Chapter 160: Lao Liu, you are definitely worthy of him! If you don't take action, Liu Bei will rise out of control and rule the south of the Yangtze River!
A fierce general of the time, proficient in water warfare, infantry warfare, and cavalry warfare, an all-around fierce general...

This series of words greatly boosted Lao Liu's spirits.

Such people are extremely rare in the world.

Not to mention Liu Bei, any other king would be surprised to hear that there is such an almighty warrior in the world.

The key point is that Xiao Fang also said that he has a friendship with this tough guy!
Liu Bei's thoughts were racing, and the names of countless heroes from Jiangdong passed before his eyes.

Suddenly, a name froze in front of me.

"Taishi Ziyi, could it be that the person the military advisor is referring to is Taishi Ziyi?"

Liu Bei blurted out the name.

Xiao Fang smiled and nodded slightly.

Lao Liu suddenly realized.

It turned out to be Taishi Ci of Donglai. Isn’t he a friend of mine?

When Beihai was surrounded by the Yellow Turban Army, the prefect Kong Rong entrusted his life to Taishi Ci and asked him to go to Pingyuan to ask for help.

Taishi Ci, alone, with courage unmatched by ten thousand men, fought his way out of a bloody situation and went to Pingyuan to seek help from him.

So he felt obliged to do so and immediately led his army to Beihai, where he joined forces with Taishi Ci to defeat the Yellow Turban Army and lift the siege of Beihai.

At that time, he deeply admired Taishi Ci's loyalty and bravery and wanted to recruit him under his command.

Unfortunately, his official position at that time was just a small magistrate of Pingyuan. Although he admired Taishi Ci, he was too embarrassed to ask for his services.

Although Taishi Ci was a brave warrior in the world, he was not a Bole after all. Although people respected his chivalry, they did not regard him as a local lord, so naturally they would not take the initiative to surrender to him.

So not long after the siege of Beihai was lifted, Taishi Ci responded to the call of Liu Yao, a fellow Han relative and the imperially appointed governor of Yangzhou, and sailed south to Jiangdong.

He knew that he had no right to keep Taishi Ci, so he could only bid farewell reluctantly and watch such a brave general leave him.

However, he did not expect that the world is unpredictable. Now he is the lord of Jingzhou, while Liu Yao, the governor of Yangzhou with a good family background, seized Jiangdong for Sun Ce and eventually died of illness and grief in Yuzhang.

Taishi Ci, an old general of Liu Yao, gathered his troops and stationed them between Danyang and Yuzhang, controlling five counties.

"It turns out that Military Advisor Xiao knows everything about the situation in Jiangdong!"

Lu Xun exclaimed in admiration, then pointed at the map and said:
"This Taishi Ci is indeed extremely brave, and he has 5,000 former subordinates of Liu Yao under his command. His strength is neither strong nor weak."

"Because Sun Ce was eager to fight for Jingzhou, he only captured Chaisang, Pengze and other counties along the river in Yuzhang County when he marched westward."

"As for the counties south of Yuzhang and other places where Liu Yao's former followers were entrenched, we will mainly try to appease them, and will not launch a full-scale attack for the time being."

"Before, in order to guard against Taishi Ci, he only sent Han Dang to lead 5,000 soldiers to stay in Hulin and monitor Taishi Ci nearby."

"If the lord can persuade Taishi Ci to send the troops of the five counties north to attack Hulin, they can threaten Chaisang's rear and risk cutting off the Yangtze River waterway."

"If Han Dang is defeated, Sun Ce will have no choice but to personally dispatch troops from Chaisang to Hulin to deal with Taishi Ci."

"In this way, Military Advisor Xiao's plan to lure the tiger away from the mountain will be successful."

"By then, Chaisang's troops will be reduced by half, and Sun Ce will be transferred away. Wouldn't it be much easier for you to quickly capture Chaisang?"

Lu Xun's qualifications were only inferior to Zhuge Liang's, and even slightly better than Xu Shu's. Naturally, he understood things quickly, and figured out Xiao Fang's strategy just by looking at the three words "Taishi Ci".

Xiao Fang smiled without saying anything, and agreed with Lu Xun's calculations.

Liu Bei leaned over the desk, his eyes scanning the map, and soon a smile appeared on his face.

"Well, the military advisor's plan to lure the tiger away from the mountain is indeed a brilliant one!"

