Chapter 169: Filial piety reappears and the soldiers greet the hostage
Sun Deng, a native of Fuchun, Wu County, was the eldest son of General Sun Quan.
Sun Deng's biological mother was of low status and her name was unknown. After Sun Deng was born, Sun Quan, who had only had children in his late 30s, was very happy.
Because of his love for his eldest son, he gave Sun Deng to his then wife, Mrs. Xu, to raise after Sun Deng was born.
Sun Quan's move was undoubtedly to elevate Sun Deng's status, and to declare in front of the ministers that Sun Deng was his eldest son.
Mrs. Xu, a native of Fuchun, Wu County. The daughter of Xu Kun, a wealthy family in Wu County, also known as Concubine Xu. After the death of Sun Quan's Mrs. Xie, she became Sun Quan's second wife.
Mrs. Xu was first married to Lu Shang of the Lu family in Wu County. After Lu Shang's death, she was single. In the seventh year of Jian'an, Mrs. Xu was hired as Concubine Sun Quan.
Previously, Mrs. Xu's father, Xu Kun, had made great contributions in the battle against Lujiang and was granted the title of Marquis of Guangde. However, he died unexpectedly in the battle of Jiangxia.
Xu Kun is Sun Quan's cousin, so Mrs. Xu is actually Sun Quan's niece.
When Sun Quan saw Mrs. Xu's beauty, he hired her as his wife regardless of her being a widow and being related by blood.
Later, Sun Quan gradually lost his love for Mrs. Xu, and in the 17th year of Jian'an, he deposed her as his wife.
Although Mrs. Xu had lost her status as Sun Quan's principal wife by this year, Sun Quan had not established herself as a principal wife at this time, so Sun Deng was still nominally Sun Quan's eldest son.
Sun Deng's growth experience is somewhat similar to that of Cao Ang, Cao Cao's eldest son.
Because of Sun Deng's status as the eldest son, and the fact that Sun Quan only had two sons, and his second son Sun Lu was weak and sickly since childhood, Sun Quan loved Sun Deng very much.
It can be said that Sun Quan currently places all his hopes of inheriting his great cause on Sun Deng.
That's why Sun Quan was so shocked and angry when Lu Xun proposed to send Sun Deng to Jingzhou as a hostage.
This is the "Prince" of Jiangdong!
However, although Sun Quan loved his son deeply and was extremely reluctant to leave Sun Deng for Jingzhou both emotionally and intellectually, in order to preserve the foundation of his Sun family, Sun Quan could only reluctantly part ways with him.
Who told him to experience a public security defeat?
When Sun Quan ordered Wu Fan to return to Jianye to fetch Sun Deng, he ordered Zhuge Jin to quickly return to Xiangyang on the same day, return him to Changsha and Guiyang counties, and inform Liu Bei of his new proposal to send a hostage.
Zhuge Jin boarded the boat from Xiakou, went up the Han River to the west, and arrived outside Xiangyang City a few days later.
After Liu Bei knew that Zhuge Jin was coming back so soon, he knew in his heart that Sun Quan should have compromised.
Otherwise, if Sun Quan had no intention of compromising, he would not have ordered Zhuge Jin to turn around, but would have actively prepared for war.
After knowing that Sun Quan was willing to compromise, Liu Bei summoned Zhuge Jin again in the commander's tent.
As soon as Zhuge Jin met Liu Bei, he informed Liu Bei of the new conditions proposed by Sun Quan.
After Liu Bei heard that Sun Quan had changed the issue of ceding Jiangxia to offering protons, a look of contemplation appeared on his face.
He ordered Zhuge Jin to step aside temporarily, and he wanted to discuss the matter with the ministers in the tent first.
After Zhuge Jin retreated, Liu Bei asked the officials about the new conditions proposed by Sun Quan and asked them what they thought.
After Liu Bei asked, the officials in the tent suddenly had different opinions.
Some ministers believed that they should resolutely not accept any of Sun Quan's conditions and immediately conquer Jiangdong to avenge his humiliation after this autumn harvest.
Some ministers believed that even if they wanted to accept Sun Quan's peace proposal, they must let Sun Quan cede Jiangxia.
