Chapter 46: Lu Su Matches Wits with the Scholars of Jiangdong

Xiangyang.

Immediately after entering the city, Cao Cao bestowed titles and rewards upon the people of Jingzhou.

Aside from appointing Liu Cong as the Inspector of Qingzhou, Kuai Yue as the Minister of the Imperial Household, Han Song as the Grand Herald, Deng Xi as the Palace Attendant, and Wen Pin as the Administrator of Jiangxia, fifteen others were ennobled as marquesses!

Some of these individuals departed for Xuchang right away, while others remained in Jingzhou.

At the same time, Cao Cao's officials began to intervene in the administration of Jingzhou.

Holding the two most prosperous and fertile commanderies in all of Jingzhou—Nanyang and Nan—greatly reduced Cao Cao's vigilance toward Liu Bei. On several occasions, he complained privately that Liu Bei was indeed sinking further and further into incompetence.

To think that Liu Bei would bypass Xiangyang and Jiangling altogether and flee to Jiangxia instead.

True, Liu Qi of Jiangxia supported him.

Yet the problem was, could Jiangxia ever compare to Nan commandery and Nanyang commandery?

Even if Jiangxia could be considered a standard commandery, that was not all; the several counties in northern Jiangxia had long since been seized by him, and the eastern counties had also been snatched away by Sun Quan.

Under such circumstances, what could Jiangxia possibly accomplish?

However, he was also well aware that Liu Bei was building up his strength, constantly enticing people from Nan and Nanyang commanderies to defect to him. Having taken control of Xiangyang, Cao Cao immediately dispatched men to various regions to forbid anyone from going over to Liu Bei.

Concurrently, he first penned a letter to Liu Zhang of Yizhou.

Now that your kinsman Liu Cong has surrendered, and your kinsman Liu Bei is holding onto a few counties in Jiangxia while preparing to oppose me, what about you? What is your stance?

He then wrote another letter to Shi Xie of Jiaozhou.

Jingzhou has already surrendered. What is your stance, Shi Xie? Will you continue to play deaf and dumb in Jiaozhou? Cut off Liu Bei's retreat immediately!

As for Sun Quan, Cao Cao was not in a hurry, because both Liu Zhang and Shi Xie had repeatedly sent envoys to offer tribute in Xuchang in the past, meaning they naturally leaned toward him.

Sun Quan, on the other hand, had continuously expanded his strength and harbored great ambitions. Dealing with Sun Quan required careful consideration of the wording in the letter.

Having settled all of this, Cao Cao received more good news a short time later.

Liu Ba, who had repeatedly been summoned by Liu Biao but stubbornly refused to take office, hurried over from Lingling.

"I pay my respects to the Prime Minister!" Liu Ba came of his own accord, dropping eagerly to his knees.

Liu Ba was also a renowned figure, and one who had always looked down upon Liu Biao. Now that he had come of his own volition to submit, Cao Cao was extremely pleased. Weren't people always saying that all the men of Jingzhou went over to Liu Bei?

Look, a famous figure of such high standing had come to pledge allegiance to him.

"Zichu, please rise!" Cao Cao smiled.

Liu Ba stood up.

Cao Cao smiled and asked, "Everyone else goes to join Liu Bei, why have you come instead?"

"Liu Bei is a rebel, a traitor to the court who deludes the minds of the people—he is a villain of the worst sort!" Liu Ba declared with resonant force, speaking with utmost sincerity. "How could I ever bring myself to join him!"

Cao Cao burst into laughter, stroking his beard happily. Splendid, those words sounded truly delightful.

"Since Zichu has come, you must have valuable counsel to offer! Please devise a strategy for me!" Cao Cao asked with a smile.

Liu Ba stated immediately, "Presently, both Nanyang and Nan commanderies have submitted to the Prime Minister, but the rebel Liu Bei is entrenched in Jiangxia. Earlier, he sent men to Jiaozhou. If anyone from Jiaozhou moves northward, they will inevitably disrupt the peace of southern Jingzhou!"

"I beg the Prime Minister to permit me to travel south and persuade the commanderies and counties of southern Jingzhou to submit. This will not only block Liu Bei's reinforcements but also squeeze the territory of the rebel Liu in Jiangxia!"

Cao Cao had long wanted to send men into southern Jingzhou, and since Liu Ba volunteered, he naturally agreed without hesitation. "Very well! If Zichu can help me persuade the four commanderies of southern Jingzhou to surrender, I shall certainly treat you generously!"

"I serve the Prime Minister without counting personal gains or losses!" Reaffirming his loyalty, Liu Ba dropped to his knees once more.

