Chapter 50: Life-and-death Power Struggle
Sun Ce stationed fifty thousand troops in Jingkou. That evening, the fifty thousand troops quickly withdrew south, and the army kept the death secret, but various news still spread through the army.
The next day at noon, Sun Ben led five thousand troops from Moling County to Jingkou. The camp of the fifty thousand troops had surprisingly become an open space with not a single soldier left. Sun Ben was somewhat frantic.
Gan Ning captured Yuzhang Commandery. The one truly hit hard was not Sun Ce, but Sun Ben. Of Sun Ben’s twenty thousand troops, five thousand were stationed in Moling, while the main force of fifteen thousand was stationed in Yuzhang Commandery and had now been completely wiped out.
Sun Ben naturally knew the situation in Yuzhang Commandery. He was burning with anxiety and urgently wanted to seize the fifty thousand troops in Jingkou. No matter the place, troops were the guarantee of authority. With powerful military force, truth was in his hands.
The fifty thousand troops had already withdrawn back to Wu County. Sun Ben was unwilling and led his five thousand troops to continue pursuing south, attempting to catch up with the army before it returned to Wu County and seize command of the troops.
……
Urgent military intelligence from eight hundred li had already arrived in Wu County. The news that Lord Sun Ce had been assassinated and killed shocked the civil and military officials.
Zhang Zhao reacted quickly and immediately went to pay respects to Lady Wu. Upon hearing that her eldest son had died, Lady Wu was overcome with grief.
Zhang Zhao kowtowed and said: “Please restrain your grief, Madam. This is not the time for mourning. Currently, Eastern Wu is without a leader, and the situation is extremely tense. A slight mishap could cause it to fall apart. Please take charge, Madam, and immediately clarify Eastern Wu’s successor to stabilize the situation first.”
Lady Wu wiped away her tears and said: “Shao’er is still too young. How can he inherit his father’s great cause?”
“To inform Madam, since ancient times, besides sons succeeding fathers, there is also younger brothers succeeding elder brothers. After all, the first-generation founder was the father of the Marquis of Wu. This minister suggests that for now, the younger brother of the Marquis of Wu can inherit his elder brother’s great cause. When the son of the Marquis of Wu grows up, the rivers and mountains can be returned to the son of the Marquis of Wu!”
This was indeed a good idea. Lady Wu thought for a moment and said: “The Marquis of Wu often told me that his third brother Yi’er resembles him and their father—fierce and resolute. He can inherit his great cause. What does the Chief Clerk think of establishing Yi’er as the new Marquis of Wu?”
Zhang Zhao was greatly shocked and hurriedly said: “To inform the Old Madam, Eastern Wu needs a lord who can unite the noble families, not a fierce general who charges into battle. Forgive this old minister’s rudeness, but the Lord’s assassination was not unrelated to his excessive bravery. Whether attacking cities or in field battles, he always rushed to the forefront. We all advised him many times, but he never listened. If he had not personally gone to Jingkou to drill troops, how could he have met this great calamity?”
Lady Wu nodded. “You are right. Ce’er never took his own safety to heart. Then, in the Chief Clerk’s view, who is more suitable to inherit the great cause?”
Zhang Zhao said gravely: “In the past, whenever the Marquis of Wu led troops out on campaign, it was the Second Young Master who stationed in Wu Commandery. The Second Young Master is magnanimous and treats people sincerely, deeply supported by the noble families. Now that the Marquis of Wu has unfortunately passed away, we civil and military officials all agree that the Second Young Master should inherit the position of the Marquis of Wu to stabilize the Eastern Wu situation.”
Lady Wu pondered for a moment and said: “You write a joint letter! If everyone unanimously agrees that the Second Young Master should inherit the position of the Marquis of Wu, then I have no objection.”
“This minister will arrange it right away!” Zhang Zhao bowed and left.
Lady Wu immediately summoned a trusted aide and said: “Go quickly to Kuaiji County and notify the Third Young Master to return immediately!”
Lady Wu knew full well that Zhang Zhao absolutely could not produce a joint letter of ‘unanimous agreement for the Second Young Master to ascend’. In the end, it would still come down to her own stance.
Zhang Zhao had already seen that Lady Wu wanted to establish Sun Yi to inherit the position of Marquis of Wu. Zhang Zhao naturally disagreed. Though Sun Yi had his brother’s bravery, he lacked Sun Ce’s benevolence and had a cruel personality. If he ascended, it would be the beginning of Jiangdong’s downfall.
Writing a joint letter was impossible, there was no time, and moreover, some ministers led by Zhang Hong also supported Sun Yi. The Old Madam’s demand for ‘everyone’s unanimous agreement’ could not be fulfilled.
Zhang Zhao thought deeply for a long time. Now, he could only go all in and rely on military power to ascend. He must let Sun Quan obtain military power.
Of the Jiangdong Army, one part was in Shouchun, led by Zhou Yu; one part was in Yuzhang, led by Sun Ben; there were also twenty thousand troops in Kuaiji Commandery, led by Sun Yi; and then there was the ten thousand City Defense Army in Wu County, whose control was led by Colonel Chen Wu—this had to be obtained.
