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

The blade flashed like lightning, and the energy surged like a raging torrent, so that no one dared to approach within a radius of several dozen feet!
The soldiers on both sides were stunned by this breathtaking showdown, and for a moment they forgot about fighting. They watched with trepidation, their breaths catching in their throats.

In the blink of an eye, the two had fought for more than fifty rounds! Although Sun Jian was brave and could be called a tiger general of the world, he was ultimately slightly inferior to Guan Yu, whose martial arts had reached the pinnacle and whose momentum was even better.

With his own army's flanks breached, his central army wavering, and morale in disarray, Sun Jian felt his ancient sword growing heavier and heavier, his swordsmanship becoming increasingly erratic, and his breathing becoming disordered. He had already fallen into a disadvantageous position!
At this crucial moment that would decide the outcome, Huang Zhong, who had been calmly observing the battle from his vantage point, keenly seized that fleeting opportunity!

He took a deep breath, his internal energy surging, and the iron-framed bow was drawn to its full extent, with a specially made armor-piercing arrow with an exceptionally heavy arrowhead steadily nocked on the string!
His gaze was fixed on the enormous banner flying high in the center of Sun Jian's army, symbolizing the location of the commander-in-chief!

"middle!"

With a deep shout from Huang Zhong, the bowstring rang out like thunder!
The arrow transformed into a blurry, almost imperceptible shadow, traversing the chaotic battlefield with an almost bizarre trajectory, ignoring the barriers of space!

"Crack!"

A crisp cracking sound, inconspicuous on the noisy battlefield, seemed to toll the death knell for Sun Jian's army!
The huge banner was snapped in two by the arrow! The banner, a symbol of Sun Jian's authority and the morale of the entire army, swayed helplessly in the air before collapsing with a crash and falling into the chaotic crowd!

"The commander's flag has fallen!"

"My lord! My lord has fallen in battle?!"

"We've lost! We've lost! Run!"

With the commander's flag falling, Sun Jian's army, whose morale was already wavering due to the attack on their flanks and the entanglement of their commander, collapsed completely in an instant!
Countless soldiers lost their will to fight, screaming in terror, abandoning their armor and weapons, and fleeing in all directions like headless flies, trampling each other in the process!
Sun Jian, who was locked in a fierce battle with Guan Yu, heard the shouts and sounds of defeat behind him. He caught a glimpse of the fallen banner out of the corner of his eye, and his heart turned cold.
He knew that the game was over!

"Guan Yu! This humiliation of today will be avenged one day!"

Sun Jian gritted his teeth and roared angrily. He made a feint with his sword, forcing Guan Yu to slow down his attack. Then, without lingering for battle, he turned his horse around and, under the desperate protection of his guards, fled with the tide of defeat towards the Anluo Empire.

"Pursue them with all troops! Recapture the lost territory!"

How could Guan Yu let such a golden opportunity slip by?

With a swift swing of his Green Dragon Crescent Blade, Huang Zhong and his infantry launched a full-scale pursuit and attack on the routed Sun Jian army!

In this battle, Guan Yu and Huang Zhong, with their exhausted troops, launched a thunderous attack, utterly defeating Sun Jian's army, killing thousands and capturing countless prisoners!
Not only did they drive the arrogant and domineering Sun Jian out of Liangzhou's borders in one fell swoop, but they also took the opportunity to recover all the eastern territories that Sun Jian had occupied!
Sun Jian was utterly defeated and retreated back into the territory of the Anluo Empire. After this battle, he suffered heavy losses and was severely weakened. He was no longer able to organize a large-scale invasion of Liangzhou in the short term.

The crisis on the eastern front that had troubled Gu Rubing for so long has now been temporarily resolved!

When the detailed battle report of Guan Yu and Huang Zhong's great victory on the eastern front was delivered by express courier to the western expeditionary army that had just finished the Battle of Heisha Pass, the entire camp fell into a brief silence, and then burst into deafening cheers that soared into the sky!
The fatigue accumulated from days of fighting seemed to be swept away at this moment, and the joy of victory burned like a raging fire in the hearts of every soldier!
Even Gu Rubing, who was usually calm and composed and never showed his emotions, couldn't help but reveal a relieved and heartfelt smile on his usually taut and cold face after carefully reading every word of the battle report.

This smile dispelled the gloom that had been lingering between his brows for days, making him feel much more relaxed.

"Yun Chang and Han Sheng are truly the pillars of the nation!"

He sighed softly, his heart filled with gratitude and trust for these two generals.

Guan Yu and Huang Zhong's actions not only miraculously stabilized the eastern front, which was on the verge of collapse, but also greatly boosted the morale of the entire army with an invincible victory, allowing him to finally put aside his worries about the east.

