Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Then, the soldiers in Chaisang City witnessed a strange sight.

Four ships dispatched from the army to His Majesty's residence departed one after another, each less than half an hour apart.

The first ship was to deliver the letter from Sun Quan that Shen Fan had brought with him; the second ship was to deliver Shen Fan's head; the third ship was to deliver Lu Xun's handwritten explanation of the matter to His Majesty; and the fourth ship was to deliver a letter jointly signed by General Lu Xun, who was in charge of the Eastern Expedition, and General Huan Fan, who was in charge of the Northern Garrison, introducing the military situation near Chaisang.

This is the first time this has ever happened among online trolls.

Huan Fan sat in his military tent, watching the military advisor leave with the letter. He glanced again at Shen Fan's body, which had not yet been collected, sighed, and said to Lu Xun:
“General Lu, I really think there’s no need for you to be so cautious. His Majesty is so magnanimous, how could he possibly suspect you over something like this?”

Lu Xun shook his head slightly, stood with his hands behind his back, and asked Huan Fan, "Yuanze, when did you begin your official career?"

Huan Fan was taken aback, not expecting Lu Xun to ask such a question. After a few moments of silence, he replied, "General, I entered officialdom in the nineteenth year of Jian'an."

"What position do you hold?" Lu Xun asked again.

Huan Fan replied, "At that time, I served as the Eastern Cao Yuan in Emperor Wu's Prime Minister's office."

"You were only in your early twenties then, weren't you? Just turned twenty. How did you manage to become an official in the Prime Minister's office? I know that the Eastern Secretariat of Emperor Wu's Prime Minister's office produced many outstanding figures of the Great Wei." Lu Xun asked again.

"This..." Huan Fan was speechless for a moment, and then he bowed to Lu Xun and said, "General Lu, I was recruited to the Prime Minister's office as a candidate for the civil service examination. If I were to explain the details, it might be because my father had served in the office of General He Jin during the Han Dynasty, just like Emperor Wu. I received this favor because of my father's past relationship with Emperor Wu. In addition, I am from Longkang in Qiao County, which is the same hometown as the Cao family. Therefore, I received this favor."

“General Lu, the official system was different back then, and I was not promoted by chance,” Huan Fan added in his defense.

Lu Xun nodded: "How could I not know the name of your father, Duke Huan? During the reign of Emperor Ling, scholars executed eunuchs. Duke Huan was known as the 'Imperial Censor on a Falcon Horse' in Luoyang. Later, he served as the Imperial Guard and then as the Grand Master of Ceremonies."

"These are all old stories from the Han Dynasty." No one had mentioned these things for many years, and Huan Fan seemed a little embarrassed. Although he entered officialdom through the favor of his father, his father had been dead for more than 30 years, and his impression of his father had become much vague.

Lu Xun said softly, "Yuanze, you are from the same hometown as His Majesty, and you are also a descendant of Emperor Wu's old friend. Moreover, you have outstanding talents, so you have been promoted continuously over the years. This time, you are the commander-in-chief leading more than 20,000 soldiers."

“As for me,” Lu Xun sighed, “I felt more at ease when I was in Yangzhou, after all, I was close to His Majesty and it was convenient to ask for his decree if I needed anything. Now that I’ve arrived in Chaisang, the farther I am from His Majesty, the more uneasy I feel.”

“Yuan Ze”.

"Yes," Huan Fan replied.

Lu Xun sighed, "The Wu region has already fallen to the Great Wei. With the war at this point, anyone with eyes can see that there is no suspense left. For a general, the most important thing is to avoid making mistakes. Moreover, the situation in the court is truly perilous right now."

"Dangerous?" Huan Fan asked in surprise, "How so?"

Lu Xun slowly said, "Regarding the merits of conquering the country, among the armies of Jingzhou and Yangzhou, whose merits are ranked higher and whose are ranked lower? How many were enfeoffed as kings and how many were enfeoffed as dukes? The merits are so limited. If one person receives less, shouldn't the others receive more fiefdoms?"

