The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 417 Sudden Change
Wu State, Jianye.

"Brother, this is what people say everywhere now."

Sun Chen sat in front of Sun Jun and told the story in a low voice.

Sun Jun looked even worse at this moment.

Ever since his crushing defeat at the hands of Guanqiu Jian in Huainan, his health had deteriorated further, and he suffered from heartaches from time to time, tormenting him all day long.

Sun Jun summoned the imperial physician to check, but the physician could not tell the specific condition of the disease. He just said it was a heart disease or something like that. As for treatment, that was out of the question.

What's more, Sun Jun did not have a good reputation among the people, and those famous doctors avoided him and were unwilling to see him.

They were all afraid that after they diagnosed Sun Jun, he would send him on his way.

Sun Jun's heartache is becoming more and more frequent. When he is doing something, it suddenly feels like something pierces his heart, an indescribable pain.

But Sun Jun had no time to worry about his own affairs, because the problem before him was the problem of General Lu Ju.

Although the soldiers did not say anything about this defeat, it caused an uproar among the people and the army.

Liu Zan was an old general of the Eastern Wu. He was deeply loved by the people for his bravery.

When the people of Eastern Wu learned that this man had been beheaded and his head was sent back to Luoyang, they all felt sad for him.

In fact, Sun Jun doesn't care much about the attitude of the common people. Even if these people sympathize with Liu Zan and are dissatisfied with him, it is not worth mentioning. Anyway, they don't have the power to do anything to him.

But the army was not something Sun Jun could underestimate.

Because of the national conditions of Eastern Wu, General Sun Jun's power was far less than that of the powerful ministers of other countries, and he might even be less powerful than Zhuge Ke.

After all, he is too young and has no qualifications or achievements.

Originally, he could only protect himself through torture and marriage. As a result, this time, Liu Zan died in battle. Liu Zan held a very high position in the army. His death had a great impact on Sun Jun's reputation in the army.

What frightened him most was that Lu Ju's prestige was rising.

Everyone felt that if Lü Ju had been appointed as the main general and was allowed to lead the campaign, perhaps Liu Zan would not have been killed in battle.

This is the truth, but it is the truth that Sun Jun doesn't want to hear.

The generals and soldiers in the army all praised Lu Ju.

There were even radical generals who suggested that Lü Ju should be made the commander-in-chief and go to attack the State of Wei to avenge Liu Zan.

Even the allies who had always supported Sun Jun, such as Princess Quan, were now somewhat shaken.

Princess Quan hinted to Sun Jun several times that he could handle the affairs of the court by himself, but he should let Lu Ju take charge of the battles outside.

Sun Jun is a general. If you, a general, cannot interfere in military affairs, what kind of general are you?

These would have been enough, but the most dangerous thing was Lu Ju's attitude at the moment.

After this defeat, Lu Ju, who had never had any antagonism towards Sun Jun, seemed to have some other ideas.

Lu Ju was a brave general who had never lost a single battle. Even when facing Guanqiu Jian this time, he did not suffer a serious loss. He saved his army and returned safely.

As for Sun Jun, he only fought once and Liu Zan died.

This contrast made Lu Ju suddenly realize that you are just such a thing.

Lu Ju rarely comes to the General's Mansion now. He meets with the generals in the army frequently and trains with them.

Judging from what Lu Ju said, it seems that he is preparing to lead a large army to Cao Wei next year to fight against Guanqiu Jian again.

This is what Sun Chen was talking about at this moment.

"Lü Ju and Zhu Yi stayed in the palace for a long time. Zhu Yi personally escorted Lü Ju out. After Lü Ju left, Zhu Yi said to his attendants: 'It's rare to find a general who can always win.'"

Listening to his brother's words, Sun Jun's face became more and more ugly.

He covered his heart again.

Although he did lose Liu Zan in history, which caused his own prestige to decline, made Lu Ju have other thoughts, and also disappointed his supporters, at least he brought back Wen Qin, and the situation did not deteriorate to this point.

This time, he brought back nothing and lost so many soldiers.

"We can't let him go around meeting these generals anymore."

Sun Jun narrowed his eyes.

"Let him leave Jianye."

"Where are you going?"

Sun Chen asked suspiciously.

Sun Jun then said, "Lü Gong, who is in charge of guarding Wuchang, is already over ninety years old. I heard that his health is getting worse and worse, and he can't eat much. We can't let him die in Wuchang."

"Lü Gong is an old minister of our dynasty. We cannot follow the example of the traitor Cao Wei and persecute our old ministers. We can let him enjoy his old age in peace."

"If Lü Gong leaves, someone will have to take his place in Wuchang. Isn't Lü Ju the best candidate?"

The Lu Gong that Sun Jun was referring to at this moment was Lu Dai.

Not everyone in the Eastern Wu had a short life. Lü Dai served under Sun Quan, pacified Lingnan, pacified the Shanyue, fought in Changsha, and defended Wuchang. At the age of 93, he was appointed Grand Marshal.

He is the longest-lived general of the Eastern Wu, and also the most experienced and prestigious official of the Wu State.

