NOVPUBCao Cao looked at the intelligence report in his hand, and his face turned dark. Wasn’t it just about attacking Lub Kingdom to force Xuzhou into sharing some grain and fodder? With the current situation, how could one consider attacking Lub Kingdom?
"Lord, there is no need for hesitation. Commit all your efforts to launch troops from Yingchuan, this time Yuan Gonglu is bound to be defeated! A moment of courage will move the Feudal Lords from all four directions to attack collectively. Of course, this is also an opportunity for Yuan Gonglu. If he withstands this assault, then it’s only a stone’s throw away for Yuan Gonglu from reigning supreme over all under heaven," Xun Yu said with a smile.
Xun Yu was well aware that Cao Cao was too weak at the moment, not daring to provoke Yuan Shu excessively. However, in order to secure the world, especially with Northern Yuan Shao too preoccupied to pay attention, Eastern Liu Bei watching silently with eager eyes, Southern Yuan Shu in unparalleled strength, and the western side of Yongliang locked down by the Three Passes, Cao Mengde had to break through this cage if he wanted to sweep across the land.
Every direction was stronger than Cao Cao, and apart from Yuan Shao, all could be considered hostile forces. In such circumstances, Xun Yu had already realized that relying solely on internal development was no longer of value since everyone’s foundation was stronger than Cao Cao’s and they were developing rapidly. Hence, the only option was to use others to eliminate one’s enemies!
Thus, Xun Yu and others set up this situation. They needed to create a powerful enemy, one formidable enough to make everyone with ambitions for the world believe it was necessary to contain.
After much consideration, Xun Yu and the others still chose Yuan Shu, because only the Yuan Family had the strength to rise in a single stroke and fight the world alone. Compared to others, their foundation was somewhat too weak, and indeed, the advantages of Yuzhou were the most suitable for Cao Cao.
As expected, Yuan Shu lived up to expectations, beating Liu Biao half to death, capturing Xiangyang, followed by the naval battle in Jiangxia. Huang Zu faced Zhou Yu and Sun Ce, lost seven battles out of seven, and died in the Yangtze River, his body fished out by Sun Ce to commemorate Sunx Jian. Yuan Shu’s troops marched over the rivers and mountains, pressuring Jiangling City, with a fervor to swallow the Jingchu region whole.
In just fifteen days, there was a chorus of defections north of the Yangtze. Yuan Gonglu’s momentum was overwhelming as he advanced south and proceeded west. Cities north of the Yangtze like Yiling and Tigu capitulated to Yuan Gonglu within days.
Once he had subdued the north and combined his forces, he was like food for the enemy. Seventy thousand infantry and cavalry pressed against Jiangling City. Soon after, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, who had just defeated Huang Zu, led the Navy against the current, subduing river pirates on the way and detaining Jingzhou Navy prisoners. By the time they reached Jiangling, they had already amassed over a hundred ships of various sizes and more than twenty thousand naval troops.
At the same time, in Southern Jingnan, numerous locales had already sent sounds of submission. Yuan Shu’s control over Jingzhou and Yuzhou, and the encompassment of Yangzhou seemed almost a foregone conclusion in this moment.
"Marquis Wen, to this drink!" Yuan Shu said heartily to Lyu Bu.
"Right!" Lyu Bu took the large cup and drained it in one gulp. "Tomorrow, watch as I break down the gates of Jiangling City!"
"Very good, very good, very good! With Fengxian like this, Liu Jingsheng’s doom is nigh!" Yuan Shu laughed heartily, completely oblivious to the dark look in Lyu Bu’s eyes as he spoke these words.
Yuan Shu might be delighted, but the Feudal Lords all over the world were terrified, with only about five houses still standing firm.
On receiving the latest news, the White Horse General Gongsun Zan just chuckled twice to himself, thinking, "Brother, after I kill Yuan Shao tomorrow and unite the Northern Three States, I’ll take a good moment to educate you, Yuan Shu. How dare you vie with me for the top spot."
