and Lu Su entered Beijing to convey Liu Bei's order. Zhuge Liang received letters from Liu Bei and Huo Jun, and then set off for Wu County.

Wu County, Prefecture Thorn History Mansion.

Liu Qi sat on the couch and looked at the letter sent by Cao Cao, his face was extremely solemn.

Cao Cao said in the letter, namely: "Lonely near the emperor's order, under the edict to fight crimes, now commanding millions of soldiers, thousands of generals, two ways to the south, drink the water of the Ma River." Lu Nan pointed out that Liu Cong surrendered, and Liu Bei was defeated. The people of Jianghan are looking forward to the wind. ”

"The general is the son of the Liu family, the heir of Liu Cheqi, and enters the court, so he can succeed the throne of the ancestor and serve the Son of Heaven. Why don't you take off your armor and surrender, sacrifice your soil and return to it, and enjoy too much peace and happiness together, so as not to be ruined by the souls. Fortunately, don't wait and see, and hear back quickly. ”

In addition to Cao Cao's letters, he also asked the second brother Liu Cong and the third brother Liu Xiu to send letters. Liu Cong confessed his sins to Liu Qi, and told about his past brotherhood, and persuaded Liu Qi to surrender to Cao Cao; The third brother Liu Xiuwen is outstanding, and he shows affection to Liu Qixiao, moves him with reason, and lets him surrender, and the three brothers are on the lintel of Liu's family in Shanyang.

Liu Qi took Liu Bei's letters from the side of the case, stamped them on the three letters, and asked: "Now Yuzhou lives in Xiakou, please ask my Yangzhou soldiers and horses to save him, and fight Cao Cao's army together, why do you think so?" ”

Without waiting for everyone to speak, Zhang Zhao got up and stepped out of the ranks, arched his hand and said: "Qi Yu envoy, in the past, I was Jiangzuo, and I had to rely on Jing Chu to resist Cao Gong in Jiangbei." Now that Jing Chu has been lost, I and Cao Gong use the danger of the river, and its direction is eastward, and Jiang Zuo'an can be the enemy? ”

"With Zhaozhi's view, it is better to welcome the king, and the land of the seven counties of Yangzhou will be surrendered to Cao Gong, which is a strategy for all peace. And Cao Gong, coercing the Son of Heaven to conquer the Quartet, moving the court as a rhetoric, making the king a minister, how can he rebel against the king with a minister! ”

Liu Qi's face was displeased, and he said: "What Zhang Gong said, I'm afraid it is to make Lone treacherous? ”

"Yuzhou and my Jiangzuo covenant, go forward and retreat together, if you turn your back on it now, Gu'an has the face to see Yuzhou. And Yuzhou is lonely and fighting, but is forced to be trapped in Xiakou, if you don't save it at this time, you will be lonely! ”

Liu Qi has governed Yangzhou for a long time, and in order to elevate his identity and make people daunting, he gradually learned to be a lonely widow.

Zhang Zhao shook his head and said, "What the envoy said is not unreasonable, but this time and that time. Now Cao Gong is powerful, Weijia Hai, there are six or seven lands, no one can beat it, and there are millions of soldiers and horses. And looking at my Jiangzuo, there are only 70,000 or 80,000 soldiers and horses, and the people are few and the soldiers are few. ”

"Let the king treat Zhao with great kindness, and Zhao does not want to deviate, but is willing to tell him with sincerity, so as not to suffer from defeat and exile."

Liu Qi fell silent, and his heart was shaken.

Then, Liu Qi looked at Wang Cang again and asked, "Why is Zhong Xuanyi?" ”

Wang Cang lowered his head slightly, hesitated for a while, and said, "Childe, Cang doesn't know military affairs, so he doesn't dare to speak falsely." ”

After speaking, Wang Cang subconsciously touched the letter of his friend Sun Meng into his sleeve, feeling a little ashamed in his heart.

