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

On the tenth day of the second month of 195 AD, Lü Bu, who had already returned to Xiaopei and made all the preparations, officially led his army to attack Yuan Shu of Yuzhou, with Chen Gong as his military advisor.

Their military might was aimed directly at the Liang state, which was closest to Xiaopei.

The Liang Kingdom was established in 79 AD. It was a fiefdom of the Liu clan and was geographically very important, bordering Xiaopei, the gateway to Xuzhou, and Yinji, Yanzhou.

Therefore, Yuan Shu amassed a large army in Liang, both to attack Xuzhou and to defend against attacks from Cao Cao in Yanzhou from this direction.

On the rugged road leading to the Liang Kingdom, a large army bearing the banner of Lü was marching swiftly and imposingly, each face beaming with hopeful anticipation for the future.

Finally, I don't have to live that kind of dependent life anymore.

Lu Bu rode his Red Hare with dashing grace, holding his halberd, a triumphant smile on his face, as if the Liang Kingdom was already his for the taking.

"Gongtai, Qin Xuan is really generous. He has prepared ten days' worth of provisions for us. In my opinion, as long as Cao Cao doesn't make a move, it won't take ten days."

"In just three days, I will be able to conquer Liang, and even attack Yuan Shu's stronghold—Shouchun!"

Lu Bu spoke confidently to Chen Gong beside him.

When Lu Bu mentioned that Qin Xuan had prepared ten days' worth of provisions for his army, he became somewhat arrogant. In his opinion, it would only take three days to conquer Liang, since Yuan Shu's army was just a rabble.

Seeing Lü Bu's arrogant and conceited expression, Chen Gong sighed heavily. Although Lü Bu was highly skilled in martial arts, he was arrogant and did not take anyone seriously.

The worst thing for a general is to be blindly confident.

"Fengxian, although we have an alliance with Qin Xuan, we should not let our guard down. After all, there are no permanent allies in this world, only permanent interests."

"Moreover, Yuan Shu has some ability to have developed to this point, and he has many capable people under his command, so we must prepare for the worst."

"If we get into a stalemate, we must withdraw immediately, because we can't rely on others alone!"

Although Chen Gong had no objection to sending troops, he always had a bad feeling, and he didn't know where this feeling came from, so he would still remind Lü Bu more often.

After all, Chen Gong never dreamed that Qin Xuan would join forces with Yuan Shu and Cao Cao to set a trap for them in order to get rid of Lü Bu.

"Gongtai, you're overthinking it. I'm not some reckless brute who only knows how to fight; of course I won't place all my hopes on Qin Xuan!"

"Order the army to immediately collect all the grain as soon as they enter Liang territory, and we will distribute it to the army as a priority."

Lu Bu did not take Chen Gong's advice to heart, but instead adopted some of it.

"Alright, your arrangement is quite prudent!" Chen Gong agreed with Lü Bu's idea after thinking for a moment.

This was something Lü Bu had inquired about from Xue Rengui.

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Just as Lü Bu's army was setting off, Qin Xuan sent someone disguised and on horseback to deliver the news to Liu Bowen, who was far away in Shouchun.

Upon learning that Lü Bu's army had already mobilized, Yuan Shu temporarily appointed Liu Bowen and Guo Jia as the commanders-in-chief of the army, and together they went to Liang to resist Lü Bu's army.

This bought time for Cao Cao and Qin Xuan's armies to encircle them.

This was the first time that Qin and Cao had joined forces to deal with Lü Bu. In order to make Lü Bu fall into the encirclement without any scruples, the two decided to trap Lü Bu's army in Suiyang.

Most of their heavy troops were concentrated here.

Suiyang, as the capital of Liang, boasts the largest population and the strongest economy. If Lü Bu wants to expand his power, he must occupy Suiyang.

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Therefore, adopting a strategy of prioritizing defense over external defenses and relying on city walls is the only way they can achieve their goal of delaying the enemy.

