Chapter 108: Self-exposure, a close relationship between a tiger and a wolf Faced with the "evidence" produced by Qin Zhen, Lu Bu naturally believed most of it. Because to him, money and food are not important, the most important thing is to keep Xuzhou. After all, the reason he wants money and food is to recruit soldiers, right? So no matter whether this book is true or false, as long as Sun Ce is really allying with Cao Cao, it is a potential risk that needs to be resolved. This is also the reason why Lu Bu fought with Liu Bei several times. At that time, Liu Bei had no foundation and was at risk of returning to Xuzhou, so as soon as he heard that Liu Bei was recruiting soldiers, he would take the initiative to attack. Now that Liu Bei has changed direction and is heading for Huainan, he is no longer a threat to him. Now that Yuan Shu is no longer a constraint, Cao Cao's dominance has made him and Liu Bei a community of interests. Either of the two families alone is no match for Cao Cao, and only by joining forces can they have a chance to survive. In this situation, Sun Ce became an outsider and the least trustworthy.

So when he heard Qin Zhen's words about taking advantage of the situation, he was puzzled: "What do you mean, sir? How can we take advantage of your trick?" Seeing this, Qin Zhen pretended to ponder and said: "That's because I think that since Sun Ce dared to send a letter to Cao Cao this time, he probably has a plan to deal with both of us at once!" "This person has such a plan, so he must have been on guard. Our army has learned that he is now withdrawing from the camp. I am afraid that if we move, Sun Ce will be alert." "If we send out troops now, we may be able to defeat Sun Ce, but it will be difficult to keep him here." "So in my opinion, Marquis Wen might as well go back and meet the enemy's envoy first to see how the enemy makes their arrangements." "After knowing the enemy's deployment, we can make corresponding arrangements so that Sun Ce will be defeated and unable to rise again!" "After defeating Sun Ce, our army will take Huainan by ourselves, and you will stabilize Xuzhou. In the future, we will form a horn of support for each other, and only when the two families form an alliance can we compete with Cao Cao!" After hearing this, Lu Bu thought for a while and nodded: "Sir, what you said makes sense. We need to find out what Sun Ce is planning first!" At this point, he frowned again and said: "However, Bu is not good at strategy, so even if he finds out the enemy's plan, it will be difficult to counter it!" He was more or less self-aware and knew that he was not good at plotting and might end up making things worse. When Qin Zhen saw this, he smiled and said: "Don't worry, Lord Wen. I will find out everything!" "I will go with Lord Wen. Once we meet Sun Ce's envoy, we will know the enemy's plan." "Marquis Wen, just follow my advice and I guarantee that Sun Ce will be defeated here today!" "That's what I mean!" Lü Bu listened and smiled: "With you here, we will surely be able to find out the enemy's plans!" As he said this, he smiled at Liu Bei: "I wonder if Xuande dares to let me go?"

After all, the two families had a falling out in the early morning, so Lu Bu now wanted to see what Liu Bei meant. Then Liu Bei smiled and said: "Why not? You two can go ahead and wait for news in the mansion!" As soon as he finished speaking, the two of them said goodbye one after another and headed towards Lu Bu's camp. But before reaching the military camp, Qin Zhen said to Lu Bu: "Marquis Wen, before we enter the camp, I have something else to tell you. You must listen carefully!" Seeing Qin Zhen like this, Lu Bu said in surprise: "Sir, what do you have to say about not entering the camp?" After he finished speaking, Qin Zhen bowed with shame and said: "Because there is something that I have kept secret from Lord Wen for a long time!" "But I think that now that our two families have formed an alliance, it is not right to conceal the truth, so I have to inform Lord Wen!" "I hope Lord Wen will listen to me. Please forgive me for concealing the truth!" Seeing him salute, Lu Bu was surprised and said: "What are you hiding, sir?" At this point, Mr. Wang should not give him any more surprises! But when Qin Zhen saw this, he bowed to Lu Bu and said: "I dare to let Lord Wen know that I am actually an old acquaintance of yours. Wang He is just a pseudonym, and my real name is Qin Zhen!" "Because I offended Cao Cao before, I had to go out under a pseudonym. Later, in order to save my life, I did not dare to tell Lord Wen. I hope Lord Wen will forgive me for this crime of concealing the truth!" Hearing Qin Zhen's words, Lu Bu was startled at first, then he stared at Qin Zhen and said: "Are you Qin Zixuan?" He was naturally shocked by Qin Zhen's sudden exposure. To be honest, he actually doubted Wang He's identity. After all, Wang He's appearance was too coincidental, and there were faint rumors about it, so he naturally had doubts in his heart. But until now, it has never been made clear. In addition, old acquaintances such as Chen Gong and Wang Kai did not tell him about it, so he only had doubts in his heart and never expressed them. But now he really didn't expect that these words would come out of Qin Zhen's mouth personally. When he thought about how Qin Zhen had been plotting against him for a while, he immediately drew his sword and said in a cold voice: "Qin Zixuan, you have plotted against me several times. Now that you are telling me, aren't you afraid that I will kill you here?" He never had a good impression of Qin Zhen in the first place. Now the new hatred and old grudges are really hard for him to accept. As he drew his sword, the guards around him drew their swords one after another, and the followers behind Qin Zhen also drew their swords to fight back. But Qin Zhen did not move when he saw this, and said sternly:

