By the way, Peng Qi has been making trouble in Poyang for two years.
This rebellion, it is only the "rebellion" from the perspective of the Eastern Wu. From the perspective of Peng Qi and these Sheyue canal commanders, your military forces forcing us to pay taxes and compel us to leave the mountains and settle down is absolutely over the top.
Everything is a matter of perspective.
Zhou Fang was born in Yangxian, Wugong, and he was selected as an official at a young age. He was promoted to Western Prefect of Danyang after leading his troops to kill the bandit Peng Shilai in Qiantang, and he held a salary of 2000 taels of rice.
In short, Zhou Fang rose through the ranks by dealing with mountain bandits and the Sheyue people. The reason he still couldn't handle the Sheyue rebellion in Poyang is that the region is heavily mountainous and also has many lakes.
Poyang has a lake called Poyang Lake, which caused mountain bandits led by Peng Qilin to be able to retreat into the mountains when being pursued by government troops. During their difficult maneuvers in the mountains, they could also move around the lake.
East Wu was indeed skilled in naval warfare, but no one would be foolish enough to transport the precious navy guarding the Yangtze River along its banks into the Poyang Lake, risking a breach in river defense, to encircle and quash the Sheyue bandits. This is simply not worth it.
Thus, Zhou Fang had been struggling to deal with Peng Qilin for over a year, and Sun Quan sent his direct troops, the Xie fan Army, to encircle and suppress him. Feeling immense pressure, Peng Qilin didn't know who to turn to for advice but ended up contacting Cao Xiu in the north.
It is understandable for Zhou Fang to consult Hu Zhong when he faces difficulties in executing Sun Quan's orders.
Hu Zhong was ordered by Sun Ce to accompany Sun Quan and study in Wugong when he was young. Later, he has been handling important matters for Sun Quan, being one of his most trusted and esteemed confidants. Furthermore, when Sun Quan ordered Hu Zhong to establish the Jiefan Army (the Direct Relief Army) under his direct command, it further highlighted Hu Zhong's favored status.
Just now, having a deep understanding of Sun Quan's personality, Hu Zhong has helped Zhou Fang analyze Sun Quan's basic intention.
Firstly, Sun Quan wants a renowned figure in Poyang, who can pretend to surrender to Cao Xiu and lure him across the river.
Secondly, as long as the deception is effective, Sun Quan does not care who is chosen for the task.
This left Zhou Fang to scheme in his mind.
Does pretending to surrender to Cao Xiu carry any risk of losing one's life? It appears there is none. All that needs to be done is to deceive Cao Xiu into reaching the riverbank, at which point the King of Wu will lead his troops to handle the situation, with Zhu Xu, Zhu Han, and Quan Cong leading the battles. How could I be needed for this?
Do I need to send a letter? If Cao Xiu believes me, then he will have to keep me in the south to assist strategically, without the need for me to risk my life like Huang Gai. If Cao Xiu doesn't believe me, then I will have accomplished nothing and expended no effort.
Moreover, a few days ago, both Zhou Fang and Hu Zhong received persuasive documents sent from the north. It was the letter about sending 3,000 men across the river to be granted 3,000 households of hereditary nobility. This makes the act of pretending to surrender now even more credible.
This deal is a good one! If King Wu's plan succeeds, perhaps in the future, my Zhou family from Yangxian could also become a prestigious family like Gu Lu, Zhu Zhang, and others!
Zhou Fang pondered in his mind for a while and looked at Hu Weize, the Honorable Administrator of Jiefan under Sun Quan's trust: "Brother Weize, do you think I can do it?"
Hu Zhong furrowed his brow: "What do you mean, 'can we not go'? King Wu has issued an order, and it is our duty to carry it out."
Zhou Fang quickly explained, "I wasn't suggesting we do nothing. What I meant was, if I go to pretend to surrender, will King Wu agree?"
"Huh?" Hu Zhong was taken aback upon hearing this, stood up, and walked in front of Zhou Fang, looking down at him with hesitation: "Why would you do that? Isn't there any logic to a 2,000-tael governor of a county surrendering to an enemy country proactively?"
