Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 322: Lu Meng: Cao Cao, the shameless rat

In the study, candlelight flickered and shadows of people were scattered around.

Zhou Yu looked at Lu Su, who looked sincere, with complicated eyes, and sighed deeply, "Zi Jing, I appreciate your kindness, but I cannot agree to it."

"Bo Fu and I are old friends. He died at the hands of Lu Bu. How can I ignore this hatred and join the court and serve with Lu Bu?"

Lu Su was a little anxious when he heard this, and he kept persuading him: "Even if you don't want to be an official, you can just stay at home and be an idle wanderer."

"Anyway, it's better than being a traitor!"

Continuing to follow Sun Quan would undoubtedly be a dead end. Even if they could temporarily compete, they would be defeated sooner or later.

Lu Su was very clear about this, and he believed that Zhou Yu was also clear about this.

Moreover, Zhou Yu was loyal to Sun Ce. He could have chosen another master after Sun Ce's death, but Zhou Yu still chose to assist Sun Quan for such a long time, showing his loyalty.

If he left now, no one could blame Zhou Yu for anything.

"I can't leave."

Zhou Yu did not hesitate at all and answered directly: "There is a powerful enemy ahead. If I leave with you, who will be able to resist Zhang Liao?"

"Zi Jing, please stop trying to persuade me. I have made up my mind."

Zhou Yu understood that Lu Su had good intentions, but his friendship with Sun Ce did not allow him to do such a thing as deserting the battlefield.

If he left, Sun Quan would surely be defeated.

After hearing Zhou Yu's reply, Lu Su was angry and anxious. He wanted to knock him out and take him away by force, but he knew that there was no point in doing so.

Even if he really knocked Zhou Yu unconscious and took him away, given Zhou Yu's personality, he would come back immediately after waking up.

"Zijing, please go."

Zhou Yu suppressed his thoughts and said to Lu Su, "You are innocent. There is no need for you to stay here with me."

"I'm sorry that I wanted to keep you to help before. I was too selfish. I feel guilty about you."

Before this, he had selfish motives and thought that Lu Su did not know the truth, so he hoped that Lu Su could stay and help.

But he didn't expect that Lu Su had always understood it, and after knowing the truth, he chose to come and help him, and even wanted to take him away with him.

In comparison, his behavior was disgraceful.

He felt that he was not qualified to be friends with Lu Su.

Lu Su stared at Zhou Yu for a long while before he slowly said, "If you don't say this, I will really choose to leave, and our friendship will end here."

If Zhou Yu asked him to stay and help.

Then he would just leave without saying anything.

Because he chose to come to help at such a huge risk, it would have been fine if Zhou Yu was selfish at first, after all, everyone has selfish desires; but after he made everything clear and still persuaded him to stay, he was a complete villain.

Fortunately, he was not wrong, Zhou Yu was still the Zhou Yu he knew.

"Zijing you..."

Zhou Yu was shocked and looked at Lu Su in disbelief.

Lu Su said solemnly: "I will not accept any official position, but I will stay to help you and give you advice."

"But I have one condition. That is, the situation has reached an irreversible point. I hope you can leave with me."

"If you agree to this condition, I will stay."

The friendship between Lu Su and Zhou Yu made it difficult for him to leave, and he still wanted to try his best to save his friend's life.

Zhou Yu felt ashamed and moved when he heard this. After hesitating for a long time, he finally nodded.

"I promise you."

Whether Lu Su stays or leaves is very important to him.

Even if he didn't lead troops or hold an official position, and just helped him with some matters, it would still be a very valuable help.

"it is good."

Lu Su didn't say much, and the two reached an agreement.

Zhou Yu felt relieved and said with a wry smile: "I owe you a big favor now."

"Alas, it's my fault for choosing the wrong friends."

Lu Su spread his hands and pretended to be sad and said, "So you have to live well. I hope you can repay me for the rest of my life."

Zhou Yu smiled heartily, shook Lu Su's hand firmly, and said in a strong voice: "Okay!"

The two were chatting and laughing in the study.

But they didn't know that a gloomy gaze was looking at them through the gap in the study door.

This person is Sun Quan.

After taking a deep look at Lu Su and Zhou Yu in the study, he turned around and left quietly, his back looking very heavy.

He originally wanted to come and see whether Zhou Yu had successfully persuaded Lu Su to accept the official position, but he happened to overhear the conversation between the two.

"Zhou Gongjin, Lu Zijing... humph!"

Sun Quan's face looked particularly ugly. He felt like there was a fire in his heart that he wanted to vent, but he didn't know how to vent it.

He was so respectful and respectful to Lu Su, but what Lu Su wanted was to persuade Zhou Yu to surrender and bring him to serve the court.

