Chapter 15 Mercenaries

Although it is already March, Jianye is still a little cold in spring. The trees that have withered all winter have not turned green for a long time. The branches that should have been green in previous years were silent, and the canopy like smoke shook helplessly in the wind.

Sun Quan stood by the pond with his hands behind his back, looking at the two carp in the clear pool. The bright sun shone on his gorgeous king's uniform, shining against his face. However, the forty-five-year-old Sun Quan inadvertently showed some old age. Although the white hair on the temples were carefully pulled out, the crow's feet at the corners of his eyes could not be covered.

When Sun Quan was at a loss, he often looked at the west unconsciously. His eyes crossed the high palace wall. He could only see the sometimes clear and sometimes gloomy sky, and he could not see the small building he wanted to see at all. In fact, there was no one he wanted to see in the small building for a long time. Even if he could see it, what's the use.

The yard has been empty. Sun Quan did not reward anyone. He just arranged more than a dozen servants to live in it to clean and keep the house clean and tidy, but he himself has never been there. He only occasionally looks at it unconsciously when he is distracted.

The State of Wu has been very idle recently. Unlike other three countries, which are busy with war, the State of Wu is a little uneasy and seems to have been forgotten by the world. The court of the State of Wu is as calm as a pool of stagnant water, and there are no waves. Occasionally, only when I hear the news from the other three countries is a little movement, and then it will soon return. In silence.

Sun Quan has not been in charge of the affairs for a long time. The political affairs have been handed over to Taisui Deng. Sun Deng's ability has been greatly improved with the assistance of Prime Minister Bu Yu and General Lu Xun. He has been able to govern the State of Wu in an orderly manner. The whole state of Wu praised it. It is said that Taisui Deng will be a Ming king in the future. Sun Quan, the king of Wu, is blessed and measured. I was still so young that I let the prince exercise. Sun Quan occasionally heard these rumors, but only smiled and did not explain. Others thought that Sun Quan was modest, and only the waiter knew that Sun Quan was helpless.

Sun Deng's foundation is stable, and he does things without leakage. He takes the initiative to report to Sun Quan about big and small things. He doesn't give anyone any control at all. Who can move him?

There was a sound of footsteps at the door. Sun Quan withdrew his eyes and looked at the fish in the water quietly again.

"Gu Hou, is your father here?" It's Sun Deng's voice.

"Your Highness, the king is watching fish by the pool." Gu Li replied respectfully.

"Is it?" Sun Deng said politely. Sun Quan raised his head and looked at him from afar. He saw that he was bowing his waist and talking to Gu Li. The corners of his mouth couldn't help pulling, a sneer flashed by, and then he regained his calm. Please inform Gu Hou that there is a big event to report to his father.

"Zi Gao." Sun Quan raised his voice and shouted, "Come here, what kind of big deal makes you so anxious?"

"Father..." Sun Deng nodded to Gu Li, holding his clothes in one hand and a piece of paper in the other. He trotted all the way, walked through the winding fish beams, and came to the pavilion in the pool. He stood three steps out in front of Sun Quan, raised his hand to wipe the sweat on his forehead, and his face showed sadness. Father, Zhu Junhou is gone.

"Who?" Sun Quan was stunned, and then he remembered again: "Zhu Zhi?"

"It's not Lao Junhou. He passed away two years ago. It's his eldest son Zhu Cai and Zhu Junye." The corners of Sun Deng's eyes were wet, and he handed over the paper with both hands. He swallowed and said, "Zhu Wan has just arrived at Jianye to report his funeral."

"Zhu Wan?" As Sun Quan took the eutuary, he muttered doubtfully, "Who is he?"

"Father, Zhu Wan is the eldest son of Zhu Junhou." Sun Xie, who had been standing next to him, reminded him.

Sun Quan was stunned for a moment and suddenly realized, "Zhu Cai is dead?" He stared. Obviously, he didn't dare to believe it. It was not until he saw Sun Deng nodding that he relaxed and said with some regret, "Junye (Zhu Cai) is not yet thirty years old. In his prime, how can he...how can he..."

Sun Deng also felt sad. Zhu Zhi was loyal to the Sun family all his life. In the end, he was deprived of his rights by Sun Quan before he died. Zhu Cai was originally very trusted by Sun Quan. Just when he was reusing it, he died again. The third son Zhu Wei and the fourth son Zhu Wansui were young. Only the second son Zhu Ji was still there, but the whole family moved to Fu a few years ago. Nan, it is said that he is now arranged by Sun Shao to be a Taishou in Yi County, and his political achievements are very good. In Danyang's hometown, the Zhu family was defeated within a few years. What made him even more sad was that his father was obviously old. Although he was only forty-five years old, he had shown his old age. He couldn't even remember that Zhu Zhi died two years ago.

