Chapter 74 Kong Ming: The commander of Xiling is none other than your eldest son Liu Wu!
Chapter 074: Kong Ming: The commander of Xiling is none other than your eldest son Liu Wu!
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to the Emperor."

Cao Cao's voice was not loud, but it shook the hall like thunder in summer!
Many ministers subconsciously pressed their heads closer to the ground. Cao Mengde held great power and took advantage of the "Secret Edict" incident to kill many Han officials.

Concubine Dong, the daughter of Dong Cheng, was still pregnant with the emperor's fetus, but was strangled to death on Cao Cao's orders!

For a time, Cao Cao was so powerful that all the civil and military officials in the court were terrified!

On the nine-story steps, Emperor Liu Xie clenched his fists under his sleeves. He was not angry, but fearful and uneasy. In a trance, Liu Xie seemed to have returned to that night...

Inside the emperor's bedroom, the bodies of eunuchs and palace maids were lying on the ground.

Hundreds of soldiers holding spears and swords stained with blood surrounded the entire hall.

Cao Mengde, wearing a helmet and armor, holding a sword in one hand and a piece of snow-white silk with a name written in blood in the other, questioned Liu Xie murderously: "Your Majesty, do you know about this imperial edict?!"

He was so frightened that he forgot how to answer Cao Cao.

Liu Xie only remembered that when he reacted, two soldiers were already holding a white whip and strangled Concubine Dong's neck tightly.

At that time, Concubine Dong was already several months pregnant.

"Concubine Dong is five months pregnant. I hope the Prime Minister will have mercy on her and execute her after she gives birth!" Liu Xie did not dare to plead for Concubine Dong. He could only hope tremblingly that Cao Cao would spare his own blood children.

But what he got in return was Cao Cao's cold reply: "Will you keep this rebellious offspring to avenge your mother?!"

Liu Xie will never forget that night.
I will never forget the look of despair and fear that Concubine Dong gave me before she died...

"His Majesty!"

"Ah, Prime Minister..."

Liu Xie, who was distracted, was suddenly awakened by Cao Cao's voice. He tried his best to calm down and said, "Prime Minister, thank you for your hard work in the southern expedition. Please stop the formalities."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Cao Cao bowed slightly and then stood up immediately.

The pair of sharp eagle-like eyes stared directly at the emperor on the throne. Liu Xie was immediately panicked and quickly found a topic to talk about: "I wonder how the Prime Minister's southern expedition went?"

All the civil and military officials in the court subconsciously raised their heads and looked at Cao Cao.

Cao Cao's expression remained unchanged: "I am on this expedition to Xiling. The commander of Xiling, Liu Zilie, is quite brave, but the arrival of our Han army is like a mountain pressing down on our heads. How can I allow Liu Zilie to act so recklessly?"

"I led tens of thousands of troops to besiege the city. Liu Zilie was terrified and rode into the battle line alone to ask for surrender."

"I felt sorry for his bravery, so I adopted him as my son and ordered him to lead troops to garrison the 32 counties from Xiling to Hefei to guard against the Sun family in Jiangdong..."

Cao Mengde talked freely without blushing or getting nervous. The matter was still the same, but when he said it, it had a completely different meaning.

In the hall, many ministers who still supported the Han Dynasty lowered their heads, but their expressions were strange, and they couldn't stop sneering in their hearts...

There were many people and eyes in the Battle of Xiling, and naturally there were these Han officials and spies involved. They naturally knew many things that happened on the battlefield of Xiling.

It was true that Liu Zilie was quite brave, and it was also true that he rode alone into the battle...but he rode alone into the battle not to surrender to Prime Minister Cao, but to capture Cao Cao alive and bring him back to the city!

This Cao villain is so shameless that he even dares to conceal his defeat and claim victory in front of the emperor!

Cao Cao kept talking: "...Now that my adopted son Liu Zilie is stationed on the north bank of the Yangtze River, the Jiangdong rats can't make any big waves!"

"From now on, Jiangnan will be at peace. I will wait for a few years to train my troops and lead the army south. I will surely conquer Jiangdong and recover the territory of our Han Dynasty!"

