Chapter 352

Lu Su had great strategic vision. He cupped his hands and said,

"Master, the Jiangdong scholar-gentry and people have already determined that you are about to enter Jiangdong. If you abandon Jiangdong at this time to compete for Hebei, it will disappoint the people and the scholar-gentry. In the future, to have such high support again will cost a great price."

Liu Bei nodded. Lu Su was very right,

"Good, Lu Zijing is right. I have so many letters of support from the scholar-gentry; I cannot disappoint their hopes."

He stood up tall,

"My mind is made up. We will take Jiangdong first, then plot for the land of Hebei. Three days from now, our army will march on Wu Commandery to completely crush Sun Quan!"

"Understood!"

Liu Bei asked for advice again,

"Guo Fengxiao, Ding Yuan Shao has just died. Ding Yuan Shang and Ding Yuan Tan will inevitably fight fiercely to compete for the position. How should we respond?"

Guo Jia cupped his hands,

"Master, Ding Yuan Shang holds Jizhou, Ding Yuan Tan occupies Qingzhou, and Ding Yuan Xi guards Youzhou. Ding Yuan Shang and Ding Yuan Tan are competing for the position; the two of them have plenty of fighting to do."

"Master, you can order Guan Yu and Zhao Yun to closely monitor the situation in Jizhou, ready to take Ye City at any time."

Liu Bei thought about it. For now, this was all he could do. He had to take Jiangdong first, otherwise, he would have to garrison heavy troops later to guard against Sun Quan.

"Good. I will also appoint Zhuge Zhang Liang as the Inspector of Jingzhou, letting him be responsible for the mobilization of Jingzhou’s troops and act as he sees fit."

Guo Jia cupped his hands,

"Master is wise!"

Xu County,

Cao Cao was recently both troubled and secretly happy.

Liu Bei had defeated Sun Quan, whom he had favored, and was on the verge of occupying Jiangdong, creating a surrounding momentum against him.

Jingzhou, Sili, and Jiangdong could all be used to deploy troops against him, which made Cao Cao very worried.

Especially since Liu Bei had occupied Jiangdong, gained Jiangdong’s generals, and recruited Danyang elite troops.

Liu Bei had very high prestige in Taking Xuzhou. I’m afraid that as soon as Liu Bei led his troops into Taking Xuzhou, quite a few people would go to defect!

"What do you all say our army should do now?"

Xun Yu cupped his hands,

"Master, Liu Bei taking Jiangdong is only a matter of time. Our army can only compete with him if we obtain Hebei."

Cheng Yu also seconded,

"Hebei has much grain and a large population. If you obtain it, Master, your strength will be close to Liu Bei’s, and you will also gain the horse-raising land of Youzhou, connecting Hebei and the Central Plains."

Military Sima Yi cupped his hands,

"Master, we must not only take Hebei, but take it quickly! Especially Ye City. If Liu Bei returns from Jiangdong, the difficulty for our army to take Hebei will increase dramatically."

Cao Cao had the same thought,

"Then how should I go to Hebei?"

The three had similar opinions: secret infiltration, inciting conflict between Ding Yuan Shang and Ding Yuan Tan, and then wiping them out in one fell swoop!

Military Sima Yi added,

"Master, our army is currently still in an alliance with Ding Yuan Shao, and they have low vigilance against you. You can send people to lobby the two Yuans, emphasizing Liu Bei’s threat, and make them more wary of Liu Bei!"

Cao Cao laughed,

"Good. I intend to gather the troops of Yanzhou and march south to rescue Sun Quan. What do you all think?"

Xun Yu and the other two looked at each other,

"Master is wise!"

Hebei was currently in a chaotic melee.

Military advisors Shen Pei, Feng Ji, and Xu You supported Ding Yuan Shang in controlling Hebei and occupying Jizhou.

Xin Ping and Guo Tu supported Ding Yuan Shao’s eldest son, Ding Yuan Tan, in taking the position and occupying Qingzhou.

The two sides slowly evolved from verbal disputes to full-scale martial conflict.

