Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

"The Wei army's military might is like this... I have never seen anything like it near Wuchang before, it is truly terrifying," exclaimed Wei Jing, the governor of Wuchang.

“With the city standing so high, what can they do even if they send 100,000 or 1 million soldiers?” Wu’s General Sun Lin, with his hands on his hips, stood with Wei Jing at the northeast corner of the Wuchang city wall. His words seemed to carry a hint of disdain: “If I were in Ruxu, I would not have let Ruxu fall so quickly.”

Wei Jing glanced at Sun Lin but remained silent.

Thanks to his father, Sun Ben, Sun Lin inherited the position of Prefect of Two Thousand Stones at the age of nine. When Sun Jian died in Jingzhou, it was Sun Ben who was responsible for leading the remaining troops and escorting the coffin back to his hometown. From a young age, Sun Lin was always arrogant and brave, and he always looked down on the other heroes of Wu.

As for Sun Quan's use of Sun Lin to defend Wuchang...

Firstly, compared to fighting the Wei navy, defending Wuchang was not too difficult, making it suitable for a general like Sun Lin, whose abilities were unclear. Secondly, Sun Quan wanted to use the arrogance and unwillingness to admit defeat of young generals to defend the city, and the fact that he was a member of the imperial clan could also stabilize the morale and situation within the city.

Sun Lin and Wei Jing watched from the city wall for a while before ordering the soldiers in the city to light a beacon fire on the northwest corner of the city wall.

Yesterday's signal fire was to report the approach of the Wei army, and today's signal fire is to report that the Wei army has arrived at the walls of Wuchang. The two of them had made an agreement with Sun Quan beforehand.

In just over an hour, Sun Quan, who was still in Xiakou, had a general idea of ​​what had happened in Wuchang.

It is now springtime, and much of the land in Wuchang, Jiangxia and Changsha counties upstream is lying fallow. Laborers from all over have either been conscripted to the vicinity of Jiangling or transferred along the river to the Xiakou and Wuchang areas.

Sun Quan did not recall Sun Deng's more than 10,000 men, but he chose another path: conscripting laborers.

Wuchang originally had 25,000 Wu troops. When Man Chong attacked Jiangling, he transferred 5,000 of them, and Sun Deng took 13,000 with him to relieve Jiangling. When Sun Quan led the central army to Wuchang, the total number of Wu troops in the Wuchang and Xiakou area was less than 40,000.

Wuchang, Xiakou, and Changsha were densely populated areas of Jingzhou in the Wu Kingdom. Sun Quan conscripted nearly 100,000 laborers, of whom 20,000 were selected to garrison Wuchang with Sun Lin. The remaining laborers were either transporting supplies, building fortifications, or guarding various towns near Xiakou with Wu soldiers. Some even joined the navy to be responsible for rowing and other tasks.

Sun Quan managed to scrape together around 40,000 troops by piecing things together and maneuvering around the place.

As for where the people of these three counties would find food after the land was abandoned, Sun Quan no longer cared about that.

"Zhuge Kongming has gone too far!" In the former Jiangxia Prefectural Governor's Mansion in Xiakou City, Sun Quan sat in the center with a stern face, his anger flaring: "Liu Bei has always been a treacherous old man who has never kept his word. Zhuge Liang has been a liar for many years, and today he has suddenly changed his tune, taking advantage of the critical moment when Great Wu is in danger to lead troops from the west!"

"I only regret that the Wei army is ahead, and I cannot devote all my efforts to looking west, otherwise I would definitely kill this man first!" Sun Quan was so angry that he even forgot to use the word "I" (朕, the imperial "I" in Chinese).

Having said that, Sun Quan slammed his right fist down on the table with a loud thud. Quan Cong and Sun Huan, who were in the hall, looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

Although Zhuge Liang was an ally, he was still a foreigner. Even if he did something outrageous, it could be excused with phrases like "all's fair in war" or "each serving their own master."

But Zhuge Jin was different.

Zhuge Jin's letter arrived at Xiakou almost simultaneously with the signal fire alarm from Wuchang. Xiakou is less than two hundred li from Wuchang, a negligible number for the 100,000-strong Wei army—practically within arm's reach.

With worries both at the front and the rear, Zhuge Jin even suggested in a letter that Sun Quan use the entire Yidu Commandery, stretching from Wuxian in the west to Xiling and Yidao in the east, as collateral in exchange for Zhuge Liang himself leading 30,000 troops to come to Zhuge Jin's aid.

