Chapter Seventy-Nine: Dare You Face Me in Battle?

Jiang Wen bowed and saluted. “Your Highness, to neglect filial piety is indeed a failing in one’s duty as a son. But to neglect the nation’s needs is a failing in one’s duty as a ruler.”

“The morale of the army is in disarray. Only if the commander leads the troops to defeat Yuan Shu can military authority be established!”

“There has long been resentment between the old generals and Your Highness. If you personally campaign against Yuan Shu, their trust in you will deepen. This move will also intimidate the Emperor and the old ministers of Han. With the Prime Minister gone, they are restless and eager to act!”

“But the greatest crime in the world is neither disloyalty nor lack of filial piety. Once my father is buried, I can personally lead the campaign, or even eradicate the enemy to avenge him! As a son, I must first fulfill my filial duties!”

“Yet a greater crime still is losing our land and destroying our country! Once, Xiang Yu and Gaozu battled for supremacy. Xiang Yu threatened Gaozu by boiling his father alive, and Gaozu chose the nation over his kin. A ruler must place the country before his family; only then will the realm prosper. If the family comes first, the people will rebel and the nation will fall!”

“If Your Highness insists on filial piety, you will have to relinquish command. War is the gravest matter of the state!”

Sun Ce closed his eyes in pain, his voice trembling. “Then let another take command. I do not wish to bear the infamy of being unfilial or disloyal. My mind is made up!”

“Once, we swore an oath together. Knowing Your Highness’s lofty ambitions, I pledged my loyalty to you. Will you now abandon your former resolve?”

“I said, my mind is made up!”

“If so, allow me to resign and return home.”

“Changsu! First we were confidants, then prince and minister. Must you force me so?”

“One who possesses great talent but cannot persuade his lord is no better than a mediocre man. I do not wish to leave regrets in my heart, nor should Your Highness.”

Sun Ce closed his eyes. “You are my confidant, and in my heart, I honor you as my teacher. I can adopt any of your strategies, but this—this is a line I cannot cross!”

“Yet, crossing the line once is what makes a true ruler. Even if you defeat Yuan Shu and conquer Yang and Yu provinces, the command will already be in the hands of others. How will Your Highness govern the world then?”

“A boundary is a boundary—it cannot be crossed!”

“In the past, when I followed Ziming into the army, I witnessed the Prime Minister’s valor and Your Highness’s benevolence. I know you are capable of unifying the realm, a wise sovereign indeed.”

“Then I fear I must disappoint you. As of now, you are relieved of your post as strategist and ceremonial wine master. You are appointed magistrate of Fuchun County. Return to your homeland and farm.” Sun Ce, furious, turned and entered his tent, unwilling to hear another word. “Say one more word and I’ll throw you in the dungeon!”

“Very well! Your servant obeys.” Jiang Wen left without a word, mounted his horse, and rode away. “Hyah!”

“You have truly disappointed me—and our father.” Behind the door stood a young man with a purple beard and emerald eyes, his bearing regal, a sovereign’s air in his gaze. “What angers me is your indecisiveness. Who is Jiang Wen? If he becomes a blade in another’s hand, how much trouble will that bring?”

Sun Ce said nothing, entering his tent and refusing to exchange any more words with his brother.

Inside his tent, an old general sat waiting—Zu Mao.

This veteran was his father’s sworn brother.

Even Sun Ce himself dared not offend him.

“Uncle Mao.”

“Sit with me, child.” Zu Mao had not removed his armor; a white sash draped over his head. Sun Ce sat beside him.

“I fought alongside your father for many years. When he was seventeen, Xuchang rebelled in Juzhang, declaring himself Emperor Yangming.”

“Your father, I, and another brother were trapped in a valley. That man donned your father’s clothes, lured the rebels away, and was ultimately butchered and eaten.”

“Your father, eyes red with grief, did not rush forward for revenge. He withdrew, regrouped his troops, and launched a new campaign. That self-styled Emperor Yangming was crushed by your father; the captured rebels were executed slowly, none granted a swift death.”

“That day he told me, ‘At the time, I was furious, ready to throw my life away for vengeance. But that would have been reckless, the act of a brute, gaining no support and earning only scorn and ignorance.’”

“How is today’s situation any different?”

Zu Mao patted Sun Ce’s shoulder. “One need not bloody their hands to ascend the throne—but to descend from it, blood is inevitable.”

Zu Mao rose. “I’ve said all I can. Will you be a reckless man, only to have Zhongmou seize power by force in the future? Or will you win the generals’ loyalty and become the wise ruler who unites the land? The choice is yours.”

A son wishes to be filial, yet the parent is already gone.

“This is my failing!”

Now.

“Reporting to the Prime Minister! The wine master left last night. His whereabouts are unknown, and we cannot catch up.”

Sun Ce’s expression was calm. “No need. When we go to Fuchun, we’ll surely find him. Yuan Shu’s army is only ten miles from Lujiang. It seems he aims to crush us in a single blow.”

“Han Dang! Kuai Liang!”

“Present!”

“From this moment, mobilize twenty thousand troops to take over Hefei’s defense. Do not give Yuan Shu any opening. If his army crosses so much as a single step into Hefei, bring me your head!”

“But, Prime Minister—” Cheng Pu tried to speak, but Zu Mao stopped him with a shake of his head.

“Your servant obeys!”

“Kuai Yue, Zu Mao, receive your orders!”

“Yes!”

“Zu Mao, you are chief commander. Kuai Yue, you are deputy. Lead ten thousand soldiers to garrison the banks of the Huai River.”

“Yes!”

“The rest of the generals will campaign with me personally!”

“We obey!”

Before Lujiang’s gates, the camps stretched endlessly, warhorses neighing.

The soldiers, fierce and imposing, beat their drums like thunder rolling on a clear day, like the explosive peal of spring.

War chariots rumbled in perfect alignment, exuding an aura of death.

Between the two camps lay five miles of open ground.

A host of generals followed Sun Ce, each leading their own troops to the front.

Ji Ling, broad-faced with thick brows and large eyes, gripped an eight-foot broadsword planted in the earth behind him. His warhorse pawed the ground. “So I hear that brat Sun Jian is dead. I can’t say I’m pleased—his head wasn’t taken by my blade but by some nameless soldier instead.”

“Now the old man’s just died, and here comes his son to follow him. Are you afraid your father will be lonely on the road, so you hurry to join him?”

Sun Ce nocked an arrow and drew his bow. The arrow whistled through the air. Ji Ling swung his broadsword, striking the shaft with such force that his own arms tingled. “What strength!” Ji Ling was slightly taken aback. So the Little Conqueror of Jiangdong is no mere name.

The arrow fell to the ground. Sun Ce took up the overlord’s spear from his attendants. “Those who rely on words alone only bolster their courage to die. You will not be the first soul to fall to my spear. Do you dare face me in battle?”

The overlord’s spear leveled at his side, his warhorse pawing the earth, grass flying in all directions. Sun Ce’s presence was overwhelming, like a war god reborn!

“Do you dare face me in battle?”

His voice thundered, shaking the hearts of Ji Ling’s soldiers and startling the horses. Sun Ce rode forward a hundred paces ahead of his army, alone.

“A pack of cowards and petty men!”

“Who dares face me in battle!!”

Three times he called his challenge—one man, one spear, one steed, facing tens of thousands without fear!