Three Kingdoms: I switched to Liu Bei, why are you crying, Cao Cao?

Chapter 32: Xuzhou's ruler and ministers, Lü Bu's surprise
Xuzhou, Xiapi.

Let’s not talk about Liu Bei preparing for war in Xiaopei, let’s talk about Xuzhou.

Since Lu Bu captured Xuzhou, there have been many twists and turns, not to mention the triangular entanglement between him, Liu Bei and Yuan Shu.

Even Lu Bu's own subordinates were in a mess.

Because when Lu Bu fled Chang'an, he was only followed by a few hundred cavalrymen, and had no troops of his own.

Later he went to Hanoi, received funding from Zhang Yang, re-recruited Ding Yuan's troops, and was supported by former Bingzhou generals such as Hao Meng, so the personnel under his command were mixed.

Afterwards, he finally took Xuzhou as his base and should have taken advantage of the situation to recruit soldiers and fight for hegemony over the world.

However, Lu Bu was quite lustful. He ignored his beautiful wife and relatives at home and instead liked to have affairs with the wives of his generals.

The generals were afraid of his bravery and strength, and although they had complaints, they did not dare to say much.

As a result, last year, due to Yuan Shu's instigation, a group of generals led by Hao Meng launched a rebellion and sent troops to attack Xia Pi.

Lü Bu had no idea who was behind the rebellion, so he fled to Gao Shun's camp and only then did he stop the rebellion.

But after this incident, Lu Bu also became suspicious.

First, he deprived Gao Shun of his military power and handed over the Xianzhen Camp to his cousin Wei Xu.

Because Chen Gong was suspected of secretly colluding with Yuan Shu and participating in the rebellion, he became more and more distant from him.

As for Zhang Liao and other people who depended on him, he naturally did not believe them at all.

As a result, the current situation in Xuzhou is quite chaotic, and it is entirely due to Lu Bu's bravery that it is suppressed.

However, Lu Bu has been living a very happy life recently.

At first, Cao's army failed to complete the attack on Wancheng. In order to stabilize Lu Bu, he presented a memorial to the emperor and appointed Lu Bu as the General Pingdong, and sent an envoy from the court to reward him.

After Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor, he again sent an envoy to ask for Lu Bu's daughter in marriage for his son.

The successive flattery of the two great princes made Lu Bu feel proud and complacent.

At this moment, in the Xia Pi State Government.

I saw that Lu Bu was tall and burly, more than ten feet tall, with a high nose bridge, deep eyes, tiger whiskers under his chin, and he was wearing a robe and sitting in the main seat.

The one who did it was a middle-aged man with a serious expression.

He was wearing a green robe and a tall hat on his head. He was not tall, but looked quite majestic.

This person was Chen Gong, a counselor under Lu Bu.

He looked at Lu Bu and said seriously:

"Marquis Wen, now that Yuan Shu is committing treason, how can our army be in collusion with him?"

"I hope my lord will quickly send someone to retrieve the young lady, and not allow her to marry Yuan Shu!"

"Otherwise, our army will be abandoned by the world!"

But when Lu Bu heard this, he said impatiently:
"Yuan Gonglu and I have already agreed to marry our children. Now he has sent an envoy to complete the marriage. How can I refuse?"

"If I refuse this, people all over the world will regard me, Lu Bu, as a man who does not keep his word!"

"I have made up my mind, Gongtai, please do not say anything more!"

Listening to Lu Bu's words, Chen Gong felt secretly annoyed, thinking to himself, do you, Lu Bu, still have any integrity now?

It’s gone, it’s gone long ago!
But this guy still feels good about himself.

If he hadn't chosen this path himself, he really wouldn't want to get entangled with Lu Bu.

"General, what are you talking about? Yuan Shu is a usurper. If you betray Yuan Shu, you are acting in the interests of justice. If the world knows about this, they will only praise your virtues and will not criticize you!"

"On the contrary, if we marry Yuan Shu now, we will lose the reputation of being righteous. I hope the general will understand!"

However, it would have been better if he hadn't said this. As soon as he said this, Lu Bu said sarcastically:
"I'm afraid it's not the public platform's turn to say this!"

"Didn't Gongtai strongly urge us to make friends with Yuan Shu and facilitate this marriage? Why are you interfering with me today?"

"Could it be that he has betrayed Yuan Shu now?"

When Chen Gong heard this, his face turned red, knowing that this was Lu Bu mocking him for being involved in rebellion.

But is there any need to ask whether I participated in the rebellion?
If I really take part in the rebellion, what about your life, Lu Bu?

However, he had no quick wit or eloquence, and didn't know how to tell the difference. While he was thinking about his argument, he saw a soldier coming to report:
"Prime Minister Chen requests a meeting!"

