Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

The decree from the Wei emperor was delivered across the river by five prisoners. Sun Shao, a member of the Wu royal family and a former general stationed in Dantu, received the decree, which had no official seal. He glanced at it briefly, and in a fit of rage, executed the five soldiers on the grounds of desertion and loss of territory.

Thus, this blank imperial edict, bearing only the four characters "Emperor's Seal," was sent to the palace of Sun Quan, the emperor of Wu, in Jianye.

A series of chopping sounds came from inside the hall, along with the sounds of tables being overturned and utensils breaking, and there seemed to be a suppressed growl mixed in.

The eunuchs and guards waiting outside the hall didn't dare to breathe, silently bowing their heads and staring at the ground in unison. At times like these, it was best to proceed with caution.

This is probably the third or fourth time the emperor has been angry today.
It wasn't until much later that Sun Quan's anger subsided. He then ordered the eunuchs to come in and clean up the damaged items in the palace, and then ordered them to bring in Shi Yi, Hu Zong, Xu Xiang, and Pan Jun.

In the eyes of the eunuchs, the emperor was like a celestial being, and when the emperor was angry, it should be like the legends in myths, with thunder and earthquakes and heaven and earth responding.

But they also knew that Emperor Sun in the palace wasn't the only emperor in the world; the Wei Kingdom to the north and the Han Kingdom to the west also had emperors. Since they were all emperors, which one truly held the title?

If Cao Rui, the emperor of Wei in the north, were to see this scene, he would probably burst out laughing. What else could this be but impotent rage?
Shi Yi and the others were on duty in Jianye Palace as usual. By the time the three of them gathered and Pan Jun entered to pay his respects, it was already half an hour later. The palace had been restored to its clean and gleaming state, and Sun Quan sat calmly in the center of the palace, his expression unchanged, making it impossible to discern his inner thoughts.

On the table in front of Sun Quan was the blank imperial edict.

After the four men bowed, Sun Quan pointed forward and said, "Since you're all here, let's take a look at this."

Before the three attendants and law enforcers could even move, Pan Jun, the Minister of the Imperial Household, stepped forward with his hands clasped, picked up the blank imperial edict, examined it carefully, and then looked up and asked:

"Why did Your Majesty stamp this blank decree? However, the paper is of excellent quality; it is the first time I have ever seen such a paper."

Sun Quan's mood, which had just calmed down, instantly soured again. His face flushed slightly, and he almost lost his composure. He gritted his teeth and said, "Chengming, look carefully. This is not my imperial seal."

Pan Jun was greatly alarmed: "Your Majesty, what has happened?"

Shi Yi, Hu Zong, and Xu Xiang also had their expressions change drastically.

It should be noted that, according to the rites and laws of the Han Dynasty, the imperial seal was granted in many different ways, varying in size. The Imperial Seal of the State, which had been passed down from the Qin Dynasty, was not intended for daily use; it was more of a ceremonial object.

The key factor was perhaps the conflict among the three kingdoms. Each kingdom had only recently been established and had little time to make significant changes to its ritual system. Both Wei and Wu followed the Han dynasty tradition of re-engraving the imperial seal.

Sun Quan himself also possessed an identical 'Emperor's Seal'! Only the minor details were slightly different.

Sun Quan slowly said, “You gentlemen do not yet know. Yesterday afternoon at the end of Shenshi (3-5 PM), Sun Gongli (Sun Shao) received this document in Dantu, and then immediately ordered someone to send it to Jianye by fast horse.”

"The Wei cavalry has already occupied Guangling. Moreover, Cao Rui is currently in Guangling City."

The group looked at each other, speechless for a moment.

This was a critical moment for the Wu Kingdom. However, times had changed, and both Zhang Zhao and Zhou Yu, who had served under Sun Ce, had passed away. There was no one left who was prudent enough to make such a decision for Sun Quan.

Moreover, Chancellor Gu Yong had been dismissed from office for over a year. During this time, a somber and oppressive atmosphere pervaded the Wu court and the public, with everyone fearing reprimand from the emperor or questioning from officials for making mistakes, thus remaining silent in fear. Sun Quan, of course, knew that this phase could not last. However, he viewed the current situation as a temporary phase, intending to gradually loosen restrictions on the gentry and ease their burdens once all military forces were consolidated and military power was fully concentrated before the emperor.

But the State of Wei did not give him that opportunity.

Seeing the four men fall silent, Sun Quan immediately thought of Gu Yong.

Currently, Yi is the highest-ranking official in the Wu court, and he manages the outer court through the system of inner court officials.

Faced with this silence, Shi Yi finally stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the most important thing at present is to clarify the intentions of Wei's current military advance."

"Either they will disrupt the borders of Great Wu, just as they did at the beginning of the year when they attacked Jiangling and Xiling. Or they will try to occupy Guangling for a long time, just as Chen Changwen did four years ago when he feigned an attack on Ruxu but actually built a city, in order to confront Great Wu."

"Of course, there is also the worst-case scenario: the Wei state plans to cross the Yangtze River, just as Cao Zihuan led his troops to Guangling in the early years of the Huangwu era."

Sun Quan sighed, "How could I not know these possibilities? The General is already preparing for battle in Dantu, and He Da's warships have begun patrolling the river."

“From a purely military perspective, the Yangtze River is a natural barrier, and the Great Wu has been building up its river defenses in Yangzhou for decades, so it shouldn’t be difficult to withstand the Wei army’s invasion.”

"I am only worried that it is still too early for Great Wu to gather its troops. If Wei only harasses Guangling, it will be fine. But if the attack is larger, the generals and soldiers will not be able to coordinate for long, which may cause trouble."

Shi Yi nodded silently.

In modern parlance, the Wu army is currently going through a painful period of reform.

Starting last year, Sun Quan disbanded the troops of the generals in Yangzhou, nominally placing them under the direct command of the imperial court. This year, he further rearranged and reorganized the troops of the generals within the same defense zone of Yangzhou, resulting in a complete reshuffling of the generals and soldiers.

As for Jingzhou, after Sun Quan personally brought Zhu Ran back to Yangzhou by pulling the ladder off the boat, the troops originally belonging to the four generals Bu Zhi, Zhu Ran, Zhuge Jin, and Sun Huan were not only rotated among themselves in an organized manner, but also exchanged with the Wu central army.

Using the phrase "soldiers don't know their generals, and generals don't know their soldiers" to summarize the situation is a bit of an exaggeration. Taking Yangzhou as an example, Quan Cong's entire retinue was under Sun Shao's command, and they were capable of fighting if they wanted to.

If the conflict provoked by Wei is small-scale, it's fine. But if it's on a large scale like when Cao Pi attacked Wu in the third year of Huangchu, it's likely to cause chaos.

Of the four people before him, Yi, Hu Zong, and Xu Xiang were all close ministers of Sun Quan. Pan Jun, the only one who could be considered an outsider, was gradually involved in political decision-making as the Minister of the Imperial Household, and had become a confidant of Sun Quan.

Sun Quan talked with the four men for a long time, and the military arrangements and troop deployments were roughly arranged.

The four then took their leave.

As Sun Quan watched the four men bowing respectfully, a sense of loneliness and desolation welled up within him.

The suggestions given by the four individuals were all regarding Wei's attack on Guangling, or crossing the river at Guangling. (End of Chapter)