Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 95: The Imperial Seal is Presented to the Emperor
"Be bold!"

As soon as Liu Bei finished speaking, Hu Che'er, who was standing beside him, glared at him, drew the long sword from his waist, and a fierce look appeared on his face.

"I think your life and property must stay here!"

Liu Bei seemed to be unaware of Hu Che'er's long sword, and he sternly rebuked him, "How dare you! I am talking to your general, how can a small general like you interrupt me?!"

"You are looking for death!" Hu Che'er became furious when he heard this and made a gesture to chop.

"Stop!" Zhang Xiu quickly spoke up to stop him.

Although Hu Che'er was extremely angry, he had no choice but to do as Zhang Xiu ordered. He put away his long sword and stepped aside.

Zhang Xiu looked at Liu Bei coldly and said, "Xuan De, aren't you afraid that I will kill you?"

Liu Bei remained calm, with no fear in his eyes, and said calmly: "I have said that I am here for your future and life. If you do not care, then you can kill me."

Negotiation is all about momentum.

Liu Bei's indifferent attitude towards life and death made it impossible for others to figure out his true colors.

Zhang Xiu clapped his hands, and soon two soldiers each brought a prisoner who was tied up behind bars into the house.

"Does Xuande know who they are?" Zhang Xiu looked at Liu Bei with a teasing look, pointing at the two trembling captives, "One of them is Cao Cao's envoy, and the other is Sun Ce's envoy. Like Xuande, they are here to negotiate."

"If Xuande doesn't speak properly, he will be imprisoned like them."

"Uuuuuuu——!"

The two messengers had their mouths blocked and were tied up, so they could only lie on the ground and whimper.

If an ordinary person encountered this incident, even if he was not scared to death, he would be terrified.

But Liu Bei came here with the determination to die, so how could he be afraid? Instead, he laughed out loud, "If that's the case, then the general should know why I'm here."

Zhang Xiu laughed and said, "It's nothing more than persuading them to surrender."

"So what are you going to do, General?" Liu Bei looked at Zhang Xiu steadily. "General, you should know that Shouchun can be defended for a while, but not forever. It's only a matter of time before the city falls."

"When Shouchun City falls, that will be the day the general dies."

"It is better to surrender to General Fenwei as soon as possible, so that you can save your life."

Zhang Xiu knew very well that what Liu Bei said was true, but it was too risky for him to surrender.

"That's enough! Shouchun is impregnable. I want to see how you guys take over Shouchun!"

"You have come from afar, and your food and fodder are not enough to sustain a long-term battle. In my opinion, you will have no choice but to retreat in three months at the latest, or half a year at the longest."

The various armies that arrived in Shouchun together put a lot of pressure on the city.

But Zhang Xiu was well aware of their weaknesses.

Cao Cao, Lu Bu, Sun Ce, and the Jizhou army led by Yan Liang and Wen Chou all faced food and fodder problems.

The daily food and fodder consumption of tens of thousands of troops is an astonishing number.

Even if they transported food from their homeland, it would be impossible to gather enough food and fodder to support the army for a long time.

As long as he holds the city and waits for the various armies to retreat, he can use Shouchun as his base, slowly gather troops and take back Yuan Shu's lost territory!

Liu Bei smiled and shook his head when he heard this, and said quietly: "If the general is really willing to die for Yuan Shu, then there is no point in talking any more, just kill me. But the general has talked with me for so long, which shows that he may not really want to surrender to Yuan Shu, nor is he confident in defending Shouchun."

"Perhaps the general has been waiting for me to arrive after the envoys from Sun Ce and Cao Cao arrived?"

Zhang Xiu paused for a moment while drinking his tea, and his expression hardened. "What do you mean?"

Liu Bei said slowly: "The general had a deep blood feud with Cao Cao. He was afraid of his revenge, so he abandoned Wancheng and went to Yuan Shu, who usurped the throne. After arriving in Yangzhou, he did not expect Yuan Shu to be defeated so quickly."

"However, the general has no other options now. You are in urgent need of a place to stay, so you can only take things one step at a time. So the general fell into the dangerous situation of being trapped in Shouchun."

After listening to Liu Bei's words, although Zhang Xiu had a blank expression on his face, his eyes changed and he held the teacup a little tighter.

"The general knows that Yuan Shu's defeat is inevitable. If he follows Yuan Shu wholeheartedly, he will die."

"However, the general has a grudge against Cao Cao and Sun Ce. The general did not ignore their urging to surrender, but he did not dare to trust them."

