The mere thought of such a scenario sent chills down Chen Xi's spine. If Yu Province were in Yuan Shu's hands, it would be as easy to manipulate as a chess piece, with countless traps laid. If Chen Xi weren't concerned about being attacked by multiple enemies, he would have taken Yu Province for himself long ago—after all, it's a place abundant in both population and grain!
But if that place were to fall into Sun Ce's hands, do you know what kind of situation that would be? At the very least, Chen Xi definitely did not want to face that outcome. Xu Province bordered Yuan Shu's territory, and as long as Chen Deng was there, Chen Xi had little to worry about. However, if Sun Ce took over, Chen Xi estimated he would have to shift one-third of his forces there just to stabilize the situation in Xu Province.
Chen Xi was already starting to feel frantic. Thinking about the chess pieces Zhou Yu had likely planted in Xiangyang and Jiangxia made Chen Xi feel a deep unease. This was madness—Zhou Yu had been planning this all along!
After calming down, Chen Xi finally felt reassured. It seemed that even if Sun Ce did rise to power, he would be unable to break free from his constraints in the short term.
But just as Chen Xi started to feel relieved, Zhuge Liang emerged with a map, revealing calculations that made Chen Xi fully realize the depth of Zhou Yu's schemes. Zhou Yu, are you sure you won't get yourself into trouble by doing this?
Chen Xi could no longer find the right expression to describe his thoughts.
After mentally running through this series of plans, Chen Xi couldn't help but feel immense wariness toward Zhou Yu. This kind of long-term planning combined with such strong execution capabilities had far exceeded Chen Xi's expectations. If he didn't remain vigilant, the success of Zhou Yu's plans was a very real possibility. The only question was who would grow greedy enough to attempt to seize Yuan Shu's position under Zhou Yu's calculated tolerance—the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind...
"Kongming, when will you finally reach adulthood? Right now, you're still a bit too weak," Chen Xi sighed as he looked at Zhuge Liang beside him. Judging by the current situation, Zhou Yu was already operating at a peak level.
Zhuge Liang looked at Chen Xi, puzzled. Chen Xi then explained the entire situation to him, leaving Zhuge Liang momentarily stunned. Whether it was Chen Xi, who pieced together the entire scenario from mere scraps of evidence, or Zhou Yu, who was carefully planning behind the scenes, both left Zhuge Liang deeply impressed.
"What do you think the chances are that Zhou Yu is actually doing this?" Chen Xi asked with a bitter smile.
"You should be thinking about what you would do if you were in Zhou Yu's position," Zhuge Liang replied, though he was already certain that Zhou Yu's actions were highly plausible. Moreover, Zhou Yu was likely just letting others plot against Yuan Shu, while Sun Ce would later have the chance to avenge Yuan Shu...
Chen Xi didn't respond immediately. He simply furrowed his brow, remaining silent. Zhuge Liang, seeing Chen Xi tightly gripping his intricate folding fan, spoke up, "Zichuan, do you still remember the grandeur with which you once guided the world? Where is your confidence now? Shouldn't you be facing your enemies with a gaze that looks down on the world?"
"I'm confident that I won't lose to anyone. I just find it all a bit strange. Given Zhou Gongjin's temperament, it's very likely that he would do this, but he has always accommodated Sun Bofu. Even when Sun Bofu makes a mistake, Zhou Gongjin finds a way to turn that mistake into a path to success. He shouldn't be acting like this," Chen Xi said, furrowing his brow.
Chen Xi couldn't deny that if this plan succeeded, Sun Ce would need only a year to consolidate his forces, merge Jingzhou, and capture Yangzhou. He would be able to redirect his conflicts with the aristocrats of Yu Province and Yangzhou to the noble families of Jingzhou, and by then, Sun Ce's power would be sufficient to execute the strategy of dividing the world in two that Zhou Yu had proposed in history.
If, during the later period of the Han Dynasty, Sun Quan's era couldn't resist and eventually subdue the aristocratic family of Shi Xie in Jiaozhou, then Sun Ce, after taking control of Jingxiang and Yangzhou, would undoubtedly be able to crush Shi Xie's powerful foundation.
Chen Xi couldn't help but think that by inadvertently glimpsing just a fraction of the bigger picture, his focus had now become laser-sharp.
Chen Xi rubbed his temples and slowly opened a few ribs of his wooden fan. His solemn expression caused Zhuge Liang to contemplate the root of the problem as well. As Chen Xi had said, if Zhou Yu had any flaw, it was that he placed Sun Ce too high on a pedestal.
Chen Xi ran his fingers over the fan's ribs, wrapping its tassel around his pinky finger as he carefully reconsidered his thoughts.
"Kongming, let's leave it at that. When the time comes, just reveal everything and force Zhou Yu into action," Chen Xi muttered as he gazed at the river. The mist was already beginning to rise in the sky.
"Are you certain that Zhou Gongjin's value outweighs that of an entire province?" Zhuge Liang asked calmly, observing the red cord wrapped around Chen Xi's pinky finger as he sought clarification. He understood Chen Xi's intention now.
"I don't know, but we're too occupied to deal with it right now. At most, we can seize the three counties we've already prepared in Yu Province when it falls apart. But rather than doing that, we might as well try a different approach," Chen Xi said evenly. "As long as a rift appears between Sun Bofu and Zhou Gongjin, then Zhou Gongjin will never surpass his own limits, and Sun Bofu will find it difficult to make further progress."
"Together, they are a match made in heaven—only when they are united can they be called the Little Conqueror and the Beautiful Zhou Yu. If separated, they are just Sun Bofu and Zhou Gongjin. Though they would still be exceptional, they would no longer command the awe of the world," Chen Xi sighed. "The most important thing is that Lu, Pei, Chen, and Liang counties are always within our reach. We don't need to expose our hand right now."
"A match made in heaven, you say?" Zhuge Liang muttered to himself.
"Yes, only when Zhou Gongjin stands by Sun Bofu's side can he be called a man of celestial bearing. Only when Sun Bofu stands before Zhou Gongjin can he be deemed invincible," Chen Xi mused as he watched the mist rise. "Enough talk. They're probably already waiting for us up ahead."