In November of the twenty-first year of Jian'an.
Jiangdong, Jianye.
Lu Su was seriously ill, and Sun Quan went to visit him in person. After returning to his mansion, he was worried and urgently summoned Zhou Yu and Zhang Zhao to discuss matters.
"Zijing is critically ill and is recuperating in bed. I am very worried." Sun Quan said, "Gongjin, Mr. Zibu, if something happens to Zijing, who should succeed him in Baqiu?!"
Zhou Yu and Zhang Zhao looked at each other and saw the meaning in each other's eyes. They both raised their hands and said, "This matter depends entirely on the Lord's decision."
Sun Quan shook his head slightly and said, "I am worried about this matter. Before Zijing's bed, he recommended Lu Meng to be the commander-in-chief of Baqiu military affairs and the governor of Changsha and Guiyang counties. However, I was worried because Ziming was not the opponent of Guan Yu and Zhang Xi. Afraid of being taken advantage of."
When Zhou Yu heard this, he knew that he could not say a few words.
He is a giant in the army. The Lord doubts the ability of the generals in the army. As the first person in the army, he has to express his opinion.
"Ziming is a soldier in the army, and he is loyal to his lord. Furthermore, Ziming has led the army well in the previous battles, and he is capable of taking on important tasks!"
Zhou Yu defended Lu Meng.
Although he said that, it really wasn't what Zhou Yu was saying. It was Sun Quan who needed Zhou Yu to say that.
For today's matter, from the beginning of Sun Quan's speech, Sun Quan had already hinted that Lu Meng was the only candidate.
Otherwise, Sun Quan should propose two candidates and let Zhou Yu and Zhang Zhao analyze which one has greater advantages and is more suitable to take charge of Baqiu. But Sun Quan only mentioned one candidate, Lu Meng, and specifically emphasized that it was recommended by Lu Su before his bed.
To put it harshly, if Lu Suzhen had not survived, could Sun Quan still refuse the successor he recommended before his death? !
Therefore, Sun Quan asked this question, on the one hand, to show his respect for Zhou Yu and Zhang Zhao, and on the other hand, to give an explanation to the outside world - Lu Meng's appointment was approved by Zhou Yu and Zhang Zhao.
It's really because of Lu Meng's background that it really can't be said to be good.
Although Lu Su was only a landowner and had no official position in his ancestors, his family was rich and he was well-known in the local area. Even people like Yuan Shu, who valued status extremely, were willing to invite him to serve as an official.
In addition, running back and forth during the Battle of Chibi, Zhou Yu and Sun Quan showed great abilities as governors of the rear when they went out to fight, so Lu Su guarded Baqiu, and no one in Jiangdong would feel inappropriate.
But Lu Meng was just a low-level soldier in the army. He was valued by Sun Quan for his bravery and was promoted all the way up.
In terms of status, he is not even a wealthy landowner, let alone a child of a poor or aristocratic family.
Regarding military merits. Although Lu Meng has fought a lot in recent years and led troops in many battles, he has always participated in rather than led the truly influential battles.
For such a person to suddenly become the governor of a country, it is hard to believe.
In fact, it was because of this that Sun Quan found Zhou Yu and Zhang Zhao, hoping to get their endorsement.
Zhou Yu is a man who knows both military and political affairs, so he naturally understands this.
Although in Zhou Yu's view, Lu Meng was still immature, Zhou Yu was quite optimistic about Lu Meng's growth, especially after Sun Quan encouraged him to learn. After Lu Meng lowered his head to learn the art of war and strategy, Zhou Yu also recognized Lu Meng's ability as a commander-in-chief.
And the most important thing is that Lu Meng was one of Sun Quan's "ones" who was promoted by Sun Quan.
That's why Zhou Yu followed Sun Quan and said something nice for Lu Meng, and at the same time deliberately pointed out Lu Meng's advantage - loyalty.
Zhang Zhao naturally understood what Sun Quan meant, but he still couldn't agree with Sun Quan's decision.
"Although Lu Ziming has been in battle for a long time, he has no experience in governing local areas. Changsha and Guiyang are crucial. Although Liu Bei promised to cede the land, it is still unclear what his heart is. After all, the land of Baqiu is adjacent to Guan Yu, and he is not an important minister. , you can't guard it!" Zhang Zhao said with his hands in hand.
What is Zhang Zhao saying? Anyway, he is older and has seniority.
When Sun Ce was in charge, if Sun Ce did anything wrong, Zhang Zhao would directly reprimand him, and Sun Ce also had to accept it humbly.
In the past two years, Sun Quan's power has become more and more powerful, and Zhang Zhao has also restrained himself to save face for Sun Quan. But there are only three people at this time, so Zhang Zhao has to say what he should say.
Zhou Yu could affirm Lü Meng's ability from the military level, but at the government level, Zhang Zhao really looked down on Lü Meng.
Taking over as Lu Su's governor of the two counties, Lü Meng may have no problem with his military ability, but in terms of government affairs, Lü Meng has never been a local official.
Now in Changsha, I don’t know how many people from the Jiangdong Family have invested money, and this year they have just experienced a locust plague. If there is no one with outstanding political ability to clean up the mess, it is easy for the Jiangdong Family to lose everything.
At this time, it would be surprising if the people of the Jiangdong family would agree to appoint a military leader to governor these two places.
Therefore, Zhang Zhao directly denied Lu Meng from the political level, which was equivalent to denying Sun Quan's decision.
Sun Quan's face looked a little ugly at that moment.
