Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Inside the Fancheng government office, Xu Shu was sitting in the middle of the hall, reading the letter from His Majesty, and talking about whatever he read.

Generals such as Cao Tai, Shen Dan, Wen Dai, and Lu Shi also stared at Xu Shu's face intently, hoping to read some information from his expression.

"Send someone..." Xu Shu turned another page, then smiled bitterly, sighed, and patted his knees heavily.

What happened??

Everyone was puzzled. After staring at each other for a few seconds, Cao Tai opened his mouth to ask, but before he could finish his words, Xu Shu began to explain with emotion:

"Your Majesty's decree clearly stated that he wanted me to go to Wu's camp to deliver this letter."

Cao Tai was shocked for a moment: "Why is there such an order? General Xu is the commander-in-chief of the army here. More than 30,000 soldiers are under his command. Why is he asked to go to Wuying as an envoy?"

The others also looked on with concern, but did not dare to ask questions like Cao Tai did.

Xu Shu slowly explained, "Your Majesty's orders are always correct. General Cao, don't forget that although I was appointed General of Ningyuan, I still hold the position of Minister of the Court. Many things cannot be investigated by ordinary envoys. What exactly is Sun Quan thinking? It is still necessary for an important minister to go and see and listen in person before I can make suggestions for your majesty's decision."

Cao Tai shook his head. "Although that is the case, it is really... forget it. General Xu is a wise man that His Majesty has personally praised. This kind of matter really requires a wise man to go. General Xu is the right person to go."

Xu Shu nodded quietly, paused for a few moments, stood up, and looked at the generals in the hall with a serious face: "Everyone, after I leave, all military affairs will be handled by General Cao Tai, the General of Zhendong. General Cao's orders are the same as my orders. I hope you all know this."

"clear."

"Don't worry, General Xu."

"As you command, we won't delay anything."

After several people agreed, Xu Shu did not delay and immediately called Zuo Shi over. He selected an agile and elite cavalryman in the army, promised him a reward, and ordered him to take Xu Shu's handwritten letter and report to the Wu army camp at Yukou.

It is better to be cautious in this matter. Xu Shu wrote a letter to inquire, and Sun Quan replied to allow it, so that the trip would be considered proper and proper.

The battlefield is the most dramatic and conflict-ridden place in the world, and anything can happen on the battlefield. If Xu Shu rashly goes there without Sun Quan's permission, and is suddenly ambushed by a Wu general who is eager for credit, and chops off the Wei army commander's head and goes to Sun Quan to report his achievement, who can Xu Shu go to for justice?
Etiquette is not a constraint, but a common denominator acceptable to all parties. It is not empty talk and does have some effect.

The letter was sent at noon, and within two hours, a reply letter with the official seal of the Minister of State was received, allowing Xu Shu to come. With the reply from the important official of Wu State, Xu Shu could go ahead.

In the Fancheng government office, Xu Shu solemnly bowed to Cao Tai, then, surrounded by the crowd, he walked out of the east gate of Fancheng and rushed towards the Wu camp on the east side.

Accompanied by Zuo Shi and nine elite cavalrymen from the central army, Xu Shu rode his horse to the outside of the Wu army's Yukou Fort. Under the guidance of a Wu military officer, he passed through numerous camps and arrived at the dock inside Yukou Fort.

A burly military officer, about eight feet tall, was standing here waiting among the crowd. He was not wearing armor, but court robes and a crested crown. His sharp eyes pierced through the crowd and stared directly at Xu Shu, who was riding a horse. There was a bit of contempt in his hostility.

Xu Shu snorted and drove his horse forward. Although he did not recognize this person, he looked around and asked calmly, "Are you the person in charge here? I am the emperor's envoy, and I am here to meet the King of Wu by order of the emperor. Take me to the King of Wu's camp!"

Sun Huan was the one who advised Sun Quan to attack Wei this time. After the defeat in Fancheng and the retreat in Xiangyang, the Wu army had lost two of its four fulcrums in Xiangfan. Recently, there were rumors in the army accusing him of being incompetent and greedy for merit. Sun Huan knew that the man opposite was Xu Shu, but he could not act rashly because of the order of the King of Wu. He had been suppressing his killing intent for a long time.

However, although Xu Shu's tone was arrogant, it was not incomprehensible and had not yet reached the level of being impolite. Moreover, the most important thing was that Xu Shu still addressed Sun Quan as the King of Wu, maintaining basic respect for the State of Wu, and did not call him the Wu ni or the King of Wu of the Great Wei.

Sun Huan raised his head slightly, glanced behind Xu Shu, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty wants to see the envoys from Wei, but he didn't say he wanted to see these cavalrymen."

"The messenger will go with me."

After saying that, Sun Huan waved his hand, and nearly a hundred fully armored sword and shield soldiers approached from all sides, with their shields almost touching the necks of the war horses, startling the horses and making them neigh.

Zuo Shi quickly looked at his cavalry and told them not to move rashly. However, Xu Shu did not look behind him, but tapped his horse's belly and walked another ten feet in the direction of Sun Huan, walked straight in front of Sun Huan, looked down at Sun Huan from top to bottom, his eyes were cold but he forced a slight arc at the corner of his mouth, and bowed and said, "Please lead the way."

