Chapter 281 Confident brother Xu You, movie star Chen Deng, future lord Yuan Tan! Two-pronged approach, let him lose both ends!
When Yuan Tan heard Xu You say that he had a plan to defeat Liu Bei, he suddenly became excited and the gloom on his face disappeared.

"What clever plan does Ziyuan have to defeat Liu Bei?"

Yuan Tan suddenly turned around and looked at Xu You with surprise.

Xu You sneered and pointed at the map:
"Liu Bei has dispatched troops to Xuyi in the south. He must be planning to have Gan Ning lead these 10,000-plus people to the sea via the Huai River, and then go north by sea to raid our Haixi City!"

"After these people capture Haixi, they will march westwards and capture Tancheng, cutting off my connection with Qingzhou and my food supply in one fell swoop."

"You's strategy is to use the enemy's tactics against them. The eldest son can divide 20,000 troops and set up an ambush in Haixi first. After the enemy troops land, they can be ambushed and annihilated in one fell swoop."

"Liu Bei's morale will certainly be greatly dampened after losing 10,000 soldiers, but our army's morale will be greatly boosted, and we can reverse the defeat in the battle of Xiaxiang in one fell swoop."

"Then, Young Master, you can take advantage of your victory and turn defense into offense. Why worry that you can't drive Liu Bei out of Xuzhou by yourself before Zhang He's reinforcements arrive, and restore your prestige?"

Xu You's fingers moved quickly across the map, and he calmly told us his brilliant plans.

When hearing Xu You's plan, Chen Deng's mouth curled up slightly, with an imperceptible sneer across his face.

Yuan Tan's eyes lit up, and he was very excited. He slapped the map:
"So that's how it is. The big-eared thief actually wants to launch a surprise attack on Haixi from the sea, capture Tancheng, and cut off our food supply!"

"Okay, okay, Ziyuan's move is really a brilliant plan to turn defeat into victory!"

Then Yuan Tan patted Xu You on the shoulder again, nodded with satisfaction and praised:

"Ziyuan, Ziyuan, when it comes to winning by surprise, you are indeed worthy of being the number one strategist in my Yuan family!"

"If this plan succeeds, I will ask my father for credit for you!"

At this time, Yuan Tan was in great joy and had long forgotten Xu You's previous miscalculated sneak attack on Xuyi.

Xu You stroked his thin beard, smiled and said nothing.

"Xu Congsheng's plan is indeed brilliant, but it will take away 20,000 troops to the east. Will the enemy spies notice it?"

"If Liu Bei takes the opportunity to attack the city, what should I do if I don't have enough troops in Xia Pi?"

Jiang Qi, however, poured a bucket of cold water on him.

As soon as the words fell, Xu You said disapprovingly:

"This is easy. All our food and fodder will go south from Tancheng along the Yi River and then be transported to Xiapi via Liangcheng County in the north."

"Then I can hide these 20,000 soldiers in the empty food carts, leave Xia Pi under the cover of darkness without anyone noticing, and head north to Liangcheng."

"Then we will quickly move eastward along the Zushui River and head straight to Haixi to set up defenses, thus concealing the secrets of Liu Bei's spies."

Then Xu You pointed to the east of the city:
"Just in case, you can withdraw all of Lu Xiang's troops outside the city back to Xia Pi City to strengthen the troops in the city."

"In this way, even if Liu Bei attacks, we can keep at least 15,000 soldiers in the city, which is enough to resist the enemy's attack."

Chen Deng remained silent about the first few words, but when Xu You said he wanted to withdraw the troops from the east of the city, Chen Deng's expression changed secretly.

After his eyes rolled quickly, Chen Deng said hurriedly:
"My Lord, I think the camp at the eastern corner of the city must not be withdrawn. Once it is withdrawn, it will definitely alert Liu Bei."

"Xiao Fang has always been very good at foresight. He will definitely figure out that the Lord may have seen through their plan of a surprise attack at sea and has dispatched troops to set up an ambush in Haixi."

"If that's the case, and the enemy gives up the sneak attack, won't Xu Ziyuan's plan fail?"

Xu You was speechless.

