Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 294 Abandoning diplomatic relations to protect Jingzhou, abandoning the west to protect the east

At the beginning of the year, just a few days after Sun Quan established his altar and ascended the throne, the Wuling Wuxi Yi, who had been pacified by Sun Wu for more than three years, sent envoys to congratulate him, having already learned of Sun Quan's impending ascension to the throne.

Sun Quan believed that the Wuxi Yi had submitted to Wu, so he sent Generals Zhang Mi and Xu Yan with imperial credentials to Wulingyuan to appoint the Yi king Sha Lie as the Miao King of Great Wu and to bestow upon Sha Lie the seal of the Miao King.

This was the first seal of a vassal king bestowed by Sun Quan after he established his kingdom and became emperor.

During the banquet, Zhang Zhao strongly advised, saying that he had always heard that barbarians repay kindness and debts, and that the blood debt between the Wuxi barbarians and the Great Wu had not been repaid, so they would not let the matter rest.

They claimed that this envoy's congratulatory message was not their true intention, but rather a scheme to spy on the state of Wu and report back to Han.

Finally, he offered a sarcastic remark: "If Zhang Mi and Xu Yan were killed by the barbarians, wouldn't we become a laughingstock to the world?"

Sun Quan was greatly displeased and gave Zhang Zhao a long explanation, but his opinion contradicted Zhang Zhao's. In the end, he even berated Zhang Zhao.
"If I had listened to Zhang Gong's advice back then, I would already be begging for food in Wei!"

"When Wu Chen enters the palace to pay homage to me, he bows to you upon leaving. I have shown you the utmost respect! Yet you repeatedly humiliate me in public! Who do you take me for?!"

The conflict between the two men shocked the entire Wu and Hui regions.

On the day of Sun Ce's death, Zhang Zhao personally helped the young emperor onto his horse to inspect the army. This trusted minister, who had entrusted the young emperor with such a crucial task, then resigned his post and declared that he would no longer concern himself with state affairs, and went directly back to Jiangdong to write books and establish his own doctrines.

Because the verbal battle between Sun Quan and Zhang Zhao, the master and disciple, and the ruler and minister, went a bit too far, the news spread like wildfire and quickly became a laughing stock throughout Jing and Yang provinces.

The two envoys, Zhang Mi and Xu Yan, then carrying the imperial insignia of the Great Wu emperor and the seal of the Miao king of Great Wu, went to Wulingyuan to confer the title of king upon Sha Lie.

But is that really the case?
Uh… that was indeed the case at first.

At least the verbal battle between Sun Quan and Zhang Zhao was real, Zhang Zhao's resignation was not faked, there was no secret conspiracy between him and Sun Quan, and even the fact that Sun Quan initially wanted to appoint Sha Lie as the Miao King of Great Wu was absolutely true.

The turning point came when Pan Jun suddenly noticed that Han troops were secretly advancing towards Wu County in the mountains of Jiangnan, and he sent an urgent report to Sun Quan.

Just a few days later, Pan Jun was defeated by the Han army and forced to abandon his troops and flee.

Sun Quan suppressed the news and sent a secret envoy to find Zhang Mi and Xu Yan's entourage. His purpose was not to remind the two envoys to be careful, but to plant several assassins in their ranks.

The so-called barbarians, cong people, yi people, and yue people are essentially the same. Sun Quan had been fighting with the mountain yue people in Wu for so many years. How could he really believe that he could win over the Wuxi yi people in such a short time?
The reason for bestowing the Miao King's Seal upon Sha Lie was merely a plan devised by him and Lu Xun to deceive the Wuxi Yi people, so that they could launch a surprise attack on the Wuxi Yi people as soon as spring plowing began, and prevent these Wuxi Yi people from causing trouble again when the Han and Wu clashed in the future.

Only he and his minister Lu Xun knew about this plan. They were betting that the world would not believe that Sun Quan would use the "King's Seal" to slap himself in the face. After all, if he appointed himself a king and then went to attack him, wouldn't that cause controversy among the people?
Sun Quan didn't care.

If it weren't for the unexpected turn of events involving Pan Jun, the mission of Zhang Mi and Xu Yan would indeed have been to bestow the title of King upon Sha Lie.

