Five days later, in Shu County, the last rainstorm passed, and the waters slowly receded. The Changsha troops were garrisoned on the western bank of Lake Chao, just north of Mount Gu, where Dian Wei’s31 troops changed their camp into a garrison, once upon a time. Bubbling water flowed from the mountain streams into Lake Chao, and it was only then that everyone could catch their breath.
During Sun Jian’s funeral procession, the Lady of Wu cried ceaselessly. The entire army attended to see him off. He was buried temporarily at the cemetery on Mount Gu.
The mute monk, who hadn’t left the mountain in many years, held prayer beads in his hand as he sent Sun Jian off on his final journey on the slopes of the mountain. Sun Jian’s body was interred in Shu County but would be moved to the Sun family grave in Changsha in the future.
At the same time, Yuan Shu’s secret letter offering amnesty arrived in Shu County.
✦ ✦ ✦
Sun Ce, his eyes red, walked along the mountain path. He turned his head back, and with his position as the eldest son, led Sun Quan to the Mute Temple on Mount Gu to pay their respects. The mute monk refused to see him. Zhou Yu washed the cups by hand in the tea room.
The Lady of Wu was at Zhou Yu’s mother’s home, leaving Zhu Zhi, Huang Gai, Cheng Pu, and Xu Kun with them. Han Dang already returned to the garrison to oversee the men.
With everything taken care of, it was time to decide their future path. The Changsha troops had come all this way and stationed themselves here, and Yuan Shu’s secret envoy had stolen the seal of the Changsha prefect when Sun Jian died. Changsha was no longer the Sun family’s territory, and there were only these four thousand, one hundred and twelve men; an army with no leader.
Lu Su closed the door from the outside, and the paper door let out a dull thud. The tea room was filled with unease and stuffiness.
“Come, generals, please drink some tea.” Zhou Yu finished washing the cups, handing them one by one to the four great generals. All were loyal men, including the absent Han Dang. When Sun Jian was defeated and perished, the generals were given many reasons to toss Sun Ce aside and leave. For them to follow him all this way, with an uncertain future, was no easy undertaking.
“Over these past few days,” Huang Gai said, “everything we achieved was thanks to you, Zhou Gongjin. If it wasn’t for you going around the Shu County magistrate, we wouldn’t even have a place to rest our bones.”
The entirety of the Changsha troops had left their belongings behind, except for the last of their provisions, and as of now, they were depending entirely on Zhou Yu for their survival. Zhou Yu didn’t dare take even a shred of credit for himself.
“Everyone is doing this for Zhugong.”
But he knew very well that even though he supported Sun Ce as their leader, the others might not. After all, Sun Ce was young, and everyone in front of them had followed his father when he took on the position of prefect, so they were all his seniors. Even if they were willing to follow Sun Ce, he might not be able to control them.
Not to mention, Sun Ce was still dealing with losing his father. Residing at Lake Chao was temporary, and with this many troops stationed in Mount Gu, Yuan Shu would find an excuse to invade sooner or later. The magistrate of Shu County was unwilling to take on such a heavy responsibility.
When they returned, Zhou Yu already had an agreement with the county magistrate for a grace period of three months. He explicitly stated that the Changsha troops were only passing through and residing temporarily here, and when the time came, the entire army would leave. They would not disturb the residents. Only with those promises did he win them a short reprieve here.
“Everyone is clear on how things stand currently,” Cheng Pu said, sighing and downing his tea in one go. “Residing in Mount Gu as guests is a temporary solution, so we must find a permanent one. What do the other generals think?”
Huang Gai was the eldest, and among the generals, he was also the most powerful. When Sun Jian was alive, Huang Gai and he were so close that he called Sun Jian “xiong.” Usually when he spoke, his tone indicated that he didn’t really consider Zhou Yu, Sun Ce, and other youngsters worthy of importance. But in this moment, he didn’t rush to speak.
Instead, he drank a mouthful of tea and asked, “What does Gongjin think?”
Zhou Yu was silent for a moment. From the garden outside, he heard the sound of Sun Ce talking with the young acolyte. Zhou Yu’s position right now was awkward. In name, he was Sun Ce’s strategist, yet currently it was he who was providing the entirety of the Changsha troops with a garrison, and he was the one who had put in the most effort. It was as if he were the master of Shu County: Huang Gai and the rest were guests, while Zhou Yu was their host.
Even though he was technically the head of a large family and master of the city, Zhou Yu didn’t have the mindset of a master and frequently intervened in the internal struggles of the Changsha troops. He knew his actions were explainable only due to extraordinary circumstance. In any other situation, he would have been overstepping his authority. That would not only affect his own reputation; Sun Ce could not explain that away so easily either.
Thankfully the group witnessed Zhou Yu travel thousands of miles to search for Sun Ce, and even in dire straits, he did not give up or leave, instead choosing to live or die with him. They had finally accepted this latecomer strategist as one of their own.
“At the bottom of it,” Huang Gai suddenly said, “as of today, there’s no need to treat you as an outsider. It’s a pity the lord prefect left us early; otherwise, with your skill, under the command of the Changsha office, you would easily find a post.”
“The past is already in the past,” Zhou Yu said, at a loss. “There’s no purpose in speaking further on it. If you’ll allow me to ask a question out of turn, what do you generals have planned?”
No one responded to that. The tea room sank into a long silence.
The paper door slid open, and Sun Ce pulled off his wooden clogs and entered. Zhou Yu wanted to rise, but Sun Ce pressed his shoulder down, so he remained seated.
“It’s done?” Zhou Yu asked.
Sun Ce nodded silently, picking up the cup Zhou Yu used and drinking the rest of his cold tea. Zhou Yu refilled it, and Sun Ce finished it, evidently very thirsty. They continued like that until Sun Ce had polished off the entire pot of tea. Sun Ce’s throat bobbed, and he slowly settled, but it seemed like he was hiding something by drinking.
“I am sorry for your loss,” Huang Gai said solemnly, letting out a long breath. “Victory and defeat are frequent occurrences for those born into military families. Fighting and dying on the battlefield is common. Generals are close to those who wield weapons, so they know where they will be buried one day. Your father made his mark on Jiangdong, and no one among Dong Zhuo, Lü Bu, or the others was able to block his courageous troops. His death was truly a fitting one.”
Sun Ce nodded. Zhou Yu lifted the kettle and went into the yard to fill it with water, only to see the mute monk sitting under the hallway in front of the front hall. He wrote a set of couplets while the young acolyte ground ink for him.