Seeing that Li Ru had agreed to stay here temporarily, Tan Shihuai was secretly pleased.

It seems that her honey trap has worked.

Suppressing his joy, Tan Shihuai immediately asked with a serious expression, "Mr. Wenyou, I pondered the plan you mentioned yesterday for a long time last night, but I still don't know how many troops to send as bait. I hope you can enlighten me."

Li Ru pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "If we want to lure and kill Lü Bu, we can send ten tribes, ten thousand men would be enough."

To wipe out Lü Bu along with the Southern Xiongnu, it would require thirty tribes and 60,000 men.

"Wow, so many?"

Upon hearing that so many of his men would have to be sacrificed, Tan Shihuai couldn't help but gasp.

Since Tan Shihuai took in Han Sui and some Han Chinese strategists, he has gained a clear understanding of the many systems and situations of the Han Dynasty.

In his view, the main difference between his tribe and the Han Dynasty was the huge disparity in population.

At present, his forces number no more than 600,000, of which 100,000 are newly surrendered Xiongnu people.

This sudden offer of 10% of the population as bait was something Tan Shihuai naturally found hard to accept.

Seeing this, Li Ru immediately said, "The art of war says: 'When things are weak, make them strong; when things are strong, make them weak.'"

To lure Lü Bu into a trap with the Southern Xiongnu, at least three routes must be arranged simultaneously, giving him room to maneuver freely.

If the chieftain deploys too few troops, when Lü Bu attacks and finds only one tribe around, he will become suspicious and retreat.

“What you say is true, sir. Whether it’s Lü Bu or the Southern Xiongnu, they are not ants on the ground; they won’t climb up a line!”

Upon hearing this, Tan Shihuai nodded in realization.

"The Great Leader is wise!"

Upon hearing this, Li Ru also offered a timely compliment.

"However... if we deploy multiple routes, our army will inevitably be dispersed. I am worried that we will not have enough troops to complete the encirclement and annihilation."

Faced with Li Ru's flattery, Tan Shihuai showed no sign of happiness, but instead asked with a puzzled expression.

Li Ru smiled and said, "This is easy. The chief only needs to make careful arrangements to eventually bring the routes of those tribes together in one place."

Tan Shihuai hurriedly said, "I hope you can teach me how to arrange it."

Li Ru smiled and shook his head: "I am not familiar with the terrain of your territory, so how could I possibly know where is suitable for an encirclement and annihilation?"

"Oh, right, right, it was my oversight!"

Tan Shihuai slapped his forehead, realizing what he had just realized, and immediately ordered someone to bring him a topographical map.

"Please take a look, sir!"

As he spoke, Tan Shihuai spread the topographic map on the table.

Li Ru then stepped forward and began to examine it closely.

At the southernmost point of the map is the western defense line of the Han Dynasty, which covers the defense of the Great Wall of Bing and the four commanderies of Hexi. To the north, there are the grasslands and water sources in various places on the grassland, which extend all the way to the northern desert region.

However, Tan Shihuai was also cautious and did not mark the situation of Tanhan Mountain and the various Xianbei tribes on the map.

"This Tan Shihuai is indeed cautious and prudent; he's quite a difficult opponent!"

While feeling moved, Li Ru carefully observed the situation on the map and memorized it.

Although Li Ru is currently in Tan Shihuai's lair, this vast grassland has no fixed roads and no prominent mountains or rivers nearby, so even he cannot determine the exact location of this place.

If the Han army goes on an expedition in the future and does not have an accurate coordinate, it is possible that if they get lost, Tan Shihuai may take the opportunity to escape.

Li Ru stared at the map for a long time, making sure he had memorized all the details before finally looking up.

Tan Shihuai, who was standing nearby, quickly asked, "I wonder if you, sir, can find a suitable location?"

Li Ru nodded, then pressed his finger on a river a thousand miles northwest of Shuofang County.

"What does the Great Chief think of this place?"

Tan Shihuai looked around and then shook his head: "This place is far from our troops. If our main force goes there, it will be difficult to hide from the Han army scouts."

Li Ru raised an eyebrow, looked for a while, and then pointed to a valley a thousand miles northeast of Dingxiang County.

"What does the Great Chief think of this place?"

Tan Shihuai shook his head again: "They're already close to the Yuwen tribe. If our herdsmen go there, the Yuwen tribe will swallow them up before Lü Bu can even attack."

"In that case, this is the only option!"

As he spoke, Li Ru pointed to a river north of Jiuyuan.

Tan Shihua nodded: "Yes, this place is quite suitable!"

Seeing Tan Shihua nod, Li Ru had a plan in mind and roughly predicted the location of Tan Shihua's lair.

Subsequently, Li Ru began to extend southward from the location determined by Tan Shihuai, arranging the positions of the various tribes.

The tribes that Li Ru distributed were scattered in various directions, some near and some far, and were quite disorganized.

However, if viewed in three dimensions, the tribes arranged by Li Ru are like a maze. Although the various routes are not directly connected, they are interconnected and eventually lead to a crossroads.

Li Ru patiently explained the sandalwood tree while making the arrangements.

Tan Shihuai, standing to the side, listened with a somewhat confused air, but diligently took notes of every word Li Ru said.

Although he couldn't understand Li Ru's intentions, he knew that Li Ru's arrangement was very clever.

Half an hour had passed by the time Li Ru had finished making arrangements for the last three tribes.

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