flstandardbreds Chapter 152 Guan Yu Sends an Invitation to Sun Quan
Chapter 152 Guan Yu Sends an Invitation to Sun Quan
The Grand Commander abandoned Jiangdong and retreated to Jiangling, and even lost Old Madam Zhou.
Either of these pieces of news was a bombshell, like two heavy hammer blows that left Lu Xun completely disoriented and disoriented for a long time.
The Lu family is one of the four great families of Wu County. I've only been away from Jiangdong for a few days, and you're telling me my home is gone and I can't go back?
And Lady Zhou, are you, Lü Meng, a pig-brain? You ran away but left Lady Zhou behind. What the hell are you trying to do? Throw Lady Zhou to Guan Yu as a hostage?
Lu Xun's ears were ringing violently. He was stunned for a long time before he came to his senses. He stared at the messenger and scolded, "Is the news true?"
The messenger was startled and hurriedly took out the letter and presented it with both hands. Zhu Ran snatched the letter, quickly opened it, and handed it to Lu Xun to read together.
The letter was written by Sun Quan himself, instructing him to set up the defense line north of the Yangtze River and immediately return to Jiangling for a meeting. The current situation was too unfavorable for Eastern Wu, and Sun Quan was somewhat at a loss. He urgently needed to find someone to discuss the matter, even if it was just to comfort himself.
After reading the letter, Zhu Ran said unhappily, "How could the Grand Commander do this? How could he leave Old Madam Zhou in Jianye?"
He also participated in the Battle of Red Cliffs, and his admiration for Zhou Yu was even greater than that for Sun Quan. He was very dissatisfied and even angry about Lü Meng's act of abandoning Lady Zhou.
However, he was recommended to Sun Quan by Lü Meng, who was considered to have been a mentor to him. Zhou Yu was his idol, and Lü Meng was his patron, which made him feel very uncomfortable in the middle. He couldn't even vent his anger.
Lu Xun pondered, "It's no use blaming now that things have come to this. Let's think about how to clean up the mess. My lord has summoned me back, so I can only entrust the affairs of the front lines to you."
Zhu Ran nodded and said, "I will definitely keep a close watch on the Jiangbei defense line and never let Liu Bei make a comeback. But General, you must find a way to rescue Old Madam Zhou and Young Master Zhou Xun."
Lu Xun patted his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, our lord will not let Old Madam Zhou fall into enemy hands. Let's go."
After quickly packing up, he took his personal guards, mounted his warhorse, and rushed to Jiangling at top speed.
Several days later, he arrived at the city of Jiangling, revealed his identity, entered the city and went straight to the general's mansion, where he was stopped by Xu Xiang, the personal guard captain of Sun Quan.
Upon seeing him return, Xu Xiang immediately greeted him with delight, saying, "General Lu, you're finally back! Our lord is currently discussing matters with the civil and military officials in the main hall. Judging by the time, you should be back soon. Please allow me to wait for you here."
Lu Xun followed Xu Xiang to the council hall, asking as they walked, "Has the Grand Commander returned?"
Xu Xiang shook his head and said, "Not yet. The Grand Commander has already retreated to Chaisang and is setting up defenses in the Yushui area to guard against Guan Yu and the Wei army's attack. But the strategist has returned and is currently in the palace."
Lu Xun's heart sank, and he cursed Lü Meng for his stupidity. He had committed such a serious crime by losing Jiangdong, and instead of hurrying back to apologize, he stayed in Chaisang building some damn defense line. Did he want to die even faster?
After Wu's army withdraws, Guan Yu will definitely be busy annexing Wu County. When Wei's army marches south, they will attack Guan Yu first and won't have time to spare for you. What's the point of building a defense line? It's only a few days away from building a defense line.
Lu Xun knew that Lü Meng was either too ashamed or too afraid to come back, but even an ugly daughter-in-law has to meet her in-laws, right? What's the point of you staying on the front lines all the time?
Look how smart Zhang Zhao is; he rushed back immediately to explain things clearly, so that others wouldn't gossip behind his back.
The two quickly arrived at the entrance of the hall. Xu Xiang went in to announce their arrival, while Lu Xun waited patiently.
Before long, he was granted permission to enter the hall. Upon entering, he found that Zhang Zhao, Gu Yong, Yu Fan and other important officials of Eastern Wu, as well as Pan Jun, Mi Fang and Fu Shiren and other surrendered generals of Shu Han, were all there. The people were all present, but everyone's face was not good. Sun Quan's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and his gloom was like a volcano about to erupt.
The atmosphere was so heavy that no one dared to be negligent. Lu Xun held his breath and carefully stepped forward to bow, saying, "My lord."
Sun Quan glared at Zhang Zhao and sighed heavily, "Boyan, you're back. You know the situation in Jiangdong, right? Tell me your thoughts."
