An unexpected cold wave swept across the north and south of the Yangtze River.

 The Wei army in the new city of Hefei fell seriously ill.

As for the Wu army outside the city, it was even more miserable.

In just three days, the epidemic began to spread in the Wu military camp.

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I am afraid that the Wu army may have lost 30% of its combat effectiveness due to the epidemic caused by typhoid fever alone.

Even so, the casualties suffered by the Wu army in these days' siege, coupled with the raging epidemic, also made the army miserable.

It just so happens that there is a shortage of siege equipment. Under such circumstances, there is no way to replenish them in time.

So in these three days, Sun Quan could only watch helplessly as the city wall that was finally destroyed was rebuilt by the enemy.

"Your Majesty, although the general has sent some clothes, it is still not enough."

Zhuge Ke found Sun Quan again and persuaded him earnestly, "The spies sent by the general to the north have sent news again. It is very likely that Cao Rui personally led the army to reinforce Hefei."

"Your Majesty, there is an epidemic of disease in the army. There are not enough medicinal materials, and the soldiers do not have enough clothes to keep out the cold. If Cao Rui really comes, the army will be in danger!"

Looking at Hefei New City, which is backed by mountains and has Shishui as a moat, Sun Quan's face turned livid, and he didn't know whether he was cold or angry.

 At this time, he missed the time when he led the army to attack Hefei for the first time.

 Because that time was the closest to success.

 At that time, Cao Cao was defeated at Chibi, and the city wall of Hefei was about to collapse under his own attack.

Unexpectedly, the bandit general Jiang Ji used a trick to fool himself into thinking that reinforcements had arrived, and hurriedly burned the camp and retreated.

It was later learned that the Hefei defenders used only grass and leaves to repair the city wall.

The thieves' reinforcements had no time to reinforce because of heavy rain and muddy roads.

Thinking of the past, when he heard Zhuge Ke mention for the second time that Cao Rui would personally lead the army to rescue Hefei, Sun Quan didn't know whether to believe it or not.

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After these days of siege, although the generals in the army suffered heavy casualties, Sun Quan believed that the thieves in Hefei City also suffered heavy casualties.

 He transferred Lu Xun to Chaohu, which not only protected the army's retreat, but also held back Man Chong.

As long as he regroups his army and continues to attack the city, Sun Quan believes that Hefei will be captured sooner or later.

But just at this moment, news came that Cao Rui was personally leading the army to rescue Hefei.

 It is difficult to say that it is not false news spread intentionally by thieves.

It is careless to be fooled once, and it is really stupid to be fooled a second time.

Sun Quan finally made up his mind after thinking about this:

"We cannot retreat. The thieves are trapped in the city, and the situation will only be worse than ours."

 Speaking of this, Sun Quan said firmly, "I still believe that now is our best chance to capture Hefei."

"Because the Shu people have attracted most of the attention of the Wei thieves in the west. If we miss this opportunity, the Shu people will not be able to give us such a good opportunity again."

Sun Quan looked at Zhuge Ke and said, "Although the Shu people have an alliance with us, it is based on joint resistance to Wei."

“But if Shu can really win Guanzhong, they will have enough strength to compete with Wei alone. At that time, our chances of Wu will become even slimmer. Do you understand?”

Sun Quan continued to emphasize his tone, "Moreover, it is difficult for the Wei thieves to divide their troops to rescue Hefei now. So, Yuan Xun, don't you think the news that Cao Rui personally led the army is abnormal?"

 Zhuge Ke was startled when he heard this.

 Because he had never thought about it.

He is still young. Although he has led the army to win several battles, his knowledge is still insufficient for those old foxes.

 Or maybe I don’t have enough experience, so I didn’t think so far.

“But your majesty, whether it’s a detailed inspection or a scout, they all say that the thieves in the north are very powerful...”

“All the suspected soldiers are very powerful! Now, you should go down to appease the soldiers or prepare siege equipment, instead of staying here to persuade me to retreat.”

Zhuge Ke had no choice but to retreat.

“Your Majesty refuses to retreat?”

"Yes." Zhuge Jin shook the letter in his hand and repeated what Sun Quan said to Zhuge Ke.

Chao Lake entered the mouth of Shishui Lake. Lu Xun, who was standing on the boat, felt a little worried after hearing these words:

 “Your Majesty takes it for granted.”

"Huh?" Zhuge Jin originally thought it made sense, but Lu Xun had a different opinion. He couldn't help asking, "Why did Bo Yan say this?"

