flstandardbreds Chapter 154 Internal Strife Erupts in Eastern Wu
Chapter 154 Internal Strife Erupts in Eastern Wu
Humans are creatures that can never stay idle; they always need to find something to do, or an opponent to fight against. When there are no external enemies, they look for rivals within themselves.
Now that Cao Cao and Liu Bei are fighting, Eastern Wu is left out in the cold. Eastern Wu is temporarily unable to get involved in the struggle between the two tigers, so it can only fight among itself.
No sooner had Yu Fan received news of Liu Bei's retreat than he launched an attack on Lü Meng.
Yu Fan continued, "The Grand Commander lost Madam Zhou, which gave Guan Yu the right to take control of Jiangdong. This is unforgivable. Moreover, the Grand Commander suffered setbacks in the attack on Jianye and lost troops in Wushang. How can the people be convinced if he is not punished?"
Yu Fan was from a noble family and was very dissatisfied with Lü Meng, who came from a humble background, being appointed as the Grand Commander. He had no choice in the past, but now that he had the opportunity, he naturally wanted to remove him and replace him with a noble general.
Although it was Zhang Cheng, not Lü Meng, who suffered heavy losses at Wushang, so what? Wasn't Zhang Cheng sent by you, Lü Meng? Don't you, Lü Meng, bear any leadership responsibility?
Moreover, you lost Madam Zhou during the retreat. Is it appropriate to continue serving as Grand Commander as if nothing happened after making such a big mistake?
Zhang Zhao said, "There are reasons for this, and we can't blame the Grand Commander entirely. Besides, Jingzhou is in ruins and needs stability the most. Removing the Grand Commander rashly might cause unnecessary chaos."
He had to speak up for Lü Meng, because he was also involved in the matter, and it was his own son who suffered heavy losses in Wushang; he couldn't get away with it.
Yu Fan said, "Strategist, you are mistaken. The court has its own laws and regulations, and the rewards and punishments for merits and demerits must be clearly defined. If one can make mistakes and go unpunished simply because of one's high rank, where will the laws and regulations be in the future? Where will the authority be?"
Sun Quan was exasperated. He was equally furious about Lü Meng losing Xiao Qiao, and he knew that Yu Fan was right. If mistakes were not punished, who would listen to him as their lord in the future?
However, he was reluctant to remove Lü Meng, because Lü Meng was a general from humble origins whom he had personally promoted. Although Lü Meng was not as capable as Zhou Yu, his loyalty to him was beyond doubt. If he removed Lü Meng, who would he replace him with?
Sun Quan pondered, “The Grand Commander is indeed wrong, but I believe that was not his intention. Moreover, the Chaisang defense line is equally important and cannot be left unattended for the time being. So it is enough to write a letter to reprimand him; there is no need to recall him.”
Yu Fan was speechless. The Wei army was marching south but not attacking Chaisang. What was there to worry about regarding the Chaisang defense line?
Although he was dissatisfied with Sun Quan's remarks, he knew Sun Quan's intention to protect Lü Meng, so he did not speak again, but looked at Gu Yong.
Sun Quan is, after all, the lord, and cannot be dealt with by one person alone. It is necessary to find several allies to fight together.
Gu Yong stepped forward and bowed, saying, "My lord, I think it is still very necessary to summon the Grand Commander back. Even if we don't punish him, we should still discuss defense matters with him. There are some things that the Grand Commander cannot avoid."
Previously, Eastern Wu only needed to guard against the Wei army in the north and Guan Yu in the west. Now it's different. They have to guard against Guan Yu in the east, Cao Wei in the north, and Liu Bei in the west.
In other words, the defense system of Eastern Wu must undergo a major strategic adjustment, which requires the personal supervision of Grand Commander Lü Meng.
Lu Meng is the number one general in the Wu army. If he doesn't do this, who else should do it?
Zhang Wen, Gu Hui, and the others exchanged glances and bowed in unison, saying, "Your Majesty, I second your opinion."
Now that's settled, with both a legitimate reason and widespread support, it's clear that Lü Meng can no longer hide in Chaisang.
Sun Quan sighed, "Alright, let's get the Grand Commander back first. Let's disperse."
After saying that, he got up and left without lingering; he didn't want to stay in that place for even a second longer.
With heavy hearts, everyone bowed and took their leave. Some left alone, while others huddled together in small groups, whispering amongst themselves, all talking about how they were cursing Lü Meng. Lü Meng had successfully turned himself into a pariah, with Cao Cao, Sun Quan, and Liu Bei all criticizing him.
Amidst the relentless jeers, Grand Commander Lü Meng returned.
