The Three Kingdoms: Rise to Power Starting with Intercepting Liu Bei

Runan, as an important town in the Central Plains, is densely populated and economically developed, and its strategic importance is self-evident. Yuan Shu has cultivated his power here for many years, and his influence has long been deeply rooted.

Shouchun was Yuan Shu's stronghold, with high walls and deep fortifications, giving it an impregnable feel.

Outside the city, the setting sun, like blood, dyed the earth a golden hue.

A group of over a hundred people escorted an ordinary horse-drawn carriage, arriving at Shouchun City dusty and weary from their journey.

"My lord, we have arrived!"

The captain of the guard approached the carriage and whispered his report inside, his tense expression easing slightly.

They had gone through countless hardships on their journey. After all, this was not Xuzhou, and it was not as safe. They encountered bandits as soon as they entered Runan. If they hadn't been well-trained elites, they probably wouldn't have been able to escape so easily.

Immediately afterward, a wise face emerged from the carriage, surveying the bustling city of Shouchun. This person was none other than Liu Bowen.

"Let's go into town!"

After looking around, Liu Bowen gave a deep order and then climbed back into the carriage.

"promise!"

The guards then rode off on horseback, escorting Liu Bowen into Shouchun City.

·······

Inside the prefectural governor's mansion, a mysterious guest arrived. Yuan Shu was discussing something with him, and the two seemed to be having a very pleasant conversation.

Just then, Yan Xiang hurried into the mansion, interrupting their conversation.

"My lord, Qin Xuan of Xuzhou has sent a middle-aged man named Liu Bowen, saying he has come to rescue you. He is currently waiting outside the mansion gate. What do you think?"

After greeting Yuan Shu and the mysterious guest in the hall, Yan Xiangchao explained his purpose.

"Oh, 'Save Lord Yuan,' that's an interesting idea. Since Lord Yuan has sent people from Xuzhou, I'll take my leave now. You two continue your discussion!"

Upon hearing that the person was sent by Qin Xuan, the guest smiled and then got up to take his leave.

"Hehe, how about this then? You wait in the back for a while and listen to what the other party has to say!"

Upon seeing this, Yuan Shu hurriedly spoke up, and then ordered Yan Xiang to bring Liu Bowen in so that he could hear the purpose of the visit.

Before long, Yan Xiang brought Liu Bowen, who had been waiting for a long time, into the hall.

"Liu Bowen of Xuzhou has come to pay his respects to Lord Yuan on the orders of my lord."

Liu Bowen cupped his hands slightly, his tone calm yet revealing a hint of determination.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shu, seated at the head of the table, slightly raised his head and looked at the confident Liu Bowen before him, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes:

"Qin Xuan sent you here, what is it about? Why did you say you were here to save me?"

Yuan Shu was arrogant and domineering, looking down on everyone. If Liu Bowen hadn't been Qin Xuan's subordinate, and if he hadn't had leverage over Liu Bowen, he would have dragged Liu Bowen out and beheaded long ago based on just one sentence. There would have been no chance for them to meet.

Liu Bowen took in the disdain in Yuan Shu's eyes, but he remained calm and composed, showing no change in expression.

He calmly cupped his hands and asked in return:

"Does Lord Yuan know that Lü Bu has withdrawn his troops from Yanzhou and stationed himself at Xiaopei?"

"Know!"

Yuan Shu nodded. His sphere of influence was in an extremely complex environment, and he did a very good job of gathering intelligence.

He was already fully aware of Lü Bu's every move, but he was puzzled: "Does this have anything to do with the question I asked?"

Before he could ask, Liu Bowen continued:

"Lu Bu's stationing at Xiaopei was a last resort. He is currently planning a joint attack with our army on the Liang Kingdom, which is within Yuan Shao's sphere of influence, and has already completed his pre-battle reconnaissance!"

"Lord Yuan, do you have any generals among your men capable of confronting Lü Bu?"

"What? Lü Bu wants to attack me?"

Yuan Shu was so shocked by the news brought by Liu Bowen that he stood up from his chair, his eyes wide as big as copper bells.