 Lu Xun pointed around:

"If we say that before you and I came here, Man Chong divided his troops to attack the rear of the army, it can still be justified."

“But now His Majesty leads an army of 100,000 troops stationed at Hefei City, and we are watching the army’s retreat, but Man Chong still has not left this area. He has been looking for opportunities.”

Lu Xun turned around and looked at Zhuge Jin: "What does this mean?"

"What?"

“Man Chong did this because he either didn’t care about the gains and losses of Hefei at all, or he didn’t worry about the loss of Hefei at all. Tzuyu, which one do you think it will be?”

 Wei's laws were strict, and losing land was a serious crime that affected one's family.

 This is also the reason why in the battle with the Shu people, once the city was lost, the generals who defended the city either committed suicide or died in battle, and few surrendered.

 So Zhuge Jin also doesn’t think that Man Chong doesn’t care about Hefei.

 “Does Boyan mean that the reinforcements from the north are real?”

"Other than this explanation, I can't think of any other reason." Lu Xun's face looked a little solemn, "Man Chong is an old man who has followed Cao Cao in his early years. He should not be underestimated."

Hearing what Lu Xun said, Zhuge Jin’s face changed slightly:

 “Then over there, Your Majesty…”

“I will personally write a letter to persuade your Majesty to withdraw the troops.”

With Lu Xun’s status as the general, he personally persuaded Sun Quan, no matter how unwilling he was, he would consider it carefully.

Zhuge Jin said with some worry: "I'm afraid Your Majesty will be unhappy because of this."

Lu Xunsu Rong: "How can you abandon the country's justice just because your Majesty is displeased?"

Zhuge Jin’s lips moved, trying to say something, but in the end he didn’t say it.

In the past few years, the school affairs office has been in a fierce situation. Even the Prime Minister Gu Yong, who was following His Majesty, was scolded by His Majesty and almost lost his official position because he was slandered by the school affairs.

Not to mention the General Shang who is far away in Wuchang and has never been with His Majesty, but who has become the head of the ministers (Zhang Zhao passed away last year).

And Lu Xun was a person who was loyal to state affairs. Although he was away from home, he often wrote letters directly stating current affairs.

 The shortcomings of the school administration were repeatedly mentioned by Lu Xun.

Especially in the past two years, even Zhuge Jin has felt Sun Quan's alienation from Lu Xun.

The Great General is nominally the governor of the affairs of the three counties of Jingzhou and Yangzhou Yuzhang, but most of the troops in Jingzhou are in the hands of the hussar general Bu Zhi who is stationed in Xiling.

Taking this troop dispatch as an example, the total number of troops led by Lu Xun and Zhuge Jin was actually only 30,000.

If we say this, this can also be explained by the fact that Sun Quan wanted to balance the power of the two major groups in Wu: the Jiangdong gentry and the Huaisi group. (Bu Zhi belongs to the Huaisi group)

So, in the past two years, Sun Quan's personal letters sent to Ji Han were first sent to Lu Xun for review.

 Gradually, it was sent directly from the school office to Shu, which is the most obvious symbolic event.

Of course, Sun Quan did this not because he did not trust Lu Xun, but because he followed his political instinct and deliberately suppressed the Jiangdong gentry who had begun to fully control Wu's political affairs.

Lu Xun was just a representative of the Jiangdong gentry.

 In addition to political reasons, there is also a more important economic reason.

That is to say, the school affairs office has opened up the door to the Shu people and can get a large amount of supplies that Sun Quan urgently needs from Shu.

For example, many of the cold-warming clothes that Lu Xun sent to the city of Hefei this time were made of wool produced in Shu.

 In the past, although Wu State also imported a large amount of urgently needed supplies from Shu State, most of them went into the hands of Jingzhou Juntou and Jiangdong clan.

 The mighty Emperor Wu could only drink soup behind the local military chiefs and wealthy families. Where could he put his face?

 After eating and drinking, did you forget the surname of Emperor Wu?

 So in Sun Quan's eyes, the contribution made by the school affairs office this time is very important.

 As for representatives of the Jingzhou faction like Zhuge Jin, they seemed a little embarrassed at this time.

  After all, Jingzhou's wealthy families have accounted for a considerable share of the transactions with Shu in recent years.

No matter how incorruptible Zhuge Jin is, he can't cut off the wealth of the elders in his hometown, can he?

 Otherwise, without the support of Jingzhou’s elders, how much say would Zhuge Jin have in the Kingdom of Wu?

 But emotionally, Zhuge Jin tended to support Lu Xun.
To be continued...