Liu Mang had underestimated Mi Zhu. Even so, Mi Zhu was still loyal to Liu Bei. In fact, Liu Mang had made the wrong comparison. Mi Zhu and Kuai Yue were different. Kuai Yue might be a sly old fox, but he cared about his family the most. Kuai Ran and Kuai Liang were his younger brother and his son respectively. They were the ones he cared about the most. The rise and fall of a family depended on the harmony between the three of them. In the end, Kuai Yue was able to let go of everything to be with his younger brother and son.
On the other hand, Mi Zhu was different. He cared too much about his status as a landowning household. In other words, Mi Zhu was afraid of being poor. It wasn't because he didn't have money but because of his status. Kuai Yue was a landowning household and was respected everywhere. In the end, the Kuai Family became an aristocratic family. Mi Zhu was different. The Mi Family was a merchant. They made a lot of money but so what? They didn't dare to use it too much. They didn't dare to use it because they didn't want to attract unwanted attention. Even Guan Yu, who used to sell dates, looked down on Mi Zhu. In any case, when Guan Yu was buying dates, Mi Zhu was already the richest man in Xuzhou.
But it was useless. Mi Zhu was just a merchant. He was the lowest of the low. That was why he desperately wanted a noble title. For that title, he was willing to go bankrupt, even if his family was ruined.
"Lord Mi Zhu, if you send me to Left General Liu Bei's residence, then the death of General Mi Fang and Lady Mi will become a reality." Liu Mang's messenger said indifferently.
"Is that so?" Liu Mang's messenger thought that this would make Mi Zhu stop. However, Mi Zhu only sighed. "If my younger brother and sister know that I am doing this for the Mi Family, they will definitely support me."
This was a ruthless person! Liu Mang's messenger was called ruthless because he did not care about his own flesh and blood. However, Mi Zhu was a ruthless person who dared to abandon his own family.
Mi Zhu touched the three letters of appointment in his hand. As long as they were around, the Mi Family would be able to rise again. What did feelings matter? What did family matter? He, Mi Zhu, was not old yet. He still had the ability to marry several wives and concubines. It was only a matter of time before the Mi Family became a landowning household. These three letters of appointment had already marked the Mi Family as a noble family. Who else could compare to the Mi Family? A single family with three Marquises!
"Also, is Sun Qian with you?" Mi Zhu suddenly thought of a person. This person was Liu Bei's number two strategist, Sun Qian. Mi Zhu was not an idiot. Why did Sun Qian not say anything earlier or later? Why did he say that he saw his siblings in Ruyin? Not long after, Liu Bei announced that his siblings were dead. There must be something fishy going on.
"So what if there is? So what if there isn't?"
Mi Zhu's interest was piqued. "If you can identify Sun Qian, I can guarantee that you won't suffer any physical pain. I can even spare your life!" Mi Zhu patiently enticed Liu Mang's messenger. He, Mi Zhu, currently lacked the attention of his lord, Liu Bei. If he could dig out Sun Qian, it would be a great contribution.
Moreover, he was already on Pang Tong's side. If he tripped up Sun Qian, Pang Tong would think highly of him.
"What if I don't say anything?"
"You won't say anything? Once the lord finds out, it won't be up to you. You will say it when the time comes! " Mi Zhu sneered at Liu Mang's messenger. Extorting a confession through torture was truly unbearable.
"Yes!" Liu Mang's messenger said straightforwardly.
"Hm?" Mi Zhu was stunned. He thought that the messenger would at least be a little hot-blooded. How could he say it so straightforwardly? Mi Zhu thought that the messenger was a ruthless person. After all, the letter was taken from the messenger's back. However, Mi Zhu was only threatening the messenger. He hadn't even tortured the messenger yet and the messenger had already said it.
"I can tell you that this Mister Gongyou was already captured by my lord when he was in Ruyin!" Liu Mang's messenger calmly said.
"Oh?" Mi Zhu's eyes lit up. Sun Qian's capture in Ruyin had cast a shadow over Sun Qian's heart. At that time, everyone felt that something was wrong, but because Sun Qian came back in such a miserable state, they didn't pursue the matter. Now, there was really something going on.
