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"Dismissed? Why?"

"He was executed for rebelling against the mountains."

"Rebel from the mountains? How could that be?!"

Anu was incredulous. Her eyes were already red and swollen.

Lu Congtian was distraught and went to his mother's grave in a daze.

He absolutely refused to believe that his brother would be a traitor.

"Mother, is there some misunderstanding? How could my brother be such a person?"

"Mother, my brother's body has not been found. I, as his elder brother, have failed him!"

Lu Congtian was filled with resentment and poured out his heart until nightfall, but received no response.

I tried hard to recall the scene of our parting that day.

Lu Congtian remembered that after he left, his younger brother lingered.

I vaguely remember that my younger brother behaved strangely that day. He composed himself and said that our ancestor instructed him to follow the teacher.

wrong!

That's definitely not right!

Lu Congshan is lying; he has once again concealed the ancestor's instructions!

Just like when he lied as a child.

Lu Congtian felt as if he had grasped something.

Starting from Lu Congshan's perspective, if he wanted to leave something for his brother, where would he put it?

It certainly wouldn't be their residence, because once the matter of the rebellion is settled, their residence will definitely be turned upside down.

And he couldn't contact his elder brother, lest he be implicated.

Therefore, the only place to keep the items is at Mother's grave!

The brothers share the same thoughts.

Lu Congtian immediately got up and started searching.

really!

A letter written in blood was found behind the monument.

Under the moonlight, the younger brother's handwriting was still faintly discernible.

The letter reads: "When my elder brother finds this book, I should be beheaded, bearing the infamy of disloyalty, filial impiety, inhumanity, and injustice. I deeply cherish the kindness of my elder brother, Bo Miao, and the teachings of our teacher are vividly remembered; I will never forget them until the end of my life."

However, having surrendered to Cao Cao in Jingzhou, I am but a lowly person with little influence, powerless to reverse the situation, and have no choice but to throw myself into the trap. Please forgive me, elder brother, for telling this lie one last time.

If, by some fortunate day, my lord, teacher, and elder brother are all safe and sound, and I have repaid the kindness of elder brother Bo Miao, I would like to ask the teacher: Is Cong Shan worthy of being half a son to the teacher?

Lu Congtian burst into tears.

He knew then that his brother had not betrayed him!

He surrendered to Cao Cao in Jingzhou!

This is the instruction from our ancestors!

Lu Congshan was exceptionally astute; upon learning of this instruction, he firmly believed it was bound to happen. When? After the autumn harvest, of course!

But as he wrote in his blood letter, he was a nobody with little influence, and with 100,000 armored soldiers in Jingzhou, how could he possibly surrender to Cao Cao? Who would believe him if he told others?

Therefore, Lu Congshan took matters into his own hands and, by using the pretext of betrayal, managed to get Liu Bei to mobilize troops in advance before the autumn harvest.

If Liu Biao of Jingzhou were to surrender to Cao Cao, then Liu Bei, the lord caught between Liu Biao and Cao Cao, would be attacked from both sides.

Even if this betrayal could not change the fact that Jingzhou had surrendered to Cao Cao, it would allow Liu Bei's camp to react in advance, thus giving them more opportunities to preserve their strength and lives.

Lu Congtian turned over and carefully hid the blood-written letter in his bosom.

"Looking for a gentleman!"

However, this is a major problem.

Let alone Lu Congtian, who has now been dismissed from his post, even if he were still a squad leader, it would be as difficult as climbing to heaven for him to see Zhuge Liang.

"Brother Xu Bomiao, please lead me into the tent!"

Without further hesitation, Lu Congtian went to wait outside Deng Zhi's house.

Deng Zhi is now utterly disillusioned with the Lu brothers. Deception and defection—they truly misjudged people.

Lu Congtian knew that knocking on the door to disturb him would definitely backfire.

They waited until midnight and saw that Deng Zhi had packed his travel necessities and was heading to the military camp to set off north.

"Brother Bo Miao!"

Lu Congtian knelt before Deng Zhima.

"I have urgent military intelligence to report to the strategist!"

Deng Zhi pulled his horse aside, saying, "Don't waste my time."

"I don't want to trouble my elder brother; just deliver this blood-written letter to the strategist!"

Lu Congtian presented a letter written in blood.

Not wanting to get entangled with Lu Congtian, Deng Zhi grabbed the blood-written letter and rode away on horseback.

