Volume 1 Jiangdong Fengyun Chapter 89: Ministers Choose Their Kings
"Yu Fan pays respect to Lord Bai."
Yu Fan, who looks to be around 30 years old, with a somewhat "bullied" look, but with sharp eyes, received an invitation from Bai Tu last night.
Yu Fan is a member of the Yu clan. Although he is not the clan leader, he is the most outstanding member among the young and strong generation. And unlike Lu Xun, Yu Fan is a direct descendant of the Yu clan. Now he has come to Qu'a as the representative of the Yu clan.
Previously he served under Wang Lang of Kuaiji, but now Wang Lang has resigned and is on his way to Qu'a . Although Yu Fan's martial arts skills are average, he is at least young and strong, and... good at long-distance running!
Since he was a child, he liked to think while running when considering problems. In addition, Kuaiji County was mountainous, which trained him to be good at walking. In history, he personally told Sun Ce that he could travel 300 miles a day, and he let Sun Ce ride a horse while he followed by running.
Walking three hundred miles a day is roughly equivalent to a Peking University PhD who likes mountain climbing. His "good walking skills" are evident, so he arrived in Qu'a earlier than Wang Lang. Moreover, he and Wang Lang were just ordinary superiors and subordinates, not master and subject, so he would not wait for Wang Lang, but would directly apply for a job here in Bai Tu.
Originally, Yu Fan thought that many people would be invited together with him, but because it was already late at night, Yu Fan did not want to give Bai Tu the impression that he and other families were in a group, so he did not send anyone to inquire with other families.
Unexpectedly, I was the only one who came to the governor's mansion this morning...
"Zhong Xiang is here? Don't be shy. I called you here today not for any official business. I just want to introduce someone to you." Bai Tu smiled kindly.
Zhongxiang is Yu Fan's courtesy name.
Seeing this, Yu Fan became more and more confused. What exactly is Bai Tu trying to do?
He even introduced someone... He couldn't possibly be looking for a marriage, right? Normally, I'd already been married, and my child was still young, so I wouldn't look for him in this regard.
But at this moment, a guard suddenly came to report: "My lord, General Sun and General Zhou want to see you."
Bai Tu never treated Sun Ce and Zhou Yu as prisoners, so his guards always called them "Generals".
"this……"
"Since Lord Bai summoned me here for reasons other than official business, I should put official matters first and private matters second, and meet the two generals first." Yu Fan said somewhat rigidly.
"Okay, then Zhongxiang, wait for the picture to be engraved first." Bai Tu said.
Upon hearing this, Yu Fan wanted to go to the side hall and wait a little, but Bai Tu insisted, "We are all family, Zhong Xiang doesn't need to be shy."
Yu Fan felt a little uncomfortable with this, thinking that Bai Tu, as a leader, was too familiar with others, which was a minus point in Yu Fan's opinion. After all, he didn't think he was special, he just regarded Bai Tu as "central air conditioning".
Now is a time of chaos, not only for the king to choose his ministers, but also for ministers to choose their king. The aristocratic families in particular can see things more clearly - you know, many aristocratic families have existed for much longer than dynasties!
However, Bai Tu had already wanted to stay, so Yu Fan couldn't show too much refusal. After all, he couldn't classify Bai Tu as unqualified just because of this one point deduction. He also thought in his heart that he would see what the boys from the Sun and Zhou families had to say. He could also help analyze it first, so as to show his face in front of Bai Tu first.
"Bofu, did Yuan Shu reply to your letter?" Bai Tu asked after the two came in.
Sun Ce looked at Yu Fan warily, and did not mention the matter of the jade seal. He just said, "Yuan Shu agreed to the exchange, but he wants Gongjin and I to go to Xunyang."
Seeing this, Yu Fan was so angry that he blew his beard and glared. His facial features, which were already miserable to begin with, looked even more miserable.
