All-Heavens Game, the Strongest Player

Chapter 40 The Battle for Xuzhou: Have they finally got Chu Xiu cornered again?
Xuzhou during the Three Kingdoms period was not a modern prefecture-level city, but one of the ancient Nine Provinces, encompassing many areas of present-day Shandong and Jiangsu.

The Yangtze River serves as the dividing line: the area above the East China Sea and the area north of the Yangtze River.

From Xiaopei in the west to Langya in the north, that vast area belonged to Xuzhou. Zhuge Liang was from Qingdao, Shandong in later generations, but during this period, he was from Langya County, Xuzhou!
Throughout history, Xuzhou has been a strategic location fought over by military strategists.

So why?

Because that place is really too "hexagonal": it is located on a plain, but it is surrounded by mountains, with the Yangtze River on one side and the sea on the other, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack!

It wasn't the most productive land, but it was still one of the most fertile places of that era.

It boasts excellent transportation links, with the Yangtze River waterway and not far from the Yellow River. With its coastline on one side, it also provides direct access to Youzhou and Jiangdong.

Even the burial goods in the tomb were plentiful!
Because Liu Bang's ancestral home was Xuzhou, his descendants, adhering to the idea of ​​"returning to one's roots," built a large number of Han tombs in Xuzhou. Most of the wealthiest and most powerful figures of the Han Dynasty were buried in Xuzhou.

Xuzhou also boasts one of the largest populations among all the prefectures.

We can refer to the examples of Jiangsu and Shandong in later generations!
In conclusion, Xuzhou may not be the best in any single aspect, but considering all factors, it is undoubtedly a strategic location that is fiercely contested by military strategists!

Therefore, after stabilizing Yan Province, Cao Cao set his sights on Xu Province.

“Once we take Xuzhou, there will be no more problems with supplies. We will have enough money and food. However, everyone knows that I want to take Xuzhou. The local powerful families are very resistant to me. I have discussed with several strategists for a long time, but we have not been able to come up with a feasible plan.”

Thanks to the publication of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," the gentry of Xuzhou are now aware of Cao Cao's massacre of the city.

Apart from Chen Deng and his son, who later defected to Cao Cao and fled to Yanzhou, the remaining gentry of Xuzhou united to form an anti-Cao Cao alliance led by Tao Qian.

An unprecedented unity.

"Not only that, Tao Qian also gained the support of a celestial being! According to the information I've gathered, that celestial being is named 'Chen the Butcher,' and he's very close to Shen Tianci, the Northern God King. He's been undertaking massive construction projects in Xuzhou, building many temples for Shen Tianci!"

At this point, he paused.

He added, "Many powerful families in Xuzhou also intend to side with Yuan Shu!"

It must be said that Yuan Shu's reputation as a member of a family that had held high office for four generations was very attractive to powerful clans, and his idea that "no one of the highest rank is from a poor family" resonated with the major clans in Xuzhou.

If it weren't for the open and covert struggles among the aristocratic families, the major families of Xuzhou would be waiting for the right offer and negotiating a good price.

Perhaps they have already sided with Yuan Shu.

"I know him. He's Shen Tianci's lackey. He's quite capable himself, but he only chose to follow Shen Tianci because he has no powerful backing!"

As he spoke, Chu Xiu's mind drifted towards Xuzhou.

Cao Cao naturally made many plans for this place, which was the first place he wanted to seize after returning to Yanzhou.

The number of spies sent there was only less than the number sent to Yuzhou.

Unlike Empress Wu Zetian and others who were unprepared, Chen Tugou was very wary and distrusted everyone, including the subordinates Tao Qian had given him.

We won't let anyone touch anything that's core to us.

Some people might ask: How can he develop in this Three Kingdoms world without the help of others?
And you know what? It really works!

Chu Xiu did not infiltrate Chen Tugou's ranks, but he still managed to glean some information through various channels, such as his daily purchases and social circles.

That person gained the support of Tao Qian and the major families of Xuzhou from the very beginning.

However, he did not participate in the Battle of Hulao Pass.

Instead, he opened a manor in Xuzhou and started raising dogs—yes, that's right, raising dogs!
However, although his name means "dog butcher," he doesn't raise dogs to kill and eat them, but to train military dogs!

Because he doesn't trust people, he only trusts dogs.

While dogs are reliable, it's unrealistic to expect to train them in large numbers and rely on them as a mainstay. Chen the Dog Butcher, however, has now practically amassed every dog ​​in Xuzhou.

As a result, Xuzhou, the birthplace of dog meat consumption, now has no dogs left to eat.

The ambitions are certainly not small.

