gnovel Chapter 48: I said Miss Lü is amazing, does anyone understand?
Chapter 48: I said Miss Lü is amazing, does anyone understand?
"Grand Commander!"
"Come in."
Yuan Yao, who was busy with the military reform plan, looked up and found that the person who came was a newcomer whose name he knew very well, but whom he was meeting for the second time.
Lu Meng, courtesy name Ziming, was a native of Runan.
Lu Meng looked somewhat nervous, after all, what he was about to say might offend Yuan Yao.
Lü Meng: "This humble general has come to clarify something for the Grand Commander. Please forgive me."
Yuan Yao: "What is it?"
Lü Meng: "It is about my background... I dare not lie to the Grand Commander, I am from Runan in Yuzhou, and your wife is a descendant of Marquis Wen, from Wuyuan in Bingzhou. We just happen to share the same surname, but we are not from the same clan."
This matter had been weighing on Lü Meng's mind for several days.
After being captured on the battlefield in Hefei, Lü Meng originally thought he was doomed.
As a separate commander under Sun Ce, he didn't consider himself a big shot. In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, dozens of people like him died every day. This time it was just his turn.
A few days later, someone specifically brought Lü Meng out of the prisoner-of-war camp and told him two things.
The first thing Sun Ce did was exchange him for Zhang Duo and Xu Qian, powerful figures in Chaohu, with Yuan Yao. From then on, he was Yuan Yao's man.
The second reason Yuan Yao agreed to the exchange was because Lü Meng was a relative of Lady Lü and had specifically pleaded for him.
Lu Meng was dumbfounded.
Ah, a relative of Lady Lü? Me?
To be honest, Lü Meng was not against serving Yuan Yao. Sun Ce was indeed a great and outstanding ruler, but who was Lü Meng? He had no right to choose a lord. He was born in a chaotic world and was content as long as he could make a living.
But only a family knows its own situation. Lu Meng came from a poor family and had only one sister who married Deng Dang, a general under Sun Ce. Apart from that, he had no other relatives.
After further investigation, it was discovered that the Lady Lü, who was favored by Yuan Yao, was actually the daughter of Marquis Wen, Lü Bu. Lü Meng no longer had any doubts and knew that there must be a mistake.
He then found himself in a dilemma.
Yuan Yao recruited him in exchange for Zhang Duo and Xu Qian. Although Lü Meng had never met those two, he had heard that they had tens of thousands of soldiers under their command, far superior to him, a defeated general.
What if I turn out to be a fake?
After much deliberation, Lü Meng finally decided to bite the bullet and tell Yuan Yao the truth, so as to avoid being in a more passive position if the truth were exposed in the future.
Lü Meng: "This humble general knows his humble origins and dares not bask in the glory of Marquis Wen. I have no choice but to risk my life to report the truth to the Grand Commander. I beg your forgiveness!"
Yuan Yao: "How could I not know my wife's family background? But you're right, some people really don't deserve to benefit from this."
Getting up from behind the case, Yuan Yao walked to Lü Meng's side, patted him on the back, and said, "Lü Bu is brave but reckless, fickle and cunning. Even my wife has no redeeming qualities other than her pretty face. How can she be worthy of benefiting from Lü Ziming's fame?"
Lu Meng was stunned for a moment, almost thinking he had misheard.
Yuan Yao continued to lay his cards on the table: "Ziming, do you know why I agreed to exchange Zhang Duo, Xu Qian, and Sun Ce for you?"
Lu Meng was speechless. He thought of a possibility, but dared not say it aloud.
How could he possibly value himself? He, Lü Meng, is clearly just an unknown nobody who can't even read a few words!
Yuan Yao smiled and said, "Ziming, have you ever heard of the Five Rams Doctor?"
"No."
"The Five Rams Doctor refers to Baili Xi from the Spring and Autumn Period. He was originally a slave... Well, Ziming, you still need to get rid of your bad habit of not studying as soon as possible. I just opened a literacy class at the prefect's mansion. You can go and take classes there from now on."
"Yes," Lü Meng answered honestly, and then took his leave.
Although he was still completely confused, the fact that Yuan Yao seemed to value him highly was enough to boost Lü Meng's confidence and dispel his suspicions.
