East Wu, Jianye, Wu King's Palace.
The temperature in Jiangdong is three degrees hotter than in Luoyang. Even so, on a sweltering summer afternoon, King Sun Quan of Wu still practiced his swordsmanship in the courtyard.
Although Sun Quan's swordmanship talent was mediocre, after decades of practice, his swordsmanship still surpassed most people, which is one of Sun Quan's philosophy in life.
Zhu Geliang was walking briskly from the courtyard to Sun Quan in front of him. As a favorite of this, the left general of East Wu and a close friend of King Wu, the guards of the palace did not obstruct him.
Sun Quan noticed the arrival of Zhu Geliang but did not stop immediately; instead, he waited until the last two moves of his swordsmanship were completed, then slowly came to a standstill. Placing the sword on the sword rack, he turned to look at Zhu Geliang standing beside him.
Zhu Geliang knew his master's temperament and stood patiently by the side, waiting for Sun Quan's question.
A maid beside him handed over a silk handkerchief, Sun Quan wiped the sweat on his face, and asked casually: "Did Zi Yu come? Why is your step so hurried?"
Zhu Geliang handed over the document in his hand: "Your Majesty, the spies have reported. Emperor Cao Pi of the Wei has died, and his eldest son, Cao Rui, has succeeded to the throne. Cao Hu, Cao Zhen, Chen Qun, and Sima Yi are serving as regents."
Without speaking, Sun Quan did not stop, grabbed the document from Zhu Geliang's hand and opened it directly to read.
After a moment, Sun Quan asked: "Is this true or false?"
Zhu Geliang took a deep breath: "How can a ruler of a nation pretend to die? If the Wei Empire really uses this as a lure, then Cao Pi would be no different from being truly dead."
Sun Quan nodded and continued to ask: "When did our Wu spies learn of this?"
Zhu Geliang replied: "After Cao Rui came to power, envoys arrived at Luojiang three days later, and the news reached Jianye after three more days."
Sun Quan nodded: "Zi Yu, with the Wei Empire's recent loss, what do you think of this matter?"
Zhu Geliang was silent for a moment: "Your Majesty, I did not expect Cao Pi to die so early."
Sun Quan also sighed. Wei Wu had been enemies for many years, and Sun Quan had once been appointed the Duke of Wu by Cao Pi, which was a humiliation that Sun Quan could not erase. But at this moment, Sun Quan felt a kind of sorrow akin to when a rabbit dies and a fox feels lonely.
"If I'm not mistaken, Cao Pi was five years younger than me."
"Why did he die so early? Was it from illness or was he killed?"
Zhu Geliang replied: "The Wei Emperor came to power six years ago when he was still young. The base of the dynastic succession were all in high positions, and the relatives of the imperial family each had their own duties. There was never any news of great discord within the Wei court."
"According to my guess, Cao Pi was likely to have died of illness."
Sun Quan nodded: "I agree. Summon all the officials to the palace for a meeting."
Zhu Geliang bowed and accepted the order. He turned and left the courtyard to arrange the guards to notify everyone.
Sun Quan was alone in the courtyard, pacing back and forth for a moment before picking up the precious sword he had put down earlier, and rubbing the hilt of the sword with his hand repeatedly.
...
In the consultation hall of the Wu King's Palace.
Zhu Geliang stood at the forefront of the steps, informing the officials of Jiangdong of Emperor Cao Pi's death.
After a moment of silence, the discussions among the officials became noisy immediately, with various voices coming from all directions.
"Good riddance to Cao Pi! The early death of the Wei Emperor is the blessing of heaven to my Jiangdong!"
"The new ruler of Wei, Cao Rui, is no more than a child. Your Majesty, I volunteer to be the vanguard for the northward campaign, and the young ruler of Wei will surely be terrified at the mere mention of our arrival!"
"This is indeed great news for our Jiangdong!"
There were various discussions down the steps, and the voices of generals pleading for war rose one after another, as if Cao Pi's death had killed half of Cao Wei, and as if each could beat Zhang Liao easily.
"Quiet!" Gu Yong, the Prime Minister of East Wu, turned and swept his cold gaze over the ministers, who all lowered their heads and dared not speak further. As the second Prime Minister of East Wu, Gu Yong's duty was to maintain the discipline of the court.
