227. Lie Fan and Sun Jian's Attack On Liu Yao

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Liu Yao who was supported by Yu Mi and Hua Xin was satisfied and elected them to lead the army that would attack Yan Baihu, thinking that this was an easy way to gain merit as Yan Baihu's army should be easy to handle, they excitedly agreed and promise to defeat Yan Baihu in a short amount of time.

Yu Fan and He Qi continued to object to Liu Yao's decision because they knew if Liu Yao's decision proceeded, then they would lose their momentum and could even let Sheng Xian retake the county.

That's the best scenario, the worst scenario is that Sheng Xian manages to counterattack and they lose another county to him, further weakening Liu Yao's power and making him vulnerable.

Liu Yao ignored the protest of Yu Fan and He Qi and gave out the order for his main army to hold their advance, and then split into 2 armies. The First Army stayed to hold off Sheng Xian, while the Second Army under Yu Mi and Hua Xin attacked Yan Baihu.

Yu Fan and He Qi were marginalized by Liu Yao, so their command over the main army was stripped, and Liu Yao became the General in chief, but he didn't head out to the battlefield he sent Yu Mi, Hua Xin, and two of his generals named Zhang Ying and Zhou Xin.

The sudden order by Liu Yao confused his main army which was led by his generals Teng Dan and Teng Zhou, a pair of brothers who was a supporter of He Qi and Yu Fan receiving the backlash of their support.

Sheng Xian who was in a scramble to regroup his army was surprised that Liu Yao halted the advance of his army, of course, he also had heard about Yan Baihu's rise in the north of his domain which he thought a good plan have an alliance with Yan Baihu.

Sheng Xian's plans to ally with Yan Baihu was a good move, unfortunately, what Sheng Xian doesn't know is that Yan Baihu is indirectly under the control of Lie Fan, so his plan will never come true.

The rise of Yan Baihu spread across the land, making Liu Yao a laughing stock because he couldn't consolidate his control over Yang Province well, unlike Liu Biao and Liu Yan.

Cao Cao consolidated his control over Kong Zhou's domain while beginning to send his army toward the direction of Dongpingling to support Liu Bei against Lu Bu, whatever happened in Yang Province wasn't his problem.

Liu Bei and Lu Bu stationed their army at the border of Lean Commandery which was the only Commandery in Qing Province under Liu Bei's control, the rest was controlled by Lu Bu.

Liu Yan is battling the Nanman Tribe Alliance, receiving some setbacks here and there but his army is advancing, Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan are still stuck in their rival war for control over the North.

Li Jue and Guo Si battle among themselves, with Ma Teng and Han Sui readying themselves to attack wherever wins the war, all the major powers in the land mock Liu Yao but actually don't really care about what happens in Yang Province.

Because they knew that Lie Fan and Sun Jian would take advantage of this and attack Liu Yao, that's was the reason they allied together that is to split up the big Yang Province between the two of them.

While all of this was happening, a month after Sun Jian departed from Xiapi and headed toward Guangling,

Ji Ling and Xu Kai returned alongside Yuan Shu's Family, to rest there and next Xu Kai escorted them toward Huai'An to hide there waiting for the settlement in Taiwan to be ready.

It was at this time that Ji Ling's loyalty toward Lie Fan finally consolidated, even though he was regretful that he couldn't escort Yuan Shu's family personally to Huai'An, he knew Lie Fan needed him against Liu Yao.

At the same time, Sun Jian boarded his ship at Guangling heading toward Yuzhang, Lie Fan prepared his army at the border between Xu Province and Yang Province, All of the Army except for the Zhuque Army under Taishi Ci headed toward Guangling.

Lie Fan now has around 300,000 men in his army, under the different army groups that were led by his top generals this doesn't include the soldiers stationed at each town and around 45,000 marines in the Navy.

Taishi Ci and Bu Zhi led the 45,000-strong Zhuque Army, then there's Huang Zhong and Liu Ba led the 50,000-strong Qinglomg Army, the next one Dian Wei and Chen Deng led the 50,000-strong Baihu Army.

After that, Zhang Chao and Zang Hong led the 50,000-strong Xuanwu Army, and last but not least Lujiang Army under Lu Jun led the 40,000-strong Army.

The rest around 65,000 men were stationed at Xiapi, which was under the direct command of Lie Fan, acting as the patrol army across Xu Province and Yu Province, letting the others focus on defending the border.

For the Marines thanks to Gan Ning and Jiang Qin the expansion of their numbers grew at a fast speed, both have keen eyes for spotting men who can be good marines, something they learned during their pirate days.

