The first rain of spring fell in Liyang as Zhou Yu walked swiftly across the courtyard, Sun Ce racing behind him.
“Hey.” Sun Ce circled around from behind a pillar.
Zhou Yu didn’t pay him any attention.
Sun Ce said, “Stop right there!”
No longer able to bear it, Zhou Yu sighed. “I’m leaving.”
“Where are you going?”
“Back to where I came from.”
“Let’s leave this aside from now on, as you wished.”
Zhou Yu didn’t say anything. He sidestepped Sun Ce, moving to leave, but Sun Ce blocked his path.
“Can’t you let me save face in front of my own uncle?”
“For every day you stay at my side,” Zhou Yu said, “I’ll whittle away one day’s worth of reputation from you. Chipping your prestige is one thing; I’ll also trip you up underhandedly. If you want to send troops to Jing Province, no matter how many reasons you give, if you can’t persuade me, it’ll all have been in vain.”
“You…”
Zhou Yu continued intently, “If I don’t agree, you will never receive the rations you’re waiting for, so there’s no use in sending your troops out anyway.”
Sun Ce stood for a while, before his entire body seemed to droop, as if he had admitted defeat.
“All right,” Sun Ce said. “You win.”
✦ ✦ ✦
That day, Zhou Yu took control of the military account books for Liyang. There were six thousand troops there, and with the addition of the three thousand men he and Sun Ce had brought, they numbered nine thousand. Along with the navy in Shu County, they were twelve thousand in total.
Twelve thousand was enough to challenge Yuan Shu, and if they were used correctly, conquering Jing Province was not impossible. Sun Ce had personal reasons for proposing such a plan, but Zhou Yu had other considerations. What would they do after conquering Jing Province?
Revenge was easy—it would be over as soon as they finished their killing. But after that, the entire world would grow uneasy as the current, precarious balance was disrupted. Sun Ce would replace Yuan Shu as the biggest threat. When that time came, Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Dong Zhuo, and Gongsun Zan… All of them would immediately take action to eliminate him.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Do we still need to fight for Wu Commandery?” Sun Ce said, glancing at the books. “With nine thousand men slaughtering their way over and less than three thousand guarding the city, plus Zhu Zhi helping from the inside, we’ll flatten it no matter what.”
“It’s not a question of if we’ll be able to conquer it,” Zhou Yu said, after thinking for a bit. “How will you enter the city? Will you have someone shouting to make way in the front, your men guarding you from the back, with everyone watching as you take the Wu Commandery with the divine right to rule on your side? Or will you let Xu Gong close the city gates and look death calmly in the eye as you exchange a few rounds of arrows, before he wails, ‘I have done my duty faithfully! But the entire city will fall to the hands of a thief,’ and incentivizes the citizens to treat you as a robber as you enter?”
Sun Ce burst out into laughter.
Zhou Yu continued, “Do as you see fit.”
Amused, Sun Ce went over and looked at the maps on Zhou Yu’s table.
He said, “Didn’t my uncle say it? Yan Baihu has reigned undisturbed for many years, yet both the heavens and the people are angry at his rule. Let Xu Gong hand him over first, and if Xu Gong doesn’t do that, then we kill our way in.”
“What if Xu Gong does hand him over?” Zhou Yu asked.
Sun Ce had no response.
Zhou Yu continued, “If you wish to establish your reputation and build your prestige, this is the best chance. Do not allow a single soldier to be wounded. Sweep over like a storm and take Wu Commandery. Spare Yan Baihu’s life, and make them fight to the death for you. This is more useful than fighting your way into Jing Province and hanging Huang Zu’s head on the city wall.”
Sun Ce was silent for a long while before he replied, “You speak rightly, but I cannot do that.”
Zhou Yu tossed the brush away.
“Try. Aren’t you in charge of external affairs? This method is more difficult than any of our previous battles. If you wish to become famous from a single battle, you must win it elegantly.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Three days later, Zhou Yu secretly led his troops forth while Sun Ce organized the army and followed behind, heading toward Wu Commandery.
The prefect of Liyang, Wu Jing, first sent out a secret edict from the imperial court, informing Xu Gong that, in these tumultuous times, it was hard for the court to enforce its decrees. Influence overlapped between the court and the counties, and often they seemed to comply but acted contrary to their words. As the prefect of Liyang, Wu Jing was tasked with capturing the traitor Yan Baihu who resided within his lands. Since Yan Baihu escaped to Wu Commandery and hid himself in Xu Gong’s territory, Xu Gong was disobeying direct orders.
Wu Jing issued an arrest warrant, with the implication he was willing to apply diplomacy first, but naturally, Xu Gong would ignore it. Wu Jing subsequently sent out Sun Ce under the pretense of catching the thieves as an excuse for waging war and sending troops to pressure Wu Commandery.
Just as Zhou Yu expected, Xu Gong adamantly refused, insisting on his ignorance. On the ninth of the second month, Sun Ce led his troops to press in on Wu Commandery. Xu Gong was well aware of that development, as the cities and towns along the way had watched Sun Ce pass. Zhou Yu had long since set down a strict order that as long as they were not in their own territory, the troops must not disturb the residents.
That said, thanks in part to Sun Jian’s reputation, many residents of Wu Commandery, sick of Yan Baihu’s harsh rule, joined the ranks of Sun Ce’s army along the way, committed to routing the thief. Sun Ce’s name was influential, and when they arrived outside the Wu Commandery, they numbered over ten thousand. It was a grand sight. With that army at his back, Sun Ce looked unbeatable.
Seven thousand soldiers were assigned to Wu Commandery, who were further split among Wucheng, Qiantang, Yuhang, Fuchun, and the surrounding regions. Xu Gong lived within the Wu County capital, with less than three thousand men stationed there. When they arrived, the soldiers guarding the city were wary of the slightest sound, and the gates were tightly shut.