Chapter 57, Chapter 5: It is against Heaven and Earth

When Liu Jun was young, he read Chen Shou's "Records of the Three Kingdoms" and felt somewhat indignant to find himself crammed into the "Annals of the Three Young Emperors" alongside Cao Fang, the King of Qi, and Cao Huan, the King of Chenliu. He always felt that he was both a man of both literary and martial talents, and Chen Shou had even described him as "innately gifted in talent and wisdom." Why should he be compared to those two mediocre figures? Later, he gradually came to understand that whether one was unwilling to accept the fall of their kingdom, or considered oneself clever, whether one was virtuous or mediocre, they were all just birds in the Sima clan's palace, pawns in the palm of their hand, and there was no real difference between them.

Later, he became fascinated with collecting the writings and letters of his predecessors, wanting to see what people of his time thought of Cao Mao, the Duke of Gaogui Township, and to carefully savor all his opinions, whether praise or criticism.

Chen Shou once said, "Impulsive and reckless behavior leads to great disaster." He could never reconcile with Sima Zhao's intentions. Everyone knew that he had already received the Nine Bestowments. If he did nothing, he would become like Emperor Xian of Han, Liu Xie, or Cao Huan, the Prince of Chenliu. Sima Zhao could then ascend the throne immediately and become Emperor Taizu of Jin without needing to be posthumously honored.

Was it worth it to exchange the emperor's blood for six more years of Wei dynasty?

If we endure humiliation and hardship, even after Sima usurped the Wei throne, and slowly plot our way out, will we be able to overthrow the dynasty and restore its glory one day?

As time went by, he would sometimes forget that he was originally Cao Mao, and only very occasionally would he think about his past.

Just like now, he was guarding Pingyang City with more than 20,000 troops, and his food supplies were about to run out. He couldn't help but have wild thoughts and feel anxious. Had he fallen into the trap of rashness and recklessness again, underestimating the enemy and advancing rashly? Should he stay in Hanzhong, strengthen his troops for several years, and then plan to conquer Chang'an? If he were to perish in Pingyang now, what would become of Bingzhou and Liangzhou? What was the current situation of Beidi Commandery and Chang'an?

"My lord." Liu Jun opened his eyes and saw Liu Yong leaning over to look at him with a worried expression. He then realized that he had fallen asleep against the wall due to extreme hunger.

Liu Yong felt distressed. "There is no enemy activity at the moment. Why don't you return to your tent and rest for a while, my lord? There's no need to rush."

Looking at his graying temples, Liu Jun thought of the ten years he had fought alongside him in battles across the country, and a pang of sorrow welled up in his heart. He took out the last piece of flatbread from his sleeve, cut it in half, and handed half to him. "You won't be able to rest well if you go back, so you might as well stay here with the brothers. If I remember correctly, Uncle Liu hasn't eaten since yesterday, has he?"

Liu Yong refused to eat, vehemently declining, "There's hardly any left. My lord, please eat it quickly so that we can lead the brothers to victory. My worthless life..."

Before he could finish speaking, Liu Jun had already stuffed half a pancake into his mouth. Liu Jun didn't use the other half either, but instead called Lu Jing and asked him to boil the pancake in water and share it with the guards.

"Does the lynx camp still have millet to eat? What about the Yuzhou army?" Liu Jun drank some hot soup, feeling a little more comfortable in his empty chest, and then began to care about the soldiers.

Lu Jing's cheeks had already sunken from hunger. "Our lord was willing to go hungry himself to feed them. Things are better now, but it won't last much longer."

Pingyang City originally had ample food supplies, but unfortunately, the grain officials were incompetent and negligent, which led to the burning of the granaries. Later, Liu Cong cut off the food supplies, and after a month, the food supplies are now critically low.

Liu Jun gritted his teeth and said, "Even if it means burning bones and burning remains, we must defend Pingyang City! Continue to send messengers to Yongzhou, Bingzhou, Liangzhou, or Jingzhou, asking them to come to our aid immediately!"