However, Sun Huan snorted coldly and said in a loud voice: "When did we have the right to ride horses in our camp? Let these Wei cavalry dismount and put down their swords and spears, and find a military tent to wait for them." Zuo Shi swallowed, gritted his cheeks and forced himself to suppress his anger. Seeing that Xu Shu in front of him didn't say a word, for the sake of the overall situation, he ordered the cavalry behind him to dismount and stand by the horse holding the reins.

As long as you are in Wu’s camp, you have to endure this kind of thing.

Sun Huan saw the Wei cavalrymen handing over their swords and lances, and looked at Xu Shu again: "Why didn't the Wei envoy dismount? Is it because of the Hu people's habit that their legs are stuck to the horse? They can't ride on the boat!"

This little disturbance did not annoy Xu Shu. Xu Shu got off his horse, and Sun Huan pointed at him again: "How can you wear a sword when meeting the Supreme? The envoy's sword, please give it to me in the camp for safekeeping."

After saying that, he stretched out his hand as if to grab the sword.

With a clang, Xu Shu took a small step forward with his left foot, stood up, grasped the hilt of the sword with his right hand, pulled out half of the blade with a cold light, and looked straight at Sun Huan, with murderous intent in his eyes.

Having practiced sword for more than thirty years, Xu Shu was confident that he could cut the man's throat or cut the tendons of one of his hands within two steps, even though the man opposite him was of strong physique and had no armor or weapons in his hands.

Life and death are light, the emperor's heart is heavy, how can the envoy of Wei accept such humiliation? Not to mention that the general on the opposite side should know his identity.

Three times, what else to do?

"General Sun, General Sun! It is getting late. Please be merciful and do not delay us. The Supreme is still waiting for us in Yuliangzhou!"

The person who was responsible for delivering the message to Sun Huan's camp was Zhuge Ke. Seeing Sun Huan pressing forward step by step and Xu Shu's eyes showing murderous intent, with his sword half drawn, the fatter Zhuge Ke quickly squeezed out from the soldiers around Sun Huan, forced himself to stand in front of Sun Huan, blocked Xu Shu with his back, and whispered:

"General Sun, please be patient. This is not the time to cause trouble. If you are unhappy, the Supreme will take care of it for you!"

Everything happened in a flash. Soldiers holding long spears surrounded Sun Huan. Sun Huan looked at Zhuge Ke with a little anger, but was finally persuaded by Zhuge Ke with a pleading look.

"If you don't unsheathe your sword now, you will have to unsheathe it in front of the Supreme's tent. Why are you so stubborn?" Sun Huan said impatiently, then waved his hand, "Come on, follow me to meet the Supreme!"

Of course Xu Shu knew who the Supreme they were talking about, but he did not hesitate at all over the title. He turned around and gave an order to Zuo Shi, telling them to wait here for his return. Then, under the guidance of Zhuge Ke, he boarded the Wu ship, crossed the Han River, got off the dock, and arrived in front of Sun Quan's central military tent. He took off his sword and then entered.

"The angels Xu Shu and Xu Yuanzhi from the Great Wei Kingdom greet the King of Wu!" Xu Shu was not afraid of the angry and scrutinizing gazes of the civil and military officials of Wu Kingdom on both sides. He walked forward slowly, taking each step steadily and bowed.

To Xu Shu's surprise, Sun Quan was much kinder than Sun Huan. Not only was his face kind, but his tone of voice was also much softer:
"Although I have never met Yuan Zhi, I have heard of his name for a long time. We have been friends for a long time. Where did Yuan Zhi come from? Luoyang?"

Xu Shu calmly replied: "So that the King of Wu knows that I came from Fancheng."

"Fancheng?" Sun Quan frowned slightly.

"It is Fancheng." Xu Shu said, "King Wu may not know that I was temporarily appointed by the emperor as General Ningyuan in addition to my position as the Minister of the Court, to supervise the military operations north of the Han River in Jingzhou. At the end of September, I led the troops to break the siege of Fancheng. I just received a letter from the emperor this morning. So I came from Fancheng."

Before Xu Shu finished speaking, the officials and generals of Wu State on both sides of the tent had already started some discussions and commotions.

Who doesn't know Xu Shu? After all, Wu State had been an ally of Liu Bei and Shu Han for many years, and they all knew who was favored and who was favored. When Liu Bei was trapped in the small county of Xinye, it was Xu Shu who advised Liu Bei and later recommended Zhuge Liang.

However, the Wu ministers knew very little about Xu Shu's recent situation in recent years. Therefore, when they heard that Xu Shu had led the army to lift the siege of Fancheng, they were surprised to find that the Xu Shu was very different from the impression they had of him for a long time.

"Xiangfan is a small place, and the wars that have been going on for decades have made people old." Sun Quan did not ask much, but sighed softly: "Yuanzhi may not know that this place where I live was originally the residence of Pang Degong, and the house was demolished after the army arrived. Since you came from the north, the dock beside Yukou in the north is the former residence of Sima Decao. If you go further south to Baishaqu east of Xiangyang, I also set up a dock there. That was the residence of Pang Shiyuan, but it is gone now."

Sun Quan spoke earnestly, and his words seemed to be reminiscing about the past. Xu Shu was distracted for a moment and began to think:

"I was friendly with Sima Decao and others in my early years. The last time I came to Yuliangzhou was in the 12th year of Jian'an. It has been more than 20 years now. At that time, many wise men came to Yuliangzhou. When they talked about the situation in the world, they would always mention Sun Taolu's name. He was often regarded as a young hero. Today, I met him for the first time, but the King of Wu is no longer young!" (End of this chapter)