Liu Bei left Runan!

  Time slowly passed, and in a flash, it was already the fifth year of Jian'an, September!

  This year was extremely lively, with several major events occurring in succession, astonishing people all over the world!

  Yuan Shao, the northern warlord, led his army to conquer Cao Cao in one battle and take control of Yan Province. However, both sides had their victories and defeats. Yuan Shao's advisor, Tian Feng, tried to persuade him, but Yuan Shao became enraged and threw him into prison. He then listened to Guo Tu's words and clashed with Cao Cao at the Battle of Guandu.

  Secondly, Sun Ce, the once-in-a-lifetime overlord of Jiangdong, died suddenly and passed on his throne to his younger brother Sun Quan before his death.

  Sun Ce had originally intended to take advantage of Cao Cao's northern campaign against Yuan Shao, and lead his army in a surprise attack on Xu Du. Who would have thought that before he could even put his plans into action, he would pass away? He left behind a huge mess for the 17- or 18-year-old Sun Quan to deal with. Sun Quan was busy putting out fires and stabilizing Jiangdong internally, and had no time to worry about external threats!

  Liu Bei took advantage of the various lords watching the play to comfort those inside, while he himself was secretly arranging various matters.

  Sneak into Jingzhou and advance to Xinye!

  ……

  Ru Nan City, the Governor's Mansion!

  Liu Bei has been having a streak of good fortune lately, and it's not an exaggeration to say that he's feeling quite pleased with himself. However, today he urgently summoned Zhang Fei, who is in charge of defending Ru Nan, to come quickly and discuss matters!

  Conference Hall!

  Liu Bei's face was gloomy as he sat in the first place, his eyes scanned Liu Xuan and Zhang Fei like a sword, and smiled lightly: "Why don't you look spirited?"

  "Big brother, I was wrong..." Zhang Fei's face looked ashamed as he gazed at Liu Bei. Liu Bei rolled his eyes and glared at Zhang Fei, scolding with a smile: "Are you uncomfortable if you don't make mistakes for one day?"

  Zhang Fei jumped up as soon as he heard it, and immediately seemed to remember something, saying with shame: "Big brother, please punish old Zhang, old Zhang will not complain..."

  "Alas, never mind. Some things can't be forced." Liu Bei let out a soft sigh and said in a low voice: "Those who are meant to leave cannot be persuaded to stay..."

  "Chen's persuasion to make the great army leave is enough, no need to send troops to pursue them..." Liu Bei sighed lightly: "Third brother, how many more great armies do we have in Yuzhou city?"

  "What?" Zhang Fei's mood, which had slightly improved, suddenly turned sour as he stared at Liu Bei with wide eyes, seemingly unprepared for the question. For a moment, Zhang Fei was stunned and disoriented.

  "What?" Liu Bei slightly frowned and said calmly: "Don't know?"

  Liu Bei shouted in anger: "Third brother, how many times have I told you not to drink in the military camp? Look at yourself, do you look like a general?"

  "Yes, yes, little brother obediently follows big brother's teachings..." Zhang Fei suddenly let out a strange cry, then furrowed his brow and scratched his head, muttering to himself: "One thousand... no, no, two thousand, three thousand?"

  "Hmm!" Liu Bei snorted, his eyes darting sideways at Zhang Fei, clearly displeased!

  "Cough, cough... Father, there are probably about 2,000 soldiers left in the military camp outside Xinyang City..." Liu Xuan replied cautiously.

  Liu Bei nodded slightly and bowed his head in contemplation. After a moment, he raised his head and said: "Two thousand soldiers are enough. Ah, Xuan'er, how many civilians are there?"

  Liu Xuan was stuck with Jian Yun, and they were busy dealing with the people on both sides. He remembered this in his heart and said: "There are still 30,000 to 40,000 people!"

  Liu Bei suddenly raised an eyebrow, and his eyes seemed to twitch... 20,000, 30,000, 40,000, what concept is that?

  Tenfold... a soldier has to bear the heavy responsibility of protecting ten or even dozens of civilians... this is no trivial matter!

  Liu Bei furrowed his brow, with a hint of worry between his eyebrows, and said in a deep voice: "In that case, we must be more careful. Our army is small in number, while the civilians are numerous, and many of them are old, weak, women, and children, who are not convenient to move..." He paused for a moment, then said seriously: "Xuan'er, at this critical juncture, our soldiers must maintain strict military discipline, and their words and actions must be dignified... Pass down the order that anyone who dares to bully the civilians will be executed without pardon..."

