A round of arrows rained down. Before Wu Jun could react, people all around him fell to the ground, and screams could not be heard.
Lu Meng deflected a few arrows and turned his horse around, only to see that Cao's army had already surrounded him. Under the firelight, a man stood with his hands behind his back, his sharp eyes emitting cold light. It was Sima Yi.
"Lu Ziming, you have no way out, why don't you surrender as soon as possible?"
When Lu Meng saw Sima Yi appearing here, he knew that he had fallen into a trap. The person who came was probably not Zhu Ran. He held his weapon tightly and his face was ashen.
Deng Guangda roared: "Uncle, leave quickly, I will cut off the queen!"
Zang Ba sneered and said: "A turtle in a urn still dares to talk so shamelessly and shoot arrows!"
"Slow down!" Lu Meng suddenly raised his hand and said in a deep voice: "Let them go first."
Sima Yi paused briefly, nodded and said: "It's worth it to exchange hundreds of lives for the general's submission!"
Zang Ba moved his hand from behind, and Cao Jun on the left made way for a passage. Deng Guangda said in a loud voice: "Uncle, I will accompany you."
"Don't talk too much!" Lu Meng's eyes were as sharp as a knife, and he cupped his fists towards the south and said, "You will return to Fei early to report the news and pay homage to the lord for me. Lu Meng has failed the Marquis of Wu. There will be no more Amen under Wu!"
Sima Yi said calmly: "The general is from the Central Plains, how can he be proud of Jiangdong?"
"Everyone has his own ambitions, there is no need to argue!" Lu Meng had no intention of arguing at this time. He just stared at Deng Guang and the Wu troops and shouted coldly: "You dare to resist my order?"
Deng Guang bit his lip tightly, with tears streaming down his face. He and Wu Jun withdrew from the encirclement and went to Dongying to meet Ling Tong.
Zang Ba turned his horse around and laughed loudly and said: "I heard that the beautiful talk of Wu Xia Amen was spread in the east of the Yangtze River, and I thought that you have great talent in the world. Looking at it today, it is nothing more than this."
Lu Meng snorted slightly, and when he saw Deng Guang and others walking away, he suddenly shouted sternly: "How can a certain noble husband associate with you and other thieves?"
Before he finished speaking, he turned his horse's head and stabbed Zang Ba. He knew that there was no possibility of escape, and he did not want to suffer the humiliation of being captured. He wanted to kill Zang Ba before his death to buy time for Ling Tong and the others.
Lu Meng had followed his uncle in the world of martial arts since he was ten years old. He had been practicing since he was a child and was very brave. At this time, he struck with all his strength and a spear came out like a poisonous snake and came towards Zang Ba's chest.
Zang Ba did not expect such a change, and it was too late to dodge, so he shouted loudly and waved his sword to parry.
Stab la la——
The heart-wrenching sound of weapons friction resounded throughout the audience, and a string of sparks appeared in front of the two men. A soft pop was heard, and the gun tip pierced Zang Ba's shoulder blade.
Zang Ba was also aroused, his eyes were red, and he grabbed the head of Lu Meng's gun with his backhand, and roared: "Fire the arrow!"
Cao Jun was so shocked that his eyes widened and the hairs on his body stood up. Only when he heard this cry as low as a beast did he react and released the arrow in his hand.
"Slowly..." Sima Yi raised his hand and only had time to lightly utter the word "Lian" before sighing.
Lu Meng grasped the handle of the gun tightly with both hands, trying to pull it back and strike hard, but Zang Ba desperately grabbed him. At this time, arrows were fired in a volley, and there was no way to avoid it, like an arrow target.
More than a thousand arrows covered the whole body, and in the blink of an eye, the whole body was covered with arrow feathers, transforming into a huge bird-man.
Zang Ba gritted his teeth and pulled out the gun head, turning it to the side. Lu Mengde's body suddenly fell, and Cao Jun couldn't help but take half a step back.
There was silence on the field. Zang Ba took two steps forward on his horse. Regardless of the blood flowing from his shoulder, he raised his knife with one hand and chopped off Lu Meng's head again.
Sima Yi frowned and said, "Lü Meng died for his country and can be considered a hero. Why not keep his body intact?"
"What I hate the most in my life...are those who attack by surprise!" Zang Ba cursed through gritted teeth, swaying on his horse.
The soldiers hurriedly supported him. At this moment, a soldier came to report that Ling Tong had killed Wu Dun and led the remaining soldiers to break through.
"I swear to destroy Wu Gou!" Zang Ba heard that another brother had been killed, and he fainted with a roar.
