Chapter 104: The Fatigue of the Boat
On the same afternoon that Cao Rui arrived in Shouchun City, Lu Xun's fleet set out from Xiling and headed east. After ten days of sailing, it arrived at the dock outside Wuchang City in a mighty manner.
The Eastern Wu was able to occupy the Yangtze River entirely thanks to the navy's ability to maneuver in the river. The navy's role as a backup support in Wu's military was irreplaceable by any number of infantry and cavalry, as they defended Jingzhou and Yangzhou along the natural barrier of the Yangtze River.
The ships of the Eastern Wu were also of many types. In addition to the tower ship that Lu Xun himself rode on and used for command, there were also main warships such as the Mengchong and Doujian, as well as the Zou Ge used for rapid attack and the oil tanker used to transport troops.
Just as Lu Xun's fleet was sailing downstream, a fast ship carrying a message set out from the fleet and arrived in Wuchang in advance to report the news of Lu Xun's impending arrival.
King Sun Quan of Wu also sent his trusted confidant, the Inspector General Hu Zong, out of the city to greet him at the dock north of Wuchang.
The winter wind was strong, and Hu Zong stood alone on the dock in a cloak. The fleet came slowly from a distance, and Lu Xun's ship also slowly docked at the shore. Seeing Hu Zong waiting here to greet him, Lu Xun slowly walked down the ship alone.
Hu Zong saw Lu Xun approaching along the stairs and immediately bowed. Among all the civil and military officials of Wu State, Lu Xun's prestige is second only to Sun Quan, the King of Wu. In addition to his record of attacking Guan Yu in Jingzhou and defeating Liu Bei in Yiling, Lu Xun is also the current governor of Jingzhou.
You should know that the current Wu Kingdom only has three states under its jurisdiction: Yangzhou, Jingzhou, and Jiaozhou. The governor of Yangzhou is the elder Lu Fan, and Jiaozhou has no governor but only a governor, who is the elder Lu Dai. The governor of Jingzhou is Lu Xun, who is standing in front of Hu Zong at this moment.
The previous governor of Jingzhou before Lu Xun was Sun Quan, the King of Wu several years ago.
Before Lu Xun approached, Hu Zong bowed and said, "Your Excellency has come a long way from Xiling, and the journey by boat must be exhausting. The King of Wu sent me to take you into the city. The King of Wu will host a banquet tonight to welcome you."
Lu Xun walked up to Hu Zong and supported his arm with his hand: "Wei Ze, you and I have known each other for many years, why do we have to be so distant?"
"Did the king say when the army would set out?"
Hu Zong replied: "After the dinner tonight, the army will set out for Wankou tomorrow morning. Your Excellency, please come into the city and rest for a while."
Lu Xun shook his head gently: "Tomorrow we will send out troops, and the whole city will be busy. I will not bother the king now. Weize, you walk with me along the river."
Hu Zong agreed, and then followed half a body length to Lu Xun's side. The two walked slowly along the riverside next to the pier.
Lu Xun asked, "Wei Ze, you are back from Poyang, right? How is Zhou Cang's army doing?"
Hu Zong replied: "I also just arrived in Poyang the day before yesterday. All 10,000 of my troops have already gone to Wankou. If we calculate based on the date, Zhou Cang's troops should have reached Likou, opposite Wankou."
The Wanshui River flows through Wancheng and flows into the Yangtze River at Wankou, which is on the north bank of the river, and Likou is on the south bank of the river opposite Wankou.
Lu Xun continued, "I have been sailing on the river for ten days, and I didn't know anything about Wuchang. What are the movements of Wei?"
Hu Zong paused and said, "At the beginning of the month, spies from Yuzhou reported that Yuzhou Governor Jia Kui led an army to Yangzhou with a force of more than 10,000 people."
"But perhaps because the roads were blocked or the Wei army had stepped up their guard, there were no reports from the spies in the direction of Yangzhou. Cao Xiu only replied to Zhou Cang in the middle of this month, saying in the letter that he would lead his army south on January 10 and let Zhou Cang meet him by the river."
Lu Xun frowned when he heard this. "Did you give us an answer on the number of troops Cao Xiu is leading this time? And when Cao Xiu said he would march south on January 10, did he mean he would set out from Shouchun on the 10th, or would he meander to the Wankou River on the 10th?"
Hu Zong shook his head. "Cao Xiu's reply to Zhou Cang was vague. He just said that he would go south as Zhou Cang requested and let Zhou Cang take over. Cao Xiu did not mention anything else."
Lu Xun was silent for a while: "Wei Ze, are there really 100,000 soldiers this time?"
There were only a few high-ranking officials in the Eastern Wu, with the exception of Sun Quan, the King of Wu. Lu Xun was the most senior among them. Lu Xun's attitude towards the war against Wei had almost become an open secret, and all the important officials and generals of the Eastern Wu were aware of it.
Hu Zong followed Lu Xun and suggested, "Sir, the number of troops sent out this time is indeed 100,000. You don't have to doubt it."
Lu Xun sighed, "I have also advised the king not to mobilize so many troops. If you send about 50,000 troops, there is no need to mobilize so many troops from other places, which will weaken the defense of various places."
"Besides, according to your Majesty's intention, Zhu Ran must have already feinted an attack towards Xiangyang, and Lü Fan must have feinted an attack towards Guangling, right? If these two places were to encounter the Wei army, I really don't know what to do."
