The Three Kingdoms Voyage

Chapter 307

Although it is already March in spring, Jianye is still a bit chilly. The trees that withered all winter have not turned green for a long time, the branches that should have been green in previous years are silent, and the smoke-like crown of the tree is shaking helplessly in the wind.

Sun Quan stood by the pond with his hands behind his back, staring at the two carp in the clear water.The bright sunlight shone on his gorgeous royal clothes, shining brightly, contrasting with his gray face.However, the 45-year-old Sun Quan inadvertently showed some aging. Although a few white hairs on the sideburns were carefully pulled out, the crow's feet at the corners of the eyes could not be concealed.

When Sun Quan was in a daze, he would often unconsciously look to the west. His eyes looked beyond the high palace walls, and he could only see the sometimes clear and sometimes gloomy sky. He couldn't see the small building he wanted to see at all. There was already no one he wanted to see, so even if he could see it, what's the use of it.

The yard was always empty, and Sun Quan didn't reward anyone. He just arranged for more than a dozen servants to live in it and take care of cleaning and keeping the house tidy. However, he himself never visited it once. Will unconsciously look there.

The state of Wu has been very quiet recently. Unlike the other three countries that are busy with wars, the state of Wu is a little disturbingly idle. It seems to have been forgotten by the world. There was only a slight movement when the news came from the other three countries, and then it quickly fell silent.

Sun Quan has not been in charge of affairs for a long time, and the political affairs have been handed over to the prince Sun Deng. With the assistance of the prime minister Bu Zhi and the general Lu Xun, Sun Deng has greatly improved his ability and managed the state of Wu in an orderly manner. Praise, everyone said that the prince Sun Deng will be a wise king in the future, and Wu Wang Sun Quan is blessed and generous. He let the prince exercise at such a young age.When Sun Quan heard these rumors occasionally, he just smiled and didn't explain. Others thought Sun Quan was being modest, but only his close servant, Gu Shi, knew that Sun Quan was helpless.

Sun Deng's foundation has been stabilized, and he is impeccable in his work. He takes the initiative to report to Sun Quan on major and minor matters, and does not give anyone any handle at all. Who can move him?
There was a sound of footsteps at the door, Sun Quan withdrew his gaze, and looked at the fish in the water quietly again.

"Marquis Gu, is father there?" It was Sun Deng's voice.

"Your Highness, Your Majesty is watching fish by the pond." Gu Li replied respectfully.

"Really?" Sun Deng said politely. Sun Quan raised his head and glanced at him from a distance. Calm was restored. "Please, Marquis Gu, inform you that Deng has important matters to report to his father."

"Zigao." Sun Quan raised his voice and called out: "Come here, what kind of important matter makes you so anxious?"

"Father..." Sun Deng nodded to Gu Li, holding the hem of his clothes in one hand and a piece of paper in the other, he trotted over all the way, walked through the winding weir, and came to the pavilion in the pool. Sun Quan stood still three steps away in front of him, raised his hand to wipe the fine sweat from his forehead, and a look of sadness appeared on his face. "Father, Zhu Junhou is dead."

"Who?" Sun Quan was taken aback for a moment, then remembered again: "Zhu Zhi?"

"It's not Lao Junhou. Lao Junhou passed away two years ago. It's his eldest son Zhu Cai Zhu Junye." Sun Deng's eyes were wet, and he handed over the paper with both hands, swallowing: "Zhu Wan just arrived in Jianye Come to report the funeral."

"Zhu Wan?" Sun Quan took the obituary and muttered in confusion, "Who is he?"

"Father, Zhu Wan is the eldest son of Zhu Junhou." Sun Li, who had been standing by the side, reminded.

Sun Quan was stunned for a moment, and suddenly realized: "Zhu is dead?" He stared, obviously a little unbelievable, until he saw Sun Deng nodded, he relaxed, and said with some regret: "Junye (Zhu Just) not yet 30 years old, just in the prime of life, how...how could..."

Sun Deng also felt sad. Zhu Zhi had been loyal to the Sun family all his life, and was deprived of his rights by Sun Quan before his death. Zhu Cai was originally trusted by Sun Quan, and now he died again when he was reused. The third son Zhu Wei and the fourth son Zhu Wansui is still young, only his second son Zhu Ji is still there, but his family moved to Funan a few years ago, and it is said that Sun Shao has arranged him to be the prefect of Yi County, and his political achievements are very good.In Danyang's hometown, the Zhu family fell within a few years.What made him even more sad was that his father was obviously old. Although he was only 45 years old, he was already showing signs of aging. He couldn't even remember that Zhu Zhi died two years ago.