They were clearly very surprised by this, especially since the other side had already done pre-battle reconnaissance while they hadn't received any information.

"That's right!"

Liu Bowen nodded calmly, not at all surprised by Yuan Shu's surprised reaction; it would have been strange if Yuan Shu hadn't reacted after hearing it.

Yuan Shu quickly recovered from his shock, realized the most crucial point, and asked:

"So, does Qin Xuan mean he wants to betray Lü Bu?"

"After Lü Bu retreated from Yanzhou, he originally intended to conquer Xuzhou, but after being defeated by us, he backed down and temporarily borrowed Xiaopei. However, he never forgot these things."

"Therefore, my lord intends to take this opportunity to unite with Cao Cao and Yuan Shao to eliminate Lü Bu!"

Liu Bowen then revealed his true purpose for coming here.

"Mr. Liu, since you have the strength to defeat Lü Bu, why do you still want to ally with Cao Cao?"

Yan Xiang, who had been silent, voiced his question. After all, according to Liu Bowen, Lü Bu was forced to temporarily borrow Xiaopei because he couldn't defeat Qin Xuan, rather than actively attacking and occupying Xiaopei.

Therefore, for Qin Xuan of Xuzhou, killing Lü Bu was a piece of cake, and there was no need for a three-way conspiracy.

As soon as Yan Xiang asked the question, Yuan Shu and the mysterious person hiding behind him pricked up their ears, wanting to hear how Liu Bowen would explain it.

"Hahaha!" Liu Bowen laughed a few times and then said, "The reason why Lü Bu wants to unite with my lord is because he is afraid of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao joining forces. If Cao Cao doesn't get involved, Lü Bu won't let my lord get involved."

"Therefore, whether Cao Cao gets involved is the key to whether or not Lü Bu can be defeated!"

"Slap! Slap! Slap! Qin Xuan's scheme was indeed brilliant!"

Suddenly, applause rang out, followed by a young voice coming from the back of the hall.

Liu Bowen was slightly taken aback. He looked in the direction of the voice and saw a young man in a blue robe walk out from behind the screen with a slight smile on his face.

Liu Bowen, intrigued by the young man, looked at Yuan Shu and asked with a puzzled expression, "Lord Yuan, who is this?"

The young man smiled slightly, cupped his hands, and said, "Mr. Liu, I am Guo Jia, Guo Fengxiao, a scholar under Cao Cao."

The man was none other than Guo Jia, the brilliant strategist under Cao Cao. He came to Yuan Shu's side to join forces to attack Lü Bu.

"Hiss~~~~!"

Liu Bowen was shocked. He never expected that Guo Jia would appear here. It seemed that the two sides must have some kind of plan.

"Mr. Liu, Guo Jia has come here on Cao Cao's orders to join forces with me to attack Lü Bu and eliminate his threat to both of us."

Just as Liu Bowen was surprised, Yuan Shu explained the purpose of Guo Jia's visit.

"Mr. Liu, I understand why you've come. My lord wants to get rid of Lü Bu, so on behalf of my lord, I agree to your proposal: a three-way cooperation to eliminate Lü Bu."

Ever since Yanzhou began its reconstruction, Cao Cao had never been able to swallow his anger. The damage caused to Yanzhou by Lü Bu's army was particularly severe, and without several years of reconstruction, Yanzhou would never be able to recover to its original level of development.

Therefore, the mere thought of Lü Bu and Cao Cao gave him a splitting headache, as if his head was about to explode.

Everyone was anxious and couldn't think of any solutions. Fortunately, Guo Jia gave Cao Cao a good medicine, which relieved his anxiety.

Following Guo Jia's advice, joining forces with Yuan Shu to eliminate Lü Bu became Cao Cao's next strategic objective. Now that Qin Xuan has also joined in, this plan can be brought forward significantly.

After it was officially decided that the three parties would unite to eliminate Lü Bu, Liu Bowen and Guo Jia wrote letters to Qin Xuan and Cao Cao respectively to report the matter and await their final replies.