It was August, early autumn, and the Jianghuai area had become slightly cooler and no longer hot.
Chaisang County in Jiujiang is the lake entrance where the Xiangjiang River flows into Dongting.
A few months ago, Liu Bei, the Lord of Shu, who was known as the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, went on a personal expedition, which alarmed the Sun Wu court and everyone. Therefore, Sun Quan, the Marquis of Wu, went to Chaisang Jiujiang Palace in person to supervise the battle not long ago.
Inside the Jiujiang Palace, it was surprisingly quiet at the moment.
On the bluestone steps, Wu Hou Sun Quan's tall and burly body was trembling slightly, and his purple beard and hair were rising into the sky. At this moment, he was facing away from the people below, trying his best to suppress his anxiety and anger.
Under the stone steps, Lu Yi, the governor of Soochow, knelt on his left knee, lowered his head and remained silent, but his waist was straight.
At the age of fifteen, Sun Quan took over his father's and brother's inheritance and became the lord of Jiangdong. Over the years, he has experienced countless storms and waves, which has also made Sun Quan's heart a lot stronger. He is no longer the simple-minded young man Xiaolian he used to be. , Therefore, Liu Xuande's personal expedition was not the reason why Wu Hou Sun Quan was so angry.
He was furious at this moment because just now his most important minister, the governor who controlled the armies and resisted foreign enemies, actually said that he would surrender to the state of Wei!
"What does Lu Qing mean, is he going to surrender to Wei alone?!" Sun Quan growled in a questioning tone, which was horrifying.
"Lord, please listen to me."
Faced with the wrath of the monarch, Lu Yi did not panic, but remained calm. He raised his head and looked at the superior monarch with calm and easy-going eyes, and admonished the monarch in a gentle and peaceful tone:
"This time, Liu Bei is advancing eastward, and the military front is at its peak. Our army's morale is low. Cao Pi is stationing troops in the north of Han Dynasty, eyeing the south of the Yangtze River, intending to wait for the fishermen's advantage, and intends to send his troops south after the war. If our army is one against two, Then Jiangdong is in danger, and the general situation is in danger. For the current plan... we can only temporarily surrender to Wei to avoid being attacked from both sides."
"But... surrender to Cao..." Sun Quan's frowning purple eyebrows trembled, seeming to be unwilling to accept: "It's such a humiliation, does Lu Qing have any other good ideas?"
"My lord, as an emperor, you must endure what ordinary people cannot endure. Only if you can withstand humiliation can you pretend to be the best in the world."
Lu Yi looked at his master with his cold and calm eyes like cold stars and said this.
"For...the emperor." The ambitious Sun Quan seems to have calmed down a lot. If we can stabilize Cao Wei this time and successfully defeat Liu Xuande, who is famous all over the world, who else can easily defeat me, Wu?
When he thought of this, Sun Quan said nothing more.
Lu Yi saw that his lord had acquiesced, so he had no scruples and continued to speak: "In my opinion, in order to show friendship to the state of Wei, the Wei generals who were imprisoned in our country should be returned to their country.
In doing so, Lu Yi wanted to repay Xia Houxuan and Cao Xi for helping him find Ming'er, fulfill his promise, and release Yu Jin. In any case, the two children also risked their lives for Ming'er and tried their best.
Sun Quan was silent for a long time before he spoke:
"Yu Jin was formerly a famous general of the Wei State and held a high position. Letting him return to the country should be the best demonstration of my sincerity. I heard that Yu Jin is now in Jiangling Mansion. If this is the case, then I will release Yu Jin and return to the country, and then send him Let’s go to Wei with the envoys and express our position in Jiangdong.”
"Wu Hou Yingming." Lu Yi couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief. After all, he couldn't directly ask his lord to release Yu Jin by name. Regarding the matter of deliberately planning to release the enemy's important generals, it can be regarded as a foreign policy!
Outside the palace, on the bank of the river.
