Being pulled out of bed in the middle of winter is enough to make a person furious, not to mention that Jiang Gan was dragged out by someone, and he often gets grumpy when he wakes up.
He struggled and kicked his legs, cursed loudly, and felt heartbroken all the way, like a pig about to be slaughtered.
Zhou Yu frowned as he looked at his former classmate and close friend. Jiang Gan was also from a famous family in Huainan. He was extremely concerned about his reputation on weekdays. He was always able to handle banquets fluently and get along with everyone. He didn't expect that he had such an impatient side.
Jiang Gan saw Zhou Yu sitting on the commander's seat with disheveled hair and beard, and he jumped up and cursed: "Zhou Yu, you are despicable and shameless, you are a mean person with a wolf's heart and a dog's lungs."
"Shut up!" Zhou Yu slammed the table and stood up, shouting, "I regard you as my best friend and treat you with sincerity, why do you want to kill me?"
Jiang Gan was startled and said in a hoarse voice: "I helped you to avenge your master and lent you food and fodder, and you dare to bite back?"
Zhou Yu laughed loudly and asked in a stern voice, "If that's the case, why did Xiahou Dun send troops to attack Beihai and cut off my retreat?"
"Ah?" Jiang Gan was surprised and asked, "Is this true?"
Zhou Yu said coldly, "If it weren't for the urgent report from the Beihai garrison last night, I'm afraid Xiahou Dun would have taken advantage of my lax defense to sneak into the city. You sent the food and grass, but it was just a conspiracy with Xiahou Dun to get us all drunk, so that we can cooperate from inside and outside, right?"
"Oh, that's not true!" Jiang Gan waved his hands repeatedly, broke out in a cold sweat, and asked anxiously, "Is it true?"
Zhou Yu pointed to the north and said, "The Wei army is besieging Beihai. The facts are there. If I hadn't seen the opportunity early, I would have been a prisoner by now!"
“How could this be? How could this be…” Jiang Gan’s mind was in a mess. He curled up into a ball and shivered, not knowing whether it was because of shock or cold.
Zhou Yu said coldly, "You and I were classmates and close friends. I served the Sun family, and you served the thief Cao. There is nothing wrong with each serving his own master. I never thought that you would become a spy for the Cao family and murder me. I should have beheaded you in public. But considering our friendship, I will let you leave the city today, and we will no longer be friends."
Jiang Gan was shocked and shouted, "Gongjin, there must be a misunderstanding. Let me explain..."
"Send you out!" Zhou Yu waved his hand, turned his back, looked up and sighed softly, sounding extremely sad and disappointed.
"Sir, please come in!" Xu Sheng helped Jiang Gan stagger out of the house, pulled him to the corner of the street and said in a deep voice: "So, sir, you have been lying to me all along?"
"Absolutely not!" Jiang Gan came to his senses and hurriedly explained: "This must be Xiahou Dun's own decision. I am not aware of it. General, don't worry. I will investigate this matter thoroughly and I will definitely get a reply from Prime Minister Cao."
Xu Sheng stared at Jiang Gan: "How can I trust you?"
Jiang Gan said anxiously, "I have a written document in the general's hand. If you break your promise, you can go to Huainan and mortgage your land. What else is there to doubt?"
"That makes sense!" Xu Sheng thought for a moment, sent Jiang Gan back to the inn, and sent him out of the city after he was dressed neatly.
Jiang Gan, along with his followers, rushed angrily to the Wei army camp, ready to bring the army to bear on the culprits. However, when he arrived at the river bank, he was stunned, and stood there like a block of ice frozen on his horse.
The Wei army camp had been reduced to ashes. Looking around, the coast was all scorched earth. All the men and horses were burned to death. When the morning breeze blew, some of the corpses turned into ashes and dissipated.
There were dead bodies everywhere outside the camp. They were completely frozen, and the coagulated blood was scarlet and glaring. Walking towards the shore, there were countless corpses on the ice of the river. Some soldiers were frozen to death before they could even put on their clothes.
The purgatory-like scene was horrible to watch. Jiang Gan closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and shouted to the sky: "The warrior has misled me!"
He led everyone across the river to chase the deserters, all the way to Zhangqiu City. The patrolling soldiers saw that it was Jiang Gan, shot him back with bows and arrows, and hurried to report.