Over the years, Sun Quan's reputation has become higher and higher, especially after he defeated Cao Cao at Ruxukou. Sun Quan felt that his ability and influence had far exceeded that of his father and brother, so his desire to control power became greater and greater.
Zhou Yu and Zhang Zhao were veterans of Sun Ce's era, and they also represented the Huaisi Military Group. Zhang Zhao was even close to the Jiangdong family, so Sun Quan still respected them.
At least on the surface, that's what it looks like.
However, in his heart, Sun Quan still hopes to get the support of his own people.
Lu Su can be said to be a person promoted by Sun Quan, and Lu Su did not disappoint Sun Quan. Whether he was the main battle in Chibi, the Sun-Liu alliance, or the guarding side, it can be said that Lu Su greatly gave Sun Quan face.
But unfortunately, Lu Su is now seriously ill, and the doctor said that he might not survive the winter. Sun Quan had to put the matter of Lu Su's successor on the agenda.
The reason why Sun Quan asked Lu Meng to go to Lukou first and manage the army on Lu Su's behalf was to create a fait accompli and then seek the approval of Zhou Yu and Zhang Zhao.
Sun Quan also knew that Lu Meng was relatively young and currently lacked both ability and experience.
However, Lu Meng is already the best candidate among his existing pockets.
We can't let Zhou Yu go to the governor's place, right? !
On the one hand, Baqiu was an unlucky place, and Zhou Yu almost died there. Therefore, Sun Quan was unwilling to let Zhou Yu go to Baqiu again, and would rather keep Zhou Yu in Jianye.
On the other hand, Sun Quan now needs to increase the control of his cronies over the local area. Although Zhou Yu has always been supportive of him, after all, he is not the one who was promoted by himself. With such a high reputation, Sun Quan is not confident about letting Zhou Yu leave the town.
This is no longer the time when he first ascended the throne. At that time, he had nothing and could only rely on a group of veterans left by Sun Ce to secure his position with their support.
Now that Sun Quan has gained his own prestige, he naturally does not want Zhou Yu and other veterans to continue to occupy important positions. Sun Quan also needs to train his own people, otherwise how can he hold this position securely? !
Even if Zhou Yu helped him wholeheartedly before, what about now? ! What about the future? ! Even after Zhou Yu died? !
At this time, Sun Quan had awakened to his attributes as a political figure. Although it was not jealous, he was already uneasy about Zhou Yu.
Zhou Yu was different from Zhang Zhao, a purely civilian official. Zhou Yu's prestige in the military was too high. Even if Sun Quan used various methods to temporarily deprive Zhou Yu of his military power, the problem was that Jiangdong was a military system.
The secular military system has resulted in a large part of the military power in the army being under the control of the generals. However, Zhou Yu's prestige in the army is so high. Although he himself does not have military power, he is on good terms with most of the generals in the army. In fact, he has Having military power makes no difference.
Therefore, the appointment of Lu Meng this time was actually Sun Quan's test of Zhou Yu, testing whether Zhou Yu would still support him in controlling military power as before.
Originally, Sun Quan thought that Zhou Yu would find reasons to object, and by the way, he arranged for Zhou Yu's people to guard Baqiu. Unexpectedly, Zhou Yu helped him find reasons to agree. The person who really opposed it was Zhang Zhao.
This Sun Quan is very incomprehensible.
You, Zhang Zhao, are a civil servant, but I respect you as a teacher on weekdays. During the Battle of Chibi, you were the one who jumped up and down, but I didn't hold you accountable afterwards. How come you stabbed me in the back instead? !
Just when Sun Quan was thinking of words to refute Zhang Zhao, Zhou Yu spoke first.
"Mr. Zibu, this is wrong!" Zhou Yu said to Zhang Zhao, "The two counties of Baqiu are indeed an unusual place, but for this reason, Lu Ziming must succeed him. Being surrounded by enemy countries, If you are not a trustworthy person, you don’t know how to use soldiers, you only know how to govern, how can you maintain peace for a long time?!”
"Can"
Zhang Zhao wanted to say more, but Sun Quan had already thought of his words.
"Mr. Zibu, how good is this?!" Sun Quan smiled and said to Zhang Zhao, "Mr. Zibu can select capable county assistants to assist Ziming in handling government affairs, while Ziming is in charge of military affairs. In this way, wouldn't it be the best of both worlds?!"
Two whole pieces of wool.
A military leader, what does he know about governing a place? !
If the decision-making power is not in your hands, no matter how capable the lieutenant is, it will be of no use to him when faced with such an unreasonable boss.
Zhang Zhao wanted to fight back, but Sun Quan was not Sun Ce after all.
Over the years, Zhang Zhao has gotten to know Sun Quan more and more deeply, and he has become more and more aware of how strong this man's control over power is. Zhou Yu has reminded him twice. If Zhang Zhao can't understand what it means anymore, then You really have lived such a long life in vain.
When Sun Quan wants to choose a candidate, he must first be loyal. No matter how capable the others are, it will not work if he is not loyal enough.
After Zhang Zhao thought about this, he no longer persisted and said to Sun Quan, "In this way, Zhao personally selects capable officials. After the lord has reviewed them, he will go to Baqiu to assist Ziming."
This time Sun Quan was finally satisfied.
Immediately afterwards, Sun Quan glanced at Zhou Yu, thought for a moment, and then said, "Since Mr. Gong Jin and Mr. Zibu have no objections, let Lu Meng be appointed as the prefect of Changsha, leading General Fenwei, and governor of Changsha and Guiyang counties."
Zhou Yu and Zhang Zhao agreed and retreated.
(End of chapter)
