Waiting for the Time 6

The possibility of Sun Quan leading personally is almost certain.

However, like how he entrusted the main army to Lu Meng and took charge of the later support force himself during the battle for Jingzhou, we cannot rule out the case of him putting Lu Xun at the forefront.

Therefore, the Jingzhou defense line should be taken charge of by someone capable of dealing with Lu Xun.

With Han’s main force tied up in the Luoyang attack led personally by Emperor Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang was clearly our best card we could play.

‘Though I may be underestimating Zhuge Liang, if we’re talking purely about military talent, I think Lu Xun is higher.’

When it comes to simply waging a decisive battle, it’s difficult to determine which of Zhuge Liang or Lu Xun is more impressive.

If Zhuge Liang with his Eight Trigrams formation deployed, he would push through Lu Xun’s tricks with upright methods, and if both sides are in a situation with insufficient preparation, Lu Xun’s ingenious moves would overturn the battlefield situation.

However, in terms of war rather than battle, I cautiously guess Lu Xun might be a level above Zhuge Liang.

But if Zhuge Liang is in the position of defender rather than attacker, that’s a different story.

From the start, defense is easier than offense, and considering he can rely on fortresses, the difficulty for the attacking side increases even more.

‘Zhuge Liang’s perfectionism and caution to the point of excess are also virtues that couldn’t be better in the defender’s position.’

In the end, defense is a match of how well you keep to the right path. It’s hard to imagine how solid Zhuge Liang will be, having taken position and solidified defenses on home ground.

Even if Lu Xun comes out as the commander-in-chief with full authority, Zhuge Liang should be able to defend Jingzhou against Lu Xun. And moreover, if there’s the unstable factor of Sun Quan lurking behind Lu Xun…

If Zhuge Liang is holding out in Jingzhou, even the brilliant Lu Xun won’t be able to do much easily.

‘While we’re at it, is it possible to have Zhuge Liang provoke discord between Lu Xun and Sun Quan?’

Though there’s still about 5 years left before Sun Quan goes completely insane, aren’t humans creatures dominated by their environment?

If the nature of suspicion is inherent in Sun Quan, he could fall quickly just by being pushed a little from the side.

While I was lost in other thoughts, the meeting concluded. It’s not like the war is starting tomorrow, and everyone has their own tasks, so today’s meeting adjourned here.

As everyone dispersed to fulfill their assigned duties, I quickly followed after Zhuge Liang.

“Prime Minister.”

“Mingjing? What is it?”

“There’s something I’d like to discuss separately with the Prime Minister. Do you perhaps have time?”

Unlike in Chengdu, Zhuge Liang had some free time and gladly accepted.

The residence Liu Bei had prepared for Zhuge Liang was right next to Minyangdian Palace. At first he tried to give a room within the palace itself, but when Zhuge Liang refused saying it didn’t fit propriety, Liu Bei granted the closest government residence to Minyangdian Palace.

“I’ll say this in advance out of unnecessary concern, but I have no lingering resentment for you rejecting my request last time. An official needs his own convictions. Rather, I highly value you boldly presenting your own opinion. So if you’ve come to see me worried about that, you don’t need to say anything.”

Um… honestly I wasn’t worried about that at all.

Zhuge Liang isn’t an inflexible person, and he’s often flexibly overlooked things unless they really cross the line. Like turning a blind eye to Fa Zheng’s misdeeds, or using Wei Yan and Yang Yi despite their bad personalities.

If I just go along with this, it would make Zhuge Liang’s position awkward after showing consideration, so should I just go with that?

“Yes, Prime Minister. That’s right too, but since you say so, I’d like to speak about something else.”

“Something else? What is it?”

“If the Prime Minister takes charge of the Jingzhou defense line, who will be your opponent?”

“Hmm… among the chief commanders Eastern Wu can put forth now, it would be only Lu Xun or my elder brother. If we lower the level one step, it would be up to Zhou Yan and Zhou Huan who fought hard in your Jingzhou recapture campaign.”

Of course, this was talk with Sun Quan as ruler taken as a given.

“The most threatening enemy to our country would be Lu Xun. But as they say crisis and opportunity are one body, if Lu Xun comes it may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

“Opportunity… I understand. You mean to drive a wedge between Lu Xun and Sun Quan.”

Even without me specifically mentioning it, Zhuge Liang had used a scheme to sow discord between Lu Xun and Sun Quan before.

It was when he proposed a marriage between me and Lu Xun’s eldest son Lu Yan.

Though it fizzled out due to Zhang Fei’s death, it had caused quite a stir between Han and Wu because of that.

As a result, it was used as groundwork for the deception plan to start the Huainan War, but it also caused discord between Sun Quan and the Lu clan.

