The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 418 Civil strife
"Zitong, after I pass away, the important matters will be handed over to you."

"Don't go against Lü Ju. You're only in your twenties and have no experience commanding a large army. Lü Ju is extremely prestigious, so you need to appease him and don't act on your own."

"If he refuses to obey you, use the power of the temple to suppress him and force him to obey."

Sun Jun was lying on the bed, giving his final instructions to his cousin beside him as he was dying.

By this time, Sun Jun already knew that his time was running out. He no longer expected to get better suddenly, so he placed his hopes on Sun Chen.

But now Sun Chen is only 25 years old, and Sun Jun is already very young in his 30s. Sun Chen is younger and more energetic, which makes Sun Jun worry about the major events in the future.

Sun Chen burst into tears at this moment, "Brother, I understand."

Sun Jun continued, "You should respect the old generals in the temple. You are too young. Do not conflict with them. Show them enough respect."

"Quan Shang, Princess Quan and the others must be appeased. Don't make things difficult for them."

"The emperor is the key to maintaining the temple, so we cannot be too rude to him."

"Your brothers can serve as your right-hand men and help you."

Sun Jun expressed many ideas in succession, mainly about winning over and forbearance.

Sun Chen frowned. Sun Jun wanted to say something, but he was too weak. He closed his eyes and breathed weakly.

Sun Chen walked out of the house. His younger brother Sun En was standing by the door. When he saw him come out, he couldn't wait to ask, "Is he dead?!"

Sun Chen was furious, "You bastard! Are you trying to curse my brother to death?!"

Sun En trembled with fear, and finally whispered, "I am sorry for my words. Is my brother feeling better?"

Sun Chen shook his head, "I'm afraid I can't hold on for a few more days."

Sun En asked again, "Did he give any instructions?"

"I have given instructions."

Sun Chen recalled his brother's words and said slowly, "My brother said that Lü Ju would disobey me and would oppose me. I want to use the power of the court to kill him."

"And those old generals will also give me trouble."

"Quan Shang, Princess Quan, the Emperor, all of these people must be dealt with."

"You have to help me deal with them."

"That's all he said."

Sun Chen seemed to be possessed by Cao Pi at this moment, and he understood his brother's instructions very well. Sun En was shocked, "So many people want to make things difficult for us?"

"Since my brother said so, it will definitely be difficult."

"We must prepare in advance and cannot let these bastards delay our great cause. When we take control of Wu, we will naturally capture Huainan, annex Bashu, unify the world, and establish an unprecedented great cause!"

There was an inexplicable light in Sun Chen's eyes, and he was extremely confident in himself.

As a 25-year-old young man, Sun Chen is still at an age of recklessness, hot-bloodedness, and not very smart.

He never understood his brother's forbearance.

Every time Sun Chen saw Sun Jun bowing his head to Quan Shang, Princess Quan, or even the little emperor, he was always very angry. How could a real man do such a flattering thing?

We have military power in our hands, so why should we be afraid of these people? Just kill them directly!
Why should I be a dog for these people?

Sun Chen has always wanted to prove himself. In layman's terms, at his age, he still has a strong desire to show off. He needs to show others his achievements, his uniqueness, and his prestige.
When Sun Jun just fell ill, he had already begun to fantasize about leading his troops to conquer the world and become the king of the world.

At this moment, Sun Jun had already made arrangements for his funeral, which made Sun Chen even more excited. At least, in his own heart, he was now a tall and mighty figure who would inherit the country when the country was in danger and support the Wu Dynasty.

Sun Chen called his four younger brothers from all over the place.

Sun Ju, Sun Chen's oldest brother, is only 22 years old this year, and his other brothers are even in their teens.

But Sun Chen didn't care about this. His cousin had told him to make use of his younger brothers!

Who says teenagers can’t govern a country and fight wars?
In ancient times, Huo Qubing and Han Xin were also very young when they first led troops into battle.

While Sun Chen was thinking about how to arrange for his younger brothers, Sun Jun came to his senses again.

Sun Jun lay weakly on the bed, his eyes full of fear.

He clutched Sun Chen's hand tightly and said, "If I meet the emperor, what should I say? What should I say?"

Sun Chen was horrified. He hurriedly comforted him, saying, "Brother, it's okay. You have been fighting against the enemy and supporting the country wholeheartedly. You have done nothing wrong."

However, Sun Jun did not calm down and he suddenly started crying.

“How am I going to face my father and the others?”

Sun Chen tried to comfort him in a panic. After a while, Sun Jun stopped crying. He closed his eyes, with fear still on his face, but he didn't move anymore.

At the end of October in the second year of Wufeng in the Eastern Wu Dynasty, General Sun Jun died of heart disease.

Before his death, he appointed his cousin Sun Chen as the Palace Attendant and General of the Wuwei Army, in charge of all military affairs at home and abroad, assisting the young emperor and managing the government.

After Sun Jun's death, the Wu Kingdom remained silent, not even causing any uproar like Liu Zan's death in battle. Whether it was the ministers, the people, or the army, they all seemed apathetic. After taking office, Sun Chen hurriedly issued his first order.

He asked General of the Cavalry, Lü Ju, to return to the palace alone immediately to see the general off and to pay a visit to the new General of the Guards.

