Chapter 353

Zhuge Jin was moved inside and cupped his hands,

"Thank you, Lord Liu Xuande."

Liu Bei and Guo Jia looked at each other and laughed,

"You help me reply to Sun Quan. Since he is so righteous for the sake of sparing Jiangdong from the flames of war, I will certainly not treat him poorly."

Zhuge Jin returned to Wu County.

Liu Bei summoned his generals to discuss,

"What do you all think about Sun Quan’s surrender?"

Xing Daorong said carelessly,

"Master, Sun Quan is a soft egg. Seeing our grand army coming, surrendering is only natural."

Lu Xun, however, frowned,

"Master, if Sun Quan intended to surrender, there would be no need to gather Zhou Yu’s thirty thousand naval troops in Wu County. I fear there is a trick."

Guo Jia also said,

"Master, Zhou Yu’s thirty thousand naval troops are extremely loyal; they would listen to him regardless of the military tally. I fear this is Sun Quan and Zhou Yu’s bitter-meat ruse and fake surrender plan."

Liu Bei laughed,

"Don't forget, everyone, there is also the beauty trap and the plan of making the enemy arrogant!" ### CHAPTER 621

Pang Tong cupped his hands,

"Master, Sun Quan’s surrender might be fake, but except for Zhu Zhi, who might still be loyal to Sun Quan, the other great Jiangdong clans are genuinely defecting."

Lu Xun also said,

"Master, we still need to pay attention to Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Han Dang, and other old subordinates of Sun Sun Jian."

Liu Bei laughed,

"After all is said and done, it seems none of you oppose me falling for the beauty trap."

Everyone laughed.

Zhang Fei laughed heartily,

"Big Brother, if Sun Quan wants to use a trick, we’ll make him lose both his wife and his army!"

Guo Jia added,

"Sun Quan surrenders, and the people and scholar-gentry of Jiangdong all believe it to be true, having lost all will to resist. Master can just take it in stride, take Sun Sun Shangxiang as a concubine, and also make the others of the Sun family feel at ease."

Liu Bei stood up tall,

"Good. We will rest in Qu'e for one night and head to Wu County tomorrow."

"Understood!"

Liu Bei led his army majestically to Wu County.

Sun Quan opened the city gates and left the city to surrender, holding the seal of the Yangzhou Governor in both hands.

Liu Bei helped him up,

"Sun Zhongmou knows great righteousness; I will certainly treat you well."

Sun Quan cupped his hands,

"Please enter the city, Lord Liu Xuande."

Liu Bei had Wei Yan lead the troops into the city to take over part of the city defense.

He also announced on the spot that the previous thirty thousand surrendered soldiers could return home to reunite with their families, and each person was given a month’s rations and pay, which was three times that of Sun Quan’s army.

The surrendered soldiers were naturally very grateful.

Chen Wu, Zhu Huan, Sun Shao, Dong Xi, and Ling Cao also returned home to reunite. They thought Sun Quan had truly surrendered and had now defected to Liu Bei, being appointed by Liu Bei as Generals of the Household, Assistant Generals, and so on.

Sun Quan’s heart was almost twisted, but he still appeared very docile.

Liu Bei held Sun Quan’s hand,

"Yes, Lord Liu Xuande."

The streets were already filled with the people of Wu Commandery. They had flooded the streets early in the morning to witness the demeanor of the world-renowned Lord Liu Xuande.

"Wow, Lord Liu Xuande is so handsome!"

"So young. I heard he’s almost forty; I didn't expect him to be so young."

"Looking at it this way, Miss Sun has profited, after all, she is very spicy."

"Isn't that so? That is the world-renowned Lord Liu Xuande. I heard he also has Dragon Qi wrapped around him..."

The archers Zhou Yu had secretly arranged had no chance to act; Liu Bei was enthusiastically holding Sun Quan, and they didn't dare to make a move.

They were also looking for an opportunity, but without absolute certainty, they didn't dare to strike.

Liu Bei’s party arrived at the Yangzhou Governor’s mansion. Sun Quan’s family had already moved to a separate courtyard to make room for Liu Bei.

Liu Bei naturally was humble again and occupied the house.

Just as he arrived at the Governor’s mansion,

the vast majority of the Wu Commandery scholar-gentry arrived.

The two Zhangs of Jiangdong, Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong,

and the four great families of Wu Commandery—Gu, Lu, Zhu, and Zhang—all came.

Liu Bei met them one by one,

talking happily with everyone. He held a grand banquet that day, drinking and chatting happily with everyone.

Liu Bei drank a few cups with Gu Yong, the Assistant of Kuaiji Commandery,

"Yuantan, my father-in-law always said you were his most proud disciple. Now that I’ve met you, it is indeed well-deserved."

Gu Yong hurriedly cupped his hands,

"Lord Liu Xuande is too kind with his praise."

Liu Bei said solemnly,

"Yuantan, you were appointed as the Magistrate of Hefei at twenty, and served as the Magistrate of Lou, Qu'e, and Shangyu. Everywhere you went, you had governing achievements, and you also suppressed bandits and stabilized the commanderies. You have great talent. I intend to appoint you as the Administrator of Kuaiji; do not refuse!"

Gu Yong naturally had no reason to refuse and hurriedly cupped his hands in thanks,

"Thank you, Master!"

Liu Bei chatted and confided in other families.

The two Zhangs, Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong, were both from Taking Xuzhou, one from Pengcheng and one from Guangling.

Liu Bei promised them that he would soon march north to recover Taking Xuzhou.

Zhang Zhao was in tears,

"Lord Liu Xuande saved the people of Pengcheng back then, and everyone still remembers it in their hearts. As long as your grand army arrives, Lord Liu Xuande, the people of Taking Xuzhou will surely respond in groups."

Sun Quan was drinking sullenly. He was now also doubting whether he had made the right move. In just one afternoon, Liu Bei had already won over the hearts of the Jiangdong scholar-gentry!

"These Jiangdong scholar-gentry, the Sun family treated them so well, yet they turned around and defected to Liu Bei!"

He was already planning how to clear out dissidents after getting rid of Liu Bei.

Sun Ben and Sun Fu were released by Liu Bei, and their gratitude toward Liu Bei was like the surging Yangtze River...

They naturally hated Sun Quan, who killed his confidants, seized his power, and intended to imprison them for life or find a chance to kill them both.

The two specifically went to toast,

"Brother Quan, Sun Ce really didn't trust the wrong person. You let the people of Jiangdong avoid the suffering of war; you are a good person."

Sun Quan’s mouth twitched, wishing he could draw his sword and kill them both, but unfortunately, it seemed he couldn't beat them...

He snorted,

"I am just following the timing of Heaven."

Just as everyone was happy and drinking,

an unharmonious old man broke in.

He kicked over the table nearest to Zhang Zhao and roared,

"Zhang Zibu, my former master entrusted the Jiangdong foundation to you, letting you assist the Master, and you just handed Jiangdong over to others like this?!"

Zhang Zhao??

What is Huang Gai doing? It was Sun Quan who wanted to surrender, and he was just following the trend. Now he’s blaming the surrender on him?

Liu Bei?? A new act is coming? ### CHAPTER 622