My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 132: Lu Bu Defection Again and Again (One More Again Than Chapter 115)

The words are divided into two parts.

After Zhuge Liang completed the main goal of his trip in Yecheng, he still had to wait for more than half a month to wait for a reply.

By the way, help Yuan Tan privately deal with some matters to strengthen his position, and according to the instructions of Liu Bei and his elder brother Zhuge Jin, recruit some talents from the opposition in Hebei.

During this period, envoys frequently came from Xudu and Xuzhou in the south, and negotiations were intensive. After Cao Cao made up his mind to surrender, the final stage of the work of announcing the decree and confirming that the other party was willing to accept the decree could not be relaxed at any stage.

Xin Ping arrived in Xudu at the end of October, and Cao Cao decided to surrender in early November. On the eighth day of November, Chen Deng, Lu Bu's envoy, arrived in Xudu again, which was very efficient.

A year later, when Cao Cao met Chen Deng again, he was filled with anger - Chen Deng had failed him! He had failed to complete his mission of inducing Lu Bu to become an enemy of Yuan Shu and Liu Bei! Instead, he let Lu Bu backfire!
But since Chen Deng dared to come to see him, he must have been sure. Because Chen Deng had secretly colluded with Jian Yong, the envoy sent by Liu Bei to Xudu, and maintained secret communications. Jian Yong was his eyes and ears, ensuring that Cao Cao was not in an impulsive and out-of-control state, so he allowed Chen Deng to come.

Before Chen Deng came to Xu Du, Cao Cao and Lu Bu had actually been negotiating for nearly a month and a half, with each round lasting at least half a month, and this was the third round.

In the first two rounds, both sides were indeed suspicious of each other, and they were in a state of fear: Cao Cao was afraid of losing face if he gave face to Lu Bu, but Lu Bu would not withdraw his troops and refuse to declare war on Yuan Shu. Lu Bu was also afraid that Cao Cao would make a false move and Lu Bu would break up with Yuan Shu again if he fulfilled his promise and fell out with him again, and Cao Cao would settle old scores with him.

However, after the first two rounds of negotiations, both sides put aside their suspicions and proposed some minor measures to ensure compliance, which generally means they are moving towards each other.

Even without Liu Bei's mediation and Yuan Shao's secret pressure, a ceasefire between Cao and Lu could have been achieved in the end; it was just a matter of time.

If Chen Deng had not always "thought of Lu Bu" and occasionally discovered a "suspicious detail that Cao Cao might have plotted against the general" and reminded Lu Bu to be careful, with Lu Bu's intelligence, he might have been deceived by Cao Cao long ago.

In other words, it was Chen Deng's procrastination that allowed Liu Bei to gain a big favor for nothing and get an official position by riding on the wind.

But Lu Bu was very grateful to Chen Deng for his thoughtfulness, which enabled him to plug all the loopholes in the negotiations, and only then did he fulfill his promise and accept the official position.

……

On the morning of November 8th, Xudu, Sikong Mansion.

Cao Cao looked at Chen Deng who was crawling in front of him and complaining to him, and just coldly scolded him:
"Chen Yuanlong, you still have the nerve to come back to see me! When I gave you the post of Guangling governor last year, how did you agree? You even said that raising eagles and tigers would be enough to control Lu Bu. In the end, you actually let Lu Bu be capricious and endanger the court!"

Chen Deng said with a bitter face, "Prince, please understand! It's not that I don't obey orders. Last year, Prince decided to only appoint Lü Bu as the governor of Xiapi, which really made me very unwilling. The idea of 'raising eagles and tigers' only allowed Deng to save his life and avoid being liquidated by Lü Bu.

However, the official position granted by Sikong to Lu Bu was relatively low, and the trust in Deng was greatly reduced. Instead, Chen Gong, who was originally suspected after Hao Meng's rebellion, was re-introduced by Lu Bu as his first counselor. Chen Gong had always hated the court, and Sikong knew this.

Deng just didn't expect that Lü Bu would be so shameless that he dared to rebel again after being newly appointed by the court in Xudu. He also didn't expect that Chen Gong could help Lü Bu come up with the fig leaf of "clearing the court and removing cruel officials", allowing him to dare to launch a sneak attack to gain some small profits, and then hope that the Sikong would give in and admit his mistakes and stop the war.