"Mister Gong You and Pang Biejia have a grudge. I believe that Lord Mi Zhu knows about it!"
"Yes!" Mi Zhu nodded.
"In Ruyin, Pang Biejia set up an empty city stratagem to stop our military advisor, Liu Ye. However, everyone knew that Ruyin wouldn't last long. Even if they were cautious, they only needed to send troops to surround Ruyin. That way, the people in Ruyin wouldn't be able to escape! Mister Gong You was quickly captured by my lord! "Liu Mang's messenger said. This person was the Yi Yang soldier who captured Sun Qian. Naturally, he was very familiar with that battle.
"What happened next?" Mi Zhu felt that there was a big secret behind this. If he knew, his status would definitely rise. "Don't worry. As long as you tell me everything, not only will I guarantee your safety, I will also reward you with riches!"
"Mister Gong You was originally captured. As long as the provisions in the hidden granary were used, his life would have been redeemed. However, Pang Biejia's men burned the provisions to the ground! "
"It was the military advisor's men who burned the provisions?" Mi Zhu thought to himself. Why was Sun Qian not only unharmed but also rewarded? Sun Qian was in a sorry state when he returned. Another reason was that Liu Mang didn't get any of the provisions in Ruyin. At that time, Sun Qian was the one who was guarding Ruyin. Everyone thought that it was Sun Qian's doing and that he was pushing himself into the fire pit. No one thought that it was Pang Tong's doing. He wanted to burn Sun Qian's life and let Liu Mang's army kill Sun Qian in a fit of rage.
"Of course it was Pang Biejia's doing. Because of this, my lord's generals wanted to kill Mister Gong You!"
"Then why is Sun Qian still alive?!" Mi Zhu asked. Sun Qian was thrown into the fire.
"My lord gave Mister Sun Qian a large water tank, an escape route, and some rations!" With water, Sun Qian would be able to cover his nose and mouth. With an escape route, he wouldn't have to worry about being burned to death. With rations, Sun Qian would be an idiot if he didn't survive.
"So that's how it is!" Mi Zhu's eyes lit up. "So Sun Qian has already submitted to your lord and came to Yuzhou to be a spy?" If all of this was true, Sun Qian would be finished. Mi Zhu would use Sun Qian's corpse to climb to the top.
"Is this real?" Mi Zhu wanted to confirm if it was real. Only then would he be able to rise to the top.
"Lord Mi Zhu, why do you ask such a question?" “
"Haha, men, come and escort him to the Lord. I have something important to report!" Mi Zhu was a merchant, and merchants valued profit over friendship. He wouldn't do anything that didn't benefit him. Therefore, he naturally rushed out like a shark that had seen blood.
"No need!" A cold voice came from outside the door.
"You can't go in! You can't!"
"Scram!"
A middle-aged scholar stormed into Mi Zhu's mansion, followed by a dozen armored soldiers.
Mi Zhu's eyes widened. "Sun Qian, Sun Gongyou!"
The man was none other than Liu Bei's second-in-command, Sun Qian, Sun Gongyou.
"Men, arrest this traitor!" Sun Qian's face was ashen. Fortunately, he had arrived first, or the consequences would have been unimaginable. He glared at Liu Mang's messenger. This person really knows how to say anything. Fortunately, he had arrived. If he had been sent to Liu Bei, everything would have been over.
When did he, Sun Qian, betray Liu Bei? If Sun Qian had wanted to submit, he would have done so long ago. It is true that Liu Mang gave him a way out, but that does not mean that he has surrendered.
"Sun Qian, Sun Gongyou! What are you trying to do?" Mi Zhu's voice grew louder. He had planned to use Sun Qian as a stepping stone to bring Liu Mang's messenger to the governor's residence, but Sun Qian had arrived before him.
"What am I trying to do? Mi Zhu, Mi Zizhong, you should be the one asking that question! " Sun Qian looked coldly at Mi Zhu and pointed at Liu Mang's messenger. "Who is this person? Why is he in your residence? “
Mi Zhu subconsciously replied. "This person is Liu Mang's messenger!"
