Choose Liu Bei at the start, I am the only one who knows the plot of the Three Kingdoms.

Chapter 519: Zhou Yu was angry and a rift was created

Because of Wei Yan, the transaction that could have been completed quickly was delayed for nearly an hour.

During this hour, Zhang Fei sneezed six times in total, five of which hit Sun Ce.

Zhang Fei's attack was already very gentle, only making Sun Ce unconscious for a short time. After all, they would be exchanging hostages soon, and it would not be good to hit him too hard. However, Zhang Fei's attack was only gentle relative to others. After all, he was a legendary general, and even if he held back, his strength was still strong enough.

After being tormented by Zhang Fei like this, Sun Ce will definitely feel uncomfortable for a few days when he returns.

Zhou Yu, along with Cheng Pu and Huang Gai, followed the army transporting the spoils to the place where the Bai Li soldiers were camped.

So Wei Yan once again took on the job of quality inspector, checking every item carefully, fearing that anything was missed. He checked the quantity several times before putting the items away.

"Prince Lie, now that the things have been delivered and Huang Zhong has been released, I wonder if you can return the eldest son?"

Zhou Yu's tone was very polite. It was clear that Sun Jian did not want Sun Ce to be in danger, so Zhou Yu naturally would not go against Sun Jian's wishes.

Gu Rubing smiled slightly.

"No hurry. I have heard of your great name for a long time. Today is a rare opportunity. Why don't you sit here for a while, drink a cup of hot tea, and warm yourself up before going back."

"No need to drink tea. My master is still waiting in the camp for us to bring the eldest son back. It's freezing cold, so we don't want to bother him too much."

Zhou Yu secretly felt bitter in his heart. Gu Rubing's question was tantamount to roasting him on the fire. Although Cheng Pu and Huang Gai both had a special relationship with him, the 200 elite soldiers who followed them were not. These 200 elite soldiers were Sun Jian's tiger soldiers and were absolutely loyal to Sun Jian. If Zhou Yu did not make a clear response of rejection, they would go back and tell Sun Jian about this, and Sun Jian would be deeply resentful about it.

Zhou Yu could be said to know his lord's character best. Any words or actions of his lord that aroused his suspicion would make him alert, and then any bad things would be attributed to him.

Therefore, Zhou Yu did not care whether he had offended Gu Rubing and directly rejected Gu Rubing's proposal.

But how could Gu Rubing give up just like that? He still refused to give in.

"Gongjin, what you said is true. Wenchang is still checking the things you brought. If I don't check it thoroughly, he won't let me release you. So, Gongjin, you guys should sit down and drink some hot tea to warm up your bodies."

"Since King Lie wants to check, then let's check. When the check is done, we will take the eldest son away. But there is no need for hot tea."

Zhou Yu's words were tight-lipped and he said he would not accept any good intentions from Gu Rubing.

Gu Rubing smiled lightly, this great commander was really strict enough, worthy of being able to fight with Zhuge Liang. The reputation of Confucian general was well-deserved. This also made Gu Rubing want to instigate Zhou Yu to rebel. Originally, he just wanted to use Sun Jian's suspicious and action-oriented character to try to alienate the two, but now he wanted to conquer him.

In this case, the first step must be to create a rift between Zhou Yu and Sun Jian so that he will have a chance.

"Gongjin, don't worry. Aren't all the people here your own? And it's just a couple of cups of tea. Even if Wen Tai knew about it, he wouldn't say anything. He's not Cao Cao, and he's suspicious by nature."

Zhou Yu's eyes were filled with anger. Gu Rubing's move was really too cruel. It was tantamount to cutting off the source of the fire, fundamentally shaking the relationship between him and Sun Jian as a monarch and his subject.

"What does King Lie mean by this? What do you mean by my own people? We are all under the command of the lord, and I am the Grand Commander appointed by the lord. I am under the command of the lord, and so are they."

"I understand, Gongjin. My vassal's vassal is not my vassal. I understand this simple truth."

"King Lie, please respect yourself! I treat you with courtesy because of your status as a prince. If you continue to behave like this, Gongjin will leave and they will take the eldest son back."

After Zhou Yu finished speaking, he was about to leave. Gu Rubing had a smile on his face and had no intention of keeping Zhou Yu. It was Huang Gai who was beside Zhou Yu who held Zhou Yu back.

