Chapter 76: Lv Bu: I am not a man of young wisdom and courage
Xu Si was tied up and pushed into the meeting hall.
"Young Master, I've brought you back."
Zhang Wu handed over to Zhou Ping, then stood aside.
"Untie him."
Xu Bang was a scribe, but now he was tied up like a rice dumpling. Zhou Ping wanted to leave him some dignity.
Zhang Wu was stunned for a moment, but without saying anything, he untied Xu Bang.
Xu Bang was slightly stunned, but his face was full of anger. He looked at Zhou Ping and said nothing.
"Xu Jun, we meet again."
Zhou Ping smiled.
"Huh!" Xu Bang just snorted and didn't answer.
"You came to Xiapi twice, but you only went to see Mr. Cao Fu, but you didn't come to see me. Could it be that... I'm not worth your sight?" Zhou Ping asked.
Xu Si raised his head slightly: "Since I have been captured, why bother to say more? It is up to you to decide how to deal with it."
Zhou Ping picked up the wine gourd and shook it at Zhang Wu.
Zhang Wu knew what he meant and hurriedly came to take it, walked to the door and handed it to the soldiers outside to get drinks.
Zhou Ping stood up, walked to Xu Si and said: "As a scribe, I must have read many books. I have not been good at reading since I was a child. Even if I read it, I would not understand it. I just read the Six Taoists today. King Wen said, what does it mean?
Benevolence and righteousness? Although I read it carefully, I still don’t understand it. I wonder if you can help me understand it.”
Xu Si had not read the Six Taoists, but when Zhou Ping asked him what benevolence and righteousness meant, he naturally understood the meaning.
At that moment, his face was full of shame and anger, and he turned his head to the other side, not looking at Zhou Ping.
Zhou Ping walked slowly to the other side, looked at Xu Bang's red face, and said: "Although I don't know what it means, I also know that a gentleman seeks benevolence. Even those bandits and bandits who block the road, steal property, and rob homes and homes, although they don't seek
Benevolence, but not unjust."
"What is righteousness? Not forgetting the kindness of others is righteousness. If you show kindness to him, he will sacrifice his life to repay you. Mr. Xu, I wonder if my understanding is correct?"
Xu Bang's face turned even redder and he turned to the other side.
Mi Zhu and Jian Yong who were present at the table nodded slightly after listening to Zhou Ping's words. Xu Sheng looked at Zhou Ping, his thoughts racing.
"Zhou Wen'an, I just want to ask you something." Xu Bang said suddenly.
"Excuse me."
"When I went to Xuyi before, I saw soldiers retreating north on the road. You said at that time that the Yellow Turban generals from Qingzhou wanted to go south and ordered them to return to Langya to resist the thieves. Is that true?"
Xu Bang was holding back this doubt in his heart. If he didn't figure it out, he might not be able to rest in peace until he died.
Through Xu Si's words, Zhou Ping could be sure that Lu Bu was really going to lead his troops to attack Xiapi, and Xu Si now knew that he was on guard against them.
"Why do you ask this question?"
"Answer me first." Xu Bang said.
Zhou Ping hesitated for a moment and replied with a smile: "The soldiers you saw that day have not returned to Langya and are now hiding near Xiapi."
Xu Bang's expression changed drastically. He didn't expect that what he thought was impossible turned out to be true!
Who is this person in front of me? Did he really expect that this day would happen at that time?
"Why are they hiding near Xiapi?" Xu Bang asked anxiously.
"Beware of Lu Bu." Zhou Ping whispered three words.
Xu Bang was shocked again: "At that time, General Lu had not arrived in Xuzhou, and I had not seen Liu Shijun. How could you think of guarding against General Lu at that time?"
The soldiers filled the wine gourd with wine, Zhang Wu took it and handed it to Zhou Ping.
Zhou Ping pulled out the stopper of the gourd, drank two sips, and then looked at Xu Si and said: "Lü Bu first betrayed and killed Ding Yuan for profit, and then stabbed Dong Zhuo in the back for profit. Regardless of the good and evil of Ding and Dong, this is all.
Both of them were kind to Lü Bu, but Lü Bu didn't care about any kindness. How could we not guard against such ungrateful people? Lü Bu was defeated in Yanzhou, and the one he could go to was most likely Xuzhou. Therefore, we
Only then will arrangements be made in advance.”
Xu Bang asked bitterly: "If you want to guard against it, why accept it?"
"I once advised Liu Shijun not to accept Lu Bu. However, Shijun thought that Ding Yuan was guilty of burning Mengjin and Dong Zhuo was responsible for causing chaos in the country and harming the people. It was justifiable for Lü Bu to kill these two people. But Shijun did not do any evil deeds.
, and has no evil intentions, and has always done benevolent deeds, Lu Bu should not do harm to him. Moreover, if someone comes to offer you help in a hurry, if he refuses to accept it, wouldn't it be a loss of benevolence and righteousness?"
"However, the envoy treated me as a city and gave me food and fodder. However, Lu Bu took advantage of the envoy's troops and horses to collude with Cao Bao and wanted to attack Xiapi. Fortunately, I didn't believe Lu Bu and was prepared. Tell me, Lu Bu
When will the troops be sent here?"
"Hahaha..." Xu Bang suddenly laughed, "You have arrested me. If I don't go back, General Lu will not send troops. If General Lu does not send troops, it will not be an act of betrayal, and you cannot arrest him."
how."