"Thank you, elder brother!"

The sky was beginning to brighten.

Zhuge Liang summoned Deng Zhi.

"What is the matter that the strategist has summoned you for?"

Zhuge Liang said, "Lu Congshan rebelled, so I released Lu Congtian and sent people to monitor him to prevent trouble from happening in the rear. Now I have received news that Lu Congtian has given you a letter."

"Does the strategist believe that Zhi also harbors rebellious intentions?"

Zhuge Liang reassured him, "No. Things are very complicated now. My lord has entrusted me with the administration of the rear, and I will naturally guard the rear for my lord."

Upon hearing this, Deng Zhi, in order to clear himself of suspicion, produced a letter written in blood.

"I have read this letter. It must have been written by Lu Congtian to whitewash Lu Congshan. He even said that surrendering to Cao Cao in Jingzhou and betraying the enemy was for the greater good. How ridiculous!"

From Deng Zhi's perspective, this is indeed the case.

The fabricated reasons are baseless and have no factual basis; it looks like they're being fooled like children.

What's more, Lu Congtian didn't take the blood letter earlier or later, but only after the matter of Lu Congshan's rebellion was concluded.

It's hard to gain someone's trust.

Instead of drawing a conclusion, Zhuge Liang unfolded the blood-written letter.

It's Lu Congshan's handwriting!

Even the brilliant Zhuge Liang was somewhat surprised after watching it.

Indeed, the claim that Jingzhou surrendered to Cao Cao is completely unfounded.

Liu Biao of Jingzhou had always been resisting Cao Cao, and Jingzhou had a large army and many generals, and was in a great geographical position. Why would he surrender?

Seeing Zhuge Liang scoff, "I see. Bo Miao, you may leave now."

Deng Zhi bowed and left.

After Deng Zhi left, Zhuge Liang carefully examined the blood-written letter.

Zhuge Liang was also very clear about what kind of person Lu Congshan was.

When he received news of Lu Congshan's defection to the enemy yesterday, Zhuge Liang was no less shocked than Lu Congtian.

How could the book-reading companions he trained be such ungrateful wretches?

"He surrendered to Cao Cao in Jingzhou..."

These are the four most crucial words in the blood oath.

"If Jingzhou really surrendered to Cao Cao, it must be said that his act of personally entering the fray and prompting our lord to respond in advance did indeed preserve our strength."

"But how can we tell from the mountains that Jingzhou would surrender to Cao Cao?"

The key to the problem lies entirely in how Lu Congshan makes his judgment.

The dead cannot be brought back to life, and Lu Congshan didn't even leave behind a complete corpse, so it's impossible to get the key information.

Zhuge Liang did not summon Lu Congtian to inquire about the matter.

Given Lu Congshan's secrecy, Lu Congtian likely doesn't know much more about him.

"Wasn't it said that Jingzhou would surrender to Cao Cao? Today is a good opportunity to test it. If Liu Biao sends troops and supplies to help, then what's the point of talking about surrendering to Cao Cao?"

……

a few days later.

The Jingzhou navy joined forces with Liu Bei's garrison and set off for Wancheng.

Upon seeing this, Zhuge Liang could almost conclude that the blood letter was Lu Congshan's last resort to clear his name of treason.

While the soldiers were away on campaign, Zhuge Liang oversaw everything from behind the scenes.

He was to oversee matters such as the autumn harvest, taxation, and logistics.

Zhuge Liang received a letter from Jiangxia.

It was sent by Liu Qi, the eldest son of Liu Biao.

He mainly wanted to thank Zhuge Liang for helping him escape the oppression of his stepmother, Lady Cai, and now he was able to settle down in Jiangxia.

The letter mentioned that Liu Biao had fallen ill, and Liu Qi planned to return to Xiangyang to visit his father before asking Zhuge Liang if they had time to meet.

"Hmm? Liu Biao is seriously ill?"

Zhuge Liang suddenly realized something.

Prince Liu Qi greatly valued Zhuge Liang and was on good terms with Liu Bei.

If Liu Biao were to die of illness and Liu Qi were to inherit Jingzhou, then Jingzhou would not be able to surrender to Cao Cao.

"What if, by some chance, the ruler of Jingzhou is Liu Cong, Liu Biao's second son? Then it's hard to say!"