Lu Xun nodded and said, "I have heard about it. I believe that the Grand Commander's choice is correct. Jianye has been attacked for a long time without success, and Wushang has suffered repeated defeats. In addition, Guan Yu has been recuperating for several months and has regained his offensive capabilities. If the Grand Commander does not retreat now, he will not be able to retreat at all. Rather than being driven back by Guan Yu, it is better to preserve our strength, withdraw from Jiangdong and let Guan Yu and the Wei army fight it out. After Guan Yu and the Wei army are exhausted, we can then lead our troops eastward to recover Jiangdong. As for Old Madam Zhou, that was an accident."
On the way back, Lu Xun kept thinking about this matter. After much deliberation, he decided to support Lü Meng. Eastern Wu was facing many crises and it was not advisable for them to fight amongst themselves. They had to unite and face external threats together.
Besides, the fall of Jianye wasn't Lü Meng's fault. Who would have thought that Guan Yu, after being beaten so badly at Maicheng, would still dare to launch a surprise attack on Jianye?
As for why Lü Meng failed to capture Jianye, it cannot be entirely blamed on Lü Meng. Everyone knows the defenses of Jianye; how could it be easily taken?
If you really look into this, you can only blame Zhang Chengtai for being incompetent. How could you lead an army several times larger than Guan Xing's and still be captured by Guan Xing twice?
If you were captured by Guan Yu twice, no one would say anything, but if you were captured by Guan Xing, how could you possibly live?
Lu Xun desperately wanted to shift the blame onto Zhang Cheng to save Lü Meng, but after glancing at Zhang Zhao, he wisely kept quiet.
Sun Quan was only asking Lu Xun if he knew the situation to facilitate the conversation, not asking for Lu Xun's opinion on how to handle it. Upon hearing this, he immediately changed the subject and asked, "How is the situation at Yiling? Can you hold off Liu Bei's attack? Do you need to send reinforcements?"
Lu Xun bowed and said, "Reporting to my lord, the night before I received your letter, Liu Bei withdrew his troops. I guess he received news of the Grand Commander's withdrawal and the Wei army's southward advance, and turned back to launch a northern expedition."
"What?" Sun Quan looked up abruptly, staring wide-eyed at Lu Xun, and asked impatiently, "Is this true?"
Zhang Zhao, Gu Yong, Mi Fang, Pan Jun, and the others all looked at Lu Xun with questioning eyes, their breathing becoming extremely heavy.
For a moment, the hall was so quiet that only the sound of everyone breathing could be heard.
They were thrilled! That damned big-eared thief had finally retreated, and everyone could finally breathe a sigh of relief; the pressure had been immense lately.
Lu Xun felt a chill run down his spine from their stares and cautiously said, "When I returned, Liu Bei had indeed withdrawn his troops. However, since he had just left, I am not sure if he has truly turned back to launch a northern expedition or if he is merely using a retreat as a pretext to mislead us. I believe we will receive definite news in a few days."
Everyone fell silent again upon hearing this. After a long while, Yu Fan stepped forward and bowed when no one spoke, saying, "My lord, I believe that the possibility of the big-eared bandit launching a northern expedition is very high. He and Cao Cao are sworn enemies. If he insists on an eastern expedition, Cao Cao will not be able to ignore it. But if he launches a northern expedition, we can only stand by and watch."
"More importantly, after the Wei army captures Ruxukou, they will definitely mobilize a large force to attack Jiangdong, which will leave Guanzhong vulnerable and give Liu Bei an opportunity to take advantage of the situation."
"Now it seems that this was a feint attack planned by Liu Bei and Guan Yu long ago. The so-called eastern expedition was just a show to deceive Cao Wei."
Although there was some truth to this, it left everyone feeling aggrieved. It turned out that after all this fuss, they were just clowns used by the big-eared thief to put on a show.
That damned big-eared thief has gone too far! A scholar can be killed but not humiliated.
Sun Quan clenched his fists and suppressed his urge to explode for a long time before asking in a calm and emotionless tone, "Strategist, what do you think?"
Zhang Zhao was ashamed because of Zhang Cheng's defeat and the loss of Xiao Qiao, so he kept his head down and acted as if he were invisible after entering the palace. He originally planned not to speak and cause any trouble, but he had no choice but to answer when Sun Quan asked him.
Zhang Zhao stepped forward, bowed, and said with a bitter and resentful expression, "I think Zhongxiang (Yu Fan's courtesy name) is right. Liu Bei may very well turn back and launch a northern expedition."
That's where it ends; Old Zhang has begun to understand that silence is golden.
Sun Quan glared at him with displeasure, then sighed and said, "It's good that the 'Big Ear Thief' has launched his northern expedition. After so many days, we finally have good news... We..."
Before he could finish speaking, Xu Xiang rushed into the main hall, presented a sandalwood box with both hands, and bowed, saying, "My lord, this is a gift from Guan Yu, sent by someone. He said it's an invitation for you."