The next day, Yuan Shu’s messenger arrived.
“Zhugong knows of the situation here,” he said, swaggering with pride. “He would like to ask for the opinions of General Sun and the other generals.”
Zhou Yu glanced at Yuan Shu’s letter. “What did the great general say?”
“The great general,” the messenger said, “is willing to send out supporting troops. He already discussed it with General Ji Ling, and he requests that General Sun first return secretly with me. The general’s troops are stationed at the outskirts of Jing Province. When the time comes, he’ll hand a portion of the troops over to General Sun to command, then come fighting his way back in.”
Sun Ce nodded. “After all, openly going head-to-head with Liu Biao is foolish.”
“Exactly.” The messenger smiled. “The great general also said that, as the prefect of Changsha passed, he shall leave the past in the past. Wentai’s numerous contributions during the campaign against Dong Zhuo cannot be forgotten, and the great general is willing to respect Wentai’s memory.”
“Very good,” Zhou Yu said.
Zhou Yu recognized this messenger. He was a member of Yuan Shu’s estate, and he bullied both men and women. He had run wild through Shouchun and had even committed a few homicides.
“Then let me communicate this with the rest,” Sun Ce replied. “Lord, please wait a moment.”
He walked out with Zhou Yu and said, “I should go with him.”
Zhou Yu thought for a bit. “What do you think of what he’s said?”
“Half true, half false,” Sun Ce said. “I imagine that on the road, he’ll try to kill me, and after doing it, he’ll coordinate aid with Huang Gai, Cheng Pu, and the rest. But he won’t be able to kill me. When he tries, I’ll make my escape and retreat.”
“If I were you, I wouldn’t go with him.”
Sun Ce thought for a bit but didn’t make a sound, only looking into Zhou Yu’s eyes.
“He must die,” Zhou Yu said. “Don’t give anyone a way out. I’ll do it. You bring all the generals here in fifteen minutes.”
Sun Ce sucked in a deep breath and clenched his fists, shaking uncontrollably, but Zhou Yu drew his sword and walked into the tent.
✦ ✦ ✦
By the time the group of generals entered, Zhou Yu had already slaughtered the messenger with a single swing of his sword. The messenger’s body was propped against the table, the fresh blood from his neck dripping everywhere. Zhou Yu sat to one side, passively wiping his Chijun Sword clean.
“In place of the departed General Sun, I personally killed this messenger,” Zhou Yu sternly said to the group of generals. “He spoke nothing but nonsense, and his words about the prefect of Changsha were offensive and outrageous. The letter is here, generals. Please pass it around.”
No one blamed Zhou Yu, but Huang Gai grunted angrily. However, he couldn’t do anything about it. The man was already dead—what could be done about it? A corpse could not be revived, and even if they wanted to seek shelter with Yuan Shu, they no longer could.
“Now there’s only one way left,” Sun Ce said. “Surrender to Liu Biao.”
“Sun Ce,” Cheng Pu said. “Do you think Liu Biao, with his naturally timid nature and insidious plans, would accept the surrender of someone whose father was killed by one of his own?”
“We do not need to actually surrender,” Zhou Yu said. “We’ll send the envoy’s decapitated head over, and General Cheng and General Huang will send a secret envoy from our side. You can say there’s been a change in leadership, you’ve already captured Sun Ce, and you wish to offer us up to Liu Biao in exchange for your entire army surrendering unscathed. How’s that?”
Surrendering to Huang Zu was impossible, but Sun Jian hadn’t fought Liu Biao head-on. The two sides didn’t hold any enmity toward each other, but it was hard to say if Liu Biao would accept the surrender.
“And then?” Huang Gai asked, looking at Zhou Yu.
“And then we escape along the way,” Zhou Yu said. “I’ve already arranged it. Shu County will send boats and naval troops to meet us, so we’ll leave along the river.”
“Will that work?” Sun Ce asked.
“Even if it won’t work, it must,” Zhou Yu replied. “This is our only chance. As long as Liu Biao lets down his guard, he’ll grow careless enough to accept the surrender. As we head south, we will pass through Gong’an. We’ll wait for the boats on the pier of Gong’an, then turn back north against the river, heading for Jinyang.
“At this time, this is the best plan available,” Zhou Yu said.
“When will the boats arrive?” Zhu Zhi asked.
“That’s unclear,” Zhou Yu said. “But the letter was sent.”
“How many boats do you have?” Huang Gai asked, releasing a cold snort. “Will there be enough to carry all of us?”
Zhou Yu didn’t respond. He glanced at the corpse of the messenger. A moment later, some foot soldiers came, dragged the body out, and tossed it away. The generals dispersed, each of them heading away to discuss their strategies.
Several attendants brought in water to clean the ground of the tent. Sun Ce strung a bow, while Zhou Yu read the military reports like nothing had happened.