webnovelfull Chapter 434 The Enthusiasm of the Faction to Surrender to Cao Cao
Chapter 434 The Enthusiasm of the Faction to Surrender to Cao Cao
Seeing Gu Yong striding towards her with the gatekeeper by the neck, Mi Fang's first thought was that the old man was here to cause trouble.
Sun Quan's Jiangdong scoundrels also looked down on the two traitors, Mi Fang and Fu Shiren. Every time they met, they would mock and ridicule them. Mi Fang was used to it, so he instinctively thought of getting up to deal with them and send them away first.
Unexpectedly, Fu Shiren seized the key point before Mi Fang could, staring at Gu Yong in disbelief and asking, "What did you say, Commander Gu? The entire Eastern Expeditionary Army was wiped out, and even Lu Xun was captured?"
Mi Fang, who had just stood up and was not yet on her feet, suddenly collapsed onto her heels. Because she was unsteady on her heels, she was forced to slide down to the ground, and her buttocks felt as if they had been split open, sending a piercing pain through her.
Ignoring her pain, Mi Fang asked incredulously, just like Fu Shiren, "What did you say, Commander Gu? Say it again."
Gu Yong loosened the doorman's collar and said, "You can get out now."
After saying this, he stepped over the threshold and strode up to Mi Fang. His gaze swept over Mi Fang and Fu Shiren several times before he said, "The Eastern Expeditionary Army has been completely annihilated by Guan Xing, and Lu Xun has also been captured. The news was sent back by Jia Kui. There is no hope for Eastern Wu."
In fact, they had not received any definite news of Lu Xun's capture, but Gu Yong was not there to appease these two traitors, but to incite them to surrender the city to Cao Cao, so naturally he had to exaggerate as much as possible.
As expected, Mi Fang was so frightened that she broke out in a cold sweat and her soul almost left her body. She didn't have time to think about why Guan Xing was so powerful. She hurriedly invited Gu Yong to sit down at the head of the table and bowed, saying, "Since that's the case, Gu Sima must not have come here to ridicule us. Sima, please just tell us what you want us to do."
These words left Mi Fang feeling extremely bitter. If he hadn't surrendered the city to Wu that day, he could now be enjoying the fruits of victory with his colleagues from Ji Han. Even without contributing anything, he could still benefit from the victory by virtue of his status as a maternal relative, and have all the officials of Eastern Wu, including Gu Yong, bow down to him.
Unlike now, as a member of the Shu Han imperial family, I have to bow down to a loser like Gu Yong even though Shu Han has won. It's so frustrating.
Looking back now, I realize that I gained nothing from betraying Guan Yu and ended up in a mess, unable to go home or even protect myself. What was the point of all this?
If I had the chance to do it again...
Gu Yong, however, had no time to guess Mi Fang's thoughts and interrupted him to get straight to the point: "With the annihilation of the Eastern Expeditionary Army, Jiangdong has lost its qualification to contend for the world and has been forced out of the game. In this situation, the only way to survive is to surrender. It is just a matter of surrendering to Liu Bei or Cao Cao. I came here to ask you two, are you going to surrender to Cao Cao or Liu Bei?"
Mi Fang and Fu Shiren exchanged a glance and said in unison, "Surrender to Cao Cao."
They're all in the same circle, everyone knows each other. Gu Yongming knew about their grudges with Guan Yu, yet he still came to ask them about it; his purpose was obvious.
Furthermore, the two of them had been discussing surrendering to Cao Cao even before Gu Yong arrived. Since they shared the same goal, there was no need to hide anything. They should quickly join forces and take the next step, as time was of the essence.
Gu Yong shared the same sentiment. Upon hearing this, he adopted the air of the leader and said directly, "Our lord also has the intention to surrender, but he hasn't decided who to surrender to yet. However, based on my understanding of our lord, the possibility of surrendering to Liu Bei is very high. After all, our lord is Liu Bei's brother-in-law and Guan Yu's son-in-law. At most, surrendering to Liu Bei would result in being ridiculed by Guan Yu. But if we surrender to Cao Cao, there are many more uncertainties."
"In addition, Zhang Zhao is determined to surrender to Liu. He may have already gone to see Fei Yi. If our lord is persuaded by Zhang Zhao to surrender to Liu, we brothers will be doomed. So we don't have much time left."
Mi Fang and Fu Shiren's expressions changed again, and they bowed and said, "Then what should we do? Please teach me, Commander Gu."
