Rebirth of the Three Kingdoms: Da Qiao doesn't want to be a widow anymore

Chapter 363 Fishing in troubled waters
The officials below were arguing fiercely, so Sun Quan simply made an excuse that his old injury had relapsed and began to openly slack off and recuperate in the Juxu Pavilion.

Every day, Yourou would bring the documents that needed approval to Juxu Pavilion, and Qiaowei was responsible for picking out all the documents and policy essays concerning Jingzhou and setting them aside.

Sun Quan didn't even glance at this part of the documents, and had Yourou put them all into a box.

The more it is suppressed, the greater the commotion outside becomes.

"I heard that a fight has already broken out." Qiao Wei brought in a bowl of what looked like pitch-black "medicine," and then drank it all in front of Sun Quan.

Starting a few days ago, the debates among the courtiers escalated again, and have now evolved into throwing things around.

You smash books, I smash lampstands; you break teacups, I overturn tables.

Then, no one knows who made the first move, but the scroll hit someone's face. These gentlemen, who valued their reputation so much, completely abandoned all pretense of civility. Whether they were skilled in martial arts or not, they believed that they could lose face even if they lost the fight.

The once proper council hall had been transformed into a marketplace, and the once learned scholars had all turned into hooligans and thugs.

Sun Quan had Zhou Xun sitting on his left leg and Sun Deng on his right leg, holding a scroll in his hands, accompanying Sun Deng as he practiced calligraphy.

Such tranquil moments, if not for the turmoil of the outside world, would probably be worthy of the phrase "peaceful and serene times, tranquil and composed."

Sun Quan would occasionally glance up, and if he saw that Sun Deng had written exceptionally neat characters, he would not forget to praise him, saying, "Your handwriting is better than your mother's."

Qiao Wei could only roll her eyes silently.

Praising someone is fine, but why do you have to do this of putting one down to praise another?

“You’ve been hiding for almost half a month now, and rumors are starting to circulate that I’ve poisoned you and put you under house arrest,” Qiao Wei whispered, trying to gauge Sun Quan’s intentions.

But he seemed to have no sense of responsibility or awareness as a ruler at all. "No rush, let's wait a couple more days and let them jump around a bit more."

Qiao Wei's gaze fell on Sun Quan's face. His eyelashes were half-closed, as if there was a thin mist in front of him. There was also a hint of uncertainty and confusion in his pupils, as if he was trying to piece together the scattered fragments that she had ignored.

Suddenly, as if she had grasped something, the fog in front of her seemed to be blown away by a gust of wind, a spark condensed in her eyes, surging with the light of enlightenment, and even the corners of her eyes were tinged with a sense of relief.

Sun Quan smiled slightly, "It seems that my wife and I are truly of one mind."

In the past two days, the physician announced that Sun Quan's headache had improved somewhat, so the officials began to kneel in the council hall again, demanding to see Sun Quan.

Sun Quan only met with one person—Lu Su.

With Qiao Wei's help, Sun Quan "struggled" to his feet, still panting heavily from time to time. "Sir, please speak frankly."

Of course, we should keep it short.

"Five or six out of ten are in favor of defending, with Chief Clerk Qin Song being the most determined, while two or three are still undecided."

Qin Song was also one of Sun Ce's most important strategists. Although his reputation was not as good as Zhang Zhao's, he had made great contributions to Sun Ce's conquest of Jiangdong.

The implication is that there are only two or three out of ten people who are in charge of seizing Jingzhou.

Even with Zhou Yu's prestige in the army, the number of followers he had was surprisingly small, which was beyond Sun Quan's expectations.

Sun Quan gave a wry smile. "I don't know if Liu Biao is really so popular that even the people of Jiangdong are very grateful for his kindness, or if it's just that the hearts of these ministers in Jiangdong are like flags, swaying in the wind, and their minds are not sincere."

Lu Su, however, said, "They're old." Qiao Wei didn't know whether Zhang Zhao, Qin Song, and the others were old or not, but for the ambitious young Sun Quan, Zhang Zhao's spirit could not keep up with Sun Quan's ambition.

"Zibu, Wenbiao, and the others are all concerned about their wives and children, and are driven by their own selfish thoughts. I am deeply disappointed!"

Sun Quan's desire to seize Jingzhou at this critical juncture, whether to avenge his father or to expand Jiangdong's influence in order to seek higher titles and official positions from the Han Dynasty, were merely superficial desires.

Meanwhile, Sun Quan's ambitions had long since moved beyond simply occupying Jiangdong or Jingzhou.

What he wants is the world.

Lu Su understood this ambition long ago, which is why Sun Quan relied on Lu Su so much after Lu Su proposed Sun Quan's strategy of dividing the world into three parts with Liu Biao and Cao Cao during the "bedroom dialogue" years ago, and consulted Lu Su on everything.

Now, times have changed, and Lu Su has put forward a new "bedside proposal": Liu Biao is strong on the outside but weak on the inside, and is no longer a threat. Sun Quan should head west to enter Jingzhou, and then divide the country into north and south with Cao Cao.

Sun Quan wholeheartedly agreed with this statement.

Among the heroes of the world, Liu Biao could barely be considered half a hero back then, but now Sun Quan only considers Cao Cao his opponent.

Whether in military strategy or in governing the country, no one in the world could surpass him. No wonder Xu Shao, after meeting Cao Cao, described him as "a capable minister in times of peace and a ruthless hero in times of chaos."

Sun Quan wanted to contend for the throne, and in the future he would inevitably have to clash with this formidable opponent.

The thought of facing Cao Cao in the future filled Sun Quan with excitement.

Zhang Zhao and his associates' plans gradually became clear: Zhang Zhao could support the Sun family in occupying Jiangdong and becoming a regional warlord.

However, he wanted to sit in Jiangdong and observe the rise and fall of the world, and dared not support Sun Quan's ambition to conquer the world.

If Sun Quan were to truly confront Cao Cao in the future, needless to say, Zhang Zhao and others would be among the first to stand up and advocate surrendering to Cao Cao in exchange for high-ranking positions.

Sun Quan was truly disheartened. Among those who were now focused on defending Jiangdong and observing the success or failure of the situation, he found it no surprise that anyone would take such a stance.

Sun Quan felt somewhat disheartened towards Zhang Zhao, but he was particularly disillusioned with him.

For Sun Quan, Zhang Zhao held a position of authority and affection that was both that of a teacher and a father. However, in the end, this teacher not only had no confidence in Sun Quan, but the two were not even of one mind.

So many years of respect and trust have ultimately yielded such "fragile" loyalty.

Zhang Zhao and Qin Song were both renowned scholars from Xuzhou, and many of the advisors and generals left behind by Sun Ce were from the north.

If Jiangdong fails, they can simply head north and surrender to Cao Cao. The local aristocratic families of Jiangdong will be of no consequence. Regardless of which side wins, in order to govern Jiangdong, they will ultimately have to employ the sons of the Jiangdong aristocratic families.

But Sun Quan was different. Jiangdong lost, and his only fate was to commit suicide to admit his sins to his ancestors, whether it was voluntary or forced.

Zhang Zhao, Qin Song, and others clearly did not consider any way out for Sun Quan.

This is what aristocratic families are like.

Only Lu Su could fully empathize with Sun Quan's predicament. Lu Su was not from a prestigious family, and he would not be given important positions by either Liu Biao or Cao Cao.

Therefore, for Sun Quan, Lu Su was currently the only one who was truly "one of his own".