Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Chapter 52: Committed to the Cause (Seeking Follow-up Reading)

In fact, Peng Qi had been causing chaos in Poyang for two years.

This rebellion is only a "rebellion" from the perspective of the Eastern Wu. From the perspective of Peng Qi and other Shanyue leaders, it is simply too much for you government troops to force us to pay taxes and leave the mountains to settle down.

It's all a matter of stance.

Zhou Cang was born in Yangxian, Wu County. He was selected as a filial and incorruptible official when he was young. Later, he was promoted to the position of Western Commander of Danyang County and held the rank of two thousand stones because he led the people to kill the bandit Peng Shi in Qiantang.

In short, Zhou Cang rose to power by dealing with the Shanyue bandits. With such a resume, he still couldn't deal with the Shanyue rebellion in Poyang County because Poyang is mountainous and has lakes.

There is a lake in Poyang, named Poyang Lake. This allowed the Shanyue led by Peng Qi to enter the mountains when the government troops were besieging them. When it was difficult to maneuver in the mountains, they could also enter the lake.

The Eastern Wu was indeed good at naval warfare, but no one would be foolish enough to move the extremely precious navy guarding along the Yangtze River into Poyang Lake and risk exposing a gap in the river defense to encircle and suppress the Shanyue. It was really not worth it.

As a result, Zhou Cang failed to deal with Peng Qi after more than a year, and Sun Quan sent his Jiefan troops to encircle and suppress him. Peng Qi, who suddenly felt the pressure, did not know who suggested it, but he contacted Cao Xiu in the north.

It is understandable that Zhou Cang sought advice from Hu Zong when he was faced with difficulties in Sun Quan's orders.

When Hu Zong was young, he accompanied Sun Quan to study in Wujun according to Sun Ce's order. Later, he was in charge of Sun Quan's confidential affairs and was regarded as a person trusted by Sun Quan. Later, Sun Quan ordered Hu Zong to establish the Jiefan Army directly under his command, which further highlighted Hu Zong's status as a favorite.

Just now, Hu Zong, who was familiar with Sun Quan's character, had helped Zhou Qian analyze Sun Quan's basic intentions.

First, Sun Quan wanted to find a well-known person in Poyang so that he could pretend to surrender to Cao Xiu and lure Cao Xiu across the river.

Second, as long as the false surrender was effective, Sun Quan didn’t care who to look for.

This made Zhou Qian start to think.

Is there any danger to my life if I pretend to surrender to Cao Xiu? It seems not. I just need to trick Cao Xiu into going to the river. Then the King of Wu will lead his army to deal with it. Lu Xun, Zhu Huan, Quan Cong and others will fight. Why would they need me?

Do you need me to deliver the letter? If Cao Xiu trusts me, then he will definitely leave me in Jiangnan to assist him, and there is no need to risk his life like Huang Gai. If Cao Xiu does not trust me, then I will do nothing wrong and it will not cost me much effort.

Moreover, a few days ago, Zhou Cang and Hu Zong both received a persuasive document from the north, which said that if they brought 3,000 people across the river, they would be granted 3,000 households. It would be more credible to pretend to surrender at this time.

This deal is a good one! If the King of Wu succeeds, maybe our Yangxian Zhou family will have a chance to become a famous family like Gu, Lu, Zhu and Zhang in a few years!

Zhou Cang thought about it for a while, then looked at Hu Zong, the governor of trouble-solving who was trusted by Sun Quan, and said, "Brother Wei Ze, do you think I can do it?"

Hu Zong frowned: "What's the matter? The King of Wu has issued an order, so how can we not go and look for it?"

Zhou Cang quickly explained: "That's not what I meant. What I meant was, if I go and pretend to surrender, will the King of Wu agree?"

"You?" Hu Zong was startled when he heard this. He stood up and walked to Zhou Cang, looking down at him hesitantly: "Why are you doing this? How can a governor with a salary of 2,000 stones voluntarily surrender to the enemy country?"

