My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 111: Walking into a Trap Lu Zijing

The next morning, at Lujiazhuang, east of Juchao City.

More than 300 slaves and hundreds of clansmen's families were organized into battle array by Lu Su, and then they boarded the 20 boats lent to them by Zhou Yu, loaded their valuables and prepared to set sail.

"Alas, the Lu family is in decline, and this crazy child was born!" In the crowd, one of Lu Su's uncles, who was also the most senior person in the family, could not help but cry, sigh and curse when he saw that he was forced to leave Huainan where he had lived for generations.

"Yes, if the old lady hadn't doted on him excessively and allowed him to do whatever he wanted, our family wouldn't have fallen to this point!" Upon hearing this, several uncles and brothers from other branches also echoed the words.

Lu Su's generosity and generosity so far have won him a lot of fame and connections outside, but his relatives in the side branches of the clan are very disgusted, after all, he is actually giving the family's money and grain to outsiders.

However, these people are not the main clan members, and Lu Su has been relying on his grandmother's support in the past few years to dispose of the family property at will.

When his grandmother passed away four years ago, Lu Su had already reached adulthood, and others could not point fingers at him. They could only continue to secretly scold him for being "a son who sells his father's land without any regret."

Until today, the Lu family's land was finally completely squandered by this prodigal son! Not even a hectare was left!
Lu Su also knew that these people had complaints. Although he didn't care, he still decided to give a mobilization speech before setting sail:
"My uncles and brothers! I know you don't obey me, but the Han Dynasty has lost its order, bandits are rampant, Yuan Shu is cruel and harms the people, and he plunders without limit. Lianghuai is not a place for reproducing! Although we have scattered all our land, we have been able to make friends with heroes. As long as we go to Jiangdong, we can get protection from them and avoid disaster!

Jiangdong has thousands of miles of fertile land, but no one has reclaimed it. I heard that the local governors of the counties and states have given generous rewards to those who reclaimed the land, and promised those who did so with light taxes and levies. Our Lu family will surely be able to live and work in peace and contentment!"

……

After the twenty boats were loaded, they sailed downstream that day, traveling seventy to eighty miles a day, and arrived at Ruxukou early the next morning.

Even though Lu Su was very cautious and successfully verified the talisman given by Qiao Rui, he still encountered a small team of patrol cavalry and several patrol boats at the river mouth dock after passing the water fort checkpoint.

The other party shouted at Lu Su to come ashore for inspection: "Where are you from? How dare you go out of the river? Don't you know that the Yuzhang bandits are patrolling the river? Why don't you return quickly!"

Lu Su's heart tightened. Seeing that the other side had a complete set of land and sea equipment, as well as warships, he did not want to tear his face off. He just took out the talisman and shouted loudly to the patrol team:

"We have a pass talisman to help purchase military rations! My family has been doing business for generations. We recently donated thousands of tons of military rations. We are in urgent need of new supplies!"

However, the patrol officer was a subordinate of Zhang Duo under Liu Xun, and he was not under the same command with Qiao Rui. Hearing this, he had no intention of giving in. He even wanted to force Lu Su to go ashore to see if there were any flaws so that he could extort money from him.

Because the troops under Qiao Rui suffered heavy losses, they could only defend the checkpoint of Ruxukoushuizhai, and the patrol missions were taken over by Liu Xun's men. Qiao Rui's talisman could only help him pass the checkpoint, but he could not control the patrol team.

Lu Su knew that the fleet was about to enter the Yangtze River and could not be entangled at this time.

So he gritted his teeth and changed his words: "My dear military marquis, I cannot obey your order! There is chaos in Huaibei and Huainan now, and everyone is behaving recklessly. You think you are doing your job impartially, but even if you catch the fish, the superiors may not reward you for your merits! If you fail to catch the fish, you will not be punished. Your life is your own, why are you forcing me? Let me teach you my methods!"