Yu Gui was poisoned by a needle and was currently accompanied by Cao Xi to Jiangling for treatment. Xia Houxuan, on the other hand, waited alone by the riverside outside the palace for a long time, and finally waited for Lu Yi.
Before Lu Yi came to Jiujiang, he had informed the Jiangling Prefecture that Yu Jin would be transferred to Jiujiang County. This was not considered a private release of enemy generals. After all, he was responsible for all matters concerning Yu Jin in Jingzhou this time.
Calculating, it won't be long before Yu Jin arrives in Jiujiang.
Lu Yi stroked the messy hair on Xia Houxuan's forehead. In order to save Lu Yan, Xia Houxuan had indeed been wandering around these days, and it was hard for this child.
At this moment, Lu Yi's eyes were as gentle as a loving father: "My child, when I see you, I feel like I see Ming'er... By the way, I haven't asked you what your name is. "
The young man raised his eyes, looked at Lu Yi with his clear eyes, and replied, "My name is Xia Houxuan."
"Xia Houxuan..." Lu Yi smiled and waved to a subordinate in the distance, who was holding a pure white colt that had just grown up.
When Xia Houxuan looked at the horse, he saw that although the horse was only a few months old, he could still see the horse's extraordinary strength.
"This colt is as white as the first snow and as swift as a flying dragon. It is such a good horse."
Xia Houxuan couldn't help but admired.
Lu Yi patted Xia Houxuan's shoulder and said, "Xuan'er, it's fate that you and I met each other. This colt was sired by my horse 'White Pigeon'. I prepared it for Ming'er." My twelfth birthday gift, I say goodbye today. I can’t give it as a gift, so let it go to the Central Plains with you..."
"It turns out that this horse was given to me..." Xiahou Xuan loved this horse very much, but he felt a little embarrassed, so he declined: "The boy has no merit and is guilty, so Brother Lu... ..., I will never dare to accept the kindness of my uncle!"
"Xuan'er, life and death are fateful, I don't blame you." Lu Yi sighed softly: "This horse is destined to you, and I think that when you see this horse, you will think of the dog and feel sad... I hope Xuan'er won't refuse."
"In that case, I would like to thank Uncle Lu." After hearing this, Xia Houxuan no longer refused. He touched the foal's forehead, and the horse rubbed the young man's arm extremely docilely. It seemed that it was indeed I like Xia Houxuan very much.
At this time, the sound of carriages and horses in the distance could be heard, and Lu Yi understood that Yu Jin had arrived.
"Xuan'er, my lord has agreed to allow Old General Yu Wenze to return to the country. Today, you can set off with Old General Yu."
Lu Yi waved to the young man: "Take care of yourself all the way..."
"Uncle Lu, take care, I'm leaving." The young man slowly climbed onto the little white horse, turned around and waved goodbye to Lu Yi.
The river surface sparkled under the morning light. A cloud of dust and mist rose up by the river. After Xiahou Xuan's horse joined Yu Jin and several pro-Wei envoys and escorts, he rode westward along the river bank.
————
Luoyang, Shiqian Hall.
Emperor Cao Pi read over and over again the form of surrender sent by Sun Quan, the Lord of Wu, who traveled thousands of miles away. He was excited but also hesitant.
Sun Quan proclaimed himself a vassal, which was indeed too tempting for him.
But at this time, helping Shu to destroy Wu seems to be more realistic. After all, no one knows whether Sun Quan is really sincere in surrendering.
"Your Majesty, Wang Sikong and Liu Shizhong have arrived outside the palace."
"Please come in quickly!" Cao Pi was refreshed when he heard that Sikong Wanglang and his attendant Liu Ye were coming.
"Old minister, sir, I'd like to see your majesty."
The extraordinary-looking Sikong Wanglang, who was wearing a court dress with nine chapters and a Jinxian crown on his head, and Liu Ye, who was wearing a purple singlet, saluted and knelt down towards the emperor.
"You two dear ladies, please get up quickly."
