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

Chapter 33 There is a master behind Envoy Liu!
Facing Liu Bei's sudden letter, Lu Bu looked at Chen Gong and Chen Gui and said:

"Since our army defeated Liu Bei last year, this man has been living in Xiaopei and has not made any moves!"

"Why are you suddenly sending a messenger here?"

Chen Gong said without hesitation:

"Liu Bei certainly doesn't want to be a subordinate. He first befriended Cao Cao and then returned to Xiaopei. Now he suddenly sent me a letter. He must have some ulterior motive!"

"You can kill the messenger to make him give up the idea!"

When Lu Bu saw this, he knew that Chen Gong was jealous of Liu Bei, so he said this.

But although he is not moral, he is not a cruel and bloodthirsty person. Now Liu Bei is not leading troops, but just a messenger. What is he afraid of?
He immediately looked at Chen Gui and asked:

"What do you think, sir?"

Chen Gui stroked his beard and smiled:

"As the old saying goes: When two armies are at war, they don't kill the messengers!"

"Liu Bei is known for his integrity and trustworthiness. He has not yet engaged you in battle. It would be inappropriate for you to kill his messenger!"

"Besides, whether Liu Bei has any plans or not, we will know after reading the letter."

"Now that the messenger has arrived, why not see him?"

"What you said is exactly what I want!"

Lu Bu looked at Chen Gong with disdain:
"What can Liu Bei do? How can he plot against me with just a letter?"

After making such a mocking remark, he ordered the messenger to come in and see him.

After the messenger entered, Lu Bu said:
"I wonder what Xuande has written to me about?"

The messenger was just a minor official, and upon hearing this he hurriedly said:

"Because Yuan Shu was plotting to usurp the throne, my Lord has come to invite you to fight against this traitor together!"

"Here is the handwritten letter from the lord. I hope the general will open it in person!"

When he heard that he wanted to discuss Yuan Shu with him, Lu Bu looked at Chen Gong and smiled proudly.

Didn’t you say it was a plan? Does this count as a plan?
He took the letter and read it quickly.

Chen Gong was already unhappy because of Lü Bu's repeated ridicule, but he had no choice but to wait aside because state affairs were more important. After Lü Bu finished reading the letter, he asked:
"My Lord, I wonder what Liu Xuande said in his letter?"

"What else can I say? Liu Bei wants to take Pei State and invites me to join him!"

Lu Bu said this and handed the letter forward.

Chen Gong hurriedly took the letter and read it for a long time, frowning.

Seeing this, Chen Gui smiled at Lu Bu without even looking at the letter:
"General, it is clear that Yuan Shu is unpopular and everyone in the world wants to punish him. This letter is proof of that!"

Lu Bu nodded repeatedly and said:
"That's right, thanks to your good advice, otherwise it would have been a disaster!"

While the two were talking, Chen Gong finished reading the letter and said:
"My lord, Liu Xuande must have a plan, so don't respond lightly!"

Seeing that the conversation was interrupted, Lu Bu was dissatisfied and said:
"Gongtai always says that Liu Bei has a plan, so why don't you tell me, what is Liu Bei's plan?"

Seeing this, Chen Gong pondered and said:

"Liu Bei has only 10,000 soldiers and horses. He sent this letter to us to seize Pei State with the help of our army!"

Before he finished speaking, Lu Bu sneered:

"Does Gongtai really think that Bu is a fool?"

"If he planned this, how could I not know it?"

"Let me ask you, if I don't agree to join him in the march, what can he do?"

"This"

Faced with Lu Bu's questioning, Chen Gong was speechless.

How could he know what Liu Bei could do!

But his intuition told him that Liu Bei had bad intentions.

As for what Liu Bei’s army was planning, he really couldn’t figure it out!
Seeing that Chen Gong was stumped by his question, Lu Bu looked at Chen Gui and said:

"I wonder what your opinion is on this matter, sir?"

"Does Liu Bei really have a plan?"

Chen Gui smiled upon hearing this and said:

"I don't know the contents of the book yet, so I can't speak of it. Please take a look!"

When Lu Bu heard this, he pulled the letter out of Chen Gong's hand and handed it directly to Chen Gui, saying:

"Sir, please watch!"

Chen Gui took the handwritten letter and read it for a while, then raised his head and said:
"Please forgive me for my old age. I can't see what the plan is in the book!"

"Maybe it's just as Gongtai said, who knows!"

"But in my opinion, Liu Bei sending an envoy here is also a good thing!"

"Yuan Shu is now powerful, and our army cannot stand alone. Pei County is the gateway to Xuzhou. If we can make friends with Liu Bei, it will not be bad for our army!"

Hearing this, Lu Bu frowned and said:

"Oh? If you follow what I said, do you want me to agree to Liu Bei's request?"

When Chen Gui saw this, he knew that Lü Bu was suspicious again, and said with a smile:

"No, I don't mean that!"

"I just thought that the general had no help anywhere, so I decided to make friends with Liu Bei."

"As for whether to accept this letter, I have no right to say. It is up to you, General!"

"I came here today to dissuade the general from getting involved with the traitors. Now that the general has already recovered Yuan's envoy, Gui should leave now!"

His words were very pleasing, showing that he was thinking about Lu Bu and that he would not interfere with Lu Bu's decision. Lu Bu felt relieved and said with a smile:
"It still depends on the sir to be steady. With the sir here, Bu has nothing to worry about!"

"Oh, by the way, I just heard you say that our army is going to send an envoy to the imperial court. I happen to have something to offer to Lord Cao, and I want to ask for the post of governor of Xuzhou. I want to send Yuanlong as an envoy. What do you think?"

