Riding lightly for thousands of miles, the bright moon shines on the river. This is the third day of Zhou Yu's journey. He bought the best horses by the river. The people along the way migrated south with their families. Even Jingzhou was hit by war. I don't know how many people were displaced and their families were destroyed under the full moon. .
The sun rose, from night to day, under the scorching heat, Zhou Yu was already sweating and dizzy, knowing that if he didn't rest, he would reach his limit. However, he finally arrived. He arrived at Mount Xian, went north along the river, inquired along the way, and finally found the Changsha army station. First asked about Sun Ce's life and death, and learned that Sun Ce was fine, but Sun Jian died, and the generals were separated.
At this point, Zhou Yu finally let go of the big stone in his heart.
When the soldiers wanted to stop him, Zhou Yu handed out Sun Ce's badge, and went all the way into the barracks without hindrance.
In the military tent, a group of generals had already quarreled, Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Han Dang, Zhu Zhi, Xu Kun, and Sun Ce who was helpless.
"At this moment," Xu Kun said angrily, "we are determined not to take revenge! We have less than 4,000 people left, and Jiangxia's city gate is closed, how can we attack?"
"Don't attack the city first!" Sun Ce resolutely said, "You think Huang Zu will let us go!"
Huang Gai said: "Sun Ce! This old man knows that your father just died, and you want to use the spirit of mourning soldiers to get back the blood debt from Huang Zu. Because generals are most afraid of acting impulsively, tell me, how do you want to attack the city?"
"Don't attack Jiangxia." Zhu Zhi said, "Huang Zu will cooperate with Cai Mao to intercept us on the way to retreat. Before we leave Jingzhou, we will be ambushed."
Sun Ce red-eyed and said: "Now we are in a dilemma. We have entered the hinterland of Jingzhou. General Huang, believe it or not, if we withdraw our troops now, the whole Jingzhou will surround us, and the towns recovered on the way will also turn against us." , the two big cities of Xiangyang and Jiangxia will not let us go."
Cheng Pu said: "For the current plan, we can only write to General Yuan and ask him to send someone to come to meet him."
"Impossible!" Huang Gai roared angrily, "You still expect him to die! Sun Ce! If you can tell me a way to win, what's the point of this old man following you to die in Jiangxia today?"
Huang Gai had the most violent temper, was the oldest, and had the most senior qualifications. He stepped forward and grabbed Sun Ce by the collar, and said, "Who doesn't know if you want revenge! Could it be that this old man and all the generals are people who are greedy for life and afraid of death!"
"Report-"
"Zhou Gongjin of Shu County begs to see all the generals!"
Immediately, the whole tent fell silent, and Zhou Yu walked in without waiting for the inside to speak.
Sun Ce looked at Zhou Yu in disbelief, as if he hadn't expected him to come here at this time.
Zhou Yu was dressed in dust, his martial robes were stained, his body was muddy, his hair was messy, he wore a long sword at his waist, and there were dried blood on his half body.
Cheng Pu, Huang Gai and others have all met him, and the rest know Zhou Yu. After all, not long ago, it was he who rescued Sun Jian's wife and young son Sun Quan from Yuan Shu's mansion, abandoned the senior officials of the Yuan family, the fourth generation and third father, Houlu, followed Sun Ce, and treated the Sun family members kindly.
No one in the tent exchanged greetings for a while. Zhou Yu saw several people and nodded, with a disturbed expression on his face. After all, he had never been with warriors often, and he was surrounded by scholars, so he spoke rashly, fearing that he might say the wrong thing.
In the end, he only said four words softly—
—He bowed slightly towards Sun Ce and said:
"Meet my lord."
That night, when the moon was gone and the sky was full of stars, Zhou Yu lay beside Sun Ce, twitched and moved.
"Are you awake?" Sun Ce asked.
Zhou Yu let out a sigh of relief, his headache was about to split, and he barely sat up. He left the tent of the Chinese army a while ago. His only thought was to find a place to sleep. Sun Ce didn't say a word. Both of them were exhausted to the extreme. It happened that the weather was fine recently, so they found a haystack at random, and fell on top of it.
Even if he is turned upside down and everything is destroyed, he finally sees the above, let's talk about it after sleeping.
Sun Ce woke up after only sleeping for a while. He opened his eyes and looked at the sky.
The soldiers brought water, and Zhou Yu washed his hands and face behind the stable. After a while, he still thought it was too dirty, so he fetched a few buckets of water, and took a bath with Sun Ce in the courtyard. After washing it, I finally felt a lot more comfortable.
Sun Ce sent someone to deliver food, while Zhou Yu was still slapping the mosquitoes, his neck was red from the bites.