Gu Yong said, "There is only one way now: unite all forces willing to surrender to Cao Cao, and before our lord surrenders the city to Liu Bei, place our lord and Zhang Zhao, Fei Yi and other Liu Bei faction members under house arrest and control the city. Then write to General Xiahou Shang in Xiangyang for help and ask him to lead his army to take over the city."
"By the way, Grand Counselor Jia Kui will be arriving soon. If we can hand over Jiangling to Jia Kui or Xiahou Shang intact, it will be a great achievement. With this pledge of loyalty, His Highness the King of Wei will surely protect you both and ensure your future wealth and honor. What do you say?"
Mi Fang and Fu Shiren bowed again and said, "Please give us any instructions you may give, Commander Gu. We brothers are willing to serve you like dogs and horses, and we are willing to go through fire and water for His Highness Prince Wei."
Gu Yong felt nauseous upon hearing this. He might believe a little if someone else said it, but don't you two feel disgusted by what you're saying?
Gu Yong suppressed the urge to ridicule and directly ordered, "As I just said, to succeed, we must unite everyone we can. You two go and contact the Jingzhou gentry such as Pan Jun and Huang Chengyan, and I will go and contact the Jiangdong gentry such as Zhu Ju and Zhu Yi. We will meet at my residence at 7 p.m. to discuss the action plan. If it is feasible, we will act tonight."
Mi Fang was taken aback and said, "So soon? Even if the gentry of Jingzhou agree to rebel, it will take time to prepare troops and provisions. These things cannot be prepared in an instant."
The soldiers of the aristocratic families were not in the city, but scattered in various villages, and it would take time to gather them.
Gu Yong replied, "I also want to give you time, but the question is, will our lord give you time? Will Zhang Zhao give you time? Will the Guan family father and son give you time? Do you even have time left?"
"Based on my understanding of our lord, he will inevitably recall trusted troops to the city after something like this happens. Currently, the only troops that our lord can trust and mobilize at will are Zhou Tai's garrison at Ruxukou. Once the garrison at Ruxukou returns to the city, do you think we still have a chance?"
“I don’t care. Even if I surrender to Liu Bei with my lord, I can still get good treatment. At least I won’t be in any life-or-death crisis. But it’s not necessarily the same for you two.”
Mi Fang and Fu Shiren trembled with fear and hurriedly bowed, saying, "We will make the contact right away. Please wait for my news, Commander Gu."
After saying this, they didn't dare to linger and turned to leave. They were the two most eager to surrender to Cao Cao. To gain Cao Cao's protection, they had to offer Jiangling City as a pledge of allegiance. However, there was only one Jiangling City. Sun Quan and Zhang Zhao wanted to offer Jiangling to Liu Bei as a pledge of allegiance to Liu Bei, while they also wanted to offer Jiangling to Cao Cao as a pledge of allegiance to Cao Cao. What could they do? They had no choice but to seize it.
The two left quickly, and Gu Yong didn't linger either. He followed them closely and left quickly. After getting into the car, he didn't go home but drove straight to the residence of Zhu Ju, the General of the Five Offices.
Zhu Ju was the cousin of Zhu Huan, the patriarch of the Zhu clan in Wu Commandery. Zhu Huan had already surrendered to Wei, so Gu Yong planned to use Zhu Ju and Zhu Huan's son, Zhu Yi, as a breakthrough to win over the Jiangdong gentry to his side.
Busy trying to curry favor with his new master, Gu Yong didn't notice that as soon as he got into the car and left, the gatekeeper, whom he had previously grabbed by the neck, quickly came out, glanced around, and crouched down like a thief as he hurried toward the General's Mansion.
This person was no ordinary gatekeeper, but an undercover agent planted by Sun Quan next to Mi Fang. While serving Mi Fang, he also shouldered the important task of monitoring Mi Fang for Sun Quan.
Who is Sun Quan? Since he knew that Mi Fang and Fu Shiren had a dark history of betrayal, how could he not take precautions?
The gatekeeper that Gu Yong mentioned to Mi Fang and Fu Shiren had overheard everything. Having obtained such important information, he naturally had to report it to Sun Quan immediately.
Eager to demonstrate his loyalty to Cao Cao and seek revenge for the murder of his son, Gu Yong could never have imagined that his plan to imprison Sun Quan would be discovered by Sun Quan before it could be implemented.