When Lu Su came to Xiakou, he did not see Liu Bei immediately. Instead, Liu Bei temporarily arranged for him to rest in the post.
The reason is simple, Jiangdong and Jingzhou are feuding.
Sun Jian died in the hands of Huang Zu's generals. When Sun Jian and Sun Ce died, Jingzhou didn't even send people to express condolences in a symbolic way. This was already treating each other as enemies.
This is not the case even between Cao Cao and Liu Bei. The two still retain their last dignity, and they occasionally communicate with each other.
There was a feud between the two sides, and Lu Su, who didn't even do superficial work, suddenly came to Jiangxia in the name of an envoy. What did he want to do? !
Under this situation, Liu Bei really didn't dare to meet Lu Su rashly. He had to consider the feelings of the Jiangxia nobles and Liu Qi, so he first summoned Zhuge Liang, Xu Shu, and Zhang Xi to discuss Lu Su's intention.
"Lu Su's coming here must be to explore the truth. Jiangdong also wants to resist Cao Cao!" Zhuge Liang said to Liu Bei confidently.
This time is not a serious military discussion, just four people getting together to discuss, so there are not so many rules, and you can say whatever you want.
Zhuge Liang first analyzed Lu Su's intention of coming here this time.
Whoever sees hundreds of thousands of troops arriving at their doorstep and easily settling a feud that he had been unable to resolve for more than ten years would not think that the other party is full of goodwill toward him.
Jiangdong has been managed by Sun Jian, Sun Ce, Sun Quan, and three generations, and has become quite famous. It doesn't look like Liu Biao's situation where he could only rely on aristocratic families for governance and was betrayed by his subordinates as soon as he died.
Although people in Jiangdong are mixed, and not all aristocratic families are of the same mind as the Sun family, Sun Quan also has his own team, the support of the Huaisi Group, his own confidants and troops, and his own ambitions. He will not choose to surrender as soon as he comes up. .
As long as Liu Bei tries his best to judge others, he can guess what Jiang Dong is thinking now.
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"When Sun Ce was still alive, he sent Zhang Hong to Xudu to ask for the emperor's canonization. Cao Cao also wanted to recruit Jiangdong to surrender. After Sun Ce's death, he still made Sun Quan the general to conquer the captives. The two families had the intention of forming an alliance. This trip of Lu Su's was to test the truth and falsehood. It's true, but it's not necessarily that he came here just to resist Cao Cao." Xu Shu frowned and said a little uneasily.
At this time, the relationship between Jiangdong and Cao Cao was indeed very delicate, otherwise there would not be so many Jiangdong families planning to surrender.
Although Sun Ce tried to sneak attack Xudu while Cao Cao was at odds with Yuan Shao, and Cao Cao also tried to send troops to Jiangdong after Sun Ce's death, these things failed in the end.
There was no apparent conflict between the two families, and Cao Cao gave Sun Quan an official title after Sun Ce's death. The daughter of Sun Ce and Sun Quan's cousin Sun Ben was also married to Cao Cao's son, Cao Zhang. The two families tended to form an alliance. Since they are allies, they will definitely receive preferential treatment if they surrender, so why fight desperately.
No matter what, Liu Bei knew Lu Su's purpose when he met him and asked him.
But before meeting Lu Su, Liu Bei still wanted to find out what kind of person Lu Su was, what his status was in Jiangdong, and whether he could represent the opinions of Sun Quan, the leader of Jiangdong.
Zhuge Liang can answer this question. After all, Zhuge Liang has lived in Jingxiang for a long time and has some understanding of the main power structure in Jiangdong.
"Lu Su, whose courtesy name is Zijing, is from the east city of Linhuai. He was recommended by Zhou Yu in the past and later became Sun Tuulu's confidant. Rumor has it that this man is highly regarded by Sun Tuulu and he often discusses world affairs with him and finds it enjoyable."
Zhuge Liang gave a general account of Lu Su's life, and also pointed out Lu Su's important status as Sun Quan's confidant.
"In addition, I have heard that Lu Zi respects others, is sincere in his treatment of others, and only trusts his friends when making friends. He is a rare and sincere gentleman. There is a saying in Jiangdong that "when making friends, you should respect your friends." This can be seen from this."
Xu Shu also added that this was a rumor he had heard about Lu Su.
When Liu Bei heard this, he was delighted and said, "He is such an important figure and has such a charming demeanor, so I should go to Guanyi to pay my respects in person."
Liu Bei was about to stand up as he spoke, but Zhang Xi, who had not spoken for a long time, frowned and couldn't help but interrupt Liu Bei's movements.
"My lord, wait a minute!" Zhang Xi hesitated and said, "Xi has something to say, I don't know if I should say it or not."
Really, Zhang Xi is actually quite hesitant. Regarding Lu Su, it is actually quite complicated.
The plot line is okay, he is just a good old man who is committed to the Sun-Liu alliance and is played around by Zhuge Liang.
But from a historical perspective, although Lu Su also advocated the Sun-Liu alliance, he was not a good old man, let alone an honest man, but an outstanding military strategist and strategist, and his strategic vision can be said to be The most outstanding and far-reaching one among the four great governors of Soochow.
Now Zhang Xi didn't know what route this Lu Su was taking, so he was a little hesitant and didn't know whether he should say it or not.
But now Liu Bei regards Zhang Xi as very important and will not easily ignore Zhang Xi's opinions.
Zhang Xi proved his ability to train troops in the battle at Changbanpo. Liu Bei also heard about Zhang Xi's analysis of the situation in Jingzhou from Zhuge Liang, which made Liu Bei recognize Zhang Xi's foresight.
