Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1296 Leaving the City
No one would have thought that Sun Kuang, who had ascended the throne of King of Wu, and the fourth oldest Sun Kuang who had been honest and docile for so many years, would carry a dagger close to his body.

The guards did not expect it, nor did Sun Shao and Yan Jun, and Sun Quan, who planned this series of disappearances, did not expect it either.

Sun Quan had been patiently hiding in the city for several days, and finally waited for a turnaround, and was able to lure Yuan Xi into his trap. This was the biggest and best opportunity in his life, so when he stepped on his brother Sun Kuang, who usually didn't dare to resist him, he never thought that the other party would turn around and stab him in the stomach with a dagger.

Compared to Sun Kuang's shoulder with a broken collarbone, Sun Quan's wound was not as scary, but his internal organs were injured. When the Wu doctors were stitching the wound, they looked at the blood constantly gushing out of Sun Quan's abdomen, which contained a lot of yellow and white substances, and their hearts were filled with despair.

Normally, it would be impossible to survive with this kind of injury!
Sun Quan was twitching in pain and was about to chew up the sackcloth in his mouth. His foresight, his ambition, and his hope of a comeback would all vanish with Sun Kuang's dying dagger.

As the doctors were busy cleaning the waste coming out of his abdomen, Sun Quan finally couldn't bear the pain anymore, his eyes rolled back, and he passed out.

His unexpected assassination completely disrupted the plans of him, Yan Jun and Sun Shao. When the representatives of the two factions, Zhang Zhao, Zhang Hong, Yu Fan, Kan Ze and others, heard about the changes in the palace and rushed over, it took them quite a while to fully understand what was happening. They were all stunned.

After a long while, Zhang Zhao finally said to Sun Shaoyanjun: "It's good, it's really good, better than any previous time."

"It turns out that from the beginning to the end, the king has his most trusted team. If it weren't for this incident, we would still be kept in the dark."

Sun Shao said, "Because we are only loyal to the king, and we have no selfish motives at all."

Zhang Zhao became furious. Could it be that he was being selfish?
It seems like there is a little bit?

He couldn't help but ask: "What should we do now?"

Yan Jun said, "Since such an accident has occurred, I will naturally consult with you all."

Yu Fan sneered, "Things have gone wrong, and you want us to clean up the mess?"

"Originally, we all agreed to surrender the city, but we didn't expect the king and the two of you to hide it from everyone. Now the king is seriously injured. Do you want to continue to fight the Jin army to the death?"

Sun Shao said, "Why not?"

Kan Ze was also annoyed, "Sun Shao, don't think I don't know, it was you who instigated the king to kill Lu Ji!"

"You killed Wu's most trusted ministers in order to fight against the Jin army. If it weren't for your lies, both sides would have been fine long ago!"

Sun Shao said coldly: "What great king? That is a fake king. The real great king is the one who has always been sitting on the throne of King Wu. He has never changed!"

"I am only following orders to deceive the false king. Everything I do is to defeat the Jin army and kill the traitorous tiger!"

Zhang Zhao shouted, "Sun Shao, you are crazy. You know everything you want. You want to bury the Wu Kingdom with you!"

"The king is seriously injured now. Even if you can defeat the fierce tiger once, what's the use?"

"The previous peace talks between Jin and Wu were all agreed upon. Do you want Wu to break its promise?"

Sun Shao drew the sword from his waist, "It was the king's idea to fight the fierce tiger!"

"Why, you want to betray the king?"

"The military power in the city is in the hands of Yan Jun and I. We asked you to come here so that you can obey orders, not to speak nonsense!"

Zhang Zhao stepped forward, pointed at his neck and shouted, "Come on, chop here!"

"Come and kill me!"

"You tricked me into cheating and made me bear the infamy. You might as well chop off my head!"

Sun Shao took a step forward, and Zhang Hong, Yu Fan and others also drew their swords when they saw this. The two sides were facing each other with swords drawn, and blood could splash in the court at any time.

Yuan Xi didn't know what was happening in the city at this time, but after the people left, he said to Lu Xun, Lu Su and others present: "I always feel that something is not right."

"Before Zhang Zhao left last time, he said that he would give me an explanation whether it was war or peace. Why would he just send someone here so hastily to deal with the matter?"

"I see that Zhang Zhao is a man with a lot of ideas in his mind and he cares a lot about his reputation. Would a man like him do things so half-heartedly?"

Lu Xun thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, what you said makes sense, but I have not had much contact with him, so it is difficult to make a conclusion. What does Governor Lu think?"

Lu Su pondered for a moment and said decisively: "No, Zhang Zhao is definitely not that kind of person. He attaches great importance to etiquette. Even if he can't come, he should write a letter to explain himself."

Yuan Xi tapped the table with his fingers. "Is it possible that something unexpected happened in the city?"

Lu Su and Lu Xun looked at each other and said at the same time: "Take it as a response, just in case."

Yuan Xi asked, "If Wu wants to break the agreement, they will probably lure me into the city when the city gates open tomorrow morning to start the attack."

He suddenly laughed, "I'm afraid Wu is not well-informed. Baekje also tried to trick me into entering the city, but I planted two nails in Cao Ang and Jia Xu's trap at that time, and I used the trick to defeat Baekje instead."

"But now Nanchang doesn't have the people I planted before, so I'm afraid it will be difficult to counterattack."

