Chapter 510 Amen under Wu
The mighty sky is a dragon and a tiger to the north, and the five clouds and the phoenix are to the east.
Another report of victory came from Maicheng, and the general on the river was Lu Meng. ----------Yang Weizhen, Yuan Dynasty, "Sending Lu Zuoqi back to Yue"
It is said that there is a vast mist on the Sanjiang Estuary. The warships of Gan Ning and Huang Zhong poured into the Yangtze River from the Han River, almost covering the surface of the river. Suddenly I heard three gunshots downstream, and a wall of sails was faintly visible in the mist on the opposite side. Hundreds of Dongwu warships were densely packed on the river downstream. The main mast was hoisted with a large flag with the word Wu and a yellow dragon with a black face. fluttering. Xi Zhicai smiled and said: "It's Wu Jun who came to greet Kong Ming." Huang Zhong ordered his people to wave the handover flag and prepare for battle at the same time, just in case there was one out of ten.
Amidst the long blast of the horn, a Dongwu flagship ship came out of the crowd and headed straight for Gan Ning's flagship. The incoming ship slowly approached against the current. On the high deck of the building, a young general stood upright like a javelin. His black embroidered yellow dragon jersey was blown behind him by the river wind, highlighting his domineering and well-proportioned figure. When you look closer, he has yellow hair, high eyebrows and deep eyes, green eyes and purple beard, and a magnificent bearing. He is the younger brother of Sun Ce, the lord of Jiangdong. He was named the prefect of Kuaiji at a young age and fought against the general Sun Quan and Sun Zhongmou.
Behind Zhongmou, two young white-robed generals stand tall with their spears raised. One of them has a slight moustache, a swarthy complexion, thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a tiger-like temperament. They are the generals of the Eastern Wu Dynasty, Lu Meng and Lu Ziming, a native of Fupi, Runan. The other is white-faced and beardless. With a resolute expression, a strong body, and nimble manners, he was the son of Ling Cao, the general of the Soochow navy, Ling Tongling Gongji, a native of Yuhang in Wujun, who was a brave champion in the three armies.
These two generals were both young and highly skilled in martial arts at this time, and they happened to serve as the bodyguards of the eighteen-year-old Sun Quan. Among them, Lü Meng was the first to be promoted by Sun Quan. Not only did he affectionately call him "Amen", but he also personally went to the army to encourage him to learn, which made Lü Meng grow from an unknown member of the Wu family to a famous general with both civil and military skills. After Amen grew up, in the official history, he crossed the river in white clothes, recaptured Jingzhou for Sun Quan and eliminated Guan Yu. It can be said that he made an immortal contribution and established a great reputation.
According to the official history, when Lu Meng was fifteen or sixteen, he crossed the Yangtze River south and joined the army to depend on his brother-in-law Deng Dang. At that time, Deng Dang was Sun Ce's general and led troops to conquer Shanyue several times. Although Lu Meng was young, he was very courageous and secretly followed his brother-in-law Deng Dang out to fight. Deng Dang was shocked when he found out. After returning from the battle, Deng Dang told Lu's mother about the incident. Lu's mother was very angry and wanted to punish Amen. Lu Meng retorted: "It is really difficult to live in such a poor and humble life. If you go out to fight, you may get credit and get rich. Furthermore, Ban Chao once said that he could not enter the tiger's den. , How can I get the tiger's cub? I am willing to fight for wealth and honor with my life." Lu's mother felt pity, and finally forgave him and let him go.
At that time, one of Deng Dang's generals saw Lü Meng following Deng Dang at a young age and looked down upon him. He said to others: "What ability does that kid Lü Meng have? He just wants to feed the tigers with meat." Later, he mocked and humiliated Lü Meng in person. . Lü Meng was furious, raised his sword to kill him, and fled to the home of his fellow villager Zheng Chang. Later, he surrendered through the school captain Yuan Xiong. Yuan Xiong interceded for Lu Meng and recommended him to his lord Sun Ce. Sun Ce saw that although Lu Meng was young, his martial arts skills were indeed outstanding, so he arranged for him to work beside him. A few years later, Deng Dang passed away, and Sun Ce instructed Zhang Zhao to recommend Lü Meng to succeed Deng Dang and take up the post of Sima of another department.
