mtl008 Chapter 443 Sun Quan's Massacre of Four Sides
Chapter 443 Sun Quan's Massacre of Four Sides
Wherever there are people, there is a social hierarchy. Wherever there is a social hierarchy, there are small groups that gather together for various interests. Even a small village can be divided into several factions that are constantly fighting, let alone a country with its own independent rulers.
Like Cao Cao and Liu Bei, Sun Quan also had several factions under his command. The most prominent of these was the Huai-Si faction, which followed Sun Jian and Sun Ce in establishing their dynasty. Its members included veteran generals such as Zhou Yu, Lu Su, Zhang Zhao, Lü Fan, Huang Gai, and Han Dang.
Secondly, there was the Jiangdong local faction, whose members included local gentry such as Gu Yong, Lu Xun, and Yu Fan. Why was there no opposition to Lü Meng becoming Grand Commander in history, but there was a lot of opposition to Lu Xun becoming Grand Commander? Because Lü Meng belonged to the Huai-Si faction, while Lu Xun belonged to the local faction. Lu Xun's rise to become Grand Commander over the Huai-Si faction can be seen as a landmark event marking the decline of the Huai-Si faction and the rise of the Jiangdong local faction.
Finally, there were the commoners promoted by Sun Quan after he ascended the throne. Zhou Tai, Pan Zhang, and Ding Feng were all promoted by Sun Quan and were his absolute confidants whom he could use without any scruples.
Gu Yong, as the leader of the local faction, invited Huang Gai and Lü Meng, the sons of generals from the Huai and Si factions, for a simple purpose: to get the Jiangdong faction to join forces to kill these two sons of generals and use their blood to bind the rebels to the same boat. No matter who it was, as long as they participated in killing Huang Bing and Lü Cong, even if they only kicked them, there would be no turning back.
This was far more clever than that fool Dong Cheng, who, after obtaining the imperial edict, wrote down the names of all the rebels, including Liu Bei. If no one had betrayed him, he might have actually succeeded. After killing Huang Bing and Lü Cong, they immediately took action, and Jiangling City might have changed hands before dawn.
pity……
Sun Quan, clad in armor and wielding a sword, strode into the hall. After glancing around, his pupils constricted sharply when he saw Huang Bing and Lü Cong, both covered in wounds. He asked with concern, "Are you two alright?"
Even if he hadn't attended the banquet, he could guess the gist of the situation. It must be that Huang Bing and Lü Cong were attacked because they refused to go along with the corrupt practices. Otherwise, if the two of them had simply exchanged some tokens of loyalty, Gu Yong would have treated them as honored guests.
It should be noted that although Gu Yong was at odds with the Huai-Si faction, this was an internal conflict among the people. They could put aside their differences for the time being and unite to deal with Sun Quan, since Sun Quan was the biggest enemy at the moment.
Gu Yong indeed thought so; he would try to win over Huang Bing and Lü Cong if possible, and sacrifice them if he couldn't.
After understanding the whole story, Sun Quan felt a rare touch of emotion. A strong wind reveals the strength of the grass, and turmoil reveals the loyalty of a minister. How could he not be moved that someone was willing to give up their life for him at such a time?
While moved, he became even more determined to surrender to Liu Bei. With these people around, even if Liu Bei wanted to kill him, he would have to think twice.
Huang Bing and Lü Cong were overjoyed. They rushed to Sun Quan and cried out, "My lord, you've come just in time! If you had come any later, we would have been going to see Lord Wentai."
From the moment they decided to turn against Gu Yong, they had no intention of living. Originally, they only wanted to take a few people down with them before they died. Unexpectedly, Sun Quan appeared out of nowhere at the critical moment, giving them hope of survival. It felt like they had stepped into an abyss and were about to fall, but someone pulled them back. They were overjoyed. After all, who would want to die if they could live?
While excited, the two did not forget to adjust their posture, deliberately exposing their wounds for Sun Quan to see, in order to prove their merits to Sun Quan.
Then, without waiting for a moment, he complained, "My lord, Gu Yong, Mi Fang, and the others are planning a military coup, intending to seize the city by force and force you to surrender to Cao Cao. We two refused to aid the wicked, so they attacked and killed us. We were so miserable, sob sob..."
Sun Quan was speechless at their attempts to play the victim, and smiled as he comforted them, saying, "You're safe now. Go to the rear to heal and rest. Leave the rest to me."
After saying that, he walked up to Gu Yong, who was paralyzed with fear, and asked with a murderous look on his face, "Didn't you want to see me? Now that I'm here, what do you have to say?"
