Chapter 1294: Chapter 1294

"Retreat thirty li," advised Xu Shu with a wry smile to Wei Yan. Given the overall disadvantage in strategy, and the fact that the opponent refuses direct confrontation, it doesn’t help that their forces are already inferior in number, even if they were superior, they would still be at a loss.

"There’s nothing else we can do," replied Wei Yan helplessly. Xu Shu had already told him that in terms of strategy, he was no match for the opponent, but in direct confrontation, the opponent wouldn’t stand up to Xu Shu. The problem was that the opponent’s goal was to hold the northern line of Zhongshan, so what was the point of meeting Xu Shu head-on?

"Alas, our original goal was to attract Jizhou’s superior forces with our weaker ones, rendering them unable to look north," Xu Shu remarked with a pained smile.

"Unexpectedly, Jizhou countered us by deploying far more forces than we estimated, engaging us in rapid attrition, forcing us to give up the opportunity," explained Fa Zheng to Huang Zhong, pressing his temples in frustration.

Since Fa Zheng took the field, he had been successful in every endeavor, even when he pressured Yuzhou and intimidated Zhou Yu, things had proceeded according to his plan. But this time, before he could even execute his strategy, the strategic objective was not only unmet, it hadn’t even begun before they were forced to retreat.

Ye City was at the time entering the bright and beautiful season of spring. Although there might still occasionally be some late frosts, it was generally warming up, and spring plowing could soon commence.

"Eh, Xiaoo Zhi and Yuanzhi were actually repelled, Yuan Tan is quite capable," Chen Xi said, slightly surprised after reading the intelligence from Jia Xu. Although Huang Zhong and Wei Yan’s forces were only a single corps each, their swift retreat was indeed unexpected for Chen Xi.

"It’s normal. If it were me, I would definitely choose to endure massive losses to suffocate them temporarily, then fiercely battle the Xianbei, at least to catch a breather," Jia Xu cautiously remarked.

However, Jia Xu didn’t mention how Liu Bei’s strategic intentions were likely clear to the Feudal Lords across the land. Apart from anything else, the mere fact that Liu Bei wanted to preserve the Vital Energy of the Central Plains was enough for many Feudal Lords to calculate over, while Yuan Tan was evidently focusing on human attrition.

"Wasn’t our initial objective not to capture those two places yet?" Chen Xi mused, resting his head on his hand.

"From the previous strategic perspective, Xiaoo Zhi and Yuanzhi did quite well, successfully tying down Yuan Shao’s Army’s superior forces at Zhongshan and Youzhou lines," nodded Jia Xu.

"Yuan Tan stationed over a hundred thousand troops on the Youzhou line, but that’s still not enough. Yuan Tan hasn’t been pushed to his limit yet. Wen He, what do you think?" Chen Xi pondered, listening to Jia Xu’s thorough analysis.

"Young General Guan and General Sunx, each lead three thousand men to support Wen Chang and Hansheng, while Zang Xuangao leads a corps northward," Jia Xu stated coldly. "No need for large-scale attacks, just keep the main force occupied on the Youzhou line."

"Similar to my thinking," Chen Xi chuckled. "Our goal is to render Yuan Tan without available troops, just tie them down, I refuse to believe that with our army at the border of Youzhou, he can still mobilize forces to defend the North."

"Wen Ru has already presented this information to the Lord; unsurprisingly, Wen Ru’s proposal would be the same as mine, and it won’t be long before Lord Xuande sends you a missive," Jia Xu said, proceeding meticulously, presenting to Chen Xi while Li Youu went to Liu Bei.

Sure enough, as Jia Xu said, Liu Bei soon sent Chen Xi a communique, asking if any adjustments were needed. Besides replacing Sunx Kang with Yin Li and increasing the troops from three thousand to four thousand five hundred, not much else differed.

Naturally, Chen Xi made no adjustments, just calculated the money and grain, and then had Jia Xu pass it to Lub Su so he could handle the dispatch of provisions.

It wasn’t long before Zang Ba and others led the army, splitting into three routes to head for the Youzhou line, and soon, the clouds of war once again loomed over the entire Central Plains.

Since Yuan Shao’s death in Yanzhou, Liu Bei’s march towards unification had stalled. This time, it was as if Liu Bei had once more taken a step towards unification, leaving the few remaining Feudal Lords in the world alarmed.

"Ha, we probably gave others a fright!" Chen Xi and Liu Bei stood atop the city wall watching Zang Ba and others head to the Youzhou line. The point of sending them this time wasn’t to engage in fierce battles, but rather to maintain a threat over Yuan Tan.

"A fright?" Liu Bei chuckled, "Soon, they’ll realize we’ve done nothing but threaten Yuan Tan with manpower."

"It’s not that we’ve done nothing; it’s about gaining the maximum benefit with minimal force. After this battle, the Yuan Family in Hebei will finally take their curtain call," reflected Chen Xi, "Then we can sound the War Drums for unification."

"Indeed, didn’t expect it to happen so swiftly," Liu Bei remarked with emotion, "However, the land is vast, and reconstruction is far more complex than unification, so Zichuan, don’t you dare slack off."

"I haven’t been slacking off," Chen Xi retorted with raised eyebrows, firmly rejecting Liu Bei’s claims.

"Hahaha, perhaps because the Nine-Tailed Foxes are so indolent, they don’t even want to open their eyes while crouched," Liu Bei laughed heartily.

Previously, Liu Bei worried that Chen Xi might be overburdened and exhausted from working too much, but now Liu Bei could confidently state that Chen Xi was indeed slacking...

Glancing at Liu Bei, Chen Xi felt his face was almost inscribed with the words, "Even though I’m unsure how you manage it, I’m certain you’re lazing off." It left Chen Xi at a loss for words.

"Perhaps the Nine-Tailed Fox just likes taking breaks," Chen Xi remarked, rolling his eyes, refusing to admit laziness, surely I am diligently working; wandering around is just part of research.

"Recently, Wen Ru has been working quite hard, I’m amazed at how quickly one can handle so much," Liu Bei deliberately changed the topic to Li Youu, avoiding the subject. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝓷𝓮𝓽

"Actually, Wen He has also been diligently working recently, managing intelligence, implementing Ma Zheng, enhancing the Central Plains’ intelligence framework, and promoting intensive farming," Chen Xi acknowledged, somewhat sympathetically recalling Li Youu’s recent struggles as he and Jia Xu had not been slacking off much lately, making Chen Xi more conspicuous.

However, Liu Bei’s concerns about Chen Xi’s reform plans were ineffective since Chen Xi was the supervisor on this front. If it didn’t work out, tough for Li Youu and Lub Su, though they had Yi Ji and Chen Zhen who were quite handy, and Chalu was not lacking in filling gaps.

"Ah, Zichuan, you should put in some effort, look at how Wen Ru and Wen He are working overtime..." Liu Bei started to say before raising his head suddenly, realizing that Li Youu and Jia Xu combined had only worked overtime twice, leading him to inwardly curse those two crafty characters.