Chapter 193 This alternative saved my whole family! Brotherly love and respect? Not true! I swear by Jiang that I regard Xuande as my uncle!
Everyone's eyes were focused on the young man with green eyes and purple beard.

The person who spoke was Sun Quan.

"Zhongmou, do you have any good ideas to turn the tide?"

There was a hint of doubt in Sun Ce's expectant eyes.

Although his second younger brother was mature beyond his years, he usually stayed in Nanjing and managed government affairs in an orderly manner for him.

But if we say that he had extraordinary wisdom, Sun Ce did not realize it.

Now at this critical moment of life and death, even Zhang Zhao and Lu Su were helpless, but his second brother suddenly said that he had a plan to turn the situation around, which made Sun Ce suspicious.

Sun Quan, however, looked calm and confident, and said with his hands clasped:
"I also ask you to dismiss everyone and leave only General Demou behind, so that I can propose this strategy."

Sun Ce was stunned at first, but then he understood the implication of Sun Quan's words.

Jiangdong is in danger now, and I'm afraid there are quite a few people who secretly defect to Liu Bei.

For example, Ling Cao, whom he had previously suspected of secretly leaking military secrets to Liu Bei during the Battle of Eshan.

Since Sun Quan had a plan to turn the tide, he naturally could not tell anyone else about it, so as to avoid it being leaked to Liu Bei.

"Except for General Cheng, all of you please leave."

Sun Ce waved his hand and gave the order.

Seeing that they were not trusted, everyone felt unhappy, but they did not dare to show it and could only retreat quietly.

There were only three of them left in the inner hall.

"Master Zhongmou, I wonder if you have any good ideas to reverse this passive situation?"

Cheng Pu also asked curiously.

Sun Quan coughed dryly and said slowly:
"Hasn't Lu Zijing advised you several times to seek peace with Liu Bei? My plan is to ask you to accept Lu Zijing's suggestion and send him out of the city to seek peace with Liu Bei..."

"What a ridiculous plan this is!"

Sun Ce interrupted Sun Quan without waiting for him to finish, saying angrily:

"That big-eared thief is just a weaver and shoe seller. How can I, Sun Ce, a great little tyrant, surrender to him and ask for peace?"

"I thought you had some brilliant plan, but it turned out to be such a ridiculous one!"

A look of disappointment also appeared on Cheng Pu's face.

Sun Quan coughed a few times and said hurriedly:
"Brother, please listen to what I have to say. As a hero, it is impossible for me to seek peace with that big-eared thief. How can I let you be humiliated?"

The anger on Sun Ce's face turned into suspicion, and he had no choice but to ask again:

"Then why did you ask me to ask Liu Bei for peace? What did you mean?"

Sun Quan lowered his voice, came closer and said:

"My foolish brother's idea is to have Zijing pretend to ask for peace with the big-eared thief, but in fact to make him complacent, relax his vigilance, and delay the attack on Jinling City."

"Then I left Jinling with General Cheng and headed for Wu County, under the pretext of recruiting soldiers for Wu County."

"When we are halfway there, I will continue to Wujun, while General Cheng will head west to Yangxian and take over the 5,000 soldiers who are monitoring the Shanyue troops."

"Then General Cheng turned back to the north and unexpectedly attacked Liu Jun's rear!"

"At that time, raise a fire as a signal, and my brother will lead the soldiers of Nanjing to charge out from the inside. General Cheng will lead 5,000 soldiers to attack from the side and rear of Liu's army. We will attack the enemy camp from the east and west, and we will surely defeat it!"

"If we win this battle, even if we cannot defeat Liu Bei in one fell swoop, we will certainly be able to severely damage his army and force him to withdraw from the siege of Nanjing and retreat westward."

"If we win this battle, you will regain your prestige, which will surely influence the people of Jiangdong. This will allow me to recruit more new troops and buy enough time to recruit and train soldiers. This will kill two birds with one stone."

"This is my foolish brother's plan."

Sun Ce jumped up suddenly, rushed to the map and examined it carefully, and joy gradually appeared in his eyes.