The most crucial thing is that Zhou Yu actually agreed to Lu Su’s conditions in the end, intending to abandon him when things became impossible!

"They are all a bunch of villains!"

The more Sun Quan thought about it, the angrier he became. He wanted to turn back to the study and question the two of them in person, but his remaining rationality made him suppress his impulse.

Doing so would not do him any good; instead, it would make the situation more difficult to handle, and Lu Su and Zhou Yu might just leave.

He still needs their help now.

Sun Quan took a deep breath, turned around and looked towards the study room which was lit by orange light, his eyes becoming increasingly cold.

It is not the right time yet. It will not be too late to carry out the settlement after he finds talented people to replace these two people.

Sun Quan withdrew his gaze and prepared to rest, but he had not gone far when he ran into his personal guard Sun He who was running towards him.

The other person walked in such a hurry that he almost fell down.

Sun Quan reached out to support him in time, then frowned and asked, "What happened? Why are you so panicked?"

Although Sun He was the commander of the personal guards, he had served his father Sun Jian and his brother Sun Ce and had great seniority, so Sun He privately respected him very much.

Moreover, Sun He was mature and steady, and it was the first time that Sun Quan saw him so panicked.

"My lord, something is wrong!"

After Sun He stood firm, he said anxiously: "An urgent report came from the rear. Cao Cao led 30,000 troops to station in Jiangdong!"

"All the major families in Jiangdong rebelled. Zhang Zhao and the people we left behind were all killed. Now Danyang County, Guangling County, Wu County, Kuaiji County, and Lujiang County are all lost!"

"Our retreat has been completely cut off!"

Sun Quan's eyes widened upon hearing this, and he screamed in shock, "What did you say? How could Cao Cao's troops enter Jiangdong?"

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

"Where did this fake news come from!"

Sun Quan's tone was full of disbelief, and he didn't believe what Sun He said was true. Sun He gritted his teeth and said with a heavy face: "My lord, this news is absolutely true. Jiangdong... No, the entire Yangzhou is about to be occupied by Cao Cao!"

If the news only came from one place, it might be false, but the news coming from multiple places is true!
Hearing this, Sun Quan suddenly felt dizzy and almost couldn't stand and was about to fall down.

"Lord!"

Sun He hurried forward to support him.

But Sun Quan pushed Sun He away, forced himself to stand up, and ordered with all his strength: "Gather everyone to the hall to discuss the matter!"

……

Half an hour later, in the lobby of the prefectural government.

Generals including Cheng Pu, Han Dang, Zhou Tai, Jiang Qin, Xu Sheng, Lu Meng, as well as Zhou Yu, Lu Su and others, all gathered here.

Sun Quan was sitting in the main seat. His face looked very pale and he looked distraught.

Seeing this, Cheng Pu couldn't help but ask, "My lord, why did you summon us here so late? I wonder what happened?"

It was already midnight, but Sun Quan hurriedly summoned everyone together. It must be something important.

Not only him, but others were also curious.

In response to Cheng Pu's question, Sun Quan said with a depressed look, "News came from Jiangdong that Cao Cao led 30,000 troops to station in Wujun and Kuaiji counties."

"The five great families of Lu, Zhang, Zhu, Gu, and Wei rebelled, the Yu family was massacred, and the remaining great families in Jiangdong also surrendered one after another."

"Now all the counties in Jiangdong have been taken by Cao Cao. Even the garrisons of Danyang and Guangling have chosen to rebel. Our rear... has been occupied by Cao Cao!"

When saying these words, Sun Quan felt his heart bleeding.

It felt like being stabbed again and again.

Hearing his words, everyone in the hall changed color instantly, even Zhou Yu and Lu Su were shocked.

"How can this be?"

Han Dang was the first to exclaim, with a look of shock on his face: "Lü Bu is currently attacking Yuzhou. Aren't Cao Cao's troops fighting against Lü Bu?"

"Where did he get 30,000 troops to occupy Jiangdong?!"

The war in Yuzhou was raging. How could Cao Cao suddenly transfer troops from the Yuzhou front to Jiangdong?
Could it be that his troops could not fly?

Sun He said: "According to the news that has been sent back, Cao Cao's troops set out from Huainan and Lujiang counties, crossed the Yangtze River and headed straight for Wu and Kuaiji counties."

"And the Cao army was dispatched not long after we fought Zhang Liao, which means Cao Cao had already hidden his troops there, intending to attack us from behind when we were least prepared."

Everyone was shocked again when they heard this.

Was this premeditated?
After Lü Meng realized what was happening, he immediately opened his mouth and cursed: "What a Cao Cao! Now that we are facing a powerful enemy, he dares to break the alliance and do such a mean thing as stabbing his ally in the back!"

