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

Chapter 142: You shameless fellow, how can I, Liu Bei, tolerate you! Xiao He: I will kill you and destroy your heart!
Lu Meng wanted to commit suicide again.

Having betrayed Sun Quan's trust and suffered a crushing defeat in a battle that cost him his life, he had no face to see Sun Quan alive.

They retreated to Chaisang, hoping to delay Liu Bei and buy time for Sun Quan to recruit troops and regroup.

If Sun Quan leads his troops to rescue us one day, there may still be a chance to lift the siege of Chaisang.

At that time, he would be making amends for his mistakes and perhaps even be forgiven by Sun Quan.

Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, the impregnable Chaisang City would change hands.

With his hopes dashed, how could he still have the nerve to live on in this world?
Would he become a captive of Liu Bei, become a traitor like Ding Feng, and bear the infamy of the world?

Although Lu Meng used all means to climb up the ladder, he still had some courage and integrity in his bones.

He wanted to die to apologize for his crime and repay Sun Quan's kindness.

With this thought in mind, Lu Meng swung the sword in his hand and slashed at his neck fiercely.

At the same location, a bloody wound appeared and a trickle of blood seeped out.

The pain hit him instantly, causing him to frown.

The pain seemed to awaken his instinctive fear of death. His body shuddered, his hands shook, and he became uncontrollable.

The blood-stained sword just hung at his neck, unable to cut any further.

"Lü Meng, you are a man of integrity. How can you be so afraid of death?"

"Cut it off to repay the Marquis of Wu for his kindness. Your name will surely go down in history and be remembered by future generations!"

In Lu Meng's mind, an impassioned voice echoed, constantly inciting and inspiring him.

Lu Meng mustered up some courage again, closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, gripped the hilt of the sword tightly with both hands, and slashed down again with force.

As the sword moved, the pain came intensified, instantly shattering his determination again.

Lu Meng's hands were shaking, his teeth were clenched, and his face turned red, but the long sword still couldn't cut.

Bang!

The blood sword in his hand slipped out of his hand and fell to the ground.

Lu Meng's body seemed to be exhausted, and his whole body was like an eggplant hit by frost. He slowly sat down on the ground withered.

"I'm just a commoner. I've worked so hard and tried my best to get to where I am today. How can I die like this?"

"With my wisdom and talent, even if I defect to Liu Bei, I will definitely be valued and have a bright future."

"I, Lü Meng, live for myself, not for Sun Quan. Why should I die for him?"

Once he lost the courage to commit suicide, a righteous voice quickly sounded in Lu Meng's heart, and he began to find reasons for his cowardice.

Just as his will collapsed and he slumped to the ground, the Jiangdong soldiers around him either scattered like birds and beasts or gave up resistance and lay on the ground in surrender.

Gan Ning rode his horse up the city wall, his towering figure standing in front of Lu Meng.

When he was at the foot of the city, he saw that Lu Meng wanted to commit suicide, but he respected his courage and did not attack immediately, wanting to give Lu Meng a decent explanation.

However, after waiting for a long time, Lu Meng backed down at the last moment.

The respect in Gan Ning's heart also disappeared.

"Lü Meng, if I'm not mistaken, even if I didn't try to stop you on the river that day, you wouldn't have had the courage to commit suicide."

Gan Ning looked down at Lu Meng with disdain, exposing his cowardice.

Lu Meng shuddered, raised his head, and when he saw Gan Ning looking down at him, his face instantly turned red.

Shame, helplessness, fear...all kinds of negative emotions came flooding back.

After swallowing his saliva, Lu Meng stood up, cupped his hands and sighed:
"Humans are not plants or trees. It is human nature to fear death. Besides, I have fought for the Marquis of Wu until the very end. I have been loyal to him."

"Brother Xingba, I, Gan Ning, have now come to my senses. Lord Xuande is the true wise ruler of the world. I am willing to submit to him along with you."

"Brother Xingba, please put aside your past grudges and introduce me to someone else."

Gan Ning's brows furrowed.

Not only did Lu Meng not have the courage to commit suicide to be loyal to Sun Quan, but he even had the audacity to bow his head and admit defeat, asking for his recommendation and wanting to surrender to Liu Bei?
Changing your job is not a problem, but you also have to look at your own identity.