He suddenly remembered that Lu Meng had previously suggested that he transfer 5,000 troops who were there to suppress and monitor the Shanyue to come to Jinling.

At that time, he was about to order Cheng Pu to mobilize the troops, but the news that Liu Bei had killed Yuan Shu disrupted his overall plan.

Sun Quan's plan was a rehash of an old one, and was even more clever than Lu Meng's. He no longer simply transferred the 5,000 troops to reinforce the defense of Nanjing, but intended to use them to launch a surprise attack on Liu's camp.

He even considered using Lu Su to pretend to make peace with Liu Bei in order to paralyze the enemy.

Sun Ce had to admit that this was indeed a brilliant plan.

"boom!"

Sun Ce turned around and punched Sun Quan on the shoulder, praising him:
"Zhongmou, this plan of yours is truly a brilliant one!"

"Brother, how could I not realize that you, who usually keeps silent, actually have such a wise plan!"

Cheng Pu also stroked his thin beard, nodded slightly and praised:
"Liu Bei has fought battles one after another, and now he has killed Yuan Shu. He must have become extremely arrogant."

"Zhongmou's plan took advantage of Liu Bei's arrogance and underestimated the enemy. It was indeed a brilliant plan to achieve victory by surprise!"

Receiving praise from the two men, Sun Quan did not show any complacency on his face, but was instead humble.

Sun Ce immediately ordered his men to follow the plan and sent Sun Quan and Cheng Pu to leave Jinling overnight and head east towards Wujun.

Then Sun Ce sent Lu Su again, falsely claiming that he intended to seek peace with Liu Bei in exchange for keeping Jiangdong.

Lu Su thought that Sun Ce had finally figured it out, and was naturally very surprised. He immediately took Sun Ce's handwritten letter and went to Liu's camp outside the city.

At dusk, on the West Gate Tower.

Sun Ce stood with his hands behind his back, watching Lu Su leave the city and head towards Liu's camp to the west of the city.

"Liu Bei, if you knew that I, a great little tyrant, had surrendered to you and asked for peace, you would surely be carried away by your pride."

"I'll let you be proud for a few days. When I, General Cheng, lead the army back, I will make you regret it..."

Sun Ce looked down at Liu Ying outside the city with a sarcastic sneer on his face.

Then he turned his gaze to the east, looking in the direction where Sun Quan was leaving the city.

"I didn't expect that our Sun family, which has two generations of military commanders, would produce a wise man like Zhongmou. Could it be that God is blessing our Sun family?" "Fortunately, I sent my third brother to Shouchun as a hostage. If I had sent Zhongmou away, who would have offered me this plan to turn the tide today!"

"Zhongmou, ah Zhongmou, among all the brothers, although you are the least like a father, you saved our Sun family at the critical moment..."

On the top of the city wall, there were murmurs of emotion and sighs.

To the east of the city, a group of people had crossed Qingliang Mountain and were running on the eastward road.

Sun Quan glanced ahead and deliberately slowed down his horse, creating some distance between himself and the horse in front of him.

"Ziming, your plan not only allows me to escape, but also gives my brother a chance to turn the tide. It's really a brilliant plan that kills two birds with one stone!"

"I was right. Your wisdom is not inferior to that of Zhou Yu. You are indeed a rough diamond."

Sun Quan glanced at Lu Meng beside him and expressed his approval.

Lu Meng was humble but also confused:

"There is one thing I don't understand. Why did the Second Young Master leave Jinling City? At this critical moment, shouldn't he stay and assist the Lord to show the Second Young Master his abilities?"

When mentioning his brother Sun Ce, Sun Quan's mouth corners slightly raised and he let out a slightly helpless sigh.

"In everything you do, you should think of a way out first. Ziming, although your plan is brilliant, it may not be without the possibility of failure."

"Don't forget, Liu Bei's military advisor was a man of great foresight. He even killed Zhou Yu."

"If something unexpected happens, Jinling City will be a dangerous place. How can I stand under the dangerous wall?"

Sun Quan revealed his motive.

Lu Meng suddenly understood.

Sun Quan was afraid of accidents, so he had to find a reason in advance to escape from Jinling and go to Wujun with a legitimate reason.

