Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

However, within the main tent, Yuan Shu was not alone; his civil and military officials were all present.

Moreover, the vast majority understood the possibility of scouts reporting false information was extremely low.

This was because scouts were never sent out alone; instead, they were typically organized into squads of five, each responsible for a specific area.

One person might be a spy, but surely not all five from Xiangyang, right?

Therefore, even though it seemed Yuan Shu had convinced himself, Yan Xiang still braced himself and advised.

“My lord, why not summon the rest of the scout squad and inquire with them as well?”

Yuan Shu paused for several breaths before waving his hand, signaling for the other scouts to be brought in.

As the previous scout captain and the rest of the scouts were about to be scared out of their wits, their legs went weak and they were drenched in sweat when they were summoned into the main tent.

Seeing Yuan Shu's gloomy expression, Yan Xiang quickly took the initiative to ask.

“I ask you, what did you scout in Yicheng? Report everything one by one. If there is anything untrue, be careful of your heads.”

Immediately, the four scouts stammered and began to report.

Because Xiangyang and Yicheng were connected by the Han River, three scout squads had been stationed in Yicheng under Yan Xiang's suggestion to monitor the area.

It was precisely because of this that the overwhelming fleet coming from the Han River could not possibly escape the scouts' eyes.

As the four scouts supplemented each other with the details they had seen, the atmosphere within the main tent became increasingly heavy.

The Yangzhou army had truly arrived!

Moreover, judging from the flags hoisted by the Yangzhou army, everyone present could easily deduce that the commander was none other than the Marquis of the Nation, Li Ji.

After all, among Liu Bei's subordinates, the only Li surname trusted to independently command troops was the Marquis of the Nation; there was no second choice.

“Bang!!”

In the next moment, Yuan Shu grabbed a utensil from the table and threw it at the scouts below, hitting the scout at the front, covering his face with blood, yet he didn't dare to move an inch.

“Get out!”

Yuan Shu shouted angrily, which made the four scouts feel as if they had been granted amnesty and hurriedly retreated.

Endless ships, a mighty army…

This undoubtedly solved everyone's confusion about how the Yangzhou army had descended like divine soldiers.

The Yangzhou army's speed of movement by relying on the waterway was even faster than the speed at which scouts transmitted information, which undoubtedly made the scouts Yuan Shu sent to monitor seem extremely ridiculous.

“Li Zikun is personally leading the troops…”

Yuan Shu, with a gloomy expression, gritted his teeth, feeling a sense of being caught between a rock and a hard place.

Yuan Shu had also learned of Liu Biao's death and that the Ba Commandery plank road had been destroyed for unknown reasons, making it difficult for Liu Yan to send troops to compete for Jing Province.

This made Yuan Shu overjoyed, and in recent days, he had been constantly intensifying his offensive against Xiangyang, in order to take Xiangyang before Yangzhou could react.

Under Yuan Shu's constant heavy rewards to motivate the soldiers and disregard for casualties in the attack, breaking through Xiangyang was only a matter of time.

“As long as another half month passes, I might be able to take Xiangyang…”

“Li Zikun! Li Zikun!! You are inhuman!!!”

An enraged Yuan Shu immediately burst into curses.

If there had never been any hope for Yuan Shu to take Xiangyang, Yuan Shu would not have been so angry.

But Yuan Shu had paid a great price to forcefully attack Xiangyang for more than a month, relying on his numerical advantage to grind them down, and just when he saw the hope of taking Xiangyang, that hope was abruptly extinguished, how could this not make Yuan Shu angry?

Not only Yuan Shu, but the rest of the civil and military officials in the tent also had flickering eyes and worried expressions.

A man has a name, a tree has a shadow.

Who in the world today would dare to underestimate the Marquis of the Nation?

Upon hearing that the Marquis of the Nation had led his troops to Yicheng, a hundred miles away, the civil and military officials present were all as if facing a formidable enemy.

After Yuan Shu vented his anger, he suddenly remembered something and said.

