Chapter 213: Success makes you a king, failure makes you a bandit. What if you are laughed at by the world? Among all the princes in the world, he ranks first in shamelessness!

"Lv Ziming, what do you mean?"

However, Sun Quan was not as irritable as Sun Ben. He realized that Lu Meng's proposal was not as simple as Sun Ben thought.

Lu Meng took a deep breath and said silently:
"Meng has just said that our army has no time to recruit soldiers and horses, and Kuaiji County cannot be defended."

"If Kuaiji is lost, the entire Jiangdong region will fall, which means that the fall of Jiangdong is inevitable."

"Unless you want to live and die with Jiangdong, you can only abandon Jiangdong and stay."

"Now that the pursuers are right behind us, our only chance to escape from Jiangdong is to head east to Haiyan Port, take the sea route north to Huainan to seek refuge with Lu Bu!"

"This is the only chance for you to keep yourself useful and hope to recover Jiangdong in the future."

As soon as this statement came out, everyone was in an uproar.

Sun Ben became furious again.

"Bofu's recognition of Yuan Shu as his adoptive father has already insulted the name of our Sun family and his reputation as the Lord of Jiangdong."

"Now you have Zhongmou learning from Bofu and going to Huainan to seek refuge with Lü Bu's servants of four surnames. Do you want Zhongmou to be despised by the world?"

Faced with Sun Ben's questioning, Lu Meng did not respond, but turned his eyes to Sun Quan.

Sun Quan remained silent and did not react violently. It was obvious that he had recognized the current situation and was weighing the pros and cons in his mind.

After a while, Sun Quan sighed weakly.

"Ziming is right. At this point, it is meaningless to defend Jiangdong except for losing our lives."

"Abandon Jiangdong and don't leave. Preserve your strength and try to retake Jiangdong. This is the best strategy."

Sun Quan changed the subject and said:
"But Lü Bu has a terrible reputation. As my brother said, if I go to join those slaves of the four surnames, won't I be laughed at by the world?"

"Since I'm sailing north, why can't I go to Xuzhou and seek refuge with Cao Mengde?"

Sun Quan obviously still cared about his reputation and looked down on Lu Bu.

Lu Meng shook his head and said:

"My lord, you can certainly join Cao Cao, but Cao Cao is too far away to reach Jiangdong. He is determined to go north to fight Yuan Shao. I don't know when he will go south."

"If you go and join Cao Cao, Cao Cao will most likely not use you. He will only cut off your troops and treat you like a rich idler."

"When that time comes, my lord will be far away in the Central Plains, and all his troops will be scattered, leaving only me alone. How can I recover Jiangdong and avenge my grievances?"

Hearing this, Sun Quan shuddered violently.

"Although Lu Bu has a bad reputation, he still occupies Huainan, which borders Jiangdong. After Liu Bei swallows up Jiangdong, he will definitely cross the river and head north to seize Huainan."

"The lord will be of great use to Lu Bu. He will certainly use the lord to recruit his old subordinates and help him resist Liu Bei's invasion from the north."

"Then my lord, not only can you keep your troops, but you can also gain a foothold in Huainan. With Lu Bu's protection and support, you can recruit those who are against Liu Bei in Jiangdong to join you."

"In this way, my lord will have the opportunity to regroup and find a good opportunity in the future to cross the river to the south and retake Jiangdong!"

Lu Meng talked incessantly, listing all the benefits of joining Lu Bu and also outlined a beautiful blueprint for Sun Quan.

Sun Quan slowly stood up and paced back and forth, savoring Lu Meng's strategy and weighing the pros and cons.

Seeing that Sun Quan was persuaded, Sun Ben urged:

"Zhongmou, you must not listen to his instigation and go to join Lu Bu!"

"The four family slaves have long been notorious. If you, Zhongmou, seek refuge under the wings of such people, how will the history books write about our Sun family in the future?"

"I'm afraid that in the history books, my Sun family will be laughed at for eternity!"