When he and Shisun Meng were in Dong Zhuo's rebellion, they fled to Jingzhou together and lived together in a foreign land, and their relationship was irreversible. Later Sun Meng was named the Marquis of the Pavilion of Tangjin because of his father's contribution to the Han Emperor Sun Rui.

Shisun Meng was also ordered to go from Jingzhou to Xuchang and became an official under Cao Cao. At the time of parting, Wang Cang once wrote "The Poem of Sun Wenshi" as a farewell gift.

With the persuasion of his best friends to surrender, plus Cao Cao's Chen soldiers and Weijia Jiangdong, Wang Cang has been shaken. chose not to express his opinion today, but it was for Huo Jun's sake.

For Huo Jun, Wang Cang has a lot of trust, and most of the time he chose to do things for Liu Qi was also because of Huo Jun. Otherwise, he would have been in Jingzhou and would have welcomed Cao Cao south to Jingchu.

Wang Cang did not express his opinion, which made Liu Qi very passive.

Lu Ji took the opportunity to speak and said: "There are a number of points in the world, in the past, the prince of Qi Huan, the princes of Jiuhe, the world is a Kuang world, and the merit exists in the world." Today, the prince of Cao is the son of heaven, the southern expedition and the northern expedition, quelling the war, and the annals of celebrities. Now the king will surrender, obey the principles of heaven, and also be able to bless the people. ”

"And in ancient times, the weak defeated the strong, and the strong defeated the weak. Cao Gong is good at using soldiers such as Sun and Wu, who are supernatural and unpredictable. Guandu defeated Yuan Shao, captured Lu Bu in Xiapi, and the white wolf slashed Dun, all of which were his military strategies, which were difficult for the world to compare. ”

"Guanzhi Yuzhou, conquer Yuan Shu to lose Xuzhou, conquer Lu Bu to abandon Xiaopei, and ask Cao Cao to lose Runan. An Neng and Cao Gong? Therefore, the Yuzhou Imperial Cao Gong is afraid of the defeat of Xuzhou, the loss of Runan, and the death of Xiaopei. ”

"Therefore, I thought that the king should surrender to Cao Ye, so as not to enter Wu and regret it too late!"

Liu Qi opened his mouth, but he didn't know what to say. In his cognition, there was almost no problem with Lu Ji's words. Otherwise, how can it be said that Cao Cao's territory is fighting more and more, and Liu Bei is driven to Jiangzuo instead.

Now he has a hesitant look, and he really has the idea of surrendering to Cao Cao in his heart, and the reason why he can support him not to let go is Liu Bei, Huo Jun, and Liu Cong.

First of all, Liu was invited by him to garrison Jiangxia and enter Jingzhou. On the occasion of Liu Biao's death, he failed to take Xiangfan, and then retreated to Xiakou and was attacked by Cao's army. At this time, Liu Bei asked him to send troops to rescue, and he should send troops in terms of circumstances.

Secondly, Huo Jun once wrote to him, saying that he was thinking about a way to break Cao, and asked Liu Qi not to make a decision in a hurry; In the end, Liu Qi hated Liu Cong in his heart for taking the throne and took his Jingzhou Mu, which led to the destruction of Wu Chu Yucao's policy, and the knots in his heart were difficult to solve.

With the development of the situation and the painstaking persuasion of everyone, Liu Cong wrote a letter of apology, and the above three reasons were gradually shaken. Of course, Liu Qi really plans to fall, and it is estimated that he will discuss it with Liu Bei, and with his temperament, he can't do backstabbing + selling people.

Liu Qi was criticized by civil and military forces, but he was unwilling to make a decision immediately, at that time when he was at a loss. Suddenly, a cool breeze blew, Liu Qi made up his mind, coughed a few times, and said: "The wind is cold in autumn and winter, which makes Gu shiver, and he goes into the house to add clothes." ”

After speaking, Liu Qi walked out of the hall quickly and turned into the side hall.

When the scribes in the hall saw this, they shouted one after another, 'Envoy'. Only Pan Jun hesitated a little and followed.