Cao Pi bent down slightly and made a gesture of support:
"Now that Soochow has presented its surrender, some people think that they should send troops to aid Soochow and annihilate Shu Han in one fell swoop, or they think that they should help Shu to annihilate Wu. I can't make a decision for the moment, so I have invited Sikong to ask what your opinion is. .”
After hearing this, Wang Lang, who had already had an idea, twirled his long beard with his hand and expressed his idea without thinking:
"Your Majesty, the emperor's army is more important than that of Hua and Dai. It is really suitable to sit on the power of the sky and be as immovable as a mountain. If Quan Qin and the Shu thieves are at odds and the battle lasts for a long time, they are evenly matched in intelligence and the troops cannot be defeated quickly, our army must When helping each other to achieve their power, then it is better to choose prudent generals to take over the enemy's key points, move at the right time, choose the place before moving, and there will be nothing left in one move. Now that the army of Quan has not moved, there is no way to help Wu's army to conquer first . And the rain will be heavy, not when the army is marching to mobilize the masses."
After hearing Wang Lang's opinion, Cao Pi couldn't help but clapped his hands and praised it. It was indeed a wise opinion among famous people in the world.
"I have learned Sikong's clever plan. It's okay, I will help the two of them first. But..." Cao Pi frowned slightly and said: "How should I deal with Sun Quan's surrender of the vassal?"
"Your Majesty must not be negligent. I believe that I should confer the title of Prince Sun Quan and add nine tins to it, to appease his mind."
"No, this is absolutely impossible, Your Majesty!"
Liu Ye knelt on the ground and hurriedly remonstrated:
"Your Majesty, Quan has no reason to ask for surrender. It's all because there are strong invaders outside and everyone is uneasy. It's not because they are afraid of our great Wei Dynasty. Therefore, they ask for surrender. One is to kill our Chinese soldiers, and the other is to pretend that we are China. The purpose is to strengthen the masses and doubt the enemy. Today, there are only three points, and our country, Wei Dynasty, has eight out of ten. Wu and Shu each protect a state, blocking mountains and rivers, and they can rescue each other in an emergency. This is the benefit of a small country. . Now we are still attacking each other, and Heaven wants to destroy them. I think that your majesty should raise a large army and cross the river to attack the interior. Shu attacks the outside, and I attack the interior. Wu will be destroyed in less than ten months. If Wu dies, Shu is alone. If half of Wu is cut off, Shu will not be able to survive for long. What’s more, if Shu can get the outside, I can get the inside!"
Cao Pi was a little hesitant after hearing Liu Ye's suggestion.
Liu Ye's strategy of helping Shu conquer Wu and then conquering Shu alone was understood by himself.
But he felt that if Sun Quan truly surrendered, and if he attacked him himself, wouldn't it chill the hearts of those in the world who abandoned darkness and turned to light?
Cao Pi thought about it and retorted to Liu Ye:
"I think this plan is not appropriate. If someone claims to surrender and attacks them, wouldn't they doubt the hearts of those who want to come? If you do this, people who want to surrender in the future will be afraid of this, and it is almost impossible! Why don't I accept Wu's surrender? , and after attacking Shu?"
After hearing Cao Pi's plan, Liu Ye started to refute without thinking:
"Your Majesty, Miao! Shu is far away and Wu is close, and I heard that China is attacking. If Liu Bei returns his army, Your Majesty will not be able to stop him. Now that Bei is angry, he raises troops to attack Wu. When he hears that I am attacking Wu, he knows that Wu will be destroyed, so he will be happy. If you come to fight with me for the territory of Wu, you will not change your plan, suppress your anger and save Wu, it is inevitable! I hope your majesty will understand clearly!"
Cao Pi was a little unhappy when he saw Liu Ye repeatedly trying to dissuade him. He frowned and said:
"I already want to make Sun Quan the King of Wu!"
