Mythical Three Kingdoms

However, under the current circumstances, the comparison of military strength between the two sides seems to be quite lopsided. In the whole of Yanzhou, Chen Xi only had a little more than forty thousand in his regular legions, while on the other side, Tian Feng had nearly a hundred thousand men deployed around Yanzhou.

Fortunately, after taking over Yanzhou, a large number of construction legions and Tuntian legions had arrived, so the rear defense forces were still sufficient. The gap was only with the front line troops defending against Jizhou.

After dispatching Guan Yu to Jiyin, and once Guo Jia took Chen Dao there, Jiyin would have nearly twenty thousand men, while Tian Feng’s force was estimated to be around forty thousand, including over four thousand cavalrymen.

If Chen Xi did not have faith in Guo Jia, and was not aware that Tian Feng’s adaptability was not very strong, he would never allow such a high-risk attempt, given that Tian Feng’s restraint in military planning was too significant.

Similarly, Chen Xi’s situation was not too good either. Sending Guan Yu and Guo Jia to Jiyin to deal with Tian Feng meant that his available forces would significantly decrease, and there was a risk that Xuu You might act on a whim and send a large army.

After Guo Jia left, only Chen Xi and Zhuge Liang remained in the vicinity of Linyi. Originally, Gan Ning and his men were only meant to make an appearance in Xuzhou to deter Yuzhou, then quietly withdraw, to leave Yuzhou uncertain about the situation.

Of course, everyone knew that such tricks wouldn’t deceive Zhou Yu for more than ten days, but they still did so to make the Yuan Family of Yuzhou more certain about the situation in Xuzhou. Now, the Yuan Family of Yuzhou was convinced that there was only Zhang Fei’s legion in Xuzhou, even with Zhou Yu’s reasoned and well-founded explanation, they were still somewhat eager to act.

”Have Ziyi switch defenses with Zilong, taking over Dongping and the defense south of Dongping in Shanyang. Bring Zilong to Linyi. We built this new city here as a bridgehead, and now we especially need to hammer in a nail on the border between Eastern Commandery and Jizhou,” Chen Xi instructed Fa Zheng.

At the moment, Chen Xi had already intercepted the forces of Gan Ning, Taishi Ci, Zhuge Liang, and Fa Zheng. Before reinforcements from the rear could arrive, Chen Xi did not intend to act against Yuzhou; he would first secure this nail in place.

”Xingba, I have to trouble you this time. Your navy will be intercepted in this area for a while,” Chen Xi explained to Gan Ning. He was glad that when Liu Bei gave him the authority to mobilize troops, he didn’t delay, or else he wouldn’t have been able to make it in time. The situation on the battlefield can change in an instant, and it’s no laughing matter.

”What does it matter where we fight? Fighting against Yuan Shu in Yuzhou is not as satisfying as fighting against Yuan Shao!” Gan Ning laughed loudly, showing no dissatisfaction with the change in military orders.

”Order the scouts to form teams of five and expand the reconnaissance range. Command Gong Youu to speed up the construction of the new Linyi City. Command Zhang Yan to accelerate the selection of soldiers,” Chen Xi continued to issue orders to Fa Zheng, who was furiously writing them down on paper.

While Chen Xi was pondering how to deal with Xuu You, Xuu You was already having his final discussion with Tian Feng. Different from Chen Xi’s thinking of using straightforward tactics against straightforward ones, and unorthodox tactics against unorthodox ones, Tian Feng and Xuu You, upon arriving in the Eastern Commandery as strategists, immediately adopted a strategy of using straightforward methods to defeat unorthodox ones.

Although Xuu You did not like Tian Feng, he admitted that he would definitely be dominated by Tian Feng on the battlefield. This was not because he was inferior to Tian Feng, but because Tian Feng’s Spiritual Talent had an absolute restraining effect on strategists who primarily used ingenious strategies, and under this restraint, Xuu You did not have much of a solution.

With this in mind, Tian Feng and Xuu You had harbored the idea of eliminating Guo Jia first, and then combining their forces to push against Chen Xi.

It must be said that such a strong military force in Yanzhou this time was entirely due to Yuan Shao’s resolve, who had openly allowed Lyu Bu to take most of Bingzhou and then transferred his own infantry and cavalry from the southern part of Bingzhou. Even now, there were hardly any forces left in the southern part of Bingzhou. If Lyu Bu wished, his more than twenty thousand infantry and cavalry would be enough to turn Bingzhou upside down.

Although Chen Xi had anticipated that after Lyu Bu returned north, Yuan Shao would free up a part of his forces, he did not expect Yuan Shao to be so bold. However, once the situation unfolded, Chen Xi understood that even without Lyu Bu’s return to the north, Yuan Shao would have definitely made such a move to withdraw forces from southern Bingzhou.

This is a kind of self-confidence, Yuan Shao’s faith in his soldiers of the Northern Frontier, and Lyu Bu’s infiltration into Bingzhou only served to further display Yuan Shao’s grandeur and boldness.

Chen Xi and Guo Jia’s tactics were almost perfect for Tian Feng and Xuu You, but originally Tian Feng and Xuu You’s strategy relied on Liu Bei’s side being unaware of Tian Feng’s ”Spiritual Talent.” Now, in this situation, who would win and who would lose remained to be seen.

”Yuanhao, the area around Puyang is yours to handle, I’ll take care of Chen Xi,” said Xuu You, rubbing his hands together as he looked at Tian Feng.

”These are for you,” sighed Tian Feng, handing over a list to Xuu You. ”It includes gold and jewels.”

Xuu You’s eyes clearly flashed with greed as he went over the list handed to him by Tian Feng, but he felt no shame in taking it, tucking the list away into his sleeve without hesitation. For Xuu You, life was all about collecting such rare and exotic treasures.

Indeed, Xuu You was an odd character; he had little interest in beautiful women or high office, but he was greedy for money!

Whether it be ancient stone seals, antiques, calligraphy, paintings, or gold and precious jewels, as long as it was something shiny with value, Xuu You loved it all. His life was dedicated to these treasures.

Looking up at Tian Feng again, Xuu You’s eyes held a bit more fondness. He suddenly realized that Tian Feng, the bastard, was not completely heartless, as many of the treasures listed were actually gifts from Yuan Shao to Tian Feng.

”Can you take care of Chen Zichuan?” Tian Feng asked indifferently, not caring about Xuu You’s expression at all.

Tian Feng was basically indifferent to jewels and beautiful jade. He usually wore only plain Qing Dynasty robes, sometimes even rough hemp, compared to Xuu You who dressed in Shu Brocade and changed daily. Although they were of similar ages, standing next to Xuu You, Tian Feng looked like an old farmer beside a noble son.

”This too, is there more?” Xuu You asked, rubbing his hands together, his eyes sparkling.

”This is also for you.” Tian Feng’s face darkened. He went back into the house, retrieved a box, opened it, and then unfolded the silk inside to reveal a piece of jade that glowed warmly.

”Nice piece...” In that moment, Xuu You’s eyes practically shone with the light of jade. As a collector of treasures, he recognized the value of this piece of jade instantly.

”Will it work?” Tian Feng asked, gripping the box tightly, ignoring Xuu You’s frantic tugging as he stared at him.

”Let go already, it’s mine,” Xuu You said frantically.

”Can you deal with Chen Zichuan or not?” Tian Feng pressed Xuu You.

”Yes, yes, yes!” Xuu You felt his mind was incredibly clear, all the strategies lining up in his head, one ingenious plan after another surfacing, as he nodded incessantly, clutching the box holding the precious jade. (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote for it on Qidian ). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)