Chapter 77: Adou: I will lower my head and coax Liu Wu back first. (Big chapter, five thousand five!)
Chapter 077: Adou: I will lower my head and coax Liu Wu back first. (Big chapter, five thousand five!)
"Since the battle at Shenting Ridge that year, we have never seen your elegance again. It is a great pity..." Zhou Yu looked deeply at the young man on the main seat.

"Thank goodness, God has mercy on me. I finally meet my old friend again tonight!"

Zhou Yu's eyes were full of complexity, and so were the Jiangdong generals standing behind him.

After the battle of Shentingling, seeing that brave young general again became an obsession for the rest of their lives.

The last time they finally got news of an old friend, they even followed Lu Su to the outskirts of Xiling City, but the other party was still unwilling to meet them.

I thought there would be no chance of meeting my old friend again in this life...

Unexpectedly, by some strange coincidence, tonight he was ordered by Marquis Wu to resolve the obsession that had plagued them for nearly ten years!

Liu Wu nodded gently: "Zi Lie is also very happy to see an old friend."

After some greetings, Zhou Yu's mood finally stabilized a lot. He looked at Liu Wu's pale face and said, "When Cao's army surrounded the city, Zilie rode alone to the banner of Cao Mengde and captured Cao alive. We admired him very much, but we didn't know..."

"Is Zilie seriously injured?"

Gan Ning had already clearly stated in the secret letter that Liu Wu had captured Cao Cao alive on his own and was seriously injured. The fact that Sun Shangxiang had just supported Liu Wu into the hall was the most powerful proof of this.

However, Zhou Yu and others had no idea how serious Liu Wu's injuries were.

On the main seat, Liu Wu said in a low voice: "It's hard to put it into words."

Sun Shangxiang beside him spoke sadly: "Zi Lie defeated seven divisions and fourteen songs in a row, and killed more than thirty generals in Cao's camp before he captured Cao Cao. He was seriously injured..."

"The doctor said that after three to five years, Zilie should be able to recover like a normal person, but it is impossible for him to recover his original celestial body."

Is it true that Liu Zilie can no longer be as brave and invincible as he was before?
Jiangdong's generals suddenly sighed...

The magnificent scene on Shenting Ridge in the past, where this old friend single-handedly suppressed the Twelve Generals of Jiangdong, will never be seen again.

From then on, there was no other general in the world as powerful as Liu Zilie who was more powerful than Lu Fengxian.

Although everyone felt regretful, they also subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. It was a pity, but it might not be a bad thing for Jiangdong...

"You are all guests coming from afar, please take a seat." Liu Wu waved his hand.

All the generals from Jiangdong then took their seats.

As the sounds of drums and music rose, everyone took their seats and the banquet officially began. There was a lot of noise and excitement.

At this moment, Jiang Qin could not help but raise his doubts to Liu Wu again: "In the battle at Shenting Ridge, Zilie defeated Gongjin and twelve of us with your own strength! How magnificent!"

"But why did Zilie disappear after Shenting Ridge? Why is it that we never hear of his name again?"

Jiang Qin had raised this question on the boat, but neither the Twelve Generals nor Zhou Yu could answer it at that time.

At this moment, everyone put down their wine cups and looked at Liu Wu. This was not only Jiang Qin's doubt, but also the doubt of all the generals in Jiangdong.

"I was still young back then, and I didn't know how high the sky was or how deep the earth was..." Liu Wu sighed, "I realized later when I fought with you guys that if I had killed anyone, I would have lost my life on Shenting Ridge."

"Since then, I have realized the immensity of the world and no longer have the desire to compete. Therefore, I have disappeared in the past few years. It is not surprising that you have never heard of my name."

The reason Liu Wu gave seemed to make sense, but many people looked strange.

With Liu Zilie's martial arts, even if he didn't have the desire to compete, he would still be in a difficult situation and show his talent! How could the world not have his reputation?

This old friend obviously didn't want to talk about this matter again.

Jiang Qin wanted to ask more, but Zhou Yu beat him to the punch. The Jiangdong commander-in-chief smiled and said, "Let's not talk about the past..."

