Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

"Prime Minister, do you know Gu Jize?" Sun Quan turned his head and stared at Gu Yong, asking sinisterly.

After being named by Sun Quan, even though Gu Yong knew that the welcome was not a good thing, he had no choice but to stand up from the table, straighten his clothes, and said, "Your Majesty, Gu Yu is my nephew. But I don't know what Gu Yu did, and I don't know why he told Gu Tan about it, and Gu Tan didn't tell me about it."

Sun Quan sneered, "The Prime Minister was totally unaware of what his nephew had done. Great, really great. Under the pretext of delivering military reports to Wuchang, he passed on what was happening in the capital to the Crown Prince, and then the Crown Prince wrote to me three times to argue with me!"

"If you two hadn't been fanning the flames and slandering the Crown Prince time and again, how could the Crown Prince, who has always been respectful and filial to me, have argued with me so many times? I still like Gu Yu so much. At the age of 30, he started as a doctor and directly became a two thousand stone captain of the Central Army! He is my Central Army!"

Gu Yong responded: "It is slightly against the law, but I am innocent. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me!"

"Innocent?!" Sun Quan's voice also rose several degrees.

Diao Xuan knelt on the ground. Although he saw that Sun Quan had diverted his anger, it was indeed too great. It burned on Gu Yong, the prime minister who was second only to the Wu Kingdom. The consequences were so great that he could not afford it!
Diao Xuan raised his head with great effort and said hastily, "Your Majesty, I spoke nonsense. I hope Your Majesty will calm down. I hope Your Majesty will calm down!"

Gu Yong was also angry when he heard Diao Xuan's words. Aren't you just adding fuel to the fire?

Sun Quan looked in the direction of Diao Xuan's voice, and after seeing Diao Xuan's face wagging his tail and begging for mercy, he felt disgusted and kicked him hard.

Diao Xuan was just a scholar. Although Sun Quan was fifty years old, he was still strong. How could he block Sun Quan's angry kick? He instantly fell down, holding his chest, and slid backwards on the smooth floor of the hall. With his red official robe, he curled up like a cooked shrimp, trying to open his mouth and gasp for breath. His face was red, as if his ribs were broken, but he dared not say a word.

Seeing this, Diao Jia could no longer bear it, and he straightened his neck and said loudly: "The minister has his loyalty, and the king has his dignity. As ministers of the country, why should we be treated like this by Your Majesty? What crime have I committed?"

Sun Quan pointed at Diao Jia's face and shouted back, "As your father, why should I be alienated from my father by you ministers? What crime have I committed? If it weren't for your actions in the past, there wouldn't be so many troubles in the Great Wu!"

Diao Jia's lips trembled slightly, and he did not kneel. He got up from the ground, bowed deeply to Sun Quan, and said, "If so, please behead me to thank the world!"

Sun Quan had never thought that Diao Jia would fight back like this. He was so angry that he no longer cared about anything. His trembling hands reached out to the sword at his waist. After searching for several seconds, he finally found the hilt and made a gesture to draw the sword:
"You bastard, I will kill you right now!"

Sun Quan had just drawn his sword halfway when Hu Zong and Pan Jun, who were closest to Sun Quan, half-knelt and half-crawled to Sun Quan's feet and grabbed Sun Quan's legs from the left and right.

"Your Majesty, please stop being angry, stop being angry!" Hu Zong advised loudly.

Pan Jun also advised: "This is your majesty's palace, just put him in jail, your majesty, don't get angry!!"

Even though two people fell on Sun Quan's legs, Sun Quan still wanted to walk towards Diao Jia. After taking two steps, Hu Zong's voice came again:
"This man is not worthy of your Majesty's killing. I beg your Majesty to stop being angry!"

The last time Sun Quan killed Lu Mao, Hu Zong was the only person who witnessed the scene. Hu Zong was Sun Quan's confidant, but he was also a scholar and had his own moral code. This kind of thing should not happen a second time!
It was not until this moment that Sun Quan calmed down a little. He pulled the sword out of the scabbard and threw it to the ground. He covered his forehead, pressed his thumb and middle finger on his throbbing temple, gasped heavily, and his chest heaved.

Hu Zong and Pan Jun stood up, one on each side, and supported Sun Quan. Hu Zong asked anxiously, "Is your Majesty okay? I will call the imperial physician!"

"No need." Sun Quan still covered his forehead: "Let me calm down for a while, just calm down. Getting angry hurts your body, don't get angry."

Hu Zong sighed softly, tried to stand up straight, and let Sun Quan lean on him. Pan Jun seemed to remember something and glanced in the direction of Gu Yong.

Prime Minister Gu Yong stood there without saying a word, just like an outsider, watching the farce in the Wu Palace. Pan Jun could see a hint of ridicule on Gu Yong's calm face.

Sun Quan paused for a long time before pointing at Diao Xuan and Diao Jia and said slowly: "The entire Diao family will be exiled to Rinan County in Jiaozhou. No one can be pardoned, no matter who is pardoned!"

