Liu Bei POV

“Hu~” Yuan Zhi sighed and seemed exhausted after delivering what she had before. She then closed her eyes for a few seconds before continuing, “That is the key. And yet, Cao Ren and Li Dian will definitely believe you. Dare I ask everyone, with respect to Cao Ren and Li Dian, why would they choose to persuade you?”

“That’s…”

“Because we’re… Too good? Hahaha~” Wen Yuan joked but that is at least half-true.

“That’s just the standards they go by and not the reason why they chose to persuade you.” Yuan Zhi said as she suddenly pointed at me, “The reason why the enemy has chosen to persuade you all is because our lord is dead!”

“Eh?” I uttered in surprise. I seemed to get it but I also did not get it.

“What are you talking about, isn’t our lord alive and well?” Zhou Cang frowned as she tilted her head.

“Because… Apart from everyone here, everyone in the world thinks I’m dead…”

“That’s it.” Yuan Zhi nodded and s.h.i.+fted her finger to Chen Gong, “The reason why Lord Chen Gong was chosen is simply because Lord Chen Gong has the notion of defecting in mind. Because it is genuine, there is no even a need for her to act the part.”

“Wu… Even if it is true, you don’t need to put it that way. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t have to.” Chen Gong whined and winced as she frowned.

Yuan Zhi then turned around and pointed at Wen Yuan, “The reason why Lord Zhang Liao is chosen is because the enemy thinks that with the death of our lord, you may be dissatisfied with your lord, that is Lord Lu Bu. Choosing to defect the enemy now implies that you made the decision under dire circ.u.mstances and after a few days of consideration.”

“Dissatisfaction with me huh?”

“No no no, how could that be?!” Wen Yuan vigorously shook her head and denied it when Feng Xian asked.

“And… As for Lord Guan Yu…” Yuan Zhi said as she pointed at Yun Chang, “Your reason for defecting is the most convincing of all.”

“Me?”

“Yes, because of your close and intimate relations.h.i.+p with Xuan De.” Yuan Zhi nodded and put down her arm, “The enemy has chosen to persuade you for 2 reasons. Firstly, with the death of your elder brother, the development and advancement of your faction’s interests are no longer that important to you. Secondly, for that same reason, the control of the faction has not fallen into your hands and has shown signs of splintering. This means that the possibility of you splitting with someone who holds equal or close to equal rights as you is significant. With all this in mind, your motives are the least suspicious.”

As she said so, Yuan Zhi extended 2 fingers into the air. It felt rather awkward for me to hear her mentioning my death twice. I smiled stiffly and looked at Yun Chang who still looked doubtful.

“That does make sense, but…” Yun Chang looked up, “But I used to serve under Cao Cao and eventually left for the sake of finding big brother.”

“That makes it even better.” Yuan Zhi said as she extended a third finger, “Back then, you felt that Cao Cao was a decent person to serve but only left because Xuan De was missing. Now that he is dead, what reason is there for you not to serve her?”

Wah… That really does make sense. Though I died again.

“Then why not me?” Zi Long asked with some dissatisfaction.

Yuan Zhi looked over at Zi Lo

ng and blinked before shaking her head, “If there are too many people defecting, it will arouse suspicion. We might as well hand them the city in that case.” As she said so, she withdrew all her fingers except 1, “And besides, Lord Zhao Yun doesn’t really have a good reason to defect.”

“And why is that?” I asked on behalf of Zi Long.

“Lord Zhao Yun is well known to be loyal, overly loyal in fact.” Yuan Zhi said as she turned to look at me and then turned back to look at Zi Long, “From what I know, Lord Zhao Yun has been serving and following Xuan De ever since the Battle of Guandu right?”

“Eh?” Zi Long seemed surprised and answered embarra.s.sedly, “N-no, that’s nothing…”

“No, this is a very serious question. If that is true then there is no way that the enemy will believe that you will stand on the side that opposes Liu Bei. Moreover, Xuan De is already your second lord.”

“Yuan Zhi, that’s not…” I felt bad for Zi Long and really could not take it so I decided to speak out against her.

“No, it’s fine.” Zi Long closed her eyes and raised her hand to stop me, “That is the truth anyway.”