Sun Quan felt lost, and stayed in a daze for a long time, then said sullenly: "Reward some more money, and then you can go to Danyang for me. The Zhu family has made great contributions to my country of Wu. Let's see who else among his descendants can use it." , arrange an official position, and don’t let the old gentleman lose his blood. The title... Let this Zhu Wan inherit it.”

"Here." Sun Deng bowed in response, and said: "Father, there is one more matter that I dare not make a decision, so I have to ask Father to consider it."

"What's the matter, and you can't stop it?" Sun Quan glanced at Sun Deng, and the corner of his mouth twitched.Sun Lizheng stared at his eyes intently, seeing his displeasure in his eyes, couldn't help but feel happy, and then looking at Sun Deng became a little weird.

Sun Deng was used to this kind of tone, he didn't take it seriously at all, and continued to say calmly: "Brother Fengxian sent a message saying that he wanted to compete with the Tianzhu people, but he was short of troops, and asked if we were interested in going out together. And attack Tianzhu."

"Attack Tianzhu together?" Sun Quan was stunned for a moment, and suddenly regained his energy, his brows and eyes became lively, and he greeted happily: "Zigao, sit down and tell me what's going on."

Sun Deng thanked him, sat down on a stone bench, and explained the situation.It turns out that Sun Shao sent the letter of credence, mainly talking about two things. One is that he has defeated the Tianzhu Navy and controlled the entire Tianzhu Sea. All the commercial routes on the sea are under his control. Is the state interested in organizing a fleet to do business? Because the expansion of the territory is too fast, the development speed of the Yue country cannot keep up, and a lot of opportunities are wasted. Therefore, he wants to invite Wei and Wu to increase the size of the caravan and make a fortune together.As for the Kingdom of Shu, after General Zhang Fei pacified southern Xinjiang, they had already sent people through southern Xinjiang and entered Tianzhu. The trade was already underway, so there was no need to discuss it.

The other thing is that Sun Shao asked the state of Wu for support. He wanted to take down Tianzhu, but his troops were seriously insufficient, and he was more than enough to control the sea route, but he was stretched to go ashore to attack. Xinjiang is accumulating strength and preparing to march westward with Wei State. Now only Wu State has nothing to do. Because Wei and Shu are busy with their own affairs, Wu State's more than [-] troops have been idle. As for military strength, Wu State has at least [-] idle troops. Sun Quan once thought about taking advantage of the opportunity to abolish some of them, but the resistance was too great. In the end, only some generals whose strength had been greatly weakened were laid off, and none of the ones Sun Quan really wanted to be laid off were laid off.

Now Sun Shao hopes that Sun Quan will send some people to help, and the conditions are very good. Except for the sending of Wu, all the military supplies will be borne by Yue.If the soldiers are killed or injured, they will be given pensions according to the standards of the State of Yue.In addition, depending on the strength of the troops, the State of Yue can also give a sum of money to the State of Wu. In other words, the State of Yue is going to pay to hire Wu Jun to help him fight.

Sun Quan stroked his beard, pondered for a moment, and glanced at Sun Deng: "Is there anyone he likes more?"

Sun Deng hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said: "Yes, he mentioned a few names, all of whom are important generals in our country of Wu, so I dare not make a decision, so I want to ask my father to issue an edict." He took out a piece of paper and pushed it in front of Sun Quan with both hands.Sun Quan picked up the paper, but before he looked at it, he smelled a faint fragrance. After a careful look, he realized that the fragrance was from the paper in his hand.

"This is honey fragrant paper. It is said that it is a specialty of Funan. After improvement, it is now the favorite paper for literati and scholars in Yue." Seeing Sun Quan's curiosity, Sun Deng explained with a smile: "Father, if I like it, and I will ask him for some when I write a book for my brother next time."

Sun Quan didn't take it seriously, and was about to shake his head when a figure suddenly appeared in his mind. He hesitated for a moment and asked, "Is there any news about your aunt and Dahu?"

"My aunt is in confinement. At the beginning of the year, she just gave birth to a son. The mother and child are safe. She is accompanying the Queen Mother Qiao in Funan. It is said that she is also taken by her uncle and she likes to study. As for Dahu, she went to Ceylon Island. Together with Zhou Xun, it seems that in the battle of the Andaman Sea last year, she made a contribution again, and together with Zhou Xun captured that so-called King Zhuluo."