"Good! You, Mi Zizhong, are trying to betray the Lord? "Sun Qian wanted Mi Zhu to admit who this person was." Men, arrest him! "
"I didn't! I didn't!" The people that Sun Qian brought were not his own people, but borrowed from Jian Yong. Jian Yong and Sun Qian had a good relationship, but Jian Yong did not want to get involved in the conflict between Pang Tong and Sun Qian. Borrowing some troops was a small matter.
"Sun Qian, Sun Gongyou, you're slandering me! I didn't betray the Lord! You're the one who betrayed the Lord! "Mi Zhu was enraged by Jian Yong's men. Fortunately, Jian Yong's men didn't listen to Sun Qian and didn't dare to arrest Mi Zhu. After all, Mi Zhu was one of Liu Bei's men.
"What proof do you have that I betrayed the Lord?" Sun Qian asked coldly.
"Proof? I have proof!" Mi Zhu pointed at Liu Mang's messenger. "This is the proof. Everyone, look, this is Liu Mang's messenger. He's the one who told me that you, Sun Qian, betrayed the Lord, not me!" Mi Zhu was pleased. As long as this person was here, he would expose Sun Qian. When that happened, Sun Qian would be the one to suffer. But before Mi Zhu's smugness could show on his face, he was dumbfounded.
"Lord Mi Zhu, don't forget what we've discussed!" Liu Mang's messenger cupped his fist at Mi Zhu and took out a dagger.
"Protect Lord Mi Zhu!" Jian Yong's men immediately protected Mi Zhu and Sun Qian.
However, Liu Mang's messenger's target wasn't Sun Qian or Mi Zhu. Instead, he plunged the dagger into his own chest.
Blood gushed out from his chest and dyed the ground beneath his feet red.
"Lord Cheng Hou, take care!"
"No, no, no!" Mi Zhu was dumbfounded. He desperately ran towards the emissary, wanting to save him. However, the emissary's stab was too ruthless. He had cut off the connection between his heart and his arteries. There was no way he could survive.
"You can't die! You can't die!" Mi Zhu had never wished for someone to live as much as he did now. Even when his younger brother and sister died, he was only sad for a while. But now, he was crying.
If this person was alive, Mi Zhu would have a chance to survive. He might even get promoted and become rich. But if this person was dead, Mi Zhu would be finished.
"Good, good! You, Mi Zhu, are really in contact with Liu Mang? Men, capture Mi Zhu! " Sun Qian was also startled. Although he knew what happened, he was still frightened by Liu Mang's messenger. Liu Mang simply didn't care about his life. Even if he died, Sun Qian could still see the smile on his face.
"Mister Gongyou, look, there is a letter here!" Jian Yong's subordinates quickly found a letter that fell from Mi Zhu's body and handed it to Sun Qian. Sun Qian saw the words "To My Brother" on the letter.
Mi Zhu's brother was only one person, Mi Fang. Mi Fang's letter indicated that he came from Yangzhou.
Right now, Mi Zhu was like a pile of dirt that had fallen into his pants. Even if he wasn't a pile of shit, he was.
"Men, capture him and send him to Milord. There, he will be at Milord's disposal!"
…
Nanyang Prefecture Magistrate's Mansion.
There were only a few people in the backyard. One of them was Liu Bei. Next to him were Sun Qian, Mi Zhu, and Jian Yong.
Liu Bei was still wearing his hemp clothes. If Liu Mang's messenger was real, then Mi Zhu would know that his brothers and sisters were still alive and were killed by Liu Bei's words.
"Zizhong, you know that your younger brother and sister are still alive?" Liu Bei asked as calmly as possible.
"Yes." Mi Zhu nodded.
"So you also know that I didn't redeem your brother and sister?"
"Yes." Mi Zhu nodded again.
"Zizhong, do you hate me?" Liu Bei asked.
"No." Mi Zhu shook his head.
"It's not that you don't hate me, it's that you don't dare to!" Sun Qian interjected. If Sun Qian had felt guilty about killing Mi Zhu before, or if he had been unwilling to do so, then now, he couldn't wait to kill Mi Zhu. Mi Zhu knew too much. If Mi Zhu lived, then Sun Qian would be in trouble. On the contrary, if Mi Zhu died, not only would Sun Qian be fine, but he would also be rewarded greatly.