Yuan Shao clutched the latest intelligence in his right hand, his knuckles turning white, and angrily slammed the report onto the table, "Juo Yi, get in here!"
"I have come to see you, Lord!" Juo Yi quickly entered and bowed respectfully.
"Can you defeat the White Horse Soldiers?" Yuan Shao asked solemnly.
"The White Horse Soldiers will surely be defeated!" Juo Yi declared confidently.
"Good. When the time comes, all the commanders, including myself, will be under your command! If you lose, I will have your head!" Yuan Shao unhooked his Precious Sword from his waist and offered it to Juo Yi, emitting an icy aura.
"Understood. If I don’t crush the White Horse Soldiers, please take my head!" said Juo Yi boldly, receiving the Precious Sword from Yuan Shao with both hands.
Cao Mengde and Liu Bei both had the same idea, let us weaken Yuan Shu, ready the troops for battle, preparing to weaken Yuan Shu the way we would the Sword Girl so that he would never recover.
Xiliang Han Sui casually discarded the intelligence report, thinking that it was better to focus on how to overthrow Ma Teng since Yuan Shu was too far away for the matter of "Heaven is high and the Emperor is far away".
As for the other feudal lords around the country, they all shuddered upon receiving this news. Even Liu Yan, who was hiding in Yizhou, broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing it, feeling the threat of Yuan Shu’s power.
The lords near Yuan Shu were all terrified. Within fifteen days of Yuan Shu’s breach of Xiangyang, the lords of Yangzhou and Eastern Wu, including those in Lujiang and Jiujiang, had submitted to Yuan Shu under the persuasion of their local gentry. Yan Baihu, Liu Yao, and Wang Lang, among others, were all trembling with fear, none daring to curb the expansion of Yuan Shu’s power. Once Jiangling was breached, there would likely be a chorus of defections throughout Jingnan and Eastern Wu.
"Too fast," Chen Xi mused as he reviewed the thrice-daily intelligence reports, having largely deduced the situation faced by Liu Biao from Yuan Shu. The decay was now beyond saving, and Jingzhou had already erupted in flames. Even Liu Biao had lost control of the core regions of Jingzhou. After all, it had only been a year since Liu Biao entered Jingzhou alone and subdued the local families, and he hadn’t solidified his power yet.
"Lord, we must divide our forces. This time, we absolutely must pull Yuan Shu back. Once Jiangling falls, there’s over a 90% chance that the Yangzhou nobility will surrender en masse. And now, Liu Jingsheng has completely lost control of Jingnan. If Yuan Gonglu carries Jingchu, takes over Yangzhou, and extends to Yuzhou, then his foundation will have surpassed that of the former Chu State. We must ensure Liu Biao stands firm!" said Liu Ye, his face a grimace as he swiftly reviewed the latest intelligence.
"Let’s divide our troops. Lord Xuande, we must exert enough pressure on Yuan Shu. We must move our forces to Runan before Yuan Shu takes Jiangling!" Chen Xi declared as he rose to his feet. It was now a race to see who could move faster. If Yuan Shu captured Jiangling before Liu Bei seized Runan and cut off Yuan Shu’s return path, Liu Bei, armed with the momentum of a great victory and nearly one-third of the land, could be crushed by Yuan Shu’s sheer force of will alone.
The situation having reached this point, Liu Bei could no longer afford to hesitate; he had to commit fully to conquering Yuzhou. While he might end up with nothing more than a strategically useless territory, the Lub Commandery, failure to act could allow the massive threat behind him to unravel all his future strategies. Yuan Shu’s power was now too great to be taken lightly.
In the end, Liu Bei’s army, which had just taken Faan County but had no time to rest, split into three groups. One, led by Guan Yu with Liu Ye as military strategist, attacked Chen Commandery; another, with Liu Bei as commander-in-chief and Jia Xu as military strategist, went after Qiaoo County; and the final one was led by Chen Xi, with Yu Jin and Hua Xiong as deputy generals, heading straight for Runan to cut off Yuan Shu’s retreat and force him to come to the aid of his forces! (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
