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

After lunch, Liu Bei led Zhang Fei to Sun Ce's camp.

Since it was a three-way alliance to attack Guangling, Yan Baihu was afraid of being used as a pawn, so he rejected Liu Bei's idea of ​​joining forces and set up his own camp on the other side of Guangling City.

Therefore, the two went to Sun Ce's camp, and Yan Baihu was completely unaware of this.

After the two arrived at the military camp, the guards at the camp gate did not dare to relax their vigilance and immediately notified Sun Ce. Soon after, Sun Ce, dressed in battle robes, came out to greet them personally.

"Lord Xuande, Brother Yide, you've arrived! Please come in quickly!"

Seeing that Liu Bei and Zhang Fei had actually arrived, Sun Ce sincerely admired Zhou Yu's wisdom, and with a smile on his face, he made the perfect gesture.

"General Sun, you're too kind. We've come to discuss something with you. We apologize for disturbing you!"

After exchanging pleasantries, Liu Bei led Zhang Fei into Sun Ce's camp.

Upon entering the military tent, Liu Bei discovered that Zhou Yu was also there. He couldn't help but think to himself, "This is good. With him present, Sun Ce might agree to my idea."

After the two men were seated and the guards served tea and left, Sun Ce went straight to the point and asked the other party the purpose of their visit:

"Lord Xuande, you said you had something important to discuss. What is it?"

Liu Bei picked up the scalding hot tea, took a small sip, and slowly said:

"You two are aware of what happened this morning, and you also know that it will be extremely difficult to capture Guangling County before Qin Xuan returns to Xuzhou."

"That Yan Baihu is indulging in wishful thinking, still dreaming of attacking Guangling!"

"My idea is for our two families to devise a plan to eliminate Yan Baihu. Even if we fail to conquer Guangling, we'll still have gained something."

"General Sun, what are your thoughts?"

After speaking, Liu Bei stared intently at Sun Ce's youthful face, waiting for his reply.

After hearing Liu Bei's purpose, Sun Ce exchanged glances with Zhou Yu, then pretended to be deep in thought.

As time passed, the military tent became eerily quiet, as if a mute button had been pressed, with only faint breathing sounds and the occasional neighing of warhorses coming from not far away.

The impatient Zhang Fei couldn't stand the silence and shouted loudly at Sun Ce, who was in the main seat:

"Kid, why are you dawdling like this? You're nothing like your father, Sun Jian. Hurry up and give me a straight answer! If it works out, great; if not, forget it!"

Seeing Sun Ce's hesitant expression, Zhang Fei bluntly complained. Back when the eighteen warlords were fighting against Dong Zhuo, he had a good impression of Sun Jian and greatly admired his forthright style.

A loud, gruff voice broke the silence in the military tent. Sun Ce slightly raised his head, a hint of displeasure flashing in his eyes as he looked at Zhang Fei, but he quickly concealed it and finally fixed his gaze on Liu Bei.

"That's possible, but how should the sphere of influence in Wu Commandery be divided?"

Sun Ce's voice was calm and slow, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

Upon seeing that Sun Ce had agreed, Liu Bei was secretly delighted. He immediately and generously stated that he did not need any territory in Wu Commandery, but only sought to form a solid alliance with Sun Ce to jointly fight against Qin Xuan of Xu Province and conquer the various commanderies of Yang Province.

Upon hearing this, everyone present was stunned, especially Zhang Fei, who stared at Liu Bei with a very surprised look. Just as he was about to ask why he didn't want territory, Liu Bei gave him a look.

Although Zhang Fei was a rough man, he also had a meticulous side. After receiving Liu Bei's look, he swallowed the question that was about to come out and just stood there in a daze.

"This...!"

Sun Ce and Zhou Yu exchanged glances, a hint of surprise flashing in their eyes. Liu Bei was a very cunning fellow.

"Lord Xuande, it's settled then. Let's make a pact first, and then discuss how to deal with Yan Baihu!"

