In the first month of the tenth year of Yanxi's reign, Quan Cong, who had been appointed the Great Sima of the State of Wu, was lying on the bed dying.
The whole princess sat beside the couch, weeping secretly.
All the descendants of the family stood in attendance, looking sad and sad.
Quan Cong's eyes were half-open and half-closed, and his eyes seemed to contain both reluctance and indifference to the unknown that was about to come.
Occasionally, those eyes will focus hard, seeming to be looking for something, or looking forward to the last look of the loved ones around them.
The lips are slightly cracked due to long-term dryness, and every difficult breath is accompanied by a small but clearly audible gasp, like a candle swaying in the wind, which may be extinguished at any time.
Seeing Quan Cong's movement, Princess Quan, who was closest to Quan Cong, quickly stopped her tears and called out softly:
"Alang?"
Although Princess Quan was narrow-minded and cruel, after she became a widow and remarried Quan Cong, she actually had a bad temper with Quan Cong.
Otherwise, he would not have given birth to two sons, Quan Yi and Quan Wu.
Not to mention that the couple fully supported Sun Ba and even tried every means to frame the prince Sun He.
Therefore, the two of them can be considered loving each other on weekdays. How can you not be sad when you see your husband like this?
"Xi...Xijun," Quan Cong's cloudy eyes glanced around and moved his lips.
Princess Quan leaned down and wanted to listen carefully, but she didn't hear Quan Cong make another sound for a long time.
She couldn't help asking:
"Alang, do you have something to give me?"
Quan Cong made two "ho ho" sounds in his throat.
Princess Quan finally came to her senses and turned around and ordered:
"You all get out."
Quan Cong's hand, which was held in Princess Quan's hand, moved again, and Princess Quan understood:
"Dalang, please stay."
So Quan Cong's disciples, except the eldest son Quan Xu, all withdrew.
There was a deathly silence in the room.
After a while, Quan Cong seemed to have gathered enough strength to open his eyes and shouted again in a hoarse voice:
"Xijun?"
Princess Quan quickly shook Quan Cong’s hand and said:
"Alang, I'm here."
"I'm afraid it won't work."
"Alang, please don't say that..."
Quan Cong wanted to shake his head, but found that it was extremely difficult for him to even perform such an action. He couldn't help but smile bitterly:
"No need to comfort me, I know my own body."
As he said that, he looked at the eldest son Quan Xu behind Princess Quan, with a somewhat complicated look flashing in his eyes.
There was another deathly silence.
Finally, Quan Cong asked in a low voice, but his words were completely unexpected:
"How is it in the palace?"
Only then did Princess Quan understand why Alang wanted to send out all his disciples except Quan Xu at this time.
She glanced at the whole situation and said with some hesitation:
"Your Majesty has recovered, and he held a court meeting the day before yesterday..."
Naturally, this is not what Quan Cong wants to hear.
He looked at Princess Quan steadily and said nothing.
Princess Quan could only continue to say something vaguely:
"Mrs. Pan has been favored by His Majesty more and more recently. She is openly called the Fairy Lover by His Majesty in the palace, and everyone in the palace calls her a goddess."
"Cough cough cough..."
Quan Cong coughed violently.
"Alang!"
Princess Quan quickly stroked Quan Cong's back.
"It's okay." Quan Cong coughed a few times and regained his breath. He seemed to be relieved, but also seemed a little disappointed. "It seems that the prince is really going to lose power?"
The whole princess remained silent.
"Fortunately...it's a pity..."
Fortunately, of course, the prince is finally finished.
If not, if the prince really ascends the throne in the future, the whole family will be afraid that all of them will die.
"Alang, King Lu...are you really not able to ascend to the throne?"
The couple had been plotting for so long, so Princess Quan naturally understood what Quan Cong was feeling regretful about.
She asked with some reluctance.
"cannot."
Quan Cong closed his eyes, and although his tone was weak, his tone was extremely sure.
As Sun Quan's most trusted son-in-law, he was also one of the most important supporting forces in this battle for the inheritance.
Although Quan Cong didn't quite understand from the beginning, what was the purpose of His Majesty's connivance and even some deliberate provocation of the Nanlu dispute.
But the moment General Lu Xun was forced to die, he had completely woken up.
During this Nanlu dispute, the Jiangdong children who originally had the most political prospects were either dismissed or exiled.
The death of General Shang also means that the Jiangdong family, dominated by the four surnames of Wu County, has once again been greatly weakened, and has even affected the balance of power in the Wu Chaotang.
