A hail of arrows poured down, and before the Wu army could react, they fell to the ground and screams were heard everywhere.
Lu Meng deflected a few arrows and turned his horse back quickly, only to find that the road they came from was already surrounded by Cao's army. Under the firelight, a man stood with his hands behind his back, his sharp eyes emitting a cold light. It was Sima Yi.
"Lv Ziming, you have nowhere to go, why don't you surrender early?"
When Lu Meng saw Sima Yi appear here, he knew that he had fallen into a trap. The person who came was probably not Zhu Ran. He gripped his weapon tightly and his face turned pale.
Deng Guang shouted, "Uncle, hurry up and leave. I'll cover you!"
Zang Ba sneered and said, "You are a turtle trapped in a jar, yet you dare to speak so arrogantly? Shoot!"
"Wait!" Lu Meng suddenly raised his hand and said in a deep voice, "Let them go first."
Sima Yi paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "It is worth exchanging hundreds of lives for the general's surrender!"
Zang Ba waved his hand in the back, and the Cao army on the left made way for a passage. Deng Guang said loudly, "Uncle, I will accompany you."
"Stop talking!" Lü Meng's eyes were as sharp as a knife, and he clasped his fists towards the south and said, "You guys should return to Hefei as soon as possible to report the news and greet the lord on my behalf. Lü Meng has failed the great kindness of the Marquis of Wu, and there is no A Meng in Wu anymore!"
Sima Yi said calmly: "General, you are originally from the Central Plains. Why are you so proud of being from Jiangdong?"
"Everyone has their own aspirations, there is no need to argue!" Lü Meng was no longer in the mood to argue. He just stared at Deng Guang and the Wu army and shouted coldly: "How dare you resist my orders?"
Deng Guang bit his lips tightly, tears streaming down his face, and with Wu's army, he withdrew from the encirclement and headed to Dongying to meet up with Ling Tong.
Zang Ba turned his horse and rode out, laughing loudly, "I have heard that the people of Jiangdong are talking about the good story of Wuxia A Meng, and they thought you were a man of extraordinary talent. But today, I see that you are no more than that."
Lü Meng snorted slightly, and when he saw Deng Guang and the others walking away, he suddenly shouted in a stern voice: "How can a man like me associate with you villains?"
Before he finished speaking, he turned his horse and charged towards Zang Ba. He knew that there was no chance of him escaping and he did not want to suffer the humiliation of being captured. He wanted to kill Zang Ba before he died to buy time for Ling Tong and the others.
Lu Meng had followed his uncle into the martial arts world since he was over ten years old. He had been experienced since childhood and was extremely brave. At this moment, he attacked with all his strength, and his spear came out like a poisonous snake, heading towards Zang Ba's chest.
Zang Ba had not expected such a sudden change. It was too late for him to dodge, so he shouted and swung his sword to block.
Sizzle-
The teeth-grinding sound of weapons rubbing against each other resounded throughout the venue. A string of sparks appeared in front of the two men, and then there was a slight "puff" sound, and the tip of the gun pierced into Zang Ba's shoulder blade.
Zang Ba was also aroused to his ferocity. His eyes were red. He turned his hand and grabbed the tip of Lu Meng's spear tightly, and roared, "Shoot!"
Cao Jun was so frightened that his eyes widened and his hair stood on end. Only after hearing the low roar like a beast did he react and released the arrows in his hands.
"Slow..." Sima Yi raised his hand and only had time to utter two words before he sighed.
Lu Meng gripped the spear handle tightly with both hands, trying to pull it back and strike hard, but Zang Ba held on to him desperately. At this time, arrows were fired at him at once, and there was no way to avoid them. He was like a target.
More than a thousand arrows covered his whole body, and in a blink of an eye his entire body was filled with arrow feathers, turning him into a huge birdman.
Zang Ba gritted his teeth, pulled out the spear, and pushed it to the side. Lu Meng's body fell to the ground with a loud bang, and Cao's army could not help but retreat half a step.
There was silence on the field. Zang Ba rode his horse two steps forward, ignoring the blood pouring from his shoulder, and raised his sword with one hand to chop off Lu Meng's head again.
Sima Yi frowned and said, "Lü Meng died heroically for his country, and he can be considered a hero. Why not keep his body intact?"
"What I hate most in my life is... people who attack by surprise!" Zang Ba gritted his teeth and cursed, staggering on his horse.
The personal guards hurriedly supported him. At this moment, a soldier came to report that Ling Tong had killed Wu Dun and led the remaining troops to break out.