"Some time ago, I crossed the river by boat and met you on the north bank of the river. You rode in front of me and I chased after you. But Zilie was unwilling to meet me. How heartless he was."

At the end, there was a hint of complaint in Zhou Yu's words. In order to chase Liu Wu that day, he jumped directly from the bow of the boat and landed on shore. He still remembered how miserable he was.

Liu Wu shook his head helplessly: "At that time, Cao Cao's army will arrive, and Lu Boyan and Gan Xingba are both my helpers in defending the city, so they must not be allowed to return to Jiangdong..."

"If I were to meet Gongjin, I would feel somewhat awkward, so I can only avoid meeting him."

When Liu Wu mentioned Lu Xun and Gan Ning, the noise at the banquet suddenly quieted down.

The Jiangdong generals looked solemn. They crossed the river this time to bring back Lu Xun, Gan Ning, and the princess on the orders of the Marquis of Wu. If Xiling refused to release them...

Zhou Yu stared at Liu Wu and said, "It was understandable that Cao's army besieged the city at that time, but now that Cao Mengde's army has retreated, what can Zilie say?"

Liu Wu looked around at the three people at the table: "Bo Yan, Xing Ba, the princess..."

The three were stunned.

Liu Wu: "I have also received a letter from Jiangdong. I have heard that the Marquis of Wu wants someone. Let's drink tonight until dawn. Tomorrow you will return to Jiangdong with the generals of Jiangdong."

Liu Zilie agreed now? !
Zhou Yu was stunned, and the Twelve Generals of Jiangdong and Lu Ji were also stunned.

They thought that in order to get these three people back, they would have a heated argument with Liu Zilie, or even end up in a bad mood, but they didn't expect the other party to agree so readily?
Liu Zilie caught them off guard.

Zhou Yu didn't use any of the words he prepared before coming to Xiling; they all remained in his mind.

In an instant, apart from the sounds of drums, music and stringed instruments, the whole banquet was silent.

"Zi Lie, are you serious?" After a long while, Zhou Yu spoke again with a serious expression.

Liu Wu looked Zhou Yu in the eye and said, "A gentleman's word is as good as gold."

Liu Wu's calm voice echoed throughout the banquet...

call! ~
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, as if a huge stone had been lifted from their hearts.

When old friends meet, no one wants to create tension. Liu Zilie did not want to make things difficult for them, so naturally everyone was happy.

"Good! Zilie is straightforward!"

"Zi Lie really helped us solve a big problem!"

"Haha! With Zilie's words, we can drink to our heart's content tonight!"

In an instant, the atmosphere at the banquet returned to its joyful and warm state.

Liu Wu slowly stood up, and Sun Shangxiang beside him hurriedly supported him. He raised the wine bottle high and said, "Tonight, we meet old friends, and I won't leave until I'm drunk!"

At this moment, the sounds of stringed and bamboo instruments are even more prosperous.

The noise of laughter never ceased.

Liu Wu came to Zhou Yu, and they both raised their cups. Liu Wu was about to drink it all in one gulp, but Sun Shangxiang snatched the wine cup away, replaced it with a tea cup and stuffed it into his hand.

Sun Shangxiang said in a low voice: "Zi Lie is injured now and cannot drink. Please forgive me, Grand Commander."

Zhou Yu was startled, then he looked at Liu Wu and smiled: "The deep meaning of Zilie's letter to Marquis Wu is known to all of us Jiangdong civil and military officials, and Marquis Wu also knows it."

"But under the watchful eyes of the public, and with the failed trip to Hefei, the Marquis of Wu couldn't express his feelings directly, so he sent us to Xiling with Zilie's old acquaintances...

"Don't worry, Zilie. When we return to Jiangdong, we will definitely do our best to bring Zilie and the princess together!"

"The princess is a beauty from Jiangdong, how can she marry that old man Liu Bei? We would rather the princess and Zilie get married than Liu Xuande marry the princess."

Zhou Yu had no choice but to advocate a marriage between Sun and Liu. Now Liu Wu is obviously a more suitable marriage partner for Soochow than Liu Bei, so what is there to hesitate about?