In the fifth year of Jian'an, Sun Ce was assassinated and Sun Quan took over the power of Jiangdong. After taking office, he wanted to select those young generals who had fewer troops and could not play much role, and adjust and merge their subordinates. After Lu Meng heard about it, it became even more difficult for him to make a difference after the troops were merged. So, he tried to find a way to get items on credit, quickly made crimson clothes and leggings for his subordinates, and stepped up to practice the formation. When Sun Quan inspected, Lü Meng's troops and horses were "displayed clearly and the soldiers were practicing". Sun Quan was very pleased when he saw it and thought he was running the army well. Not only did he not reduce his troops, but he increased his number of soldiers, and his favor has been growing ever since.
Sun Quan saw that Lü Meng was still young but could train troops, so he said to Lü Meng: "You are now in charge of Tu, so you must learn from it!" Meng Ci said that there were many things in the Israeli army. Quan said: "Why do you want me to study the classics and become a doctor? When you dabble in it, you can see the past. You have many things to do, so who is alone? Reading alone is of great benefit." Meng Nai began to study. When Lu Su passed by Xunyang, he discussed with Meng. He was shocked and said: "The talent you have now is not the same as returning to Wu Xia Amen!" Meng said: "We have been separated for three days, and we treat each other with admiration. How can I see this? It's too late!" Su then paid homage to Meng's mother, made friends and said goodbye.
This section is called Sun Quan's Encourage to Learn, and Lu Meng later repaid Sun Quan for his kindness. In the official history, when Lu Mengxian followed Sun Quan to attack Huang Zu and defeated Huang Zu's navy, he learned that there was an uprising in Shanyue in Danyang, Yuzhang and Luling counties. Sun Quan then led his army back to quell the rebellion, and Lü Meng followed the army to conquer. Lu Meng and other commanders such as Huang Gai, Han Dang, and Zhou Tai led troops to guard the dangerous points, and each used force to quell the Shanyue people who had revolted in the area. Lü Meng was appointed Captain of Pingbei due to his meritorious service and concurrently served as Chief of Guangde.
In the thirteenth year of Jian'an, Sun Quan adopted General Gan Ning's suggestion and sent troops to attack Xiakou. Lü Meng accompanied the army. Huang Zu, the governor of Jiangxia County, ordered the Mengchong warships to be used to block Miangou, and a large brown rope was tied to a boulder as a cone to fix the ship's position. More than a thousand people on board fired with bows and crossbows to block the river, and the Wu army's attack was blocked. Sun Quan ordered partial generals Dong Xi and Sima Lingtong to each lead a suicide squad of a hundred men, wearing heavy armor, and rushed to the side of the Mengchong ship in a large ship. Dong Xi slashed the brown rope with his sword, and the warship drifted along the current, and Sun Quan's army moved upstream. When Huang Zu saw Sun Quan's troops coming, he hurriedly sent the navy commander Chen Jiu to lead his troops to counterattack. Lü Meng led the vanguard troops and took the lead in the battle, cutting Chen Jiu down the Yangtze River with a single blow. Taking advantage of the victory, Sun Quan's army advanced by land and water and surrounded Xiakou City. Sun Quan's military commander stormed the city, captured the city, and massacred it. Huang Zu fled alone, but was chased and killed by the young general Feng Ze. In this battle, Sun Quan won a complete victory, annihilating his old enemy Huang Zu in one fell swoop and occupying the Jiangxia region. When discussing merits after the war, Sun Quan said: "The success of this battle depends on killing Chen Jiu first." So he promoted Lu Meng to Hengye Zhonglang General and gave him tens of millions of money.