"I swear to destroy the Wu dogs!" When Zang Ba heard that another of his brothers had been killed, he roared and fainted.
Sima Yi looked at Lü Meng's body, which was covered with arrows and bleeding profusely. He knew that it would rot quickly in this weather. He sighed and ordered, "Bury Lü Meng's body on the spot, and bury his head and send it to Hefei."
It turned out that Cao Pi retreated to Yecheng and was at a loss as to what to do about the situation in the Central Plains. He was shocked to hear that Lu Meng had launched another surprise attack on Xuzhou. Fortunately, Sima Yi sent someone to deliver a secret letter to report, and he felt slightly relieved.
Cao Pi then discussed with Jiang Ji, Dong Zhao and others and wanted to negotiate peace with Sun Quan. He secretly asked Sun Fu to speak well of Wu Guotai so that the two sides could recognize each other and reconcile again.
Upon learning the news from Tan County, Cao Pi sent someone to inform Sima Yi and returned the Wu soldiers captives from Tan County to Jiangdong as a favor, in order to facilitate this matter and concentrate on dealing with Liu Qi.
Sima Yi proposed to appoint Sun Quan as General-in-Chief and Governor of Yangzhou, and cede the land of Qingzhou south of the Yellow River to Sun Quan. He also appointed Zhou Yu as Governor of Qingzhou and General Zhendong.
This move seemed to acknowledge the territory of Qingzhou, but in fact it made Zhou Yu and Sun Quan equal in status. It had long been rumored in Jiangdong that there was a rift between the two, and this move would surely lead to discord between the monarch and his subjects.
Even if Zhou Yu occupied Qingzhou, he was still separated from Jiangdong and isolated overseas, unable to make any progress. Without Zhou Yu's help, Sun Quan was like a tiger without its claws. In addition, after the setback in Huainan, Dongwu no longer posed a threat to the Central Plains.
Seeing that the great event was about to be accomplished, Lu Meng was unwilling to be humiliated and went to die bravely. Sima Yi had no choice but to send his head back and Cao Pi's letter to Hefei.
He was also worried that Sun Quan would not negotiate peace and would instead seek revenge because of the killing of Lü Meng, so he sent people to Danyang to instigate the Shanyue rebellion and force Sun Quan to make concessions.
When the envoy arrived in Hefei, he did not dare to see Sun Quan. He handed the wooden box containing official documents to the soldiers guarding the camp and left in a hurry.
At this time, there was a depressed mood in the Hefei camp. Sun Quan was recuperating from his injuries, the generals were resentful, and the soldiers had no fighting spirit. They all wanted to retreat, but because Lu Meng was still in the East China Sea, they had to wait for news.
Half a month ago, Lu Meng sent someone to inform Sun Quan that he would send troops north to cross the Huai River for a battle and seize Xuzhou with all his strength.
Sun Quan felt ashamed to face the elders of Jiangdong after making such a boastful announcement about the Northern Expedition. He stayed in Hefei on the pretext of recuperating from illness. But when he saw Lu Meng's letter, he was moved and immediately gathered all the civil and military officials to discuss the matter.
Lu Su, Lu Xun and others strongly opposed it. In this battle, the elite troops of Eastern Wu were all lost, the military forces in the south of the Yangtze River were empty, the Shanyue had been ready to make a move, and the people were resentful after years of war. If they forced troops to send out again, the rear would be unstable and the foundation would be shaken.
While he was hesitating, Hu Zong, an attendant, came quickly with a wooden box in his hand and handed him a letter: "My lord, Cao Pi has written to you, wanting to negotiate peace with you. Your cousin is the former general and governor of Yangzhou, and he is willing to reunite with our two families."
"Oh?" Sun Quan perked up on the bed, sat up, took the letter and read it. Seeing Cao Pi's humble words, quite flattering, and taking the initiative to cede Qingzhou, he couldn't help but smile smugly: "Without Cao A Man's help, Cao Pi will still find it difficult to take power. This boy has submitted to me!"
Although Sun Quan inherited Sun Ce's title as Marquis of Wu, his official position was only Prefect of Kuaiji and General Po Lu. This time, he could legitimately become the Governor of Yangzhou and be appointed as General, and he felt much more confident.
Thinking back to when he inherited his father and brother's business, he was younger than Cao Pi and could handle the situation calmly. However, Cao Pi was defeated repeatedly, lost Guanzhong and abandoned Xuchang, and his ability to maintain the business was far inferior to his own.
Seeing Hu Zong still holding the wooden box, Sun Quan stroked his beard and smiled, "I want to see what gift Cao Pi will give me to impress me."