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

Chapter 96: I got beaten and still want to kowtow to Liu Bei? Xiao He: I have the confidence to swear by Jiang!
Sun Quan was not the only one who was shocked.

Lu Meng, Ling Tong, Xu Sheng and other generals were all shocked, and their eyes as sharp as knives were directed at Lu Su.

At this moment, everyone thought they had heard it wrongly.

We have just been badly defeated by Liu Bei, not only losing so many soldiers, but also losing Cheng Pu, a highly respected veteran general.

What a shame this is!
Everyone was holding their breath, hoping that Sun Quan would dispatch elite troops to Chaisang and return to Xiakou to avenge the previous defeat.

You, Lu Su, not only don't want to avenge your humiliation, but you even want to persuade your lord to surrender to Liu Bei!
Where is the backbone?

Where is the dignity!

Sun Quan's questioning naturally contained obvious resentment in the eyes of the generals.

Lu Su remained unmoved and explained calmly:

"My lord, you have misunderstood. Su's intention was not to ask you to admit your mistakes to Liu Bei and seek peace. He simply wanted to reconcile with Liu Bei and for the two families to shake hands and make peace."

Sun Quan's excited expression eased a little.

There is a difference between shaking hands and making peace and admitting mistakes and seeking peace.

The latter was the defeated party and humbly begged Liu Bei for a truce, so he naturally had no chance of saving face.

The former proposed a ceasefire as an equal, rather than a plea, which at least saved face.

Sun Quan stroked his purple beard and gradually calmed down.

The generals were still indignant and there was an uproar.

"If our army wins, and we send envoys to Liu Bei to negotiate peace, that will save the reputation of Jiangdong and preserve the reputation of our lord."

"After suffering such a crushing defeat, what's the difference between shaking hands and making peace and admitting our mistakes and seeking peace?
"If we make peace with Liu Bei, we will all be laughed at by the world. Zijing, you are only deceiving yourself!"

Ling Tong was the first to jump out and angrily scolded Lu Su.

"Gong Ji's words make sense. If we stop fighting with Liu Bei, it will be a disgrace to Jiangdong!"

Xu Sheng also jumped up and said angrily:
"Sheng and the others were unable to sacrifice their lives for our lord to annex Jingzhou and destroy the Three Lius. If this were to cause our lord to seek peace with that big-eared thief, it would be a great shame and humiliation for us!"

"I, Xu Sheng, would rather lead my troops back to Xiakou and fight Liu Bei to the death. Even if I am willing to sacrifice my life, I would never want to see my lord suffer such humiliation!"

Once these two troublemakers took the lead, Dong Xi, He Qi and other generals all jumped up, and each of them was eager to return to Xiakou to fight again.

Sun Quan was not infected by this. The more indignantly the generals challenged him, the more his brows furrowed.

Lu Su was by no means a man who was simply straightforward and tactful.

His eyes were observing Sun Quan's emotional changes from beginning to end.

Seeing that Sun Quan remained silent, Lu Su knew that his proposal was exactly what Sun Quan wanted.

"Victory and defeat are common in the military. How can we lose our composure and act impulsively because of a temporary defeat?"

Lu Su suddenly shouted loudly, interrupting the indignation of the generals.

The hall fell into complete silence, and everyone's eyes turned to Lu Su again.

"Our army suffered two defeats, resulting in tens of thousands of casualties. Military morale has been severely damaged, and countless amounts of money, food, and military supplies have been lost. It's not just a serious injury, but it's definitely a major blow to our vitality."

"All of you are veterans of the battlefield and well-versed in the art of war. Let me ask you, given our army's current situation, can we truly force another battle against Liu Bei?"

The generals were speechless.

Lu Su spoke the truth and used cold facts to extinguish the mindless challenges of Ling Tong and others.

"Even if our army needs to rest and regroup, we don't need to ask Liu Bei for peace, right?"

"Could it be that if I don't sue for peace with Liu Bei, he will still dare to lead his army to attack Jiangdong?"

