Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

As Chen Zhi turned to leave, Sun Deng was caught in a state of compounded anger.

He was angry at the uninvited arrival of the Shu soldiers, at Zhuge Liang's lack of integrity, at Liu Shan's relentless encroachment, and of course, at the arrogance of the envoy Chen Zhi, the helplessness of the generals and soldiers around him, and even at the absent-minded and flustered state of Meng Zong and Pan Zhu beside him.

In short, he was not angry about his own incompetence.

The Sun family of Fuchun in Wu Commandery, Yangzhou, rose to power during the chaos of the late Han Dynasty under Sun Jian, and under the leadership of the brothers Sun Ce and Sun Quan, eventually establishing themselves as emperors. However, their power was short-lived, as they were repeatedly defeated by the Wei Kingdom within a few short years. They lost vast territories, their false emperor was beheaded, and their new emperor fled far away...

To be fair, Sun Deng wasn't exactly a foolish or incompetent ruler; he was simply not exceptionally outstanding. On the contrary, if he had lived in a peaceful era, he might have become a wise and benevolent ruler, leaving a lasting legacy in history. However, Sun Deng's qualities were completely insufficient in the current era of great strife. He was competing on the same stage with Cao Rui and Zhuge Liang, as well as many other outstanding figures from the Wei and Shu kingdoms.

In terms of talent, Sun Deng can be described as moderate.

Even a shrewd and capable ruler like Sun Quan needed numerous heroes like Zhou Yu, Lu Su, Lü Meng, Lu Xun, Zhu Huan, Quan Cong, Zhang Zhao, Gu Yong, and Lü Fan to assist him. Given the mess Sun Deng left when he took over Wu, even if you summoned all the likes of Zhou Yu and Lu Su from the ground, let alone Sun Deng himself, they might not have been able to hold out for long.

As for character and demeanor...

From the moment Sun Deng placed all his hopes on the Shu Kingdom for rescue while he was in Jiangling, he lost the ambition and ability to act as the leader of a separatist force.

In matters of the world, if you cannot fight, you must defend; if you cannot defend, you must retreat; if you cannot retreat, you must die.

He couldn't bear to give up the well-defended Jiangling, nor could he bear to give up the faint hope that the Shu army had given him. Instead of retreating south to Jingnan and Jiaozhou, he retreated west to Xiling.

Forced by the prevailing circumstances, Zhuge Liang was powerless to reverse the inevitable defeat and demise of the Wu Kingdom. The Wu Kingdom was destined to perish, and as a Han official, Zhuge Liang's duty as a Han subject was to do his utmost to secure as much benefit as possible for the Han Dynasty from the remnants of Wu.

Faced with Zhuge Liang's relentless, gradual approach, Sun Deng repeatedly softened his stance, retreated, and conceded, until Liu Shan himself arrived, rendering Sun Deng's limited military strength useless.

What else can we do besides agree?
If he was against it, why didn't he object when Zhuge Liang asked for the authority to command troops? Why didn't he object when Zhuge Liang was defending Xiling and wearing down the Wu troops on the front lines? Why didn't he object when 60,000 laborers were taken away?

The bottom line is something that is repeatedly rubbed and pushed back, and then disappears.

Even if Meng Zong, Pan Zhu, and others urged Sun Deng to raise an army in rebellion, Sun Deng would not have the will to do so. Not to mention, given the loyalty of Meng Zong and Pan Zhu, how could they possibly utter such words to their lord?
Since the end of the Han Dynasty, countless forces have vanished like smoke.

With the examples of Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Gongsun Zan, Tao Qian, Lü Bu, Ma Chao, Liu Biao, Liu Zhang, and others, the fate of the Sun family was merely thirty years later; none of them were more noble than the others.

Just like the mighty river flowing eastward, the sun rising and the moon setting, it is all natural.

The following day, on the 16th day of the 11th month of the 9th year of the Taihe reign of the Wei Dynasty, Emperor Sun Deng of the Wu Kingdom opened the gates of Xiling City to welcome the Shu army into the city.

