War Without Swords
Sun Quan pressed his fingers hard into his temples. His head swam and his stomach churned. He sat at the highest place in the great hall, yet never had his authority felt so hollow.
The ministers had split cleanly into two camps and were locked in ferocious debate below the dais. Had their words carried blades, several men would already have been dead.
"Surrender? Surrender, you say? Is that language fit for a minister of Eastern Wu? To yield without even drawing a sword — I will never accept it!"
"Cao Cao is marching south with an army of eight hundred thousand. Eight hundred thousand! Can you even grasp that number? At the slightest misstep, all of Jiangdong will become a sea of fire. Better to submit cleanly than to suffer conquest after catastrophic losses."
"Eight hundred thousand. Hah! Did you say eight hundred thousand? And you believe that? Do you truly put faith in the empty boasts Cao Cao scrawled across his proclamation? Our spies report not eight hundred thousand but roughly two hundred thousand."
"Whether eight hundred or two hundred, the force still dwarfs our Jiangdong army by a vast margin. Even if we fight, how do you propose to close that gap?"
It had been like this for some time now — a debate stretched taut with no one yielding an inch. The tiny spark of Cao Cao's proclamation had become a wildfire raging through the hall.
And that was not the only thing consuming Sun Quan from within.
Now and then a minister would start to speak, then clamp his mouth shut and glance at Sun Quan. The words never left their lips, but Sun Quan knew exactly what they were.
Sun Ben.
His cousin.
Rumors had spread far and wide that Sun Ben had accepted a title from Cao Cao and meant to send his own son as a hostage. The senior minister Zhu Zhi had barely managed to talk him out of it, but the gossip had already run its course.
And once loose, that rumor sank roots into the suspicion buried deep in every heart, bloomed, and began scattering its pollen far and wide.
Even among the Sun clan itself — the lord's own blood — there were those ready to throw themselves at Cao Cao's feet. What guarantee was there that none of the men in this hall would do the same?
Those crying for surrender and those crying for resistance alike cast occasional, wary glances at the people around them.
Even so, they could not bring themselves to voice such thoughts before their lord, and so they forced the words back down their throats.
One minister dropped to his knees before the hall and cried out.
"My lord, I beg you to decide swiftly. The peace of Jiangdong rests in your hands."
It was Zhang Zhao, foremost among the surrender faction. Who was Zhang Zhao? The man to whom Sun Ce, on his deathbed, had entrusted all that came after — a pillar among pillars. And now that man was urging surrender.
The moment a figure of Zhang Zhao's stature stepped forward, the surrender faction surged in a wave, dropping to their knees and calling out as one.
Sun Quan himself still wanted to fight. He was, after all, the son of Sun Jian, once called the Tiger of Jiangdong. Ambition and aspiration still burned deep within him. To surrender without crossing blades even once?
Yet he could neither punish nor banish these men. That, too, was part of Cao Cao's design. Striking them down would be no different from severing his own hands and feet.
Sun Quan realized he had fallen into Cao Cao's scheme — a scheme he could see clearly and still could not escape.
What Cao Cao sought through this ploy was a single thing.
Division.
The thought that he might as well surrender began, little by little, to lift its head.
With one letter and one stroke of intrigue, Cao Cao had torn the ministers of Jiangdong apart. Sun Quan's confidence in facing such a man was steadily draining away.
Do I have the ability — the measure — to bear this? If my brother were still here. If my father were still here.
While Sun Quan wrestled with himself, Zhang Zhao cried out once more. He was old enough to be Sun Quan's father, yet his voice still rang with power.
And the words he spoke this time carried more weight and meaning than any that had come before.
"My lord! Do you remember the words the late Lord Sun Ce left me on his deathbed?"
"What?!"
"I asked whether you remember the words Lord Sun Ce spoke before he died."
Of course he remembered. How could he forget his brother's last will?
Sun Ce had told Zhang Zhao to serve Sun Quan well. But there had been something far more startling besides.
If Sun Quan's ability proved unequal to governing the realm, then you, Zhang Zhao, must take the realm yourself.
Sun Quan knew full well what Zhang Zhao was driving at. That was precisely why hearing those words now struck him with such force.
Zhang Zhao had heard that dying charge and had not seized the realm. Instead, he had hauled the weeping Sun Quan to his feet before Sun Ce's body, clad him in armor, set him on a horse, and made him inspect the troops — along with a sharp rebuke.
How long will you drown in grief alone? As a sovereign, you must show your dignity!