Xu Sheng was dissatisfied after being slapped in the face and found a new excuse.

But the indignation was much weaker than before.

The generals nodded in agreement with what Xu Sheng said.

"First of all, I want to correct you. From the beginning to the end, I only talked about making peace with Liu Bei. I never mentioned the word "seeking peace."

"Secondly, what Wen said to you is also correct. Liu Bei still has Cao Cao stationed in Wancheng. His main army has always been tied down in Jingbei. With the current strength of Liu Bei's army in Xiakou, they certainly dare not attack Jiangdong."

Changing the subject, Lu Su bowed to Sun Quan:

"Su's real intention in asking the Lord to send an envoy to Liu Bei to negotiate peace and restore the old relationship was to rescue General Cheng!"

This statement came out.

Xu Sheng, Ling Tong and other generals were instantly silenced, and no one dared to oppose them anymore.

Sun Quan was also shocked and suddenly understood Lu Su's painstaking efforts.

Cheng Pu did not die in battle, he was captured by Liu Bei!
That was no one else but him, the third generation veteran of the Sun family, and the chief military commander of Jiangdong.

Can you not save such a person who is in the hands of the enemy?
If you don't save him and ignore his life or death, what will your subordinates think of you?

Everyone might think: Look, even a veteran like General Cheng was given up by our lord, let alone people like us.

It will chill people's hearts...

So he could not ignore Cheng Pu and had to do everything he could to get Cheng Pu back from Liu Bei.

If they were enemies, no matter how magnanimous Liu Bei was, how could he possibly let Cheng Pu go back?

Only after sending envoys to negotiate peace, the two families reconciled and restored their alliance, did Liu Bei have a reason to release Cheng Pu.

This was Lu Su's good intention.

Sun Quan paced in the hall, his thoughts churning, weighing the pros and cons.

Asking for peace with Liu Bei would only bring shame and make you a laughing stock.

If we don't ask for peace, it would be tantamount to giving up on the veteran Cheng Pu, which would discourage the morale of the generals and soldiers.

You can't have both face and substance...

Weigh the pros and cons for a long time.

Sun Quan let out a long breath and waved his hand with a hint of bitterness: "Old General Demou has served our Sun family for three generations, with great service and unwavering loyalty. If I abandon him, wouldn't I be a heartless and disloyal leader?"

"Never mind, Zijing, just go to Jingzhou immediately and persuade Liu Bei to reconcile with the old ally and do your utmost to rescue General Demou."

Lu Su secretly breathed a sigh of relief, his face showing satisfaction, and he saluted and praised:

"My lord is flexible and resilient, and he values ​​friendship and loyalty. He is truly a heroic lord!"

Although Ling Tong, Xu Sheng and other generals were furious, no one raised any objections.

Sun Quan's expression improved slightly, but he still showed some concerns:
"I used your strategy and attacked Xiakou twice. Liu Bei will surely bear a grudge against me."

"He's just won a great victory, so he must be arrogant and conceited. Zijing, are you confident you can convince Liu Bei to make peace?"

Lu Su's face flashed with confidence, and he smiled faintly:

"Liu Bei's greatest enemy remains Cao Cao, who has his troops stationed in Wancheng. Furthermore, Liu Cong to the south still controls most of Jingzhou and could march north to attack Xiangyang at any time."

"I believe that Liu Bei, with his rationality, will agree to peace talks and reconcile with my lord."

After hearing what Lu Su said, Sun Quan felt more confident and no longer hesitated.

Sun Quan immediately wrote a letter personally, ordering Lu Su to set off west that night and then go to Jingzhou.

Sun Quan personally went out of the city to the ferry and sent Lu Su onto the boat.

Watching the small boat disappear into the night, Sun Quan let out a deep breath, a hint of resentment flashing across his face.

"Gongjin, oh Gongjin, you really disappoint me. If you hadn't been defeated so many times, how could I have endured the humiliation of that big-eared thief? Alas—"

...