After saying that, Lu Su ordered his hundred servants with archers to draw their bows and aim, and then asked one of them with powerful crossbows to shoot an arrow at the pier on the shore. The crossbow arrow directly penetrated a wooden board used for getting on and off the boat. The patrolling officer was startled and finally restrained himself, not daring to chase him anymore.

Yuan Shu really didn't know how to reward or punish. What's the point of playing with a few hundred bucks a month?

However, the power of a crossbow can only scare the cavalry.

The patrol boats nearby still didn't believe it. Perhaps the officers on that battleship thought that the walls of their ship could be used as powerful crossbows and arrows. Seeing that Lu Su dared to use force, they chased after him directly.

"Hurry up and row! Don't get entangled with them!" Lu Su was a little surprised that he didn't scare the enemy away, so he had to let the archers be on guard, but not to shoot first.

There were many family members on my side, and they were all in small boats, without any protection. They had to rely on the shields they brought with them to block the arrows from the side of the boats, so they would probably be at a disadvantage in a shootout.

Fortunately, the other party did not want to kill people directly. He probably wanted to capture people and extort money, so he just approached gradually without shooting arrows.

The two sides chased for two cups of tea and had already gone three or four miles out of Ruxukou. Just as they were about to catch up, a faster fleet of ships suddenly appeared on the river, coming from the south bank and rushing towards Lu Su and the patrol team of Liu Xun's subordinates.

A large flag was hung on the leading ship with the word "Tai Shi" inscribed on it.

When Liu Xun's patrol team saw the flag, they hurriedly tried to turn around and escape, but Taishi Ci divided their boats and chased them, killing dozens of them and destroying several running boats.

Seeing how brave and courageous this fleet was, Lu Su also wanted to flee, but was stopped by Taishi Ci: "Who are you? Don't you know that the Yuan thieves are not allowed to enter the Yangtze River?"

Fearing that something might happen, Lu Su stepped forward and answered loudly: "General, please understand! We are not Yuan thieves, but the people of Huainan. We cannot bear Yuan Shu's oppression, so we went to Jiangdong to avoid the war! We want to go to Wuhu... or Chungu, just to find a place to stay."

Before Lu Su spoke, he considered lying, but ultimately decided not to do so - he could adapt to the situation himself, but what about his clansmen?
If the general picks a few people to question and they let the secret slip, the problem will only become more serious.

So it is better to admit openly that you may have to go to Wuhu, but don't force it. Chungu is poorer than Wuhu, so if you can't go to Wuhu, you can go to Chungu.

This way, he didn't have to lie, and he could also portray himself as someone who just wanted to find a place to avoid the war and had no specific goal.

Taishi Ci on the opposite side did not recognize them. During this period, he was ordered by Zhuge Fujun to patrol the river and kill Yuan army patrols, but not to harass the people fleeing across the river.

The purpose is to create an environment that encourages migration so that Yuzhang and the seven southern counties of Danyang can absorb more refugees from Lujiang.

So after listening to Lu Su's words, he didn't want to ruin Zhuge Jin's reputation.

But Taishi Ci was, after all, a famous general with superb archery skills and excellent eyesight. He could vaguely see archers and crossbowmen on the enemy's ship, armed and on guard, from a distance of a hundred feet.

He immediately ordered his soldiers to shout, "Since you are going to Wuhu, it is on the way. Just sail with us. You are not allowed to leave without permission!"

The Lu family was terrified, thinking they had encountered another general who wanted to blackmail them. Lu Su did not want to get involved, so he quickly said, "Thank you for your help, General. I am willing to give you 20 gold coins to reward the soldiers. Please help me..."

Taishi Ci refused to accept the money and released the people. At this time, the two fleets were close to each other, and Taishi Ci directly scolded:
"I'm not after your money. You insist on leaving. Is this a trick? How can an ordinary refugee carry dozens of powerful crossbows? How can I let a crossbowman come ashore at will? Once I get to Wuhu, I must register with the household registration office before I can leave!"