Only in this way can Sun Quan live under the threat of military attack at all times and no longer have the desire to compete.
Some ministers agreed with Sun Quan's new peace terms.
This type of minister is mainly composed of Ma Liang and Zhao Yun.
Zhao Yun went out to pay homage to Liu Bei and admonished him: "The traitor to the country is Cao Cao, not Sun Quan. If we destroy Wei first, then Wu will surrender."
"Although Cao retreated, he was so ambitious that sooner or later he would commit treason."
"Your Majesty, you should recharge your batteries, plan for Guanzhong as early as possible, find good horses, and then live on the river, upstream of the Wei River, to fight against the evil. The righteous men of Guandong will pack their food and ride their horses to meet the king's army."
"If we abandon Wei for the time being and fight Wu first, the victory or defeat of Jiangxia will not be known until the military strength is over."
Even if Jiangxia can be conquered, Sun Quan will mobilize all the troops in the east of the Yangtze River and fight for Jiangxia repeatedly with the king, and the army will not be able to defeat it."
"Delay it for a long time. Once the north recovers its strength, it will not be easy to succeed."
If among the ministers in the tent, who most wanted to conquer Jiangdong and Yixue's surprise attack on Jingzhou, Zhao Yun must be ranked among the top three.
Because Sun Quan not only wanted to sneak attack Jingzhou, but also wanted to assassinate Guan Yu.
But Zhao Yun is a minister who takes the overall situation into consideration and is dedicated to the public good. For Liu Bei's great cause, he will not give biased advice because of personal relationships.
After Liu Bei listened to Zhao Yun's suggestion, a thoughtful look appeared on his face.
Historically, after Guan Yu died and Jingzhou was lost, Liu Bei was angry and raised troops to attack Jiangdong.
At that time, Zhao Yun endured his grief and gave similar advice. However, Liu Bei only wanted revenge at that time, so he did not agree with Zhao Yun's advice.
But today's situation is very different from that in history. Guan Yu has not died and Jingzhou has not been lost, so Liu Bei's sanity is still there.
After Zhao Yun finished admonishing, Ma Liangyi asked: "If the king wants Jiangxia, does he mean to bring peace to Jiangdong in one fell swoop?"
Faced with Ma Liang's question, Liu Bei shook his head and said, "No."
Before his death, Fazheng had advised Liu Bei that although Jiangdong's vitality was severely damaged by the public security battle, its foundation was still there and there were many heroes in the territory, so it would not be destroyed in a short time.
Therefore, Liu Bei has no intention of annexing Jiangdong in one fell swoop.
Seeing Liu Bei shaking his head, Ma Liang added: "Since your Majesty has no intention of pacifying Jiangdong in one fell swoop, does asking for a county in Jiangxia mean to cut off Sun Quan's intention to spy on Jingzhou?"
In response to Ma Liang's question, Liu Bei nodded.
Jiangxia is a strategic location that controls the Yangtze River. If Jiangxia County can be controlled, on the one hand, it can threaten the hinterland of Jiangdong with military force, and on the other hand, it can also cut off Sun Quan's path to Jingzhou from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
But after Ma Liang knew Liu Bei's intention, he immediately told Liu Bei: "Today, Jiangdong and Jingzhou are adjacent to the three counties of Jiangxia, Yuzhang, and Luling."
"If our army captures Jiangxia, it will cut off the Wu army's march to Jingzhou from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, but Sun Quan also had important military areas in Yuzhang and Luling, such as Lukou, Yiyang and other towns."
"When Lu Meng invaded Jingnan, he sent troops from Lukou and succeeded in his conspiracy."
"If your Majesty wants to completely cut off Sun Quan's route to Jingzhou, he will undoubtedly have to seize the three counties of Jiangxia, Yuzhang, and Luling."
"However, this is not easy to do under current circumstances."
"In that case, Your Majesty, it is better for you to accept Sun Quan's invitation to send you a proton."
"Sun Deng is the eldest son of Sun Quan, and Sun Quan only has two sons now. The second son, Sun Lu, is very sick. He is only ten years old and has been bedridden all year round."
"Under this situation, Sun Deng seems to be the best candidate in Sun Quan's mind to inherit Jiangdong's foundation in the future."
