I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 139 Stealing My Horse?
Lu Su met Liu Biao.

At first glance, they didn't even think he was a feudal lord.

Liu Biao did not possess the same qualities as the other warlords.

Compared to them, Liu Biao was not tainted by the ravages of war; instead, he possessed more of the spirit of a great scholar of classical studies.

Liu Biao alone seems to embody the image of Luoyang during its golden age.

Luoyang, the city where the "Xiping Stone Classics" were engraved, the city where the "Hongdu Gate Academy" was established, the city where learned scholars gathered and no commoners came and went.

Unfortunately, this was only the wealth and prosperity of Luoyang at that time, not the glorious Han Dynasty of the past.

The beauty of Luoyang far surpasses the grandeur of the Han Dynasty!
After Lu Su exchanged gifts and documents with Liu Biao on behalf of Liu Miao, they were about to head south along the Han River.

Because Zhang Xiu gifted hundreds of Xiliang warhorses, Lu Su had to spend a lot of money to hire many boatmen to transport the warhorses to Jiangdong.

The fleet of ships stretched out in a mighty torrent, resembling a black dragon swimming across the river. The occasional neighing of warhorses from the ships was a novelty for the local people, who couldn't help but look up frequently.

Lu Su couldn't help but feel happy at the thought of finally being able to return to Jiangdong to report for duty. He stood at the bow of the boat, humming a folk song from his hometown, enjoying himself immensely.

Xu Huang remained steadfast in his loyalty, constantly observing the surroundings from the ship to guard against bandits.

Seeing this, Lu Su also advised Xu Huang: "Gongming, there is no need to be nervous. The South is not as chaotic as the North."

"Jingzhou has always been peaceful, and I've never heard of any audacious bandits. Once we pass through Jingzhou and enter Yuzhang, with Hua Ziyu guarding the area, both places are relatively safe and there shouldn't be any trouble."

Although Lu Su was settled, Xu Huang continued to do as he pleased, diligently patrolling day and night.

The Han River flows into the Yangtze River at Xiakou, and the view suddenly becomes wider. There are more fishermen and boatmen on both banks, and there is no longer any need to worry about bandits robbing or plundering.

Even seasoned sailors didn't expect to encounter any problems at this point, and once the boat entered the ferry dock, they all went into the cabin to rest early. Only Xu Huang, who had been living in the north for many years amidst war, remained in his armor, sitting outside the boat, observing the surroundings.

"Ok?"

Xu Huang was born in Hedong. He was not only tall, but also had excellent eyesight, often able to spot enemies from miles away in the mountains and fields.

At this moment, Xu Huang could see faint lights on the river to the south, heading in his direction.

"Strange, the south should be Changsha Commandery. I heard that Liu Pan, Liu Jingzhou's nephew, is in charge of Changsha Commandery, so there shouldn't be any bandits there. Why would someone come here at this time?"

Xu Huang found it strange and immediately went into the cabin to wake Lu Su.

"People are coming from the south?"

Lu Su immediately dressed and went outside, and sure enough, he saw flames flickering on the river to the south.

"Registrar, is it Liu Pan who has come to escort us on the orders of Liu Jingzhou?"

Lu Su immediately shook his head: "I've never heard of such a thing! Besides, if it were an escort, they would have come during the day, so why would they come at night?"

Lu Su did not hesitate and immediately ordered the boatman to start the boat and set sail at night.

They frantically untied the mooring ropes, and the ships from the south were already approaching Lu Su's side.

Lu Su could only shout at the invaders: "I am Lu Zijing, the chief clerk under Liu Yangzhou! May I ask who you are?"

Lu Su was met with only silence.

Lu Su's heart skipped a beat; he clearly knew the visitor was up to no good.

Considering that Xu Huang and his soldiers were all northerners and not skilled in naval warfare, Lu Su dared not delay and quickly ordered his soldiers to set sail.

Seeing that Lu Su was about to leave, the attackers suddenly increased their speed, which greatly alarmed Lu Su: "They really are coming for us!!"

Fortunately, the boats finally left the ferry, and Lu Su was able to see the attackers' boats clearly by the firelight.

A warship used for combat!
Such warships have always been built only by government troops! Even wealthy civilians would only build larger ships with more cargo capacity, not ships designed to ram the enemy.

"They really are government troops! What are they going to do? Could it be that Liu Biao wants to kill us?"

However, Lu Su quickly dismissed this idea.

If Liu Biao really wanted to kill them, he could have easily ordered Zhang Xiu to kill them in Nanyang. Why did he have to wait until they were about to leave Jingzhou to attack them?
Moreover, Lu Su discovered that the warship was not charging towards him, nor had it fired a single arrow. Instead, it kept trying to penetrate the fleet, as if it wanted to intercept some ships...

"Law! Law! Law!!"

Just then, one of the warhorses, whose sweet dreams had been disturbed, neighed in the cabin, making Lu Su immediately realize something. He hurriedly ordered, "Abandon one of the ships carrying the warhorses!"

As expected, the warship stopped chasing Lu Su and headed towards the warhorse.

"It's for warhorses?"

Lu Su was both annoyed and amused, and quickly ordered several more ships loaded with warhorses to be unloaded to slow them down.

"It must be Liu Biao's nephew, Liu Pan, who coveted the warhorses Zhang Xiu gave him and came by boat to plunder them!"

