Chapter 107 Lu Bu was shocked. Did Xuande want to kill him? On the other hand, when Lu Bu walked out of Shouchun Prefecture, he sighed in his heart. Although Chen Gong was not by his side, he could still see the basic situation. Now with Sun Ce's departure, Liu Bei's occupation of Huainan is a foregone conclusion, and this situation is very unfavorable for him. You should know that the reason why he dared to follow Liu Bei to attack Shouchun was, first, because he believed in Liu Bei's promise, and second, because Shouchun was not far from his old nest, Xuzhou! After obtaining the money and food, he could go down the Huai River, turn from Xutai to Sishui, and return to Xia Pi by water. During this time, he could mobilize troops from Xuzhou for support and did not need to worry about Liu Bei's attack. But now it’s different. After Sun Ce left, Liu Bei became the only one in power! The four cities of Shouchun, Yinling, Xiacai and Dangtu surrounded Xiquyang under his command. If he went deeper into the enemy's territory and seized Xincai from Liu Bei, then if Liu Bei had any bad intentions, he might not even be able to return to Xuzhou! It can be said that it is no longer realistic for him to get the money and grain back now. But he felt a little bit at a loss if he returned to Xia Pi like this!

It’s not the loss due to casualties, but the loss of the duck in the mouth flying away! This feeling is far more painful than the loss without any thought. So Lu Bu sighed all the way back to the camp. When he reached the door, he saw a soldier coming to report: "My lord, there is an envoy from Sun Ce's army in the camp!" Upon hearing this, Lu Bu frowned and said: "The envoys from Sun Ce's army have arrived? What are they doing here?" Now he is a little resentful towards Sun Ce's army. If Sun Ce had not wanted to return to the army, he would not have been in such a dilemma. He was just told to leave, and now he is sending an envoy to him. What does this mean? But the soldier could not answer his question, so he could only reply: "I don't know either, but Mr. Xu has already welcomed the envoy into the camp, and is just waiting for the Lord to return!" Upon hearing that Xu Si had already welcomed the envoy, Lu Bu became displeased again. The enemy's envoy came, and he hadn't agreed yet, so why did Xu Si welcome him in? While thinking, he simply said in a deep voice: "Where are they now? Take me to see them!" Upon hearing this, the soldiers naturally led Lu Bu towards Qin Song's tent. But before they reached the tent, they heard a voice behind them: "My lord, Liu Bei has sent an envoy to invite you to come back and discuss matters!" Hearing this, Lu Bu paused, turned around and said with a strange look on his face: "Liu Bei asked me to come over for a meeting? I just came back from the palace. Did you hear wrongly?" When the soldier heard this, he shook his head in confusion and said: "I didn't know that the envoy said so. He said that the envoy had an urgent matter to discuss with the lord!" When Lu Bu saw this, his face darkened. No matter how slow he was, he could feel that something was wrong! What happened today? Sun Ce was clearly leaving, but he sent an envoy here.