The surrounding Jiangdong generals also started to make a noise:

"Yes, the Grand Commander is right. We have secured this marriage!"

"Zi Lie won't make things difficult for us, and we will never make things difficult for Zi Lie!"

"Liu Xuande is just an old soldier! How can he be worthy of me, the Princess of Jiangdong?"

"Don't worry, Zilie. We will take care of the matter between you and the princess!"

Liu Wu held up the teacup and smiled faintly: "In this way, drink to win."

Sun Shangxiang, who was standing by, had already blushed and buried her head in her chest, unable to lift it up.

Liu Wu held up his teacup and toasted everyone:
"General Jiang Qin? I remember that I shot you down twelve times on Shenting Ridge..."

"No, no, no!" Jiang Qin was already drunk, but after hearing Liu Wu's words, he sobered up immediately: "Eleven times! The last time I fell off my horse due to exhaustion, not because of you. Don't say anything nonsense."

Liu Wu understood, and turned to look at Huang Gai: "At that time on Shenting Ridge, General Huang and General Cheng Pu always rushed to the front, and Gongjin hid behind your horse and kept attacking me..."

Huang Gai grinned and said, "Yes, we can still fight you for a few more rounds. Gongjin is too weak. If he hadn't hidden behind me, he would have been defeated by your painted halberd long ago."

Cheng Pu, who was standing next to him, held a wine cup in his hand, his face full of regret: "I remember when you were fighting with Gong Fu, I almost stabbed you off your horse several times."

"Back then, I only had brute force..." Liu Wu drank the tea in the cup, and seemed to be disappointed in his words: "Now many years have passed, General Cheng is old, but he can still fight on the battlefield, but now I can't even get on the horse."

Cheng Pu hurriedly comforted him: "How can you say that? Zilie is still young and has a long way to go. Besides..."

"Now Zilie has occupied a thousand miles of territory, his foundation has been established, and he has become a local lord! We are still fighting on the battlefield and working for others, how can we be compared with Zilie? Come on, come on, let's drink to win..."

After saying this, he drank the glass of wine in one gulp.

"Zi Lie, I toast to you!" Taishi Ci held up a wine cup and stood in front of Liu Wu with a complicated expression on his face: "At Shenting Ridge, I wanted to fight Bo Fu, but none of the generals dared to step forward, only you rode out..."

"At that time I knew you were definitely not an ordinary person, but I didn't expect that you would soar to the sky now!"

After the Battle of Shentingling, Taishi Ci was looking everywhere for a young general to fight with him. He never dreamed that this young general could fight against the Twelve Generals of Jiangdong alone. Even he himself did not have such ability.

He searched for nearly ten years but still couldn't find the brave young man.

Now when we meet again, he has become a local lord!
Liu Wu looked at his [companions] who had fought on Shenting Ridge that year, and just raised his teacup and smiled faintly: "Drink to win."

Sitting on the table beside Taishi Ci was a scholar.

"Is this Lu Ji the man with oranges? Zilie has admired your filial piety for a long time." Liu Wu turned around and stood in front of the scholar. When Lu Ji was six years old, he accompanied his father to meet Yuan Shu in Jiujiang, and Yuan Shu treated him with oranges.

During the banquet, Lu Ji put two oranges in his arms, and when he thanked and said goodbye, the oranges fell to the ground. Yuan Shu teased Lu Ji why he took the oranges away, and Lu Ji said he was going to take them back for his mother to eat. Yuan Shu was immediately impressed and greatly appreciated Lu Ji's filial piety.

From then on, the story of Huaiju and Lu Lang became known all over the world.

Lu Ji stood up quickly: "How dare I."

Liu Wu held up the teacup, his expression solemn: "Last time, when Cao Ren and Cao Cao came to attack Xiling, I was fighting outside the city. Fortunately, Cheng Nei had Boyan's good command, which ensured that I had no worries."

"If it weren't for Bo Yan, Zilie wouldn't have been able to capture Cao Ren and Cao Cao alive and accomplish this extraordinary feat!"