"Envoy!"

Liu Qi saw Pan Jun following, and said with a little surprise: "Chengming? ”

"Could it be that Chengming is also persuading orphans to surrender?"

Pan Jun stepped back, shook his head and said, "Jun does not persuade Jun to surrender to Cao, nor does he persuade Jun to fight. And I am willing to make the pros and cons clear for the king. ”

Seeing that his own master was like this, he also treated himself with kindness in the past. Pan Jun didn't want Liu Qi to be ignorant of the changes in the situation, and finally made it unclear.

"Oh!"

Liu Qi sat down in a remote room and said, "Please take the details?" ”

Pan Jun sat on the couch and asked, "Does the envoy have the idea of being the king and hegemon?" ”

Liu Qi looked dazed, and replied hesitantly: "I don't have the idea of hegemony, I only have to protect my own county to calm the people's livelihood." Today's battle with Cao is forced by the situation, not my will! ”

Liu Qi is still confused today, feeling like an invisible hand pushing him to the position of Yangzhou Mu, and then confronting Cao Cao.

Pan Jun pondered for a while and said, "Since the envoy has no idea of hegemony, why don't you surrender to Cao Cao?" ”

Liu Qi pondered for a long time and said: "Jingzhou is the foundation of my monarch, and now it is dedicated to Cao Cao by Liu Cong, and I am very angry in my heart, and I want to regain the foundation of Jingchu to tell the spirit of the ancestors. And Liu Yuzhou was trapped in Xiakou because of me, and if he didn't save him, he would be very uneasy. ”

Pan Jun analyzed for Liu Qi and said: "If the king descends to Cao, he can win the honor of a minister, and he can have a marquis." However, the foundation will be lost, and the righteousness will be lost in Yuzhou. If you fight with Cao Cao, you will enter Jingzhou and restore the cause of the ancestors; If you lose, you will be humiliated and imprisoned. Let's make you think, after this war, where will the public and Yuzhou go? ”

Although Pan Jun's words were short, he spoke thoroughly. not only said what Cao could get, but also pointed out the contradictions that might break out with Liu Bei after Liu Qi's victory.

Liu Qi frowned slightly and said, "Where are you going with Yuzhou, what do you mean?" ”

Pan Jun further explained, saying: "Cao Cao is a tiger wolf, and Yuzhou is also a tiger wolf. In the past, Yuzhou took advantage of the power of the king and sat on the territory. But because of Liu Che's ride, he didn't dare to enter the envoy. If Cao Cao is defeated today, he dares to ask whether Yuzhou will take the opportunity to swallow Wu Chu. ”

Liu Qi grabbed his beard and said in a tangled manner: "I am as close as an uncle and nephew to Yuzhou, and I have a family with Yun Chang, will I swallow Wu Chu?" And in the past, I had an appointment with Yuzhou, and when I took Jingzhou, Yangzhou would give it to him. ”

Pan Jun opened his mouth slightly, he never thought that Liu Qi had made such an alliance with Liu Bei.

Out of consideration for Liu Qi, Pan Jun still said: "It is really nature to have Long Wangshu, and people's hearts are insufficient. Yuzhou and Cao Gong both turned to the envoy, so that the monarch returned to Cao, and the world was unified; If you help Yuzhou, it will be difficult to know what will happen in the future. ”

Jun received the great grace of the envoy, so he made the pros and cons clear. Now I hope that you will think about the decision as soon as possible, consider the pros and cons, and make a plan as soon as possible, so as not to make mistakes. ”

He, like Wang Cang and Huo Jun, also received a letter from his master Song Zhong. But he belongs to a typical Han Dynasty scholar, whose food he eats, and who he thinks about. Although his heart moved Cao Cao, he didn't want to sell Liu Qi, he still wanted to analyze Liu Qi and let him decide for himself.

Liu Qi nodded and said, "Ponder deeply!" ”

Not anymore today

(End of chapter)