The same thing happened to Liu Bei. The meeting had just ended, so why did they ask him to go back? Then what should he take care of first? The soldier leading the way saw this and pointed to the tent in the distance timidly and said: "My lord, the envoy of Sun Ce's army is just ahead. Would you like to see him?" Upon hearing this, Lu Bu thought that there were two possibilities for Sun Ce's envoy to come now: either he was coming to say goodbye, or he was coming to borrow food. Apart from these two types, there’s nothing big! If you are leaving, there is no need to bother to meet you. If you want to borrow food, there is even less need to meet you! On the other hand, as for Liu Bei, since he said that there was an urgent matter, I'm afraid he really had something important to discuss! After a brief comparison, he said to the soldier: "Let Xu Si entertain the envoy well. I will be back soon!" After saying that, he walked towards the county government again. At the same time, in the tent in front of him, Xu Si and Qin Song were sitting opposite each other. Xu Si listened to Qin Song's talk and said with a serious look on his face: "So, your army's return this time is fake, and your plot to plot against Liu Bei is real?" Facing Xu Si's question, Qin Song said with a serious face: "That's right. Our army has already found out that the rebellion in Jiangdong was entirely led by Liu Bei!" "And the reason why we have been repeatedly plotted against is all due to the work of Wang He, Liu Bei's military advisor." "And that Wang He is Qin Zhen, Cao Cao's strategist back then!" "This man has joined Liu Bei under such an assumed name, which shows how deep his calculations are. Our army has already been tricked, and we don't want Wen Hou to be tricked as well!" "So my master sent me here with only one purpose, to unite with Marquis Wen and get rid of Liu Bei." "Otherwise, when our army returns, not only will Marquis Wen be unable to hold out alone, but both our army and yours will be controlled by Liu Bei in the future!" At this point, he said to Xu Si with a sincere look: "I hope you can help me. I hope that Marquis Wen can cooperate with our army to destroy Liu Bei!" "I see. I was wondering why Wang He never showed up. It turns out that this person is actually Qin Zhen!" Xu Si and Qin Zhen had a grudge against each other, and after hearing this, they nodded and said: "Don't worry, sir. If you didn't know about this, it would be fine. Now that I know about this, I will never let you be deceived again. I will do my best to make this happen!" Seeing his promise, Qin Song nodded immediately. He knew that Xu Si was Lu Bu's confidant. Now that he could convince Xu Si, it showed that the matter was half settled. Just wait for Lu Bu to return and everything will be done! While thinking, he stroked his long beard and said: "I have been here for a long time. Has Lord Wen not returned to the camp yet?" Seeing this, Xu Si smiled and said: "Don't worry, sir. I have sent someone outside to inform you that if my master returns, he will come to see you." "Now that he hasn't arrived, it shows that he hasn't returned yet!" "That's good. Thank you for your righteous words, sir!"

Qin Song immediately stood up and bowed to Xu Si, then looked at the soldiers behind him. Then the soldier took out a brocade box from the cloth on his back. When I opened it, it was full of gold, silver and jewelry. When Xu Si saw it, his eyes lit up and he said: "Sir, what do you mean?" Qin Song saw this and smiled complacently: "These are just a few gifts, not a sign of respect!" Xu Si took a look and immediately smiled. He walked forward, picked up a piece of horseshoe gold and examined it. "Sir, why are you so polite? How can I thank you?" Although he said this, he took the box in his hand. Seeing him accept the gift, Qin Song smiled and said: "This is all from my Lord's heart. Regardless of success or failure, it is all for the purpose of rewarding you, sir!" Xu Si was just taking advantage of someone and was unable to stop smiling. "In that case, sir, please wait here. I will go to greet you personally. I will come to see you once you return to the camp!" Having said that, he walked out of the tent carrying the box. Seeing this, Qin Song knew that the success rate had increased a few percentage points, so he waited in the camp with peace of mind. But he had no idea that after Xu Si got the gold and silver, he went to his own camp with the money without even asking any questions. After leaving the camp, Lu Bu walked all the way to the county government. As soon as he entered the government, he saw Liu Bei and Qin Zhen sitting together. Seeing these two people together, Lu Bu was naturally unhappy, and walked forward loudly and said: "I heard that Xuande wanted to see me for something important. What is it?" Seeing this, Liu Bei looked towards Qin Zhen. Qin Zhen took out a piece of cloth from his sleeve and said: "Whatever our army wants to say, Lord Wen will know it as soon as he reads this book!" When Lu Bu saw this, he thought that Liu Bei was being strangely mysterious. Why couldn't he just tell him directly in the letter why did he have to let him read it himself? Confused, he took the book and read it, and saw the words written on it: "I am following your orders to kill Yuan Shu and Lu Bu, and I will work hard day and night." "But the army is small and the generals are few, so we must not act rashly." "With the help of Liu and Lu, Shouchun has been taken." "Now I want to sow discord between the two families, and cause Liu and Lu to become enemies, so as to seize this place, but I am afraid that we do not have enough troops, and the two families will attack!" "I hope the Minister of Works will raise troops to help us. When we take Huainan, I am willing to lead the way and fight against the traitors together!" Seeing the contents of the book, Lu Bu's eyes widened, although he didn't know whose handwriting it was. But judging from the content, this is clearly a letter from Sun Ce to Cao Cao asking for help! Seeing that Cao Cao had ordered Sun Ce to plot against him, Lu Bu immediately cursed: "How dare Cao the thief do this!" While cursing, he looked towards Qin Zhen and asked in a deep voice: "Where did this book come from?"