It can be said that Zhang Xi has now firmly occupied the third position as a counselor in Liu Bei's army.
Therefore, as soon as Liu Bei heard what Zhang Xi had to say, he immediately stopped and said, "If Yuan Chang has something to say, you might as well speak it out, I am all ears."
Zhang Xi thought for a moment and felt that given Liu Beijun's current situation, he would rather think more than think less. After all, he really couldn't afford to fail.
Therefore, Zhang Xi slowly said, "Xi has also heard of Lu Su. This person is indeed a model of a gentleman. He treats his friends sincerely, but he is only a "friend"."
"What does Yuan Chang mean by this?!" Liu Bei asked in confusion.
But Zhang Xi did not answer directly, but talked about some of Lu Su's past events.
During the Zhongping period, the Yellow Turban Uprising caused great chaos in the world, and Lu Su's hometown was also affected. At this time, Lu Su did one thing-sold his land to save the people.
He sold his family's land to help the refugees who had fled. This was a very benevolent thing, and it also made Lu Su's reputation rise rapidly in the local area and was praised by others.
Lu Su was not from an aristocratic family, and he was not even from a humble family. His family had been landlords for generations, and no one in his ancestors had ever been an official. He would be regarded as a powerful person if he died.
But as soon as Lu Su did this, he immediately gained fame and gained the identity and position to talk to aristocratic or poor families.
After Lu Su gained fame, the second thing he did was to form a private army.
Liu Bei had also done this in setting up private soldiers. This was how he started his career. Later, he joined Zou Jing, gained military exploits by quelling the Yellow Turban Uprising, and became an official in Anxi County.
At first glance, it seemed that Lu Su had no problem doing this, but after looking at the timeline, it became a big problem.
When Liu Bei formed his private army, it was two years after the Yellow Turban Uprising broke out. Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty ordered that localities could organize rural warriors to defend the locality, and only local governors were allowed to recruit, not everyone.
Therefore, the first thing Liu Bei did after recruiting private soldiers was to seek refuge with Zou Jing in exchange for a legal identity.
Lu Su formed his private army when the Yellow Turban Uprising just broke out. Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty had not yet issued this decree. He was not a local governor, but a "white body". Afterwards, Lu Su did not seek refuge with anyone in the officialdom, but took control of an "illegal" armed force himself.
It can be seen from this that Lu Su is not "honest" at all, and he has no respect for the Han Dynasty.
For this reason, when Lu Su later presented Sun Quan with a "couch policy", he directly asked Sun Quan, a big Han general who wanted to conquer the captives, what he thought of the Han Dynasty. Lu Su didn't care about the survival of the Han Dynasty at all.
Later, when Zhou Yu served as the chief of the nest, he heard about Lu Su and went to borrow food from Lu Su. Whether it was just to borrow food, or whether Zhou Yu wanted to take the opportunity to beat Lu Su, it is hard to say, because Lu Su Zhou Yu admired his approach very much.
At that time, Lu Su had two bunches of rice at home. When he heard that Zhou Yu had come to borrow food, he pointed to a bunch of rice and gave it to Zhou Yu.
A handful of rice, converted to about fifty tons now. He was so generous when he made a move, and he immediately knocked Zhou Yu unconscious.
Zhou Yu was impressed by the magnanimity of this man's work, and after talking with him, he felt that Lu Su was an extraordinary person, so he became a good friend with him, and later recommended Lu Su to Sun Quan.
Later, Yuan Shu also heard about Lu Su and thought that this man was capable. He wanted to ask him to be the mayor of the East City, which was the highest official in Lu Su's hometown.
The Han system stipulates that local people cannot serve as officials in their hometown. This shows that Yuan Shu's appointment of Lu Su as the highest official in his hometown is a special treatment and means that he values Lu Su.
But Lu Su felt that Yuan Shu was not a good lord, so he ran away overnight. When Yuan Shu heard about this, he immediately became furious and sent people to chase him to capture Lu Su.
But when Lu Su faced a chasing team of hundreds of people, he first asked his private soldiers to form a formation, and then said to the chasing soldiers in front of the formation, the world is in chaos now, those who have meritorious services are not rewarded, and those who have committed crimes are not punished. Why should we be embarrassed? What about him? !
After saying that, he bent his bow and shot an arrow in front of the two armies. The arrow shot directly through the shield, which was so powerful.
When the pursuers saw this situation, they thought that what Lu Su said was right. They would not be punished if they failed to catch up. If they really couldn't beat them, then they should retreat.
In this way, Lu Su got rid of his pursuers and successfully arrived at Juchao to join Zhou Yu.
This thing about Lu Su would be surprising if you take it out alone. Now put it all together, this is definitely not a "sincere gentleman", nor is he a simple person.
After Liu Bei heard this, he admired Lu Su even more, but also became wary of Lu Su in his heart.
Not to mention, Lu Su's behavior of forming a private army was not in line with Liu Bei's values and he actually ignored the laws of the court? !
But Liu Bei also knew that from the first year of Zhongping to the present, the world had been in chaos and discipline had been weakened. There are too many people who ignore the laws of the court. If you want to use this to be harsh, Liu Bei himself is not a perfect person, and he has no position to accuse others.
Therefore, Liu Bei still admired Lu Su very much, and indeed he firmly decided to go to the post house to meet him in person.
However, no one, Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang, or Xu Shu, dared to regard such a ruthless character as someone who could be deceived at will after Zhang Xi's series of "introductions".
You have to be sincere.
(End of chapter)
