Chapter 159: Be an undercover agent from today! Lao Liu is a breath of fresh air! The all-round warrior, the key to conquering Chaisang!
The black-robed scholar stood where he was, without retreating an inch, as if he was mentally prepared to be killed by Xu Chu.

"Zhongkang, wait!"

Xiao Fang waved his hand and stopped Xu Chu in time.

Xu Chu then suppressed his anger, sheathed his drawn sword, and stared at the scholar angrily.

Xiao Fang looked back at the scholar and sneered:

"You are really brave. You actually dare to come back."

The scholar escaped death and he breathed a sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders.

Old Liu beside him also had a look of surprise on his face, obviously he was extremely surprised by the appearance of the person in front of him.

The young scholar took a deep breath and bowed deeply to Liu Bei:
"Xun pays respects to General Liu and Military Advisor Xiao."

The young scholar in front of him was Lu Xun, who went to the north bank that day to present a series of strategies to Old Liu.

Sun Ce retreated hastily yesterday, and the Fankou camp was in chaos.

Taking advantage of the chaos in the camp, Lu Xun pretended to retreat eastward with the army, but deliberately fell behind and returned to Fankou quietly.

Xu Chu naturally recognized Lu Xun, and he also knew that Lu Xun was a part of Zhou Yu's fire attack plan. He came to the north bank in person to offer some chain of plans in order to deceive Liu Bei.

Therefore, when Xu Chu saw Lu Xun, he naturally became furious and wanted to kill him on the spot.

"Lu Xun, you should already know that all of Zhou Yu's schemes have been discovered by Jing Lue."

"You came to see me that day, but it was just a false surrender. The so-called iron chain connecting the boats was just to make it easier for Zhou Yu to burn all my warships."

"You know that the truth has been revealed, but you still dare to come to see me again. You are so brave."

Liu Bei pointed out Lu Xun's false surrender, and a chill gradually appeared in his surprised eyes.

Lu Xun sighed and bowed to Xiao Fang:
"Military Advisor Xiao is a master of strategy. He was able to easily see through Zhou Yu's perfect plan. He is truly the reincarnation of a sage of strategy!"

"Military Advisor Xiao's wisdom and strategy have convinced me wholeheartedly."

After expressing his admiration, Lu Xun showed helplessness and bowed to Liu Bei:
"At this point, I dare not hide it. On that day, I was indeed ordered by Sun Ce to go to the north bank to pretend to surrender to Liu Shijun."

"As for the so-called chain plan, its purpose is exactly as Liu Shijun said, which is to lock all of your navy's warships together so that when Zhou Yu launches a fire attack, your warships will not be able to disperse in time."

Lu Xun admitted it himself.

Xu Chu became furious again and cursed:

"My Lord treated you with sincerity, but you dared to deceive my Lord and put my 40,000 soldiers to death. How dare you come back to die~~"

As Xu Chu said this, he was about to draw his sword again.

"Don't worry, Zhongkang. I think he has something to say. Why not listen to him finish his words?"

Xiao Fang raised his feather fan and suppressed Xu Chu's impulse again.

Only then did Xu Chu retreat cursing.

Lu Xun breathed a sigh of relief, then said bitterly:

"As Military Advisor Xiao said, I know that Envoy Liu is a kind and righteous gentleman. If I had not had to, I would not have wanted to deceive Envoy Liu."

"The lives of more than a hundred members of my Lu family are all in Sun Ce's hands. He is using this as a threat, and I have no choice but to obey!"

After hearing Lu Xun's difficulties, Liu Bei looked at Xiao Fang with admiration.

As expected, what Xiao Fang said came true.

After Lu Xun's false surrender was exposed that day, Xiao Fang asserted that Lu Xun was forced to be an instigator because Sun Ce threatened to kill his family.

Now that Lu Xun has admitted it himself, it further proves Xiao Fang's foresight.

"I have heard that Sun Ce has always been bloodthirsty. He would kill any Jiangdong hero who did not do what he wanted."

"Bo Yan, you were forced by Sun Ce to do this against your will in order to protect your family's lives. It's understandable."

"Forget it. In these troubled times, many people are helpless. I can understand your situation, so I won't blame you."

Liu Bei waved his hands and generously forgave Lu Xun's crime of false surrender.

Lu Xun felt relieved, and when he looked at Liu Bei again, his eyes were full of admiration and respect.

He had hesitated for a long time, fearing that his life would be in danger if he met Liu Bei again.

After all, although they both pretended to surrender, Huang Gai had already been beheaded.

But after thinking it over again and again, he thought that Liu Bei had always been known for his kindness and tolerance, so he decided to take a gamble and see whether the rumors about Liu Bei were true or not.