“Li Ji's brat is still a hundred miles away, and it will take at least two to three days for him to march to Xiangyang. Can we gamble on taking Xiangyang before then with a day and night siege?”

Upon hearing these words, Yan Xiang was so frightened that his face almost turned white, and he quickly stood up to dissuade him.

“My lord, we cannot gamble, we cannot gamble! How do we know if the Marquis of the Nation has an agreement with Xiangyang City? If he takes advantage of our army's strong attack on Xiangyang and launches a simultaneous attack with Xiangyang City, we may face a major defeat.”

“Then tell me, what should we do?” Yuan Shu shouted.

Yan Xiang was so anxious that sweat kept pouring from his forehead, but for a moment he only felt a blankness in his brain.

Too close!

A hundred miles, and still a plain area. Infantry marches slowly for three or four days, and quickly for two or three days to reach Xiangyang.

If it were cavalry, a hundred miles could be crossed in just one night.

It could be said that the distance chosen by the Marquis of the Nation was too fatal.

If it were any closer, Yan Xiang felt that they might be able to take advantage of the Yangzhou army's unstable footing and launch a preemptive strike, catching the other side off guard.

If it were further away, there would still be ample time to choose a strategic location to defend and try to buy time to capture Xiangyang.

But at this distance of a hundred miles, the military force was faintly approaching, but there was no time to make proper arrangements.

Looking at Yuan Shu's angry appearance, Ji Ling, who had just recovered from his serious injuries, stepped forward and cupped his hands.

“My lord, you can give me a detachment of troops, and I will block the Marquis of the Nation to buy time for you to capture Xiangyang.”

“You?”

Yuan Shu stared at his beloved general, Ji Ling, and then said with some lack of interest. “You don't have the ability, so don't waste troops.”

This sentence made Ji Ling choke back the words that had welled up in his throat, and his entire face turned red.

However, Yuan Shu quite appreciated Ji Ling's spirit of not fearing death, and after a few words of comfort, he gradually calmed down.

Giving up the encirclement of Xiangyang, reorganizing the army, and engaging in battle with the Yangzhou army was Yuan Shu's only option at the moment.

In addition to this, Yuan Shu also sent out a large number of scouts to Yicheng to gather intelligence.

As for the unjustly deceased scout captain, Yuan Shu did not forget to send people to give his family a lot of money and food as compensation.

As the Yuzhou army, which had been besieging Xiangyang for more than a month and constantly attacking fiercely, slowly retreated.

The pressure on Liu Qi and others in Xiangyang City was greatly reduced, and they also understood that the Yangzhou army must have arrived near Xiangyang, otherwise, Yuan Shu would not have retreated.

“The letter of request for assistance was sent out for only half a month, and the reinforcements have already arrived? This is so fast!”

Liu Pan said with a frown, staring at Sun Qian with suspicious eyes, almost directly saying that Liu Bei might have already been in Jing Province.

Sun Qian smiled nonchalantly and said.

“To distinguish between mediocre talents and the Marquis's way of using troops, perhaps the four words 'speed is of the essence' are enough.”

“You?”

Liu Pan was very dissatisfied and was about to flare up, but he was directly squeezed away by Cai Zhong and Cai He, who said with a more flattering tone.

“Gongyou is absolutely right. The Marquis of the Nation's use of troops has always been said to be unpredictable, and he has never had a single defeat since his debut. How can some mediocre talents speculate and evaluate him?”

“Yes, yes, yes, the Marquis is leading troops to help, and the mere Yuan Shu is no longer a threat. I just don't know if the Marquis has any favorite small objects on weekdays, so we can prepare in advance for the celebration after the Marquis's triumphant return.”

With Cai Zhong and Cai He taking the lead, many Jing Province aristocratic families also followed suit, constantly flattering.

This scene, on the contrary, highlighted Liu Qi, who was standing in a corner of the city wall, with fewer and fewer people around him.

Liu Qi, the nominal young master, had neither the name of the governor nor the reality of military power, and now he had undoubtedly become one of the bargaining chips for the Jing Province aristocratic families to please the new master.

(End of this chapter)