Mythical Three Kingdoms

Time rewinds to the day Fa Zheng flaunted his power beneath the gates of Shouchun City. After leading the retreat of Fa Zheng's forces thirty miles out, Gan Ning watched as Fa Zheng leapt off the carriage and mounted his prized steed, laughing skyward.

"Xiaozhi, what's the matter with you?" Fa Zheng's behavior startled Gan Ning. From the moment Fa Zheng switched from riding a horse to sitting in a carriage, Gan Ning felt something was amiss, and now Fa Zheng's exuberant laughter only deepened his unease!

"It's nothing, just having a laugh!" Fa Zheng waved cheerfully.

"This isn't just a laugh," Gan Ning said, pulling his lips into a frown. "Alright, what happened to make you so elated?"

"I deliberately conveyed everything to him, yet he remained remarkably calm—this is excellent news! Now, hurry toward the Huai River! Full speed, march directly to Yicheng!" Fa Zheng declared with a laugh, his mood unexpectedly exuberant.

"What on earth are you talking about..." Gan Ning gave orders first and then frowned at Fa Zheng, puzzled.

"Let's talk as we move; don't waste time. If the opponent suddenly decides to annihilate us, things will go badly. Frankly, it was truly perilous earlier. Do you still remember our original target upon arrival here?" Fa Zheng said excitedly, spurring his horse.

Fa Zheng's initial plan was simply to create an illusion of Liu Bei's Army fully invading Yuzhou. To be fair, achieving this wasn't difficult, as Shouchun had no knowledge of the true situation. With intelligence intercepted by Fa Zheng and him arriving ahead of others at Shouchun, it appeared to the local forces that the northern territory had indeed fallen.

Though there were skeptics among them, even the doubters lacked concrete evidence. Furthermore, reports on the matter would only reach the area 2-3 days after Fa Zheng's departure. By that point, Zhou Yu, preoccupied with worries about Sun Ce, would undoubtedly lead his forces upstream along the river.

In this regard, there was little need for debate; whether Yuzhou had completely fallen or not, once the Runan axis was compromised, Sun Ce faced the real possibility of tragedy.

Rescuing Sun Ce from under the blades of the Three Lius was no simple task. Among this trio, Liu Biao would undoubtedly fight with desperate resolve, while Liu Jiyu had already clashed with Sun Ce earlier. When Liu Bei entered the fray last, his force would be overwhelmingly strong. Zhou Yu could do nothing but trust his own abilities to address the situation.

Hence, irrespective of timing, Zhou Yu would never view the situation in South Commandery optimistically.

Given Zhou Yu's understanding of Liu Biao—even though Liu Biao had previously been in despair—he now possessed the courage to stake everything. Especially in such a scenario where winning might reclaim everything lost earlier, Zhou Yu could guarantee that Liu Biao would not spare his life!

As for Liu Bei's Vice Army, their target was clearly Sun Ce. Zhou Yu understood well that, under these circumstances, Liu Bei's Vice Army must have the capability to clash directly with Sun Ce's forces; otherwise, such an effort would lack sincerity!

Fa Zheng's smooth departure from Shouchun owed much credit to Liaoo Li. Without him, Zhuge Jin's composed Zhou Yu might have mobilized his Navy downstream—not only to discern the Yuzhou situation but also to block Fa Zheng.

After all, Zhou Yu was convinced that North Huai River had fallen, primarily because both Gan Ning and Fa Zheng showed up personally. With both the Chief General and the strategist present here, it was improbable for anyone to think this was a lone unit—it violated military strategy and was far too risky.

Had the Chief General been replaced with Taishi Ci, Chen Dao would have outright opposed such reckless behavior, even as a Deputy General. He had the authority to object, which explained why this trip consisted only of two "big cats"—they dared not involve others here!

