Chapter 173: My son admits his fault to me, that's fine! I will take care of all the traitors who usurped the Han Dynasty! I am willing to use myself as bait!

For a moment, Xiao Qiao felt dizzy, nervous and at a loss.

Just at this moment, the personal guards outside the door hurried in and handed a secret letter to Liu Bei.

"Military Advisor, our 'Eye' has sent a letter."

Liu Bei handed the letter to Xiao Fang.

When Xiao Fang opened it, he knew it was a coded letter written by Lu Xun, so he looked back at Liu Bei.

Liu Bei understood and said to Xiao Qiao:

"Mr. Qiao's condition has been treated by Jinglue, so you can rest assured, Miss Qiao."

"When Mr. Qiao gets better, I will come to visit you again. I won't bother you today."

Xiao Qiao was also tactful. She knew that Liu Bei and Xiao Fang had military matters to discuss, so she immediately respectfully welcomed them to leave.

Outside the mansion.

Xiao Fang climbed onto his horse and turned back to warn:

"My lord will soon lead his army eastward to defeat Sun Ce and pacify Jiangdong."

"Mr. Qiao still needs my treatment for his illness. Miss Qiao, you should prepare as soon as possible. I'm afraid you will have to accompany Mr. Qiao and follow the army eastward."

Xiao Qiao was stunned at first, but then she understood and quickly agreed.

Xiao Fang whipped his horse and galloped away with Lao Liu.

Xiao Qiaofu knelt down and respectfully saw the group off, staring at Xiao Fang's back with his bright eyes until they disappeared at the end of the street.

"If it weren't for Sun Ce who humiliated my father, my father wouldn't have been so sick."

"I just hope that Military Advisor Xiao can help Envoy Liu and destroy Sun Ce. This can be regarded as revenge for my father and help us vent our anger..."

...

Half an hour later, inside the mansion hall.

Liu Bei had already obtained the secret letter from Lu Xun translated by Xiao Fang.

"Sun Ce actually sent Zhang Zhao to cross the river and head north to surrender to Yuan Shu?"

Liu Bei looked surprised, obviously greatly taken aback by the news.

All the counselors and generals present were shocked and immediately started talking about it.

"Sun Ce is such an arrogant and domineering person, how could he disregard his dignity and surrender to Yuan Shu again?"

Even Zhuge Jin had a look of surprise on his face, somewhat confused as to what Sun Ce was doing.

Xiao Fang, however, looked normal and didn't feel strange at all.

Although Sun Jian and his son seemed lawless, they would kill anyone they disliked, whether it was an official appointed by the imperial court or a powerful family.

In fact, this father and son have a love-hate relationship with the wealthy scholar family.

The reason why Sun Jian dared to kill Wang Rui was because Wang Rui was too weak. Although he was the governor of Jingzhou, he actually had no soldiers under his command.

When he met Yuan Shu, one of the top nobles in the world who also had a large army under his command, Sun Jian immediately bowed down to him and was willing to be Yuan Shu's lackey, killing people for him.

He even lost his life in helping Yuan Shu capture Jingzhou.

If you say that Yuan Shu was good to Sun Jian, Yuan Shu also cheated him. At the beginning, he saw that Sun Jian was too powerful and even cut off his military supplies.

With Sun Jian's violent temper, if it were anyone else, he would have killed him with a single blow.

But in the face of Yuan Shu's mischief, Sun Jian did not have the slightest intention to kill him. Instead, he spoke humbly and earnestly expressed his loyalty to Yuan Shu.

Why?

It was simply because Sun Jian admired the strong and had a deep-seated inferiority complex toward top nobles like Yuan Shu, and he was proud to be loyal to Yuan Shu.

The same went for Sun Ce. After Sun Jian's death, he was raised as a son by Yuan Shu for many years and worked honestly for Yuan Shu.

Later, he broke with Yuan Shu simply because he had become too powerful. In addition, Yuan Shu usurped the throne and declared himself emperor, so Cao Cao used the name of the court to deceive him.

Now that Sun Ce was half-crippled by Old Liu and was on the verge of collapse, it was not a shameful thing for him to bow his head and admit his mistake to Yuan Shu in exchange for Yuan Shu sending troops to help.

After all, the Yuan family is one of the top families in the world, and Yuan Shu still controls the Huainan area, so his strength remains.

"Yuan Shu treated Sun Ce like his son. Sun Ce once treated Yuan Shu like his father. Now that he is in poverty, he bows his head and asks Yuan Shu for help. For Sun Ce, it is just like a son admitting his mistakes to his father. It is also reasonable."

Xiao Fang gently waved his feather fan, revealing Sun Ce's psychological state.

Zhuge Jin suddenly realized and nodded:
"Military Advisor Xiao, it is true. Yuan Shu has praised Sun Ce in public more than once, saying that it would be great if Sun Ce was his son."

"Now that Sun Ce has nowhere else to go, asking for surrender to Yuan Shu is indeed not an insult to his self-esteem. He was originally both a subject of Yuan Shu and his adopted son."

Liu Bei also nodded slightly, with a hint of fear between his brows.

"Although Yuan Shu has seized several counties including Runan and Chen for Cao Cao, he still controls the land of Huainan and has gained the support of Lu Bu, the world's best general. His strength should not be underestimated."

"Jinglue, do you think Yuan Shu is really going to send troops south to rescue Sun Ce?"