"Your Majesty, I have a suggestion to make." Gu Yong turned and bowed towards Sun Quan.
"Please speak, Prime Minister." Sun Quan responded without any expression.
Gu Yong spoke slowly, "I believe, the death of the Wei ruler is beneficial to us and harmless."
"War is a matter of state, and it should not be taken lightly. Although Cao Pi is dead, the Wei front will not necessarily lose several cities or thousands of soldiers."
"I suggest that we should send orders to the generals to tighten the defense. Our Jiangdong should remain on its defensive lines and wait for the right time."
Zhu Geliang also bowed and said, "Your Majesty, with the national mourning in Wei, they are likely to be unable to launch an attack for several years. This is the perfect time for our Jiangdong to rest and recover."
The generals below started to yell: "When will we rest and recover! We defeated Cao Cao at Red Cliff. Now what's there to be afraid of from the grandson of Cao Cao!"
Sun Quan looked at Zhu Geliang and then at Gu Yong. The two loyal ministers instantly understood their master's intention.
Sun Quan then stood up, placed his hand on the hilt of the sword hanging from his waist, and addressed the officials:
"Very good! With the Wei Empire in mourning, this is the time for our Jiangdong to flex its muscles!"
"I have decided. Starting from tomorrow, we will launch an attack on Wei. The specific time and place for the launch of the attack will be decided after consultation with Jiang Province's Military Governor Lu Xun."
The generals were all excited, while the face of the Prime Minister Gu Yong became slightly somber. Zhu Geliang still had the same expressionless look as before.
After the court session ended, the civil officials and military generals dispersed. Gu Yong and Zhu Geliang stayed behind in the Wu King's Palace to confer with Sun Quan alone.
Gu Yong said, "Your Majesty, just now I mentioned the need for rest and recuperation, but this was only considering our Jiangdong's national strength. However, Your Majesty's strategy of going to war is also correct."
Gu Yong was not a person who played two sides, and his virtue and integrity were well known in East Wu.
Sun Quan smiled: "Yuanfan, have you understood my intention?"
Gu Yong nodded.
Zhu Geliang interjected: "Yuanfan brother must want to test the Wei Empire."
Gu Yong said, "Indeed. With the new ruler of Wei having recently passed away and four regents governing a grown emperor, how can this situation last long?"
"Cao Xiu and Cao Zhen have long been generals, but now they are entrusted with the responsibility of governing an orphan emperor. They can't help but compete with Chen Qun and Sima Yi for power and gain."
"If we launch an attack at this time, I believe there will be some changes in the Wei court."
Sun Quan nodded and said, "Yuanfan's words resonate well with my thoughts. If we decide to send troops, where should be our first choice of attack?"
Zhu Geliang and Gu Yong looked at each other, and without speaking, they both said two words: "Jiang Xia."
Sun Quan stroked his beard and laughed.
There are many commanders in East Wu, and when it comes to battlefield victories, Sun Quan, Gu Yong, and Zhu Geliang are not people who can be associated with.
But if it comes to the inner workings of the court, Sun Quan is self-evident, as a ruler since the age of sixteen has always lacked experience. While Gu Yong and Zhu Geliang are both experts in understanding people's hearts.
It should be noted that national generals are usually referred to as the leader of a particular region. Cao Zhen is often in the area of Dunhuang and Gansu, while Cao Xu is often in the areas of Xuyang and Yangzi. Now that both Cao Zhen and Cao Xu serve as regents, if there is a need for military operations in Jingyang or Xiangyang, who will be sent by the young emperor Cao Rui to lead the expedition, this is very interesting.
Zhu Geliang continued, "If this expedition yields results, that is fine. But if there are no results, it might just draw the Wei Empire to launch an attack on us."
"Our Jiangdong is best at defense and counterattack. If we can find an opportunity to annihilate the Wei Empire's two or three thousand people, Your Majesty can use this great victory to move forward further."
Gu Yong said, "Moving further up is moving to a high place."
Sun Quan, with his hands behind his back, looked at his two ministers: "Indeed, the one who will replace the Han Dynasty should be of high status, I suppose that's what this means!"