"How dare this bastard chase us here?" Upon hearing the news, Xiahou Dun was furious and rode out to fight. When he arrived outside the city, he saw only Jiang Gan and his companions. He cursed, "Jiang Gan, how dare you come here to die?"
Although Jiang Gan was a scholar, his bright future was ruined by Xiahou Dun. He was furious, but he was not afraid. He rode forward and asked, "Xiahou Dun, I have already formed an alliance with Zhou Lang. Why did you secretly send troops to attack Beihai and anger the Wu army?"
“This…” Xiahou Dun was brandishing his sword, preparing to chop Jiang Gan off his horse, but was stunned when he heard this, and finally understood why the Wu army launched a surprise attack overnight.
Jiang Gan saw Xiahou Dun's expression and knew that this was true. He became even more furious and shouted, "Xiahou Yuanrang, I was ordered by the Prime Minister to persuade Zhou Yu to surrender. Although I failed, I agreed to form an alliance to fight Liu Qi. Even if you are dissatisfied, you should wait for the Prime Minister's order before making a decision. What crime should you be punished for sending troops privately?"
"Alas!" Xiahou Dun also regretted it and shook his head helplessly: "It's also my fault for acting on impulse. Actually..."
Originally, he wanted to wait for Jiang Gan to return to the camp to discuss this matter yesterday, but Jiang Gan stayed in the city to have a banquet with Zhou Yu, and in anger he also held a banquet in the camp, and forgot about this matter. He wanted to threaten Zhou Yu with the soldiers of Beihai, but ended up making things worse.
Jiang Gan refused to give in and said, "General, please give me a reasonable explanation!"
Xiahou Dun's face turned pale, and he clasped his fists and said, "Please come into the city to talk, sir."
Jiang Gan also knew that Xiahou Dun was a trusted general of the Cao family and that warriors had hot tempers, so he did not dare to force him too much. He snorted coldly and walked into the city proudly.
When he sat down in the mansion, Jiang Gan had calmed down. He was sulking and said nothing. Since the fault of this matter was Xiahou Dun's, he would have to take the responsibility. It was no wonder that Cao Cao was defeated repeatedly because of nepotism.
Xiahou Dun sighed and said, "I had no intention of attacking Beihai. I only wanted to intimidate the Wu soldiers. Who knew that Zhou Lang was so violent? Sigh - I wonder if you have any other good ideas?"
"Zhou Yu is arrogant and proud. We can only persuade him with gentleness, not force!" Jiang Gan could only shake his head helplessly and said, "We must withdraw our troops from Beihai first. I will have to go back to Xuzhou in person and report this to the Prime Minister to see if I can contact Zhou Yu again."
Xiahou Dun's eyes twitched, and he clasped his fists and said, "I hope you can say a few kind words, sir!"
Just as Jiang Gan was about to answer, he suddenly sneezed several times and his face turned pale. Xiahou Dun quickly ordered someone to send him to the back court and boil some hot ginger soup to keep him warm.
Zhong Jin said: "These scholars always like to talk nonsense. If they go back to see the Prime Minister this time, it may be disadvantageous to the general. We need to make plans early."
Xiahou Dun frowned and sighed, "Forty thousand soldiers were wiped out. How could this be concealed?"
Zhong Jin whispered, "The surprise attack on Beihai was Wang Ling's plan, and Tian Yu was in charge of the troops. Why don't you put the blame on these two people, saying that they disobeyed the general's orders and sent troops on their own..."
"Shut up!" Xiahou Dun said angrily, "Tian Yu followed orders and did nothing wrong. How can I, a great general, shirk responsibility when faced with a problem? Haven't you seen what happened to Zhang He and Gao Lan? If the king blames me, I will take full responsibility. It has nothing to do with you."
Zhong Jin was shocked and clasped his fists and said, "General, please calm down. I just said something wrong and I didn't mean to provoke you."
Xiahou Dun looked at the gloomy sky outside the door and said slowly: "Don't I know that you brothers care about me? However, the king has been ordered to fight against the enemy. If you want to pacify the world, you need to rely on the unity of civil and military officials. If everyone shirks responsibility and suspects each other, who will be willing to serve the king?"
Zhong Jin calmed down and replied, "General, your opinion is profound. I am ashamed to say that I am inferior to you."
Xiahou Dun sighed softly, "Since the battle with Liu Qi, we have suffered repeated casualties. As a general of the royal family, I must set an example and not let others down. You should also remember this."