He originally intended to surrender to Wei, so why did he end up restoring Han?

Next, both sides exaggerated the intensity of the battle, but for several days afterward, the soldiers barely saw each other. Neither side had been properly prepared for combat from the start; lacking logistical support, they were only capable of defense. So, the situation returned to its previous state, with both sides staring at each other helplessly.

There has been progress, though. The distance between the two sides in the sit-in battle has been shortened from hundreds of miles to tens of miles, which is now very close.

Sun Ce waited like this until the second year of Jian'an, when he couldn't wait any longer. Liu Xun had Liu Biao to support him, but Sun Ce didn't! If this continued, Liu Xun wouldn't even be needed anymore, and his side would collapse.

Zhou Yu then gave Sun Ce another idea: since the front was already fortified, why didn't our army bypass it from another direction and directly attack Liu Xun's flank? It had to be Zhou Yu; seeing that the fortress tactic wasn't working, he had already started working on the Schlieffen Plan (a German plan in World War I to break through the French defenses from the flank).

After careful consideration, Sun Ce realized that the key to victory on the battlefield lay in whether he could successfully launch a surprise attack.

Sun Ce then assembled a fleet, preparing to sail upstream along the Yangtze River and land behind Liu Xun's lines.

However, Sun Ce's army ultimately failed to land, as they unexpectedly encountered Liu Xun's navy sailing downstream on the Yangtze River. It turned out that the other side had the same idea. Feeling that great minds think alike, the two sides began training on the Yangtze River, engaging in fierce and lively battles.

Liu Xun's naval commanders were Chen Lan and Su Fei, leading a combined fleet composed of troops from Jiangxia and Lujiang. Su Fei saw this as a good opportunity to make a name for himself and even brought his friend Gan Ning along.

After the battle, neither side completed its mission. Sun Ce's navy and Liu Xun's navy were both inherited from Yuan Shu's navy, taught by the same master, and they couldn't break through each other's tactics. Gan Ning's Jin Fan pirates, no matter how capable they were, only numbered a few hundred. Although they fought well, they ultimately failed to achieve a decisive victory.

The situation has returned to square one.

Now he couldn't break through from either the front or the side, and Sun Ce began to feel that he was in a difficult situation. Sun Ce's strength was really lacking in foundation. If he had been given another year, he wouldn't have ended up like this.

He sensed that his luck had started to turn bad ever since he took over Guangling City.

Seeing Sun Ce's frustrated expression, Zhou Yu finally revealed his long-considered plan: to drag Liu Bei in from the north into the mess. Now that Guangling has been discovered to be a poisonous piece of meat, why not give it to Liu Bei and let him compete with Liu Xun?

Sun Ce didn't really agree with the plan. From a military perspective, a proactive retreat and defensive posture was indeed a good choice, especially given their current weakness. However, it was too much of a political blunder, and it was very likely that the rebellious sentiments of the Jiangdong aristocratic families would resurface. Jiangdong would then never truly be stable again.

Neither of them could persuade the other, so the stalemate continued. However, both agreed to seek outside help, and Liu Bei, who was closest and most reputable, became their primary target for recruitment.

Thus, Sun Ce's alliance proposal reached Liu Bei through Chen Deng.

"I do not recommend forming an alliance with them, my lord." Seeing Liu Bei's questioning gaze, Lu Wan shook her head: "This is not a personal grudge between me and Sun Ce, but rather that Sun Ce has only come to us out of desperation. If I am not mistaken, under the same conditions, Sun Ce must have also approached Lü Bu, Cao Cao, and others."

Based on her knowledge from later generations, Lu Wan was unwilling to form an alliance with Sun Ce. This man's credit score was so low that he couldn't even borrow a power bank. Making an agreement with him was like an old man hanging himself because he was tired of living.

But Cao Cao was different. If he joined forces with Sun Ce, Liu Xun might not be able to withstand the attack. Then Cao Cao would occupy Yu Province and Sun Ce would occupy Yang Province, and Liu Bei would be surrounded and attacked.

Lu Wan immediately realized that this was an opportunity to cause Cao Cao some trouble and not let him have it so easy.

Liu Bei had also figured it out: "Since that's the case, let's just refuse."

"My lord, after some thought, I believe our army should make some strategic adjustments. Things are only just starting to look promising in Langya Commandery, and it will take some time to see tangible results. The agricultural settlements are also getting on track; perhaps we should take this opportunity to cause Cao Cao some trouble."

Lu Wan's words drew the attention of everyone in the room. Cao Cao was now the Minister of Works of the Imperial Court, so attacking Cao Cao was almost equivalent to attacking the Imperial Court.

Liu Bei frowned: "Wen Yuan, this is something we need to think about carefully. Although we know that Cao Sikong has overstepped his bounds in some matters, he was the one who saved the emperor. If we attack him rashly, we might greatly disappoint the people."

"That's not the case, my lord. Cao Cao hasn't done anything too outrageous. It's just that after welcoming back the emperor, the court lavishly rewarded him, feeding Cao Cao and all his subordinates to the skies."

Lu Wan believes that one of the most likely reasons why Cao Cao did not become emperor was that he failed to unify the country. If he had, his merits would have been sufficient to inherit the Mandate of Heaven.

"But this is destined to be short-lived. Once the novelty wears off, these people will continue to want to climb higher. Can Cao Sikong control them? It's questionable whether he can even control himself."

If Cao Cao doesn't want to advance, his subordinates will disagree.

"Furthermore, if we're talking about which of the warlords in the land is most devoted to the Han Dynasty, then our lord is undoubtedly the one. Let's teach Cao Cao a lesson and let him know that there are still loyal ministers of the Han Dynasty in the land," Lu Wan said loudly.

"Then what should our army do?" Qian Zhao asked. Of the three, he had known Liu Bei the longest, but he was the least senior under Liu Bei. He was now full of enthusiasm and couldn't wait to make some achievements to repay Liu Bei's kindness.

"Who is this?"

Liu Bei slapped his thigh: "Oh dear, I was so busy talking about business that I forgot to introduce Wen Yuan."

"This is Zhao Yun, Zhao Zilong; this is Tian Yu, Tian Guorang; and this gentleman over here is Qian Zhao, Qian Zijing."

"So the three generals that our lord has been talking about every day are you! Seeing you today, you are indeed valiant generals!" In fact, if Lu Wan hadn't brought it up and asked Liu Bei if he knew anyone he could bring to Xuzhou, Liu Bei would never have remembered these people.

It wasn't that Liu Bei was heartless; it was that he thought he would never meet these people again, so he didn't include them in the recruitment list from the very beginning.

But when you're out and about, it's all about flattering each other and praising each other.

Returning to the main topic, Lu Wan said to the three men, "This requires the strength of you generals."