Now, the west has been pacified, and the remnants of Penglai have been completely wiped out; the eastern front is temporarily stable, and Sun Jian has suffered a crushing defeat and is not a concern in the short term.

He could finally concentrate all his energy and strength to deal with Cao Cao, the strongest and most threatening enemy who had always remained inactive and lurked like a venomous snake in eastern Liangzhou!
Without the slightest delay or hesitation, Gu Rubing immediately issued the order for the entire army to turn east! Their advance was aimed directly at the eastern part of Liangzhou, where Cao Cao was entrenched!
Carrying the momentum of their victory at Black Sand Pass and their determination to completely pacify Liangzhou and drive out the foreign enemy, the army, like a giant dragon awakening, marched out of the desolate rocky area where they had once fought to the death, embarking on their journey back to the East.

Along the way, the army took over cities that had been occupied by Penglai and were now empty. They dispatched officials, posted notices to reassure the people, distributed small amounts of life-saving rations, and did their best to comfort the wounded populace.

Although the march was not as reckless and frantic as the westward advance, it was by no means slow, demonstrating an efficient and orderly rhythm.

However, as the army continued to advance eastward and got closer and closer to Cao Cao's controlled territory, the atmosphere within the entire force visibly became increasingly tense and somber.

The closer you get to the east, the greater the resistance you encounter.

Cao Cao's well-equipped and swift cavalry reconnaissance squads appeared more and more frequently, like leeches clinging to bones, spying on the army's movements from afar.

Small-scale skirmishes and skirmishes between forwards began to occur from time to time. Although they were not large in scale, they were full of probing and deadly intent.

Clearly, Cao Cao was well aware that Gu Rubing would inevitably turn his army eastward after achieving victory in the west, and he had made full preparations to deal with it!

Several days later, the vanguard of Gu Rubing's army finally reached the outer perimeter of Cao Cao's carefully constructed defensive line.

Standing atop the high slope, Gu Rubing gazed into the distance. Even with his extensive experience on the battlefield and his accustomed to all kinds of battles, he couldn't help but be secretly amazed by the solid, profound, and impeccable military skills that Cao Cao had displayed.

As far as the eye could see, Cao Cao's camps stretched out in an endless expanse, roughly estimated to extend for at least several dozen miles!

This is by no means a temporary encampment, but a permanent or semi-permanent military fortification zone that has undergone long-term, meticulous planning and construction.

Outside the camp were deep and wide trenches, some even with sharpened wooden stakes stuck in the bottom, like a series of encircling moats.

Beyond the trench was a sturdy wall, over ten feet high, built of rammed earth and timber, complete with parapets and crenellations.

Further in, there are layers upon layers of densely packed antlers and barricades, forming an insurmountable obstacle zone.

Within the camp, tall watchtowers and observation towers stood like a forest, their flags gleaming and the figures of sentries clearly visible. Squads of soldiers, their armor gleaming and their steps perfectly synchronized, moved back and forth between the camps in an endless stream, maintaining an extremely tight security.

What is even more impressive is the overall layout of their camps. The camps are not chaotic, but rather follow military strategy, maintaining an appropriate distance from each other, forming a defensive network, and supporting each other.

No matter which direction Gu Rubing's army attacks from, it will inevitably be attacked or restrained by other camps on the flanks.

The entire Cao army camp was imposing and disciplined, exuding an unwavering composure and shrewdness.

"This is something that the remnants of Penglai, that rabble, could never have created."

Beside Gu Rubing, an old strategist who had accompanied the army stroked his beard and spoke in a solemn tone.

"Judging from the layout of their camp, it is a masterpiece of military strategy. This is entirely the work of Cao Cao's main elite troops! Moreover, judging from the scale and completeness, they seem to have been operating here for quite some time, turning this area into a huge and impregnable military fortress."

Soon after, the scouts who went out to investigate brought back more detailed intelligence.

The forces that Cao Cao's army had assembled here were exceptionally strong, roughly estimated to be no less than 100,000, and their morale was high and their equipment was extremely sophisticated, far surpassing any enemy they had encountered before.

What made Gu Rubing's heart sink even more was that the scouts reported that in Cao's army, there were occasionally some figures whose movements were a little stiff, whose eyes were empty and numb, and who were out of place with the soldiers around them. Although there were not many of them, and they seemed to be separately organized and guarded, their characteristics were clearly those of the Divine Marching Army transformed by the evil magic of Penglai!

"Cao Cao... is indeed trying to make use of the legacy of Penglai."

A cold glint flashed in Gu Rubing's eyes.

