Chapter 332: Rule for Justice
Shucheng, Huainan. Jiang Gan, who was about to go on a diplomatic mission to Jiangdong, took a detour here.

Although Jiang Ji also had the surname Jiang, Jiang Gan still felt that only Zhou Yu could lead the people of Lianghuai to become stronger.

When he arrived at the Zhou family manor fortress on the outskirts of the city, he was indeed filled with the smell of medicine.

Jiang Gan walked straight in and the Zhou clan members did not dare to stop him.

Sure enough, under the pavilion by the pond, Zhou Yu was seen dressed in white and holding bamboo slips.

Zhou Yu was also surprised by Jiang Gan's arrival. He put down the bamboo slips and hurried over to greet him: "Zi Yi, why are you here?"

"I knew Gongjin would never die early!"

Jiang Gan stepped forward and grabbed Zhou Yu's hands and shook them. He looked Zhou Yu up and down, and was relieved to see that he looked healthy. "If it weren't for Gongjin, how could the people of Lianghuai gain a foothold in the new dynasty?"

"Ziyi, you are too kind. I am just a defeated general. How dare I expect anything else?"

"Gongjin, don't underestimate yourself."

Jiang Gan led Zhou Yu back to the pavilion and took a look at the bamboo slips and silk books Zhou Yu was reading. He noticed that a silk book had been mounted into a scroll, and the handwriting copied on it was from the Golden Book.

For a moment, Jiang Gan's heart stopped uncontrollably.

As he breathed, his heartbeat returned to normal. He turned around and looked at Zhou Yu: "Gongjin, where did you get the golden book?"

"Proceeds from official business."

Zhou Yu explained and motioned for Jiang Gan to sit down. Then he asked, "May I ask, Ziyi, will the King of Huainan investigate the family members of the general who is suppressing the enemy?"

This question must be asked clearly first. Sun Ce regarded him as a sworn brother, and Sun Ce's mother also regarded him as a son.

Only by understanding this issue can he decide his position.

Jiang Gan said, "The King of Huainan is kind-hearted and has no intention of punishing all of them. However, the wealth accumulated by the Sun family over the years must be confiscated. This must be explained to the Grand Marshal."

Land, soldiers, servants, and cloth can be divided up, but gold and rare luxury items that are easy to transport must be shipped to Guanzhong.

Zhou Yu heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this: "It's good that no one is in trouble. Ziyi came here to find me, do you have any advice for me?"

"I dare not teach you, but I hope Gongjin will come forward and work together with Zhang Zibu to help the King of Huainan take over the counties of Jiangdong."

Jiang Gan said as he rolled up his right sleeve with his left hand, pointing to the south in the direction of Jiaozhou with his right hand: "Gongjin also knows that Jiaozhou Governor Yuan Tan has lost his courage and dares not fight with the Grand Marshal. If the people of Jiangdong stubbornly resist, not to mention the more than 100,000 troops in Lianghuai, Jiaozhou will also send troops to help. By then, the world is so vast, where can the people of Jiangdong rely on?"

It is not important that Jiaozhou joins the war; what is important is that it will block the rebels’ retreat.

There is no way to retreat to Jiaozhou, so they can only be wiped out.

After hearing this, Zhou Yu nodded, rolled up his sleeves, went to a corner of the pavilion, lifted the cloth, and revealed the long zither.

He sat in front of the zither and tried to pluck the strings, pressing his palm gently on the surface of the zither to stop the various string sounds: "I had thought that the world would be settled quickly, but I never thought it would start from Yangzhou."

If the world is settled quickly, all forces will inevitably collapse.

If Jiangdong controls a corner of the country, there will be opportunities to take advantage of the situation and grow stronger.

However, Cao Cao was dying but not collapsed. As a result, the Jiangdong army, which took the lead in attacking Cao Cao, collapsed first. This was something Zhou Yu could not accept and had not expected.

Zhou Yu turned his head to look at Jiang Gan and said, "Ziyi, ever since the Grand Marshal killed 100,000 Xiongnu, I knew this day would come sooner or later. Now that I think about it, I really can't accept it."

Jiang Gan also understood Zhou Yu’s meaning, that being strong in a civil war does not mean being truly strong.

Whoever unifies the world will inevitably go to war with the various Hu tribes.

The great commander did not act according to common sense. While everyone was still fighting in the house, he ran outside the yard and hacked many bandits to death.

He also collected the heads of the bandits, as if he was afraid that others would not see them.

So will the other people in the yard and the house continue to fight?
Normally, whoever unified the world would then attack the various Hu tribes, kill tens of thousands of them, and force them to surrender; showing off such foreign achievements to the world would naturally gain the true recognition of the ruler of the world.