Seeing that Liu Bei was far away in Jiangdong and that Cao Cao also intended to rescue Sun Quan, they naturally relaxed their vigilance and began attacking each other.

The flames of war in Jiangdong rose again.

Liu Bei divided his troops into three routes. Lu Xun led the naval forces to press on Dantu.

Huang Zhong led his army to march into the Qiantang and Yuhang areas of Kuaiji. The Kuaiji scholar-gentry surrendered at the sight of them. Huang Zhong did not commit a single offense along the way and marched toward Wu Commandery.

Liu Bei personally led forty thousand old soldiers, thirty thousand Danyang elite troops, and thirty thousand surrendered Jiangdong troops, marching majestically toward Wu County in Wu Commandery.

Along the way, discipline was strict, and they did not commit a single offense. The Jiangdong scholar-gentry and people all supported them.

Sun Quan ultimately did not wait for Liu Bei to return to Chang'an to compete with Cao Cao for Hebei.

"Liu Bei still came for me."

"Zhou Gongjin, what should our army do?"

Zhou Yu cupped his hands,

"Master, only by using the fake surrender plan and the beauty trap can we have a glimmer of hope!"

Sun Quan sighed long,

"Fine. I will send Ziyu on a trip."

Liu Bei had just arrived at Qu'e with his army when he was met by Sun Quan’s envoy, Zhuge Jin.

"Lord Liu Xuande, my master knows he is no match for you and has sent me to beg for surrender."

Liu Bei seemed somewhat suspicious,

"Sun Quan has withdrawn all of Zhou Yu’s naval forces back to Wu County. I thought he wanted to defend to the death; why is he asking to surrender?"

Zhuge Jin cupped his hands,

"Lord Liu Xuande’s three-route army attacking Wu Commandery has a total strength of over one hundred and fifty thousand. My master couldn't even beat your twenty thousand, Lord Liu Xuande; how could he dare to act like a mantis trying to stop a chariot?"

He paused,

"The Jiangdong scholar-gentry and people do not want to fight and are lining the roads to welcome you, Lord Liu Xuande. Heavy ministers like Zhang Zhao also say we should surrender. My master’s situation is lost; he only seeks a place to end his remaining days."

Liu Bei waved his hand,

"Sun Quan is only in his early twenties; why say such disheartening words?"

Zhuge Jin added,

"Lord Liu Xuande, the Empress Dowager intends to marry Miss Sun Shangxiang to you, so that the Sun family can have a place in your camp, Lord Liu Xuande. I ask for your permission."

Liu Bei seemed somewhat surprised,

"Isn't Sun Sun Shangxiang supposed to marry Cao Pi?"

Zhuge Jin sighed,

"My young lady admires you, Lord Liu Xuande, and has not eaten or drunk for several days, refusing to marry Cao Pi to the death. She wants to marry the hero in her heart. The Empress Dowager also feels that marrying into your family, Lord Liu Xuande, is most appropriate, so..."

Liu Bei nodded,

"I heard that Miss Sun is the number one beauty in Jiangdong, wise and intelligent (has a big temper, loves to dance with swords), gentle and virtuous (leads a women’s army to charge and crash). I have also admired her for a long time."

Zhuge Jin was ashamed,

"Lord Liu Xuande, my young lady does have a stubborn temper and likes to dance with swords, but she admires you, Lord Liu Xuande, and has national beauty."

Liu Bei nodded,

"As the legitimate daughter of Sun Wentai, it should be so."

He asked again,

"What about Zhou Yu? What does he say?"

Zhuge Jin sighed,

"Zhou Gongjin had a big argument with the Master, was whipped twenty times by the Master, and now his military tally has been taken away, and he is idling at home."

Zhang Fei snorted,

"This Zhou Yu is truly ungrateful!"

Liu Bei, however, waved his hand,

"Zhou Zhou Gongjin has great talent and is loyal; I admire him very much."

He looked at Zhuge Jin again,

"Ziyu, I have already appointed your younger brother Kongming as the Inspector of Jingzhou. You also have great talent. After Sun Quan surrenders, I will certainly use you heavily." ### CHAPTER 620