Xiakou Water Camp, inside the central army tent.

Guan Yu and Xiao He were already checking the accounts and counting the results of this battle.

"In this battle at Xiakou, we intercepted and captured approximately 4,000 Jiangdong surrendered soldiers. Together with the 5,000 navy troops that Su Fei surrendered, a total of approximately 9,000 Jiangdong soldiers surrendered."

"In addition, in addition to Su Fei's voluntary surrender, we also captured six enemy generals, including Ding Feng..."

Zhao Lei held up the account book and reported the battle results one by one.

Guan Yu stroked his beautiful beard and nodded slightly, obviously quite satisfied with the results of the battle.

Nine thousand captives, all of whom are proficient in naval warfare. If they are recruited for our own use, the strength of our navy can be greatly improved in a short period of time.

"So this Ding Feng was also captured alive by General Yunchang?"

"Sooner or later, my lord, you will have to go to war with Sun Quan. In a battle on a great river, water warfare will be the primary focus. The more brave generals in our army who are proficient in water warfare, the better."

"This man has the potential to be a famous general. He has just joined the Jiangdong Army and is not Sun Quan's sworn confidant. If he is appeased a little, he should be able to be used by the lord."

Xiao He's focus was not on the 9,000 surrendered soldiers, but on the young general Ding Feng.

After all, in that period of history, he was the pillar of the Wu Kingdom in its later period!
A strange look flashed in Guan Yu's eyes. He obviously didn't expect that Xiao He would value Ding Feng so much.

He was even described as a "famous general"!

But then he thought again, his military advisor and future son-in-law has always been good at fortune-telling and has a keen insight into everyone and everything in the world.

He said that Ding Feng has the potential to be a famous general, so he must have it.

"This Ding Feng, with only twenty ships, dared to confront my ten thousand navy head-on. I really admire his courage."

"Since Military Advisor Bo Wen has determined that this man has the talent to become a famous general, I will send him to Xiangyang and leave him in my brother's care to win his heart."

Guan Yu knew that in terms of charm, he was far inferior to Liu Bei.

Liu Bei had to personally take charge of the task of subduing the surrendered generals.

"This Ding Feng's family is all in Jiangdong. I'm afraid that even if he surrenders, he won't be able to fight for you with peace of mind."

"Also, apart from some Jiangxia people, most of these Jiangdong surrendered soldiers are from Jiangdong. Their wives and children are all in Jiangdong. It's easy to recruit them physically, but it's probably difficult to win their hearts."

Zhao Yun sighed and gave this reminder.

These concerns just reminded Guan Yu.

"What Zilong said makes sense."

"Bo Wen, I remember that in your letter of surrender to Su Fei, you swore by the river that you would bring him and the families of the five thousand surrendered soldiers to Jingzhou and reunite them."

"Looking back now, I should have reminded you not to make such a solemn oath."

"So, in order to recruit those 5,000 men, won't you be branded as a traitor?"

Guan Yu mentioned this old incident, and there was a hint of self-blame in his words.

Zhao Yun, Wei Yan and other generals all looked at Xiao He with serious expressions.

The Han people swear solemnly!

What’s more, it’s such a solemn oath that he swore by swearing by Jiang!

How could everyone not be worried when their own military advisor was at risk of breaking his oath and being despised by the world?

"General Yunchang, Zilong, don't worry."

"I didn't just write that oath I made by the river to deceive Su Fei and the five thousand surrendered soldiers."

"Since I dare to write this, I am naturally confident that I can bring all their families here and reunite them."

"The same goes for Ding Feng and the families of the other surrendered soldiers."

Xiao He took a sip of tea slowly, a meaningful smile appearing on the corner of his mouth.

Everyone's spirits lifted, and they all looked surprised.

Guan Yu opened his eyes and asked anxiously:

"Military Advisor Bo Wen, how did you manage to bring the families of Su Fei and other surrendered generals and soldiers from Sun Quan's hands and bring them to Jingzhou?"

(End of this chapter)