Eight huge torches illuminated this magnificent hall.
Under the light of the fire, Sun Quan, with blue eyes and purple beard, was crossing his arms in front of his chest, staring at the letter on the desk with a furrowed brow.
That was Zhou Yu's personal letter.
A few days ago, Sun Quan received an urgent message from Cheng Pu on Pegasus, and learned the shocking news that Ling Tong had surrendered the enemy and that Wuping and Guoshui had failed one after another.
Shocked, Sun Quan hurriedly sent someone to the front with his own handwriting, ordering Zhou Yu to speed the army back to Shouchun and stop getting into unnecessary entanglements with Yan Liang.
Sun Quan, who was sitting guarding Moling, waited uneasily, but instead of waiting for the news that Zhou Yu led his army to safely retreat to Shouchun, he instead waited for Zhou Yu's letter.
Zhou Yu claimed that if he withdrew his troops, Liu Bei would be surrounded by enemies on both sides. If Liu Bei was defeated, Yan Liang's strength would greatly increase, which would pose a great threat to Soochow.
Therefore, Zhou Yu insisted on continuing to garrison troops in Ku County to contain Yan Liang and make him busy. He would rather let Liu Bei become powerful than allow Yan Liang to profit from it.
After making various speeches, Zhou Yu asked Sun Quan to take back his orders and let him continue to command the Wu army in Ku County despite his illness.
Sun Quan had been staring at Zhou Yu's petition for a whole hour, weighing the pros and cons over and over in his mind, wondering whether he should agree to Zhou Yu's request.
After thinking hard for a long time to no avail, Sun Quan shook his head and sighed.
At this moment, suddenly, a pair of hands covered Sun Quan's eyes from behind.
Sun Quan was startled, and he held the sword on his waist in a hurry. When he was about to draw the sword, he suddenly smiled.
"Little sister, you are being naughty again."
Sun Quan smiled and opened his delicate hands. When he looked back, a pretty girl of fourteen or fifteen years old was looking at him with a smile.
She is dressed in red, her pink face is as bright as a peach blossom, and her childishness is yet a bit delicate.
This little girl is Sun Quan’s youngest sister Sun Shangxiang
"Second brother, you have been sitting for most of the day. You are not tired yet. Let's go and go shooting with me." Sun Shangxiang glanced at the bow on his shoulder, and pulled Sun Quan to leave.
But Sun Quan pulled her to sit down, deliberately made a serious face, and lectured: "Little sister, your daughter's family should learn more about needlework. The one who spends the whole day wielding swords, guns, archery and horseback riding, who will belong to that family in the future?"
Young Master dares to marry you."
"Hmph, I don't want to get married." Sun Shangxiang looked disdainful.
Sun Quan frowned and said, "That's nonsense. My daughter's family will get married sooner or later. Do you still want to stay at home for the rest of your life?"
Sun Quan pretended to be dignified and sounded a lesson, but Sun Shangxiang didn't take it seriously at all. Instead, he casually flipped through the official documents on the case.
While flipping through it, Sun Shangxiang said: "Even if I want to get married, I will marry a hero in the world. I don't look down on those dandy boys."
Facing this spoiled sister, Sun Quan could only helplessly shake his head.
Suddenly, Sun Shangxiang saw the letter from Zhou Yu and asked curiously: "Second brother, could it be that we suffered a defeat in the north?"
The younger sister was not an outsider, and Sun Quan did not hide anything, so he told her how Zhou Yu was defeated by Yan Liang.
After hearing this, Sun Shangxiang couldn't help but be more surprised, "That Yan Liang actually has such ability. Last time he defeated you, the second brother, in Chaisang, and now he has defeated Gong Jin. He must have three heads and six arms."
Sun Shangxiang's words were straightforward and he revealed Sun Quan's elder brother's scars without any scruples, but Sun Quan's face flashed with embarrassment.
After coughing a few times, Sun Quan sneered, "This guy surnamed Yan is just good at cheating. Sooner or later, I will clear my past shame with him."
"This guy named Yan can defeat even Gong Jin, but I think you, brother, are no match for him." Sun Shangxiang said without thinking.
Sun Quan's face became more and more embarrassed, thinking that his sister really couldn't speak, and she couldn't speak with brains, so she didn't give any face to his brother.
Sun Quan heard that he was unhappy, so he straightened his face again and said, "Okay, brother, I still have military affairs to deal with, so please step back."
Sun Shangxiang was so bored that she could only mutter and complain, and left the lobby unhappy.
When she came out of the lobby, the name Yan Liang was already engraved in her mind, and she murmured to herself: "This Yan Liang is so great, but I don't know what is so special about him..."
In the lobby, after finally sending away his fun-loving sister, Sun Quan let out a long breath and continued to study the war in the north.
Just when he calmed down, footsteps sounded outside the door again.
"This damn girl, there will be no end..."
Sun Quan suddenly raised his head, waiting for a lesson, but found that the person who entered the hall was not his sister, but the old minister Zhang Zhao.
"It turns out to be Zibu." When Sun Quan saw Zhang Zhao, he quickly stood up to greet him.
Zhang Zhao stepped forward and bowed to salute. Sun Quan returned the salute slightly and hurriedly invited Zhang Zhao to take a seat.
When the chief minister sat down, Sun Quan said, "Zibu is here, is there something important?"
Zhang Zhao coughed a few times, stroked his beard and said, "I'm here because of Zhou Gongjin's affairs."
"Gong Jin? What's wrong with Gong Jin?"
Sun Quan looked at Zhang Zhao's solemn expression and felt vaguely uneasy.