"Sun Gongyou!" Mi Zhu hated Sun Qian to the bone.
"Is that why you betrayed me?" Liu Bei asked indifferently. His feelings for Mi Zhu were complicated. If not for Mi Zhu, then he would not have achieved what he had today. It could be said that Mi Zhu had used up all his wealth to give Liu Bei a chance to make a comeback. Liu Bei could not kill Mi Zhu like he did the others. Mi Zhu had even married his younger sister to him. It could be said that Liu Bei owed Mi Zhu a lot.
However, it was precisely because he owed Mi Zhu so much that Liu Bei did not attach any importance to him. It could even be said that he was avoiding Mi Zhu.
He did not know how to face Mi Zhu. As the saying goes, a bucket of rice can raise a benefactor, but a bag of rice can raise an enemy. Liu Bei felt that Mi Zhu was mocking him. It was as if Mi Zhu was saying that he was a good-for-nothing who could not succeed despite receiving so much support.
"No, no, I didn't!" Mi Zhu shook his head. No matter who it was, they would not tolerate traitors. Cao Cao had even killed many traitors who surrendered to him. Lü Bu had also wanted to kill Hou Cheng and the others.
If Mi Zhu admitted to it, then he would be finished.
"You didn't?"
"If you didn't, then who was the one in your house? Was it my lord's messenger? And that Marquis Cheng! "Sun Qian continued to add fuel to the fire.
"Marquis Cheng?" Generally, the titles of nobility are either village marquis or village marquis. Those who can be called marquis are county marquis. Just like Lu Bu's Marquis of Wen, they are county marquis. It was much higher than the one Liu Bei applied for Mi Zhu.
Among Liu Bei's subordinates, only Sun Qian and his second brother Guan Yu were county Marquis.
"Sun Qian is slandering me. Milord, I have never betrayed you!"
"I, Sun Qian, am slandering you? Go and ask everyone here. Who didn't hear the messenger call you Marquis Cheng? Those who captured you were not my men, but Xianhe's men. Is Xianhe also slandering you? " Sun Qian dragged Jian Yong into the water because the men he brought were all Jian Yong's men.
"Milord, I'm innocent. I'm innocent!" Mi Zhu kowtowed to Liu Bei. His head was about to smash the bricks on the ground. His face was covered in blood and he looked battered and exhausted.
His disheveled appearance made Liu Bei even more unhappy. On the other hand, Jian Yong couldn't bear it. He cupped his fist and said to Liu Bei, "Milord, could there be a mistake? Mi Zhu has always been loyal to Milord and has always been respectful. He shouldn't betray Milord, right? "
"Yes, yes. Milord, Mi Zhu is loyal to you. He wouldn't dare to betray you!" Mi Zhu rushed forward and hugged Liu Bei's leg. But Liu Bei kicked him away because he was covered in blood.
"Hm?" Although Liu Bei kicked Mi Zhu away, he frowned. Mi Zhu betrayed him? If it was before, Liu Bei wouldn't believe it. How could his brother-in-law betray him? That was why Liu Bei was hesitating.
"Milord. I did not betray you. It was Sun Qian. It was Sun Qian who betrayed you. When Sun Qian was in Ruyin, he was captured by Liu Mang. He came back because Liu Mang wanted him to enter our army to gather information. That messenger wanted to expose him. "Mi Zhu pointed at Sun Qian's nose and scolded.
"Sun Qian?" Liu Bei and Jian Yong looked at Sun Qian. Sun Qian betrayed them? Was that possible? Liu Bei and Jian Yong didn't believe that Sun Qian could get back at them.
