Chapter 405 (1/2)

“Zi Jing. Brother is dispatching troops to Yangzhou!” One youth said to another while the two drank together. The one that spoke had two pupils in his eye like the late Xiang Yu1. He was also an outstanding person but his elder brother was even more outstanding, overshadowing his achievements.

Even though Sun Quan has the symbol of the conqueror, his brother was the one that became the conqueror. The t.i.tle ‘Little Conqueror’ is not just for show. Everybody knows about Sun Ce but only few people knew about Sun Quan.

“Yangzhou?” The other youth, Lu Su, almost drop his wine cup when he heard this. “Isn’t a war about to start at Jiangxia? Why does Marquis Wu want to start another war at Yangzhou? Are we going to stop fighting at Jiangxia?” Lu Su was reasonably astounded. His job was to manage the transportation of supplies Both Jiangdong and Jingzhou have been deploying troops to fight at Jiangxia. Even most of the taxes collected in Jiangdong were being channeled to Jiangxia. If there was going to be a fight at Yangzhou, it might be possible that a secret agreement have been made between Jiangdong and Jingzhou.

Sun Quan who heard Lu Su’s words and shook his head. “The situation at Jiangxia is no longer in Brother’s control!” Jiangdong and Jingzhou had a mutual understanding. Liu Biao would not do anything and just watch while Sun Ce dealt with Lu Bu. Unfortunately, Han Dang and Huang Gai’s actions in retaking Sanjiangkou caused Liu Biao to feel betrayed. Liu Biao launched a counterattack using that as a reasoning and Sun Ce had no choice but to brace himself. That also meant that Sun Ce had no say as to whether they could stop the fight at Jiangxia.

“This Zhuge Kongming is truly a Sleeping Dragon.” Lu Su commented. This person is the most talked about person in Jiangdong. Zhuge Liang had become a military advisor at a young age. However, just this is nothing much as Zhuge Liang already came from Jingzhou. He could have obtained his post through favors. The real reason why he is such a popular topic is because he is a formidable enemy that even made Zhou Yu sigh with lament. His presence alone greatly increased the amount of casualties suffered by Jiangdong.

Lu Su was interested in Zhuge Liang and at the same time, he was also quite upset. He himself was similar in age with Zhuge Liang. He also had Zhou Yu’s recommendation and was dispatched to battle along with Sun Ce. Yet, he was defeated and captured. He even had to be bought back by Zhang Zhao. It was an extraordinary humiliation.

On top of that, Zhuge Liang was able to control the situation at Jiangxia. The longer the war is fought, the more inferior Lu Su would seem.

“Marquis Wu wants to fight two wars?” Lu Su put aside his feelings of lament for that moment and asked about Sun Ce’s plans.

“Yes.” Sun Quan replied, causing Lu Su to frown.

Declaring war on two sides could only be done if one has excess men and supplies. Otherwise, they would only cause themselves to be attacked on two sides.

Going to Yangzhou means war against Liu Mang. While Lu Su also wanted to defeat Liu Mang, he knew that Liu Mang was not a simple person and have many elite troops. The Black Flag Army in particular were a group Lu Su could not understand. The Black Flag Army were originally Zhou Yu’s men but they were now helping Liu Mang instead. Besides that, if Sun Ce were to take Yangzhou, Lu Bu would not stay idle.

“Brother is going to Yangzhou because of Qin Feng at Linhuai.”

“Linhuai? Sigh.” Lu Su did not know who Qin Feng was but he knew that Linhuai was the only territory they have left that is across the Yangtze River. He too, would not dare to lose Linhuai. If they lose Linhuai, advancing to the Central Plains would be significantly harder in the future.

“Fortunately, Liu Mang would also be fighting two wars!” Sun Quan explained.

“Hm?”

“Liu Mang had set off for Nanyang after Liu Bei killed his envoy!”

If Liu Mang were to also fight two wars, then the situation could be salvaged. Qin Feng still had a lot of troops and Tuzhong. On the other hand, Liu Bei may have lost his heavy infantry but he obtained the Xiliang Cavalry and have occupied total control of Nanyang.

“Zhongmou. Are you…?” Lu Su looked at his friend and asked. Sun Ce’s decision had nothing to do with Sun Quan. Sun Quan had no obligations. With his brother and other powerful generals around, Sun Quan was an unnecessary surplus.

“Zijing. I am almost thirty years old. It is the age where people are completely independent. Yet, I have no place where I can stand independently! All this years I tell myself that it is obvious that my brother should be more formidable than me. However, wouldn’t I also want to prove myself?”

“Hm?” Lu Su furrowed his brows. He felt a certain pa.s.sion and stubbornness in Sun Quan. The reason why Lu Su served Sun Quan was because he knew that Sun Ce was not the Lord he wanted. He also wished for Sun Quan to seize authority. However, this is not possible as long as Sun Ce was around.