Zhou Gongjin, Lu Zijing, Lü Ziming, and Lu Boyan?
Although there were already people in the Eastern Wu court who regarded the four together, and even some said that Lu Xun's achievements had surpassed those of the previous three.
But in Sun Quan's words, Lu Xun was regarded as equal to Zhou Yu, Lu Su and Lü Meng. And it was the first time for such important ministers and veteran generals.
Seeing that Sun Quan showed no sign of stopping, Lu Xun stood behind his desk, slightly bowing his head in silence. Only his right thumb began to apply more pressure to the knuckles of his index finger, the nails beginning to turn white.
Sun Quan at this time with his back to Lu Xun, went on to say: "The people, Gongjin was the man of great talent, bold and sagacious. He led troops to defeat Cao Cao, seized Jingzhou. It is well known in our Eastern Jiang that Gongjin is an unparalleled minister."
"Zhou Gongjin truly is the heart and soul of Eastern Jiang! In those days when Cao Cao moved southward, all the ministers were afraid and retreated. It was Zhou Gongjin who dared to fight, who was able to fight, who was determined to lead a few tens of thousands of men to roam the world, that is why we established the base in Eastern Jiang!"
Although Sun Quan did not turn his head, Lu Xun lowered his head and stood there. He felt that Sun Quan's gaze was as if it went through his back and straight at his face.
Sun Quan continued: "Gongjin has another achievement, that is to recommend Lu Su, Lu Zijing, for me."
"In the past, when Gongjin brought Zijing to Eastern Jiang, I drank with him on the same bed. It was Lu Zijing who advised me to achieve the emperors' cause. That is one of Lu Zijing's merits. I can still roughly recall what Zijing said that day."
"On that day, Lu Zijing proposed to me that the Han family cannot be restored, Cao Cao cannot be eliminated immediately, so we established a strong base in Eastern Jiang to observe the situation of the world."
"Lu Zijing also told me to take possession of the whole length of the Yangtze River, and then establish an imperial title to take control of the world. Lu Zijing said so, and for more than twenty years, I have been doing so."
"In those days, when Cao Cao moved south in the thirteenth year of the Jian'an era, many generals and ministers advised me to surrender and face south. Zhang Zibu and Qin Wentai even urged me to send envoys to welcome Cao Cao's army. Only Lu Zijing advised me to entrust my troops to Gongjin and have him fight against Cao Cao in reverse, resulting in a great victory. This is the second merit of Lu Zijing."
Sun Quan squinted his eyes to look in the direction of Zhang Zhao and pointed with his finger, saying to Zhang Zhao: "The ministers, look. If what Zhang Zibu said is true, I would not be able to drink with you in Wu Chang today. I would have been begging on the ground in Luoyang long ago!"
Zhang Zhao's pale face was now covered in sweat. He quickly lay down on the ground, covering his face with his hands. Zhang Zhao was a high-ranking minister, and seeing this, everyone tightened their hearts and watched Sun Quan carefully as he walked back and forth in the hall.
This King of Wu is really not easy to deal with.
Sun Quan did not continue the argument with Zhang Zhao and continued the topic: "Although Lu Zijing advised me to entrust Jingzhou to Liu Bei, this is Lu Zijing's first mistake, but the second success makes up for it."
"Lü Ziming was the first to advocate attacking and eliminating Guan Yu. In Jian'an twenty years, he captured the three states of Jiangxi, Guiyang and Changsha. In Jian'an twenty-four years, he captured Nanxun, Lingling and Wuling. He fulfilled Lu Zijing's wish of controlling the Yangtze River."
"Moreover, when Lü Ziming was attacking Guan Yu, he also recommended to me that I appoint Boyan as a general."
At this time, Sun Quan turned to look at Lu Xun and said: "Has anyone of you ministers not heard of Lu Boyan's achievements? Come on, let's all stand up and raise our glasses to Lu Boyan!"
Hearing this, everyone raised their wine cups. Sun Quan drank it all at once, and Lu Xun drank five cups without hesitation.
One cup after another, and then another cup. Sun Quan consecutively toasted Lu Xun three times, and the other officers in the hall followed suit, also toasting Lu Xun three times each.
Lu Xun, however, maintained his composure, drinking quickly at first and then slowly. He drank a total of fifteen cups, finishing the last one and standing respectfully opposite Sun Quan. Only then did Sun Quan finally nod in satisfaction.
However, in Lu Xun's mind, the figure of Zhang Wen, who had advised him in front of him in Xiling city, appeared again.
Finally, Sun Quan turned to ask another person, Lu Xun slowly sat down on the seat and tried to suppress the discomfort in his stomach. To Lu Xun, the laughter and chatter of Sun Quan and his generals, as well as the clinking of glasses, now sounded noisy and boring in his ears.
……
The banquet finally drew to a close, and the guests began to disperse. They would set off for Wankou early in the morning.
The banquet was held in the Wu Wang's palace, which was his own home. Refusing the help of his officials and eunuchs, Sun Quan walked alone with a glass of wine, swaying slightly.
The moonlight shone on the yard. Besides the guards responsible for defense, there were still people sitting in a pavilion in the yard.
Winter in Wuchang was already very cold. Who could be sitting outside so late? As Sun Quan approached and looked more closely, he saw that the person was his elder daughter, Sun Ruban.
Sun Ruban was obviously waiting for her father in the pavilion. Seeing Sun Quan approaching, she stood up and bowed slowly: "My daughter greets the king."
