sjar Chapter 1141 Ziyi's Persuasion of Lü Meng to Surrender: Countering His Moves
Chapter 1141 Ziyi's Persuasion of Lü Meng to Surrender: Countering His Moves
The Jiangdong region in May was already tinged with heat. The wind outside Lujiang City, carrying the pungent smell of grass and trees and the faint sounds of battle, brushed against Lü Meng's tense profile. He reined in his horse, gazing at the billowing dust in the distance, his palms sweating so much they nearly soaked the hilt of his sword. Scouts had just returned with news that Zhou Yu and Ma Chao's vanguard had crossed the Ruxu River and were advancing along the official road towards Lujiang, their forces aimed directly at the county seat of Shuxian.
"General, should we send a light cavalry unit to harass them first?" Vice General Chen Wu couldn't contain himself, his iron armor gleaming coldly in the sunlight. "They've come from afar and must be exhausted. We have the advantage of terrain; let's first dampen their spirits!"
Lu Meng shook his head, his gaze sweeping over the soldiers arrayed behind him—most of them were local Jiangdong men, their armor impeccable, yet their brows betrayed a hint of apprehension towards the Xiliang cavalry. He took a deep breath and said in a low voice, “No. Ma Chao’s cavalry excels at raids. If we rashly attack, we’ll be playing right into their hands. Issue the order: the entire army retreats to the walls of Shuxian, fortifies the city, and defends without attacking.”
"Just defend and not attack?" Xu Sheng frowned. "Wouldn't that just allow them to besiege the city at their leisure? Although Shuxian is well-defended, its food supplies won't last long."
“Zhou Yu only controls half a prefecture and doesn’t have much food. As long as we keep at it and don’t let him demoralize our troops, they won’t be a match for us,” Lü Meng said with unwavering resolve.
Meanwhile, Shuxian County was in complete chaos. The county magistrate, along with his constables, went door-to-door collecting grain and fodder. The people wailed and cried, clutching their grain bins. Shop doors were dismantled and used as rolling logs for city defense. All supplies were used to reinforce the city walls.
Three days later, Zhou Yu and Ma Chao's army arrived at the city.
Contrary to expectations, Zhou Yu simply ordered his men to set up camp three miles outside the city. The camp stretched for miles, with banners obscuring the sun. Ma Chao's Xiliang cavalry, clad in black armor and red tassels, formed a formidable array in front of the camp. Their horses' hooves pounded the ground, causing the city bricks to tremble slightly.
On the city wall, Lü Meng gripped the ring-pommel sword at his waist. He saw Zhou Yu, dressed in a plain brocade robe, standing atop the high slope, with Ma Chao beside him in silver armor and a white robe, his tiger-headed golden spear gleaming coldly in the sunlight. The two seemed to be talking in hushed tones, occasionally glancing up at the city wall, their gazes as calm as a deep pool, yet they inexplicably made Lü Meng's heart tighten.
On the city wall, the wind whipped at Lü Meng's face. His grip on the crenellations tightened slightly as he gazed at the two white sails below—the words "The soul of Bo Fu Ying returns" fluttered in the wind like interrogations from the underworld. Sun Ce's former troops, each with white ribbons wrapped around their heads, stood solemnly before the battle lines. The frost on their armor mingled with the bloodshot in their eyes, gleaming with a tragic coldness in the morning light.
“They are… trying to use the name of the late lord to suppress people.” Chen Wu’s voice was very low, with a barely perceptible tremor. “The white sails are used to summon the soul, and the heads are wrapped in white silk. This is to tell the world that we are blocking the city gates and preventing the spirit of the late lord from returning home.”
Lu Meng closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, the fear in his eyes had been replaced by ruthlessness. He didn't respond to Chen Wu's words, but only stared at Taishi Ci, who had leaped out from below the city. The man was clad in heavy armor, and the cloak on his back was billowing in the wind, clearly an old style from the time of Sun Ce.
"Lu Meng, you little brat!" Taishi Ci's voice boomed from below the city, echoing with the clang of swords and the thunder of horses. "You're blocking the city gate because you're afraid we'll uncover the truth about our late lord's death from poison?" He raised his hand and pointed directly at the city tower. "Our late lord treated you well and showed you great favor, yet you willingly serve the powerful families, hiding the cause of your death and refusing to let anyone investigate. Could it really be you, you heartless scoundrel, who did it?"
