Chapter 140 Big-eared thief, you’ve taken over the magpie’s nest!
Chapter 140: Big-eared thief, you have usurped the throne! Are you ruined?!

That little bastard Sun Shao became the new ruler of Jiangdong? ! !
Sun Quan was struck by lightning. He sat on the bed in a daze, holding the bamboo slips, his mind in a mess.

Snapped! ~
Sun Quan smashed the bamboo slips to the ground.

"Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!" Sun Zhongmou finally reacted, his blue eyes almost dyed red with anger: "I am the Marquis of Wu!"

"Before his death, my elder brother Sun Bofu personally entrusted this to the Marquis of Wu in front of the civil and military officials of Jiangdong!"

"How dare that little bastard Sun Shao disobey his father's orders and usurp the throne of Jiangdong?!"

"Jiangdong's civil and military officials, how dare they? How dare they..."

Sun Quan struggled to get up from the couch, but he was so excited and confused that he missed the bedside...

boom! ~
There was a muffled sound,
Sun Zhongmou rolled off the bed and fell to the ground.

"Second brother!"

Sun Shangxiang hurriedly propped up her second brother. Sun Quan gritted his teeth and pushed Sun Shangxiang away: "Okay! Okay!"

"I have raised a bunch of ungrateful people over the years!"

"How dare they..."

No, that's not right!

After all, Sun Quan had been the Marquis of Wu for so many years and had seen many infightings and schemes in the court.

He quickly suppressed his anger and forced himself to calm down...

It has been at least a month since I was captured.

If the officials of Jiangdong wanted to establish a new ruler, they should have done so long ago. Why wait until today?
Besides, Zhou Gongjin and Lu Zijing are now in Jianye. They are his confidants. How could they watch the Jiangdong officials commit such a treasonous act?
Sun Quan's thoughts raced, and suddenly...

Two figures suddenly flashed through his mind!
"Liu Da'er, Zhuge Countryman!" Sun Zhongmou's voice was low, as if he was squeezing these words out from between his teeth.

It's them!
It must be them!
Liu Xuande crossed the river in order to obtain help from Jiangdong and recover the four counties in southern Jing.

Unexpectedly, he was trapped in Xiling, Jiangdong was without a master, and no one could help him to send troops to Jingnan. In addition, he wrote a letter to drive him out of Jianye.

Liu Xuande and Zhuge Liang were desperate, so they jumped out to disrupt the situation and persuaded the civil and military officials of Jiangdong to abandon themselves and establish a new king!

Sun Quan could almost imagine how Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang bewitched the officials of Jianye...

They will definitely say something like Liu Wu first proposed to exchange prisoners to test Jiangdong's bottom line, and then his appetite will grow bigger and bigger.

As long as a new ruler of Jiangdong was appointed, Jiangdong would no longer be exploited and blackmailed by Liu Wu, and he, the Marquis of Wu, would lose his "value", putting Liu Wu in a dilemma and forcing him to let him go.

In this way, he could preserve the six counties of Jiangdong and the life of the Marquis of Wu. The only price Jiangdong had to pay was to establish a new lord. Isn't it a good deal?

Even Sun Quan, after his anger, had to admit that "establishing a new master" was indeed a brilliant move.

In this way, not only the interests of Jiangdong were preserved, but Liu Bei could also gain a firm foothold in Jiangdong. Even because of his meritorious service in establishing a new master, the new master of Jiangdong would certainly do his best to help Liu Bei recover Jingnan in order to repay this favor.

In this way, the interests of Jiangdong and Liu Bei were guaranteed.

But, but who can guarantee the interests of Sun Zhongmou?

Jiangdong has a new master, what should he do as the old master?
Is Jiangdong going to come back?
What’s even more terrible is that the new ruler of Jiangdong this time is his brother’s son, Sun Shao!
Thinking of this, Sun Quan suddenly shuddered...

How Sun Zhongmou treated this good nephew over the years was not only remembered by Sun Shao, but also by Sun Quan himself.

If Sun Shao really took the position of Lord of Jiangdong, would he spare his uncle? !
Nope!

He could not just watch the establishment of a new ruler in Jiangdong become a done deal.

What to do?

What should I do now?
Cold sweat trickled down Sun Quan's forehead, and he instinctively looked around...

The young, calm figure came into Sun Zhongmou's sight.