"Haha, haha!" Sun Qian didn't get angry at Mi Zhu's scolding. Instead, he laughed. "Milord, when Pang Biejin set up the Empty City Stratagem in Ruyin, I risked my life to enter the city. How could I betray Milord? If I wanted to betray Milord, I only needed to tell the enemy the location of Ruyin's provisions. Liu Mang's army would definitely head north and intercept our provisions. Would Yangzhou still need to worry about provisions? After that, I set fire to the grain reserves in Ruyin City. If I had surrendered, I would have died! "Ye Xiwen said." But, I didn't want to die. Although the provisions weren't much, there were still twenty thousand shi. With these twenty thousand shi, the situation of the war would have changed. " Sun Qian was a politician. Politicians didn't care about their reputation the most. It was Pang Tong who wanted to kill Sun Qian, but in Sun Qian's hands, it became Sun Qian risking his life. "This subject still remembers how Liu Mang looked at this subject after I burned Ruyin's provisions. It was as if they wanted to eat this subject alive. How could I betray Milord? "
"In the end, this false King Liu Mang mercilessly burned this subject's provisions. He wanted this subject to be burned alive like the provisions. He tied this subject up and sent this subject to the fire. If this subject was not lucky, this subject would have died in Ruyin and would no longer be able to serve Milord!" Sun Qian cried as he spoke. As he cried, he pulled up his sleeves, not to wipe his tears, but to reveal the burn scars on his arms.
Of course, these scars weren't from the fire. If he was targeted by the fire, he would have been burned to death. There was no such thing as burns. The scars on Sun Qian's hand were all from the fire he lit himself on the way back. It was for the sake of realism, to show that he had escaped from the fire!
Seeing the scars on Sun Qian's arms, Liu Bei nodded. Sun Qian had suffered a lot. If Sun Qian had really done that, Liu Mang would have enough provisions to invade Runan. At that time, Liu Bei would have no home to return to. At that time, Liu Mang was already lacking provisions. Sun Qian had burned the provisions. It would be strange if he didn't kill Sun Qian.
"This is all an illusion. It's all an illusion!" Mi Zhu argued.
"That's right. It's all an illusion! Lord Mi, as a traitor, I didn't receive a letter from Liu Mang. Instead, it was you who received it. Don't you think it's strange? " Sun Qian brought out his trump card. He clapped his hands and took out a letter from one of Liu Bei's personal guards. He walked over to Liu Bei and presented it with both hands. "Milord, this was obtained from Lord Mi's residence!"
"Oh?!" Liu Bei picked up the letter and read it. The more he read, the darker his expression became. In the end, he snorted. Jian Yong hurried over to take a look and shook his head at Mi Zhu.
"Sun Qian, you bastard! Did you switch the letters? This is clearly a letter from my younger brother!" Seeing Liu Bei's dark expression and Jian Yong's shaking head, Mi Zhu became anxious. He was afraid that Sun Qian had tampered with the letter.
"Haha, Milord, have you finished reading it? Milord, please return the letter to Marquis Cheng! "Sun Qian cupped his fists towards Liu Bei.
Liu Bei tossed the letter to Mi Zhu. Mi Zhu hurriedly crawled over to pick it up and read it. He realized that the letter was indeed a letter from his younger brother.
But why was Milord's expression so dark?
This was Mi Zhu's shortsightedness as a merchant. It was true that merchants knew how to make money, but merchants did not know the art of writing. It was true that this was a letter, but in this letter, Mi Fang asked his brother not to surrender. Not to surrender. This was not bad, but if the words' not to surrender 'were repeated dozens of times in the letter, even an unintentional person would become suspicious.
Furthermore, the words' not to surrender 'were changed to' to surrender '. This made it difficult for Mi Zhu to defend himself.
"Milord, Milord, I am innocent! I would never betray Milord! My Lord, please spare my life for the sake of my Mi Family's wealth! " Mi Zhu did not understand but when he saw Sun Qian's smile, Jian Yong's shake of his head and Liu Bei's cold expression, he knew that he would not be able to escape this calamity. He immediately kowtowed again, hoping that Liu Bei would spare him.
"Sigh!" Jian Yong originally wanted to save Mi Zhu. After all, he had a good relationship with Mi Zhu. But before Jian Yong could say anything, Mi Zhu had already blocked his path. There was simply no saving Mi Zhu.
"Mi Family, Mi Family, all of our family's wealth, all of our family's wealth!" These two words resounded in Liu Bei's ears. They were grating and ugly to the ears.