"With Sun Deng in hand, Sun Quan will definitely be wary of our army in the future and will not dare to break the contract easily again."
When Ma Liang said the last sentence, Liu Bei had a look of approval on his face.
In today's world, young children are prone to die young. Generally, people in this world regard the age of ten as a threshold for children. Only after passing this threshold can they have the opportunity to truly become adults.
This was why Liu Bei himself did not rashly abolish Liu Feng's title of deputy commander after he had his son Liu Chan.
Jinsunli was frail and sick, and was only ten years old. In the eyes of the world, almost everyone thought it would be difficult for him to reach adulthood safely.
Under such circumstances, Sun Quan could not place his hope on Sun Liu to inherit his great cause.
So in a sense, Sun Deng is currently the only son who can inherit Sun Quan's great cause.
Unless Sun Quan was completely crazy, or an adult son appeared out of thin air, it would indeed be difficult for Sun Quan to take over Jingzhou again because he was worried about Sun Deng's safety.
At least it won't be like this for a few years, until Sun Lu safely grows up.
At this time, among the officials in the tent, Mi Yang was also there.
After he knew that Sun Quan had the idea of giving a proton, he slowly had an idea in his mind.
Finally, Mi Yang also came out and said to Liu Bei: "Your Majesty, today the world is divided into three parts and stands in a tripod."
"If you want to unify the world, you should make peace with one side and attack the other. This is the best strategy."
"A county in Jiangxia is divided into the north and the south. Half of it is in the hands of Sun Quan and the other half is in the hands of Cao Wei general Wenpin."
"Our army is planning to capture Jiangxia, but due to the hostility between our army and Cao Wei, Wenpin will not sit idly by and will send troops to attack our army."
"As soon as Wenpin moves, because of the importance of Jiangxia, Sun Quan will definitely regroup and fight for Jiangxia."
"At that time, our army will be in a situation of fighting with two parties again, which is not good for our army."
"Although Jiangxia is important, it is like a quagmire. Before our army has cleared the Wei army in the Central Plains, there is no need to step into it unless necessary."
"Now Sun Quan wants to seek peace from his son, but the king refuses to agree to it."
"Once our army receives Sun Quan's pledge, Your Majesty can follow the story of Qi and Chu's severance of diplomatic relations and ask Sun Quan to write a letter insulting Cao Cao to cut off the possibility of a good relationship between the Cao and Sun families."
"With Sun Deng in hand, Sun Quan will not refuse."
"Cao Cao formed an alliance with Sun Quan and greatly rewarded him."
"If he hears that Sun Quan is allying with our army again, he will definitely be angry in his heart. At this time, another insulting document from Sun Quan will be sent to him. With Cao Cao's temper, he may launch a large army to attack him in the future."
"At that time, Sun Quan's Jiangxia and Lujiang counties will be in danger from the military and will have too much time to take care of themselves. How can he spy on me in Jingzhou?"
"Furthermore, after severing relations with the north, Sun Quan can only rely on the king in the short term in order to protect himself."
"Use the military power of the north to overwhelm the east and divert disaster to the east, which will benefit our army without causing any harm."
"Moreover, with Sun Deng in his hands, Sun Liu will be ill and unable to survive. Jiangdong will have no clear heirs. If this continues, there will be disputes."
"When Sun Ce died, he planned to stabilize Jiangdong and made Sun Quan succeed him."
"However, Sun Ce did not pass the title of Marquis of Wu to Sun Quan back then, which resulted in unclear legal principles in Jiangdong and diverse lineages."
"If Sun Quan has other ideas in the future, your Majesty can go to the Emperor and ask his son to inherit the title of Marquis of Wu because Sun Ce has made great contributions to the court."
"At that time, Sun Quan in Jiangdong has no clear heir, Sun Ce's son Sun Shao has grown up, and Sun Ce's old ministers are still there. How can Jiangdong not have a fight for the heir?"
"As soon as the fight for the right to inherit the throne breaks out, civil strife will inevitably break out in Jiangdong."
"Since ancient times, monarchs have suffered from four kinds of chaos."
"If there is no real wife in the house but there is a doting concubine, the family is in chaos."