"Zi Lie! Brother-in-law!" Sun Quan grabbed Liu Wu's arm fiercely, as if he had grabbed the last straw to save his life: "Send me back to Jiangdong! Brother-in-law must send me back to Jiangdong!"

"As long as I can return to Jiangdong..."

"As long as my brother-in-law can help me to stay firmly in the government of Jianye..."

"I, Sun Zhongmou, swear that I will never attack Hefei again!!"

……

Fancheng,

A quiet house, inside a pavilion.

Cao Mengde frowned and looked at the person holding the imperial seal in front of him: "Jian Yong?"

"I remember that you have always been Liu Xuande's assistant, and often acted as a lobbyist for Liu Bei. How come you have become a lobbyist for Liu Zilie now?"

"Haha, everyone says that Liu Xuande's kindness and loyalty spread far and wide, but I didn't expect that there are people under his command who betray their master for fame and fortune."

Facing Cao Mengde's ridicule, Jian Yong remained calm: "Prime Minister, you are wrong. My master is the eldest son of Emperor Liu, not an outsider. Sooner or later, the foundation of Jingnan will be passed on to my master..."

"Although Jingnan has changed its master, we are only serving our master in advance, but we are still loyal to the Liu family... How can we be considered as betraying our master?"

Jian Yong's argument left Cao Mengde speechless for a moment.

Of course, he knew the situation in Jingnan very well...

Liu Wu took over the four counties in southern Jing.
Gong'an City also fell into Liu Wu's hands, and Liu Xuande's life and death were unknown!
Today, Liu Zilie has connected the land north of the Yangtze River with the four counties south of Jing. His power spans both sides of the river and has jurisdiction over eighty-nine counties!

Jiangdong has only eighty-one counties.

Liu Zilie, who was regarded as a trivial matter by himself when he captured Xiling City, has now grown into a giant on both sides of the river!
Cao Cao suddenly felt worried. Liu Zilie was so powerful, could Jiangdong still check and balance him?

Cao Mengde suppressed his thoughts and looked at Jian Yong: "Why did Liu Zilie send you here?"

Jian Yong bowed and said, "Over the years, my master has fought for the Han Dynasty and suppressed rebels. Although he has been wandering around for many years, he is a relative of the Han Dynasty after all, and his heart is always longing for the emperor."

"My lord wrote a letter to the emperor last time, saying that after stabilizing Jingnan, he would go to Xuchang to pay homage to the emperor..."

"Now that the situation in Jingnan has been settled, my master will go north to Xuchang soon, so I have ordered Jian Yong to come and inform the Prime Minister."

Before the fall of Gong'an City, Liu Zilie had written a letter to the emperor, which he had also read. It did mention that after stabilizing Jingnan, he would personally go to Xuchang to pay homage to the emperor.

Cao Mengde naturally strongly agreed with this matter.

Now he is using the emperor to command the princes. As long as Liu Wu recognizes the emperor's banner, he will have to recognize himself as the prime minister.

In the future, I will give him orders in the name of the emperor, but it depends on whether he obeys or not!

Then stop here.

If he did not obey, it would be considered that Liu Zilie was disrespectful to the imperial court and the emperor. This charge would be put on him, and even if troops were sent to attack Liu Zilie in the future, he would be charged with more crimes.

The most important thing is that when he went to Xuchang to pay homage to the emperor, he could not bring many soldiers with him.

How is this different from a bird walking into a trap?
Cao Cao nodded calmly: "I already knew about this... I agree."

"You should return to Xiling and report to Liu Zilie."

The words fell,

Jian Yong didn't move.

Cao Cao was surprised: "Do you have anything else to report?"

Jian Yong's expression remained unchanged: "I haven't finished speaking yet. My master wants to bring 10,000 soldiers with him to protect him when he goes north to Xuchang! In order to avoid misunderstandings from the Prime Minister, my master specifically asked me to inform the Prime Minister."

In the pavilion,
Suddenly there was silence.

Apart from Cao Mengde's heavy breathing, there was no other sound.

Cao Aman's eyes widened, he seemed to not believe his ears: "How many soldiers will Liu Zilie take north to Xuchang?"

Jian Yong: "Ten thousand."

