Has the Han Dynasty been restored today?

A mere thousand-stone official dared to confront Lu Xun, a ten-thousand-stone official, directly in Wuchang, at Lu Xun's Grand General's residence, without any intention of yielding.

When Sun Cheng referred to him as "Lu Dianxiao" earlier, Chen Zhi hadn't quite grasped the situation. But when Lu Xun directly uttered the name "Lu Yi," Chen Zhi instantly understood everything.

Lü Yi!

Lü Yi was Sun Quan's Secretary and Compiler, the head of the Wu Kingdom's administrative affairs, and the chief of Sun Quan's secret service to supervise all officials!

Embroidered-robed envoys, school officials, imperial city guards, brocade-clad guards... I never expected to witness such a grand spectacle on my first visit to Wuchang!

Although Chen Zhi already knew, Zong Yu beside him was still frowning in confusion. Chen Zhi quickly gave Zong Yu a look, signaling him not to interfere.

Faced with Lü Yi's direct questioning, Lu Xun sat in the hall without any reaction, his expression cold and his gaze sharp, like a knife pointing directly at Lü Yi.

Lü Yi also displayed a arrogance that was inconsistent with his official rank... It can only be said that the politics of espionage is truly terrifying.

Lu Xun was a Grand General with a salary of 10,000 shi, Governor of Jingzhou, and County Marquis, while Lü Yi's original salary was only 600 shi, but he was specially rewarded by Sun Quan with a salary of 1,000 shi.

The difference in their social status was simply too great. Even a single response from Lu Xun to Lü Yi's question would have been a huge favor to Lü Yi.

Seeing Lu Xun remain silent, Lü Yi persisted, cupping his hands and continuing, "I would like to ask the General again, during the previous campaign, over a thousand were captured. However, after examination by the military judge and my own personal inquiry, why were the majority of those captured by Generals Zhou Jun and Zhang Liang civilians, women and children?"

"The officers in Zhou Jun's army have already explained that they were ordered by the Grand General to attack the cities of Xinshi, Anlu, and Shiyang in Jiangxia Commandery. When Zhou Jun's army attacked Shiyang, it was market day outside the city. Upon seeing Zhou Jun's army arrive, they all abandoned their belongings and entered the city. Many Wei civilians outside the city were not allowed to enter and were mostly beheaded by Zhou Jun's army to gain military merit. A few civilians were also relocated to Jiangxia."

"May I ask, General, is it Zhou Jun's own doing to report the heads of common women and children as a reward, or was it ordered by the General?"

Chen Zhi and Zong Yu exchanged a glance, both of them astonished.

Lu Xun killed innocent people and claimed credit for them!

Lu Yi was of lowly status; without solid evidence, how could he confront Lu Xun face-to-face with such words? Even if the school official was extremely arrogant, he wouldn't dare to frame someone like that to their face, would he? At this moment, Lu Xun's extremely suppressed and ugly expression seemed to confirm the existence of this matter...

After a few moments, Lu Xun's chest heaved several times before he finally spoke, his tone full of firmness:

"I am the supreme general of the nation. His Majesty has entrusted me with the responsibility of leading troops. I will personally write to His Majesty to explain how to conduct the campaign. There is no need for me to explain to you."

"Sun Cheng!"

"Your subordinate is here!" Sun Cheng responded, prostrating himself on the ground.

Lu Xun said, "Quickly summon Xie Jing here!"

"Your subordinate obeys." Sun Cheng accepted the order and left.

Xie Jing...

Chen Zhi was not very familiar with the name, but Zong Yu knew him. Xie Jing was a general under Lu Xun, who commanded five thousand troops for Lu Xun for many years. He had shown his face in the Battle of Yiling and was a trusted general of Lu Xun's inner circle.

Xie Jing was clearly on duty at Lu Xun's residence on weekdays, and arrived quickly, bowing to Lu Xun along with Sun Cheng.

"Greetings, Your Excellency."

Lu Xun took a small gold tiger tally from a lacquered box on the table, placed it on the table, pushed it forward, and said in a deep voice:

"Xie Jing, I hereby give you the tiger tally, ordering you to command my three troops, as well as Sun Cheng's troops and Zhou Jun's troops, totaling ten thousand men, to immediately depart for Baqiu."

Xie Jing bowed without hesitation, respectfully took the tiger tally with both hands, and stepped back to ask:

"My lord, what duties will I have after arriving in Baqiu?"

Lu Xun calmly said, "The Han state has just lost its marshal, and its national strength is declining. I fear that the Wei state will take advantage of this to invade Shu, so I have ordered you to supervise the army at Baqiu to prepare for battle."