"Grand Commander, don't worry about his words. Your loyalty is witnessed by the heavens, the earth, the mountains and rivers, the sun and the moon. There is no need to prove anything. We will never doubt you because of his words, and the lord will not doubt you because of this low-level divisive trick. Don't worry."

Before Zhou Yu could respond, Wei Yan, who was supervising the work nearby, suddenly spoke.

"Hahaha, a confidant is indeed a confidant. You said it so beautifully. Does your master know that you are so loyal to your Grand Commander?"

Everyone turned to look at Wei Yan. It turned out that you had been wandering around there, not checking anything, but eavesdropping.

After feeling the gazes of the crowd, Wei Yan smiled gently.

"Hey, it's okay, it's okay, you guys chat about your own things, just treat it as a fart. I'm talking to my subordinates, don't worry about me, just continue."

After Wei Yan's stirring, even clear water became muddy. Zhou Yu could no longer stay here. If he continued to stay here, Gu Rubing and Wei Yan would probably argue with each other, and he would become a traitor to Jiangdong.

"You stay and take the eldest son back. I will go back first."

Zhou Yu patted Huang Gai on the shoulder and whispered that he didn't want to stay here any longer. He now felt that he had witnessed one of the great advantages of Gu Rubing and their subordinates, that is, their sharp tongues.

It can be said that their verbal skills are even stronger than their fighting ability. He had experienced their fighting ability before, and today he had the honor of experiencing their verbal skills again, which also made Zhou Yu admire them very much.

Huang Gai looked at Zhou Yu with some worry.

"Grand Commander, there's no need to act like this just because of their words. If you leave now, it will seem like you're trying to avoid gossip. It's better to just wait here and ignore them."

Zhou Yu stopped walking, he knew very well that if he left now it would have a great impact, but he continued to stay here, only feeling chest tightness and shortness of breath, as if there was a force of air pressing against his forehead.

After a little thought, Zhou Yu shook his head firmly.

"My Lord, you know my heart. I left here not because I was afraid of being criticized, but because their arrogant faces were really unbearable. You must bring the eldest son back safely. I will wait for you in the north of Jiangxia County."

After saying this, Zhou Yu left, leaving only Huang Gai and Cheng Pu, who were waiting with two hundred warriors to take Sun Ce away.

Wei Yan saw that there was nothing interesting to watch, so he signaled his men to stop checking over and over again.

"My lord, that old fellow passed off inferior goods as good ones. Most of them were rags. I threw them all back and exchanged them for good ones. Five thousand first-class war horses, five thousand fine iron armors, and two thousand long spears are all here."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work, Wenchang."

"No, it's not hard at all. Even if I have to do this kind of work every day, it's not hard at all."

Wei Yan was smiling happily, and Gu Rubing joked, "Sure, then Wen Chang, you can capture Sun Ce once a day, and you will get so much spoils every time you capture him."

"That won't work. Sun Ce was a bit fierce. When we were guarding Changsha and Sun Ce was still a minor, that kid was extremely fierce. He beat Han Sheng so hard that he ran away several times."

Wei Yan said this seriously, and Gu Rubing knew exactly what Wei Yan was thinking.

"Hahaha, Wen Chang, was it you who was beaten by Sun Ce, or was it Han Sheng who was beaten?"

"Well, don't worry about these details. The main thing is that Sun Ce is a tough kid."

Everyone burst into laughter after hearing this, except Huang Gai, Cheng Pu and a few others who stood there, unable to join in the fun and could only stand there awkwardly.

After the inventory of items was completed, Zhang Fei threw Sun Ce in his hand to Huang Gai.

"Leave immediately and don't let your Grandpa Zhang see you again. If I see you again, don't blame your Grandpa for being merciless and arresting you to exchange for things with Sun Jian."

After being scolded by Zhang Fei, the few people did not dare to retort. After settling Sun Ce down, the group left without looking back.

Gu Rubing looked at the departing figures with his eyes slightly narrowed. The Jiangxia County City was now like a dead city, and Nan County was bound to be a fierce battle as Cao Cao's men returned for reinforcement.

Jingzhou is currently located in the middle of the three major powers, bordering the three powers. In addition, Jingzhou is vast and rich in resources, so it is destined to be a piece of fat meat, and everyone who sees it wants to take a bite.