Liu Bei narrowed his eyes, his body trembling with killing intent. When Mi Zhu said these two words, it was as if he was scolding Liu Bei. You piece of trash, I, Mi Zhu, gave you the entire Mi Family. My Mi Family's wealth was comparable to a country's, but in the end, you still lost and were chased out of Xuzhou.
"Enough!" Liu Bei shouted, stopping Mi Zhu's wailing.
"Men, take Mi Zhu away and lock him up in the secret prison!" Liu Bei roared to his personal guards. Mi Zhu could not be directly locked up in the prison, so he could only be locked up in the secret prison.
"Yes!"
"Milord, Milord, I am innocent! Xianhe, save me! Save me! Sun Qian, you bastard, I will not live under the same sky as you! " Mi Zhu's cries grew fainter and fainter until his mouth was gagged, silencing him.
Jian Yong shook his head. Mi Zhu was finished. Jian Yong could not help but glance at Sun Qian. Jian Yong did not believe that Sun Qian would betray Liu Bei, but he believed that Sun Qian was using Mi Zhu to kill him. After all, Mi Zhu was too close to Pang Tong, and Pang Tong and Sun Qian had a grudge against each other.
Jian Yong saw the smile in Sun Qian's eyes, but he did not point it out. He did not want to get involved in the grudge between the two.
"Xianhe, what should we do?" Liu Bei's killing intent was unstoppable. Mi Zhu was finished.
How could Jian Yong not understand Liu Bei's meaning after hearing Liu Bei's words? Liu Bei wanted to kill Mi Zhu. It did not matter if Mi Zhu had betrayed him or not. Mi Zhu had always remembered that the Mi Family had spent all their wealth for Liu Bei. However, he could not kill him openly because Mi Zhu was right. The Mi Family had done so much for Liu Bei. Even if they had betrayed him, he could not kill them openly. It was just like Liu Pi. Even if Liu Bei killed Liu Pi to curry favor with Zhang Xiu, he could only use Liu Pi's death as an excuse.
Moreover, before this, Liu Bei had given the Mi Family three Marquises. If Mi Zhu was killed because of his betrayal, it would be a joke. People would ask why Mi Zhu betrayed Liu Bei. Could it be that Liu Bei could not afford the sixty thousand shi of provisions? Could it be that Mi Zhu betrayed Liu Bei because he could not bear to spend the sixty thousand shi of provisions? If this news were to spread, Liu Bei's reputation for benevolence would be ruined. Moreover, his subordinates would be disappointed.
Thus, Mi Zhu had to die. However, he had to die with honor.
Mi Zhu could not be saved. Jian Yong did not try to dissuade Liu Bei. He cupped his fist and said, "Milord, please restrain your grief. Mi Zhu was sad that his younger brother and sister were killed by Liu Mang. Alas, he vomited blood and fainted. In the end, he died of grief."
"Hiss!" Sun Qian was standing at the side. When he heard Jian Yong's words, he couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air. This Jian Yong was truly vicious. It was one thing for him to say that Mi Fang and Lady Mi were dead, but now Mi Zhu had died as well. Not only did he die of grief, but he also died of grief. With this accusation, Mi Zhu would not be able to live even if he wanted to. At the same time, he would be able to show off his righteousness to Liu Bei.
"Dying of grief?" Liu Bei sneered. "He got off too easy. I'll leave this matter to you, Gongyou! " Liu Bei did not leave it to Jian Yong not because he did not trust Jian Yong. If he left it to Jian Yong, Mi Zhu would die too comfortably. However, leaving it to Sun Qian was different. Sun Qian was the one who discovered Mi Zhu. Naturally, he would not let Mi Zhu die too comfortably.
"This subject will definitely not disappoint Milord! I will definitely let Mi Zhu die of grief! " Sun Qian nodded with a smile. He did not care about Mi Zhu. What he was happy about was that killing Mi Zhu was equivalent to pulling out one of Pang Tong's teeth. Pang Tong would no longer be able to show his true colors. At the very least, Pang Tong would suffer for a few days.
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