At this moment, Lu Ju, who had just arrived in Wuchang with his army, also received orders from Sun Chen.

The fact that Sun Jun was critically ill was concealed by Sun Chen and others and was not originally known to the public.

After seeing the order brought by the scout, Lu Ju became furious.

"Who the hell is this Sun Chen? Is he worthy of giving me orders?!"

Lu Ju's eyes were wide open with rage. He was somewhat dissatisfied with Sun Jun's power and wanted to seize it. However, he did not take action against him because Sun Jun had the merit of eliminating Zhuge Ke and had the support of a powerful family.

But now Sun Chen is just a kid in his twenties, and Lu Ju does not submit to him at all.

Moreover, this fellow was so rude that he asked me to go to see him alone? What did he mean by that? Did he want to capture me directly?

Lu Ju did not obey Sun Chen's edict. He immediately sent people to contact his good friends, such as General Tang Zi, General Zhu Yi and others.

Lu Ju asked them to follow him in writing a petition, requesting that General Teng Yin of the Guards be appointed as Prime Minister to take charge of the government.

This General Teng Yin was Sun Quan's son-in-law.

He had been in the State of Wu for many years and had extensive experience, rising from the position of prefect to the position of Minister of Rites, and then to the position of General of the Guards. After Zhuge Ke was killed, the ministers recommended him to be the Minister of the Interior.

However, Sun Jun thought that this person's prestige was too high and his contributions were too great. If he were to be made the Minister of the Interior, it would certainly endanger his own power. Therefore, he suppressed the ministers and prevented him from becoming the Minister of Interior.

After Teng Yin's original princess died, he married the sister of Sun Yi, the general of the Wu State's Zhenjun Army. Lu Ju's wife was also Sun Yi's sister, so the two became close.

At this moment, Lu Ju wanted Teng Yin to be the prime minister, which was clearly an attempt to seize power from Sun Chen.

Sun Chen waited for a long time in Jianye, but did not wait for Lu Ju. Instead, he received letters from generals from all over the country, who actually requested that Teng Yin be appointed as prime minister.

Sun Chen immediately summoned his four younger brothers and began to discuss the matter.

These people decided to suppress the matter, ignored the generals' letters, and looked for opportunities to get rid of them.

He sent someone to deliver a letter to Lu Ju again, asking him to come quickly, otherwise he would be punished.

But Lu Ju did not indulge Sun Chen. When he learned that Sun Chen ignored the generals' petition and was preparing to enthrone his brothers, Lu Ju decided to launch an uprising directly.

He wrote letters to his friends in various places, asking them to help him deal with Sun Chen.

At the same time, he wrote a letter to Teng Yin in the court, asking him to prepare to replace Sun Chen.

When Sun Chen learned that Lü Ju had begun to gather troops and was preparing to march towards Jianye, he became furious.

Sun Chen sent an envoy with an imperial edict to find Zhu Yi, Liu Zan, Tang Zi and others, asking them to gather an army to attack Lü Ju.

He also ordered his cousin Sun Xian, Ding Feng, Shi Kuan and others to serve as backup, and to send troops from two places to attack Lü Ju from both sides.

The war was about to break out, and as for Teng Yin, Sun Chen reported to the emperor that Teng Yin was in rebellion, and ordered General Liu Cheng to lead the cavalry to besiege Teng Yin.

For a time, the country of Wu was in an uproar and smoke of war was everywhere.

The first one was Teng Yin in Jianye. After he was besieged, his advisers persuaded him to go out to the Canglong Gate of the imperial palace and incite Sun Chen's army to rebel and use it for his own benefit.

However, he believed that Lu Ju would arrive soon, and those generals were close to Lu Ju and would not attack him. It would be disrespectful to the emperor if he led the army to the palace, so he did not go out.

As a result, his mansion was quickly breached, and Sun Chen directly killed the old minister and ordered the execution of his three clans.

At the same time, Lu Ju was also attacked from many sides.

His good friends no longer cared about friendship at this moment. On the contrary, in order to prove that they had no relationship with Lu Ju, they fought against Lu Ju very actively.

Lu Ju's private army was very limited. Although elite, it was certainly no match for the tens of thousands of troops in the imperial court.

This general, who had never suffered a major defeat in his life, suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of his own people this time and was directly overwhelmed by the enemy's numerical superiority.

His trusted aides persuaded him, "You can surrender to Wei now and take revenge on Sun Chen and his men."

Lü Ju replied, "I am ashamed to be a traitor."

Soon, his private army was defeated, and he himself fell into the hands of the Wu army.

Lü Ju was unwilling to be humiliated, so he committed suicide.

Sun Chen was overjoyed and issued another order to execute all three clans of Lu Ju.

Just when everyone thought the matter was over, Sun Chen believed that Teng Yin and Lu Ju's wives were both Sun Yi's sisters, and Sun Yi must have been involved in the matter.

He immediately ordered his generals to besiege Xiakou and kill Sun Yi's younger brother Sun Feng.

Sun Yi was extremely frightened, so he fled to Cao Wei with Teng Yin's wife and more than a thousand of his own followers.

The state of Wu was in chaos, the army was shaken, and the ministers were alienated.

Sun Yi quickly brought the news to Guanqiu Jian.

(End of this chapter)