Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 321 Lu Su: Gongjin, this is impossible, come with me to surrender to the emperor!

If Cao Cao wanted to gain the support of these Jiangdong families, he had to reveal some of his cards, so he directly told them his next plan.

That is to combine the strength of the two states, rely on the natural barrier of the Yangtze River, and dominate Jiangdong!
Even without Sun Quan, he can still compete with Lu Bu!

"you……"

Yu Fan was stunned. Not only him, but everyone present was shocked by the plan proposed by Cao Cao.

At first they thought that Cao Cao lost Yanzhou because he was defeated in the battle, but now they know that Cao Cao had no intention of defending it at all.

He abandoned Yanzhou and Yuzhou, concentrated his military forces, population and supplies in Jiangdong, and only left two states empty for Lu Bu.

What a daring idea!
Seeing the shocked expressions on everyone's faces, Cao Cao was very satisfied and continued, "Although Lu Bu is powerful, as long as we follow my plan, we may be able to fight him."

"You all know Sun Quan's situation in Xuzhou. He couldn't even defeat Zhang Liao, let alone Lu Bu. If you continue to support him, I don't need to say what will happen to you in the end."

"As the saying goes, a wise bird chooses the right tree to roost in, and a man who knows the current situation is a wise man. The current situation is clear, please make a decision as soon as possible."

After Cao Cao finished speaking, he raised his glass and started drinking.

A look of neither haste nor slowness.

He has already explained the pros and cons. Now all he has to do is wait for the representatives of the aristocratic families to consider it for themselves. As long as they are not stupid, they will know who to choose.

However, in order to further shake the ideas of these family representatives, he calmly gave a look to several people at the table.

Among the Jiangdong families invited this time, several families have been secretly won over by him, and now is the time for them to show up.

"We, the Zhou family, are willing to support Sikong in taking over Jiangdong!"

A man in gorgeous clothes stood up first, raised the wine jar in his hand to Cao Cao, and drank the wine in it in one gulp.

This person's name was Zhou Xin, and he was from the Zhou family of Kuaiji.

They are also one of the major families in the area.

Although Zhou Yu was also a descendant of the Zhou family, he was not from the native Jiangdong Zhou family. Instead, he was from the Runan Zhou family and had nothing to do with the Kuaiji Zhou family.

In addition, the Zhou family of Kuaiji and the Sun family were sworn enemies, and Zhou Xin's two younger brothers were killed by Sun Jian and Sun Ce respectively, so he surrendered to Cao Cao early on.

"We, the Sheng family, are willing to support Sikong!"

After Zhou Xin stood up, the representative of the Sheng family also stood up and followed Zhou Xin's example to drink up the wine in the glass.

The two prominent families took the lead in supporting Cao Cao, which immediately made many representatives of aristocratic families no longer hesitate and stand up to express their support.

"I, the Zhu family, am willing to support Sikong in taking over Jiangdong!"

"We, the Gu family, are willing to support Sikong in taking over Jiangdong!"

"I, the Zhang family, am willing to support Sikong in taking over Jiangdong!"

……

Representatives of aristocratic families stood up one after another. Even the six major families in Jiangdong were no longer on the sidelines. Three of them chose to support Cao Cao.

Seeing this, Wei and Lu both hesitated.

As for Yu Fan, he was much more straightforward. He directly shouted at everyone, "How could you be so shameless as to betray us?"

"I, Yu Clan, will never go along with you guys!"

After cursing, Yu Fan knocked the wine in the jar to the ground with one palm and left the table in anger.

Cao Cao continued drinking and ignored it.

It seemed as if he didn't care at all about Yu Fan's departure.

Just after Yu Fan took a step out of the pavilion, Xu Chu, who was guarding nearby, strode forward, drew the sharp blade at his waist without hesitation, and chopped off Yu Fan's head!

"Boom!"

The head fell to the ground with a dull sound, and Yu Fan's body fell heavily, and the spurting blood quickly flowed all over the ground.

Immediately afterwards, rows of fully armed soldiers holding bows and crossbows came from a distance and quickly surrounded the entire pavilion.

He stared at the people in the pavilion eagerly.

This sudden change frightened the many representatives of the noble families at the table into panic. They could no longer maintain their previous demeanor and some even hid under the table.

"Si, Sikong, what are you doing..."

The head of the Lu family looked at the crossbow arrow with a cold glow, his heart trembled with fear, and he forced a smile on his face.

"Just courtesy first, then force."

Cao Cao raised his eyelids slightly and said calmly: "I have already given you all the courtesy. If you still refuse to obey, then we will have to fight."

"I led 30,000 troops here not just to sit down and reason with you. I don't have that much patience."