Deng knew that he was loyal to the court and would never change his mind. He just underestimated Chen Gong's wisdom and overestimated Lu Bu's character. At the same time, he also underestimated Liu Bei's tolerance. He was able to live in peace with Lu Bu for a year, so that Lu Bu did not have to worry about being attacked from all sides and dared not to rashly pull out the teeth of the court. "

After listening to Chen Deng's four reasons, Cao Cao's initial anger dissipated a lot. Because he thought about it carefully and found that what Chen Deng said made sense.

Besides, the negotiations are about to be completed, and it is impossible to hold anyone accountable at this time.

Cao Cao's inner resentment and anger finally shifted to Chen Gong, and he firmly believed that all this was planned by Chen Gong for Lu Bu. But he still felt that there was something wrong with Chen Deng, and he insisted on questioning him:

"Even if what you just said makes sense, when Lu Bu sent Gao Shun to attack Suiyang and severely injure Yuan Rang, why didn't you send a secret letter to the court in advance to warn them? I asked you to monitor Lu Bu, and this is how you monitored him!"

Chen Deng explained again: "I don't know the details of military affairs. When Lu Bu went upstream along the Sui River to meet General Xiahou Miaocai, I had already given him an advance warning! But I really didn't know that Lu Bu also asked Gao Shun to lead a detachment to cross the Mangdang Mountain to attack the empty city.

I am a civilian official who does not know much about battle formations. Lü Bu only discusses battle plans with me. Once he decides to fight, he never discusses the specifics of how to fight with me. If I had second thoughts, how could I dare to come to Xudu again and petition the Minister of War! I would have asked Lü Bu to send someone else. "

After hearing this, Cao Cao stroked his beard repeatedly but could not find any flaws, so he let the matter go.

He nodded to the side, and the Minister of the Chancellery Xun Yu took out an imperial edict that had gone through the court procedures, and then walked up to Chen Deng and said, "This edict is to appoint Lü Bu as the Right General and Governor of Xuzhou. How can you ensure that Lü Bu will go to war with Yuan Shu after receiving the edict?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Deng kowtowed to the imperial edict, and then said: "Deng came here this time, and he did think of a clever way to make Sikong and Lu Bu trust each other -

Sikong may not know that last month, Yuan Shu learned that Lü Bu and Sikong were in a stalemate in Suiyang and could not make any progress, so he sent people with heavy gifts to Xiapi to seek an alliance. Yuan Shu was willing to use a huge profit of 1,000 catties of gold and silver and 10,000 rolls of brocade to marry Lü Bu's daughter for his son, and even promised that if Lü Bu agreed to the marriage, his daughter would be taken to Shouchun and named as the fake crown princess.

Yuan Shu's move was to use Lü Bu's daughter as a hostage after the marriage between the two families, tie Lü Bu to the pirate ship and prevent him from getting off, and force Lü Bu to attack Chenliu and Jiyin with a large force from Suiyang! However, Lü Bu still had the imperial court in his heart, so he pretended to be nice to Han Yin, Yuan Shu's envoy, and was reluctant to agree to the marriage.

As soon as the decree from the Minister of Works to appoint Lü Bu as the Right General and Governor of Xuzhou arrived in Xuzhou, and was accompanied by an order from the Minister of Works blaming himself for misusing the cruel official Man Chong and proving that he would not be held accountable for his actions to clear the court, Lü Bu was willing to immediately tie Han Yin up and send him to Xudu to be executed by the Minister of Works, to show his determination to break off his friendship with Yuan Shu!

(Note: Marquises who hold the real power of the Three Dukes can issue documents such as "teaching edicts". In history, Cao Cao was granted the title of Duke of Wei in the 18th year of Jian'an, but in the 15th year of Jian'an, when he was still Marquis of Wuping, he wrote the "Edict of Relinquishing the County to Clarify My Intentions". This edict, which lets Cao Cao blame himself for misusing cruel officials such as Man Chong and creating the unjust imprisonment of Yang Biao, has the same format as the "Edict of Relinquishing the County to Clarify My Intentions", and is a "self-blame" document of a powerful official.)
Chen Deng's words finally made Cao Cao and Xun Yu unable to hold back their expressions of shock.

Could Lu Bu be so shameless? He sent the envoy sent by Yuan Shu, who was a potential ally just a second ago, to Xudu to be executed? Who in the world would dare to trust Lu Bu in the future? Who would help him?
But since Lu Bu had promised to do so, it would not hurt to give it a try - in the original history, Lu Bu actually sent Han Yin to Xu Du, where he was beheaded by Cao Cao.

