Bird calls echoed throughout the thousands of mountains, wind swept over the vast plains, and white clouds drifted overhead. The waters of Lake Chao slowed, becoming a bright mirror spanning thousands of miles, reflecting the eternally clear blue sky.
Sun Ce was shopping at the fish market by the lake, Lu Su sitting at the prow of the boat. Zhou Yu stood by him, wearing a bamboo hat.
“What do you think?” he asked.
“He’s someone who can listen.”
“He places higher value in your words than in mine,” Zhou Yu replied. “I urged him to head out as soon as he could to support General Sun, but he treats my words frivolously. Being overly familiar can be bad.”
Lu Su smiled. “Being too familiar doesn’t mean he isn’t listening to you. My guess is that he cannot bear to leave, because you are here to keep him company, and his days here are leisurely. So, under the pretense of taking care of his aging mother, he’s lazing about for as long as he can.”
Under the shade of his bamboo hat, the corners of Zhou Yu’s mouth quirked faintly upward into the hint of a smile. Lu Su tossed his hook out.
“Even my mother said that to find a good wife, I should search for qualities similar to Zhou Gongjin’s…” Without a word, Zhou Yu picked up a pole in both hands to whack Lu Su, who laughed as he ducked. “She has to be gentle and steady, calm yet generous…”
Sun Ce laughed as he stepped onto the boat.
“Gongjin! You’re still in the habit of beating up all your friends? You haven’t grown out of it? Let’s go!”
Zhou Yu pushed off the bottom of the lake with the pole, and he steered the little boat swiftly across Lake Chao.
✦ ✦ ✦
The next day Sun Ce headed toward the mountains, deciding to set off from Mount Gu. He left behind a hundred men at the mountain pass to Shu County to stand guard and send reports. Strangely, Fei Yu had still not returned.
Zhou Yu went to send Sun Ce off. Originally, he’d wanted to head off together with Sun Ce, but someone needed to stay as an overseer. If Lu Su hadn’t needed to buy boats and gather men, Zhou Yu would have sent him along with Sun Ce as well.
“You must not seek battle needlessly,” Zhou Yu admonished Sun Ce.
“I know,” Sun Ce said. “You fuss even more than my mother.”
“Go,” Zhou Yu said. “If anything comes up, send Fei Yu with a message.”
Sun Ce tapped his heels into his horse’s flanks so it moved a few steps away before he turned to look at Zhou Yu again.
“You’re not going to wish your Zhugong the joy of the first victory?”
“You shall be victorious from the start,” Zhou Yu said. “Don’t let your pride get the better of you. Also, it’s summer, so only drink clean water!”
Sun Ce laughed. Zhou Yu wanted to run after him and beat him up, but Sun Ce led his four hundred riders out of the valley with a whistle. Zhou Yu watched for a while longer, then slowly left.
✦ ✦ ✦
From that day onward, Lu Su expended all his efforts. He moved into the Zhou family residence, and he and Zhou Yu, from morning to night, were occupied with verifying costs and balancing the account books. Lu Su purchased a shipyard on the southern side of Shu County. Wood, willow pins, rope, pitch, and such goods were shipped there from all over the Jiangnan region. Zhou Yu often left for three or four days at a time, residing temporarily in the shipyard, and while he was gone, Lu Su would take the chance to go around listening for rumors, as well as recruiting naval troops.
If everything went successfully, the first batch of twenty warships would be ready to enter the water this autumn. But the issue of manning them remained. Zhou Yu went personally to the Shu County governor to discuss this. Since the world today was embroiled in political disputes, no matter if it was Shu County or the entire country, everyone needed regional troops to protect them. The governor was convinced by Zhou Yu’s words, and so a military barracks was established by Lake Chao. Zhou Yu himself brought the new troops he recruited here to practice archery and naval tactics.
✦ ✦ ✦
Spring left, and summer came. In the early summer, Zhou Yu and Lu Su were busy from dawn to dusk. After finally finding some time to go home and visit his mother, Zhou Yu found Fei Yu waiting for him.
Zhou Yu had finally received a message from Sun Ce, which stated that all was well on the battlefield, and in a few days Jing Province would inevitably fall to his father. Sun Ce was waiting for a chance to attack Jiangling County, while Liu Biao was keeping the gates shut, unwilling to fight. Sun Jian was currently formulating a strategy to besiege the city.
Sun Ce’s writing was scribbled and messy, and the final words, Don’t worry, were scrawled in a hurried hand. It was clear he’d written this in the middle of a battle. Zhou Yu stowed the letter away, but just as he was about to report to the Lady of Wu, he heard the sharp sound of porcelain shattering and the Lady of Wu’s cry of surprise.
“Auntie!” Zhou Yu shoved the door open and entered, hurriedly helping the Lady of Wu to her feet.
“I accidentally broke a bowl,” she said. “I’m really too careless.”
Zhou Yu ordered the servants to come and clean up.
“How has Auntie’s health been lately?”
“I don’t know why,” the Lady of Wu responded, “but these past few days, I’m constantly worried and preoccupied. Has Sun Ce written?”
Zhou Yu steadied his nerves and read her the letter. The Lady of Wu grew relieved.
“As long as they are fine, that’s good. These days my heart is always in my throat.”
“Once the preparation of the naval troops is complete, I’ll take a trip to Jiangling,” Zhou Yu said.
“I will have to trouble you then,” the Lady of Wu replied.
She was clearly still unsettled, and only after Zhou Yu insisted she rest did he walk out into the corridor.
As he stood in the courtyard, without his knowing why, a sense of disquiet settled over Zhou Yu, as if something were amiss over in Jing Province. He chided himself; he always worried for no reason. He sent Fei Yu with a response, telling Sun Ce that Liu Biao’s subordinates were fierce generals who wiped out countless invaders, experienced in a hundred battles. He shouldn’t take them lightly and should listen to Sun Jian’s orders, especially in regards to not backing a desperate foe into a corner.
✦ ✦ ✦
This time, Fei Yu returned even later. Clearly, there were military summons that kept this intelligent white falcon busy. In the fourth month, when the fragrance of the flowers faded and the rainy season was about to start in Jiangnan, Zhou Yu finally received another letter.
Fei Yu flapped in and landed on the table. A bloody cloth was tied to its claw, which drew his gaze and startled his heart.