Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

The north wind lashed the cowhide tent, making a beast-like roar. The candlelight was nearly extinguished by the pressure, casting a bluish-gray shadow on Zhang Hong's wrinkled face. He hunched over, his cloudy pupils gleaming with a faint light, like poisonous algae swirling in a deep pool.

"To be honest, Huang Zu's ambush and your brother's ambush were both planned long ago." Zhang Hong's skinny fingers suddenly clasped Sun Quan's wrist tightly, the bony joints feeling like the coils of a venomous snake. "Lü Meng, Lü Dai, and the others are stalled, but they are just pawns laid for today."

Sun Quan felt as if struck by lightning, his neck veins bulging as he violently tried to shake off the other's hand. But Zhang Hong's grip was incredibly strong, and it remained motionless like a rusty pair of pliers. "Shut up!" His voice trembled, his other hand already grasping his sword, but the fierce struggle prevented him from unsheathing it. "Brother has treated you well, why..."

"He's been good to us?" Zhang Hong suddenly burst into a raspy, hoarse laugh, shaking the candlelight in the tent violently. "Back when he pacified Jiangdong, he used the barbarian rebellion as an excuse to exterminate my family! He burned fields and houses, slaughtered my clansmen, the behavior of a typical warrior!" Bloodshot welled up in the old man's cloudy eyes. "But in the blink of an eye, he put on a benevolent facade, pretending to appease the family - he was just trying to coax us into working for him!"

Sun Quan's Adam's apple rolled violently, and cold sweat trickled down his back into the crevices of his armor. The night wind carried Zhang Hong's words through the tent, swirling like countless venomous snakes spitting their tongues into his ears. "If you are like this, why are you still obeying orders from your brother?" His voice rose unconsciously, and the sword in his palm was damp.

Zhang Hong stroked his graying beard, his withered face flushed with a sickly red. "All we aristocratic families seek is survival!" He suddenly grabbed Sun Quan's shoulders, his knuckles almost digging into the flesh. "It's not that we are cruel and ruthless, it's really your brother's methods! When we massacred Lujiang, even children in swaddling clothes were..." His voice stopped abruptly, and only the heavy breathing of the two men remained in the tent.

Sun Quan stumbled back half a step, his back hitting the cold leather tent. Moonlight streamed in through the cracks, stretching Zhang Hong's shadow and twisting it into a ghostly shape. "Aren't you afraid of your brother's reckoning for you colluding like this?" His voice trembled, but he forced himself to stand straight.

"It is precisely because of fear that we need a new master!" Zhang Hong suddenly lowered his voice, a calculating glint flashing in his cloudy eyes. "We have no second thoughts about the Sun family. It makes no difference who sits on the throne of Jiangdong. But Mr. Zibu often said that the young master is kind, magnanimous, and will definitely bring peace to Jiangdong..."

Before he could finish his words, the crisp snap of a dead branch echoed from outside the tent. Sun Quan looked up abruptly. A north wind whipped across the tent, and the candlelight flickered. Five or six burly figures loomed outside the cowhide tent. Sun Quan's breath suddenly stopped, his gaze fixed on the moving figures—the leader, broad-shouldered and thick-backed, the twin halberds dangling from his waists gleaming coldly in the moonlight, unmistakably Lü Meng's weapon. The figure on his left, wielding a mountain-splitting axe, the cold light reflecting off the axe blade revealed his gnarled arms, a perfect match for Lü Dai. And the slender figure, unmistakably Quan Cong, was the last.

Zhang Hong turned his head to look in the direction of his frightened gaze, a meaningful smile curling up at the corner of his mouth. His old voice, wrapped in the night mist, seeped into Sun Quan's ears: "Don't panic, Second Young Master. These are all family members." His skinny fingers slowly smoothed the wrinkles on his sleeves. "General Lu Meng and the others are looking forward to discussing the great plan for Jiangdong with you."

