What Qin Song and Lu Bu had realized was actually quite simple.
The reason Chen Deng had previously won Lu Bu's trust was largely because Chen Gui was in Xiapi!
In a sense, Chen Gui was the hostage Lu Bu used to keep Chen Deng in check.
Likewise, Chen Deng was now the hostage Chen Gui used to gain the trust of those within the city.
The two served as hostages for each other. As long as each was held separately, the Chen Clan could be kept from rebelling.
But now that Chen Deng had left, Chen Gui no longer had any restraint upon him. They themselves were blocked within Jiujiang. If the Chen Clan rebelled, Xuzhou would be in grave trouble!
Thus, though Lu Bu was somewhat slow-witted in strategy, he nevertheless realized that Chen Deng could not be allowed to go.
At his command, the army immediately headed east.
But after receiving Lu Bu's orders, how could Chen Deng dare proceed at a leisurely pace?
The moment he broke away, he ordered his troops to split up. Dividing his thousand men into three routes, he sent them racing toward Guangling.
Aside from those three forces, he personally led a dozen or so guards toward Dongcheng.
At this time, beneath Dongcheng's walls, Lei Xu, Zhao Yun, Gan Ning, and the others had already deployed their troops.
That day, Lei Xu had been persuaded by Jiang Gan and led his men to surrender to Liu Bei. The banners of his troops had all been changed to Liu Bei's style.
After Liu Bei received Qin Tian's letter, he also ordered Gan Ning and Zhao Yun northward.
The three led their armies all the way here. Their original intent had been to seize Dongcheng first, but Dongcheng's terrain was steep and perilous,