"The Jiangdong Lu Clan has produced many talented people. This is all due to the efforts of the Lu Clan Patriarch. I respect the Patriarch."

As he spoke, Liu Wu raised the teacup and drank it all.

Lu Ji wanted to say something, but Liu Wu had already said so much, so he could only smile bitterly and drink the wine in the cup...

At this moment, Lu Xun came out from nowhere and placed a basket of fresh oranges in front of Lu Ji, which made Lu Ji look confused: "Bo Yan, what are you doing..."

Lu Xun smiled and said, "Back then, the master of the family only took away two oranges from Yuan Shu's banquet, and our Lu family became famous all over the world. If the master of the family can take away a basket of oranges from the banquet tonight, wouldn't the Lu family be even more famous?"

Lu Ji: “…”

Midday on the moon.

The atmosphere in the Xiling County Magistrate's residence became increasingly heated.

Jiang Qin was chasing Zhou Tai to explain that he really only fell off his horse eleven times on Shenting Ridge.

Cheng Pu kept repeating that he had countless chances to stab Liu Wu off his horse, but it was all because Zhou Yu hid behind him and Huang Gai, affecting his performance...

bass! ~
Zhou Yu drew his sword and stood up, staggering under the moon while dancing with the sword, singing: "A man should establish his reputation in the world, and establishing his reputation will comfort his life..."

"To comfort my life, I will get drunk. I will get drunk and chant like crazy..."

The moonlight is like water, blending with Zhou Lang's sword shadow and singing, like a dream.

The sword in Zhou Gongjin's hand danced more and more wildly...

Bang! ~
The sword in Zhou Yu's hand fell to the ground, and he fell to the ground and fell into a deep sleep.

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Huang Gai was drunk and leaning against Liu Wu's desk with a wine cup in his hand.

He laughed loudly, pointed at Zhou Yu and said to Liu Wu: "Didn't expect it? The worst fighter in the Battle of Shentingling, but now he has become the commander-in-chief of Jiangdong who defeated Cao Mengde in the Battle of Chibi..."

……

……

Gangneung City.

A huge flag with the word "Liu" was flying in the air. The Liu here refers to Liu Zilie's Liu.

Boom! ~
The huge city gate was slowly opened.

Drive, drive, drive! ~
Wei Yan led several hundred cavalrymen out of the city, carrying with him all the accounts of land and taxes, and headed towards Xiling.

After all, Xiling belongs to Nanjun, and the newly controlled counties here have a large population.

Wei Yan can now barely be considered a general who can defend a region. Now that Jiangling has been secured, he has to go back and report to his master...

There are now 5,000 soldiers stationed in the city, most of whom are veteran soldiers under Liu Wu's command.

With these 5,000 men stationed there, it would be impossible to capture the city without tens of thousands of casualties, not to mention that Liu Bei was seriously weakened now...

The hundred or so cavalrymen went away for a long time,

The dust that had been raised had slowly settled down, and everything had returned to calm. The vast, misty river roared eastward, and across from Jiangling City, on the pier on the south bank,

Dozens of ships are docked, ready to go down the river.

"Zilong, this time when we go to Xiling, Adou's life will be in your hands." Liu Bei looked very solemn.

It feels like the wind is howling and the water of the Yangtze River is cold. Once Adou leaves, he may never come back...

That's right!

Liu Bei made his choice!
He did not plan to go to Xiling himself, nor did he choose Zhang Yide, who had the closest relationship with Liu Wu, and his invincible second brother was not within his consideration.

He is not the Zhuge Kongming who foresaw everything.

Instead, Zhao Zilong was asked to accompany the six or seven-year-old Adou to Xiling to meet Liu Wu...

"Zilong, this child Adou is destined to be with you. You were able to protect him well when he went in and out of Changbanpo seven times..." Liu Bei held Zhao Yun's hand and spoke to him earnestly.

Zhao Zilong was helpless at the moment: "My lord, it shouldn't be this way, it really shouldn't be this way!"