He knew in his heart that Jia Pi of Yongzhou and Tao Kan of Jingzhou were too far away and he didn't have enough personal connections with them, but Liu Kun of Bingzhou and Zu Ti of Liangzhou hadn't sent any troops, which must be suspicious. They were probably tied up by Shi Le or Liu Cong's troops.

Once they escape, they will surely come to our aid. The only thing I can do is to unite with my soldiers and guard Pingyang, as well as the gateway from Bingzhou to Chang'an.

After holding out for two months, bad news finally arrived: even if they only ate one meal a day and scavenged the entire Pingyang, the grain they could find was only enough to sustain the army for five days.

Upon hearing this, Liu Jun summoned all his advisors for a meeting.

Once everyone had arrived, he slowly said, "From today onwards, I will eat with you soldiers every two days, saving my rations and giving them all to the lynx camp."

Liu Dan immediately echoed, "This humble general is willing to follow your example, Your Excellency."

Liu Pu and Liu Jian exchanged a glance. They were both so hungry that their scalps tingled. The thought of being treated like ordinary soldiers made them unhappy, and they cursed Liu Jun and Liu Dan for their hypocrisy.

Liu Pu mustered his courage and said, "The safety of Pingyang rests entirely on your shoulders, sir. How can you torment yourself like this?"

Liu Jun glanced at him indifferently, "A general must share the joys and sorrows, the safety and dangers of his soldiers, only then can the enemy be defeated. Comrades-in-arms must share weal and woe to live and die together. As you spend more time in my army, you will eventually understand the rules of my army."

Liu Dan glanced speechlessly at his cousin, then cupped his hands and said, "The enemy has ample supplies, and holding out to the death is not a long-term solution."

“What Jingdao said, how could I not know?” Liu Jun sighed. “But even if we wanted to break through now, it would be extremely difficult. If we wanted to break the deadlock, we would have to resort to some insidious tricks.”

Liu Jun looked at Lu Jing beside him and slowly asked, "Where are the wounded soldiers I asked you to leave behind earlier?"

Lu Jing said in a low voice, "One is gone, so there are five or six left."

“These men have contracted the plague,” Liu Jun explained to the others. “One of them is a military officer. I plan to have him lead the feigned surrender and then spread the plague. Although this method is against the natural order, it is a last resort, so let’s give it a try.”

Lu Jing added, "The families of these people have been properly taken care of by our lord."

Liu Pu and Liu Jian were indecisive to begin with, and now that they were so hungry they could eat people, they no longer cared about heaven or good karma. They nodded and agreed, saying that the barbarians deserved to die, and that Liu Jun was extremely benevolent and righteous. In the end, it was as if Liu Jun should be grateful to them for killing them.

Liu Jun politely declined a few words and sent them away. He felt utterly exhausted after dealing with them. He finally managed to stand up, leaning on his sword, and looked coldly in the direction of Chang'an. "Whether they are barbarians or Jin people, once they point their blades at their own people, they are enemies."

"Since it's a feigned surrender, do we need to use some other methods to make them believe it?" Since his illness, Liu Dan had become much more ruthless. "If you trust me, Your Excellency, I will leave this matter to you."

Seeing Liu Jun subconsciously shake his head, Liu Dan then looked at Lu Jing and asked, "Are these men from the Yuzhou Army or the Liangzhou Army?"

"Yuzhou Army".

Liu Dan said urgently, "Since they are my grandfather's former subordinates, I have no choice but to take on this responsibility!"

Seeing his insistence, Liu Jun stopped objecting and gave him a deep look, saying, "Jingdao, please be careful."

Watching Liu Dan's retreating figure, Liu Jun roused himself and slowly walked down the city wall. Lu Jing followed behind him, puzzled, and asked, "This matter was entirely planned by our lord, so why did we ultimately have to rely on someone else?"

“His two cousins ​​were already suspicious of my taking over the Yuzhou army. If this plan had come from me, they might have become disloyal to me, and then it wouldn't have been a feigned surrender… This is Jingdao sharing my burdens.” Liu Jun exhaled a breath of turbid air. “Deep friendship, like branches of the same tree, that's exactly what Jingdao and I are like…”