"My lord, this..." Hu Zong retracted his hands and was about to explain.
Sun Quan was displeased and said, "Although I am injured, I can still lift the wooden box. Since it is a gift from Cao Pi, I should open it myself."
After suffering heavy casualties in this battle, they are worried about not being able to return to Jiangdong. If they can make Cao Pi surrender, they can take advantage of the situation and return to Jianye first.
Hu Zong took a deep breath and held up the wooden box with both hands: "General Lu was trapped in the East China Sea and unfortunately died a martyr. This is the head sent by Cao's army..."
"What?" Sun Quan's face changed drastically. He snatched the wooden box and opened it. He saw that there were several arrow feathers stuck in Lu Meng's head and his death was miserable.
"Ziming—" Sun Quan screamed, blood spurted out of his mouth, and he fell straight on the bed and fainted.
Hu Zong hurriedly summoned a doctor and sent the wooden box out of the camp. Huang Gai and other generals had just arrived after hearing the news. When they saw the head, they were all filled with grief and indignation, and clamored to avenge Lu Meng.
Although Lu Meng was a leading new generation of military generals in Jiangdong, he joined the army when he was a teenager and followed Sun Ce with his brother-in-law Deng Dang. He was brave and good at fighting, and was highly regarded by all the generals.
Especially after Sun Quan persuaded him to study hard and learned the art of war, his temperament changed drastically. He was proficient in both civil and military affairs. Even Lu Su praised him highly. After the surprise attack on Xuzhou, he became even more famous and became the second Zhou Yu in the army. However, he ended up like this when he led his troops to the north for the first time.
Hu Zong drove the angry generals aside to prevent them from alarming Sun Quan. Lu Su and Lu Xun stood silently in the distance, shaking their heads and sighing.
When Sun Quan insisted on attacking Shouchun, the two of them tried to dissuade him. However, Sun Quan became impatient when he saw that Liu Qi's power was constantly expanding, and ended up losing a great general.
Lu Xun frowned and sighed, "My lord is eager to achieve success, but he doesn't know that haste makes waste!"
Lu Su had a complicated expression. The calm, wise and receptive Sun Zhongmou was no longer there. The Marquis of Wu in front of him was becoming increasingly irritable, eager for quick success and even a little paranoid, which was somewhat similar to Sun Ce.
But Sun Ce had the aura of a hegemon, was brave and capable in commanding troops, and his decisiveness in battle was beyond the reach of Sun Quan.
“A minister should not criticize his ruler, a son should not comment on his father, and an elder should be careful with his words.” Lu Su had thousands of words in his mind, but when he spoke them out loud, they turned into one piece of advice.
Lu Xun calmed his mind and soon saw the doctor go out. Everyone hurried into the room to check on him, only to see Sun Quan lying on the bed with a pale face, breathing unstable, and muttering Lu Meng's name.
After much difficulty in training a useful person, he lost his life in the first battle. Now that he is needed again, how could Sun Quan not be angry
Lu Su walked up to the bed and advised: "The dead cannot be resurrected. Jiangdong's affairs still need to be managed by the lord. Take good care of your health."
"Revenge, revenge is a must!" Sun Quan tightly grasped the quilt, looked at Lu Su and gritted his teeth, "The Cao family and I cannot coexist."
Huang Gai and others had calmed down by now. They knew that Lu Meng's entire army had been wiped out, and sending more troops would be even more disadvantageous to Jiangdong, so they all stepped forward to comfort him.
At this moment, there was a sudden noise outside the camp. Sun Shao led three people into the tent. They saw that their armor was tattered and they were covered in dust. It was Ling Tong and Zhu Ran who were returning to the camp. Deng Guang fell to the ground crying.
Lu Su ordered his men to help him up and asked, "What is the situation of the battle in the East China Sea?"
Ling Tong then told them about Lü Meng's plan to negotiate with Cao's army and wait for an opportunity to take Xuzhou, but was tricked by Sima Yi, who disguised himself as Zhu Ran's troops and tricked them out of the city.
Deng Guang then relayed Lu Meng's words before he left to Sun Quan, and in order to protect their escape, he pretended to surrender, but in the end he fought alone and died in battle.
Everyone was moved after hearing this, and they all gnashed their teeth and cursed Sima Yi, saying that he had flooded Shouchun twice and killed Lu Meng this time, making him the second biggest public enemy of Jiangdong after Huang Zu.
"Sima, you bastard, I wish I could eat your flesh alive!" Sun Quan was so angry that he sat up from the bed again, his eyes were bloodshot, and he growled: "I swear I will not be a human being if I don't take revenge!"
