Three Kingdoms: I, Yuan Shu, Loyal Officials of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 223 With a son like Sun Zhongmou, Wentai can smile in the netherworld.
"I warned you long ago that you had fallen into my trap, but you were unaware of it. Now it's too late for regrets!"

Upon hearing Xing Daorong's words and seeing the chaos in their own rear camp, Chen Ying and Bao Long were filled with fear.

"Damn it? Could it be that Yuan's main force has already crossed the river elsewhere and is now launching a surprise attack on General Sun's main camp?"

"Otherwise, how could the camp be in such chaos? This Xing Daorong in front of us is just bait, a ploy to lure the tiger away from the mountain. We should hurry back to reinforce General Sun!"

Even if they could wipe out Xing Daorong's 8,000 men right now, it wouldn't be a serious blow to Yuan's army. But once Sun Quan's main force of 60,000 men is defeated by Yuan's army, the situation will be hopeless.

Therefore, Chen Ying and Bao Long did not dare to hesitate and led their men back to provide assistance.

They came back to rescue, while those from Sun Quan's camp came out to escape, resulting in another stampede amidst the congestion.

When Chen Ying and Bao Long also heard the news of the approaching river from the fleeing troops, they were immediately horrified and fled at a speed much faster than when they had rushed back.

Escape? Where can you escape to?
Dig up a river's water, unleash the raging torrent!
Under the wrath of Heaven, mortals fled in panic like ants.

At that time, all that could be heard was the sound of ten thousand horses galloping, shaking the heavens and the earth.

With a series of muffled, loud thuds, as if the Milky Way had collapsed, shaking the earth and the sky, everyone looked towards the upper reaches of the Han River and saw turbid waves surging into the sky, like the Milky Way pouring down, the water raging and the earth's axis cracking.

Its vast and surging flow, like a white dragon running through water, is the wrath of the Dragon King!
The towering, raging waves, carrying mud and sand, uprooted trees along the way and even moved stubborn rocks, roaring like thunder as they swept in from the horizon, their power growing stronger and stronger, overwhelming and unstoppable.

The Han River, which had been accumulating for a long time, roared and poured out, surging forward with overwhelming force in an instant, destroying cities and fortresses and collapsing mountains wherever it passed.

"The floodwaters have risen! The Dragon King is furious!"

The shrill cries echoed like thunder throughout Sun Quan's camp. The soldiers, who were sharpening their swords and fully armored, preparing to ambush Yuan's army, turned around in terror and saw the towering waves, like a high wall reaching to the sky, pressing down on them.

The soldiers abandoned their armor and fled in all directions. Warhorses neighed and broke free of their reins, rampaging through the camp. Tents were whipped up by the wind, weapons were scattered everywhere, and men and horses galloped wildly.

Sun Quan was shocked and his face turned pale. He and Kuai Yue fled on horseback. Looking back, the roar of the flood, the cries of soldiers, and the neighing of warhorses mingled together, deafeningly loud.

His 100,000-strong army struggled desperately and cried out in anguish in fear of the impending flood.

The floodwaters suddenly arrived, and the troops scattered in chaos. Even before the floodwaters reached them, countless people had already been trampled to death or injured.

And all of this was caused by his own hand, all because of a mistake, a small mistake that he believed he should have made as the first commander of a large army.

However, the price of his mistake this time was an army of 100,000!
But now, he has no time for regret or pity for his soldiers.

Everyone was fleeing. Sun Quan's army in the main camp was fleeing, as were Chen Ying and Bao Long, who had just returned to support the main camp. Even Xing Daorong's troops, who had barely escaped the encirclement on the shore, were fleeing.

At this point, there was no longer any distinction between Yuan's army and Jingzhou soldiers, nor between commanders and common soldiers. Under the might of Heaven, there was only one distinction: the living or the dead!
What distinguishes this difference is the struggle for life!
Generals with horses would mount up and flee, while soldiers without horses would pounce on their horses, grabbing their legs and dragging their tails to seize this life-or-death opportunity.

