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Chapter 15
— Taishi Ci Fights With The Young Overlord; Sun Ce Cuts Short The White Tiger King.
Yuan Shu's adviser who closes the chapter: Sun Ce is untouchable behind the Great River, so strike Liu Bei first - 'I have a scheme to put him into your hands in a very short time.'
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Chapter 16
— In The Camp Gate, Lu Bu Shoots The Halberd; At River Yu, Cao Cao Suffers A Defeat.
Author of the opening move: bribe Lü Bu with two hundred thousand carts of millet to sit still while Ji Ling crushes Liu Bei - foiled when Lü Bu decides a live Liu Bei is his own best buffer.
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Chapter 17
— Yuan Shu Marches Out Seven Armies; Cao Cao And Three Generals Join Forces.
Talks Yuan Shu out of attacking Sun Ce, and designs the endgame: hold famine-struck Shouchun with a hundred thousand men while the court, the army, and the family treasure withdraw across the River Huai to wait out the besiegers' hunger.