Chu Xiu guessed that Chen Tugou's talent should be related to "taming", or it might not only be taming, but also include enhancement.

Chen the Butcher's profession is that of a military commander.

So, given his innate talent and passive ability, could he use dogs to arrange troops in battle formations? Or even more than just dogs, but encompassing all kinds of animals?
Dogs come from wolf packs and are inherently social animals, so they have a foundation that makes them easier to domesticate.

Chu Xiu had various guesses.

Coincidentally, at that moment, Chen Tugou was discussing with Shen Tianci, who had come from afar, how to deal with Chu Xiu. The meeting place was a restaurant in Xiapi City, which was set up by Chu Xiu's spies.

“I need some time to build Tiangong City. During this time, you must hold Chu Xiu back and prevent him from sending troops to attack!” Shen Tianci said. “My Tiangong City will probably be completed when the next round of eliminations begins. When the mark reappears, that will be the day Chu Xiu is eliminated!”

But Chen Tugou looked disdainful upon hearing this.

"Don't worry, I'll definitely keep Cao Cao occupied, preventing him from focusing on the construction of Tiangong City. As for Chu Xiu, why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut? You go ahead and prepare the 'ultimate reward' matter, and I'll take care of him for you!"

After saying that, he went on to explain some specific details.

The gist is that although Chu Xiu's Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation is powerful, it is not unbreakable. One can use a dog's sense of smell to break the formation's illusionary effects.

You can also use a dog to find Chu Xiu hidden in the formation.

Locate the target and kill him.

"In short, Chu Xiu is nothing to worry about!"

Chen Tugou didn't just talk the talk; he declared war on Chu Xiu that very day, stating that Chu Xiu was not qualified to be a God King and that he would use his own "Heavenly Wolf Formation" to break Chu Xiu's legendary Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation.

The next day, he personally led his 10,000-strong "Sky Wolf Army" in a grand march towards Xuzhou.

He seemed to disregard Chu Xiu.

"I overestimated him. He thinks he can break through my strategist Zhuge Liang's 'Eight Trigrams Formation' just because he has trained some military dogs? He is simply ignorant of his own limitations!"

Upon receiving the news, Cao Cao said with a disdainful expression.

Chu Xiu remained silent in response.

"Please be mindful of your stance!"

This Cao Cao is clearly being projected onto the Shu Han dynasty.

"Uh, hehe."

Cao Cao chuckled and then said, "Grand Preceptor, I will mobilize troops immediately. Let's show him the power of the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation!"

But Chu Xiu shook his head upon hearing this.

"A highly vigilant person discussing such an important strategy would choose a random, crowded restaurant; the information they provide cannot be trusted!"

These words startled Cao Cao.

"what do you mean?"

"They did it on purpose! Whether it's the delay that Shen Tianci needs or Chen Tugou's attitude of not taking me seriously, it's all a disguise. I'm 100% sure that Shen Tianci has set up an ambush in Tiangong City, waiting for us to walk right into it!"

Chu Xiu paused for a moment at this point.

He added, "Chen Tugou's so-called 'Heavenly Wolf Formation' is definitely a trap! Although I don't know his real purpose, I'm certain that he's deliberately pretending to be arrogant in order to lure me in!"

Chu Xiu also liked to do things like using information asymmetry to scheme against others.

Therefore, he recognized it at a glance.

After Chu Xiu finished speaking, Guo Jia, known as a "genius," put down his wine jug and said, "No matter how much scheming he does, it only has two purposes: either to deal with our lord or to deal with the Grand Preceptor. I think it's the latter. He must have grasped some weaknesses of the strategist, or at least thought he had, to scheme like this!"

After he finished speaking, he looked at Chu Xiu.

"My weakness?"

Chu Xiu thought for a moment and said, "If you want to kill me, you first need to pinpoint my approximate location, then cover a wide area with heavy firepower so that even if I hide, I can't avoid the damage. Besides that, you also need to find the location where I set up the 'Star Lanterns' and destroy them, or kill me again after I resurrect!"

With this analysis, Chen Tugou's arrogance and provocativeness become understandable.

Chu Xiu gives the impression of being extremely arrogant and overbearing. Challenging others to fight is the best way to pinpoint his position.

Chu Xiu didn't know what kind of wide-range firepower the opponent was going to use.

No one knew what methods the other party used to be so confident in finding the location where he had set up the starlight.

But it's okay.

Chu Xiu also has an information gap: no one knows that he doesn't need to personally lead the army to set up the formation. Even if he is 200 kilometers away, he can still command the army to fight!
"I accept the challenge, but I won't go. Let's see how you plan to fight!"

(End of this chapter)