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

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yun immediately knelt before Liu Xie.

"I apologize, Your Majesty. I was rash. Please forgive me."

"It's alright. It seems that you have something to do, Your Majesty. You may continue with your work, Your Majesty. I will take my leave now."

"Congratulations to Your Majesty!"

Gu Rubing and Zhao Yun shouted in unison.

After Liu Xie left, Zhao Yun looked at Gu Rubing with some urgency.

"My lord, something terrible has happened. The front lines in Yizhou have suffered a complete defeat, and even Jingzhou has been impacted. Fortunately, the Prime Minister stepped in and stabilized the situation in Jingzhou, but Yizhou has already been pushed back to Guanghan County."

"what?"

Gu Rubing hadn't expected that so many things would happen in the short time he had been away.

"Furthermore, my lord, Sun Jian has amassed an army of 300,000 on the border of Liangzhou, and the garrison commander of Liangzhou has already sent a letter requesting reinforcements."

"Sun Jian?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing immediately opened the map that Zhao Yun had brought over.

He carefully examined Sun Jian's position.

Sun Jian positioned himself perfectly.

Although it was on the border, it had not yet reached the territory of Liangzhou, so it could not be considered an invasion.

But it can indeed create stress for people.

Gu Rubing realized that Sun Jian seemed to be sending him a signal that he didn't want to fight, but someone was forcing him to.

"Inform the Prime Minister to dispatch 100,000 troops to Liangzhou to assist in the defense of the city. Also, send Taishi Ci to Liangzhou."

"Yes!"

After Zhao Yun left, Gu Rubing turned his attention to Yizhou.

The most troublesome place right now is Yizhou.

Gu Rubing only knew that Yizhou was in chaos and that the front lines in Yizhou were suffering repeated defeats, but he did not know what had happened.

In the end, Gu Rubing decided to return to Yizhou immediately.

He hoped that Lu Su could stabilize the situation before he returned.

Gu Rubing had a relatively high level of trust in Lu Su.

Although Lu Su did not achieve any great feats during this period, he also made no mistakes, and his ability to defend the city was absolutely unquestionable.

The fact that such a big problem could occur indicates that something unexpected has happened on Cao Cao's side.

Soon, Gu Rubing led Zhao Yun and sped towards Yizhou.

Along the way, battle reports about Yizhou kept arriving.

All the reports were of defeats; Lu Su's defenses were as flimsy as paper, easily torn apart by Cao Cao.

Most importantly, a battle report stated that Ma Chao and Zhang Fei were seriously injured.

This means that the people of Penglai have made their move.

Upon seeing this news, Gu Rubing finally realized why Lu Su's defenses had been torn apart so quickly.

The people of Penglai have already begun to take the initiative against me.

Gu Rubing was too slow, which caused it to take a long time to return to Yizhou.

By the time Gu Rubing returned...

Lu Su has been defeated, and Mianzhu Pass and Luocheng have been lost.

Now, of the entire Guanghan Prefecture, only Mianzhu City and the attached Mianzhu Pass remain in their hands.

Of the more than 200,000 troops previously stationed at the front, only less than 150,000 remain. This is only because Zhuge Liang sent 50,000 reinforcements, and they barely managed to hold Mianzhu Pass.

Upon seeing Gu Rubing return, Lu Su immediately knelt before him.

"Your subordinate is incompetent; please punish me, my lord!"

When everyone saw Lu Su kneel down, Deng Ai and the others followed suit.

However, among the people present, only two people did not kneel down, and the presence of these two people surprised Gu Rubing.

These two people are Jiang Wei and Guo Huai.

With the fall of Luocheng, Jiang Wei and Guo Huai were naturally taken away and moved with them.

"Alright, get up first. Can any of you tell me what happened?"

Gu Rubing looked around at the wounded soldiers everywhere, which was obviously the result of several fierce battles.

Upon hearing this, Lu Su hurriedly led Gu Rubing back to the government office.

"My lord, nothing much happened during the days you were gone. I even reinforced the front lines. But just half a month ago, Liu Zhang suddenly attacked the Prime Minister's side. Moreover, Liu Zhang dispatched legendary generals, and the Prime Minister's side suffered repeated defeats. After I learned of the news, I immediately sent Zhang Liao and Pang De to provide support."

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing immediately realized that this was a diversionary tactic.

As expected, Lu Su's subsequent words confirmed his guess.

