Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Became the Eldest Son of Sun Ce - Chapter 176



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Episode 176. Construction (4)

That night.

A quiet mansion near Geonup.

Inside the mansion, a dozen or so people wearing pure white masks were sitting around a table.

Finally, one of them opened his mouth in an arrogant tone.

“…It seems suspicious. You are usually crazy about hunting, but why are you suddenly holding a hunting competition? There must be some suspicious ulterior motive!”

“That’s right, this is definitely a trap to lure us in.”

Then, the voice of the old man, Bokwan, answered back in a calm and composed manner.

“…If it had been the great tiger of the past, it would have been like that. But as everyone knows, the great tiger of today has fallen.

Everyone keeps quiet, but he was the one who went hunting on a day when my mother was in mourning. Isn’t it only natural that he would hold a hunting competition under the pretext of a national wedding?”

If it had been my usual routine, I wouldn’t have been in such a hurry.

But no matter how long Bokwan has been active in politics in Luoyang… he is an old man.

It is common sense that the lifespan of the elderly usually dwindles faster than that of the young. Bokwan, who cannot be free from the problem of lifespan, was bound to become urgent.

However, apart from his urgent feelings, Bokwan’s words were persuasive in their own way. So there were also people who added their opinions to Bokwan’s intentions.

When their opinions eventually diverged, the masked men fiercely criticized each other.

But there was no tendency to lean towards one side or the other, because both sides were ultimately valid.

When there was no sign of a consensus, the old man’s voice turned to the silent masked man.

“…Come to think of it, Jung has been quiet until now…. What do you think, Jung?”

Then, Sun Quan, the masked man called Zhong, who had been standing there blankly, opened his mouth.

“Let me ask you one thing. Are you really thinking of hunting a tiger? You just say you’ll hunt a tiger, but you don’t have the courage to actually do it.”

Sun Quan’s words were full of mockery from the beginning.

Then the masked man with the arrogant voice spat out angrily.

“What? Be careful what you say!”

But Sun Quan tilted his head and said.

“Then why do you think you’re just going to miss this opportunity?

It is common knowledge to all people in Gangdong that when a tiger goes hunting, it always goes out in a simple manner! But how dare you hunt a tiger if you are going to miss this golden opportunity?

“Ugh, if you’re all going to be so scared, then just give up!”

When Sun Quan rebuked him quite sharply, Chu Qiao frowned and raised his voice.

“It’s truly incredible to hear such a thing! But how can you not consider the possibility that the hunting competition itself is a trap for the tiger?”

“What’s the problem with that? In other words, after this national wedding, the Great Tiger will become so powerful that we won’t dare look upon it. Do you think the Great Tiger will stop at the position of Prime Minister?

“He is called the Little King in the whole of Gangdong, no, even in the central plains! Do you think he will stop at the position of Prime Minister?”

Regardless of Sun Ce’s personal moral reputation, his power was sky-high. Only heaven knew whether he would ever stop at the position of prime minister.

As Chu Qiao kept her mouth shut, Sun Quan calmly began to persuade her.

“As time goes by, it will be difficult for us to pursue the power of the Great Tiger, and our power will weaken. So we must hunt the Great Tiger while we still have some strength left. But this time, the Great Tiger has revealed its own weakness.

Trap or not, we have to go into that hole to advance the cause. Am I wrong?”

Chogyo, who had been full of self-esteem, shook his head with a small sigh.

“…no.”

“Above all…. The pressure from the Great Tiger will only get stronger in the future. Do you think you can be more patient than you are now?”

Then the masked people in the audience were speechless.

In fact, it was a brave thing that they had managed to continue their rebellious group without being discovered by Sun Ce until now.

As Sun Quan said, Sun Ce’s power would grow stronger and stronger, but there was no guarantee that a traitor would not emerge. In that case, now that Sun Ce had shown his own weakness, it was the right time to seize the opportunity.

Sun Quan, who had roughly persuaded everyone around him, spoke with a small smile on his lips.

“Then I guess there’s no need to say anything more.”

At that moment, one of the masked men quickly raised his hand and asked worriedly.

“Wait a minute, are you sure that Zhou Gongjun’s army won’t intervene? If Zhou Gongjun does intervene, we could all be swept away as treason.”

