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

Time quickly passed and it was afternoon. After a quick lunch, Qin Xuan summoned Liu Bowen, Zhang Juzheng, and others to discuss the next steps for the development of Xuzhou.

"Report! My lord, the messenger sent by Gongsun Zan has arrived and is currently at the inn."

Just as the three were having a heated discussion, Qin Qiong walked in, cupped his hands, and reported to his superior.

"Gongsun Zan's envoy? Could it be that he's here to ask for help?"

Upon hearing the name Gongsun Zan, Qin Xuan immediately thought of his conflict with Yuan Shao and the purpose of the other party's visit immediately came to mind.

Intelligence from the Jiyou branch of the Black Ice Guard indicates that Yuan Shao is intensifying his offensive against Gongsun Zan.

Since the Battle of Jieqiao, Gongsun Zan has suffered heavy losses, losing all his elite troops. Now, he has built the massive Yijing Fortress in Yi County, concentrating all his forces there for defense.

Sending people to seek help at this point indicates that the situation has become extremely critical.

"Shubao, bring him over here!"

Qin Qiong responded and turned to leave the governor's mansion.

Zhang Juzheng and Liu Bowen exchanged a glance inside the hall, and Liu Bowen then asked curiously:

"My lord, do you not intend to get involved in the struggle between Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan?"

"My goal is still Qingzhou, and I don't care about Gongsun Zan's life or death at all."

Qin Xuan gazed at the scenery outside the hall and said calmly:

"Aren't we planning to march on Qingzhou? We can use this opportunity to put pressure on Yuan Shao!"

"Once Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan are locked in a stalemate and unable to attend to Qingzhou, we can seize Qingzhou as quickly as possible, then reinforce our troops. Let's see if Yuan Shao dares to fight another battle!"

"If Gongsun Zan can't hold on, we can help him out so that Yuan Shao can't take care of Qingzhou."

Qin Xuan's idea was to use Gongsun Zan to hold back Yuan Shao's main force, thereby reducing the resistance to his occupation of Qingzhou.

"But Yuan Shao wouldn't let Gongsun Zan send someone to ask for help so easily, would he? What if it's a trap?"

Zhang Juzheng, who was standing to the side, suddenly spoke up and said, "Now that Gongsun Zan is surrounded by Yuan Shao, how could he so easily send people to seek help from all sides?"

"I don't know. What if they fight their way out? It's not too late to ask them when they arrive."

After an unknown amount of time, Qin Qiong finally arrived at the governor's mansion with his envoy.

The man who arrived was a travel-worn man in his thirties, tall and imposing, resembling a military general, but with a deep weariness on his face.

"This humble official, Guan Jing, greets Lord Qin," the man said, bowing respectfully in a hoarse voice.

"Guan Jing, what brings you here?" Qin Xuan was surprised to find that it was Guan Jing who had come. This guy was Gongsun Zan's loyal subordinate. Historically, he had advised Gongsun Zan against breaking out and advocated for holding the city. After the city fell, he felt extremely guilty and fought to the death in the battle against Yuan's army.

Unexpectedly, this guy was sent out by Gongsun Zan to ask for help.

After thinking for a moment, Guan Jing seemed to be taking this opportunity to organize his thoughts:

"Lord Qin, my lord Sun Zan has sent me to Xuzhou to request assistance. I hope you can help us overcome this crisis!"

When faced with Qin Xuan's straightforward question, Guan Jing answered in such a matter-of-fact manner that he didn't seem like someone asking for a favor.

Seeing Guan Jing's appearance, Qin Xuan frowned, but didn't pay much attention.

"I want to know how long Gongsun Zan can hold out, and how he can receive support from Xuzhou?"

This is what Qin Xuan wanted to know.

Guan Jing said, "We can hold out for another two years, but my lord Sun Zan hopes that Xuzhou can send a cavalry force to raid Yuan Shao's Jizhou as soon as possible. Then we can attack Yuan Shao from both inside and outside."

"This~~~~"

Upon hearing that Gongsun Zan could hold on for another two years, Liu Bowen, who was in the hall, was about to speak when Qin Xuan stopped him with a look.

Qin Xuan blurted out, "You should go back and rest first. I'll discuss this with my subordinates and let you know as soon as we have a result!"

"This humble official takes his leave!"

