether or not to take action?"

"Ok!"

Just as the three of them made their decision, news of Gu Rubing's return reached them.

Lu Su immediately led everyone to the city gates to greet them.

Upon seeing Gu Rubing, everyone immediately knelt on the ground.

Gu Rubing helped Lu Su up and then saw that Lu Su was covered in dust and was filthy.

"Zijing, what's wrong?"

Lu Su glanced at Wei Yan subconsciously, but quickly realized what he was doing and shook his head with a smile.

"Wen Chang, what have you done?"

Upon seeing this, Gu Rubing's face instantly darkened.

Throughout history, it has been common for military generals to bully civil officials by taking advantage of their physical strength. Therefore, Gu Rubing would elevate the status of the civil officials under his command, even placing them above many military generals.

This is to prevent such oppression from happening.

Upon hearing this, Wei Yan immediately stepped forward and knelt before Gu Rubing.

Why did you attack Zijing?

Wei Yan was startled and shook his head repeatedly.

"My lord, no, no, I did not lay a hand on you, it's all a misunderstanding."

Lu Su nodded hurriedly from the side.

Wei Yan then recounted the events to Gu Rubing.

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing burst into laughter.

"Alright, although it was an accident, you are still somewhat involved in this matter. Here's what we'll do: you'll be punished by washing Zijing's clothes. If you don't wash them properly, I'll hold you accountable."

"Yes."

Soon Gu Rubing led everyone into the city.

Although Wei Yan was punished, his words also provided Gu Rubing with a good solution.

According to Wei Yan's plan, it was indeed a method he had used before to deal with Cao Ren, but this method might not necessarily be useless.

Gu Rubing returned to the city and looked at the map in front of him, and couldn't help but start to make plans.

However, at this moment, someone who surprised Gu Rubing actually arrived in Linjiang City.

"My lord, the prime minister has arrived."

"The Prime Minister has arrived?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing immediately went to the city gate.

Upon seeing Gu Rubing, Zhuge Liang immediately stepped forward.

"My lord, is everything alright?"

Zhuge Liang was not asking about the present, but about the trip to Penglai.

However, Gu Rubing did not understand Zhuge Liang's meaning, and then nodded.

"Everything is fine."

Seeing Gu Rubing's expression, Zhuge Liang knew that he had no idea what he was talking about, so he simply led Gu Rubing directly into the hall and sent everyone else away.

Seeing Zhuge Liang's behavior, Gu Rubing was completely bewildered. His first thought was whether he had done something wrong that made Zhuge Liang, from so far away, dare to come and lecture him.

After everyone had left, Zhuge Liang immediately stepped forward.

"My lord, have you gone to Penglai?"

"Does the Prime Minister know of Penglai?"

"Of course I know, and I also know that Penglai is full of so-called immortals."

Gu Rubing looked at Zhuge Liang with some curiosity.

Back then, Zhuge Liang didn't even know how powerful the legendary general was, and he still fantasized about using three thousand White Feather Soldiers to stop Dian Wei.

But now, Zhuge Liang actually knows about immortals.

Seeing Gu Rubing's curiosity, Zhuge Liang smiled and said, "Actually, I met with someone from Penglai half a year ago. At that time, that person claimed to be Yu Ji's disciple."

"Yu Ji has disciples?"

When Gu Rubing finally arrived here, he realized that there were many caves in the mountain he had visited, not just four. Clearly, there were still some people who had not appeared.

"Of course I did. I once competed with that person in divination, and I lost in the end, but by not much."

Gu Rubing could tell that Zhuge Liang was sincere when he admitted to counting.

This means that the opponent is really strong, after all, Zhuge Liang is not someone who easily admits defeat.

"That person told me about the immortal back then."

Gu Rubing still doesn't understand what an immortal is. If being transcendent is what makes someone an immortal, then aren't Guan Yu and his ilk immortals? That's an ability that ordinary people can't possess.

The phantoms of dragons, evil spirits, and fierce tigers appeared behind them; it was like something out of a fantasy novel.

"Prime Minister, what exactly are immortals?"

"The so-called immortals are people who transcend mortals. Their strength is so great that it even surpasses the legendary generals you mentioned. The black-clad man you mentioned earlier is actually just their disciple, and their disciples are basically as strong as the legendary generals you mentioned."

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing immediately understood.

Therefore, legendary generals are not the pinnacle, but this ethereal beauty is the ultimate level.

"After I lost, that person invited me to Penglai, but I refused."

After hearing this, Gu Rubing slammed his hand on the table.

This is poaching from someone else; they've already gone so far as to steal from their own backyard. Isn't this a joke?
"These bastards dare to touch my people!"

Seeing Gu Rubing's expression, Zhuge Liang immediately laughed.

Gu Rubing quickly calmed down and realized that he was no match for those people. Even if they really fought, he would still lose.

"My lord, what did you say to them during your meeting this time?"

Gu Rubing nodded, and then recounted to Zhuge Liang everything that had been discussed during their meeting.

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Liang's face instantly darkened.

"My lord, remember, you must never do such a thing again. Those people are incredibly powerful. If we anger them and the two sides really fight, our strength will definitely not be a match for them."

Gu Rubing nodded; of course he knew about this.

"My lord, when I came in just now, I heard that you were interested in Mianzhu Pass and Mianzhu City?"

"I am indeed somewhat interested. Does the Prime Minister wish to offer his assistance?"