General Ma's expression turned cold, and he swung his broadsword at his soldiers.

The camp was in complete chaos.

Xing Daorong, standing on the shore, was completely dumbfounded as he watched the raging waves rolling in from the horizon.

"Godfather! The reinforcements you're talking about aren't these, are they? Aren't you trying to trick me? I've served the Yuan family and shed blood for them. Even if I haven't done anything meritorious, I've still put in the hard work!"

He complained, but his men still had an advantage over those in Sun Quan's camp when it came to escaping, and Yuan Shu didn't completely send them to their deaths.

First, his men were all handpicked by Yuan Shu, possessing exceptional swimming skills; second, they had boats!

The boat they had just used to cross the river was right behind them; this was extremely important.

Once on board, they would be swept downstream by the giant waves that surged upstream.

Even so, under such circumstances, a small boat is easily capsized and it is difficult to guarantee its safety.

But it's still much better than those who can only run away on foot or escape on horseback.

However, water and fire are merciless, and the heavens are unleashing their killing intent. As the raging waves surged to the sky and the earth, countless people were swept away by the waves, and cries of agony and wailing filled the land.

With Yuan Shao holding the imperial seal and commanding with overwhelming imperial might, some of Sun Quan's army were instantly submerged by the giant waves, without even having time to cry for help; some clung to broken planks or weapons, bobbing up and down in the surging waves, desperately shouting for help; and some soldiers struggled with each other, but were swept away by the merciless flood and disappeared into the vast curtain of water in the blink of an eye.

Sun Quan and his generals, who were among the first to receive the news, rode swift horses and managed to climb small hills to escape the flood. Meanwhile, the 100,000-strong army drifted away with the current beneath their feet and perished.

Watching the giant waves roll by, creating a terrifying scene where the water was half a meter deep on flat ground, everyone was still shaken.

The cries for help from above and below the water reached Sun Quan's ears. He saw that his 100,000-strong army, which he had personally led and relied on to fight the old villain Yuan Shu, had been destroyed in an instant.

He was heartbroken, yet powerless to do anything about it.

Wherever the flood passed, devastation was everywhere; the land of Xiangyang had become a vast swamp.

Fortunately, when Yuan Shu ordered Xu Chu to breach the Han River, he had already ordered Liu Ye to accompany him and dig the flood diversion channels in advance. At this time, it was not the time of torrential rain in summer and autumn, so when Xu Chu breached the diversion channel upstream, the Han River gradually subsided after the first wave of the strongest water washed away Sun Quan's army.

After the flood, on the marshland where the waters gradually calmed down, a fleet of large ships and light boats stretched from upstream, accompanied by the thunderous sound of war drums.

Sun Quan looked up and saw countless warships covered with black sails cutting through the waves, their masts and flags fluttering in the wind, painted with five-clawed dragons and bearing the character "Yuan"!

On the dragon boat, Yuan Shu, dressed in a Taoist robe and crane cloak with flowing sleeves, sipped a cup of honey water and chatted as he looked down at the battlefield.

Standing beside him were two burly generals, Xu Chu and Zhou Tai, while behind them were hundreds of bare-chested warriors wearing yellow turbans, beating drums with thunderous force.

These ships surrounded the remnants of Jingzhou's defeated troops on the various hills. With Yuan Shu's gesture, thousands of arrows were unleashed from the warships, and fire arrows flew across the water like locusts.

The dead trees and weeds on the high mountaintop, untouched by the flood, were instantly ignited. Flames rolled and roared, scorching the sky with raging flames. The merciless desperation of water and fire shocked the people of Jingzhou.

Amidst the raging flood and swirling flames, he lightly tossed the honey water in his cup onto the ground, chuckled, and said:
"Yuan's army has arrived, do not move!"

To move is to die.

