Volume 3: The Land of Jingchu Chapter 201: Diplomatic Mission to Wancheng
Fortunately, Lu Meng has never played an online RPG, otherwise he would have thought Bai Tu was the old village chief with a broken leg...
Could it be that as soon as they meet, the woodcutter will complain to him that there are too many Hug Rabbits recently, which has delayed his woodcutting, and then ask him to go out of the city to kill 15 Hug Rabbits?
However, this magical task did not appear. Under the guidance of Manager Li, Lu Meng met the "woodcutter" and talked to him about Wancheng.
This woodcutter was younger than Lu Meng had imagined. Usually when talking about woodcutter, Lu Meng thought of "older woodcutter". After all, if there was no farming to do in the mountains, young people would mostly do fishing and hunting.
However, the woodcutter in front of him, although a bit untidy and unkempt, did not look decadent at all, and did not look like the type who was too poor to marry a wife...
After listening to Lü Meng's story about Wancheng, the woodcutter said as a matter of course: "Well, I will go with you then."
Lu Meng: ...
Lu Meng also didn't understand why a woodcutter had to be involved in this matter... and except for himself, the lord and the woodcutter himself seemed to take this for granted?
Could it be that he wanted to threaten Zhang Xiu by cutting down all the mountains around Wancheng?
However, since the lord wanted to take the woodcutter with him, Lu Meng naturally had no objection. When he went to find Bai Tu again, Bai Tu did not give him a letter, but told him to pass on the message.
"When you arrive in Wancheng and meet Zhu Zhubu, tell him... as long as Zhang Xiu is willing to submit, in addition to the Guannei Marquis he was promised, he can still guard Wancheng. At that time, you can separate Wancheng and Rangcheng into another county and appoint him as the governor. Or he can lead his own troops to the General of Chariots and Cavalry's mansion, and all the treatment will be the same as other generals, so he can seize merit.
In addition...if he cannot make up his mind for the time being, as long as he does not accept the recruitment of either Cao or Yuan, I will keep this condition for him, but his adviser Jia Xu must first come to Jinling as an envoy, and will be used for another important task ." Bai Tu said.
Lu Meng listened to it once and wrote it down.
Bai Tu also did not say what the woodcutter was going to do in Wancheng.
However, what reassured Lu Meng was that after the two men mounted their war horses, they found that the woodcutter rode very steadily, which naturally proved that... this silent young man was not an ordinary woodcutter.
Before leaving, Lu Meng asked Bufengwei for information about Zhang Xiu and others in Wancheng, and Bai Tu specially approved him to retrieve it.
On the way, Lu Meng also studied the information from time to time. Obviously, he was not just satisfied with "delivering the letter", but was also imagining various scenes of himself persuading Zhang Xiu in his mind.
A few days ago, the two of them traveled in silence. Later, after entering Yiyang County, the woodcutter asked Lü Meng in various "imaginations": "Aren't you delivering a letter? What are you always talking to yourself about?"
"You don't understand this... If I only do the tasks assigned to me, won't I always be a small lieutenant? When can I be granted a title of nobility or become a prime minister? If there is a chance to make merit, I must seize it!" Lu Meng's tone formed a sharp contrast with the Buddhist look on the woodcutter's face.
"To make achievements... is it just to be granted a title of nobility or become a prime minister?" the woodcutter asked somewhat disappointedly.
"That's right! A man's purpose in life is to seek a title and a good fortune for his wife and children, isn't it?" Lu Meng said with his head held high.
"For the sake of this word, merit, how many soldiers and civilians have shed blood and tears... Is it worth it? Can you bear it? I saw the 'Military Academy' that is still under construction, and there is a sign at the door saying 'If you want to get promoted or make money, please take another road. If you are afraid of death, don't enter this door'. Are you really a qualified general?" The woodcutter seemed to be questioning his soul.
"My lord is seeking eternal peace. I am serving under him and am asking for a title for my wife and children. Is that contradictory?" Lu Meng said as a matter of course.
"Every time you kill an enemy and see your comrades die, don't you feel ashamed of your deeds?" the woodcutter frowned.
Lu Meng could feel that what the woodcutter said was not empty accusations, but it seemed like he really had experience. So he understood that although the woodcutter looked young,... maybe he really had some extraordinary experience?
However, in response to the woodcutter's questioning, Lu Meng remained unmoved and said, "Shame? Why should I be ashamed? Are you questioning my loyalty to my lord, or are you questioning what Bai Gong wants?"
Lu Meng's psychology actually represents the psychology of some of Bai Tu's generals - the main internal motivation is still "achieving great achievements", while at the same time, the noble sentiment is "pushed" onto Bai Tu.
It not only satisfies the human instinct for selfishness, but also puts on the cloak of benefiting others, making oneself more justified.
Just as Lu Meng said, he joined the army for his own sake, but... as long as he would not betray Bai Tu and Bai Tu would not betray his original intention, then what would be wrong with him being able to gain the achievements he wanted from it?
"Everyone doubts. People who stick to their beliefs will change. The only thing that won't change is the belief itself." The woodcutter said bluntly.
Lu Meng looked at the woodcutter in surprise. He had never thought that he would be so straightforward. Even Bai Gong didn't believe him...
"My lord once said that trust between people is the power that can change people's hearts and change the times... So I believe in my lord and I believe in myself." After frowning, Lu Meng ended the topic.
That night, when the two men were resting on their war horses, the woodcutter stayed up for half the night and finally muttered: Trust...?
Lu Meng and the woodcutter were much faster than the court's procession. It was obvious that Cao Pi had set out earlier, but... when Lu Meng and the woodcutter entered Nanyang County, Cao Pi had just arrived in Yiyang.