Lu Su was speechless, wondering how a great Confucian scholar like Liu Biao could raise such a scoundrel-like nephew.

Xu Huang shook his head and said, "Jingzhou has always been short of horses. Zhang Xiu gifted us so many warhorses, which has attracted a lot of attention along the way. It is only natural that we are coveted."

Zhang Xiu...

For some reason, Lu Su suddenly thought of the advisor surnamed Jia that Xu Huang had mentioned. "Did that man foresee this happening?"

But there was no time for Lu to speculate, because after taking over those ships, the warships behind him were chasing after Lu Su again, and getting closer and closer!

How could the speed of warships compare to that of ordinary merchant ships? Helpless, Lu Su could only send out another ship loaded with warhorses to buy time.

They kept pulling and tugging until they entered Yuzhang territory. Even then, the warship was still chasing after Lu Su, like a gluttonous beast that could never be satisfied.

Originally there were hundreds of warhorses, but now there are less than a hundred left, and only less than ten ships are still following the procession.

Just as Lu Su was about to order a few more small boats to be launched, seeing that the warships behind them were about to catch up, the soldiers on board cried out in alarm: "Chief Clerk! Captain! Boats! Boats!"

Lu Su looked to the east and indeed saw several warships appearing on the river!

Moreover, the banners of those warships were extremely familiar to Lu Su—

[The Grand Historian]!
"Is it Ziyi? Is it Ziyi?"

Lu Su called out repeatedly, and a response came from the opposite ship—

"Zijing! I am Taishi Ziyi! I have come to welcome you on the orders of our lord!"

Lu Su was overjoyed and quickly pointed to the warships behind him: "Someone is chasing me, trying to steal my warhorse!"

Upon hearing this, Taishi Ci on the ship flew into a rage: "How dare you do such a thing? Do you think there's no one left in Jiangdong?"

Taishi Ci ordered his ships to pursue the Mengchong. Although the Mengchong had already seen Taishi Ci's ships, it hesitated because it was reluctant to leave the warhorses on its boats, unsure whether to advance or retreat.

Upon seeing this, Taishi Ci immediately ordered his ships to surround the enemy and allowed his soldiers to board the ships.

The soldiers on the warship then realized that their retreat was cut off and they had no choice but to surrender to Taishi Ci.

After boarding the ship, Taishi Ci immediately recognized the armor worn by these men as belonging to the Jingzhou troops, and sternly questioned them: "Did Liu Biao send you here?"

"no no."

The leading officer knelt on the ground, so frightened he was almost crying!
"We are soldiers under General Liu Pan."

Why did Liu Pan order you to attack Zijing? Was he trying to kill him?

"No! No!"

This young man from Changsha was quite honest and quickly explained the whole story clearly.

“My general wanted to ask Zhang Xiu for some warhorses, but Zhang Xiu declined on the grounds that he did not have enough warhorses… Unexpectedly, he heard that Zhang Xiu had given Lu Su hundreds of Xiliang warhorses. He was indignant and that’s why he sent us to seize these warhorses.”

In an attempt to save his own life, the other party tried to justify himself: "General Liu specifically instructed us not to harm Registrar Lu, after all, we only wanted money, not life! Please understand, General!"

"..."

Taishi Ci told Lu Su what had happened and asked him how he should handle the situation.

"Although Liu Pan was rude first, he is, after all, Liu Biao's nephew, so he cannot be dealt with arbitrarily."

If things go wrong, it's not impossible for Jing and Yang to go to war!

Taishi Ci dared not make a decision lightly regarding matters involving two forces.

Lu Su was clearly aware of how difficult the matter was.

"Let's take these ships and soldiers back to Jiangdong first."

After much deliberation, Lu Su decided to keep quiet for the time being and let Liu Miao handle the matter after returning to Jiangdong.

"Our lord now faces a powerful enemy in the north, and his target is the Central Plains, which is still in chaos. We cannot let such a trivial matter ruin our lord's grand plan."

This mission changed many of Lu Su's ideas and led to many adjustments to the strategies he had previously devised for Liu Miao.

The biggest adjustment was the attitude of the entire Central Plains region.

The North is far more prosperous than the South!
If we were to proceed slowly in the south, and a powerful warlord were to emerge in the north and unify the country ahead of schedule, then our great cause would likely only become more and more distant.

For the sake of our great cause, we should not provoke Liu Biao.

At the same time, for the sake of the greater cause, Lu Su did not mind swallowing his pride this time.

Lu Su also specifically reminded Taishi Ci: "Ziyi, don't say anything after you go back. Anyway, no warhorses have been lost yet. When the time is right, I will explain this matter to the lord."

As long as Taishi Ci didn't say anything, Liu Miao probably wouldn't have known about this.

As for Xu Huang... Lu Su was relieved, after all, Xu Huang was just an unknown figure to Liu Miao, and Liu Miao probably wouldn't speak too deeply with Xu Huang.

The group then traveled downstream along the Yangtze River, and after passing Yangqian Mountain, they could see the Huai River flowing out of Nanjing.

Upon arriving at the dock, Lu Su immediately spotted that familiar figure.

Liu Miao stood with his hands behind his back and personally greeted Lu Su at the ferry crossing.

"This trip has truly been arduous, Zijing!"

(End of this chapter)