Both of these wars started in Jingzhou and eventually spread to the entire southern region. It is unknown from when on, but Cao Cao and Sun Jian only focused on Jingzhou, as if nothing else was important to them except Jingzhou. It was as if they were possessed by a demon and they had to carve out a path in Jingzhou.

Gu Rubing looked into the distance, not knowing what he was thinking.

In the northern part of Jiangxia County, Zhou Yu was standing there in a daze, looking at Jiangxia County quietly, like a puppet.

Everywhere Zhou Yu looked, he saw ruins. None of this mattered. What mattered was the layer of green mist that enveloped the entire Jiangxia City. The green mist was like a poisonous miasma that made people afraid to approach, let alone touch it.

Originally Zhou Yu was puzzled as to why the western city wall was breached so quickly. They had clearly retreated and the army was setting up camp, but not long after, Sun Jian brought Huang Zhong into the camp. Now it seems that everything was due to Miao Moqing and the witch she brought with her.

He was not a saint, and it was not the first time that he used poison in war, but he had always used it against the enemy and never against civilians, let alone turning the entire city into a dead city like he was doing now.

He didn't mind the massacre, but he felt that Sun Jian had secretly turned the entire Jiangxia County into a poisonous city without telling anyone. No one would be able to live here in the next few years, decades, or even decades. It was not good that a once prosperous city had become like this in the blink of an eye.

When Zhou Yu was in a daze, Huang Gai, Cheng Pu and others came behind him. They were also shocked after seeing this scene.

Because when they left Jiangxia, it was just a city destroyed by war, but after just a few hours, it became a deserted poisonous city.

They all stayed where they were, not saying a word.

Behind them, Sun Jian's own warriors were shocked by the scene before them. None of them had expected that this place would become a poisonous city.

By the time Zhou Yu and his companions returned to the camp, an hour had passed. Before they entered the camp, Gan Ning, who was waiting at the entrance, came to greet them.

"Commander-in-chief, if you don't come back, I will kill you and come to pick you up."

"Xingba, where is the lord?"

"My lord is waiting for you in his tent. I was really worried about him, so I came out now."

Gan Ning looked at Zhou Yu and always felt that Zhou Yu was a little different, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Well, Xingba, you all wait here, I'll go over there."

"What's wrong, Gongjin?"

Gan Ning changed his title from Dudu to Gongjin, which means that the identities of the two have changed. They are no longer colleagues, but friends.

"Nothing, I have something to ask my lord."

Zhou Yu shook his head to indicate that he was fine.

Gan Ning grabbed Zhou Yu's arm and winked at the person next to him.

"Gongjin, no matter what, you can tell me first."

Zhou Yu looked up at Gan Ning. Gan Ning's eyes were firm. After hesitating for a long time, Zhou Yu finally sighed.

"Nothing, I just went to tell the lord that the eldest son was brought back safely."

Zhou Yu's voice was very low and almost inaudible. There were not many people around at the moment. No one wanted to offend Gan Ning, the bully from Jiangdong, so after Gan Ning signaled them to stay away, they quickly scattered.

"Gongjin, is there something you can't even tell me?"

Gan Ning frowned. The more Zhou Yu said this, the more Gan Ning felt that this matter was of great importance.

Zhou Yu turned around and stared at Gan Ning. The two looked into each other's eyes. Finally, Zhou Yu spoke and told Gan Ning everything he had seen and heard.

After listening to this, Gan Ning understood why Zhou Yu did this. After all, Zhou Yu was born as a Confucian general, which was very different from Gan Ning, a general who fought with his strength. Therefore, he could not accept the use of poison to kill the people of a city. However, Gan Ning did not think so. In Gan Ning's view, winning was the most important thing. As long as he won, the process was not important.

However, Gan Ning did not say it directly, but comforted Zhou Yu.

What they didn't know was that in a large tent not far away, where the soldiers on patrol were supposed to be sleeping, there was only one person at the moment. That person looked at Zhou Yu and Gan Ning in the distance through the gap in the tent with his eyes slightly narrowed, and then got up and left.

Compared to Jiangxia, which has already calmed down, Wujun and Nanjun have just entered the climax of the war.

(End of this chapter)