Zhou Ping said with a smile: "Don't worry, my lord. Cao Bao is arrogant and disrespectful to your lord, so you know that he is a person who can do nothing. My lord can often invite him to the house for banquets and chats, to show his intention to make friends with him, and to satisfy him."
And he asked Yun Changyide to stand behind the lord and glare angrily to show the lord's power. Although Cao Bao felt disrespectful towards the lord, he was afraid of the lord's power and did not dare to move."
"Liu Zhengli, the governor of Yangzhou, and my lord are both members of the royal Liu family. Now they are attacked by Sun Ce. When Yun Chang leads his troops to Xuyi, my lord can order Cao Bao to send five thousand Danyang soldiers to accompany Yunchang. He only says that he is going to aid Yangzhou. Cao Bao
He is from Danyang, Yangzhou. He has fifteen thousand soldiers and the lord only wants 5,000, so he will definitely be willing to give it. After the 5,000 Danyang soldiers left Xiapi, the lord gave him more favors and asked the generals to obey the lord's orders.
."
"As for the 10,000 Danyang soldiers left in Xiapi, after Yuan Shu comes to attack, the lord orders them to send troops to resist the enemy. Cao Bao does not dare to rebel, so he will definitely send troops to follow the lord to resist Yuan Shu. When the soldiers leave Xiapi, he will listen to the lord.
That’s the order.”
Zhou Ping seemed to think it was easy, but Liu Bei was unsure, but now he had no better way.
The only thing he could be sure of was that with him in Xiapi, Cao Bao would not dare to rebel.
Liu Bei asked Guan Yu to select 3,000 strong men from Xuzhou soldiers and put them under Tian Yu's command. Xu Chu led the Hu Shi camp first and went in batches to hide in the mountains southwest of Xuyi.
He also ordered Donghai Prime Minister Xu Qiu and Pengcheng Prime Minister Xiao Jian to collect grain and transport it to Xiapi. Langya was now given to Zang Ba, and the collected tax grain was at his disposal and did not need to be handed over to the state capital.
Guangling is too far from Xiapi, so there is no need to transport it to Xiapi. If necessary, it can be transported directly to Xuyi.
Zhou Ping, on the other hand, was thinking about Lu Su and wanted to visit him in person while he still had time.
When Liu Bei led his troops to Xuyi to resist Yuan Shu, if only Jian Yong and Mi Zhu were left in the city, Liu Bei might be worried that they would not be able to suppress Cao Bao, and thus might leave Zhang Fei behind.
But leaving Zhang Fei behind would be prone to bad things. If Zhang Fei kills Cao Bao, the Danyang soldiers in Xuyi are likely to rebel or flee. And if a strong general like Zhang Fei is allowed to lead the army to kill the enemy, the chance of victory will be greater.
many.
If Lu Su can be invited here, and with him staying in Xiapi, and with Jian Yong and Mi Zhu helping him, Cao Bao may not be able to rebel even if he wants to. With Lu Su's ability, he can attack the city and seize territory, but he can still defend the city.
.
On the 28th day of the second month of the second year of Xingping, Zhou Ping took only Zhang Wu, two men and two horses, one of whom still had a wine gourd hanging on his waist, and the other carrying a bow and arrows, left Xiapi and ran south to the east city.
Along the way, we passed through Qili and Xiaqiu. Although some people had moved to these places where Cao Cao massacred them, there were few people on the road and the smoke in the villages was almost as small as that of Xiapi or other counties and villages in Tan County.
The difference between heaven and earth made Zhou Ping feel extremely sad.
Cao Cao's infamy for indiscriminate massacre of the city will never be destroyed!
Zhou Ping and Zhang Wu crossed the Huai River and finally arrived at Dongcheng four days later.
In Dongcheng, it is very easy to find the Lu Su family. A wealthy family like the Lu family can know where the Lu family is by just asking on the street.
Zhou Ping soon arrived in front of Lu Su's house. This was a very large manor, much larger than Zhou Ping's house.
But in broad daylight, the door of the Lu family was closed.
Zhou Ping was a little puzzled. A wealthy family like Lu Su would have many guests coming and going, so how could it be closed during the day?
He suddenly felt a bad feeling in his heart.
"Call the door."
Zhou Ping ordered Zhang Wu.
