Three Kingdoms: Daily settlement helps Liu Bei revive the Shu Han dynasty.

The guards obeyed and left.

Jiao wanted to say something more, but Zu Lang waved his hand and said, "You all go down first, we'll talk about the provisions later."

Jiao left dejectedly, glancing back at Yang Feng as he reached the door.

Yang Feng also looked up, and their eyes met. Jiao snorted coldly and turned away.

Yang Feng's expression remained unchanged, but a chill ran through him.

Jiao Yi's gaze was filled with resentment and malice.

Before long, Zhou Yu was led by two Yue soldiers to the county government office.

"General, the man has been brought here," a guard reported as he entered.

Zhou Yu straightened his clothes, stepped in, and bowed to Zu Lang, who was sitting at the head of the table, saying, "Zhou Yu of Lujiang greets the Commander-in-Chief."

Zulang did not get up, nor did he return the greeting.

He leaned back in the tiger-skin chair, propping his chin up with one hand, and looked the young man in front of him up and down.

He wore a plain white robe, had a handsome face, and moved with composure.

Standing among a group of rugged Yue soldiers, he truly stood out like a crane among chickens.

"Are you Zhou Shang's nephew?" Zu Lang asked in a nonchalant tone.

"Exactly."

"Why aren't you enjoying a life of luxury in Wanling? What are you doing in this remote mountain village?"

Zhou Yu straightened up and said frankly, "I have come here today to form an alliance with the commander-in-chief to deal with Liu Bei together."

The hall suddenly fell silent.

Zulang's bodyguards exchanged glances, all wearing strange expressions.

Zulang Zulang sneered and said, "If Liu Bei beats you, then go and beat him back. Why are you dragging me into this?"

My small town can't withstand any more upheaval.

I won't make things difficult for you; you can go back now.

After he finished speaking, he turned to look at the map on the wall and ignored Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu did not move, remaining standing in the same spot, and said in a calm voice:

"General, what do you think Liu Bei's next target will be after he has established a firm foothold?"

Zu Lang's body stiffened instantly, and he immediately turned his gaze away from the map and back to Zhou Yu's face.

Zhou Yu continued, "Of the sixteen counties of Danyang Commandery, Liu Bei has already acquired four."

Jing County has fertile fields, is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and is also a vital passage for southward expansion.

If Liu Bei were the commander-in-chief, would he have let this place go?

Zulang didn't speak, but his expression became much more serious.

Zhou Yu took out a scroll of silk from his sleeve and handed it to him with both hands:

"My uncle asked me to deliver a letter to the commander-in-chief. He will know once he has read it."

My Zhou family has indeed come with sincerity.

The guards took the silk scroll and delivered it to Zulang.

Zulang took it and unfolded it.

In his letter, Zhou Shang spoke earnestly, promising grain, cloth, salt, and iron, and also mentioning his willingness to recommend Zu Lang to Liu Yao for an official position.

After reading it, Zulang remained silent for a moment before placing the silk scroll on the table.

"We have sincerity, but not much." However, Zu Lang's tone was somewhat gentler than before. "How do you plan to deal with Liu Bei?"

Zhou Yu smiled slightly and calmly replied, "Liu Bei has no more than 20,000 soldiers capable of fighting, and he also has to divide his troops to guard Dangtu, Chungu and other places to guard against Liu Yao and Yuan Shu."

Half of the remaining troops were to guard Wanling, and the other half were to escort the refugees.

The truly mobilizable mobile force is no more than ten thousand, and almost all of them are newly recruited soldiers.

Zu Lang pondered for a moment and said, "Ten thousand is not a small amount. Moreover, I heard that Liu Bei has a very capable strategist. Someone tried to ambush him before, but he turned the tables on him. I heard that person was cut into eight pieces and thrown to feed the dogs."

Zhou Yu's eye twitched slightly, but his expression remained unchanged.

"No matter how powerful Lu Yong is, he is still just a person."

Liu Bei brought 100,000 people from Xuzhou, and they consume a large amount of grain every day. His biggest needs now are time and provisions.

"Liu Bei's grain supplies mostly came from Xuzhou, were transported south from the north bank of the Yangtze River, and then traveled by the Shuiyang River waterway."

The commander-in-chief can send a leader familiar with the terrain, with only a few thousand troops, to launch attacks on the grain supply lines from Wanling to Wuhu, hiding during the day and moving at night.

If Liu Bei's supplies are cut off, it won't be long before his morale collapses.

At that time, Yu will lead his main force to join forces with the main army and surround Wanling.

Liu Bei, lacking both internal supplies and external enemies, was doomed to defeat!