Emperor Liu Shan of Han ordered Chancellor Zhuge Liang to build an altar south of Xiling City to offer sacrifices. Emperors Liu Shan and Sun Deng jointly ascended the altar to offer sacrifices to Heaven, reaffirm their alliance, and jointly signed a document to exchange the two commanderies of Zangke and Xinggu for the two commanderies of Jianning and Xiling. Liu Shan's move was intended to appease the more than 20,000 Wu soldiers and the tens of thousands of laborers who had entered Yizhou, and of course, it was also to give an explanation to the court and the people, as well as to Sun Deng at the moment.

At the same time, during the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven, Liu Shan and Sun Deng swore brotherhood. Liu Shan, born in the twelfth year of Jian'an, was two years older and thus the elder brother, while Sun Deng, born in the fourteenth year of Jian'an, was the younger brother. From then on, the states of Han and Wu also swore brotherhood.

After the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven, at Zhuge Liang's urging, Sun Deng wrote a letter to Zhuge Jin, who was still in Zigui City, informing him of the territorial exchange and the renewed treaty between Han and Wu, and explicitly instructing Zhuge Jin to understand the overall situation of the territorial exchange between Han and Wu.

In the following days, after another round of persuasion from Zhuge Liang, Sun Deng left 10,000 soldiers to assist General Wei Yan in defending Xiling, and then led the rest of his troops westward.

On November 24th, Zhuge Jin visited Sun Deng in Zigui. After personally confirming Sun Deng's safety, witnessing his relaxed demeanor after the pressure of impending doom, and verifying that Sun Deng had voluntarily signed and handed over Xiling, Zhuge Jin, citing the Emperor's safety, the lack of need for his continued assistance, and the continuation of the Sun family line, stated that he was old, frail, and disheartened, and voluntarily resigned from his positions as Grand General and Grand Commandant of Wu, as well as his title of King of Qi, returning to commoner status.

Despite Sun Deng's repeated attempts to stop them, he was unsuccessful. He and Zhuge Jin embraced and wept before parting ways. Zhuge Jin, posing as a relative, accompanied Zhuge Liang's army to his camp and returned to Chengdu with him.

On December 20th, under the joint escort of General Fei Yi and Governor of Yijiang Ma Zhong, Sun Deng led his remaining 10,000 troops to Pingyi County in Zangke Commandery. Fei Yi and Ma Zhong then prepared to lead their respective troops back. Indeed, Shu Han thus completely handed over Zangke and Xinggu Commanderies to Sun Deng and his subordinates, without holding anything back.

Outside Pingyi City. "Your Majesty, we two ministers will not enter the city. We will hand it over to Your Majesty in its entirety." Fei Yi stood and bowed, then said, "Now that we have arrived in Zangke County, we two ministers still have something to say to Your Majesty."

Sun Deng also cupped his hands in response, saying, "We have been fortunate to have General Fei and Commander Ma escort us along the way. May I ask what you two wish to discuss?"

Fei Yi glanced at Ma Zhong, who spoke first: "Your Majesty, since the court has entrusted the Zangke and Xinggu prefectures to you, these two prefectures are vast and fertile, sufficient to support Your Majesty's restoration of the Wu Kingdom. I have served in the south for a long time and have some understanding of the Zangke and Xinggu prefectures."

"The Great Han has always focused on the north rather than the south. As for the various prefectures in the south, we only seek to establish basic order and maintain a general peace between the Yi and Han people, without striving for the meticulous governance of the prefectures and counties in the interior of Yi Province. In the third year of Jianxing, when the Chancellor led the southern expedition to the south, the foreign minister led his army to defeat Zhu Bao, the prefectural governor of Zangke Prefecture, who was causing a rebellion. Afterwards, Pingyi City was established as the residence of the Governor-General of Yijiang. After Your Majesty's arrival, the foreign minister will use Wei County in Jianning Prefecture as his new residence, which will not be adjacent to Your Majesty. Your Majesty has also seen the map of Zangke Prefecture. Pingyi City, where we are currently located, is on the northwestern border of Zangke Prefecture. The other counties in Zangke Prefecture are all occupied by local powerful families or Yi people and are not under the jurisdiction of the Great Han Dynasty."

"Thank you for informing me, Governor Ma." Sun Deng nodded earnestly. "The governance of Zangke Prefecture should be carried out slowly and carefully. I will handle it with caution."

