New Three Kingdoms Tales: Starting as the expressionless Liu Bei

When Sun Jian led his army to a canyon, Sun Ce turned his horse around and stopped in front of him, clasping his hands in greeting, "Father, there is a man ahead who claims to be Yuan Shu's secret envoy and wishes to see you."

Sun Jian frowned slightly and tapped his fingers lightly on the hilt of his sword. To this day, he still didn't know that Yuan Shao was the mastermind behind the withholding of rations that day; he had always held Yuan Shu responsible for it.

Now that the two armies are separated, why did Yuan Shu send someone here? To send them to their deaths?

He was silent for a moment, then said coldly, "Let him come here. If he can't give us a proper explanation, we can use his head as a snack, and that will be revenge for withholding our rations." He paused, then looked up at Sun Ce, "Where is he?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a middle-aged man dressed in gorgeous clothes strode out from the woods beside the rock wall.

The man's robes were brand new, and the jade pendants at his waist jingled, making him stand out somewhat among the soldiers, all of whom were fully armored.

He stopped a few steps away from Sun Jian, smiled, clasped his hands in a salute, and said, "I am Fan Jin, a strategist under Yuan Gonglu. I have been ordered by my lord to wait here for General Sun."

Sun Jian placed his longsword across his lap, his fingertips slowly tracing the spine of the blade, and gave a cold smile:

"Fan what? Jin what? Never heard of it. What is it? Speak. If you have nothing to say, my sword just needs a head to test its edge."

Fan Jin trembled, his smile froze on his face for a moment, then he repeatedly cupped his hands, stepped forward, took out a letter from his sleeve, and respectfully handed it to Sun Jian's horse: "General, please take a look, you will understand at a glance."

Sun Jian glanced at him suspiciously, took the letter, and unfolded the bamboo slips. The handwriting on the letter was neat and hurried, each stroke seeming to suppress a surge of resentment that needed to be expressed:

I, Yuan Shu, bow to you, Brother Wentai, a hundred times. During the previous alliance meeting, I never withheld any of your rations, pay, or weapons. These things were all fabricated by Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao had long harbored imperial ambitions and intended to use the alliance as an opportunity to strengthen his power, weaken other warlords, replace Dong Zhuo, and dominate the world.

He has now secretly written to Liu Biao of Jingzhou, promising him great benefits and asking him to ambush him at Sanjindu and intercept the Imperial Seal of the State.

Brother Wentai, you must be very careful...

Sun Jian's hand, gripping the bamboo slip, trembled slightly, his knuckles turning white. When he looked up, his eyes were filled with doubt and wariness: "Why would Yuan Gonglu tell me such a secret? Isn't he Yuan Benchu's cousin?"

Fan Jin stroked the sparse beard under his chin and said slowly:

"General, you are wise. People with the same surname do not necessarily share the same principles. My lord is a benevolent and righteous ruler, while Yuan Shao is a hypocrite and a treacherous man."

"My lord could not bear to see General Sun suffer, nor could he bear to see Yuan Shao wreak havoc on the world. Therefore, he personally wrote this secret letter and entrusted me to come and tell you."

Sun Jian slowly closed the bamboo slip, his gaze passing over the canyon exit and looking towards the direction of Sanjindu.

He remained silent for a long time, then raised his hand and waved, signaling Fan Jin to leave.

Once the figure disappeared into the woods, he turned his horse around and said in a deep voice to the generals behind him, "There is a cave ahead. Let's go there to discuss matters."

Inside the cave, Sun Jian took a swig of wine, tossed Yuan Shu's secret letter to his generals for them to read, and sneered, "Yuan Shu talks at length about his respect for me, Sun Jian, in the letter, saying that he wants to form a life-and-death alliance with me to work together for a great cause."

He slammed the wine jug on the ground, snorted, and said, "These two Yuan brothers appear to be as close as brothers, but they're secretly plotting against each other. In my opinion, they're both eyeing the Imperial Seal of the State in my pocket with ill intentions. Tell me, what should we do now?"

Sun Ce snapped the bamboo slips shut, looked up, and spoke in a sharp and earnest tone:

"Father, I think Yuan Shu is even worse than Yuan Shao! He would even betray his own cousin. To ally with him is like becoming sworn brothers with a tiger; sooner or later, he will stab us in the back."