After hearing these words, Liu Ye's expression changed. He paused and admonished Cao Pi again:
"Your Majesty, you can't. In the past, the late emperor conquered the world and conquered eight of them. He was powerful in the sea. Your Majesty's Zen is true, his virtue is in harmony with heaven and earth, and his voice is far and wide. This real power is not the praise of a humble minister. Although he has power, he is powerful. Cai, his identity is only Nanchang Hou'er, the former Han hussar general, and his official position is low. Because of his low official position, the people of Jiangdong did not obey the Sun family and feared China. Now we, the Wei Dynasty, have no choice but to accept his surrender and can enter it. The title of general can only be granted to 100,000 households, but it must not be regarded as a king immediately. The throne of husband goes to the first level of the emperor. Now your majesty respects his title and appoints his monarchs and ministers, which is like a tiger and a wing. After receiving the throne, he will leave Shu. After the war, he served China with all his courtesy, so that everyone in the country heard about it, but he was rude at home to anger His Majesty. His Majesty was furious and raised troops to fight against it. Xu told the people: "I am committed to serving China and do not care about precious goods and treasures." , contribute at any time, and dare not lose the courtesy of a minister. If you attack me for no reason, you will destroy our country and capture our people's children as slaves and concubines.' The people of Wu did not believe his words for no reason. They believed his words and were angry, and everyone was united. , then his fighting spirit will increase tenfold."
Facing Liu Ye's long speech, no matter how reasonable it was, Cao Pi, who had made up his mind, could not listen to a word.
Cao Pi looked at Liu Ye, and after snorting, the waiter said:
"When someone came, he quickly ordered Zhongshu Sheng to draft an imperial edict. He ordered Taichang Xing Zhen to go to Jiangdong to hold the festival. He named Sun Quan the king of Wu, the general, added Jiuxi, led the pastor of Jingzhou, and oversaw Jing, Yang, and Jiao San. The state’s military!”
————
Jianshi Hall.
The emperor met with Wu's peace envoy: Captain Zhao Zi.
"What kind of master is the King of Wu?"
Cao Pi suddenly had the idea to test the Wu envoy's courage and response.
But Zhao Zi did not show weakness in front of Cao Pi. He replied loudly:
"Clever, benevolent and wise, the master of great strategy."
"Oh?" Cao Pi saw that Zhao Zi was neither humble nor arrogant, so he continued to ask with great interest: "How to be smart, benevolent and wise, how to be brave and strategic?"
Zhao Zi replied:
"Narusu is superior to ordinary people, this is his cleverness; pulling Lü Meng out of Xingchen, this is his wisdom; winning the ban without harming him, this is his benevolence; taking Jingzhou without killing a soldier, this is his wisdom; relying on the three states to look at the world, This is his heroism; bowing down to His Majesty is his strategy."
Seeing that the other party was eloquent, Cao Pi was unwilling to be at a disadvantage. He always claimed to be a literary talent and asked again:
"Does King Wu know a lot about learning?"
Zhao Zi replied immediately without thinking:
"My Lord floats thousands of ships on the river, carries millions of armors, appoints talented people and envoys, and has the will and strategy. Although he has spare time, he has read extensively in books and history, borrowing strange things, and it is useless to find chapters and excerpts from others."
After hearing this, Cao Pi pretended to be angry again and asked loudly:
"Wu, can we conquer him?"
Unexpectedly, Zhao Zi showed no signs of weakness and sneered:
"Big countries have troops to conquer, and small countries have strong defenses."
"Is Wu afraid of Wei?"
"With millions of people in armor, Jiang and Han are ponds, why should we be afraid?"
Cao Pi nodded and finally asked:
"How many people are there like Dr. Wu?"
Zhao Zi smiled and said: "There are eighty or ninety smart people, as compared to ministers, and the number of carriages is countless."
After listening to Zhao Zi's words, Cao Pi fell into deep thought. With monarchs and ministers like this, it seems that Soochow should not be underestimated.
Finally, Cao Pi smiled and said:
"After your return, please tell the King of Wu that I want treasures such as sparrow head incense, big shells, pearls, ivory, rhinoceros horns, tortoiseshells, peacocks, jade, fighting ducks, and crowing roosters from Wu. I hope the King of Wu will not forget to pay tribute. .”
