South of Guanghan County Seat in Guanghan Commandery lay Lianyun Plank Road.
Bai Xiaowen had positioned the Yuan Army in ambush and was waiting for Liu Bei's Army to arrive.
While they waited, Bai Xiaowen explained his reasoning to his teammates.
"The art of war says, 'Make the false appear true and the true appear false.' But how you use deception depends on your opponent.
"This time, I pretended to attack Zhuge Liang, but my real aim was to lure Liu Bei out of Luo Castle.
"Liu Bei's Army now has Xu Shu as its strategist, so it isn't short on wits. I left flags and camps outside Luo Castle to make it look as though I hadn't departed. When Xu Shu sees those camps are empty, he'll conclude that my true aim is to attack Zhuge Liang. Naturally, he'll urge Liu Bei to leave Luo Castle and hurry to Jiameng Pass with reinforcements.
"If Xu Shu weren't there, I wouldn't have done that. Liu Bei might not grasp why I'd set up empty camps, and the whole performance would be wasted on him. Instead, I'd make a great show of breaking camp and marching north right under his nose, prompting him to send troops to Zhuge Liang's aid."
Bai Xiaowen concluded, "In short, Liu Bei has to pass through Lianyun Plank Road after leaving Luo Castle. We have more troops and the advantage of an ambush, so victory should be ours. The only concern is Zhuge Liang arriving with reinforcements, but I have a plan for that too."
Seeing that Li Shuyi and Cecilia still looked doubtful, Bai Xiaowen unfolded the Map of Mountains and Rivers.
He could not check Zhuge Liang's position, but he could still check Liu Bei's.
Bai Xiaowen checked the positions of Liu Bei, Zhao