My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Chapter 131: If I believe you, I lose! Xiao He: Seeking death? My Lord, we must make arrangements for him!

When these words were spoken, everyone was shocked.

Who is Han Dang?

He was the third-generation elder of the Sun family, second only to Cheng Pu in seniority and prestige. In terms of seniority, Sun Quan had to call him uncle.

After Cheng Pu's death, it is not an exaggeration to say that Han Dang can be called the top military general in Jiangdong.

How could such a person betray Sun Quan and surrender to Liu Bei?

Who believes it?

After Liu Bei was surprised, suspicion flashed in his eyes and he said:

"Lu Boyan, do you think I will believe that Han Dang, a Sun clan elder, will surrender to me?"

Lu Xun was obviously prepared for Liu Bei's questioning, and his expression remained calm and sincere.

"General Han is indeed a senior member of the Sun clan. Originally, Xun and Liu Yuzhou shared the same view, believing that there was no possibility that he would betray the Sun clan."

"However, the Marquis of Wu has blindly trusted Lü Meng, repeatedly promoting him beyond his rights. Now, he has appointed him as the commander-in-chief of the Cao-Sun coalition. General Han has long been dissatisfied with him."

"Lü Meng was so self-righteous that he used the straw boat to borrow arrows to try to steal arrows from Liu Yuzhou. But he ended up losing more than he gained, and ended up killing Sun Yu, a great general of the Sun clan."

"General Han was so enraged that he punched Lü Meng in a rage. He later even wanted to ask the Marquis of Wu to punish Lü Meng and remove him from his post as commander-in-chief."

"Who would have thought that the Marquis of Wu was so deeply deceived by Lü Meng that, instead of punishing him, he ordered General Han to publicly apologize to Lü Meng in order to establish his authority."

"General Han naturally refused, but the Marquis of Wu was furious and ordered him to be beaten with thirty military sticks in front of all the soldiers!"

Lu Xun finished explaining the whole story indignantly, then bowed and said:

"General Han is a veteran of the Sun family for three generations, having fought for them for half his life. How could he have ever imagined that he would be humiliated like this by Sun Quan?"

"Afterwards, he was disheartened and filled with deep disappointment and resentment towards Sun Quan. He felt he had no face to stay in Jiangdong, so he decided to abandon the Sun family and submit to Liu Yuzhou!"

The truth about Han Dang's surrender was clearly laid out by Lu Xun.

Liu Bei suddenly understood and the doubt on his face disappeared.

Now that makes sense.

What are Han Dang's qualifications and prestige in the Jiangdong army?
As a result, I was beaten by you, Sun Quan, in public. I lost both my face and my dignity, and my heart was deeply hurt by you, Sun Quan.

A man lives by his face and a tree lives by its bark. How am I, Han Dang, going to survive in Jiangdong in the future?
I was sincere to you, the Sun family, but when it came to you, Sun Quan, my sincerity was wasted. Why should I, Han Dang, continue to work hard for your Sun family?

When all the causes and consequences are connected, Han Dang's defection and surrender is no longer suspicious, but rather a natural consequence.

"Han Yigong and I are from the same hometown of Youzhou. I have respected him for a long time. If he can return now, it will be a blessing from heaven!"

"Please ask Boyan to tell Han Yigong that the gates of my Liu Bei camp are always open to him. He can come back at any time and I will welcome him with open arms!"

Liu Bei was naturally extremely surprised and gladly accepted Han Dang's surrender.

Lu Xun was overjoyed and immediately stood up and bowed to Liu Bei again, expressing his sincerity in surrendering.

Fa Zheng stroked his thin beard and said nothing. His eyes tended to believe that Han Dang had returned, but he still had some doubts.

Xiao Heze's mouth corners curled up secretly, and he just watched Lu Xun's performance quietly.

After Lu Xun expressed his sincerity, Xiao He suddenly asked:
"Han Dang surrendered to my lord because he could not bear the humiliation he suffered at the hands of Sun Quan. Why did you, Brother Lu, follow Han Dang and surrender?"

Lu Xun was startled and looked over.

"Liu Yuzhou, this is..."