But the most crucial was the fifty thousand troops personally led by Sun Ce. Only by obtaining these fifty thousand troops did Sun Quan have any chance of finally ascending.
Zhang Zhao hurried back to the Marquis of Wu’s Manor and immediately summoned Sun Quan. He said to him: “I just paid respects to the Old Madam. The Old Madam favors Sun Yi succeeding as Marquis of Wu. Time is of the essence. You must go north immediately to take control of the fifty thousand troops’ military power. Only by obtaining military power do you have a chance to succeed as Marquis of Wu.”
Sun Quan’s eyes were red as he said: “Since Mother favors the third brother, let the third brother inherit our elder brother’s position. Why should I get involved in the contention and hurt Mother’s heart!”
Zhang Zhao anxiously stamped his foot. “This is not a birthday celebration where brothers should yield to each other. This concerns the life and death of Jiangdong. All the noble families only recognize you. If you want to preserve our elder brother’s foundation, do not act like a child anymore, lest you destroy all of Jiangdong.”
Sun Quan nodded lightly. “I will follow the Chief Clerk’s arrangements!”
Zhang Zhao immediately took out the military tally that Sun Ce had given him before leaving.
“This is for the ten thousand elite soldiers stationed in Wu County, led by Chen Wu. You must immediately lead the troops north and be sure to obtain the military power of the fifty thousand troops before Sun Ben does.”
Sun Quan was startled. “Will big brother seize military power?”
Zhang Zhao nodded. “He certainly will. He has long wanted to replace your elder brother as lord of Jiangdong but never had the chance. Now that the opportunity has come, how could he let it go? Cheng Pu and Huang Gai were once his old subordinates and will not oppose him taking military power.”
At this point, Zhang Zhao said with some anxiety: “I’m a bit worried that just having the military tally won’t be enough. Normally, the military tally would suffice, but this is a special period. Chen Wu will likely also require an order from the Old Madam. Even if the Old Madam issues an order, she will give it to Young Master Yi and not to you. That’s what I’m worried about!”
A glint of barely perceptible pride flashed in Sun Quan’s eyes. He pretended to think for a moment and said: “I have an old connection with Chen Wu. He might give me face.”
Zhang Zhao did not know that Sun Quan had already made arrangements. He sighed. “Give it a try! I’ll simply go with you.”
Zhang Zhao accompanied Sun Quan to the barracks and presented the military tally. When Chen Wu heard that the Second Young Master Sun Quan wanted the troops, he unhesitatingly pledged loyalty to Sun Quan. With ten thousand troops as a foundation, Sun Quan’s confidence surged. He immediately led the ten thousand troops north to welcome back his elder brother’s corpse.
Lv Fan led the army south swiftly. The next day, they passed Piling County. The area around Piling County was full of marshes, unsuitable for garrisoning. The army marched another night, and at dawn, they arrived at Wuxi County. The soldiers were exhausted, so Lv Fan ordered the entire army to enter the Wuxi barracks to rest.
Lv Fan was the General of the Middle Army and Strategist. When the commander was absent, the strategist exercised the commander’s power.
These days, Lv Fan had been considering the mastermind behind the assassination of the Lord. Already, two personal guards had committed suicide. Clearly, the mastermind’s power was great—great enough that the personal guards preferred death over exposing him.
Lv Fan had originally suspected it was Cao Cao’s doing. After all, the Lord’s Northern Expedition put the greatest pressure on Cao Cao, preventing him from fully dealing with Yuan Shao. But the suicide of these two personal guards overturned Cao Cao’s suspicion. Cao Cao could not have bought off the Lord’s personal guards.
If not Cao Cao, then another suspect emerged: the forces firmly opposed to the Northern Expedition. Nearly all the noble families of Jiangnan opposed the Northern Expedition, ultimately unwilling to use Jiangnan’s resources to subsidize the North.
But there were too many Jiangnan forces. Which one had arranged the assassin—Xu Gong’s retainers? How could that be? Could Xu Gong’s retainers have bought off the Lord’s personal guards? Without personal guards passing the message, how could the assassin have ambushed in advance in Ganlu Temple?
There was also a third suspect: Sun Ben, currently in Moling County. Lv Fan had been appointed Sima of Yuzhang Commandery by Sun Ce, in a sense to check Sun Ben.
Lv Fan knew Sun Ben well. Sun Ben had always been unconvinced by Sun Ce and believed himself to be the rightful lord of Jiangdong. His ambitions in Yuzhang Commandery were great; he had several times wanted to raise large-scale troops, all suppressed by Lv Fan.
Especially after his private contacts with Cao Cao, could he have received instructions from Cao Cao to assassinate the Lord?
But all of this was mere speculation on his part, with no evidence whatsoever.
Lv Fan sighed. Finding the true culprit behind the assassination of the Lord was basically impossible.
At that moment, a soldier reported: “The Second Young Master and Chief Clerk Zhang have arrived!”
Lv Fan’s heart ached, and he hurriedly rose to welcome them out.
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