Prime Minister Cao spoke passionately, but Liu Xie on the throne just laughed dryly: "That's very good, very good..."

During the Battle of Xiling, ministers who were still loyal to Liu Xie had secretly reported to Liu Xie that Cao Cao had been captured alive on the battlefield. Liu Xie was aware of this. When he first received the news, he was so excited that he could not sleep all night.

Liu Xie had also heard of the Xiling defender named Liu Zilie. He was able to charge into the army and capture Cao Cao alive. His bravery can be imagined.

But now...

So Liu Zilie actually became Cao Mengde’s adopted son?
If Cao Cao gets such a powerful general, wouldn't it be like adding wings to a tiger, and make him even more powerful in the future? !

Although he knew something about the situation on the Xiling battlefield, he was not very clear about the details behind it.

But Cao Cao's army was besieging the city, and Liu Zilie had no other way to escape this disaster except surrendering. At that moment, Liu Xie actually believed Cao Cao's words to some extent.

Thinking that Cao Cao had received help from another great general, Liu Xie felt like sitting on pins and needles and became increasingly uneasy.

"Your Majesty..." Cao Cao hesitated for a moment, but still pulled out the scroll from his sleeve: "When I moved my troops back to the capital, Liu Zilie said that he had admired Your Majesty's majesty for a long time, but he had never had the chance to pay homage to you."

"So I wrote a letter in my own hand and asked me to pass it to the emperor."

Liu Zilie’s letter to me?
Sitting on the imperial couch, Liu Xie's face was filled with astonishment, and all the officials in the court were also stunned.

Over the years, many people have claimed to be loyal to the emperor, but to write a letter to the emperor... Liu Zilie is the first one.

What is he trying to do?
Liu Xie was still in a daze. Cao Cao gave a look and a eunuch had already come down from the throne and handed the bamboo slip in Cao Cao's hand to the emperor.

wow~
Liu Xie unfolded the bamboo slips with a look of surprise.

After just a quick glance, the Han emperor's eyes suddenly widened...

"Brother, I am Awu."

Awu?

It’s Awu!
boom! ~
Liu Xie's heart was instantly filled with rage, and his hands holding the bamboo slips began to tremble uncontrollably.

It's him, he's still alive!

Liu Xie held the bamboo slips in his hands and sat on the imperial couch in a daze, his thoughts drifting away...

Liu Xie recalled the young man he accidentally discovered when Liu Bei entered Xuchang.

He said his name was Liu Wu and he was Liu Bei's eldest son.

He was an excellent martial artist, and he managed to evade Cao Cao's spies in the palace and go hunting outside the city of Xuchang. That was the happiest time of his life...

Many years have passed and there has been no news from Awu.

I thought Awu had died in the chaotic world while following Liu Bei around, but I didn't expect... I didn't expect that he was still alive!

Liu Xie couldn't wait to read on: "Now that I have been given a name, you can call me Zilie from now on."

"Awu has grown a lot taller than he was back then, and is now taller than my brother."

Ah Wu is actually the brave commander of Xiling? !

Liu Xie's eyes were filled with astonishment, and then a hint of surprise flashed through his heart: "What a great Ah Wu! Not only did he capture Cao Cao alive, he even used Cao Cao's hand to deliver a message to me openly!"

"After all these years, Wu is still so resourceful!"

Liu Xie couldn't wait to continue reading down. As his eyes turned, the Han emperor was stunned.

Because the content behind it is actually a line of ink that has been smeared? !
This……

Liu Xie: "Prime Minister, why are there traces of erasure in this letter?"

Cao Cao remained calm and said, "I painted this myself."

Cao Mengde applied it himself?
Liu Xie was stunned. Cao Cao's answer caught him off guard.

"Liu Zilie was born in a humble family, and there are many vulgar words in this letter. In order to prevent the defilement of the Holy Spirit, I have personally erased these vulgar words."

Cao Cao's words were righteous, but the few sentences he crossed out were actually about the ugly incident in Xiling where he was imprisoned in the dungeon and whipped.

Cao Mengde would never let the emperor see such a thing that would damage his reputation.

Although Liu Xie didn't know what was erased, he knew that the thing that Cao Cao had erased personally must be something very important that Awu wanted to tell him about.