"What a shameless bastard!"

After that, he angrily proposed to Sun Quan: "My lord, let's gather our troops immediately and rush back to Jiangdong to fight Cao Cao to the death!"

This statement was instantly responded to by all the generals.

"Yes, a fight to the death!"

"We must not let Cao Cao seize Jiangdong!"

"The thief Cao must pay the price!"

Their home was robbed and their retreat was cut off. How could they continue to fight Zhang Liao here? The most urgent thing was to return to Jiangdong as soon as possible!

"That's too late."

Lu Su suddenly spoke, frowning, "The counties in the rear fell so quickly, which shows that all the major families are cooperating with Cao Cao and supporting him to take control of Jiangdong."

"Even if the general leads his troops back now, the chances of retaking Jiangdong are very slim, and we may even return in defeat."

"Cao Cao's actions this time were too swift. I'm afraid he had planned this for a long time... Didn't the general pay attention to the location of Cao Cao's main army before the battle?"

Lu Su found it quite unbelievable.

The 30,000-strong army was obviously the main force, and they had been deployed in Huainan County for so long, but Sun Quan was completely unaware of it?

"You'll have to ask the Grand Commander about this."

Sun Quan's face turned slightly cold. He turned his gaze towards Zhou Yu and said in a deep voice, "Before the war, the Grand Commander personally went to Xu County to inspect the deployment of Cao's troops."

"At that time, the Grand Commander reported that the main forces of Cao's army were stationed on the front lines of Yanzhou and Yuzhou. Why would the main forces appear in Huainan County now?"

"Grand Commander, you must give me an explanation!"

There was a hint of anger in Sun Quan's tone, and he began to have strong doubts about Zhou Yu. He couldn't help but think of Cao Cao's evaluation of Zhou Yu that day.

"The only heroes in the world today are the emperor, Gongjin and Cao!"

The other generals also looked at Zhou Yu.

Although Zhou Yu had a high prestige, it was difficult for him to escape suspicion now that something like this had happened, and he needed to give a reasonable explanation.

"Gong Jin?"

Lu Su's face changed slightly and he looked at Zhou Yu in surprise. He didn't expect that it was Zhou Yu who surveyed the deployment of Cao's troops.

Before he could say anything, Zhou Yu knelt down before Sun Quan and said, "I was deceived by Cao Cao. This is my fault. Please punish me, my lord."

He did not open his mouth to make any excuses.

What has happened has already happened, and any explanation now would be futile. Even if he was deceived by Cao's army, it was his responsibility.

When Sun Quan saw this, a hint of murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

Is this when he doesn't dare to kill anyone?
Lu Su noticed the change in Sun Quan's expression, and his mind raced. He stepped forward and said, "General, now is not the time to judge."

"Our rear is occupied by Cao Cao, and our retreat is cut off. In front of us we have to face Zhang Liao's army. We should find a countermeasure as soon as possible to avoid being attacked from both sides."

He changed the subject to business.

Sun Quan stared at Zhou Yu for a moment, then withdrew his gaze and asked Lu Su, "What good advice do you have, sir?"

Lu Su's eyes moved slightly, and he said directly: "Cao Cao stole Jiangdong. If it's as I expected, he plans to give up Yuzhou as well."

"Once Yuzhou falls, the general will have to face the armies of Lü Bu and Zhang Liao alone."

"General, you only occupy a few counties in Xuzhou now. Jiangdong has been taken away and your retreat has been cut off. It is only a matter of time before you are defeated by the imperial army."

"I personally think that the general might as well take the initiative to surrender to the court, and join forces with Zhang Liao's troops to attack Yuzhou and encircle and annihilate Cao Cao's troops deployed at Guandu."

The method given by Lu Su is very direct.

To sum it up in one word.

drop!
Everyone in the hall looked horrified upon hearing this. Cheng Pu shouted, "What nonsense! Lu Bu has held the emperor hostage, and even Bo Fu died in his hands. How can we surrender to him?"

"What on earth are you hiding?!"

Originally, Cheng Pu had a good impression of Lu Su, but after hearing these words, his favorable impression of Lu Su instantly dropped to freezing point.

"Zi Jing, be careful with your words!"

Zhou Yu did not expect that Lu Su would speak of persuasion for surrender at this time, and he hurriedly spoke to dissuade him, fearing that he would arouse the anger of the generals.

It was a secret that the emperor was not held hostage by Lu Bu, at least the generals in the army did not know about it. Otherwise, who would dare to confront the court?
So when Lu Su proposed to surrender, everyone thought he was surrendering to Lu Bu. How could these generals tolerate this?

(End of this chapter)