"Oh?" Sun Quan raised his eyebrows and became a little excited: "Does Dahu still lead troops now?"

"Of course I lead the troops." Sun Deng said with a smile: "After my aunt is pregnant, the Feihu Camp will be handed over to her temporarily."

"Oh," Sun Quan frowned, thinking about how to turn a corner to inquire about the bridge, but after much deliberation, he couldn't seem to find any suitable excuse. When he was in a hurry, Sun Deng continued: "Originally The Flying Tiger Camp will not be handed over to her, but will be led by Queen Guan Feng, but Queen Guan Feng is also pregnant, so it is handed over to Dahu. This is an order from Queen Mother Qiao. She is afraid that her aunt and queen will train soldiers She got fetal gas, so the two of them were locked up in Temu City and played with her every day."

Sun Quan heaved a sigh of relief, followed his will to inquire about Funan's situation, and asked about Daqiao in a roundabout way. Sun Deng actually knew about it, otherwise he would not have taken the initiative to mention Daqiao, but he knew that Daqiao was not as enthusiastic as Sun Quan.He only said a few words to make Sun Quan happy.

"I've been thinking about this for two days, and you should think about it too. Some people..." Sun Quan clicked on the names of the people on the piece of paper: "You can't go."

Sun Deng responded, and Sun Quan said that he agreed to send some people. The question is only who.

……

In the General Lu Xun's mansion, there was also a piece of honey incense paper spread out in front of Lu Xun, but if Sun Quan could see this piece of paper, he would feel strange, because the names on it were not exactly the same as the one he saw .

Sun Xiuying stretched out her stomach, propped her back up, walked in slowly, smelled the faint fragrance of honey, wrinkled her nose, stroked her round belly and said, "Feng Xian is really rich, to write on such fine paper. "

Lu Xun glanced at her, and then at her stomach, his eyes were much gentler.After Lu Mao arrived in Funan, he quickly took on important tasks, and now he is a school captain with 800 people.Although there are only 800 people, his 800 people are the vanguard of the vanguard, the elite of the elite, and their importance is no less than that of a general with 2000 people.On the one hand, this has something to do with Lu Mao's own ability, and on the other hand, it is because of Sun Shao's consideration of his face. Otherwise, even if Lu Mao is extremely capable, it is impossible for Lu Mao to have a chance so soon.

"Fengxian has the style of a general, he is bold, he values ​​righteousness and saves money, besides, the country of Yue became rich in business, what can't be used for a few pieces of paper, and he still wants to hire us Wu Jun to help him fight, that's called a big hand .”

"Hire Wu Jun to help him fight?" Sun Xiuying scratched her brow in confusion: "Who is he fighting with?"

"Tianzhu people." Lu Xun got up and walked to Sun Xiuying's side, helped her to sit down on the side of the couch, and personally placed her swollen legs, which were inconvenient due to swelling, before holding the paper in front of Sun Xiuying: "Come on, It's his favorite name."

Sun Xiuying glanced at it, and found that there were some well-known people in the Wu army, but Lu Xun's name was not among them, so she couldn't help saying disdainfully: "Feng Xian really missed his point, what's the use of picking these people, go to ten It's not as good as my husband going alone."

"Ma'am, you are wrongly blaming him." Lu Xun dismissed it, "I think he is taking care of me."

Seeing that Lu Xun was not angry, Sun Xiuying couldn't help laughing, and said with something in her words: "I don't think I'm taking care of you, but I'm afraid that you will refuse and lose face, so I simply don't say anything."

In the past, Sun Shao sent people to ask for help several times, hoping that Lu Xun could go to help, and even promised Sun Xiuying that as long as Lu Xun went to Yue, he would not treat him badly.But they were all declined by Lu Xun. Even in the end, Lu Xun just sent Lu Mao to Yue, but he didn't accept Sun Shao's invitation. Sun Xiuying also complained about this, thinking that Lu Xun was too stubborn, but she always respected Lu Xun. , It’s not easy to show it on your face. Today, I took this opportunity to remind Lu Xun.Wu Guo has no battles to fight, and Lu Xun is born to belong to the battlefield. In Wu Guo, he can only watch his great youth go to waste.Although he is a great general now, because he has no battles, he does not have much military power in his hands. His position is high but his power is light. No one can be more talented than her husband.