Sun Quan felt a chill on the back of his neck, cold sweat trickling down his spine into his armor. The shadowy figures outside the tent remained motionless, like five silent Asuras. The cold light from their weapons shone through the tent, casting tiny shadows on his face. He instinctively grasped his sword, but found his palm was already soaked with sweat, and the metal handle was so slippery that it was almost impossible to hold. In that moment, he suddenly realized that he had already stepped into an elaborate web of conspiracy.

Zhang Hong suddenly approached, his murky breath whispering in Sun Quan's ear. "If Second Young Master insists on disobeying," he pointed a bony finger across the tent toward Sun Ce's camp. "Lü Meng and the others must attack immediately. Within half an hour, Sun Ce, along with Zhou Tai, his old subordinates, and of course you, will have stained Jiangxia with blood." Before he finished speaking, the soft clink of weapons rang out from outside the tent. The dark shadows of Lü Meng and the others swayed in the moonlight, as if ready to break through the tent at any moment.

Sun Quan dug his nails deep into his palms, blood dripping from his fingers. He looked at the sinister glint in Zhang Hong's eyes, and thought of his brother's daily scolding, his mother's disappointment, and the soldiers' contempt, and a bitter taste rose in his throat. "But if you nod..." Zhang Hong suddenly put on a flattering smile, "As long as Sun Ce leaves, we will immediately support you as the lord of Jiangdong! Civil officials, military generals, and aristocratic families will all bow down to us."

The night wind howled into the tent, flickering the candlelight. Sun Quan alternately imagined his brother's majestic figure and himself ascending the throne, surrounded by thousands of people. "These two paths..." Zhang Hong pushed the document toward him. "One is a river of bloodshed, and Jiangdong changes its master; the other is to preserve the Sun family's foundation, and you can bury your brother with honor as the Lord of Jiangdong..."

Sun Quan's knuckles turned white as he gripped his brocade robe, and his throat felt like it was choking on a burning charcoal. Zhang Hong suddenly approached, the fierce light in his cloudy eyes almost piercing his face: "Second Young Master, don't think that we can only have you!" The old voice suddenly turned cold, and his skinny fingers tapped Sun Quan's shoulder fiercely, "If you persist in your delusion—"

From outside the tent came the harsh sound of metal rubbing against each other. The dark shadows of Lü Meng and his men suddenly approached, their weapons casting a cold, eerie light on the tent in the moonlight. Zhang Hong stretched his lips, revealing a mouthful of yellowed teeth. "Tomorrow, when the army revolts, you and Sun Ce will die together in Jiangxia!" He suddenly grabbed the candlestick on the table, the flames almost scorching Sun Quan's eyebrows. "The Sun family bloodline is long and strong, and your third brother, Sun Yi, is also young, so he's quite suitable!"

Sun Quan stumbled back, his lower back slamming against the table. Bamboo slips scatter, mixing with spilled tea stains and leaving inky bloodstains on the blue bricks. Zhang Hong threw the candlestick hard to the ground, and sparks splashed on Sun Quan's clothes: "As long as Jiangdong is still ruled by your Sun family bloodline, the old members of the Sun family will not cause chaos. Is it you, him, or Sun Yi..." The old man leaned over, his breath on his face, "It's just a title! Second Master, you'd better make a decision quickly!"

Sun Quan's Adam's apple rolled violently, and his nails dug deep into his palms. "Really... only my brother will die?" His voice trembled, sounding both a question and self-consolation. Footsteps were heard outside the tent, startling him and making him tremble all over.

Zhang Hong slapped his chest so hard that it jingled. "Of course! Just tell everyone that the lord is seriously injured and has passed away. You will take care of all the aftermath!" He suddenly lowered his voice, a calculating glint in his eyes. "As for that brat Sun Shao..." His skinny fingers made a strangling gesture in the air. "The second young master only needs to cry out to the lady-in-waiting - Zhou Yu commands a large army. If a young lord is enthroned, he will become a hidden danger in the future!"