Afterwards, Yuan's soldiers conveyed Yuan Shu's will to various small hills, where generals such as Chen Ying and Bao Long were stationed.

Seeing that they were surrounded by both water and fire, with no way out on any side and only a few hundred people on either side, they knew they could not escape, and they shouted in unison:

"I am willing to surrender! I am willing to follow the example of Xing Daorong and acknowledge Lord Yuan as my godfather!"

Yuan Shu's face darkened, and he angrily rebuked him, ordering him to remove all his armor and be taken into the cabin.

Sun Quan, accompanied by nearly a thousand men, stood atop the hill, hesitant to surrender.

Sun Quan thought to himself that everyone else in the world could surrender to Yuan Shao, but he alone could not.

Because of what he had done these past few days, Yuan Shu could not tolerate it. He would die whether he surrendered or not, so why not launch a grand plan? With this death wish in mind, Sun Quan looked around and saw that everyone, from Kuai Yue to ordinary soldiers, was staring at him expectantly, as if waiting for him to surrender.
Sun Quan: "."

What... what should we do? Let alone being a minor military genius, in such a desperate situation, even Xiang Yu would be reduced to dust.

Fortunately, just then, Yuan Shu's ship approached, and the figure on board, wearing a flat-topped crown and with an unfathomable heart, actually smiled at him.

"Zhongmou has done a great thing!"

"You have lived up to my expectations in coming to Jingzhou and have rendered me such a great service. The pacification of the nine counties of Jingzhou in one battle is all thanks to your merits!"

Sun Quan: "???"

Sun Quan was bewildered and confused, but the way Kuai Yue and the other people from Jingzhou looked at him had completely changed.

Kuai Yue was disappointed and heartbroken. He stared at Sun Quan, his voice almost hoarse with exhaustion.

"Sun Zhongmou!"

That's it!

No wonder you, with your level of knowledge that doesn't even know the basics of military strategy, can win every battle and cause thousands of troops to flee at the first sign of Yuan's army.

No wonder your Sun family, with its status in Huainan, surrendered so quickly, without any regard for the possibility of your entire family being wiped out.

So it was you all along! You've been lying to me the whole time!

Even the times you saved me before, it must have been with the cooperation of Yuan Jun, otherwise how could it have been so smooth every time? It was all so that they could use me to push you to the position of general.

It was I, Kuai Yue, who was foolish and misplaced my trust in you, thus ruining Jingzhou.

I understand, you must want to avenge the grudge of being pierced by ten thousand arrows by Sun Wentai back then!
"With the blood of a million people in Jingzhou, we will avenge the murder of your father. Well done, Sun Wentai truly has a tiger father and a dog son; he has raised a fine son."

It makes sense now, it all makes sense now!

Sun Quan: "."

Realizing that even his closest teacher and the personal guards who had followed him on his escape were subtly drawing their swords and pointing them at him, Sun Quan was utterly devastated and could only murmur weakly.

"I'm not, I didn't!"

But now that things have come to this, who would still believe him?
Taking advantage of the situation, Yuan Shu quickly ordered Sun Ce to land.

“Your brother has made such a great contribution this time, my son, why don’t you go up and welcome our hero back?”
Now that you, Bofu, have been adopted into my family, let this be: I hereby enfeoff Zhongmou as the Marquis of Wucheng, to carry on Wentai's legacy, and bestow upon him a luxurious mansion in Shouchun, so that he may enjoy wealth and honor for the rest of his life.

Upon hearing Yuan Shu's words, no one in Jingzhou suspected anything.
If Sun Quan had truly betrayed Yuan Shu and hated him to the core, wouldn't Yuan Shu have wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible? Why would he have accepted this reward of being enfeoffed as a marquis?
Isn't it obvious enough?

Sun Quan did it on purpose!

He feigned surrender and then cooperated with Yuan's army until Yuan's army eliminated all the capable generals in Jingzhou. Finally, Yuan had no choice but to appoint him as general, and he defeated an army of 100,000 in one battle.