All I can say is that Lu Bu’s fickleness is so against the will of heaven.

Cao Cao could not help but laugh and curse, "How could Lu Bu be so capable? Isn't he worried about being deserted by his friends and relatives in the future? Isn't he worried that his daughter will never get married? If he can even sell out the envoys who are discussing marriage, who would dare to take his daughter!"
And since the marriage proposal has been delayed for so long, Lü Bu must have sent someone to Yuan Shu to calm him down, right? Isn't Lü Bu afraid that Yuan Shu will retaliate and kill his envoy as well? "

Chen Deng also showed a helpless look: "Lü Bu is mean and fickle, that's how it is. Sikong knows his nature very well, why should we doubt him? Lü Bu did send an envoy, Qin Yilu, to Yuan Shu to confront Han Yin.

But to tell you something Sikong doesn't believe, Lü Bu doesn't care about Qin Yilu's life or death. If Yuan Shu avenges Han Yin and kills Qin Yilu, Lü Bu would be more than happy - this villain is greedy for the wives of generals and has long coveted the beauty of Qin Yilu's wife Du. If Qin Yilu dies in the line of duty, Lü Bu will take advantage of the situation to marry her. "

"Oh? So shameless?! Now that's the case, it's quite believable!"

For a moment, Cao Cao actually felt a sense of confidant towards Lu Bu, and at the same time secretly cursed: You, Lu Fengxian, are really good at playing! Although I also like women, I only covet the wives of enemy generals. How dare Lu the thief lay hands on the wives and concubines of his own subordinates! Aren't you afraid of being deserted by your friends and relatives!

When Cao Cao thought of the dangers of playing with other people's wives and concubines, his heart ached again, and he remembered his eldest son Cao Ang who was killed ten months ago because he failed to control his lower body.

I played with the widow of a surrendered bandit, and I still suffered such retribution. Lu Bu molested the wives of his generals, and I don’t know how much retribution he will suffer in the future! This bandit is nothing to be afraid of!
…Two days later, it was the tenth day of November.

Yang Biao, who had been detained in the Xudu Prison for several months, finally saw the light of day again.

(Note: Imperial prisons have existed since ancient times, not just in the Jinyiwei of the Ming Dynasty. The Book of the Later Han Dynasty. Biography of Liu Xuan records that "his (Liu Penzi) brother (Liu) Gong knew that his crime was serious and imprisoned himself." At that time, the Red Eyebrow Army established Liu Penzi as emperor, and his brother Liu Gong served in the regime of Emperor Gengshi Liu Xuan, so he went to the imperial prison himself.)
Due to various coincidences and intrigues from all sides, Yang Biao actually spent longer in prison than originally planned in history, a full four months.

Fortunately, after Lu Bu and other princes rose up in arms, Yang Biao no longer suffered in prison. For the time being, he was just given good food and drink and was under house arrest.

Generally speaking, Yang Biao spent more time in jail and less time being beaten in this life.

Yang Biao was not used to the sunlight as he had not seen it for a long time and was only illuminated by torches. After arriving in the yard, he raised his arms to block the sunlight for a full cup of tea before he recovered.

"Please change your clothes, General! Congratulations on getting your grievances redressed!"

After hearing the voice, Yang Biao took a while to see the figure clearly. It turned out to be the Shangshu Ling Xun Yu. Yang Biao sneered indifferently: "It's Xun Lingjun. It seems that this old man is really free. Shouldn't Man Chong come to close the case himself?"

Xun Yu said calmly, "Sikong was deceived by Man Chong. Now the truth has come out. Sikong feels very regretful and is too embarrassed to come to see the Grand Commandant. I am here to express my condolences. Man Chong has been thrown into the imperial prison. Would the Grand Commandant like to see him to relieve his anger?"

"Forget it. Why should I bother to argue with a cruel official? Lord Cao would not play tricks and deceive me on such trivial matters." Yang Biao waved his sleeves and was about to leave.

But Xun Yu stopped him and said kindly: "Wait a minute, General. There is another matter that needs your attention."

Yang Biao: "What's the matter?"

Xun Yu waved his hand, and someone nearby immediately brought over four vermilion lacquered wooden plates covered with red cloth. They then opened the plates in front of Yang Biao, revealing four human heads.

Yang Biao was not frightened, he just raised his sleeves slightly to cover his mouth and nose: "What does this mean!"