The Sun family was born in Wujun and the Zhou family was born in Lujiang. Although they were not from the same county as the Yu family of Kuaiji, they were from the same state. Especially Sun Ce, when he was young, Yu Fan had met him once. He was also acquainted with Zhou Shang, Zhou Yu's uncle. However, these two guys were wary of him? Even Bai Tu didn't let him avoid him!
However, Sun Ce had long forgotten who he was. Zhou Yu had just seen shoes outside the door and had specially asked the guard in a low voice, and knew Yu Fan's identity. However... his impression of Yu Fan only came from his uncle - it was said that this man had a straightforward and strict personality, which translated into plain language means "annoying".
"Xun Yang? Is this a trick?" Bai Tu frowned.
Zhou Yu sighed secretly when he heard this - no matter what Bai Tu was thinking, at least in his tone, he only heard concern for the safety of the two, as if he didn't care that Sun Ce would "never come back" on another level.
As for whether Bai Tu had never thought that Yuan Shu wanted Sun Ce establish himself in Xunyang?
How could Bai Tu, such a smart man, not think of this!
"It's fine for Gongjin and I. Xunyang is close to the river, and the exchange will definitely take place by the river. If Gongjin and I want to leave, I don't think anyone can stop us." Sun Ce said.
This is true. After all, it is too easy for the generals in this world to move on the river, especially Sun Ce who already has the golden and jade armor. His burst speed is much faster than the boat, and it is impossible to ambush on the river.
"That's good. You must be more careful." Bai Tu said with a smile.
Zhou Yu secretly felt that Bai Tu was indeed a kind and upright person. At this time, he pretended not to hear the hidden meaning in order to avoid embarrassment to the two of them.
"Mr. Bai... Yuan Shu wants me to temporarily station troops in Xunyang to serve as a barrier for him!" Sun Ce said with a stiff face.
"Haha, Yuan Shu is dreaming! It's okay for Bofu to go, and he can bring back the elite soldiers from Jiangdong." Bai Tu said with a smile.
Originally, Bai Tu thought that it was good enough to be able to exchange back his clansmen and generals, and there was no way Sun Ce's original elite soldiers from Jiangdong would be returned to him. But who would have thought... Yuan Shu had a good idea!
However, Bai Tu did not expect to take advantage of the situation to capture Xunyang. The current strength of Jiangdong was not enough to defend the isolated Xunyang. Yuan Shu was also sure of this, so he boldly let Sun Ce station troops there.
By then, on one side will be Huang Zu, who murdered his father, and on the other side will be Bai Tu, who should have already become disloyal. No matter how dissatisfied Sun Ce is, he can only rely on Yuan Shu!
Even if Bai Tu did not take the initiative to attack Xunyang, as long as Sun Ce had the slightest desire to be independent, he would only perfunctorily attack and would not return east.
"Wait! Sun Ce, Zhou Yu, according to what you two said, what if Yuan Shu did not release all his family members at once?" Yu Fan interrupted.
"Then just wait for a while, but you must meet his demands after he releases everyone. That guy's character is very suspicious!" Bai Tu said.
After all, Yuan Shu had a history of kidnapping Chen Gui's second son, and his apparent moral standards could be said to be only slightly higher than Cao Cao's among the great princes.
"We have been stationed in Xunyang for a long time. When we need soldiers and food, we will have them. Will you come back?" Yu Fan questioned.
Hearing Yu Fan speak so directly, Sun Ce, whose character was questioned, could not help but glare at him. Zhou Yu also finally understood why Zhou Shang gave Yu Fan such an evaluation.
Even if a normal person has doubts, they won't say anything that is beyond reproach...
The same was true of Yu Fan in history. He often directly ridiculed Yu Jin and Mi Fang who surrendered to Eastern Wu, and he also dared to speak out against Sun Quan. In the end, although Sun Quan praised Yu Fan as "Dongfang Shuo of Eastern Wu", he could not bear it anymore and demoted him to Jiaozhou, where he died in a foreign land a few years later.
