In the fourteenth year of Jian'an, it had just begun, but for Sun Quan, it was already a mixed bag of joy and sorrow.
The good news was that he had a son at the beginning of the year. Sun Quan was overjoyed to become a father for the first time.
Although he was born to a concubine, he was her own flesh and blood after all. She named him "Deng" in the hope that he would have a successful future. She handed him over to Madam Xu to be raised and treated as her eldest son.
Madam Xu was originally the wife of Lu Shang. After Lu Shang's death, Sun Quan hired her as a concubine in order to win over the Lu family. However, she was criticized because Sun Quan's father Xu Kun was a cousin. Madam Xu relied on her relationship to be arrogant and often called Sun Quan uncle, so she was not favored.
Sun Quan was feeling depressed and had long considered marrying a concubine, but the old queen mother was very strict and told him to put the great cause first. Now that the old queen mother passed away, he started to have the same idea again.
Recently, my fourth brother, Sun Kuang, was also injured during the expedition against the Shanyue in Jing County. He has been bedridden at a young age and has sought treatment from many doctors but to no avail.
This was Sun Ce's most beloved younger brother. Sun Ce gave the title of Marquis of Wucheng to Sun Kuang. In order to appease Sun Ce, Cao Cao even married his daughter to Sun Kuang to show his intention to maintain friendly relations.
Family affairs were secondary. State affairs made Sun Quan uneasy. Zhou Yu was seriously injured, Cheng Pu was killed in battle, and Taishi Ci died of illness. In just two months, three great generals were killed. They were all loyal and trusted ministers of Jiangdong, and the morale of the entire army was greatly hit.
Huang Gai went to Chaisang to visit Zhou Yu, and then received a letter from Zhou Yu, saying that he was going to Xiangyang in person to meet with Liu Qi. Sun Quan was shocked, but it was too late to stop him, so he had to wait patiently.
On this day, Zhou Shan finally returned from Jingzhou, and Sun Quan hurriedly took him to the study to inquire about the details.
Zhou Shan reported that he had just disguised himself as an apprentice and sneaked into the medical school. He had not yet found an opportunity to get close to Taishi Ci. One day, he heard him screaming in the yard. He died of anger due to the unbearable pain and the inability to serve the country.
Sun Quan sighed and shed tears when he heard this: "Ziyi has been loyal and brave all his life, but I... Fortunately, you didn't succeed, otherwise I would have regretted it for the rest of my life."
Zhou Shan clasped his fists and said, "I have not completed my mission, so I dare not be careless. I saw General Taishi being buried with my own eyes and followed him to Xiakou for burial before I came to report. I hope you will forgive me, lord."
"What crime have you committed?" Sun Quan took back the ancient ingot knife and said with emotion: "You are my most trusted minister. This matter is known to heaven and earth, you and I know it. You must never mention it to anyone else."
Zhou Shan bowed and said, "My lord, rest assured, I will keep my mouth shut."
Sun Quan sighed, stood for a while, put the ancient ingot knife back into the secret compartment, poured a glass of wine and handed it over: "Thank you for your hard work on this trip to Jingzhou!"
"I will serve my lord even if it means death!" Zhou Shan was deeply moved. He took the wine glass with both hands and drank it without hesitation.
"Very good!" Sun Quan patted his shoulder and said with a smile: "You go down and rest first. Tomorrow I have important military intelligence reports to send to Huainan. You will personally hand them over to the governor of Lu."
"Yes, sir!" Zhou Shan said goodbye and left.
After strolling around Jianye, he returned to his residence in the evening after eating and drinking. He washed his whole body with hot water, then lay calmly on the bed, closed his eyes and waited for death.
From the moment he insisted on leaving Xiangyang, he was already clear about his fate, but in order to redress the injustice of Sun Ce, he did not hesitate.
If he doesn't come back to report, Sun Quan will become suspicious and all his arrangements will be in vain.
I fell into a drowsy sleep and heard the chirping of birds. When I opened my eyes again, it was already the next morning. I turned over and sat up in bed, and saw that my body was intact.
"Could it be that the Grand Commander and Mr. Wolong made wrong predictions?" Zhou Shan murmured to himself.
He frowned and touched his arm to confirm that it was flesh and blood. Then he remembered Sun Quan's instructions, got out of bed, washed up, and came to the mansion to pay his respects again.
Sun Quan had ordered people to prepare rewards such as silk, cloth, gold and silver, and handed him a secret letter, ordering him to leave immediately and deliver it to Hefei.