The masked man’s worries were natural. Considering that Zhou Yu’s navy was an elite force, his simple gesture could have ended their rebellion without a single effort.

When the long-awaited question appeared, Sun Quan laughed heartily and reassured the masked men.

“Don’t worry. Zhou Gongjin is still stuck in Banyang. And if we quickly carry out the uprising, what can Zhou Gongjin do?

“After all, I am also a blood relative of Daeho… In the end, I have no choice but to follow Geon-eop’s opinion.”

“…Okay, if the main character is quiet, then let’s do that.”

When the opinions seemed to have been roughly organized, Sun Quan opened his mouth in a low voice.

“Let’s review the plan once more. For now, those staying in Geon-yeop will protect His Majesty’s safety as soon as the Great Tiger leaves, and then take over the military power…. Those outside will take the Great Tiger’s hunting grounds….”

The night of the traitors deepened with darkness.

***

Same time.

The place where Son Ga Son So resides.

When I heard the unexpected news, I dismissed all the servants around me and called in Sim-woo and Ga-hu.

And only after I had filled the area with the escorts I had brought from Hyungju did I open my mouth.

“As you may have heard, the General suddenly announced that he would hold a hunting competition. What do you think of this?”

Then Sim Woo said with eyes full of distrust, as if it was nonsense.

“…It’s a trap.”

Even Kahu, who usually doesn’t speak up, opened his mouth.

“It’s a trap.”

Sim-woo glanced at Ga-hu as if he was surprised. Then, with a look of emptiness, he began to explain.

“…It’s strange that they’re suddenly holding a hunting competition…. This must have been held to attract someone. To be exact, there’s been an ominous atmosphere surrounding Geonup for several years now…. Thinking about it, it must have been held to attract these people.”

Sim Woo’s explanation was just like the basics of baduk.

But there is still one more explanation that is missing.

I looked at Sim Woo and asked in a subtle tone, as if urging him on.

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“Is it just to target them?”

Then Sim Woo slightly lowered his gaze and answered softly, as if he was saying that it was absolutely not allowed under the sky.

“…No matter what, they are blood relatives. In the past, there was an incident between Sun and his father, but which father in the world would harm his child?…If you are worried about Jeong’s safety, then retreat to Hyeongju.”

I shook my head gently.

A typical low-level strategy that was not typical of his usual Simu. Above all, it was far from being possible to gain any business by acting so passively.

And if Sun Ce is not likely to kill me, then I am worried and will retreat to Jingzhou. Where in the world can you find such a contradictory proposal?

But one thing was clear: Sim Woo was in such a state of confusion that he would say something like that to me.

‘Well, as I just said, it’s not common for a father to harm his child, as happened in the story of Sun’s death.’

Meanwhile, as Sim Woo remained silent, Ga Hou finally opened his mouth.

“…My lord, I didn’t stay in Jianye for long, but there were a few rumors going around. One of them was that the general enjoys hunting so much that even his escorts can’t keep up with him.

In my opinion, this is probably a scheme aimed at this idea. However, in order to set such a trap, you need a general that your Majesty trusts… I am sorry, but I am not familiar with the circumstances of the Jianye, so I cannot know this much.”

I burst out laughing in satisfaction at Gahu’s fluent answers.

If Sun Ce were to choose trustworthy people from Sun Ce’s army, quite a few candidates would have come to mind.

‘Jinmu is facing off against the Yeogang Army at Chohyeon… Dongseop, like Jinmu, is also facing off against the Cao Cao Army at the border area…’

But what if we limit the generals who Sun Ce trusts to Jianye?

‘Lee Sool and Jang Heum.’

It is safe to say that Yi Sul rose to his position solely through flattery toward Sun Ce. Zhang Qin reached his position solely through loyalty to Sun Ce.

However, Zhang Qin was kicked out, and Sun Ce, whose pride was the greatest in the world, would not have even the slightest intention of reaching out to Zhang Qin again.

In that case, the only general Sun Ce could employ was Li Shu.

And there was one more piece of news I didn’t necessarily tell them.

Information that Wonyoung secretly told me a while ago.

