At night, the Han army fleet slowly docked at the wharf in Wuhu County. Thousands of torches shone the wharf in the daytime. In the light of hunting fire, a group of soldiers began to line up to get ashore. Liu Jing also got ashore surrounded by hundreds of guards. At this time, a soldier rushed over quickly and reported: "Report to Your Highness, Jiangdong Lusu, please see him."

Liu Jing looked back and saw Lu Su standing not far away, with several soldiers accompanying him. His expression was very serious and there was no smile at all. Liu Jing nodded and smiled, "Please come here."

After a moment, Lu Su hurried forward, bowed and said, "See Your Highness."

Liu Jing smiled slightly, "I took up Jiangdong territory without the invitation of the Marquis of Wu. Zijing came to raise an army to question the crime."

Lu Su smiled bitterly and said, "Your Highness, don't joke anymore. At this point, does Jiangdong still have any choice?"

At this time, a soldier laid a soft mat in the tax booth next to the dock. Liu Jing smiled and said, "Let's go to the pavilion to talk."

Lu Su followed Liu Jing to the pavilion, and the two of them took a seat. Lu Su sighed: "This year is a turbulent autumn in Jiangdong. There are internal strife in Jiangdong, and the people are divided into three parts. The people's hearts are in chaos. Wu Hou was also extremely worried. He sent me to come and wanted to have a frank talk with His Highness."

Liu Jing's smile disappeared and he said lightly: "I need to tell Zijing first that the reason I led my army to Jiangdong was not to plot against Jiangdong, but to get information. Cao Cao personally led an 80,000 army to drink the Yangtze River and stared at Jiangdong. I was worried that Jiangdong would not be protected, so I came to rescue him, which was to protect Jiangdong and for the safety of Jingzhou. I hope Zijing can understand this."

Lu Su nodded, "I understand in my heart, and the Marquis of Wu is also very clear. Your Highness does not need to explain. I came here this time because I hope that your Highness can support the Marquis of Wu and prevent Sun Ben from occupying Jiangdong. Your Highness should also know that Sun Ben and Cao Cao are relatives and have been secretly interacting with Cao Cao. This time, Cao Cao's troops suppress Ruxukou is to support him. Once Sun Ben replaces the Marquis of Wu, Jiangdong will be Cao Cao's meal on the plate."

"Then how can Wu Hou support him if he needs me?" Liu Jing asked with a smile.

"The Marquis of Wu hopes that His Highness can release the prisoners of war captured by the Jiaozhou army and return them to Jianye. Secondly, he hopes that when we fight against Sun Ben, the Han army can attack Sun Ben from the side and help us defeat the rebels. Of course, as compensation, we will promise all conditions within our ability."

Liu Jing was silent. After a while, he looked up at Lu Su. Seeing that he looked very nervous, he smiled and said, "Zi Jing doesn't have to be so nervous. Things are not at the worst."

"So, Your Highness agreed to our request."

"Not necessarily"

Liu Jing shook his head and said in a solemn manner: "I said just now that I don't want Jiangdong to perish, so I will do my best to protect Wuhou. As for the request made by Wuhou, the issue of captured soldiers. I can tell Zijing frankly that I don't want Jiangdong to be destroyed by war. These soldiers are the future of Jiangdong. They will bear the revival of Jiangdong, rather than the battlefield of death, so I can only let the soldiers choose themselves. If anyone is willing to come back to fight for Wuhou, then I will let them come back, but if someone chooses not to want to fight and only wants to farm and fish, then I will forgive me for not giving it to Wuhou. I will wait until the war is over and let them go back to their hometowns."

Lu Su sighed, "Jiangdong is war every year, and the population is withering, and it cannot be destroyed anymore. Although I support Your Highness's decision very much, the Marquis of Wu may not be happy. Please ask Your Highness to change his words."

Although Lu Su supported Liu Jing's approach in his heart, he could not agree. This was a matter of position. Lu Su took out a gold medal and said to Liu Jing: "This is the gold medal given to me by Marquis Wu. I can fully negotiate with His Highness on behalf of him."

The implication is that as long as they can be said in another way, Jiangdong can accept it. Liu Jing understood it and smiled and said, "Then just say that, I will respect the wishes of the soldiers of Jiangdong. As long as they are willing to return to Jiangdong, I will never stop them."

Lu Su smiled bitterly and said something very nice, but the situation in Jiangdong is so chaotic, which Jiangdong soldier is willing to come back and die.

Liu Jing smiled and said, "As for assisting Wu Hou and Sun Ben in battle, I can only guarantee that I will stop Cao's army from assisting Sun Ben. If the situation is critical, I will also send troops to help Wu Hou with his help. This is my promise."

Lu Su bowed deeply, "Thank you for your support"

Both requests were answered, as if their conversation should end, but they knew in their hearts that there was another key issue that was not discussed, that is, the ownership of Yuzhang County and Poyang County. Now that the Han army has defeated the Jiaozhou Army and occupied these two major counties that originally belonged to Jiangdong, what is Liu Jing's attitude? Will he return these two counties to Jiangdong?

But now Lu Su has something to ask for Liu Jing, so he couldn't speak for a while. His lips moved and he didn't say it out. However, Liu Jing understood Lu Su's thoughts and smiled and said, "Zi Jing wants to talk to me about Yuzhang County and Poyang County."

Lu Su sighed, "Jiangdong itself is small. If these two counties are lost, they can only live in the southeast. I beg your Highness to return these two counties to Jiangdong."

