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The Jiangdong Army rested until noon the next day, and then left Pengze Water Village and drove towards Jiangdong in a mighty manner. In the afternoon, Lu Su took two followers and returned to Chaisang City on a small boat.

Pengze Water Village is very close to Chaisang, less than a mile away. At dusk, Lu Su's boat arrived at Chaisang City.

At this time, it had been two days since the war ended, and the battlefield had been basically cleaned up, but there were still many soldiers salvaged shipwrecks and cleared river barriers in Caoheno.

From a distance, the city gate was opened. The farmers hiding in the city drove ox carts and returned to their homes outside the city. There were also several merchants coming from elsewhere, explaining something to the soldiers guarding the city gate.

On the top of the city of Beicheng, dozens of craftsmen were rebuilt the city tower. The soldiers used water to remove blood from the city walls. The bodies of the moat had been salvaged and transported to the west of the city to burn.

At this time, Liu Jing was inspecting the city tower at the top of the city. The city tower in the north was burned down in this battle, and Yu Ming craftsmen were renovating the city tower.

The war had just ended, and Liu Jing was not in a hurry to annex Jiangxia. On the one hand, it was because the Jiangdong Army had not completely withdrawn from Jiangxia, but on the other hand, the soldiers were exhausted and needed a few days to rest.

However, this could not stop Liu Jing's thoughts. His heart had already flown across the Yangtze River and began to consider the next step of action. He had to occupy Jiangxia before Liu Biao.

Once Liu Biao took the lead, he would inevitably control himself, and Jiang Xia would no longer be his foundation. Liu Jing waited for two years before finally waiting for this moment. He could not let go of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

While thinking, a soldier rushed over, "Sima, the last time the governor of Lu is here again."

Liu Jing was stunned and looked towards Caohe with his hand curtain. From a distance, he saw a small boat sailing into Caohe and heading towards the water gate.

Liu Jing knew that Sun Quan had at least five or six thousand Jiangxia soldiers prisoners, and he also had thousands of Jiangdong prisoners. One was captured when Lu Meng broke through, and the other was Huang Zhong's prisoner in Yangxin. He was also considering changing Jiangxia soldiers back, but Lu Su came.

However, it is still necessary to show off your power, otherwise Sun Quan will despise him.

Thinking of this, Liu Jing called Liu Hu, whispered a few words, and then quickly returned to the military yamen.

The Chaisang Army and the County Government were together, about 500 miles away from Caohe Wharf. Lu Su's boat arrived directly at the wharf. There were no welcome officials on the wharf, but a group of soldiers in full armor.

Lu Su felt a little nervous and went to the dock. An officer stepped forward and asked, "It's the Jiangdong envoy."

"Yes,"

"My Sima is waiting in the military yamen, please."

You can see the military yamen outside the yard from the dock, but it is not easy to walk over. Two burly soldiers wearing heavy armor stood with swords, each of whom was fierce and murderous.

Lu Su understood that he had to walk through the group of soldiers, and if he took a detour, it would be a shame for Jiangdong.

Lu Su took a deep breath and walked quickly towards the military yamen. As soon as he walked to the heavy armored soldiers, when a loud noise, two sharp edged knives were put together at the same time, two sharp long knives formed a long tent, and the cold light flashed. As long as the hand was a little soft, Lu Su would hit the ground.

Lu Su's two followers were so scared that their faces looked like earth and their legs were trembling. Although Lu Su was also intimidated by this murderous aura, he still gritted his teeth and walked forward step by step. After walking for a quarter of an hour, he finished the knife. He couldn't help but breathe a long breath, feeling his legs were weak and his back was already wet.

And his two followers never dared to walk by and stayed at the other end.

The soldiers in armor were all standing on both sides of the military yamen, each holding weapons in his hands, with fierce eyes. There was a table on the steps. Liu Jing sat behind the table and stared at Lu Su with cold eyes.

There was a large oil pan on the open space in front of the steps, with firewood piled up below, and the fire was burning, the oil boiled in the oil pan, and the blue smoke filled the top of the oil pan.

Just after passing the knife formation and facing the oil pan, Lu Su knew that Liu Jing was giving him a warning. He sighed secretly. He was actually mentally prepared. He didn't have the truth that he could shake hands and talk about joy just after the war.

Lu Su walked forward and bowed and said, "Lu Su, the envoy of Jiangdong, met with Liu Sima."

Liu Jing said coldly: "Since he was an envoy from Jiangdong, why didn't he worship him?"

Lu Su took out a gold medal, raised it high in his hand, and said loudly: "This is the gold medal of Wu Hou. When I see a gold medal in Jiangdong, I am the envoy of Wu Hou, and I should perform the ceremony of Wu Hou. Liu Sima thinks I should bow down to him?"

