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

Chapter 250 Mi Fang: Why isn't Guan Yu dead yet?

Jiang Ji sensed Sun Quan's perfunctory attitude, put away the imperial edict, and continued with a smile: "Before Your Majesty issued the edict, the King of Wei specifically petitioned Your Majesty, saying that as the Governor of Jingzhou and the Commander-in-Chief of the military affairs of the four provinces of Jing, Yang, Jiao, and Yi, the Marquis of Wu has the responsibility and obligation to recover Jiangdong."

"The King of Wei also said that Jiangdong has been greatly harmed by Guan Yu, and asked the Marquis of Wu to work hard to govern Jiangdong after recovering it, so as to restore Jiangdong's stability and prosperity as soon as possible."

This translates to: "Jiangdong belongs to Sun Quan. Once you defeat Guan Yu and reclaim Jiangdong, we'll withdraw."

Fei Yi got even angrier. That damned Cao Cao was such a scoundrel! He made the emperor take the blame, but he took the credit himself. What a despicable person he was!

Although he wanted to refute, he didn't know how to say it, and he couldn't make any bigger promises to Sun Quan, because Liu Bei had only let him watch the show and hadn't given him much power. If Liu Bei later reneged on his promises, wouldn't that be very awkward?

Jiang Ji was different. Not only did he have the emperor's edict in his hands, but Cao Cao also granted him the authority to act as he pleased before he came.

Acting expediently is equivalent to the emperor being present in person; there's no need to consult on every matter, and all that's needed is to write a report afterward.

With the power to make decisions at will, Jiang Ji could do whatever he wanted in Jiangling. He could appoint Sun Quan as Grand General on the spot or even kill Sun Quan without any consequences. Therefore, he dared to make any promises, which Fei Yi could never match.

As for who would rule Jiangdong after defeating Guan Yu, that would depend on strength.

In other words, this imperial edict only granted Sun Quan the nominal authority to take control of Jiangdong; whether Sun Quan could reclaim Jiangdong after the war depended on his own abilities.

Sun Quan wanted this title, and now that he had it, he had no more scruples. Upon hearing this, he bowed deeply and said, "Your subject thanks Your Majesty and King Wei."

Jiang Ji put away the imperial edict and was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something. He pointed the edict at Fei Yi's nose and said, "This official is disrespectful to the emperor. Take him away and give him twenty strokes of the cane."

"What?" Fei Yi was stunned. He looked up at Jiang Ji and said in astonishment, "Jiang Zitong, you are shameless."

Sun Quan was also stunned, and after a moment of bewilderment, he decided to obey the order.

If Jiang Ji ordered Fei Yi to be executed, he would definitely not agree, but if it was just to beat him up, Sun Quan said he had wanted to beat Fei Yi up for a long time.

Moreover, this time it was Jiang Ji who ordered the attack in the name of the emperor, not him. He was just an executor, so even if Liu Bei found out, he couldn't blame him.

Sun Quan turned his head and winked at Hu Zong and Xu Xiang. The two immediately stepped forward, dragged Fei Yi away, and Fei Yi struggled to break free. He could only curse as Hu and Xu dragged him away, "Jiang Zitong, you're using your position to settle personal scores!"

Fei Yi was ruthlessly dragged out of the hall, and soon Fei Yi's screams and angry curses could be heard from outside.

"Ahhh, Jiang Ji, I will never let you get away with this!"

"Jiang Ji, you traitorous lackey of Cao Cao, you have harmed loyal and good people and are unworthy of being a subject."

"Jiang Ji, you son of a bitch, you just wait. You better pray you never fall into my hands, otherwise..."

Fei Yi's insults were incredibly vulgar, but Jiang Ji's face was full of enjoyment, as if the more fiercely Fei Yi shouted, the more excited he became.

After the execution, Fei Yi's buttocks were beaten so badly they were covered in blood and gore. Hu Zong and Xu Xiang personally carried him back to the post station for treatment.

Poor Fei Yi, his old wounds hadn't fully healed before he got a new one. What bad luck!

Jiang Ji remained in the hall to continue negotiating with Sun Quan, issuing him a bunch of empty promises he had no intention of honoring, before calmly leaving. Upon returning to the inn, he immediately packed his things and prepared to flee overnight.

He had completely offended Fei Yi this time. Given Fei Yi's nature, he was very likely to send an assassin to kill him. For safety's sake, it was best to leave as soon as possible.

You should know that envoys never travel alone; they are always accompanied by an entire delegation. Finding a few desperate assassins from such a large delegation is not difficult.

To avoid trouble, Jiang Ji simply ran away, giving Fei Yi no chance to retaliate. It was impossible for Fei Yi to get revenge in a short time.

