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

"Wenqian, things seem a bit unusual at Liu Bei's camp these past two days."

Standing atop the city wall of Yan County, Li Dian gazed towards Liu Bei's camp in the distance and spoke to Yue Jin with deep concern.

"Does Mancheng mean... that Liu Bei might launch a full-scale attack?" Yue Jin also frowned.

After Cao Ren was transferred back to Guandu, and Li Dian and Yue Jin were ordered to defend Yan County, the long-awaited surprise attack from Jiangdong on Runan never happened.

Now, no troops will come to Guandu to provide support. Once Liu Bei breaks through Yan County, he will have no way to go to Xudu or Guandu.

Moreover, Wancheng is said to have been captured by Liu Bei's troops, who also seized the Gualijin stronghold and dug trenches to divert the Yu River to block it, turning it into an isolated city.

Cao Cao also instructed Yue Jin and Li Dian to keep a close eye on the movements of Liu Bei's army and to report any signs of them dividing their forces in Wancheng immediately.

The two men had unspeakable grievances, and compared to their blindly optimistic subordinates, they would rather face Yuan Shao at Guandu than confront the transformed Liu Bei in the small town of Yanxian.

"The scouts report that the felling of trees near Liu Bei's camp is accelerating, and they may be preparing siege equipment. We must not let our guard down," Li Dian said with a sigh.

"Report—A letter has arrived from Jiangdong!"

A soldier rushed up the city wall and handed a letter to Li Dian.

After reading it, Li Dian angrily folded the bamboo slip and threw it off the city wall.

"Uh... why is Mancheng so angry?" Le Jin was speechless, as he hadn't even read it yet.

"That brat Sun Quan, the Prime Minister clearly ordered him to take Runan with light troops, but he actually said that bandits in Huainan were rampant and it was impossible to pass through."

"They said they would pacify Huainan first, then take Runan, and told us to wait another month!"

Li Dian swung his fist and slammed it hard against the edge of the battlement.

"This is simply outrageous!" Yue Jin was also quite annoyed.

They initially said that there would be external support from Jiangdong, so that Li Dian and I could sit back and watch Liu Bei and Sun Quan fight. Now, that plan seems like a joke.

This gave Jiangdong the legitimacy to send troops, but also put itself in a passive position, while Liu Bei was not affected at all.

Unbeknownst to Le Jin, at the same time, two messengers arrived at Liu Bei's camp.

The first person to arrive at the camp half an hour ago was Li Shu, the prefect of Lujiang, sent by Mi Zhu as an urgent report.

The second person from Jiangdong was Lu Su.

The soldiers escorted Lu Su into the tent. Liu Bei sat upright, with Xu Shu sitting to his side, and a group of generals led by Zhang Fei below him.

Lu Su entered the tent with a polite bow, and bowed deeply to Liu Bei, saying, "I have long admired your reputation, my lord, and now that I have the honor of paying my respects, I can confirm that it is indeed well-deserved!"

Liu Bei was about to rise to greet him when Xu Shu stopped him with a look and asked, "Who are you, sir? What brings you here?"

Lu Su cupped his hands and smiled, "I am Lu Su, courtesy name Zijing, a staff officer under General Sun Quan. Greetings, Imperial Uncle, and greetings to all the generals!"

Xu Shu continued, "You've come from afar; I wonder if you've come to offer assistance or to seek battle?"

Lu Su bowed to Xu Shu again and asked, "May I ask who you are, sir?"

Xu Shu smiled and said, "I am Xu Shu from Yingchuan, courtesy name Yuanzhi, and I currently serve as a military advisor under the lord."

Lu Su exclaimed in surprise, "I have long admired your talent, sir! To meet you here is truly an honor!"

No wonder Liu Bei is now thriving and can even defeat Cao Cao from both sides. It turns out he has appointed Xu Shu as his strategist, so it's not surprising.

After bowing respectfully, Lu Su said to Xu Shu, "I have come here precisely to assist you, my lord, in your great cause of defeating Cao Cao!"

Liu Bei asked, "Oh? Jiangdong wants to help me attack Cao Cao? How come I've heard that Jiangdong has already allied with Cao Cao and intends to attack my Runan?"

Lu Su laughed loudly, "This is a false rumor! General Sun has already read both the proclamation against Cao Cao and the imperial edict hidden in the belt. Our people of Jiangdong have been fed by the Han for generations; how could we possibly aid and abet tyranny? The claim of external support is completely unfounded!"

