mtlumby2d Chapter 442 ended before it even began.
Chapter 442 ended before it even began.
As the head of the Gu family, one of the four great families of Wu County, Gu Yong had extensive connections in Jiangdong and even Jingzhou. As soon as the invitation was sent out, it was met with overwhelming response. All the invited guests arrived at the Gu residence on time for the banquet.
Besides Mi Fang, Fu Shiren, Pan Jun, and Huang Chengyan, the banquet was also attended by Zhu Ju, Zhang Bai, Xuan Caolang Ji Yan, Attendant General Zheng Zhou, Huang Gai's son Huang Bing, and even Lü Yi, the Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat who had a grudge against Gu Yong, as well as Lü Meng's eldest son Lü Cong, totaling more than twenty people.
It is worth mentioning that although Lü Cong was Lü Meng's eldest son, he was not the legitimate son and therefore did not inherit Lü Meng's title.
Gu Yong was quite pleased with his ability to rally people. Once everyone was present, he got straight to the point, saying something that was sure to shock everyone: "You all probably don't know yet, but news has just come back from the front lines that our lord's eastern expeditionary force has been completely annihilated by Guan Xing, and even Lu Xun has been captured."
These words caused an uproar, and gasps filled the hall.
Gu Yong waited quietly for half an hour, until they had digested this bombshell news, before saying, "The news was brought back by Luo Tong and Xie Jing and is absolutely true. You all should know what the annihilation of the Eastern Expeditionary Army means."
"After Lu Xun is captured, Guan Xing will definitely not stop there. Instead, he will continue to send troops to attack Nanchang. Prefect Yu Fan has no troops available and cannot resist Guan Xing for more than a few days. You may wake up one morning to find Guan Xing's army at the gates of Jiangling."
"In addition, the Grand Counselor Jia Kui is also on his way to Jiangling. I don't need to tell you what Grand Counselor Jia is coming for, you can probably guess. With the destruction of the Eastern Expeditionary Army, the only option left for Eastern Wu is to surrender. Whether to surrender to the Emperor or to the Big Ear Thief, you all need to consider this as soon as possible."
Upon hearing this, everyone instantly understood Gu Yong's purpose in gathering them. At the same time, they also learned from Gu Yong's address of the Emperor and Liu Bei that he was making a choice: Gu Yong was going to surrender to Cao Cao.
Everyone frowned and fell into deep thought. After a moment of silence, Lü Yi tentatively said, "Whether to surrender to Liu or Cao should be decided by our lord. How can we overstep our bounds?"
Gu Yong said, "Zhang Zhao took Fei Yi to see the lord during the day and hasn't returned yet. This shows that the lord has decided to surrender to Liu. If Brother Lü wants to surrender to Liu, he can go home now, pack his things, and show his loyalty to the big-eared thief."
Lü Yi smiled awkwardly. He didn't want to surrender to Liu Bei. Liu Bei couldn't tolerate a treacherous and power-hungry sycophant like him. If he surrendered to Liu Bei, his talent as a ruthless official, comparable to Zhang Tang, would be useless.
Seeing that Lü Yi was silent, Mi Fang spoke up. He stood up, raised his fist, and shouted righteously, "The Emperor is the rightful heir of the Han Dynasty. Liu Bei is just a traitor who disregards the world for his own selfish interests. At this critical moment, instead of supporting the Emperor, should we join Liu Bei, this usurper? I am willing to obey Gu Sima's order, hand over Jiangling to Cao Cao, and welcome the imperial army into the city."
Mi Fang spoke with great passion, but the way everyone looked at him was strangely different than ever before. Mi Fang's words were indeed inspiring, but it sounded awkward coming from the mouth of this traitor.
Seeing that everyone's enthusiasm was not high, Gu Yong slammed his fist on the table and scolded, "Foolish! What do you mean by handing over Jiangling to Cao Cao? Is surrendering a city something we can do? That's a decision only our lord can make. What we need to do is risk our lives to advise our lord to surrender to the emperor instead of that big-eared traitor, and stop our lord from going further down the wrong path. Do you understand?"
Mi Fang quickly slapped himself and said, "Commander Gu is right. I was confused. I am willing to join Commander Gu in advising our lord."
Fu Shiren immediately replied, "This humble official is also willing."
With the two of them acting as shills, the rest will be easy. Gu Yong looked at Zhu Ju and smiled, "General Zhu, your elder brother, General Zhu Huan, has already pledged allegiance to Cao Ren and gained important positions. What is your opinion?"
What else could Zhu Ju say? At this time, he naturally had to stand on the same side as his family head. Upon hearing this, he bowed and said, "I, Zhu, am willing to obey Commander Gu's orders."
Zhang Baibai said, "I am also willing to follow Commander Gu's orders."
With Gu Yong himself included, three of the four major families of Wu County had agreed, and others followed suit, after all, people have a herd mentality.