Ten thousand soldiers?
That bastard Liu Zilie is going to lead 10,000 soldiers north to Xuchang?
"Ha, ha ha ha!" Cao Cao was so angry that he laughed: "Ten thousand soldiers marching north? Is he going north to pay homage to the emperor, or is he going to the north to fight?"

"Does Liu Zilie know what he is talking about? Ridiculous! Ridiculous!!"

What is this about meeting the emperor? Liu Zilie clearly has no good intentions.

At the beginning, he only had a few thousand people, but he caused such a big chaos in Xiling.

If he were really allowed to lead 10,000 troops north, there's no telling what kind of chaos he would cause in the northern states. Wouldn't that be inviting a wolf into the house?

Cao Mengde's face was gloomy. "I have never heard of a local general or lord who brought 10,000 [personal guards] with him when he came to the capital to pay homage. It is clear that Liu Zilie has bad intentions!"

Jian Yong still did not change and was not in a hurry: "Of the thirteen states of the Han Dynasty, Prime Minister Cao controls eight of them. How many soldiers can Prime Minister Cao gather in the north and the Central Plains?"

"My master only leads 10,000 soldiers. What is there to be afraid of, Prime Minister?"

The coldness on Cao Mengde's face did not dissipate at all: "Of course I am not afraid, but if I really let these 10,000 soldiers follow Liu Zilie to the north safely, how will the people of the world look at me, Cao Mengde?" "He is provoking me! Where is my dignity?!"

Although Cao Mengde now dominates the north and uses the emperor to command the princes, he has not yet truly and completely monopolized the entire north.

There are also many opponents hiding in the dark in the court.

He still has many enemies, both overt and covert, but they are suppressed by his power and dare not show up.

Once Liu Wu leads 10,000 soldiers north, all the forces hidden in the dark and opposing him will become active in an instant.

They would think that they were showing weakness to Liu Wu and that Cao Mengde was afraid of Liu Wu.

It will also stimulate these hidden enemies to try every means to get close to Liu Zilie.

The harm this brings is even greater than the direct threat posed by Liu Wu to himself!

The sun sets in the west,

The setting sun is like blood.

The red light poured into the pavilion. Jian Yong said in a low voice without giving in: "Prime Minister Cao is very powerful in the north. He and my master had a grudge against each other in the battle of Xiling..."

"If there are no heavy troops to protect us, even if our lord is willing to go north to Xuchang, we, the ministers, will stop him and die before his horse!"

silence,

The pavilion fell into silence again.

At this time, Cao Cao no longer had much interest in Liu Wu's journey north to Xuchang.

But he knew Liu Wu too well. If he didn't meet his demands, who knew what unexpected means he would use?
Thinking about Liu Wu's unexpected actions every time, Cao Mengde finally took a step back: "I appreciate Liu Zilie's loyalty to the emperor, but he wants to lead 10,000 soldiers north, absolutely not!"

"Three thousand."

"I only allow him to lead 3,000 soldiers to the north, which is enough for his protection! If he is still dissatisfied, then please do as he pleases."

As soon as he finished speaking, Cao Mengde stood up and left.

Only Jian Yong was left standing in the pavilion with an unpleasant look on his face...

……

The next day, the sky brightened.

The morning glow pierced through the haze in the sky and shone on the land of Jingxiang.

Outside Fancheng,
The black mass of Cao's soldiers stood outside the city like a dense forest.

The iron-blooded energy was rising, and spears, swords and armor were gathering like flowing water.

call! ~
The wind blew, and large battle flags fluttered in the air, with mighty momentum!
Woo! ~
The heavy and powerful horn resounded throughout Fancheng.

Rumble, rumble~
A canopied chariot slowly drove out of the wide-open city gate. Behind the chariot, a huge banner with the word "Cao" displayed majestically.

"We respectfully send off the Prime Minister!"

The defending officers and officials of Fancheng fell to their knees beside the city gate.

Cao Cao on the carriage just nodded indifferently. His eyes passed over the densely packed soldiers and turned to the south, where Jingnan was located.

This time when I went south, I could say that I witnessed with my own eyes Liu Zilie taking over the four counties of southern Jing, and his power was almost overwhelming that of Jiangdong.

The situation in Jingxiang will probably become more and more complicated in the future.

Cao Mengde suddenly felt a little regretful. Was it a mistake for him to cede the land north of the Yangtze River to Liu Zilie?