In any case, they resolutely refused to admit the fact that they had already sent troops to attack Li Shu. This was also part of Jiangdong's purge of traitors, and they didn't mention a single word about it.

Xu Shu picked up the conversation, saying, "Oh? I didn't expect your lord, Sun Quan, to be so young, yet like his father and brothers, he also harbors ambitions to contend for the Central Plains?"

"Uh..." Startled by Xu Shu's retort, Lu Su suddenly stammered, hurriedly explaining, "Why do you say such a thing, strategist? My lord would never have meant it that way. I hope you will understand, Imperial Uncle!"

After all, the general direction he gave Sun Quan when they first met was to firmly defend Jiangdong, take advantage of the chaos in the Central Plains to annex Jingzhou to the west, and then gradually conquer the world.

If, like Liu Bei, his ambitions were discovered too early and he was targeted, it would do no good for the stable development of Jiangdong, which was definitely not what Lu Su wanted to see.

Seeing Lu Su's nervous expression, Xu Shu laughed and said, "I was just teasing you! I wonder how your lord intends to help me attack Cao Cao?"

"The six prefectures of Jiangdong are prosperous and peaceful, with well-trained soldiers and ample provisions. We are willing to provide you with money, provisions, and horses to lend you a helping hand!" Lu Su deliberately raised his voice.

"Oh?" Upon hearing of this good news, Liu Bei asked, "How much grain and horses is Jiangdong willing to provide?"

Seeing Liu Bei's interest, Lu Su smiled and asked, "How much does Your Excellency require?"

Xu Shu immediately understood Lu Su's meaning and interrupted Liu Bei, who was about to speak, saying, "My lord swears to be irreconcilable with the Han traitors. As long as the Cao traitors are not eliminated, the three armies will not dare to lay down their armor. The more money, provisions, and horses we have, the better!"

Half an hour ago, Xu Shu received an urgent report from Mi Zhu, informing him of Chen Deng's three plans for Liu Bei, as well as that Li Shu and Lei Xu of Huainan had agreed to submit to Liu Bei. Li Shu already had a huge conflict with Sun Quan and was now blocking the westward advance of Jiangdong troops.

Lu Su's overtures were merely a test to gauge the size of his forces and whether he could send reinforcements should Li Shu plead for help. Therefore, he deliberately exaggerated, saying the more the better, to prevent Lu Su from probing the truth.

When Lu Su heard that his plan had been exposed, he secretly resented Zhou Yu for coming up with such a bad idea, making him run so far away to attract attention.

Although he harbored resentment, he still politely said, "Why is the strategist mocking me again? General Sun is sincerely helping me, and there is absolutely no falsehood in his words."

Xu Shu laughed and said, "Master Zijing, you may not know this, but my lord has already made an agreement with Liu Biao of Jingzhou to attack Cao Cao. The troops, horses, money and provisions given by Jingzhou and Xiangyang last time are still more than enough, so General Sun need not worry."

"Ah? Liu Biao of Jingzhou?" Lu Su was now truly starting to panic.

They were initially worried that Liu Bei would send troops from Runan to support Li Shu and others, but now Liu Bei doesn't need to divide his troops; he can simply send a letter to Liu Biao.

If Huang Zu of Jiangxia were to send troops, Li Shu, with Jingzhou as his backing, would be unable to win this battle.

"Liu Biao of Jingzhou and my lord are both relatives of the Han imperial family. It is not surprising that they have formed an alliance." Xu Shu looked at Lu Su, who was in a state of confusion, and laughed inwardly.

"In that case, General Sun is overthinking it. We have already prepared 10,000 bushels of grain. Since Your Excellency has no further requests..." Lu Su's voice trailed off as he spoke.

"No, no! As for provisions, the more the better. Since General Sun has already prepared them, how can we refuse?" Xu Shu changed the subject, interrupting Lu Su. He intended to test the waters further.

"When will this shipment of ten thousand bushels of grain arrive?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Su realized that there was indeed a need, which meant there was still hope that he wouldn't return empty-handed. He hurriedly replied, "Once I return to Jiangdong, the grain can be sent immediately."

"There is only one condition: if Your Excellency agrees, the grain can reach Runan in ten days."

Hearing this, Xu Shu knew that this was Jiangdong's true plan. His eyes lit up, and he asked, "Zijing, please speak freely!"

Lu Su cleared his throat softly and stated the conditions that Zhou Yu had carefully considered.