Qin Zhen saw this and shook his head and said: "Don't ask, Lord Wen. Just read the book again!" As he spoke, he took out a piece of silk book from his sleeve. However, this piece of silk book was a little worn out. It only read: "I ordered you to station troops in Xiaopei. This is like digging a pit to wait for the tiger to come!" "Now that you have taken Pei, what do you want to do?" "You must know that Lu Bu is a great threat. You can go south to fight the enemy first and discuss with Zang Ba. Cooperate on both sides to avoid any loss!" Looking at this letter, Lu Bu felt a chill on his back. He looked at Qin Zhen in disbelief and said: "What do you mean, sir? Does Xuande want to kill Bu?" If the first letter made him angry, then the second letter made him terrified! Because the first letter was a response from Sun Ce to Cao Cao, while the second letter was a letter from Cao Cao to Liu Bei plotting against him. Lu Bu had seen Cao Cao's handwriting and could tell that this was most likely written by Cao Cao. Now that Qin Zhen has shown him this handwritten letter, is he planning to take direct action and let him die knowingly? At that moment, Lu Bu grasped the hilt of the sword with his hand. When Qin Zhen saw this, he shook his head and smiled: "Don't worry, Lord Wen. I have no ill intention in giving this book to you." Without waiting for Lu Bu to speak, he stepped forward and pointed at the two letters and said: "I think Marquis Wen also knows that this second letter was sent to our army by Cao Cao!" "This book arrived before our army set out!" "If our army was interested in Marquis Wen, we could have taken action against him at the foot of Yinling City. Why did we have to wait until now?" "In fact, when my master received this letter, he had already rejected Cao Cao!" "It's because our army conquered Pei State with the help of Marquis Wen, and Marquis Wen and our army are not enemies. Our army does not want to embarrass Marquis Wen, so we rejected this letter." "However, the rejection letter has already been sent to Cao Cao, so it cannot be shown to Lord Wen." "This letter is just to let Lord Wen know that although our army has many conflicts with Lord Wen, to our army, Lord Wen is a friendly army and we will never make things difficult for him!" After hearing this, Lu Bu couldn't help but look at Liu Bei, and saw that Liu Bei said nothing, but just nodded. Seeing Liu Bei like this, Lu Bu finally breathed a sigh of relief. Now, as long as there are no assassins hiding in the mansion, everything will be fine! But he changed his mind, looked at the first letter again, and said angrily: "Then where did this book come from?" Seeing this, Qin Zhen said with a serious expression: "I'm sure you won't believe me, but this was just captured by our scouts outside the city!" When Lu Bu heard this, he was immediately confused and said:

"Your army just intercepted them from outside the city? But didn't Sun Ce just come to say goodbye?" Seeing this, Qin Zhen nodded and said: "This is why our army asked Lord Wen to come and discuss matters!" "Because our army is on good terms with Lord Wen, we absolutely do not want to embarrass him. Although there are some unpleasantness due to the issue of money and food, our army does not intend to make enemies with Lord Wen!" "After all, Cao Cao is the only powerful man in the Central Plains right now. Seeing that Yuan Shu is about to be destroyed, Cao Cao's next move will definitely be to take Xuzhou in the east!" "Our army and Wen Hou are closely related. We should be allies to fight against powerful enemies together!" "We are already doing good to Lord Wen, so we will never harm him!" "But Sun Ce is different. His foundation is far away in Jiangdong. Even if Cao Cao dominates the Central Plains, it will not affect Sun Ce's foundation." "Originally, our army thought that after we resigned from Cao Cao, he would give up his plot against us!" "I didn't expect Cao Cao to contact Sun Ce!" "I'm afraid Lord Wen doesn't know that before the expedition, Cao Cao recommended Sun Ce as the Cavalry Commander, but after Sun Ce went out, there were rumors that Cao Cao had given up the position of General Dai Minghan!" "It can be seen that there has long been a transfer of interests between the two!" "Our army originally wanted to fight against