Zhou Fang explained, "Yes, just as there have never been any examples of a 2,000-tael official surrendering to an enemy country proactively, if I were to go and pretend to surrender, wouldn't that make it even more credible?"
Hu Zhong remained silent for a while without responding.
Zhou Fang, now slightly anxious, stood up and bowed: "Brother Weize, please help me out for my sake. Whether it's for the country or to help me, Zhou Fang, achieve my career goals, I am willing to give it a try!"
The two were only three steps away from each other, and Hu Zhong had been staring at Zhou Fang's eyes without moving for half an hour. Just as Zhou Fang was about to bear it, Hu Zhong finally spoke up.
Hu Zhong said, "Zi Yu, you have courage! Then Hu Zhong will help you one arm's length. I will help you explain this to King Wu!"
Zhou Fang bowed repeatedly.
As an intimate of King Wu's, Hu Zhong is responsible for such an important military force as the Xie fan Army. Thus, it is much more effective for him to speak than Zhou Fang. Moreover, Hu Zhong has another specialty, which is his literary talents that rank among the top in the entire Eastern Wu.
With Hu Zhong's skills and deep knowledge of King Wu, the Eastern Wu's military, helping Zhou Fang write the letter pretending to surrender would be perfect!
...
Several days later, in Wu Commandery.
Sun Quan indeed received Hu Zhong's letter and was aware of Zhou Fang's willingness to go to Cao Xiu as a 2,000-tael governor in a pretended surrender.
However, Sun Quan did not show any signs of joy at this time. Along with receiving Zhou Fang's letter, Sun Quan also received some bad news.
What angered Sun Quan was that after Han Zong, the son of the rebel Han Dang who defected to Cao Wei, another Wu general named Zhou Fang who also crossed over to Cao Wei. The tooth officer stationed in Penzhou, Zhai Dan, upon receiving a document circulated by Wei, directly led his troops of 1,000 across the river and defected to Wei.
Even though Sun Quan had maintained a dignified demeanor as a ruler for many years, he was so angry that he drew his sword. Han Zong had brought 3,000 men, and Zhai Dan had brought 1,000 men. The subtraction and addition created a gap of 8,000 in military strength between the Wei and Wu states.
That's a difference of 8,000! One knows that Wu has only about 100,000 eligible for battle. If such defections happen again, Sun Quan might as well swim across the river to feed the fish.
Lu Su was particularly awkward at this moment. He neither sat nor stood, nor dared to speak up to the raging Sun Quan. He could only quietly lower his head and remain silent in his seat.
Instead, Zhuge Jin took on the role of a peacebroker: "Your Majesty, this is not necessarily a bad thing. Didn't Zhou Fang say that he was willing to pretend to surrender? With Han Zong and Zhai Dan going before him, Zhou Fang's act of pretending to surrender will be even more credible."
Sun Quan sighed, silently placed his sword on the table, and bent down to pick up the document Zhou Fang had sent. The writing was elegant and the sentences were coherent, clearly written by Hu Zhong.
Sun Quan looked at Lu Su: "Bo Yin, it was you who proposed the plan of pretended surrender. Zhou Fang has now volunteered himself, do you think he can pull it off?"
Lu Su bowed and said, "Ziyu is right. As the original garrison of Zhai Dan was in Pengerze, which is south of Wan City, Zhai Dan going there makes it even more reasonable. With the addition of Poyang, which also wants to surrender, it fits perfectly."
"However, Your Majesty, I think there are still things that can be done in Wu Commandery to make Zhou Fang's pretended surrender even more credible."
Sun Quan frowned: "How should I do it?"
Lu Su smiled and said, "Why not have Zhou Fang pretend that our Wu state is planning to attack Wei? Let Zhou Fang reveal the plans for the northern attacks in various places. After Cao Xiu receives the letter, we can then use this information to deploy forces accordingly."
"In this way, I am not convinced that Cao Xiu wouldn't fall into a trap. Moreover, Your Majesty can send people to scold Zhou Fang, just like what Zhou Yu did during the past when he whipped Huang Gai."
Sun Quan nodded slightly upon hearing this, showing signs of interest.