With the situation now unpredictable, Sun Quan was determined to act decisively and decisively.

If Sha Lie can be killed upon meeting, the Wuxi Yi, who have just been united by Sha Lie, will inevitably fall into internal strife once again.

At that time, these people will be too busy taking care of themselves to care about the kingdoms of Wu and Shu.

For barbarian tribes that refused to submit to the emperor's rule, capturing the king or assassinating the enemy leader was always the most common strategy used by the Han people.

Historically, Wang Xiong, the governor of Youzhou under Cao Wei, sent the warrior Han Long to assassinate Kebineng in the northern desert. With Kebineng dead, the various Xianbei tribes scattered and attacked each other. The strong fled far away, while the weak submitted, and the border was thus secured.

Zhang Mi and Xu Yan were not particularly important figures, and although they knew the mission was dangerous, they still resolutely accepted it.

All he sought was to curry favor with his superiors and rise to prominence. He genuinely believed that his mission was to bestow a title and enfeoff Sha Lie, unaware that he had become Sun Quan's discarded pawn.

If Sha Lie is assassinated and dies, it would be best if the two envoys could not return. If they do return, Sun Quan can then find a way to deal with them.

As for why these two people were still sent instead of directly dispatching assassins as messengers... it was because most of the assassins who were willing to die for Sun Quan were uneducated people from the lower classes.

Even if someone is cultured enough to be an envoy, they lack the courage to assassinate. And even if they had the courage, Sun Quan wouldn't trust them.

Then the only option is to send assassins to carry out the assassination, while Zhang and Xu continue to act as decoys. This will better mislead Sha Lie and create opportunities for the assassins to carry out the assassination.

Judging by the timeline, Zhang Mi and Xu Yan should have arrived in Wulingyuan about ten days ago. Sun Quan has been waiting for good news from Wuling these past few days: "Sha Lie has been assassinated and the Miao and Yi people of the Five Streams are in great chaos."

But to my utter surprise, today I finally received news from Wuling, which was the devastating news that "the entire Wuling prefecture has rebelled and the prefect Wei Jing has been captured."

It's truly one wave after another. Yiling in the northwest has been lost, and Wuling in the southeast has also rebelled. What other terrible news will come next? How can Sun Quan possibly withstand this?

Disregarding the dignity of the emperor, Sun Quan, for the second time, unleashed his fury in front of all the civil and military officials.

This time, however, it was even more intense than when he had scolded Zhang Zhao, and it was filled with a sense of bewilderment and panic about the future.

It's no wonder he was like this; no one could remain calm and collected in such a situation, let alone Sun Quan, who was known for his playful banter with his subjects and whose emotions were always on full display.

After Sun Quan finished venting his anger, he slumped into the main seat, only to hear the endless chatter of the civil and military officials below him, but he couldn't understand what they were saying at all.

A muffled thud.

The assembled officials were shocked and rose from their seats, all wanting to help the suddenly collapsed Emperor Wu.

The middle-aged scholar-general who was closest to Sun Quan encountered him, and Sun Quan immediately sat up, adjusted his crooked crown, and a wisp of disheveled gray hair peeked out from his crown, making the emperor look somewhat embarrassed.

"Your Majesty, please take good care of your health!" General Zhu Ran was the first to kneel down.

Upon seeing this, all the officials in the room except Lu Xun, including Yi, Hu Zong, Xu Sheng, Ding Feng, and Liu Zan, knelt down.

"Your Majesty, please take good care of your health!"

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please take care of your health!" Hu Zong, the commander of Sun Quan's imperial guards, cried out, tears streaming down his face. "Please, Your Majesty, do not let this temporary defeat cause you distress!"

"Your Majesty, please take care!" Song Qian, a veteran who had once escorted Sun Ce across the Yangtze River with thirteen riders including Han Dang and Huang Gai, also knelt down at this moment.

"In the past, King Goujian of Yue endured hardship and humiliation, suffered defeat at Kuaiji, and was disgraced in the Wu palace. In the end, he destroyed the powerful Wu with three thousand Yue soldiers and became the hegemon of the Jianghuai region! Now, our great Wu is far stronger than Yue. What is a temporary setback worth!"

Sun Quan remained expressionless while listening to Zhu Ran and Hu Zong's words, but upon hearing the words of the veteran general Song Qian, his eyelids finally twitched.

