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

Qin Xuan's orders were sent to the front lines on the plains by the Black Ice Guard at top speed.

The order was issued in the morning and arrived in Li Jing's hands on the afternoon of the third day, nearly a third faster than the usual time.

Inside the Xuzhou army camp outside Pingyuan City, soldiers were busy making simple siege equipment. In case Xuzhou did not agree to Yuan Shao's conditions and insisted on attacking, they would be prepared and could take Pingyuan as quickly as possible before reinforcements arrived.

Li Jing was gathering his deputy generals to discuss the attack plan when a trusted confidant walked in.

"General, the lord has sent orders!"

The trusted aide took out the letter that had just been delivered by the Black Ice Guard and presented it to them with folded hands.

"Oh, so fast?"

Li Jing was secretly surprised. He quickly took the letter from his confidant and began to examine it eagerly. When the generals in the room heard that it was a message from their lord, they all fell silent and waited for the latest instructions.

After a long while, a smile finally appeared on Li Jing's weathered face. Holding the scroll, he excitedly addressed the assembled generals:

"Our lord has agreed to negotiate with Yuan Shao, and I will take full responsibility. I hereby order the entire army to enter a state of highest alert; there must be no relaxation whatsoever!"

"General, what is the reason for this?" The deputy general was puzzled when he heard Li Jing's order. Wasn't it supposed to be a negotiation? Why was the army being prepared for war?

"Didn't our lord clearly state that he wanted to negotiate with Yuan Shao? Why are you still...?"

"Hehe, I have my reasons for doing this," Li Jing explained. "Although it's a negotiation, no one can guarantee that the other side will accept our conditions. By putting the entire army on high alert and being ready to launch a fierce attack on the plains at any time, we can firmly grasp the initiative!"

"The importance of the plains is self-evident. If our lord hadn't agreed to negotiations, this city would have been captured long ago. To retreat hastily without any benefit—who among you would be happy about that? Do you think your soldiers would be so willing?"

"I'm doing this to gain more benefits. Alright, do as I say and get ready. Make as much noise as possible to make Yuan's army in Pingyuan City hesitate and force them to make the biggest concessions!"

"Here you go!"

The lieutenants' eyes lit up at the idea, and they all agreed.

Two more days passed, and Xu You, Wen Chou, Yuan Tan, and others on the city wall of Pingyuan were filled with apprehension as they watched the commotion coming from Li Jing's camp in the distance.

"General Wen Chou, Lord Xu, listen to this commotion! Is they about to attack? Could it be that Qin Xuan intends to fight us to the death? Can we withstand it?"

Yuan Tan felt a little scared as he listened to the commotion coming from afar.

The vast Qingzhou was captured by the enemy in less than a few dozen days, and now their army is advancing directly towards Pingyuan.

As the highest-ranking official in Qingzhou, he bore a tremendous responsibility. If even the last plains were lost, his position in the Yuan family would plummet, and he would essentially be excluded from the competition for succession.

This is something he cannot tolerate.

"Young master, we don't know what tricks Li Jing is up to. Two days ago, as soon as they made this commotion, we sent an envoy to inquire, but the result was that Qin Xuan has not yet given any clear instructions."

"As for whether we can withstand their advance, that's a question for General Wen!"

Xu You then passed the buck to Wen Chou, who was standing to the side. Leading troops into battle was his duty, so only he could answer Yuan Tan's question.

Seeing that Yuan Tan and Xu You were looking at him, Wen Chou was about to answer when he suddenly caught sight of more than a hundred iron cavalrymen emerging from Li Jing's camp in the distance, galloping toward them.

"Look, they're making a move!"

Wen Chou's shout successfully diverted Xu You and Yuan Tan's attention. What they saw was a cavalry force of over a hundred men from Li Jing's camp moving rapidly toward them.

"Archers, prepare!"