Drunk from the wine and unwilling to be helped by the eunuchs, Sun Quan walked towards the pavilion where Sun Ruban was sitting, slightly unsteady on his feet. Seeing his father coming, Sun Ruban quickly took a few steps forward to support his father's arm.
Sun Quan whispered: "Big Tiger, why haven't you gone to bed yet? It's so late."
Sun Ruban replied: "I heard that the king will set off on a campaign tomorrow, and I can't bear to see him leave. So I want to talk to my father."
After supporting her father to sit down, Sun Ruban picked up a delicate small copper kettle from the table in the pavilion with her hand. Sun Quan looked over and saw that his daughter had placed a small stove on the table, and the small copper kettle seemed to have been placed on top of it all along.
A moment later, Sun Ruban handed the cup to Sun Quan with both hands: "My father, this is the honey water that my daughter has prepared. It will help you sober up. I saw you wobbling while walking just now."
Sun Quan let out a soft laugh. At the banquet, Sun Quan had always prided himself on his drinking ability. Upon hearing his daughter's words about making him sober, he shook his head but still hesitated not to take the cup and taste it.
The taste of the honey was neither too strong nor too weak, and it was just right to drink. It indeed removed some of the remaining alcohol in his mouth.
Sun Quan held the warm cup with both hands, smiling at his daughter: "A few years ago, when my father was still on good terms with Wei, Cao Wei once sent someone to send my father some stone honey produced in the West."
"At that time, you were still in the Zhou family, and my father didn't think to save some for you. Now that Wu and Wei have been fighting for years, I don't know when you'll be able to taste some stone honey."
Sun Ruban did not say anything, but simply sat quietly by his side. Seeing the sadness in his daughter's expression, Sun Quan immediately said: "Big Tiger, how long have you been by my side?"
Sun Ruban pursed her lips and said slowly: "Time really flies. Another year has passed. My daughter counted the time, and it has been nearly four years."
Sun Quan had few offspring, and Sun Ruban was the eldest daughter of Sun Quan and his concubine Bu Lianshi. Sun Quan had always been extremely fond of Sun Ruban, even going so far as to choose the characters "Da Hu" as her courtesy name in the hope that she would lead a life free of difficulties.
Zhou Yu's son Zhou Xun was quite similar to his father, so six years ago, Sun Quan married his seventeen-year-old daughter to Zhou Xun.
However, Zhou Xun died of illness two years after his marriage. Sun Quan was unwilling to see his daughter alone in Zhou's household, so he sent people to bring her back to the Wu Wang's palace.
Sun Quan sipped the honey water in his cup, looked up at the moon in the sky, took a deep breath and then looked at his daughter and asked: "Big Tiger, tell me honestly, do you hate your father?"
Sun Ruban lowered her head and said: "Life is unpredictable. Who can say for sure? My father originally found a good match for my daughter, and I cannot hate him. If I have to say I hate him, it is only that Zhou Xun died too early."
Sun Quan quietly looked at the side of his daughter's face.
Sun Ruban continued: "It's been four years now. Of course, I'm still bitter, but sometimes, I also miss him."
Sun Quan heard this and sighed: "Big Tiger, you hate Zhou Xun but also miss him. My father is the same. Such a good son-in-law, but he left so early."
"And it's not just Zhou Xun. His father, Zhou Gongjin, I also hate and miss."
Sun Quan coughed lightly, but due to drinking too much wine, his coughing became more intense. Seeing this, Sun Ruban quickly stood behind her father and gently patted his back.
Sun Ruban said: "Why do you miss his father, Your Majesty? Your thoughts and my thoughts should be different."
Sun Quan replied: "Indeed, they are different. Big Tiger, when you were young, your father had you study classics and discuss current events with Sun Deng. Do you know why your father hates Zhou Gongjin?"
Sun Ruban thought for a moment: "Is it because he dislikes him for being in command of the troops outside?"
Sun Quan nodded: "Zhou Gongjin wanted to resist Cao Cao, and I gave him armies to resist Cao Cao. When Zhou Gongjin wanted to attack Changle, I gathered military supplies and personnel to send him out. Even Zhou Gongjin asked me for troops to launch an attack on Yizhou. When I was in Jianye, almost everyone in Chaoqiao west of the river only knew Zhou Yu and not me."
"If he continues to attack Yizhou in the west, who is the master, Zhou Yu or me?"
"You tell me, can I not hate?"
Sun Ruban did not say anything, sat back to her own seat, and looked at her father's face with her eyes. She knew that her father was drunk and would be going out to fight against Cao Wei tomorrow. Whatever her father wanted to say tonight, she would listen to it.
"I indeed hate Zhou Gongjin, but I also miss him," Sun Quan sighed. "Since Zhou Gongjin's death, I haven't found anyone who can use troops like Zhou Yu. Lu Meng, Lu Ziming might be considered a half."
Sun Ruban was puzzled: "There have been many famous generals in the Great Wu, why are you so melancholic? Isn't Lu Xun also here in Wuchang today?"
Sun Quan paused for a moment before saying: "Lu Xun is skilled in military affairs, but he always prioritizes preserving the army and achieving success second. Moreover, he does not want to stir great trouble to attack Wei Country on behalf of your father."
"Today at the banquet, in front of Lu Boyan's face, your father praised Zhou Gongjin, Lu Zijing, and Lu Ziming in succession, and then praised Lu Boyan."
"Zhou Gongjin was only seven years older than your father. If Zhou Gongjin were still alive, how would your father have needed to ask Lu Boyan to lead an army? Zhou Gongjin delighted in war, while Lu Boyan is reluctant."
Sun Ruban took the initiative to ask: "Father, are there no other generals available?"
(The end of this chapter)