This thief Cao is hateful!
Liu Xie was very upset, but at this moment he had to bite the bullet and praise Cao Cao: "The Prime Minister is indeed steady and prudent in his actions."

He continued reading: "I still remember the days when I went hunting with my brother outside the city of Xuchang. Many years have passed."

"When the Yidaizhao incident happened, we fled to Xuchang..."

Horse hunting,

The imperial edict.

Liu Xie stared at the contents on the bamboo slips in a daze. He seemed to recall the scene of that year...

The sun sets in the west and the autumn grass rustles.

On the outskirts of Xuchang, two riders were chasing a deer, competing with each other.

What a pleasure, what a great enjoyment it is!
Since I took the throne,
First came the Dong Zhuo Rebellion.

Then Li Jue and Guo Si hijacked the emperor's carriage and suffered untold hardships!

Cao Cao finally welcomed them to Xu Du and thought that everything was settled. However, he did not expect that Cao Mengde was the biggest traitor. He even strangled his beloved concubine who was pregnant with his dragon seed to death in front of him!
Now that I think about it, the brief time I spent hunting on horseback with Wu was the only moment in my life worth remembering.

However, once the secret of the belt was revealed, there was no news of Awu, and his whereabouts were unknown. The look in Concubine Dong's eyes when she was dying made Liu Xie dream about it countless times...

Liu Xie couldn't help but recall,

The happy times I spent hunting with that boy...

"Awu, I want to ride on fine horses with you and go hunting in the countryside again. Is it possible?"

Tick ​​tock! ~
For a moment, big tears slid down from the corners of Liu Xie's eyes and fell on the bamboo slips in front of him.

Under the Danbi, Prime Minister Cao, who saw all this, was stunned.

The emperor is crying?

The emperor read Liu Zilie's letter and actually cried?!
……

Jiangdong, Jianye.

"From Xiling to Hefei, through Jiangxia, Lujiang, Jiujiang... nearly a thousand miles from east to west, about thirty counties, all the Cao troops stationed there are dealing with Liu Zilie's men."

"These counties have now fallen into Liu Zilie's hands!"

"I guess this is the price Cao Cao paid to leave Xiling City safely..."

At the Wuhou Mansion, civil and military officials gathered, and Zhuge Jin was reporting the news he had received to his superior Sun Quan. The civil and military officials were speechless, their eyes full of trance.

How long has it been?

The commander of Xiling, who had to rely on exchanging Shanyue captives with Jiangdong to resist Cao's army to survive, has suddenly become a local lord?

More than thirty counties!
Jiangdong is so big, but after three generations, it has only gained these six counties and eighty-one states!

How many people does Liu Zilie have under his command?

How much time did he spend?

This occupies almost half of Jiangdong's territory? !

Cao Mengde is really cruel. He cut off such a big piece of meat without hesitation?!
"Ha, ha ha! Okay, okay..." Suddenly, a sneer came from the main seat.

Everyone looked over and saw that Sun Quan's face was already livid: "Liu Zilie first occupied Xiling, and then occupied Hefei! I attacked and defended Jiangdong, and he has both of these important places in his hands."

"He is determined to go against me, Jiang Dong!"

Xiling is related to the safety of Jiangdong, and Hefei is related to the future of Jiangdong.

Especially in Hefei, in order to seize this place, the Marquis of Wu mobilized a large number of troops, and the navy even rushed to Chaohu Lake. However, he failed because Liu Zilie released Cao Cao, and had to return to Jiangdong in disgrace.

It is no exaggeration to say that the dignity has been destroyed!

But now, Cao Cao directly ceded Hefei to Liu Zilie. Sun Quan tried his best and spent a lot of effort to get the place, but in the end, it was taken by Liu Zilie without any effort? !

These two important places now belong to Liu Wu, and Sun Quan has not been able to take back any of them. This is simply a slap in the face of him, the Marquis of Wu. How can he not be angry?
For a moment, Sun Zhongmou was furious: "Liu Zilie first took away my princess, Lu Xun and Gan Xingba, and then took away my important land in Jiangdong. He humiliated Jiangdong too much. How can I let him go!"