Perhaps I shouldn't have gone south to attack Xiling City in the first place.

Now Liu Zilie is heading north to Xuchang again...

A brief moment of confusion flashed across Cao Cao's eyes.

Liu Zilie, ah Liu Zilie, I want to see what new tricks you will come up with after entering the North!

He shook his head slightly: "Let's go back to Xuchang."

"The Prime Minister has ordered! Move back to Xuchang!"

Boom! ~
The mighty army moved with a roar.

The sky was filled with smoke and dust, rolling towards the north like a yellow dragon.

A convoy holding a flag with the word "Liu" on it followed the army and slowly headed towards Xuchang. It was Jian Yong and his entourage.

Liu Wu was going north to Xuchang to pay homage to the emperor. Jian Yong not only had to persuade Cao Cao, but also had to go to Xuchang with Cao Cao's army to prepare for Liu Wu's entry into the capital.

Rumble, rumble~
In the carriage, Jian Yong stuck his head out and looked towards the south behind him.

He frowned,
I feel helpless that I have failed Zilie's trust this time.

The task of leading 10,000 troops to the north and shocking the Central Plains will ultimately fall on Zilie himself...

……

call! ~
The river wind is strong, and the waves are roaring.

The sails are like clouds, coming down the river from the upper reaches, and are vast and mighty.

The overwhelming number of boats and warships, with thousands of sails setting sail, braved the wind and waves towards Jiangdong.

The huge warship was full of soldiers.

Jingzhou Navy,

They are the Jingzhou navy.

Since Liu Biao, the navy of Jingzhou has once again dominated the surface of the Jiangdong River!

On the leading ship, General Gan Ning looked a little embarrassed...

Liu Wu agreed to Sun Quan's request and sent all 20,000 navy officers from Jingzhou to escort Sun Quan back to Jiangdong, and appointed Gan Ning as the commander-in-chief.

It goes without saying that it was awkward when these two "former" king and minister met again.

Although the ruler and ministers of Jiangdong had already tacitly agreed to Gan Ning's surrender to Liu Wu, Gan Ning still felt a little uneasy when he looked at the Marquis of Wu standing on the deck in front of him, and he took a few steps back without saying a word.

Wow! ~
The roaring waves were broken by the ship.

Sun Quan stood on the bow deck with a gloomy face.

Jiangdong is coming...

But he did not feel the joy of returning to Jiangdong at all, only endless anger.

My father and brothers fought on the battlefield and founded the Jiangdong empire. What heroes they are!
But after he took control of Jiangdong, not only did he not expand any territory, he even became a prisoner of others. Now he can't even keep the title of Marquis of Wu passed down by his father and brother? !
In the eyes of the world, Sun Zhongmou must be extremely incompetent!

"Liu Bei!" Sun Quan clenched his fists and made them creak. "Back then, you were hunted by Cao Mengde and had no place to hide. I didn't care about your weakness and formed an alliance with you!"

"It was you who defeated Cao Mengde's army of 800,000!"

"You took advantage of Jiangdong's pursuit of Cao Cao to occupy the four counties of Jingnan, and I didn't say anything. I even planned to form an alliance with you..."

"Now, is this how you repay me?!"

The speed of the Jingzhou navy was increasing, and the outline of Jianye shore could be seen faintly...

suddenly,

The dark shadow, with endless oppression, came towards the Jingzhou Navy from the direction of Jianye!

The speed of the shadow gradually increased, and the shape of the shadow gradually became clearer.

Warships and towers cover the sky and the sun,
The long-sailed boats are connected bow and stern.

It’s the Jiangdong Navy!
Sun Quan's face turned pale. He was the Marquis of Jiangdong Wu, but he was stopped outside Jianye by the Jiangdong navy? !

On the opposite side, the Jiandong Navy, with a leading ship slowly approaching Sun Quan's ship.

The ship was getting closer and closer, with two figures standing side by side at the bow.

Sun Zhongmou's blue eyes widened. He saw...

There is a person on the left, wearing a feather fan and a blue scarf.

The person on the right has an honest face and two swords on his waist.

Is it Zhuge Kongming and Liu Xuande?
How dare they come to see me?!
Liu Xuande sighed and shouted across the boat: "Zhongmou, how are you?"

　There is still one chapter to be completed later, so brothers, go to bed first, and I will continue to work on the manuscript.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)