Chen Guoxiang, whose real name was Chen Gui, was the father of Chen Deng. Because he served as the prime minister of Pei, he was also called Pei Xiang.

At a time when Chen Gong was becoming less and less valued, Chen Deng and his son were highly valued by Lu Bu. Seeing Chen Gui coming, Lu Bu smiled and said:

"Prime Minister Pei is coming soon, please come and see him!"

When Chen Gong saw Lu Bu's expression change so much, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

In his opinion, Chen Gui and his son are not on good terms with Lu Bu, and now that they have gained Lu Bu's trust, disaster will happen sooner or later!

But now Lu Bu didn't believe anything he said and could only watch from the side.

In their sight, after a while, they saw an old man walking in with a cane. Lu Bu stood up quickly and said:
"Where did the Prime Minister of Pei come from?"

Although Lu Bu had poor personal morals, he was actually quite good to scholars.

Seeing that Chen Gui was old, he stood up and supported him.

Chen Guifang was in his sixties, not yet at the age of old age with blurred vision. Seeing this, he smiled and said:

"General, why be so polite!"

"I have already retired, so please don't call me the Prime Minister of Pei anymore!"

While he was talking, he saw Chen Gong standing aside and said with a smile:
"I didn't expect Gongtai to be here too, and I haven't greeted him yet!"

After saying this, he bowed to Chen Gong again.

Upon seeing this, Chen Gong glanced at Chen Gui and raised his hand slightly as a response.

Chen Gui smiled but said nothing, then turned to Lu Bu and said:

"I came here today for no important matter. I heard that Yuan Shu sent an envoy to take the general's daughter to Shouchun for marriage. Is this true?"

When Lu Bu heard this, he grinned and said:
"It is true. I just sent my daughter away this morning. I didn't expect you to know about it now!"

As he spoke, he remembered what Chen Gong had just said, and couldn't help asking:
"Just now, the Minister was discussing this matter with me, and was about to find the Prime Minister to come and discuss it with me. I wonder what you think of this matter?"

After hearing this, Chen Gui glanced at Chen Gong without showing any emotion, and then said to Lu Bu:
"There's nothing wrong with this!"

"However, Lord Cao is now serving the emperor, assisting the country and governing the country, and his prestige is unparalleled. He is about to conquer the four seas, and he has also recommended you as the General of Pacificating the East."

"General, you should consult with Duke Cao to ensure the safety of Mount Tai!"

"Now that you have married Yuan Shu, the general has been accused of being unjust. What should you do if the court blames you?"

This is the difference between Chen Gui and Chen Gong. Whenever Chen Gong advised Lu Bu, it must be based on the development of his own army's power.

But Chen Gui directly talked about the political influence from the perspective of the imperial court.

If it was any other prince, it would be fine, but Lu Bu just fell for it. When he heard the court blaming him, he immediately hesitated and said:
"But Yuan Shu's envoy has already taken my daughter away. What can I do?"

Chen Gui heard this, shook his head and laughed:
"He just set out this morning, so he must not have gone far. We can send troops to chase him back and send the envoy to the court. Cao Gong will definitely not blame us!"

Lu Bu hesitated for a moment and paced back and forth.

Chen Gui added:
"General, you must know that Yuan Shu is a fickle man. Now that he has your daughter, he will use her as a hostage in the future!"

"If he wants to borrow food and soldiers, if the general agrees, he will be exhausted, but if he refuses, he will abandon his relatives and cause disputes."

Hearing this, Lu Bu suddenly stopped in his tracks. Thinking of how Yuan Shu had made things difficult for him many times, he immediately said indignantly:
"Ah, Yuan Shu deceived me. If you hadn't come here, I would have been almost defeated by him today!"

Having said this, he hurriedly stepped out and shouted:

"Come here, tell Wei Xu to lead his troops to chase after Yuan Shu's envoy and bring our daughter back!"

As soon as the voice fell, a soldier ran out to deliver the message.

Seeing this, Chen Gong felt even more sad. It was clearly the same suggestion, so why did Lu Bu give the credit to Chen Gui?

As he was thinking, he saw a man walking quickly into the road:

"My lord, a messenger from Liu Bei's army has arrived!"

Hearing this, Chen Gong suddenly raised his head, and Lu Bu was also surprised and said:

"A messenger from Liu Bei?"

After he came to Xuzhou, he repeatedly harmed Liu Bei, which led to the friendly relationship between Liu Bei and Cao Cao.

Logically speaking, he and Liu Bei should have never seen each other again!

What kind of letters could Liu Bei receive now?
Even Chen Gui showed some surprise on his old face when he heard it.

The appearance of this letter from Liu Bei was indeed a bit sudden!

Why did Liu Bei write to me at this time!
(End of this chapter)