Chapter 53 Seven Letters (Please Read) Yangzhou, Shouchun. Since the Battle of Chibi, the area most fiercely fought over by Wei and Wu was not Jingzhou, but Yangzhou in the southeast, and Shouchun has always been the most important place for Wei in Yangzhou. Shouchun is located in the middle of the Huai River, and the use of river shipping is indispensable for the deployment of troops in the southeast, so it is necessary to rely on the convenience of the Huai River. This makes Shouchun naturally play a role in controlling the situation in the southeast. When the Wei Kingdom marched south, it always used Shouchun as its forward base. However, when the Eastern Wu Kingdom marched north, it never managed to break through Hefei, and could not even get close to Shouchun. In short, Sun Quan would only be qualified to touch Shouchun if he took Hefei first. The main general of Wei State stationed in Shouchun at this moment was Grand Marshal Cao Xiu. Last night, the garrison commander of Wancheng escorted two people from Eastern Wu to Shouchun. These two men secretly crossed the river from Eastern Wu and were said to be close family members of Zhou Cang, the prefect of Poyang in Wu. They also brought Zhou Cang's letter of surrender. The commander of Wancheng did not dare to delay and quickly sent someone on fast horses to escort the two men to Shouchun. The journey took less than two days and nights.
It was already late at night when Zhou Cang's envoy arrived in Shouchun. The guard on duty did not dare to delay and quickly reported the matter to Feng Ping and Feng Boying, the chief officers of Grand Marshal Cao Xiu. The next morning, when Cao Xiu was having breakfast, Feng Ping told Cao Xiu that Zhou Cang had sent people to surrender. While Cao Xiu was having breakfast, he listened to Feng Ping's report on the contents of Zhou Cang's letter: "Bo Ying, do you think this man is trustworthy?" Feng Ping shook his head slightly: "Reporting to the Grand Marshal, Zhou Cang sent an envoy to surrender. Regardless of whether what he said is true or false, it is actually of little use to us." Seeing that Cao Xiu was listening attentively, Feng Ping continued, "First, Zhou Cang's letter said that he hoped that the Grand Marshal would lead the army across the river, and he would personally lead us across the river on the south bank of the Yangtze River. Not to mention that Zhou Cang's Poyang City is 500 miles away from Wancheng, even if Zhou Cang sent people to Pengze, which is more than 200 miles away, to lead us across the river, how many troops and supplies could be brought across? Do we have to rely solely on the logistics provided by Zhou Cang to gain a foothold on the south bank of the Yangtze River?" "Secondly, Zhou Cang only sent an envoy to come, not to surrender himself. The court's policy is clearly written now. Zhou Cang can be granted a title as long as he crosses the river. Since he wants to rebel against the Eastern Wu, he is just seeking fame and honor. Why should he bring the Grand Marshal across the river to achieve his goal?" "Third, I think it is still difficult to tell the truth from the false at this time. However, since a county has come to surrender, the Grand Marshal may as well meet the two envoys first and then report to the court." At this time, Cao Xiu had just finished eating. He put down his chopsticks and nodded: "Then let them in." The personal soldier standing by took the plate away with familiarity. Cao Xiu sat in the hall, and four personal guards escorted the two men into the hall. When the two men saw Cao Xiu, they immediately knelt down and kowtowed. The Grand Marshal's Mansion was heavily guarded, and the guards were all veterans who had accompanied Cao Xiu in his campaigns. This majestic atmosphere, coupled with the fact that the two men were only Zhou Cang's family members and had never seen such a high-ranking official, and that they had traveled several days from Poyang to surrender, made them even more terrified. Cao Xiu did not speak, but just looked at the two coldly. Standing on Cao Xiu's left, the chief secretary Feng Ping looked at the two and said, "Stand up and tell me the details of your story." The two messengers stood up quickly, both of them were about twenty years old. The taller one on the left trembled slightly and said, "Reporting to the Grand Marshal, we are the family of Governor Zhou. Six days ago, we set out from Poyang, crossed the river secretly and arrived near Wancheng. We met the patrolling soldiers of the Great Wei and arrived in Shouchun yesterday." Feng Ping looked at the letter from Zhou Cang in his hand: "Who is Dong Cen and who is Shao Nan?" The names of the two people who delivered the letter were already written