Tiger Owl

Chapter 38 The target of public criticism
The following morning, Sun Ce met with his elder brother, Sun Ben.

Sun Ben earnestly advised, "Bo Fu, although you are the lord of Jiangdong, Jiangdong does not belong to you alone. You should consider everyone's opinions and not act unilaterally. There are always reasons why everyone opposes the Northern Expedition. We do not have that much strength and are not qualified to participate in the struggle for the world. Even Lü Bu, who had the best cavalry in the world, was destroyed by Cao Cao. Although we in Jiangdong have fifty or sixty thousand elite troops, we only have a thousand or so cavalry. Can we contend with Cao Cao's army of hundreds of thousands?"

Starting a business is hard, but maintaining it is even harder. It wasn't easy for us to accumulate this wealth. Zhang Zhao is right; we should build up our resources gradually, not squander them. Bo Fu, listen to your elder brother's advice and stop! It's not too late.

Sun Ce shook his head and said, "A family fortune cannot be preserved simply by maintaining it. Liu Yao tried to maintain it, but did he manage to preserve it? Liu Xun was also very cautious, but what has become of him now?"
"Sailing against the current, if you don't advance, you'll fall behind. If Cao Cao were a conservative, why would he have attacked Lü Bu, destroyed Yuan Shu, and attacked Zhang Xiu? Any capable ruler should strive for advancement and seize every opportunity. Even Gan Ning knew to seize every opportunity to strengthen himself. If you, brother, had even a shred of ambition, Gan Ning would have been destroyed long ago, and I wouldn't have almost died at his hands. Brother, please don't try to persuade me anymore; my mind is made up."

Sun Ben was truly ashamed. "I apologize to you for my poor handling of the Gan Ning matter!"

Sun Ce said calmly, "I understand my brother. Gan Ning was promoted by Cao Cao. If you want to give Cao Cao face, I have no choice but to personally eliminate him."

Sun Ce's words pierced Sun Ben's heart like a needle, and Sun Ben immediately blushed with shame. Sun Ce's words were tantamount to revealing the real reason why Sun Ben opposed the Northern Expedition: it was because he had a friendship with Cao Cao.

Sun Ben remained silent for a moment, exchanged a barely perceptible glance with Sun Quan beside him, and then rose and withdrew.

At this moment, Sun Quan, the second brother sitting to the side, whispered, "Brother, isn't it a bit too much for you to talk about our elder brother like that?"

Sun Ce shook his head. “Our eldest brother is too selfish. You don’t understand him at all. It was because he refused to return Father’s army to me that I had to pawn the imperial seal to Yuan Shu and borrow three thousand troops.”

The reason he finally acknowledged me was because he had suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Liu Yao, losing all his troops. I then defeated Liu Yao and regained control of the army. He had no choice but to acknowledge me as his lord.

But I know he's always been resentful deep down, and he's been secretly communicating with Cao Cao, hoping Cao Cao will support him in replacing me. He secretly sent Sun Fu to Xuchang, did he think I didn't know?

Sun Quan hesitated for a moment and said, "Perhaps he sent Sun Fu to discuss his daughter's marriage."

Sun Ce sneered, "Even if that's true!"

Sun Quan whispered again, "But I also think Zhang Zhao has a point. We should accumulate strength and build up our resources. Our strategy should be to seize the three provinces of Jing, Yi and Jiao and unify the south, rather than rushing to launch a northern expedition."

Sun Ce said displeasedly, "Even you oppose the Northern Expedition?"

Sun Quan nodded. "I do oppose the Northern Expedition, but I do so out of a sense of justice, not out of personal motives."

Sun Ce sighed and patted his brother on the shoulder, "It's good that you have no selfish motives. Go ahead! I won't blame you."

"Brother..."

"Go!" Sun Ce gave Sun Quan no further chance to persuade him.

Having no other choice, Sun Quan could only bow and take his leave.

Sun Ce stood by the window with his hands behind his back, feeling an indescribable loneliness.

In the end, only Zhou Yu and Taishi Ci supported his northern expedition; even the Sun brothers were not of one mind with him.

North of Wu County stands a large mansion covering dozens of acres, which is the residence of the Lu family, the most prominent family in Wu County.

Since the death of Lu Kang, the head of the Lu family, in Lujiang County, Lu Kang's elder brother, Lu Yu, has been in charge of the family affairs.

Inside the main hall, Lu Yu sat on a couch, listening to his grandson Lu Xun's report on his westward journey. Lu Xun's father, Lu Jun, had also died in the Battle of Lujiang.

Back then, Sun Ce attacked Lujiang County on the orders of Yuan Shu. The governor of Lujiang County was Lu Kang. The army besieged Wan County for a year, and countless soldiers and civilians of Wan County died in battle. Many members of the Lu family were killed or wounded, including Lu Xun's father, Lu Jun, who also died in the defense of the city.

After Wan County was captured, Lu Kang died in grief and indignation, and the Lu family thus forged a deep enmity with Sun Ce.

Therefore, when Sun Ce came to power, not a single member of the Lu family served him.

Although Lu Xun and Sun Ce had a blood feud involving the killing of their fathers, Lu Xun had a good relationship with Sun Quan and Gu Shao. The three were of similar age, classmates, and had a very deep friendship.