Zhou Shan took the reward home and rushed to the river without stopping. He hired a small boat to cross the river and head north. Just as he reached the middle of the river, there was suddenly an undercurrent in the water and the waves rolled. It turned out to be a group of pig dragons roaring and attacking the boat.
Zhou Shan was shocked and took up his knife to drive them away with the sailors, but more than a dozen pig dragons rushed forward one after another, smashed the boat, and all the people fell into the river. Even though he was very strong in martial arts, he could not resist the attack of the beasts.
"Lord Wu, please forgive me for my incompetence and failure to complete the task!" At the last moment, Zhou Shan tore the secret letter into pieces and was dragged into the river by a pig dragon.
The piece of paper drifted with the waves, but there was not a single word on the letter, just two pages of blank paper. It was a pity that Zhou Shan could no longer see it.
In the mansion of Marquis Wu, Sun Quan was accompanying Mrs. Wu, playing with the baby, and enjoying family happiness together.
Wu Guotai noticed that Sun Quan was absent-minded occasionally, so she asked, "Is Zhongmou worried about Gongjin's safety?"
Sun Quan smiled and said, "I have my younger sister in Xiangyang, so she can protect Gongjin. I am only worried about whether he will be able to succeed in discussing the matter of defeating Cao with Liu Qi."
Wu Guotai sighed and said, "Gong Jin was seriously injured and should have rested. Instead, he led the troops to work for the country. He is truly a loyal man!"
Sun Quan comforted him, "Don't worry for now. Hua Tuo is practicing medicine in Xiangyang. When Zhou Tai rescued me from Xuancheng, I was wounded in more than ten places and was on the verge of death. Brother invited this man to come. He used medicine and he recovered in a month. He is truly a miracle doctor. Gongjin is going to Xiangyang to heal his wounds. With this man's help, he may recover sooner."
"A miracle doctor? That's good, that's good!" Wu Guotai nodded slightly, and suddenly said, "My son has led Jiangdong for several years, but has not made any progress. Liu Qi took Yizhou and Jiaozhou in just two years, and Cao Cao has already stabilized the Central Plains. With the turmoil in the Central Plains in the past, Bofu's bravery could not advance. How can it be easy to go north now?"
When it comes to Jiaozhou, Sun Quan gets furious and snorts, "Old Shi Xie is fickle, he will regret it sooner or later."
It turned out that Shi Xie had been in frequent contact with Sun Quan and had the intention of showing goodwill and surrendering. Bu Zhi secretly planned with him in Kuaiji, preparing to get rid of Lai Gong, the governor of Jiaozhou, and take over Jiaozhou.
Seeing that the plan was about to succeed, Shi Xie saw that Liu Qi was growing stronger, had stabilized Jingzhou, and had taken Yizhou, so he turned around and joined Liu Qi. Lai Gong immediately strengthened the defense in Cangwu and Nanhai areas, leaving Bu Zhi no chance to take advantage.
Wu Guotai said: "Jiangdong is invincible on the water with its ships, so why should it cling to the Central Plains?"
Sun Quan sighed helplessly: "Although Jiaozhou can be used for expedition across the sea, it is a remote place with long roads. Like Wuyue, it is vast and sparsely populated. It is useless to know about it."
Wu Guotai smiled and said, "What I'm talking about is not Jiaozhou, but the many islands in the southeast of Kuaiji, where the population is very large. Jiangdong is weak because of its small population. If we can move them to Wuyue, within ten years, it will be comparable to Jingzhou and the Central Plains."
Sun Quan was surprised: "Mother knows about the South China Sea Islands?"
Wu Guotai sighed, "When my sister and I were young, we often fished and cooked brine along the coast of Wu County. People who went out to sea often talked about this. It was rumored that those people were descendants of the Baiyue people. During the pre-Qin and early Han dynasties, the Yue people fought against the Central Plains many times, but they were defeated and fled into the deep sea, hiding here."
Sun Quan frowned slightly and asked, "Are they the pirates?"
"There are many heroes among pirates!" Wu Guotai took out a smooth and round shell from her bosom and said in a sad tone, "Once my sister and I went out to sea to collect shells. It was high tide and we were stranded on an isolated island. We were rescued by a group of pirates."
Sun Quan sighed, "The ocean is vast and full of dangers. Now is the time to start a business. How can I have the energy to be distracted?"
Wu Guotai said: "We can first send people to explore the surrounding sea areas. If we succeed, my son will be a pioneer and can be as famous as the Qin Emperor and Han Wudi!"
Sun Quan's heart was moved, and he nodded, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, mother. I have learned a lot."