Then he suddenly turned around, forcefully drew the sword hanging on the screen, and strode forward as if to kill Song Qian: "I'll make you destroy the mighty Wu!"

Lu Xun, who was closest to Sun Quan, seemed to have anticipated this scene. He rushed to Sun Quan's side and tightly gripped the hilt of Sun Quan's sword to prevent Sun Quan from retaliating.

The old general Song Qian's white beard trembled, his mind blank. He immediately kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, this humble subject is dull-witted. This subject did not mean it that way at all!"

Lu Xun still held Sun Quan's hand tightly, and advised him with a hint of disappointment:

"Didn't Your Majesty just tell us that after the worst comes the best, and that adversity can strengthen a nation?!"

"In the Battle of Red Cliffs, Cao Cao's army of 200,000 pressed in, but our Great Wu survived! In the Battle of Xiaoting, Liu Bei mobilized the entire nation, but our Great Wu survived!"

"His Majesty!
"Jiangling is still here, Jingjiao is still here, and the foundation of Jiangdong is still here!"
"Our Great Wu has 100,000 armored soldiers and 10,000 ships. How can we not have a day to turn the tide?!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Quan finally relaxed his grip, and Lu Xun snatched the sword from his hand and handed it to Chen Xiu, the supervisor of Jie Fan, who was standing beside Sun Quan. Chen Xiu immediately took the sword and walked away.

"Your Majesty..." Zhu Ran, kneeling on the ground, suddenly remembered something and took out a crumpled piece of white paper from his bosom. "I believe that the sudden rebellion in Wuling and the turmoil in Jingnan are not necessarily entirely due to the fierce and unruly nature of the Wuxi barbarians!"

"It is possible that this treacherous article was widely distributed by the Shu people in the counties of Wuling, misleading the people and causing this disaster! The Shu people are cunning, and their methods of attacking hearts and minds are even more insidious. Your Majesty must be wary of the people of Jingzhou!"

Sun Quan took the proclamation against Sun Quan, but instead of scanning it line by line, he was immediately drawn to the familiar names as soon as he unfolded it.

"Sun Jian's cunning and shrewdness were the seeds of his downfall."

"Those who seize power through rebellion become increasingly wicked and perverse."

"They controlled the Jiangnan region and abused its people."

"Crossing the river in white, acting like a thief!"

"How could he have shown any benevolence to the people of Jingchu?"

"Excessive taxation and levies have led to their exploitation, treating people like dogs and horses."

Suspicion and harshness are directed towards them, treating them as enemies.

How can a person without faith and integrity occupy Jingchu for long without incurring the hatred of the people?

Just like Chen Lin's proclamation against Cao Cao, lies do not hurt people, but the truth is the sharpest knife. Every word in the proclamation was true, without a single falsehood. However, in Sun Quan's eyes, it was like a whip lashing his face.

He turned his gaze upwards with overwhelming rage.

This refers to the events described as follows: "Bu Zhi lost his army at Xicheng, Pan Jun was executed in Wuxian, Zhou Fang and Sun Huan abandoned their troops and fled, and Pan Zhang and Ma Zhong were beheaded and executed."

And what's with this "Have you not heard that Heaven's justice is swift and retribution is inevitable?! The Sun family's wickedness in betraying the Han and breaking the alliance is finally being repaid today!"?

"Liu Shan!" Sun Quan's hand holding the proclamation trembled violently, his eyes so fierce it seemed he wanted to tear the paper and Liu Shan to shreds together.

"Spreading rumors and misleading the public!!"

"Spreading rumors and misleading the public!!"

Perhaps due to the successive defeats and losses of his troops, Sun Quan's performance was far inferior to Cao Cao's top-notch display of laughing heartily after receiving Chen Lin's proclamation, claiming that it had cured his headache.

"You...all of you, leave. Let me have some peace and quiet. We'll discuss this again tomorrow."

Having just finished denouncing the rumors and misleading the public, Sun Quan's anger suddenly vanished, and he calmly uttered these words.

Lu Xun, Zhu Ran, Shi Yi, Xu Sheng and the others looked at each other and exchanged glances. In the end, they had no choice but to push open the door and leave.