Zhou Cang explained: "Yes, it is precisely because there is no example of a two thousand stone official voluntarily surrendering to the enemy, so my trip is more credible, isn't it?"

Hu Zong remained silent for a long time without replying.

Zhou Cang was already a little anxious at this time, and he stood up and bowed: "Brother Weize, please help me, whether it is for the sake of the country or to help me, Zhou Cang, achieve success, I am willing to try!" The two were only three steps apart, and Hu Zong stared at Zhou Cang's eyes for a long time. Just when Zhou Cang was about to lose his patience, Hu Zong finally spoke.

Hu Zong said: "Zi Yu, you are a courageous man! Then I, Hu Zong, will lend you a hand and help you to discuss this matter with the King of Wu!"

Zhou Qian bowed repeatedly.

As a close confidant of Wu Wang Sun Quan and the commander of such an important Jiefan Army, Hu Zong's words were naturally a hundred times more effective than Zhou Cang's. Moreover, Hu Zong had another specialty, which was that Hu Zong's literary talent was brilliant and could be ranked among the top in the entire Eastern Wu.

With Hu Zong's skills and his intimate knowledge of Sun Quan and the Eastern Wu's military strength, it was absolutely perfect for him to help Zhou Cang write the false letter of surrender!

……

A few days later, Wuchang.

Sun Quan did receive Hu Zong's letter, and also knew that Zhou Cang was willing to go to Cao Xiu in the capacity of a two thousand stone governor to pretend to surrender.

But Sun Quan was not happy at all. When he received Zhou Cang's letter, he also received bad news.

What angered Sun Quan was that after Han Dang's son Han Zong defected to Cao Wei, another Wu general went north to surrender to Wei. Zhai Dan, a general stationed in Pengze, received a letter from Wei and led his 1,000 soldiers across the river to surrender to Wei.

Even though Sun Quan had been a very magnanimous monarch for many years, he was so angry that he drew his sword. Han Zong led 3,000 men and Zhai Dan led 1,000 men. The difference between the two countries, Wei and Wu, was 8,000 men.

That's a difference of 8,000! You know, the total number of soldiers that Wu can fight is just over 100,000! If there are a few more such defections, Sun Quan might as well stop being the King of Wu and just jump into the river to feed the fish.

Lu Xun was quite embarrassed at this time, neither sitting nor standing, nor trying to persuade the furious Sun Quan. He could only sit at the table with his head down and dared not speak.

Instead, Zhuge Jin acted as a peacemaker: "Your Majesty, this is not a bad thing. Didn't Zhou Cang say he was willing to pretend to surrender? With Han Zong and Zhai Dan in the lead, Zhou Cang's pretended surrender will be more credible this time."

Sun Quan sighed and silently placed his sword on the table. He leaned over and picked up the document sent by Zhou Cang from the table. The writing was beautiful and the sentences were smooth. It was obvious that it was written by Hu Zong.

Sun Quan looked at Lu Xun and said, "Bo Yan, you were the one who proposed the plan of feigning surrender. Now Zhou Cang has recommended himself. Do you think he can do it?"

Lu Xun cupped his hands and said, "What Ziyu said makes sense. Pengze, where Zhai Dan was originally stationed, is south of Wancheng. With Zhai Dan's departure, it makes sense that Poyang, not far from Pengze, would also surrender."

"However, I think Your Majesty can do something else in Wuchang to make Zhou Cang's false surrender more credible."

Sun Quan frowned: "How should we do it?"

Lu Xun smiled and said, "Why don't you let Zhou Cang falsely claim that Wu is about to attack Wei, and let Zhou Cang reveal the plans of various places to attack the north. After Cao Xiu receives the letter, he can dispatch troops from various places accordingly."

"In this case, I don't believe Cao Xiu will not fall into the trap. Moreover, the king can send someone to reprimand Zhou Cang, just like Zhou Gongjin whipped Huang Gai in the past."

Sun Quan nodded slightly when he heard this, appearing quite moved.

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(End of this chapter)