Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Became the Eldest Son of Sun Ce - Chapter 189



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Episode 189. Justification (5)

Perhaps because the execution ceremony ended later than scheduled, the sun was already slowly setting.

I opened my mouth slightly to the priest who refused to give me the money.

“The will of the court is the will of the people of Jianye. Above all, this is a matter that has received the approval of His Majesty the Emperor. How dare a criminal refuse the imperial command?”

Then the priest glared at me with a poisonous look in his eyes as if he was going to kill me.

“Imperial decree? Is there anyone in Gangdong who doesn’t know that you are disguising your petty intentions as imperial decree and wielding your tyranny?”

I let out a small sigh.

This Sonso, I always live with misunderstandings, but I wish I could refrain from such misunderstandings. How can I disguise the supreme imperial command, and when have I ever swung my tyranny?

‘All matters were implemented through due process and discussion.’

However, some ignorant people might hear such words and suspect me. I was worried about him, so I declared that I would punish him within my family.

If only I had surrounded myself with my own family’s private soldiers, such a pathetic slander would have spread.

‘It was a good thing I said I would punish him within the family.’

I ignored the words of the sinner and the church father and spoke firmly.

“Sinners should not disobey the imperial command and should obediently accept the poison. They should know that if they continue to refuse the poison, it can be carried out by force.”

Then the priest bit his lips tightly and spoke with a sorrowful expression like a falling leaf.

“…Aho, show me Aho. I must see Aho before I die. At least we can share the feeling of parting, right?”

That was nonsense.

If you bring Sonho here, do you know what he will say in front of you?

Where is the priest? Is he the kind of person who would just look at Sonho and die?

The person who could manipulate Son-ho’s already complicated feelings however he wanted was none other than the father-in-law.

I shook my head slightly and replied.

“It’s impossible. In other words, do you really have to show your child the death of his mother? Just quietly take the poison.”

The priest crumpled his old face and let out a hateful voice.

“I, I knew this would happen! Sonso, you! You ended up tearing our hats apart like this! If it weren’t for you, if it weren’t for you, this would never have happened…!”

I slowly raised my lips.

It seemed like it would be like blaming others rather than blaming myself.

“Is it my fault until the end? That is nonsense. Stop talking as if you had no choice and as if you were the only one being wronged.

“From the beginning, this series of circumstances that led to you kneeling here and being killed was entirely your choice. And now you are finally taking responsibility for your choice.”

The priestess clenched her teeth and raised her voice as if she wanted her son, Son-ho, to hear it.

“What does it mean for a mother to want to see her son succeed? I would have done worse for Aho’s success! In the end, wasn’t it you who ruined it all?”

“That’s ridiculous to begin with. I was the one who was already decided as the successor to the Son family. Are you going to take away the position that the master has already decided and put your son in that position? If you’re so determined, shouldn’t you also consider what would happen if you fail?”

“I will curse you from the netherworld…! Judging by the things you are doing, you will surely become a wandering ghost from the netherworld! Let’s go and see then!”

I wanted to stop listening to the priest’s evil words. To be honest, I had already listened to this much.

I gestured again toward the soldiers who had brought the poison.

“Huh, a sinner who committed the age-old crime of patricide has many wishes.

“The nine heavens? Your father, whom you killed, will be waiting there first. Hey, what are you doing! It looks like the poison has been prepared… Hurry up and execute the sentence.”

Then, the soldiers who were watching the conversation between me and the priest bowed their heads politely.

“Yes, my lord!”

Soon, the soldiers approached the priestess with the prepared poison.

If it were normal, I should have put it in front of him and let the priest drink it… But since the poison I threw had already exceeded four cups, I had no choice but to enforce it.

“Can’t you just let go…! Can’t you just let go of those lowly hands! Do you guys know who I am…!”

The soldiers grabbed the priest’s wrists and began to force his mouth open.

But the priestess resisted and cursed until the end… How could strong soldiers force her to open her mouth?

Gulp gulp gulp.

The poison poured into the priest’s mouth like a waterfall without a moment’s hesitation.

After a while, the priestess began to twist her body like a caterpillar in pain, as if the poison was spreading.

“Ugh, ugh….”

I looked at the priest who had started to foam at the mouth and spoke wistfully.

“I prepared the same pufferfish poison so that you can experience the same pain as your father. Think about it, your father suffered and died in that kind of pain.”

“You, you….”

“Oh, let me add one more thing. When you go to heaven and see your mother, apologize to her. Tell her that you are truly sorry for spreading rumors on the day of her funeral.”

The priest’s eyes were distorted with anger, but there was nothing he could do. He writhe in agony and die.