"Xu Chu——"

Xu Chu strode forward and clasped his fists: "I am here!"

Cao Cao ordered expressionlessly, "Pass on my military order. The Yu family is in league with the rebels. The entire family must be exterminated immediately. Hang their heads on the walls of Kuaiji City!"

"The last general takes command!"

Xu Chu accepted the order without saying a word, then took Yu Fan's head out of the pavilion, mounted his horse, and returned to the camp.

Soon, everyone saw a battalion of soldiers coming out of Cao's camp and heading towards Kuaiji under the leadership of Xu Chu.

The faces of all the representatives of the noble families were pale.

They suddenly realized that the person before them was not a kind-hearted person who was easy to get along with, but an evil ghost who had massacred Xuzhou three times and had countless blood on his hands!
"My Lu family is willing to support Sikong in taking over Jiangdong!"

The head of the Lu family did not dare to hesitate any longer and immediately made the decision to support Cao Cao, fearing that he would be beheaded on the spot if he was a little slower.

Abandoning Sun Quan and supporting Cao Cao to take control of Jiangdong should not be done in principle, but Cao Cao now holds the principle.

Troops and horses are principles.

Gu Yong opened his mouth, hesitated for a while, and then sighed and said, "I, Gu, am willing to support Sikong to take over Jiangdong."

Of the six prominent families in Jiangdong, five chose to compromise.

Seeing this, the remaining families who had not yet made a decision dared not remain silent and one after another sided with Cao Cao.

"You have made a wise choice."

Cao Cao took the handkerchief from the maid and wiped his mouth. A smile finally broke out on his gloomy face. He said, "You will be thankful for my decision today."

"Soon, I will move all the people and materials from Yanzhou and Yuzhou to Jiangdong. The population and materials in these two states will be enough for you to benefit from."

"But for now, I would like you to lend me a helping hand to eliminate the remnants of Sun Quan and completely control the counties in Jiangdong."

The big stick and the sweet dates are the eternal and unchanging means of controlling subordinates.

After using force to intimidate, benefits must be promised. Otherwise, how can these Jiangdong families be made to work wholeheartedly?
Eliminating the remnants of Sun Quan and taking control of Jiangdong were both impossible without their help.

"Sikong!"

Zhou Xin couldn't wait to tell Cao Cao, "Zhang Zhao is now in Wu County. He is an old subordinate of Sun Ce and a key member of Sun Quan. He will definitely not surrender. We must get rid of him!"

Although Zhang Zhao's surname is Zhang, he is from Pengcheng, not from the Zhang family of Jiangdong. He is currently ordered by Sun Quan to stay in Wujun and coordinate logistics. As an old subordinate of Sun Ce, he has a very high prestige. At the same time, he also has close contacts with the major aristocratic families in Jiangdong, and is mainly responsible for balancing the relationship between the various families.

However, Zhou Xin wanted to get rid of everyone who worked for the Sun family, so he sold out Zhang Zhao first.

"You go and handle it."

Cao Cao nodded and handed the matter over to Zhou Xin.

He had never thought of winning over Sun Quan's people. Not to mention how much effort it would take, most of Sun's subordinates were loyal people, and even if he won them over, there would be hidden dangers.

It would be more appropriate to kill him directly.

After the matter was settled, Cao Cao listened to the flattery from the representatives of many aristocratic families, cast his gaze toward the vast Taihu Lake outside the pavilion, and exhaled slightly.

The plan is accomplished.

……

Xuzhou Xia Pi, the study of the prefect's mansion.

Sun Quan held a piece of intelligence in his hand and said to Lu Su with a delighted look on his face: "Sir, you are really as good as a god. You even guessed that the enemy would attack our military grain road!"

"If we hadn't changed the transportation route in advance and deceived the enemy with fake baggage, the loss would have been huge!"

Sun Quan's tone was full of admiration.

Before this, he often heard Zhou Yu praising Lu Su's talents, and he was actually a little skeptical in his heart. But since Lu Su arrived, his situation in Xuzhou has improved.

The battles with Zhang Liao were no longer always at a disadvantage, and he even won occasionally and recaptured several cities.

All this is thanks to Lu Su.

Lu Su said modestly: "General, you are too kind. I just did my duty of giving advice. It is nothing, let alone a merit."

"Sir, you are too modest."

Sun Quan put down the intelligence, held Lu Su's hands, and said sincerely: "I would like to serve as your military advisor and work together for the great cause. What do you think?"

After seeing Lu Su's talent, how could he be willing to let go of such a talent? He would definitely keep him and use him for his own benefit.

Facing Sun Quan's plea, Lu Su took a step back, bowed and said, "Thank you for your kindness, General, but I am not talented enough to take on such a great responsibility."

