Chapter 186: Lord Meng De! I, Liu Bei, come to you again!
Chapter 185: Lord Meng De! I, Liu Bei, come to you again!
"King of Wu? The old master was named King of Wu? How could the emperor be so foolish?!"

"What merits did the old master have to deserve to be conferred the title of king?!"

"What about capturing Man Chong alive and taking Xiangyang easily? The old master doesn't know how to fight. This must be the credit of stealing someone else's power!"

"So what if it's the King of Wu? We, the loyal subjects of Jiangdong, only recognize the current Marquis of Wu..."

In the mansion of Marquis Wu, in the council hall.

The officials from the aristocratic families were all excited and clamoring, saying that they only recognized the Marquis of Wu and not the King of Wu, but even Sun Shao could see the panic in their eyes clearly.

"Gentlemen...Gentlemen!" Sun Shao called out several times before all the civil and military officials in the hall quieted down.

He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself, but his voice still trembled uncontrollably: "In order to protect the people of the six counties of Jiangdong, I, I have been entrusted by Zhongfu and the loyal and good people of Jiangdong, and I have no choice but to temporarily manage the six counties of Jiangdong."

"However, my second uncle has a deep prejudice against me. Now he has been conferred the title of King of Wu, and he is also related to Liu Zilie by marriage. Now the two of them are returning to Jingxiang from Xuchang."

"What I am worried about is that if my second uncle borrows troops from Liu Wu and returns to Jiangdong...what should I do?"

The civil and military officials of the noble families, who had been so excited, were now silent.

Sun Quan had been in charge of Jiangdong for many years, it was impossible for him to give in so easily and lose his foundation, especially now that he had become the King of Wu. He already had a great reputation in the six counties of Jiangdong.

Many of Jiangdong's veteran generals are die-hard fans of Sun Quan.

He married his sister to Liu Wu. Now Liu Wu had a strong army and was ambitious. If Sun Quan invited him to send troops to Jiangdong and send him back to Jianye, how could Liu Wu refuse? !

think about it,
Liu Wu's army marched to Jiangdong, with Sun Quan, who became the King of Wu, standing in front, and the old generals of Jiangdong raising their arms and shouting at the rear of the Jiangdong army...

Cold sweat had already appeared on the foreheads of officials from aristocratic families such as Zhang Zhao and Yu Fan.

can't stop it,
It can't be stopped at all!
If Liu Wu and Sun Quan really came to attack, they couldn't guarantee whether the Jiangdong soldiers would counterattack, so how could they talk about resisting?
There was dead silence in the hall and no one could answer Sun Shao's question.

Sun Shao felt a chill in his heart. He looked at Liu Bei with hope: "Father Zhong..."

"Report!~"

A soldier rushed into the hall with a terrified look on his face: "Report to the Lord of Wu, General Lu Meng has an urgent report!"

"Liu Zilie of Jingzhou, together with the former lord of Jiangdong, has taken the banners of the kings of Chu and Wu and led the navy of Jingzhou to rush to Jiangdong!!"

Boom! ~
The voices of the soldiers were like a thunderbolt, striking the hall hard!
The officials from noble families in the hall were pale and trembling.

Sun Shao, who was at the head of the group, sat helplessly behind the desk, his eyes filled with despair...

As expected, Second Uncle teamed up with Liu Wu and came back to fight!
It's over,

It's all over!!

The entire council hall was in an uproar...

Liu Xuande was extremely depressed. He closed his eyes and said nothing. He only felt that the quarrels among the Jiangdong officials were about to overturn the council hall.

Just at this moment, a man walked up the stairs and slowly entered the hall.

When everyone saw him, the arguments in the hall quieted down a little, and then they heard this man say loudly: "The survival of Jiangdong is now at stake..."

"Liu Wu took advantage of the victory at Xiangfan to lead his troops into Xudu, where he met the emperor and was named King of Chu. He was at the height of his power."

"In the court of Xuchang, he even stood shoulder to shoulder with Cao Mengde."

"Now he is leading the navy of Jingzhou eastward with Sun Zhongmou, the former lord of Jiangdong. If he doesn't make a decision... I'm afraid everything will be over!"

"This time, the former lord of Jiangdong followed Liu Wu to the north, captured Man Chong, and took Xiangyang. It can be seen that his character is no less than that of his father and brother, but it has not been exposed before."

"In Xuchang, the former master of Jiangdong was even conferred the title of King Wu of the Han Dynasty..."

"When this great Han Wu King enters Jianye City, my uncle Liu Xuande can leave."

"Sun Shao, the Marquis of Wu, is his nephew. Even if he is punished or imprisoned, he will not be killed without reason."

"But what about you all here?"

"Now that Liu Wu's Jingzhou troops are backing up his grandson Zhongmou, when he returns, have you ever thought about what will happen to your family?"

Having said this, there was silence in the court.

At the beginning, the little tyrant Sun Ce led Zhou Yu, Jiang Qin, Zhou Tai and other Huaisi people to cross the river and invade the south. The process of their complete conquest of Jiangdong was extremely bloody. I don’t know how many Jiangdong natives…

As for the devastation suffered by these aristocratic families headed by the natives of Jiangdong, it goes without saying. Just to take Lu Xun and his Lu family as an example, they were almost wiped out, with more than half of their population lost.

Why was Sun Quan promoted to the position of Marquis of Wu in Jiangdong?

It's because he has never had the blood of local people on his hands...

But now, the situation has changed...

Although Sun Quan's hands were not stained with the blood of the Jiangdong family, the Jiangdong family sold out Sun Quan!

Now that Sun Quan is back, and he has brought Liu Wu's Jingzhou navy with him, how can he not take revenge on the Jiangdong families?
When Sun Ce crossed Jiangdong with only a few troops, he slaughtered the Jiangdong nobles so hard that rivers of blood flowed. Now, with Liu Wu's help, Sun Quan is many times stronger than Sun Ce was back then. How many of the Jiangdong nobles can still survive?

