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

Chapter 82 Blitzkrieg Settlement

Lu Wan then revealed a meaningful smile: "Don't be in such a hurry. Although our army can't directly engage Sun Ce, we can still cause trouble."

Lu Wan was all too familiar with the tactic of planting mines for those who came after them when evacuating the area. He didn't even need to resort to the draconian methods later employed by Dai Ying to throw Huainan into chaos, preventing Liu Xun and Sun Ce from seeing Liu Bei as the biggest threat and allowing them to continue fighting each other.

Just kidding. I don't know how to make a place better, but do you think I don't know how to make a place worse?

Lu Wan first had someone bring her some paper, and then slowly wrote down her thoughts on the paper.

Start with diplomacy, working to ease tensions with Liu Xun, and avoid immediate provocation. Then, you can tell Liu Biao that Liu Xun is incredibly capable, even unafraid to confront Sun Ce head-on. With such a subordinate serving under Duke Jing Sheng, you can rest easy.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Fei couldn't help but remark, "Isn't this kind of sowing discord obvious at a glance? How could someone as clever as Liu Biao fall for such a wicked trick?"

Guan Yu narrowed his eyes and retorted, "Yide is wrong. Liu Biao will definitely fall for such a trick. Using a scheme isn't about how smart the opponent is; it's about the fact that as long as he's wary of Liu Xun, he can't possibly ignore our divisive tactics. So no matter how things develop, their suspicions will only grow stronger."

Lu Wan nodded in satisfaction. It seemed that Guan Yu had not only learned naval warfare tactics during this period, but had also made progress in strategy.

"As Guan Yu said, the success of a divisive tactic doesn't depend on the intelligence of the person who falls for it, but on the fundamental relationship between the two. What do you think of the relationship between Liu Biao and Liu Xun? Is it the kind of relationship where they share life and death and trust each other?"

Zhang Fei immediately curled his lip and said, "Come on, when Yuan Shu's army was surrounded, Liu Xun's support was uncertain. Liu Biao would only believe him if he were senile. The reason they didn't fight immediately is because Sun Ce was there before, and now we are here. Once the situation stabilizes, these two dogs will definitely start biting each other."

Although Zhang Fei's words were harsh and showed no mercy to either of them, the truth was undeniable. Their relationship was already riddled with cracks, and without external force, it could easily have crumbled on its own.

"That's true. If someone were to sow discord between the two generals and our lord, he would probably kill them before the words were even uttered. If Liu Biao and Liu Xun have such trust, why would they fear our army's attempts to sow discord?"

The three nodded in agreement.

Lu Suo quickly began to explain why he used this tactic: "The most important point of this tactic is that Liu Biao is a smart man. If he were a fool, this tactic would not work."

"Intelligent people tend to overthink, and if their thinking is logical and well-founded, that's fine. But most of the time, it's just wild speculation. Liu Biao might not believe our plan at all, but as long as he holds onto the thought, 'What if it's true?', he'll take the bait."

"At the same time, precisely because he is a clever man, as long as we point out the suspicious points, he can fill in all the details of the chain of suspicion on his own, which is actually more perfect than the schemes we devised. As for what will happen next, that is none of our business. It is something Liu Biao came up with himself, so let him solve it himself."

Next, the focus shifted to Sun Ce's side. Due to the limited reach of Chen Deng's intelligence network, Liu Bei's army lacked information about the Jiangdong region. In this situation of unclear enemy intelligence, the first priority was to establish spies and ascertain the situation in Jiangdong before taking any action.

"That's it? I thought Mr. Lu would relocate all the people along the way and destroy all the fields before retreating—"

Zhang Fei had originally intended to make a joke, but upon seeing his second brother's intimidating gaze, he swallowed his words.

At this point, forcibly relocating the people was almost no different from simply starting a massacre.

Lu Wan glanced at the document and saw that he had clearly stated his points. He then sealed it up and had a messenger send it back to Liu Bei to see first. If Liu Bei agreed, then the Central Army Group would be halted.

Just ten days later, the messenger brought back Liu Bei's order: he approved the proposal to halt the advance, and Generals Zhang Fei and Zhang Liao were to take charge of the farming and defense at the front, while Guan Yu and Lu Wan returned to Xiapi.

From March 10th to March 30th, a total of twenty days, Liu Bei's army mobilized 30,000 troops and captured 18 cities. If calculated using later methods, the increased territory would be at least 13,000 square kilometers.

In addition, it was of great strategic significance. Liu Bei's army finally broke out of its own territory and was no longer fighting defensive counterattacks in its own territory as before.

By capturing the southern cities of Pei State and the northeastern cities of Jiujiang Commandery, Liu Bei's army completely controlled the defense line in the middle reaches of the Huai River, which was a strategic leap forward.

In the south, Liu Bei gained complete control of Guangling and connected it with Xintu in Guangling Commandery, giving him direct access to Jiangdu, the base of his Yangtze River navy, and Zhongli, a forward base for future southward expansion.

In terms of economy and population, although a large number of people were lost in the years of war, the facilities and population in the southern part of Guangling and the northeastern part of Jiujiang were still relatively well preserved, which greatly increased the tax revenue of Liu Bei's army.

However, this military campaign was not without its costs. The biggest consequence was offending Liu Biao, the warlord of Jingzhou, though few on Liu Bei's side were afraid of it.

Lu Wan understood that the era of opportunism was coming to an end. Next, he needed to make thorough preparations before Yuan Shao marched south, transforming Xuzhou into a fortress, ensuring a force of over 100,000 men and a healthy economy to guarantee the normal lives of the people under Liu Bei's rule.

The thought that they would have to confront the most powerful warlord at the time in less than three years put him under immense pressure.

Over this long period, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Chen Qun, and others have become his friends, and under his guidance, Xuzhou's wealth has greatly increased. Now he fears that his arrival might cause Liu Bei's confidence to soar, making him think he can even fight Hebei one-on-one, and what if they can't withstand Yuan Shao's attack later?

Moreover, due to his own schemes, it is no longer possible for him to become a general under Liu Biao as in history. Therefore, even if Liu Bei fails in the future and manages to escape, the losses will be more severe and the situation will be more dire than in history.

With these thoughts in mind, Lu Wan knew what her next step was: to develop Xuzhou with all her might, to make it an impenetrable and unassailable place, so that Liu Bei could have a chance to make a comeback even if he failed in battle.