At this moment, from Kuai Yue to the surrounding generals, everyone harbored deep resentment towards Sun Quan. If they hadn't been facing a barrage of arrows from Yuan Shao's army, they probably would have wanted to kill him.

Being mistaken for a betrayal, deeply hated by one's closest confidant, and subjected to this inexplicable torment of the soul, is even more unbearable than death itself.

In particular, Kuai Yue and the other people from Jingzhou couldn't understand Yuan Shu's bestowal of titles, but Sun Quan, who had been in Yuan's camp for a long time, was very familiar with them.

What kind of offer is this: a luxurious mansion in Shouchun to be bestowed upon him, to allow him to enjoy wealth and honor for life? It's clearly an invitation to imprison him for life.

As for the so-called Marquis of Wucheng, who inherited his father's will, he was even more sinister.

His purpose was to confirm that he had feigned surrender, implicated the nine prefectures of Jingzhou and Xiangyang, and destroyed his 100,000-strong army.

If this matter is confirmed, even someone like Sun Quan, who surrendered to the enemy, repeatedly made military achievements, and repeatedly declared that he was irreconcilable with Yuan Shu, even using the act of defeating Yuan's army to prove his loyalty, will be questioned.

These could all be clues planted by Yuan Shu long ago, subtle and insidious schemes.

I ask the feudal lords of the world, who else would dare to employ or trust those who surrendered from Yuan Shao's camp?
Because no matter how many times this person defeated Yuan's army or how many achievements he made, it was all for a more far-reaching scheme.

When they reveal their true colors at a crucial moment and turn against us, the great cause of the nation can be overturned in an instant.

Yuan Shu is using himself as an example to completely eliminate any chance of surrender for anyone in his camp!
Because no one knows whether the person surrendering before them is another of Yuan Shu's far-reaching schemes.

At this moment, Sun Quan could certainly loudly rebuke Yuan Shu, or even die to prove his loyalty, thus thwarting Yuan Shu's plans and schemes.

But what good would that do him?

Now, Yuan Shu is also offering him an opportunity and a deal. Should he choose to cooperate with Yuan Shu to complete the plan, and then live out his remaining years as a confined Marquis of Wucheng in Shouchun?
I would rather die.

Sun Quan certainly didn't want to die. He was only a teenager, he hadn't married or had children yet, and he still had a long life ahead of him.

Today, Sun Quan finally experienced for the first time the helplessness his elder brother felt when facing Yuan Shu's schemes head-on.

He had always looked down on his elder brother, thinking that he had recognized a traitor as his father and even adopted Yuan Shu as his son, without knowing how to resist.

But...do you not want to resist?

Sun Quan had finally learned his lesson, and now it was the same for him.

Manipulating people's hearts is like pulling a puppet on a rope, trapping a beast in a cage, or weaving a spider's web.

It's not that I don't want to resist, it's that I can't!
This ambitious young man, under the resentful gazes of Kuai Yue and his personal guards—who once believed in him as if he were a god, but now hated him like vengeful ghosts—grown up overnight.

He lowered his head, which had been held high, and bowed deeply to Yuan Shu on the ship as his elder brother came to greet him.

"Thanks to Lord Yuan's kindness, I have been able to fulfill my mission."

“Zhongmou, there’s no need for such formalities. I was a friend of your father. Now that Wentai has passed away, I will take care of his wife and children.”

"With your help today, we have overthrown the nine prefectures of Jingzhou and Xiangyang to avenge our blood feud. With such a son, my brother Wentai, if he has a spirit in heaven, can rest in peace."

Sun Quan, supported by Sun Ce, got up. The two brothers looked at each other, their expressions a mixture of laughter and tears.

"Brother, do you think Father will be pleased if he finds out?"

"Zhongmou, let's go home."

(End of this chapter)