Mentioning the battle of Xuzhou, one naturally cannot bypass the predicament the Cao army currently faces in Pengcheng.
Niu Jin, with a furrowed brow, recounted the war in detail, including how valiant the Danyang soldiers were, how Tao Qian employed scorched earth tactics, and how weak the Qingzhou soldiers were in siege warfare.
In essence, Cao Cao's army of over a hundred thousand was held back by Pengcheng.
They could not attack, nor could they bypass it… it was a stalemate, a passive situation, and the longer it dragged on, the more unfavorable the situation became for Lu Yu.
Of course, Zhuge Jun had also heard these words. He recalled that his wise second brother, Zhuge Liang, had also mentioned the Pengcheng campaign.
His second brother, Zhuge Liang, had been certain that the Cao army could not pass this hurdle of Pengcheng. One reason was the sturdiness of Pengcheng's defenses, another was the Danyang soldiers fighting with their backs to the river, with no retreat.
The last, and most crucial, reason was the hearts of the people.
Ultimately, Cao Cao's father had died. Zhuge Liang dared to make such a prediction because he was also a citizen of Xuzhou, and he empathized with the feelings of its people.
Regarding the populace, it would be a lie to say they weren't fearful of the large-scale invasion by Cao's army.
Any normal person would worry about extreme actions Cao Cao might take for revenge after his father's death, should Xuzhou fall completely. Throughout history, there were not few instances of cities being massacred in revenge for family feuds!
Furthermore, Tao Qian treated the people under his rule well, thus the popular sentiment was on his side.
In siege warfare, one should not underestimate the role of popular sentiment. The support of the people could be directly reflected in the defense of the city.
They could help with transporting military equipment, preparing rolling logs and arrows, cooking food, and even blocking the city gates with their own bodies. Most importantly, the sheer number of people was a huge advantage for the defending side.
According to Zhuge Liang's prediction, the final outcome would at most be a division of Xuzhou, with Cao Cao and Tao Qian ruling separate northern and southern territories.
Recalling all of his second brother Zhuge Liang's words, Zhuge Jun's eyes blinked slightly.
For a moment, he was very curious what effective strategies this "strange" young master Lu Yu could propose to resolve such a predicament.
…
At this moment, Lu Yu's brows were tightly knitted. He rested his chin in his hands, pondering deeply…
Logically speaking, Xi Zhicai's strategy was sound, Cao Cao's approach was not flawed, and the command and strategy of Xiahou Yuan and Cao Ren were also not problematic. So, where was the issue?
A breath, two breaths… *Da Feng Novel*
Lu Yu fell into deep thought…
Seeing Lu Yu in contemplation, the entire courtyard fell into a tacit silence. For a moment… the atmosphere here became exceptionally tranquil, so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.
Truthfully, Lu Yu didn't understand sieges and territorial expansion, and he was even more of an amateur in troop deployment. However… having lived two lives, he was adept at understanding people's minds.
Beyond that, after figuring out others' thoughts, Lu Yu had a plethora of mischievous ideas.
His gaze firmed…
After a full thirty breaths, Lu Yu suddenly stood up. “General Niu Jin, please wait a moment… allow me to write a letter, and you can deliver it to Duke Cao for me!”
“Sister Zhaoji, please grind the ink for me!”
Saying this, Lu Yu strode quickly towards the study. The others naturally followed closely. Zhuge Jun’s curiosity was piqued. His second brother was certain that the final division of Xuzhou would be along north-south lines. Would this balance be broken by Lu Yu?
Most importantly, how exactly would Lu Yu break through Pengcheng?
Not long after, everyone became busy…
And Lu Yu, with his brush dancing like dragons and snakes, elegantly inscribed four lines of small seal script on a piece of silk. Each line had few characters, but when put together, they appeared rather dense.
Cai Zhaoji ground the ink by his side. She was the first to see it, and her heart was slightly moved, but she didn't react significantly. After all, she was a pure talented woman and didn't understand military matters.
Cao Xiu could at most recognize the characters, and Niu Jin, even more directly, felt that each character was familiar, yet he couldn't pronounce them. As for whether it was effective, they naturally wouldn't have any feelings about it.
It was Zhuge Jun, however, who silently memorized the text.
From Lu Yu's earlier words, there was no intention of detaining him. Thus… perhaps he could send a letter to his second brother, Zhuge Liang. If it were his second brother, he would surely be able to discern the intricacies of this matter.