Xun Yu: "Doesn't the commander recognize these people? These two school officials were the ones who framed and arrested the commander, and these two cruel officials were responsible for torturing the commander. Now the truth is out, these people wanted to gain merit and promotion, so they deceived their superiors and subordinates, and Man Boning was deceived by them, which led to his big mistake."

If Sima Zhao couldn't bear to part with Jia Chong, would he also be reluctant to part with Cheng Ji?

Cao Cao was reluctant to give up Man Chong, but he had as many spies under his command who did the dirty work as he wanted, enough to appease his anger.

Moreover, the positioning of the Xiaoshi was roughly the same as that of the Jinyiwei in later generations, that is, to monitor, arrest and torture officials suspected of being anti-Cao. These people worked in the dark and had no reputation, so killing them would not affect Cao Cao's reputation.

Yang Biao felt disgusted when he saw Cao Cao's behavior and didn't want to look at him any more.

Unfortunately, after seeing the head, he won’t just look at it in vain, he must do something.

Xun Yu reluctantly pulled his sleeve, and asked someone to bring him paper and ink, and said to Yang Biao: "Now that the truth has been revealed and the grudge has been settled, please write a letter, seal it with the Grand Commandant's seal, and have your son deliver it to Lü Bu in person.

Tell Lu Bu that his righteous act of "clearing the court and removing cruel officials" has worked. Under his supervision, the court has already conducted self-examination and severely punished those who deceived the upper and lower levels. Please do not refuse, Lord Yang! This is also for the court and for the world! For the princes to dispel doubts, and punish the traitors together!"

Yang Biao sighed. He was not against the idea of the whole world joining together to punish Yuan Shu. For the sake of Xun Yu's face, he wrote the letter personally.

And at Xun Yu's request, he sent his eldest son Yang Xiu, who was just 22 years old, to Lu Bu.

Because of this matter, Cao Cao temporarily appointed Yang Xiu as a doctor to show his seriousness.

Yang Biao had been imprisoned before, and if he only sent a letter with the seal of the Grand Commandant, Lu Bu might suspect that Cao Cao had taken Yang Biao's seal and forged it. But if Yang Biao's own son was asked to deliver the letter, this suspicion would not exist.

……

Eight days later, Yang Xiu and Chen Deng returned to Xiapi together and met with Lu Bu. Chen Deng brought back the imperial edict, and Yang Xiu brought a letter in the name of the Grand Commandant declaring that "the court has changed its ways."

Lu Bu received all the honor and glory. He was overjoyed as he saw that after working hard for more than a year, he finally got the title of Mu of Xuzhou, and also took Suiyang and most of Liangjun.

He immediately tied up Yuan Shu's marriage proposal envoy Han Yin and stuffed him into a prison cart, and had Yang Xiu take him back to Xu Du.

Yuan Shu had only sent half of the betrothal gift he had promised his daughter as a deposit, which was 500 kilograms of gold and silver and 5,000 pieces of colorful brocade. Of course, Lu Bu took the huge fortune directly and had no intention of returning it to Yuan Shu.

This feeling is so good.

Ten days later, Yang Xiu returned to Xudu and presented Han Yin to Cao Cao. Cao Cao immediately ordered Han Yin to be taken to Xudu and publicly beheaded.

At the same time, Jian Yong and Sun Shao left the capital almost at the same time as Chen Deng, but their journey was longer. It was not until the day Yang Xiu returned to Xu Du to report that Jian Yong returned to Guangling and handed the imperial edict to Liu Bei.

Liu Bei and Zhuge Jin received the news in advance and made arrangements to receive the order very solemnly.

"I finally got the title of Governor of Yangzhou. It's really not easy for Cao Cao to hold us back like this!" Liu Bei put away the imperial edict and touched the golden seal of the Left General issued by the court, feeling deeply moved.

"Congratulations, my lord. You have been appointed as the governor of Yangzhou, which makes it legitimate for you to take Lujiang. In the future, you will be able to subdue Wang Lang and intimidate Sun Ce with half the effort! What's more, you have also been appointed as the left general, which is above the governor of a state. This is cause for celebration!" Zhuge Jin also took the lead in congratulating.

When Liu Bei heard the word "Lord", he was a little uncomfortable, but he quickly got used to it.

Since he was already the governor of Yangzhou, the governor of Danyang should call him Lord. If Wang Lang, Liu Xun and Sun Ce did not call him Lord, it would mean that they did not respect the imperial court.

(End of this chapter)