It can even be said that if King Lu is established as the crown prince, it means that His Majesty will go one step further:
Exterminate all the great families in Jiangdong.
This will only arouse fierce resistance from the Jiangdong family.
Based in Jiangdong, but trying to kill all the local aristocratic families in Jiangdong - King Huan has proven that this is an extremely foolish approach.
Your Majesty has spent so many years, but still has not been able to completely bridge the rift between the Sun family and the Jiangdong family.
If something like this happens again, Dawu will fall apart internally without external enemies.
Therefore, Your Majesty will never do this.
It is impossible for King Lu to ascend to the throne, but this does not mean that Prince Sun He can keep his position.
The same principle applies.
If Sun He really ascends to the position of Dabao one day, he himself and the Jiangdong family behind him will only become more frantic in taking revenge on those who support King Lu today.
By that time, the Jiangdong family will become the dominant family, and the emperor will only gradually be held hostage. For the Sun family, this is definitely not a good thing.
Quan Cong didn't believe that His Majesty couldn't see this.
Therefore, based on the information Princess Quan got from the palace, Quan Cong has reason to believe that His Majesty will most likely choose a third prince.
This is a compromise acceptable to all forces in Dawu.
As for who it is...the answer is almost ready to come out.
The night before Mrs. Pan gave birth to the seventh prince, she dreamed about the dragon's head, which had already spread a lot in the government and the public. Could it be that someone was secretly testing it?
But it is impossible for Quan Cong to explain these words clearly to Princess Quan.
Spying into the emperor's mind is already a crime that risks death, let alone spreading the word after spying, even to the emperor's daughter. This is undoubtedly asking for death.
Although Quan Cong knew that his life was short, he did not want all the Quan family members to be buried with him.
Princess Quan naturally didn't know that Quan Cong was about to die and would still think about it so much. She just reminded:
"But Ah Ji..."
Ah Ji is Quan Ji, the second son of Quan Cong.
With Quan Cong's acquiescence, Quanji attached himself to Sun Ba, King of Lu, and could even be regarded as one of King Lu's most trusted guests.
If King Lu failed in his bid for the throne, one can imagine the fate of Quanji.
Quan Cong did not answer immediately, but turned his attention to his eldest son Quan Xu:
"After I die, if Aji's life is in danger, you can decide and choose one of the brothers' children to adopt him, so that he will not lose his incense."
The tone was calm, but in Quanxu's ears, it made his body tremble slightly:
"Here."
Then he asked with some worry:
"Sir, if my second brother is in trouble, I can still help you. But if this matter involves our whole family, what will happen to me?"
In this battle of Nanlu, important ministers and generals were dying, getting sick, getting sticks, and being exiled...
In his entire life, he has never seen such a huge battle.
When I think about how my second brother is trapped in this situation and cannot be saved, I feel terrified.
"No matter how big the matter is, at most it will only be limited to your second brother, and the rest will not be punished without reason. For the sake of your father's past achievements and your mother's sake, your majesty will never add guilt."
His Majesty's most beloved wife is none other than Mrs. Bu, and even Mrs. Pan now cannot compare to her.
The eldest princess's face is quite similar to that of Mrs. Bu, so among all the children, she is also the most favored by His Majesty.
After Mrs. Bu's death, His Majesty gave the eldest princess a longer princess title, which can be seen from the eldest princess's status in His Majesty's heart.
Without the support of the eldest princess, Quan Cong would not have dared to get involved in the Nanlu dispute - even if he had, he would not have dared to get involved so deeply.
"After my death, you and your brothers must carefully serve your aunt and daughter, be careful in the morning and dusk, and not slack off in the slightest."
Quanxu responded quickly.
In the first month of the tenth year of the reign of Emperor Yanxi of the Han Dynasty, Quan Cong, the great Sima of Wu State, died of illness.
Lu Xun and Quan Cong were each one of the leading figures representing both sides in the Nanlu War. Their deaths also hinted that the battle for Wu's reserve position had finally cooled down.
In May, Bu Zhi, who originally replaced Lu Xun to guard Xiangyang, was transferred back from Xiangyang to Jianye to serve as prime minister in September last year. Quan Cong died of serious illness shortly after.
Lu Xun, Quan Cong, Bu Zhi, and Zhuge Jin, who died of illness in Jingzhou a few years ago, were all important generals of the Wu State and the mainstay of the Wu army.
Now seeing them die one by one, Sun Quan, who almost went to hell after a serious illness, felt an increasing sense of urgency.