Sun Quan was so sad that he was stunned for a long time before he said, "Reward more money. At that time, you can go to Danyang for me. The Zhu family has made contributions to the State of Wu. Let's see who else can use it among his descendants. Let's arrange an official position and don't let the old gentleman and marquis have no blood. The title... will be inherited by this Zhu Wan.

"Oh." Sun Deng bowed and said, "Father, there is one more thing that I dare not make a decision. I want to ask my father to think about it."

"What's the matter, and what else can't you break?" Sun Quan glanced at Sun Deng and picked the corners of his mouth. Sun Fu was staring at his eyes and looked at his unhappy look. He couldn't help but be happy. Then he looked at Sun Deng's eyes and became a little strange.

Sun Deng was used to this tone. He didn't take it seriously at all and continued to say calmly, "Brother Fengxian sent a message saying that he wanted to compete with the Tianzhu people, but his troops were not enough. He asked if we were interested in going on an expedition together and attacking Tianzhu."

"and attack Tianzhu?" Sun Quan was stunned for a moment. He suddenly became energetic, and his eyebrows became vivid. He greeted happily, "Zigao, sit down and tell me what's going on."

Sun Deng thanked him, sat down on a stone bench and told the situation again. It turned out that Sun Shao sent a state letter and mainly talked about two things. First, he had defeated the Tianzhu sailor and controlled the whole Tianzhu Sea. The commercial roads on the sea were all under his control. He sent people to ask whether Wei and Wu were interested in organizing a fleet to do business. Because the territory expanded too fast, the development speed of Yue could not keep up, a large number of The opportunity was wasted, so he wanted to ask Wei and Wu to increase the size of the caravan and make a fortune together. As for the State of Shu, after General Zhang Fei paced the southern border, they have sent people through the southern border to enter Tianzhu. The trade is already in progress, so there is no need to discuss it.

Another thing is that Sun Shao asked the State of Wu for support. He wanted to take down Tianzhu, but his troops were seriously insufficient, and it was more than enough to control the sea, but he was overstretched to attack ashore. The State of Wei was suppressing the Xianbei people in the northern border. The State of Shu had just pacified the southern border and was accumulating strength. Prepare for the western expedition with the State of Wei. Now only the State of Wu is left. Because Wei and Shu are busy with their own affairs, more than 100,000 troops of the State of Wu have been idle. In addition to the troops guarded in various places, the number of troops in the State of Wu is at least 30,000. Sun Quan once thought about taking the opportunity to abolish some, but the resistance was too great. In the end, there were only some real ones. The general whose strength has been greatly weakened has been laid off, and the one Sun Quan really wanted to cut has not been cut.

Now Sun Shao hopes that Sun Quan will send some people to help, and the conditions are very favorable. Except for the State of Wu, all the ordnance burdens will be borne by the State of Yue. The trophy will be distributed according to the profit. Once the war is completed, it can be withdrawn at any time. If a soldier is killed or injured, a pension shall be issued according to the standards of Vietnam. In addition, depending on the number of troops, the State of Yue can also give the State of Wu a sum of money. In other words, the State of Yue is ready to pay to hire Wu Jun to help him fight.

Sun Quan stroked his beard, pondered for a moment, and glanced at Sun Deng: "Does he have a favorite partner?"

Sun Deng hesitated for a moment and said with a smile, "Yes, he mentioned several names. They are all heavy generals of the State of Wu. So Erchen did not dare to make a decision and asked his father to give an edict." With that, he took out a piece of paper from his arms and pushed it in front of Sun Quan with both hands. Sun Quan picked up the paper and didn't look at it. He first smelled a faint fragrance. He took a look at it and knew that it was the fragrance of the paper in his hand.

"This is honey paper, which is said to be a specialty of Funan. After improvement, it is now the favorite paper for literati in Vietnam." Seeing Sun Quan's curious face, Sun Deng explained with a smile, "If my father likes it, I will ask him for something next time I write a book for my brother."

Sun Quan didn't think so. Just as he was about to shake his head, a figure suddenly appeared in his mind. He hesitated for a moment and asked, "Is there any news about your aunt and the big tiger?"