"Yes, I understand." Hu Zong responded from the side.

"Xu Xiang! Go ahead and tell them to leave today, or within the next hour. Don't let them stay in Jianye for even a second!" Sun Quan waved his hands vigorously, looking extremely disgusted: "Go quickly, go quickly!"

"I obey your order." Xu Xiang bowed.

It was the seventh year of Taihe in Wei and the third year of Huangwu in Wu.

After the two clan brothers Diao Xuan and Diao Jia returned to Jianye, Sun Quan started a storm in Jianye.

Gu Yong was dismissed from his position as prime minister and ordered to return to his home in Wu County and not to go out, which was tantamount to house arrest. All government orders were issued by Shi Yi, Hu Zong and Xu Xiang in the palace.

Later, General Zhang Cheng and Shangshu Xue Zong were dismissed from their posts. Zhang Zhao went to Sun Quan to explain himself many times, but was blocked by Sun Quan at home and was not allowed to go out. Even the gate of Zhang Zhao's mansion was bricked shut.

Among the prince's "four friends", Zhang Xiu and Gu Tan were sent back home to study, and only Zhuge Jin's son Zhuge Ke and Chen Wu's son Chen Biao remained with Sun Deng. Sun Quan then selected Pan Zhu, the son of Pan Jun, and Meng Zong, a famous filial son in Wu who was famous for "crying to bamboo to make bamboo shoots grow", to fill in the gaps. The court and the public were talking about it, saying that His Majesty wanted the prince to complete the filial piety.

As for the original four guests Xie Jing, Fan Shen, Diao Xuan and Yang Xin, except Diao Xuan, all of them were transferred to the Shangshu Tai in Jianye, and the prince would no longer have guests from now on.

……

On the sea east of Wujun and Kuaijijun is Wengzhou.

The sea is boundless and unobstructed in this era. Even though the Wu Kingdom has navy, most of the time they are anchored in military ports beside rivers and never patrol the seaside.

When Sun Quan sent people to harass Donghai County in the past, the Wei State only learned about it after the Wu army landed.

In other words, the sea was never defended.

When Lu Ya sailed from Wengzhou to Guangling, he had already learned the sailing route from the pirate Ou Kui. When he set out from Guangling in May and arrived in Wengzhou on a fighting ship, the pirate leader Liu Daoren was not there, but led his men south along the coast to Yin, Zhang'an, Luoyang, Houguan and other places to barter for food.

Of course, if they come across a good opportunity, they don't mind looting.

In late July, Liu Daoren returned to Wengzhou, and Lu Ya finally met him. Lu Ya brought with him a seal of "General Pinghai" and three seals of lieutenants, as well as an official certificate issued by the Privy Council and a land grant document issued by the Ministry of Revenue of the Secretariat.

Lu Ya and Taoist Liu explained all the conditions, but Taoist Liu just smiled and said, "It's hard for you, Mr. Lu, to travel all the way across the sea to such a remote place like Wengzhou to look for me. No, I should call you Marquis Lu, right? Have you been conferred the title of Marquis of Guannei?"

Lu Ya bowed and said, "I'm sorry to make you laugh, Liu Daojun. What can a mere Guannei Marquis do? But His Majesty promised Daojun the title of General, and told me privately that he was willing to give Daojun the title of a Township Marquis. I just don't know if you are willing to do so?"

Taoist Liu stroked his beard with a smile: "Mr. Lu, let's not talk about my business first. I want to ask you a few questions first."

"Please speak, Taoist Master." Lu Ya said respectfully.

Taoist Liu asked, "Mr. Lu, tell me, your uncle Lu Boyan was a close friend of Sun Quan in Wu, and a close confidant of the Emperor of Wei in Wei. What was the reason?"

Lu Ya had some guesses in her mind, but she still followed what Taoist Liu said and said, "Of course, my uncle has the talent to lead troops. In this turbulent time, he is favored by the king!"

Taoist Liu shook his head and said, "Your uncle is not the only one in the world who has the talent to lead troops. Even if he has the talent to lead troops, wasn't he defeated by Wei in Wancheng and trapped in the enemy? In my opinion, the reason why Lu Boyan was used is because he served in Wu for many years and knows the internal situation of Wu. He can be used when Wei attacks Wu in the future."

"As for you, Lord Lu," Taoist Liu smiled, "If what you said is true, you were able to be granted the title of Marquis of Guannei only because you are a descendant of the Wujun Lu family. The Wei Kingdom wanted to use you as an example to win the hearts of the people of Wu. Perhaps they also wanted to use you to persuade me to surrender to the Wei Kingdom."

Lu Ya remained silent, standing there and looking at Taoist Liu quietly.

