Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

In Jiangling City.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!" Meng Zong rushed in from outside, looking slightly flustered, holding a letter in his hand. Since Sun Deng ascended the throne, this close minister of Wu, who was known for his filial piety, had become a Chamberlain and Protector of the Army, becoming a figure similar to Hu Zong and Xu Xiang who had served Sun Quan in the past.

"What's the panic?" Sun Deng had only managed to utter half a sentence when he saw the red mark on Meng Zong's letter. He immediately shut his mouth, his face turning cold as he feigned composure as he asked, "Where did this military report come from?"

Meng Zong, slightly out of breath, handed out the letter with both hands and replied softly, "Your Majesty, it comes from Puqi. The Wei navy has invaded, and their naval forces have all withdrawn. The messenger says there are at least ten thousand troops."

Sun Deng remained silent for a few moments, then shook his head and said, "Since March, the Wei navy has not advanced upstream. They have been resting and reorganizing around Wuchang and Xiakou. They have been inactive until today's attack on Puqi. It must be a large-scale attack."

"Gongwu, go and summon Bu Sikong to my place."

"According to the order."

As Sun Deng watched Meng Zong's figure gradually disappear into the distance, he lowered his head in dejection, closed his eyes tightly, and slowly rubbed his temples with his fingers. His eye bags were swollen, his lips were pale, and he looked haggard, as if he had been thinking too much and had not rested well for many days.

Being an emperor is too difficult.

Especially when the country and its people have been largely lost.

When Sun Deng ascended the throne in Jiangling at the end of March, he was convinced that the Wei army would attack quickly. He was determined to die, thinking that he would rather die than not serve Sun Quan. He continuously rewarded and encouraged the generals, soldiers, and civilians of Jiangling, and reorganized the city's defenses and fortifications. Even when Zhuge Liang led his army away, it did not have much of an impact.

Ascension to the throne, bestowal of titles, encouragement... one thing after another, as if they were on steroids.

However, such high-energy motivation cannot become the norm. Short-term unity and concerted efforts will only lead to long-term fatigue and numbness.

We waited from the end of March until April, but the Wei army did not come.

By the end of April, the Wei army had still not made any move at Xiakou.

For four consecutive months—May, June, July—the Wei army showed no intention of launching an attack. Man Chong's army, which had been defending Dangyang north of Jiangling, had also retreated, and the external military threat seemed to have vanished completely.

As the saying goes, "One should strike while the iron is hot, but the momentum will wane with each attempt and eventually be exhausted with each subsequent one." As the sense of loyalty and righteousness brought about by rewards and money gradually fades, countless problems begin to emerge.

Sun Deng faces numerous problems.

The first issue is whether or not it is appropriate to defend Jiangling from a military perspective.

Jiangling, located on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, was an important town of the Wu Kingdom in the west. It bordered Xiangfan to the north, controlled Yizhou to the west, and governed Jingnan. It was a strategically vital location that could not be lost.

However, the importance of Jiangling City gradually diminished after the loss of Xiakou. At this time, the southernmost point of the Wu Kingdom's territory was Jiaozhou, the middle was the four southern commanderies of Changsha, Wuling, Lingling, and Guiyang, and further north, across the Yangtze River, were Jiangling and Xiling.

From a purely military perspective, Jiangling was far too far from the remaining counties under Wu's control, too far north, and even somewhat west. If the Wei army wished, it could easily bypass Jiangling and directly attack Changsha and Wuling counties to the south. From this perspective, Jiangling should perhaps be abandoned, and the troops could be concentrated near Changsha to shorten supply lines and protect the four counties south of Jingzhou and Jiaozhou further south.

While this judgment is rational, it is not suitable for the current state of Wu. Sun Deng's hasty ascension to the throne, under the guise of loyalty and defense, may allow him to unite his subordinates, but abandoning even the crucial city of Jiangling would severely damage his prestige and be detrimental to him. Moreover, having spent so much time fortifying Jiangling, abandoning it would be unacceptable to anyone.

Sun Deng tried to discuss whether to deploy heavy troops in the Baqiu and Changsha areas, but was stopped by the advice of his ministers.

The second problem Sun Deng faced was logistics.

From last winter to now, nearly half a year has passed. Wu has been conscripting laborers for defense, corvée labor, and transportation throughout the east and west of the Yangtze River. As a result, more than half of the farmland has been abandoned this year. Even though Jiangling City has always stored enough military rations to feed the garrison for more than a year and has conscripted a lot more, the reserves are running out. Jiangling City's military rations can only last until the end of the year.

Besides grain, the treasuries of Jiangling, Jingzhou, and Jiaozhou were almost empty. The money had been used to pay military salaries and taxes, and also given away as rewards. It can be said that after losing its most prosperous region, Yangzhou, the fragile economy of Jingzhou alone was insufficient to support the normal operation of the court and the army.

This was extremely devastating for a broken, separatist regime.

The third problem Sun Deng faced was diplomacy.

For several months, Sun Deng sent envoys to Xiakou more than ten times, and each time the answer he received was almost the same: no contact, no communication.

In addition, Sun Deng also received news that Sun Quan and all members of the Sun clan had been executed.

According to Cao Zhen, the Grand General of Wei, when he met with the envoy, Sun Quan had been a rebellious ruler for over thirty years, and his blood feud with Wei was countless. Since the Taihe era, the Emperor of Wei had personally written more than ten letters urging Sun Quan to surrender, but his stubbornness was as solid as iron, and it could not be said that we had not warned him.

Now that the Kingdom of Wu is about to fall, the Great Wei knows that Wu will not surrender, nor will it accept Wu's surrender. All rebellions must be quelled by a large army. Moreover, the soldiers of the Great Wei are eager to make a name for themselves, and they will not tolerate the broken Kingdom of Wu playing along here. Frankly speaking, the Kingdom of Wu can no longer be called a 'kingdom'.

Just as Sun Deng was filled with sorrow, Bu Zhi finally walked into the hall from outside the city.

"Sikong has finally arrived." Sun Deng stood up, quickly walked towards Bu Zhi, and took Bu Zhi's arm to lead him to the seating area in the hall.

"Your Majesty, I have come to see you." Seeing Sun Deng's demeanor and knowing the military situation from Meng Zong, Bu Zhi remained calm and allowed Sun Deng to lead him inside.

After the two sat down, Sun Deng remained silent for a few moments, then asked, "Minister, Meng Shizhong just told you about the Wei army's attack. I estimate their strength to be at least 100,000. What should we do now?"

Bu Zhi had a sudden realization.

If Wu and Wei had fought to this point, and Sun Deng had chosen to defend to the death, there would be no need for him to speak of these things so intimately. Therefore, he must have ulterior motives.

Bu Zhi took a deep breath and asked solemnly, "Your Majesty, please enlighten me."

Sun Deng finally asked the question he wanted to ask: "Minister of Works, it will take the navy no more than five days to travel from Puqi to Jiangling, and the Wei army is about to arrive. When I defend Jiangling, will Zhuge Liang's 50,000 troops from the Han state come to my aid? It will also take about five days to travel from Xiling and Yidao to Jiangling."

After saying this, Sun Deng added, "When Zhuge Liang withdrew to Xiling, he explicitly told me that he would help me if the Wei army came. The Grand General has also repeatedly assured me that this statement is true." (End of this chapter)