Just as Lu Xun was about to leave, Sun Quan suddenly raised his hand and called him back:
"Boyan, wait a little longer."

Upon hearing this, Lu Xun sighed, closed the door, and turned to face Sun Quan.

Only after all the footsteps of the civil and military officials had faded away did Sun Quan finally speak:
"Boyan, tell me, is there any way to appease the people of Jingzhou? Is there any way to silence the public outcry?"

Lu Xun pondered for a moment, then spoke in an unquestionable, calm tone: "Your Majesty, forgive my bluntness, but at this point, the most important task is probably no longer to appease the people of Jingzhou."

He paused, meeting Sun Quan's increasingly puzzled and irritated gaze, and continued:
"Wuxian, Zigui, and Xiling have all been lost, and Wuling has also rebelled. Once the news spreads completely, and once Liu Shan's proclamation is fully disseminated, panic and dissent in Jingzhou will spread like wildfire."

"The only course of action now is to use overwhelming military force to deter and suppress those who harbor ulterior motives and are hesitant to act rashly."

"How exactly?" Sun Quan pressed.

Lu Xun spoke at a steady pace, with clear and logical reasoning:

"Firstly, Jiangling."

"Jiangling is the foundation of Jingzhou, and it must not be lost!"

"We must immediately strengthen the defenses of Jiangling City. From today onwards, entry is permitted but exit is not. All personnel must be strictly checked, and any signs of unrest must be suppressed."

"Secondly, the prefectures in Jingnan."

"Immediately, in His Majesty's name, send an urgent message to the prefects of Changsha, Lingling, and Guiyang, ordering them to gather their troops, close the city gates, and defend the city walls!"
"No matter what happens in the counties outside the city, no matter what rumors are heard, without His Majesty's explicit instructions, troops must not be dispatched without authorization, nor should any large-scale movement of people be allowed!"

"The primary task is to ensure the stability of the prefecture and maintain order!"

Sun Quan nodded, and Lu Xun finally managed to clear up some of the tangled mess in his mind.

“Thirdly, and this is crucial.” Lu Xun’s gaze sharpened.

"We must immediately urge Jiang Boshen, the military governor of Jingnan, to quickly assemble all the Jingnan troops he can mobilize and march straight to Linyuan!"

"At the same time, he urgently ordered Lü Dai, the governor of Jiaozhou, to raise troops immediately and march north at all costs to intimidate and suppress Lingling and Guiyang!"
"As long as these two armies act quickly and ruthlessly, potential rebels in the counties and prefectures of Jingnan will never dare to easily join the rebellion!"
"Finally, we must defend Jiangling to the death. Your Majesty, please return to Wuchang immediately to oversee the army from afar. I will defend Jiangling to the death for Your Majesty!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Quan's brows furrowed deeply.

“Boyan, once Lü Gongshan leads the troops of Jiaozhou north, Jiaozhou will be left vulnerable. What if... what if Jiaozhou also falls into chaos? Wouldn't that be an even greater disaster, with both ends in disarray?”

Lu Xun remained silent.

Faced with an absolute disadvantage and a crisis of trust, any military mobilization could trigger new and unpredictable risks.

His silence itself is an answer.

At this juncture, he could not come up with any perfect solution and could only choose the lesser of two evils.

Which is more important, Jingzhou or Jiaozhou?
The answer is self-evident.

Preserving Jingzhou is the only option at present, so Jiang Mi, the governor of Jingnan, must immediately lead the troops of Jingnan to Wuling to suppress the Wuling rebellion. If Wuling is lost, then the connection between Jiangling and the counties of Jingnan will be completely severed.

Even at the risk of upheaval in Jiaozhou, Lü Dai had to lead the Jiaozhou troops north to replace Jiang Mi, the governor of Jingnan, in suppressing Jingnan.

After a long silence, Sun Quan finally understood Lu Xun's meaning, and his anger rose again:

“You said it before.”

"If things don't go well, we can abandon Xiling."

"What you're implying is that if things don't go well, you can abandon Jiaozhou."

"If things get even worse, can we abandon Jiangling, abandon Wuchang, and eventually even abandon the entire Wu and Kuai regions?!"

Lu Xun remained silent upon hearing this.

(End of this chapter)