Sun Ben still has to have some shame.

In fact, when Sun Ce recognized Yuan Shu as his adoptive father, these cousins ​​were quite dissatisfied.

However, due to the fact that Jiangdong was the foundation laid by Sun Ce, and because of Sun Ce's autocratic and self-willed character, they did not dare to object even if they had some complaints.

Who are you, Sun Quan?
Jiangdong was not conquered by you. You have no prestige and no talent. Why do you want us brothers to follow you to Huainan to suffer humiliation?

Sun Ben's words of opposition shocked Sun Quan and his eyes became hesitant.

Seeing this, Lu Meng bowed again and said seriously:

"My Lord, I have not read much, and I do not understand much about history books. I only know the four words 'the winner is the king, the loser is the bandit'."

"If you don't go to Huainan, you will never be able to recover Jiangdong, and you will be completely defeated."

"The defeated will be laughed at by future generations!"

"If you can recover Jiangdong and achieve hegemony in the future, who will remember the shame of you joining Lu Bu?"

"People will only say that the lord can endure humiliation and bend and stretch, and that he is as extraordinary as Gou Jian, and is a great lord who is rare in the world!"

Sun Quan was shocked and looked at Lu Meng in surprise. He obviously did not expect that this illiterate Wu man could speak such a profound truth.

The worries in Sun Quan's heart were dispelled silently by his words.

After pondering for a moment.

Sun Quan gritted his teeth and said resolutely:

"Zi Ming's words make sense. The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. This is the truth!"

"As long as I can survive, as long as I can recover Jiangdong in the future and avenge my brother and my Sun family, what does it matter if I have to endure humiliation and temporarily rely on those four family slaves?"

"I have made up my mind. I will go straight to Haiyan Port and sail north to Huainan!"

Lu Meng breathed a sigh of relief.

Sun Ben was extremely shocked and shouted:
"Zhongmou, don't listen to his sweet talk and believe his far-fetched and twisted theories."

"We, the Sun family, cannot rely on anyone but Lü Bu's four-surnamed servants. We—"

Cold light passed by.

Zhou Tai drew his sword and said sternly:

"My lord has made up his mind, how dare you question it?"

Sun Ben was startled, and his complaints were immediately cut off by Zhou Tai's shout. Seeing Zhou Tai's weapon drawn and his face full of murderous intent, Sun Ben could only swallow his saliva and shut up in a depressed mood.

Sun Ben was convinced and no one raised any objection anymore.

Sun Quan did not dare to stay and immediately led the 300 remaining troops eastward to Haiyan Port.

...

Twenty miles south of Wu County.

Tens of thousands of Liu's soldiers were marching south along the road.

After defeating Sun Quan in Wu County, Liu Bei led his army southward without stopping, in order to give Sun Quan no chance to catch his breath and to incorporate Kuaiji into his territory in one fell swoop.

Dust and fog were rolling ahead, and more than a thousand cavalrymen were heading north under the leadership of the "Zhang" flag.

He was the one who first pursued Zhang Xiu who was heading south, and came to join him.

Liu Bei then ordered the army to stop advancing and meet up with the cavalry unit on the spot.

"My lord, Sun Quan only has 300 remaining soldiers, and they are less than half a day's walk away from our army."

"I would like to ask my lord if our cavalry should continue to pursue with light equipment and cross the Zhejiang River in one go!"

Zhang Xiu reined in his horse and bowed to Liu Bei for instructions.

Liu Bei did not hesitate at all and said without thinking:
"After Sun Quan fled to Kuaiji, he would definitely recruit soldiers and horses to defend the Zhejiang River to stop our army."

"Wen Jin, you lead the light cavalry to pursue first, and I will lead the main force to follow closely behind. We will conquer Kuaiji in one fell swoop and not give Sun Quan the opportunity to regroup and put up a last-ditch resistance!"

