According to records in ancient books and documents, these two... were Sun Quan's famous personal bodyguards.
They were from the same county, but they followed the general trend and joined together when Sun Ce was conquering Jiangdong.
Originally, this time point was after Sun Ce conquered Lujiang and further encroached on the remaining tribes of Liu Yao, Yan Baihu, Wang Lang and others.
How can I...
Because of the defeat in Lujiang, the Little Overlord of Jiangdong was defeated by Long Xiaoying and fell from the altar.
The planned defection between Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin was naturally put on hold...
They chose to wait and see and wait until the situation becomes clearer before choosing a leader.
Unexpectedly...after waiting like this, Sun Quan defeated Guangling City again...
Then the arrogant little overlord Sun Bofu was assassinated and became bedridden and dying.
When the news of Cao's army going south came, the tension between the old generals of the Sun family and the four major families of Wu County and the four major families of Kuaiji was at war.
This time...
The situation became even more chaotic.
In the eyes of Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin, the Sun family in Jiangdong felt like the building was about to collapse.
For a moment...the two of them felt like they wanted to take refuge with Cao Cao.
At least... Lao Cao didn't have any big black spots in the struggle for hegemony in the Central Plains. He was pretty good to the people and the children of poor families like them.
Besides, I heard from fellow villagers Xiang Yong that their hometown "Jiujiang" experienced rare comfort and peace under Cao Cao's governance.
Who doesn't want to go home?
But... now...
Arriving at the border of Jiangdong... I want to go back, but the river to the north has been blocked and I can't go back. This is very embarrassing! The two of them can only live in this wine shop in Wu County, sighing helplessly, which can be regarded as observing the changes of the times!
Of course…
Lu Yu didn't know this.
He only knows that Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin are in Jiangdong at this time, and they probably haven't had time to join Sun Ce yet. So... it's the right time to take the lead and let the Lu family get there first.
And every time I think of these two...
In Lu Yu's mind, their popular slogan would always sound inexplicably.
——It’s not enough, I will never fall!
——The enemy's situation is already known, set off immediately!
only…
Now for Lu Xun and Lu Ji, the two future stars of the Lu family, it is time for them to "set off immediately".
…
…
Outside Xiapi City, between Yunlong Mountains.
On the top of the mountain here, a legion of less than 500 people built a simple military stronghold, with many injured soldiers lying in it.
From time to time, painful howls were heard.
But unfortunately, the water source here has long been cut off, and there is no food... let alone any rescue medical supplies.
Bitter, every soldier's mood is extremely bitter.
call…
With a heavy exhale, Guan Yu stood outside the military camp, stroking his beard while... trying to look calm and composed.
That eternally paralyzed face still showed no joy...it was impossible to guess what he was thinking in his mind.
"General, look, there's someone coming up from the bottom of the mountain..." With a shout, a soldier pointed to the mountain road.
All of a sudden, the entire battalion was on alert.
But when it became clear that it was a one-person horse, my mood relaxed.
"This is...this is the general of Longxiao camp!"
Someone reminded...
Guan Yu's brows suddenly knitted together. He squinted his eyes until he could see the visitor's face clearly, then he took a step forward and shouted: "Brother Wenyuan? Are you here to take Guan's head? Or are you here to help me?"
A helping hand!"
"None of that!"
Zhang Liao turned over and dismounted, took off the two wine gourds hanging on the horse, lifted them up and shook them, "Come down and conspire to get drunk with Brother Yun! Hahaha..."
"I'm thirsty!" Guan Yu replied without missing a beat...and walked towards Zhang Liao.
…
In the Yunlong Mountains, the valley is filled with mist and mist.
Under the bare fruit trees, on both sides of a stone staircase, Guan Yu and Zhang Liao were drinking.
"Good wine..."
Guan Yu took a sip and couldn't put it down.
"May I ask Brother Yun? What's so good about this wine?" Zhang Liao asked back.
"It is stronger and more mellow than ordinary wine. This is the wine that our men should drink. After drinking this wine... other drinks will be like a daughter's tears, tasteless."
"Hahaha..." After listening to Guan Yu's words, Zhang Liao burst out laughing. When the laughter subsided, Zhang Liao's voice continued. "Brother Yun doesn't know, right? This wine was created by Mr. Lu. I heard it's a lot of wine."
With a fermentation process, this process can make ordinary wine stronger and more mellow! Just like me, Zhang Liao, I was just a warrior before, but after joining Longxiao Camp,
My martial arts remain the same, but my knowledge is different, and the way the people look at me has changed."