"Insolence!" Lü Meng slammed his fist on the city wall, sending dust flying from the blue bricks. "Zhou Yu colluded with Ma Chao to occupy my Wu Commandery, and now he's bringing this bunch of hypocrites dressed in mourning clothes to storm Lujiang. Does he really think I'm just a decoration?" He turned to Chen Wu and roared, "Archers! Draw your bows fully! That traitor Taishi Ci is spreading rumors and disrupting morale here. Shoot him first and let him know what it means to have trouble coming from your mouth!"
A flicker of hesitation crossed Chen Wu's eyes, but seeing Lü Meng's reddened eyes, he finally gritted his teeth and ordered, "Archers, listen to my command! Aim at Taishi Ci and fire intimidating shots!"
In an instant, bowstrings on the city wall rang out in unison, and hundreds of arrows whistled through the air, passing over Taishi Ci's head and embedding themselves in the ground at his feet. The arrow tails were still humming and vibrating, like a row of upright warnings.
Taishi Ci remained unmoved, instead taking a step forward, letting the arrow graze his hair: "Lü Meng! You dare to shoot me, but you dare not open the city gates to let me go and demand an explanation for the death of our lord? You dare to be so arrogant, do you really think there is no one left in Jiangdong?"
Suddenly, Sun Ce's former subordinates behind him shouted in unison, their voices shaking the city bricks: "Open the city gates! Investigate the cause of death! Avenge our lord!"
"Avenge our lord!"
Waves of sound crashed against the city walls, and Lü Meng felt a sharp pain in his eardrums. He looked at the old soldiers with white silk ribbons wrapped around their heads, many of whom still bore the scars from their battles with Sun Ce.
As the arrows pierced the air from the city wall, Lü Meng's gaze swept across every face with a drawn bow, like a hawk's. He saw clearly that most of the arrows grazed past Taishi Ci's side and landed on the ground without even touching the hem of his clothes—seven or eight out of ten of the soldiers defending the city were former subordinates of Sun Ce, and Taishi Ci's name carried more weight in their ears than military orders.
"Useless!" Chen Wu roared angrily, snatching the bow from the soldier beside him and nocking the arrow himself, but Lu Meng grabbed his wrist.
“No need.” Lü Meng’s voice was extremely low, his fingertips icy cold. “Look closely, these people still cling to old friendships. But old friendships can’t feed you, much less protect you from swords and spears.” He glanced at the army formation below the city, their heads wrapped in white silk, then at the soldiers in the corner of the city wall whose eyes were darting around. “How many men did Zhou Yu and Ma Chao bring? How can our 3 loyal followers possibly stop them? So we need to make these troops who are still waving their flags and observing understand who the loyalists are and who the traitors are. Only by mobilizing them can we have a fighting chance against Zhou Yu and Ma Chao.”
Chen Wu was taken aback: "Then what you just did..."
“If I were to shoot Taishi Ci dead, it would make these people see the true situation. But as you can see, most of those on the city walls are truly wavering.” Lü Meng tapped his fingertips lightly on the crenellations. “Zhou Yu is using the pretext of avenging the late lord, claiming ‘righteousness’; but don’t forget, the current ruler of Jiangdong is Sun Quan. Zhou Yu has long since turned against his lord, which is blatant ‘treason.’ We are guarding our lord’s city and protecting his land, so we have the right to do so. But they…” He gestured towards the hesitant soldiers, “They are still weighing their options, feeling that both sides are on their side, and are reluctant to act.”
The wind whipped up his battle robe, revealing the taut armor beneath. Lü Meng suddenly raised his voice, shouting down towards the city walls, "Taishi Ci! You keep saying you want to investigate the cause of the late lord's death, but before his body was even cold, who was it that held sway over Wu Commandery? Now you've brought your Xiliang troops to trample on Jiangdong's land, and you still dare to mention 'revenge'?!"
