The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 385 Lu Xun's Doomsday (4)

The three people on the city wall were stunned at the same time, looking at each other in astonishment.

They had just received Guan Xing's order not to accept the enemy general's surrender when the enemy general arrived.

What a coincidence! Or is Lu Xun desperate and grasping at straws?

Shen Yi smiled and said, "I bet Zhou Fang wants to surrender and then ask me to go out of the city to pursue Lu Xun. Believe it or not?"

Hao Yu said, "I guessed you were right. So what should we do now? Should we throw them directly into jail, or bring them up here for questioning before throwing them into jail?"

Zhou Fang was a senior general in the Wu army, and after the deaths of Han Dang and Xu Sheng, he became Lu Xun's right-hand man. There was no reason to let such a person go to his door, right?

Shen Yi turned to look at the Wu army camp and said calmly, "I'm not going to see you. You can handle it. Lock him up in the county jail..."

"Forget it, that dilapidated cell is older than me. It can't hold anyone if the wind blows it down. Let's just take him to the county office, find him a bedroom, put up a fence outside and build a temporary cell so Zhou Fang can get some rest. He must be exhausted after all this trouble."

"Remember, don't believe anything Zhou Fang says. Don't believe him even more if he mutilates himself to gain your trust. Always keep in mind General Guan's advice: the more severely Wu generals mutilate themselves, the lower their chances of surrendering."

As Shen Yi said this, a strange feeling rose in his heart.

Previously, he was just a minor official in the government office, while Zhou Fang was a member of the Zhou clan of Wu Commandery and the Western Commandant of Danyang Commandery, who was highly valued by Sun Quan. Normally, it was difficult for him to even see Zhou Fang, let alone deal with him.

But now, he has become a general with tens of thousands of troops, a Marquis of Guannei personally appointed by Guan Yu, and a powerful figure whom Zhou Fang longs to see but cannot. The feeling of trampling on the once unapproachable big shot is simply too good to be true, even better than the wedding night.

Thank you, General Guan. Thank you, old General Guan. Thank you, King of Hanzhong.

"Look..." Hao Yu, unaware of his inner thoughts, turned and left upon hearing this, and Li Gousheng curiously followed.

The two arrived at the city walls and approached Zhou Fang. Hao Yu said casually, "You must be Commandant Zhou Fang. I am Hao Yu."

Zhou Fang had never heard of Hao Yu's name, but since he needed a favor, he had no choice but to lower his noble head and say against his will, "So you are General Hao. I have long admired your name. May I ask when I may meet General Shen Yi?"

Hao Yu smiled and said, "General Shen said there's no need to see you for the time being. He told you to go to the county office to rest first. As for meeting, we'll talk about it after we defeat Lu Xun."

Zhou Fang: "..."

What do you mean? You don't want to see me, fine, but you're not planning to let me go back?

Your Han army is too thuggish! Do you even know what it means to not kill envoys in a war?

Even though you didn't intend to kill me, it's still wrong of you to detain me without cause.

Zhou Fang wanted to say something more, but Hao Yu didn't give him the chance. He gestured to Li Gousheng to take him away. Li Gousheng didn't hesitate and led his men to lift Zhou Fang up and leave.

Zhou Fang panicked and, while being dragged forward, tried to turn back and shout to Hao Yu, "General, please understand, I've come to surrender. I have important military intelligence to report to General Shen Yi. Please let me see General Shen, at least give me a chance to speak!"

Before coming, Zhou Fang had considered all possible changes and all the tricky questions Shen Yi might ask, but he never expected that the damned Shen Yi would not even meet with him. Is this how you treat an envoy?

The problem is, how can his plan be executed if they don't meet in person? Even the most brilliant schemes require communication to be implemented. You need to use your silver tongue, like Zhang Yi, to persuade the other party. If the other party refuses to communicate, what good is your eloquence?

So Zhou Fang panicked and struggled desperately to break free and run up the city wall to see Shen Yi and beg for a chance to communicate. He was willing to kneel down before Shen Yi as long as he could get a chance to communicate.

Hao Yu chuckled sarcastically, "We accept your surrender, but forget about your so-called important military intelligence; we don't need it."

Zhou Fang asked in astonishment, "Why? I have all the intelligence on Wu's army and all of Lu Xun's upcoming action plans. Aren't you even a little bit tempted?"