In October of the thirteenth year of Jian'an, Lu Meng followed Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu and defeated Cao Cao in Chibi. Cao Cao led the defeated army back north, leaving Cao Ren and others to garrison Jiangling. Sun Quan ordered Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu to command tens of thousands of troops and confront Cao Ren across the river. After a short stalemate, Zhou Yu wanted to capture Jiangling and first sent Gan Ning to attack Yiling City upstream, intending to pose a flank threat to Jiangling. So Cao Ren divided his troops and besieged Gan Ning, hoping to recapture Yiling. Gan Ning asked Zhou Yu for help, but the generals were worried that if they rescued Yiling due to the small number of troops, Jiangling would be empty. Lu Meng said to Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu: "Leave Ling Gongji behind, and I will go with you to rescue the siege. According to the situation, it won't take too much time. I guarantee that Ling Gongji can hold on for ten days." Then he offered advice and advised Zhou Yu to send three soldiers. Hundreds of people used firewood to cut off the originally steep mountain road. When the enemy fled, we could obtain their horses. Zhou Yu accepted his suggestion and personally led the main force to rush to the aid of Yiling. He defeated Cao's army at the foot of Yiling City and killed more than half of them. Cao Jun fled at night, passing through a dangerous road blocked by firewood. However, all the horsemen abandoned their horses and walked on foot. Zhou Yu and Lu Meng drove their troops to pursue and intercept, and obtained 300 horses, which greatly boosted the army's power. Then he returned to cross the river, marched to the north bank, built a fort, and launched an attack on Jiangling. At this time, Sun Quan sent troops to surround Hefei in response to Zhou Yu's offensive. Because Cao Ren was alone and without support, he suffered repeated defeats in nearly a year of fighting and suffered heavy losses. He was forced to abandon Jiangling City and retreat to Xiangyang. Zhou Yu occupied Jiangling and was appointed governor of Nanjun by Sun Quan, taking control of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Lu Meng was once again promoted to partial general due to his meritorious service, and concurrently served as the Xunyang Order.
Zhou Yu died of illness and Lu Su took over. Lu Su went to Lukou and passed by Lu Meng's station. Lu Su was a Confucian general of his generation. He thought that Lu Meng was a martial artist and looked down upon him. Sun Quan said to Lu Su: "General Lu's fame is becoming more and more prominent. You should not look at him in an old way. You should go and visit him." So Lu Su went to the camp alone to visit Lu Meng, and Lu Meng entertained him with wine. When the wine was full, Lu Meng asked Lu Su: "You have been given the important task of being adjacent to Guan Yu. What strategies will you adopt to prevent unexpected things from happening?" Lu Su replied hastily: "It depends on the situation temporarily." Lu Meng He said: "Although Sun and Liu are the same family now, Guan Yu is really a general like a bear and a tiger. Why not make a plan?" So Lu Meng analyzed the pros and cons at that time in detail. Lu Su was shocked after hearing this. He stood up from the table, approached Lu Meng, patted his back affectionately, and praised: "Lu Ziming, I really didn't expect that your talent and strategy have reached such a level." He also said: "In this way. Your current talent is no longer that of Amen under Wu!" Lü Meng said: "We were separated for three days, and we were even more impressed. My brother knew it was too late!" From then on, the two became good friends. Very close.
In the first month of the eighteenth year of Jian'an, Cao Cao personally led an army of 100,000 to attack Sun Quan, advanced to Ruxukou, broke through Sun Quan's Jiangxi camp, and captured the governor Gongsun Yang alive. Lü Meng followed Sun Quan and led 70,000 tribesmen to resist Cao Cao. He proposed many strange strategies and persuaded Sun Quan to build a dock at Jia Shuikou to guard against enemy troops. Later, Cao Cao looked at Sun Quan's army from a distance and saw the majestic formation and tight defenses. He sighed and said, "Having a son should be like Sun Zhongmou." So he did not dare to advance rashly. As the news of spring in the Yangtze River was approaching, Sun Quan wrote a letter to urge Cao Cao to withdraw his troops as soon as possible. Cao Cao also sized up the situation and took the initiative to withdraw his troops and return.
