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Jia Xu, Chen Qun, and Liu Ye continued their play, they objected to Lie Fan's agreement to give Sun Jian all of Sheng Xian's navy ships, as they needed at least half of that is the reason they used. Lie Fan of course vetoed their injection, causing Sun Jian and Sun Ce to feel grateful while Zhou Yu felt a bit suspicious of him.
As Lie Fan's decision was upheld despite the objections, Zhou Yu, still harboring suspicion, found himself deep in contemplation. While outwardly expressing gratitude for Lie Fan's kindness, he is lost in his own thoughts suspicious of Lie Fan's intention.
Zhou Yu pondered with his sharp mind analyzing the situation and considered the possibility that Lie Fan might have an ulterior motive, a hidden agenda beneath the guise of cooperation.
Zhou Yu knew that trust in alliances was delicate, and appearances could be deceiving. While he admired Lie Fan, Zhou Yu couldn't shake the feeling that Lie Fan's actions were calculated, perhaps a move in a bigger board.
Unlike Zhou Yu who was suspicious, Sun Jian and Sun Ce thanked Lie Fan for the favor he had shown them, Sheng Xian fleet while not many can bolster their fleet that was situated to face Liu Biao.
As for Liu Yao's Fleet, no one talked about it or even insinuated it, because in Sun Jian's eyes, Liu Yao's fleet is ripe for the taking like some fort of competition, and whoever takes it first will have ownership of it.
Lie Fan of course sees it differently than Sun Jian, in his eyes Liu Yao's fleet isn't even worth a speck of dust, his fleet is the most advanced and superior to any other ships in this era, especially with the weaponry fitted into his ships.
Hwacha has been fitted, and Lie Fan has made gunpowder and bombs, it's only a matter of time before Lie Fan makes the first generation of cannons which will change the landscape of war due to its multi-purpose in battle.
Thanks to Lie Fan's agreement to let the Sun Clan receive all of Sheng Xian's fleet in the future, the relationship between the Lie Clan and the Sun Clan grew closer, making everyone feel satisfied with the results of today's meeting.
The Success of today's meeting between Lie Fan and Sun Jian pushed the relationship between the two clans to the top, where Lie Fan invited Sun Jian and his family to have dinner at the Lie Clan residence.
Sun Jian agreed heartily to the invitation, saying that he needed to return to the mansion to inform Sun Wuan and Sun Shangxiang, and also prepared a small gift for Lie Fan's family as they were the first time he met them.
Lie Fan and Sun Jian will have a dinner together at the Lie Clan residence, which could close the familial bonds between the two clans. In the north of Xiapi, in Qing province, different things were brewing there.
The Northern War between Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan has entered a new stage, with Liu Yu's death being one of the catalysts Gongsun Zan entered a countdown for his defeat as Yuan Shao became the just and virtuous side trying to avenge Liu Yu's death.
Gongsun Zan seeing this doesn't have any choice other than to ask his apprentice brother, Liu Bei who is now the Governor of Qing Province for help, to attack Yuan Shao or at least make some sort of a diversion in the south to relieve the pressure in the north.
Gongsun Zan's request for help received a lot of mixed responses from Liu Bei's court, many of the generals and advisors from Kong Rong's reign disagreed with Liu Bei lending a hand to Gongsun Zan.
Because Liu Bei is part of the Imperial Scion if he agrees to support Gongsun Zan then he besmirches his reputation as one of the Imperial Scion, making him lose much of his prestige and garnered support.
Ju Shou and Wang Xiu, on the other hand, led a group that supports Liu Bei to agree to support Gongsun Zan because the death of Liu Yu signifies the end of the Han Dynasty reign as they can't even protect members of the Imperial Family.
This caused a heated debate in Liu Bei's court until Liu Bei finally stopped the debate, and gave his answer which he agreed to support Gongsun Zan where he will lead his army to put pressure on Yuan Shao around Pingyuan his hometown.
Liu Bei gave Pingyuan to Yuan Shao to ease the relationship between the two, so Liu Bei's siege of Pingyuan County increased the chance of Yuan Shao's perception of him that he attacked because he wanted to take Pingyuan back which was also his true desire, to reclaim his homeland.
As Liu Bei prepared to embark on his journey from Beihai toward Dongpingling with his army of around 100,000 men, with Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Sun Guan, as the generals and Ju Shou as his strategist.
Wang Xiu was left to take care of Beihai and their supply line with 20,000 men, alongside Zong Bao and Peng Qiu, generals who previously served Kong Rong and joined Liu Bei due to Sun Guan who was the highest-ranking general in Kong Rong's army after Taishi Ci leave Kong Rong for Lie Fan.
Liu Bei's departure for Dongpingling soon reached Lu Bu and Chen Gong's ear, who managed to control Huangxian and Changyang the two counties making up Donglai Commandery under Liu Bei's nose.
Lu Bu held his court, calling for all of his generals and Chen Gong who was his only advisor, to discuss if this was the right time to take control of Beihai, which had been prepared since they took refuge in Liu Bei.
