Chapter 51: One Step Short
Inside the main tent, Sun Quan knelt before his elder brother’s corpse and wailed loudly, while Zhang Zhao stood by the side wiping tears.
Lv Fan stepped forward to comfort Sun Quan: “The dead cannot be brought back to life. Please, Second Young Master, restrain your grief!”
Zhang Zhao also comforted on the side, and only then did Sun Quan wipe away his tears and ask through gritted teeth: “Who is the assassin?”
“The assassin claimed to be Xu Gong’s retainer, seeking revenge for his master, but that’s impossible. Marquis of Wu went to Bei Gu Mountain on a whim; without prior news, it would be impossible to ambush at Ganlu Temple.”
“There is a traitor among my elder brother’s personal guard?”
Lv Fan nodded. “On the day Marquis of Wu was assassinated, two personal guards took their own lives.”
Zhang Zhao asked from the side: “Have the backgrounds of these two personal guards been investigated?”
“Both are from Wu County, with unclear family situations. We can only investigate in detail after returning.”
Zhang Zhao gave Lv Fan a look, and the two walked out of the tent. Zhang Zhao asked: “Lord Lu, what are your thoughts on the Lord’s successor?”
Lv Fan thought for a moment and said: “I want the Old Madam to decide!”
Zhang Zhao said indifferently: “Before I set out, I consulted the Old Madam, and she favors establishing the Third Young Master Sun Yi!”
Lv Fan was greatly shocked. “How can Sun Yi do? His character is cruel and tyrannical; he is absolutely not a benevolent ruler. I absolutely do not approve!”
Lv Fan’s opposition to Sun Yi was within Zhang Zhao’s expectations. Lv Fan had even opposed appointing Sun Yi as Prefect of Kuaiji; how could he possibly support Sun Yi as Lord of Jiangdong?
“Then what is Strategist Lv’s personal view?” Zhang Zhao probed again.
Lv Fan pondered for a moment and said: “I prefer establishing the Lord’s son, then having ministers assist him.”
As expected, Lv Fan wanted to establish Sun Shao. Zhang Zhao asked again: “Is this Marquis of Wu’s own wish?”
Lv Fan shook his head. “Marquis of Wu was in a coma after being saved and never woke up until his death. How could he have anticipated his own early death!”
Lv Fan let out a long sigh. If only Marquis of Wu had left last words.
Zhang Zhao secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. It was good that there were no last words from Marquis of Wu.
Zhang Zhao earnestly said to Lv Fan: “If Young Master Shao were already a teenager in his teens, I would also agree to establish Young Master Shao, but he is only three years old now! He won’t reach adulthood for another seventeen years. If it were a unified prosperous era, that would be fine, but this is a chaotic world. Isn’t Lord Lu worried?”
“This…”
Lv Fan hesitated a bit. This was also his dilemma: the Lord’s son was too young, only three years old.
Zhang Zhao pressed further: “Originally, with Marquis of Wu as Lord, Sun Ben was already dissatisfied. If it becomes a three-year-old child as Lord, would Sun Ben recognize it? Lord Lu, think about it—what consequences would there be if Sun Ben does not recognize it?”
Zhang Zhao’s shrewd cunning was on full display at this moment. Seeing Lv Fan hesitate, he immediately raised Sun Ben as an enemy. It must be known that when Lv Fan fought with Sun Ben over military power for Marquis of Wu back then, they had a falling out. Although Marquis of Wu eventually reconciled with his elder brother Sun Ben, Lv Fan had always been Sun Ben’s sworn enemy.
It was precisely because of this that Marquis of Wu sent Lv Fan to Yuzhang Commandery as Sima—nominally Sima, but actually to monitor the army and keep an eye on Sun Ben.
Lv Fan was an old minister who had followed Sun Ce from the beginning, and he deeply felt Sun Ben’s suppression of Sun Ce. Zhang Zhao’s words made Lv Fan worried too. If Sun Ben did not recognize it, division would be the mildest outcome; civil war was the greatest possibility.
“Then what is Chief Clerk Zhang’s view?”
Zhang Zhao pointed to the main tent. “Let the Second Young Master ascend to the position. He has always had widespread support from the noble families; only he can counter Sun Ben.”
Lv Fan pondered deeply for a long time. It seemed there really was no other way besides the Second Young Master ascending.
Lv Fan thought of Sun Ben again and finally made up his mind. “I can support the Second Young Master ascending, but I have one condition: in the future, the Second Young Master must pass the position to Sun Shao.”
Zhang Zhao immediately called Sun Quan out without hesitation and told him Lv Fan’s condition. Sun Quan knew that at this moment, he could not hesitate even slightly. Since Lv Fan had relented, he must seize this opportunity—secure the present first, and deal with the future later.
He immediately raised his hand and swore: “I, Sun Quan, swear here that in the future, I will surely return the position to my nephew. If I violate this oath, heaven and earth will not tolerate it, and I, Sun Quan, will surely die pierced by random arrows!”
Lv Fan was overjoyed and knelt down to kowtow: “Lv Fan pays respects to the New Marquis of Wu!”
Sun Quan hurriedly helped him up and sighed: “Having a loyal minister like Ziheng is the fortune of Eastern Wu’s state!”