In the 19th year of Jian'an, Cao Cao sent Zhu Guang, the prefect of Lujiang, to station troops in the Wancheng area to cultivate land and plant rice in order to supplement military supplies. He also sent spies to recruit bandit leaders in Poyang as internal agents. Lu Meng believed that "the fields in Wan County are fertile. If the grain harvest is good, their soldiers will increase. If this continues for several years, Cao Cao's advantages will be revealed. He should capture Wan County as soon as possible." Sun Quan adopted his opinion and led his army. Go up the river and attack Wancheng. Zhu Guang gathered his troops to defend the city. Sun Quan asked the generals for advice, and they wanted to build mountains and purchase siege equipment. Lu Meng said: "It will take many days to build siege equipment and pile up mountains of earth. By then, the enemy's city defenses will have been consolidated and reinforcements will surely arrive. We will not be able to capture Wancheng. Besides, our army will come with heavy rain and heavy water." , if we stay for a long time, the flood will gradually recede, and we will encounter difficulties on the way back. I think it is very dangerous. Now it seems that this city will not be very strong. The morale of our three armies is high and we will attack from all sides. It can be captured quickly, and then return to the army before the flood retreats. This is the strategy to achieve a complete victory." Sun Quan adopted this suggestion, and Lu Meng recommended General Gan Ning to be promoted to city governor, leading his elite soldiers to march from dawn to dawn. Launch an onslaught. Lü Meng beat drums to cheer up, and Gan Ning took the lead. Lü Meng followed with his elite troops and climbed to the city. In just one meal, they captured the city, captured Zhu Guang alive, and captured tens of thousands of people. Zhang Liao, the general of Cao Wei who was stationed in Hefei, learned that Wancheng was in danger and hurriedly led his troops to help. When he arrived in the Jiashi area, he heard that Wancheng had been lost, so he had no choice but to retreat. Lü Meng made the greatest contribution in this battle. Sun Quan rewarded him heavily and appointed him as the governor of Lujiang. All the captured men and horses were also given to Lü Meng. He was also given a special grant of 600 households in Xunyang and 30 officials and subordinates.
After the Battle of Chibi, Liu Bei occupied Jingzhou and sent Guan Yu to guard it. Sun Quan asked for it many times, but Liu Bei refused to return it. In the 20th year of Jian'an, Sun Quan sent Lu Meng with 20,000 soldiers to capture Changsha, Lingling and Guiyang counties. Lu Meng sent a message to Changsha and Guiyang, and the two counties surrendered. However, Hao Pu, the prefect of Lingling, defended the city and refused to surrender. After hearing this, Liu Bei saw that the situation was critical and hurried from Shu County to the police station, and ordered Guan Yu to send troops to fight for the three counties.
Sun Quan was stationed at Lukou at that time and commanded the armies to fight. Sun Quan sent Lu Su and ten thousand people to garrison in Yiyang to resist Guan Yu. At the same time, he sent an urgent document to Lu Meng, asking him to abandon Lingling and immediately return to reinforce Lu Su. When Lü Meng pacified Changsha, he led his troops to Lingling. When passing through Lingxian County, he found Deng Xuanzhi, an old friend of Lingling guard Hao Pu, and took him with him in the army, hoping to lure Hao Pu to surrender. After Lu Meng received the letter, he did not announce it. Instead, he summoned the generals overnight, laid out the strategy, and said that he would attack the city at dawn.