"Yuanlong is right. The Horn Camp must not be withdrawn."

Yuan Tan nodded slightly and said:
"How about this, I will draw 8,000 soldiers from the camp east of the city, and more than 12,000 soldiers from the garrison in the city, a total of 20,000 soldiers to set up an ambush in Haixi."

"In this way, there will be 8,000 soldiers left in the city to defend it. If Liu Bei launches a large-scale attack, the 7,000 soldiers in the Horn Camp can be withdrawn in time."

"This arrangement should not alert the big-eared thieves, and it can also ensure that Xia Pi City is completely safe!"

"Yuanlong, Ziyuan, what do you think?"

Chen Deng secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately bowed and praised with a smile:

"The eldest master has made a thorough plan. With this arrangement, Xia Pi will be completely safe."

After careful consideration, Xu You agreed with Yuan Tan's arrangement.

The next step was to decide who to send to Haixi to ambush Gan Ning's 10,000 special forces of Liu's army.

Xu You's opinion was that Jiang Qi should lead the troops, and Yuan Tan would naturally stay in Xia Pi City.

Yuan Tan pondered for a long time, then said:
"This ambush is related to whether the offensive and defensive situation in Xuzhou can be reversed. It is also related to my position in my father's heart. I must lead the army myself."

"How about this, Sui Yuanjin and I will lead 20,000 troops to set up an ambush in Haixi."

"Ziyuan, you and Jiang Qi will lead the army to guard Xiapi, while Lu Xiang will continue to station troops in the corner camp outside the city."

Xu You wanted to persuade her, but when the words came to his lips, he swallowed them back.

He knew exactly what Yuan Tan was thinking.

This young master was humiliated by Liu Bei in the Battle of Sishui, and was anxious to restore his prestige with a beautiful victory.

So this time, Yuan Tan went against his usual practice and went to Haixi in person to win the battle himself.

Thinking that his plan was flawless and Yuan Tan would undoubtedly win, Xu You did not object and fulfilled Yuan Tan's wish.

Yuan Tan then sat back on his high seat, glanced at everyone, and said proudly:
"It's settled. I will personally lead the army to Haixi to annihilate the sneak attack of the big-eared thieves and avenge the shame of the previous defeat!"

...

Two days later, at nightfall.

Chen Ying, dressed in black, has appeared in Liu Bei's central military tent.

"My lord, my brother has followed the advice of Military Advisor Xiao and deliberately spread the news to make Yuan Tan think that my lord is going to attack Haixi by sea, so as to lure Xu You to advise Yuan Tan to move troops to Haixi and set up an ambush."

"Yuan Tan has personally led 20,000 soldiers, hiding in the grain team and heading north to Liangcheng, intending to head straight to Haixi along the Zushui River." "The ones left behind in Xiapi City are Xu You and Jiang Qi, and there are only more than 8,000 soldiers in the city."

"My brother said that with the help of my Chen family's private soldiers, we are very confident that we can seize the gate from inside and outside and welcome the lord's army to Xia Pi!"

Chen Ying reported all the secrets of Yuan Tan's military deliberations word for word.

Liu Bei was overjoyed and laughed:
"Jinglue, your plan to lure the tiger away from the mountain has really worked!"

Xiao Fang smiled faintly and said nothing.

He deliberately dispatched more than 10,000 troops to march south to Xuyi, ordering Yuan's army to spy on Yuan Tan and pass on information.

At the same time, he ordered Gan Ning to go to Xuyi to assemble naval warships, and then Chen Deng would quietly present this news to Yuan Tan.

With Xu You's wisdom, based on these two pieces of information, he would be able to self-righteously deduce that Liu Bang wanted to launch a surprise attack on Haixi by sea, and then seize Tancheng and cut off Yuan Tan's food supply route from Qingzhou.

Xu You would naturally take advantage of the situation to offer a plan, asking Yuan Tan to divide his troops and set up an ambush in Haixi in order to annihilate Gan Ning's sneak attack.

Yuan Tan was anxious to reverse the disadvantage and restore his prestige with a victory, so he would certainly adopt Xu You's plan without hesitation.