"I had just transferred Zhang Liao and Pang De when Cao Cao launched his offensive. Tong Fei personally led Dian Wei and Xu Chu to attack the city, and General Guan personally entered the battle, but in the end they could not stop Cao Cao. In just one battle, our army lost more than 80,000 men, and I had no choice but to retreat."

From then on, Lu Su kept retreating and was driven out of Shu Commandery, and even Guanghan Commandery was almost driven out.

If it weren't for Jiang Wei's intervention, which resulted in a brilliant counterattack, predicting the enemy's marching route, blocking their reinforcements, and delaying their arrival, they would probably have met in Jiangzhou City by the time Gu Rubing arrived.

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing cast a grateful glance at Jiang Wei.

"No need to thank me. I've said I'd help you three times already, so this is the first time."

"it is good!"

Gu Rubing didn't want to waste this opportunity, but there was nothing he could do.

Gu Rubing looked at the map in front of him.

Currently, outside Mianzhu City, there is Tong Fei's army of 200,000, while at Mianzhu Pass, there is Dian Wei's army of 100,000.

There were a total of 300,000 troops, but he only had 150,000 soldiers at his disposal. No matter how you looked at it, he couldn't hold out.

"How are Ma Chao and Zhang Fei?"

"Brother, they are fine. Master Hua Tuo has already treated them, but they cannot participate in the battle for the time being."

Without Ma Chao and Zhang Fei, the only legendary generals capable of fighting in Mianzhu now are Zhao Yun, Guan Yu, and Huang Zhong.

"My lord, Xu Du has sent a batch of feathered arrows that you made. It was thanks to those arrows that we were able to barely hold onto Mianzhu. Moreover, Tong Fei is extremely wary of those arrows. With those arrows around, Tong Fei has never dared to show his face."

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing burst out laughing.

The saying "once bitten by a snake, twice shy" applies even to legendary military generals.

The thing you make yourself is unlikely to cause fatal damage to a legendary general.

This news improved Gu Rubing's mood somewhat.

After staring at the map for a long time, Gu Rubing made a decision that surprised everyone.

"Order all troops to retreat."

"retreat?"

Lu Su's eyes widened in surprise. Even Jiang Wei was surprised that Mianzhu, which they had worked so hard to defend, was given to Cao Cao so easily.
"Yes! Retreat!"

"But my lord, we..."

Lu Su was somewhat unwilling and wanted to stop him. Gu Rubing waved his hand to stop Lu Su.

“Zijing, look outside the city. Tong Fei has led an army of 200,000 men to the city gates, almost blocking the entire Mianzhu city. Although Mianzhu Pass is a strategic pass, our army is not strong enough. Once Mianzhu city is lost, Mianzhu Pass will be a dead end, and those inside will be trapped to death. To break the deadlock, we must expand the battlefield.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Su looked at the map and had to admit that Gu Rubing's assessment was the most reasonable one. However, abandoning Mianzhu would mean abandoning the entire Guanghan Prefecture, and everything would return to the way it was at the beginning. Wouldn't all their efforts over such a long period of time have been in vain?
Lu Su felt sorry for him, and so did Gu Rubing, but it was the only option they could find.

Trapped inside the city, they had no room to maneuver and could only passively defend it. Moreover, the surrounding area was Cao Cao's territory, and if the enemy discovered their supply route and intercepted it, they would surely die.

Only by expanding the battlefield can there be a chance to turn the tide.

Gu Rubing couldn't understand why Tong Fei, who had only targeted legendary generals before, was now attacking the entire battlefield. Was Penglai so shameless that it would directly intervene to unify the Han Dynasty?
Gu Rubing hadn't expected Penglai to make such a decision. He could only control everything within his power and try to make it as perfect as possible.

late at night.

Under the moonlight, Gu Rubing quietly opened the city gate and left Mianzhu City.

The next day, when Tong Fei saw that the city walls were empty, he understood everything and then led his army directly into the city.

From then on, Guanghan Commandery also fell into Cao Cao's hands.

When Cao Cao in Chengdu learned that he had also captured Guanghan, he immediately burst into laughter.

In just half a month, Tong Fei has taken back two prefectures. Judging from the Linjiang City that Gu Rubing retreated to, it is clear that he does not intend to take back the Jianwei Prefecture either.

In just half a month, three counties were recovered—a speed that Cao Cao could never have imagined.

However, Cao Cao quickly calmed down.

This shows just how terrifying Penglai's strength is. If I fall out with Penglai, do I really have the ability to fight against them?
With this in mind, Cao Cao turned his attention to the gunpowder that Gu Rubing had produced.

Liu Bei was able to contend with Penglai because of gunpowder. If he wanted to be able to contend with them as well, he had to develop gunpowder.