"shut up"

Liu Jing slapped the table and shouted sternly: "When the two armies fight, you will die or I will die. Even if Sun Quan comes in person, he will kill them together, and the person will come."

Several big men who were holding the fork came forward and stood by Xu Shu next to him quickly pleaded with mercy: "Sima, the two countries are fighting each other, and the envoys will come. I hope Sima's subordinates will show mercy."

Liu Jing snorted coldly, "Behead the envoy to demonstrate, cook him for me."

"Liu Jing, don't go too far," Lu Su angrily scolded.

Several big men, however, ignored Lu Su's struggle, pressed him down, raised their forks and forced him up, and raised them high above the oil pan. Green smoke filled the heat, and the heat was suffocating. Looking at the boiling oil under them, Lu Su was in despair. Could it be that Lu Su was really going to be fried to death?

Liu Jing looked at Lu Su with a desperate look, and a smug smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, but the smile flashed by and he was still angry.

At this moment, Xu Shu knelt down on the ground and begged, "Sima, although Jiangdong is temporarily an enemy, his eyes should be long-term. If Cao Cao attacks, who will join forces with Sima to fight against Cao Sima? Please spare the life of the governor Lu."

Xu Shu's words immediately reminded Lu Su, and Lu Su also shouted loudly: "Wu Hou felt the general's filial piety and could not bear to kill him. If he had just wiped out Xiazhi and Yangxin counties, why would Liu Sima cook me today? But he had ruined the Sun and Liu families to reconcile. If he had known this, why would he have let Lu Meng go?"

Liu Jing slowly stepped forward with his hands behind his back, stared at Lu Su and asked, "Is Governor Lu afraid of death?"

"Not afraid"

"Why should I beg for mercy if I'm not afraid of death?"

"Su's death is not a pity, but he cannot complete the mission of Wuhou. Su was guilty of Jiangdong. If Su died, the Sun and Liu families would never have any reconciliation again. Su died with his eyes closed. Therefore, Su was not afraid of death, but he did not want to die."

Liu Jing stared at him for a while, waved his hand and "let him go"

Several soldiers brought Lu Su back to the ground. Lu Su felt his legs were weak and he was almost unstable. He still had fear in his heart. Liu Jing said coldly: "I originally wanted to kill you to calm the morale of the army, but for the sake of Xu County Magistrate pleading for you, I will spare your life now. Go back and tell Sun Quan to prepare. The beginning of next spring, I, Liu Jing, will lead the army to the east to wipe out the two counties of Yuzhang and Qichun."

Lu Su sighed, "I will tell Mr. Wu, but whether it is possible to allow Lu Su to complete this mission will benefit both sides."

Liu Jing snorted, turned around and walked towards Junyi. When he was about to reach the door, he ordered his left and right, "Take him to the official room to see me."

.........

Soon, a soldier brought Lu Su into the government office and came to Liu Jing's official room to report: "Sima, Jiangdong envoy is here."

Liu Jing nodded, "Let him come in and invite Xu County Magistrate."

Lu Su walked into the room, and the soldiers rushed to inform Xu Shu. Liu Jing looked at Lu Su for a while, and then said lightly: "Governor Lu, please sit down."

Lu Su was gradually calming down at this time, but he was really elusive in his heart. Could it be that Liu Jing's intention to let Lu Meng go to show off his goodwill no longer exists? Is Liu Jing really going to conquer Yu Zhang and Qichun? Is Liu Jing really so short-sighted and blinded by a big victory?

Lu Su had mixed thoughts in his heart. He originally felt that he knew Liu Jing very well, but at this time he could not see through it.

The two of them took a seat separately. Lu Su took out a letter and presented it to Liu Jing with both hands, "This is a handwritten letter from Marquis Wu to Sima, please review it."

Liu Jing took the letter and read it carefully. The letter did not mention the battle between Jiangxia at all, nor did he mention the Battle of Chaisang that ended the day before yesterday. He only thanked Liu Jing for his filial piety for his mother's death, and also appreciated Liu Jing's proposal to reconcile Sun and Liu and jointly fight against Cao.

Seeing this, Liu Jing couldn't help but look at the date below. The signature time of the letter was yesterday.

But Liu Jing felt that this should be the reply from the letter he wrote last year. Of course, he also understood that Sun Quan did not mention the war in his letter. Since he wanted to discuss reconciliation, try to avoid unpleasant things.

He continued to read it again, and there was not much content behind it, but the last sentence was that Jiangdong fully supported him as the lord of Jingzhou.

Liu Jing frowned, and this sentence was ambiguity. Should he support him to replace Liu Biao or to support him to inherit Liu Biao?

But no matter which one it is, Liu Jing feels inappropriate. As someone with such a status in Sun Quan, such words should not be left in writing.

