The person who beheaded Tadun is someone I fear even by three parts; how dare you look down upon him?

"My Lord, what is the meaning of this...?"

Xiao He looked at Liu Bei in bewilderment.

Liu Bei then handed Zhuge Liang's letter to Xiao He and everyone present.

The truth came to light.

This was a strategy proposal written by Zhuge Liang.

Although Zhuge Liang was currently residing in Yicheng, he had already calculated that Xiangyang's food supplies were running critically low and could no longer sustain an army of forty thousand men.

Therefore, Zhuge Liang took the initiative to propose exposing the crimes of Cai Mao and Kuai Yue, targeting the Cai and Kuai clans, and confiscating their lands, wealth, and grain to supply the army.

Only then did a sudden realization dawn upon Xiao He, and he understood the sentiment behind Liu Bei's earlier exclamation.

"I, Bei, am truly far inferior to you in understanding Military Advisor Kongming, Bowen. I am filled with utter shame."

A look of self-reproach appeared on Liu Bei's face, which then gave way to admiration:

"Bowen, not only do you understand Military Advisor Kongming, but you even anticipated that he would proactively petition for the liquidation of the Cai and Kuai clans. Your ability to foresee events is truly as godlike as ever!"

Xiao He knew for a certainty that Zhuge Liang was selfless and devoted to the public good. As for Zhuge Liang taking the initiative to write and propose targeting the Cai and Kuai clans, Xiao He had merely thrown it out as a casual remark.

He had not expected his conjecture to hit the mark so precisely.

Faced with Liu Bei's praise, Xiao He found it difficult to explain and could only accept it with a smile.

After the letter had been passed around and read by all, they were both in awe of Zhuge Liang's strict distinction between public and private interests and deeply impressed by Xiao He's godlike foresight.

Guan Yu cupped his hands and said cheerfully:

"Elder Brother, since Military Advisor Kongming shares this view, what further hesitation can Elder Brother possibly have?"

"There is no time to lose! I ask Elder Brother to issue the command and immediately liquidate the Cai and Kuai clans!"

Liu Bei harbored no more doubts. A cold expression surfaced on his face, and he said sternly:

"Those two traitors, Cai and Kuai, first conspired to plot against me, then betrayed their lord for personal glory, coerced Liu Liucong into surrendering Jingzhou to Cao Cao, and now they respond to Cao Cao by raising an army to attack us, seeking to leave us with no place to stand!"

"Time and again I have exercised forbearance, but now my patience has reached its absolute limit!"

"Hear my command: immediately confiscate the properties of the Cai and Kuai clans. Relegate their lands to state ownership and distribute them among the common people, and seize their stored wealth and grain to provide for military needs!"

"Within three days, I want to see the wealth and grain of the Cai and Kuai clans fully deposited into the official granaries!"

...

Yuzhang Commandery, Chaisang City.

Within the naval camp of the Eastern Wu army, the soothing sound of a zither drifted through the air.

A man whose face was as flawless as jade and whose demeanor was refined and scholarly sat cross-legged by the riverside, his eyes half-closed as he played the zither.

Lu Su stood behind the man, opening his mouth to speak several times, yet hesitating to disturb his playing.

At its most crescendo moment, the music stopped abruptly.

A zither string had snapped.

The man stared at the broken string, his long eyebrows knitted slightly together, as if a faint, ominous premonition had just flashed through his mind.

"Gongjin!"

Seeing this, Lu Su hurriedly stepped forward and bowed in greeting.

The Gongjin he addressed was none other than Sun Quan's naval commander, the handsome Zhou Yu of Eastern Wu.

"Zijing? Why have you returned to Chaisang instead of accompanying the Lord on the expedition to Hefei?"

Zhou Yu was evidently quite surprised by Lu Su's arrival.

"The Lord ordered me to travel once more to Xiangyang to closely monitor the Xiang-Fan conflict so that I could transmit intelligence to him at any time."

Lu Su sat down on his knees and explained the reason for his journey.

Zhou Yu frowned slightly.

"Zijing, you ought to have remained by the Lord's side!"

He poured a bowl of tea for Lu Su, a slight note of reproach in his tone.

Lu Su was taken aback, a blank look in his eyes as he failed to grasp the implication of Zhou Yu's words.

"You and I are sworn brothers bound by life and death, so I will speak to you behind closed doors."

"As for the Lord personally leading the army to attack Hefei, I neither approve of it nor feel at ease about it!"

Zhou Yu spoke with complete candor to Lu Su.

Lu Su felt a slight shock in his heart and quickly glanced to the left and right to ensure that the personal guards were far enough away not to overhear their conversation.

"What does Gongjin mean by this?"

Lu Su lowered his voice and accordingly poured a bowl of tea for Zhou Yu as well.

"The strategic policy of our Eastern Wu has always been to take Jingzhou first and Huainan second. Now that Liu Biao has died of illness and Jingzhou has fallen into a three-way division among the Lius, this is a heaven-sent opportunity for us to seize Jingzhou while the momentum is on our side."