Upon returning, he immediately went to pay his respects to his lord, Sun Quan. After a brief inquiry, Sun Quan summoned everyone for another meeting.
It was the same grand hall, the same group of people, except for the addition of Lü Meng.
Once everyone had arrived, they first bowed to Sun Quan and Lü Meng, and then...
Yu Fan asked, "May I ask, Grand Commander, have you received Guan Yu's wedding invitation?"
Lu Meng's face instantly turned a deep purplish-red; he had naturally received the message.
When he realized he had left Madam Zhou at the manor, he immediately sent Xu Sheng to fetch her. However, he was too late; by the time Xu Sheng arrived, Madam Zhou had already entered Jianye City.
He knew then that he was doomed, and sure enough, he received Guan Yu's invitation a few days later.
Upon seeing the invitation, he, like Sun Quan, vomited blood on the spot. On the way back, he had anticipated that someone would use this matter to attack him, but he did not expect the attack to be so direct and so impatient.
But it was indeed something he did that was unethical, and Lu Meng had no choice but to say, "I received it. It was my oversight."
Yu Fan continued his attack: "I'm afraid it's not just a simple oversight. The Grand Commander should be aware of the impact of Guan Yu's forced seizure of Lady Zhou, right? And Generals Zhang Cheng and Zhou Xun are still in Guan Xing's hands. As the Grand Commander, haven't you thought about how to rescue them?"
To question him like that in front of everyone was clearly an attempt to embarrass Lü Meng.
Lu Meng was never good at verbal sparring, and being in the wrong, he was speechless after being rebuked. He asked breathlessly, "What do you mean?"
Yu Fan immediately said, "What I mean is, I want to ask the Grand Commander, do you think you are still capable of holding the position of Grand Commander? The Grand Commander should understand the principle that those who are not worthy of their position will suffer, and those who are not virtuous enough will suffer calamity, right?"
To say that Lü Meng was incompetent and immoral in front of so many people is tantamount to openly cursing Lü Meng.
As a military general, Lü Meng could not tolerate such an insult. He held his sword hilt and endured it for a long time, but finally he could not hold back and punched Yu Fan. As he threw the punch, he cursed, "You foul-mouthed Yu, I've been putting up with you for a long time."
"Ah..." Yu Fan didn't expect Lü Meng to hit him. Caught off guard, he was punched squarely in the right eye and almost fell to the ground.
Fortunately, Yu Fan was not only foul-mouthed but also skilled in combat, and he wasn't one to stand still. As soon as he regained his footing, he threw a punch, yelling as he did so, "Lu Ziming, you did something wrong and you won't let people talk about it? I now seriously suspect that you deliberately dumped Old Madam Zhou on Guan Yu. Do you and Guan Yu have some shady deal?"
"You're talking nonsense..." Lu Meng completely lost his guard and, before Yu Fan's fist could arrive, landed a hook punch on Yu Fan's chin.
He's a military officer, after all. How could he be bullied by a civil official like you?
Although Lü Meng was highly skilled in martial arts, he forgot that Yu Fan was not alone but part of a group. Seeing Yu Fan being beaten, Zhang Wen, who was hiding not far away, launched an attack from behind, hitting Lü Meng in the lower back with his shoulder elbow.
Caught off guard, Lü Meng staggered violently, and Yu Fan, who had been knocked to the ground, quickly got up, opened his arms, and pounced on Lü Meng.
This time, Lü Meng couldn't take it anymore and was immediately tackled to the ground. Yu Fan straddled him and rained blows on Lü Meng with both fists. While attacking, he didn't forget to verbally smear him, saying, "I'm just telling the truth. Where did I go wrong? Do you have to get angry? The angrier you are, the more it proves that I'm right. You're definitely colluding with Guan Yu."
Yu Fan's punches weren't particularly powerful, but his words were devastating, infuriating Lü Meng who cursed again, "You foul-mouthed Yu, you're talking nonsense! You're slandering me... Pfft..."
Before he could finish speaking, he spat out a mouthful of blood onto Yu Fan's face, leaving Yu Fan stunned.
Everyone else was stunned. Sun Quan shouted impatiently, "Quickly pull Yu Fan away! Quickly take the Grand Commander to the back hall and fetch a doctor..."
Everything happened so fast that they didn't have time to stop it, and they didn't really want to. They all wanted Lü Meng to beat up Yu Fan, since Yu Fan's mouth was so foul that even Sun Quan had mocked him, let alone others.
So everyone was more eager to beat up Yu Fan than to beat up Lü Meng. They were all prepared to wait until Lü Meng finished fighting before breaking up the fight. But they didn't expect that they still underestimated the power of Yu Fan's foul mouth. He directly caused Lü Meng to suffer internal injuries from his spittle.