Zhang Xiu accepted the order generously and immediately turned his horse to ride away, leading the Western Liang cavalry to continue the pursuit.

"Wait a minute!"

However, Xiao Fang stopped Zhang Xiu and asked Xu Chu to bring the map. He spread it out in front of him and began to scan the map.

Liu Bei and his generals all looked suspiciously at their own military advisor.

Isn't it obvious that Sun Quan lost Wujun and continued to flee south to Kuaiji?

Then, isn't it a no-brainer to continue the pursuit, take advantage of the situation to cross the Zhejiang River, capture Kuaiji at lightning speed, and completely destroy Sun Ce?

No one could guess why Xiao Fang wanted to stop Zhang Xiu.

"My lord, if we pursue them southwards, we will end up in vain. My lord, please order our cavalry to immediately turn eastwards and pursue them in the direction of Haiyan!"

Xiao Fang poked his hand at the map and shouted in a decisive tone.

sea ​​salt?

Liu Bei looked surprised and asked hurriedly:

"Military advisor, to the east of Haiyan is the vast ocean, why should we chase there?"

Everyone looked confused and puzzled.

Xiao Fang pointed at the map and sneered:

"Sun Quan only has 300 remaining soldiers. Even if he escapes to Kuaiji, he is just waiting to die. How can he still dream of turning the tables?"

"Such an obvious fact, even if Sun Quan doesn't understand it, then Lu Meng can't fail to understand it!"

"I don't think Sun Quan will flee to Kuaiji and wait for death. He will definitely go to Haiyan Port nearby and sail north to join Lü Bu!"

"In this case, we must naturally pursue eastward!"

One word reveals the mystery.

Everyone was startled and hurriedly came closer, all looking at the map.

"Military Advisor Xiao has a point."

"Jinling has been lost, Wu County has been lost, and the three hundred remaining soldiers retreating to Kuaiji are just waiting to die!"

"Just based on the fact that Sun Quan fled Nanjing ahead of time, it is clear that he has no courage to fight to the death. Fleeing north across the sea is indeed his wisest choice."

Lu Su nodded heavily, agreeing with Xiao Fang's speculation.

Liu Bei frowned slightly and said:

"Lü Bu is a slave of four families and has long been notorious. How could Sun Quan disregard his reputation and join Lü Bu?"

Xiao Fang smiled.

In troubled times, the princes fought for supremacy. Among all the princes, the most shameless one would have to be Sun Quan.

Stabbing his allies in the back and launching a surprise attack on Jingzhou are such treacherous acts, needless to say.

Old Liu mobilized the entire country's army to attack Wu for revenge, and Sun Quan immediately lost face and asked for peace with Old Liu.

After failing to make peace with Liu Bang, he turned around and submitted to Cao Pi, and was happily awarded the title of King of Wu of Wei.

After winning the Battle of Yiling, they immediately turned against Cao Pi and started fighting again.

Things like reputation and face are the most insignificant things to Sun Quan.

Survival and interests are the only criteria for Sun Quan's actions.

Would such a person care about joining Lu Bu, being despised by the world and damaging his own reputation?
"My lord is a gentleman, so he has a bottom line in his actions and will naturally be burdened by his reputation."

"But in the eyes of people like Sun Quan, reputation and face are all external things, and profit is everything."

"Retreating to Kuaiji means death, but going across the sea to join Lu Bu means life. I can also get Lu Bu's protection, recruit the old members of the Sun family to Huainan to regroup, and continue to dream of regaining Jiangdong!"

"It is not difficult to judge what Sun Quan will choose."

With just a few simple words, Xiao Fang revealed Sun Quan's inside and out.

Liu Bei seemed to understand something, the confusion in his eyes turned into disgust, and murderous intent gradually grew in him.

"Wen Jin, listen to my orders. Lead the light cavalry to Haiyan and pursue Sun Quan!"

"All troops, change their route to the east, follow me and wipe out the remnants of the Sun clan!"

(End of this chapter)