"Auntie is in confinement. She just gave birth to a son at the beginning of the year. The mother and son are safe and are accompanying the Empress Dowager Qiao in Funan. It is said that she is now also taken by her uncle and likes to study. As for Dahu, she went to Ceylon Island with Zhou Xun. It seemed that in the battle of Andamanhai last year, she made another contribution and caught King Zhu Luo with Zhou Xun.

"Oh?" Sun Quan raised his eyebrows and was a little excited: "Is Dahu still leading the army now?"

"Of course, I will lead the troops." Sun Deng smiled and said, "After my aunt is pregnant, the Flying Tiger Camp will be handed over to her for the time being."

"Oh," Sun Quan frowned and thought about how to turn around and inquire about the bridge, but after thinking about it, it seemed that he could not find a suitable excuse. When he was in a hurry, Sun Deng continued, "Originally, the Flying Tiger Camp would not be handed over to her, but it was led by Queen Guan Feng, but Queen Guan Feng was also pregnant. Yes, so she gave it to Dahu. This was still the order of the Empress Dowager Qiao. She was afraid that her aunt and the queen would practice the fetal gas, so she locked the two of them in the special pastoral city and played with her every day.

Sun Quan breathed a sigh of relief, inquired about the situation of Funan, and asked the bridge in a roundabout way. In fact, Sun Deng had known it for a long time, otherwise he would not have taken the initiative to mention the bridge, but he knew that the bridge was not as enthusiastic as Sun Quan. He said something just to make Sun Quan happy.

"I'll think about this for two days. You should also think about it more. Some people..." Sun Quan clicked the name on the paper: "You can't go."

Sun Deng answered, and Sun Quan said that he agreed to send some people. The problem is only who they are.

... General Lu Xun's mansion, there is also a piece of honey paper in front of Lu Xun, but if Sun Quan can see this paper, he will feel strange, because the name on it is not exactly the same as the one he saw.

Sun Xiuying straightened her stomach, supported her waist, and slowly came in. She smelled the faint fragrance of honey, wrinkled her nose, stroked her round belly and said, "Feng Xian is really rich. How can write on such a good paper."

Lu Xun glanced at her and then at her stomach. His eyes were obviously much softer. After Lu Mo arrived in Funan, he soon took on a heavy responsibility. Now he is a lieutenant with 800 people. Although there are only 800 people, his 800 people are the vanguard of the vanguard, the elite of the elite, and the important surname is no less than a 2,000 general. On the one hand, it is related to Lu Mo's own ability. On the other hand, it is also Sun Shao's sake of his face. Otherwise, Lu Mo would not have had a chance so soon.

"First of all, there is the style of a general. He is bold and generous. Besides, Yue Guo is in business and rich. There is nothing to afford a few pieces of paper. He also wants to hire our Wu Jun to help him fight a war, which is called a big deal."

"Hire Wu Jun to help him fight?" Sun Xiuying scratched her eyebrows puzzledly: "Who is he fighting with again?"

"Tianzhu people." Lu Xun got up and walked to Sun Xiuying's side, helped her to sit down by the couch, and personally placed her inconvenient legs due to puffiness. Then he took the paper to Sun Xiuying: "Naughter, this is his favorite name."

Sun Xiuying glanced and found that there were some famous people in Wu's army, but there was no Lu Xun's name among them. He couldn't help but say with some disdain, "Fengxian really lost his eyes. What's the use of picking these people? It's not as good as going to go to ten people alone."

"Madam, you're wrong about him." Lu Xun didn't think so: "I think he is taking care of me."

Seeing that Lu Xun was not angry, Sun Xiuying couldn't help laughing and said, "I don't think I'm taking care of you, but I'm afraid that you will refuse, lose face, and don't talk about your surname."

In the past, Sun Shao sent people several times to ask for help, hoping that Lu Xun could help, and even promised Sun Xiuying that as long as Lu Xun went to Yue, he would not treat him badly. However, they were all rejected by Lu Xun. Even in the end, Lu Xun only sent Lu Xun to Yue, but he did not accept Sun Shao's invitation. For this reason, Sun Xiuying also complained and felt that Lu Xun was too stubborn, but she always respected Lu Xun and could not show it on her face. Today, she took this opportunity to remind Lu Xun. . There is no war to fight in the State of Wu, and Lu Xun is born to belong to the battlefield. In the State of Wu, he can only watch the good youth wasted. Although he is a general now, because there is no war, he does not have much military power in his hand. He is high and light, far less than Zhuge Ke and Quan Zon, who are in charge of the Western Front. In Sun Xiuying's eyes, none of these people can be more talented than her husband.

