Three Kingdoms, I'm really not a general!

Chapter 296 Zhang Hong’s Letter
When Zhuge Liang heard Lu Su speaking, he couldn't help but frowned.

Lu Zijing had indeed been working with him to unite Sun and Liu to fight against Cao Cao, but today, it was not certain how much weight Lu Su still had...

Besides, it is unreasonable for Lu Su to say that he was completely unaware of Lu Meng’s surprise attack on Jingzhou.

So when he heard that it was Lu Su who was speaking, Zhuge Liang just frowned.

As soon as Xing Daorong saw the military advisor's expression, he roughly guessed what was going on.

This guy from Jiangdong has no credibility at all, and his words are hard to trust!
However, although it is hard to believe what he said, the situation is such that there is no reason for the people of Jiangdong to turn against their allies halfway.

Then he said: "Military Advisor, given the current situation, Lu Su's words are still reliable."

"However, Cao Cao can only resort to sowing discord if he wants to resolve the current dilemma. We still have to be on guard."

Zhuge Liang didn't seem to care much about this.

He only asked, "What you said before, if you want to exchange space for time, you need to suppress the inside first... This reminds me."

"Since Mr. Cui left, the Cui family has left. Cao Cao has been in turmoil internally, and in order to suppress the internal turmoil, he has to impose heavy punishments."

Xing Daorong's heart was moved when he heard this. He looked at Zhuge Liang and said, "Military Advisor, what you mean... Could it be that Cao Cao wants to be crowned emperor?"

When these words came out, Xiao Qiao was shocked.

But he couldn't help but let out a soft cry.

However, Xing Daorong seemed somewhat certain.

But he said: "When Yuan Gonglu proclaimed himself emperor, the world was in turmoil, so it was inappropriate!"

"The world has been settled. Those who follow Cao Cao no longer care about the Han people."

"If Cao Cao were to become emperor, he would be able to stabilize the current situation..."

"But... this will cause great backlash. Firstly, the righteousness is on our side, and secondly, if we can no longer win, the inside will definitely be destroyed!"

"For Cao Cao, neither is a good thing."

Xing Daorong's detailed analysis made Xiao Qiao listen more seriously, and as she listened more she felt that Cao Cao seemed to really do this.

Zhuge Liang frowned and said, "This is the moment to decide the fate of the world. Cao Cao will certainly be cautious."

When we say we need to be cautious, the meaning is actually quite clear.

Zhuge Liang felt that Cao Cao would not take such a risk.

However, Xing Daorong seemed to be a little too sure about this.

But he said: "Cao Cao is a very adventurous person. When he was full of passion, he was able to assassinate the traitor Dong Zhuo with the Seven Star Sword."

“But now that he is the King of Wei, he is not alone, which makes the world think of his stable personality.”

"If it comes down to a matter of success or failure, he will definitely take risks, but this will naturally be done when his plan to sow discord fails."

Zhuge Liang's brows furrowed more and more as he listened to this. Although he felt that Cao Cao's claiming to the throne was a little unbelievable, it seemed that facing the current situation, he had no good solution as he was in Cao Cao's camp.

After calming down, Zhuge Liang said, "No matter what, we must not let Cao Cao's plan of alienation succeed."

Xing Daorong nodded in response, but Cao Cao's move was not something he could easily resolve.
Sun Quan has been in a much better mood these days.

After Hefei was captured, Sun Quan felt refreshed and extremely happy.

The humiliation of the past few years was suddenly swept away. Sun Quan regarded the words "威震晓尧津" as a joke. Instead, he regarded himself as Gou Jian, the King of Yue, who slept on straw and tasted gall, and avenged himself after years of humiliation.

Being in a good mood, Sun Quan was open to all opinions and was willing to listen to honest advice, even if it was unpleasant to the ear.

Sun Quan was also able to listen to the words of those who had previously disagreed with him in political terms.

However, not everything in the world is good. Everything in the world is a mixture of joy and sorrow. Where there is joy, there is sorrow. Where there is good, there is bad.

However, just when Sun Quan was in high spirits, news came from Wu County that Zhang Hong, one of the two Zhangs of Jiangdong, died of illness on his way back from Wu County.

On his deathbed, Zhang Hong wrote a letter to Sun Quan.

Sun Quan was grief-stricken when he heard the news. He opened Zhang Hong's last letter and saw the following words: "Since ancient times, those who have had a country or a family have all wanted to cultivate virtuous governance to rival the prosperous times. However, as for governance, most are not good. It's not that there are no loyal ministers and wise assistants who are not good at governance, but it's because the ruler is unable to handle the situation and cannot use them. People are afraid of difficulties and seek ease, they like the same and hate the different, which is contrary to the way of governance."

What this means is that Sun Quan should listen to different opinions.

In the past few years, Zhang Hong was not given important positions because he often disagreed with Sun Quan.

He wrote these in his last letter, which shows that he was still worried about this matter when he was dying.

Sun Quan could naturally understand Zhang Hong's mood when he wrote these words, and he felt a little regretful.

He continued reading, "The Classic says: 'To do good is like climbing a mountain, to do evil is like collapsing a cliff.' This means that it is difficult to do good. A ruler inherits the foundation of generations, relies on the power of nature, and holds the power of the eight handles. He is willing to be happy with others and does not ask for anything from them. However, loyal ministers use tricks that are difficult to get close to and speak words that are unpleasant to the ears. Isn't it natural that they are incompatible?"

This is similar to what I said before, just the same old rhetoric of "following good advice".

It makes sense that Zhang Hong is unlikable.

Repeating the same point over and over again in the letter would make anyone feel irritated.

It was because this was Zhang Hong’s last letter that Sun Quan was able to read it so patiently.

And finally, at the end of Zhang Hong's last letter, he finally wrote something practical.

"Your Majesty is surrounded by loyal and good officials, but only Peng Ying, who surrendered from Chengdu, is a flatterer, covetous, and slanderous person."

"You should stay away from this guy to avoid ruining your plans."

Ever since the Zhou Tai incident, Peng Ying has been targeted by both the Jiangdong noble families and the Huaisi generals.

The Jiangdong noble families felt that this guy had broken the rules. Since he could slander Zhou Tai in front of Sun Quan, he would be able to slander others in the future. They also felt that he was taking advantage of their own interests, so they were naturally unhappy with him.

Not to mention the generals of Huai and Si, Lu Meng and Zhou Tai were both harmed by this guy, and they hated him to death.

So although the reasons for their hatred were different, the common consensus was that this guy was absolutely a jerk. If he hadn't been giving advice to Sun Quan, Zhou Tai would never have been taken away by Xing Daorong!
Only Sun Quan is still protecting him now, otherwise he would have offended the Jiangdong aristocratic families and the Huaisi generals. How could Peng Ying survive in Jiangdong!

Just today...

Zhang Hong's suicide note was enough to put an end to Peng Ying's life.

Previously, Sun Quan protected Peng Ying because he didn't want to admit that he was wrong.

The pressure from the Jiangdong noble families was too great. If Sun Quan gave in, he would be pressed further and further and lose all his power.

To protect Peng Ying is to protect yourself.

Now that Lu Xun has captured Hefei, Sun Quan can restore order.

After all, the current situation is very good, and Sun Quan has many supporters. This is the right time to take action against Peng Ying...

(End of this chapter)