Zhuge Jin planned to exchange territory for the support of the Shu army, and he would lead 20,000 troops to join Zhuge Liang's 30,000 troops to bring together a total of 50,000 troops to aid Wuchang!
How could Sun Quan possibly concede?!
If Yidu is easily abandoned, all the gains made in the battle against Liu Bei at Yiling will have to be lost! Moreover, if Yidu falls, Jiangling, a crucial stronghold and heartland, will be completely exposed to the Shu army's might. What kind of logic is this, guarding against the enemy for a thousand days straight? Should Jiangling, with its front line outside Wuchang to the east, also be treated the same way?

Sun Quan angrily threw things behind his desk, while Sun Huan was at a loss, constantly sighing. Only Quan Cong, like a true commander, knelt on his mat with his eyes lowered, quietly thinking about things.

The mental pressure of the past few days had pushed Sun Quan's already strained nerves, which had been stretched to the limit since the assassination attempt last year, to their limit. It took him half an hour to calm down after venting his emotions here.

Quan Cong had been silently observing Sun Quan's expression. Only when Sun Quan was panting heavily and sitting motionless on the mat did Quan Cong cough lightly, bow to Sun Quan, and say:

"Your Majesty, I have something to say, which may not be to your liking, but the affairs of the state are of utmost importance, so I must speak."

"Zihuang, speak," Sun Quan said listlessly.

A hint of sadness flickered in Quan Cong's eyes as he gazed directly at Sun Quan and calmly said:
"Weiling cannot be lost. The ambitions of Shu are similar to those of Wei, and it cannot be easily abandoned. If there are no promises, Shu will not come to our aid. Does Your Majesty agree?"

Sun Quan sighed deeply: "How could it not be?"

Quan Cong continued, “Wei’s attack is imminent, and Shu is eyeing us covetously from behind. It is dangerous to advance or retreat. Why doesn’t Your Majesty surrender to Wei? By relinquishing the title of Emperor and ceding the land east of Chaisang to Wei, Your Majesty will still have time to reorganize the army, preserve the territory, and bring back the imperial family and officials. What do you think of this plan?”

Sun Quan chuckled and shook his head, but in the blink of an eye, his face also turned sorrowful, just like Quan Cong's.

“I know, I know…” Sun Quan said slowly, “My family is trapped in Jianye, and Zihuang’s family has also been lost. Not to mention, Zihuang’s son died in Xiangyang. I know that Zihuang has no ulterior motives. If, like when Cao Zihuan was alive more than ten years ago, we can really make peace with Wei, I would be willing to give up my imperial title.”

“But things are not the same as they were more than ten years ago.” Sun Quan’s voice grew lower and lower as he spoke, his teeth clenching in a gritted voice. “They say that enduring humiliation is the mark of a great man. But I am no longer willing to suffer humiliation. More than ten years ago, I surrendered to Cao Zihuan; am I to surrender to Cao Yuanzhong again today? Zhu Yifeng, Xu Ziming, Hu Weize, Pan Chengming… these men were not afraid to die; they all died for me. Am I afraid to die today? What do titles of king or emperor mean in the face of life and death?”

"Zihuang, I will not surrender again. Now, the only option is to fight to the death!"

“Then let’s grant it to Zhuge Kongming and let him lead his troops to Wuchang.” Quan Cong continued, as if he had anticipated Sun Quan’s words. “If the Wei army does not retreat and continues to advance, let’s pretend this never happened. We can use the Shu army’s strength to maintain the war situation. Giving away Yidu County is fine. After all, only His Majesty, I, and General Sun know about this matter.”

"If the Wei army is willing to accept Your Majesty's surrender and withdraw its troops..." Quan Cong's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and his voice was slightly hoarse: "If we lose in the east, we can take in the west! It was Zhuge Kongming who broke the alliance and led his troops here without authorization! Your Majesty can use the Grand General to lure Zhuge Kongming and the Shu army here, and then swallow up all 50,000 Shu troops!"

"The Shu Kingdom has less than 100,000 troops, and Zhuge Liang brought most of them. If we lose this army, and Shu has no good generals, Your Majesty can lead troops westward to take Chengdu for Your Majesty! In the past, Zhou Yu had a plan to control the entire Yangtze River. In my opinion today, this is not necessarily impossible!"

Sun Quan abruptly stood up, his eyes fixed on Quan Cong. Quan Cong, not to be outdone, immediately met Sun Quan's gaze, his imposing manner in no way inferior.

Meanwhile, Sun Huan was completely stunned by Quan Cong's words... It can only be said that a person's talent and courage are almost a gift from heaven. Even if Sun Huan had a thousand brains, he could not have come up with such a risky and extremely ruthless method as Quan Cong!
"Is this feasible?" Sun Quan asked, his face tense.

"I do not know," Quan Cong replied, "but we may as well give it a try. How much worse can the situation get?"

"Indeed." Sun Quan chuckled. "This is a glimmer of hope for Great Wu." (End of Chapter)