Sun Quan was stunned when he heard this.

But he heard the refusal in Lu Su's tone, so even though he felt a little unwilling, he did not force it.

Sun Quan said: "Sir, if you change your mind in the future, you can come to me at any time. I will definitely keep the position of military advisor for you."

Lu Su bowed deeply again.

The two chatted for a few more sentences, and then Sun Quan left the study. Lu Su looked at his back, shook his head, and continued to deal with the military affairs on the desk.

When it was almost dark, Zhou Yu came over.

As soon as he entered the room, he asked Lu Su, "Zijing, I heard from my lord that you refused the position of military advisor. What's the matter?"

Sun Quan mentioned this matter to him tonight and hinted that he hoped he could persuade Lu Su, so he rushed over after finishing his work.

Sun Quan thought that Lu Su might not be satisfied with this position, but Zhou Yu knew that Lu Su was not the kind of person who was too ambitious, and the position of military advisor was indeed not low.

"I just don't want to be an official."

Lu Su smiled, put the handled military affairs aside, and answered casually.

Zhou Yu frowned and asked, "Then why did you say before that you wanted to receive a salary from me?"

Not long ago, Lu Su came to him and asked if there was an official job here. He was not sure how to arrange it at that time, so he asked Lu Su to help him with advice and show his ability.

But now that Sun Quan recognized Lu Su's abilities and decided to appoint him as his military advisor, Lu Su rejected the invitation again.

"That was just a joke."

Lu Su placed the brush in his hand on the inkstone, looked at Zhou Yu steadily, and said, "Gongjin, do you really want to fight against the court together with Sun Zhongmou?"

"You should know the consequences of doing this."

Zhou Yu's eyes changed slightly, and he said calmly: "Zi Jing, what are you talking about? Lu Bu is holding the emperor hostage. We are not fighting against the court, but fighting against the traitor and supporting the Han Dynasty."

Hearing this, Lu Su could not help but sigh: "This kind of words may fool those fools, but with your intelligence, Gongjin, don't you know whether Lu Bu has held the emperor hostage?"

"You don't know, or don't want to know?"

The rumor that Lu Bu held the emperor hostage has been circulating for a long time and was also the banner used by Cao Cao and Sun Quan, but Lu Su knew that this was not the case at all.

Because Lu Bu simply didn't have that kind of courage.

Lu Bu was just an ordinary man. He was willing to kill his master twice for a red rabbit horse and a beauty. How could such an unambitious guy dare to hold the emperor hostage?
He could see this kind of thing, and he didn't believe that Zhou Yu couldn't see it. The other party's intelligence was better than his.

After hearing Lu Su's words, Zhou Yu fell silent.

After a long while, he said quietly, "Zijing, since you know the truth, why... did you come to me again?"

To go against the imperial court is an act of treason.

If Lu Su knew this, he should stay away from him and not have anything to do with him, so as to avoid being implicated, but Lu Su came here knowing the truth.

"Why did I come here? Don't you understand?"

Lu Su raised his hand and punched Zhou Yu on the chest, staring at him and said, "You and Sun Bofu are close friends, so even if you know that the Sun family is against the court, you still have to help the Sun family and assist Sun Zhongmou without hesitation."

"Is the friendship between you and me worse than the friendship between you and Sun Bofu? I still regard you as my best friend, but you really don't regard me as a friend."

Of course he knew that Zhou Yu was against the imperial court, and he came here only to help Zhou Yu, but would not work for Sun Quan.

This is why he refused the official position offered by Sun Quan.

Hearing Lu Su's words, which seemed like a rebuke but were actually full of affection, Zhou Yu felt mixed emotions and his nose felt a little sour.

It is rare for a person to have a close friend in his life.

And Zhou Yu actually had two of them!
What a blessing this is!

Zhou Yu stood up straight, bowed solemnly to Lu Su, and said with a sob: "Brother Zijing, thank you very much."

"It doesn't have to be like this between you and me."

Lu Su reached out and helped Zhou Yu up, then said to him: "Gongjin, I know you value friendship and loyalty, but you must know that the Sun family cannot win."

"The unification of the country and the revival of the Han Dynasty are the general trend, which cannot be changed by human power. Even if you and I join forces, it will be difficult to reverse the situation."

"You have done your best to help the Sun family. Don't continue to be stubborn and follow me to join the emperor."

One of the reasons why he came here was to help Zhou Yu.

More importantly, he persuaded Zhou Yu to surrender to the imperial court.

If Zhou Yu continued to assist Sun Quan, he would eventually end up dead, and he would also be charged with treason and his family would be implicated.

He couldn't bear to see Zhou Yu fall into such a situation.

(End of this chapter)