The movement of such a large army of course alerted Lie Fan's neighbors. Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Lu Bu were afraid that Lie Fan would meddle in their battle, but when they knew the army was heading south they rested easy, as this meant Lie Fan focused on the south.

Lie Fan personally joined the war in the South, his decision received some protest from his wives since Cai Wenji and Diao Chan were already entering the 6 months of their pregnancy.

Lie Fan only apologized for this and promised that he would return to Xiapi taking his leave from the frontline when they were near their labor, which received a reluctant nod from both Diao Chan and Cai Wenji.

They knew that they should have not done this as Lie Fan was a Lord, a Scholar, and a Warrior combined and he was in he is still young, younger than all the lords in the land who also still led their army.

Albeit not all do that like Liu Biao and Liu Yan, almost all have done that even Kong Zhou, Kong Rong, Liu Yu, and Liu Dai the Warlords who have fallen also died while leading their army.

Lie Fan prepared his army numbering 40,000 men, he left 15,000 men for Taishi Chi and the Zhuque army who can be said to be the last line of defense in Lie Fan's domain while he focused on Yang Province.

On the day of his departure, Lie Fan sends a letter to Sun Jian to inform him that he can attack Liu Yao first if he wants, as he needs time to reach Guangling and by him attacking Liu Yao it could distract him from his operation to land his army at Yang Province.

Lie Fan led 50,000 strong armies from Xiapi alongside his bodyguards Huang Shao, Zhou Cang, Liu Pi, and Bo Cai, his generals Ji Ling, Xu Rong, Chao Bai, and Chao Bo, and his advisors Jia Xu and Xun You who joined him from Huai'An on the way to Guangling.

When the letter was sent, Lie Fan lamented that the way of communication in this era was too slow, he wanted to develop a faster way of communication and needed to research it, but according to his knowledge, there was no other way to fasten their communication.

When the letter reached Sun Jian, it was 3 weeks after Lie Fan's departure from Xiapi, and Sun Jian had long arrived at Yuazhang, preparing his army to attack Liu Yao at any moment.

Sun Jian: "Everyone Lie Suggested that we attack Liu Yao first, saying that it would confuse Liu Yai even more with him already facing Sheng Xian and Yan Baihu at the same time."

Huan Jie: "My Lord I think it's not a good idea for us to send our army first, Lie Fan is telling us to become the meat shield in this war!"

Zhou Yu: "Master Huan Jie I think you thought wrongly of Lord Lie Fan, what he suggests is the right move and we don't become a meat shield because Liu Yao's army has been stretched too thin with facing Sheng Xian and Yan Baihu."

Huan Jie: "While I'm not that well versed in terms of military stratagems like you General Zhou Yu, in terms of diplomacy matters I at least have much more experience than you, Lie Fan's letter is the same as he acting like we are his vassal!"

Sun Jian: "Enough Huan Jie, I know Lie Fan better than everyone here and I think that his suggestion has some merit, he just suggests not ordering us what to do, and with how busy Liu Yao's army is right now, I also think this is the opportune time for us to attack."

Huan Jie: "Buy My Lord think of the impact this could have on My Lord's prestige in Yan-"

Sun Jian: "Huan Jie I know that you are thinking about my benefit, you are one of my oldest friends and retainers trust me on this matter."

Huan Jie: "Hah... alright My Lord I trust you and follow your leadership."

Sun Jian: "Good! Body and Gonglu prepare our army to march toward Poyang and Geyang, Han Dang and Huang Gai prepare our navy to battle Liu Yai's navy and capture their ships if you can!"

Under Sun Jian's order, the machinations of war belonging to the Sun Clan were turned on, and in a matter of days, the Sun Clan Army was ready to head out to attack Liu Yao.

Sun Jian split his army into two groups, he led the first group with Huan Jie as his advisor, and the other group was led by Sun Ce with Zhou Yu as his advisor, Han Dang, and Huang Gai led the navy of the Sun Clan to attack Liu Yao's navy.

The moment the Sun Clan's army entered Liu Yao's border, Liu Yao received the news and panic began to strike his court. They knew that the moment Sun Jian attacked, meant that Lie Fan would come soon and their army would now face Yan Baihu and Sheng Xian.

Liu Yao coughed blood when he heard the news and tainted causing more panic in his court, leaving Yu Fan and He Wi who were marginalized by Liu Yao in charge of the situation since they were the highest-ranking advisor and general, they mobilized the remaining army in Liu Yao's capital to face off against Sun Jian's army.

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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