How could Guan Yu not understand the meaning of Zhang Liao's words?
It's nothing more than a good bird choosing wood, a good minister choosing a master... It's just... Guan Yu's pride, how could he let him join Cao's camp!
"Gudong..."
He took another swig of wine.
Zhang Liao continued: "Yun Chang, during the few days you were trapped on Yunlong Mountain, Cao Sikong has captured Xiapi City, and your two sisters-in-law..."
"You..." Upon hearing his sister-in-law, Guan Yu frowned and immediately planned to stand up.
Zhang Liao pushed him down. "Don't worry, Mr. Yun. Cao Jun has never done anything against Minqiu after attacking the city and falling into the ground over the years. Even Liu Xuande's mansion is still peaceful. Cao Sikong has already issued strict orders.
, officers and soldiers at all levels are only allowed to guard outside the Liu Mansion, and are not allowed to enter without permission. Anyone who dares to take a step without permission will be killed immediately!"
The words came out of my mouth...
Guan Yu's mood just calmed down a little.
"It is the fault of our three brothers that we fell into Cao Cao's scheme and lost Xiapi City. Brother Wenyuan... please take the sake of you and me having known each other for many years. Please tell me frankly. My brother, the three of us.
How is my brother doing now?"
"Liu Bei has been defeated long ago... Some people saw Liu Bei escaping into Mount Tai on his own. He still does not know whether he is alive or dead." Zhang Liao continued: "As for your third brother, he broke out and went to Mangdang Mountain."
At this point, Zhang Liao paused. "Brother Yun, you might as well think about it. With your current garrison of less than 500, if Cao Sikong ordered 50,000 elite troops to charge, would you be able to break out of the siege?"
"Guan can't!"
"Then what are you going to do?"
"Haha, Wen Yuan might as well tell Cao Cao that after drinking this pot of wine, I, Guan Yu, will go down the mountain and kill three hundred of his soldiers, and he can also take my head!" Guan Yu's words were quite heroic, and he was not afraid of life and death!
Zhang Liao shook his head, stood up, and stood with his hands behind his back.
"I have also encountered your current situation. When Lu Fengxian died in Baimenlou, weren't you and I the same as we are now?"
Zhang Liao said with emotion: "Master Lu told me that death is often the easiest, but living is difficult. Living has to bear more visions and dreams of the dead. Yun Chang, have you ever thought about it...if you die?"
If so, death will be punished by three sins!"
"What three sins?"
"The first crime is that you Liu, Guan, and Zhang Taoyuan are sworn brothers. In the oaths you made, did you die on the same year, the same month, and the same day? Now your two brothers' life and death are uncertain. Just imagine, if Liu Bei and Zhang Fei can survive,
But you died first. Isn’t this a violation of the oath made back then? Isn’t this trying to force your two brothers to death?”
"The second crime is that now Liu Bei and Zhang Fei are missing. You are the only one who can protect Liu Bei and his two wives, Guan Yunchang. You want to die and abandon your two wives. Are you going to hand them over to the rebels? You have defiled your chastity.
Really? Yes, Cao Sikong ordered that no one be allowed to enter the Liu Mansion, but who is Cao Sikong doing? Haha, if Guan Yunchang is dead, will he still 'restrain' his 'brother'?"
"The third sin is that you three brothers were determined to help the Han Dynasty. But now, the world is uncertain and the heroes have not been eliminated, but you died first? How do you face your eldest brother? How do you live up to the ancestors of the Han Dynasty!"
this…
Guan Yu's eyes narrowed, and his everlasting pale face began to tremble a little.
Can't die...
As Zhang Wenyuan said, dying is easy, but living is difficult.
Can…
Guan Yu is a proud man, how can he survive?
Zhang Liao saw Guan Yu's confusion and continued: "Brother Yun, please listen to what I have to say. There are three sins in death, but there are three inconveniences in life!"
"First, it can ensure the safety of the two sisters-in-law, second, it can live up to the promise made in Taoyuan, and third, it can preserve the body of a hero and help the big man in the future!"
Speaking of which, Zhang Liao patted Guan Yu on the shoulder.
this…
Guan Yu's eyes turned sharply, and he also stood up and stood in front of the cliff, facing the wind and thinking.
Ten breaths, twenty breaths, thirty breaths!
Finally, he spoke.
"I also have three promises. If Cao Cao agrees, I will immediately remove my armor. Otherwise... I would rather die for three crimes!"