"You two may leave!"

"Your subordinate obeys!" Xie Jing and Sun Cheng bowed simultaneously and then retreated.

"Wait a minute!"

At this moment, Zong Yu suddenly spoke up, cupping his hands towards Lu Xun: "Han and Wu have agreed to form an alliance, each fulfilling their royal duties to resist Wei from the east and west. How can the Grand General take advantage of our country's mourning to reinforce troops in the west? I hope the Grand General will act with caution!"

After Zong Yu finished speaking, Lu Xun stood up from behind the table, glanced around, and then spoke:

"Left and right, see the guests off."

Having said that, Lu Xun turned and left.

At this moment, the scholar who was standing to one side in the hall also stepped forward: "I am under orders to trouble the two esteemed envoys to return to their lodgings first. This way please."

Zong Yu remained expressionless, nodded, and then turned to leave.

Seeing this, Chen Zhi followed suit, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Lü Yi standing quietly in place, her expression a mixture of amusement and sarcasm.

The two had only planned to stay in Wuchang for one night, so they returned to the inn under the guidance of Wu officials, went to their rooms and spent the night there, and went to the dock early the next morning to prepare to continue their journey to Jianye.

The ship carrying the delegation was large. As Chen Zhi and Zong Yu stood at the bow watching their subordinates prepare, they saw a small boat set sail first. Yesterday's school official, Lü Yi, was still standing at the bow, bowing to Chen Zhi and Zong Yu from afar.

Only after the ship set sail did Zong Yu sigh deeply and begin to recount the events of the previous day: "Feng Zong, before we came to Wuchang, you and I said there might be trouble. It seems that trouble is about to break out in Wu as well."

Chen Zhi nodded and sneered, "Yesterday, Lu Xun claimed to us that he was reinforcing Baqiu. General, you spoke frankly to Lu Xun, which is the duty of a Han official. But in reality, although Baqiu is upstream of Wuchang, it is still separated from Baidi City by the defense zones of Bu Zhi, Zhu Ran, and Zhuge Jin. Saying that it is to prevent trouble in Yizhou has nothing to do with our dynasty. In fact, it is just something done in front of Lü Yi to show Sun Quan."

Zong Yu sighed, "Sun Quan ordered Lu Xun to attack Xiangyang, and he and Zhuge Jin only sent a little over ten thousand troops together. Yesterday, Lu Xun was able to mobilize ten thousand of his own troops and state soldiers to Baqiu in the blink of an eye. Even Sun Cheng, a member of the imperial clan, dared not disobey in the slightest and could only lead his troops to obey orders. If they can go upstream to Baqiu, they can also go downstream to Jianye... Compared with this, Lu Xun's killing of innocent people and claiming credit for them is not worth mentioning."

Chen Zhi said quietly, "Trouble is not far off in the Wu Kingdom."

Zong Yu raised an eyebrow and asked, "Feng Zong, what makes you so sure? Is it solely based on Lu Xun's matter?"

Chen Zhi said, "The principles of Yin and Yang are mutually generating and mutually restraining. Sun Quan's use of scholars from Wu may also lead to him being devoured by them."

"When Emperor Zhaolie was the King of Hanzhong, the country was divided into two, with Yizhou and Jingzhou far apart. Due to the defeat of Guan Yu, the foundation was lost. Cao Cao and Emperor Zhaolie fought for Hanzhong. In the rear, Cao Pi was in charge of the country, and there was also the Wei Feng Rebellion, which led to Cao Pi's great power. Wu divided Jingzhou and Yangzhou according to geographical advantages. The original intention was to have Crown Prince Sun Deng in Wuchang to check Lu Xun. However, Sun Deng secretly returned to Jianye to seek favor, and the balance between Sun Quan and Lu Xun gradually became unbalanced."

"Sun Quan has only been emperor for five years. Last year and this year, he launched two large-scale military campaigns with no less than 100,000 troops, but gained nothing. His prestige has been damaged, and he may have to be harsh on his ministers in the country. Lü Yi is a clear example of this."

"Among the scholars of Jiangdong, the Lu and Gu families are related by marriage for two generations. Lu Xun is stationed in Wuchang as a Grand General, leading troops there. Gu Yong is the Chancellor, overseeing all officials. The two complement each other perfectly. How can Sun Quan not worry about domestic affairs when he is unable to win battles abroad?"

"General Zong, that's why I say chaos is not far off in Wu!"

Zong Yu shook his head and sighed deeply.