Chương 213: Liaodong Interception Team, Youzhou Garrison Team, Straight to the Base Team

The group of people, each contributing their ideas, put together a perfect "combination punch."

Liu Ce beamed with joy upon hearing this.

After everyone had finished speaking, the sand table was covered with densely packed red and black arrows—the black ones representing the enemy's possible advance routes, and the red ones representing our own deployments. Now the red arrows had completely covered the black arrows, making them look like dumplings.

Liu Ce stood up and walked to the sand table in the center of the hall.

Liu Ce's smile faded. He leaned down, staring intently at the sand table, circling the three regions of Youzhou, the grasslands, and Liaodong with his finger. When he spoke again, his tone was resolute and brooked no argument:

"Pass on my order! Divide the troops into four groups and capture all these 'fat sheep' that have delivered themselves to our doorstep!"

Everyone perked up and straightened their backs.

"First Route, the Grassland Ambush Team!"

Liu Ce slapped his hand on the grassland area of the sand table: "Xu Da will be the commander-in-chief, with Zhao Yun, Lü Bu, Yuchi Gong, Yuwen Chengdu, and Gongsun Zan as his deputies! Jia Xu and Cheng Yu will be his strategists!"

The generals whose names were called stepped forward in unison: "Your subordinates are here!"

"You will lead 3, 000 Ironclad Cavalry, 3, 000 Elite Cavalry, 3, 000 Flying Cavalry, 3, 000 Heavenly Treasure Cavalry, 3, 000 White Horse Cavalry, 3, 000 Black Cavalry, and 2, 000 captured Wuhuan cavalry from the Guiyi Camp—a total of 20, 000 cavalry—to ambush the Xianbei cavalry on their inevitable southward march!"

Liu Ce looked at Xu Da and said, "Tian De, you have full authority to decide how to fight. I only ask one thing—to annihilate them as much as possible! The Embroidered Uniform Guard will provide updates on the Xianbei cavalry's movements at any time, and you will adjust your deployment based on the intelligence."

Xu Da calmly clasped his hands and said, "This humble general obeys! I will certainly not fail my lord's trust!"

Upon hearing that there was a battle to be fought, Lü Bu immediately rubbed his hands together, eager to fight: "Rest assured, my lord! I will definitely cut off all the wolf heads of the Xianbei and use them as wine jugs!"

Zhao Yun said calmly, "I will do my utmost."

Yuchi Gong grinned and said, "My lord, my Black Cavalry Battalion has just been formed, it's the perfect opportunity to test our skills against the Xianbei!"

Yuwen Chengdu proudly raised his head: "The mere Xianbei are nothing to speak of."

Gongsun Zan's eyes gleamed; he was the most experienced in fighting the Xianbei.

Jia Xu and Cheng Yu exchanged a glance and both smiled slightly.

A cunning strategist and a ruthless man—this combination... the Xianbei people are in deep trouble.

"Second route, Liaodong interception team!"

Liu Ce pointed his finger towards the Liaodong border: "Xue Rengui will be the commander-in-chief! Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Huang Zhong, Gao Shun, and Qu Yi will be the deputy commanders! Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai will be the strategists!"

Another row of generals stepped forward, their imposing presence overwhelming.

"You will lead 3, 000 Xuanjia Iron Cavalry, 3, 000 White-Robed Cavalry, 3, 000 Modao Cavalry, 3, 000 Zhongyong Cavalry, 3, 000 Pozhen Cavalry, 3, 000 Xianzhan Cavalry, 3, 000 Jingshe Cavalry—a total of 24, 000 men—to intercept the Goguryeo soldiers!"

Liu Ce specifically instructed Xue Rengui: "Rengui, it's not just about intercepting them. If we eliminate the invading Goguryeo enemy, we can, depending on the situation, invade Goguryeo territory and capture a few cities. It would be best if we could capture them all. Even if we can't capture them, we should still inflict heavy losses on them. You, Fengxiao, and Zhicai can discuss the specifics of how to do it."

Xue Rengui clasped his hands in a fist salute, his voice resounding: "This humble general obeys! I will make sure the Goguryeo people know that those who offend our Han Dynasty, no matter how far away, will be punished!"

Guan Yu stroked his long beard and said, "My Green Dragon Crescent Blade hasn't tasted blood in a long time."

