The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 456: Power Stratagem
Jiangdong, Wu County.

Sun Ce led his troops to attack Huainan, and Zhou Yu led his troops to Jiangxia.

The one who stayed behind in Wu County was Sun Ce's brother Sun Quan.

Although Sun Quan was only a teenager, he was humble, knew when to act, and was quite mature. This attracted many famous scholars in Jiangdong to praise him, who thought he had the style of Yanling Jizi.

In addition, Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong stayed behind. With their assistance, Sun Quan was able to handle all the government affairs in Jiangdong.

After finishing his government affairs today, Sun Quan suddenly asked, "Is Li Wenyou doing well these days?"

Since Sun Ce and Zhou Yu decided to send troops, they placed Li Ru under house arrest to prevent him from acting recklessly.

When Zhang Hong heard Sun Quan's question, he gave his own answer:

"Since Li Wenyou was arrested, he has ignored all external affairs and has been planting flowers and raising birds in his own courtyard. There is nothing wrong with that."

Planting flowers and walking birds?

Sun Quan had also heard about what Li Ru had done.

If you don't say he is a vicious person, then he is lawless.

How could such a person have the leisure time to plant flowers and walk birds?
Sun Quan asked again: "Then... where are those people?"

Although no names were mentioned, Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong both knew who Sun Quan was talking about.

The Jiangdong noble family!

Although Sun Ce's methods of dealing with the Jiangdong nobles were bloody, Sun Ce was different from the emperor after all. He did not waste energy on training government soldiers, supporting the poor, and forming his own base.

When dealing with the Jiangdong nobles, he also kept people like Gu Yong and Zhu Huan who were willing to surrender and support him as his support.

Before Sun Ce and Zhou Yu left, they specifically reminded Sun Quan to be wary of these people and not let them seize the opportunity!
"I want to visit Li Wenyou later."

Sun Quan's sudden words startled Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong.

"Why does Zhongmou need to go see him?"

"Just a casual chat."

Seeing this, although Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong were displeased, they could not stop it.

To them, Li Ru is actually much more terrifying than people like Gu Yong and Zhu Huan!
After Sun Quan ordered his men to prepare wine and food, he personally carried the food box to Li Ru's house.

Jiangdong has always been humid.

Especially after winter, no amount of silk or brocade can stop the cold, which keeps penetrating into the body through the collar and cuffs.

Li Ru's courtyard was backlit, which made it look even more gloomy, and Sun Quan couldn't help but shiver as soon as he entered.

When he arrived in the courtyard, Sun Quan was even more frightened.

The flower planted by Li Ru in the yard was actually the extremely poisonous Azalea!
Above the sheep, there were several black crows wandering around.

These crows tilted their heads and looked at Sun Quan, causing Sun Quan to break out in a cold sweat and instantly dispelling the coldness from his body!

It seems that Li Ru is such a "flower-planting and bird-walking" person?
Sun Quan was carrying the food box and was about to go home!

At this moment, a voice suddenly came from inside the house: "Are there guests?"

……

Sun Quan didn't dare to breathe and stared at the room.

"Squeak."

The door was pushed open!

An arm hanging on the door handle!

Sun Quan almost didn't dare to look directly at it!

But then, a short and fat old man came out. He had a kind face and was smiling at Sun Quan.

"It turned out to be Zhongmou! I am sorry for not welcoming you in person! I am sorry for not welcoming you in person!"

Li Ru felt as if he had seen his own grandson, and led Sun Ce into the house to entertain him very enthusiastically.

The furnishings in the house are even more warm and elegant. Not only is there the fragrance of tea lingering in the air, but there are also several ancient guqins in the house, giving it a truly celebrity-like style.

With the addition of Li Ru who personally made tea for him, Sun Quan once thought that the courtyard he saw outside the house was an illusion!

He subconsciously looked out the window, but ended up meeting the eyes of a crow that had landed on the window. Frightened, Sun Quan quickly looked away.

"Mr. Wenyou, I came here today because I have something I would like you to help me with."

Li Ru smiled and offered tea to Sun Quan: "Zhongmou is smart, why do you need me to solve your doubts?"

"Besides, Zhang Zibu and Zhang Zigang are both more knowledgeable than me. How can it be my turn to answer Zhongmou's questions?"

Sun Quan did not agree with Li Ru's words.

"My intelligence is just what others say, not what I was born with, so I still need to ask others for advice."

"Although Zi Bu and Zi Gang are both extremely learned, they are, after all, ancient Confucian scholars who believe in the theory of the interaction between heaven and man. It would be inappropriate to discuss matters with them."

Sun Quan did not think that he was as smart as everyone boasted.

At least...if Sun Ce was not the lord of Jiangdong, would everyone still come here to brag about him?
However, Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong were Confucian scholars who believed in "the interaction between Heaven and man", which was what the emperor called "toad Confucianists", and these things should not be discussed with them.

Li Ru sat opposite Sun Quan and smiled faintly: "Zhongmou came to ask me for advice?"

"Learning is the affairs of state, and state affairs are also learning."

Sun Quan spread out his sleeves and asked Li Ru for advice.

"Now that Cao Cao has been defeated, although my elder brother and Gongjin are plotting to seize Huainan and Jingzhou, they may not be able to gain an advantage in the hands of the emperor."