"Foreign minister, I obey."
————
The pro-Wei envoys had already rushed to Luoyang.
Xiahou Xuan Yujin and his party walked slowly for several days. When they arrived at this dense forest, it was almost dusk.
Xia Houxuan liked the little white horse he rode as a gift from Lu Yi very much. He was thinking about what name to give the horse along the way.
At this moment, a sudden surprise occurred!
"Aww..." A howl in the forest made everyone shiver, and the horses even neighed and refused to move forward. It was a wolf!
Originally, the group could have walked slowly along the official road, but Xia Houxuan was worried about Yu Gui's injury, so he insisted on taking a shortcut. Several Wu envoys already shouldered the responsibility of being close to Wei and knew Xia Houxuan's identity, so they did not dare to He violated it, but who knew he would encounter an evil beast here because of it!
"Get up the tree!" Yu Jin, who had not spoken a word along the way, suddenly shouted in a skilled command tone.
One sentence reminded everyone that the escorts were all experts from Soochow, so climbing trees was not a problem. Yu Jin wanted to help Xia Houxuan, but Xia Houxuan pulled out his sword and guarded the little white horse firmly. Yu Jinlue said He was in a daze, but he didn't try to dissuade Xia Houxuan. He also pulled out his sword with a 'clop' sound and stood side by side with the young man.
The Wu envoy who was already at the top of the tree couldn't help but sigh to himself, was this Wei man really not afraid of death?
After climbing higher, everyone saw clearly that they were two wild dogs fighting with a strong gray wolf. The two dogs, which were already weak, were still distractedly protecting a few cubs. The wild wolf was ferocious. Under its sharp claws and poisonous fangs, two of the three cubs had been lost in a short time, and a big dog was seriously injured and fell to the ground.
The other vicious dog was too weak to defend, and was about to be killed by a hungry wolf!
Seeing this scene, Yu Jin's stiff face twitched. This scene is so familiar, very similar to that snowy night more than 20 years ago...
"Brother Changxi..."
"No!" Xia Houxuan exclaimed, pulling Yu Jin back from his memories. The only remaining small dog was seen whimpering and running away, while the two large dogs were exhausted and scarred, and they all fell to the ground dead. But the gray wolf didn't want to let go of the poor cub, and kept pressing forward step by step!
Xia Houxuan covered his eyes, unable to bear to look any further, but he heard the sound of a sword in his ears. When he opened his eyes again, he saw the big wolf hunched over, ready to bite, but There was a long sword on its back. It turned out that Yu Jin flew out with the sword at the last moment and hit the gray wolf.
"Yes...sheyu..."
Xia Houxuan saw clearly that the sword technique Yu Jin used to kill the wolf turned out to be the 'She Fish' that Yu Gui taught him and Xi Di.
"Woo... Wu..." The little dog was lying helplessly on the big dog's body. Xia Houxuan slowly picked it up. Whether it was because he was too tired or frightened, the little cub lay quietly in the boy's arms and fell asleep.
―――
Night falls quickly.
Because they were delayed in the forest, the group did not arrive at the inn, so they temporarily stayed at a farmer's home by the river.
The moonlight is like water, reflecting the river waves, which is even more beautiful. Xia Houxuan picked up a handful of water and took a sip. He stroked the puppy's forehead and ears with wet hands, and the little white horse also licked the river surface leisurely.
"You guys tell me, what name should I give you..." Xia Houxuan murmured: "'The Luo family is happy when the bird comes, and the young man is sad when he sees the bird. Draw your sword and pull the net, and the oriole will fly. Flying. Mo Cangtian, come down to thank the young man.', there it is." [Note 1: A poem from Cao Zhi's "The Journey of the Yellow Bird in Noda". 】
"Today, I will help Gouwa eliminate the snare." Xia Houxuan said with a smile: "Let's call the horse Baique and the dog Amo."
The night is getting darker and darker, 'White Bird' and 'Amo' are playing quietly, and the moonlight is getting softer and softer.