Chen Gui nodded and said:
"The general has given an order, how dare my son disobey it!"

Seeing this, Lu Bu smiled and said:

"You must respect your father and son and share my worries, then there will be no worries!"

"That's all I have to say. You may go now!"

Chen Gui then said goodbye to Lu Bu and left the mansion.

As for what was going to happen next in the mansion, he was too lazy to know and just walked towards home.

As soon as we arrived at the inner courtyard, we saw a middle-aged man walking out quickly:

"Father, I wonder if Lu Bu has rejected Yuan Shu's envoy?"

This middle-aged man was Chen Deng, the eldest son of Chen Gui. He was ambitious at a young age, well-read, and generous and cheerful. He was only 34 years old at this time, which was the prime of his life.

Seeing Chen Deng asking questions, Chen Gui stroked his beard and smiled:
"It's settled. Lu Bu has agreed to get his daughter back and officially break up with Yuan Shu!"

Chen Deng heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this:
"That's good. As long as Lu Bu and Yuan Shu turn their backs on each other, Xuzhou and Huainan will lose their connection. These two thieves can be eliminated!"

As soon as these words came out, Chen Gui shook his head and said:

"Be careful what you say! My father and I have planned something that cannot be known to outsiders!"

Chen Deng smiled slightly, stepped forward to support Chen Gui and said:

"Don't worry, father. I have already left everyone alone. Now that there is no one around, you can speak freely!"

Seeing that Chen Deng was steady and prudent, Chen Gui nodded with satisfaction and said:

"So I know my son is cautious, and I am very happy as a father!"

As he said this, he allowed Chen Deng to support him as he walked into the inner hall, saying as he walked:

"Speaking of which, just now when I went to advise Lu Bu, I encountered something. I have been thinking about it and I can't figure it out. Deng'er, you come and take a look at it!"

When Chen Deng heard that even Chen Gui couldn't figure it out, he immediately became interested and said:
"I don't know what happened to my father!"

"It's not a big deal. Liu Xuande just sent a letter to Lu Bu out of the blue!"

Chen Gui told Chen Deng everything that had just happened in the county government.

I have to say that Lao Liu’s reputation in Xuzhou is quite high!
Especially in the eyes of Xuzhou scholars, many people believed that Liu Bei was a rare wise leader.

This is the case with Chen Deng and Chen Gui!
Originally, Chen Deng was planning to assist Liu Bei in gaining a foothold in Xuzhou, and he and Mi Zhu even strongly advocated welcoming Liu Bei into Xuzhou.

It’s a pity that Zhang Fei was not strong enough and was defeated by Lu Bu.

Chen Deng was also different from Mi Zhu. As a member of a prominent aristocratic family, it was impossible for him to abandon his family business for Liu Bei. He could only watch Liu Bei's ups and downs in Xiaopei.

But after all, the old friendship still existed. When he heard that it was about Liu Bei, he immediately became concerned. He frowned and remained silent until he heard Chen Gui finish speaking.

Seeing Chen Deng like this, Chen Gui stroked his beard and said:

"From the surface, this seems to be something Liu Bei did."

"But I always feel that something is wrong. I wonder if my son can figure it out?"

In his sight, he saw Chen Deng pacing back and forth for a while, and then he said in deep thought:

"This is truly extraordinary!"

"First, Lord Xuande is now at odds with Lü Bu and close to Lord Cao. If he wants to attack Yuan Shu, he should invite Lord Cao to join the fight instead of going far away and sending a letter to Xuzhou!"

"Secondly, this letter is just empty words. It does not offer any benefits. Even Lü Bu knew that he should not leave lightly. How could he not know about Lord Xuande's letter? If he knew it was useless, why bother writing to him?"

"Third, Lord Xuande lives in Pei County, so he must know that Yuan Shu wants to form an alliance with Lu Bu!"

"But from what my father said in the letter just now, it seems that this matter was not mentioned, but it directly invited Lu Bu to attack together!"

"Doesn't this mean that when Lord Xuande sent the letter, he was already certain that Lü Bu and Yuan Shu would become enemies?"

Having said this, he stopped and said to Chen Gui:

"Father, you might as well think about it. Yuan Shu and Lu Bu had already arranged for their children to be married last year, and they came here to complete the marriage and form an alliance."

"There is no rift between the two families at present. How can Lord Xuande conclude that the two families will become enemies?"

Chen Gui listened and realized something was wrong. He narrowed his eyes and said:

"Or maybe because he heard Yuan Shu declare himself emperor, Liu Xuande thought that Lu Bu would follow the greater good, and thus determined that the two families would become enemies?"

"No! Father, Lu Bu is not a man who understands justice!"

Chen Deng said with a firm look:

"It's fine if others don't know Lü Bu, but how could Lord Xuande not know Lü Bu?"

"Even if we know who Lü Bu is, how can we be sure that he will become enemies with Yuan Shu?"

If it were the Liu Bei of the past, he might really do such a naive thing.

But now that Liu Bei has been betrayed by Lu Bu time and time again, how could he still not see Lu Bu's true nature!

And this is indeed the case. If they hadn't persuaded him, Lu Bu would most likely have formed an alliance with Yuan Shu this time!

They have just begun to persuade them, so how did Liu Bei know about this in advance?

Chen Gui was also a man of wisdom and strategy. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smack his lips and said:
"Then why is this? Why did Liu Xuande send this letter?"

For a moment, he suddenly felt that he could not understand Liu Bei.

Since when did Liu Bei become so unfathomable!

Before he finished speaking, Chen Deng said seriously:
"Father, if my inference is correct, there must be someone behind Envoy Liu who is helping him!"

(End of this chapter)