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Qingming Festival 208

The two brothers finally had the opportunity to visit their mother's grave together to pay their respects.

When the brothers met, they each recounted their experiences over the past six months.

Lu Congtian, with his physical advantages and excellent training, has now been promoted to corporal.

Lu Congshan was knowledgeable and quick-witted, and had already risen rapidly to the position of Gongcao Congshi that Liu Bei had promised him.

Lu Congtian was self-aware, knowing that his younger brother had always been more outstanding than him.

He wasn't jealous that his younger brother had risen through the ranks faster than him.

On the contrary, he was quite pleased, thinking that as long as things continued this way, the Lu family would surely prosper under his younger brother's leadership!

"Congshan, it's time to start thinking about your life's most important matters."

Lu Congtian got married last winter.

It all depends on his status as a soldier.

In this era, in order to win over the people and for the sake of the population, feudal lords would often give the women they had abducted to their own soldiers to marry.

It instills gratitude and loyalty in subordinates, and when necessary, allows the use of their relatives as hostages.

They also encouraged them to have more children so that their subordinates would have a reason to work hard.

Land goes without saying, but soldiers all have land. When they are not in service, they go to cultivate land to ensure the autumn harvest.

Most of the warlords and regional warlords also adhered to the established practice and would not choose to start a war in the spring. Battles usually took place after the autumn harvest.

Lu Congshan's marriage was not so smooth.

More often than not, Lu Congshan postponed his superior's arrangements and stayed alone.

Lu Congshan offered incense and prayed, "Brother, I have accomplished nothing and have no face to start a family without establishing a career. Let us first offer sacrifices to our mother and then ask our ancestors for guidance."

"Alright, I was just saying. If Mother knew that all of us brothers have started our own families and continued the family line, she would be very pleased."

At this moment, Lu Congshan's body suddenly stiffened.

Lu Congtian keenly sensed something amiss: "Could this be an instruction from our ancestors?"

Lu Congshan instantly put aside his other thoughts, "The ancestor instructed...to follow the master."

"Follow the master? This instruction is as good as no instruction at all."

"Brother, you can't say that. The ancestor must have had his reasons for giving such instructions. Just follow them strictly."

Lu Congtian nodded, "Good, I will follow you to the death, sir."

"It's getting late, brother should go back and take care of sister-in-law."

Lu Congtian patted his younger brother on the shoulder, "I wonder when we'll meet again."

Lu Congshan smiled gently, "It shouldn't be long."

A brief reunion is followed by separation.

As he watched his brother leave, Lu Congshan's eyes began to shift.

After a long pause, he solemnly kowtowed again to his mother's grave, "Mother, your unfilial son is now likely to bear the infamy of disloyalty and injustice..."

Seeing Lu Congshan's resolute gaze, he tore off his robe, wrote a letter in blood, and then hid it behind the stele.

Then he resolutely left.

……

Mid-June, 208.

Lu Congtian was tidying up the autumn harvest tools he would soon need.

His wife, Anu, also assisted him efficiently.

"Madam, you are pregnant and have difficulty moving around, so I will do it."

Taking the tools from Anu's hands, Anu smiled and wiped Lu Congtian's sweat.

Anu, as her name suggests, was a slave.

She was originally a commoner, but because her father became an outlaw, her family was implicated and all were reduced to slavery.

After several moves, Anu followed Liu Bei's troops and civilians from Runan to Nanyang, and then, under arrangement, she married Lu Congtian.

Lu Congtian did not look down on Anu's status and treated her with courtesy.

In addition, Lu Congtian is tall and strong and has been promoted to platoon leader, so his future is bright.

Anu felt that her life of wandering and suffering was worthwhile because she had met her kind husband, Lu Congtian.

Just as the couple were enjoying their time together, a galloping horse suddenly appeared, carrying the order, "Assemble! Assemble!"

Lu Congtian immediately stood up. "Madam, I'm going."

"be safe!"

We arrived at the training ground.

The soldiers stationed for farming have quickly assembled.

"Order: Assemble troops at the north gate!" Commandant Deng Zhi issued the military order.