However, since Chen Gong, who was by Lü Bu's side, was a resourceful and cunning fellow, such a deployment would surely arouse his suspicion. Therefore, Liu Bowen transferred all the Black Mountain Army troops in Yuzhou to the front line of Liang State and had them equipped with Yuan army gear in order to deceive the old fox Chen Gong.

"Lord Liu, your plan is truly flawless! I am in awe!"

Inside the Prime Minister's residence of the Liang Kingdom, all the generals of the Yuan army gathered together. After listening to Liu Bowen's general strategic plan, everyone was stunned. Guo Jia was the first to react, slowly clapping his hands and praising Liu Bowen for his wisdom and resourcefulness.

This shows a complete understanding of human nature. On the one hand, it takes advantage of Lü Bu's weakness of being ambitious, arrogance and conceited, and sets the final battleground in Suiyang, abandoning most of the Liang Kingdom.

On the other hand, tens of thousands of Black Mountain troops were disguised as Yuan's troops to try to dispel Chen Gong's suspicions.

"Lord Liu, although your plan is foolproof, there will always be someone in Lü Bu's army who discovers it. How will you deal with that?"

Faced with Guo Jia's question, Liu Bowen simply smiled and continued:

"Is Fengxiao worried about Zhang Liao and Gao Shun?"

Guo Jia didn't speak, but simply nodded. As Cao Cao's strategist, Guo Jia was in charge of Cao Cao's most secretive intelligence organization and had some knowledge of most of the generals under the various warlords.

Zhang Liao and Gao Shun were both rare wise generals by Lü Bu's side, capable of leading troops into battle independently. Such people were the focus of Guo Jia's attention.

"Don't worry, those two didn't participate in this operation. Instead, they were sent by Lü Bu to be held hostage in Xuzhou."

"These two are also talents that my lord wants to recruit!"

Liu Bowen naturally understood the deeper meaning behind Guo Jia's words. He must have had a plan for them before mentioning these two people separately, otherwise he wouldn't have done so for no reason.

"Hehe, it seems Lord Qin truly possesses discerning eyes!"

Guo Jia was taken aback at first, then praised Qin Xuan with a tone of great regret, while mentally raising Qin Xuan's threat level to the highest level.

Once we get back, we must demonstrate Qin Xuan's threat to Cao Cao.

"Without eliminating Qin Xuan, Cao Cao will find it difficult to achieve his great ambition!"

Liu Bowen did not delve too deeply into this issue, but instead assigned combat missions to the Yuan army generals present.

As for Guo Jia, he personally went to the front line to guide Yuan's army, using the terrain advantage to lure Lü Bu to the final battleground—Suiyang.

When Lü Bu launched his campaign against Liang, both Cao Cao and Qin Xuan began large-scale mobilizations.

Qin Xuan ordered Xue Rengui to lead troops to Xiaopei to take charge of logistics, while he and Yuwen Chengdu led 5,000 troops and the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry to Feng County, west of Pei State, as previously agreed.

He was tasked with keeping an eye on Cao Cao in Yanzhou for Lü Bu, so that if Cao Cao launched a surprise attack on Lü Bu's rear, he could rush to his rescue as quickly as possible, ensuring that Lü Bu had no worries about his rear.

Cao Cao ordered his general Cao Ren to lead 10,000 troops to garrison Changyi in Shanyang, while he himself led 10,000 troops to garrison Dingtao without anyone noticing.

Dingtao, as the seat of Jiyin Commandery, was very close to Liang State in Yuzhou. Once Lü Bu was bogged down in a prolonged battle in Suiyang, Cao Cao and Cao Ren could launch a pincer attack from both sides, traveling from Dingtao through Bo County (now Cao County) and finally reaching Meng County in Liang State.

One route started from Changyi, passed through Shanfu (now Shanxian), crossed the Yong River, and arrived at the Tongting and Luncheng area.

Then Qin Xuan went from Feng County to Xiayi in Dangshan and Jianping to cut off Lü Bu's escape route to the south. Yuan Shu's main force passed through Ku County from Runan and arrived in the Gushu area.

They surrounded Lü Bu and annihilated him in one fell swoop.