Hu Zong was silent. How could he not know this? Compared to the Wei Kingdom in the north, the Wu Kingdom had very few soldiers. The Shanyue people in various counties often rebelled, and withdrawing troops would likely cause problems.
Since the Jian'an period, the Eastern Wu had been engaged in wars year after year. First, it fought against Cao, then Liu, and then conquered the Shanyue. The few years without war were spent preparing for war and training troops.
At this time, the Eastern Wu was already very exhausted.
Hu Zong has been Sun Quan's confidant for many years, and he would obey Sun Quan's orders without hesitation. But this did not prevent Hu Zong from understanding that Lu Xun also had a point.
One is for attack, the other is for stability. Both paths are for the sake of the country. Which path is the right one? Hu Zong didn't know, and most people in Dongwu didn't know. Since the King of Wu and Lu Xun, who are capable of paving the way, have already chosen a path for us, let's follow it.
The two walked and talked along the river bank. The sun gradually got lower in the sky, and a flock of birds chirped as they flew north across the river.
Hu Zong reminded him: "If you meet the King of Wu today, you must address him as 'Supreme Lord' instead of 'Great King'."
The meaning of the word "Supreme" is completely different from "Great King". It is a title that belongs exclusively to the emperor!
Lu Xun stopped and turned to look into Hu Zong's eyes: "'Supreme'? Who started calling him that?"
Hu Zong was silent for a moment and then said, "Zhu Huan and Quan Cong started calling it that a few days ago."
Zhu Huan and Quan Cong?
Lu Xun nodded: "I understand. Wei Ze, it's getting dark, we should go into the city, and take me to see the Supreme."
Hu Zong bowed and said, "That's right. Please go ahead, my lord."
Although it was getting late, the area around Wuchang City was extremely lively.
In the river to the north, an endless fleet of ships stretched almost from Xiakou to Wuchang. Several docks outside Wuchang were also constantly loading supplies and bringing people in and out.
Wuchang was not big, so after Lu Xun and Hu Zong entered the city gate, they slowly walked to the front of the Wu Wang Mansion. As soon as they entered the mansion, Lu Xun met Wu Wang Sun Quan himself.
Sun Quan looked at Lu Xun with a smile on his face and said, "I have stayed in Wuchang until today just to wait for Boyan to arrive."
Lu Xun saw Sun Quan standing a few steps ahead, and immediately bowed and saluted: "Your Majesty, I am late."
Sun Quan obviously noticed the change in the way Lu Xun addressed him. It seemed that Hu Zong, who was standing beside him, had already discussed this with Lu Xun in the afternoon.
Sun Quan stepped forward and supported Lu Xun. "How could you be so late, Boyan? You have traveled all the way from Xiling by boat along the river. I will prepare a banquet for you tonight."
Sun Quan patted the arm of the important official of the Eastern Wu in front of him and said: "Without Boyan, how can I become the Supreme? You can take your seat first, I will be here later."
After Lu Xun bowed, he and Hu Zong walked into the hall. Sun Quan returned to the backyard to deal with some business.
The hall was empty except for the table and tableware that had been set up. Lu Xun and Hu Zong were the first two people to take their seats. As the sky got darker, the civil and military officials of the Eastern Wu who had gathered in Wuchang also came one after another to take their seats.
Lu Xun took a rough look and found that among the guests invited to this banquet, there were more generals than specialized civil officials. From the people attending the banquet, one can roughly see the arrangements made by the King of Wu for this military deployment.
The generals of the central army who were stationed around Wuchang, including General Yangwei Sun Huan, General Hou He Qi, General Pingbei Pan Zhang, General Fenwei Pan Jun, Governor Wunan Chen Biao, and Governor Jiefan Hu Zong, all arrived this time.
The Right General Bu Zhi stationed in Changsha, the Left General Zhuge Jin stationed in Gong'an, and the Fenwu General Zhu Huan stationed in Ruxu, these three important generals are also in Wuchang today.
The generals entered the arena one after another and greeted Lu Xun one after another. Many of them were old acquaintances of Lu Xun, and some, such as Pan Zhang and Chen Biao, had served under Lu Xun in the Battle of Yiling, so their attitudes were even more respectful.
So, it seems that all the 50,000 central troops around Wuchang will be deployed? Bu Zhi's 10,000 soldiers in Changsha and Zhuge Jin's 5,000 soldiers will be transferred here? Only Zhu Ran's troops are guarding Jiangling in Jingzhou?
Zhu Huan was originally in the lower reaches, but now he has also appeared in Wuchang City in the upper reaches? How many people are Ruxu preparing to transfer to Wankou?
Lu Xun kept a record of questions one after another in his mind. However, Lu Xun did not ask anything. His keen intuition cultivated over the years on the battlefield made him feel that Sun Quan's attitude today was different from before.
Maybe, it will be up to me, Lu Xun, to take responsibility for state affairs again.
There were not many civil officials who came to the banquet, only four people: veteran minister Zhang Zhao, Prime Minister Gu Yong, great Confucian scholars Cheng Bing and Yu Fan.
Everyone sat down to eat, reminiscing about the past and chatting. Time passed by little by little, and they had been sitting in the hall for a long time before the King of Wu, Sun Quan, slowly came out from the back hall.
When everyone saw Sun Quan coming, they all stood up and saluted him, calling him "Supreme Master".
Sun Quan was also full of smiles, motioning everyone to sit down: "Everyone please sit down. I am holding a banquet in my mansion today. One is to welcome Lu Boyan, and the other is to celebrate the New Year with you a few days in advance."
(End of this chapter)
