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

"Look, it's General Zhou!" a sharp-eyed soldier shouted from a small boat not far away.

Gan Ning and the others looked in the direction of the sound and indeed saw a black iron tower vaguely standing on a particularly fast boat.

Before long, the boat approached, and with a "thud!" Zhou Cang leaped onto Gan Ning and the others' boat.

"General Zhou! Thank you for saving my life!" Gan Ning knelt down and bowed once again.

Zhou Cang glanced at Pang Tong, who smiled and nodded slightly.

Zhou Cang excitedly helped Gan Ning up, saying, "Xingba, from now on we're all brothers, no need to be so polite!"

Pang Tong picked up the conversation, saying, "General Gan, Hefei is crucial to our army's five-year plan, so I entrust it to you!" He then bowed deeply and handed over a blueprint and two letters.

Gan Ning quickly accepted it, saying with slight excitement, "Thank you for your trust, strategist. I will certainly live up to your expectations!"

"This map shows the layout of Hefei city. You must construct the city according to the locations shown on this map, without making any mistakes."

"Yes, sir!"

"Two letters, one to Mi Zhu and one to Chen Lan. Mi Zhu can be in charge of allocating supplies, and Chen Lan can be in charge of all arranging manpower."

"Yes, sir!"

"I have already instructed these two men in the letter to first build the beacon tower. General, you must keep this matter in mind when you go."

"Gan Ning...Yes, sir!"

After Pang Tong finished explaining everything in one breath, he, Guan Yu, and Zhou Cang bid farewell to Gan Ning.

"At Xiakou, I have already arranged for the general's men to return and report that the general's fate is unknown, and that the general can rest assured and recuperate."

While Pang Tong was comforting Gan Ning, the fleet of grain transport boats returning to Wancheng was approaching one after another. Gan Ning nimbly climbed onto a grain transport boat using ropes and went with the fleet to Wancheng and then to Hefei, while Pang Tong and the others returned to the Xiakou camp.

Less than half a day after returning to camp, Su Fei, the commander under Huang Zu, came to visit.

"General Guan!" As soon as Su Fei entered the tent, he bowed to Guan Yu and began to inquire.

"I heard that the general dispatched his entire navy yesterday; I wonder where they went?"

Before Guan Yu could speak, Pang Tong replied, "To be honest, Commander, last time our army's supplies were almost intercepted by Jiangdong. We specially escorted the grain ships past Chaisang before returning yesterday."

Su Fei's eyes, which had held a glimmer of hope, instantly became empty.

Pang Tong asked, "What brings you here, Commander?"

Su Fei sighed, "General Huang sent Gan Ning to raid the camp, and forbade us to come to their aid. This morning..."

How was your morning?

"This morning, the defeated soldiers returned to camp, all saying that Gan Ning's fate was unknown. I assumed that General Guan had sent troops to rescue him, so I came to inquire..."

As Su Fei spoke, his tone revealed his disappointment.

Zhou Cang, who was standing nearby, tried to comfort Pang Tong out of kindness, but Pang Tong immediately shut him up with a look.

Before the others could reply, Su Fei turned and left in a daze.

Seeing Su Fei walk away, Pang Tong turned to Zhou Cang and said, "This man is skilled in naval warfare and can be used by me in the future. However, he is still Huang Zu's confidant for now, and the time is not yet right."

Zhou Cang nodded.

His strong "love of talent" was noticed not only by Guan Yu, with whom he had known for a long time, but also by Pang Tong.

After two major raids, both the Jiangdong and Jiangxia armies were severely weakened and unlikely to launch another attack in the short term.

Guan Yu's thoughts returned to Runan, and he muttered to himself, "I wonder how my elder brother is doing now..."

After Liu Bei and Xu Shu returned to Runan, they quickly received military intelligence from the Guanzhong region.

After Ma Teng and Han Sui returned to Xiliang, they led an army of 100,000 eastward to Chang'an. Along the way, many minor warlords, seeing their growing power, remembered the past events involving Dong Zhuo and joined in, wanting a share of the spoils.

When the army arrived at Huaili, the various armies from Guanzhong that had gathered there but were unwilling to follow Ma Teng and Han Sui had all dispersed, and the army had now reached a strength of 150,000.

