Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Became the Eldest Son of Sun Ce - Chapter 148



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Episode 148. Hyungjumok (2)

Sun Ce’s order to conquer Qingzhou.

If you look inside, you will find Sonso’s sticky conspiracy lurking inside.

At that time, Zhang Hong, who had received Sun Zhao’s letter, went on an inspection tour to the northern part of the Western Zhou Dynasty, dragging his aged body along.

Under the pretext of inspection, Zhang Hong naturally created an opportunity to meet the Grand Master and further arranged a secret meeting with him.

And the face of the prince who witnessed the secret place was full of questions.

Jang Hong looked at the prince and spoke in a gentle tone.

“…I have a last request to make, General Jeongbuk.”

Taesaja sat down on his seat and looked at Jang Hong with displeasure.

For him, a loyal subject of Sun Ce, such an opaque position was unsuitable.

However, the one who called him was Jang Hong. He couldn’t just ignore him, as he was the one who held the livelihood of the Seoju Army.

“What on earth is the favor you are asking me to do that has made you call me so secretly?”

“…General Jeongbuk must have also heard the news of Jo Maeng-deok’s attack on Giju.”

At the news of Cao Cao’s attack on Ji Province, Taishi Ci’s face twitched for a moment. After a while, Taishi Ci gave up on his thoughts and grumbled.

“That may be true, but… If you want me to attack Yeonju during this gap, I can’t do it. The General has told me to refrain from doing so for the time being, so I will follow his orders.”

Jang Hong looked into Taesaja’s deep eyes with his sharp eyes and said.

“But if things continue like this, Jo Maeng-deok will occupy Giju and then Cheongju. General Jeongbuk, do you plan on giving up the land of Cheongju like this?”

Cheongju is the hometown of Taesaja.

What general would want to hand over his hometown to the enemy so easily?

However, Taesa Ci, who could not occupy Qingzhou without Sun Ce’s order, gave a general answer.

“…The Cheongju region wasn’t even under our military jurisdiction to begin with. So how can you tell us to start a war…?”

“If Jo Maeng-deok takes over Giju, his forces will be similar to ours. We can’t leave it like this, can we?”

When Zhang Hong seemed to be cleverly provoking war, the Grand Master could no longer hold back and shouted loudly.

“No, it was the General who ordered me to refrain from doing this in the first place. Why are you coming to me and saying this? Are you asking me to disobey the General’s orders?”

“The general told us to be cautious, not to accept the first attack and just submit. If we report that we have attacked the area near Nangye Kingdom in Cheongju, things will take care of themselves….”

At Jang Hong’s words, the word betrayal was clearly engraved in Taesaja’s mind. Soon, Taesaja laughed in vain as if he was dumbfounded.

“Isn’t that a false report? Are you urging me to be disloyal to my lord?”

“It’s a great opportunity to easily add some Cheongju.”

Taesaja let out a deep sigh at Jang Hong’s continued suggestions.

“No, why on earth, what is lacking in Jang Seo-ju that he would make such a suggestion….”

At that moment, the face of the Taishizi who was thinking about Zhang Hong stiffened.

Jang Hong is not the type of person to report such a dirty secret plan. But even so, the fact that Jang Hong is reporting such a secret plan… .

Soon, the thought of Son So flashed through Taesaja’s mind. Son So was Jang Hong’s disciple. If it was Son So’s request, it was understandable that Jang Hong would cling to him and make such a suggestion.

“Wait a minute, are you related to Son Hyung-ju?”

Instead of an answer, only a calm gaze without any change in expression was directed at Taesaja.

After a brief silence, Zhang Hong slowly opened his mouth.

“……Think carefully and get this done. What is General Jeongbuk’s intention? Isn’t it to conquer the north?

Besides, Cheongju is the hometown of General Taesa, so he must be very knowledgeable about Cheongju! Are you really going to leave that land in the hands of that Hyeonsa (Wondam)?”

The face of the prince, swept up in a complex mix of emotions such as betrayal, longing, anger, and regret, was as dark as a shadow.

“…I think talking more today will only hurt my feelings. I will take my leave now.”

Jang Hong drove a thick wedge into the departing Taesaja.

“Please think carefully about which is easier to take: Cheongju in the hands of Hyunsa or Cheongju in the hands of Maengdeok.

And betrayal? This is not betrayal. Think of it in a grand scheme of things. This proposal is simply to brighten the future of Songa.”

Five days later, news of Yuan Tan’s raid on the Langye Kingdom spread like the wind, and this news reached Sun Ce in Jianye.

And it was natural that Sun Ce was furious when he heard the news of the surprise attack on Cheongju.