As Lü Meng was leaving, he happened to see another person enter the Grand Commander's Mansion. He didn't recognize the person, but he felt as if the person was watching him.
He was right.
Liu Ye was indeed staring intently at Lü Meng, looking him up and down, trying to figure out why Yuan Yao valued him so much.
With this question in mind, Liu Ye asked Yuan Yao as soon as he saw him, "Young Master, who is this Lü Meng? If you wanted to use him to surrender directly, why go through all this trouble and exchange him for Zhang Duo and Xu Qian?"
"Of course, it's to avoid future troubles," Yuan Yao replied casually. "He is, after all, a former subordinate of Sun Ce. How can I feel at ease if I don't sever the bond between them in this way?"
Liu Ye still felt it was a bit excessive: "Guan Yu is a fierce and powerful general, a rare talent in the world. Why doesn't the young lord focus his efforts on him, but instead favors only Lü Meng? Isn't that penny-wise and pound-foolish?"
Yuan Yao thought to himself, "If I could subdue Guan Yu, I would have done it long ago. Besides, it's not certain who is stronger between Lü Meng and Guan Yu."
Oh, right, Guan Yu.
Yuan Yao suddenly remembered something: "Is Guan Yu still going to Hebei? Has anything changed recently?"
Previously, Yuan Yao had told Guan Yu that Liu Bei was under the command of Yuan Shao in Hebei. Upon learning this, Guan Yu immediately made up his mind to go and reunite with his elder brother as soon as the Battle of Huainan was over.
Surprisingly, they didn't make it.
Why?
That's why Yuan Yao is known as the "King of Ideas" in Huainan; he's always been cunning and resourceful.
During this period, he treated Guan Yu as someone who was completely exploitative, always making conditions for everything he did, with the sole aim of never suffering a loss.
Therefore, Guan Yu had no attachment to Huainan, and was even too lazy to say goodbye to Yuan Yao. He directly asked for the Red Hare horse and prepared to set off for Hebei.
The question is, given Yuan Yao's personality, how could he possibly let Guan Yu leave so easily?
In particular, the Zhong clan's army was in the process of reorganization, and was vigorously promoting the reform plan that had been interrupted by the Battle of Huainan. Their combat strength was expected to be much lower than before the war, which made Guan Yu, an external aid, suddenly become an important military guarantee for Huainan.
How could he possibly retain Guan Yu, solving the ultimate problem that even Cao Cao couldn't accomplish?
Very simple.
Yuan Yao launched a handkerchief offensive.
He had Miss Lü spend her free time with Liu Bei's two wives, chatting, shopping, eating, and getting beauty treatments. With a smooth little routine, they quickly became close friends and their relationship was incredibly good.
Moreover, Yuan Yao treated Madam Gan and Madam Mi very well. According to Miss Lü, the two women had been carefree during this time and had even gained several pounds.
As a result, when Guan Yu decided to head north, neither Gan Mi nor Guan Yu were willing to go with him.
They heard from their best friend that Liu Bei was not doing well under Yuan Shao and would soon be sent to Runan.
Since their best friend said so, the two naturally believed her without a doubt. Moreover, Miss Lü had thoughtfully analyzed the route from Huainan to Hebei for them, explaining that most of it was within Cao Cao's territory, making it extremely dangerous, and they should definitely avoid it.
If that's the case, why force yourself to go to Hebei when you can't handle the hardship? It would be much easier to stay in Huainan and then go directly to Runan.
Guan Yu was both angry and anxious. Unfortunately, the two women were his sisters-in-law. He could neither force them nor abandon them. So he could only come over from time to time to persuade them, which forced him to stay in Wancheng.
Yuan Yao was very satisfied with this result. As long as Guan Yu was still in Huainan, he would have a way to continue to get the other party to take action, thereby advancing his various plans.
With a wave of his hand, Yuan Yao put forward a new and grand plan: "Watch my three moves, and I'll propel the Zhong family to its peak!"
Liu Ye reminded him from the side, "Young Master, we've already made all three moves."
"Yeah?"
"Yes. To suppress powerful clans, resist Sun Ce, and use the treason case to purge internal opposition..."
"Hey, those are the old three steps. Now I'm going to take the new three steps," Yuan Yao said confidently. "First, I'm going to pick an easy target."