Three letters from Zhong Yao pleading for help arrived daily at Cao Cao's residence in Xuchang, like snowflakes. Meanwhile, since the defeat at Guandu, various factions had been coming to Cao Cao's residence almost every day under the pretext of seeking an audience to probe his strengths and weaknesses, but Cao Cao refused to see them all.

After learning of Liu Bei and Ma Teng's movements, Yuan Shao decided to temporarily suppress the internal conflicts in Hebei and once again dispatched Zhang He and Gao Lan with 30,000 troops to head straight for Baima.

Upon hearing this news, the Prime Minister's residence in Xudu was once again in an uproar.

Early in the morning, Cheng Yu, carrying a large handful of bamboo slips, hurriedly entered the central hall. Cao Cao had not yet arrived; only Xun Yu stood in front of the map, lost in thought.

On the map, Chang'an, Wancheng, and Yancheng were circled with a red brush. Cheng Yu walked to the desk, picked up the brush, and circled the white horse again, startling Xun Yu awake.

"Oh? Zhongde is here." Xun Yu turned around, still smiling, and looked at Cheng Yu calmly.

After putting down his vermilion brush, Cheng Yu pointed to a large stack of bamboo slips and said, "These are all petitions from civil and military officials regarding the relocation of the capital. Would you like to take a look, Mr. Wenruo?"

Xun Yu smiled and shook his head.

Cheng Yu sighed and said, "Now that Liu Bei has gone north, Wan and Yan have been lost, Ma Teng has advanced east to Chang'an, and Yuan Shao has marched south to Baima. Xuchang is attacked from the east and west, with no natural defenses to defend it. It is like an egg hanging precariously on a knife's edge. For the long term, I hope Wenruo will think carefully about the matter of moving the capital."

Xun Yu stepped down from the map into the hall, sat down, and said, "Zhongde, you are mistaken. The whole world knows that the emperor has established his capital in Xuchang."

"The imperial authority and the hearts of the people are all tied to this. If we were to relocate lightly because of a momentary military conflict, wouldn't that be showing weakness to the world? In that case, the Central Plains would be in turmoil, and the people's hearts would be scattered."

Cheng Yu also sat down and said, "In my opinion, we should assess the situation and prioritize the well-being of the people."

"In the past, Emperor Gaozu suffered repeated defeats at Xingyang and Chenggao, but eventually gained control of the empire; Emperor Guangwu also sought refuge in Hebei before achieving the restoration of the dynasty."

"If we move our carriages to a stable place for the time being and preserve our strength, it will be for the sake of restoring the country in the future. This is a strategy of retreating to advance."

Xun Yu shook his head: "When Dong Zhuo moved the capital west, the whole world was outraged, and thus many heroes rose up."

"We must not repeat the mistakes of the past. Xuchang is not just a city; it is the seat of the imperial court's laws and the source of its decrees."

"If we abandon it, I fear the scholars of the world will think the court has collapsed. Then how will Your Excellency's noble title of 'serving the Emperor' be preserved?"

Cheng Yu frowned and said, "Fengxiao once said that the way of expediency lies in making choices."

"If we hold fast to the besieged city, and it falls, the emperor will be disgraced, the ancestral temples will be overthrown, and then talking about legitimacy will be nothing but empty words."

"If we preserve our strength and safeguard our foundation, we can gradually restore the legal system; but if the foundation collapses, then everything will be over."

Faced with Cheng Yu's repeated attempts to persuade him, Xun Yu said impatiently, "If Xuchang is abandoned, who among the states of the Central Plains will still recognize the imperial court as their sovereign?"

Cheng Yu was also somewhat angry. In his view, Xun Yu was clearly just using the selfish interests of the Yingchuan gentry to manipulate Cao Cao's will. So he angrily said, "A name without substance is like a tree without roots."

"If one cannot protect the emperor and the peace of the state, what good is merely holding onto a title?"

"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures."

Xun Yu, too lazy to argue with Cheng Yu any longer, simply said, "I hope Zhongde will carefully consider the implications of this matter."

Cheng Yu wanted to argue with Xun Yu again, but was interrupted by a series of footsteps, and the two of them stood up.

Zhang Liao, fully armed, emerged from the inner room, greeted the two men, and strode out.

Xu Chu then emerged from the inner chamber, bowed to the two men, and said, "Gentlemen, there's no need for argument. The Prime Minister has already made his decision. Please, gentlemen!"