The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 274 Volume Surrender or perish!
"Your subject Lu Su greets the emperor!"

Lu Su was a man of sturdy build, tall stature, square face, and a righteous character. No wonder he became a famous diplomatic envoy in later generations.

Liu Bei also came to Nanyang at this time.

In front of Lu Su, Liu Xie did not hesitate to praise Liu Bei for his brilliant battle in Yiling. He actually killed many Jiangdong generals such as Cheng Pu and Huang Gai in one battle. It was really cause for celebration!
When Lu Su, who was standing by, heard Liu Xie's praises, his face turned dark.

Because too many Jiangdong generals died in the Battle of Yiling, the Jiangdong army's system was completely disrupted.

As far as Lu Su knew, Sun Ce had already promoted some young men in their teens to serve as lieutenants... Among them seemed to be a crude warrior named Lu Meng! If this continued, what future would the Jiangdong Army have?

While Liu Xie was praising him, he went even further and said to Liu Bei: "It's a pity that the emperor's uncle didn't kill or capture Zhou Yu, otherwise he would have been able to recover Jingnan and Jiangxia by now!"

Liu Bei actually felt regretful as well.

That day he sent Zhang Fei by land and Gan Ning by water, but who could have imagined that Zhou Yu actually hid in the deep mountains and forests!

If Zhou Yu had not been so decisive at that time, he might have been captured by the two men!

And Lu Su's face on the side was extremely ugly!
"Your Majesty, we are all just civilians of the Han Dynasty. Can it be that the death of so many civilians in the battle really make Your Majesty so happy?"

……

Liu Xie looked at Lu Su with amusement.

He actually used moral kidnapping on himself?

"Do you Jiangdong people know that we are all Han people now?"

"As far as I know, it was Sun Ce who broke his promise first and attacked Jingzhou, which led to the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Yiling. Why is he here to cry to me now?"

Lu Su did not hesitate to put all the blame on Yuan Shu: "Bofu was only ordered by Yuan Shu to attack Jingzhou!"

"What a last resort!"

Liu Xie slammed his hand on the table and said, "Lu Su, I know you are an envoy and need to make excuses. But if Sun Ce is really a man, he should not put all the responsibility on others! Admit it to me! Does he think I don't know that the entire battle plan for Jingzhou was submitted to Yuan Shu by him?"

"!"

Lu Su was suddenly shocked!
Why did the emperor know what happened to Yuan Shu?

Could it be...

An absurd idea came into Lu Su's mind.

Could it be that there are spies for the emperor around Yuan Shu?

……

Lu Su was so confused that he was led astray by Liu Xie unconsciously: "Bofu... Bofu attacked Jingzhou just to avenge his father!"

Lu Su thought he had found a support point.

"The Han Dynasty puts filial piety first, and a grudge that has lasted for a hundred generations can still be avenged! Does the emperor think that Bo Fu's act of avenging his father is wrong?"

"Oh?"

Liu Xie now wants to have a talk with Lu Su.

"Who is Sun Ce's father?"

"Naturally..."

Sun Ce's father, Sun Jian, Marquis of Wucheng, was famous all over the world. What's there to not know?
But the next moment, Lu Su's body stiffened, as if he had thought of something.

"Can't remember? It doesn't matter. I'll tell you, it was Sun Jian! It was Sun Jian who led his troops into Luoyang! It was Sun Jian who stole the imperial seal!"

Liu Xie looked at Lu Su, whose face was gloomy. "Great! A little Han thief came to avenge his father, a big Han thief, and ended up killing the imperial governor and seizing the imperial territory. Now this little Han thief wants to send someone to ask me for his family and become an ally with me?"

"Lu Su, what do you think the Han Dynasty is?"

At this moment, Lu Su finally realized who the emperor in front of him was.

The emperor before him was the leader of the revival who was supported by Dong Zhuo and grew all the way to where he is today.

Sun Jian had followed Yuan Shu before, and he did all kinds of things that offended Dong Zhuo. How could he expect Liu Xie to forgive Sun Jian?
Even if we put the blame on Yuan Shu for Sun Jian's behavior, there is one thing that cannot be washed away -

Secretly keeping the imperial seal!

This kind of thing, in every dynasty, would be a heinous crime with the entire clan executed! He is definitely a traitor to the Han Dynasty!

It’s good enough that Liu Xie doesn’t add insult to injury now, so how can he still help Sun Ce?
Lu Su also knew that this round of negotiations would most likely end in failure.

He originally thought that the emperor would not remember what Sun Jian had done, but now that he thought about it, the emperor always knew everything clearly.

But Lu Su wanted to try again——

"Yuan Shu has now usurped the throne and proclaimed himself emperor. Doesn't the emperor want to destroy him immediately?"

"Although the imperial court has a strong army, it is constrained by Yuan Shao and Cao Cao. It cannot easily send troops thousands of miles away to directly capture Yangzhou! In this case, why not send Bo Fu to attack Jiangdong and defeat Yuan Shu?"

Lu Su gave up trying to clear himself for the greater good and just offered the lure of benefits.

Yuan Shu's open declaration of emperorship was undoubtedly a violation of the dignity of the Han Dynasty.