Gu Yong was jolted awake. He wanted to say something but realized that even if he spoke eloquently, it would be meaningless. So he simply stood up, straightened his clothes, and, with the composure befitting a patriarch, looked directly at Sun Quan and asked, "I accept that the victor is king and the loser is a bandit. My lord, please answer my last question in consideration of my many years of service. How did you know I was going to rebel?"
Sun Quan naturally wouldn't admit that he had planted a spy next to Mi Fang. He only wanted to push Pan Jun and Huang Chengyan out to take the blame, but he didn't want to reveal their names and get the bad reputation of betraying his teammates. What should he do?
Sun Quan's lips curled into a wicked smile. He looked directly at Gu Yong but ordered those behind him, "Tie up Mi Fang and Fu Shiren and hand them over to the King of Hanzhong for punishment. Execute the rest of them."
Hu Zong and Zhou Cheng immediately led their men to attack the guests in the hall. Pan Jun and Huang Chengyan panicked and hurriedly knelt down, pleading for help: "My lord, don't forget us! We were the first to expose Gu Yong and Mi Fang's crimes to you."
Forgotten it? That damned blue-eyed thief clearly did it on purpose.
But with a knife to their throats, what else could they do but confess?
Gu Yong's pupils constricted sharply as he glared at the two men and angrily shouted, "So it was you two who betrayed us! You two..."
Before he could finish speaking, Sun Quan gripped the hilt of his sword and swung it forcefully. A flash of cold light appeared, and a spurt of blood gushed from Gu Yong's throat. Gu Yong collapsed to the ground, his eyes wide with resentment.
Sun Quan didn't even look at them, but turned around abruptly and said to Pan Jun and Huang Chengyan with an apologetic smile, "How could I have forgotten you two? I'm getting old and my memory is failing me. Please forgive me."
Pan Jun and Huang Chengyan cursed inwardly, but forced a smile and said insincerely, "My lord, you flatter me. I'm glad you're alright."
The two dared not refute, and could only swallow their anger and admit it, but unexpectedly Sun Quan had no intention of letting them go. With a quick glance, he continued, "It's too dangerous outside. There are still countless rebels out there. For your safety, how about you move into the General's Mansion and live with me for the time being?"
Pan Jun and Huang Chengyan: "..."
What does this mean? Are they going to put us under house arrest?
No, absolutely not. How can we move around or welcome Lord Cao if we're under your house arrest?
Huang Chengyan hurriedly replied, "I appreciate your kindness, my lord, but I am old and have trouble sleeping in different beds. I really can't sleep in a different place."
Sun Quan laughed and said, "This is a small matter. I will send someone to your house and temporarily move your bed to the General's Mansion."
Huang Chengyan: "..."
Damn you blue-eyed thief, could you be any more shameless? Why don't you just move my whole house to the General's Mansion?
Huang Chengyan was speechless for a moment, unsure how to refuse, while Pan Jun's eyes darted around as he quickly began to think of a solution. Since Sun Quan had already decided to place them under house arrest, there was no need to plead for them. At this time, the more they pleaded, the more it proved their guilty conscience, and the more guilty they were, the more determined Sun Quan became to place them under house arrest. It was a vicious cycle.
Therefore, they could only accept their fate for the time being and find a way to escape after entering the general's mansion.
Thinking this, Pan Jun nudged Huang Chengyan to shut him up, then clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, my lord. We are willing to move into the General's Mansion and live with you."
Sun Quan nodded in satisfaction and waved his hand. Hu Zong and Zhou Cheng immediately led their men to rush forward, ignoring the screams and pleas for mercy from Zhu Ju, Zhang Bai, and the others. They cut them all down to the ground, and soon the hall was filled with corpses.
Sun Quan stared at the numerous corpses and sneered, "Zhou Cheng, immediately lead men to surround the Zhu residence and kill Zhu Yi. Then send someone to invite Liu Chan to the General's Mansion. If Liu Chan does not come, kill him on the spot."
Zhu Yi was the eldest son of Zhu Huan, the nephew of Zhu Ju, and the young master of the Zhu clan of Wu Commandery.
Liu Chan was Liu Zhang's son. He and his father Liu Zhang were moved to Jiangling by Liu Bei. It's impossible that he didn't resent Liu Bei.
Both of them are potential traitors and must be executed. Sun Quan has no more scruples now and can kill whoever he wants. If all the potential rebels are killed, Jiangling City will naturally be safe, won't it?
Ignoring the corpses scattered on the ground, Sun Quan, along with Mi Fang and Fu Shiren, Pan Jun, Huang Chengyan, and others, made a grand departure. At the same time, he tossed Fei Yi a token, instructing him to take it to the prison to pick up Wang Hong upon his release.
After leaving the Gu residence, the army split into two groups. Sun Quan returned to his residence, while Zhou Cheng led a thousand men to attack the Zhu residence.