Sun Ce put down his intelligence, his heart pounding, and a strong sense of anxiety surged in his heart.

He could understand the information behind these sentences.

Sun Ce adjusted his breathing and calmed himself as much as possible. "Did Gongda send someone to deliver?"

"Yes." Guo Jia hesitated for a moment. "The number of detailed workers in Jingnan is limited and the deployment is relatively late. I found that Liu Yao's traces were purely accidental. I dare not confirm them at that time and did not report them directly. The second time I discovered that Liu Yao was already late August, and it took me some time to report to Gongda."

"What's going on with Xi Zhicai? Can you confirm it?"

"No, he got sick in June and July. It is said that he went to Qingcheng Mountain to recuperate. Later, he did not appear. Fa Zheng took over most of the affairs. It was already the end of September that Yizhou's detailed work sneaked into Qingcheng Mountain. There is no exact news about Xi Zhicai. Gongda summed up the sporadic information in Jiaozhou, and he could only find out that Xi Zhicai might not be in Qingcheng Mountain. After going to Jiaozhou, he did not dare to confirm it."

Sun Ce frowned even more. This news that is difficult to distinguish between true and false is the most troublesome. In terms of overall situation, Xi Zhicai may not be as good as Xun You, but in terms of intelligence and detailed work, Xun You may not be better than him. Perhaps only Guo Jia can match him. If Xi Zhicai intends to deceive and cover up, it will be difficult for Xun You to get the exact news. Moreover, Yizhou and Jiaozhou are far away, and the information transmission is severely delayed. In order to avoid wasting time, Xun You had to warn in advance, be prepared for any trouble, and be careful.

Of course, there is also a protest here. Because of Gongsun Zan's accidental death, the Youzhou strategy was temporarily put on the agenda, which inevitably affected the Hanzhong strategy discussed before the New Year. Zhou Yu was confidently prepared to make contributions, but was taken first by Taishi Ci. It would be abnormal if Xun You had no idea. This method reminded him to strengthen the detailed deployment of Jingzhou, implement the established strategy, and give Zhou Yu the opportunity to make contributions.

The disadvantages of long-distance combat and lag in information are fully exposed. Jiaozhou is too far away, and Sun Jian is his father. He cannot directly order or command remotely. He can only let Sun Jian fight independently. It is all he can do to equip him with the corresponding materials and troops. Even if Sun Jian takes the initiative to give him timely information, it will take at least one month to reach him, and there is no time to react.

Xi Zhicai has been away from Yizhou for more than four months. Liu Yao has been in Puguan for a longer time. There are probably high-ranking officials who have not been informed. Xu Jing and Xu Shao are probably also in Jiaozhou. These people come together, and with the local gentry in Jiaozhou, it is indeed a question whether Sun Jian can deal with it.

What's more, he has a second brother Sun Quan who is determined to prove that he can beat him.

"There has been no news in Jiaozhou, which is good news." Sun Ce said: "Even if Xi Zhicai is good at planning and Liu Yao and the senior officials have certain combat power, they can't surround tens of thousands of people, and they can't even spread the news."

"This is not the case. What I am worried about is that they lure General Cavalry into the mountains. The south is mountains, with inconvenient transportation and a lot of miasma. Once food is out of stock, morale will be damaged and setbacks will inevitably be avoided."

Sun Ce deeply felt the same way. He was also worried about this result. When fighting head-on, Liu Yao and high-ranking cadres were not Sun Jian’s opponents, but the characteristic of jungle warfare is that there are actually not many opportunities for fighting head-on, and the biggest opponent is not people, but the environment. If you are lured into the deep mountains and forests, even a well-equipped regular army may not have any advantages.

Thousands of miles away, he could not help. Even if he knew that Sun Jian was in trouble, he could not solve it. There is only one thing he could consider: what if Sun Jian’s battle was unfavorable? Should he reinforce, or shrink the front line and temporarily give up his plan for Jiaozhou? If it is reinforcement, can he raise so many people, money and food? If he gives up temporarily, even if morale issues are not considered, Sun Jian will be required to withdraw, or simply die. If he is trapped and does not die, then it is impossible for him to give up, and he can only bite the bullet and reinforcement. And with Xi Zhicai’s cunning, this is not an impossible result.