"If Marquis Wen wants to kill me, then let him. I am not afraid of him taking action now that I have the guts to tell him!" "Marquis Wen must know that in the current situation, it is beneficial for our two families to unite, but it is harmful to separate. How can Marquis Wen act impulsively?" "Besides, the reason why I kept my real name secret and did not tell Lord Wen is understandable!" "First, when I escaped from Xudu, Cao Cao was still chasing me everywhere, so I had to hide my identity!" "Wen Hou, tell me, if Cao Cao knew my name at that time, how would he deal with me?" "Secondly, Lord Wen also knows that I was an enemy of your army before. Gongtai has always been hostile to me. If I don't hide my identity, how can our army be safe with Gongtai's character?" "With these two points, you are not allowed to tell Lord Wen!" "If Marquis Wen really wants to kill me for this crime of deception, then go ahead!" As he said this, he raised his head and closed his eyes. In fact, he did not want to tell Lu Bu now, but considering that Sun Ce's army might use this to persuade Lu Bu, he might as well take the initiative to expose it to increase his credibility. When Lu Bu saw this, his brows furrowed. If Qin Zhen was afraid, he would naturally have more questions to ask. But seeing Qin Zhen's words, he could not say much, so he could only say in a deep voice: "I don't want to kill you, but you have lied to me so many times that it's hard to trust me!" He had originally intended to make enemies with Sun Ce, but now because of Qin Zhen's self-exposure, he began to doubt the authenticity of the previous letters. However, as soon as he said this, Qin Zhen said in a deep voice: "I find it difficult to agree with what Lord Wen said. When did our army deceive Lord Wen?" "You must know that apart from my alias, our army has never deceived Lord Wen!" "I think Lord Wen thinks that he has been deceived and used by our army many times, but in fact, Lord Wen, to be honest, is there anything that our army promised to Lord Wen that we have not done?" "If we say that when we were in Xia Pi, our army had already informed Wen Hou that we wanted to take Xiang County, and it was your army that insisted on sending troops here, then what we did was just to follow the trend!" "As for now, the same is true. Our army promised to let Wen Hou get the money and food in Shouchun City. After the city was captured, did our army seize even a single cent?" "Don't all the money and food in the mansion belong to Marquis Wen?" "As for the amount of money and food in the palace, is it something our army can control?" "Now, if I wanted to deceive Lord Wen, why would I take the initiative to tell him my identity now?" Of course, he said this with great confidence, and Lu Bu frowned again after hearing it. Thinking back carefully on this series of interactions, it seems to be true. It seems that Liu Bei’s army has accomplished everything that they promised. Although there were some discounts, it seemed that Qin Zhen had not deceived him except that he took the initiative to conceal his identity. When they said they would attack Xiang County, Liu Bei really went to attack Xiang County. When they said they would give him money and food, Liu Bei really gave him money and food. The first time he was tricked was because Chen Gong was the mastermind.