the traitors together, and did not want to make enemies with them, but now that we have seen this letter, we have to do nothing even if we have to!" "Now I see Sun Ce wants to leave again, I wonder what his plan is!" "That's why we asked Lord Wen to come and discuss whether the contents of this letter are true or false!" As he listened to Qin Zhen's words, Lu Bu's expression naturally changed constantly. It is just as Qin Zhen said, the current situation is set to be dominated by Cao Cao! Once Yuan Shu is destroyed, the next step will be him and Liu Bei! Even though they are unhappy about money and grain now, their fundamental interests are the same! No matter how heavy the money and grain are, can they be heavier than Xuzhou? If Liu Bei doesn't want to fight Cao Cao alone, he must form an alliance with him. There is no need to be evil with him now. On the contrary, Sun Ce had no interest in them. His hometown was far away in Jiangdong, and Cao Cao could not defeat him in a short time. Theoretically speaking, it is possible that Sun Ce was really colluding with Cao Cao. When he heard the last part, Tiger's eyes widened and he said: "Sir, are you saying that Sun Ce accepted an official position from Cao Cao before he came, and Cao Cao secretly promised him the position of general?" You know, when he wanted the position of Governor of Xuzhou, Cao Cao was very stingy. But Sun Ce was promoted first and then promised an official position. Who would believe that there was no problem? Seeing this, Qin Zhen nodded with a firm look on his face and said: "General, if you don't believe it, you can go and find out. This is definitely not false!" He had investigated this matter before, and because Sun Ce did not respond, Cao was quite unhappy at the time.

Now if he wants to persuade Lu Bu, he can use this as an excuse. As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Bu looked at the letter on the table and shouted angrily: "How dare you, little Sun Ce, join hands with Cao Cao to harm me? I will never forgive you!" "Xuan De, wait a moment, and I will dispatch troops. Then we can destroy Sun Ce here first!" As he said that, he stood up and left. Seeing him stand up, Liu Bei quickly stood up and said: "Wait, Lord Wen, don't move so lightly!" Qin Zhen even grabbed Lu Bu's hand and said: "Don't worry, Lord Wen. Although this letter was intercepted by our army, it can hardly be called evidence!" "Now that Sun Ce is about to leave and has not made any other moves, how can we write a letter to accuse him?" As soon as these words came out, Lu Bu said in a deep voice: "Sir, are you saying that Sun Ce has not made any move? Xuande must not know that Sun Ce has already sent an envoy!" "I was wondering what he wanted to do before, but now it seems that he is most likely here to alienate us!" "I think Sun Ce's resignation was fake, and he was really using this as an excuse to alienate us!" He was originally puzzled as to why Sun Ce sent an envoy, but now it seems that he was trying to murder him and Liu Bei! To be honest, he didn't have much ill will towards Sun Ce. But now after hearing what Qin Zhen said, he couldn't help it anymore! Sun Ce has contacted Cao Cao, this is too much! If he doesn't leave Sun Ce here today, will he be able to defend Xuzhou when Cao Cao and Sun Ce attack from the north and south in the future? While thinking, Lu Bu looked at Qin Zhen with a determined look and said: "Sir, please don't stop me. No matter what, I will fight Sun Ce today!" Hearing this, Liu Bei was secretly shocked. He didn't expect that Sun Ce would actually send an envoy to contact Lu Bu. When Qin Zhen saw this, he pretended to be surprised and said: "So, Sun Ce's envoy is in the army of Marquis Wen?" Lu Bu had no doubts at this time, and nodded and said: "He is in our army, but I have not seen him yet. If I had known this earlier, I would have killed him first!" By now, he had already determined that Sun Ce had no good intentions, and naturally did not want to see the envoy again. But as soon as he finished speaking, Qin Zhen smiled and said: "Since this is the case, why don't our army take advantage of their own strategy?" He thought that Lu Bu had already met with Sun Ce's envoy, so he acted in this way. Now that we haven't met yet, we can try to keep Sun Ce here! (End of this chapter)