"If there is no legitimate son at your knees, the sect will be in chaos."
"If there are ministers who doubt the master, the country will be in chaos."
"Factions are changing, and there is chaos."
"Sun Quan deposed Mrs. Xu and did not establish a legitimate wife. This is family chaos."
"Sending a hostage to Jing is a sect rebellion."
"When there is chaos, the country will be suspicious. What's more, there are two chaos in Jiangdong!"
"Doubts lead to action, action leads to arguments, and arguments lead to mutual harm."
"If you hurt each other, it will be difficult for Jiangdong's national strength to recover. I hope your Majesty will accept this plan for peace of mind."
After Mi Yang finished speaking, the tent fell into silence, and then some people looked at Mi Yang with strange eyes.
Mi Yang was puzzled by these looks.
In the admonishment between Zhao Yun and Ma Liang just now, Zhao Yun used the overall situation perspective to advise Liu Bei not to go to war with Sun Quan.
Ma Liang, on the other hand, was more based on reality and persuaded Liu Bei to accept Sun Quan's request to send a hostage.
Only Mi Yang based on this point extended his strategy on how to punish Jiangdong in the future.
The reason why some of the officials looked at Mi Yang with strange eyes was because those people came from Yizhou with Liu Bei.
Mi Yang's current remarks reminded them of a deceased person.
He is also good at analyzing current situations and then giving the best strategy based on the current situation.
At this time, Sheyuan among the ministers raised some objections. He said to Mi Yang: "Although the general's plan is good, it may damage the name of the king's benevolence and righteousness."
After hearing what Sheyuan said, Mi Yang bowed to Sheyuan and said, "It's not what Shezhong Lang said."
"Today is a troubled time, people's hearts are deceitful, and world affairs are ever-changing."
"Benevolence and righteousness can govern the people, but they cannot govern the enemy."
"Sun Quan is a cunning man and has always been deceitful. For this kind of people, we cannot only focus on benevolence and righteousness."
"Benevolence and righteousness are the road to governing the world and the foundation for the king to establish his country, but it must not become a burden to the king."
"For those who are deceitful, we should use power and wisdom to control them."
"Besides, since Sun Quan has negotiated peace with our army, how can he have the advantage of both sides?"
"Sun Jian and Sun Ce are both loyal ministers of the Han Dynasty, and Yang is just helping Jiangdong maintain a strict family tradition."
"As for the design to provoke civil strife in Jiangdong, it was also Guan Sun Quan's later actions."
"If he no longer has evil intentions and the two families are on good terms, then they will naturally be in peace."
"If they try to attack Jingzhou again, they will naturally turn against us and make them suffer."
When Mi Yang finished speaking, Liu Bei, who was sitting at the top, immediately laughed and said, "Well said!"
Hearing that Liu Bei had spoken in agreement with Mi Yang, Sheyuan had no choice but to retreat.
Liu Bei looked at Mi Yang standing in front of him, recalling in his mind the way Fa Zheng criticized the good plan in front of him.
Then a smile appeared on Liu Bei's face.
Although filial piety and uprightness have passed away, there will be successors.
Liu Bei looked at Mi Yang with joy, and then said to Mi Yang: "Good."
"In this case, Nagu will agree to Sun Quan's request for peace."
After Liu Bei said this, Mi Yang remembered Sun Quan's shameless appearance in history, and he immediately said to Liu Bei:
"Sun Quan cannot be trusted. In order to prevent him from deceiving the king, I also ask the king to send a general to welcome Sun Deng back to Xiangyang."
After hearing what Mi Yang said, Liu Bei, who knew Sun Quan well, agreed to Mi Yang's proposal.
Then Liu Bei looked at Guan Yu who was bowing his head and said: "Yun Chang, go in person."
After Guan Yu received Liu Bei's order, he immediately went to pay homage to receive the order.
Finally, Liu Bei took into account Mi Yang's reputation in Jiangdong and said to Mi Yang: "Zi Sheng is the deputy general and will go with Yun Chang."
Facing Liu Bei's royal order, Mi Yang also bowed and said: "Take the order!"
Keep coding, it won't be a big problem.
(End of chapter)
This chapter has been completed!