Lu Su groaned in his heart, but there was nothing he could do, so he had to do as he was told.

The other party's reason was also very upright. If you want to move to another county, how could the local government allow someone of unknown origin to bring dozens of crossbows into the country? Even if they were not confiscated, they must be registered. Fortunately, Taishi Ci did not force him to go to Chungu, but said to go all the way to Wuhu. Lu Su was suspicious and decided to follow for a while and wait and see.

According to the information he knew, Chungu County should have been captured by Zhuge Jin, because in the decisive battle in which Liu Xun and Qiao Rui were defeated a few days ago, Yuan's army attempted to attack Chungu.

According to the information Zhou Yu told him, Wuhu was still under the jurisdiction of Sun Ce.

"The general's flag is named 'Taishi'. As far as I know, only Taishi Ci, a subordinate of Liu Yao, has this surname. Even if this person is not Taishi Ci, he must be a member of Taishi Ci's clan. But didn't Liu Yao's former subordinates defect to Zhuge Xuan? Why would they go to Wuhu? Could it be..."

……

The fleet sailed downstream along the Yangtze River at a very fast speed and could sail day and night. After a day and a night, they arrived in Wuhu.

Taishi Ci and his entourage were originally returning to their base after completing their mission, and patrolling and replenishing supplies. As soon as they landed, they informed the county's household department that they had encountered a group of powerful refugees armed with crossbows, about several hundred people, and asked the household department to hand them over to prevent them from fleeing.

Arriving at someone else's territory, Lu Su had no intention of resisting, and the entire family was temporarily settled in a station at the dock.

After a while, the Household Department counted the number of their crossbows and was slightly surprised. He reported it step by step. Then Lu Su was invited to go to the yamen for tea.

Lu Su followed calmly to a government office on the main street of Wuhu City. He was shocked to see the plaque reading "Danyang Prefecture's Mansion".

"The seat of Danyang County is in Moling. How can Wuhu presumptuously bear the title of the prefectural governor's office? It's simply... simply unbelievable!"

The officer in charge of leading the way did not take it seriously and ignored him. He just led Lu Su into a side hall and asked him to wait there obediently.

After a while, a tall and handsome boy who was much younger than him came in.
At first glance, Lu Su felt that the man was too young, probably not yet of age, and was actually wearing the uniform of a county magistrate. However, his appearance was outstanding, and he was more than eight feet tall, very tall, and it was hard to have a bad impression of him.

Lu Su held back his anger and asked again the question he had just raised.

The young man replied calmly, "Moling is occupied by usurpers, so the Danyang governor's mansion is temporarily located in Wuhu, which is also an expedient measure. When the royal army defeats the rebels in the future, they will naturally move back to Moling, so there is no need to worry too much. I wonder what your name is, and why you are fleeing across the river with dozens of powerful crossbows?"

Lu Su was stunned and introduced himself first: "I am Lu Su from Huainan. My family is originally from a wealthy family in Hefei. We are living in a chaotic era. The Yuan thief is tyrannical and tyrannical. How can we not prepare weapons to protect ourselves?

I don't know who you are. What basis do you have to say that Moling was occupied by robbers? The princes of today are all fighting each other, just as Mencius said, 'There is no righteous war in the Spring and Autumn Period.' Except for the suppression of the rebels who claimed to be emperors, the rest of the princes annexed each other, so how can there be any orthodoxy or usurpation?"

The young man smiled proudly: "Langya Zhuge Liang, I am honored to be the county magistrate of this county. Brother Lu, what you said is totally wrong! First of all, you said that it is righteous to attack the rebels who claim to be emperors. Liang and my brother are just attacking Yuan Shu and have made some achievements. Don't we deserve the word righteousness?
Secondly, although it is unreasonable for the princes to attack each other, I am not attacking each other. I, the prefect of Danyang County, and my brother, the governor of Danyang, were both appointed by the emperor a few months ago. My brother's talents and achievements were personally praised by the emperor, and he deserves this reward. Could it be that Brother Lu still wants to see the imperial edict?"