"Hulin is located on the south bank of the Yangtze River. It is the transportation point for grain and grass from Jiangdong to Chaisang. How can Sun Ce ignore it?"

Liu Bei took a picture of the map and praised it.

But soon, the joy on Lao Liu's face turned into worry, and he sighed:

"But this Taishi Ziyi may not necessarily submit to me. I'm afraid it will just be my wishful thinking in the end."

Perhaps because he missed the opportunity to meet Taishi Ci in Qingzhou, Old Liu was still a little unconfident about recruiting Taishi Ci.

"At that time, the lord was a county magistrate, so he naturally did not have the confidence to recruit Taishi Ci."

"Besides, even if you recruit a warrior like Taishi Ci, he may not be worthy of you."

"This is also human nature. Most heroes in the world choose their masters in this way."

"After all, not everyone is like Yunchang and Yide. My lord is just a commoner, but they are willing to follow him till death and never leave him."

After Xiao Fang comforted her, he changed the subject:
"But the lord is now the ruler of a state, and a lord who dominates the seven counties of Jingxiang. With the lord's current prestige and status, he is worthy of being served by a warrior like Taishi Ci!"

"Besides, my lord, you and Taishi Ci once worked together to relieve the siege of Beihai. It is not an exaggeration to say that they are friends for life."

"So my lord, you don't have to worry too much. Just be open and send someone to recruit Taishi Ci."

"Based on your current position and strength, and Taishi Ci's respect for you, he will surely come and lend a helping hand!"

After hearing Xiao Fang's explanation, Liu Bei suddenly understood and the worry in his eyes disappeared.

The lack of confidence in his heart when facing Taishi Ci also disappeared.

"Military advisor, you have a point. It's just that I have too many concerns."

"Following the military advisor's advice, I will send Sun Gongyou to Yuzhang to recruit Taishi Ziyi for me!"

Liu Bei then understood and readily adopted Xiao Fang's plan.

The grand strategy to defeat Sun Ce and capture Jiangdong was decided in this tent.

Lu Xun immediately took his leave and headed eastward as an undercover agent, heading to Chaisang to pursue Sun Ce's defeated army.

Sun Qian took Liu Bei's handwritten letter, traveled overnight by land, bypassed the Jiangdong Army's defense line in Chaisang, and went to meet Taishi Ci in secret.

Liu Bei left several thousand soldiers to guard Fankou, and led the main force back to Xiakou, where he rested his soldiers and calmed the people's hearts in preparation for the capture of Jiangdong.

...

Thousands of miles away, Xia Pi.

Teams of Cao's troops marched into the capital of Xuzhou in a mighty force.

"After three attacks on Xuzhou, I am finally standing here." Cao Cao climbed up the city wall, overlooking the entire Xia Pi city, with a myriad of emotions in his mouth.

From Tao Qian to Liu Bei, and then from Liu Bei to Lu Bu, Xuzhou has changed hands three times.

He attacked Xuzhou three times, and twice reached Xuzhou with bloodshed, but he was always stopped at the city of Xia Pi.

Today, this hard bone was finally gnawed, and it was announced that Xuzhou would be named Cao from now on.

"What a pity that Lü Bu's slave escaped. I think he must have headed south to Huainan to seek refuge with Yuan Shu."

"Feng Xiao, tell me whether I should continue the pursuit and kill Lu Bu completely."

Cao Cao looked towards the south, which was the direction where Lu Bu broke out and fled south.

"Since Lu Bu has broken through the encirclement, he must be escaping at full speed. We think it will be difficult for us to catch up with him."

"Lü Bu has gone to seek refuge with Yuan Shu. If we want to kill him, we must march our army deep into Huainan and engage in a full-scale war with Yuan Shu."

"Although Yuan Shu has lost Jiangdong, he still controls Huainan. His strength should not be underestimated."

"It is obviously not wise for Sikong to start a full-scale war with Yuan Shu at this time."

After hearing Guo Jia's analysis, Cao Cao nodded slightly.

The young scribe on the other side followed up and said:

"Lü Bu is ambitious and fickle. Even if he surrenders to Yuan Shu, he will definitely not be willing to be inferior to others."

"If Yuan Shu dares to accept Lu Bu, it would be like inviting a wolf into the house."

"Sikong can just let Lü Bu flee to Huainan and watch these two vicious wolves fight each other. Maybe before long, there will be an unexpected surprise."

