Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1292 Assassination
Lu Xun replied: "Although Wu is doomed, Yuzhang is not the only isolated city like Nanchang. There is also Sun Yi, a descendant of the Sun family, in Danyang. In order to prevent any trouble, I suggest taking Nanchang immediately."

"We can take a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, we can use force to capture the city, and on the other hand, we can persuade the people in the city to surrender. If we take Nanchang, even if Sun Quan escapes, the Wu Kingdom will be destroyed."

Yuan Xi said, "But we are all naval warships, and we only have some simple small equipment. Do we have to attack by force?"

Lu Xun said: "So now we only focus on attacking one city gate."

"Whether the people in the city surrender or flee is up to them. Besides, attacking the city is secondary, and attacking the hearts of the people is the main thing. Given the mentality of the Jiangdong nobles, they will definitely not fight to the death to defend the city."

Yuan Xi looked towards the top of the city wall and said, "But I heard that the military advisor in the city is Lu Gongji, and the Lu family is famous for defending the city."

Lu Xun also showed a moment of hesitation on his face, but then he said solemnly: "My lord, please leave this matter to me."

"If he fights to the death and refuses to surrender, then I can only save his reputation."

After hearing this, Yuan Xi patted Lu Xun on the shoulder and said, "Bo Yan, don't think too much. I won't kill you all."

"Please tell them that as long as the city is open, everyone will be forgiven for what happened."

Soon, the Jin army began to approach the gate of Nanchang and set up ladders to attack the city. The Wu army on the city wall had suffered several defeats and had little morale. If Lu Xun had not failed to mobilize his soldiers to attack the city with all his strength, the city wall might have been lost.

But Lu Xun knew that Nanchang had also been managed by Sun Quan for several years, and there were three or four walls between the inner and outer cities. If the Jin army wanted to break in, it would inevitably suffer heavy casualties. So while maintaining the offensive, he climbed up the tower and shouted, demanding to meet with Lu Ji.

Lu Ji had been deploying defenses on the top of the city wall. After hearing the soldiers' report, he thought to himself, what is there to talk about? Besides, with my current status, what can I do?

He thought about it, put on his armor, and went to the top of the city. He saw Lu Xun standing on the tower car from a distance and said, "Bo Yan, long time no see."

When Lu Xun saw him, he quickly bowed and said, "Hello, uncle."

Lu Ji said, "You still remember that you have an uncle like me."

"Now we each serve our own masters. If the Lu family kills each other, I won't say anything. But if you want my Lu family to surrender, wouldn't that make my Lu family disloyal and unjust?"

Lu Xun said in a deep voice: "Uncle, it's not that the Lu family has never surrendered before."

"When Sun Ce attacked Lujiang, more than half of the Lu clan members died defending the city. Don't you remember that, uncle?"

Lu Ji said in a deep voice: "It's different. The Lu family defended the city to resist Yuan Shu. In the end, they surrendered to protect the people in the city."

"The Jin State is now in rebellion and is betraying the Han Dynasty. My Lu family has always stood on the side of the Han Dynasty."

Lu Xun shook his head and said, "Uncle said this at this time. Apart from uncle himself, how many people in the city would believe it?"

"Sun Quan's founding of the country was already tantamount to rebellion. Now Cao is usurping the throne. Uncle, you must know that, right?"

After hearing this, Lu Ji shook his head and said, "Bo Yan, there is no need to say anything. The Lu family cannot betray us again and again. Now that you want to take over Nanchang, just come here openly!"

Lu Xun was furious and shouted, "Uncle, are you going to bury all the people in the city with you just for the sake of the Lu family's reputation?"

"Uncle, can't you see clearly the general trend of the world?"

Lu Ji turned around and said, "Bo Yan, there is no point in talking any more. If you want to prove this, just defeat me on the battlefield!"

Looking at Lu Ji's receding back, Lu Xun knew that his attempt had failed. He sighed in his heart, knowing that Lu Ji had to fight to the death for the sake of Lu family's reputation.

Moreover, Lu Ji was only a military advisor and general. If he wanted to open the city and surrender, he was afraid that there were other people in charge in the city. Judging from what he said just now, Lu Ji did not have a close relationship with the upper echelons of the Wu State, so he was unwilling to even pass on the message.

Lu Xun seemed to be thinking about something. While he ordered his soldiers to attack the city as quickly as possible, he shot a secret letter with a coded message into the city, asking the spies to see if there was any opportunity to attack.

Lu Xun and Lu Ji met on the city wall, and the people in the city soon knew about it. Because Lu Ji was open-minded, the content of the conversation was not leaked, which instead increased the suspicion of some people.

Now that the Xuzhou faction wants to support Sun Yi, the Jiangdong faction naturally finds Sun Ce's fourth brother, Sun Kuang. This man was born to Sun Jian's concubine. When Wei and Wu joined forces, Sun Kuang married Cao Cao's niece.

This was a political marriage between the two sides. Sun Quan was naturally wary of Sun Kuang because of his important status, so he was kept by Sun Quan from beginning to end to prevent Sun Kuang from developing his own personal power.

Now that Sun Quan's whereabouts are unknown, Sun Kuang has naturally turned the tables. The person he is secretly meeting in the room is none other than Sun Shao who has been missing!

Sun Kuang looked proud and said to Sun Shao, "Everyone thinks that the Prime Minister is my second brother's man, but they don't know that the Prime Minister has always been my man."

Sun Shao's expression remained unchanged. "To be exact, I am from the Cao family."

"Since the Marquis married the girl from the Cao family, I will naturally stand on the side of the Marquis."