Hao Yu laughed and said, "Of course we're tempted. How could we not be tempted by such important intelligence? But the Wu army's terrible reputation makes us dare not be tempted!"

"You should know that the story of Zhou Yu beating Huang Gai is widely known, and the lesson of crossing the river in white is extremely profound. Therefore, we will not believe any promises made by your Wu army. Just stay in the county office in peace. We guarantee that you will be well fed and clothed and will not be subjected to any mistreatment."

Zhou Fang was so angry he almost lost his composure. What did he mean by not believing any guarantee? How was this any different from being prejudiced and judging people by their appearance?

The problem is, what am I supposed to do if you don't believe anything? I risked coming all this way, and if I fail to lure the enemy and end up getting myself killed, that would be such a loss.

Thinking of this, Zhou Fang suddenly found a surge of strength, broke free from Li Gousheng's grasp, drew the dagger from Li Gousheng's waist, quickly retreated to create distance, and then held the dagger to his own throat, saying, "General Hao, you should understand the principle that a scholar can be killed but not humiliated. I, Zhou Fang, have come to surrender sincerely, yet you treat me like this. Is this how the King of Hanzhong treats scholars?"

Hao Yu was also surprised by Zhou Fang's actions. He instinctively reached out and said in astonishment, "What do you want to do? Don't do this. You're still young. Don't go down the wrong path. Calm down and let's talk this out."

Ignoring his rambling, Zhou Fang continued, "I am Zhou Fang, not Huang Gai. I have sincerely abandoned darkness and come to surrender to General Shen Yi. Please believe me, General. I swear in the name of my ancestors that if I utter a single falsehood today, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death."

Hao Yu spread his hands and said, "We welcome your surrender. We didn't say we wouldn't accept your surrender. We just want you to stay at the county government office for a few days. We'll take you to see General Guan after the war is over. You're not terminally ill, are you? A few more days won't make a difference."

To be fair, Hao Yu's words made perfect sense, leaving Zhou Fang speechless.

Besides, since Hao Yu has already said that, if he insists on seeing Shen Yi, it will easily make people suspect his intentions.

How to do how to do?

Zhou Fang's mind raced as he quickly devised a plan. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said, "Thank you for your understanding, General. But your questioning just now was an insult to me, Zhou Fang. A scholar can be killed but not humiliated. I must prove my innocence."

After saying this, he grabbed his hair, picked up a dagger, and cut off a large piece of his scalp under the horrified gazes of Hao Yu and Li Gousheng. Then, holding the severed scalp in both hands, he presented it to Hao Yu and cried out in a mournful voice, "My body and hair are given to me by my parents. I cut my hair to show my resolve. With this, I sever all ties with Eastern Wu. I cut my hair to surrender. Heaven can bear witness to my vow. I beg General Shen to see me."

Despite all that was said, Hao Yu and Li Gousheng didn't hear a single word. The other Han soldiers were the same. They were all stunned, as if struck by lightning, when they saw the bloody scalp. Their minds were buzzing and they only had one thought: This person cut off his own scalp. He was too cruel to himself.

Shen Yi, who witnessed this scene from the city tower, was also startled by Zhou Fang's decisiveness. He quickly went downstairs, bowed, and said, "Shen Yi greets Commandant Zhou. Commandant Zhou, why did you do this?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Fang was overjoyed. Without even observing Shen Yi's appearance, he hurriedly said, "Zhou Fang cuts his hair and begs to surrender. Please, General, hear me out."

Shen Yi shook his head and said, "Commander Zhou, please listen to me first. Before my departure, my General Guan gave me a strict order that I must keep in mind. General Guan said that the more you Wu generals harm yourselves, the lower the probability of you truly surrendering. So the more you do this, the less I can trust you."

Zhou Fang: "..."

What do you mean by saying that the more you hurt yourself, the lower the probability of truly surrendering? Guan Xing, you're judging others by your own petty standards. You bastard.

Shen Yi waved his hand and said, "Gou Sheng, what are you standing there for? Take Commandant Zhou down to rest, and then find a military doctor to treat his wounds. This bloody mess is horrifying to look at."

Li Gousheng quickly stepped forward, snatched the dagger, and dragged Zhou Fang away. Zhou Fang, whose defenses had already been breached, did not resist this time and obediently allowed Li Gousheng and his men to drag him to the county government office.