This opponent is not only militarily powerful and shrewd, but may also now possess some strange and troublesome evil magic, making him far more dangerous than Sun Jian and the remnants of Penglai.

Cao Cao himself remained firmly seated in his central command tent, showing no sign of taking the initiative to engage in battle despite the arrival of Gu Rubing's army.

He adopted an obvious posture of scorched earth and a protracted war of defense and counterattack!
He seemed to be waiting with great patience, waiting for Gu Rubing's exhausted army, which had just gone through a bitter battle in the west and returned from a long march, to take the initiative to attack his impregnable camp.

He planned to wait for the enemy to tire themselves out, taking advantage of the defensive fortifications to gradually wear down and deplete the already precious troops under Gu Rubing's command due to continuous battles!

Faced with this situation, Gu Rubing knew that a direct attack was absolutely not the way to go.

He decisively ordered his army to set up a strong camp about ten miles outside Cao Cao's defense line, in a place with a water source and relatively open terrain. The camp faced Cao Cao's camp in the distance, creating a standoff.

Between the two armies, the ten-mile-wide area seemed to have become a forbidden zone, filled with a suffocating atmosphere of death. During the day, scout cavalry from both sides roamed and clashed like ghosts along the edge of this area, engaging in small-scale cavalry battles.

As night fell, the campfires lit by both sides, like countless stars fallen to earth, illuminated the desolate night sky of eastern Liangzhou and clearly reflected the impending great war that would determine the future of Liangzhou and even the entire world!

Standing atop the watchtower of his own camp, Gu Rubing gazed at the brightly lit Cao army camp in the distance, which lay dormant like a primordial beast, and felt an unusually heavy heart.

He knew that the decisive battle with Cao Cao would be far more difficult and brutal than the previous Battle of Guzang!

This is no longer a battle against a group of crazy but disorganized cultists, but against a contemporary tyrant who is equally skilled in military strategy, shrewd, determined, and may also have some unconventional power!

"We must be extremely cautious in this battle; one wrong step could lead to total defeat."

He muttered to himself, as if reminding himself.

In the days that followed, the two armies were locked in a strange stalemate.

Large-scale battles did not break out immediately, but small-scale conflicts, probing, and frictions, like weeds in the fields around the camp, never stopped growing.

Cao Cao was clearly determined to use his strong fortifications and seemingly ample supplies to completely wear down and exhaust Gu Rubing's army, which had been on a long and arduous expedition, on this land!

He kept sending out small elite units, which were few in number, often only a few dozen to a hundred men, but each of them was a skilled and experienced veteran.

Taking advantage of the cover of night or complex terrain, they struck like venomous snakes emerging from their holes, specifically targeting Gu Rubingjun's weaknesses—

Some supply trains attempting to transport provisions from the rear to the front lines would be ambushed en route, their wagons burned and their escorting soldiers killed.
The hidden sentries and guard posts set up around the camp were often wiped out in the middle of the night, and the bodies were not discovered until the next day when the shift changed.

Even small teams that leave their main camp to fetch water from nearby rivers or enter the mountains to cut firewood become their targets, and often never return.

These Cao army squads moved with extreme speed and clear tactics. After a single strike, regardless of whether they succeeded or not, they would immediately flee far away and never linger in battle.

This relentless and unpredictable harassment tactic caused considerable trouble and continuous casualties to the logistics and daily operations of Gu Rubing's army, and greatly affected the morale and sense of security of the lower-ranking soldiers.

An atmosphere of anxiety and tension began to permeate the military camp. Many soldiers did not even dare to take off their armor when they slept at night, fearing that the enemy might sneak up on the edge of the camp at any time.

Gu Rubing faces an unprecedented challenge: he needs to find a way to break Cao Cao's seemingly impenetrable "turtle shell" tactic.

The stalemate was like a gradually tightening net, tightly enveloping the eastern part of Liangzhou. Cao Cao's elusive harassment squads were indeed causing considerable trouble for Gu Rubing's army.

They did not charge recklessly, but rather cunningly chose their moments—often launching attacks in the evening or before dawn when the transport team had traveled all day, were exhausted, and were least vigilant; or they would take advantage of their familiarity with the terrain of eastern Liangzhou, lying in ambush at the bends of mountain roads and deep in the dense forests, striking once and retreating without ever engaging in prolonged combat.

Although these raids caused limited direct losses each time—burning a few carts of grain and killing dozens of escorting soldiers—the cumulative effect was not to be underestimated. More importantly, they were like a thorn in the side of logistics, causing officials and quartermasters responsible for grain transport to live in constant fear, and significantly reducing transport efficiency. (End of Chapter)