After receiving Wang Xuan's notification, Yuan Shao had begun making preparations for a major offensive. Liu Bei consequently sped up his operations in Mount Tai Commandery. In just one month, despite the difficult roads, he hurried through every county in Mount Tai Commandery and met with the various forces that had surrendered, including Zang Ba.
He showed his face to assert his rule, then threw all the actual construction work in Mount Tai to Tian Feng before quickly returning to Linzi.
Wang Xuan, who had returned from Langya, had already been waiting in Linzi. At the same time, a new army of twenty thousand was fully prepared and ready to depart, waiting only for Liu Bei to arrive before setting out together.
At that moment, Gongsun Zan from Yuyang was charging toward Ji County. Guan Yu's twenty-thousand-man army from Leling had also left the city and was once again charging toward Chonghe County. Zhang Fei boarded a ship at the Gaotang River ferry to cross the river, Zhang Ji stationed troops at Dangyin, and Lu Bu's forces marched out from Huguan Pass.
Meanwhile, Yuan Shao had gathered an army of two hundred thousand in Ganling, Qinghe Commandery, and was conscripting laborers in preparation for a major offensive against Qingzhou.
As for Gan Ning in Quanzhou, he followed the orders Wang Xuan had given them. Taking advantage of the convenience of traveling by ship, they would cross Bohai Commandery directly and cause an uprising in the heart of Jizhou, throwing the entire province into chaos.
Although Wang Xuan advocated crushing the enemy with an upright and imposing army, that did not mean he disliked schemes. Destroying Yuan Shao one city at a time would take an unknown amount of time and effort. With Yuan Shao's main forces tied down, this tactic