After the arrangement was completed, he said to Deng Xuanzhi: "Hao Zitai knows that there is loyalty in the world and wants to do something loyal, but he does not understand the current situation. Liu Bei, the general of the left, is in Hanzhong and is besieged by Xia Houyuan. Guan Yu is in Nanjun, and now our Lord has arrived in person. Nanjun. Recently they broke through Guan Yu's base camp in Fancheng and rescued Lingxian County. Guan Yu has been defeated by Sun Gui. These are all recent things that you have seen with your own eyes. They are now in separate directions. It is too late to save themselves. How can they have the energy to rescue again? Lingling! Now our soldiers are elite, and everyone wants to make meritorious service to the country. The Lord is dispatching the army and marching on the road one after another. Right now, Zitai's life is in danger, but he is waiting for hopeless rescue, just like a cow's footprints. The fish in the Zhongji water still hopes to use the water of Jiang and Han to survive. It is also clear that it has no dependence. If Zi Tai can unite his soldiers and hold on to the isolated city, he can still survive for a few days to wait for something to happen later. It is feasible to take refuge. Now I have carefully planned and arranged the troops to attack the city. In less than a day, the city will be conquered. After the city is conquered, he himself will die without help, leaving his hundred-year-old mother to Wouldn't it be sad to have gray hair and be killed? I guess he didn't get any information from the outside and thought he had foreign help to rely on, which is why he is so stubborn today. You can go see him and state this interest to him ."
Deng Xuanzhi met with Hao Pu and relayed Lu Meng's message to him. Hao Pu believed it to be true, was frightened in his heart, and was ready to surrender. Deng Xuanzhi went out of the city first to report to Lu Meng that Hao Pu would be arriving soon. Lu Meng ordered the four leaders in advance to select a hundred men each, and when Hao Pu left the city, they would immediately rush in and guard the city gate. Soon, Hao Pu left the city, and Lu Meng went up to meet him, took his hand, and got on the boat with him. After exchanging pleasantries, he took out Sun Quan's urgent documents and showed them to him, clapped his hands and laughed. Hao Pu took the document and learned that Liu Bei had arrived at the police station and Guan Yu had arrived in Yiyang. Only then did he find out that he had been tricked and "he was so ashamed that he went to the ground." After Lu Meng outwitted Hao Pu, he left Sun Jiao to deal with the funeral affairs, and he immediately led his troops to Yiyang. The war between the two sides was imminent. When Cao Cao attacked Hanzhong, Liu Bei was in a tight rear and was forced to make peace with Sun Quan. Sun Quan also wanted to take the opportunity to capture Hefei and agreed to stop his troops. The two sides agreed to use the Xiang River as the boundary, and Sun Quan returned Lingling County and Haopu to Liu Bei. In recognition of Lü Meng's military exploits, Xunyang and Yangxin were designated as Lü Meng's food towns.
Sun Quan returned to conquer Hefei, but was defeated by Wei general Zhang Liao. Sun Quan failed to siege Hefei for more than ten days, so he withdrew the siege and retreated to the north of Xiaoyao Jin. Zhang Liao took the opportunity to launch an attack with infantry and cavalry. Lu Meng, Gan Ning, and Ling Tong resisted with all their strength and fought to the death to cover Sun Quan's escape to Xiaoyaojin. Sun Quan's horse galloped past. At that time, General He Qi led 3,000 men to support him in Xiaoyao Jinnan, and Sun Quan was lucky enough to be spared.
In the first month of the 22nd year of Jian'an, King Cao Cao of Wei finished organizing the army and once again raised an army to attack Wu. The troops entered Juchao. Sun Quan built a fortress at Ruxukou to control the intersection of Ruxushui and the Yangtze River. At the same time, Lü Meng was appointed as the commander-in-chief and ordered to lead his troops to guard Ruxu dock. With the help of the previously built dock, he set up thousands of strong crossbows to resist Cao's army. Before Cao Cao's vanguard set up camp, Lu Meng immediately led his troops to attack and successfully defeated them. Due to Lu Meng's brave resistance, Cao's army failed to attack Ruxuwu for a long time. In March, Cao Cao saw that it was difficult to win a quick victory, so he led his army to withdraw. Lü Meng was appointed as Zuohujun and General Feng Huwei for this campaign.