Zhou Yu's thoughts, of course, went beyond that.

If Zu Lang really cuts off Liu Bei's supply lines,

Then he would take the opportunity to join forces with Sun Ce to attack and capture Liyang, and then take Guzhang, completely blocking Liu Bei's path to the north and east.

With the addition of Zu Lang from Jing County, they could form a pincer movement against Liu Bei of Wanling.

Of course, all of this is predicated on first defeating Liu Yao and crossing the Yangtze River.

However, according to the previous plan, breaking through Niuzhu Camp should be a matter of within the next half month.

Upon hearing this, Zulang began to consider the feasibility of the plan.

Seeing this, Zhou Yu increased the stakes again:

"After defeating Liu Bei, my uncle will recommend you to Liu Yao as the Southern Commandant of Danyang, officially acknowledging your status."

The four counties of Jingxian, Lingyang, Yixian, and Shexian, located south of Danyang, were all placed under the command of the Grand Marshal.

Zulang raised an eyebrow, a hint of interest in his mind.

The three counties of Lingyang, Yixian, and Shexian are now in the hands of other Yue tribes.

If he could help Zhou Yu defeat Liu Bei, he would then have an excuse to ask Zhou Yu to send troops to help him take over the other three counties.

However, what Zu Lang didn't know was that Zhou Yu had already secretly sided with Sun Ce.

What do you mean, ask Liu Yao to help him get an official position?

He was given all four counties of Danyang.

It was nothing more than an empty promise made by Zhou Shang, Liu Yao's uncle, or some official under him.

Zhou Yu truly mastered the art of getting something for nothing.

After a moment's thought, Zulang still asked with some unease, "Can you represent your uncle?"

"Rest assured, General, without my uncle's permission, how could I dare to come alone?" Zhou Yu said, revealing a frank smile.

Zu Lang thought to himself, "Just as Zhou Yu said, once Liu Bei has gained a foothold, he will probably attack sooner or later."

Now that he's providing me with supplies and intelligence, why not take this opportunity to take down Liu Bei first?!

Rather than waiting to die, it's better to take a gamble.

Moreover, the conditions offered by Zhou Yu, such as sending troops to cooperate, providing provisions, weapons, territory in four counties, and a formal appointment from the imperial court, were indeed very tempting.

Thinking of this,

Zu Lang finally spoke, "I can agree to form an alliance with you to fight Liu Bei. But you must double the amount of supplies you provide!"

A barely perceptible smile appeared on Zhou Yu's face, then he bowed and said, "General, you are wise! As you wish, the supplies will be doubled!"

"Hahaha!" Zulang burst into laughter upon hearing this.

"Bring me the wine!" he shouted, ordering someone to bring him a bowl of wine. He then cut his finger and dripped his blood into the wine.

Zhou Yu also cut his finger and let blood drip in.

"From this day forward, I, Lord Zhou, will be allies. Together we will deal with Liu Bei. If I break this oath, may I be struck down by heaven and earth."

"If I break this oath, may I be struck down by heaven and earth," Zhou Yu said with a smile.

The two men clinked their wine bowls together and drank it all in one gulp.

After putting down his wine bowl, Zulang said:

"I will arrange for people to act according to your plan."

When will you deliver the supplies? I'll send someone to pick them up.

"There are too many supplies, so we may have to transport them in batches. Otherwise, they will be too conspicuous and easily attract the attention of Liu Bei's spies," Zhou Yu replied.

"No problem! As long as you can deliver it, that's fine," Zulang said generously with a smile.

Zhou Yu cupped his hands and said, "I will secretly send someone to deliver Liu Bei's information to you, Commander. You can act according to the information."

If all goes well, I will send someone to Jing County again within two months.

Then we can coordinate our efforts from the north and south, and jointly launch an attack to besiege Liu Bei!

After saying this, Zhou Yu cupped his hands to Zu Lang and said, "General, I should not stay in Jing County any longer. I will set off now to return to Wanling and begin making arrangements."

"Alright!" Zu Lang nodded, then gestured to his personal guards: "Take one hundred men and escort Young Master Zhou back to Wanling."

"Thank you, Commander." After saying that, Zhou Yu turned and walked out of the county office.

After leaving the city, Zhou Yu glanced back at the walls of Jing County and thought to himself:

"Zulang's harassment will leave you overwhelmed and exhausted."

By the time you finally quelled the rebellion of the Shanyue people, Bofu and I had already captured Qu'a and taken Liyang.

At that time, Bo Fu will lead 10,000 troops westward, while Zu Lang will lead 30,000 troops southward.

How will you cope when you are attacked from both sides?

Thinking of this, Zhou Yu couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth slightly.