Chapter 106: National Crisis
Zhou Gongjin, Lu Zijing, Lu Ziming, and Lu Boyan?
Although some people in the court and the public in the Eastern Wu had long discussed the four men together, some even said that Lu Xun's achievements had surpassed the previous three.
However, in the words of King Sun Quan of Wu, Lu Xun was mentioned on the same level as Zhou Yu, Lu Su, and Lu Meng. Moreover, this was the first time in history that he did so in the face of so many important ministers and veteran generals.
Seeing that Sun Quan had no intention of stopping, Lu Xun stood behind his desk, lowered his head slightly and remained calm, but the thumb of his right hand began to pinch the knuckle of his index finger more and more forcefully, and his nails began to turn white.
Sun Quan turned his back to Lu Xun and said to himself, "My lords, Gongjin is a man of heroic spirit and courage. He led the army to defeat Cao Cao and capture Jingzhou. Everyone in Jiangdong knows that Zhou Gongjin is an outstanding contributor."
"Zhou Gongjin is truly the courage of Jiangdong! When Cao Cao marched south, all the officials were afraid and retreated. It was Zhou Gongjin who dared to fight and was able to fight, and was determined to dominate the world with tens of thousands of people, that established the foundation of Jiangdong!"
Although Sun Quan did not turn around, Lu Xun stood there with his head down. When he heard Sun Quan's words, he felt as if Sun Quan's gaze passed through the back of his head and stared straight at his face.
Sun Quan continued, "Gongjin has another merit, which is recommending Lu Su and Lu Zijing to me."
"In the past, Gongjin asked Zijing to come to Jiangdong. I drank with Zijing on the same couch. It was Lu Zijing who gave me advice on how to become an emperor. This is one of Lu Zijing's contributions. I can still roughly remember what Zijing said that day."
"On that day, Lu Zijing offered advice, telling me that the Han Dynasty could not be revived and Cao Cao could not be eliminated, so I stayed in Jiangdong and waited for the world's opportunity."
"Lu Zijing also asked me to reach the end of the Yangtze River, occupy it, and then establish the title of emperor to rule the world. Lu Zijing said so, and I have done so for more than 20 years."
"In the past, when Cao Cao marched south in the 13th year of Jian'an, all the generals and ministers advised me to surrender to the south. Zhang Zibu and Qin Wenbiao also advised me to send envoys to welcome Cao Cao's army. Only Lu Zijing advised me to entrust the army to Gongjin, so that he could counterattack Cao Cao and win a great victory. This is Lu Zijing's second contribution."
Sun Quan narrowed his eyes and looked in Zhang Zhao's direction, pointed at him and said, "Look, gentlemen, if it was as Zhang Zibu said, how could I drink with you in Wuchang today? I would have been begging for food in Luoyang long ago!"
Zhang Zhao's old face was covered with sweat, and he immediately fell to the ground and covered his face. Zhang Zhao was an important official, and everyone was tense when they saw him, and watched Sun Quan pacing in the hall more carefully.
This King of Wu is really difficult to deal with.
Sun Quan did not argue with Zhang Zhao any more and continued the previous topic: "Although Lu Zijing advised me to hand over Jingzhou to Liu Bei, this was a mistake on Zijing's part, two merits for one mistake, but in the end the flaws did not outweigh the merits."
"And Lu Ziming first proposed to me to attack and destroy Guan Yu. In the 20th year of Jian'an, he conquered Jiangxia, Guiyang and Changsha. In the 24th year of Jian'an, he conquered Nanjun, Lingling and Wuling. He helped me fulfill Lu Zijing's long-cherished wish to control the entire Yangtze River."
"And when Lü Ziming attacked Guan Yu, he also advised me to appoint Boyan as a general."
Sun Quan had already turned around and looked at Lu Xun. "Is there anyone here who doesn't know about Lu Boyan's achievements? Come on, everyone, join me in paying respect to Lu Boyan and raise your hands!"
Upon hearing this, everyone raised the wine bottles in their hands. Sun Quan took the lead and drank it all. Lu Xun also drank five bottles without hesitation.
After one cup, another cup was offered, and after another cup, Sun Quan offered three cups of wine to Lu Xun, and the generals in the hall followed suit.
Lu Xun also kept his expression unchanged, drinking fifteen bottles in a row, first fast and then slowly. After finishing the last bottle, he stood respectfully opposite Sun Quan with his hands clasped. Sun Quan finally nodded in satisfaction.
But somehow the figure of Zhang Wen who had persuaded him in Xiling City that day appeared in Lu Xun's mind again.
Sun Quan finally went to find the next person, and Lu Xun slowly sat down at the table, trying to hold back the discomfort in his stomach. The sound of Sun Quan and the generals talking and laughing, and the clinking of glasses in the hall sounded so noisy and boring to Lu Xun's ears.
……
The banquet finally came to an end, and the guests gradually dispersed. They would set off for Wankou early tomorrow morning.
The banquet was held at the Wuwang Mansion, Sun Quan's own home. Sun Quan refused the support of his ministers and eunuchs, and walked to the backyard alone, drunk and staggering.
The moonlight shone into the courtyard. In addition to the guards on duty, there were actually people sitting in the pavilion in the courtyard.
Wuchang was already very cold in winter. Who was sitting outside so late at night? Sun Quan approached and took a closer look, only to find that the person was his eldest daughter, Sun Luban.
Sun Luban was obviously sitting in the pavilion waiting for her father. Seeing Sun Quan approaching, she stood up and bowed slowly: "My daughter greets my father."