Of course, Sun Ce was suspicious because the war broke out right after the ceasefire was declared.

However, the person reporting was the Taishizi, whom Sun Ce trusted. Furthermore, Sun Ce was completely absorbed by the highly credible report that followed.

It was reported that Yuan Tan was planning a surprise attack on Xuzhou while Sun Ce’s forces were quiet.

Sun Ce shouted loudly at the plausible excuse.

“The author who was fooled by Jo Maeng-deok’s mouth said that he was not afraid of Son Ga’s majesty!”

It was a rare sight that the person who had ordered the generals under Son Ga to exercise self-restraint became enraged.

The fundamental reason Sun Ce stopped the conquest of Jingzhou was to reduce Sun Zhao’s influence. This was the essence of the ceasefire order.

But how could he not be angry when the weakling, Won Dam, who he had not paid much attention to because his power was so weak, suddenly started scratching him?

Besides, the one leading the army of the Western Zhou was the Grand Master. And the Grand Master’s army was strictly speaking made up of soldiers who followed the Grand Master.

Sun Ce, with a look of anger on his face, ordered the conquest of Qingzhou.

“You dared to attack our allies while they were restraining themselves! This is no different from ignoring our allies and, furthermore, the court!”

“I must punish Cheongju on this occasion, so convey my intentions to Jang Gong and Jai of Seoju!”

It was a mighty roar reminiscent of a tiger.

Meanwhile, the other ministers rolled their eyes and asked where the heck that ceasefire order had gone, but they were so afraid of Sun Ce’s momentum that they couldn’t open their mouths.

***

Seoju Havisung.

The governor of Seoju, Jang Hong, was appointed as the governor.

“Jang Gong, here is a personal letter from the General.”

“You must have had a hard time coming this far.”

Zhang Hong, who received the letter from the messenger, coughed and looked at it.

Jang Hong’s eyes, which were examining the letter, became slightly sharper.

As expected.

Although Jang Gwang was gradually growing old, this time, the words “Conquering Cheongju” seemed to be particularly large.

That wasn’t all. The letters in the shaking font caught the eyes of the famous writer Jang Hong.

The font, which was originally supposed to show off its elegant beauty, was losing its balance as it shook left and right.

It seemed as if Sun Ce’s anger at hearing the news of the attack on Cheongju was vividly conveyed to Xia Fei.

‘This is a font that is full of deep thoughts… It wasn’t like this in the past, so how come it has changed like this as time goes by… .’

Zhang Hong thought back to the manly Sun Ce of the past.

Looking back, who would have thought that the young man who was so confident at the time would grow up to be such a powerful person who lives off his own whims?

And Jang Hong thought of Son So and sighed.

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‘Tsk tsk, giving me such a difficult task… If only the inspection dates coincided… I almost did… .’

Although he grumbles inside, Son So is Jang Hong’s precious disciple.

That is why Zhang Hong dragged his aged body all the way to the Nangya Kingdom and undertook this extremely dangerous task.

Jang Hong, who had carefully folded the bamboo slip, soon turned his gaze toward the southwest. It was the direction where Hyeongju was.

‘I have done everything I could as you wished… It is your turn next.’

***

October 207.

Hyungju Namgun Gangneungseong.

Hyungjumok Chiso.

I was sitting on the desk and looking at the bamboo slips when I asked Sim Woo.

“Are the aristocrats who own farmland in the southern part of the Namgun still quiet these days?”

Sim Woo let out a laugh and then slowly shook his head.

“Luckily, they were able to avoid the flames of war in the Central Plains and maintain their power. They are keeping silent for now… but how long will that last?”

I nodded at Sim Woo’s detailed explanation.

That’s right. Right now, the Southern Army chieftains are quiet, frightened by the strength of the Allied Forces…

I wonder how long that will last.

There is a limit to controlling them with fear alone. I had to give those nobles another reason to obey me.

‘Last time, the official from Xingzhou secretly made an excuse about Sun Ce to me.

If I hadn’t noticed it then… everyone would have made a fuss, making excuses for Sun Ce. It’s horrible to even think about.’

Even though he had gained momentum, unless he had the solid legitimacy of an emperor like Sun Ce, ruling with fear and terror had clear limits.

Of course, it is true that I hold the military power of my older brother, but I cannot overlook Liu Biao of Yangyang.

‘Ha, right now I need to take advantage of the quiet moment of the Hyungju aristocrats to put a leash on them… Is there no good way?’

As I was holding my head in thought, a low-ranking manager came in, bowed deeply, and said.

“My lord, the eldest son of the Sagyoju (Sa Seop) has come to Gangneung Castle as an envoy. What should we do?”