"We have to be more careful from now on. Let's abandon our war horses and change them." Although Lu Meng had not communicated with the woodcutter for several days, he still made a suggestion at this time.
In the world of Cheng Ji, the difference in appearance between war horses and horses is really huge...
After all, Nanyang County was not controlled by Zhang Xiu. The direction the two entered was the southern part of Nanyang, which belonged to Liu Biao's shallow control area. If the "scouts" riding war horses were discovered, it would be a trouble.
If they had ridden ordinary horses, the two of them would at least have been able to avoid some trouble.
"No need, just hurry up and stay away from important garrison locations." The woodcutter shook his head.
"Are you sure?" Lu Meng questioned.
"We can also split up." The woodcutter didn't explain further.
"You... forget it! A war horse is just a war horse. You are not afraid of a woodcutter. I was born to be a chopper!" Lu Meng said stiffly after hearing this.
However, he found that the woodcutter didn't even look at him. Obviously... he was not trying to provoke him on purpose, he was just telling the truth.
"By the way... why are you carrying a hunting fork? You don't have your military token, do you?" Lu Meng finally asked.
Of course, Lu Meng actually doubted in his heart that the woodcutter was either a great master or a wise man, otherwise why would his lord ask him to lead him?
"There are always ferocious beasts in the mountains, so it's safer to carry a hunting fork. As for the military token... it's lost." The woodcutter said as a matter of course.
"Lost?" Lu Meng almost bit his tongue.
Before carrying out such an important mission, you didn't even apply for a new military token? Are you dying of laziness?
Moreover, you don’t even have a military token, so who gives you the confidence to ride a war horse within the enemy’s territory?
"It doesn't matter. I don't want to use it even if it's not lost." The woodcutter shook his head dejectedly.
Lu Meng really wanted to say - you are the biggest trouble now!
The two men headed north, and they were lucky along the way. The biggest obstacle was some armed bandits . Lu Meng relied on his gilded armor to "chop, chop, chop" his way through.
Even though he had just been promoted, it wouldn't be a problem for him to deal with those bandits...
Although it is much easier to be promoted to the rank of Liujin now, it is already quite good considering Lu Meng's age.
However, what made Lu Meng upset was that the woodcutter was watching the fun with his hunting fork all the way, and shaking his head from time to time, as if he looked down on his martial arts!
"Don't follow the common views of the woodcutter. Don't follow the common views of the woodcutter..." Lu Meng silently persuaded himself.
Finally, when they bypassed Xinye and were about to reach Rangcheng, a group of bandits with some official background informed the Xinye garrison that "enemy scouts were suspected to have appeared in the territory."
However, at this time the two were about to enter the area of Rangcheng, and in the end the garrison in Xinye failed to catch up with them.
The current relationship between Zhang Xiu and Liu Biao is "awkward" but "understanding".
The embarrassing thing is that Cao Cao had tried to persuade Zhang Xiu to surrender before, but the latter agreed at first, then rebelled again, killed Cao Cao's eldest son, and then... nominally returned to Liu Biao's arms.
The tacit understanding was that Liu Biao would just treat Zhang Xiu as a monk and give him the bell as long as he was a monk, without tearing off this last layer of face.
After all, Liu Biao's control over Nanyang County was already very weak, with wealthy families everywhere... In the entire Jingzhou, only Nanyang County was Liu Biao's base camp. Nanyang, which was closer to the Central Plains, Jiangxia controlled by Huang Zu, and the four counties in southern Jingzhou only obeyed Liu Biao in name.
After Lu Meng and the woodcutter revealed their identities in Rangcheng, they were quickly sent to Wancheng. After all, these two places were under the actual control of Zhang Xiu.
When he met Zhu Zhi who was resting in the villa, Lu Meng repeated to Zhu Zhi what Bai Tu had asked him to convey.
Seeing that Zhu Zhi's face was still a little stagnant after hearing this, Lu Meng couldn't help but ask: "Zhu Zhubu, is there any more trouble?"
Although Zhu Zhi didn't quite understand why a young general was sent to deliver the message, he concluded that Bai Tu wanted to train Lü Meng, so he didn't blame him for being abrupt, but said bluntly: "Yuan Shao is easy to deal with. Although he understands the importance of Zhang Xiu's position to his battle with Cao Cao, his attitude is quite arrogant. Xin Ping calls himself a famous scholar in the country, but he doesn't know how to adapt...
On the other hand, Cao Cao is a real hero. His eldest son died at the hands of Zhang Xiu, but he still keeps a low profile. Liu Ye is also a man of eloquence. He made friends with Jia Xu as soon as he arrived in Wancheng. Recently, Zhang Xiu has been interested in Cao Cao! In terms of treatment... Yuan and Cao are still better. "
Lü Meng's eyes turned when he heard this and he said, "Don't worry, Zhu Zhubu. I think we have a great advantage... Yuan and Cao asked for a high price because they were eager to get Zhang Xiu's support. That's why they asked for a high price. In comparison, we are strong without desire... And isn't your reputation much better than Yuan and Cao's?"
Zhu Zhi looked at Lu Meng and felt that this young general was not only brave, so he nodded and said, "I hope so."
The woodcutter beside him said nothing more, but only said: "Next time I see Zhang Xiu, I will go too."
Zhu Zhi looked over in confusion, but the woodcutter showed no intention of explaining. Zhu Zhi had no choice but to look at Lu Meng again...
"My lord asked me to bring this person here." Lu Meng spoke the truth and gave Zhu Zhi a look that said "I don't know what's going on either."