It was the end of the woman who coveted my hand.

I continued speaking, looking down indifferently at the corpse of the priest.

“Although she is a sinner who has committed an unfilial act, she is the one who gave birth to the direct line of the Son family. The funeral will be simple, and the body will be buried in the lowest part of the family burial ground.”

This was the last mercy I gave to the Fathers.

And… Even though he had committed an unfilial act, it was obvious that Son Ho would be worried if even one of the priest’s graves was not laid to rest.

“Yes, I understand!”

With this, the internal structure of the construction industry has been somewhat organized.

The officials of the court bowed their heads to me early on, and the nobles who survived the punitive expedition bowed to me without exception.

That would be the case, as there are already five families of the aristocratic Geonyeop clan that have been destroyed. Furthermore, in this case, the charge of rebellion is clear, so rescue operations are a distant dream.

Now that I have set a good example, the local aristocrats of Geon-eop, or rather Yang-ju, will not even think of opposing me for the next few decades. Of course, it will be difficult to build up that much power.

And by now, news of Sun Ce’s death would have spread far and wide.

‘… Now it’s time to move on to the generals stationed outside of Geonup.’

Fortunately, over the years, Sun Ce has lost a significant amount of trust from the Sun family’s generals. This was the result of Sun Ce’s ignorant choices.

That is, except for a very small number of generals, there was no one who would persistently cling to the truth about Sun Ce’s death.

‘I think some people might want a proper explanation… .’

As expected, a few days later.

Zhou Yu was the first to arrive at Geon-yeop, her eyes red with tears in her eyes.

He said.

“…My uncle, did he leave in such a vain manner…?”

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The headquarters of the General Staff.

Zhou Yu stared blankly at me, who was sitting in Sun Ce’s office. Then he opened his mouth with a faint sigh.

“…Congratulations on taking the position of General.”

When Joo-yu set a proper example, I said with an awkward smile.

“Oh, how could I receive such courtesy from your Lordship? Please don’t do that and treat me comfortably like before.”

Zhou Yu was the most important official in Sun Ce’s army and a colleague of the deceased Sun Ce. Although Zhou Yu was a subject in name only, he could not be treated as inferior as other officials.

Then, Joo-yu looked at me with complicated eyes.

“…If that is your will, my lord, I will say whatever I want in private. …So, did your uncle go home in peace?”

I smiled bitterly and slowly shook my head from side to side.

“How could that be? He died as a result of the schemes of those vile people. He was very saddened until the very moment he passed away.”

“…I also heard some news. I heard that it was the work of Cao Cao’s strategist, Guo Jia?”

“Before the General passed away, he had a conversation with him. Perhaps he had heard something from the dead traitors?”

Then, Joo-yu looked at me with sharp eyes like an eagle about to hunt.

As Zhou Yu traveled north and learned about the situation in Jianye, there seemed to be many circumstances that felt suspicious.

“What do you think?”

“Do you need my opinion on this?”

“You are the one leading the current construction industry. If I don’t ask for your opinion, whose opinion should I ask?”

“…The General has written the names of Cao Cao’s strategists in blood. Cao Cao’s forces are so strong that it would be difficult to behead him… But shouldn’t we naturally take revenge on Guo Jia?”

Sun Ce coughed up blood and held Guo Jia in his arms.

If we look at the justification alone, Guo Jia is Sun Ce’s mortal enemy who killed him.

During the era when Sun Ce was leading the country, the mortal enemies were Huang Zu and Liu Biao, and so my mortal enemy became Guo Jia.

And I knew, because I had seen the best teacher in Sun Ce.

If I were to procrastinate like Sun Ce and just do nothing… the reputation I had built up by pretending to be a filial son would go down the drain.

At the very least, if we took bloody revenge on the Yeongcheon Gwak clan, our soldiers and generals would be satisfied.

Then, Zhou Yu sighed deeply, stared at me with cold eyes, and said.

“…No matter how much I think about it, I can’t understand it. Cao Cao’s army has no reason to mess with us right now. Above all, they have a cost on their heads.

Of course, the Yuan family has lost most of its power and has lost its base… but it is clear that Cao Cao’s forces are still formidable opponents. Isn’t it strange that Cao Cao’s forces, who should be concentrating on subduing the Yuan family, suddenly planned an ambush against his uncle?”

As he said this, Zhou Yu looked at me with a gaze that seemed to see through my inner thoughts.

Could it be said that it was indeed a refueling? Even in the midst of sadness, the parts that made me feel doubtful were being singled out without fail.