Lv Fan immediately ordered the tent to be raised and summoned all the generals to pay respects. He publicly handed over the commander’s seal, military tally, command arrow, and Marquis of Wu’s sword to Sun Quan. Sun Quan sat in his elder brother’s command position, with Strategist Lv Fan on the left and Chief Clerk Zhang Zhao on the right.
The generals immediately understood. Cheng Pu was the first to kneel and perform the grand rite: “Subordinate General Cheng Pu pays respects to the New Commander!”
Cheng Pu was relatively steady. He knew that conferring the New Marquis of Wu first required the approval of the Old Madam and then the Imperial Court—it wasn’t that simple. But becoming commander was easier; as long as there was the commander’s seal and military tally, it was done.
Everyone knelt together to pay respects: “Pay respects to the New Commander!”
Sun Quan slowly said: “My elder brother was a towering tree. With him, we later ones had a place to enjoy the shade. I have nothing to say. Let us all follow the regulations set by my elder brother. The urgent matter now is to escort my elder brother’s casket back to Wu County so he can rest in peace soon!”
At this moment, a soldier reported at the tent entrance: “Scouts report that General Sun Ben is leading five thousand troops rushing here at full speed; they are already twenty li away!”
Lv Fan and Zhang Zhao exchanged a glance and secretly exclaimed in relief. If Sun Quan had arrived an hour later, the army would have been seized by Sun Ben.
Sun Quan said coldly: “Order the army to immediately exit the camp and form ranks to welcome General Sun Ben!”
Sun Ben pursued day and night without stop and finally caught up with the main force army at Wuxi County.
Seeing that the barracks were still several li away, a scout reported: “Report to General, the army from the barracks has exited the camp and formed ranks!”
Sun Ben was startled and immediately ordered: “The entire army stops advancing!”
By this time, Sun Quan had already led sixty thousand troops to form ranks in the wilderness. Soon, Sun Ben rode forward alone on horseback and shouted from afar: “Quan, is that you?”
Sun Quan clasped his fists and said: “Elder Brother, have you come to mourn Elder Brother?”
One sentence blocked Sun Ben’s retreat. In the face of righteousness, who would dare say no?
Sun Ben saw Cheng Pu and Huang Gai both standing behind Sun Quan, not even glancing at him. Sun Ben had originally wanted to use Cheng Pu and Huang Gai’s support to overwhelm Lv Fan and seize military power, but now it seemed impossible.
As one of the main leaders of the Sun clan’s ruling group, Sun Ben could indeed overwhelm Lv Fan—after all, in Yuzhang Commandery, Lv Fan was his subordinate.
But now that Sun Quan had seized military power first, he had no chance. Without the army, he had no hope of capturing Jiangdong.
Sun Ben sighed deeply in his heart. The position of Marquis of Wu had slipped through his fingers again! With no other choice, he could only nod and say: “I have indeed come to mourn my brother!”
Sun Ben then entered the barracks under Lv Fan’s accompaniment to mourn Sun Ce. Soon, with red eyes, he came out to Sun Quan and said: “I must go to Danyang Commandery to defend against Gan Ning. As for Sun Fu’s matter, I hope Brother Quan arranges rescue as soon as possible.”
By saying this, he was temporarily giving up the contention for Lord of Jiangdong and acknowledging Sun Quan as Sun Ce’s successor.
Sun Quan nodded. “I promise Elder Brother that I will rescue Sun Fu as soon as possible!”
Sun Ben left with his five thousand subordinates. Although he could not seize the Jiangdong regime, he could settle for the next best thing and seclude himself in Danyang Commandery.
Sun Quan led sixty thousand troops back to Wu County. He personally supported his elder brother’s casket into the city. Wu County was filled with mourning; every household hung white banners at their doors, and hundreds of thousands of citizens knelt to welcome Marquis of Wu Sun Ce’s casket home.
Lady Wu had originally wanted to establish her third son Sun Yi as Sun Ce’s successor, but now the second son Sun Quan had seized military power, and both civil and military officials supported Sun Quan. Lady Wu had no choice but to publicly announce that Sun Quan would inherit Sun Ce’s position as Marquis of Wu and become the new lord of Jiangdong.
Jiangdong thus entered the Sun Quan era. Sun Quan immediately announced the halt of the Northern Expedition and summoned Zhou Yu, who was preparing for battle far away in Shouchun, to return.
Zhou Yu led twenty thousand troops back, leaving only Taishi Ci with ten thousand troops stationed in Shouchun.
On the day Sun Quan ascended, he appointed Zhang Zhao as General Strategist and Lv Fan as Sima, and also appointed Sun Ben as Chief Clerk, attempting to lure Sun Ben back to Wu County with the position of Chief Clerk to seize his military power.
But how could Sun Ben fall for it? He immediately refused Sun Quan’s appointment on the pretext of preparing to recapture Yuzhang Commandery.
With no other choice, Sun Quan appointed Sun Ben as Prefect of Danyang Commandery and sent Zhu Zhi as envoy to Yuzhang Commandery to negotiate with Gan Ning for Sun Fu’s redemption.