Zhou Yu reacted quickly and immediately decided to use written evidence to solidify the matter, in case Liu Bei later denied it.

"OK!"

Subsequently, Sun Ce and Liu Bei signed a written alliance, agreeing to jointly eliminate Yan Baihu. The Wu Commandery would be given to Sun Ce, and the two formed a political and military alliance to oppose Qin Xuan of Xuzhou.

············

"Brother, why don't you want the territory of Wu County? We brothers are currently living under someone else's roof, and that's not a good feeling!"

"Now that we finally have our own territory, why don't you want it?"

Outside Sun Ce's camp, Liu Bei and Zhang Fei had only gone a short distance when Zhang Fei couldn't help but ask. If he hadn't received a signal from Liu Bei, he wouldn't have held back for so long.

Therefore, as soon as he was out of sight of Sun Ce's guards, Zhang Fei couldn't hold back any longer and insisted on getting to the bottom of things.

"Third brother, do you know that Wu Commandery and Guangling in Xuzhou are very close? Once we enter Wu Commandery, Qin Xuan of Xuzhou will definitely find out. We don't have many troops right now, how can we possibly withstand his iron cavalry?"

That was Liu Bei's thinking. Wu Commandery was too close to Xu Province and was not suitable for his development. Given Qin Xuan's character, once he found out that Liu Bei had taken control of Wu Commandery, he would definitely send troops to deal with him.

Furthermore, Sun Ce is not an easy person to get along with. The two sides are so close, who knows when he might send troops to attack us. How will we defend ourselves then?

It would be better to swallow the pain and make an alliance with Sun Ce; perhaps then we'd have a chance to win him over!

After listening, Zhang Fei nodded blankly, somewhat agreeing with Liu Bei's idea.

Let's go!

Seeing that Zhang Fei understood his good intentions, Liu Bei patted the former on the shoulder with satisfaction, and then walked towards his own camp.

·······

Inside the military tent, Sun Ce remained seated in the main seat, motionless, deep in thought. He was pondering why Liu Bei would make such a great sacrifice.

"Gongjin, what's your opinion? Do you think Liu Bei would be so kind? What exactly is he up to?"

Sun Ce couldn't understand what Liu Bei was planning, so he could only pass the question to Zhou Yu, who was only good at wielding a spear and charging into battle, and was not good at strategizing and fighting.

Upon hearing Sun Ce's words, Zhou Yu paced back and forth in his military tent, pondering the reasons behind them. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't understand why Liu Bei didn't want the territory of Wu Commandery. Was there some other conspiracy involved?

As for whether Liu Bei would scheme against both sides or play a double game, that's simply impossible, because Liu Bei didn't have any decent strategists around him, so it was impossible for him to come up with such a risky plan.

After all, Liu Bei's military strength was insufficient to support him in carrying out such a plan.

Suddenly his eyes glanced at the map hanging to the side, and when he saw the geographical location of Wu County, a clue flashed through his mind.

"Oh, I see, Bo Fu, I understand now!"

Zhou Yu's voice made Sun Ce suddenly raise his head, staring blankly at him, waiting for an explanation.

"Bo Fu, look at the geographical location of Wu Commandery. It's very close to Guangling Commandery in Xuzhou, and Liu Bei and Qin Xuan have a deep-seated hatred for each other. Liu Bei simply wouldn't dare to develop here!"

"Furthermore, he was afraid we might launch a surprise attack on him one day, which is why he gave up the territory that was within his grasp!"

"That must be it!"

Zhou Yu pointed to the map beside him and analyzed.

Sun Ce then went to Zhou Yu's side, his eyes fixed on the location of Wu Commandery on the map. Combining this with Zhou Yu's analysis, and after some thought, he felt that this was the most reasonable explanation.

"Liu Bei is quite shrewd!"

Sun Ce uttered these words in a low voice.