Taoist Liu said, "Mr. Lu, unlike you, I can only rely on the 30,000 men and a few hundred ships on the islands of the East China Sea. When I am at sea, others can respectfully call me Taoist, but when I return to land, I will become a remnant of the Yellow Turbans and a remnant of the Han Dynasty. If all my people go to the Wei Kingdom, let alone the emperor or the generals, a thief in the county can put me in a dilemma between life and death!"

To be fair, Lu Ya was grateful to Taoist Liu for helping him go to Wei. Giving the pirates a hundred taels of gold was really nothing in such a big matter as the rise and fall of a family. Taoist Liu was so clear-headed that Lu Ya had no reason to refuse. Moreover, this was Taoist Liu's home ground, and no one could do anything to him.

Lu Ya bowed and said, "Since the Taoist has explained this to me, I know what the Taoist intends. How does the Taoist want to respond to the State of Wei?"

Taoist Liu smiled and said, "Mr. Lu said that I believe in Huang Tian. Now that Wei has banned the worship of Huang Tian, ​​we old stubborn people will not have to cause trouble for the court."

"Ou Kui." Taoist Liu waved to the strong middle-aged man standing not far away.

"Taoist Lord." Ou Kui clasped his fists and responded in a deep voice.

Taoist Liu held Ou Kui's arm and said with a smile: "Whether it is Han, Wei, or Wu, even if they are more lenient to us during disputes, if the situation is stable, we will be in trouble sooner or later."

"I'll let Ou Kui lead two thousand strong men to go back to Guangling with you. These are the two thousand most skilled warriors among my subordinates. Although they are not good at land battles, when it comes to water battles, they have been on the sea for many years and have spent half their lives on the deck. They can fight ten people at once!"

Lu Ya sighed, "Is Daojun going to be relied upon by Ou Shuai?"

Taoist Liu stroked his beard and said, "Today I am Ou Kui's support, and tomorrow Ou Kui may be my support. As for the seal, I don't want Ou Kui to be treated as a recruited thief and receive the seal remotely. You can take the general seal and the three lieutenant seals back."

"Wait until Ou Kui and you arrive in Guangling to enlist, and then ask the official from the Wei court to grant him the seal."

Lu Ya sighed, "I admire Liu Daojun for his safe conduct. In comparison, my Wujun Lu family is far inferior to Daojun. Sigh, I feel uneasy when I think about it."

"What are you worried about?" Taoist Liu said with a smile, "If it is true as you said, that Wei already has the strength and ambition to invade Wu, then the setbacks that your Lu family suffered in Wu may not be a bad thing in Wei in the future."

As he was talking, Taoist Liu pulled out a yellow cloth from his bosom. Looking closer, he saw a word "Golden Knife Liu" embroidered on it with fine gold thread. When it was shaken slightly, it flashed with bright light.

"This is my token. You keep it. If anything happens in the future, you can send someone to look for me at sea at any time."

After Lu Ya took it, Taoist Liu patted Lu Ya's palm and said, "Mr. Lu, we have a good relationship. The future is unknown. If you fail on land, this is a way out for you. There are countless islands on the sea. Don't worry, no court can occupy them."

"Thank you, Taoist Master, for the gift!" Lu Ya bowed deeply.

After bidding farewell to Taoist Liu, Ou Kui led his men to select more than 40 old and broken ships from the island and headed towards Hu Du in Wu County.

Along the way, Ou Kui was no longer as rough as before, and he had a good chat with Lu Ya. What surprised Lu Ya the most was that Ou Kui had read the Five Classics and was familiar with them all!
This is a bit too contrasting.

"Don't be surprised, Mr. Lu. Those who can become leaders in Wengzhou are all well-versed in the classics. Do you know who Liu Daojun is?"

Lu Ya shook her head: "I don't know. I hope Coach Ou can tell me something."

Ou Kui smiled and said, "Liu Daojun's father's surname is Liu Chong. Do you know this person?"

"Liu Chong?" Lu Ya thought for a long time, but still couldn't remember. It was not until he saw Ou Kui's half-smile that he suddenly realized and exclaimed, "Could it be Liu Chong, the Prince of Chen who was killed by Yuan Shu during the Han Dynasty?"

"Yeah." Ou Kui, standing barefoot on the deck, crossed his arms and nodded steadily.

Lu Ya asked, "Liu Daojun is the son of the late King Chen and a legitimate relative of the Han Dynasty. Why did he believe in the Taiping Dao and come to the sea? I remember that King Chen disliked the Yellow Turbans, didn't he?"

Ou Kui laughed a few more times: "Mr. Lu, your family has a blood feud with the Sun family, so why did you become a vassal of the Sun family? And how did you surrender to the Wei Kingdom and become a vassal of Wei?"

Lu Ya shook her head: "What Ou Shuai said is not wrong. But, it always feels a little weird."

Ou Kui said: "Nowadays, it is said that there are three kingdoms, but in fact, it is still a chaotic world. When the chaotic world is unified, you, us, and them will be finally determined."

The two of them looked at the land getting closer and closer in the distance, and stopped talking. In front of them was Wujun Hudu. (End of this chapter)