Sun Quan was drunk and did not want to be supported by the eunuchs, so he staggered towards the pavilion where Sun Luban was sitting. Seeing her father coming, Sun Luban hurriedly took a few steps and supported her father's arm.
Sun Quan said softly, "Da Hu, why don't you go to bed? It's already so late."
Sun Luban replied, "I heard that my father is going to the war tomorrow. I can't bear to leave him, so I want to talk to him."
After Sun Luban helped her father sit down, she turned around and picked up a small copper kettle on the table in the pavilion. Sun Quan looked in the direction of the voice and found that his daughter had placed a small stove on the table, and the small copper kettle seemed to have been placed on the stove. After a while, Sun Luban held the cup in front of Sun Quan with both hands and said, "Father, this is the honey water that my daughter warmed up to help you sober up. I saw you were staggering when you walked just now."
Sun Quan chuckled. During banquets, Sun Quan always prided himself on his drinking capacity. Hearing his daughter's words asking him to sober up, he couldn't help but shook his head, but he still took the cup and took a sip without hesitation.
The taste of honey is neither too strong nor too weak, just right for drinking, and it does remove some of the remaining alcohol taste in the mouth.
Sun Quan held the warm cup in his hands and said to his daughter with a smile, "Some years ago, when your father was still on good terms with the State of Wei, Cao Pi sent someone to bring you some rock honey from the Western Regions."
"You were still in the Zhou family at that time, and your father didn't even think of leaving some for you. Now that Wu and Wei have been at war for years, I don't know when you'll be able to eat some rock honey."
Sun Luban did not speak, but just sat quietly aside. Sun Quan saw that his daughter looked a little sad, and then asked: "Da Hu, how many years have you been back to your father's side?"
Sun Luban pursed her lips and said slowly: "Time flies, another year has passed. My daughter calculated the time, and it has been nearly four years."
Sun Quan had few children, and Sun Luban was the eldest daughter of Sun Quan and Bu Lianshi. Sun Quan loved Sun Luban very much and even personally chose the two characters "Da Hu" as Sun Luban's name in the hope that Sun Luban would be safe and sound.
Zhou Yu's son Zhou Xun was quite like his father, so Sun Quan married his 17-year-old daughter to Zhou Xun six years ago.
However, Zhou Xun died of illness two years after his marriage. Sun Quan could not bear to see his daughter become a widow alone in the Zhou family, so he sent someone to bring his daughter back to his own Prince of Wu's Palace.
Sun Quan sipped the honey water in the cup, looked up at the moon in the sky, took a breath of cool air, and then looked at his daughter and asked, "Da Hu, tell me, do you hate me?"
Sun Luban bowed her head and said, "It's hard to predict what will happen in this world. Who can say for sure? Father has found a good match for me. How can I hate you? If I have to hate you, I just hate that Zhou Xun passed away so early."
Sun Quan looked at his daughter's profile quietly.
Sun Luban continued, "It's been four years now. Of course I hate him, but sometimes I still miss him."
When Sun Quan heard this, he sighed and said, "Da Hu, you hate Zhou Xun but you also miss him. I feel the same way as your father. Such a good son-in-law left so early."
"And not only Zhou Xun, but also Zhou Xun's father Zhou Gongjin. I hate him and miss him at the same time."
Sun Quan coughed lightly, but because he drank too much, his cough became more severe. Seeing this, Sun Luban quickly stood behind her father and patted him on the back.
Sun Luban said: "Why does the father miss his father? The father's thoughts and the daughter's thoughts should be different."
Sun Quan replied, "It is indeed different. Da Hu, when you were young, your father asked you to study classics and discuss current affairs with Sun Deng. Do you know why your father hates Zhou Gongjin?"
Sun Luban thought for a moment and said, "Could it be that she hates him for leading the army outside?"
Sun Quan nodded and said, "When Zhou Gongjin wanted to fight against Cao, I gave him troops. When Zhou Gongjin wanted to attack Jingzhou, I raised military funds and troops for him to fight. Zhou Gongjin even asked me for troops to attack Yizhou. Dahu, I was in Jianye at that time. People west of Chaisang only knew Zhou Yu and not me."
"If he is allowed to attack Yizhou in the west again, who is the leader, Zhou Yu or my father?"
"Tell me, as a father, how can I not hate you?"
Sun Luban did not speak, but returned to her seat, looking at her father's face. She knew her father was drunk and would go out to fight Cao Wei tomorrow. Whatever her father had to say tonight, she would just listen.
"I do hate Zhou Yu, but I also miss him." Sun Quan sighed, "Since Zhou Yu's death, I have never found another person who can command troops like Zhou Yu. Lü Meng and Lü Ziming may be considered half as good."
Sun Luban was puzzled: "There are many famous generals in the Great Wu, why is father so depressed? Didn't Lu Xun also come to Wuchang today?"
Sun Quan paused and then said, "Lu Xun is good at using troops, but he always seeks to preserve his troops first and then to achieve success. He is not willing to start a war to attack Wei on behalf of his father."
"At the banquet today, in front of Lu Boyan, I praised Zhou Gongjin, Lu Zijing, and Lu Ziming one after another, and finally praised Lu Boyan."
"Zhou Gongjin is only seven years older than me. If Zhou Gongjin were still alive, why would I ask Lu Boyan to lead the troops? Zhou Gongjin is happy to hear about war, but Lu Boyan is reluctant."
Sun Luban took over the conversation: "Father, don't you have anyone else to use?"
(End of this chapter)