Cheng Pu took the bamboo slip, flipped through it, and pondered for a moment before speaking: "What I mean is that we have just suffered a heavy blow, and our lord is still injured. Unless absolutely necessary, it is best not to confront Liu Biao head-on. We should try to bypass Sanjindu and return to Jiangdong first."

Sun Jian slowly stood up, walked to the cave entrance, looked at the gray sky outside the canyon, and sighed:

"Sanjindu is the only way back to Jiangdong, and the ferry is already waiting there. If we take a detour, not only will the ferry wait in vain, but our return will be delayed by at least thirty days."

"More importantly, all the units have run out of food, and all our food supplies are on those ferries."

He turned around, glanced at everyone, and said, "If we take a detour, what will you all eat when there's no food or wine?"

Huang Gai scratched his head, hesitated for a moment, then stood up, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "This humble general has something to say, please don't be angry, my lord."

Sun Jian waved his hand, signaling him to speak frankly.

Huang Gai swallowed hard and said, "This humble general believes that the root of all these troubles lies in that Imperial Seal. Ever since our lord obtained it, all the feudal lords have been eyeing us like hungry wolves."

"Now that Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu are both targeting it, why don't you just throw it out and let the two Yuans fight like dogs? That way, Jiangdong can have some peace and quiet..."

Before Huang Gai could finish speaking, Sun Ce shook his head repeatedly, "Uncle Huang, this is unacceptable! The Imperial Seal was bestowed upon my father by Heaven; how can we simply hand it over to someone else?"

He turned to Sun Jian, his eyes filled with burning fighting spirit.

"Father, Liu Biao is now old and senile, no match for us. I obtained that power from the Imperial Seal, and now my strength is almost equal to yours. Give me five thousand elite troops, and I dare to pledge that I will capture Liu Biao alive within three hours and conquer Jingzhou!"

Sun Jian shook his head, reached out and pressed Sun Ce's shoulder, gently pushing him back into his seat.

"Jingzhou's defenses are high and thick, and there are at least 100,000 armored soldiers inside. You can't take it in a hurry, and instead you'll end up fighting Liu Biao to the death. That's not what I want."

As everyone fell silent, a childish voice rang out from the corner: "Father, I have an idea."

Oh?

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw nine-year-old Sun Quan walk out from behind Cheng Pu, his little face showing a seriousness beyond his years. He clasped his hands in a fist salute to Sun Jian and stood up straight like a little adult.

Sun Jian's eyes lit up, and he nodded slightly: "Quan'er, just speak freely."

Sun Quan cleared his throat, gestured with his little hand, and said, "Father, have Uncle Cheng Pu and Uncle Huang Gai take their troops and hide on the left side of Sanjin Ferry. Have my brother take two thousand elite soldiers and ambush on the right side."

He glanced at Sun Ce's warlike face, then quickly looked away, his voice crisp yet clear, "Then, Father, you should lead five hundred old, weak, and disabled soldiers to Sanjindu to negotiate with Liu Biao openly and honestly. Show Liu Biao Yuan Shu's letter, and when he's not paying attention, activate your stealth ability and launch a surprise attack on Liu Biao."

He paused, then slammed his small fist into his palm, a fierce glint in his eyes that seemed completely out of character for his age: "With the commander-in-chief dead, the army will be thrown into chaos. Uncle Cheng Pu, Uncle Huang Gai, and my brother will charge out from both sides and intercept the enemy's central camp. If we win this battle, Jingzhou will be ours."

After he finished speaking, the cave remained quiet for a while.

The generals exchanged bewildered glances, none of them able to believe these words had come from the mouth of a nine-year-old child. Sun Jian stared blankly at his youngest son, speechless for a long while.

He remained silent for a long time before finally shaking his head. The plan was good, but too ruthless; if word got out, the whole world would condemn the Sun family.

Before Sun Jian could speak, Sun Quan immediately threw out a question he couldn't avoid: "Father, if we don't do this, we'll starve to death on the way. Then we won't even have wine, let alone food. Is that what you want to see, Father?"

He took a step forward, tilted his little face up, and looked earnestly at Sun Jian. "Besides, it was Liu Biao who tried to harm Father first and seize our Imperial Seal. We were acting in self-defense, and we have every reason to do so. Father, brothers, uncles, tell me, is reputation more important, or is drinking more important?"

Every one of the Xin San gang members was a drunkard, and they were all stunned when they heard this.

Sun Jian remained silent for a long time under Sun Quan's gaze, and finally sighed helplessly, raising his hand to slap the stone wall: "Let's do as Quan'er says."