Tiger Owl

Chapter 50 Life-or-Death Power Struggle
Sun Ce stationed 50,000 troops in Jingkou. That evening, the 50,000 troops quickly retreated south. The news of his death was kept secret within the army, but various rumors still spread among the troops.

The next day at noon, Sun Ben led 5,000 troops from Moling County to Jingkou, only to find that the camp of 50,000 troops was empty, with not a single soldier left. Sun Ben was somewhat frantic.

When Gan Ning captured Yuzhang Commandery, the one who truly suffered the most was not Sun Ce, but Sun Ben. Of Sun Ben's 20,000 troops, 5,000 were stationed in Moling, while the main force of 15,000 was stationed in Yuzhang Commandery. Now, the entire army has been wiped out.

Sun Ben was certainly aware of the situation in Yuzhang Commandery. He was extremely anxious and eager to seize the 50,000 troops in Jingkou. No matter where you are, the army is the guarantee of the right to speak. If you have strong military power, then the truth is in your hands.

The 50,000-strong army had already retreated back to Wu County. Sun Ben was unwilling to give up, so he led 5,000 troops to continue south in pursuit, attempting to catch up with the army before it returned to Wu County and seize command of the army.

.........

An urgent military intelligence report, covering eight hundred li, has been delivered to Wu County. The news of the assassination of Lord Sun Ce has shocked all the civil and military officials.

Zhang Zhao reacted quickly and immediately went to pay his respects to Madam Wu. Upon hearing of her eldest son's death, Madam Wu was overcome with grief.

Zhang Zhao kowtowed and said, "Please, Madam, take care of your grief. Now is not the time for sorrow. At present, Eastern Wu is without a leader, and the situation is extremely tense. If we are not careful, it will fall apart. Please, Madam, make the decision to immediately identify a successor for Eastern Wu and stabilize the situation first."

Madam Wu wiped away her tears and said, "Shao'er is still young. How can he inherit his father's great cause?"

"Your Majesty, since ancient times, besides sons inheriting their fathers' businesses, there has also been the practice of younger brothers inheriting their elder brothers' businesses. After all, the first generation of founders was the father of the Marquis of Wu. I suggest that the Marquis of Wu's younger brother temporarily inherit his elder brother's business, and when the Marquis of Wu's son grows up, the kingdom can be returned to the Marquis of Wu's son!"

That's a good idea. Lady Wu thought for a moment and said, "Lord Wu often tells me that his third brother, Yi'er, is very similar to him and his father. He is brave and resolute and can inherit his great cause. Chief Secretary, do you think Yi'er can be established as the new Lord Wu?"

Zhang Zhao was shocked and hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, Eastern Wu needs a ruler who can unite the major clans, not a fierce general who can fight on the battlefield. Forgive my rudeness, but our lord was assassinated because he was too brave. Whether it was attacking a city or fighting in the field, he was always at the forefront. We have advised him many times, but he never listened. If he had not personally gone to Jingkou to train the troops, how could he have suffered such a disaster?"

Madam Wu nodded. "You're right. Ce'er doesn't care enough about his own safety. In your opinion, Chief Secretary, who is more suitable to inherit the great cause?"

Zhang Zhao said in a deep voice: "In the past, when the Marquis of Wu led his army out, it was always the Second Young Master who was in charge of Wu County. The Second Young Master was generous and kind, and treated people with sincerity. He was deeply supported by the major families. Now that the Marquis of Wu has unfortunately passed away, all of us civil and military officials believe that the Second Young Master should succeed to the position of Marquis of Wu and stabilize the situation in Eastern Wu."

After a moment of contemplation, Madam Wu said, "You should write a joint letter! If everyone agrees that the Second Young Master should inherit the title of Marquis of Wu, then I have no objection."

"Your Majesty, I will make the arrangements immediately!" Zhang Zhao bowed and left.

Madam Wu immediately summoned a trusted aide and said, "Go to Kuaiji County immediately and tell the Third Young Master to return right away!"

Madam Wu knew that Zhang Zhao would never be able to produce a joint letter of 'unanimous agreement for the second young master to take the throne,' and that she would ultimately have to make her own statement.

Zhang Zhao had already seen that Lady Wu wanted to establish Sun Yi as the successor to the title of Marquis of Wu. Of course, Zhang Zhao disagreed. Although Sun Yi had the bravery of his brother, he did not have the benevolence of Sun Ce and was cruel in nature. If he were to take the throne, it would be the beginning of the downfall of Jiangdong.

Writing a joint letter was impossible, there wasn't enough time, and some ministers, led by Zhang Hong, also supported Sun Yi, so the old lady's requirement of "unanimous agreement" was impossible to achieve.

Zhang Zhao pondered for a long time. Now he had no choice but to take a gamble and seize power through military force. He had to let Sun Quan take control of the military.

Part of the Jiangdong army is in Shouchun, commanded by Zhou Yu; another part is in Yuzhang, commanded by Sun Ben; another 20,000 troops are in Kuaiji Commandery, commanded by Sun Yi; and the control of the 10,000 garrison troops in Wu County is under the command of Colonel Chen Wu. These are all things we must obtain.