“…from the cult leader?”

Kyoju.

It is a region located at the southernmost tip of the continent, and was not well-known even during the Han Dynasty.

However, there were many rumors that the officials who were appointed as leaders got a big piece of the action because there were many valuable special products.

‘Almost all of the sandalwood used for the sandalwood section was brought from the sect.’

And the current leader of the religious group is Sa-seop. And he had a close relationship with Sun Ce’s army right after Sun Ce became the emperor.

‘… How did the leader come here?’

“Go and get it.”

“Yes, my lord.”

After a while, a man wearing expensive silk clothes approached and bowed his head.

“I am Sa-Heum from the religious sect. It is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty.”

Looking at the clear color of the woven silk, I thought I understood why silk was called a specialty of Gyoju.

“I heard you are the eldest son of a cult leader? It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Son So, the governor of Hyeongju. By the way, why did the eldest son of a cult leader come all the way here?”

Sahum said with an awkward smile for a moment.

“Well, we were originally trading the special products of the sect leader with the goods of Hyungju. But since the great Hyungju Son has shown his majesty to the world, we naturally wanted to pay our respects….”

At that moment, I held onto the tail of the horse and asked back.

“You made a deal on the land of Yoo Gyeong-seung, a former traitor?

“Isn’t the territory of the Kyoju no longer His Majesty the Emperor? You’ve taken over Gyeyang-gun, too. Can I go over to the Kyoju once?”

Then Sahum said, sweating profusely, perhaps taken aback by my remark.

“No! How could the leader harbor such disloyal feelings? How could he not know that the reason he has lived peacefully until now is because of the grace of Your Majesty and the General!”

Judging from the fact that Sahum was begging so desperately, it seemed that he was making a lot of money from the local specialty trade. Seeing that he had come all the way here prepared to be reprimanded by me, this thought became even stronger.

‘If you order them to trade only within a limited market and impose taxes under the pretext of protection… .’

This, unintentionally, helped raise taxes for Gangneungseong.

‘Wait a minute. So you’re saying there are people who buy the cult leader’s specialties? Is that really that profitable?’

This thought suddenly occurred to me and I said to Sahum.

“By the way, what are the special products of the cult leader that they trade in Hyeongju? I guess my knowledge is limited, so I don’t know much about them other than sandalwood and silk.”

“Ah, unless you are from the cult, you probably wouldn’t know. As you mentioned, the cult’s specialty products include sandalwood, but since the volume is so large, we trade in cedar and bamboo.”

Chwiwoo (翠羽) means eagle feathers, and hawkmo means turtle shell.

The quills are used to decorate arrow feathers, helmets, and other ornaments, while the mother-of-pearl is traded for ornaments and crafts.

When I heard Sahum’s story, I suddenly felt my mind light up.

I said, calming my pounding heart.

“Are you talking about the special products of Jiaozhou Mountain that all the noble families of Xingzhou like?”

Then Sahum’s mouth curved into a sly smile.

“That is a matter of course. The nobles of Hyungju would not be able to move at all if it was this Chuyou and Daemo.

No matter how rich Hyungju is, these things only come from the religious sect. Is that all? Because even the religious sect has something to say… .”

At that moment, I couldn’t hold back my agitation and quickly intervened.

“Are you saying that the leader of the cult said that?”

“Yes, yes, that’s right. Although not as famous as the northern Yuju, he is quite famous. He has even been offered to Jianye several times before.”

I felt my heart pounding wildly.

I was just thinking of giving them the land to trade and leaving them alone… but I changed my mind.

The cult was a land of opportunity for me.

A land of opportunity where I can roast the noisy local chieftains and grow my cavalry, which is relatively weak compared to the Central Plains.

“Hey, let’s make a deal. You have nothing to lose by hearing it. It’s a good deal for both of us.”

“Hey, are you talking about a deal?”

The distribution of things like chuyu, daemo, sandalwood, and ramie, which the aristocrats of Hyeongju are obsessed with, can be permitted.

But words were absolutely unacceptable. A well-trained war horse was a decisive weapon in this era, a weapon of great value.

Although the sword was developed for cavalry warfare, the value of cavalry was still invaluable.

‘I was always worried because we were always short of cavalry compared to the Central Plains…’

Another option unexpectedly arose.

Rather than just fighting while hunkering down like a turtle, there is the option to engage the Central Plains cavalry head-on.

The special products of Gyojusan there will be things that will increase my influence in the future. The scholars who are currently spreading throughout Geonup are the ones who are the most popular.

‘The same goes for construction… I need to use this opportunity to solidify Songa’s influence.’

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