In the winter of the same year, Lu Su, who was guarding Lukou, died. Lü Meng took his place as general and stationed in Lukou in the west. It turned out that Lu Su's more than 10,000 troops were all under Lü Meng's command. Sun Quan appointed Lu Meng as the prefect of Hanchang, and added food to Xiajun, Liuyang, Hanchang, and Zhouling. The area under his jurisdiction was adjacent to Guan Yu's Jiangling, and each of them guarded his own territory. Lu Meng knew that Guan Yu was good at fighting and had ambitions for external expansion. Moreover, he was in the upper reaches of himself in terms of terrain, so he would never live in peace for a long time. Therefore, Lu Meng actively prepared for war and waited for an opportunity to take back Jingzhou.
At the beginning, Lu Su and others believed that Cao Cao was in the north and the war had just begun. Sun and Liu should rely on each other, help each other, share the same hatred, and should not affect the overall situation due to the competing interests of both sides. At that time, Lü Meng held different views and once presented a secret plan to Sun Quan. He said: "If Sun Jiao, the conquering general, is allowed to guard Nanjun, Pan Zhang will station in Baidi, and Jiang Qin will lead a mobile force of 10,000 people along the route. Patrolling up and down the Yangtze River, we will rush wherever the enemy appears, while I, the humble minister, will move forward to occupy Xiangyang for the Lord. With such an arrangement, why should we worry about Cao Cao? Why should we rely on Guan Yu? Besides, Guan Yu and his ministers rely on his cunning and The power is so capricious, how can we regard them as true good friends! The reason why Guan Yu did not immediately invade our jurisdiction to the east is because, my lord, you are extremely wise and our generals are still alive. Now don’t take advantage of this When we are strong, we will distract them. Once we are dead, is it still possible to use our strength?" Sun Quan was impressed by his plan and told Lu Meng about his intention to capture Xuzhou. Lu Meng said: "Now Cao Cao is north of the Yellow River. , pacified Youzhou and Jizhou, and had no time to pay attention to the east. The defensive soldiers in Xuzhou were insignificant. As long as they attacked, they could naturally conquer it. However, the terrain of Xuzhou is only accessible by land, which is a place where brave cavalry gallops. My lord, today Once Xuzhou is obtained, Cao Cao will come to fight for it within ten days. Although it requires 70 to 80 thousand people to defend it, it is still worth worrying about. It is better to capture Guan Yu and occupy the entire Yangtze River Basin, and the situation will become stronger." Sun Quan believed that this suggestion was more practical and feasible. .
When Lu Meng replaced Lu Su as general, he was even more attentive to Guan Yu when he first arrived at Lukou, extended his kindness and kindness, and established a friendly relationship with Guan Yu.
In June of the 24th year of Jian'an, after Liu Bei captured Hanzhong, he sent Meng Da and Liu Feng to capture Fangling, Shangyong and other places in the eastern part of Hanzhong County, and their power expanded. In July, Sun Quan wanted to attack Hefei, so most of the Wei army mobilized Huainan to defend against the Wu army. Guan Yu, who was guarding Jingzhou, seized the opportunity to fight. He left Mi Fang, the prefect of Nan County, to guard Jiangling, and General Fu Shiren to guard the public security. He led the main force to attack Jingxiang in the north. He flooded seven armies, captured Yu Jin, and beheaded Pang De. He directly threatened Xu Du and temporarily threatened the capital. Shock China.