He summoned his ministers and discussed:
"It has been more than twenty years since Wu and Han formed an alliance to defeat the bandits. During this period, the Han State first left Qishan and took Liangzhou in Longyou, then left Hanzhong to take Guanzhong and merged the prefectures, and then crossed Han Valley to take Luoyang and Henan.
The soldiers are heading towards Hebei, hoping to capture the land of Youji."
"On the other hand, although our country, Wu, has sent out troops many times, and its soldiers have been rewarded with many merits, except for the capture of Xiangyang, they have achieved absolutely nothing. Every time I think about this, I feel sad."
Sun Quan said with a distressed look on his face, "Especially the land in Luoyang and Henan. I, Da Wu, had an agreement with the Han State. The east of Han Valley was designated as the land of Da Wu, so it should belong to me, Da Wu."
"But now the Han Kingdom took over it first, so why? The soldiers in Western Shu are strong, but the people from Jiangdong are weak?"
"If this is really the case, how can I, the great Wu, defeat Cao Cao's northern troops at Chibi, and defeat Liu Bei's Western Shu troops at Yiling?"
Facing Sun Quan's questioning, the ministers looked at each other in silence.
Some people even muttered in their hearts:
The Battle of Chibi was mainly commanded by the Governor of Zhou; the Battle of Yiling was the result of the General.
But where is the son of the Governor of Zhou now?
Where is the great general now?
Now Wu's only elite cavalry, its leading general (Zhu Ju) is still banned!
The Jiangdong family has many marriages, and their relationships are extremely complicated. Sun Quan used the Nanlu dispute to suppress the Jiangdong family, which has made many people in the Jiangdong family feel dissatisfied.
Especially for the four surnames in Wu County, one is prosperous and all suffer.
Zhang Wen was deposed before, and Lu Xun was forced to death later. Most of the remaining main descendants were also exiled, which aroused the sorrow of the great Jiangdong family.
Alas, I thought that after the Sun family was elected emperor, everyone's status in the world would also improve.
Who would have expected that King Wu would become Emperor Wu, and everyone's life would become even more hopeless than before.
Not to mention anything else, the Jingzhou natives, who also belonged to the Wu State, not only did not suffer any losses in this Nanlu battle.
On the contrary, because it is adjacent to the Han State, it can actually trade with the Han State, and life becomes more comfortable. Who can explain this?
Worried not about scarcity but about inequality, and feeling dissatisfied, it was inevitable that when Sun Quan heard this question, he couldn't help but mutter.
Sun Quan saw that all the ministers were bowing their heads and thought that they were all ashamed, so he continued:
"Therefore, this time the Han Dynasty invades Hebei in a large scale. I intend to lead the army north to attack Hefei in order to take over the land of Shandong. What do you think?"
ah?
Your Majesty, are you going to visit Hefei again?
This time, everyone couldn't bear it any longer and tried to persuade them one after another:
"Your Majesty, the dragon's body is recovering. It is best to rest it quietly. It will be a lot of hard work for you to go to war personally. If you are too tired, where will our ministers be placed?"
"Yes, yes, our country, Wu, has been in continuous wars in recent years, and the people have long been in poverty. In the past, the Han Dynasty and the people lived and prospered, and then they were prosperous. Your Majesty should also rest your troops, recuperate, and then raise your troops to go north when there is chaos in Wei.
, do half the work and get twice the result.”
…
When Sun Quan saw that the ministers did not support him, he became furious:
"Nowadays, there is a lot of talk about 'Sun Shiwan', mocking me for repeatedly conquering Hefei without success. As ministers, you don't want to avenge your humiliation. Instead, you persuade me to stop fighting. You all think that I deserve this."
Yeah!"
When all the ministers heard this, they all thought "I am the one who is the best" in their hearts.
How come your Majesty even knows this?
I don’t know which of the Wei thieves gave birth to a son without a butthole, so he sent a spy to spread rumors in Jianye:
Sun Quan repeatedly proposed a hundred thousand elite troops to go north to attack Hefei, but failed every time and returned. It was really a coincidence, so he changed the word "hundred thousand" to "Sun Shiwan"...
Listen, Sun Shiwan!
The guy who could come up with such a name is simply extremely vicious!
If His Majesty does not capture Hefei in his lifetime, I am afraid that someone with bad intentions will really mention it in the history books in the future, and by then it will really be impossible to wash it clean even with all the water in the river.
Therefore, not to mention that His Majesty's body has recovered, even if he is lying on the hospital bed, it is not incomprehensible to hear this call and pick up the knife even though he is sick.
