Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

For several days in a row, Jianye was shrouded in gloomy weather. The withered trees and weeds, along with the cawing of crows, made the atmosphere of this courtyard, which originally belonged to Zhu Ju, even more desolate.

Gu Yong had no time for idle chatter with Ge Xuan and went straight to the point: "Master Ge invited me here. What is it you wish to say? Please speak frankly."

Ge Xuan nodded calmly: "Naturally, I want to discuss the fate of the Great Wu with Lord Gu."

Gu Yong snorted coldly: "Master Ge was imprisoned by His Majesty for discussing the fate of the nation. Now he is speaking to me, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat. What is the reason for this? To be frank, I do not believe that Master Ge can discern any signs of war from observing the qi, nor do I believe that you can persuade His Majesty to relinquish his imperial title based on this matter alone."

"Master Ge, what are your intentions?"

“I have not yet become an immortal, and naturally I have my own ambitions, but they are not worldly matters.” Ge Xuan straightened up and looked at Gu Yong calmly. “Master Gu, I will not say too much to you, but only tell you about the two divinations I performed.”

"One is the hexagram 'Family' (Feng Huo Jia Ren) that Your Majesty consulted when I departed from Wuchang on December 10th last year."

"Secondly, at the end of the year, at the Jianye wharf, I performed a divination for Mr. Gu on the spot, and the result was the Ze Shui Kun hexagram."

Ge Xuan said slowly and softly, "The Family hexagram signifies introspection, compliance, and tranquility. According to the hexagram's text, the woman is in her proper place inside, and the man is in his proper place outside. The proper order of men and women is the great principle of Heaven and Earth. Father, son, elder brother, younger brother... I don't need to repeat it; Master Gu must already know it."

"For ordinary people, the Family hexagram is not an inauspicious hexagram. But for His Majesty, who occupies the ninth-fifth position, this hexagram is extremely inauspicious. Therefore, my words that Your Majesty should abdicate are not unfounded."

"The inner hexagram of the Family hexagram is Kan above Li below, which is the Weiji hexagram, and it is also very inauspicious for Your Majesty."

At this moment, a deep furrow had formed between Gu Yong's brows, and he remained silent. As learned as Gu Yong was, he certainly knew what the Family Hexagram meant to Sun Quan. It was hardly a kind intention to expect him to behave like a woman at home, upholding chastity and propriety.
Ge Xuan achieved the title of Celestial Master over several decades, with countless miraculous and divine events performed. Gu Yong still believed in Ge Xuan's abilities, even though Ge Xuan personally performed divination.

As a long-serving high-ranking official, concealing one's inner thoughts is a basic skill. Gu Yong did not show any sign of belief on his face, but instead asked with a mocking expression and a hint of disdain, "So what if it's a family divination? It doesn't necessarily have to be interpreted like Master Ge."

Ge Xuan countered, "Doesn't Master Gu want to know what divination I performed for you?"

Gu Yong was about to refuse, but before he could say it, he changed his mind: "Please, Master Ge, speak."

“Ze Shui Kun.” Ge Xuan looked directly into Gu Yong’s eyes: “Now His Majesty has ordered you to guard Jianye, how can you be sure that you won’t be trapped here in the future?”

When it came to his own situation, Gu Yong could no longer maintain his composure and immediately retorted, "In the past, Tang was trapped in Lü, King Wen was trapped in Youli, Duke Mu of Qin was trapped in Yao, Duke Huan of Qi was trapped in Changshao, and Goujian was trapped in Kuaiji. All of them prospered because of their predicaments. So what if Master Ge is trapped?"

Ge Xuan sighed, "Why pretend to be stupid, Master Gu? The inauspicious hexagram of 'Kun' can be turned into auspicious; the key lies in how one deals with the predicament. Whether one prospers or perishes because of predicament depends entirely on one's thoughts."

Gu Yong gave Ge Xuan a deep look, then turned and left without any warning.

Ge Xuan stopped moving and shouted loudly, "Since Lord Gu is unwilling to listen to my words, I shall leave the city."

"Go ahead." Gu Yong didn't turn around, just waved his hand behind him and replied casually.

Ge Xuan shook his head slightly.

The further Gu Yong walked, the more alarmed he became.

Only after boarding the carriage and lowering the curtain did Gu Yong cover his face with his sleeve and take a deep breath to calm himself. The Wu Kingdom was currently facing a critical juncture, and even Emperor Sun Quan, and Gu Yong himself as the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, could not escape the immense mental pressure.

Ordinary officials may disregard the big picture and leave all decisions to their superiors. But for people like Sun Quan and Gu Yong, who else is there to rank them above them?

Gu Yong returned to the Ministry of Personnel, his mind still unsettled. He then picked up his pen and wrote three letters.

The first was a letter to General Zhu Ran. Zhu Ran was currently leading 10,000 elite troops to defend Ruxu Fortress. Gu Yong requested that he take the initiative to send troops north to bypass Wei's Jingnan Fortress and investigate whether there were any new movements of the Wei army south of Hefei. He also stated that this matter was of great importance and asked Zhu Ran not to be stingy with the casualties of his soldiers and to make every effort to investigate.

The second was a letter to General Sun Shao. Just like the letter to Zhu Ran, it ordered him to send someone to secretly cross the river to the north to investigate.

Thirdly, a letter was sent to Sun Quan in Poyang, asking him to consider the risks of Wei's large-scale troop reinforcements in Yangzhou and their attacks on Ruxu and across the river.