If Sun Ce won, his advice would be a credit.

If he was defeated, even if Nanjing fell, he would have fled far away and would not have to be in danger.

"When the lord was away at war, he always left you in Jinling to manage government affairs. He still respects and trusts you very much..."

Lu Meng's sigh was actually a subtle reminder that Sun Ce was still a good person to Sun Quan.

However, it was not very kind of Sun Quan to abandon Sun Ce at this critical moment in Nanjing.

"Value trust?"

Sun Quan raised his mouth with sarcasm and sneered:

"Ziming, you don't know my brother. My Sun family is a family of military commanders, but I am an exception."

"Although my elder brother entrusted me with important tasks and asked me to stay in the rear, he actually had no choice but to do so. In his heart, his favorite brother has always been my younger brother Sun Yi."

"Otherwise, when he was selecting the hostages to be sent to Shouchun, he would not have hesitated again and again, and finally chose Sun Yi reluctantly."

Lu Meng's heart was shocked, and he suddenly understood Sun Quan's mood.

The second son of the Sun family seemed to be respectful to Sun Ce on the surface, but in fact he harbored deep resentment in his heart...

"After arriving in Wu County, there is no need to rush to recruit soldiers. I will first visit the wealthy families in the county."

"I will be the one to collect the hearts of the people that my brother doesn't want."

"As long as those Jiangdong nobles are willing to return, why would we worry about not having soldiers and horses available?"

Sun Quan sneered with a playful look in his eyes, then rode away on his horse.

...

Outside the city of Jinling, Liu Jun’s camp.

Inside the Chinese military tent.

Lu Su, with a face full of humility, stood in front of the tent and handed over Sun Ce's handwritten letter.

"My general Bofu has been convinced by Liu Shijun. Now, for the sake of the lives of the people in Jiangdong, I only hope to shake hands with Liu Shijun and make peace, resolve the conflict, and save the people of Jiangdong from the disaster of war."

"My general Bofu said that as long as Liu Shijun can negotiate peace and withdraw his troops, all the counties in Danyang and Yuzhang counties west of Zheqi Ferry can be Liu Shijun's forever."

"In addition, our General Bofu can also respect Envoy Liu as his uncle as a nephew, and can also offer 100,000 bushels of money and grain every year."

"The Liu and Sun families will become allies from now on, with you as the leader. If there is an attack, Jiangdong will definitely send troops to follow and obey your orders!"

"I hope you can be magnanimous and considerate of the millions of people in Jiangdong, and give my General Bofu a chance to make peace with you."

Lu Su stated the conditions that Sun Ce was willing to offer and bowed deeply with a sincere face.

Liu Bei listened to what Lu Su said and looked at Sun Ce's humble letter of peace in his hand, and couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed.

To be honest, the peace conditions proposed by Sun Ce were indeed quite sincere.

They ceded land, paid annual tribute of grain, and regarded him as their uncle and leader of the alliance.

It is not easy for a little bully to stoop to such a level.

What's more, Sun Ce kept claiming that he was thinking about the lives of the people in Jiangdong.

If he did not agree, wouldn't it be against the principles of benevolence and righteousness, and it would seem that he did not care about the lives of the people of Jiangdong and was determined to continue fighting with Sun Ce.

However, the troops are now at the gates of Nanjing, and the chances of taking over Jiangdong are assured. It would be a great pity if they were to make peace and withdraw their troops at this time.

Old Liu was undecided for a moment and could only look at Xiao Fang.

Xiao Fang did not make any statement, but asked Lu Su:

"Lu Zijing, I know you are a loyal and honest person. Are you really sure that your master Sun Ce is sincerely seeking peace with my master and not having other ulterior motives?"

When Lu Su heard this, he immediately said seriously:
"My general Bofu swore by the Yangtze River that he would sincerely seek peace with Liu Shijun. If he breaks his oath, he will be pierced by thousands of arrows!"

"Su is also willing to stay in the camp as a hostage. If my general Bofu breaks his promise, Su is willing to be killed!"

(End of this chapter)