Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Chapter 616 Received a Reply
After the ship came to a stop, Sun Quan did not disembark. Instead, large groups of soldiers poured down from two ships on the left and right of the pier, holding various ceremonial objects belonging to the emperor, and lined up neatly in the open space by the water.

"Mr. Lu." Gu Yong walked down slowly and came to Yangzhou Mu Lu Dai, bowed and said, "The ceremonial guards currently in Jianye are a bit rudimentary. The ship accompanying the emperor brought a batch of ceremonial guards that were newly made last year from Wuchang."

"Greetings, Prime Minister." Lu Dai replied with a smile, "This is your first return to Jianye since your Majesty ascended the throne. It's time to make the arrangements more grand. Is your Majesty in good health?"

"Your Majesty, may you be well." After Gu Yong exchanged a few more words with Lu Dai, he sent someone to have the soldiers set up the venue. After all the officials from Wuchang and the officials from Yangzhou who came to greet him had lined up, he personally walked up the wooden ladder and came to the top cabin of the four-story ship, bowed and reported:
"The ceremony is over. Your Majesty, please move."

Sun Quan shook his head helplessly: "I am just going back to Jianye, why did the Prime Minister have to go to so much trouble? You made me sit here for a long time."

Gu Yong explained in a deep voice: "When the emperor is on tour, the decoration must be grand and elaborate to enhance his majesty. It is my fault that we were unable to arrive in advance to make arrangements."

"Don't talk about this anymore." Sun Quan stood up, and Gu Li, who was standing behind him, put a cloak on Sun Quan. Sun Quan walked down the stairs slowly and steadily.

"Your Majesty, I respectfully welcome you."

When Sun Quan appeared in front of everyone, there was a loud cheer from under the boat. The voices were mixed in with the slightly whistling river wind, making Sun Quan, who was looking at the crowd and the city of Jianye in the east, feel dazed.

Two years ago, on February 16th of the fifth year of Taihe, Sun Quan proclaimed himself emperor in Wuchang and named the country Wu.

Finally, Sun Quan took this step after Cao Pi and Liu Bei, but he was just ten years late. But how many decades can a person waste in his life?

On the Shu Han side, Liu Chan and Zhuge Liang each wrote their own congratulations, Chengdu sent Chen Zhen and Baishui sent Jiang Wan to Wuchang to watch the ceremony. The calendar used by the Wu Kingdom was also changed from the previous Huangwu to Huanglong.

In the original history, the reign title of Huangwu existed for seven years. The new reign title of Huanglong also began in 229 AD, which was equivalent to the third year of Taihe in Wei. However, Sun Quan only became emperor in the fifth year of Taihe, which was two years later than in history.

However, if we look closely, it was indeed Sun Quan's own freedom to proclaim himself emperor. As the King of Wu who ruled the southeast, it was no big deal for him to proclaim himself emperor. Yuan Shu also proclaimed himself emperor, and Zhang Ju, a native of Yuyang County in Youzhou in the fourth year of Zhongping of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, also proclaimed himself the Son of Heaven. If we exaggerate a little, even an ordinary bandit leader who roams the mountains and forests can proclaim himself emperor.

It just depends on whether others recognize it or not.

After Gongsun Yuan and his clan were executed, there were only three independent political entities in the world.

Of course Shu Han recognized it.

Han and Wu formed an alliance to fight against Wei, which Wei obviously could not recognize.

Although Sun Quan did not inform the State of Wei in advance about such a big event as proclaiming himself emperor, he still sent a doctor from Wuchang with the seal of Emperor Sun Quan.

This doctor had not yet arrived in Luoyang, but had just arrived in Xiangyang when Zhao Yan chopped him off on charges of treason and usurpation, and sent his head and letters back to Luoyang.

As for the letter, it naturally described in detail how Sun Quan proclaimed himself emperor in Wuchang, and also wrote about how the Han Kingdom sent people to watch the ceremony, how miraculous the prophecies and auspicious signs were, and how the Sun family was favored by heaven.

After reading it, Cao Rui just smiled and left it at that. This matter did not even take up Cao Rui's time for more than a quarter of an hour.

Cao Rui summoned Cao Zhi, who was in Luoyang at the time, into the North Palace and ordered him to write two letters, which were full of eloquence and talent. He then sent people to deliver them to Zhang He in Qishan and Zhao Yan in Xiangyang respectively, and ordered them to send someone to deliver them to Wu and Shu.

The letter sent to Liu Chan in Chengdu was full of heart-wrenching words.

The general meaning of the letter is that the Wei Dynasty inherited the Han Dynasty, and you held a funeral for the Han Emperor in Shanyang, which is a completely unscrupulous act. Your father Liu Bei was a usurper, who used the name of the Han Dynasty to deceive the people of Yizhou and repeatedly opposed the Wei Dynasty. And you, Liu Chan, now don't even want the name of the Han Dynasty, and actually come to support Sun Quan and equate the Wu Kingdom with the Han Kingdom. It is really a disgrace to your father Liu Bei, so just commit suicide in Chengdu.

