Meanwhile, after Zhao Yun and the others reached the rear of the Flourishing Prosperity camp, they sent word to Liu Bei.
When Liu Bei received the letters from the two men, he was overjoyed and hurriedly summoned everyone to discuss how to defeat the enemy.
Yet the moment everyone had gathered, a scout rider outside the camp reported that Sun Ce had led several thousand troops out of the camp and headed west.
Hearing this, Liu Bei was utterly baffled and quickly asked the others, "Our reinforcements have only just arrived, and we were preparing to attack the enemy camp. Why is Sun Ce leading his troops out again?"
At this, everyone lowered their heads in thought. Only Qin Tian and Liu Ye exchanged a glance, then smiled. "Taishi Ziyi must have sent troops to Spring Valley, forcing Sun Ce to go reinforce it!"
Faced with their judgment, Liu Bei pondered again. There were roughly sixteen or seventeen thousand men in Sun Ce's camp now.
Taishi Ci had already taken several thousand men away. If they launched a surprise attack as well, how could the camp possibly hold?
Still, the matter had not yet been confirmed, so he hurriedly sent men to gather news from the river. Yet before the scouts had even departed, another military report arrived from Zhuge Liang.
It said that Spring Valley had been taken and that Sun Ce's troops were now being drawn away to reinforce it. They could launch a surprise attack on the enemy's main camp!
Looking at Zhuge Liang's report, even Liu Bei could not contain his delight. "Ziyi and Kongming truly handle matters capably. They have already taken Spring Valley and captured Sun He."
"Sun Ce's departure is indeed Kongming's design. If we are to break the enemy, it must be