"This time, we must..."

"Report!" Suddenly, a servant rushed in from outside the palace: "My lord, there is a letter from the Lord of Xiling!"

Commander of Xiling?

Liu Zilie’s letter?
The civil and military officials in the palace were stunned. What did Liu Zilie want to do by writing a letter at this time?
Sun Quan was startled, and then his anger flared up again. He had occupied Xiling and Hefei, yet he dared to write to him? !
Sun Quan was too lazy to answer the letter and looked directly at Lu Su: "Zi Jing!"

Lu Su: "I am here."

"You have always been in charge of Xiling's affairs. Please listen to me and all the civil and military officials!"

"Here."

Lu Su took the brocade bag, took out the white silk and read it out: "Liu Zilie of Xiling wrote to the Marquis of Wu, Zilie loves..."

Lu Zijing was stunned, and subconsciously continued: "Zi Lie has admired the Princess of Jiangdong for a long time. Now he is willing to marry the two families and take the Princess as his principal wife..."

Liu Zilie asked the Marquis of Wu to marry the princess? !
The faces of all the civil and military officials in the hall looked ugly. Liu Zilie was now like an iron chain across Jiangbei, locking Jiangdong tightly. He had already stood on the opposite side of the entire Jiangdong.

At this time, he still dared to write a letter to ask for the princess' hand in marriage. Was he trying to humiliate Jiangdong?

Boom, boom, boom! ~
Sun Quan gritted his teeth and got off the throne, then walked step by step to Lu Su...

He suddenly stretched out his hand and snatched the silk from Lu Su's hand!
Tear! ~
Sun Quan actually tore the letter from Xiling into pieces. His chest rose and fell violently: "Liu Zilie is too much. How dare the dog son of Xiling marry my tiger daughter of Jiangdong?"

"Want to marry me, the Princess of Jiangdong? He's dreaming!"

humiliation,

In Sun Quan's view, after Liu Wu captured Xiling and Hefei, he still wanted to marry Sun Shangxiang, which was too much of a humiliation to Jiangdong!
Sun Quan turned around abruptly: "Gongjin!"

Zhou Yu cupped his hands and said, "I am here!"

"Cheng Pu, Han Dang, Huang Gai, Zhou Tai..."

"The general is here!"

Sun Quan named Zhou Gongjin and the twelve generals of Jiangdong in one breath. Suddenly, the hall was filled with the clanging of armor and a murderous atmosphere.

"Haven't you always wanted to see your old friend?" Sun Quan said indifferently, "Then go to Xiling now!"

"Go and bring back the princess and Gan Ning!"

Then he looked at the civil officials and said, "Mr. Lu Ji."

Lu Ji, the head of the Jiangdong Lu family, was surprised: "I am here!"

"You go too, go with them to Xiling..." Sun Quan's words were filled with chill, "Bring back the [Thousand Mile Horse] of your Lu family!"

Is the Duke of Wu going to completely turn against Liu Zilie?

There was silence in the hall.

Lu Ji's lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but he held it back in the end.

Zhou Yu and the twelve generals of Jiangdong were even more shocked.

They really wanted to meet their old friend from Shenting Ridge, but in the current situation, the Marquis of Wu and Xiling were already on the verge of a war, so it would be better for them not to meet this old friend.

For a moment, Zhou Yu and others had complicated expressions. No one could have imagined that things would develop to this point.

Veteran General Cheng Pu could not help but speak: "My Lord..."

But before he could say anything, he was blocked by Sun Quan's cold gaze.

The Marquis of Wu has issued the order, they have to meet him whether they want to or not, so how can there be room for bargaining?

Whatever, we have to meet sooner or later, so let’s meet!
Having made up their minds, the generals stepped forward and bowed: "We will obey your orders!"

……

Gong'an City, the lobby of the county magistrate's mansion.

"How hateful! How hateful!" Liu Bei was in a rage and paced back and forth.

Zhuge Liang sat behind the desk, just gently waving a feather fan, without saying a word.

Zhang Fei, who was standing behind Liu Bei, wanted to say something but was stopped by Guan Yu beside him.