I just hope I was being oversensitive.

“I did not mean anything by that.” Yuan Zhi shook her head, “I was just trying to say that for someone who has served a different lord before, it’s obvious that Lord Zhao Yun cherishes her current lord.”

“Eh?”

Is that so?

“I’m going to see how Gan Qing is doing with dinner.” When I turned to look at Zi Long, I saw that she had gotten up and excused herself, “Let me just say this first, I am not like what Lord Xu Shu said! I do not… Ah! Cherish you that much!”

*Tatata*

n.o.body asked her anything but Zi Long spat these words out in a rather loud voice before running off. I really wonder what Zi Long was trying to convey. Could she have been shy? No way right?

“Lord Zhao Yun…” Yun Chang said as she smiled. Naturally, I did not know what she was smiling at.

“So…” Yuan Zhi stared at Zi Long’s back and turned back to look at Chen Dao, “That is why Lord Zhao Yun is not included. Of course, part of this also has to do with Lord Zhao Yun’s lieutenant, Lord Chen Dao.”

“I will never defect!” Chen Dao roared before anyone asked. Of course, this is something that I understand even if she does not say it.

“So Yun Chang, Wen Yuan and Chen Gong will be surrendering huh? And our strategy will depend on the outcome of their surrendering.”

“Yes.” Yuan Zhi nodded, seeming rather pleased at my summary.

“But what do we do exactly?”

“We can’t bring our troops out of the city and into the Cao camp right?”

Yun Chang and Wen Yuan asked as they shook their heads. Looks like they have already begun to consider this.

“… Could it be… That you intend to draw them in?” Chen Gong finally spoke up after a long while.

Yuan Zhi turned around and looked at Chen Gong, “More or less, yes.”

Drawing the enemy in… Ah! I think I get it!

“Then that means they will fake defecting to them and say that they will do something to the city from the inside…”

“… And then we will surround them inside the city?” Yun Chang continued after me.

Yuan Zhi smiled, “I didn’t think that even Xuan De figured it out.”

“I got lucky.” I said as I shook my head. I was actually pretty excited that my guess was on the mark but even so, I need to feign nonchalance.

“But… Will the enemy enter the city that easily?” Wen Yuan asked, “Even if the enemy believes our defecting to them, I don’t think that they will come in so easily.”

Ah… Yes… And the enemy has Shen Pei who will definitely be prudent in making decisions.

“And besides, let’s say we do defect and they believe it, what if they want us to act first and attack the enemy and they only come in after we are both weak?” Chen Gong continued.

“Indeed. The enemy may indeed not believe us. Especially when we propose for them to enter the city.” Yuan Zhi nodded and looked at everyone, “But we have our own chips to trade for that trust. Firstly, everyone going over is capable. Secondly, the troops under your command are also very good add-ons.”

“Very good… Add-ons?”

Yuan Zhi nodded, “I learned earlier that the exact number of our troops is about 12,000 and the enemy is about 16-17,000. In that case, a siege battle will be costly for them even if they do win.”

“Yes, we discussed this earlier today as well.” Chen Gong replied with a grim expression.

“Yes. But what if the defecting generals were to bring their troops along with them?” Yuan Zhi said as she began to pace about in the middle, “Lord Guan Yu has 2,000, Lord Zhang Liao has 2,000 and Lord Chen Gong has say…”

“More or less 2,000 as well. City defences have been a priority and I have traps to make as well.” Chen Gong replied. Yuan Zhi, and also Huang Zu, nodded as well.

“I understand. So 6,000 men right? If 6,000 men were to defect, then a 13,000 vs 16,000 scenario would become 7,000 vs 22,000.”

Wu… The difference in strength widened significantly all of a sudden. Losing the troops that those 3 command is equivalent to losing half of our strength all at once.

“Huang Zu,” Yuan Zhi asked as she turned to Huang Zu, “Given those numbers, would we be able to hold the city?”

“Yes,” Huang Zu answered, “In a normal city that is. With st.u.r.dy walls and an ample supply of rocks, arrows and spears, it can be done. But given the pathetic state of Xinye city, it will be very difficult to defend 4 gates with 7,000 men.”

“Can it be broken into?”

“Yes, easily.”