Upon receiving the news, Fei Yi was so angry that he felt dizzy and secretly vowed to use every means to fully support Liu Bei's Northern Expedition when he returned to Bashu, so that Liu Bei could recover Luoyang and unify the world as soon as possible.

Only when Liu Bei unified the world could he seek revenge on Jiang Ji.

Fei Wenwei had never suffered such a great loss in his life, and he absolutely could not let it go.

Jiang Ji was preparing to leave, but the meeting on Sun Quan's side was still going on.

Sun Quan returned to his seat and looked at the civil and military officials around him, saying leisurely, "You have all heard the imperial edict and understand the situation. Now, let's discuss what to do next."

After a moment of eye contact, Gu Yong spoke first, saying firmly, "We must launch an eastern expedition."

"My lord, Liu Bei is currently preoccupied with his northern expedition and has no time to attend to other matters. Cao Ren has marched south to confront Guan Yu. Furthermore, you have received the Emperor's decree and have a legitimate reason to launch an attack. We have the advantage of timing, location, and popular support. Therefore, now is the best time to lead the army eastward and reclaim Jiangdong. If we miss this opportunity, you may never be able to take back Jiangdong."

"It's one thing if we can't take back Jiangdong, but if Guan Yu defeats Cao Ren and recaptures Ruxukou, and Liu Bei's Northern Expedition ends, we will inevitably be attacked from both the east and west by Liu Bei and Guan Yu. If Cao Wei then marches south to take advantage of our misfortune, my lord, let alone Jiangdong, I'm afraid we won't even be able to hold onto Jingzhou."

"Offense is the best defense. If our lord does not attack, he will only be waiting to die. No matter who wins, Guan Yu or Cao Ren will not return Jiangdong to us. Not only will they not return it, but they will also use Jiangdong as a base to attack our lord. If our lord continues to stay in Jingzhou, he will only face death. Only by taking back Jiangdong can we dominate the south of the Yangtze River."

This is the truth. Guan Yu had a grudge against them for crossing the river in white robes. After defeating Cao Ren, he would definitely launch a western expedition to Jingzhou.

Liu Bei would never allow Jiangdong to remain an exclave indefinitely; regardless of victory or defeat in the Northern Expedition, he would send troops to support Guan Yu.

Although Cao Cao had no enmity with Sun Quan, he was determined to conquer the world. After defeating Guan Yu, he would definitely order Cao Ren to lead an army westward to attack Jingzhou.

More importantly, the Zhu family, the head of the four major families in Wu Commandery, has already pledged allegiance to Cao Ren. As long as Cao Ren defeats Guan Yu, he can quickly stabilize Jiangdong with the help of the Zhu family and then launch a westward expedition.

Therefore, Sun Quan now only has one option left: to launch an eastern expedition. He should take advantage of the stalemate between Guan Yu and Cao Ren to launch an attack and reclaim Jiangdong. If he succeeds, he will still be the ruler of Jiangdong. If he fails, he should stop struggling and just wait to die.

As soon as Gu Yong finished speaking, two voices shouted at the same time, "Your Majesty, I second that proposal."

Sun Quan looked up and was surprised to find that it was Mi Fang and Fu Shiren, two invisible men.

Mi Fang, however, said righteously, "I believe that what Commander Gu (Gu Yong was appointed Left Commander) said is right. Now is the best time to attack Guan Yu. This opportunity must not be missed, my lord."

Looking across the entire Jiangdong region, the people who most want Guan Yu dead are not Sun Quan, whose stronghold has been seized, nor Gu Yong, whose son has been killed, but Mi Fang and Fu Shiren, the two traitors who betrayed Guan Yu at a crucial moment.

Because Sun Quan was defeated, everyone else in the hall, including Sun Quan himself, would survive, but the two of them were definitely going to die.

Since Guan Yu's surprise attack on Jianye, Mi Fang and Fu Shiren haven't had a single peaceful night's sleep. Their fear of Guan Yu has penetrated to the bone, and they've been praying to the gods and Buddhas every day, hoping that Guan Yu will die as soon as possible.

Sun Quan ignored the two traitors and looked at Zhang Zhao, saying, "What does the strategist think?"

Zhang Zhao stepped forward and said, "I think Gu Sima is right. This is our lord's last chance to turn the tide. If we can recover Jiangdong, we can live. If we can't, we should think about our way out as soon as possible."

That was so direct, it really gave Sun Quan a headache.

Seeing that Zhang Zhao and Gu Yong had both expressed their opinions, the others bowed and said, "Your subject seconds your opinion."

Sun Quan nodded in satisfaction and said, "Then tell me how to fight."