But the most crucial element was the 50,000-strong army personally commanded by Sun Ce. Only by securing this army could Sun Quan have a chance to ultimately ascend to the throne.

Zhang Zhao rushed back to the Wu Marquis's residence and immediately summoned Sun Quan, saying to him, "I just paid my respects to the old lady, and she favors Sun Yi to succeed as the Marquis of Wu. There is no time to lose. You must immediately head north and take command of the 50,000 troops. Only by gaining military power will you have a chance to succeed as the Marquis of Wu."

Sun Quan, his eyes red, said, "Since Mother values ​​Third Brother, then let Third Brother inherit the position of elder brother. Why should I participate in the struggle and hurt Mother's heart!" Zhang Zhao stamped his feet anxiously, "This is not a birthday celebration for Mother, where brothers should defer to each other. This concerns the life and death of Jiangdong. All the major families only recognize you. If you want to protect your elder brother's foundation, stop acting like a child and avoid ruining the entire Jiangdong."

Sun Quan nodded slightly, "I will follow the Chief Secretary's arrangements!"

Zhang Zhao immediately took out the military tally that Sun Ce had given him before he left.

"This is a force of 10,000 elite troops stationed in Wu County, under the command of Chen Wu. You must immediately lead the army north and seize command of 50,000 troops before Sun Ben does."

Sun Quan was startled, "My elder brother will seize military power?"

Zhang Zhao nodded. "He definitely will. He has long wanted to replace your brother as the ruler of Jiangdong, but he has never had the chance. Now that the opportunity has come, how could he let it go? Cheng Pu and Huang Gai were his former subordinates and will not oppose him taking control of the military."

At this point, Zhang Zhao said anxiously, "I'm a little worried that just having the military tally isn't enough. Under normal circumstances, the military tally would be enough, but now it's a special period. Chen Wu might also need the old lady's order. Even if the old lady issues an order, she'll give it to Young Master Yi, not you. That's what I'm worried about!"

A hint of barely perceptible smugness flashed in Sun Quan's eyes. He pretended to ponder for a moment and said, "I have a past with Chen Wu, so he might give me some face."

Zhang Zhao was unaware that Sun Quan had already made arrangements. He sighed and said, "Let's give it a try! I might as well go with you."

Zhang Zhao accompanied Sun Quan to the military camp and presented the military tally. When Chen Wu heard that the second son Sun Quan wanted an army, he did not hesitate to pledge his loyalty to Sun Quan. With 10,000 troops as a base, Sun Quan's confidence increased. He immediately led 10,000 troops north to welcome his brother's remains back.

Lü Fan led his army south swiftly, passing through Piling County the next day. Piling County was surrounded by marshes and was not suitable for stationing troops. The army marched for another night and arrived at Wuxi County at dawn. The soldiers were exhausted, so Lü Fan ordered the entire army to rest in the Wuxi camp.

Lü Fan was a military advisor, and when the commander-in-chief was absent, the military advisor would act as the commander-in-chief.

These days, Lü Fan has been thinking about who is behind the assassination of his lord. Two of his personal guards have already committed suicide. Clearly, the person behind it is very powerful, so powerful that his personal guards would rather commit suicide than expose him.

Lu Fan had always suspected Cao Cao of being behind it, since the lord's northern expedition put the most pressure on Cao Cao, preventing him from focusing all his efforts on dealing with Yuan Shao. However, the suicide of these two personal guards dispelled Cao Cao's suspicion, showing that Cao Cao could not bribe the lord's personal guards.

If it wasn't Cao Cao, then another suspect emerges: the forces that resolutely opposed the Northern Expedition. Almost all the powerful families in Jiangnan opposed the Northern Expedition, ultimately because they were unwilling to use the resources of Jiangnan to subsidize the North.

But there are too many powerful forces in Jiangnan. Who arranged the assassin? Xu Gong's retainers? How is that possible? Could Xu Gong's retainers bribe the lord's personal guards? Without personal guards to deliver the message, how could the assassins have ambushed Ganlu Temple in advance?
There is also the third suspect, Sun Ben, who is currently in Moling County. Lü Fan was appointed by Sun Ce as the Sima of Yuzhang Commandery, which was to some extent a way to restrain Sun Ben.

Lü Fan understood Sun Ben well. Sun Ben had always been dissatisfied with Sun Ce, believing himself to be the rightful ruler of Jiangdong. In Yuzhang Commandery, he harbored great ambitions and attempted to recruit soldiers on a large scale several times, but Lü Fan suppressed his plans each time.

Especially after he made private contact with Cao Cao, could he have received Cao Cao's instruction to assassinate his lord?

But all of this was just his speculation, and there was no evidence whatsoever.

Lü Fan sighed, realizing that finding the real culprit who assassinated his lord was practically impossible.

Just then, a soldier came to report, "The Second Young Master and Chief Secretary Zhang have arrived!"

Lu Fan felt a pang of pain in his heart and quickly got up to go out and greet them.

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(End of this chapter)