“Come Zijing! Let me pour you another drink!” Sun Ce said. It was like there was a banquet at the Marquis Wu’s residence.
There was a harmonious atmosphere. Sun Ce was very hospitable, proposing a toast to Lu Su. Lu Su felt that it was unbearable.
“Marquis Wu. I cannot drink anymore.” Lu Su shook his head.
“What’s wrong? Is it that Zijing is looking down on me? Are you looking down on me because I lost to Yangzhou?” Sun Ce said as though he was going to reveal the truth after drinking.
A few of the servants wanted to stop Sun Ce from continuing since Lu Su was now an high ranking official of Yangzhou. It would not be so bad in the past but now that Jiangdong was defeated and about to surrender to Yangzhou, Sun Ce would only become a general at most. Irritating the higher ranked Lu Su was courting death.
“Hm?” Lu Su started to think to himself after Sun Ce’s blunder. At the end of the day, he was Yangzhou’s official. So he would not favor Sun Ce. He also became more vigilant. After all, he came here against his friend Zhuge Liang’s advice.
“Don’t try and stop me! I want to say it!” Sun Ce started to make a fuss.
“Milord. You are drunk.” Lu Meng said. As Sun Ce’s guard, he wanted to take Sun Ce back to his room to rest. But Sun Ce was unwilling to go.
“I am drunk? Haha! I am not yet drunk! How can I become drunk when I have not yet drank a thousand cups of wine? You better not stop me, Lu Meng!” Sun Ce shouted at Lu Meng.
“Men! Come and help me bring the Lord back to his room!” Lu Meng shouted for the others nearby to help him.
“Understood!” The servants replied and tried to bring Sun Ce back. Lu Su shook his head regretfully. If Sun Ce were to go back, then the truth may be hidden.
“I want to see who dares!” At that moment, Sun Ce picked up the sword he had put aside.
This immediately became a problem because Sun Ce was at the Peak of Refinement. Lu Men tried to stop Sun Ce only to get slashed.
“Argh!” Lu Meng screamed as he dodged. Lu Meng’s arm was cut by the sword. Had he not avoid in time, he would be separated from his head.
“General Lu Meng! Are you alright?” A group of people panicked as they went to Lu Meng as the blood from Lu Meng’s arm spilled to the ground.
“Someone! Quickly come and bandage General Lu Meng!” One of the servants shouted as he hurried to help Lu Meng.
“Don’t worry about me! Take care of the Lord!” Lu Meng shouted. He was afraid Sun Ce would hurt himself.
“Yes!” A few soldiers advanced to take away Sun Ce’s sword. But Sun Ce would not give in so easily.
“I want to see who dares to take away my sword!” Sun Ce shouted and swung his sword.
The soldiers were not as quick as Lu Meng. One of the soldiers was stabbed through the chest. Even the armor he wore did not stop the sword at all.
“Mi... Milord.” The soldier looked at Sun Ce with disbelief. He was Sun Ce’s subordinate so he was prepared to die in battle. He did not expect to die by his Lord’s hand.
No one noticed it but for a moment, Sun Ce’s eyes showed a hint of hesitation before being hidden once again.
“The Lord has gone crazy!” Lu Meng said worriedly as he looked at his Lord.
“What should we do?” Lu Meng was extremely anxious. He did not dare to advance because Sun Ce was holding a sword. They would not be able to show their grievances anywhere if they were accidentally killed. But then if they do not advance, there was a chance that Sun Ce might hurt himself. Lu Meng was at a loss. ℞
“Quickly! Go get Gongjin!” Lu Su quickly advised. He did not expect Sun Ce to be so bad at holding his liquor.
“That’s right! I should find the Grand Governor.” Lu Meng’s eyes brightened before turning dim again. “No. If I leave, what if the Lord does something serious?” Lu Meng was worried about Sun Ce in the event that something unexpected happens.
“General Lu Meng. Go and quickly get Gongjin to come here. I will help you deal with this.” Lu Su said to Lu Meng. Lu Su also did not want to do this but he had no choice. If something happens to Sun Ce, Jiangdong will never become Yangzhou’s. The people would think the worst. So Lu Su had to calm Sun Ce down first.
“But... what about your safety?” Lu Meng was surprised. Sun Ce was in a state where he could not even recognize his own people. Not even Lu Meng himself was safe.
“There is no other way. Go quickly and then come back to save me.” Lu Su said to explain the urgency of the situation.