"Do you want me to go?" Lu Xun was not angry and smiled.

"Of course." Sun Xiuying said bluntly, "The eldest sister's family has arrived in Funan. Zimo has become Funan Yin. Zizhi is also around Fengxian now, and she will soon be released. As soon as the second sister-in-law arrived in Funan, he went to Yi County to be a Taishou, and even his family took him with him. It can be seen how much Fengxian valued them. If you arrive in Funan, can you not reuse you?

"Even if it is, but the more he wants me to go, the more he can't mention me." Lu Xun folded the paper with a smile and said, "Don't worry, I guess I'm going to leave Jianye this time."

"Really?" Sun Xiuying stared in disbelief.

"It's really not true. You can't move for the time being." Lu Xun motioned to her stomach and said, "Anyway, we have to wait for another half a year. When you give birth to a child and rest for a few more months, when the north wind rises, we will take advantage of the big ship of Vietnam to go south."

"All right, all right." Sun Xiuying couldn't help but frown and clap her hands and said with a smile, "Great, I can finally leave Jianye and go with my eldest sister and second sister."

"You calm down and don't move the fetal gas." Lu Xun blamed and said, "Besides, this is just my guess. The result depends on the arrangement of the king and the prince in the end."

"I believe in your vision." Sun Xiuying giggled and said, "This is destiny. After all, you have to fight side by side with Fengxian. How can people fight against the doomed fate of God?"

"Yes, people can't fight against life." There was a little bitterness in Lu Xun's mouth. He was silent for a moment and suddenly said, "If you have a son, call it Kang."

Sun Quan thought about it for a long time, and invited important ministers such as Bu Qian and Lu Xun to discuss. Everyone had no objection to accepting the invitation of Yue. The generals had no war to fight, and they could not be promoted without merit. Of course, there was no unexpected wealth. They could only guard those Shiyi. It was really boring, and for the court, there was no war to fight. However, it is not a cost-effective thing to waste a large amount of food to raise soldiers. More importantly, if they do not fight for many years, these soldiers will have no other use except to harm the people. Instead, it is better to send them to Vietnam to cooperate with Vietnam.

Under such circumstances, it becomes a very troublesome problem to send someone and not to send someone. Some people want to make contributions and make a fortune, and some people don't want to go so far to work. They just want to fill the gap left by those who go, but Sun Quan thinks about how to send out those generals who want to move but can't move, and while they are away, they will erode their power step by step by step.

As Lu Xun said, after a long discussion, he noticed a problem that several generals of Jianghuai were not among the expatriates. The sons of Lv Meng and Jiang Qin and Zhuge Ke, as well as the two sons of Bu Qian, were not in the discussion, and among the people from Jiangdong, all Generals such as Cong and Zhu Ran are not among the expatriates. The candidates for discussion mainly focus on the declining portals in Jianghuai nationality. Han Zong, the son of Han Dang, and Cheng Zi, the son of Cheng Pu, are all discussed. On the contrary, the ministers of Jiangdong nationality are all people who hold heavy troops but are not very obedient, such as He Qi's son He Jing. Although He Qi is old, Sun Quan still can't get involved with the more than ten thousand elite soldiers under him. In addition, He Qi's eldest son He Da is now a heavy general in the jungle of Yue. Sun Quan has been worried about the He family for a long time, and it is expected to take this opportunity to push them out.

Lu Xun looked on coldly and saw the hidden thoughts of Sun Quan and his son clearly. He knew that he was also among the people Sun Quan wanted to push out, just like the He family, but he was very calm. During the court, he didn't say anything. What Sun Quan said, he didn't say. He didn't take the initiative to mention anything. Later, when Sun Xiuying gave birth to a child, he simply complained of illness and stayed at home to accompany them. He didn't go to the court to listen to their nonsense.

Another month passed in a blink of an eye. Lu Xun was abnormal and sent an invitation to hold a one-month-long wine for his son. Lu Xun originally had two sons, but unfortunately, he died before he was an adult. Later, he married Sun Xiuying, but there was no movement for several years. Seeing that Lu Xun was in his early forties, he had a son at this time and a middle-aged son, which was naturally worth doing a special job. The status of the Lu family in Wu County is transcendent. Although Lu Xun's military power is not heavy now, he is also a general under one person and above ten thousand people. No matter what the reason is, everyone should give him face. A small one-month drink soon became a well-known event for women in Jianye City.

However, when Sun Quan and his son received the invitation, they frowned at the same time.

(to be continued)