This is indeed true. If Lu Bu did not send troops, there would be no betrayal, and Liu Bei would not be able to attack him. He would not even be able to drive him out of Xuzhou, which would ruin his reputation.
"You pretended to be a civilian and left as a soldier. General Lu and Chen Gongtai were already suspicious of this matter, so they asked me to come here to confirm the facts. If I didn't come back, they would never send troops. Zhou Wen'an, you are so calculated.
Isn’t that the case? Hahaha…”
Xu Bang looked at Zhou Ping who looked helpless in front of him and laughed loudly again.
Zhou Ping was really helpless and arrested Xu Si himself, not expecting such a result.
But if he is not captured and allowed to return to Lu City, Lu Bu will know that he is on guard and will not send troops. The result may be even worse than now.
How can we get Lu Bu to send troops?
Zhou Ping thought hard.
Someone was sent to see Lu Bu, and it was assumed that the chariot and horse overturned and Xu Si was injured?
Let the Danyang people go to see Lü Bu. It is assumed that they are sent by Cao Bao. Xu Si stayed in Xiapi to respond and asked Lü Bu to lead the troops and come quickly?
Will not work.
Sending people to see Lu Bu will only make him more suspicious, and besides, Lu Bu has Chen Gong by his side.
Wherever there is action, there will be flaws. Now it seems that the only way is to let everything appear silent and wait for action.
Lu Bu is a man who is eager for quick success and will be eager to capture Xiapi. If Xu Si does not return, he may send troops as well.
"Hahaha..." Just as Xu Si's laughter stopped, Zhou Ping continued to laugh, "Don't you know what Lu Bu is like? If you don't go back, won't he stop sending troops?"
Xu Si's expression changed when he heard this. Based on his understanding of Lu Bu, this might indeed be the case.
He was a man who relied on force and was fearless. Don't say he didn't know that Xiapi was on guard. Even if he knew, he would probably lead his troops to seize it.
Xu Bang closed his eyes tightly, with a look of despair on his face, and whispered: "Kill me!"
"Come here, take him down and take him into custody."
Zhou Ping will not kill Xu Si. He is still useful. Even if he is useless, it doesn't matter whether he kills such a person or not.
The soldiers took Xu Si down and locked him up with the coachman.
Zhou Ping asked people to keep an eye on Cao Bao's house to prevent him from escaping after hearing the news.
He also asked Xu Sheng to be prepared to round up Cao Bao and his thousand Danyang soldiers at any time.
According to Zhou Ping's prediction, since Xu Si is here, if Lu Bu wants to send troops, it may be tonight.
He stayed at the Prefecture Mufu, waiting for news with Mi Zhu Jian Yong.
Lucheng.
Application time.
Lu Bu and all the generals were fully dressed, and their troops and horses were ready. They were just waiting for Xu Si to come back and send troops if they were sure that Xiapi was safe.
Logically speaking, Xu Si should have returned by this time, but Lu Bu waited and waited, but could not wait for Xu Si to come back.
"General, Mr. Xu has not returned at this time. I am afraid that there has been a change in Xiapi and the troops cannot go out."
Chen Gong had a vague feeling that there must be something fishy about this matter.
"What changes do you think Gongtai will have?" Lu Bu asked.
"Perhaps Cao Baozhen conspired with Zhou Wen'an to arrest him."
"Absolutely impossible." Lu Bu waved his hands and said, "It is possible that Cao Xiapi is unwilling to make an appointment with me, but it is absolutely impossible to say that he conspired with Zhou Wen'an to kill me."
Chen Gong added: "It's also possible that Zhou Wen'an arrested Xu Jun."
Lu Bu still didn't believe what Chen Gong said: "If this is true, Cao Xiapi will definitely send someone to inform him."
"Then General, why do you think Mr. Xu has not returned at this time?"
"I don't know why. Maybe the carriage is broken down? In short, I will send out troops as soon as the Youshi hour comes."
Chen Gong said anxiously: "No, if Mr. Xu has been captured, Zhou Wen'an will know that the general is sending troops and be prepared. It will be useless if the general goes away."
Lu Bu disagreed and chuckled: "What can I do if I am prepared? When I was in Jizhou, Zhang Yan's formation of thousands of cavalry was like entering an uninhabited land, let alone those old, weak and new soldiers in Xiapi. Gongtai is relieved here.
Defending the city, I am not a man of little wisdom and bravery. I led my troops to Xiapi. If Cao Xiapi comes out of the city to meet me, Xiapi will definitely be able to capture it. If he does not meet me and Xiapi has a strong army, I can say that I have heard that Xiapi has a strong army.
There is an enemy in Pi, and he came to rescue me, but it was just a misunderstanding. If I don't attack the city, what can Zhou Wen'an do to me? Besides, if I want to leave, he can't stop me."
Chen Gong knew that no matter how much he tried to persuade him, it would be useless, so he could only say: "Since the general is determined to send troops, he must be careful. If the city cannot be reached, he should retreat quickly. Even if Xuzhou cannot stay, as long as the general and all the generals are here, the world will be safe.
Our place of refuge.”
After waiting for another half an hour, Xu Si still did not come back. It was not yet Youshi.
Lü Bu was too anxious to wait any longer, so he left Chen Gong and Hao Meng to lead a thousand soldiers to guard Lü City. He led Zhang Liao, Gao Shun and other generals, led more than 5,000 soldiers and horses, and marched lightly with only three days of rations for each person.
After arriving at Lucheng, we headed east along the Surabaya River to Xiapi.