He was confused and said nothing. Lu Su seemed to know Liu Jing's confusion and quickly explained: "Wu Hou hopes that Sima can become the heir of Jingzhou. In this way, Jingzhou and Eastern Wu will have the opportunity to unite and fight against Cao's army in the future. Relying on Liu Qi and Liu Cong will make people desperate. This is the original words of Wu Hou."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Shu's voice came from behind him, "The war has just ended, and the soldiers' bodies have not been cold, and the Governor Lu is talking about reconciliation and alliance. This is a bit disappointing for the soldiers in Jiangdong."

Xu Shu walked in slowly, bowed to Liu Jing, and nodded to Lu Su and said, "Shu is a cheerful person, he speaks honestly, please don't blame him."

Lu Su quickly stood up and saluted, "I dare not make Lu Su ashamed as what Mr. Xu said. It is indeed not appropriate to talk about alliances today, but only talk about prisoners of war exchange."

Liu Jing waved his hand, "Please sit down, and Governor Lu, please sit down too."

Lu Su bowed to Xu Shu with gratitude again, and then sat down. Several personal soldiers served them tea. Liu Jing picked up the tea and gave Xu Shu a wink.

Xu Shu knew it, and smiled and said to Lu Su: "When it comes to prisoners of war, I don't know how many Jiangxia soldiers there are in the hands of the Jiangdong Army where they are now."

Lu Su already understood the division of labor between Liu Jing and Xu Shu, and the specific negotiations were discussed by Xu Shu, and Liu Jing only made the decision later.

He took out the seven thick books from his bag he carried with him, put them on the table, and pushed them to Xu Shu, "This is a list of prisoners of war, a total of 9455 people, most of which were captured in the battles of Xiakou and Wuchang. Wu Hou meant that no matter how many prisoners of war we had in the hands of your army, we would all release them. They are all in Pengze at present."

Liu Jing and Xu Shu looked at each other quickly, and both of them were secretly surprised. There were so many prisoners of war, nine thousand people. How could they know that Huang Zu's total strength was only 15,000.

Xu Shu carefully searched through several lists and handed one of them to Liu Jing. Liu Jing took them and flipped them. He was secretly remembered his name and hometown. At this time, he unexpectedly discovered that there were many soldiers from Xiangyang inside.

He was stunned. After thinking about it carefully, he suddenly realized that these soldiers must be reinforcements brought by Cai Mao, who were captured after being defeated by the Jiangdong Army.

Liu Jing frowned and asked Lu Su, "I don't know how many prisoners of war were there in the battle against Cai Mao."

Lu Su thought for a while, "About 4,000 people."

It actually accounts for nearly half. Liu Jing nodded and continued to look through the list. At this time, Xu Shu smiled and said, "There are about 5,000 prisoners of war in our hands. Isn't Jiangdong suffering a loss in this way?"

Lu Su shook his head and said solemnly: "Wu Hou said that exchanging prisoners of war is not about the number of people, but about sincerity. As long as both sides have sincerity, they don't care about the more people they replace."

Xu Shu smiled, "Since Mr. Wu is sincere, then we will take a little advantage."

Lu Su laughed apologetically and said, "This is indeed the mind of Wu Hou. I hope that the war will return to war and reconciliation will return to reconciliation. If there was no problem with Eastern Wu, Wu Hou would be willing to have an interview with Liu Sima."

After a pause, Lu Su asked again: "Apart from exchanging prisoners of war, does Liu Sima have anything else to explain?"

Liu Jing said lightly: "I can feel the five-point sincerity of the Marquis of Wu. If the two families stop the army and make good words, I think the Marquis of Wu must show at least eight-point sincerity."

Lu Su knew that Liu Jing had other conditions, so he asked tentatively: "I don't know what Sima thinks the rest of his sincerity is."

Liu Jing laughed, "Actually it's simple. I hope that the Wu Hou will not make things difficult for the Tao family and maintain the Tao family's status quo. I hope the Tao family can become a bridge of communication between us."

...........

Lu Su said goodbye and returned to Pengze. Xu Shu sent Lu Su back. Seeing that Liu Jing was still looking through the list of prisoners of war, he sat down and smiled and said, "Sima Ke thought of Sun Quan's true intention."

Liu Jing put the book in his hand together and smiled and said, "Tell me, what is his intention?"

Xu Shu sneered and said, "If I guess correctly, Sun Quan was worried that Sima would take the opportunity to expand eastward, so he was so big. Nine thousand people were exchanged for five thousand people, and one favor for the prince."

Liu Jing thought about it, then smiled and said, "I think there must be something wrong with Jiangdong, so he rushed back so quickly. Perhaps as you said, Sun Quan was worried that I would expand eastward, but I don't have the idea of ​​expanding eastward for the time being. I will hold Jiangxia County in my hand first."

Xu Shu laughed, "But Sima just said it with certain words, Lu Su believed it. He probably went back to report that Sun Quan would not be able to sleep again."
To be continued...