Sun Ce still didn't speak, so Zhou Yu poured wine for him, and the two drank in silence.
"Have you recovered?" Zhou Yu asked.
Sun Ce didn't say a word, Zhou Yu said again: "When I crossed the river, the wind and waves were rough, and the boat almost sank to the bottom of the river. Guess what I was thinking at that time?"
Sun Ce took a sip of his wine, looked up at Zhou Yu, his eyes were red, and said, "What are you thinking? You came here so recklessly, and you didn't send me a letter."
"Fei Yu can't make it through," Zhou Yu said truthfully, "When I received the cloth note, my heart panicked. If you die, I really don't know what to do. I couldn't sleep all night, and I wanted to see you again." I am not willing to see a dead body after death, so I set out on the road in the middle of the night."
"While crossing the river," Zhou Yu said with a smile, "I was afraid that the boat would sink, and I thought it would sink if it sank. It's good to be a water ghost. When you come across the river someday, I will ferry you back. .”
Sun Ce's nose twitched, tears streaming down his face.
"How is my mother?" Sun Ce finally asked.
"She doesn't know." Zhou Yu said.
Sun Ce filled up the wine for Zhou Yu, and said, "Actually, it's not a big deal. I found my father's body at that time. I asked Fei Yu to deliver a letter to General Cheng, but I didn't expect it to fly to you."
Zhou Yu said, "It thought you wanted to find me."
After Sun Ce drank, the two sat in silence again. At the end, Zhou Yu said, "How about the military newspaper?"
"I have it in my account." Sun Ce said, "Look tonight, when my father died, people's hearts were scattered, and everyone didn't want to fight. Right now, people are fighting for swords, and I'm for fish and meat. I have to find a way to withdraw to Yangzhou and come back for revenge at another time. .”
"Well." Zhou Yu said, "It's not hopeless, let's see the situation first, let's go, don't think too much about it, I'm here, we can either live together or die together, it's not a bad idea." A joy."
Sun Ce laughed, and they left the courtyard, walked slowly along the path under the stars, and walked back to the tent of the Chinese army. As he was walking, Sun Ce stopped suddenly. Zhou Yu's heart moved, and he turned to look at Sun Ce.
Sun Ce clenched his fists tightly and couldn't help sobbing. Zhou Yu didn't say a word, walked forward and hugged him, and the two big boys hugged him tightly in the silent night. Not long after, Sun Ce burst into tears, and his mournful voice echoed in the night sky.
At three o'clock that night, Sun Ce was fast asleep, and Zhou Yu, wearing a robe, was reading military newspapers under an oil lamp.
After Sun Jian's death, there was no leader among the dragons, and the memorials and discussions were complicated for a while, and there was no commander in chief. Right now, the army is stationed 70 miles away from Jiangxia, and Xiangyang is nearby, and the secret envoy to Shouchun to report to Yuan Shu has not been dispatched yet, so it is really a mess.
Now is the most dangerous moment for the Changsha army. The internal hearts are scattered, and the external enemies are eyeing. If they withdraw, Xiangyang, Public Security and other places will send troops to ambush them. I am afraid that the whole army will be wiped out before leaving Jingzhou.
To fight, none of the nearby cities can move. Xiangyang has 12,000 troops and Jiangxia has 6,000 troops. Now Sun Ce has only less than 4,000 remnants of his army, and most of them have not obeyed the command. Attacking the city rashly at this moment is tantamount to hitting a stone with a pebble.
It is even more impossible to write a letter to Yuan Shu for help. The Sun family has already fallen out with Yuan Shu. Although it has not been completely torn apart, Yuan Shu will only covet the soldiers and horses left by Sun Jian. .
"What should I do?" Sun Ce said, "You teach me."
Sun Ce closed his eyes, lay quietly on the couch in the tent, and said, "Sometimes I'd rather just leave like this, with nothing to worry about, nothing to do, and to be clean."
Zhou Yu said: "There is always a solution to everything. God sometimes pushes people to the end of the road, and often gives him a chance. It depends on whether you can catch it."
Sun Ce smiled wryly, and said, "Surrender, either Liu Biao or Yuan Shu, draw a lot for me, and send the messenger out tomorrow."
"What kind of surrender?" Zhou Yu said, "I will not consider it."
"Soldiers are also people, and they are also fate." Sun Ce said, "I am alone, so I have nothing to worry about."
Zhou Yu said, "The generals can surrender, but you cannot."
Zhou Yu calmly turned over a page of the General's newspaper, took the map again, and stared at the terrain beside the river. After a while, he said, "If they surrender, they will still be generals. If you surrender, Yuan Shu will let you go? It's just a dream."