However, the letter sent to Wuchang did not contain any emotion at all.

In this letter, Sun Quan was clearly told that he had chosen his own path and should not regret it when the list was drawn up in the future. The only fate that awaited the Sun family was the same fate as Gongsun Yuan, and there was no other choice. With the order from the Luoyang court, between the fifth and sixth years of Taihe, Sun Quan repeatedly sent people north to deliver letters to Cao Rui in Luoyang, but they were rejected by the border soldiers one after another.

In the past two years, Wei and Wu have completely severed all communications through all channels.

It can be said that he is determined.

Having said that, the superior's calmness or daze is seen as a unique and free and easy behavior in the eyes of his subordinates.

Everyone waited at the dock for a long time before Sun Quan slowly walked down and came in front of Lu Dai.

"Your Majesty, your servant Lu Dai, respectfully welcomes you back to the capital." Lu Dai paid his respects with great ceremony.

"Lü Gong, please stand up quickly." Sun Quan did not put on airs in front of the older Lü Dai. He helped Lü Dai up with both hands. "Lü Gong has guarded Yangzhou for me for many years. He has made great contributions. You will ride in the same carriage with me and enter the palace together."

"How dare I ride with Your Majesty? This is not the way of a minister." Lu Dai insisted on refusing.

Sun Quan was not annoyed, and said with a smile: "Then Lü Gong, would you like to ride with me into the city? If you refuse again, I will be very unhappy."

Lu Dai had no choice but to agree.

After accepting the homage of Yangzhou officials, Sun Quan returned to the city with Lu Dai.

After chatting about some trivial matters, Sun Quan asked:
"At the beginning of the year, I asked Lu Gong to send a letter to Chen Changwen in Shouchun to wish him a happy new year. I wonder if he received a reply?"

Lu Dai's originally calm expression turned into a solemn one. He sat on his horse and saluted and replied, "Let your majesty know that Chen Changwen has already replied to me. This is the first time that Wei has replied in the past two years. And the contents of the letter really make me worried."

Sun Quan did not say much, but sighed meaningfully, and then looked at the soldiers standing solemnly with spears in hand on both sides of the road.

In order to welcome the emperor's arrival, these soldiers had already eaten their fill for several days, put on new uniforms and cleaned armor, and all of them looked straight ahead, with an elite and mighty look, just to leave a good impression on Sun Quan when he passed by.

But how could the soldiers know the worries and anxieties in Sun Quan's heart?
Being an emperor is not that easy! Especially for an emperor whose country is small and whose people are few, relying on the dangers of mountains and rivers to survive in one place, it is even more difficult!
"The messenger arrived in Jianye yesterday. I knew that Your Majesty would arrive today, so I did not send anyone to find Your Majesty overnight to report." Lu Dai said carefully: "Chen Changwen only mentioned two things in the letter. One is that he asked for tribute from the Great Wu, and he also said that I should make up for the tributes from previous years..."

"This man has gone mad." Sun Quan snorted coldly, a fierce light flashing in his already cold eyes.

"Secondly, Chen Changwen said that the Wei Emperor Cao Rui came from Luoyang to Shouchun to celebrate the New Year. He said that the people of Shouchun were jubilant, celebrating that Shouchun had replaced Qiao County and become one of the five capitals of the Wei State."

"This is directed at me. It seems that I was right to move the capital this time. If he moves the capital, I will move the capital too!" Sun Quan did not get angry but laughed. He grabbed the reins from his right hand, bent them to the limit with both hands, then unfolded them and pulled them hard in mid-air.

Lü Dai looked around and saw that all the ministers were at the back and no one had noticed this place for the time being. He lowered his voice and said to Sun Quan, "I hope Your Majesty will calm down your anger and make long-term plans."

"How can I make a long-term plan?" Sun Quan finally showed some anger on his face. "The Wei State has built a fort in front of my Ruxu Fort. It is only four or five miles away and can be reached in an instant! If the Wei soldiers are recruited from Shouchun and march south along Hefei and Ruxu, the defenders will not know until the soldiers are at the gates of the city. How can I make a long-term plan?"

Lü Dai was startled, a little panicked, and a little worried. Where did your majesty's courage to plan and plan and not fear dangers when he was the King of Wu? Now, just hearing that Cao Rui of Wei was spending the New Year in Shouchun, why are you so panicked?

Sun Quan spoke a little louder, but before he finished speaking, he realized that he had lost his composure.

Perhaps it was because he had been worried about state affairs in Wuchang for the past two years, and the people's livelihood in various places had always been in trouble. Perhaps it was because after returning to Yangzhou Jianye, he no longer had the calm mood when he left for Wuchang, and was a little more stressed. Or perhaps it was because of the military pressure that was almost separated by a river and hundreds of miles of water...

(End of this chapter)