Old Liu looked at Xiao Fang, seeming to be somewhat worried about whether Yuan Shu would intervene in the war in Jiangdong.

"When we attacked Xuyi, Yide killed Yuan Yao. He had a grudge against Yuan Shu for killing his son. This is one of the reasons."

"If Jiangdong is in the hands of the lord, Yuan Shu will be attacked from all sides. This is the second reason."

"If Sun Ce surrenders to Yuan Shu again, Yuan Shu will be able to nominally reoccupy Jiangdong, and his strength on paper will increase greatly, which will help him stabilize people's hearts. This is the third reason." "With these three points, I predict that Yuan Shu will definitely send troops south to intervene in the battle in Jiangdong!"

Xiao Fang's answer was crisp and clear, as if he had already expected Yuan Shu's march south.

Liu Bei remained silent.

When mentioning the killing of Yuan Yao, the old events in Xuzhou came to mind.

Back then, if Yuan Shu had not launched a massive attack and invaded Xuzhou, he would not have been forced to lead his troops south to resist.

In this way, there would not have been the embarrassment of Lu Bu's sneak attack, the loss of Xuzhou, and the forced escape to Jingzhou.

Although the facts have proved that this decision was a blessing in disguise, it is also an indisputable fact that he was bullied and forced by Yuan Shu and almost fell into a desperate situation.

Although Liu Bei was magnanimous, he never forgot the grudge he had with Yuan Shu.

What’s more, Yuan Shu usurped the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, openly trying to usurp the Liu family’s kingdom!

As a relative of the Han Dynasty and a descendant of the Liu family, how could he not hate Yuan Shu, the traitor who usurped the Han Dynasty, to the core?

Back then, we were far away in Jingzhou and had no power to attack Yuan Shu. But now that our army has arrived in Jiangdong and is bordering Yuan Shu's territory, how can we ignore this Han traitor Yuan Shu?

Thinking of this, the worry in Lao Liu's eyes instantly turned into murderous intent.

"Military Advisor, your words make sense. Yuan Shu, the traitor who usurped the Han Dynasty, will definitely send his troops south no matter what!"

"I now control the seven counties of Jingzhou and Xiangyang, with elite troops and sufficient food. I also have you, Jinglue, and other heroes of Jingzhou to assist me. Why should I fear the traitor Yuan Shu?"

"It would be best if he came to me. I will destroy him as well!"

Old Liu slammed the secret letter from Lu Xun on the table, with a hint of dominance in his voice.

"That's the truth. Whoever prevents the Lord from conquering Jiangdong will be dealt with by the Lord!"

Xiao Fang pointed his feather fan to the east and said happily:
"Even if Yuan Shu wants to send troops to help Sun Ce, he will have to bargain with Sun Ce, which will take at least ten days or half a month."

"Let's take advantage of this opportunity and march our army eastward immediately to capture Hulin first!"

Liu Bei agreed with this.

So after the army rested for two days, nearly 50,000 troops by land and sea marched eastward along the Yangtze River, heading straight for Hulin.

...

Hulin.

The news of Liu Bei's army's march had spread, and the entire Jiangdong army was shocked.

Inside the government hall, Sun Ce was standing with his hands behind his back, looking extremely worried.

Although Zhang Zhao had already gone north on a diplomatic mission, it would still take time for him to arrive in Shouchun.

Even if Yuan Shu sent troops to rescue immediately, the round trip would take at least ten days or half a month.

Liu Bei's army was approaching, and was just around the corner.

Will Hu Lin defend or not?

If it is not defended, Liu Bei's army will march eastward and attack the heartland of Jiangdong.

By then, before Yuan Shu could send troops to rescue, the people of Jiangdong would have already defected to Liu Bei.

If we want to guard Hulin, who will do it?

Sun Ce himself certainly couldn't do it, with only 10,000 troops under his command, he could be easily surrounded by Liu Bei's 50,000 troops.

As the lord of Jiangdong, how can I be trapped in an isolated city?
If he doesn't defend it, he can only leave a military general to defend it.

He could only give this man 4,000 soldiers at most, and this man not only had to be a good general, but also had to be loyal to him. Even if he fought to the last soldier, he could not surrender the city to Liu.

Looking at all the generals in Jiangdong, Sun Ce really couldn't find anyone who could withstand the siege of Liu Bei's army ten times larger and still remain loyal to him.

Sun Ce was extremely worried about this matter.

"Bo Fu!"

A familiar voice sounded in my ears.

Sun Ce stopped and turned around suddenly, then saw Zhou Yu walking in with difficulty, leaning on a crutch.

The moment he saw Zhou Yu, Sun Ce couldn't help but frown, and the resentment in his heart was aroused.

If Zhou Yu had not lost Chaisang, he would never have fallen to the point of admitting his mistakes to Yuan Shu.

How could they have faced the dilemma of having no generals to use and no soldiers to deploy when Liu Bei's army was approaching?
When he thought of this, he felt resentful.

"Gongjin, you are injured. Why are you here instead of taking a rest?"

Sun Ce turned his back and didn't want to look at him, and his tone clearly showed that he wanted to send him away.

This cold attitude stabbed Zhou Yu's heart like a knife, causing him heartache.

Zhou Yu suppressed the pain and half-knelt down with difficulty.

He took a deep breath, and with a resolute and solemn expression, he bowed:

"Bofu, I am willing to use myself as bait and defend Tiger Forest for you to the death!"

(End of this chapter)