Zhang Wu went up and knocked on the door. After waiting for a long time, he heard footsteps inside the door. He walked behind the door and opened it.
What came out was a man of about fifty years old, who looked like a butler.
Zhou Ping stepped forward with a smile and said: "Zhou Ping from Peiguofeng County came to visit Lu Zijing."
He thought that Lu Su would also know about his reputation, and he would certainly not refuse to see him when he came to visit.
The butler's expression remained unchanged and he simply responded: "The master of the house is not here."
Zhou Ping's expression changed: "Not there? Where has he gone?"
"I don't know." The butler responded calmly.
Doesn't he even want to see me?
No, he didn't know he was visiting. He probably didn't want to see anyone.
Zhou Ping smiled again and said: "I came to visit in the name of Mu Zijing, but unfortunately we didn't have the opportunity to meet. We are tired from traveling long distances. Can we go in and have a rest?"
He was testing the other party. If the other party was willing to let him in but could not see Lu Su, then Lu Zijing might not be at home. If the other party insisted on refusing, it meant that Lu Su was at home.
The housekeeper looked at Zhou Ping carefully, then at Zhang Wu, and saw one with a sincere smile that did not seem to be treacherous. The other was young and simple, and although he was carrying an arrow on his back, there was no evil intention in his eyes.
After hesitating for a moment, he replied: "Come in."
Zhou Ping was overjoyed, but then he was greatly disappointed.
In this case, Lu Su may really not be at home.
Entering the courtyard, the size of the courtyard and the width of the house once again made Zhou Ping, a small landowner, feel like a poor man.
The housekeeper welcomed Zhou Ping into the living room and served him tea.
"Is Brother Zijing really not at home?"
Zhou Ping couldn't help but ask.
"Really not here."
Although the butler's tone was cold, he still answered all questions.
"Didn't he say where he went?"
"The head of the family left with the old lady and his wife. He only said that he would be away from home for a few days. As for when he would come back, he didn't say. Where he went, I don't know. The head of the family didn't say."
"When did he leave?"
"Ten days ago."
"Do you know why he left home?"
The housekeeper shook his head and said nothing.
Zhou Ping stopped asking, and no more useful information could be found.
Lu Su took his grandmother, mother and others away from home. It seemed that he wanted to avoid Liu Bei, but why did he want to avoid Liu Bei?
Liu Bei now has a reputation for benevolence. He is a descendant of the Liu family. He is very different from Yuan Shu. He also wants to appoint him as the ruler of Xuzhou. He is treated generously. There is no reason for him to avoid it!
If he wanted to escape, where would he go?
According to history, Zhou Yu came to borrow grain from Lu Su in the third year of Jian'an. In the same year, Lu Su moved his family to live in the nest and crossed the river to Qu'a with Zhou Yu.
But it is only the second year of Xingping. At this time, Zhou Yu is still assisting Sun Ce in Danyang to attack Liu Yao. Lu Su and Zhou Yu do not know each other yet. It is impossible for him to go to Juchao, let alone Qu'a, because Sun Ce and Liu Yao are in Jiangdong.
Attack, it's a war-torn place.
Zhou Ping thought about it and thought that Lu Su might have gone to Chengde, Jiujiang, because Liu Ye's family was there.
But since Lu Su deliberately avoided Liu Bei, even if he found Chengde and met Lu Su, he might not be able to invite him over.
Zhou Ping also thought that Lu Su had promised Liu Ye to join Zheng Bao, and later promised Zhou Yu to join Sun Quan. As soon as he saw Sun Quan, he persuaded him to take advantage of the busy affairs in the north to seize the two states of Jingyang in the south of the Yangtze River, and build a name in the future.
The emperor plans the strategy of the world.
This is a person who is rebellious even to his core!
Liu Bei's surname was Liu, and he had a reputation for benevolence and righteousness, so it was impossible for him to rebel against the imperial court, so he refused the request and even fled with his family.
Zhou Ping could only think so, he couldn't think of any better reason.
Now I can only rest at Lu Su's house for one day, and then consider whether to return to Xiapi or what.
However, while chatting with the housekeeper, Zhou Ping learned that there was another historical figure living in Dongcheng temporarily—Chen Jiao.
This made him very happy. Although Lu Su was much better than Chen Jiao, it would be good to get Chen Jiao if he could not get Lu Su.