Chapter 437

"Who in the world doesn't know that Su Xuan’s new policies are aimed at us aristocrats?"

"By doing this, he is clearly trapping us in injustice, clearly not caring about our gains and losses! It is simply too much!"

Zhu Zhi was the first to speak with an angry expression.

"Indeed!"

Others nodded in agreement, all wearing expressions of shared hatred.

"If we really submit to Su Xuan, our families will have to cede most of our interests;"

"Furthermore, according to Su Xuan’s methods in Jingzhou, a considerable number of people in our families will have to face public trial; they will either be beheaded or sent to engineering teams or mining areas to build roads and dig mines, and their lives will likely be ruined!"

"That’s right! So, we must stop him!"

"Heh! Easy to say! How do we stop him? Su Xuan’s army is already at the city gates! Sun Ce is determined to defect to Su Xuan; what do we have to stop him with? Our heads?"

"And you, little brat, you are Sun Ce’s brother Sun Sun Quan, right? You actually came too? It seems you have opinions about your big brother’s ideas! Tell us! What do you intend to do? You must know that this matter was caused by your big brother! Your Sun family must give us an explanation!"

"..."

Hearing this, everyone looked at Sun Sun Quan, preparing to vent their anger on him.

Facing the hostile stares of the crowd, Sun Sun Quan scanned the room calmly and said: "We are at such a life-and-death moment, yet you are still thinking about infighting and targeting me; it really makes me laugh!"

"Are we not gathered here for our own futures?"

"Is infighting really appropriate at this time?"

"Furthermore, my Sun family is currently under the full control of my big brother; what say does a child like me, who hasn't even reached adulthood, have to persuade him not to do this?"

"If it weren't for the future of my Sun family, if I weren't unwilling to sit by and watch my big brother take step after step in the wrong direction, would I have come here today?"

Sun Sun Quan indeed did not approve of Sun Ce’s approach.

Because if this happened, he would have to rely on himself from scratch if he wanted to get ahead in the future.

The family would likely be unreliable.

Moreover, if he wanted to become a warlord in the future and inherit his big brother’s foundation, that would become a moon reflected in the water.

He had been preparing and working hard for several years; how could he sit by and watch this happen?

What?

He was his big brother’s younger brother, and his big brother had sons; how could he inherit his big brother’s foundation?

Such things, as long as one plans, there will always be an opportunity, right?

In short, Sun Sun Quan was never someone content with mediocrity or willing to live under others.

His ambition was huge!

"This..."

The others were stunned.

It had to be said that what this Sun Sun Quan brat said did make sense.

This was truly not the time for infighting.

"Then what do you think we should do?"

Zhu Zhi looked at Sun Sun Quan and asked.

Sun Sun Quan did not speak, but looked at Zhang Zhao on the side.

Zhang Zhao cleared his throat and said: "Young Master Sun Quan has already secretly contacted those within the Sun clan who oppose Sun Ce’s decision and has secretly taken control of more than 20,000 troops in Chaisang City;"

"Furthermore, more than 20,000 troops in other parts of Yuzhang Commandery have also been brought under the control of Young Master Sun Quan’s people!"

"Also, as far as I know, some of the troops in Yuzhang Commandery and Chaisang City are composed of private soldiers from your families, right?"

"These troops, all added together, are no less than 100,000!"

"And Sun Ce has less than 30,000 troops left in Yuzhang Commandery; we have an absolute advantage!"

"Taking down Sun Ce is as easy as turning over one’s hand!"

"But this is far from enough; our true enemy and crisis ahead do not come from Sun Ce, but from Su Xuan and Su Xuan’s army outside the city;"

"Only by defeating them can we sit firmly in Jiangdong, and even invade Jingzhou, completely erasing the possibility of Su Xuan conquering Jiangdong;"

"This..."

Zhu Zhi and the others were stunned, then frowned: "The logic is sound! But Su Xuan is not easy to deal with; we don't have much chance of winning!"

"That is under normal circumstances!"

Zhang Zhao nodded dismissively: "Under normal circumstances, facing Su Xuan, who commands over 200,000 troops, we indeed have no chance of winning; after all, Su Xuan’s army is famous for its elite status and ferocity;"

"But this time, it is precisely Sun Ce’s three-battle duel agreement that has given us the opportunity and hope for victory!"

"Because of the duel, the number of troops Su Xuan brought to Chaisang is only 30,000; even adding the navy in the waters, it will not exceed 20,000!"

"And we have over 100,000 troops! More than twice the number of Su Xuan’s troops;"

"The most critical point is that Su Xuan has come to Chaisang City personally;"

"This is our opportunity; as long as we can defeat Su Xuan’s army outside the city in a short time and capture Su Xuan alive, Su Xuan’s remaining troops will inevitably collapse without a fight;"

"By then, we will not only resolve the crisis in Jiangdong, but we might even swallow Su Xuan’s Jingzhou, assist my lord Young Master Sun Quan, and become a warlord occupying the entire Jiangnan region in one fell swoop; what do you all think?"

As an aristocrat, Zhang Zhao’s creed had always been the order established by the aristocrats.

He naturally could not tolerate Jiangdong falling into Su Xuan’s hands.

This was not him betraying Sun Ce; it was Sun Ce who had betrayed him and the entire aristocratic class.

"This... seems like it could work!"

"Indeed! The key to success in this matter is actually capturing Su Xuan alive; with him, everything else is not a problem!"

"Capture Su Xuan alive? I heard he is a Heaven-Man divine general; is such a person really someone we can capture alive?"

"Huh? You believe such nonsense? Is a Heaven-Man divine general so easy to achieve?"

"It might not be groundless!"

"Whatever, I don't believe it anyway!"

"Wait! Are you focusing on the wrong point? Isn't the real point that Zhang Zhao is preparing to enthrone Sun Sun Quan as the future Lord of Jiangdong? He is a member of the Sun family; how can he?"

They had already been backstabbed by the Sun family once; they were not willing to do it again.

"Heh!"

Zhang Zhao sneered: "Jiangdong belongs to the Sun family; what is wrong with my lord Sun Sun Quan choosing to set things right?"

"Moreover, in terms of the troops currently in hand, we have to rely on my lord Sun Sun Quan; otherwise, relying on yourselves, is it possible to succeed?"

"Don't get the point wrong; the premise of this cooperation is that you all support my lord Sun Sun Quan to become the new Lord of Jiangdong; otherwise, there is nothing to talk about!"

"At worst, we do nothing and follow Sun Ce to surrender to Su Xuan; with my lord’s status and my talent, I believe we can live very well even under Su Xuan!"

"But you people from the great Jiangdong aristocratic families might not be so lucky!"

"Unless you can abandon most of your family’s interests and abandon those clansmen who have committed crimes, you have no choice but to support my lord."

The crowd fell silent.

Zhang Zhao was not in a hurry.

The choice had been given; how they chose was up to them!

"Good! I represent the Zhu family in agreeing!"

"I represent the Gu family in agreeing!"

"I represent..."

Soon, the representatives of the Jiangdong families began to express their positions, overwhelmingly supporting Sun Sun Quan.

— Author's Notes —

PS: Seeking first subscriptions, self-subscriptions, and support!

PS: Seeking first subscriptions, self-subscriptions, and support!