"Only General Lu Bu has no grudges against you, so you don't have to worry about being repaid later."

"That's why I said that the general has been waiting for my arrival."

"Bang!" The teacup in Zhang Xiu's hand suddenly shattered, and the tea flowed all over his hands and body.

Liu Bei had seen through all of his secrets, so there was no point in trying any tricks now.

It would be better to negotiate the terms directly.

Zhang Xiu looked straight at Liu Bei and said, "I can surrender, but I have conditions."

When Liu Bei heard this, he immediately became spirited, his tense nerves relaxed, and a hint of joy flashed in his eyes.

He had previously used the Mi family's network of connections to investigate all information related to Zhang Xiu, and concluded that he would not be loyal to Yuan Shu and only wanted to survive.

Now it seems that everything is just as he deduced!
Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Liu Bei showed a warm smile on his face.

"General, please tell me what the conditions are."

"Xuan De, wait a moment." Zhang Xiu stood up, drew a long sword from Hu Che'er's waist, and walked towards the messenger sent by Cao Cao and Sun Ce.

Accompanied by two dull sounds, the two messengers fell in a pool of blood.

Seeing this, Liu Bei nodded secretly with satisfaction.

If he doesn't kill these two messengers, he will still feel resentful.

"General, do you know where your strategist Jia Xu is now?"

After killing the two envoys, Zhang Xiu's mentality was completely different from before. He laughed loudly and said, "Xuan De, just speak directly."

Liu Bei: "Jia Xu is now in Yecheng, and the emperor has conferred upon him the title of Guanglu Xun."

Hearing this, Zhang Xiu's eyebrows twitched and joy rose in his eyes.

Lü Bu received an imperial edict from the Emperor of Yecheng to attack Yuan Shu. To surrender to Lü Bu was to surrender to the Emperor.

Jia Xu was given the title of Guanglu Xun, so doesn't that mean he is...

Zhang Xiu stepped forward and held Liu Bei's hands with his bloody hands, "Xuan De, come, come, let's discuss how to capture Shouchun without bloodshed."

……

Around the hour of Hai, the night was already very late.

Yuan Shu was sleeping soundly in his bedroom when suddenly, a pair of large hands pulled him off the bed and threw him to the ground.

This fall woke Yuan Shu up immediately. He covered his arm and cursed angrily: "Who dares to be so bold!"

However, when he raised his head, he saw dozens of soldiers who had entered the bedroom at some point in time. Each of them was wearing armor and carrying a sword, and was looking at him ferociously.

Seeing this scene, he felt a chill running from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head, and said in horror: "Who are you? How dare you trespass into the emperor's bedroom?" The leader, Hu Che'er, sneered and waved his hand, saying: "Tie this guy up and bring him to see the general!"

Two soldiers stepped forward, quickly tied up Yuan Shu, and dragged him outside.

"Someone is coming! Someone is coming quickly!"

"Escort! Escort!"

Yuan Shu was terrified and shouted at the top of his lungs, but no one responded.

Not long after, he was taken to a hall.

"General, the fake emperor has been brought here!"

"Okay, please step back first."

Hearing this familiar voice, Yuan Shu was startled and looked up suddenly, his face showing horror.

Sitting on the main seat in the hall was a man who had become his nightmare.

"Lu Bu!"

Yuan Shu was so terrified that he almost doubted whether he was dreaming.

How could Lu Bu appear in his palace!

Turning around, he found that not only Lu Bu, but also Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were all present!

Lu Bu sat high in the main seat, looking down at Yuan Shu who was tied up in the hall, and sneered, "Traitor! Did you expect to fall into my hands?"

Yuan Shu turned pale and said in disbelief: "My Shouchun is impregnable, how could you be here? This is impossible!"

"General! I still have a general!"

"Where is the general? Where is my general?"

Yuan Shu kept struggling and calling for help, hoping that Zhang Xiu would come out to rescue him.

"Shut up, traitor!"

A voice came, shattering Yuan Shu's last glimmer of hope.

He looked when he heard the sound, and saw Zhang Xiu leading a team of soldiers into the hall, holding a box in his hands, and looking at him with anger on his face.

After giving Yuan Shu a fierce glare, Zhang Xiu stepped forward with the box and presented it to Lu Bu.

"General, the imperial seal stolen by the traitor Yuan Shu is in the box."

"Good!" Lu Bu was overjoyed. He took the imperial seal and looked at it for a while before handing it to Liu Bei. "Xuan De, keep this seal. This is a great gift from me to your majesty. Please keep it safe."