Only after writing three letters in one go did Gu Yong feel a slight relief from the tightness in his chest. After finishing these tasks, Gu Yong continued to review documents until late at night, and then hurriedly went to sleep in his duty room.

But as soon as he closed his eyes, his mind, which had just cleared of political affairs, was filled with Ge Xuan's gaze at the dock that day and the divination he had spoken of today. Moreover, Gu Yong thought of the clansman named Gu Tang, who had gone to Wei with Lu Ya. He did not sleep all night.

The following day, at noon on January 13, Huan Fan's troops marched from the north to the outskirts of Nanchang.

At that time, Nanchang did not yet have the elegant name of "stars dividing the constellations of Yi and Zhen, land connecting Heng and Lu". From any perspective, this place has always been a remote place, almost ignored by the whole world.

According to the division of prefectures and counties during the Later Han Dynasty, Nanchang was the capital of Yuzhang Prefecture. Yuzhang Prefecture stretched from Chaisang in the north, near the Yangtze River, to Ganxian in the south, near Jiaozhou, maintaining a high degree of consistency with the later Jiangxi Province, and covered a very large area.

Large area is actually a synonym for backwardness, sparse population, and mountainous terrain.

Even during the chaotic end of the Han Dynasty and the constant warfare between the three families of Cao Cao, Sun Quan, and Liu Bei, Yuzhang Commandery and Nanchang had no presence whatsoever, far removed from Yangzhou and the two major vortex-like areas of Jingxiang-Jiangling-Wuchang.

The phrase "a long period of peace, with no mention of war for decades" perfectly describes Yuzhang County and Nanchang City.

Huan Fan marched south from Chaisang, leaving two thousand cavalry to accompany the main infantry force. The remaining three thousand cavalry, led by General Sun Li, intimidated every city they encountered, advancing rapidly without giving the Wu forces any time to report their situation. Due to the speed advantage of the cavalry, every city Sun Li encountered was thrown into chaos.

By the time Huan Fan led his main force to the city on the thirteenth day, Sun Li had already besieged Nanchang for two days.

"Deda," Huan Fan calmly nodded to Sun Li, who was bowing to him, "How is the situation inside the city?"

“Reporting to the General,” Sun Li replied, “I have already investigated and found that there are 1,200 garrison troops in the city, commanded by a distant relative named Sun Da. I shot a letter of persuasion into the city the day before yesterday, but Sun Da has not responded and has repeatedly sent people to insult him on the city walls.”

"Fortunately, Sun Quan chose a member of the imperial clan to guard this place," Huan Fan sneered. He came from Chaisang, and when faced with an attack from more than 20,000 Wei troops, none of the cities in Yuzhang Commandery showed any real strength.

Following the surrender of Chaisang, the cities of Liling and Haihun, with only a hundred or so soldiers defending them, surrendered swiftly, almost obsequiously. Huan Fan met with the local officials and offered them words of comfort. He then immediately ordered the confiscation of local grain, livestock, and boats, requisitioning them under the guise of military orders. He also forcibly conscripted local able-bodied men to transport grain for the army and perform miscellaneous labor.

When Huan Fan arrived in Nanchang, in addition to his own troops of more than 20,000, he also brought with him nearly 2,000 surrendered soldiers from Wu and a total of 10,000 laborers.

Sun Li accompanied Huan Fan on horseback to a point an arrow's throw from the city wall. Huan Fan used his binoculars to gaze at the Wu soldiers standing ready on the city wall, pointed to them, and said to Sun Li:

"Deda, can you take this city for me?"

Sun Li clasped his hands in greeting and replied, "Your subordinate obeys! General, my troops are all cavalry, which is not suitable for attacking the city. I wonder how Your General intends to attack?"

Huan Fan's face was icy: "The army can only stay here for three days. After three days, I will gather the manpower and resources here to cross Pengli Lake and head east to attack Poyang. We also need to collect military supplies from the surrounding areas, so the siege will only take two days."

"No matter what method you use, I have only one thing to give you: minimize the loss of soldiers' lives!"

Sun Li pondered for a long time, but couldn't think of a way to launch a strong attack while minimizing casualties. When he looked up at Huan Fan and saw Huan Fan's still cold and stern face, he couldn't help but feel a pang of anxiety and tentatively asked:

"General, may I send another letter into the city to persuade them to surrender?"

“Alright.” Huan Fan nodded: “There are 20,000 infantrymen, 2,000 surrendered soldiers, and more than 10,000 laborers here, all of whom you can command. Minimize the loss of soldiers’ lives; the rest is insignificant.”

"Yes." Sun Li's heart tightened, and he nodded in agreement. As intelligent and decisive as Sun Li was, he had already grasped the unspoken meaning in Huan Fan's words: the surrendered Wu soldiers and laborers could all be used by him…

Sun Li understood. For Sun Li, this was not something unacceptable.

A quarter of an hour later, another letter was shot into the city with a powerful bow.

Upon reading the letter, Sun Da, the commander guarding Nanchang, turned deathly pale. He looked around and said with trembling lips, "The Wei... the Wei traitors say that His Majesty died in Jianye, and that the Wei Kingdom has already sent 800,000 troops across the river to the south?"

He then handed the letter to Prefect Huang Yi.

"This..." Feng Ji, the forty-something-year-old magistrate of Nanchang County, asked from the side, "This statement cannot be believed! Great Wu is protected by Heaven; how could it escape this calamity? It must be the Wei traitor's lies!" (End of this chapter)