"Just you wait and see," Lu Xun said, gazing into the distance outside the tent. "Leading the army into battle isn't dangerous for either of us, but the aftermath will be far more perilous. If something truly happens, my status as your brother-in-law and your past relationship with His Majesty might not be so effective." "Tell me," Lu Xun replied, "how does my contribution to the Wei dynasty compare to Fan Kuai's to the Han dynasty? Far inferior!"

Upon hearing Lu Xun's words, Huan Fan became alert. At that moment, Huan Fan also suddenly realized that perhaps he had been too well protected by the Emperor, causing him to forget even this basic level of vigilance.
Before the military campaign, Sima Zhongda and Chen Jibi fought each other in Shouchun. One lost his position as the Grand Secretary, and the other lost his position as the Vice Grand Secretary, becoming the Censor-in-Chief. The entire cabinet was also replaced. This was clearly the result of His Majesty's intention to restrain himself as the great war approached.

Have I been a general for too long and forgotten what the struggles within the imperial court should look like?

Huan Fan sighed and bowed to Lu Xun, thanking him for the reminder. He knew he would present these carefully worded remarks to His Majesty someday, and Lu Xun was clearly aware of this; it was an unspoken understanding.

……

Without Chaisang, Wuchang became the easternmost defensive stronghold in the territory controlled by Sun Quan.

It's somewhat ironic that Wuchang, once Sun Quan's capital, has now become a fortress at the forefront of the enemy's defenses. Wuchang is only four hundred li away from Chaisang by waterway. It takes a little over a day to travel downstream, and even a more cautious upstream journey would take a day or two at most, almost like the two armies facing each other on land, separated by a hundred li.

However, this was the original purpose of Wuchang City.

Geographically speaking, Wuchang and Jianye have many similarities.

Both Wuchang and Jianye are located south of the Yangtze River and have tributaries flowing into the river that could provide anchorages for naval forces. In Jianye, these are Jiajiang and Longzangpu, while in Wuchang, they are Fanchuan to the west. Jianye is surrounded by mountains and lakes, as is Wuchang. Wuchang is bordered by Xishan to the west and Nanpu to the south, and both cities are rich in copper and iron deposits, making them truly ideal locations for establishing a capital.

But good locations are good locations... and now the capital is at the forefront, the situation doesn't look good at all...

The person in charge of overseeing the Wuchang campaign for Sun Quan was, of course, Quan Cong. Although General Sun Huan was capable, Sun Quan trusted Quan Cong more at this crucial moment.

In the Wuchang Palace, Sun Quan and Quan Cong sat facing each other.

Sun Quan didn't put on any imperial airs or observe any formalities, and Quan Cong didn't care about such empty formalities either. If Wuchang wasn't defended well, the Wu Kingdom would be doomed. What's the point of being so particular about these things?
"I didn't sleep a wink last night. There are 40,000 troops near Wuchang. I intend to use 10,000 to defend Wuchang, and the remaining 30,000 to deploy at Xiakou and Fankou, taking advantage of the waterways." Quan Cong's eyes were slightly dark, and he looked much more haggard. He explained his strategy to Sun Quan: "Sun Jiming should be used to defend Wuchang! I request to lead 20,000 naval troops to garrison at Fankou, and Your Majesty should lead 10,000 naval troops to garrison at Miankou. We will maintain contact with each other along the way using beacon fires. If the enemy attacks, I will inform Your Majesty with beacon fires, and Your Majesty can then sail down the river to assist me!"

Quan Cong presented what he considered to be an extremely reasonable plan, but Sun Quan seemed somewhat hesitant.

"Your Majesty?" Quan Cong's tone was somewhat urgent.

Sun Quan glanced at Quan Cong, his lips slightly parted as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't utter a word. Quan Cong noticed that something was wrong with Sun Quan and pressed him for details, at which point Sun Quan finally revealed what he was thinking.

"I...I think, how about we send the 13,000 troops under the Crown Prince's command back to Wuchang? Let Ziyu lead his troops to endure in Jiangling a little longer. The troops sent from Xiangyang are already struggling to get supplies. Would it be better to wait until the Wei army runs out of food and the heat of summer after a few months?"

Quan Cong remained silent. (End of Chapter)