Gu Rubing led all his troops to retreat directly to Linjiang City.

Tong Fei did not choose to pursue, but instead captured Jianwei County and began to consolidate these three counties.

This gave Gu Rubing some breathing room.

"My lord, we need military support. Doesn't the Prime Minister have any troops to spare? Didn't we send over 100,000 surrendered soldiers over there?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing shook his head.

"No, Sun Jian has annexed 300,000 troops in Liangzhou. I have already ordered the Prime Minister to send 100,000 troops into Liangzhou, led by Taishi Ci. Without these 100,000 troops, the Prime Minister cannot provide any more soldiers now."

Now, signs of a full-scale outbreak are emerging in all three battlefields once again.

Gu Rubing hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to go to Zhuge Liang and ask for his opinion.

Soon, Gu Rubing led Zhao Yun to the Jingzhou camp.

After learning of Gu Rubing's arrival, Zhuge Liang had already guessed Gu Rubing's purpose in coming here.

"Is my lord worried about these three battlefields?"

"Yes, Prime Minister, you understand me best. Yizhou is currently short of troops, and the involvement of Penglai in the war has put immense pressure on Yizhou. We have lost three counties in just half a month, and now only Ba County remains in our hands. Anyone would feel pressured by this."

"Rest assured, my lord. Although it appears to be three battlefields far apart, in my opinion, it is only one battlefield."

"Is the Prime Minister referring to the battlefield in Yizhou?"

Zhuge Liang nodded.

"My lord, Sun Jian on the Liangzhou battlefield is clearly just putting on a show. Otherwise, how could he have controlled the distance so well? That's why Taishi Ci was able to bring back 50,000 troops to reinforce Yizhou. Liu Zhang just wanted to force Zijing to bring back two legendary generals. Now that Liu Zhang has achieved his goal, he will naturally not make any more moves. So there is only the Yizhou battlefield."

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing silently considered the strength of his troops and the abilities of his generals, and finally a sense of powerlessness welled up in his heart.

Penglai remained an insurmountable obstacle for him.

Gu Rubing's helplessness was evident.

Zhuge Liang burst out laughing.

"Is my lord worried about that man named Tong Fei?"

"Yes, Tong Fei's strength is really too strong."

"My lord, you mustn't forget that no matter how strong Tong Fei is, he's still just one person."

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing immediately understood what Zhuge Liang meant.

Moreover, once you understand this point, the whole thing becomes clear.

"Thank you for the reminder, Prime Minister."

"I was merely offering a reminder; it is mainly because my lord is wise enough."

Gu Rubing laughed loudly and immediately headed to Yizhou.

After returning to Linjiang City.

Gu Rubing immediately summoned everyone to the government office.

Looking at everyone present, Gu Rubing immediately instructed, "Second brother, Zilong, and the old general, the three of you will go and ambush Tong Fei tonight. You must lure him away."

"Yes!"

"The rest of you, follow me to attack Xindu!"

"Attack Xindu?"

Gu Rubing's decision shocked everyone.

Lu Su immediately objected.

"My lord, you mustn't! There are 300,000 troops in Xindu. Even without Tong Fei, there are still Dian Wei, Xu Chu, Cao Ren, and Xiahou Dun. We have no chance of winning."

“That’s right, King Lie, your decision is far too risky. I feel that defending the city is the safest option.”

Jiang Wei, who was standing nearby, also expressed his opposition.

"Don't worry, rest assured, I have made thorough preparations."

Seeing that Gu Rubing had made his decision, the others naturally stopped insisting.

However, Jiang Wei did not participate in the battle; instead, he watched from the sidelines, wanting to see what Gu Rubing intended to do.

late at night.

Tong Fei was about to rest, but just as he lay down on the bed, he suddenly sat up and looked into the distance.

"I can't believe you actually dared to come here. You're practically asking for death."

As soon as Tong Fei finished speaking, a jet-black spear appeared in his hand, and then Tong Fei's figure disappeared from the room.

In the woods outside the city.

Guan Yu, holding the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, stands atop a giant rock, while Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong stand below it.

The three of them looked around warily.

Just then, Guan Yu looked into the distance.

"coming."

As Guan Yu's voice rang out.

The jet-black spear was the first to be fired.

Guan Yu immediately retreated to avoid it.

The spear pierced the boulder, blasting it apart.

"Hmph, you dare show yourselves again? Even with seven of you before, you were no match for me. Now there are only three of you, what can you do?" (End of Chapter)