The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 604 Success (Happy New Year)

"Lord Zhong! The State of Wu has begun rebuilding the lake fields!!"

The scout saluted Zhong Hui breathlessly and spoke breathlessly.

At this moment, Zhong Hui finally raised his head and laughed wildly.

Although Zhong Hui was quite confident in himself, he could not be sure that he would succeed. Sometimes, an unexpected event might ruin his entire plan.

When Zhong Hui heard that the Emperor of Wu had started the project again, he finally stopped worrying.

Although Zhong Hui's plan went far beyond this, he had achieved his basic goal, so he could continue to brag and show off without worrying about failure.

He picked up the document handed to him by the scout and examined it carefully.

The more I look at it, the more satisfied I become.

Not bad.

He liked people like Sun Xiu who were particular about details. Such people were prone to making self-righteous judgments because of their keen observation skills.

The more others oppose him, the more dissatisfied he will feel.

Although Zhong Hui had never met Sun Xiu, he began to study him from every aspect of his governance and was already extremely familiar with him, perhaps even more familiar with him than those favorite ministers around him!
Since Sun Xiu has already given the order to handle this matter, Lu Kang will probably be unable to sit still.

Zhong Hui slowly looked towards the south, his eyes full of disdain.

You still want to fight me?
You are not even as good as Zhang Hua!
At the same time, "Zhang Hua in Wu Fenhua" was sitting in the carriage and rushing towards Jianye again.

Lu Kang frowned. He was in a really bad mood. There were already many things to do on the front line, and he was too busy to spare any time. As a result, the temple kept holding him back.

As the commander-in-chief on the front line, he always goes to Jianye. How can this be disgraceful?

But Lu Kang had to come.

He had already discussed it with the emperor last time, but who would have thought that just with a letter, the emperor would change his mind and rebuild the lake fields.

Lu Kang was upset.

Now the situation on the front line between Wu and Wei was in a stalemate. The emperor's order made Lu Kang's appeasement work for nearly half a year go to waste. Four county magistrates led the officials and people to defect to Wei, and no one in the entire county opposed it.

They have been tortured so badly by Hu Tian, and it is not just the common people who have been tortured by Hu Tian.

Officials were responsible for transporting these people, soldiers had to go into battle to repair the equipment, and merchants had to donate money and grain. This policy affected all the middle and lower class people.

Those who are not taken seriously by the nobles.

If you think about it carefully, the policies of Wu are almost the opposite of those of Wei. Wei is constantly improving the welfare benefits of the middle and lower classes and reducing their exploitation. It would rather collect less taxes and spend more.

The State of Wu, on the other hand, was increasing its exploitation of them in order to increase its income, caring only about the upper class and ignoring the lower class.

Lu Kang is currently trying hard to cover up this order at the front line, because this order will directly undermine the fighting spirit of the soldiers and ignite the anger of low-level officials, farmers, and merchants.

If he didn't come to Jianye again, Lu Kang would have to worry that his soldiers would arrest him overnight and send him to Luoyang!

I'm on the front line guarding against Cao Wei, and I also have to worry about being backstabbed!
Lu Kang had never felt so powerless.

When he arrived at Jianye, the person who came to greet him was the person he least wanted to see, Puyang Xing.

I don’t know what Sun Xiu was thinking when he asked Puyang Xing to come and welcome Lu Kang.

Seeing that this person had the look of a smug villain, Lu Kang didn't even want to look at him. To Lu Kang, looking at him any longer would be disrespectful to his own eyes.

Puyang Xing did not dare to speak out in front of Lu Kang.

Although he is becoming more and more favored, no one dares to provoke a governor who commands a large army. Otherwise, if something happens, Puyang Xing will end up like Chao Cuo, or even worse than Chao Cuo.

Puyang Xing brought Lu Kang to the palace.

Sun Xiu was reading a book at the moment. His face was paler than the last time they met, and one could even clearly see bloodshot. He was extremely thin, with no flesh on his face, which was sunken.

It looks like someone who has indulged in excessive sexual activities.

But he ended up in such a state not because of excessive indulgence, but because of a cough. The continuous coughing kept him awake at night and unable to eat. He really couldn't stand such torture and often shouted for the imperial physician. The imperial physician stood at the door all day and didn't dare to leave.

When Lu Kang appeared in front of the emperor, Sun Xiu finally put down the book in his hand. He glanced at Lu Kang and then asked both of them to sit down.

Lu Kang had no intention of greeting, and didn't even try to hide it.

"Your Majesty, please dismiss me from my position and let Puyang Xing take over."

Sun Xiu frowned immediately.

Lu Kang's words are indeed easy to be misunderstood, and it feels like he is using the enemy to gain power.

Sun Xiu said coldly, "General Lu, what do you mean?"