Lu Xun is seventeen years old this year and has finished his studies at the county school. Two months ago, he traveled to Lujiang County and Yuzhang County with his friend Gu Shao. On the one hand, he paid respects at his father's cenotaph, and on the other hand, he broadened his horizons.

“Reporting to Grandfather, we went as far as Xunyang County in Lujiang Commandery, only to find that it was actually Gan Ning’s territory. The banners on the city walls also had the character ‘Gan’ on them. We really don’t understand. Since Sun Ce took Lujiang Commandery, why did he miss Xunyang County?”

Lu Yu snorted, "His mind is already on Xuchang, why would he care about a small Xunyang County? Let's ignore it and talk about Chaisang, how about that Gan Ning?"

"Reporting to Grandfather, Chaisang is a prosperous commercial center, and the people live in peace and contentment. The wharves along the Yangtze River are large, and Gan Ning has built many warehouses. I don't particularly care about these things. I specifically went to the military camp and took a walk around the perimeter. The camp is very clean, tidy, and orderly. Another detail is that there wasn't a single vendor opposite the camp gate. I specifically asked about it, and Gan Ning is very strict in his military discipline. Soldiers can go to the streets on their days off, but they are not allowed to leave the camp at other times. The surrounding people are also very satisfied, and there have been no incidents of soldiers harassing them."

These details show that Gan Ning was indeed a remarkable person who valued his reputation highly. If he hadn't been eliminated by Sun Ce, Sun Ce believed he would have had a bright future.

Lu Yu nodded slightly. "To earn Lu Zijing's loyalty, he must be no ordinary person. Your grandfather suggested that you go to Yuzhang County to continue your studies. This way, you will have the opportunity to pay attention to this Gan Ning."

"Grandfather means for his grandson to work for Gan Ning?"

"Not necessarily, it depends on how Gan Ning develops. But one thing is certain: our Lu family must not put all our eggs in one basket."

"My grandson understands!"

Lu Xun bowed and withdrew.

At this moment, Lu Yu's nephew, Lu Ji, said at the door, "Master, Uncle Gu has arrived. He has important business to discuss!"

"Invite him in quickly!"

Lu Yu quickly got up and went to the courtyard gate to greet the head of the Gu family.

Gu Xiang was the head of the prestigious Gu family in Wu County. He served as the magistrate of Wu County for a long time, and his son was Gu Yong.

Before long, Gu Xiang, led by Lu Ji, strode in and bowed to Lu Yu at the courtyard gate, saying, "I'm sorry to have disturbed you, my brother!"

"Brother, please don't stand on ceremony, please come in!"

The two entered the inner hall and sat down. Lu Yu then asked a maid to serve tea. Gu Xiang gave Lu Yu a wink, and Lu Yu understood. He waved to the maid and Lu Ji, signaling them to leave.

Only Gu Xiang and Lu Yu remained in the inner hall. Gu Xiang then lowered his voice and said, "Sun Ben just told me that Sun Ce has decided to launch a northern expedition despite everyone's objections."

Lu Yu was furious. "Are we, the sons of Jiangdong, just stepping stones for him? If he goes on his way and suffers a crushing defeat, how many families will be torn apart? We, the people of Jiangdong, have been supporting his northern expedition with our money and grain, but in the end, it is the northern gentry who benefit. He never considers the interests of us, the gentry of Jiangdong!"

"Everyone was disappointed in him. Even his elder brother Sun Ben believed that Sun Ce was no longer suitable to lead Jiangdong. Many officials thought that it might be better if a new leader were chosen."

"Any plans?"

Gu Xiang took out a secret resolution and handed it to Lu Yu, saying, "Brother, take a look! If the Lu family supports it, just state your opinion. If you disagree, please keep it a secret."

Lu Yu quickly finished reading the secret resolution and asked, "Do I need to sign it?"

Gu Xiang shook his head, "A verbal agreement is all that's needed, no signature required!"

Lu Yu carefully reviewed the resolution again before slowly saying, "On behalf of the Lu family of Eastern Wu, I fully support this resolution!"

In the afternoon, General Chen Wu returned to his residence with a heavy heart. His mother's condition had worsened over the past two days, causing him to lose his appetite. He asked the famous doctor Wang Ming to treat his mother. Doctor Wang said that his mother's condition was caused by years of accumulated weakness and that there was hope for improvement, but she would need some expensive medicine.

The most crucial thing was that he needed a thousand-year-old ginseng, which caused him a lot of trouble. He searched all the pharmacies in Wu County, but could only find hundred-year-old ginseng at most. Many pharmacies had never seen a thousand-year-old ginseng before. Where was he supposed to find it?

As his mother's condition worsened, Chen Wu felt a sense of despair.

As soon as he entered the door, his wife ran over excitedly and said, "Husband, Mother can be saved!"

Chen Wu was taken aback. "What's going on?"

The wife exclaimed excitedly, "The second young master sent someone to deliver a thousand-year-old ginseng, and now Mother is saved!"

"what!"

Chen Wu ran back to the inner room and saw a brocade box on the table. When he opened the box, he found a thick ginseng root, the outline of a thousand years deeply etched into every fold of its whiskers.

Chen Wu's nose tingled with emotion. He knelt down and kowtowed three times deeply. "Second Young Master, I will forever remember your life-saving grace!"

(End of this chapter)