“xxx, xxx, xxx, xxx!”
After finishing, Lu Yu carefully wrapped the silk in a brocade pouch and handed it to Niu Jin…
Niu Jin quickly tucked it into his embrace. This matter was too significant, and he had to report it to General Cao Ren and their lord, Cao Cao, as quickly as possible!
Tread… tread…
With firm and powerful footsteps, Cao Xiu and Niu Jin withdrew. Only Lu Yu, Cai Zhaoji, and Zhuge Jun remained in this courtyard…
With nothing else to do, Lu Yu sized up Zhuge Jun from left to right. His feeling was the same; this young man… didn't seem very intelligent.
Lu Yu decided to test him…
“Zhuge Kongming, I asked General Cao to bring your clan, why did only you come? Where are your other family members…”
“If I hadn’t come, would General Cao and young master Lu have let this go so easily? As for… those other family members, they naturally fled to various places…” Zhuge Jun spoke truthfully.
“Oh!” Lu Yu nodded, finding it somewhat interesting. He continued to ask with great interest, “Then, in your opinion, besides Yangzhou, all other places are safe?”
Still looking rather unintelligent…
Lu Yu pondered, wasn't Yanzhou the safest place right now?
On the Jingzhou, Nanyang line, Liu Biao and Yuan Shu were fighting. In Jiangdong… Sun Ce was also galloping. In the northern regions… Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan were locked in an unending conflict. In this context… was there any place safer than Yanzhou?
“Heh heh, in my opinion, any place of refuge in the realm would be safer than Yanzhou…”
Since they had arrived in Yanzhou, there was nothing to conceal. Zhuge Jun spoke truthfully.
“To be frank, young master Lu, our Zhuge clan has a close friend in the Henei region. He informed us of news that the renowned scholar ‘Bian Rang’ met a tragic death in Henei. On the surface, he was killed by Yanzhou soldiers… that is, by Cao Cao’s men, but in reality, it is by no means that simple;”
“Besides this, there is another piece of news: Lü Bu, half a month ago, bid farewell to the Prefect of Henei, Zhang Yang, and headed east into Sili. His objective… I don’t need to say it, young master Lu should be able to grasp it, right?”
Zhuge Jun recounted the conversation between Zhuge Liang, Zhuge Jin, and others in the hall a few days prior, with slight modifications, to Lu Yu.
Hiss… At these words, Lu Yu gasped in shock.
This time, Lu Yu had no time to question Zhuge Liang's identity…
Because the matter he mentioned was too significant! It even concerned Yanzhou and the survival of Cao Cao himself!
Calculating the time, if Lü Bu had made his move fifteen days ago, then… now, he was likely already secretly lurking in Yanzhou!
“Someone, someone…”
“Quickly summon General Cao Xiu, General Dian Wei, and the Army Advisor Cheng Yu… now, immediately!” Lu Yu’s tone was exceptionally urgent.
Ah… Cai Zhaoji was startled.
In her impression, her younger brother Lu Yu had never been so flustered.
“Cannot wait any longer…”
Lu Yu’s words became more hurried with each sentence. He immediately gathered a few dozen Dragon Cavalry warriors guarding the mansion. “Follow me…”
“Brother Yu? Where are you going?” Cai Zhaoji asked hurriedly…
*Whoosh…* Lu Yu exhaled deeply. “To the Prefect’s mansion. Sister Zhaoji, you immediately send someone to call General Cao Xiu and General Dian Wei to bring their troops to the Prefect’s mansion as well!”
As if afraid Cai Zhaoji wouldn’t understand…
Lu Yu added, “There’s a fox in our backyard, and there’s a hungry wolf outside our gate. They are both eyeing our home!”
With these words, Cai Zhaoji’s face paled slightly…
Her younger brother Lu Yu said this? Had the situation… had the situation reached such a critical point?
While she was stunned, Lu Yu had already left the Cai residence and was walking quickly towards the nearby Chenliu Prefect’s mansion.
As the saying goes, to shoot the rider first, shoot the horse; to capture the bandit, first capture the king. If Lü Bu made a move, the primary target to win over would undoubtedly be the Prefect of Chenliu, Zhang Miao, and he… would surely respond.
Lu Yu was now racing against time!
…
…