Chapter 223 I am strong enough, Yuan Shao has nothing to fear! Finally I can kill to my heart's content again! I will destroy your beacon tower and stab you in the kidney!
Old Liu looked excited, but Xiao Fang looked calm as usual, as if he had expected this information. He just took the silk book calmly.

After looking down a few times, a hint of surprise flashed across his calm eyes.

"Yuan Shao did not march his entire army south to Liyang, but instead allocated 40,000 troops to his son Yuan Tan, ordering him to cross the river from Qingzhou and march south?"

Xiao Fang raised his head and looked at Liu Bei.

Liu Bei nodded, confirmed Xiao Fang's question, and said:
"Shi Yuan also analyzed it just now. Yuan Shao's move is probably because he is afraid that after we capture Huainan, we will go north to take Yanzhou and Xuzhou, reap the benefits, and threaten his rear."

"That's why Yuan Shao just sent his troops south to seize Xuzhou and the southeastern counties of Yanzhou first, so as to suppress us south of the Huai River."

Xiao Fang reviewed the information in the silk book again and nodded slightly:
"Shi Yuan's words make sense. Yuan Shao's Eastern Army is indeed coming for the Lord."

"Given the current situation in the world, Yuan Shao's strategy makes sense."

Yuan Shao's march south this time was different from previous marches south in history.

When Yuan Shao went south, Huainan had already been taken by Cao Cao. The situation in the south was that Liu Biao occupied Jingzhou and the Sun family occupied Jiangdong.

The two states of Jing and Yang in the south were divided among three parties and failed to be integrated, so they were naturally not a cause for concern.

But things are different now than they were back then.

Now that Liu Bei has taken over Jingzhou and Jiangdong, if he can take over Huainan, it will be equivalent to occupying both Jingzhou and Yangzhou, thus completing the unification of the south.

A unified Southern regime will pose a far greater threat to the North than the historically divided South.

Yuan Shao was such a talented person, and he had many top-notch strategists of the time such as Ju Su and Tian Feng under his command. How could they not see this?

Then it is not surprising that Yuan Shao adopted a southward strategy that was different from the historical one.

"Jinglue, in your opinion, how should we respond to Yuan Shao's strategy?"

Old Liu frowned slightly, and his tone clearly showed that he was somewhat wary of Yuan Shao.

"Yuan Shao's move clearly shows that he is afraid of the Lord."

"It's a good thing that the strongest person in the world, Yuan Shao, is afraid of me. My lord should be happy about it."

Xiao Fang closed the silk book and said disapprovingly:
"Whether he divides his troops or not, as long as the lord wants to fight for the Central Plains, a confrontation between the lord and Yuan Shao in the future is always inevitable."

"What my lord can do is to strengthen himself as much as possible before fighting Yuan Shao."

"So our strategy remains unchanged. We will cross the river and head north to seize Huainan and destroy Lu Bu's four slaves!"

"This time, my lord, you must push the battle line to the Central Plains!"

Xiao Fang spoke with confidence, yet with a hint of arrogance.

The slight fear in Old Liu's heart was immediately dispelled by Xiao Fang's bold words, and a heroic spirit burned on his face.

"Jing Lue is right. As long as I am strong enough, I have nothing to fear from Yuan Shao!"

Liu Bei turned around and sat back in his seat, waved his hand and shouted:
"Pass on my order. The army will march out as soon as possible to Hefei to join Yide, and then go north along the Fei River to attack Chengde!"

"Immediately send someone to Xiangyang to tell Yunchang to act according to the plan, launch a surprise attack on Lu'an, and destroy Sun Quan!"

...

It was late spring.

Yuan Shao raised an army of 200,000, divided it into two routes, and marched southward.

That month, Cao Cao personally led an army of 60,000 to the north to meet the enemy.

The next month, Liu Bei led an army of 60,000 across the river, left Hefei and headed north, approaching Chengde City.

...

Xiangyang City, the county seat.

Guan Yu was flipping through Liu Bei's handwritten letter in his hand, and a fighting spirit gradually burned in his eyes.

"Brother finally took action against those four servants."