"Don't worry, General." Liu Bei took the box and was also a little excited.

The divine weapon has returned to the emperor's hands. Does this indicate that the Han Dynasty is about to be reborn?

Yuan Shu was completely confused at this moment. He stared at Zhang Xiu blankly and asked in a trembling voice: "General, what is going on?"

"Why?" Zhang Xiu snorted coldly, "Yuan Shu! You have usurped the throne and proclaimed yourself emperor. This is hated by both humans and gods, and is unacceptable to the world!"

"I pretended to follow you before, just to get the imperial seal to present to Your Majesty! Now that General Fenwei's army has arrived, how can I continue to help the tyrant? I will open the city to welcome you!"

After hearing this, Yuan Shu realized that Zhang Xiu had surrendered and offered the city, which made him desperate and furious.

"Zhang Xiu! You are such a fickle villain!"

"I have treated you well and appointed you as a general. How dare you betray me!"

"Zheng——!" Zhang Xiu was so angry that he drew out the sharp knife from his waist and said murderously: "Shut up! Shameless old thief! Don't you know that everyone in the world is willing to eat your flesh alive! How dare you talk nonsense here!"

Yuan Shu was so angry that he was out of his mind. He ignored Zhang Xiu's sword and kept cursing.

There is absolutely no trace of the demeanor of a family of three generations of officials.

Zhang Xiu wanted to chop him to death after hearing those dirty words.

"General Zhang, don't pay any attention to this lost dog." Lu Bu hurriedly stopped Zhang Xiu. He wanted to present Yuan Shu and the imperial seal to the emperor. If he was killed by Zhang Xiu now, it would be a big loss.

"Hmph!" Zhang Xiu snorted coldly at Yuan Shu, put away his blade and stepped aside.

Lu Bu added: "General Zhang, it is a wise move to abandon the dark and join the light, surrender and offer the city. I will report to the emperor and commend your merits."

"Thank you, General!" Zhang Xiu immediately showed a look of gratitude and felt secretly happy in his heart.

He made great contributions, which were far beyond the reach of Jia Xu who went to Yecheng alone.

If Jia Xu could get the title of Guanglu Xun, it shouldn't be a problem for him to be appointed as Zhonglingjun, right?

Lu Bu turned to Liu Bei and said, "Xuan De, you should be the first to take Shouchun. After you have completely taken over Shouchun, you will accompany me to escort the traitor Yuan Shu to Yecheng to meet the emperor."

Liu Bei undoubtedly deserves the greatest credit for persuading Zhang Xiu to surrender and offer the city, and taking Shouchun without bloodshed.

"Thank you, General." Liu Bei readily agreed.

"Okay!" Lu Bu waved his hand, his eyes sparkling, and said in high spirits: "Pass the order, the army will enter the city and take over Shouchun!"

……

With Zhang Xiu's surrender, Lu Bu's army entered the city.

Yuan Shu's ambition was completely bankrupt.

Cao Cao, who had been keeping an eye on Lu Bu's movements, was so shocked when he heard the news that he didn't even bother to put on his clothes. He went straight to the deck of the warship and looked towards Shouchun.

When he saw large armies entering Shouchun with its city gates wide open, his face suddenly became extremely gloomy.

"Zhang Xiu, you bastard, have repeatedly ruined my plans!" Cao Cao cursed with gnashing teeth, feeling extremely angry towards Zhang Xiu!

He also sent an envoy a few days ago to persuade Zhang Xiu to surrender, promising that as long as he was willing to surrender, all grudges would be wiped out, and he would also present a memorial to the emperor to confer a title of nobility and appoint him as a general. However, the envoy never returned.

I thought this man was extremely stupid and would die with Yuan Shu.

Unexpectedly, he surrendered to Lu Bu without saying a word.

After looking at Shouchun with hatred, Cao Cao reluctantly ordered: "Order the three armies to retreat!"

Now that Shouchun had been captured by Lu Bu, there was no need for him to stay. He could only withdraw his troops quickly and fight for other territories in Yangzhou as much as possible.

At the same time, Sun Ce also received the news that Zhang Xiu had surrendered the city.

"Alas, what a pity." Sun Ce sighed with a sad face.

He occupied the six counties of Jiangdong, and if he could capture Shouchun, his hegemony would be achieved.

"Invite the Grand Commander to come and discuss matters immediately!"

(End of this chapter)