Cao Cao's eyes gleamed, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, and he sneered:

"Yuan Long is right. Lü Bu is a wild wolf that cannot be tamed. I will drive him to Huainan and let him bite Yuan Shu, the vicious dog!"

Cao Ren, Cao Hong and other generals all sneered.

Just then, footsteps were heard, and Xun You climbed up the city wall, panting, holding high an urgent message.

"Sikong, Jiangxia's spies have an urgent report from eight hundred miles away!"

"Liu Bei defeated Sun Ce in the battle at Mount E and dealt a heavy blow to the Jiangdong army."

"Sun Ce lost more than half of his troops and was shot by arrows. He was forced to withdraw from Jingzhou and retreat back to Chaisang!"

"Liu Bei has taken control of all seven counties in Jingzhou!"

There was an uproar on the city wall.

The smug look on Cao Cao's face was instantly replaced by shock, and he suddenly looked at Guo Jia.

Guo Jia's face also showed surprise and his eyes were filled with disbelief.

Liu Biao's downfall and Huang Zu's death were both faster than they had expected, but at least they were within their expectations.

Ever since learning that Liu Bei and Sun Ce were confronting each other across the river at Fankou in Eshan, Cao Cao and his advisers unanimously agreed that this confrontation would last at least until the beginning of next spring.

After all, he was the little tyrant of Jiangdong. Even Cao Cao was afraid of him and commented that he was "a fierce beast that is hard to contend with."

Moreover, any discerning person can see the advantages of the Jiangdong navy.

Who could have thought that the confrontation between Sun and Liu would be decided in less than a month.

And the loser was Sun Ce, who had the advantage in navy!

Or he fled in defeat!
"That little tyrant is even braver than his father Sun Jian, and the 40,000 naval forces of Jiangdong have every advantage, yet he was still defeated by Liu Bei in a naval battle?"

Cao Cao came back to his senses and asked in an excited voice.

Xun You took a deep breath, unfolded the secret report, and slowly told the details of the battle of Eshan.

From Cao Cao to Guo Jia, the doubts and confusion on their faces gradually disappeared, and finally turned into surprise and astonishment.

"Zhou Yu is so young, yet he can come up with such a perfect and ingenious plan. He is truly a genius!"

Cao Cao was amazed and praised Zhou Yu highly.

He changed the subject and said with surprise:
"Such a complex and incredible strategy was actually discovered by Liu Bei, who used the same strategy to defeat Sun Ce?"

Xun You sighed softly and said:

"Although the intelligence is not confirmed, based on the current information, it is likely that Xiao Jinglue saw through Zhou Yu's plan, which allowed Liu Bei to take advantage of the situation and defeat Sun Ce."

Xiao Jinglue!
As soon as these three words were spoken, the shocked discussions on the city wall immediately turned into perfect silence.

It seems that everything incredible and counterintuitive becomes reasonable as long as it is related to the name Xiao Fang.

Cao Cao snatched the secret report from Xun You's hand and examined it carefully, not missing a single word.

After a while, Cao Cao frowned deeply and sighed:
"It seems that it was indeed Xiao Fang who saw through Zhou Yu's clever plan."

"I didn't expect this person's wisdom to be so unfathomable, to the point where he is almost a demon!"

"Liu Bei is already more powerful with this man's assistance, and now he has obtained the seven counties of Jingzhou. He is like a dragon entering the sea, unstoppable!"

"At this rate, I'm afraid that in a few days, Sun Ce will follow in Liu Biao's footsteps..."

On the city wall, there was an uproar again.

The generals' good mood about capturing Xuzhou was shattered by the news that Liu Bei defeated Sun Ce and secured Jingzhou.

"What Sikong said is correct. This Xiao Fang is indeed extremely intelligent. With his assistance, Liu Bei is rising so fast that he is already out of control."

"If we allow him to defeat Sun Ce, seize Jiangdong, and take control of the Yangtze River, half of Jiangnan will be his."

"By then, Yuan Shao will have unified the four provinces of Hebei in the north, and Liu Bei will have taken control of Jingyang in the south. We will be sandwiched in the Central Plains, facing the dilemma of being attacked from both the north and the south by Yuan and Liu!"

Guo Jia made a serious analysis, then bowed:

"Sikong, we must take action no matter what. We cannot let Liu Bei swallow up Jiangdong!"

(End of this chapter)