"You want me to go?" Lu Xun was not angry and smiled slightly.

"Of course." Sun Xiuying said bluntly: "The eldest sister's family arrived in Funan, Zimo has already become the Yin of Funan, and Zizhi is now also a man by Fengxian's side, and will be released soon. The second brother-in-law arrives in Funan , went to Yi County to be the prefect, and even brought his family with him, which shows how much Fengxian regards them. If you go to Funan, can Fengxian not use you?"

"Forget it, but the more he wants me to go, the more he can't mention me." Lu Xun folded the paper with a smile: "Don't worry, I guess this time he will leave Jianye in all likelihood."

"Really?" Sun Xiuying stared in disbelief.

"It's not true, you can't move for the time being." Lu Xun gestured to her stomach and said, "Anyway, you have to wait another half a year, wait for you to give birth to a child, and rest for a few more months. When the north wind blows, Let's take advantage of the big ship from Yue to go south."

"Okay, okay." Sun Xiuying couldn't help beaming, she clapped her hands and smiled, "Great, I can finally leave Jianye and go with my eldest and second sisters."

"Be quiet, don't get angry." Lu Xun said with a reproachful smile, "Besides, this is just my guess. The final result depends on the arrangement of the king and the crown prince."

"I believe in your vision." Sun Xiuying giggled and said, "This is destiny. You will fight side by side with Fengxian in the end. How can a person resist the destiny destined by God?"

"Yeah, people can't fight against fate." Lu Xun's mouth was slightly bitter, he was silent for a moment, and suddenly said: "If you give birth to a son, let's name it Kang."

Sun Quan thought about it for a long time, and invited Bu Zhi, Lu Xun and other important officials to discuss it. Everyone had no objection to accepting the invitation from the Yue Kingdom. It is really boring to only guard those food towns, and for the court, it is indeed not a cost-effective thing to waste a lot of food towns to raise soldiers when there is no battle to fight.More importantly, if there is no war for a long time, these soldiers will have no other use except to harm the people. Instead of this, it is better to send them to the country of Yue to cooperate with the country of Yue.

Under such circumstances, who to send and who not to send has become a very thought-provoking issue.Some people want to make meritorious deeds and make a fortune, some people don't want to go so far to work hard, they just want to fill the gap left by those who went, but Sun Quan is thinking about how to send out those generals who want to move but can't move, and take advantage of their absence. Time to erode their power step by step.

As Lu Xun said, after discussing over and over again for a long time without reaching a conclusion, he noticed a problem, that is, several Jianghuai generals were not among the expatriates, such as the sons of Lu Meng and Jiang Qin and Zhuge Ke, And Bu Zhi's two sons are not under discussion, and among the people from Jiangdong, generals like Quan Cong and Zhu Ran are not among the expatriates. Han Dang's son, Han Zong, and Cheng Pu's son, Cheng Zi, were all under discussion, while the ministers from Jiangdong, on the contrary, were people who held powerful troops and were not very obedient, such as He Qi's son He Jing, Although He Qi is old, Sun Quan still has no control over the tens of thousands of elite soldiers under him. In addition, He Qi's eldest son, He Da, is now an important general of the Yue Kingdom's jungle infantry. Sun Quan has long been worried about the He family. , taking this opportunity to push them out is also expected.

Lu Xun watched coldly, seeing clearly the hidden thoughts of Sun Quan and his son. He knew that he, like the He family, was among the people Sun Quan wanted to push out, but he was very calm. He didn't say a word, Sun Quan said what he said, and he didn't say anything, and he didn't take the initiative to mention it. Later, when Sun Xiuying gave birth to a child, he simply asked to be sick and stayed at home instead of going to court to listen to their nonsense.

Another month passed in a blink of an eye, and Lu Xun, uncharacteristically, sent out invitations and arranged a full moon wine for his son.Lu Xun had two sons before, but unfortunately they died when they were not yet grown-ups. Later, he married Sun Xiuying, but there was no movement for several years. Seeing that Lu Xun was in his early forties, he had a son at this time, a middle-aged son, naturally worth it Do something special.The Lu family's status in Wu County is supernatural. Although Lu Xun has little military power now, he is still a general under one man and above ten thousand people. No matter what the reason is, everyone should give him face.A small full moon wine soon became a major event known to all women in Jianye City.

However, when Sun Quan and his son received the invitation, they frowned in unison.

(End of this chapter)