Du Bo relayed the order to the squad leader, who then relayed the order to the squad leader.

Although Lu Congtian did not know why they were to gather at the North Gate, soldiers are duty-bound to carry out orders, and he would not hesitate.

Just as the troops were being mobilized, Deng Zhi suddenly sent someone to summon Lu Congtian.

"Is the Commandant looking for me?"

In the military, people address each other by their official rank, not by their brotherhood.

"It's not me looking for you, it's the strategist."

Deng Zhi's words were cold, a stark contrast to her previous enthusiasm.

Something's not right! Even if Deng Zhi knew that the two brothers had lied to him about their identities, he wasn't this cold-hearted.

Lu Congtian accepted the order and went to the central command tent.

Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun were not seen in the tent; they were mobilizing troops, which meant they were about to make a big move.

It was as if an enemy army was attacking, and they were fighting back with all their might.

Liu Bei stood before a three-foot-high sand table, with Zhuge Liang beside him, and Jian Yong, Sun Qian, and others offering their advice.

When Zhuge Liang saw Lu Congtian enter the tent, he immediately summoned Lu Congtian forward.

"Congtian, has Congshan contacted you these days?"

Lu Congtian was completely baffled by Zhuge Liang's question.

"Reporting to my lord and strategist, I haven't seen Congshan once since Qingming Festival this year. What happened to Congshan? Did he get into trouble? If he…"

Seeing Lu Congtian's flustered and worried expression, it seemed genuine.

Zhuge Liang clasped his hands in a fist salute to Liu Bei, who took a deep breath, closed his eyes slightly, and then nodded.

With permission, Zhuge Liang explained the matter to Lu Congtian:

"Lu Congshan has surrendered to Cao Cao."

"What? Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!" Lu Congtian was shocked and incredulous.

"My brother is utterly loyal to our lord, how could he possibly betray us? Besides, Cao Cao is the murderer of our father; we would never surrender to Cao Cao, no matter who we choose!"

Lu Congshan looked excited, which prompted his guards to step forward and draw their swords in defense.

Zhuge Liang waved his feather fan, and the guards took a step back.

Sun Qian said, "This is the truth; it is not something we fabricated or framed."

"Previously, Lu Congshan performed outstandingly and was appointed by the lord as a clerk under the magistrate of Xinye. Instead of appreciating the favor, he took advantage of his position to secretly draw up our army's city defense layout, the deployment of sentries, and the provisions and troop strength."

"He took the map and headed north under cover of night the day before yesterday, but was intercepted and killed by our army near Yuyang."

"These are the pledge of allegiance and the city defense map that were found on him."

Physical evidence was presented.

Intercept and kill!

These two words struck Lu Congtian like a bolt from the blue.

He felt completely powerless, and his burly body was now swaying precariously.

"From the mountain, he died?"

"Indeed, rebellion deserves to be punished; without punishing them, it is impossible to govern the army."

No wonder the feudal lords didn't really value talented commoners, because the cost of their rebellion was too low, and they were easily tempted and turned by the enemy with high positions and generous rewards.

Unlike powerful and wealthy families who are deeply intertwined and whose entire families are bound together, a betrayal by one of them would have far-reaching consequences.

Lu Congtian couldn't understand it at all. The younger brother who had sworn to follow Liu Bei to the death had actually become a traitor?!

Zhuge Liang said regretfully, "Since things have come to this, in order to prevent our army's information from being obtained by Cao Cao's army, we have no choice but to gather our troops and head north ahead of schedule."

"Since you were unaware of this matter, the lord will certainly not implicate you. Go home and await further orders."

Zhuge Liang subtly removed Lu Congtian from his post and concealed a great deal of information.

He did not mention that his own spies had sent word that Cao Cao's army was assembling and about to march south.

Zhuge Liang could not guarantee that Lu Congshan had not leaked the secret through other channels, so he could only take precautions in advance and ask Liu Biao to join forces to ensure the autumn harvest and defend Nanyang.

Lu Congshan returned home blankly, not knowing how he got there.

"Why is my husband back?"

"I've been dismissed from my post..."