Zhou Yu picked up a pen and drew a circle on the map, but Sun Ce fell silent.
The next day, Yuan Shu's messenger arrived.
"My lord knows the battle situation here." The messenger said, "I want to ask General Sun and the other generals what they mean."
Zhou Yu glanced at Yuan Shu's warrant and asked, "What did the general say?"
"What about the general," said the messenger, "of course I am willing to send troops to help. I have already discussed with General Ji Ling and asked General Sun to go back secretly with me. The general has sent troops to the outer border of Jingzhou. When the time comes, I will hand over the troops to General Sun." Commander, come back again."
Sun Ce nodded and said, "It's not good to confront Liu Biao head-on."
"Exactly." The messenger said with a smile, "The general also said that the prefect of Changsha has passed away, and the previous affairs have been written off. The Wentai Duke made great achievements in chasing Dong, and I will never forget it. The general is still willing to treat the Wentai public relics well." .”
"Very good." Zhou Yu said.
Zhou Yu recognized this person. He was a member of Yuan Shu's house. He usually bullied men and women. He ran amok in Shouchun and committed several murders. Sun Ce said, "Wait for me to pass it on, my lord wait a moment."
Zhou Yu and Sun Ce came out, and Sun Ce said, "I'll follow him."
Zhou Yu thought for a while and asked, "What do you think he will say?"
"Half-true, half-false." Sun Ce said, "On the way, I think they must plan to kill me. After killing me, they will meet Huang Gai Chengpu and others. He can't kill me. I will just get out and retreat."
Zhou Yu said, "If I were you, I wouldn't follow him."
Sun Ce thought for a while, but didn't make a sound, just looked into Zhou Yu's eyes.
"Kill him." Zhou Yu said, "Don't leave anyone a way out, I'll do it, and in a quarter of an hour, you'll call all the generals here."
Sun Ce took a deep breath, clenched his fists, trembling uncontrollably, Zhou Yu had already drawn out his sword, turned around and entered the tent.
When a group of generals came in, the messenger was killed by Zhou Yu with a sword, leaning in front of the case, with blood dripping everywhere on his neck. Zhou Yu sat aside, wiping the Red Army sword in his hand.
"I personally killed this man on behalf of the late General Sun." Zhou Yu said solemnly to the generals, "This man is full of nonsense, insulting and humiliating the prefect of Changsha, here is the letter, please pass it on to the generals."
No one accused Zhou Yu, only Huang Gai snorted angrily, but there was nothing he could do, everyone was killed, what else? People can't be resurrected after death, so it's no good if they want to go to Yuan Shu now.
"Now there is only one solution." Sun Ce said, "surrender Liu Biao."
"Sun Ce," Cheng Pu said, "do you think that Liu Biao, who is timid, cowardly, cunning and insidious by nature, will be surrendered by a man who kills his father and enemies?"
"It's not necessary to really surrender." Zhou Yu said, "Let's send the messenger's head, General Cheng and General Huang will send our secret envoys, saying that there has been a change in the army, Sun Ce has been tied up, and the two of us will be dedicated to him." Liu Biao, the whole army surrenders, how about this?"
Surrendering to Huang Zu was impossible, but Sun Jian had never fought Liu Biao head-on, and there was no feud between the two sides, Liu Biao might accept the surrender.
"And then?" Huang Gai looked at Zhou Yu and asked.
"Then escape halfway." Zhou Yu said, "I've made all the arrangements. Shu County will send ships and navy troops to meet them. Let's go along the river."
"Can it work?" Sun Ce asked.
Zhou Yu said: "If you can't do it, you have to do it. This is the only chance. As long as Liu Biao's vigilance is relaxed, he will be paralyzed. Once he is surrendered, he will go south along the way. He will definitely pass the police station and wait for the boat at the police station's wharf before going northward. All the way to Xiangyang."
"This time is the best opportunity." Zhou Yu said.
"When will the ship arrive?" Zhu Zhi asked.
"I don't know." Zhou Yu said, "The letter has already been sent."
"How many boats can you have?" Huang Gai snorted coldly, "Enough to carry all the people?"
Zhou Yu didn't answer, but glanced at the messenger's body. After a while, the soldiers came in, dragged the body out and threw it away, and the generals also dispersed, and went back to discuss countermeasures.
A few handymen fetched water and washed the ground in the tent. Sun Ce was stringing a bow. Zhou Yu read the military newspaper as if nothing had happened.
Fei Yu has already sent the letter, and the next step is to see what happens to Lu Su. Zhou Yu has never been in such a situation. Every move, his own fate, and even Sun Ce's fate are in the hands of others.
