Mythical Three Kingdoms

These words left Chen Xi stunned. You all think highly of Lord Xuande, meaning you're very satisfied with Liu Bei's actions now, and you want to fully support Liu Bei?

"Zichuan, why did you suddenly stop talking?" Liu Bei asked as he looked at Chen Xi standing silently by the side.

"Oh, I just received some important news, but it's nothing major. We'll regroup and then confront Yuan Shao." Chen Xi hesitated for a moment but didn't say anything to Liu Bei. After all, wasting such a great opportunity would be a blow to Zhao Yun, so it's best to let it go.

"In the end, it seems we still need to use the army to solve all problems." Lub Su said with a smile, "Wen He did brilliantly earlier, taking down three at once."

"Just lucky." Jia Xu laughed as he patted the repeating crossbow, which no longer had crossbow bolts. As for Liu Yan, Jian Yong, and Sunx Qian, they all flipped tables and threw them at the enemy, while the others jumped backward, not much fear, rather quite excited.

"Zhongkang, you should rest for a few days and let your brother Meng Kang lead the Tiger Guard Camp in your stead, focus on recovering from your injuries." Liu Bei comforted Xuu Chu, whose face was a bit pale.

The news of Liu Bei's return quickly reached Guan Yu, who immediately learned that Liu Bei must have had a confrontation with Yuan Shao in the river's center. Guan Yu hurried over to meet him, but upon seeing that there were no casualties, he regained his original cold and aloof expression.

"Wen Chou?" Guan Yu asked coldly, looking at the wound on Xuu Chu's chest and listening to the accounts of the others.

"He didn't fare much better either!" Xuu Chu replied grumpily.

"I'll get him to give you an explanation." Guan Yu nodded slightly, his expression indifferent as he turned his head to survey the surroundings, appearing reluctant to speak to others. However, when Guan Yu demands an explanation, it must mean taking a head as an explanation!

"Be careful, he has a technique that can inject the inner Qi from our battles into the opponent's body, gather it to a certain level, then explode it, causing considerable damage. With your body, you cannot withstand such an explosion." Xuu Chu quickly explained a few things, as he wasn't the type to insist on personal revenge; it wasn't that he couldn't fight back, but it wasn't absolutely necessary.

"Alright, I understand." Guan Yu tightened his grip on the Green Dragon Crescent Blade without saying more. He already understood the biggest issue when fighting Wen Chou: the longer it dragged on, the harder Wen Chou would be to deal with.

"Return to camp." Liu Bei shook his head slightly and ordered his generals, "Yunchang, you will lead the charge tomorrow."

"Alright." Guan Yu nodded in response, while Chen Xi, Lub Su, and others stared at the Yellow River, noticeably troubled.

After returning to camp, everyone tidied up their appearance and then headed to the main tent. Some matters had to be addressed.

"Should we forcefully cross the Yellow River from upstream, or? Naturally, Yuan Shao has quite a few defensive points set up along the Yellow River. The further upstream we go, the greater Yuan Shao's advantage, and the more troops he can mobilize." Chen Xi said calmly. Without a navy, crossing the Yellow River inevitably meant forcing a crossing.

"If we go upstream, I'm worried Yuan Shao won't take Cao Cao seriously, and in desperation, he'll deploy from Chenliu, moving through Fengqiu and the area around Guandu, heading straight for Jiyin!" Jia Xu frowned as he spoke.

Jia Xu was more worried that once Yuan Shao realized the situation, he'd bypass Guandu and break Jiyin, then have his forces from Puyang, Cangting, Chiping, and Plain crushing down simultaneously, which would surely leave Liu Bei scrambling.

Of course, breaking Jiyin had its dangers, but for someone like Jia Xu, who only looked at the results, he immediately focused on that line!

"We should go to Linyi, forcefully cross the Yellow River, Yuan Shao's massive force here is probably also to prevent us from launching from Qingzhou towards the Bohai Sea. At the same time, once we go upstream, it's like changing strategy." Guo Jia shook his head, stating that he didn't want to force Yuan Shao towards Guandu, as it was too short of a supply line for Yuan Shao.

"Fengqiu, the River, Qui Water, Jig River, and Pu Water—I worry when it comes to that part Yuan Shao might present a big problem for us. If we're just defending, he has too many terrain advantages for setting up defense lines." Lub Su nodded, saying, "While going upstream might be relatively easier, Yuan Shao has arranged things at his leisure."

"What about feinting towards Chiping and Plain?" Chen Xi turned and asked, "Originally, with Gan Ning's Navy, crossing the Yellow River was easy to arrange, but now we have to consider other factors, especially with Yuan Shao's defenses already set along the river."

"A feint?" Guo Jia frowned, "Are you that confident? I've heard of this guy called Xu Yuanzhi too. He's from the same place as me; after the battle of Changshe, he moved to Yangzhai. He's also well-known there, but you know."

"Well, how to put it? I have a lot of confidence in him. Besides, don't you think if he handles the diversion well, it would be very advantageous for us?" Chen Xi asked with a smile.

"It certainly would be advantageous. To be honest, if it weren't for the Xuanyuan Cauldron being in Ye City, going through Qingzhou to cut off Qinghe and the Bohai Sea would be the most correct route." Liu Bei suddenly interjected, indicating that he hadn't been idle these years and had learned quite a bit, at least in strategic basics.

"So bet on it. If it works, we'll drag the battlefield down to Ye City, which will create a chance for the inside line!" Chen Xi clicked his fingers, looked up, and said to the crowd.

"A gamble like this, where losing has little impact, but winning gets us close to the goal, is acceptable." Jia Xu said with a calm expression. There had originally been other river-crossing plans, but the target had changed, making the river-crossing plans unsuitable, whereas Chen Xi's plan aligned more with Jia Xu's thinking.

"It's acceptable, but crossing at Chiping means we'll likely have multiple small skirmishes with Yuan Shao, and I worry Yuan Shao isn't that easy to fool." Lub Su frowned, not opposing Chen Xi's suggestion, but pointing out its hazards.

"We can't get across, but Yuan Shao will come across too. If we take Chiping, Yuan Shao won't give up trying to seize it. He also wants our Xuanyuan Cauldron." Guo Jia shook his head and said, "And Zijing, the possibility of low-intensity encounters is slim. Yuan Shao's foresight isn't lacking; he'll maximize his troop advantage to the fullest."

"In that case, let's head towards Chiping and see if we can seize a crossing. We need to make more arrangements on our side as well." Liu Bei glanced in Chen Xi's direction, nodding slightly, "As for if Yuan Shao moves through White Horse, Yanjin, and Fengqiu, bypassing Guandu to reach us, I wouldn't mind clashing with him in Yanzhou!"

"A battle there might actually be good for us." Chen Xi stroked his chin and laughed. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to support it by voting for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)