However, there were also dissenting voices. Huang Gai's son, Huang Bing, said, "I understand. Gu Sima wants to stage a military remonstrance and force our lord to surrender to Cao Cao by force, right?"
Gu Yong's face darkened with displeasure as he said, "It's not coercion, it's admonition. Although the process may be a bit bloody, it's to persuade our lord to make the right choice. After all, as a Han official, if our lord doesn't serve the emperor but instead joins the rebel Liu Bei, how will others slander him, and how will the history books record it? We're doing this for our lord's reputation!"
Huang Bing snorted coldly: "Is there a difference? I haven't read many books and I don't like your scholars' hypocritical word games. Whether to surrender or not, whether to surrender to Liu or Cao, is the lord's business. As subjects, we have no right to overstep our bounds and do what is right. So I will not get involved in your affairs. Farewell."
After saying that, he got up and left, but Gu Yong slammed the wine cup on the ground and said sternly, "Did I say you could leave?"
The wine vessel crashed to the ground with a loud thud. As the sound rang out, dozens of swordsmen and axemen instantly sprang out from behind the screen and the main entrance of the hall, surrounding Huang Bing. Only then did everyone realize that Gu Yong had set up a trap.
Huang Bing was not afraid at all. He gripped his sword and sneered, "So it turns out that Commander Gu has been plotting something all along. But what I'm curious about is that we have no relationship. Why did you invite me here to discuss such a matter?"
Gu Yong revealed a confident smile, as if he had Huang Bing completely under his control, and said, "What else could it be? Naturally, it's to use you as a sacrifice for the flag. How can we go to war without offering a head as a sacrifice, right?"
"Listen up, everyone! Anyone who is willing to join me in this remonstrance, immediately strike and kill Huang Bing. Anyone who is unwilling, I will consider him to be in cahoots with Huang Bing."
Joining the gang required a pledge of loyalty, and Huang Bing was that pledge for everyone present. The choice was either kill Huang Bing and surrender to Cao Cao together, or be killed by everyone along with Huang Bing. There was no third option.
After weighing their options, the group realized that even if they joined forces, they were no match for Gu Yong's axemen. Furthermore, given their desire to surrender to Cao Cao, they all drew their swords and charged towards Huang Bing. Lü Cong, however, deliberately lagged behind, directly slashing at Lü Yi, who was closest to him, and shouted angrily, "Gu Yong, you old thief! If I'm not mistaken, I, Lü, am also your sacrifice for the flag-raising ceremony. Otherwise, why would you, a bunch of Jiangdong people, consult with me and Huang Bing, two members of the Huai-Si faction? My stance is the same as Huang Bing's: those who betray our lord will be killed."
Gu Yong had originally invited his younger brother, Lü Ba, but Lü Ba was recently ill and unable to travel, so Gu Yong had to go in his place.
Huang Bing said excitedly, "Brother Lü, well done! Since that's the case, let's join forces and help our lord get rid of these traitors."
After saying that, he took the lead and charged towards Lü Cong's direction, preparing to fight his way through the crowd to join Lü Cong.
Seeing the two make their move, the others immediately launched a counterattack. Fu Shiren and Mi Fang attacked Lü Cong, while Zhu Ju, Zhang Bai, and Zheng Zhou attacked Huang Bing. The entire hall instantly descended into chaos.
Although Huang and Lü were both sons of military families, they were no match for the enemy's superior numbers and were quickly covered in wounds. It was estimated that they would be killed on the spot soon.
At the critical moment, a fierce battle cry suddenly came from outside the hall, but the battle was also deafening inside the hall. As a result, the people fighting inside did not notice it at first, and by the time they did, it was too late.
Gu Yong noticed the unusual activity outside the hall and loudly demanded, "What happened outside?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Hu Zong and Zhou Cheng led a large number of armored soldiers in. Upon seeing the horrific scene in the hall, they exclaimed in astonishment, "What's going on? Why did you all start fighting yourselves?"
Huang Bing and Lü Cong were overjoyed and shouted, "Hu Zong and Zhou Cheng, you have come at just the right time! This group of rebels is planning a military coup to force our lord to surrender to Cao Cao."
Gu Yong, Mi Fang, and the others were greatly alarmed, a chill running from the soles of their feet straight to the top of their heads.
What's going on? Why did they bring troops here? Who leaked the information?
Before Gu Yong could figure it out, Hu Zong impatiently roared, "Men, seize these rebels!"
These words shocked everyone present. Many people instinctively threw down their weapons and shrank into corners. They were not wearing armor, so how could they be a match for these elite soldiers from Ruxukou who were fully armored?
Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Gu Yong collapsed to the ground, but unwilling to accept defeat, he roared hoarsely, "Hu Zong and Zhou Cheng, you have no right to kill me! I want to see the lord!"
He had barely finished speaking when his eyes widened in horror, for he saw Sun Quan, who was wearing armor and being escorted by Zhang Zhao, Fei Yi, and a large number of soldiers as he strode toward the hall.