Wei Xiaobao's Three Kingdoms Adventure

Chapter 23 Who is Zhuge Liang?
Lu Zhi supported his forehead with one hand, closed his eyes slightly, and sighed repeatedly.

Wei Xiaobao was neither sitting nor standing, looking out constantly, hoping that the pursuers would have good news.

Wei Xiaobao was not worried about Lu Zhi, but was afraid that Zuo Feng and Tang Zhou would bring Tang Qin back to Luoyang and interrogate him about the plan to assassinate Lu Zhi.

"Report! The pursuers have reached the river, and Zuo Feng and Tang Zhou are already on the boat."

The warships that Lu Zhi had used to lead his troops across the river were now stationed at Baima Port. If he dispatched warships at this time, by the time the boats were ready, Zuo Feng had already escaped to the other side of the river.

Lu Zhi's eyes were empty and lifeless, and he said, "This is God's will to destroy me, Lu Zhi."

Wei Xiaobao also imitated Lu Zhi and shouted in his heart: "It is God's will to kill me, Wei Xiaobao, but I can't stay here and wait for death with you."

Lu Zhi walked outside the tent. The cavalry captain and the military commander were both kneeling on the ground, their bodies shaking uncontrollably. Although they didn't know what had happened in the central military tent and that the military supervisor had actually fled overnight, the loss of military horses was enough to cost them their lives.

Lu Zhi glanced at the two men kneeling on the ground and said, "Zuo Feng and Tang Zhou extorted military funds from me. I refused, and fearing I would punish them for disrupting the morale of the army, they stole the horses and fled. This is not your fault. If you lose horses again, you do not need to come to my tent to confess your guilt. Just end it on your own."

The two people on the ground heard it clearly and kowtowed repeatedly to express their gratitude.

Wei Xiaobao, who was hiding behind the curtain of the military tent, could also hear it clearly and cursed in his heart: "Zuo Feng, you damn eunuch, you really have ruined me this time."

Lu Zhi was sobered by the cold wind. He quickly turned around and sat down in the tent. Looking at Wei Xiaobao, he said, "I previously deceived Zuo Feng, saying that you were a spy lurking in the Yellow Turban Army. In order to bring you back to the camp to understand the defense situation of Guangzong County, I designed a plan to lure Zhang Liang to launch a surprise attack."

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "It's exactly as I suspected. Luckily, I was smart and didn't reveal my true identity to Zuo Feng. When I lied to that governor and Mi Zhu, I told him that you were the one who arranged for me to ambush the Yellow Turbans. I didn't expect you to tell others the same thing. If Mi Zhu ever comes to question you, you can't deny it!"

Lu Zhi said, "Zuo Feng has already escaped, taking Tang Qin with him. If they return to Luoyang, and the Emperor inquires about the circumstances surrounding Zhang Liang's nighttime raid on the military camp, the burning of the rations will be exposed. Zuo Feng, resentful of my refusal to send him military funds, will naturally exploit this situation. By then, our lives will be in jeopardy."

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "Why didn't you mention the time you scolded the Emperor in front of Zuo Feng, and only talked about the Yellow Turban Army's sneak attack? Aren't you trying to make me think we're on the same page? No need to act in front of me. You must have come up with some awful plan to get me to die, and you're deliberately trying to win me over now."

Wei Xiaobao pretended to be scared and said, "Oh, what should I do? Although I am not an undercover agent arranged by the Master in advance, I am now on the same page with the Master. The Master cannot just ignore me."

Lu Zhi continued, "Of course I won't burn my bridges after crossing them, but I'm worried about my own safety. If I'm held accountable by the court, no one will be able to protect you."

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "Now that we've come to this, aren't you just waiting for me to show my loyalty, and then you can take advantage of the situation and assign me a mission where I'm in a life-or-death situation, or even a complete failure."

Wei Xiaobao couldn't think of a way to escape for a moment, so he simply played along with Lu Zhi. He was also curious about what Lu Zhi was going to do next. Only by grasping his opponent's plan first could he find an opportunity to escape.

