Chapter 92: Diplomatic Mission to Shu Han Just as Wei Emperor Cao Rui set out on his southern tour, Sun Quan was not idle in Wuchang either. The Three Kingdoms had been in existence for several years. Wei was in the north and occupied nine of the thirteen states in the world. The State of Wu was in the southeast and the State of Shu was in the southwest, and together they occupied four states. Although this is only a rough division, if we talk about the details, Yangzhou and the northern part of Jingzhou of Wu are in the hands of Wei. But in any case, Wei's national strength is still slightly better than Wu and Shu combined. Now Sun Quan intends to use Zhou Cang's false surrender as an opportunity to attack Wei. Liu Bei has been dead for only a few years, and the attitude of Shu Han is still unclear. The attitude of this neighbor to the west is also a factor that Sun Quan has to consider. Sun Quan has been at war with Shu Han for many years. But if we want to roughly summarize it in one sentence, we can call it "short-sighted pragmatism". The Sun and Liu families started to unite to fight against Cao since the Battle of Chibi, but the alliance was completely destroyed when Sun Quan sent Lu Meng to attack Guan Yu. After Liu Bei led the country to the east, the relationship between Sun and Liu or Wu and Shu had reached the bottom. After Liu Bei's defeat in Yiling, he stationed his troops at Baidi City. When Cao Pi launched his first three-pronged attack on Wu, Liu Bei, who was still online, even wrote a letter to Lu Xun, mocking him: "The Wei army is already in Jiangling. If I march east again, what do you think, General?" Sun Quan did ask for peace with Liu Bei at that time. But it was not a peace between two families, it was just a truce.
As the saying goes, after the death of Liu Bei, the Shu Han Dynasty was ruled by the Ge family and sacrifices were made by me. Zhuge Liang sent Deng Zhi to the Eastern Wu twice, and Sun Quan also sent Zhang Wen to the Shu Han Dynasty. Sun Quan's probing and Zhuge Liang's goodwill were the basis for the peace between Wu and Shu. Now that Sun Quan was about to mobilize his troops, he sent Zhang Wen on a second mission to Shu Han. Starting from Wuchang, heading west along the Yangtze River, after passing Jiangling, if you then pass through the Xiling Defense Zone under the charge of Lu Xun, you will reach Shu Han. Wu State, in Xiling City. Lu Xun was sitting in the palace reading a document when Fu Qing, a clerk in the palace, came over, bowed and said, "My Lord, the envoy Zhang Wen sent by the king from Wuchang to Shu Han has now arrived in Xiling City." Lu Xun put down the document and frowned slightly: "The King of Wu sent Zhang Wen to Shu Han again? Did Zhang Wen bring any documents?" Fu Qing responded, "I have already asked, Zhang Wen brought the king's letter to Zhuge Liang of Shu Han." Lu Xun said casually, "In that case, bring me the document that the king sent to Shu Han. I want to read it myself." Fu Qing took the order and left. Since the last time Deng Zhi of Shu Han visited Eastern Wu, Eastern Wu and Shu Han established a communication channel. Zhuge Liang was in power in Shu Han, but if it was always Sun Quan writing letters to Zhuge Liang or Zhuge Liang writing letters to Sun Quan, the status would not be equal at all. So Sun Quan came up with an idea. Whenever there was a need to communicate with Zhuge Liang on a daily basis, Sun Quan ordered Lu Xun to communicate directly with Zhuge Liang, and he also carved a seal of Sun Quan and placed it with Lu Xun. If there was anything important that needed to be said to Sun Quan, Liu Chan, or Zhuge Liang, the letter would be sent from Wuchang to Xiling where Lu Xun was, and of course it would have to be read by Lu Xun. If Lu Xun found that there was anything in the letter that needed to be changed, he could modify it himself, stamp it with Sun Quan's seal, and send it directly to Shu Han without asking Sun Quan for permission. Therefore, when Lu Xun heard that Zhang Wen was about to go to Shu Han with Sun Quan's letter, he naturally asked his clerk to bring the letter here. After all, this has become a routine, and Lu Xun didn't think much about it. After a while, Lu Xun heard Fu Qing hurriedly walk to the front of the hall, but hesitated when he came in. Lu Xun asked, "What are you worried about?"