Thinking of this, all the officials from noble families in the hall shuddered.

"Sir..." Zhang Zhao stood up tremblingly and saluted the man with unprecedented respect: "Since you mentioned this, you must have a plan in mind."

"Sir, please, for the sake of the lives of the people in the six counties of Jiangdong, point out a way for Jiangdong to survive."

The man looked solemn: "The way out for Jiangdong depends on only one person, and that is Cao Cao!"

"The only way to save Jiangdong is to ask Cao Cao for help!"

Jiangdong asked Cao Cao for help?
Jiangdong still owes Prime Minister Cao a blood debt of 800,000 people. Cao Mengde still remembers it!
How could Cao Cao rescue Jiangdong? !

Zhang Zhao was completely stunned: "Sir, are you joking..." The man seemed to know what Zhang Zhao was thinking: "This is one situation, that is another situation!"

"Liu Wu wants to integrate the south, and now he is joining forces with Sun Quan. Once Sun Quan regains control of Jiangdong, the two sides of the Yangtze River will be connected. Don't forget that now Jingbei and Hefei are in the hands of Liu Wu..."

"How could Cao Mengde just watch Jiangdong fall into Sun Quan's hands again?"

"Cao Cao still has some strength left. If Jiangdong asks him for help, he will definitely not sit idly by!"

"To protect Jiangdong now, you need to do two things. The first is to ask Cao Cao for help, and the second is to defend Jiangdong!"

If Jiangdong cannot be defended, what use will it be even if Cao Cao's reinforcements arrive?

All the civil and military officials in the hall nodded subconsciously, but who can defend Jiangdong now?
"I think Lü Meng is a good choice."

"Lü Ziming has little experience. He is already struggling to lead the navy. How can he fight Liu Wu? Besides, Liu Wu is quite methodical in deploying troops. Lü Ziming may not be his match."

"How about Zhou Yu and Lu Su? Jiangdong is in danger now, I think they..."

"Stupid! These two are die-hard fans of their old master. If they lead the troops, I'm afraid they will attack us before Liu Wu arrives!"

"Who can defend Jiangdong now?!"

In the main hall, officials from aristocratic families were arguing and worrying about who would resist Liu Wu.

The person who just spoke closed his eyes and remained silent...

Liu Wu,

When Liu Wu left, he expressed his intention to recruit me more than once.

Is he a wise leader?
Of course he is!

He is a rare wise leader in the world. Countless people with lofty ideals wish to assist such a wise leader in achieving great things.

Liu Wu is the son of Liu Xuande, who is much better than his father!
But on that snowy night, I finally rejected Liu Wu...

why?
It is not as simple as the relationship between monarch and subject, and father and son.

It is not the so-called "a minister cannot serve two masters".

It’s not that Zhuge Liang couldn’t see clearly, but rather it was because Zhuge Liang saw too clearly and saw too clearly!

Only Kong Ming himself knows the reason...

The debate in the Council Hall continued:

"What can we do now?"

"If we surrender without a fight, what will greet us?"

"If we fight with all our might, we may still be able to survive, but if we surrender without a fight, can we escape punishment?"

"Really? Jiangdong has no great generals..."

"Who can defend the eighty-one counties of Liu Commandery in Jiangdong now? Who can do it?!"

Wow! ~
A pure white feather fan was suddenly swung high into the sky, causing a low whistle in the air.
Everyone turned around in surprise.

Zhuge Liang slowly put away the feather fan and waved it lightly on his shoulder. His eyes were as quiet as an ancient well: "Liang, you can do it!!"

Zhuge Liang is willing to defend Jiangdong? !
There was silence in the hall, and all the civil and military officials were stunned.

Zhang Zhao breathed a sigh of relief: "With the help of Mr. Wolong, Jiangdong will have nothing to worry about!"

Zhuge Liang's ability was recognized by all the Jiangdong families. Now that they had someone to guard Jiangdong, who would ask Cao Cao for reinforcements?

"Cao Mengde is a powerful and influential person, and he is indeed the most powerful lord in the world. To ask for reinforcements from him, one must find a person of high moral character and prestige."

"I'm afraid no one in Jiangdong today can take on this task."

"Alas, even if Cao Mengde is willing to put aside the grudge of Red Cliff, he just fought with Liu Wu not long ago. How long has it been since then? He may not be willing to go to war with Liu Wu again..."

Before everyone finished speaking, a voice suddenly rang out: "How is it impossible?"

Everyone in the hall looked in the direction of the voice and saw surprise on their faces.

Is it Liu Bei?
What does he mean?
Liu Xuande slowly stood up from his seat. His tall figure towered over everyone from Jiangdong present.

"Nothing is impossible..."

"I will go and ask Cao Cao for help myself. Nothing is impossible."

Uncle Liu is going to meet Cao Mengde? !

Zhuge Liang was stunned for a moment, then suddenly looked up.

Sun Shao, who was sitting on the throne of Wu Hou, had dull eyes.

The Jiangdong noble families headed by Zhang Zhao were completely dumbfounded. Cao Mengde wanted to skin Liu Bei alive, but Liu Bei actually delivered himself to him?

How is this different from seeking death?!
In the silent hall, the gentle voice of Emperor Liu was still ringing: "When I was in Xuchang, I enjoyed watering the garden and growing vegetables. Cao Mengde was still thinking about the first batch of leeks that he was going to plant."

"This time I'm going to Xuchang..."

"Prepare the boat..."

"I'm crossing the river today."

　That’s all for today. Today is over 9,000 words, less than 10,000. I’ll work hard in the next few days of this month.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)