Fortunately, it was Lu Su, and it could only be Lu Su.
The rain started again, pattering, the world seemed to be plunged into darkness and confusion. On the third day, Fei Yu finally came back.
"Send someone to send a letter to Liu Biao immediately." Sun Ce came out and ordered, "Everything will be done according to the agreement."
When handing over to the messenger, Zhou Yu released the white falcon again. Huang Gai and a group of generals tied Sun Ce tightly. Zhou Yu said, "Tie me up too."
Sun Ce said, "I am enough alone."
Zhou Yu said: "You haven't reached the point of betraying your relatives yet. Adding me as a Zuo Junzheng to join the army is more credible."
After discussing with Cheng Pu and others, Huang Gai tied Zhou Yu up as well. Huang Gai said, "Zhou Yu, the lives of the entire army are entrusted to you."
"No problem." Zhou Yu explained to them while tying his hands, "Lu Zijing is the son of Lu's eldest son, a large hereditary family in Shu County. He and I are close friends, and he will definitely live up to me."
Sun Ce said, "Slap me a few more times, generals, Gong Jin's whip will be spared."
"You!" Huang Gai was a little bit hesitant to let go. Zhou Yu smiled at Sun Ce and said, "You are just a smoker."
"I'm happy." Sun Ce said.
Zhou Yu took the whip and slapped Sun Ce a few times without pain. Sun Ce said, "Are you bitten by a mosquito? Come again!"
Huang Gai couldn't laugh or cry when he saw it, so Zhou Yu bound his feet, tied them up, took a whip, and whipped Sun Ce three times. Sun Ce suddenly let out a muffled snort, his coat was torn and his skin was ripped open, Zhou Yu couldn't help but feel distressed.
"The messenger has arrived." Zhu Zhi came in and said.
Huang Gai brought Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, who were tied up in a bundle, to lean against each other. Zhou Yu said, "General Huang."
Huang Gai glanced back, and Zhou Yu urged, "According to expediency."
Huang Gai nodded. The outside of the tent was guarded by heavy soldiers. Sun Ce was in tatters, with mud stains on his face. He leaned against Zhou Yu and smiled. Zhou Yu frowned deeply, and leaned over to inspect the scars on Sun Ce's body. Sun Ce said in a low voice, "It's okay, I'll act more like it later."
"I'm thinking, what should I do after I get out of here successfully?" Zhou Yu said, "Go back to Shu County first?"
Sun Ce asked, "What do you say?"
Zhou Yu was also undecided, and Sun Ce said, "When everyone escapes successfully, I probably won't be able to fight."
"Is that what you think?" Zhou Yu looked into Sun Ce's eyes, and Sun Ce smiled wryly. Zhou Yu knew that Sun Ce was getting tired after repeated setbacks. However, this matter could not move him for a while, so he had to not mention it for the time being.
After a while, the tent was opened, and Sun Ce roared angrily, "Rebel!"
Cheng Pu came in with a man and kicked Sun Ce in the face angrily. Zhou Yu was shocked and said, "Bo Fu!"
Sun Ce was kicked until his nose bleeds. Zhu Zhi took the messenger to protect him. The messenger smiled and said, "Generals, this is a great achievement."
Huang Gai snorted coldly, and the messenger asked again, "When were you arrested?"
"Three days ago," Cheng Puchao explained to the messenger, "this little bastard was restless and wanted to cut off his head and dedicate it to Master Liu, but General Yuan couldn't explain it..."
"Good!" said the messenger, "Very good!"
Zhou Yu stared at the messenger with a sullen face, and Huang Gai said angrily, "What are you looking at!"
Huang Gai stepped forward and slapped Zhou Yu twice. Zhou Yu's mouth was bleeding from the beating, so he turned his head away. The messenger was wearing leather armor and holding a horsewhip. He raised Sun Ce's chin to look at it, but Sun Ce spit on his face and was furious immediately.
Cheng Pu and Zhu Zhi stepped forward and punched and kicked them again, causing Sun Ce to gag on one side. Zhou Yu was so concerned that his eyes were red. The messenger explained a few more words, let him watch them carefully, and then went out to write a letter with Huang Gai to discuss the matter of surrender.
"Are you okay?" Zhou Yu asked, "Bo Fu?"
Sun Ce said: "These blows are really hard..."
Sun Ce couldn't help coughing, and spit out a mouthful of bloody saliva. His mouth was broken, and Zhou Yu turned sideways, wiping his face with his shoulder. Sun Ce rubbed his mouth on Zhou Yu's shoulder with difficulty, and then leaned on his shoulder.