Upon hearing Qin Xuan's words, Guan Jing said nothing more and, led by Qin Qiong, left the governor's mansion and returned to the inn to await news.

After the envoy left, Liu Bowen expressed his opinion, having been holding it in for quite some time.

"My lord, Guan Jing is talking complete nonsense. According to our intelligence, Gongsun Zan cannot even hold out for a year, yet he dares to say that he can hold out for two years."

"And... moreover, his tone is like an order. In my opinion, we should just ignore him. I think Cao Cao and the others should have received Gongsun Zan's plea for help."

Qin Xuan didn't speak, but instead looked at Zhang Juzheng, who remained silent, wanting to hear his opinion.

"Since our lord has sent someone to request reinforcements, it would be unreasonable for us to refuse. However, we must wait until Gongsun Zan is completely unable to hold on before we can launch an attack!"

"Helping Gongsun Zan would be entirely detrimental to us, but since he came to us for help, we couldn't refuse."

"My lord, you may decide everything."

"Uh~~~~"

After listening to Zhang Juzheng's opinion, Qin Xuan felt utterly speechless. What the hell was the difference between this and not saying anything at all?

"You may leave now. I'll think about this some more!"

"You may leave now. I'll think about this some more!"

After Qin Xuan dismissed the two men, he immediately left Tancheng with a dozen or so Great Snow Dragon Riders and headed to Langya Kingdom to discuss the matter with Li Jing.

·············

As evening fell, Qin Xuan, escorted by dozens of Snow Dragon Riders, rode swiftly to Kaiyang in Langya Kingdom, where he met Li Jing, who was preparing his army for an attack on Qingzhou at any moment.

Langya Kingdom is adjacent to Beihai Kingdom and Donglai County of Qingzhou. It is an important stronghold for attacking Qingzhou. Moreover, Langya Kingdom has open terrain, which is suitable for large-scale long-distance cavalry raids.

When Qin Xuan arrived at the Kaiyang military camp, Li Jing had already been waiting for a long time.

"My lord, what brings you here? Are you worried?"

Upon seeing Qin Xuan, Li Jing made a small joke.

Qin Xuan dismounted, walked up to Li Jing, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "You've worked hard, Pharmacist. Come on, let's go inside and talk in detail."

The two walked side by side into the military camp and arrived at the main tent.

Li Jing ordered tea to be served, and after the two sat down, Qin Xuan went straight to the point, asking, "Pharmacist, how's the preliminary reconnaissance going? How confident are we in capturing Qingzhou in a short time?"

Li Jing smiled slightly upon hearing this and said, "My lord, I have carefully analyzed the situation in Qingzhou. After the death of the governor of Qingzhou, Jiao He, Yuan Shao sent Zang Hong to take over, but Zang Hong's foundation is unstable and the people's hearts are not yet with him. Now, the people in Qingzhou are in a state of panic, which is a good time for us to attack."

"According to intelligence from the Black Ice Guard, Yuan Shao has more than 10,000 troops in Qingzhou, mainly stationed in the Pingyuan area, and commanded by his eldest son Yuan Tan."

"In addition, the Beihai Kingdom also has several thousand troops under the command of Tian Kai. I heard that he used to be a general under Gongsun Zan and once went to rescue Xuzhou with Liu Bei."

"Things are tough these days; I'm afraid it won't be long before we're destroyed by Yuan Shao!"

Qin Xuan nodded after listening. It seemed that Li Jing's pre-battle reconnaissance was exceptionally thorough. In such a short time, he had already grasped the military deployment of Qingzhou perfectly.

"My lord, what brings you here today? You can't have come just to check up on me, can you?"

Li Jing asked.

"Pharmacist, I've come today to tell you that Gongsun Zan has sent an envoy to ask for our support to help them overcome their difficulties!"

"Bo Wen and Shu Da both disagreed with supporting Gongsun Zan."

"My idea is to take advantage of the stalemate between Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao, which prevents Yuan Shao from paying attention to Qingzhou, and conquer Qingzhou as quickly as possible."

"Therefore I want to know how long it will take you to occupy Qingzhou before Yuan Shao's reinforcements arrive."

"This will allow me to decide whether or not to rescue Gongsun Zan, thereby maximizing my gains."

Qin Xuan told Li Jing, who was beside him, the main purpose of his visit.