Now it turns out that he made the right bet.

"Envoy Liu is indeed a benevolent and righteous leader. His mind and character are far greater than that of Sun Bofu. I am convinced!"

Lu Xun immediately bowed deeply again, expressing his admiration for Lao Liu.

Liu Bei waved his hand and said calmly:

"Bo Yan, you didn't come back just to confess your crime to Bei. Listen to me and I won't blame you."

Lu Xun immediately put away his gratitude and admiration, and his face was replaced by anger.

"The Sun family is full of murderous nature, and Sun Ce is even more brutal and bloodthirsty than his father Sun Jian."

"When they besieged Lujiang, they not only forced my uncle to death, but after they broke into the city, they also let their soldiers burn, kill and loot, killing more than a hundred members of my Lu family."

"My Lu family and Sun Ce have an irreconcilable feud!"

"If I had not been forced by Sun Ce's military might and feared his butcher knife, I would never have served him, let alone pretended to surrender to Liu Shijun!"

Lu Xun expressed his hatred for Sun Ce with indignation, and then said:

"However, after Sun Ce's defeat yesterday, he was unwilling to believe that his plan was discovered by Military Advisor Xiao, so he suspected that someone in the army had secretly communicated with Envoy Liu and leaked all his secrets."

"Sun Ce was suspicious to begin with, and not only was he defeated but he was also wounded by an arrow. He had lost his mind under the blows from both inside and outside, and he actually believed that Xun had betrayed him. He took advantage of the opportunity to pretend to surrender to the north bank and secretly defected to Liu Shijun, revealing his plan of fire attack."

"Sun Ce was so angry that he almost killed Xun on the spot."

"Fortunately, Lu Zijing stepped forward in time and spoke a fair word for Xun, so Sun Ce temporarily suppressed his suspicion of Xun and did not kill him on the spot."

"Afterwards, Ling Cao was released by Liu Shijun, and Sun Ce suspected that he had secretly surrendered to Liu Shijun, and on the spot..."

Lu Xun recounted in an indignant tone all the grievances and suspicions he had suffered that day, as well as how Ling Cao was suspected by Sun Ce and questioned his loyalty in public.

Admiration gradually appeared in Liu Bei's eyes, and he couldn't help but glance at Xiao Fang.

As Xiao Fang expected, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu were arrogant and refused to accept the fact that Xiao Fang had discovered their plan. They attributed the entire defeat to a spy.

After Ling Cao was released, he was publicly questioned by Sun Ce just as Xiao Fang had expected.

As for Lu Xun being suspected by Sun Ce, it was an unexpected gain.

"Sun Ce was always suspicious and murderous. Many of the Jiangdong heroes who came to him were killed by him just because they were suspicious of him for the slightest insignificant matter."

"Since Sun Ce is suspicious of me now, even if he doesn't kill me now, he will definitely turn his sword against me sooner or later."

"By then, I'm afraid my entire Lu family will be doomed to be exterminated!"

"Xun has no choice but to submit to a benevolent and wise ruler like Liu Shijun, so that he can find a way out for himself and for my Lu family!"

Lu Xun finally made clear the purpose of this trip.

This time, he really wants to defeat Lao Liu.

The reasons are quite frank. First, I respect you, Old Liu, as a wise leader. Second, I am afraid of being killed by Sun Ce and having my clan exterminated.

After hearing this, Liu Bei couldn't help but sigh:

"Sun Ce is considered a contemporary hero, but I didn't expect him to be so suspicious. He turned his sword against his own subordinates based on nothing but conjecture and suspicion without any real evidence. It's really..."

Liu Bei didn't know what to say next, so he just shook his head and sighed, feeling quite sorry for Sun Ce.

Xiao Fang didn't feel strange at all.

Being suspicious and murderous can be said to be a tradition of the Sun family.

If Sun Jian disliked someone, he would kill his superiors and colleagues.

Sun Ce massacred people in Jiangdong and would immediately draw his sword against anyone who showed disrespect to him or threatened him.

Compared with the father and son, Sun Quan was slightly better and not as bloodthirsty, but the suspicious tradition of the Sun family remained unchanged.

Even in the Battle of Red Cliff, which was a life-and-death battle, he was still not confident in letting Zhou Yu lead the army in full, and actually arranged for Cheng Pu to be the deputy commander-in-chief to restrain and monitor Zhou Yu.

Lu Xun burned down Yiling and made great contributions, but because he suspected that Lu Xun was involved in the dispute between the two palaces, he wrote a letter to scold Lu Xun to death.