‘… Sun Ce secretly summoned Yi Sul… . I had a hunch… . Now it’s been confirmed.’

I sent the two booksellers out with a faint smile.

“Okay, you’ve worked hard. I’ll think about it for a bit and then talk. I’ll go back now.”

From here on out, the fewer people I knew, the better. Even if they were just strategists I was using.

‘… If Sim-woo finds out that I’ve shaken Sun Ce’s peace… That’s when things get complicated. Of course, Jia-hou will close his eyes and ears and pretend not to know, but I have to make sure he doesn’t find out as much as possible.’

To avoid being identified, I deliberately wrote the letter to Yisul with my left hand.

Unlike the era when culture was overflowing, the hobbies available in today’s era were very limited. Perhaps that’s why some people could tell who wrote something just by looking at the font.

‘You have nothing better to do, you can figure out who the person is just by looking at the font… .’

After I finished the letter to send to Yisul, I skimmed through the contents. It looked like something a child would playfully write down, but the content was nothing like that.

The content included that Yi Sul had colluded with Sun Quan in the past and was even trying to kill Sun Ce.

‘Where, are you still quiet after seeing this letter? Let me see.’

***

Yisul’s mansion was one of the most luxurious mansions in Geonup.

However, the owner of the mansion, Lee Sul, was unusually troubled late into the night. It was because of the secret letter from his master that he was holding in his hands.

‘… To ambush the Geonup troops in the southern part of Geonup, Samsan… You said you were holding a hunting competition, what is this…?’

In his own way, Lee Sool’s eyes, which had been busy running around for money, were not bad. Lee Sool’s eyes, which had been pondering over many things, widened.

‘Could this be a trap prepared for traitors?’

The art of thinking up to this point has become cold and damp.

I never would have thought that Sun Ce would think this far and devise a plan.

‘I thought you were only good at war, but you even thought of such a plan! But… . Judging from the fact that you’ve entrusted me with such an important mission, I guess I’m not a target for the purge yet.’

Only then did Yisul feel relieved, and he sighed and shook his head.

‘Ambush ten thousand troops at Samsan (三山)… . There are two thousand cavalry nearby… Huh, whoever those traitors are, they will be swept away in an instant.’

Even if the traitors raise a lot of private soldiers, their opponents are Sun Ce’s army of over ten thousand men.

And Sun Ce’s army was the most elite soldiers in Jiangdong, no, in the whole world. There was no way they could not handle a single private soldier raised by the rebels.

‘But if the lord gathers the traitors in Samsan… what will happen to Son Hyeong-ju?’

At that time, Yisul’s thoughts began to delve deeper.

There was a knock on the door from outside.

Isul, whose thoughts were broken, shouted for no reason.

“Who dares wake me up so late at night?”

Then the servant spoke in a small voice, as if he were frightened.

“There’s a letter lying near the wall… I’m sorry, sir. I’ll be leaving shortly.”

Lee Sool, who had been acting all cheerful, furrowed his brows for a moment.

A letter? Although this is not the palace or the Son family, it is a place where construction is done. But a letter is lying around?

Yisul said with a stiff face.

“Okay, give me the letter.”

The servant who handed over the letter bowed his head and quickly disappeared. He quickly realized that his master was in a bad mood.

Yisul began to read the letter.

“I don’t know who wrote it, but the handwriting is a mess….”

The handwriting looked like it had been written by a child using a pair of scissors. But Lee Sool couldn’t laugh.

―If you do not appear at the gate of Jianye alone right now, tomorrow morning, a rumor will spread that you have conspired with Sun Quan and are preparing for treason.

Yisul’s face turned cold at the sight of such creepy content.

This is Li Shu, who had just recently become part of Sun Ce’s purge plan.

If such rumors spread about him, it was certain that Sun Ce would become suspicious of him.

No matter how much he denied it, if everyone spoke in unison, wouldn’t a tiger appear out of nowhere? Sun Ce would certainly have doubts. And then…

As a dreary fear came over him, Yisul shouted loudly.

“Oh, no! What kind of a murderous tyrant would dare send a letter like this!”

But even though he shouted like that, there was only one thing that Yisul could do.

‘I said Dongmun, near Dongmun!’

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