His voice cut through the wind and reached every soldier's ears clearly. Those soldiers who had been wavering tightened their grip on their bows—yes, their lord was now Sun Quan. No matter how good Ma Chao had been to his former lord Sun Ce, he was still a man from Xiliang. It was simply unacceptable for Zhou Yu to bring outsiders to attack Jiangdong.
"General, let's do it!" Xu Sheng urged from the side.
Lu Meng took a deep breath and suddenly drew a feathered arrow from his quiver, nocking it onto his bow. His movements were so fast that no one on the city wall could see them clearly—the bow was fully drawn, and the arrowhead was aimed directly at Taishi Ci's heart.
“Taishi Ci has long since joined the rebels,” Lü Meng’s voice was as cold as ice. “Yet he still dares to disrupt the morale of my army!”
hum-
The arrow left the bowstring, whistling sharply as it hurtled through the air, heading straight for the city walls.
Taishi Ci caught a glimpse of the approaching arrow out of the corner of his eye. His heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively swung his spear horizontally, trying to deflect the arrow. But the arrow came too fast and too fast, whistling through the air, and he was a fraction too slow—with a "thud," the arrowhead pierced deep into his left shoulder, and blood instantly stained half of his armor.
"Ah!" The excruciating pain made Taishi Ci groan. He abruptly pulled out his spear and used it to steady himself, then looked up at the city wall, his eyes burning red: "Lu Meng, you little brat! How dare you use a sneak attack to hurt someone! What kind of hero are you!"
The troops below the city immediately erupted into chaos.
"General Taishi has been hit by an arrow!"
"That despicable Lu Meng doesn't dare to fight openly; he only knows how to use sneak attacks!"
"Charge! Kill this traitor and avenge the general!"
The roar was like waves, and the soldiers in the army formation surged forward. Swords and spears stood in a forest, and the sound of clashing armor was incessant. Even the ground seemed to tremble slightly.
Zhou Yu suddenly raised his hand, stopping the restless soldiers.
Lu Meng, having achieved victory with a single arrow, proclaimed loudly from the city tower: "You keep saying you want to find out the cause of the late lord's death, so why was there no movement when his body was still warm? Why did our lord Sun Quan delay coming after taking control of Jiangdong? Why wait until today, colluding with Ma Chao of Xiliang, and leading outsiders to attack Lujiang? Is this your 'reason for finding out the cause'?!"
"Brothers on the city walls!" Lü Meng turned to the soldiers who held bows and hesitated in their eyes. "Don't forget, who is the lord of Jiangdong now? It's Sun Quan! Whose salary do you receive? It's the Sun family's! Zhou Yu has long since turned against our lord, and now he's bringing outsiders to attack our own city—that's treason! Will you aid and abet the wicked, or will you protect our lord's legacy?!"
The city gate tower fell silent instantly.
The soldiers who had been hesitating just moments before were initially taken aback—they had never considered the possibility of "colluding with outsiders"; then panic surged up, as if their wishful thinking had been exposed; after a moment, their eyes gradually hardened.
Yes, Ma Chao was from Xiliang. Zhou Yu brought him to attack Jiangdong. No matter how noble the reason, it was ultimately inviting a wolf into the house.
They are soldiers of Jiangdong, fed by the Sun family, and defending Sun Quan's city. If Zhou Yu and Ma Chao were to breach the city, what would they be? Accomplices to a rebellion?
"Fire!" Someone shouted first, and then more arrows flew down towards the city walls with resolute force. This time, there was no hesitation.
Standing atop the city wall, Lü Meng watched the soldiers grip their weapons again, his tense jawline finally relaxing slightly. He knew that Taishi Ci's attempt to persuade him to surrender had actually helped him—once blood was drawn, there would be no turning back.
Below the city walls, Taishi Ci clutched his bleeding shoulder, gazing at the renewed barrage of arrows rising from the city towers, a complex emotion flickering in his eyes. He had ultimately failed to persuade his former subordinates, and it seemed this battle was unavoidable.
Taishi Ci, seeing the situation was unfavorable, spurred his horse back to the camp and bowed to Zhou Yu, saying, "Grand Commander, that Lü Meng is bewitching people; I'm afraid our strategy of attacking hearts and minds will be ineffective!"