Now that Sun Ce had suffered such a crushing defeat and his self-esteem was severely damaged, it was not surprising that he suspected Lu Xun and Ling Cao of colluding with the enemy.

There is no harm without comparison. Compared with the suspicion of several fathers and sons of the Sun family, Old Liu can be regarded as a clear stream in the monarchy.

Let Guan Erge guard Jingzhou and give all military power to him without any deputies to control him.

Zhuge Liang was appointed to guard Chengdu, and all military and political power was under his sole control.

The Sun family, father and son, could never catch up with this magnanimity of trusting their subordinates even if they rode at full speed.

"I am extremely pleased to have Bo Yan treat me honestly today."

"Let's just let those things go. No one needs to mention them again."

"If Boyan doesn't betray me, Liu Bei, I will never betray you, Lu Boyan!"

Liu Bei was filled with emotion. He helped Lu Xun up, patted him on the shoulder and spoke solemnly.

These words represented acceptance of Lu Xun's surrender.

Lu Xun let out a long sigh, a look of joy on his face, and immediately expressed his generous opinion, saying that he was glad to meet a wise leader.

"Your Lu clan is all in Jiangdong. It is not realistic to move your family to Jingzhou. Bo Yan, it is not wise for you to stay in Jingzhou and publicly submit to the lord."

"Why don't you go back to Jiangdong first and continue to stay by Sun Ce's side as an insider, secretly passing on intelligence to the Lord."

"With you as an insider, I believe that the lord will be able to conquer Jiangdong and destroy the Sun family with unstoppable force!"

Xiao Fang assigned a task to Lu Xun.

To put it bluntly, it means letting him continue to be an undercover agent in Jiangdong.

Lu Xun was worried that his clansmen would be harmed by Sun Ce, so he naturally did not dare to openly surrender to Liu Bei. The task assigned to him by Xiao Fang was exactly what he wanted.

"My lord, rest assured. I will do my best to assist you and help you capture Jiangdong as soon as possible!"

Lu Xun expressed his opinion happily, and was obviously quite satisfied with his undercover mission.

Old Liu was naturally very satisfied to have such a talented person join him and to be able to stake a claim in Jiangdong. He had to comfort Lu Xun again.

"Chaisang is the gateway to Jiangdong. If you want to conquer Jiangdong, you must first capture this city."

"Boyan, when you go back, send me a copy of the defenses of Chaisang City and its surrounding checkpoints, as well as secret codes and other secrets as soon as possible."

"Remember, it must be the latest one."

Xiao Fangfang gave Lu Xun, the undercover agent, his first mission.

Lu Xun gladly accepted the order, and then said:
"Sun Ce is unwilling to accept Jingzhou as his lord's gain, so he will definitely station his troops in Chaisang and transfer more troops from Jiangdong, intending to regroup and seize Jingzhou again."

"Xun is worried. Chaisang has a large number of troops stationed there, and Sun Ce is in charge personally. It will not be easy for the lord to take Chaisang quickly."

"Now that Cao Cao is about to capture Xuzhou, if he has time to attack Nanyang, then if you and Sun Ce are deadlocked in Chaisang, you will be attacked from both sides."

As expected, it’s Lu Xun.

At such an age, he was able to expand his horizons beyond Jiangdong and see Cao Cao's coveting of Nanyang. This vision and perspective was truly extraordinary.

"Jinglue, what Bo Yan said is very true."

"The fact that we were able to defeat Sun Ce this time was actually more due to your strategy than the true strength of our army."

"If Sun Ce leads a large army to station in Chaisang, it may not be easy for us to quickly defeat Chaisang."

Old Liu frowned slightly, with some worry in his eyes.

Xiao Fang's eyes turned slightly, but he smiled while waving his feather fan:

"In that case, let's use a trick to move Sun Ce and half of his troops away from Chaisang."

Liu Bei's eyes lit up and his face showed joy. He hurriedly asked Xiao Fang what means he had to transfer Sun Ce away from Chaisang.

Xiao Fang asked Xu Chu to bring the map and pointed with his feather fan:
"Although Sun Ce occupied Chaisang and the cities of Hulin along the Yangtze River, there were still several forces west of Danyang in the south and east of Yuzhang that failed to submit to Sun Ce."

"Among them, there is a general who is not only an outstanding martial artist, but is also proficient in naval warfare, infantry warfare, and cavalry warfare. He can be described as an all-round warrior."

"The key is that this man has some friendship with the lord. If the lord can persuade him to lead the army northward and threaten the rear of the Jiangdong army, he will be able to force Sun Ce to withdraw the troops from Chaisang and lead the army to stop them!"

　I wonder if there are any high school seniors reading this book? The college entrance examination is tomorrow. I wish you success!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)