  "Yes, Father!"

  Liu Bei nodded and turned his eyes to Zhang Fei, snorted, and shouted: "Yide, we will set out tomorrow, quickly go and prepare the army..."

  "Uh-huh!" Zhang Fei lazily responded with a sentence!

  Liu Bei slightly felt helpless and shook his head, then walked towards the backyard. Liu Xuan helplessly smiled and watched Liu Bei's back, seemingly deep in thought.

  "Chen Dao really thinks that following his father has no future, so he incited the soldiers to run away?" Liu Xuan furrowed his brow and thought deeply, thinking to himself: "With a person like Father, who is so heavily reliant on Chen Dao, there's no reason for Chen Dao to be disloyal."

  At this thought, Liu Xuan hastily rubbed his head, and a bitter smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: "The most direct evaluation of Chen Dao in history... 'Chen Dao's loyalty and bravery are not inferior to Zhao Yun...'".

  "If Chen Daoren is really like this, how can it be?!" Liu Xuan sighed softly. The ancients are indeed not to be deceived! With just this move of his father's, one can see that his heart and mind are deep and unfathomable...

  He shook his head slightly and sighed, then turned to look at Third Uncle, who was nodding off, rolling his eyes, and feeling very helpless. He said in a low voice, "Third Uncle, hurry up and get the troops in order, we're setting out tomorrow, time is pressing!"

  "Right, right! My nephew reminded me...!" Zhang Fei slapped his forehead and responded with a loud "Ah!", then stormed out the door: "I'll go deal with those rabbits now!"

  Liu Xuan looked at the creaking door and couldn't help but curl his lips, thinking: "Zhang Fei is indeed a violent maniac! If this were in later times, this door wouldn't last a day without being replaced!"

  Shaking her head slightly and shrugging her shoulders, she hummed a little tune as she walked away.

  Liu Bei's order was carried out quickly in Runan City.

  Liu Bei's "small actions" naturally did not escape Xun Yu, who was stationed in Xuchang.

  Xu Du, Taishou Fu!

  Xun Yu furrowed his brow, looking at the intelligence in his hand, and fell into deep thought!

  The day before yesterday, Liu Bei, who had been stationed in Runan for nearly two months, suddenly became restless. His army gathered and the civilians inside the city seemed to be stirred up as well.

  All of this made Xun Yu smell a different scent, and he became vigilant. Cao Cao left Xun Yu to garrison Xu Du, first relying on his ability, secondly trusting him very much.

  Xun Yu looked at the intelligence for half a moment, his eyebrows furrowed tightly. After a moment, he let out a soft sigh and slowly put down the bamboo slips, pacing back and forth in the center of the main hall.

  Suddenly, Xun Yu stopped in his tracks and shouted out loud: "Who's there!"

  In an instant, a soldier rushed into the hall and reported with his hands clasped together: "Sir Xun, what orders do you have?"

  Xun Yu hastened forward and said to the soldiers, "Quickly go and summon General Xiahou to come here. Tell him that Xun Yu has an urgent matter to discuss with him!"

  "Yes!" The soldier knew that Xun Yu was asking about General Xiahou, who was ordered to garrison Xuchang, and hastily responded with a "yes" before quickly leaving.

  Cao Cao had assembled all the troops in Yan Province to fight against Yuan Shao at Guandu, but now Yan Province is actually just a paper tiger that is strong on the outside but weak on the inside. Apart from Xuchang, which has 20,000 troops and is the current capital, other places like Dongjun, Xuzhou, etc., have no spare troops except for some old, weak, sick and disabled people guarding the cities.

  A cup of tea, Xiahou Yuan strode in with big steps, arriving at the main hall to see Xun Yu looking worried and anxious. His heart sank, and he said in a deep voice: "Wen Ruo, what important matter do you want to discuss with me?"

  "Ah? The brilliant strategist has arrived!" Xun Yu's mind was immersed, Xiahou Yuan's greeting pulled him back, and he hastily said: "Something big has happened!"

  Xiahou Yuan furrowed his brow, nodded slowly, and Xun Yu quickly picked up a bamboo scroll from the table and handed it to Xiahou Yuan, saying: "Miao Cai, take a look at this intelligence first!"

  "Huh?" Xiahou Yuan took the intelligence report with a look of surprise, and after reading it for a moment, his expression became heavy, his thick eyebrows furrowed together!

