Three Kingdoms: Fusion of Entries, Change of Destiny

Chapter 111: Luxurious Strategists, Lu Bu's Scalp Numbed by Their Schemes
After Tao Qian suffered a heavy blow from Cao Cao outside Pengcheng, he retreated all the way back to Tancheng and stayed indoors.

He was already frightened by Cao Cao, so he simply decided to fortify his city and wait for reinforcements from Qingzhou.

Before this, Qingzhou Governor Tian Kai had sent a letter saying that he had personally led an army of 30,000 to provide assistance.

According to Tian Kai, as long as Cao Cao fails to capture the city for a long time, his army will retreat once the reinforcements from Qingzhou arrive.

However, Tian Kai's intentions were not pure. He and Gongsun Zan had been coveting Xuzhou for a long time.

Of course, he did not really want to rescue with all his strength this time, but wanted to wait until Cao Cao and Tao Qian were both defeated, and then take advantage of the situation.

Therefore, Tian Kai led his army to stop at the junction of Qing and Xu.

Seeing this, Liu Bei had no choice but to grit his teeth and lead the two thousand "elite" troops assigned to him by Tian Kai to go south alone to rescue Tao Qian.

On the way, Zhang Fei would occasionally glance back at the group of "elite soldiers," his teeth itching with hatred. "Brother, that Tian Kai is so disloyal! He actually assigned us a bunch of old and weak soldiers, and even called them 'experienced' and 'young and strong' elite soldiers!"

Zhang Fei pointed at one of them and said, "Look at that guy, big brother. He must be over sixty, right? And that kid, about fourteen or fifteen, hasn't even grown all his hair yet..."

"Third brother, stop making noise and disturbing my meditation." Although Guan Yu was also very angry, he didn't want Zhang Fei's complaints to affect Liu Bei.

Although Liu Bei had few troops and they were all old and weak, he was still determined to march south this time.

In order to find a way out and to find his own foundation, Liu Bei had to take this risk.

What's more, Tao Qian was famous for his benevolent policies and love for the people, which was consistent with the "benevolence" advocated by Liu Bei, so he had even less reason to stand by and watch him die.

"My two dear brothers, we must go all out to rescue Xuzhou this time." Liu Bei said to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.

"The generals and soldiers under Yuan Shao are no match for us, let alone Cao Cao, who is nothing to worry about!" Zhang Fei said loudly.

Liu Bei looked at the mountains in the distance and prayed silently in his heart, hoping that the rescue would be successful and that he and his men could find a place to settle down.

At the same time, I also hope to use this trip to practice the benevolence and righteousness in my heart, and let people all over the world know that there are still benevolent and righteous people in the world who are fighting for the people of the world!

……

Juancheng.

Half a month passed in a flash.

The Yingyang Guards sent out by Xi Zhicai have been monitoring the movements along the Yellow River, as well as Puyang and Chenliu.

Just half a quarter of an hour ago, Cao Yan finally received accurate intelligence: "Lü Bu crossed the Yellow River from Baimajin and is heading towards Chenliu County!"

After reading the intelligence, Cao Yan handed the letter to Zhuge Liang and asked, "Kong Ming, what do you think about this?"

Zhuge Liang lowered his head and thought for a moment, then said, "Lü Bu crossed the Yellow River with the intention of meeting up with Zhang Miao at Chenliu.

Zhang Miao is a two-faced person, with two faces.

When Cao Gong first took control of Yanzhou, he had contributed greatly, but now he had recruited Lü Bu to seek greater benefits for himself. Such despicable behavior was truly despicable.

Lu Bu was a brave man. Under his command were Chen Gong, a famous scholar from Yanzhou, and eight powerful generals.

If he joined forces with Zhang Miao, he would have raised a cry from a high place, and Yanzhou would have been in chaos.

Brother-in-law must be on guard!"

Cao Yan nodded slightly, secretly amazed in his heart,
"As expected of Zhuge Liang, he was able to analyze this much without me revealing too much information beforehand. He's truly amazing!"

"Some people are born evil, incomparable..."

"Wait...what did he just call me?"

Cao Yan couldn't help but glance at Zhuge Liang, but saw that he looked normal, which made Cao Yan wonder if he had just hallucinated.

Cao Yan and Zhuge Liang soon arrived at the governor's mansion. Xun Yu was busy with official business when he saw Cao Yan and nodded in greeting.