The disadvantage of three-sided combat is that you can escape from the first day of the lunar month, but you may not be able to hide from the fifteenth day of the year, and what should come will always come.

Sun Ce and Guo Jia repeatedly discussed, but they could not find a complete solution. Even if Guo Jia is a genius, he is not omnipotent. It is beyond reach and he can do nothing.

Finally, Sun Ce made a decision and used 600 miles to contact Yu Fan to raise money and grain, prepare for reinforcements to Jiaozhou, contact Sun Jian, and reminded him to be careful. He also notified Zhou Yu and asked him to rush to Guiyang and prepare for fighting in Jiaozhou. Zhou Yu's main force has been transferred to Jiangnan. If Sun Jian is really lured to Puguan area, it is the most convenient route to enter Jiaozhou from Guiyang to enter Jiaozhou.

When the news came out, Sun Ce entered a new state of war readiness, planning the war against Jiaozhou and responding to possible situations.

The Military Planning Department became busy again.

The boat rides the wind and waves, traveling day and night.

In the late November, Guo Tu rushed back to Zhuo County and reported to Yuan Tan about the war in Youzhou.

Qian Zhao met Taishi Ci and saw with his own eyes the captured Xianbei people and a large amount of spoils. What made him even more helpless was that Yuan Jing personally rushed to Bailang Mountain and met Taishi Ci. She originally wanted to meet Tian Chou, but Tian Chou was invited by Tai Shi Ci and went to Dashi to see Sun Ce admiring Tai Shi Ci, so he immediately decided to select the Wuhuan of the three counties to rely on Sun Ce and obey Tai Shi Ci's command.

In fact, Yuan Ke, who married Wu Yan, made the same decision long before Yuan Jing. Taishici defeated the Xianbei people, and Wu Yan was scared to death and wanted to present Yuan Ke as a gift to Taishici. Fortunately, he was stopped by Yan Zhi, but Yuan Ke lost confidence in Yuan Tan and insisted on turning to Sun Ce.

After listening to Qianzhao's report, Yuan Tan was extremely frustrated. In less than half a year, the eastern part of Youzhou was lost and all fell into Sun Ce's pocket. Even Yuan Jing's sisters lost confidence in him and encouraged the Wuhuan people to surrender to Sun Ce and support Taishici. Without the support of the Wuhuan people in the three counties and the Xianbei people, the possibility of him defeating Liu Bei was slim.

Ju Su was not mentally prepared for the sudden change in the situation in Youzhou and was helpless for a while. No matter how good his plan was, he had no choice but to encounter an opponent like Taishi Ci. Less than 10,000 cavalry, but the coalition forces were still pieced together, and they even broke through the 78,000 cavalry of the Eastern Xianbei like chopping melons and vegetables. Even if the number of elite soldiers in the Eastern Xianbei was limited, this attack power could be called horrifying. If Taishi Ci led the Wuhuan and the Xianbei cavalry helped Liu Bei, what should I do? How many of Yuan Tan's tens of thousands of new recruits who had just achieved some results could be withdrawn?

At this time, Guo Tu made a suggestion: make peace with Liu Bei and divide Zhuo County. With the Giant Horse Water as the boundary, the south is returned to Yuan Tan and the north is returned to Liu Bei. Taishi Ci controlled half of Youzhou, and Liu Bei was under a lot of pressure. If Yuan Tan could voluntarily give up Zhuo County, Liu Bei would definitely not be able to ask for it.

Ju Su agreed. They were unable to enter Zhuo County now, and the biggest trouble was Guan Yu who was guarding Fanyang. With the giant horse water as the boundary, Fan Yang was under Yuan Tan's control. With Fan Yang and Yi County as the support, they could block Liu Bei's steps towards the south. Once their strength allowed, they could advance to Zhuo County again, and this battle was not completely defeated.
Chapter completed!