  Xiahou Yuan finally looked up at Xun Yu and said in a deep voice, "Wen Ruo, what do you think of this matter?"

  Xun Yu also heard and was silent for a moment, then slowly said: "Liu Bei, the world's hero, in the past when our lord let the tiger return to the mountain, there is today's trouble! Today Liu Bei has this unusual move!"

  "According to the detailed intelligence gathered above, it seems that a large number of civilians are following along... This is not a good omen!"

  Xun Yu's expression was solemn, his tone paused for a moment, and he said in a deep voice: "Now that Liu Bei has made this unusual move, I suspect there are only two possibilities!"

  "Two points?"

  "Exactly!" Xun Yu nodded his head in agreement, saying: "One is to lead the army under your command to respond to Yuan Shao and attack our capital at Xuchang... Two is to lead the army and take the civilians away from Runan!

  "Are you going to attack Xuchang?" Xiahou Yuan sneered repeatedly and said in a cold voice, "I'm afraid Liu Bei doesn't even have the guts for that!"

  Xun Yu's mouth curled up in a cold smile as he gazed at the dark and gloomy sky, saying: "In my observation of Liu Bei in the past, it must be the second point!"

  "What if Wenruo and Liu Bei leave Runan, where can they go?"

  Xun Yu walked over to the side with the map hanging on it, gazing intently at it. After a moment, he said slowly: "Jingzhou, Xinye..."

  "Jingzhou? XinYe? Liu Jingsheng's territory?" Xiahou Yuan raised an eyebrow, and then coldly smiled: "Wen Ruo, do you want me to lead the army to kill Liu Bei off guard?"

  Xiahou Yuan's words are not just empty boasts. He is known for his swift and decisive military campaigns, earning him the nickname "Divine Speed General".

  Xiahou Yuan personally led the cavalry, and it would take no more than two or three days to reach Runan.

  "General Miao, you can't..." Xun Yu heard this and sternly shouted: "At present, the capital is in a state of turmoil, people's minds are unstable, and there are also petty people secretly stirring up trouble. Can you afford to leave lightly?"

  Xiahou Yuan's boiling hot blood was suddenly cooled down by Xun Yu's words, and he weakly said: "Wen Ruo is right!"

  "Let Liu Bei escape, Xiahoudun is really unwilling!" Xiahou Dun frowned and said with hatred. When Xun Yu heard this, a cold and icy smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and he lightly laughed: "Of course, we can't let Liu Bei leave Yuzhou easily, or else Liu Bei will turn over the sky?"

  Xun Yu turned his head and said to Xiahou Yuan: "Yu has a plan, which may make Liu Bei suffer another blow!"

  "What clever plan does he have?"

  "Haha, a small trick." Xun Yu said: "The wonderful General can be like this..."

  Xiahou Yuan's ears perked up, and he only heard Xun Yu whispering to himself before a sly smile spread across his face.

  Xiahou Yuan burst out laughing and said, "Wen Ruo is indeed a great talent, just as Meng De said. If Wen Ruo is truly a king-assisting talent, then he is the Han Gaozu's Zhang Liang!"

  Xun Yu smiled humbly and waved his hand, then immediately became serious and said: "General Miao, please go and make arrangements. After that, lead the army to quickly enter Xuchang and seal off the entire city!"

  "Understood!" Xiahou Yuan responded loudly and immediately went to the military camp outside the city.

  Xun Yu looked at Xiahou Yuan's receding figure, then gazed up at the dark clouds gathering in the sky, and felt a sense of foreboding, as if the city was on the verge of collapse.

  Yuannan City, Liu Bei's gaze was fixed on this ancient city, without saying a word!

  Behind him were tens of thousands of civilians, as well as three thousand soldiers! Zhang Fei stood behind Liu Bei, holding his snake spear and gazing vigilantly around.

  After a while, Liu Xuan leaned over to Liu Bei and whispered: "Father, let's go!"

  Liu Bei was like a man awakened from a dream, turned around and looked at the tens of thousands of civilians, choked with emotion: "What virtue or ability does Liu have, to be so deeply loved by the people? Liu makes another vow here, it is better for everyone to betray me, than for me to betray all of you!"

  "Liu Shuai, we're willing..."

  "Brother Liu..."

  ……

  After a short while, Liu Bei and Zhang Fei set off with their troops in grand style, heading towards Xinye!

  Liu Bei and Zhang Fei were unaware that a large army suddenly appeared from Xudu to Runan, rapidly charging towards Liu Bei's army.