You are Sun Quan's confidant, the commander-in-chief of Jiangdong, and the nominal leader of Jiangdong's military generals!
With your status, can you lower your head, bend your knees, and kneel down to surrender to Liu Bei, Sun Quan's mortal enemy?

Gan Ning was truly shocked. He had never expected that the Grand Commander favored by Sun Quan would be such a shameless and incorruptible person.

After a long time.

Gan Ning just came to his senses, a frown on his face, and sighed in self-mockery:
"I never thought that Jiangdong, from top to bottom, is full of rats, none of them are even as good as Liu Biao and Huang Zu."

"I, Gan Ning, was blind. I actually associated with people like you. This is truly the shame of my life!"

Gan Ning disdained to kill him, and even more disdained to listen to his nonsense. He ordered the Jinfan soldiers to tie him up and hand him over to Liu Bei for judgment.

Lu Meng could only comfort himself with words like "a real man can bend and stretch himself" and "a true hero should endure humiliation and bear heavy burdens". He suppressed his shame and obediently allowed himself to be tied up by the Jinfan soldiers.

On the north gate tower, the Liu flag slowly rose.

Above the county government, the last "Sun" flag was lowered, announcing that this gateway to Jiangdong had completely changed hands.

As the setting sun shone in the west, the sounds of killing had died down, and the siege finally came to an end.

In the main hall of the county government.

Liu Bei was already sitting high in the throne, listening to the generals come one by one to report the results of the battle.

"My lord, I have captured Lü Meng alive and await your decision!"

Gan Ning also came forward to report the results of the battle, and then waved behind him.

Several soldiers with brocade sails escorted Lu Meng up.

"Are you Lu Meng?"

Liu Bei looked down at him, wanting to see what the man who was promoted by Sun Quan like a rocket and replaced Zhou Yu within a year looked like.

To be able to serve as the Grand Commander of Jiangdong, he should at least have an extraordinary bearing.

"Boom!"

Lü Meng knelt down, clasped his hands and said:

"Criminal General Lü Meng pays homage to Liu Yuzhou!"

Liu Bei was stunned, and couldn't help but exchange glances with Xiao He and the others in surprise. As the chief military commander of Jiangdong, entrusted with important tasks by Sun Quan, and the commander-in-chief of the 50,000-man Cao-Sun coalition army, how could he kneel so decisively?
Not only Liu Bei, but all the heroes in Liu's camp were greatly surprised.

Only Xiao He just smiled.

Lu Meng is such a person.

The four great generals of the Eastern Wu at that time, whether it was Zhou Yu, Lu Su, or even Lu Xun, all had some degree of character and integrity.

Although they were ministers, they all had the character and courage to give loyal advice to Sun Quan.

Only Lu Meng never gave Sun Quan a single word of advice from birth to death. Everything he did was to please and guess Sun Quan's thoughts.

To put it bluntly, everything was based on pleasing Sun Quan.

That is why he was able to climb step by step from being an illiterate Wu A'mon to the pinnacle of power as the Grand Commander.

Ability is secondary. The key is whether he can best "share the Lord's worries."

How could such a person, who only knows how to guess his superiors' intentions and acts without any bottom line or principles, be loyal to Sun Quan and die for him when he is at such a critical juncture of life and death?

He knelt before Liu Bei, which was no surprise to Xiao He.

"Liu Yuzhou is a man of great courage and strategy. He is truly the reincarnation of Emperor Guangwu. I am deeply convinced of his power."

"Now that Meng has been captured by Yuzhou, it is God's will that Meng return to Yuzhou and help Yuzhou restore the Han Dynasty and rebuild the Han Dynasty."

"Although Meng is not talented, he knows Jiangdong's strengths and weaknesses like the back of his hand. I am willing to be the vanguard and help Yuzhou conquer Jiangdong and completely control the Yangtze River!"

Not only did Lu Meng kneel down decisively, he also volunteered to be the vanguard to help Liu Bei conquer Jiangdong!
Guan Yu and the others around him all frowned, with contempt on their faces.

Liu Bei's face also turned gloomy.

It is true that he is respectful to the wise and eager to seek talented people, but he is not like Cao Cao and Sun Quan who would employ anyone without any moral integrity.