"This is my right military advisor, Xiao He Xiao Bowen."

Hearing the name "Xiao He", Lu Xun's heart trembled slightly, and his nerves instinctively tensed up.

Xiao He's name had long been famous throughout Jiangdong. Even children would cry at night when they heard about it, so how could Lu Xun not know it?

"The rest of Liu Bei's men are nothing to worry about. You must be careful with Xiao He. You must be extremely cautious in your dealings with him and never let him see any clues!"

Before leaving, Sun Quan and Lu Meng's repeated instructions rang in my ears.

Lu Xun swallowed his saliva secretly, and hurriedly bowed with a smile:

"So it's the famous Military Advisor Xiao. I've heard of his remarkable foresight in Jiangdong for a long time. I'm fortunate enough to meet him today. It's truly a great honor!"

After the compliment, Lu Xun's smile disappeared and his face was replaced by indignation.

"Back then, my uncle Lu Kang was the governor of Lujiang. The little tyrant Sun Ce led his army to attack Lujiang and laid siege to the city for two years. My uncle eventually died of grief and anger over the fall of the city."

"More than half of my Lu clan members died in this battle due to famine and siege. It can be said that the Sun clan and my Lu clan have an irreconcilable blood feud!"

"Although Xun currently serves under Sun Quan, he is merely afraid of the Sun family's military might. To preserve the survival of his family, he has been forced to endure humiliation as a temporary measure."

"Now that Liu Yuzhou is attacking Sun Quan and marching eastward, Xun saw an opportunity to avenge the Lu family. That's why he conspired with General Han and risked his life to come alone and express his allegiance to Liu Yuzhou!"

Lu Xun was filled with grief and indignation, and he eloquently explained his motives for betraying Sun and surrendering to Liu.

The reason is sufficient and reasonable to avenge the dead tribe members.

When Liu Bei heard what he said, he immediately remembered the tragedy of the Lu family and couldn't help sighing.

The suspicion in Fa Zheng's eyes also faded away a lot.

There was no way around it. Lu Xun's rhetoric was so flawless and flawless that no one could find any flaws. There was no reason not to believe it.

A barely perceptible sneer flashed across Xiao He's eyes.

Then he pretended to think for a long time and nodded slightly:
"Since the Lu family and the Sun family have a blood feud, it seems only natural that you, Brother Lu, should betray Sun Quan."

These words naturally meant that Xiao He believed in his surrender.

Lu Xun secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Just during these few words, the invisible oppression from Xiao He had already made him break out in a cold sweat.

Fortunately, he passed the test. Seeing that Xiao Hedu no longer had any doubts, Liu Bei naturally had no more doubts and was very happy. He immediately ordered a banquet to entertain Lu Xun.

After the banquet was set up, Liu Bei treated Lu Xun as a guest of honor by naturally showing courtesy to the wise and humble.

After a few drinks, Liu Bei asked Lu Xun when he would surrender.

Lu Xun claimed that Han Dang was demoted by Sun Quan to escort grain and grass, and that more than 100,000 hu of grain and grass would be transported from Jiangdong to Chaisang in the near future.

Han Dang would find an opportunity to bring these food supplies to the north bank to surrender, thinking that it would be a gift of tribute and would not be considered returning empty-handed.

The reasons were still sufficient, so Liu Bei naturally had no reason to refuse.

After drinking almost all the wine, Lu Xun wanted to say goodbye on the pretext of returning to the south bank to report to Han Dang.

"Why don't you stay on the north bank and send your trusted confidant back to the south bank to report to General Han?"

Liu Bei admired Lu Xun's talents and naturally wanted to keep him.

"Xun followed Sun Quan from Moling. If we abandon him and leave now, it will inevitably arouse Sun Quan's suspicion, and I'm afraid something unexpected will happen."

"Besides, Xun's family is all in Jiangdong. If Sun Quan learns that Xun has surrendered to Liu Yuzhou, he will be furious and bring disaster upon our Lu family. Wouldn't Xun become the sinner of the entire family?"