Lu Su and others tried to persuade them again, while Ling Tong and the other two wiped their tears silently. Lu Meng risked his life to rescue them. Such a kindness could never be repaid. They really hoped that Sun Quan would immediately send troops to Xuzhou to seek revenge on Sima Yi.
"Sima thief!" Sun Quan pounded the bed with his hands and ordered Hu Zong in a deep voice: "Write back to Cao Pi immediately, and tell him that you can withdraw your troops and make peace with me, but you need to take Sima Yi to Hefei to apologize."
Hu Zong originally wanted to persuade Sun Quan to think twice, but seeing that Sun Quan was angry, he had to obey the order and leave the tent. However, he did not rush to reply and waited for Lu Su to come out to discuss it further.
Sima Yi was close to Cao Pi and already famous in Cao's army. He was also highly regarded by Cao Ren, so how could he give himself away so easily
If the peace talks fail, given Sun Quan's temperament, he will insist on going to the end no matter what the consequences are, which will shake the foundation of Jiangdong and the consequences will be unpredictable.
Soon Lu Su and others withdrew, all with solemn expressions. Although there was no Cao army pressing in, the situation in Jiangdong was more critical than the previous Battle of Ruxu.
Zhou Yu successfully set foot in Qingzhou, but the war in Huainan was unfavorable. The army was isolated and the military situation was unclear. Most of the elite troops in Jiangdong were killed, and there were only a few thousand defenders left in Ruxu. How to resist Cao Ren who escaped from Shouchun and took advantage of the situation to move south
The news of Lu Meng's heroic sacrifice spread in the camp, once again dealing a blow to the morale of the Wu army. The entire Hefei camp was dead silent, as if they had returned to the scene of the failure of the Battle of Hefei.
It had been raining heavily for days, and Sun Quan was in a deep sleep in his mansion. Lu Su did not dare to withdraw his troops on his own initiative. His troops were stuck in Hefei and their morale was low.
On this day, someone suddenly came from Jianye. It turned out to be the Queen Mother of Wu who had been waiting for Sun Quan to return for a long time and was worried about his injuries and illness. She sent her confidant to urge him in person. If he did not return within half a month, the Queen Mother would cross the river to visit him in person.
Sun Quan was a very filial person. He immediately asked Lu Su and others to discuss the withdrawal of troops. He planned to leave Huang Gai to guard Huainan and wait for an opportunity to take revenge. He had no intention of negotiating with Cao Pi.
While they were discussing, urgent news came from Danyang again. When the Shanyue heard that the Wu army had been defeated, the new leader Fei Zhan took the opportunity to start an uprising and gathered 30,000 troops to attack the county government.
Sun Quan was so angry that he was in a state of confusion. He asked Lu Su anxiously, "What good advice do you have, Zi Jing?"
Lu Su said, "Xindu Governor He Qi is good at suppressing the Shanyue. He has not been pacifying Yi, She and other places for long. The rebels must be afraid of him. We can transfer him to lead troops to suppress the rebellion. If the territory is well-equipped, the soldiers are well-trained and the food is sufficient, the Shanyue is actually nothing to worry about. The lord should pacify the territory, store grain to feed the people, work hard and train the troops, and wait for the changes in the world."
Sun Quan sighed and said, "Zi Jing, do you still remember the meeting at Chaisang? I, Gongjin and I have conspired with each other to conquer the Central Plains and expand our Jiangdong base. Now Gongjin has taken Qingzhou. If we do not go north to support him, he will be alone and surrounded by powerful enemies. I am afraid he will not be able to hold out for long. Wouldn't that mean all our efforts will be wasted?"
Lu Su clasped his fists and said, "Gong Jin is the best at making plans. If we do not advance, we can use the land of Qingzhou, Haidai, and the people to fight Cao's army. My lord, you now have the land of Huainan. You should strengthen the territory, wait for the opportunity, and cooperate with Gong Jin from north to south. In the end, you will achieve great things."
Sun Quan lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling in silence for a long time, and then sighed: "If Guan Yu conquers Yuzhou and Yanzhou, how can I compete with Liu Qi?"
Lu Su said: "Sun and Liu are married, and they are united in defeating Cao. They are originally for the purpose of supporting the Han Dynasty and reviving the royal family. Why should my lord care about gains and losses?"
Sun Quan's eyes shone slightly, his mouth moved, and finally waved his hand and said, "Prepare to retreat!"