Liu Jing had a plan in his mind, so he was waiting to talk about this matter with Lu Su at this moment. He said with a serious expression: "I am ugly in front of you. These two counties have been occupied by the Jiaozhou army. Jiangdong was defeated by the Jiaozhou army. These two counties belong to Jiaozhou, but I defeated the Jiaozhou army and took back these two counties from the Jiaozhou army. In this sense, I can completely incorporate these two counties into the territory of the Han Dynasty. There is no moral problem and it does not violate the alliance between our two families. This is a matter of principle. I hope to get a clear answer from Zijing."

Lu Su nodded helplessly after a while. He had to admit that Liu Jing was right. The Han army seized these two counties without any moral problems. Although it was a bit difficult to accept, this was a fact and he could not speak lies with his eyes.

"Your Highness is right, there is no problem with morality, but I still plead for you to return them to Jiangdong."

Liu Jing laughed, and this is the premise he wanted. He nodded and said, "I can give these two counties back to Jiangdong for Princess Shangxiang's sake, but I want to give an explanation to the Han army soldiers. Let's do an exchange. I will use Yuzhang County and Poyang County to exchange Lujiang County in Jiangbei. Can Zijing agree?"

Lu Su was stunned. It turned out that Liu Jing wanted Lujiang County. He asked in confusion: "Why does Your Highness want Lujiang County?"

"It's very simple. My next step is to attack the Central Plains. I have to open the Hefei passage, attack Xuzhou to the northeast, and attack Yuzhou to the northwest, so I can fight against the Central Plains from four fronts at the same time. Hefei is of great significance to me, and Hefei belongs to Lujiang County, so I have to take Lujiang County first. Can Zijing agree?"

"This..." Lu Su hesitated. Although Sun Quan prepared him to be the plenipotentiary representative, he did not dare to speak easily when it involved the territory.

Liu Jing's face darkened and said coldly: "I hope Zijing can see the situation clearly. After Cao's army occupied Hefei, it has actually occupied the richest part of Lujiang County. The western part of Lujiang is a sparsely populated place and has no meaning to Jiangdong. I will exchange this way, just give you Wu Hou a face. If Zijing doesn't want to, then Yuzhang and Poyang will not need to talk about which one is more important. Zijing will do it himself."

Lu Su was forced to helpless by Liu Jing, so he had to grit his teeth and agree to the exchange, "Okay, then we'll make up for it."

"This is the one who knows the current affairs"

Liu Jing patted Lu Su on the shoulder and said with a smile: "I know that the Zijing family is all in Lujiang. Please ask Zijing to go in. I will treat your tribe well. As for Wu Hou, I believe he will agree with Zijing's decision."

Lu Su sighed in his heart. He wanted to go back to Yuzhang and Poyang, but lost Lujiang County. Jiangdong lost hope to march into the Central Plains from then on. He didn't know whether this was a blessing or a disaster for Jiangdong, nor did he know that Wu Hou would praise his ability or denounce him to treason.

But Liu Jing tied the exchange and support of the three counties together, and he had no choice.

...........

At the fifth hour, an army was marching north quickly. This area was a fertile and rich alluvial plain of Zhejiang River. At the end of the Han Dynasty, hundreds of thousands of northern refugees fled to Jiangdong, reclaimed wasteland and farmed land in Jiangdong, and gradually flourished Kuaiji County and Wu County, and the Jiangdong regime also rose.

It was early winter. It had just fallen in Jiangnan. Thin snowflakes covered the earth, revealing the true colors of soil, making the world behind the snow not so pure white, and the official road became muddy. The black snow and mud mixed together made it particularly difficult for the soldiers to march.

This army has about 8,000 people, composed of Han and Shanyue people. This is also the characteristic of Kuaiji army. Among the tens of thousands of Sun Ben's troops, at least 30% were Shanyue people. This army was led by He Qi's younger brother He Jing, and was ordered by Sun Ben to seize Fuchun County.

Fuchun County is located on the north bank of Zhejiang River, close to Kuaiji County. It is the only way for Kuaiji County troops to go north. The downstream of Zhejiang River is also one of the most prosperous areas in Jiangdong. This area consists of four counties: Linshui, Yuhang, Qiantang and Fuchun. It has a dense population and a vast arable land.

Therefore, Sun Ben's first step was to seize this prosperous land and gain population and economic advantages, and Fuchun County was the first to bear the brunt.

The Kuaiji army had obtained information in advance that Fuchun County had not had many troops, with only more than 1,000 people, led by a general, so Sun Ben did not send out most troops. Only eight thousand people were enough to seize Fuchun County. After all, it is not suitable to fight in winter, and it is mainly based on training and cultivation.

Before dawn, the dark night was shrouded in the earth, but the night in the east sky had become thinner, revealing a faint blue color, making it not difficult to walk on the night road. You can barely see the outline of the road, but the muddy ground is full of trouble for the soldiers' marchingmen. The soldiers whispered, and from time to time, people squat down and groped, looking for shoes that were trapped in mud.

The main general He Jingnian was about thirty years old. He looked very similar to his elder brother. He was also tall and burly. He had a thousand pounds of arms and had a 70-pound iron halberd. He was a famous general in Kuaiji County. He made many contributions in the war to suppress the Shanyue people and was named a general.

Today he volunteered to seize Fuchun County. He Jing was determined to win. Seeing the soldiers marching slowly, he couldn't help but feel anxious. They had to cross the Zhejiang River before dawn, but now it was five o'clock, and they were still twenty miles away from Zhejiang River, so it was probably too late.
Chapter completed!