Cao Yan didn't waste any words and asked directly, "Wen Ruo, how is the concealment work going in the workshop outside Juancheng?"

Xun Yu replied, "The workshop has completely stopped production, and the equipment and materials have all been hidden in a hidden cave. It would be extremely difficult to find them unless you deliberately explore them."

Only then did Cao Yan nod with relief.

Zhuge Liang glanced at Cao Yan curiously, wondering what secrets were in the workshop that made Cao Yan so cautious.

Just at this moment, Xi Zhicai and Guo Jia walked in together.

Xi Zhicai said seriously, "Zi'an, I just received news that Zhang Miao has been instigated by Chen Gong to rebel. He is mobilizing his troops and is likely to attack us soon."

Guo Jia also said, "Some of the noble families in Yanzhou are beginning to stir. Bian Wenli and his men said they were going to Jingzhou to attend a literary gathering. I think they are going there to avoid disaster."

"That's understandable," Cao Yan said. "But as long as we survive this, Bian Wenli and the others will completely turn to us!"

Xi Zhicai continued, "Lü Bu and Zhang Miao's next target is likely to be Puyang, and then they will go straight to Juancheng."

At this time, Guo Jia said again: "Zi'an, you predicted it right again...Guo Gong, the Yuzhou governor appointed by Li Jue, has really sent troops!"

After Guo Gong took office, he used Liang State as his base.

Liang was a wealthy state, less affected by the war, and its flat terrain was conducive to marching. In just a few months, he had gathered tens of thousands of troops within Liang.

What is particularly crucial is that Liang State borders Jiyin County of Yanzhou, which makes it very convenient for Guo Gong to send troops to attack Yanzhou.

The prefect of Jiyin, Yuan Xu, was a member of the Yuan family.

Although Cao's army had rescued Yuan Xu once before, Yuan Xu would at most remain neutral and would not take the initiative to help Cao Cao.

Therefore, Cao Yan asked Guo Jia to write a letter to Shanyang Prefect Wang Qian, asking the Shanyang Wang family who stood on his side to be prepared to fortify the city and defend it to the death.

Although Guo Gong recruited a large number of soldiers in a short period of time, these soldiers lacked training and equipment. It was impossible for him to capture the well-prepared and fortified city of Changyi in a short period of time.

Cao Yan nodded and said, "Since Guo Gong is Li Jue's man, he will naturally not miss this golden opportunity of Yanzhou's emptiness. He must have colluded with Lü Bu, hoping to seize this opportunity to grab a piece of the pie. However, the Shanyang Wang family has already made preparations, so Guo Gong won't succeed so easily."

As long as Shanyang Commandery remains, Guo Gong will be afraid of having his food supply cut off, so he won't dare to head north to join Lü Bu. This will alleviate some of the pressure on us."

It was the first time that Zhuge Liang attended such an internal confidential meeting.

He knew that he was still young and lacked experience, so he did not express his opinions rashly, but quietly absorbed experience and knowledge.

Ever since Cao Yan "kidnapped" Zhuge Xuan's family to Yanzhou, he often kept Zhuge Liang by his side.

In the eyes of Guo Jia, Xi Zhicai and others,

This kid Cao Yan must have set his eyes on someone else's sister. He wants to get along well with Zhuge Liang so that he can get the upper hand.

Little did he know that the person Cao Yan really coveted was Zhuge Liang himself.

【Wolong】Ah, a rare entry among the golden entries! Who wouldn’t be tempted?
At this moment, Guo Jia touched his chin and suddenly laughed: "Lü Bu is brave but not wise, and Zhang Miao is indecisive. The two of them together may seem powerful, but in fact, they each have their own ulterior motives and are full of contradictions."

Upon hearing this, Cao Yan couldn't help but ask, "What's Feng Xiao's plan?"

Guo Jia said, "We can first send spies into Chenliu to spread the rumor that 'Lü Bu wants to seize Zhang Miao's military power.' Zhang Miao and Lü Bu are already superficially close, but they are actually at odds. A little provocation will create a rift between them."

At the same time, forge the secret letters between Zhang Miao and the lord, and then deliberately leak them to Lu Bu, creating the illusion that Zhang Miao was using a self-torture trick..."

Cao Yan smiled and made a suggestion: "Make more corrections on the letter. When the mud falls on your crotch, it will be shit!"

"Great!" The eyes of Xun Yu, Guo Jia, Xi Zhicai, Zhuge Liang and others all lit up.

(End of this chapter)