Fu Qing replied, "My Lord, I am sorry that I was incompetent and failed to get the letter from Zhang Wen. Zhang Wen even spoke wildly, and it seemed that he was angry with you." Since leading the army to defeat Liu Bei in Yiling, Lu Xun's military talent has been confirmed and his personal prestige has been increasing. Even King Sun Quan of Wu has been polite to Lu Xun. Lu Xun asked, "What did Zhang Wen say?" Fu Qing said hesitantly, "Zhang Wen said that he brought a letter from the King of Wu. How can you read it?" Lu Xun hadn't seen anyone speak rudely to him for a long time, and suddenly he spoke with some anger: "How dare a man do this? Bring Zhang Wen to me, I want to ask him in person." Fu Qing took the order and left. After a while, two soldiers came from behind, one on the left and one on the right, pushing Zhang Wen. Lu Xun stared at Zhang Wen's face and said, "I was wondering who was saying bad things about me. It turned out to be Zhang Huishu from the same county as me." There are many people with the same name and surname. For example, there was a Zhang Liang in the Yellow Turban bandits, and there was also a young general Zhang Liang in the Xiakou army of the Eastern Wu. In the past, there was a general Zhang Yun under Liu Biao, and there was also a Zhang Yun in the Eastern Wu who was famous for valuing righteousness over money. Sun Quan's father, Sun Jian, was once a subordinate of Zhang Wen, a minister of the Han Dynasty. The person in front of Lu Xun today is also named Zhang Wen. Interestingly, this "Zhang Yun" is the father of this "Zhang Wen", and he is from the Zhang family among the great families of Eastern Wu "Gu, Lu, Zhu, and Zhang". Zhang Wen was much more honest when he came to Lu Xun. He said with a bow, "I am not saying bad things. I am just helping you to remind you. Why do you need warriors here?" Lu Xun said, "I didn't know that you were going to Shu Han, so I have to check the letters you brought with me according to the custom. Is there anything wrong with that?" Zhang Wen shook his head slightly: "That's exactly what's wrong. May I ask you, sir, if it's a customary practice, does that mean it's right?" Lu Xun had become somewhat alert after hearing Zhang Wen's words, and waved his hand to let the warriors go. After a while, only Lu Xun and Zhang Wen were left in the hall. Zhang Wen asked, "I know that the king treats you with great courtesy, but I would like to ask you, don't you know who the king is?" Zhang Wen and Lu Xun were both from Wu County, both of them were from prominent families, so they were from the same hometown. Logically speaking, the Lu family and the Zhang family had a good personal relationship, so there must be something hidden in Zhang Wen's words. Lu Xun stood up and walked to a distance of ten feet from Zhang Wen: "Let's take a seat first and talk later." Zhang Wen did not hesitate. After he sat down, he said to Lu Xun, "Do you think the King of Wu really values your talent, or does he have to use you for the sake of state affairs?" Lu Xun was silent for a moment and then said, "No matter how the King of Wu thinks of me, as long as he uses me for one day, I will do my best to fulfill my duties." Zhang Wen shook his head: "Your Excellency, don't you know? A few days ago, there was a rumor in Wuchang that our local people in Jiangdong did not want to attack the north, which made the king angry." "Isn't this referring to you, Lord?" Lu Xun took a deep breath and said, "When I was in Wuchang, the King of Wu mentioned to me the idea of attacking Wei in the north. At that time, I did not recommend the King of Wu to use too many troops." "Could it be that the King of Wu suspects me?" Zhang Wen immediately replied: "I don't doubt you, but I am definitely dissatisfied. Do you know how the King of Wu treated me?" Lu Xun remained silent, indicating that he didn't know. Zhang Wen continued, "When I was sent as an envoy to Shu Han for the first time, I wrote a memorial praising Shu Han in order to get an audience with Liu Chan, the ruler of Shu Han." "When I returned from Shu, all the civil and military officials in Chengdu came to see me off. Zhuge Liang even sent Deng Zhi to escort me all the way out of the Shu border." "But when the King of Wu heard that I admired the politics of Shu Han, he became angry and accused me of bringing disgrace to his country, and even put me under house arrest for a time." "As you can see, in order to appease Shu, the King of Wu has personally met with me again today and apologized to me, and has reinstated me as an envoy to Shu."
"What do you think of the King of Wu's behavior?" Lu Xun didn't want to say bad things behind his back, so he just shook his head slightly. Lu Xun asked: "I understand your situation, but what does it have to do with me?" Zhang Wen's tone of voice rose a little: "The King of Wu employs Jun Hou, but he has always been wary of Jun Hou. For someone in my position, the King of Wu does not bother to hide his dislike for me. But in order to employ me, he still condescends to show his goodwill." "Your Excellency is in such a high position, and the King of Wu has granted you so much authority. And you have disagreed with the King of Wu before. I wonder how long the King of Wu has tolerated you for the sake of state affairs!" It must be said that Zhang Wen was quite good at judging people. Sun Quan always endured humiliation and often put aside personal feelings in order to achieve his goals. But what can Lu Xun say? What can he do? In the early years when Sun Ce conquered Jiangdong, more than half of the Lu family, more than a hundred people, died due to famine and war. Lu Xun was very smart when he was young, so how could he forget this? Didn't he later bow down to the overall situation and work for Sun Quan? Lu Xun slowly stood up, looked at Zhang Wen coldly and said, "I will only assume that I have read the documents you carry. And I will assume that I have never heard what you said in the hall today." "The journey to Xishu is long, so I won't see you off. You can start your journey now." Zhang Wen understood that Lu Xun was smart enough to understand what he meant, so he bowed and walked out of the mansion. Lu Xun paced in the hall. King Sun Quan of Wu was not a magnanimous person. Although he often did some things that seemed magnanimous, in fact, he was just forcing himself to endure them for the sake of state affairs. What Zhang Wen had just said in the hall contained some of his intention to complain to King Wu by taking advantage of their hometown status, and there was even a hint of intention to sow discord between them. But Zhang Wen was right about one thing. I have been in Xiling for a long time and have gained the trust of the King of Wu. How much dissatisfaction does the King of Wu have with me? The more the King of Wu respects me on the surface, does he hate me more in his heart? The King of Wu is planning such a big thing, what if I can't help the King of Wu achieve his wish? Lu Xun took a long breath. Considering the current situation of Wu's generals, if they want to use troops near Wancheng and win the battle, the King of Wu will probably end up using himself to command the troops on the front line. If I can win, I will be happy. But if I lose, what will happen to my Lu family? Zhang Wen's words had quietly planted a seed in Lu Xun's heart. (End of this chapter)