"Lü Meng, let me ask you, were you the one who instigated Sun Quan to break the alliance and launch a surprise attack on Xiakou using the white-clothed crossing of the river strategy?"

Liu Bei's eyes were like blades, and he shouted sternly.

Lu Meng was speechless, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and his expression was full of guilt.

"Let me ask you again, was it you who suggested Sun Quan's plan to break the alliance a second time, feinting to attack Hefei and then attacking Xiakou?"

Liu Bei shouted again, murderous intent evident in his words.

Lu Meng was already trembling with fear, sweat was pouring down his back like paddles, and his hands, which were holding the ground, were trembling slightly. He didn't know how to answer.

"A treacherous person like you, who will do anything to achieve his goal and treats trust and loyalty like dirt, can only be tolerated by a shameless leader like Sun Quan. How can I, Liu Bei, tolerate you?"

Liu Bei slammed the table, waved his hands and shouted:
"Come here, drag this thief away and behead him!"

Chen Dao waved his hand, and the Bai Li soldiers on both sides rushed forward and lifted up Lu Meng.

Lu Meng was horrified. He never expected that Liu Bei, who was famous for his "courtesy to the wise and humble" and "kindness", would not tolerate such a great talent as him and actually executed him!
"Lord Xuande, Lord Xuande, please listen to me..."

Lu Meng turned his head, terrified and excited, wanting to explain and beg.

Liu Bei remained indifferent and just waved his hand in disgust.

Seeing this, Gan Ning couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and looked at Liu Bei with admiration.

This is also one of the reasons why Liu Bei wanted to kill Lu Meng.

The most crucial reason why Gan Ning defected was that he was forced to rebel by Lu Meng.

Gan Ning naturally hated Lu Meng deeply, and the two had formed a deep hatred.

If you surrender Lu Meng, wouldn't that disappoint Gan Ning?
Considering all these, Lu Meng must be executed.

"Wait a minute!"

Xiao He suddenly spoke up and stopped Bai Liwei.

Lu Meng was secretly delighted, thinking that someone would stand up and plead for him.

Xiao He stepped forward and asked with a sneer:

"Lü Meng, do you know where those smudges on Su Ziyi's letter of reminiscence came from?"

Lu Meng was stunned.

Instead of pleading for him, he brought up the matter of the letter. What does this person mean?
"Now I will let you die with peace of mind. Su Ziyi's letter does not contain any secret orders from my lord, and Gan Xingba has never secretly surrendered to my lord before."

"Those few smudges you see were all added by me later."

Xiao He revealed the secret.

It's not that he intended to show off his wisdom, but Gan Ning was still in the dark about this plan. In order to prevent him from feeling resentful in the future, it would be better to take this opportunity to tell him about it in advance.

In addition, this was also a ruthless act against Lu Meng, in retaliation for his repeated instigation of Sun Quan to break the alliance and launch surprise attacks.

Lu Meng's eyes were darting and his thoughts were churning.

Suddenly, my whole body shook violently and I woke up with a start.

"So that letter was a plot to sow discord, just to make me suspicious and mistakenly believe that Gan Ning was secretly communicating with Liu Bei!"

"With just a few smudges, you managed to easily deceive and trick me, and force that Jinfan thief to rebel?"

"This person's wisdom is truly..."

Lu Meng, whose face was as pale as paper, suddenly raised his head and asked in a trembling voice:
"You...are you Xiao He?"

Xiao He smiled coldly, disdained to answer, turned around and walked away.

Not answering means agreeing.

Only then did Lu Meng realize that it was a trick planned by Xiao He that forced him into a desperate situation.

That would have been fine, but before killing him, he had to tell him the truth, which was a real blow to his heart!
"You are a sinister and treacherous country bumpkin. What grudge do you have against me, Lü Meng? Why did you force me to death?"

"Xiao He, Liu Bei, even if I, Lü Meng, were in the netherworld, I would curse you—"

Lu Meng suffered a mental breakdown and started cursing in anger and grief like a madman.

Chen Dao frowned and stepped forward to punch him.

The scolding stopped abruptly.

Lu Meng was knocked unconscious by a punch and could only be dragged out with his head drooping like a dead dog.

(End of this chapter)