"I have been guarding the rear for many years, and finally I can fight for my brother again..."

Guan Yu murmured to himself, and he couldn't help but get excited.

Looking back on those days, it was so exciting to follow Liu Bei in his campaigns to the east and west, and to kill the enemies on the battlefield.

Even if we lose, it will be a glorious defeat.

But since his third brother Zhang Fei lost Xuzhou, Liu Bei placed the heavy burden of guarding the rear on his shoulders.

Guard Biyang, guard Wancheng, guard Xiangyang, guard Jingzhou...

Several years passed in a blink of an eye, and he suddenly realized that since entering Jingzhou, he had never led his troops into a battle, nor killed an enemy soldier with his own hands.

One day he discovered that his flesh had regenerated and the Qinglong sword that had drunk countless blood had actually become rusty!
Although Guan Yu knew that guarding the rear was a heavy responsibility, it was also a sign of Liu Bei's great trust in him.

However, the military blood in his bones made him look forward to going to the battlefield again and killing enemies for Liu Bei day and night.

Today, he finally got through it.

Taking a deep breath, Guan Yu stroked his beautiful beard and shouted majestically:

"Guan Ping, Zhou Cang, Liao Hua, listen to my orders!"

Three equally excited generals stood up suddenly.

"Liao Yuanjian, I order you to lead 300 elite soldiers and 10 merchant ships to open the way. Use the strategy of Xiao the military advisor crossing the river in white clothes to remove the beacon towers on both sides of the Bishui River!"

"Guan Ping and Zhou Zifeng, you will follow me in command of 10,000 Xiangyang garrison troops and follow behind on the grain ships."

"Send troops tonight, go east along the river to Wankou, then go north along the Bishui River and conquer Lu'an!"

"Within seven days, I will make that shameless villain Sun Quan kneel down and beg for mercy at my feet!"

Guan Yu's voice was like a loud bell. He waved his hand and issued several orders.

Guan Ping and his two generals accepted the order with great enthusiasm.

"Kong Ming, Xiangyang and Jingzhou will be handed over to you after I leave."

"I'm relieved that you can protect the house for me."

Guan Yu turned his gaze to Zhuge Liang, his eyes and tone full of trust.

Zhuge Liang immediately stood up, bowed, and said happily:

"Thank you General Yunchang for your trust. General, please rest assured that with Liang here, Jingzhou will be as stable as a rock."

"I wish General Yunchang success in this battle and make the first contribution to our lord's conquest of Huainan!" Guan Yu laughed and patted Zhuge Liang's shoulder gently:

"I haven't been on the battlefield to kill the enemy for a long time, and I am just lamenting the revival of my thigh muscles. Fortunately, thanks to your brother-in-law's plan, Guan has the opportunity to kill to his heart's content."

"When I meet your brother-in-law in Huainan, I will definitely have a good drink with him and thank him properly."

Zhuge Liang also laughed knowingly.

Guan Yu stopped laughing, held the Qinglong sword in his hand, and shouted:
"Let's go straight to Huainan!"

...

Seven days later, Lu'an City.

At dusk, on the West Gate Tower.

"Everyone entering or leaving the city gate, whether officials or civilians or merchants, will be strictly checked to prevent enemy spies from sneaking into the city."

"There should be a guard post every seven steps on each wall, and a guard post every five steps at night. There should be no slackness at all."

"There are cracks in the northern section of the city wall. Immediately conscript civilians to repair it. It must be completed within two days."

"Also, pay special attention to the direction of the beacon tower. If there is a beacon, report it to the lord and this governor immediately."

"besides…"

Lu Meng walked on the city wall holding a sword, inspecting the city defenses while giving instructions to Jiang Qin beside him.

Jiang Qin agreed repeatedly, and then said with a relaxed smile:
"With Commander Lu's beacon tower plan, we can detect Liu Bei's attack at any time, and have enough time to wait for Marquis Wen to send troops from Chengde to help."

"I think we don't need to be so nervous and make the soldiers tense all day long."

Hearing Jiang Qin's compliment, Lu Meng's mouth curled up slightly, and an imperceptible smugness flashed in his eyes.