The second time he was cheated was because he didn't know that the money and grain in Shouchun City had been transferred long ago. Theoretically, Liu Bei was plotting against him every time, but he never deceived him. Naturally, he couldn't accuse Liu Bei of deception. Now, as Qin Zhen said, if he wanted to deceive, there was no need for him to reveal his identity. Thinking about this, Lu Bu narrowed his eyes and looked at Qin Zhen and said: "I admire your ability to argue, but how can I trust your army if you have such a plan?" He just meant one thing: even if you didn't cheat, you've taken advantage of me time and time again. How can I trust you? Seeing Lu Bu like this, Qin Zhen smiled faintly and said: "Because we both have a great enemy, Cao Cao!" "Marquis Wen can trust Gongtai, why can't he trust me?" "In fact, to our army, Wen Hou is a tiger and a wolf. When cooperating with Wen Hou, we need to act with caution. I planned it before, but I was afraid of being hurt by the tiger, so I had no choice but to do it." "But compared to Wen Hou, Cao Cao is a bear!" “Although tigers and wolves are fierce, we can eat with them; although bears sleep peacefully, it is difficult to share a pillow with them.” "Now that the situation is like this, if Lord Wen doesn't trust our army, does that mean he trusts Yuan Shao?" After hearing this, Lu Bu was speechless again. After a while of silence, he began to wonder whether Qin Zhen's words made sense. This is his personality. If Qin Zhen still said some high-sounding words at this time, he would definitely sneer at him. But after Qin Zhen explained everything clearly, he began to think for himself. Just as Qin Zhen said, since he could trust Chen Gong, why couldn't he trust Qin Zhen? Both of them came from Cao Cao's army and had grudges against Cao Cao. During that period, Qin Zhen did plot against him, but he also plotted against the other party. The relationship between the two families is like that of a tiger and a wolf. Although they scheme against each other, they can also cooperate. But Cao Cao is different. As a bear, he has overwhelming strength. If tigers and wolves want to have something good to eat, they need to work together and snatch food from the bears' mouths. The fact that Qin Zhen revealed himself at this time shows that he really wanted to cooperate with him to deal with Cao Cao. Qin Zhen’s last sentence hit the nail on the head. If he didn’t cooperate with Liu Bei, could he cooperate with Yuan Shao? If Cao Cao is a bear, then Yuan Shao is a giant beast. Cooperation with Liu Bei is still feasible, but cooperation with Yuan Shao may result in nothing but death. Thinking about this, Lu Bu sneered again: "Sir, if you are truly a man of great eloquence, well, I will believe you once more!" "But let me make this clear first. If I discover that your army is still deceiving you, don't blame me for being ruthless!" Seeing this, Qin Zhen smiled and said: "So I know the general's power. Now the bear is still here, how dare our army bully the tiger?" "I am telling you the truth now, just to win your trust!"

After hearing this, Lu Bu nodded with satisfaction. In fact, he didn't expect Qin Zhen to make any promise to him. What he wanted was Qin Zhen's attitude. And now, Qin Zhen's appearance of allowing himself to be beaten and killed made him quite satisfied. Immediately, he asked Qin Zhen to go towards the camp. After arriving at the camp, Lu Bu heard that Qin Song was still waiting, so he looked at Qin Chen and said: "But I don't know how you want me to act?" Seeing this, Qin Zhen smiled at Lu Bu and said: "Marquis Wen just goes into the camp. No matter what he says, you cannot promise him first." "I will listen outside the camp. When he tells me his plan, just come out of the camp and we will discuss a countermeasure!" Upon hearing this, Lu Bu nodded and walked towards the tent. As soon as I entered the tent, I saw Xu Si and a scholar in blue clothes sitting there. When he saw the scholar, he knew that this was Sun Ce's envoy, so he simply walked towards the main seat and said leisurely: "I just returned from the palace and heard that Sun Ce sent an envoy. Could it be that you are the one who came?" When Xu Si saw him, he quickly stood up and introduced him to Lu Bu: "My lord, this is the envoy of Sun Lang, Qin Song and Qin Wenbiao!" Seeing this, Qin Song stood up and bowed, smiling slightly and said: "My name is Qin Song, nice to meet Marquis Wen!" Looking at Qin Song's clothes and appearance, Lu Bu thought that this man must be an important official under Sun Ce. Sending such a person here must have other intentions. After thinking about this, he said coldly: "Don't talk nonsense. I don't want to have too much involvement with your army!" "I would like to ask you, Your Excellency, your army has already left, why are you coming again?" "If you are here to say goodbye, I will accept your kindness. Please leave now!" Seeing Lu Bu being so cold, Qin Song felt strange in his heart. He had heard that Lu Bu was extremely difficult to get along with, and now when he saw him, it was true! He had wanted to express his intention implicitly, but now he had no way to do so. He could only look at Xu Si, hoping that Xu Si could ease the atmosphere. Seeing this, Xu Si understood what he meant, and hurriedly stroked his beard and said with a smile: "My lord, you may not know that Mr. Qin is not here to say goodbye, but to discuss something important with you!" But as soon as he finished speaking, Lu Bu glared at him and said: "If you have something important to say, why do you need to deliver the message?" He was somewhat dissatisfied with Xu Si's self-willed behavior, so he looked at Qin Song with a bad face and said: "Sir, since you have something important to say, why don't you speak?" Qin Song was shocked to see him like this. He could not say any of the prepared remarks. He could only bow and say: "Your Highness, Lord Wen, I came here this time on the orders of my master, and I want to conspire with Lord Wen to deal with Liu Bei!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Bu's heart sank again. It seems that what Qin Zhen said was correct. Sun Ce really came to alienate him and Liu Bei! This guy looks quite honest, but I didn't expect him to be so bad! (End of this chapter)