I, Zhou Cang, am the number one tank in the Three Kingdoms.

Mi Zhu and Mi Fang sat quietly in the post station, listening to Chen Deng's strategy for repelling the enemy.

"Firstly, Cao Cao was far away in Xuchang, making it difficult for him to discern the treacherous intentions of the Sun family in Jiangdong."

"They have long coveted the Central Plains; to ask them for help now would be tantamount to inviting wolves into the house."

"Jiangdong's assistance to the Prime Minister in attacking the Governor is a pretense; their true intention is to seize the opportunity to cause chaos. It is possible that they will either annex Huainan to the west, attack Xudu, or head north to Guangling to take Xuzhou."

"I have already sent a messenger with a secret letter to inform the Prime Minister of the harm in Jiangdong. Once the Prime Minister is aware of this, he can take appropriate action."

Chen Deng paused after saying the first point. The two Mis looked at each other, somewhat dazed. So, Jiangdong wasn't an enemy at the moment, but... a temporary ally?

"Secondly, the Huainan region has been in chaos ever since Yuan Shu usurped the throne and declared himself emperor, leading to his own destruction. The people are suffering and their lives are in dire straits."

"Mei Cheng, Lei Xu, Chen Lan, and others relied on the danger to gather a crowd and establish their own independent regime."

"Furthermore, there was Li Shu, the Prefect of Lujiang. He initially served under Sun Ce, but Ce attacked and killed Yan Xiang, the Governor of Yangzhou appointed by the Prime Minister. After Ce's death, Li Shu refused to submit to Sun Quan and recruited many rebel generals from Jiangdong."

"Shu wanted to submit to the Prime Minister, but the Prime Minister had always disliked fickle people, so he ignored him and instead held his troops in Wancheng to defend himself."

"I believe that since Your Excellency has already won over the hearts and minds of the people, why not win over Mei Cheng, Lei Xu, Chen Lan, Li Shu, and others, and unite with Huainan to resist Jiangdong?"

After Chen Deng finished speaking, he smiled and looked at Mi Zhu and Mi Fang. The two nodded silently in agreement.

While it's too early to conclude whether these people are reliable, they certainly align with the strategist's policy of utilizing all available personnel.

Thirdly, someone has already sent people to purchase large quantities of military equipment and horses on the border of Jiangdong.

"Sun Quan, that brat, has been defeated by me twice. Knowing of my actions, he will certainly not dare to act rashly."

"With these three strategies, Your Excellency can rest assured that there will be no trouble in Jiangdong."

After Chen Deng finished speaking, he smiled and looked at Mi Zhu and Mi Fang.

These three plans were linked together. From the moment he learned that the two Mis had come to his residence, Chen Deng had guessed their purpose for the trip.

He had been thinking about how to help Liu Bei without dragging Xuzhou into the war.

Although he always admired Liu Bei and was grateful to Liu Bei for saving the people of Xuzhou, he never had the urge to follow Liu Bei to travel around the country.

These three strategies were based entirely on the safety of Xuzhou.

The first point is to take advantage of Cao Cao's trust and use this opportunity to make Cao Cao re-emphasize the importance of Xuzhou and redefine the strategic position of the Sun family in Jiangdong.

The second point is to use Huainan, which has become a political vacuum after Yuan Shu's death, as the first obstacle to block Sun Quan. Of course, this is on the premise that Liu Bei succeeds in conquering it and that Li Shu and others do not collapse in one battle.

Thirdly, by taking advantage of his two victories over Sun Quan at Guangling, he could remotely intimidate Sun Quan, ensuring that he would always have something to worry about when he attempted to advance westward.

As a pragmatist, these three points not only secured Xuzhou, but also benefited Cao Cao, and allowed him to do Liu Bei a favor.

Just like the father and son, who for so many years have always been in a position of maneuvering among heroes such as Tao Qian, Liu Bei, Lü Bu, Che Zhou, and Cao Cao.

After much deliberation, Mi Zhu finally gave a response.

"Yuanlong's brilliant plan has enlightened us both. I will immediately return to report to the strategist!" Mi Zhu bowed deeply to Chen Deng.

After all, it is a chaotic era. At present, most of the warlords in the world, except for Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, hold a rather ambiguous and constantly changing diplomatic stance.