Just thinking of the name Sun Shiwan, many people twitched their mouths, or maybe they just grinned...
Then I didn't dare to speak anymore.
Because any further dissuasion would be equivalent to persuading His Majesty to nail himself to the pillar of shame in history.
Sun Quan saw that no one tried to persuade him, so he settled the matter.
News that Wu Jun was preparing to cross the Yangtze River and march north quickly spread.
Wang Ling, who was originally guarding Yangzhou, was transferred back to the central court by Cao Shuang because he was favored by Cao Shuang and because Hebei was in emergency and Sima Zhao came to rescue him.
The person who temporarily succeeded him was Zhuge Dan, the governor of Yangzhou.
When Zhuge Dan received the news, he did not dare to neglect and immediately sent a horse to Qiao County to deliver the message, and then summoned everyone to discuss countermeasures.
Some people suggested sending more troops from Qingxu, while others suggested asking the court to send more soldiers.
Only Wang Jili, the governor of Anfeng, overcame all other opinions and persuaded Zhuge Dan:
"Sun Quan has been gathering a large number of troops in Jianye for more than a year, but there has been no movement. Now he suddenly launches an attack, which is inconsistent with the art of war."
"I heard that there was a fierce party struggle in Wu's imperial court, and there was a fear of breaking up the country. In order to prevent the trouble, Quan gathered his troops. Even if I don't believe this statement, it can still be seen that Wu's country is worried about instability."
"In the past, Sun Quan personally went to Hefei, Lu Xun went to Jiangxia, and then Quan Cong left Lujiang, but they all returned without success. Now Lu Xun and others are dead, but Quan is old, has no virtuous heirs, and no mastermind."
"When power comes out, there will be fear of internal strife, and ulcers will break out; when generals are sent away, the old generals will be exhausted, and the new generals will not be trusted. This is just to make up for the branch, but also to protect one's own ears."
"The Chariot and Cavalry General (i.e. Wang Ling) had nothing to do in Yangzhou for many years. As soon as Junfu took over, he only heard that Wu soldiers were about to arrive, but without seeing the truth, he went into a big fight, which would have made him appear inferior to others."
"If we don't order the tribes along the river to conduct close inspections to take precautions, and then order the counties and counties in Yangzhou to strengthen their defenses to prepare for thieves, the city of Hefei will be strong. As long as we are prepared, thieves will not be able to break through it in a hurry."
"When the thieves arrive, it will not be too late for your Majesty to send troops to rescue them."
Zhuge Dan praised him for being good.
Wang Ji's courtesy name was Boyu, and he was a native of Qucheng, Donglai. He was a young orphan and lived with his uncle Weng. He raised him very devotedly, and Ji was also called filial piety. He was quite talented.
At that time, Cao Shuang was in power, and the state of Wei was in a bad state. Wang Ji wrote "Shi Yao Lun" to satirize it, which Cao Shuang did not like.
When Cao Shuang received Zhuge Dan's letter, he was first surprised. Then he saw Wang Ji's analysis of Sun Quan's advance and said with some concern:
"Qiao County is not Xuchang, let alone Luoyang. It is adjacent to Yangzhou. What will happen if Sun Quan really comes with a large army?"
Ding Mi, the leader of the Three Dogs in Taichung, smiled and said:
"This is called God helping the general. Why is the general worried?"
When Cao Shuang heard this, he was immediately startled:
"Does Yan Jing agree with what he said?"
Ding Mi smiled:
"Isn't the general worried about sending troops to rescue Hebei? When this news comes, won't the general's worries be solved?"
Sima Zhao knelt down in front of the general's palace, finally forcing Cao Shuang to agree to send troops to rescue Hebei.
It was just that the severe winter made it difficult to send troops and the war had not yet started, so Sima Zhao was asked to wait.
After the spring started, they used the excuse that the snow had melted, the roads were muddy, and spring plowing was the most important thing, so it was not suitable for people to work, so they waited again.
It was now summer, and the military situation in Hebei began to become anxious. Naturally, Cao Shuang had no excuse to delay.
But he was unwilling to be led by Sima Yi, and when he heard that Sima Yi had obtained the help of 50,000 elite cavalry outside the Great Wall, he was even more unwilling to send troops at this time.
Even if troops are sent, it would be best to do so when Sima Yi is in danger.
But for a while, he didn't have any good ideas.
When he heard Ding Mi say this, Cao Shuang's fat face suddenly lit up with a smile: