Chapter 98: Striving to Be the First
Quan Cong has always been a cautious person.
Quan Cong's condescending questioning of Zhu Huan just now while standing on the stairs was partly due to his bad temper caused by being woken up in the middle of the night, and partly due to the stress reaction caused by Zhu Huan's rude response to his kind words.
But Zhu Huan's words made Quan Cong feel quite surprised.
I set out from Jiujiang and rushed back to Wuchang, following the order of the King of Wu. Zhu Huan and Quan Cong's two defense zones were far apart, and they rarely saw each other for several years. How could it be such a coincidence that they returned on the same day as me and stayed in the same inn?
Such a coincidence must mean something important has happened. But Zhu Huan was drunk and angry at the time, so it was obviously difficult to explain it to him.
Quan Cong walked quickly down the stairs, bowed to Zhu Huan, and then looked at Zhu Yi who was standing beside Zhu Huan.
Quan Cong said, "You must be Zhu Jiwen, right? I saw you in Jianye eight or nine years ago, and you have grown up like this now."
Zhu Huan was still standing there, still furious, and Zhu Yi was also quite helpless. In Zhu Yi's opinion, it was indeed his father who had to take Quan Cong's room regardless of order. But a son should not blame his father, so Zhu Yi could only deal with it awkwardly.
Zhu Yi bowed respectfully and said, "Zhu Yi greets Uncle."
Quan Cong patted Zhu Yi's arm and said, "You have come all the way from Ruxu. It has been cold on the river these days. I know that too."
"Ji Wen, there are two upper rooms in the inn. I will give my room to Brother Xiu Mu, and I will stay in one with my military officer."
Zhu Yi showed a puzzled look. It was indeed his father who had fought for the room first. Just now, Uncle Quan was still unhappy, so why did he want to give up the room now?
Quan Cong shook his head: "The King of Wu summoned me and Brother Xiumu to Wuchang at the same time. I'm afraid something big is going to happen. It's late tonight, go and rest quickly, because we have to go to the King of Wu's palace tomorrow morning."
Zhu Huan was just drunk and impulsive, and he felt something was wrong when he heard Quan Cong's words. He came all the way from Ruxu, so how did he bump into Quan Cong?
Originally, he wanted to seize Quan Cong's room, but now Quan Cong suddenly gave up the room to him. It was like punching cotton, and he felt like he had the strength but nowhere to use it.
"Zihuang, what are you doing..." Zhu Huan just stretched out his hand to pull Quan Cong, but Quan Cong stepped back half a step to avoid him.
Quan Cong looked Zhu Huan in the eye and said, "Brother Xiumu, it's late at night, so go to bed quickly. You and I will meet the King of Wu tomorrow."
As soon as he finished speaking, Quan Cong turned around and went upstairs. Zhu Huan opened his mouth to talk, but he didn't know what to say.
……
On the second day, Quan Cong woke up in the morning and immediately set off into the city to Sun Quan's Prince of Wu's Palace.
Zhu Huan also came late, and as he had drunk alcohol yesterday, he naturally woke up a little late.
While eating, Zhu Huan asked his son Zhu Yi, "Where is Quan Zihuang? Why did he leave so early?"
He was still arguing with Quan Cong last night, but this morning he started to investigate as if nothing had happened?
Zhu Yi said, "Father, General Quan left for the city early in the morning. He said hello to his son before he left and said he was going directly to the Prince of Wu's palace."
Zhu Huan frowned: "So, something big is really going to happen?"
Zhu Yi also asked curiously: "The king summoned my father back to Wuchang. Is he going to mobilize the army?"
"It's hard to say." Zhu Huan thought for a moment, threw the chopsticks in his hand directly on the table, and stood up and walked out.
Zhu Yi didn't understand why, so he quickly followed him out: "Father hasn't finished eating yet, why are you leaving in such a hurry?"
Zhu Huan snorted, "Quan Zihuang went before me. I'm afraid he's going to the King of Wu to take my place! How can I have time to eat now?"
After saying that, Zhu Huan walked to the door, took a horse from the clerk, jumped on the horse and rode out.
Half an hour later, in the Prince of Wu's mansion.
The post station was just one mile outside Wuchang City. Zhu Huan rode his horse into the city without any obstruction. Instead, he had to wait outside the Prince of Wu's palace for someone to report and summon him, which took some time.
Zhu Huan sat at the gatehouse for a while, and after hearing the clerk's announcement that he had been summoned by the King of Wu, he hurriedly followed the guide to the palace. Before entering the lobby, Zhu Huan heard Sun Quan and Quan Cong talking from a distance, and the tone of their conversation seemed quite harmonious.
The clerk stopped in front of the hall, and Zhu Huan walked in alone.
"Greetings, Your Majesty. I am late from Ruxu. Please forgive me."
Seeing Zhu Huan coming, Sun Quan smiled and stood up from his seat: "I woke up this morning feeling refreshed. First Zi Huang arrived, and now you, Xiu Mu, are here too. How many days did it take you to get here from Ruxu?"
Seeing this, Quan Cong also stood up and looked at Zhu Huan with a smile.
As Sun Quan spoke, he walked up to Zhu Huan and helped him stand up. "Please take your seat. I have been waiting for you for a long time."
As Zhu Huan sat down at the table, he said, "As soon as I received the king's order, I immediately set out on a tanker from Ruxu. It took less than four days and nights."
Sun Quan said, "You have come here from Ruxu in four days and nights, which is considered very fast. The journey must have been very tiring. How is Luo Tong, the new governor of Ruxu?"
Sun Quan was still walking towards his seat, and seeing that Sun Quan hadn't sat down, Zhu Huan didn't dare to sit down first. Feeling Quan Cong's gaze across from him, Zhu Huan looked up at Quan Cong and nodded slightly embarrassedly.
Luo Tong is a model of a civil official in charge of military affairs in the Eastern Wu Dynasty.
When Luo Tong was in his twenties, he was summoned by Sun Quan to be Gongcao, handling all matters big and small for Sun Quan.
Ling Tong died at the age of 29, and his two sons Ling Lie and Ling Feng were only a few years old. So Sun Quan took Ling Tong's troops and gave them to Luo Tong, who was by his side, to lead.
Luo Tong did not disappoint Sun Quan's expectations. He was not only insightful in military affairs, but also had the talent to lead troops.
In the Battle of Yiling, after Luo Tong led his army to defeat Liu Bei with Lu Xun, Xu Sheng, Pan Zhang, Song Qian and other generals all suggested to pursue the victory and enter Shu. Luo Tong was one of the few who could see the situation clearly and advised Lu Xun to withdraw his troops in time to guard against Wei.
Later, during Cao Ren's campaign against Ruxu, it was Luo Tong who was sent by Zhu Huan to rescue Ruxu Zhongzhou. A few years after this battle, Luo Tong became the fifth governor of Ruxu in the Eastern Wu after Jiang Qin, Lu Meng, Zhou Tai and Zhu Huan.
Seeing the King of Wu asking, Zhu Huan replied: "Your Majesty, Luo Tong has been the governor of Ruxu for half a year. He has performed his duties conscientiously and I think he is a talent that can be cultivated."
Sun Quan sat down and nodded: "Since you came here from Ruxu, have you entrusted all military affairs to Luo Tong?"
Zhu Huan thought for a moment and said, "All matters in Jiangbei have been entrusted to Luo Tong, and I will let Lieutenant General Yan Gui lead the Wuhu garrison in Jiangnan."
Sun Quan nodded and said, "Yan Gui is not bad." But before Sun Quan could finish his words, Zhu Huan, who had just sat down, stood up again.
Zhu Huan bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, I have something else to discuss with you."
Sun Quan suppressed a smile but pretended to frown: "What have you done wrong?"
Zhu Huan took a breath and said, "When I arrived outside the city last night, it was already midnight. I went to the inn to stay but there was no room available. I had no choice but to...rob Quan Zihuang's room."
"I drank alcohol last night, so I behaved inappropriately. Please punish me, Your Majesty."
Sun Quan shook his head: "I am not here, how can you ask me to punish the crime? Quan Zihuang is right in front of you, why don't you talk to Quan Zihuang in person?"
Zhu Huan was always arrogant. He would not submit to anyone except Wu Wang Sun Quan. Just to talk about what happened in the post house last night, Wuchang was the capital, and school affairs were everywhere. Maybe the king knew about what happened last night this morning.
But he might have to mobilize a large army to go to war, so why should he make the King of Wu hate him because of such a small matter?
Zhu Huan cleared his throat, then bowed his head towards Quan Cong and said, "Zi Huang, I was drunk and said something rude last night, please don't mind it."
Quan Cong didn't care about this matter at all, but he felt that Zhu Huan was a little pretentious at this moment. However, Quan Cong still responded with a smile and bowed: "Brother Xiumu is a national hero, so you don't need to worry about such trivial matters."
Sun Quan felt it was a little funny when he saw Zhu Huan apologizing to Quan Cong. Zhu Huan was a person who always refused to obey anyone except himself, but today he was different from usual.
Sun Quan said, "It just so happens that you two have arrived in Wuchang today. At the beginning of the month, I asked you to reorganize the troops and repair the weapons. How are you doing now?"
As soon as Sun Quan finished speaking, Zhu Huan rushed to speak: "I am stationed in the north of the Yangtze River. Ruxu is opposite the Wei thieves' Hefei. The troops under my command have been training soldiers and maintaining weapons for several years without slacking off. They are ready to go out at any time."
Although Zhu Huan had such a personality, he could always be trusted with military affairs.
After hearing what Zhu Huan said, Sun Quan nodded and then looked at Quan Cong.
Quan Cong organized his words and said, "When I moved my troops from Jianye to Jiujiang last year, half of the 2,000 soldiers who followed me to Jiujiang had armor and the other half had armor. But among the 4,000 soldiers I recruited in Jiujiang later, only 1,000 of them have armor now."
According to the convention at that time, leather was called armor and iron was called armor. If it was as Quan Cong said, among the 6,000 troops he led in Jiujiang, 1,000 wore armor, 2,000 wore armor, and the remaining 3,000 soldiers were the most ordinary soldiers who had neither armor nor armor.
Wu's economy was actually quite weak due to constant warfare. It was already quite good that half of Quan Cong's troops were in armor.
Zhu Huan couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, are you going to use troops?"
Hearing Zhu Huan's question, Quan Cong also turned and looked at Sun Quan.
Sun Quan nodded and replied, "That's right. I intend to send troops to attack Lujiang next month, and I am calling you two back to Wuchang for this very purpose."
Zhu Huan was quite puzzled: "Lujiang? I remember that a few months ago, Cao Xiu went south to capture Wancheng, and the defending general Shen De died for his country. But there are no people in Lujiang now, so there is no point in taking it."
Seeing that Zhu Huan and Quan Cong were both puzzled about this matter, Sun Quan explained: "A few months ago, I followed Lu Boyan's strategy and asked Poyang Governor Zhou Cang to pretend to surrender to Cao Xiu. Cao Xiu believed it and agreed with Zhou Cang to go south in January. Zhou Cang will meet Cao Xiu at Likou on the south bank of Wankou."
Zhu Huan was quite surprised when he heard this. Zhou Cang had always been unknown, but today he had accomplished such a big thing, which really made people take notice of him.
Zhu Huan frowned slightly: "I understand what the king means. Do you want to use me and Quan Zihuang to stop Cao Xiu's troops in Lujiang?"
"Yes and no." Sun Quan shook his head slightly: "I summoned you two here, so naturally I want you two to be the vanguard, but it won't be just you two."
Zhu Huan and Quan Cong looked at each other. Zhu Huan's troops, Quan Cong's troops, plus the prefecture troops near where the two were stationed, added up to nearly 20,000. Now 20,000 people are not enough?
Quan Cong bowed and asked, "May I ask how many troops the king will send?"
Sun Quan said in a decisive tone: "I will send out 100,000 troops!"
"Not only your two troops, but also my entire 50,000 central army will be dispatched, together with the troops of Lu Xun and Zhuge Jin from Jingzhou, Bu Zhi from Changsha, He Qi from Danyang, and Sun Shao from Jianye, they will also gather at Wankou."
Quan Cong opened his eyes wide. If what Sun Quan said was true, this time the army had a real force of 100,000. This was a world of difference from the previous attacks on Hefei, when the army was actually only tens of thousands but claimed to be 100,000.
A few years ago, when Cao Pi invaded from three directions, the 100,000 troops of the Eastern Wu defended in Guangling, Ruxu and Jiangling. Now they have to gather 100,000 troops at Wankou.
It can be called a national war.
Zhu Huan and Quan Cong's expressions became solemn. After a while, Zhu Huan broke the silence and said, "Your Majesty, when will I gather at Wankou?"
Sun Quan said slowly: "You two must reach Wankou before the first day of the first lunar month."
Zhu Huan calculated in his mind for a moment, then stood up suddenly after figuring it out: "Your Majesty, it will take at least six days for my troops to go from Ruxu and Wuhu to Wankou."
"There are only ten days left until the first day of the first lunar month. I ask the king to allow me to return immediately. It may not be too late to go now."
Compared with Zhu Huan, it only took Quan Cong's troops three days to travel from Jiujiang to Wankou downstream, so Quan Cong was not in a hurry.
Sun Quan looked at Zhu Huan and shook his head. "Since Xiumu has come to Wuchang, why would I let you leave so hastily? Before the imperial edict that summoned you to Wuchang reached Ruxu, I sent someone with a seal to Ruxu to mobilize troops to Wankou."
"In a few days, you and I will go to Wankou with the Central Army."
"As for Zihuang, let's set off for Jiujiang tomorrow. We must arrive on the first day of the first lunar month. It would be fine if we could arrive two or three days earlier."
Quan Cong agreed repeatedly.
Sun Quan and Quan Cong were both sitting at the table, and Zhu Huan was the only one standing. Zhu Huan glanced at Quan Cong, then at Sun Quan, gritted his teeth and made up his mind, then walked to the hall and saluted Sun Quan.
Zhu Huan said loudly: "It has been twenty-five years since the king appointed me as the governor of Yuyao. The king has used me to fight against rebels, subdue the Shanyue, and defend against Wei thieves. In the past twenty years, I have never dared to slack off for a moment."
"I am willing to lead an army alone to crush the Wei thieves for the king. If we cannot defeat them, I am willing to pay with my own head."
Zhu Huan had fought for more than 20 years, and his long-cherished wish was to fight and make achievements in the great war between the states. The last time Cao Ren attacked Ruxu, Zhu Huan had only 10,000 soldiers available. Although he won, he also felt a little regretful.
Now that they were going to attack the Wei army with an army of 100,000, how could Zhu Huan not be excited and how could he not want to seize this opportunity?
(End of this chapter)