"So Xun wants to go back to Jiangdong and lie low. First, to protect his family, and second, to contact the anti-Sun heroes in Jiangdong and secretly accumulate troops. Once Liu Yuzhou's army arrives in Jiangdong, we will all rise up and cooperate with them. We will surely be able to help Liu Yuzhou easily conquer Jiangdong!"

Lu Xun gave three reasons without hesitation, without any pause to think, as if he had prepared them in advance.

The reasons were still very sufficient. Although Liu Bei was reluctant to let him go, it was difficult for him to keep him.

At that moment, Liu Bei took advantage of the night and personally sent Lu Xun to the riverside.

Along the way, Lu Xun took advantage of the situation to clearly see the strengths and weaknesses of Liu Jun's water camp.

Just before boarding the ship, Lu Xun's eyes lit up and he suddenly thought of something.

"Liu Yuzhou, I just thought of a plan that might help Yuzhou defeat the Jiangdong navy and attack the south bank. I wonder if I should share it with you?"

Lu Xun stopped.

Liu Bei was cheered up and asked Lu Xun for any good advice.

Lu Xun picked up a branch and began to draw on the river beach.

"Although Liu Yuzhou has repeatedly defeated Sun Quan in naval battles, his current naval strength is at best on par with the Jiangdong army. I'm afraid his chances of victory in a decisive battle on the river may not be 100%."

"Xun suggested that Liu Yuzhou build a large iron chain to connect the warships in groups of five, and then cover them with wooden planks. This way, the iron chain boats will be able to sail freely even in the strongest waves on the river.

"In this way, Liu Yuzhou can mobilize all the land soldiers onto the linked boats and use them as water soldiers, instantly doubling the water battle force!"

"With this, we can easily defeat the Jiangdong navy and reach the south bank!"

Lu Xun was very proud and proposed a plan to connect the boats with iron chains.

Xiao He, who was watching Lu Xun's performance quietly, was trying his best to hold back his laughter, for fear of revealing any flaws.

Liu Bei and the others' eyes lit up with surprise, as if they had discovered a priceless treasure.

"Iron chains connecting the boats, iron chains connecting the boats...Bo Yan's plan is truly brilliant!"

Liu Bei nodded repeatedly and couldn't help but applaud.

The others also nodded slightly, all expressing their admiration.

A barely perceptible curve appeared at the corner of Lu Xun's mouth.

Then he threw the branch, bowed and said with a smile:

"I hope this idea that Xunling came up with can help Liu Yuzhou."

"Then Xun will take his leave and return to Jiangdong to await the good news that Liu Yuzhou has defeated Sun Quan!"

Lu Xun did not delay any longer and boarded the boat, which slowly sailed towards the south bank.

"Bo Wen, what do you think of Lu Boyan's talent and intelligence?"

Liu Bei watched Lu Xun go away, then turned around and asked Xiao He.

Xiao He smiled faintly and replied:

"This Lu Xun is a talent who can become a general or even a prime minister!"

Liu Bei was shocked.

He obviously did not expect that Xiao He would have such a high opinion of Lu Xun.

A general and a prime minister, a talent who can assist the king...

This is a higher evaluation than that of Zhou Yu, Lu Su and Lu Meng!
"I never thought that besides Zhou Yu and his ilk, there would be such a talented person in Jiangdong, and he would voluntarily submit to me. This is truly a pleasant surprise from heaven..."

Liu Bei had full faith in Xiao He's ability to judge people, and was naturally grateful for having such a talented person as Lu Xun.

Xiao He just smiled and said nothing.

"Bowen, do you think Lu Boyan's plan of connecting the boats with iron chains is feasible?"

Liu Bei put away his emotion and asked again.

Since this matter concerned the outcome of a naval battle, even if Liu Bei admired Lu Xun, he naturally had to seek Xiao He's opinion on such a major matter.

"Use it! Of course I will use it!"

"Without this iron chain connecting the boats, how can we allow the other side to come to our door and seek death? And how can we take advantage of their strategy and defeat the Jiangdong navy in one fell swoop and attack the south bank?"

Xiao He raised a meaningful sneer at the corner of his mouth.

Liu Bei was suddenly startled and asked hurriedly:
"Bowen, what do you mean by taking advantage of the enemy's strategy?"

(End of this chapter)