Zhang Fei shouted, "Those short bastards from Goguryeo, I, Old Zhang, can take on ten of them by myself!"

Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin exchanged a smile—these old partners were about to fight side by side again.

Huang Zhong laughed and said, "My arrows are just the right amount to test how thick the Goguryeo armor is."

Gao Shun nodded silently.

Qu Yi laughed arrogantly and said, "The Vanguard Camp loves attacking cities."

Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai, this "wandering duo," have teamed up again, and the two have already begun whispering about how to scheme against the Goguryeo people.

Zhang Fei shouted, "Brother! Let me be the vanguard! I promise I'll twist that guy's head off!"

Guan Yu stroked his beard and said, "Third brother, don't be impatient. I am also ready to charge into battle."

Qin Qiong laughed and said, "Generals, I would also like to compete for the vanguard position."

Well, here we go again.

"The third force, the Youzhou garrison!"

Liu Ce slammed his hand on the center of the sand table one last time: "Zhang Liao shall be the commander-in-chief! Zhang He, Yu Jin, Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Taishi Ci, Gan Ning, Gao Lan, Xu Huang, Cheng Pu, Han Dang, and others shall be the deputy commanders!"

The generals who remained behind stepped forward.

"You will lead the remaining soldiers from each battalion, as well as the troops from each prefecture, to guard the counties and prefectures of Youzhou! If any Xianbei or Goguryeo soldiers manage to slip through the net and approach the cities, cut them to pieces!"

Liu Ce emphasized, "Wen Yuan, your task is the most important—you must defend the city and provide support to the other two routes at any time. The specific defense deployment will be discussed and decided upon by you, Wen Ruo, Xuan Ling, Ke Ming...

Zhang Liao clasped his hands in a fist and said, "This humble general obeys the order! I will ensure the absolute safety of Youzhou!"

Xun Yu, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui... also nodded in acceptance.

"The fourth route, the team that goes straight to the enemy's lair."

Liu Ce smiled as he said this. He pointed to the location of the Xianbei royal court on the sand table: "I personally led the team along this route!"

Everyone was taken aback.

"I will be the commander-in-chief, with Dian Wei, Xu Chu, Luo Cheng, and Taishi Ci as his deputies..."

"Wait a minute, my lord," Xun Yu couldn't help but interrupt, "Wasn't General Taishi Ci just assigned to the garrison?"

Liu Ce slapped his forehead and said, "Oh right, Ziyi is being transferred here."

He continued, "I led eight hundred Dragon Cavalry and eighteen Yan Yun riders straight to the Xianbei royal court!"

The moment the words were spoken, the council chamber erupted in chaos.

"My lord, you mustn't!" Xun Yu was the first to object.

"Although the royal court is weak, it still has tens of thousands of elderly, weak, women, and children. You're only taking eight hundred personal guards; it's too risky!"

"Yes, brother!" Guan Yu also advised, "Take at least three thousand cavalry!"

"Brother, let me, Old Zhang, go with you!" Zhang Fei shouted.

"Yes, my lord!" Zhao Yun exclaimed anxiously, "No matter how empty the Xianbei royal court may be, there are still ten thousand men left to guard it! Eight hundred against ten thousand is too risky!"

Guo Jia squinted and said, "My lord, do you... have a backup plan?"

Liu Ce chuckled, no longer keeping him in suspense: "Don't worry, I also have a cavalry force on the grasslands—three thousand elite cavalrymen from the Jingse Frontier. They've been arranged long ago and have been lying in wait beyond the Great Wall. With them, we have over three thousand eight hundred elite troops. That's enough to raid their stronghold!"

Everyone then realized what was going on.

No wonder our lord dared to play like this; he was prepared all along!

Liu Ce had already planned it out: once they reached the grasslands, they would find a secluded spot and retrieve their three thousand elite cavalry. Combined with the eight hundred Dragon Cavalry and the eighteen Yan Yun riders, that would be more than three thousand eight hundred elite cavalrymen, enough to launch a surprise attack on the royal court.

"I see..." Xun Yu breathed a sigh of relief, but was still uneasy.

"My lord, even so, please bring more men. At least bring Zilong's elite battalion?"

Zhao Yun immediately clasped his hands in a fist salute and said, "I am willing to accompany my lord!"