Upon seeing this cavalry force of over a hundred men, Wen Chou immediately ordered the men on the city wall to prepare for battle, so that he could launch a timely counterattack should the enemy launch the first attack.

As they spoke, over a hundred cavalrymen from Xuzhou had stopped a hundred meters from the city gate. Then, Yuwen Chengdu, riding his warhorse, stepped forward and roared:

"Listen up, those on the city wall! I am Yuwen Chengdu of Xuzhou. My lord, Qin Xuan, has sent a letter. We are preparing to hold negotiations outside the city at Shenshi (3-5 PM). Please attend on time!"

Before Xu You and the others could react, Yuwen Chengdu waved his hand, turned his horse around, and led his men back to the military camp, giving them no chance to speak.

"What did they say?"

After a long while, Xu You gradually came to his senses and confirmed it again.

"Lord Xu, the other side has agreed to negotiations, which will take place outside the city at Shenshi (3-5 PM) this afternoon!"

Wen Chou chimed in from the side.

"Okay, okay, then we'll leave the city this afternoon!"

············

Time quickly came to the afternoon, around 3 PM. Yuan Tan, Xu You, and Wen Chou, along with more than a hundred guards, left the city on time and arrived at an open space 500 meters outside the city.

A large tent had already been set up, and Li Jing and the others had been waiting for a long time.

"Please come in, gentlemen. General Li Jing is waiting inside the tent!"

Yuwen Chengdu, expressionless, invited Yuan Tan and the other two into the tent, where they met Li Jing.

"Please be seated, all three of you. My lord has entrusted me with all matters concerning the negotiations, therefore, I am in charge of everything!"

As soon as they entered, Li Jing quickly stood up and invited them to sit down, then spoke up, saying that he was in charge.

After the three were seated, Yuan Tan spoke first:

"Since this is a negotiation, let's get straight to the point. The reason we're requesting negotiations is because our main focus has been on eliminating Gongsun Zan; we simply haven't had the time or resources to spare. Otherwise, we wouldn't be in this situation today!"

Yuan Tan immediately adopted a stubborn and defiant stance, refusing to admit that his incompetence was the cause of the current situation.

But Li Jing ignored him, keeping his eyes fixed on Xu You, since he was the only one who could represent Yuan Shao in negotiations.

"Lord Xu, since Young Master Yuan has gotten straight to the point, I won't beat around the bush with you. My lord's opinion is that our army can refrain from attacking Pingyuan, but your side must pay an additional 100,000 dan of grain."

"The two sides took the area around Zhuoxian, Licheng, Qiancheng, and Miaocheng as the boundary, and our army retreated to Le'an Kingdom."

"And we will not interfere with your military operations to eliminate Gongsun Zan."

"Otherwise, we will launch a fierce attack on the plains. Our reinforcements have already been deployed to the area and can join the battle as quickly as possible, including the Great Snow Dragon Riders."

"There won't be any room for negotiation then!"

Li Jing's words were a blatant threat, especially the part where he mentioned that the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry had already entered the county, leaving Xu You and the others with no choice but to accept it passively.

The plains area is hilly, making a large-scale cavalry raid a piece of cake. In addition, the two places are less than 100 miles apart, so once a general offensive is launched, the support troops can arrive as quickly as possible.

Yuan Jun had no time to resist. Once the city was breached, the Snow Dragon Cavalry's fighting power would be overwhelming.

"This~~~~~~"

Xu You and the others were dumbfounded, unable to utter the words they had prepared. Li Jing's domineering actions were simply unacceptable to them.

One hundred thousand dan of grain was nothing to Yuan Shao, who had a large and powerful family, but he couldn't just give it away for free.

"Since you haven't made up your minds yet, there's no rush. You can take your time to think it over, but for every day you delay, we'll add 10,000 dan of grain."

"Furthermore, this was a negotiation you initiated, and you have the right to back out at any time."

After saying this, Li Jing got up and walked out of the tent, giving the three of them ample time to think and discuss.