Cao Cao hurriedly reached out to raise Liu Ba to his feet personally, smiling as he said, "If everyone in the world were like Liu Zichu, the realm would have been pacified long ago!"

Liu Ba set off for the south.

Cao Cao continued to reorganize Nan and Nanyang commanderies, and even found the time to visit Cai Mao's household. There, he saw Cai Mao's wife and children, reminisced with Cai Mao about their youth, and spoke of Liang Mengxing—reminiscing over their lost youth.

...

Just as Liu Ba embarked on his journey southward, Liu Bei finally granted an audience to Lu Su.

Lu Su's journey had not been easy; he had been denied the opportunity to see Liu Bei for the longest time.

In truth, Liu Bei had not intended to meet with Lu Su so early. However, Cao Cao's policies had tightened; the commoners and scholars of Nanyang and Nan commanderies no longer dared to approach the watersides. To go there was to be branded a rebel, punishable by public decapitation.

Suddenly, the atmosphere of war turned tense and heavy. No one dared to frequent the riverbanks anymore, and no civilian boats plied the waterways—only warships.

Unable to recruit troops, Liu Bei had no choice but to remain in Xiakou, hold a meeting with Zhuge Liang and the others to set the baseline policy, and only then grant Lu Su an audience.

"Greetings to the General of the Left!" Lu Su saluted.

Liu Bei nodded and said, "Zijing, please take a seat."

Lu Su sat down on a chair. Though it looked rather odd in design, it proved quite comfortable, and he turned his gaze toward those seated opposite him.

Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, Xu Shu, as well as Yin Guan, Zhao Shaojie, and others were all looking at him.

"I wonder what important business brings Zijing here?" Liu Bei asked, though he knew the answer perfectly well.

Lu Su spoke earnestly, "Now that the rebel Cao has marched south, all loyal subjects of Han throughout the realm are filled with indignation. My general has specially sent me here: Yangzhou is willing to ally with the General to jointly resist the rebel Cao!"

"If you wish to form an alliance, you must first return the few counties of Jiangxia to us!" Yin Guan interjected.

Lu Su was momentarily stunned. How were they just like Liu Qi, fixated solely on a few counties? Could they not see the precariousness of their own situation?

"This matter is beyond my authority to decide!" Lu Su deflected, quickly shifting the topic. "At present, the rebel Cao's power is immense, and opposing him must be our absolute top priority. I trust you gentlemen understand the principle of the lips and the teeth being interdependent."

Everyone opposite him was a clever man, and Lu Su knew they fully understood.

"The lips and the teeth being interdependent sounds pleasant enough, but aren't you just coveting the territory of Jingzhou?" Zhao Shaojie said with indignation.

Lu Su's gaze lingered for a split second on Zhao Shaojie's short hair, after which he calmly replied, "To unite in resisting Cao, our army will contribute its strength, so it is only natural that we divide the territory of Jingzhou between us!"

Hearing this, Zhao Shaojie abruptly stood up and laughed heartily. "In that case, if Cao Cao attacks Yangzhou in the future, and we send troops to help, Sun Quan will also have to cede territory in Yangzhou to us, right or wrong?"

Lu Su frowned slightly. The people of Jingzhou harbored deep suspicions toward them, indeed. Still, he pressed on doggedly, "If the day should come when the rebel Cao invades Yangzhou and we are unable to withstand him, requiring reinforcements from Jingzhou, we will naturally reward Jingzhou accordingly."

Zhao Shaojie sneered, just about to retort that Sun Quan would never agree to such a thing, when a sudden thought struck him: in the current situation, had this turned into Lu Su debating a host of scholars?!

No, absolutely not.

Becoming a historical footnote by serving merely as background scenery was something he would never do.

"Sun Quan is not nearly that reasonable!" Zhao Shaojie sneered, cutting straight to the point. "Enough, I'm done arguing with you. An alliance is fine—our two houses can watch over and support each other, and never draw swords against one another from this day forward. Here is the deal: right now, Cao Cao attacks us, and you attack Hefei; in the future, if Cao Cao attacks you, we will attack Cao Cao!"

"What do you think of that?"

"However, let's make one thing clear: since we are currently throwing our all into resisting Cao, you are forbidden from launching a sneak attack against us! Nor do we need your reinforcements; you just focus on attacking Hefei!"

Lu Su was taken aback. This completely diverged from his expectations; he and Sun Quan had already planned, if possible, to send reinforcements in order to carve up Jingzhou.

Now, if they weren't allowed to send reinforcements, how were they supposed to divide the spoils?