Zhou Yu’s question was valid. Perhaps, even within the construction industry, civil servants who knew how to grasp the situation would have been curious about this.

but….

I answered the question with a strange smile.

“It’s the relationship between Cao Cao’s army and our army. How can there be any good feelings between the two? Wouldn’t it be strange if they didn’t plan an ambush?”

The relationship between Cao Cao’s forces and the friendly forces running parallel to each other.

This probably silenced the civil officials who had been suspicious of the theory of Guo Jia’s assassination.

Sun Ce had previously killed Cao Ren and Xun Yu, who were the core of Cao Cao’s army. He even usurped the emperor and castrated the Cao and Xiahou families.

Rather, it was strange that Cao Cao’s army did not grit its teeth at Sun Ce.

‘If you just look at the current situation in the Central Plains, Cao Cao’s army is not in a position to assassinate Sun Ce… But that doesn’t mean they won’t do it.’

When I mentioned this, Zhou Yu’s eyes became even colder.

“Hasn’t too much time passed to consider it revenge for that day?”

“As you know, there is a reason why it is said that a gentleman’s revenge is not too late even after ten years (君子報仇 十年不晩 ― The gentleman’s revenge is not too late, Sima Qian, Historical Records). When we consider this, it seems that Cao Cao’s army also took action at an appropriate time.”

Sun Ce, who is about to take the throne of all people.

And if you think of it as Guo Jia’s ambush targeting Sun Ce who was caught off guard, it makes sense to some extent.

“Do you really think so?”

Joo-yu’s fierce questioning that seemed to tear at every single piece of flesh.

In the end, I looked into Zhou Yu’s sharp eyes without thinking, the smile on my lips disappearing.

“…Just be honest with me. What is so bothering you that you’re beating around the bush?”

“From Banyang to here, I pieced together everything from the beginning of the Jianye Rebellion to the assassination of my uncle.

The more I think about it, the more strangely all the events seem to fit together. Like the rebellion that started as if it had been waiting for you after you arrived at Geon-eop, or the ambush of the immediately executed Yi-sul in Bang-san instead of Sam-san… Yes, those things are indeed suspicious, but let’s just dismiss them as the dirty tricks of traitors.

But it’s not Guo Jia. No matter how much I think about it, it doesn’t make sense. Is it really true that he was involved in my uncle’s death?”

After finishing speaking, Zhou Yu looked at me blankly like a totem pole.

Although he was said to have turned his back on his master, perhaps it was because he was still a close friend. It seemed that Zhou Yu did not want to leave even a single doubt about Sun Ce’s death.

I smiled faintly in response.

“I don’t know that either. The late General pointed it out, so how could I know?

And, what else does it matter? It has already spread throughout the world, and even the generals and soldiers know it.”

Yes. Starting from the world, everyone in Gangdong already knows this. Even if it is now said to be false, only a very small number of people will believe it.

“…To my ears, Guo Jia sounds like a lie.”

“The point is that Cao Cao’s army is an enemy of ours and has a very good motive. I would like to ask you this. Your Majesty, is clearing your personal suspicions a priority? Or is the future development of the Jiangdong and even the Jiangsu (old name for the Yangtze River) civilization a priority?”

Then, Joo-yu, who had been staring at me with complicated eyes, sighed as if she was letting out the tangled feelings deep in her chest.

“Haa…. So you want to go on a northern expedition after all?”

“I heard that Cao Cao’s army is in high spirits after defeating Yuan Shang. I just want to defeat him a bit before advancing west. Cao Cao’s army is not a weak opponent that can be defeated in a short period of time.”

Then Joo-yu shook his head from side to side and said.

“If that is what you mean, then I understand. I will prepare for the Northern Expedition soon. … The external generals will gather soon. Most of the generals will leave, but you should prepare something to say to Sun Ce’s loyalists.

“If you don’t make it clear about Sun Ce’s death this time, it might haunt you for a long time.”

“Don’t worry, I’m just telling you the truth. How can you hold me back?”

It is a bit unfair to be accused of murdering my father rather than assassinating Sun Ce.

At the mention of this, Zhou Yu left the office shaking violently.

Things worked out well. Zhou Yu is still my force and supporter.

If the regional conflict between the North and the South continued like this, it would not be a problem to split the Central Plains.

‘The hero of the South, Sun Ce, was assassinated by a secret plot by Cao Cao’s general… If we build up the contrasting pictures of the Central Plains and the South one by one…’

It is often said that it takes three generations to become assimilated into the culture of a place.

In other words, it will take several decades more for the conflict between the North and the South to become entrenched and for a new civilization to emerge across the Yangtze River.

My little wish is starting to become more and more realistic.

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