Sun Deng understood that Ma Zhong meant that although Zangke Commandery was nominally under the Han Dynasty, the Shu Han court had not actually established effective rule there. This was similar to the situation with the vast territories of Kuaiji Commandery, Poyang Commandery, and even Jiaozhou in the past, which were part of the Wu state.

Fei Yi continued, "That would be best. Governor Ma has said a lot just now, and I also have two things to explain to Your Majesty."

"Okay." Sun Deng nodded slowly.

Fei Yi said, "Firstly, the various prefectures in the south are connected, and the customs of the Yi people are the same. I urge Your Majesty not to oppress the Yi people too much when governing the prefectures and counties, so as to prevent territorial instability and disturbance of the borders."

“I understand,” Sun Deng replied.

"The second issue is how to deal with the Yi people," Fei Yi said. "As Governor Ma just mentioned, the Han Dynasty has always only sought to maintain basic order and stability between the Yi and Han peoples. The Han Dynasty has the southern barbarians, and the Wu Kingdom has the Yue people in the mountains, so the situation is similar. As far as I know, the Wu Kingdom has been waging war against the Yue people for many years, bringing them under the jurisdiction of the prefectures and counties, forcing them to farm or enlist in the army. This is not the same as the Han Dynasty's approach."

"Nanzhong is also a border region for the Han Dynasty. I hope Your Majesty can properly develop it. If the methods of Wu can be effective here, then the Han Dynasty may also adopt them. Please consider this carefully, Your Majesty."

Sun Deng replied solemnly, "I have noted down everything you two have said. Thank you for your help."

"Farewell!" Fei Yi and Ma Zhong bowed to Sun Deng, then returned to their camp and slowly retreated in the direction they had come from.

Only after Fei and Ma's armies disappeared from sight did Sun Deng feel at ease. Pingyi City wasn't large, and the area was mostly hilly with limited arable land. But for Sun Deng, the events of the past year felt like a dream. Now he had arrived in a place where the Wei army posed absolutely no threat, a safe place without external enemies, where he could recruit people, build cities and ancestral temples…

Although it was like being exiled, what more could Sun Deng ask for?
He still has at least 10,000 soldiers!
Between November and December, Sun Deng arrived at his new post.

The Emperor of Wei also leisurely traveled north from Wuhan back to Luoyang.

The route roughly starts from Wuhan and goes north along the Han River. After reaching Fancheng, it goes north to Xinye, and then passes through Wancheng, Bowang, Yexian, Jiaxian, and Liangxian to reach the territory of Henan Yin, and finally arrives in Luoyang.

For the soldiers of the central army, returning to Luoyang meant receiving rewards of money, silk, and tax reductions. For Cao Rui and his many generals and officials, however, the journey was more like a relaxation: the war was behind them, the rewards had been received, and they only needed to travel and rest each day without worrying about anything else. The emperor would often stop for a few days to rest and enjoy the local scenery.

It was a rare and relaxing time.

When Cao Rui met with Chen Tai, the governor of Xiangyang, Chen Tai led the local people to present him with a giant Ganoderma lucidum that they had picked from the mountains, which amazed Cao Rui.

Upon entering Nanyang, Cao Rui visited the temple of Emperor Guangwu of Han, and nothing unusual happened. He then ordered local officials to properly repair the temple.

When Cao Rui passed through Mobei, he heard that a blue dragon had appeared in a local well, which he considered an auspicious sign. However, when he went to see for himself, the blue dragon did not appear. Officials said that the blue dragon had hidden itself because it feared the emperor's true dragon aura. Some ministers even suggested changing the era name to "Blue Dragon" in commemoration of the blue dragon's auspiciousness, but Cao Rui directly rejected this suggestion.

Cao Rui was genuinely confused. Many of the legends about dragons in this era spoke of dragons appearing in wells, not in the heavens. However, to change the era name based on such an "auspicious omen" was, of course, nonsense to Cao Rui. As the saying goes, what the ruler likes, the subjects will follow; therefore, his ministers also declared that such omens were of no use to the people or the realm. Huang Quan ordered the Imperial Secretariat to instruct all governors and prefects not to actively seek out or report any auspicious omens…

In conclusion, on December 25th, Cao Rui finally arrived outside Luoyang, returning to the capital of Wei, which he had been away from for several years. (End of Chapter)