Taishi Ci stood up and waved his hand and smiled, "Brother Yun, don't do this. Liu Fujun is not a stingy person. This is a move to take into account the overall situation. Tens of thousands of troops are fighting, spending a thousand gold a day, and even if some reserves are accumulated, they are not enough to make ends meet. Moreover, Zhuo County is the county of the Dujun. The Dujun should not be too harsh among the townsmen, otherwise they will be resentful to the villagers. The Dujun also pays Yunjun an important task, and he does not want you to be enemies everywhere when you take over Zhuo County. This is the Dujun's care for you, and you must not misunderstand it."

Guan Yu frowned slightly, snorted, pushed his beard, and glanced at Liu Bei sideways. "Seriously?"

Liu Bei was very grateful and quickly agreed, "Chang Yun, you have a friendship with Ziyi. Am I an outsider with Ziyi? I thought that when I was in Qingzhou, Ziyi came to ask for help by Kong Wenju, so I appreciated his loyalty. How could he not be willing to give up some money? He was really stretched and had to do so. Besides, Ziyi is a general of Wu Hou. Wu Hou is rich in the world, and money and food are not needed by Ziyi. Ziyi needs cavalry. I plan to allocate two thousand Yuyang cavalry to help Ziyi with one arm. Ziyi is so good?"

Taishi Ci bowed and bowed. "Thank you, Mr. Fu."

Liu Bei stood up and left the table, came to Taishi Ci, and took Taishi Ci's arm, very grateful. "Ziyi, speaking of it, you and I met before Wu Hou, but unfortunately I am poor and cannot be friends with Ziyi. Fortunately, you are now in the eastern part of Youzhou, and we can be considered as a renewal. In the future, I will take over the western part of Youzhou and may have a chance to fight side by side with Ziyi. This is indeed God's kindness to us." He turned around and looked at Guan Yu. "Chang Yun, you are friends with Ziyi and discussing, but not just a martial arts competition, but also a student of Ziyi's vision. Don't let me be laughed at by Wu Hou."

Guan Yu was a little embarrassed and forced a smile, which was considered a response to Liu Bei. He also knew that he had made a mistake just now, and Liu Bei felt uncomfortable. If it weren't for Taishi Ci's rescue, the knot would be difficult to resolve today. But he would not agree with it. Liu Bei's step to this point today was not his responsibility, but Liu Bei's own responsibility, just like he was itchy for a moment and wanted to take Yi County. Anyone who knew a little military strategy would not make such a reckless decision. For this matter, he had argued with Liu Bei a lot, but had no effect, so he was in a dilemma. At this time, Liu Bei did not think about how to fight for the initiative, but wanted to let Taishi Ci leave to save money, which was a petty family.

Liu Bei stopped when he saw that it was good, but he did not force Guan Yu to force him too much. If Guan Yu loses his temper again, it will be difficult to deal with him.

Liu Bei arranged two thousand Yuyang cavalry to cooperate with Taishici's battle, and promised to send Yan Rou a batch of food and weapons, showing his generosity. Yan Rou did not refuse this time, and food and weapons were in urgent need for him. Winter is approaching, and the Hu people may invade at any time, so he must be prepared to fight.

Liu Bei then announced the latest combat plan: to surround Zhuo County, even if he spends winter outside Zhuo County, he would do anything to complete such a plan. To complete such a plan, he had to solve two problems: one was enough food and grass, 60,000 to 70,000 infantry and cavalry, the grain and forage consumed every day were astronomical, plus the fuel for heating in winter, these must be solved before it snows, otherwise if Yuan Tan attacked, he would not be able to support himself; the other was to solve the threat of the Hu people's invasion. He transferred the troops from Yuyang and Guangyang to surround Zhuo County, and the rear was empty. Once the Hu people invaded, it would be difficult for him to resist.