“Alright. Then please take care!” Lu Meng gritted his teeth and replied to Lu Su before turning around. “Men! Bring me my horse!” Zhou Yu’s residence was not nearby.
Lu Su laughed bitterly after Lu Meng had left. Now how should he handle Sun Ce?
“Come! Lu Su Lu Zijing! Accompany me for a drink! Come! Someone pour me a drink!” Sun Ce shouted loudly. The servants all did not dare to approach Sun Ce.
“Did you hear me? Someone pour me wine!” Sun Ce said as he swung his sword. Another unlucky soldier was killed in the process.
The servants started to tremble and look at Lu Su. He was the one in charge of handling of the situation here.
“Pour wine for Marquis Wu.” Lu Su had no choice. If someone doesn’t pour wine for Sun Ce, he would kill another person.
Hearing this, the servants could only tremble and approach Sun Ce while taking precautions in fear that Sun Ce would kill them.
Fortunately, Sun Ce only wanted to drink. He did not swing his sword and the servants managed to escape.
Sun Ce drank several more cups before putting it down.
“Zijing! Come and join me!” Sun Ce said loudly.
“Sir, you must not go there!” The assistant dispatched by Yang Hong reminded. His job was to protect Lu Su so Lu Su’s safety was his top priority. How could he allow Lu Su to approach a man that has gone crazy enough to kill his own people.
“Zijing! Where are you!” Sun Ce shouted as he knocked over a few bottles of wine but no one went to help him.
“Aaah!” Sun Ce went crazy again. This time, one servant’s head was sent flying. With such a sight, the other’s started to panic.
“Haha. Of course we are still friends. But Zijing, your current position is much higher than mine!” Zhou Yu said without restraint.
“Haha. This is more like the Zhou Yu Zhou Gongjin that I remember.” Lu Su laughed.
Zhou Yu also laughed for a while before he started to cough. His body was weak.
“Gongjin. What’s wrong?” Lu Su looked at Zhou Yu nervously. His friendship towards Zhou Yu was sincere.
“No. It’s nothing. It is just my previous injury.” Zhou Yu replied. His face was pale. Though Zhou Yu was still smiling, Lu Su could tell that Zhou Yu was in pain.
“Previous injury?” Lu Su knew that Zhou Yu was referring to injury caused by Sun Quan Sun Zhongmou.
“Gongjin. There is no need for this.” Lu Su shook his head. He finally realized why Zhou Yu took so long to arrive. This is because Zhou Yu had not yet fully recovered from his injury. So when Lu Meng brought Zhou Yu over, they could travel too quickly.
“Zijing. You will not blame me?” Zhou Yu smiled and asked.
“How could I? You must take proper care of your injury. Your health is of utmost importance.” Lu Su replied feeling concerned.
“Of course. I am still hoping to work together with you again.” Zhou Yu smiled.
“Work together? Gongjin, are you really willing?” Lu Su’s thoughts went to those words as he looked at Zhou Yu. He asked if Zhou Yu was truly willing to part ways with the Jiangdong he helped create.
“What is there to be reluctant about?” Zhou Yu did not give a direct reply. Lu Su followed Zhou Yu’s gaze and saw that Zhou Yu was looking at the servants taking Sun Ce away.
“I will be where he is.” Zhou Yu said to Lu Su.
“Marquis Wu?” Lu Su furrowed his brows. Zhou Yu’s relationship with Sun Ce was too deep.
“If he wants to keep fighting, then I will accompany him and fight to the death. If he says he is tired, then I will also accompany him and stop.” Zhou Yu said with full of tender feelings.
“Gongjin. If you are too close to him, your life would be wasted.” Lu Su advised. Naturally, Zhou Yu understood what Lu Su meant by that.
Based on common sense, once Sun Ce enters Yangzhou, it would be benevolent if Liu Mang lets Sun Ce live as a rich family to give face to Sun Shangxiang. It would be impossible for Sun Ce to grab military power. If Zhou Yu does not stick closely to Sun Ce, then he would still be appreciated by Liu Mang because he was talented. Zhou Yu could even become a high official.
On the other hand, if Zhou Yu were to still be close to Sun Ce, then Zhou Yu would also lose his opportunity. Even if Zhou Yu was talented, he would not be used because there may be consequences.