Sima Yi looked at Lü Meng's body covered in arrows and bleeding profusely. It would soon rot in the weather. He sighed softly and ordered: "Bury Lü Meng's body on the spot, bury the head and send it to Hefei."
It turned out that Cao Pi retreated to Yecheng and was helpless to deal with the situation in the Central Plains. He was shocked when he heard that Lu Meng had made another surprise attack on Xuzhou. Fortunately, Sima Yi sent someone to send a secret letter to report, and he felt a little relieved.
Cao Pi then discussed with Jiang Ji, Dong Zhao and others, hoping to negotiate peace with Sun Quan, and secretly asked Sun Fu to speak kind words to Wu Guotai, so that the two sides would recognize each other and reconcile.
After learning the news about Tan County, Cao Pi sent someone to inform Sima Yi and return the captured Wu soldiers in Tan County to Jiangdong as a favor to facilitate the matter and concentrate on dealing with Liu Qi.
Sima Yi offered his advice and represented Sun Quan as the former general and Yangzhou shepherd. He also ceded the land of Qingzhou south of the river to Sun Quan and represented Zhou Yu as the governor of Qingzhou and the general of Zhendong.
This move seemed to recognize the territory of Qingzhou, but in fact it made Zhou Yu and Sun Quan have equal status. Jiangdong had long reported that there was a rift between the two, and this move would definitely cause discord between the emperor and his ministers.
Even if Zhou Yu occupied Qingzhou, he would be separated from Jiangdong and isolated overseas, unable to achieve success. Without Zhou Yu's help, Sun Quan would lose his claws like a tiger. Coupled with the setback in Huainan, Soochow would no longer threaten the Central Plains.
Seeing that great things were about to happen, Lu Meng did not want to be humiliated and died generously. This was a helpless thing. Sima Yi had no choice but to send his head back and send Cao Pi's letters to Hefei.
He was also worried that Sun Quan would not negotiate peace because of Lü Meng's murder, but would instead be angry and take revenge. He also sent people to Danyang to instigate a rebellion against Shanyue, forcing Sun Quan to make concessions.
When the envoy arrived in Hefei, he did not dare to see Sun Quan. He handed the wooden box of official documents to the soldiers guarding the camp and left in a hurry.
At this time, the Hefei camp was in a state of depression. Sun Quan was recovering from his injuries, the generals were angry, and the soldiers had no fighting spirit. They all wanted to retreat. Because Lu Meng was still in the East China Sea, they had to wait for news.
Half a month ago, Lu Meng sent a message, asking Sun Quan to send troops north, cross the Huaihe River and fight with all his strength to seize Xuzhou.
This time the Northern Expedition boasted of going to Haikou, Sun Quan felt ashamed to go to see his elders in Jiangdong, so he stayed in Hefei on the pretext of recuperating from illness. When he saw Lü Meng's letter, he couldn't help but feel excited, and immediately gathered the civil and military officials to discuss it.
Lu Su, Lu Xun and others strongly opposed it. In this battle, all the elite troops of Soochow were lost, and the troops in the south of the Yangtze River were empty. Shanyue had been ready to move. People were resentful after years of fighting. If they were to forcefully send troops again, the rear would be unstable and the foundation would be shaken.
While hesitating, Hu Zong suddenly came quickly with a wooden box in his hand and handed over the letter: "My lord, I have a letter from Cao Pi. He wants to negotiate peace with my lord. My cousin is a former general and Yangzhou shepherd. I hope that the two families will be reunited." It’s good to form a marriage alliance.”
"Oh?" Sun Quan refreshed himself on the bed. He sat up and took the letter and read it over. Seeing that Cao Pi's humble words were quite flattering and he took the initiative to cede Qingzhou, he couldn't help but smile proudly: "Without Cao A'hao's help, Cao Pi's child would still be in trouble after all. Holding great power, this son has succumbed to loneliness!"
Although Sun Quan inherited Sun Ce's title as Marquis of Wu, his official position was no more than the prefect of Kuaiji and the general of Polu. This time he could justifiably lead Yangzhou Mu and paid homage to the former general, which made him feel much more confident.
I thought that I had inherited my father and brother's legacy, was younger than Cao Pi, and could handle the situation calmly. However, Cao Pi suffered repeated defeats, abandoned Guanzhong and Xuchang, and his ability to maintain his career was still far behind his own.
Seeing that Hu Zong was still holding the wooden box, Sun Quan stroked his beard and said with a smile, "I want to see what Cao Pi can give as a gift to impress his lonely heart."