In this way, the 20,000 Yuan troops in Xia Pi City were easily transferred away.

The strength of Yuan's army in the city was greatly reduced, and Chen Deng's private soldiers had the confidence to launch a mutiny and help Lao Liu to enter Xia Pi with internal and external support.

This was Xiao Fang's plan to quickly capture Xia Pi.

"The fish has been hooked, my lord. Let's attack both ends and make Yuan Tan lose both ends."

A murderous intent flashed across Xiao Fang's eyes.

Liu Bei put away his smile and said happily:
"Zhang Xiu and Zhang Liao, listen up. I order you two to lead all the cavalry and head diagonally towards Zushui to intercept Yuan Tan's 20,000 troops halfway."

The two Zhangs stood up suddenly and accepted the order generously.

Liu Bei looked at Chen Ying and shouted:
"Yuan Cheng, please return to Xia Pi as soon as possible and discuss with your brother the timing of the coup and seizure of the palace."

"Then use the three beacons as a signal, and we will cooperate from inside and outside to capture Xia Pi in one fell swoop!"

Chen Ying hurriedly stood up and accepted the order with pleasure.

...

Four days later, Zushui.

Boats and rafts are sailing on the Zu River under the cover of night.

Yuan Tan stood at the bow with his sword in hand, his eyes looking towards the west of the sea, and in his mind he was sketching out a strategy for setting an ambush.

The fantasy scene of 10,000 Liu soldiers being killed and blood flowing like a river, and Gan Ning's head being stepped on by himself, kept appearing before his eyes...

"Big-eared thief, you killed me, Han Meng, so I will repay you with blood and kill your Gan Ning!"

"As the future head of the Yuan family, how could I lose to a weaver like you who sells shoes..."

Yuan Tan snorted coldly, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

While I was thinking, the east was getting brighter and it was almost dawn.

"My Lord, it's almost dawn. Should we stop the boat and let the soldiers go ashore to rest?"

Sui Yuanjin came forward to remind him and interrupted Yuan Tan's trance.

Yuan Tan glanced at the pale sky and waved his hand:

"Pass the order down, all ships should go ashore and set up camp and rest on the spot."

In order to hide his whereabouts, he chose to hide during the day and travel at night. As the sky was about to dawn, the soldiers were tired after sitting on the boat all night, so they naturally had to go ashore to rest.

The command flag was waved and the order was passed down.

One boat after another slowly approached the shore. The exhausted Yuan army soldiers yawned and rushed to get off the boats, eager to set up tents and have a good sleep.

"My Lord, if we hide during the day and travel at night, won't our march be too slow?"

Sui Yuanjin followed Yuan Tan off the boat and reminded him from the side.

"Liu Bei's surprise attack troops will first take the Huai River and then the sea route. It will take at least ten days to reach Haixi. We have enough time to rush to Haixi and set up defenses."

"Time is on our side. The most important thing is not to reveal our whereabouts. Do you understand?"

Yuan Tan answered confidently.

Sui Yuanjin suddenly realized what was going on and immediately began to compliment Yuan Tan, praising him for his careful consideration.

Yuan Tan felt sleepy, yawned, and waved his whip, saying:
"Tell the soldiers to set up camp as soon as possible. There is no need to go through the trouble of setting up camp walls. We will only stay for half a day anyway."

Sui Yuanjin hurriedly passed the order down.

So the 20,000 Yuan army soldiers, yawning and enduring the fatigue, began to hastily set up camp and put up tents.

Yuan Tan sat down, took the water bag handed to him by his personal guard, and was about to take a sip.

My eyes accidentally looked to the east and vaguely saw a cloud of dust rolling towards this side along the northern bank of Zushui River.

There is no wind, why is there so much dust?

Yuan Tan looked suspicious and stood up involuntarily to look again.

In the dust and fog, there were countless pitch-black figures, like the underworld from hell, looming in and out.

The wine bag fell to the ground, his eyes gradually widened, and extreme fear surged in his eyes.

Yuan Tan's body suddenly shook, and he cried out in surprise:
"Cavalry! The cavalry of the big-eared thief!"

(End of this chapter)