My Father in Law is Lu Bu

Chapter 666

“Gongjin! Do you really want to do this?” Lu Su looked at his friend with a complicated gaze. He could not understand. His good friend was like a stranger.

“Zijing. Do you think I have any other choice?” Zhou Yu laughed.

“You do!” Lu Su replied earnestly. “Gongjin, it is not too late! You just need to surrender and what happened before won’t be investigated! I will put in a good word for you in front of the Lord! I will even give you my position of Ministry of Appointments! I just hope that you will act on this chance!” Lu Su said to Zhou Yu.

Lu Su and Zhou Yu were talking to each other at Jianye. Though Zhou Yu had invited Lu Su there, Lu Su had also wanted to go there himself.

Zhou Yu’s schemes could be hidden from Lu Su but not from Lu Taigong. After Lu Taigong listened to Lu Su’s words, he immediately came to the conclusion that Zhou Yu and Sun Ce were scheming something. He told Lu Su to be careful.

Because of this, Lu Su did not finish his meal and went straight to the naval barracks at Jianye. He urgently rushed to warn Dai Yun to shut the gates and take precautions. Lu Su did not expect Zhou Yu and his men to intercept him and invite Lu Su here.

Zhou Yu felt even guiltier than before as he heard Lu Su’s plea. Lu Su’s feelings were sincere. Lu Su was willing to step down from his position for the sake of his friend. However, these were not what Zhou Yu wanted.

Zhou Yu took a deep breath. “Zijing. If I surrender, will His Highness the King of Shu give Bofu a chance? Will Bofu be able to command troops? Will His Highness even spare Bofu’s life?”

“This… I…” Lu Su did not have the answer to this question.

“He won’t! If His Highness is in a good mood then Bofu will stay under house arrest. If His Highness is in a bad mood, then Bofu will be given poison wine or will meet an accident. Command the troops? Haha! That would be a joke!”

Lu Su was silent as Zhou Yu was right. In this era, it was common to be vigilant against foes. Most rulers do not have good endings after surrendering. Yuan Shu just wanted to head North to look for his brother. But Cao Cao prevented this to ensure that there would be no trouble. Even Tao Qian’s children disappeared from history after Tao Qian surrendered. There was also Lujiang’s predecessor, Liu Xun who was framed for plotting a rebellion and then executed.

“Gongjin! Don’t you understand? You are you! Sun Ce is Sun Ce!” Lu Su shouted. “Do you want to be buried with him? The Jiangdong Army is gone! Jiangdong’s elites are also gone! You are no match for Milord. Do you still intend on struggling?”

“No! Bofu is Bofu but I belong to him! Even Jiangdong is Bofu’s! I know Bofu more than you! If you want him to stay at Yangzhou as an idle person, you might as well kill him! He is a tiger! He is a beast! To be caged is no better than death! So I must help him!” Zhou Yu replied resolutely.

“Also, who said we would lose? Will your Lord be interested in this destitute Jiangdong after losing popular sentiment?” Zhou Yu asked.

It turns out, Zhou Yu has the idea of making Jiangdong as unappealing as possible so that Liu Mang would abandon the idea of capturing it. Jiangdong was already not prosperous. Now, without popular sentiment, Jiangdong would become a burden once taken in. If Jiangdong is captured, they would need to send someone to govern it but if the people rebel, it could not be governed. In the end, Yangzhou would need to dispatch a large part of its army just to suppress the rebellion.

It would be just like the problem at Shanyue. They were just a mob of people but this mob forced Sun Ce to garrison thirty thousand elites at Jianye just to protect the peace at Jiangdong.

Compared to Jiangdong, Jingzhou was much richer. Zhou Yu intended on diverting Yangzhou to Jingzhou while taking Jingzhou’s resources and wait for Cao Cao to turn South. Once all the groups are together, Jiangdong can once again move in whichever direction that brings them the most benefits.

“You have gone mad!” Lu Su berated Zhou Yu.