The black bear started a war at will, and hid in Guanzhong, and thus achieved the ultimate justice of ruling the world. From the moment he captured 100,000 Xiongnu, the emperor of Xudu was really unimportant.

The deterrent power of beheading hundreds of thousands of people can protect the world, but also threaten the world.

Zhou Yu was not surprised that things had developed to this point, and he could completely accept it rationally.

But he was unwilling to accept it emotionally, but there were many benefits. At least the Jiangdong Army, which collapsed first, would be integrated into the Huainan Kingdom and then into the Xin Dynasty along with the Huainan Kingdom.

Zhou Yu and Jiang Gan looked at each other in silence. Zhou Yu still couldn't let it go and couldn't help but let out another long sigh.

Seeing this, Jiang Gan asked, "Gongjin, are you sighing for Generals Sun and Xu? May I ask Gongjin, is Sun's attack on the enemy intended to kill Sun Zhenglu and Xu Pinglu?"

Zhou Yu remained silent. He couldn't explain for Sun Quan by saying that he had no intention or sign of taking action at the moment.

Seeing Zhou Yu's look, Jiang Gan felt that Zhou Yu still had some conscience and did not go against his conscience and argue for his former master Sun Quan.

Jiang Gan was relieved by Zhou Yu's silence, so he said, "Generals Sun and Xu had no choice before, and now they are just trying to protect themselves. This is a flaw that Sun has, not a lack of wisdom and strategy on his part."

If Zhou Yu's wisdom and strategy could really solve so many problems, Sun Ce would not have been assassinated.

Jiang Gan was actually very happy with Zhou Yu's silent attitude, as it was tantamount to tacitly acknowledging that Sun Quan intended to secretly execute his cousin Sun Ben and cousin Xu Kun.

This provided moral support for the Jiangdong generals to overthrow Sun Quan, and would also help them to avoid discrimination when they settled in Guanzhong in the future.

The officials and scholars in Guanlong would certainly criticize the personal morality of the civil and military officials of the Jiangdong Army.

Now Zhou Yu's acquiescence will fill this loophole.

Jiang Gan was really happy, and said to Zhou Yu: "The dispute between Jiang and Huai has been settled, and Zhang Zibu has been appointed as the prime minister. With Gongjin's talent, he should be appointed as the lieutenant of Huainan. Only in this way can we balance Zhang Zibu's power. He is strong, and if Gongjin is here, Jiangdong can be settled quickly."

The lieutenant of a county or state is equal to the county lieutenant, which is equivalent to the grand marshal + grand commander in the Han Empire.

"How dare a defeated general aspire to the high rank of lieutenant?"

Zhou Yu immediately refused, and said: "If I can contribute to the peace between Jiang and Huai, why would I care about my life?"

Zhou Yu had his concerns. He felt that if he turned around and joined the other camp and gained a high position at this time, it would be difficult to explain the changes in the future.

He was also wondering why Zhang Zhao was so anxious that he didn't even care about his eating manners.

Jiang Gan asked, "Don't you know about Du Ji and Su Ze in Guanzhong?"

Zhou Yu tilted his head and looked at Jiang Gan: "Ziyi, what you mean is that Zhang Zibu is worried about becoming like Du Ji and Su Ze?"

Seeing Jiang Gan nod, Zhou Yu narrowed his eyes and asked, "Does Ziyi think that the Grand Marshal doesn't even have this much tolerance?"

Jiang Gan fell into deep thought, and gradually came to some idea. He looked up at Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu guessed what Jiang Gan was thinking, and nodded gently: "The Grand Marshal has a broad mind and noble aspirations. Now it seems that he doesn't like Du Ji and Su Ze. Does he like other people? Fortune and misfortune are interdependent. Since Zhang Zibu has chosen this path, I should choose another path."

This guess is terrible.

Jiang Gan raised his hand to rub his face, frowning: "I'm afraid Gongjin and I are worrying too much."

"For someone like Da Sima, it's never too much to worry about him."

Zhou Yu raised his hand to pluck the strings of his zither, looked up at a green dragonfly swirling in the pavilion, and whispered a warning: "Ziyi, don't be complacent."

"Don't dare."

Jiang Gan also went to see the dragonfly, and suddenly smiled: "Gongjin was born in a famous family, but he was a defeated general; although I have some merits, they are mostly words, so how can I be remembered by the Grand Marshal in the future? As Gongjin just said, misfortune and fortune are interdependent, this may be a good thing for you and me."

Zhou Yu listened without saying a word, but just plucked the strings of the zither with his hands.

As a defeated general, he is destined to be a lone minister in the future.

(End of this chapter)