Liu Bei led the remaining soldiers and returned to Gong'an safely, but the scene of being insulted by Wei Yan under the city of Jiangling was like a whip, constantly lashing Liu Bei's heart.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became!
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became!
The more he thought about it, the more suspicious he became...

How did Wei Yan appear in Jiangling City, which was occupied by Cao's army? Why did he cut off the banner with the word Cao on it? Most importantly...

Wei Yan is a die-hard fan of Liu Wu!

This traitor is in Jiangling, where is Liu Wu?
Could it be that the evil creature really surrendered to Cao Cao?
No, not possible!
If that evil creature had surrendered to Cao Cao, when Cao's army attacked Xiling this time, Cao would have certainly sent Liu Wu to humiliate him...

"Father, father! Come play with Adou."

Liu Bei was filled with doubts and uncertainty when suddenly a small figure pulled his sleeve.

But then Adou came over and pestered him again.

At this moment, Liu Xuande had no intention of accompanying Adou. He pulled his sleeves back in annoyance, and Adou fell to the ground.

Ah Dou was stunned, and immediately burst into tears: "Wow! Bad father, bad father..."

"Madam!" Liu Bei was annoyed and shouted, "Take this bastard away! Take him away!"

Mrs. Mi was observant. Seeing that Uncle Liu looked unhappy, she did not dare to argue. She just left the hall with A Dou in her arms without saying a word.

"Alas!~"

The hall returned to silence again, and Liu Bei's previous thoughts came to an end. He let out a long sigh helplessly.

Now he had lost Jiangling, which he had just conquered, and was humiliated by Wei Yan. He felt so, so cowardly!
If it wasn't for the Xiling garrison commander who plotted against me, how could I...

and many more!

The defender of Xiling?

After all, Xiling was occupied by Jiangdong before...

Liu Bei seemed to have thought of something and his expression suddenly became ugly.

"Military Advisor! I'm afraid we have fallen into the trap of Sun Zhongmou of Jiangdong!" Liu Bei walked quickly to Zhuge Liang with a gloomy face.

"If the Xiling garrison commander hadn't used a trick to trick us into entering Jiangling, how could we have lost so many soldiers and horses in vain and divided the fighting power of Cao's troops in Xiling?"

"After all, Xiling was previously occupied by Jiangdong, and the garrison commander must also be a Jiangdong general! We are Jiangdong's allies after all. Without Sun Zhongmou's instructions, how dare he plot against us?"

"No wonder! No wonder that guy refused to see me when I went to Xiling to entertain the troops! No wonder Jiangdong suddenly broke off the engagement..." Liu Bei thought of what happened before, and suddenly felt that everything made sense.

It must be that blue-eyed boy who had been plotting against Liu Xuande for a long time, which was why he suddenly broke off the engagement, and that was why the Xiling garrison commander openly refused his offer of reward to the troops.

"Great! Great Sun Zhongmou!" Liu Bei felt that he had discovered the truth and gritted his teeth: "Yunchang, Yide! Prepare the boats, go to Jiangdong! I want Sun Zhongmou to give me an explanation!"

Having said that, Liu Bei turned around and was about to leave the house.

"My lord!" Zhuge Liang, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke helplessly: "This matter has nothing to do with Jiangdong."

Nothing to do with Jiangdong?
Liu Bei's eyes flashed with astonishment: "Sir, what do you mean..."

"My lord, Jiangdong is Jiangdong, Cao Cao is Cao Cao, and Xiling... is Xiling! The three parties have no relationship!" Zhuge Kongming spoke slowly, and the feather fan in his hand also stopped shaking.

Liu Bei was even more confused. He had no idea what Zhuge Liang was talking about.

Mr. Wolong smiled bitterly throughout his life and could only say it more bluntly: "My lord, don't you understand? Wei Yan led his troops from Xiling and cut down the flag with the word Cao on the top of the city wall and set up the big flag with the word Liu..."

"This shows that he has nothing to do with Cao Cao. He is from Xiling!"

"Wei Yan has always been on good terms with the eldest son, so the Xiling commander can only have one identity..."

"It's the lord's eldest son, Liu Wu!!"

(End of this chapter)