Lu Meng wrote a letter saying: "Guan Yu attacked Fancheng and left many defenders behind. It must be because he was afraid that I would attack his rear. I often get sick, so in the name of healing, some soldiers can go back to Jianye with me. Guan Yu heard about this After receiving the news, we will remove the garrison and march all to Xiangyang. At that time, our army will take the water route and go upstream in boats. We can take advantage of his unpreparedness and attack his empty position. Then we can capture Nanjun and capture Guan Yu. "
After submitting the letter, Lu Meng claimed that he was seriously ill, and Sun Quan publicly issued a document calling him back to Jianye. After hearing the news, Guan Yu was indeed caught in the trap and gradually transferred his garrison troops to Fancheng. In the tenth month of the leap year, Lü Meng was summoned by Sun Quan to return to Jianye. He passed by Wuhu. Lu Xun, the right governor of the tent, came to visit him and said to Lü Meng: "Guan Yu is adjacent to your defense area. Why did you leave so far away? I won't do it for this in the future." Are you worried?" Lu Meng said: "It is indeed what you said, but I am very ill." Lu Xun: "Guan Yu is proud of his bravery and bullies others. He has just achieved great success and is arrogant. He devotes himself to attacking to the north. He will not attack our army in the future. If I don’t hear that you are seriously ill, I will definitely be more unprepared. If I catch him by surprise, I can capture him. When you see the lord, you should plan the matter properly." Lu Meng was shocked, but in order not to reveal the military plan, he said: "Guan Yu has always been brave and good at fighting. It is difficult for us to make an enemy of him. Moreover, he has occupied Jingzhou, shows great kindness and loyalty, and has just achieved great success. His courage and momentum are even stronger, making it difficult to deal with."
Later, Lü Meng paid a visit to Sun Quan. Sun Quan asked who could take command at Lukou for him. Lü Meng highly recommended Lu Xun and said: "Lu Xun has far-reaching thoughts and is capable of shouldering heavy responsibilities. Judging from his magnanimity, he can be of great use in the end. Moreover, he does not have a great reputation. It's not someone Guan Yu is worried about, there is no one more suitable than him. If he is used, he should hide his edge outside, observe the situation inside, look for opportunities, and then attack the enemy to win." Sun Quan then ordered, Lu Xun replaced Lu Meng. Lu Xun came to Lukou and immediately wrote to Guan Yu, expressing his admiration for him and saying that he would never be an enemy of Guan Yu. Guan Yu became more and more careless.
Guan Yu had tens of thousands of new troops and was short of food. In order to meet his urgent need, Guan Yu seized the grain stored in Xiangguan by Soochow without authorization. Sun Quan learned of this and felt that the time was right, so he sent troops to attack Guan Yu. Sun Quan was about to appoint the generals Sun Jiao and Lü Meng as the supreme commanders of the left and right armies. Lü Meng said: "If you think the generals are talented, you should appoint him as the commander-in-chief; if you think I am talented, you should appoint him as the commander-in-chief." I. In the past, Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu were the governors of the left and right forces and led troops to attack Jiangling. Although Zhou Yu made the decision, Cheng Pu relied on himself as a veteran general and both of them were commanders in chief. As a result, the two sides were at odds and almost destroyed the country. This is a big deal, and this is what we should take as a warning now." Sun Quan came to his senses, thanked Lü Meng and said, "Since you are the commander-in-chief, I can appoint Sun Jiao as your backup."
In November, Sun Quan conquered Guan Yu in the west. He appointed Lü Meng as the front guard. He led his troops out of hiding and entered Xunyang. He ambush the elite soldiers in disguised merchant ships. He ordered the soldiers to wear white clothes and disguise themselves as merchants, and recruited the people to paddle oars. Paddling, day and night, rushing up the river, heading straight for Jiangling, everything was done very covertly and cunningly. The soldiers of the Shu army stationed at Jiangfeng were deceived by the disguised Wu army and were caught off guard. They were all captured. The city of Jiangling was empty and fell into chaos. Lu Meng first asked Yu, the former cavalry captain, to translate a letter to induce Shu general Fu Shiren, who was stationed at the Public Security Bureau, to surrender. He also asked Fu Shiren to lure the Wu army to make a forced surrender to Mi Fang, the prefect of Shunan County who was guarding Jiangling. Mi Fang presented the city to welcome him, and Lü Meng led his army to march into Jiangling, thereby recapturing Jingzhou, which Shu had long occupied. However, Guan Yu, who was proud and underestimated his enemy, was completely unaware of Lu Meng's attack.