The same applies to Jiangdong towards Liu Bei. Even though their plan was to launch a surprise attack on Xuchang, it was uncertain whether they would become enemies or friends if they actually took Huainan and met in Yuzhou.

"You two have a long journey ahead, so I have prepared travel documents for you to avoid any difficulties on your journey," Chen Deng said, taking out a bamboo slip from his sleeve and handing it to Mi Zhu.

"Thank you, Yuanlong!" Seeing Chen Deng's thoughtfulness, Mi Fang couldn't help but feel ashamed of the dissatisfaction she had shown earlier.

After bidding farewell to Chen Deng, Er Mi decided to set off under cover of night.

"Zifang, if we return to Runan to report first, the matter of establishing an alliance with Huainan will likely be delayed for a long time. It would be better to take the route through Huainan to meet with Li Shu and the others, and then return to Runan."

"I will do as my elder brother says."

The two had made their plans and rushed to Huainan without stopping.

In Runan City, with the arrow already on the bowstring, Shan Fu and Liu Bei, after a brief discussion, finally decided to launch a counterattack on Yan County as originally planned.

So he left 1,000 soldiers to Liu Pi and Gong Du to guard Runan, while Liu Bei personally led 6,000 soldiers and 3,000 reinforcements from Jingzhou to set up camp south of Yancheng.

Outside Wancheng City in Nanyang, Guan Yu set up camp and challenged Hu Che'er to battle multiple times, but Hu Che'er refused to fight and remained steadfast at the gates.

Following the strategist's instructions, under the cover of Gualijin, Guan Yu dug a trench, diverted the waters of the Yu River, and completely blocked the south gate of Wancheng. He also built a pontoon bridge over the Yu River to facilitate the arrival of reinforcements.

Because Gualijin was occupied by Liao Hua, the two grain routes, Yushui and Xialu, on which Wancheng depended for survival, were almost cut off.

Due to his merit in the surprise attack on Gualijin and the need to recuperate from his injuries, Zhou Cang was sent back to Yan County by Guan Yu to rest and recuperate.

Upon receiving the order, Zhou Cang made another unreasonable request to Guan Yu.

"My lord, may the laborers conscripted for this grain transport mission return to Runan with me?"

Guan Yu sat on a stool, looked up at Zhou Cang, and asked, "Oh? Why is that?"

Zhou Cang explained the unpleasant little incident that occurred when the grain was being transported.

Guan Yu nodded: "That's how it should be. Since Yuanfu has already made a promise to his people, he should keep his word. However, there are many dangers along the way, so you must protect them well."

Zhou Cang said happily, "Thank you, my lord!"

Early the next morning, Zhou Cang led a group of laborers, eager to return home, on their journey back to Runan.

After traveling for three days, they encountered a messenger on the way and learned that the army had already reached the city of Yanxian. Zhou Cang then decided to go to Yanxian first to join the army, and then send people to escort the laborers back to the city.

When they were still ten miles away from the camp in Yan County, they came across a village, and Zhou Cang led the group to rest outside the village.

When the villagers saw the soldiers arrive, they all closed their doors tightly. But when they learned that Liu Bei's men were escorting the laborers back to Runan, they opened their doors again and brought food to offer their thanks.

Unable to refuse their hospitality, the group rested for an hour before resuming their journey home.

At this moment, the laborer who had been whipped by the supervisor on the way here hurriedly ran to Zhou Cang, the leader of the team.

"What's the commotion?" Zhou Cang asked the laborers, puzzled.

"Just now, one of the villagers asked us about the strategist, but I didn't know anything about him, so I sent him away."

"My companion warned me that this man might be a spy from Cao Cao's army, so I came to inform the general!" The laborer said, scratching his head to hide his fear.

"Where is this person now?" Zhou Cang immediately became alert.

"I searched for it, but I can't find where it is..."

"Don't panic, it's nothing serious." After comforting the laborers, Zhou Cang let the main force go first, while he observed and pondered along the way.

"Inquiring about the strategist...?"

Oh no! Oh no! Cao Cao must have sensed the change in our lord's behavior and sent someone to inquire about the strategist.

If it's that scoundrel Cheng Yu, then Shan Fu... Xu Shu's mother is in danger!

We must never allow this to happen again like in the fictional drama!

Upon realizing this, Zhou Cang froze on the spot, his body covered in cold sweat.