“Haha. A peaceful life isn’t too bad! Didn’t we always think like this in the past?” Zhou Yu laughed. Lu Su could not read Zhou Yu. It was true that they had talked about wanting peace. But that was the peace that they would bring with their own hands. At that time, they would let the horses go and keep the soldier’s weapons.
But the world was not at peace. There were still wars to be fought. Why would Zhou Yu choose to live peacefully?
Lu Su sighed. “Gongjin. Recuperate well. Marquis Wu will be given to you. I also need to rest.” Lu Su said to Zhou Yu.
“N! Zijing wait! If there is a chance, let us drink together.” Zhou Yu said to Lu Su.
“Of course!” Lu Su nodded and left. He could not bear to see his good friend so desolate like this. Was Zhou Yu’s aspirations gone?
“Sir!” Yang Chen shouted as he followed Lu Su.
“Yang Chen. What do you think about Marquis Wu and Zhou Yu?” Lu Su asked.
“Sun Ce should be killed but Zhou Yu is not so bad.” Yang Chen replied. Lu Su shook his head at this. He knew what Yang Chen said Sun Ce should be killed. It is simply because Sun Ce said insulting words towards Liu Mang. To Yang Chen, anyone that curses at his Lord should be killed.
“What about the others?” Lu Su continued.
“A hero is lonely at the end of the road.” Yang Chen continued. This is what he felt at Sun Ce’s residence. All of the servants were terrified to the extent that they could barely breathe. They seem to have already given up hope. With Sun Ce and Zhou Yu in their current condition, it was like the moment right before defeat.
“Yes. They are already tired! Kongming. It seems that you are wrong this time.” Lu Su looked at the sky and mumbled to himself. “Gongjin. You are Zhou the Beautiful Youth of Jiangdong. You were someone I wanted to surpass. How did you turn out this way? I must make you regain your spirit.” Lu Su returned home and wrote a letter to quickly be delivered to Yangzhou.
***
“Didn’t I say this already? Sun Ce Sun Bofu may be the Little Conqueror but even he would submit. Even wolves would become dogs when trained.” Liu Mang said after reading the letter sent by Lu Su. Written in it were about how desolate the people of Jiangdong looked.
Sun Ce had indeed received Xiang Yu’s inheritance. The Hegemon King of Western Chu refused to return cross over to Jiangdong because he had nothing left to yearn for. However, Sun Ce still has his mother and his little brother, along with Sun Shangxiang who is now Liu Mang’s wife. Sun Ce could ignore his own wellbeing but he could not ignore theirs.
So even Sun Ce would eventually surrender. “That Villager Zhuge. Hmph. This must be a good slap in the face for him since he keep insisting on attacking.” Liu Mang wanted to see Zhuge Liang’s gloomy expression.
“Milord. How should we handle Zhou Yu Zhou Gongjin?” Xu Shu asked. In Lu Su’s letter, he wrote about how likely Jiangdong is in surrendering. He also wrote about Zhou Yu’s excellence. He even said that ten Lu Su is not even worth one Zhou Yu.
Liu Mang looked at this and felt that Lu Su is looking down on himself too much. If Lu Su were to be compared to Zhou Yu, Liu Mang would think that Lu Su is not as good as Zhou Yu. Lu Su was not as talented nor was he as handsome as Zhou Yu. However, Lu Su still has his own strengths, one of which was his earnestness. One and a half Lu Su was definitely inferior to Zhou Yu but three Lu Su would be much better than Zhou Yu. After all, there is a saying that “Three cobblers are better than Zhuge Liang”!
Even if Zhuge Liang was an evil schemer, there would be things he missed.
“Zhou Yu is talented but he is not as good as Lu Su say he is!” Liu Mang shook his head. “This person is slightly better than Lu Su. He is about the same level as Lu Xun and slightly inferior to Villager Zhuge.”
Xu Shu helplessly looked at his Lord. Zhuge Liang was his junior disciple. He would prefer if someone doesn’t say such unpleasant things right in front of him, the senior disciple.
“I will definitely use Zhou Yu.” Liu Mang would be happy to make use of a talented person. For someone who has a habit of recruiting famous generals, he would not let Zhou Yu go.
“But Milord. If Zhou Yu is too close to Sun Ce!” Xu Shu objected. In Xu Shu’s opinion, Sun Ce would be placed in an unimportant position once he comes to Yangzhou. If Zhou Yu is too close to Sun Ce, then Zhou Yu would also kept away.
“Haha. That’s fine as well.” Liu Mang laughed indifferently as if he did not care about this problem.