"First, I only belong to the Han Dynasty, not to Cao Cao!"
"Second, please Cao Cao be kind to my two sisters-in-law..."
"Third, once my brother's whereabouts are discovered, I will search for him no matter where in the world he is. If any of the above three promises is missing, I will never surrender."
this…
Hearing this, Zhang Liao rolled his eyes.
It's not that, normally, he should be concerned about the third item, but...at this moment, what he subconsciously thought of was the second item - "Please Cao Cao be kind to my two sisters-in-law!"
Are there any such special requirements?
Zhang Liao blinked his eyes and thought for a moment.
So much so that he thought of the line "Leave two wives, Guan Yu and Liu Bei, behind" in the letter Mr. Lu gave to Cao Sikong.
Just the word "kindness".
Well…
Cao Sikong treated the two Mrs. Liu kindly.
Haha... Zhang Liao said "haha".
At this moment, he felt... Mr. Lu's letter was full of holes!
…
At the foot of Yunlong Mountain, there were many soldiers. On top of the Wuyu carriage, Cao Cao squinted his eyes.
After hearing Zhang Liao's report, he felt mixed emotions.
"Zhicai is right. Once the whereabouts of Liu Bei are known, Guan Yu will still leave me. In this way, Guan Yu will be useless!"
"Has Cao Sikong forgotten what Mr. Lu said in his letter..."
After hearing Cao Cao's emotion, Zhang Liao added.
Cao Cao paused for a moment, "It was because I read Lu Situ's letter that I asked you to persuade Guan Yu to surrender, but..."
Thinking of this, Cao Cao also thought of that.
——Try to preserve the two wives of Guan Yu and Liu Bei, which will be of great use in future situations!
Since it was specifically emphasized in Yu'er's letter.
Could it be that... he wanted Cao Cao to influence Guan Yu?
wrong…
Cao Cao shook his head, that shouldn't be the case.
No matter what, Cao Cao still couldn't figure it out...
That's all, let's do this for now. It won't be too late to ask Yu'er in detail when we get back.
Thoughts on this…
"hehe…"
Cao Cao smiled and said: "The world only knows the power of me, Cao Cao, but they don't know that my grace is more important than my majesty. No matter what Lu Situ's purpose is, I will make these three promises!"
At this point, Cao Cao immediately ordered: "Send the order, retreat ten miles, and let Guan Yu come down from the mountain!"
…
Not long after.
"Ta da da...ta da da..."
The mountain road of Yunlong Mountain was trampled by horse hooves, and a team of hungry and scrawny cavalry was descending the mountain...
And the person who is leading the charge is not Guan Yu and Guan Yunchang, who else could it be?
At this moment, the horse rode up to Cao Cao, got off the horse, and then... bowed his hands.
——"The last general Guan Yu pays homage to the great Han Cao Sikong!"
…
…
Jiangdong, Danyang County.
This Danyang County faces Lujiang and Huainan across the river, and further north is Guangling City in Xuzhou.
Entering the city, pedestrians are busy, and fishermen are trading. It is very prosperous. Compared with...Wu County, it has a more secular atmosphere that can only be found on the riverside.
As I was walking, I suddenly smelled a scent.
Lu Xun and Lu Ji paused for a moment... The aroma was that of cooking fish and making fish soup. The two raised their eyes and saw the words "Songhe Tower" written on the golden signboard of a restaurant standing across the street.
In Danyang, "Songhe Tower" is extremely famous. The signboard has been turned black by smoke for many years, but the three gold characters are shining brightly. Waves of the aroma of wine and meat are emitted from the restaurant, and the chef's knife and ladle and the waiter's shouts
The sound became one.
"That's it..."
Lu Xun turned his head and said to Lu Ji.
Lu Ji nodded. "It is said that money can make the world go round... This is indeed true. As long as you have money, in Jiangdong... it is extremely easy to obtain the whereabouts of someone."
indeed…
In troubled times, there will be such a group of people in various states and counties. They join forces to collect intelligence and sell intelligence... to make a living, and what they want is just money, food and grass!
Nowadays, the Lu family is not short of money, so it is not difficult to find out information about Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin.
And... among the information exchanged for a thousand five-baht coins, it was included that the two of them lived in this Songhe Tower, and their money was almost exhausted. They frowned and drank together all day long, as if they had countless melancholy things in their hearts.
As for the melancholy thing, it was naturally not written in the intelligence, but... Lu Xun and Lu Ji knew that it was clearly written in the letter sent by their brother.
These are the two of them... and even a group of fellow villagers brought from Jiujiang, hesitating and wandering, not knowing who to defect to or where to go?
Lu Xun and Lu Ji went upstairs, and the waiter came over to greet them. Lu Xun ordered a pot of wine and two stacks of side dishes, and the two of them leaned against the railing on the edge of the building and poured and drank.
The two people glanced around the wine shop and immediately looked at each other...
There were two big men sitting in the west seat, and four cold eyes looked at their faces twice.
Lu Xun could see from the corner of his eye that these two men were burly, in their thirties, both wearing gray cloth robes that were slightly tattered, with thick eyebrows, big noses and wide eyes!
There was just one person with disheveled hair and an obvious vertical scar on his eye, and one with a headband. According to the portrait in the intelligence, the one with disheveled hair and scars was Zhou Tai, and the one with the headband was Jiang Qin!
The two looked at each other, and Lu Xun groaned softly.
"It's just the two of them..."
Lu Ji nodded... Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at their table again. There was a plate of dried fish, two large pots of wine, and nothing else.
Even when they were eating and drinking, the two of them looked extraordinarily bold and at ease!
Lu Ji was quick-thinking and immediately called the waiter over, pointed at the table of Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin, and said, "I will take all the food and drink bills for these two gentlemen!"
The words came out of my mouth...
Obviously, Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin were stunned for a moment. They raised their heads and looked towards Lu Xun and Lu Ji, nodded, smiled, and then stopped talking.
Lu Ji wanted to take this opportunity to talk and make friends with them, but...he couldn't find the opportunity.
After drinking a few more bottles of wine, I heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs, and soon... two people walked up, and they were also very tall.
The two of them walked up to Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin and started talking in a panic.
"Brother Zhou, Brother Jiang... something happened. The brothers were working on the Kong family's fishing boat. Who would have thought... Wang Wuzi had a dispute with a disciple of the Kong family. They fought hard and knocked out two of the other's front teeth... Now the Kong family has brought
People gathered around and took Wang Wuzi away."
As soon as this person finished speaking, another person's voice came up again, "The Kong family is one of the four major families in Kuaiji and is very powerful. The fifth son Wang has been captured by them. How can he still be alive? Brother Zhou, Jiang
Brother, you are the backbone of our fellow Jiujiang fellows, you have to save them!"
this…
Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin looked at each other. Zhou Tai wanted to hit the table and explode it, but he pulled out the sword named "Youping" at his waist with a "swish" sound.
This sword is quite famous in "Records of Ancient and Modern Swords" - "Zhou Youping defeated Cao Gong and won, and paid homage to General Pinglu. Because he made a sword, he inscribed it on his back as Youping."
A cold, cold light emerged.
However, Jiang Qin stopped him and pressed him down. Jiang Qin ordered: "The Kong family is powerful. Even if Youping has great martial arts skills, if he goes alone, is he not surrendering to a trap? You go and gather all our Jiujiang fellows. In an hour,
Let’s go to the Kong family and seek justice!”
After saying this, the two of them bowed and agreed... turned around and went downstairs.
The voices of these four people were so low that no one could hear them without paying attention to the drinkers upstairs. But... Lu Xun and Lu Ji were so close that they could hear them clearly.
Zhou Tai glanced at Lu Xun and Lu Ji intentionally or unintentionally, and saw that the two men were bowing their heads in deep thought. It was obvious that he had heard what they were saying.
Zhou Tai was already angry, but he was worried that he had no place to vent his anger.
His eyes were shining brightly, and he let out a heavy "hum"...
Lu Ji had never seen such a battle before. His left hand trembled, and with a bang, the wine bottle fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.
Zhou Tai was about to have a seizure, but he never thought... Jiang Qin stopped him again, but his expression was extremely calm.
"Why are you two gentlemen panicking? How about coming over for a drink?"
Lu Ji was still a little scared, but Lu Xun smiled and said: "Best, best!"
Immediately... he ordered the bartender to take the cups and chopsticks and move to Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin's side with Lu Ji.
"Two heroes...I don't know why?"
Lu Xun just spoke...
Unexpectedly, Jiang Qin interrupted him.
"Why ask even though you know it? Judging from their clothes, they must be from aristocratic families!"
"Everyone drinks a few bowls of things without being constrained. Isn't it a wonderful thing? If you have to point it out clearly and distinguish between the enemy and me, there will be no aftertaste."
just like…
Jiang Qin thought that Lu Xun and Lu Ji were the children of aristocratic families, and they were the same as the Confucius family!