“So what?” Zhou Yu replied hysterically. “Zijing. I will not treat you unfairly. Once this matter is over, Bofu promised to make you Ambassador.”

“Hmph!” Lu Su snorted in disdain.

“Report! General Huang Gai has triumphed!” A report came from the front lines while Zhou Yu and Lu Su discussing.

**

“The Yangzhou New Armies of fifteen thousand has four thousand three hundred dead and eight thousand taken prisoner!” Liu Mang’s expression was dark as he received the report. Less than two thousand of the Yangzhou New Armies sent to Jiangdong had returned where a number of also went missing as they crossed the Yangtze River. ṛἁꞐŏBÈṠ

The civil and military officials in Yangzhou, including Zhuge Liang, were all silent as they knew that Liu Mang was in a terrible mood.

“Well played! Jiangdong Sun Ce and Jiangdong Zhou Yu!” Liu Mang said gloomily. “Yuanzhi! Who is the one commanding the troops?” The report Liu Mang got only said that the common people of Jiangdong rebelled and pushed back fifteen thousand of the New Armies. Liu Mang would have nothing to say if these were Jiangdong’s elites but right now Jiangdong barely had an army left.

“Milord, the one commanding the troops is Dai Yun Dai Gongde.” Xu Shu replied. The Ministry of War had already sort out the information before coming here.

“Dai Yun? Where did this fool come from? Who recommended him? Speak! How did this person command ten thousand elites?” Liu Mang was angry. A group of rebels managed to defeat his elite army of fifteen thousand. This was just making a joke out of him.

“Milord. This person… You made an exception and put him there.” Xu Shu whispered.

“Me?” Liu Mang was dumbfounded.

“Yes Milord. This person used to be under the command of General Hao Shao. It is because of his meritorious service at the Yangtze River that you personally promoted him.” Xu Shu explained.

Liu Mang pretty much slapped his own face with his previous comment. His face turned red and he gnashed his teeth. “I am the one that cannot judge people properly. Send this person to the Ministry of Justice to be punished with martial law. Yangzhou does not need such a useless person!”

“Milord. This… Dai Yun Dai Gongde did not come back.” Xu Shu reminded.

If Dai Yun did not come back, it was quite likely that he was dead. If he was dead then there was no point sending him to trial.

Liu Mang sighed and asked. “How many family members does Dai Yun have?”

“Milord, Dai Yun has one little sister named Dai Ye.” Xu Shu replied.

“Leave a spot at the woman’s barracks. If this Dai Ye is willing, she can work there. If not, add another one hundred gold to Dai Yun’s relief pay.”

“Understood.” Xu Shu nodded.

Liu Mang sat back down on his seat and rubbed his head. “Everyone. What opinions do you all have for Jiangdong?”

“Milord. This general thinks we should immediately capture Jianye before Jiangdong Sun Ce is fully prepared. Then from there, we move into Jiangdong!” One military general suggested with the intentions of earning merits.

“N!” Liu Mang nodded. Sun Ce was unwilling to give up and deceived Liu Mang. Liu Mang’s face turned red as he thought about it. He regretted not listening to Zhuge Liang. This situation happened only because he believed that Sun Ce and Zhou Yu would surrender.

“Milord. This general also thinks we should fight!” The other military officials all agreed.

Liu Mang nodded and was about to give the order for war when someone from the back stepped forward. “Milord. I think we should not fight but withdraw from Jiangdong and then open negotiations with Sun Ce.”

“Hm?” Liu Mang’s eyes was wide open. He also did not understand the suggestion. Why should he withdraw the troops and negotiate with Sun Ce? If someone hits you, the first reaction should be to hit back.

It would be one thing if the person suggesting this was Lu Su. However, this person was Zhuge Liang. Previously, Zhuge Liang suggested that they fight. Now, he suggested not to fight. Liu Mang could not make any sense of the situation. What does Zhuge Liang want?