Liu Bei dealt with these two issues uniformly. First, he decided to clear the walls and gather the people of Yuyang, Guangyang and Zhuo County as much as possible, and ordered them to bring the supplies they could take away, either enter the city nearby or rush to Zhuo County to act as civil servants, in short, they would not leave a chance for Yuan Tan or the Hu people to rob. Taishi Ci asked the cavalry from Yuyang, Youbeiping and Liaoxi to take the initiative to attack the Hu tribes, which made the Hu people unable to take care of themselves. He also sent Zhao Yun and Tian Yu to command the cavalry under his command, ready to rush to assist the counties in Senei at any time, and launched a guerrilla war between cavalry and cavalry with Hu people and Yuan Tan.

The generals took the order and made separate preparations. Soon, Liu Bei led the main force to retreat first, collecting food and supplies along the way, Guan Yu cut off the rear, blocking Yuan Tan, and retreating, leading Yuan Tan to Zhuo County, waiting for an opportunity to fight to the decisive battle.

Taishi Ci and Yan Rou took Liu Bei's resignation after retreating the Giant Horse Water with Liu Bei. Yan Rou bid farewell to Taishi Ci and asked Taishi Ci to greet Sun Ce. After he returned to Ji County, he would do his best to persuade Zhang Ze to cooperate with Sun Ce to strive to lead the cavalry to fight with Taishi Ci. Taishi Ci also asked Yan Rou to greet Zhang Ze, expressing Sun Ce's intention of cooperation.

The two bowed and said goodbye.

News of Liu Bei's withdrawal soon reached Yi County, and Yuan Tan convened civil and military affairs to discuss matters and formulated a combat plan.

After more than half a month of battle, Yuan Tan not only defended Yi County and defeated Liu Bei's attack, but also trained his new soldiers, saw blood and achieved remarkable results. Liu Bei once defeated Tuo Yi, which put a lot of pressure on the generals. This time he was able to repel Liu Bei, which had a very positive effect on the generals' confidence. Even Yuan Tan himself was deeply touched.

All of this is benefiting from Ju Su's plan. The generals admire Ju Su very much and developed a habit of asking Ju Su for advice in everything first, and then reporting to Yuan Tan. Now that there is a new situation and a combat plan is to be formulated, they also subconsciously look at Ju Su.

Ju Su was a little uneasy, but Yuan Tan smiled and waved his hand, indicating that Ju Su didn't have to worry too much.

Ju Su thought for a brief moment and made a suggestion. He was not surprised by Liu Bei's retreat. Liu Bei could not conquer the city, and retreating was a matter of time. It was not difficult to guess the movements after his retreat. There were only two possibilities: one was to give up Zhuo County, retreat back to Anci, and talk about it next year; the other was to continue besieging Zhuo County, trap Zhang He to death, and force them to fight to the decisive battle.

"Zhuo County is the gateway of Youzhou. For our army, occupying Zhuo County was a foot in Youzhou. For Liu Bei, if he lost Zhuo County, he would not only face the threat of our army, but also unable to expand westward, and control Dai County and Shanggu in his hands. Now Sun Ce is fighting in Liaodong. Once Sun Ce defeats Gongsun Du and advances westward, he will be attacked from both sides and has nowhere to escape. Therefore, he is bound to win Zhuo County. The possibility of continuing to besiege Zhuo County is more than 90%. You must not be lucky."

Ju Su looked around the generals and his eyes finally fell on Yuan Tan's face. "Empress, the weather is getting colder, and the success or failure of the emperor's Western Expedition will be announced soon. No matter what the result is, seizing Zhuo County is very important to us. Sun Ce is attacking Liaodong, and this winter is our last chance to take all the western part of Youzhou. If we cannot seize the counties west of Yuyang before Sun Ce, once Sun Ce swept over, it will be difficult for us to set foot in Youzhou again and we will not be able to get war horses in the future. Even if Sun Ce does not attack Jizhou, it will be difficult for Jizhou to be alone."