“That’s right. Though Sun Quan’s share was large in this Huainan War, in the end Lu Xun was the executor. To Sun Quan, Lu Xun must feel like a clearly different existence from Eastern Wu’s past grand commanders.”

Zhou Yu, Lu Su, Lu Meng. They were absolutely loyal retainers of the Sun family. The Sun family was their foundation and basis. That’s why Sun Quan showed them unlimited trust and support.

But Lu Xun is different. He’s the de facto head of the Lu clan, a great aristocratic family boasting the second greatest might after the Sun family. Though he formed a marriage alliance with Sun Ce’s daughter, he was once an enemy.

There’s a saying that three people make a tiger. It means if three people keep saying something, it makes you believe even a non-existent tiger.

At first, Sun Quan must have trusted Lu Xun too. He faithfully followed Sun Quan’s orders, and his relationship with Sun Ce’s daughter whom he took as wife wasn’t bad, even having children.

But if we create slightly suspicious circumstances, and repeat that over and over, would Sun Quan still show strong trust in Lu Xun then?

History answers. No.

“I understand well what you’re trying to say. Now then, tell me. How can we drive a wedge between Lu Xun and Sun Quan?”

“Pardon?”

Why are you asking me that? Isn’t this the part where Zhuge Kongming’s genius strategies come in?

As I blankly blinked at Zhuge Liang, dumbfounded, Zhuge Liang suddenly burst into laughter.

“Hahaha! It’s a joke. My, why are you freezing up like that? Right. That’s something for me to think about. But what if it’s not Lu Xun but Sun Quan who leads the campaign personally?”

Ah, this is that.

It’s not like I’ve only known Zhuge Liang for a day or two. Can’t I distinguish between Zhuge Liang genuinely not knowing and asking for opinions, versus subtly probing with questions while knowing the answer to test me?

This question is clearly the latter. It’s a test question trying to test my judgment.

“Then it’s simple.”

“Simple?”

“Shouldn’t we lose to Lu Xun, and win against Sun Quan?”

It’s too obvious a move, but once suspicion is triggered, even the ability to distinguish such things becomes dull.

“And Lu Xun, who has already fallen for our country’s discord scheme before, will try to avoid such a situation. If Sun Quan leads personally, he will step back.”

“Listening carefully, you don’t seem worried at all about Sun Quan’s personal leadership?”

Sun Quan? He’s not bad. He was brave befitting Sun Jian’s son, and his martial talent was outstanding too.

But we have to look at the results.

Zhou Yu, Lu Su, Lu Meng, Lu Xun, Zhou Yan. What were the results when Sun Quan fought alone without Eastern Wu’s Five Great Commanders?

“He’s someone who couldn’t capture even one Hefei defended by 7,000 men despite having a great army of 100,000. How could such a Sun Quan violate Jingzhou defended by the Prime Minister?”

Thinking about how Sun Quan’s authority will be further damaged, it’s very welcome for us.

Though there’s the position and achievements Sun Quan has built up until now so Wu won’t be shaken by this one time, their internal confusion will grow even more.

Even in the original history, Wu suffered from internal turmoil due to the Shanyue people within and defectors. It’s hard to guarantee whether Wu without even Jingzhou can continue to exist properly after experiencing even more internal division than that.

“You’re gilding my face again.”

“What do you mean gilding?”

“Mingjing, when I’m conversing with you, it always feels like I’m talking with someone who knows the future. And looking back, there are too many grounds for such thoughts of mine to call them delusions.”

Zhuge Liang spoke as if it were hypothetical, but there was certainty somewhere in it.

“Knowing the future. Saying that makes your past actions clear. Preventing Lady Sun from trying to kidnap the Crown Prince, preventing Ziyuan’s death, rescuing the Marquis of Zhaoxiang’s family even forcibly, the surprise attack in Hanzhong, and saving the Grand General twice.”

My actions that I thought had gone well until now were brought up again through Zhuge Liang’s mouth.

Yes. It is strange. When examined in detail, there were too many questionable points in my actions to simply dismiss as intuition.

And there was a time when I acknowledged it myself.

“The Grand General said that he knew the Han River would overflow and dealt with it not because he was outstanding, but because he heard it from you.”

Zhuge Liang had probably been suspecting me until now. Not with bad intentions, but suspicion closer to pure curiosity.

And that became certain with Guan Yu’s matter, is it alright to think that? But I wonder why he didn’t ask until now. Did he think there was no need to speak about it, or did he want to verify it himself by talking with me directly?

‘No. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t believe in superstitions that he’s bringing it up only now.’

Anyway, setting aside the reason, I focused on Zhuge Liang’s question directed at me right now.

“So I ask you. In this war, do we win?”

Win? How would I know that? The world line I knew has already disappeared, and the future ahead is unknown even to me.

So the pitiful answer I could give was only this:

“I don’t know either. I just… put in my utmost effort to win.”