Although in Liu Xie's eyes, Yuan Shu was nothing but a dead bone in a grave, and would destroy himself sooner or later. But in the eyes of most people, the impact of Yuan Shu's enthronement was still very strong! He even surpassed Yuan Shao and became the number one enemy of the Han Dynasty!
Under such circumstances, isn't it in the court's interest for Sun Ce to lead his troops to defeat Yuan Shu?
Hearing this, Liu Xie finally touched his nose and smiled slightly.

"Isn't that what you said just now correct? It was clearly Sun Ce's own ambition, but he had to blame it on Yuan Shu, treating himself as a docile little sheep. This is not the style of him, the little tyrant of Jiangdong."

Lu Su was stunned.

So this is what the emperor was dissatisfied with?

"You are right. I am indeed dissatisfied with Yuan Shu, but I do not think that Sun Ce is a loyal minister."

Liu Xie shook his head: "So, supporting Sun Ce to attack Yuan Shu is certainly beneficial to the court for a while, but who can guarantee that Sun Ce is not a bigger Yuan Shu in the future?" "Take down a Han thief, and a more powerful Han thief will appear. Do you really think I will do this?"

Yuan Shu is just a weakling in combat.

Luck has played a big part in getting to where I am today.

But Sun Ce is different.

Imagine a future super-large "Wu Kingdom" that occupies Yangzhou, Xuzhou, and half of Jingzhou. Who knows how big Sun Ce will grow?
Moreover, Sun Ce defeated Yuan Shu at a much faster speed than the imperial court defeated Yuan Shao.

If a coalition of Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and Sun Ce appears in Guandong at that time, Liu Xie would be shooting himself in the foot.

Lu Su also understood what Liu Xie meant.

The emperor also wanted to see Sun Ce and Yuan Shu fighting each other.

But the emperor was worried about Sun Ce, fearing that Sun Ce would get involved with Yuan Shao and Cao Cao in the future and become a great enemy of the court.

So Lu Su used all his words: "I swear that Bofu will obey the orders of the court in the future!"

Liu Xie waved his hand in boredom: "I have heard many oaths."

"Even if Sun Ce swore an oath by pointing to the Yangtze River, I still wouldn't believe him."

"Say something practical, don't just talk."

At this point, Liu Xie's true colors were revealed.

The imperial court must have some knowledge to prevent Sun Ce from betraying the imperial court in the future.

"What does your majesty want?"

"First!"

Liu Xie didn't hesitate and just raised his finger.

"I can get Sun Ce's family back for him."

"But when I come back, I will not return it to Sun Ce, but take it to Chang'an."

This alone made Lu Su turn pale.

"Second, I want all of Jiangdong's shipbuilding blueprints and 10,000 shipbuilders, and send them all to Jingzhou."

If the imperial court goes to war with Sun Ce in the future, naval warfare will definitely be prioritized.

Liu Xie's tactic was to fundamentally weaken the naval power of Jiangdong.

"Third, I want Sun Ce to send me two people."

"Which two people does Your Majesty want?"

"One is Lü Meng, styled Ziming, from Runan; the other is Lu Xun... No, now it should be Lu Yi, styled Boyan, from Wujun. They are both young, so it shouldn't be hard to find them if you look carefully."

Lu Meng and Lu Yi.

Although Lu Su didn't know why the emperor wanted these two people, how could the people who were targeted by the emperor be ordinary people?
In fact, the second and third points are not difficult.

It was only the first point that made Lu Su dare not agree.

"I haven't finished yet."

Liu Xie added: "If I help Sun Ce to get his family back, I will have to contact Yuan Shu, which will also damage the reputation of the Han Dynasty."

"Sun Ce must find a way to compensate for this price, otherwise everything will be meaningless!"

Lu Su was really angry now: "Bofu fought against Yuan Shu for the emperor, isn't this considered compensation?"

……

No wonder they say that messengers have to be thick-skinned.

Liu Xie was speechless.

"Lu Zijing, I told you not to argue in front of me."

"It is Sun Ce's own business if he wants to betray Yuan Shu. What does it have to do with me?"

"Sun Ce sent you to find me, not only to ask me to bring back his family, but also to make a non-fighting agreement with the court to prevent me from attacking his rear when he leads his troops to attack Yuan Shu."

"Don't act like I'm begging Sun Ce to attack Yuan Shu. You have to understand that it's you who's begging me not to attack your rear!"

"So none of the conditions I mentioned will be changed. There is no room for bargaining. If you agree, send the people and things I want as soon as possible. If you disagree, go back and wait for me to attack Jiangxia at any time."

……

Facing an emperor who knew everything clearly, Lu Su felt a complete defeat for the first time.

No matter what was used to deceive, the emperor could always easily tear off this layer, exposing the weakness beneath the fangs and claws.

But Lu Su had no solution.

Because the emperor on the opposite side was not only the legitimate emperor of the Han Dynasty, but also an emperor in troubled times, an emperor on horseback, and even an emperor of revival.

With Sun Ce's strength, he was far from being qualified to bargain with such an emperor.

From the moment Sun Ce sent his envoys to contact the emperor, he had only two choices:

Surrender,

Or perish!
There is no other choice!
(End of this chapter)