"Xi Ling is not Changbanpo, and the eldest son is not Cao Cao. Although Yun is not Yun Chang Yide, he has had a lot of contact with the eldest son after all."

"It would be fine if the two armies were fighting, but if we go to see him now, he will definitely not kill us!"

Just then,
The maid on the ship suddenly ran over and said, "My lord, my lord, the young master is making trouble again..."

"He said not to go to Xiling..."

Liu Bei couldn't help but flick his sleeves when he heard this, frowning: "Ah! Let him nurse, let him nurse, isn't the wet nurse on the boat?"

"How come you can't even take care of a baby?!"

Maid: "The young master is eating, and he is making noises while eating..."

Zhao Yun could no longer bear to listen to this. Although he did not cover his ears, he still turned away.

He thought to himself, "Although I have never seen what the eldest son looked like when he was six or seven years old, I heard from Master Yide that the eldest son was already helping to sell straw sandals to earn a living before he was even as old as Adou."

"When Lord Xuande went to Youzhou to join Gongsun Zan, the eldest son was only in his teens. I saw him carrying a bow and a sword, and following his horse..."

Liu Wu also grew up under Zhao Yun's care.
Looking at the situation before him, he felt really uncomfortable!
When Zhao Yun turned around to look again, Liu Bei had already gone far away and boarded Awu's luxurious "cruise ship".

Inside the cabin, a plump woman was feeding her baby Adou while singing nursery rhymes.

There were three or four young girls waiting on the side...

Adou was enjoying drinking milk.

He cried while he ate. When he got tired of crying, he would quickly drink some milk to replenish his strength and moisten his throat.

brush~
The boat curtain was lifted.

Lord Xuande entered, and he said with a dark face: "Everyone go out first."

"promise."

The breastfeeding woman calmly tidied her clothes, then lowered her head, hunched over, and led a few young women out.

"Father, I won't go to Xiling! I won't go to Xiling!!"

"Father, I don't want to see Liu Wu. I really don't want to see him, wuwuwu~~"

Looking at Ah Dou who was a little drunk on milk, Liu Bei took a deep breath, sat down, and used his sleeve to gently wipe the tears from Ah Dou's eyes, and then wiped the milk stains from the corners of Ah Dou's mouth: "Ah Dou, although you are sometimes naughty, you are not stupid. Your father asks you, why did Liu Wu run away?"

Adou's childish voice rang out: "Because he wanted to take my position as the crown prince, and my father was unwilling to give it to him, so he was furious!"

"That's right!" Seeing that Ah Dou could speak properly at this time, Liu Bei also said formally: "Ah Dou, but Liu Wu now occupies a large new piece of land and has accumulated a considerable fortune..."

"If he can come back, he will naturally bring his family business back with him. Do you understand?"

Adou nodded: "That's right."

Liu Bei said again: "Adou, you must know that you are the crown prince, do you understand?"

Adou shook his head in confusion, his chubby cheeks shaking: "Adou is of course the prince, but what does this have to do with Liu Wu?"

Reaching out his hand, Liu Bei caressed Adou's forehead lovingly: "Adou is the crown prince, and your father's family business will belong to Adou in the future. When Liu Wu comes back, his share of the family business will also belong to Adou in the future!"

"Adou, don't you understand yet?"

Ah Dou was annoyed: "But I don't want to see him. He is my father's son, and I am the prince. He should bring his share of the family business back to me!"

"Yes! That's right! Ah Dou is the crown prince! He is my son, and he should bring his share of the family property back to Ah Dou!" Liu Bei slammed the table, and seemed to have run out of patience. He shouted, "But if he doesn't come back, the family property won't come back either! What do you think we should do?!"

There was silence in the cabin...

Liu Bei was completely speechless.

After a long time, Adou's muffled voice finally rang out: "For the sake of my family, I will lower my head and coax him back first."

After a moment of daze, Liu Bei was overjoyed. "My son is so smart! Liu Wu is far inferior to him..."

……

……

PS: Although there are only two chapters today, they are both long chapters, adding up to 12,000 words, all of which have been posted. There are no more for today. Good night, brothers.

(End of this chapter)