Sun Jun's intention in bringing this up was, first and foremost, to leverage Lü Dai's fame to suppress those who supported Lü Ju. He also wanted to distance Lü Ju from the inner circle of government, preventing him from accumulating power. He could then send his own private troops to Wuchang, effectively preventing him from leaving the city for a long time. He could even wait until Lü Dai died or retired, then nominally grant him the title of Grand Marshal, ushering him into early retirement.

Sun Chen couldn't help laughing when he heard his brother's thoughts.

"Brother, you have thought it through very carefully. Even Princess Quan would be speechless!"

Sun Jun immediately waved his hand and said, "You take care of this matter."

Sun Chen quickly agreed.

Sun Jun still had no shortage of allies in the court. Although these allies were somewhat wavering, Sun Jun treated them well and had Princess Quan's support. Therefore, when it came to discussing letting Lu Ju replace Lu Dai, the ministers had almost no other ideas.

Although they would prefer the general to fight less in the future and not have to go up to the battlefield themselves, if they had to choose between the general and Lu Ju, they would still choose the general.

After all, the general was still young, and no matter how Lu Ju looked at it, he had no chance of replacing Sun Jun.

Even Lu Ju himself did not expect that the wind direction in the court would change so quickly.

A few days ago, they were still discussing that if there was an expedition to Wei State, he would be the commander-in-chief, but now it has become a matter of going to Wuchang to replace Lu Dai.

The government still held the banner of caring for old ministers. Lü Dai already had a high reputation in Wu. When they heard that someone would be sent to replace him and the old general would return to Jianye to rest, all the ministers were very supportive, which left Lü Ju with almost no chance to refute.

If he said he would not go now, it would mean that he was dissatisfied with Lu Dai!

Only then did Lu Ju realize that although his general was not very good at fighting, he was good at this kind of conspiracy.

None of the friends that Lu Ju had won over in the past were willing to come out to help him at this moment.

This made Lu Ju even more angry.

However, he had no choice. Faced with pressure from the court, he was forced to accept the proposal and take his army to Wuchang to guard the place.

With the support of his brother's power, Sun Chen accomplished this task.

When Sun Jun learned from his brother that the matter was completed, the heartache that had been plaguing him for a long time seemed to be healed in an instant.

He immediately sat up and asked, "When will Lü Ju set out?"

"Brother, he submitted a petition stating that he will be leaving tomorrow for this trip. I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to return!"

Both brothers felt relieved.

Sun Chen asked in a low voice, "Brother, do we need to find another way to prevent him from reaching Wuchang alive?"

Sun Jun pondered for a moment and said, "Although I don't like Lü Ju, he is the most capable general in Wu today and the only commander-in-chief capable of fighting against Guanqiu Jian. He must be alive and healthy. If he is gone, there will be no one else to take on the position of commander-in-chief."

"Besides, if we rashly kill him, it will definitely cause many conflicts, which will be disadvantageous to us."

After hearing what his brother said, Sun Chen had no choice but to give up.

Sun Jun sat up and said seriously, "Get ready. Tomorrow, I'll go and see him off myself. He'll be useful in the future."

The next day, Sun Jun went to the training ground with his brother to see Lü Ju off from Jianye.

When the two brothers arrived here, Lu Ju was riding a horse, wearing armor, and training his soldiers.

Lu Ju's army was neatly arranged in front of Lu Ju. Each of them was tall and mighty, with excellent weapons. They responded in a very orderly manner according to Lu Ju's orders.

This alone is unmatched by the entire Wu army.

"All officers and soldiers, listen to my orders!!"

"This time we are marching to Wuchang, the entire army must march in unison. No one is allowed to fall behind. If anyone disobeys, the entire army will be punished!"

"Wei! Wei! Wei!!!"

The soldiers responded loudly.

Their voices were extremely loud, and the voices of thousands of people seemed to sound louder than those of tens of thousands.

At this moment, Sun Jun, who came to see Lu Ju off, looked extremely gloomy.

He stared at the elite army in front of him, and his heart suddenly began to ache.

"Brother?? What's wrong with you??"

Sun Chen was shocked and asked hurriedly.

Sun Jun's face was pale, and he gritted his teeth and replied, "I have a heart disease, it's fine."

After saying this, he turned and left, and Sun Chen hurriedly followed him.

Lü Ju remained on his horse, ignoring Sun Jun. After they left, someone informed him of their conversation, and Lü Ju sneered, "He must be afraid of my military might, feeling uneasy, and feigning a heart attack!"

He turned around and led his army away from Jianye.

But he didn't expect that Sun Jun was not feigning a heart illness.

After returning to his mansion, Sun Jun felt unbearable pain and quickly called the imperial physician to diagnose him.

Sun Jun couldn't fall asleep that day. The imperial physician personally prepared the medicine for him, and only then did Sun Jun close his eyes.

The next day, his condition not only did not improve, but became worse.

Within ten days, the condition had deteriorated to the point where he had to make arrangements for his funeral.

(End of this chapter)