"I'll pass, I have other matters to attend to in Jingzhou. If it weren't for the Penglai matter, I wouldn't have come here. However, I do agree with Wen Chang's idea."

Zhuge Liang was referring to the method that Wei Yan had mentioned earlier.

Even Gu Rubing agreed with this method.

Gu Rubing then explained the plan to Zhuge Liang, who nodded repeatedly in approval.

The two discussed the matter in the hall for a long time before Zhuge Liang slowly walked out.

Gu Rubing immediately ordered Guan Yu to escort Zhuge Liang back.

After Zhuge Liang left, Gu Rubing became even more confident in his plan.

"Zijing, tell me about the situation in Linjiang City."

"Yes!"

Lu Su then walked into the hall and introduced to Gu Rubing: "My lord, our army currently has 150,000 troops stationed in Linjiang City, and in terms of generals, we have Wei Yan, Zhang He, and Zhang Liao."

"Hmm? Only three people? Where are Deng Ai and Zhong Hui?"

"The two lords are in Jiangzhou City, and there are now 100,000 troops in Jiangzhou City."

Yizhou now has a population of 250,000.

Looking at the strong and well-equipped troops in his hands, Gu Rubing thought, "If I don't use these people to make some noise, wouldn't it be a waste of all the troops I've gathered?"

Thinking of this, Gu Rubing immediately ordered the mobilization of 50,000 troops to reinforce Jiangzhou City, and also ordered Jiangzhou City to send troops into Jianwei County to occupy all the cities in Jianwei County as quickly as possible.

Lu Su immediately issued the order.

After receiving Gu Rubing's orders, Zhong Hui and Deng Ai immediately understood what Gu Rubing meant.

The two immediately left the city, each leading 50,000 troops, and split into two groups to enter Jianwei County and begin their full-scale occupation of it.

At this time, Cao Cao was personally stationed in Mianzhu City.

Upon learning of the situation in Jianwei Commandery, Cao Cao immediately deduced that Gu Rubing's target was Mianzhu, and definitely not Jianwei Commandery.

But the Xiahou brothers didn't think that way.

They all volunteered to fight and reinforce Jianwei County.

After all, once Jianwei County is opened up, Gu Rubing might even launch a surprise attack and occupy Chengdu.

The loss of Chengdu would be a devastating blow to the entire Yizhou region.

Cao Cao ignored the Xiahou brothers' requests to join the battle, which made the two brothers extremely anxious.

Seeing this, Cao Ren was also making plans in his mind.

Xu Huang stood directly behind Cao Cao. He knew in his heart that this was all Gu Rubing's scheme, but since he didn't know what Cao Cao was thinking, he naturally dared not do anything.

Jiang Wei and Guo Huai, who were in charge of transporting the grain, immediately wanted to see Cao Cao after learning about the situation in Jianwei County, because they were convinced that this was a scheme by Gu Rubing to get them to send troops.

However, Cao Cao did not intend to meet with them. But the two men were relieved when they learned that Cao Cao would not send troops.

"My lord, are we not going to send troops? Jianwei County has already lost most of its territory. If we don't take action now, Jianwei County will be gone."

Xiahou Dun looked at Cao Cao, his heart filled with anxiety.

However, Cao Cao shook his head.

Seeing this, Xun Yu stepped forward and said, "My lord, this must also be a conspiracy by Liu Bei. Our army is stationed in Mianzhu City and Mianzhu Pass, so Liu Bei can't break in at all. That's why he wants to lure us to reinforce Jianwei County and weaken Mianzhu's strength. But we can't just watch Liu Bei take Jianwei County into his hands."

Cao Cao naturally understood this principle. The reason he remained silent and pretended to be profound was because he didn't know what to do either.

Sending troops out would weaken Mianzhu's fighting strength. If we don't send troops, and we really give up Jianwei County, what should we do if Gu Rubing sends troops to launch a surprise attack on Chengdu? Should we lead our people away from our territory again and join someone else?

Cao Cao never wanted to experience that feeling of being a stray dog ​​again.

"Wenruo, what do you think?"

"My lord, what I mean is to send Generals Xiahou and Xiahou with troops to reinforce Jianwei County. We don't need to worry about how much lost territory we can recover, as long as we can hold Jianwei County. That way, no matter what Liu Bei does next, we can attack or defend as needed."

"Okay, then let's do as Wenruo says."

Cao Cao was somewhat helpless against Gu Rubing's move. Unable to guess what the other party was thinking, he dared not send anyone to stop him.

Soon, the Xiahou brothers led 30,000 troops and left Mianzhu to reinforce Jianwei County.

Gu Rubing had been watching Mianzhu's every move. When he learned that Cao Cao had only transferred 30,000 troops, he frowned.

This is still less than the number he had expected.

There are still 70,000 of Cao Cao's troops inside Mianzhu, so it won't be an easy task to conquer it.

Gu Rubing then looked at the map.

The Mianzhu Pass is only a dozen miles away from Mianzhu City, which is not far. If we provide full support, we can arrive in just half a day.

After pondering for a while, Gu Rubing immediately had an idea.

Where is Wei Yan?

"My subordinate is here!"

Wei Yan knelt directly in front of Gu Rubing.

"With 50,000 troops, we attack Mianzhu Pass. There are only 20,000 soldiers inside. Can we take it within three hours?"

Wei Yan hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Yes."

"Alright, I will allocate all the catapults I have to you."

"Thank you, my lord!"

After receiving the order, Wei Yan turned and left immediately. (End of Chapter)