Sun Quan's pupils suddenly shrank, and cold sweat instantly seeped out of his back as he recalled Zhou Yu's heroic appearance during military training. Zhang Hong, however, became more and more excited as he spoke, his beard trembling with his voice: "The lady of the house loves her youngest son the most. How could she let the Sun family's foundation fall into the hands of outsiders? With her intervention, how dare veteran officials like Cheng Pu and Huang Gai disobey?" He took a half step forward, his breath on Sun Quan's face, "By then, Zhou Yu will be powerless. You have your father's loyal old men to protect you, and we, the noble families, will fully support you..." His old finger stabbed heavily at the map of Jiangdong on the table, "These six counties and eighty-one states will be yours sooner or later!"

"But brother..." His voice was hoarse and almost out of tune, his Adam's apple rolled violently as he swallowed back his fear. "What if he recovers?" Before he finished speaking, a sinister laugh suddenly rang out.

Zhang Hong's hunched figure approached like a ghost, and a small, gilded bottle slipped from his sleeve. Moonlight filtered through the slits in the curtains, glancing over the dark purple powder within, emitting a faint shimmer like the tongue of a venomous snake. "Second Young Master, you're worrying too much." The old man's withered fingers stroked the bottle, dark red blood still stained between his nails. "This 'Blood-Stopping Throat' dissolves instantly in water, colorless and odorless. Just half a spoonful in the soup..." He deliberately dragged out the last syllable, his aged voice tinged with a hiss like a venomous snake's tongue.

"How could I do this myself..." Sun Quan stumbled back, his lower back slamming against the table. Bamboo slips crashed to the ground, and the bronze candlestick toppled to the ground, its flames instantly licking the scattered documents. In the flickering firelight, Zhang Hong's shadow twisted across the tent into the shape of a hideous demon, its fangs and claws bared as the flames grew.

The old man pressed on, his bony fingers gripping Sun Quan's wrist like iron pliers. "If the young master hadn't personally served him, how could Sun Ce, with his alertness, have felt safe drinking it?" As he approached, a foul breath sprayed on Sun Quan's face. "Lü Meng and Lü Dai were slow to respond, and Xue Zong hesitated... He must have been on guard against these anomalies." Zhang Hong suddenly lowered his voice, his cloudy eyes bloodshot. "Only the medicine handed to him by his closest relatives can make him let down his guard."

From outside the tent came the soft rustle of armor, and a dark figure, spear in hand, cast a sinister outline in the moonlight. Zhang Hong's sinister gaze swept across the tent curtain, his nails digging deep into Sun Quan's flesh. "Only if you submit this 'letter of surrender,' will we dare to entrust our lives to you. Otherwise..." He suddenly pulled his mouth apart, revealing a mouthful of yellowed teeth. "When we eliminate Sun Ce, if you turn your back on us—"

The candlelight in the tent suddenly grew brighter, illuminating Sun Quan's distorted features with flickering light. Zhang Hong's cold gaze coiled around him like a venomous snake, and the corners of the old man's mouth curled up in a triumphant smile.

"I...I promise." Sun Quan's voice was so hoarse that it was almost out of tune, as if it was squeezed out from the depths of his throat. He raised his head abruptly, a trace of determination flashing in his eyes, "But I want you to swear that you will only kill Sun Ce and not implicate other members of the Sun family!"

"Don't worry, Second Young Master!" Zhang Hong patted his chest heavily, his old voice filled with excitement that was hard to conceal, "We guarantee it with the lives of our entire clan!" Before he finished speaking, he suddenly opened the curtain, and the cold night wind, carrying the smell of blood, blew in his face.

Lü Meng, Lü Dai, Quan Cong, Xue Zong and other generals filed in, the sound of armor clashing being particularly harsh in the silent tent. They knelt on one knee, and a deep and uniform voice echoed in the tent: "Greetings, lord!"

Sun Quan's heartbeat quickened as he gazed at the kneeling crowd before him. Under the flickering candlelight, the generals' eyes gleamed with a complex glint—reverence, calculation, and a subtle hint of flattery. Suddenly, his throat tightened, and an unfamiliar, burning sensation surged in his chest. So this was what power felt like.

He slowly raised his hand, his fingertips trembling slightly. At that moment, he seemed to see himself ascending to a high position, overlooking the land of Jiangdong. His brother's face, however, gradually blurred in this burning desire for power...