"If we fail to win this battle, we will be at odds with the imperial court, and there are powerful Jiangdong families who are willing to fight to the death... I'm afraid Jiangdong will be doomed!"

Sun Quan was very excited, but Li Ru remained calm, and even had a joking tone in his words.

"Sun Ce and Zhou Yu are still fighting on the front lines. Are you already thinking about these things instead of sharing their worries?"

"The situation requires us to think more carefully!"

……

Get your emotions under control.

Sun Quan added: "I know you are a member of the imperial court. I am afraid you have expected Jiangdong to fall into a dead end." "I came here today just to hope you can point me out and give me a way out!"

Li Ru took a sip of tea and said, "If you surrender to the emperor, he will give you a way to live."

"The kind of life you're talking about is not what I want!"

Surrender to the emperor and the court, and you will naturally have a way to survive.

But this kind of life is not what Sun Quan wants!

Sun Quan lowered his head at this moment: "With your current achievements, you will naturally be able to return to Chang'an in the future."

"But even if the emperor doesn't do anything out of consideration for his reputation, when you return to Chang'an, can you really endure the lonely days?"

"I don't ask for your help, sir. I just want you to point me in the right direction as an outsider!"

Li Ru stared at Sun Quan with a strange look on his face.

"Sun Zhongmou...what a great Sun Zhongmou!"

"I have met your father, Sun Wentai. He has great ambitions, but his aspirations are too low. He will never achieve anything great. Even if he does not die at the hands of Huang Zu, he will not have a good ending in the future."

"Your brother Sun Ce is a reckless man... If it weren't for Zhou Gongjin's assistance, he would have been eaten alive long ago!"

"Only you, yes! You deserve the name 'Magic'."

Li Ru finally stopped refusing at this moment.

"Do you want to achieve the goal of becoming a king?"

"Exactly!"

"Then why don't you learn from those who have already achieved great success, instead of asking me?"

Sun Quan was puzzled: "Sir, do you want me to learn from Yuan Shao?"

"What kind of hegemony is Yuan Shao's?"

Thinking of Yuan Shao, who was once teased by him, Li Ru shook his head, his words full of contempt.

"Could that be Cao Cao?"

"..."

Li Ru burst out laughing.

"I just praised you twice, but now it seems that I was wrong."

Sun Quan was not angry, but continued to ask Li Ru for advice.

"Please explain, sir."

"Who else can achieve the goal of being a king or a hegemon nowadays except the emperor?"

Emperor?

When Sun Quan heard Li Ru mention the emperor, he shook his head in self-mockery: "The emperor is born sacred, how can I compare to him?"

Li Ru closed his eyes at this moment, as if he had no interest in Sun Quan at all.

"The emperor's situation back then was much more embarrassing than yours."

"At that time, was there anyone who stood up and said that the Son of Heaven was born divine?"

Sun Quan was stunned.

"The emperor at that time knew that the Han Dynasty had been abandoned by the aristocratic families, so he did not hesitate and directly joined the notorious Grand Tutor."

"Although the emperor is young, he can already tell who is his enemy and who is his helper."

"Because of this, even though the Grand Tutor had a bad reputation at the time, the emperor was still not bewitched. Instead, he continued to strengthen the strength of the Western Liang Iron Cavalry under the Grand Tutor's command, so that there was no rift between Grand Tutor Dong and the emperor, thus creating a good story between the monarch and his subject."

"Even during the Jian'an period after the death of the Grand Master, the emperor has always been committed to strengthening the power of the poor families based on the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, which is why the Han people who are now able to crush the enemy on the battlefields are so powerful."

"And what does Jiangdong have now? How can those Shanyue natives who can't even read a word help Sun Ce defeat the imperial court? The fall of Jiangdong is only a matter of time, unless..."

Li Ru suddenly stopped talking when he reached this point.

But Sun Quan immediately continued:

"Unless, we repair the relationship between the noble families and make peace with the Jiangdong noble families?"

……

Sun Quan seemed to have seen the light at this moment!

A friend's friend is an enemy!

The court’s enemies now are not just the separatist forces in Jiangdong.

There are also the aristocratic and powerful families! And those little Confucian scholars!
These are what a Jiangdong leader should unite.

But Sun Ce went against the trend, no wonder he could not resist the imperial court!
Sun Quan felt a little annoyed when he thought of Sun Ce.

"But my brother will never make peace with those Jiangdong nobles. What should we do?"

This time Li Ru did not answer, but just looked at Sun Quan with a smile.

Sun Quan felt chilled by being looked at. After drinking a cup of tea, he found that the tea had already gone cold. After drinking it, it was like a cold sword piercing his heart!

Don't dare to stay.

Sun Quan bowed to Li Ru and said, "I have learned a lot today!"

"From now on, you can walk freely, and no one will put you under house arrest anymore."

Li Ru waved his hand: "No, I'm used to this place. I won't be able to adapt to other places."

Sun Quan said goodbye to Li Ru and basked in the sun on the road for a long time before he felt his body gradually warming up.

"Aristocratic family, Gu Yong, Zhu Huan..."

Sun Quan muttered to himself and looked towards the west.

"No matter what, we have to wait until the battle of Jingzhou comes to an end before making any plans!"

(End of this chapter)