That was how he had raised Sun Quan as lord of Jiangdong. His skill in governing the state was outstanding, yet pointed counsel always followed close behind.
In that sense, the bond between Sun Quan and Zhang Zhao was one of pure love and hate. But in this moment, the hate had erupted so violently it threatened to punch through the ceiling.
Sun Quan pointed a trembling finger at Zhang Zhao. The words the man had spoken were dangerous enough to destroy him, yet they were also words only he could utter.
"Lord Zhang Zhao. You — you — how can you say such a thing…"
Zhang Zhao stood straight and met his gaze.
Even the ministers who had been clamoring fell silent. Sun Quan found himself thinking that the earlier uproar had been preferable to this.
No one dared open his mouth in that freezing atmosphere; they only watched one another.
No — there was one man. One man who could break it.
"My lord, your servant Lu Su has just returned. I have also brought with me Zhuge Liang, military advisor to Liu Bei's army."
As attention swung toward Lu Su, the atmosphere that had been on the verge of exploding eased, if only a little.
Sun Quan allowed a look of relief to cross his face. Perhaps this was what he had been waiting for all along.
It was a contradictory feeling — finding more comfort in meeting a strategist from another power than in facing his own ministers of Eastern Wu — yet he hoped this encounter might open some path forward.
"My lord, I beg you to make a wise decision."
"I will receive our guest first. We will speak of this again afterward."
Leaving the ministers' outcry behind him, he strode out of the great hall.
Lu Su was no fool when it came to reading a room. Quite the opposite — he was sharp as a blade.
The moment he had stepped into the great hall earlier, he had grasped at once what was unfolding. That was why he had stepped forward, spoken in as even a tone as he could manage, and kept the situation from growing worse.
Lu Su belonged to the war faction. That was why he had gone as envoy to forge an alliance with Liu Bei. Now he spoke with Sun Quan alone. To stand against Cao Cao, they first had to firm up their lord's resolve.
"My lord, what is your decision?"
Lu Su asked carefully, studying Sun Quan's face. It was worn with exhaustion.
"I no longer know. At first I was resolved to fight to the death, but I never imagined so many would oppose war."
Having expected as much, Lu Su answered,
"My lord, those men have little to lose by surrendering. They will almost certainly keep some post or other and live on. That is why they urge submission. But you are different. Even if you surrender, do you truly believe you would receive the same treatment as they?"
"…"
Lu Su's words cut sharper than any other into Sun Quan's heart.
A minor office would be the best he could hope for. In the worst case, the entire Sun clan — himself included — could be wiped out.
Above all, for a man who had stood as lord of Jiangdong, elevated above all others, such a fate was unthinkable.
Sun Quan spoke heavily.
"…Yet whether our army can win — that is what troubles me most."
"Do not worry overmuch. That is precisely why I forged an alliance with Liu Bei and brought Advisor Zhuge with me."
But Sun Quan remained unconvinced. Their own forces were already on shaky ground.
"You truly believe that with Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang we can overturn this disadvantage?"
"Liu Bei's power is small, but his army is elite and he commands outstanding talent. They will prove a considerable force. Why not meet Advisor Zhuge first?"
"Where is he now?"
"In the great hall, I should think. Will you see him?"
Sun Quan considered a moment, then said,
"No. Let us put the meeting off a little. I must first confirm how formidable this man truly is. Only then can I decide whether to join hands with him or not, wouldn't you agree?"
The great hall was packed with the ministers of Eastern Wu — and not just any ministers, but the most renowned civil officials in all of Jiangdong.
Zhang Zhao, Zhang Hong, Bu Zhi, Yu Fan, Xue Zong, and more.
On our side, aside from myself, there was only Zhuge Liang.
Standing tall in the center of the hall, Zhuge Liang received every cold stare flung at him with perfect composure. This was clearly going to be a contest of presence — and then a war of words.
Zhang Zhao, their leading figure, opened first.
"Master Kongming. I hear you have come to goad our Eastern Wu into battle. Yet something strikes me as odd. I was told that once your lord, Liu Bei, obtained you, he rejoiced as a fish that had found water. And now? What is this? You have lost both army and city and are reduced to fugitives, are you not? Yet without grasping your own plight, you come to stir up war? Does that not seem strange to you?"
Just as expected. He meant to crush us with rhetoric and seize the initiative.
Zhuge Liang smiled faintly, then spoke.
"Goad into battle? I have merely come because Lord Sun Quan proposed an alliance."
And I watched as, against that formidable assembly of scholars, Zhuge Liang's eloquence yielded not a single step — and overwhelmed them all.