If it weren't for Liaoo Li conveniently forwarding updates about South Commandery's recent condition, informing Zhou Yu that Yan Yan had dealt a crushing defeat to Sun Ce's Army without any exaggeration or embellishment—merely reporting the facts verbatim—

This calamity couldn't be spun as a trick to lure the enemy. Even Zhou Yu himself wouldn't believe it—a force of 17,000 men overwhelmed at the very start by a "blossoming center," leading to relentless retreat toward Yiling. With such a sequence of events, Zhou Yu couldn't help but feel anxious.

Amidst this complete disadvantage of timing, location, and manpower, Zhou Yu was clearly unsettled. Sun Ce was too important to him—perhaps even more so than Little Qiao. Because of this, he neglected to carefully analyze Fa Zheng's actions beneath Shouchun's gates and shifted his focus toward rescuing Sun Ce.

"Originally, my plan was to flaunt power beneath Shouchun's gates, then promptly retreat to North Huai River and completely sever Yuzhou Army's grain supply. Strictly speaking, this was the most stable approach. After all, once we withdrew, even if Zhou Yu reacted later, he would be powerless. From there, crossing the river to guard our positions would suffice," Fa Zheng said with a smile.

Gan Ning, standing nearby, nodded in agreement. This had indeed been the original strategy—to withdraw from Shouchun and target the defenseless Peii State to cut off supplies.

"But now, I no longer plan to retreat to Peii State." Fa Zheng said coldly. "Zhou Yu is far too calm, which means he has reserves within Yuzhou Army itself. In other words, he anticipated that after Yuzhou Army's assault on Xuzhou, we would advance on Yuzhou—and he knows the Yuzhou Army would lose!"

"Where did you see him calm?" Gan Ning countered. "I think Zhou Yu was shocked to see you in the first place."

"My eyes can see into human hearts," Fa Zheng replied coldly. "If my guesses are correct, Zhou Yu's entire Navy is stationed in Shouchun. Originally, his plan must have been to use the Navy to travel downstream to Xuzhou: if Yuzhou Army failed, the Navy would facilitate retreat; if Yuzhou Army faced a deadlock, the Navy would act as his trump card!"

"And what does this have to do with us?" Gan Ning asked, perplexed.

"It means I successfully tricked Zhou Yu with little tricks," Fa Zheng said solemnly, staring at Gan Ning. "Zhou Yu will now doubt the situation in South Commandery and lead his Navy away today. Divine speed is key!"

"You're saying that from tomorrow onward, Zhou Yu's Navy will no longer operate along the lower Huai River and lower Yangtze River. Zhou Yu hopes to clinch a decisive victory before we can react!" Gan Ning suddenly understood.

"Exactly. If I were Zhou Yu, I would choose the same. After all, the Navy along the Yangtze River Route is Zhou Yu's strongest force. Although traveling against the current, places like Jiangling, Yiling, and Tigu are all situated along the riverbanks!" Fa Zheng said with a composed expression. "As long as he's fast enough..."

"Are you implying that, in your judgment, Zhou Yu's Navy possesses the capability to annihilate Liu Biao?" Gan Ning asked, gazing at Fa Zheng.

"I'm not certain, but none of that matters. What I do know is that in two or three days, Jianghuai will completely lack naval forces. We don't need to target Peii State to sever grain lines anymore." Fa Zheng said arrogantly. "Zhou Yu and I share confidence in our judgments, but clearly, his judgment has been clouded by his concerns."

"One issue remains: what if Zhou Yu's force has the strength to decisively annihilate Liu Biao? What should we do then?" Gan Ning questioned Fa Zheng, his tone firm. Fa Zheng's argument sounded convincing, but it didn't change the fact that Zhou Yu's true hidden strength remained unpredictable.

"Zhou Yu shouldn't possess the power to wipe out Liu Biao entirely. The forces he controls now essentially amount to the strength accumulated alongside Sun Ce," Fa Zheng reflected. "If that force could truly eliminate Liu Biao, then even despite Zhou Yu's concerns about Yuan Shu, he would undoubtedly prioritize Sun Ce above all else."