When Mi Fang, the prefect of Nan County, surrendered from the city, Lu Meng celebrated Nan Jun's surrender on the sand dunes. Yu Fan advised Lu Meng to be careful about an ambush in the city. Only Mi Fang and the Wu army in Jiangling City were united. Others had ulterior motives and advised Lu Meng to enter the city as soon as possible. Taking control of the city, Lu Meng suddenly woke up and took control of important areas in the city in time, so that those who originally wanted to ambush had no time to set up an ambush. As expected, there was an ambush in the city at that time. Because Lu Meng accepted Yu Fan's advice, the ambush was unsuccessful.
Lu Meng captured all the family members of Guan Yu's men, comforted them generously, and ordered the army not to harass the people, and anyone who disobeyed the order would be killed. At that time, Lü Meng had a sergeant who, like Lü Meng, had crossed over from Runan County, north of the Huaihe River. He took a bamboo hat from a civilian family to cover the official armor. Lü Meng believed that although the armor was a public artifact, taking private hats without permission was still a violation of military orders, so he beheaded him with tears. As a result, the army was shaken and no one was picking up any lost items on the road.
Lu Meng also sent people to visit the elderly in the morning and evening and care about their lives, but supplies were insufficient. If someone is sick, give him medicine; if someone is hungry or cold, give him food and clothes. Lu Meng did not take any of the treasures in Guan Yu's treasury, but sealed them all. At that time, Guan Yu had been defeated by Xu Huang. Hearing that Jiangling had been lost, he was even more panicked and hurriedly withdrew his troops. On the way back to the army, he sent people to contact Lü Meng several times. Lü Meng warmly received the envoy sent by Guan Yu, took him around the city, and asked him to visit the homes of the soldiers to express condolences. As a result, some people wrote letters in their own words, saying that they had been treated favorably by Lü Meng. When the envoy returned to Guan Yu's army, the soldiers learned that not only was everything safe at home, but they were also being cared for more favorably than usual, so the whole army lost all fighting spirit.
At this time, Sun Quan had arrived at Jiangling first and sent Lu Xun to capture Yiling and Zigui, cutting off Guan Yu's retreat to Sichuan. Guan Yu asked for help from Shu generals Liu Feng and Meng Da who were stationed at Shangyong, but they were rejected. Guan Yu was trapped in the dilemma of losing ground and being attacked from both sides, so he headed west to Maicheng. In December of that year, Guan Yu led a small number of cavalry to break out of Maicheng and fled west to Zhang Township. All his men surrendered to Sun Quan. Sun Quan sent Zhu Ran and Pan Zhang to cut off his path. Guan Yu and his son were eventually captured and beheaded by Sima Zhong of Pan Zhang's tribe, and Jingzhou was pacified.
Throughout his life, Lu Meng was courageous, diligent in reading, knowledgeable, insightful, self-denial, and gradually became an unparalleled scholar in the country. At the same time, his filial piety to his mother was known throughout the country. Lu Su and Gan Ning both worshiped his mother, became sworn friends with his colleagues, and helped Xu Gu and others raise orphans. He also ignored his personal grudges with Cai Yi and Gan Ning, and instead focused on the Lord. I have spoken kind words for him before. Even when his military affairs were in turmoil, he was still diligent in studying and applying his skills to become a famous general. He bravely killed Chen Jiu, defeated Huang Zu and Zhu Guang, and captured Hao Pu and Guan Yu wisely. He was loyal to Sun Wu throughout his life and was one of Sun Quan's most trusted generals.
The two flagships finally got closer. Sun Quan took Lu Meng and Ling Tong and personally stepped on the pedal between the two ships. A pair of green eyes fell directly on Zhuge Liang who greeted him with a smile. He laughed and said: "I heard that Ziyu has a younger brother Kong Ming. People call him the Crouching Dragon of Nanyang, and his wisdom is as deep as the sea. When I see him today, he is indeed a dragon and a phoenix among men!"
If you want to know what happens next, listen to the explanation next time.