in Zhou Cang's letter. The tall man who just spoke said respectfully with a trembling voice: "I am Dong Cen, and the person next to me is Shao Nan." "My family's Grand Administrator Zhou was impressed by the might of the Great Wei, so he ordered the two of us to cross the river with a secret letter. The Grand Marshal is so famous that he dominates Jiangdong. I am honored to have the opportunity to meet him in Shouchun today. The Great Wei army that we saw along the way is well-organized, and it is truly a king's army..." Before Dong Cen could finish his flattering words, Cao Xiu raised his hand to stop him. Cao Xiu signaled to the leader of his personal guards with his eyes, and snorted at the two people in the hall, saying: "He must have some ulterior motives for his sweet words. Pull the tall man down and chop him off, and leave the short one to go back and report the news." The two guards standing beside Dong Cen did not hesitate to hold Dong Cen's hands and drag him out of the hall. The metallic sound of armor colliding mixed with Dong Cen's pleading made Shao Nan, who had just stood up, kneel down again in fear. Feng Ping understood that Cao Xiu was trying to trick the two of them to see if he could trick them into giving him something. Feng Ping looked at Shao Nan who was kneeling on the ground and said slowly: "Zhou Cang sent you to deliver a letter to the Grand Marshal. He even used such a trick of false surrender. Your companion Dong Cen is about to be beheaded. If you tell the truth, the Grand Marshal will be merciful and will definitely spare your life."
Shao Nan thought that Dong Cen, who had just been dragged out, was dead, and his voice was filled with tears: "Grand Marshal, Grand Marshal, how dare I pretend to surrender? I am the nephew of Governor Zhou. The day before we set out from Poyang, Governor Zhou ordered us to leave the city in the middle of the night to avoid being seen by the governor Hu Zong." "This is absolutely true!" Shao Nan kowtowed to the ground repeatedly, with such force that it even made a banging sound. Feng Ping asked again: "Didn't Zhou Cang work with Jiefandu Hu Zong to suppress the Shanyue? How could he find the opportunity to go north to support them?" Shao Nan said respectfully: "I hope the Grand Marshal will know that Governor Zhou sent us here because he learned that Governor Hu would be transferred to Jiangling to fight." Chief Clerk Feng Ping looked at Cao Xiu, and after seeing Cao Xiu nod, he said to Shao Nan, "Whether this is true or not, you should stay in the Shouchun military camp for a few days, and then write back to your governor after the Grand Marshal makes a decision." The short Shao Nan thanked him repeatedly and was then carried out by his personal guards. As soon as Shao Nan left the hall, he saw Dong Cen, who had just been dragged out, slumped on the ground outside the door, and his legs softened unconsciously... Cao Xiu took the secret letter from Zhou Cang from Feng Ping. Zhou Cang was really a strange person. He put seven pieces of letter paper in one envelope, which explained the reasons for his surrender, the mobilization of the Eastern Wu forces, and the grievances he suffered in the Eastern Wu. According to Zhou Cang, he hoped Cao Xiu would lead 10,000 people to cross the river to the south, and Zhou Cang himself would meet them on the south bank of the Yangtze River and offer the entire Poyang County to them. What's more, Zhou Cang actually went to Cao Xiu to ask for some seals and used them to instigate the soldiers and civilians in Poyang to rebel. According to Zhou Cang's letter, Zhou Cang needed 50 general seals, 200 lieutenant seals, and 200 commander seals to rebel. If one lieutenant was given 1,000 men, the seals Zhou Qian wanted would be enough to raise an army of 400,000. Even if everyone in Jiangdong, from Sun Quan to the common people, was sold, he still couldn't raise an army of 400,000. Zhou Cang's letter was very convincing, and it didn't seem like a false surrender. Han Zong and Zhai Dan had already surrendered a while ago, so it would be normal for Zhou Cang to surrender. But there are some doubts in Zhou Cang's letter. Zhou Cang described Wu's plan to attack Wei and how Cao Xiu was expected to advance in such a clear and detailed manner. This is indeed unreasonable. It is impossible for the two sides to turn all the details upside down as soon as they came into contact. Cao Xiu couldn't tell the truth, so he looked up at Feng Ping beside him and said, "Boying, I'll do as you said and report this to the court. Please let His Majesty make the decision." "By the way, send the originals of these letters as well." There is another chapter released at the same time (End of this chapter)