If the Jiangdong and Xuzhou factions knew about this, they would probably vomit blood. Sun Shao has been acting quite low-key over the years and has not taken sides with either faction. However, they did not expect that this man is a thorn in the Cao family!
Sun Kuang spoke up and said, "Since now is a great opportunity, how about the Prime Minister gather the troops in the city and let me ascend the throne of Wu?"

Sun Shao said, "Don't act too hastily." "Even if the Marquis becomes the King of Wu, the King of Jin outside the city is the mortal enemy of the Cao family. If the Marquis's identity is exposed, will he let the Marquis live?"

Sun Kuang's face darkened, "What should we do then?"

"I heard that this fierce tiger also forced Madam Wu to marry him. Although I am not born of the same mother, I don't want to be inferior to him!"

Sun Shao said, "My Lord is wise. Now that the Cao family has replaced the Han Dynasty, it is the destiny of heaven. How can we let a mere vicious tiger succeed?"

"But if the Marquis is close to Cao Wei, it will not help the current situation. Instead, he may be betrayed by the two factions and used to curry favor with the fierce tiger."

"So our first step is to let the Jiangdong and Xuzhou factions fight among themselves. When both sides are severely weakened and have no choice but to ask us for help, we will take the throne and integrate the two sides. When the time comes, you can choose to continue to resist or retreat and try to make a comeback after you ascend the throne."

Sun Kuang asked, "What should we do?"

Sun Shao said a few words, and Sun Kuang asked in surprise, "Isn't he from our faction?"

Sun Shao said, "He is not one of us. He is just a pawn pushed out by the Jiangdong faction."

"Besides, he has suffered several defeats, so it's no use anymore. It's just the right time to put the blame on him."

"It is precisely because of his identity that people won't suspect us."

"And this man is in charge of the troops. Without these soldiers, how can we proceed with the next move?"

Sun Kuang listened, hesitated for a moment, and then resolutely said: "Okay, let's do as the Prime Minister says!"

As the sky gradually darkened, Lu Ji stood guard on the top of the city wall for a whole day. Only when he saw the Jin army stop fighting and retreat did he force himself to walk down the city wall.

He hadn't eaten much for a day and was almost exhausted. At this moment, a soldier came over and said that Yu Fan wanted to discuss something with him.

Lu Ji guessed that it was most likely the Jiangdong faction that wanted to establish Sun Kuang as the King of Wu. He couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. He didn't want to get involved in these things, but in the end, these messes still found him.

But now with Lu Ji's identity, he was already in a difficult situation. He immediately got on the carriage and headed towards Yu Fan's mansion.

It was gradually getting dark. A curfew had been imposed in the city and the streets were already empty. The carriage travelled on the cobblestone road for a distance before turning into a deserted alley.

Lu Ji came back to his senses from his thoughts and saw the carriage running in the narrow alley. He was puzzled and wondered why the carriage took such a narrow road instead of the wide road.
At this moment, the carriage suddenly stopped, the doors of the yards on both sides opened, and more than a dozen masked men with spears rushed out.

They pointed their spears at the carriage and stabbed hard. In an instant, there was a continuous sound of puffing, and more than a dozen holes were pierced in the thin wall of the carriage.

The masked man drew out his spear and stabbed it again, doing this several times until there was no sound from inside.

Seeing that the gun tips were covered in blood, the masked man waved his hand decisively, fled silently, and disappeared into the night.

Lu Ji fell in a pool of blood in the car. He felt his consciousness gradually blurred. He thought to himself that he should have listened to Lu Xun's advice earlier. These people in Wu State are really a group of people who are incapable of accomplishing anything and are always causing trouble.

After that, Lu Xun could only protect the Lu family, as well as his wife, who had just been married for a few months and was already pregnant...

His breathing became weaker and weaker, and finally his consciousness fell into darkness. Blood continued to flow from the carriage, and finally Lu Ji's body gradually became cold and he lost his voice.

The news of Lu Ji's assassination spread quickly throughout the city, causing great chaos and panic. The Jiangdong faction stood up and accused the Xuzhou faction of committing the crime, while the Xuzhou faction accused the Jiangdong faction of framing them. The two sides were on the verge of a war.

At this time, Sun Shao finally stood up to turn the tide and took over Lu Ji's military power. At the same time, he accused the Jin army outside the city of assassinating Lu Ji.

This move temporarily reconciled the conflict between the two factions and turned the spearhead towards the State of Jin, which was a result acceptable to both factions.

But a few knowledgeable people felt that there must be some unknown secret. Lu Ji had talked with Lu Xun on the city wall before, so he might have been treated as a traitor and eliminated?
At this time, Sun Kuang appeared and said that the city was in such chaos. As a descendant of the Sun family, he had the obligation to support the State of Wu. Sun Shao, the prime minister, also expressed his support.

For the Jiangdong faction, since the Xuzhou faction supported Sun Yi, they could only support Sun Kuang. It was exactly what they wanted if Sun Kuang took the initiative to stand up.

As for the Xuzhou faction, they were suspected of killing Lu Ji, and Sun Shao helped them out. Although they supported Sun Yi, the city was already in such chaos at this time that there was no point in fighting internally, so they were ready to accept the result with a pinch of their nose.

Zhang Zhao, Zhang Hong, and Yan Jun gathered together, all with extremely grim expressions. Zhang Zhao said, "I always feel that something is wrong."

"Of course it's wrong!" Yan Jun slammed his fist on the table. "Who would want to kill their own people at this time?"

Zhang Hong said: "I think this matter is too dangerous. Let's not talk about the Jiangdong faction. Sun Shao has become the biggest winner. He is already the prime minister. Why should he come forward now?"

"I heard that he has gone to the palace with Sun Kuang. Is this a direct way of forcing the orphan and his widow to hand over the imperial seal?"

"The king's life or death has not yet been determined!"

(End of this chapter)