Zhang Zhao glanced around and gave hints in his eyes. Sun Quan knew that Zhang Zhao had something secret to report and it was not convenient for outsiders to know, so he turned away all the attendants on the left and right.
In the lobby, only two principals, a young man and an old man, were left.
Zhang Zhao then moved closer and lowered his voice: "My Lord, rumors about Zhou Gongjin have been spreading all over the country recently. Haven't you heard about it?"
"What rumors?" Sun Quan's eyes became even more suspicious.
"Recently, there are rumors in the streets and alleys that Zhou Gongjin was repeatedly defeated by Yan Liang and even injured himself, but he still refused to retreat because he wanted to support his troops and separatize the Huaihe River."
Zhang Zhao said these words almost in a whisper.
When Sun Quan heard this, his expression changed immediately.
The eight words "Support the troops with self-respect and separate the Huaihe River" were like a muffled thunder, hitting Sun Quan's weakness hard.
And his weakness is that deeply hidden fear.
"It is indeed unusual that Gong Jin refuses to retreat. However, like Zi Bu, he is a minister left by my late brother to take care of his fate. It seems unlikely that he would have different intentions."
Sun Quan's tone seemed to be asking Zhang Zhao, or talking to himself.
Zhang Zhao only smiled faintly, stroking his white beard and said: "The world is changing, and people's hearts are unpredictable. Has my lord forgotten the matter of 'raising troops to the capital' back then?"
Zhang Zhao's understatement deeply touched Sun Quan's heartstrings, and all the past events suddenly came to mind.
How could Sun Quan forget that incident?
A few years ago, Sun Ce died of illness and after Sun Quan succeeded to the throne, Zhou Yu blatantly led foreign troops into Wuxian County in the name of assisting the young master because of unstable people's hearts.
Zhou Yu's raising of troops in this way certainly helped him stabilize his people's hearts and ensure his ruling authority, but it also left a shadow in his heart.
Since ancient times, it is something that any king is very afraid of if a minister does not receive the king's order and raises troops to the capital. Sun Quan, who has a deep city, is no exception.
Now, because Zhou Yu was instrumental in capturing Shouchun, Sun Quan entrusted all the military and political power in Huainan to Zhou Yu. Zhou Yu's power was not unimportant.
Zhou Yu is now wounded. If he withdraws his troops, he will have to return to Moling to recuperate. This means that the military and political power in Huainan can only be relinquished.
So, Zhou Yu always refused to retreat, so it is inevitable that he was unwilling to give up military power.
If this is the case, then there may not be rumors that Zhou Yu wants to support his troops and respect himself...
The more Sun Quan thought about it, the more frightened he became, and a chill gradually grew on his back.
At this time, Zhang Zhao said again: "I am just reporting the rumors from outside to my lord. After all, Zhou Lang has made contributions to the Sun family. Before there is conclusive evidence, if you cast doubt on it, it will chill people's hearts. My lord still should
Think before you act.”
After hearing what Zhang Zhao said, Sun Quan fell into deep thought.
He was walking in the hall, with Zhou Yu's handwriting appearing in his mind for a while, and Zhang Zhao's words turning over in his mind for a while.
All kinds of thoughts were rolling and churning in his mind until he felt like he had a headache.
After weighing it for a long time, Sun Quan stopped, his frown already unfurled, but he had already made up his mind.
"Gong Jin is the pillar of the country. Now he is injured. If there are three advantages and two disadvantages, I will lose my right and left arms. For the sake of Gong Jin's health, it is imperative to withdraw the troops."
The last six words, Sun Quan was categorical and full of unquestionable majesty.
Zhang Zhao cupped his hands and said, "My lord loves and protects his ministers. It is truly our blessing as ministers."
Sun Quan stood with his hands behind his hands, a relieved smile on his face.
######
Wuping, Yanjun camp.
In the Chinese military tent, a fire was blazing, and Yan Liang was sitting around the fire, drinking a little drunk, listening to Xu Shu report the latest information about Liang Guo.
A few days ago, Zhang Fei had defeated Jiwu and killed more than 3,000 Yuan's troops. Yuan Shang could only lead less than 20,000 troops to retreat to Xiangyi City. Liu Bei, who had won the battle, led an army of tens of thousands to attack Xiangyi.
And go.
Once Xiangyi is defeated, Liu Bei's army can march straight in and seize Chenliu County in one fell swoop.
Once Liu Bei captures Chenliu, he can take Luoyang to the west, threaten Yecheng to the north, and attack Xudu to the south. The situation in the entire Central Plains will be very favorable to Liu Bei.
"It seems that we can't wait any longer and must use troops against Liu Bei as soon as possible." Xu Shu said.
Zhang Liao, who was standing next to him, said: "But now the Wu people are unwilling to retreat. Even if our army wants to attack Liu Bei from the north, we can't withdraw."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Cang stepped into the tent, raised his hands and said excitedly: "My lord, good news, the scouts have just come to report that the Wu army in Ku County broke camp last night, went south along the Wo River, and retreated to Huainan."
Hearing this, all the generals in the tent looked greatly excited.
Yan Liang drank the wine in the cup and said with a smile: "Yuan Zhi, it seems that your plan of alienation really worked. Our Mizhou Lang was forcefully recruited back by that boy Sun Quan.
Xu Shu's brows flashed with a bit of pride, but she cupped her hands and said: "My lord, since the Wu people have retreated now, it's time for us to give Liu Bei some color."
"Liu Bei..."
In Yan Liang's mind, the face that always looked humble appeared, and in the blade-like eyes, the cold murderous intent was rapidly gathering. (To be continued.