Lu Bu: "Gongtai, Do you think this is the ripe time for us to proceed with our plan? Liu Bei and Ju Shou have left for Dongpingling leaving Wang Xiu alone at Beihai, with many people who have decided to join us after Liu Bei choose to support Gongsun Zan."
Chen Gong: "My Lord, the timing couldn't be more favorable. Liu Bei brought almost all capable talent with him leaving Beihai vulnerable, with only Wang Xiu to guard the city. Many within the city have shown their discontent, and many have shifted their allegiance to us, especially after the support Liu Bei showed to Gongsun Zan."
Lu Bu: "Haha Good! Then how shall we proceed to do our plan?"
Chen Gong: "My Lord, our approach should be swift and decisive. Wang Xiu's position is precarious right now but he does know about it yet, the internal discontent within Beihai is to our advantage. We can capitalize on the growing unrest and rally those who share our vision for a new leadership."
Lu Bu, a satisfied smile playing on his lips, nodded in agreement. "Indeed, Chen Gong. Mobilize our forces discreetly, infiltrate the city, and garner support from those dissatisfied with Liu Bei's choices, Timing is the key, My Lord. Once we secure Beihai, we establish our dominance over Qing Province."
Lu Bu: "Then let it be so. Gongtai, you shall lead the plan for us to infiltrate Beihai, as for Gao Shun, and Zhang Liao mobilize our army to head toward Beihai to support Cheng Gong."
Zhang Liao: "Yes My Lord, do we bring all of our men or do we leave some here in Donglai to guard against Lie Fan in the south?"
Chen Gong: "General Zhang Liao left 20,000 men in Donglai and chose who will lead it yourself, we have managed to increase our army to around 100,000 men, and bringing 80,000 is more than enough, especially if we managed to convince the generals leading the 25,000 men left by Liu Bei to join us."
Lu Bu nodded his head at what Chen Going just said, he told Zhang Liao to follow Chen Gong's words and dismissed the Court, so the race of dominance and Destiny began for Lu Bu and the clueless Liu Bei for Qing Province.
Zhang Liao appointed Cao Xing as the leader of the 20,000 men who will stay behind at Donglai, while the rest of the generals followed Zhang Liao and Gao Shun's 80,000 men to Beihai with Lu Bu.
Lu Lingqi who heard about this requested to join Lu Bu, which to her dismay opposed by both Lu Bu and Lady Yan ordering her to stay home with Lady Yan and also banning her from joining Cao Xing's army.
So three days after the court, under the cover of the night, Chen Gong led a small group of diplomats and guards toward Beihai. They moved discreetly, meeting with carefully selected allies and persuading key figures within the city to align with Lu Bu's cause unknown to Wang Xiu who was calculating the supplies needed for Liu Bei.
Simultaneously, Lu Bu, accompanied by Zhang Liao, Gao Shun, and his generals led the army of 80,000 men toward the outskirts of Beihai. Their movements were silent under the dark where the night became their ally as they approached Beihai.
Chen Gong's persuasive skills came to the forefront, persuading key figures left and right, where soon disgruntled voices within Beihai found resonance in his words, and slowly but surely, many allegiances began to shift to Lu Bu.
Zong Bao and Peng Qiu who were left by Liu Bei with less the 20,000 men also swore their allegiance to Lu Bu, increasing Lu Bu's army number where they opened the City Gate for Lu Bu to lead his army to enter Beihai without any resistance.
Of course, this doesn't mean that there wasn't any resistance when Zong Bao and Peng Qiu opened the gate for Lu Bu and his army, Shi Yi and Zuo Zhengcu managed to gather 5,000 men to resist Lu Bu while informing all people that loyal to Liu Bei to meet at the Western Gate.
Because of this, the whole city of Beihai was alarmed and Wang Xiu led Liu Bei's family and finalist using the cover of the night and helped form some commoners to meet up with Shi Yi and Zuo Zhengcu at the Western Gate.
He didn't expect Zong Bao and Peng Qiu's betrayal, he knew about the discontent that arose after Liu Bei decided to support Gongsun Zan, and he was about to calm everyone down after managing the supply line but didn't expect that he was to late.
Lu Bu and his army knew about Liu Bei loyalists who tried to run away from Beihai, he stopped Zhang Liao and Gao Shun from leading their army to pursue them, and he ordered Zong Ban and Peng Qiu to show their loyalty to him.
Peng Qiu and Zong Ban thought that this was a chance to gain some merit and a headstart among the defectors, immediately led their men toward the Western Gate where they met with Shi Yi and Zuo Zhengchu who was guarding the rear of Liu Bei's loyalist group, Shi Yi and Zuo Zhengchu also saw them and led their men to guard this line as long as possible to give time for the others to go to Dongpingling.
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Name: Lie Fan
Title: Three Heroes Who Defeat Lu Bu
Age: 26 (193 AD)
Level: 15
Next Level: 938.000
Renown: 645
Cultivation: Yin Yang Separation (level 9)
SP: 571.700
ATTRIBUTE POINTS
STR: 906 (+20)
VIT: 578 (+20)
AGI: 563 (+10)
INT: 567
CHR: 93
WIS: 489
WILL: 377
ATR Points: 0