"Even if we cannot swallow the entirety of Jingzhou, we must at least capture Jiangxia Commandery so that we can sever the Han River and the Yangtze River at any time."

"Yet, out of fear of Cao Cao, the Lord instead formed an alliance with Liu Bei, leaving Jiangxia untouched while mobilizing a massive force to attack Hefei."

"Such an action puts the cart before the horse, fails to distinguish between the primary and the secondary, and is the worst of all possible strategies!"

Lu Su lowered his head and coughed dryly a few times, not daring to voice any stance.

After all, he was the primary advocate of the alliance with Liu Bei, and in the end, he had also changed his tune to support Sun Quan's personal expedition to Hefei.

"Since the Lord has already made his decision and insists on personally campaigning against Hefei, the rice is cooked, and I will say no more about it."

"Yet how could you, Zijing, be so careless as to not remain by the Lord's side?"

Having vented his dissatisfaction with Sun Quan's strategy, Zhou Yu turned the spearhead toward Lu Su.

Lu Su was stunned, a puzzled expression in his eyes as he asked:

"What does Gongjin mean by this? I beg you to enlighten me."

Zhou Yu took a sip of tea and sighed softly:

"The Lord possesses the bearing of an ambitious sovereign, as both you and I know. However, he is ultimately more accomplished in civil administration than in military strategy, and now he is burning with a desire for victory, eager to take Hefei to establish his prestige."

"To lead an army on a personal campaign with such a mindset is a supreme taboo in military science. Surely you understand this, Zijing."

"You have always been steady. With you by the Lord's side, you could have offered constant reminders. But now that you are absent, should the Lord make some impulsive move, who will be able to stop him?"

These words sent a chill through Lu Su's heart.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Su forced a calm demeanor and replied:

"Gongjin's concerns are not without reason. I actually considered this point at the time, but then I thought that the Cao army in Hefei numbers only five thousand men after all, whereas our army outnumbers them nearly tenfold."

"As long as the Lord proceeds step-by-step, leads the army ashore, and surrounds the city, even if he ultimately fails to breach it by storm, the worst outcome would simply be returning empty-handed without achieving success. Surely no major mishap will occur."

Zhou Yu pointed his wine cup toward the north and said with profound meaning:

"The Cao army in Hefei may only number five thousand, but that Zhang Liao is no ordinary adversary. Do not forget that during the campaign at White Wolf Mountain, this man personally beheaded the Wuhuan Chanyu Tadun!"

"In my view, this man can be called the foremost general of the Cao camp bearing a surname other than Cao. Even if I were leading an army against him, I would still harbor a deep sense of dread."

A cold sweat instantly soaked through the back of Lu Su's garments.

How arrogant the handsome Zhou Yu was, and how high his standards were for judging people, Lu Su knew better than anyone.

For even Zhou Yu to admit to harboring a deep sense of dread toward someone, yet Sun Quan was now going to clash with him—it indeed seemed somewhat overly presumptuous.

"Then I shall set out eastward immediately and hasten to Hefei to assist the Lord!"

A sense of vigilance surged within Lu Su, and he sprang to his feet, preparing to depart.

At that very moment.

A boat sped swiftly into the naval camp, and Jiang Qin leaped ashore, running in a few strides right up to Zhou Yu.

"Reporting to the Commander! Urgent intelligence from the Xiangyang spies!"

"A short while ago, Liu Bei launched a surprise attack on Deng County, heavily defeating an army of ten thousand Cao troops, capturing Cao's general Cao Ren for the second time, and burning all four hundred thousand bushels of Cao Cao's grain supply to ashes with a single fire!"

Jiang Qin held up a silk military report high above his head and knelt on one knee.

Zhou Yu's expression changed abruptly, and his hand holding the teacup trembled slightly.

Lu Su, who had already turned around to leave, froze in his tracks and whipped around abruptly.

"Clatter!"

Zhou Yu smashed his wine cup onto the low table, sprang to his feet, and snatched the silk roll from Jiang Qin's hand.

Lu Su also rushed close beside him to read it together.

The publicly verifiable course of the Battle of Deng County was written in black and white, clear as day.

"Liu Bei's strategy of luring the tiger away from the mountain to launch a surprise attack on Deng County is truly a stroke of divine inspiration!"

"Could this Xu Shu possess such tactical brilliance?"

Astonishment surged in Zhou Yu's eyes as he clicked his tongue in wonder.

Since Zhuge Liang was residing in Yicheng, Zhou Yu subconsciously concluded that this stratagem originated from the hand of Xu Shu.

"No, this does not bear the hallmarks of Xu Shu."

Suppressing his shock, Lu Su shook his head heavily and said in a deep voice:

"In my view, this strategy of Liu Xuande must have originated from that Xiao Bowen!"

"Xiao Bowen?"

A shock ran through Zhou Yu's heart, and he stared intently at Lu Su:

"Could it be the mysterious mountain hermit with unfathomable intelligence and methods whom Liu Bei newly recruited, the one you mentioned previously—Xiao He?"