"Let's go, let's pack our things. You two brothers should go home for now. I'll say a few words to a few other people I'm on good terms with, and then I'll leave."
Qiao Xuan indeed laid down his weapon and spoke his true feelings to the other volunteers who were guarding the city wall.
Those families, seeing Qiao Xuan leave, also knew how to interpret the current situation.
Sun Ce was brave and fierce, and with the arrival of Zhou Yu's reinforcements, his momentum grew stronger and stronger. Lujiang City had no choice but to put up a stubborn resistance and hold its ground.
Lu Kang's method of defense was peculiar! The city's elite troops were already limited, but now he relied heavily on the militiamen and servants who came to help him defend the city on a voluntary basis. He let other people take the lead, and some of his own family members also contributed, but there were always one or two who were lazy and cowardly, hiding and cowering.
So everyone came up with an excuse. Some said a family member was sick and they needed to go home to visit; others said they were injured, dizzy, and unable to fight, so they needed to go back and rest for a couple of days.
This situation was reported to Prefect Lu's strategist, Chen Tian.
Chen Tian was ultimately an extremely cunning person. Instead of analyzing the current situation where the enemy was strong and we were weak, he only said that people's hearts were no longer what they used to be, adding fuel to the fire, which made Prefect Lu furious.
It wasn't until Chen Tian revealed the name of the instigator to Prefect Lu that the truth came out.
"Prefect, so this is what happened! Our men have figured it out. They say that Qiao Xuan received a letter from Sun Ce and secretly colluded with him to turn several loyal guards at our city gates against their will."
"Prefect, in my opinion, Qiao Xuan and his family should be arrested immediately, thrown into prison, interrogated and tortured, and then executed on the spot. Prefect, you valued him so much before, and even discussed your children's marriage with him, yet this man repays kindness with enmity and sows discord among the troops. He must be eliminated!"
Lu Kang did not immediately draw a conclusion after hearing this.
Chen Tian stroked his long beard and began again: "Prefect, Qiao Xuan must be interrogated, but interrogating Qiao Xuan alone is not enough. There is a key figure in this matter that you have probably forgotten!"
Lu Kang couldn't help but wonder which other key figure was involved.
"Qiao Xuan's daughter is still in Sun Ce's hands. Qiao Xuan is not on our side because of his daughter. It's not a big deal that he's not with us, since the Qiao family isn't exactly known for its elite troops. However, the impact is extremely bad. One family after another is withdrawing their men and servants from the city walls, which weakens our defenses!"
Lu Kang finally realized the seriousness of the problem.
"What should we do according to the advisor's opinion?"
Chen Tian said something extremely simple.
"As long as we snatch Qiao Xuan's daughter from Sun Ce's hands, firstly, we can use her to command Qiao Xuan and make him once again incite the people of Lujiang City to join the battle to defend the city. Secondly, I have a foolish idea. Prefect, do you think it's possible that Sun Ce has developed feelings for Qiao Xuan's daughter? If so, that would be even better. We can use this woman to threaten both Qiao Xuan and Sun Ce, killing two birds with one stone."
This was just a bold idea from Chen Tian, who was acting as a clerk.
Lu Kang pondered for a moment.
He recalled the various signs between Da Qiao and Sun Ce at the birthday banquet of the governor's wife that day.
Whether the eldest daughter of the Qiao family had the ability to bewitch Sun Ce was truly hard to say.
However, whether it exists or not, why not give it a try? They won't lose anything.
Thus, Lu Kang finally dispatched one of his top experts to infiltrate Sun's camp, with the aim of capturing Qiao Xuan's daughter.
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