"I really don't dare stay in Jingnan any longer. Your Majesty wants to build lake fields, but the soldiers on the front lines are extremely resistant to this. Rebellions have already broken out in four counties, and the soldiers are constantly causing trouble. I'm worried that if this continues, they will capture me and send me to the Wei camp!"

Puyang Xing couldn't hold it in any longer, "Bold Lu Kang! Are you trying to intimidate His Majesty?!"

"Your Majesty! This fellow Lu Kang is so audacious! Please punish him!"

Lu Kang's face was calm and he showed no fear. He was not Lu Xun, and Sun Xiu was not Sun Quan.

Sun Xiu took a deep breath and said, "General Lu, I have pardoned your offenses several times and have not held you accountable. Do you absolutely insist on my severe punishment?"

Lu Kang also realized that his tone was a bit too harsh. He calmed down and said, "Your Majesty, I am rude."

Lu Kang said helplessly, "Your Majesty, the consequences of this incident cannot be underestimated. This is a letter written by Zhong Hui to me."

Lu Kang was originally reluctant to give this letter to Sun Xiu.

Because he was worried that this would cause unnecessary trouble. Zhong Hui was a difficult person to deal with, and Lu Kang was afraid that he had set up some conspiracy again.

But now, Lu Kang still had to show the letter to Sun Xiu, as he wanted the emperor to wake up.

Sun Xiu picked up the letter with some surprise and looked through it carefully.

After watching it several times, Sun Xiu felt something was strange.

Although the words, allusions, and even the tone were extremely similar, he was certain that the letter in his hand and the letter he had originally received were definitely not written by the same person.

Everyone has their own habits and style when writing. Even if the name is covered, you can still find clues if you look carefully.

For example, there are some idioms and some word usage habits.

The letter Lu Kang gave him was trying his best to imitate the style of the first letter, but Sun Xiu could still see the subtle differences.

Sun Xiu asked calmly, "Where's his original copy?"

Lu Kang was stunned for a moment, "I have already sent it back."

Sun Xiu then put the letter aside, and the look in his eyes when he looked at Lu Kang became a little strange.

"General...as an outsider general, it's best for you not to interfere in the government affairs of the court. The court has a customary order that outsiders are not allowed to participate in government affairs. Moreover, you have returned to Jianye several times without my order. If all these are to be investigated, I am afraid that you will be punished."

"I value you, General, and I don't want to do anything like this. You should return to Jingzhou as soon as possible."

"If there are rebels who defect, or soldiers who mutinied, then the general should not come to Jianye to accuse me, but go to the front lines to quell the rebellion and punish the mutineers!"

"These people don't even know the etiquette between the emperor and his subjects. They are shameless and immoral villains. How could they be bribed by Cao Cao? Is this because of policy?"

"General, you may depart!"

Sun Xiu didn't even give Lu Kang a chance to explain himself and directly asked Puyang Xing to send him out.

Lu Kang was completely confused. Why did the emperor's attitude change so much after just a few glances?

When he was being sent out, Lu Kang seemed to realize something. He hurriedly took out the letter that the emperor ordered to be sent to various places. He put the two letters together and read them. Then, Lu Kang became furious.

"What a great Zhong Shiji! These two letters were written by two different people!!!"

Lu Kang finally reacted, but it was obviously too late.

No matter how unhappy he was, he could only keep it in his heart. He did not leave Jianye as Sun Xiu said, but went directly to Shi Ji's mansion.

When he arrived here, Shi Ji's mansion seemed a bit desolate and there were not many people coming and going.

Upon learning that Lu Kang had arrived, Shi Fang was very happy and took him to the inner room to meet Shi Ji.

Shi Ji sat in the upper seat and stood up to salute Lu Kang who came to pay him a visit.

"General, this matter concerning Hutian has a huge impact."

When Lu Kang started talking about government affairs, he was surprised to find that there was no fighting spirit in the old general's eyes. He just sat there, listening to him, and he had no energy at all.

Lu Kang stopped talking.

"General, what happened?"

Shi Ji was startled awake and looked at him. "No problem, no problem, please continue."

Lu Kang didn't say much at this moment. He hesitated and asked, "How's the progress on your earlier plan to gather the shipbuilders and encourage them to design new ships?"

“It didn’t work.”

If Cao Mao were here, he would definitely be able to see that Shi Ji now had a bit of the same feeling as Pei Xiu in the past. In one word, it can be described as showy.

Lu Kang talked to him about other things, and Shi Ji maintained the same attitude until finally, when Lu Kang chose to leave, Shi Ji smiled and sent him to the door.

Looking at Shi Ji standing motionless in the distance, Lu Kang sighed.

He knew that the general was dead.

Even though his body was still alive, his heart was completely dead, just like his cousin.

Lu Kang also felt an indescribable sense of powerlessness at this moment. He didn't know how long he could resist. However, he would not leave like his brothers, nor would he give up like Shi Ji.

He will fight until he dies of exhaustion.

(End of this chapter)