The smile on Yuan Tan's face disappeared without a trace. Liu Bei retreated, and he was quite happy. After Ju Su's analysis, he realized that it was not the time to be happy. Sun Ce pressed step by step, and there was not much time left for him. Once Sun Ce controlled Youzhou, he would have no advantage and would almost be defeated. If he could defeat Liu Bei before Sun Ce arrived and seize the counties west of Yuyang, he would still have a glimmer of life.

"Please plan for me." Yuan Tan respectfully saluted Ju Shu.

Ju Shu returned the gift and continued to analyze the situation. Since Liu Bei chose to continue fighting, he had to prepare now. Winter is approaching, clothing, food, and firewood, all of which must be prepared in advance. Otherwise, the biggest enemy of this battle would not be Liu Bei, but the severe cold weather. But there is no need to worry about this. They have enough time. Zhang He has been injured for more than a month. Even if he cannot fight, it will not affect the command of the battle. Although Liu Bei's robbery of the village party did not last long, he has left a bad impression. The aristocratic families in Zhuo County should support Zhang He's battle, so Liu Bei's possibility of breaking the city in the short term is not high. They still have enough time to prepare and do not rush to go out of the city to pursue. You can do it at your own pace.

Ju Su immediately put forward three suggestions: send someone to contact Tian Feng, asking him to recruit civilians, mobilize necessary supplies such as food and grass, especially cold-proof clothing, and strive to transport them to the army before the river freezes; recruit nearby people to harvest reeds and hay from the swamps, and serve as forage; the army strengthens the practice of winter combat tactics, and practices with Zang Hong, who is about to arrive, and prepares for the battle.

Finally, Ju Su proposed another article: Send people to contact the Xianbei and Wuhuan tribes, and ask them to send troops to attack Youzhou and attack Liu Bei. Especially the Xianbei people, since Tan Shihuai's leadership, the Xianbei people have been strong and established a royal court in Danhan Mountain. It is only 300 miles away from the border, and it can be reached overnight. Although Tan Shihuai is dead, his son and company cannot be convinced. He died a few years ago. The Xianbei tribes cannot be unified and attacked each other, which is very detrimental. They have a motive to invade the border. If they can be led to attack Yuyang and the Youbeiping area, it will be enough to put pressure on Liu Bei and Taishici. In the future, Yuan Tan will have to control Youzhou and face the threat from the Xianbei people. He should start as soon as possible and find and support the tribe leaders who can be used for him and win over it.

Yuan Tan was very happy to follow the orders and divided the generals according to Ju Su's plan. Ju Su explained clearly, and the generals understood and took their orders away. The lobby was quiet. Ju Su stood up and was about to say goodbye. A personal guard walked in quickly with a man. This man was covered in dust, his face was haggard, his eyes were bloodshot, and his lips were dry and cracked. It was obvious that he had been rushing to walk for many days without sleep. If it weren't for the personal guards' support, he would not be able to stand steadily.

Yuan Tan was uneasy and glanced at Ju Shu. He recognized this person as a confidant around Guo Tu. It must be an unexpected situation in Liaodong, and it was a bad situation.

Ju Su raised his hand and signaled Yuan Tan quietly. "It's okay, even if Sun Ce is good at fighting and defeating Gongsun Du, it will have no impact on the overall situation. The cold winter is approaching, and the Jiangdong soldiers are not adapted to the climate of Liaodong. Sun Ce is cautious and plans for everything before moving, and will not act rashly."

Yuan Tan nodded in agreement and asked the messenger to present the news. The news was written by Guo Tu, which was undoubtedly true, but the news was more serious than Ju Su's guess. In the battle of the Dashi, Sun Ce not only defeated Gongsun Du, but also forced the surrender of Gongsun Du. Liaodong had fallen into the hands of Sun Ce, and the situation in Youzhou would usher in a huge change.

Yuan Tan and Ju Su looked at each other and said in unison: "How is this... possible?"
Chapter completed!