His face remained solemn, and he said in a deep voice:
"Although we have beacon towers and can foresee that the big-eared thieves will send troops to attack, we must not let our guard down and must be fully prepared to hold on to Lu'an."

"A good blacksmith must be strong himself. Even if Marquis Wen sends troops to rescue us, we must have the strength to hold out until the reinforcements arrive."

Jiang Qin suddenly understood and complimented Lu Meng again.

Suddenly he lowered his voice and asked in a low voice:
"General Lu, please forgive me for telling you the truth. Liu Bei has already seized Jiangdong. He has 100,000 soldiers under his command, and his counselors are as numerous as clouds and generals."

"The key is that Xiao Fang, who is under his command, is said to be as smart and as wise as a sage reincarnated."

"If he brings all the troops of the country to attack, can we and Marquis Wen resist him?"

Lu Meng's heart trembled slightly and he stopped suddenly.

After hesitating for a moment, Lu Meng showed pride on his face:

"Marquis Wen is the best martial artist in the world. As long as he doesn't rush into battle and stays in Chengde, Liu Bei will be helpless."

"As for our Lu'an City, we have beacon towers. As long as we can prevent Liu Bei's sudden attack, it will be as solid as a rock."

"Xiao Fang is very smart and resourceful, but he is still a human being, not an omnipotent god. He..."

Lu Meng had not yet finished his evaluation of Xiao Fang.

Suddenly, a soldier screamed from the watchtower:
"Warships are attacking on the Beishui River!"

"There are also soldiers approaching on the East Coast Avenue!"

"Enemy, it's the enemy!"

Lu Meng's face suddenly changed color, the arrogance on his face turned into horror in an instant, and he rushed to the battlements and looked south.

On the Bishui River, there were nearly a hundred warships with sails hoisted and oars in full force, speeding towards Lu'an City.

On the East Coast Avenue, thousands of soldiers, like tigers and wolves, were rushing towards Lu'an, carrying the dust and fog in the air.

It’s Liu Bei’s troops!

Liu Bei's troops advanced both by land and sea and suddenly appeared in the south of Lu'an City like a divine force descending from the sky.

Lu Meng was horrified and looked quickly towards the nearest beacon tower.

It was empty, without any sign of smoke rising.

"How can this be?"

"How could the beacon tower not have noticed Liu Bei's attack with so many troops? Why didn't they light the beacon to warn him?"

"What on earth is going on, this, this..."

Lu Meng's eyes widened and he looked so shocked and horrified as if he had seen a ghost.

Behind him, Jiang Qin was stunned when he saw Liu Jun's divine army descending from the sky.

However, despite his shock, an imperceptible excitement suddenly flashed across his eyes.

"Close the city gates, close the city gates quickly, and pull up the drawbridge!"

"Sound the gong to warn the enemy and summon the entire army to the city walls to resist the enemy."

Shocked and stunned, Lu Meng suddenly came to his senses, drew his sword, shouted, and hastily issued orders.

Along the city line, the Sun family soldiers, who were originally in a panic, were suddenly awakened and began to act in a hurry.

Lu Meng held the sword in his hand and shouted:

"Hurry and report to the Lord, and send a fast horse out of the city to Chengde City to report to Marquis Wen..."

As soon as the word "Hou" came out.

When the sound of the sword being unsheathed was heard, Lu Meng felt a sharp pain in his lower back. He screamed, and his knees went limp and he knelt on the ground.

He endured the severe pain, supported his body with the sword, turned around tremblingly, and saw Jiang Qin holding a bloody sword, looking down at him coldly.

Lü Meng was shocked and angrily asked, "Jiang Qin, why, why--"

Jiang Qin pointed his blood sword at Lu Meng and said coldly:
"I followed the advice of Military Advisor Xiao and, under the orders of General Zuo, led my troops to sneak into Lu'an to act as an insider and monitor Sun Quan from nearby."

"Now that General Zuo's divine army has descended from the sky, I will naturally launch an uprising as promised, seize the gate, and welcome my army to march into Lu'an to destroy Sun Quan!"

Jiang Qin revealed his identity.

Lu Meng was confused.

(End of this chapter)