Wei Xiaobao chuckled secretly, clasped his fists and said, "Only by saving you, my lord, can I save my life. Unfortunately, I can't think of any way to catch up with Zuo Feng, unless his boat capsizes in the river, which would put an end to it all."

Lu Zhi shook his head and said, "A man of honor shouldn't pin his hopes on such a vague and mysterious thing. Our only hope now is to capture Zhang Jiao and the other three thieves alive before Zuo Feng does, and quell the Yellow Turban Rebellion. That's the only chance we have of redeeming our sins." Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "If you attack Guangzong County now, won't my good wife Shuang'er suffer along with you?"

Wei Xiaobao said, "Then we're just going to ignore the people in the city?"

Lu Zhi said, "This is what I'm worried about. Furthermore, based on the city defense intelligence you provided, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to capture the county town in such a short time. As the Art of War states, the best strategy is to attack the enemy's plans, the next best is to attack their alliances, the next best is to attack their troops, and the worst is to attack their cities. Attacking cities is a last resort."

Wei Xiaobao didn't understand what was said about Fa Mou and Fa Jiao, and since Lu Zhi was beating around the bush and not getting to the point, he could only scratch his ears anxiously.

Seeing his impatience, Lu Zhi also knew that he was completely ignorant, so he continued, "If we can capture Guangzong without sacrificing a single soldier, it will definitely be a great achievement. Even if he has committed a grave crime, the emperor will be able to forgive him at his discretion."

Wei Xiaobao said, "Unless Zhang Jue comes out of the city and surrenders."

Lu Zhi laughed heartily and said, "That's exactly what happened."

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "Unless you promise him to be the emperor, why would he surrender? Can you become the emperor and let Zhang Jue sit on the throne? Or like Wu Sangui surrendering to the Qing Dynasty, someone captured Zhang Jue's favorite concubine, and he would surrender only if you can help him defeat them. I ran to your shabby place because my two wives were captured by Master Hong. Later, Zhang Liang captured my good wife, so didn't I end up in your military camp?"

Wei Xiaobao said: "I'm afraid this matter will be difficult to handle, unless..."

Wei Xiaobao wanted to say that he would surrender only if you captured his wife, but he felt that was inappropriate. Before he could say anything, he heard Lu Zhi say, "Zhang Jiao claims to love his people like his own children, but now Guangzong County is under siege, and the city's food and supplies won't last for many days. He will have to surrender sooner or later. If someone were to persuade him to surrender, explain the righteousness of the cause, and promise to spare the lives of the Yellow Turban soldiers and Zhang Jiao's people in the city, I believe he would accept."

Wei Xiaobao said, "Are these two ants so powerful? Will they surrender to Zhang Jue if we just give them to him?"

Lu Zhi thought for a long time and smiled bitterly in his heart: "This child doesn't even understand the difference between small and big righteousness. He actually misunderstood it as a small ant and a big ant. Since I have already agreed to accept him as my disciple, I can't make fun of him anymore. I will spend more time and effort to train him in the future."

Lu Zhi continued, "The Emperor only wants to capture the rebel leader. As for those who followed the crowd, they should be spared."

Wei Xiaobao said, "Why does Zhang Jue refuse to surrender even if he swears death? No matter how much food there is in the city, he just refuses to surrender. What should we do?"

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "I lied to you about the lack of food in the city. What if there's still plenty? If you send someone to persuade Zhang Jue to surrender, wouldn't that expose your true identity? I'm telling you this upfront so that if the person you sent comes back with a report, you won't suspect I was lying."

Lu Zhi said: "Therefore, it is particularly important to choose who will be the lobbyist to persuade surrender."

Wei Xiaobao recalled a story the teahouse master had told him, in which he encountered a scene where Zhuge Liang debated with a group of scholars in Jiangdong in an effort to persuade the Eastern Wu to ally with Liu Bei against Cao Cao. Recalling the wonderful part, Wei Xiaobao couldn't help but sigh, "Oh, if only Zhuge Liang were here!"

Lu Zhi asked in surprise, "Who is Zhuge Liang?"

(End of this chapter)