It turned out that Zhuge Liang and his brother had been in Wuhu recently.

Zhuge Liang was about to be sent to Guangling again to teach Liu Bei in person how to mediate and how to deal with the relationship and attitude towards the various princes in the future.

Before leaving, the civil affairs of Danyang County needed to be handed over to his brother. So Zhuge Liang did it himself these days. As for the work of the Household Department, he, as the county magistrate, actually took charge of it himself. When there was a major event, he would deal with it directly. Today, the Household Department reported that a large group of hundreds of thousands of refugees from Jiangbei came to surrender with powerful crossbows, so Zhuge Liang personally received them.

I only hope that before I leave, I can sort out the population and household registration handover of the six counties of Wuhu and Zulang, and conduct a thorough check on hidden households and new immigrants, so that my eldest brother can take over easily.

Hearing this, Lu Su was finally shocked: "You are the Zhuge Liang who has recently become famous in Yuzhang? Your brother is the Zhuge Jin who was praised by the emperor himself... Mr. Ziyu? How disrespectful."

Zhuge Liang was still young after all, and he had been working behind the scenes recently. Even if he was praised by others, it was mostly by his subordinates within Liu Bei's camp. He was quite proud to see an outsider come to him for the first time.

After hearing Lu Su's compliment, he smiled and said, "Brother Lu, are you here to join me because of my reputation?"

Lu Su remembered that he still had a mission to accomplish, so he spoke frankly:

“I was able to escape from the thief Yuan this time, all thanks to the help of Juchao Ling Zhou Yu, who helped me obtain the pass. Zhou Yu was also a righteous man who was unwilling to submit to the thief who usurped the Han Dynasty.

But he was afraid that General Sun was not yet ready and could not break with Yuan Shu in a hurry, so he asked me to help him find out and bring a letter to persuade General Sun to make a decision as soon as possible, to support the Han Dynasty and become loyal ministers together.

I have been entrusted with a task and have already accepted it. The sage said: "Since ancient times, everyone has died. People cannot stand without trust. Please, Zhuge County Magistrate, let me go to Moling to complete my mission. I will decide where to go in the future."

Zhuge Liang was very disappointed when he heard this. But he had never heard of Lu Su's reputation. After all, Lu Su's current reputation in Lujiang was earned by spending money, and he had not yet established any merits, so Zhuge Liang was not willing to break the rules for him.

He thought about it and decided to settle Lu Su first, and then check his abilities to see if he was worth keeping.

So he called the postmaster and arranged for Lu Su and his close relatives to live in the Wuhu Posthouse, and then went to do other things.

About an hour later, it was getting dark, and Zhuge Liang returned home and had dinner with his eldest brother first.

While the two brothers were eating and drinking, Zhuge Liang casually mentioned today's work of sheltering and resettling refugees and brought up this matter.

Zhuge Jin was naturally more alert than Zhuge Liang: "Aliang, what do you think is the name of the leader of the Huainan refugees?"

Zhuge Liang: "Lu Su, Lu Zijing."

Zhuge Jin calmly put down his chopsticks, picked up the soup bowl to hide his facial expression, and slowly took a sip, but hesitated to swallow it. After thinking for a long time and thinking through the countermeasures, he swallowed the soup that was as cold as his body temperature.

After drinking, Zhuge Jin let out a long sigh and commented: "He is a righteous man who accepts favors and is loyal to them. If we force him to stay, he will definitely be dissatisfied and it will also damage his reputation.

However, since he was only delivering the letter on behalf of Zhou Yu, he could go alone and leave his family in Wuhu. Come on, ask the household department to select a flat piece of abandoned land to distribute to the Lu clan. It would be best to choose a tributary of the Jingshui River in the south of the city, and you can also give some additional hillside land to plant tea trees and bamboo sugarcane.

I will see him tomorrow before I let him go."

(End of this chapter)