Lu Xun said, "Why don't we take advantage of the darkness and launch a surprise attack to occupy the city?" Lu Su said, "Then we will be the ones who betray us, right?"

"Even if we conquer Wu, we will still be criticized."

Jiang Qin, who had been silent, suddenly said, "I will go to the city now to find out the situation for my lord."

Lu Su was shocked and said, "No, the situation in the city is unclear. If you go into the city like this, your life or death is unpredictable."

Jiang Qin said, "Zijing, although we didn't do anything ourselves, how many of our former peers have died?"

"There are only a few old people left from when Lord Sun was alive. If Nanchang wants to fight against a rock with an egg, I'm afraid everyone will be buried here."

He turned to Yuan Xi and said, "I have served you, lord, but have not accomplished anything. Now, in order to save the lives of both countries, I ask you to go into the city and meet the King of Wu, explain the pros and cons, and put an end to the war."

"If something unexpected happens in the city, Qin will definitely not be able to come back. My lord can prepare for it early then."

After hearing this, Yuan Xi still shook his head and said, "No, it would be best if the other side could have a good talk."

"But if the other side is desperate and wants us to be buried with them, even if Gong Yi sacrifices his own life, it will be useless."

Lu Su said, "Gong Yi and I will go together."

Yuan Xi stood up and said, "No need to say anything, you are my subordinates now, I can't let you fall into danger like this, otherwise how can I face my subordinates in the future?"

"Be prepared early tomorrow morning, and control the city gates when entering the city to prevent any changes."

After everyone dispersed, they were all ready for battle. In their minds, the battle tomorrow was already a foregone conclusion.

However, at dawn, the gates of Nanchang opened automatically and the Wu soldiers poured out. When the Jin scouts learned the news, they immediately rushed into the camp to report. Yuan Xi and others immediately put on their armor and swords, reorganized their troops, and were ready for battle.

The Jin army formed an arc formation outside Nanchang City to guard against attacks from Wu soldiers in the city gate. But after a long time, dozens of soldiers surrounded a carriage and slowly came out.

On the other side, Lu Su and Jiang Qin saw that it was Zhang Zhao who was accompanying the carriage, so they hurried to meet him. When they were almost within a shot's distance, Lu Su spoke up and said, "Zi Bu, why did you open the city gates without informing us?"

Zhang Zhao sighed, "It's hard to put it into words."

"In the car is the fourth son of Marquis Sun, who is temporarily acting as regent and wants to meet the King of Jin."

The curtain of the carriage was lifted, revealing Sun Kuang's pale face. When Lu Su and the other man saw it, they knew that something must have happened in the city, so they led the carriage to Yuan Xi.

Yuan Xi rode over and bowed to Sun Kuang, saying, "The King of Wu came out of the city in person. I am deeply surprised. What happened in the city?"

Sun Kuang spoke with difficulty, and explained what happened last night in a few words. Finally, he said, "Brother was stabbed by me. The injury is serious. He has been unconscious until now. The doctors are helpless and all say that brother cannot be saved."

"All the officials of Wu State support me to take charge of Wu State's affairs temporarily. Seeing that my brother is beyond help, Sun Shao and Yan Jun can only give in."

"I no longer want to see the two countries go to war and cause more casualties. I also don't think that luring the King of Jin into the city will work, so I came here in person to explain the situation."

"My brother and the King of Hannan fought in Chaisang the day before yesterday. Of the 30,000 able-bodied men left in Nanchang City, only a few thousand returned. Now almost every family in the city is in mourning. No one wants to continue the battle."

Yuan Xi, Lu Xun, Lu Su and others finally came to their senses from their shock. It was already such a late hour, but the State of Wu was still able to fight, and the fight was so brutal!
However, it was all thanks to Sun Kuang's assassination that Sun Quan could no longer act on his own and the resistance in the city fell apart. He could not let the people of the city be buried with Sun Quan's obsession. It must be said that this was already a very good result.

Yuan Xi sighed a few times and said to Sun Kuang, "Since the King of Wu has shown his sincerity, I will not let any more civilians or soldiers in the city be killed or injured."

He turned around and said to Lu Xun and others, "Send someone to control the city gate first."

Sun Kuang knew that this was also a precaution, so he replied to Zhang Zhao: "Tell the soldiers to lay down their weapons, leave the city walls, and cooperate with the Jin army."

Not long after, the flag of Wu on the top of the city wall was slowly lowered, and the flag of Jin was raised again. When many veteran generals and soldiers of Wu saw this, they couldn't help crying, but they also felt relieved at the same time, at least they didn't have to perish together with the Jin army.

Yuan Xi rode his horse and drove slowly with Sun Kuang's carriage. Seeing that Sun Kuang looked pale, he learned that he was injured by Sun Quan and said, "Most of the doctors accompanying me have received the true teachings of Mr. Yuan Hua. When we get there, I will let them treat you first."

Sun Kuang shook his head and said, "I would like to ask the King of Jin to send them to treat my brother."

"My brother is in imminent danger. I'm afraid he won't live long. This is all my fault. I hope the king will save my brother's life for the sake of my surrender of the city."

Yuan Xi was surprised and asked, "But he cut you first, right?"

"You don't hate him?"

Sun Kuang had a complicated expression, "It's impossible to say that I don't hate him at all."

"But he is my brother after all, and if he died because of me, my mother would be very sad."

Yuan Xi nodded, "Okay, I promise you."

(End of this chapter)