The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 429 Sun Quan receives the devastating news of Lu Xun's capture

Zhang, Sun, and Gu shakily crossed the gate and headed towards the main hall, only to be met by Hu Zong shortly after entering.

After meeting them, they learned that Hu Zong had been sent by Sun Quan to invite the three of them to his residence for a meeting. Didn't they want to go together?

The three old men hurried to the hall and saw Sun Quan already dressed and sitting at the table, and they couldn't help but mutter to themselves.

Judging from Sun Quan's condition, he has clearly recovered from the devastating news of Han Dang and Xu Sheng's deaths and is ready to get back to work and regroup.

But the three of them brought even worse news than the deaths of Han Dang and Xu Sheng. What were they supposed to say?

If Sun Quan knew, could he withstand these successive fatal blows?

The three of them didn't know what to say, so they slowed down even more after crossing the threshold.

Sun Quan was surprised to see the three of them arrive together. "I just ordered Hu Zong to invite you. Hu Zong probably hasn't even left the General's Mansion yet. How come you've already come?"

They even came together.

While wondering, Sun Quan noticed the three men's dejected gait and dejected expressions, and his heart skipped a beat as he asked, "Gentlemen, has something happened again?"

While asking the questions, he prayed frantically in his heart, hoping that nothing else would go wrong; Eastern Wu really couldn't withstand any more trouble.

Seeing that Sun Quan had taken the initiative to ask, Zhang Zhao stopped pretending. However, not knowing how to start the conversation, he simply handed the letter to Hu Zong and sighed, "My lord, you should read it yourself."

Hu Zong handed the letter to Sun Quan, who unfolded it and read only a few lines before his face turned ashen. He abruptly looked up, his hands trembling and his lips quivering as he uttered, "Impossible, this is impossible..."

Zhang, Sun, and Gu remained silent. No one offered any words of comfort or advice. The three of them were waiting for others to comfort them, so they had no interest in providing Sun Quan with any emotional support.

Sun Quan, not receiving the comfort he desired, could only lower his head and read the letter again. After finishing, he slammed it on the table and shouted, "Impossible! Lu Xun has a full 50,000 troops, all veterans who have fought for many years. How could they be completely annihilated by Guan Xing's rabble? This is impossible, absolutely impossible!"

Sun Quan roared like a shrew in a fit of rage, trying to get up to increase his power. But he got up too fast and before he could stand up, he felt dizzy and his head spin as if he had been hit hard. His body swayed as if he was about to fall. Hu Zong, who was standing next to him, was so frightened that he quickly reached out to help him. But as soon as his hand touched Sun Quan's body, it was as if a switch had been triggered. Sun Quan felt a sweet taste in his throat and spat out a mouthful of blood half a meter away. He then fainted in Hu Zong's arms.

Hu Zong squatted down and helped him lie down in his arms, then looked at Zhang Zhao helplessly and asked, "Strategist, what should we do?"

Zhang Zhao said with a wry smile, "Wake him up. There's no time for grief now. We need to come up with a solution as soon as possible."

Hu Zong had no choice but to pinch Sun Quan's philtrum repeatedly, but after trying for a long time without waking him up, he grabbed the wine pot on the table and splashed it on Sun Quan's face. Only then did Sun Quan slowly open his eyes. Seeing the people in front of him, he quickly understood what was going on. He raised his fist and slammed it on the table, wailing, "Why is this happening? Why does Heaven help Liu and not Sun?"

"And that damned Guan Anguo, is he Huo Qubing reincarnated? How can he be so good at fighting? In just a few days, he wiped out our only 50,000 elite troops. If he's so capable, why doesn't he go fight Cao Cao? Why does he keep targeting me?"

Sun Quan was truly baffled. He couldn't understand how Lu Xun could have been defeated so quickly, or how Guan Xing could have been so formidable.

Logically speaking, even if Lu Xun couldn't defeat Guan Xing, he could have held out against Guan Xing for a year or two until Liu Bei's Northern Expedition ended. Once Liu Bei's Northern Expedition was over, Cao Cao could then focus all his efforts on advancing south, which would introduce new variables.

But what happened? Lu Xun couldn't even last three months before Guan Xing wiped him out. Even Huo Qubing didn't manage to conquer the Hexi Corridor so quickly back then.

Damn you, Lu Xun and Lu Boyan! What did you promise me when you went on the expedition? Is this how you repay my trust?

What will I do if you get captured?

Sun Quan was truly desperate. He had no troops left. A warlord without troops was like a wealthy man without children in his old age; he could only become a lamb to the slaughter.

Now, let alone Liu Bei and Cao Cao, even those usually timid and subservient Jingzhou gentry might dare to bite him. What should he do?

Seeing Sun Quan so dejected, Hu Zong couldn't help but comfort him, "My lord, please calm down. Perhaps this is Jia Kui's conspiracy, or perhaps Grand Commander Lu has not yet been defeated. Shouldn't we wait for more concrete news before making any decisions?"

Sun Quan looked at Zhang, Sun, and Gu with hopeful eyes, hoping to get a positive answer from them, even if it was just a little comfort.

Zhang Zhao smiled bitterly and said, "Impossible. Even if Jia Kui wanted to play dirty tricks, he would only target the Guan family father and son. Why would he target us? So let's not take any chances and accept reality as soon as possible and think about how to deal with it."

how to respond?

What's the point of even responding to this?

Sun Quan closed his eyes and remained silent for a long time. When he opened them again, he had regained some of his senses. He struggled to sit up, gripping the edge of the table, and sighed dejectedly, "Our entire army has been wiped out. What can we do now? Do we have any resources left? Is there any hope of turning the tide?"

When Sun Quan asked the question, he couldn't help but feel a sense of desolation. Since entering Jiangling, he hadn't encountered a single smooth thing, only setbacks. Could it be that this wretched place, Jiangling, was incompatible with him?

He was truly devastated this time, feeling utterly exhausted and unwilling to struggle any longer. He just wanted to be destroyed.

Seeing that Sun Quan was still in low spirits, Hu Zong gritted his teeth and said, "My lord, please don't be discouraged. When Guan Yu was defeated at Maicheng, he only had two or three hundred men left. He was defeated so badly, but he still managed to turn the tide. Your situation is much better than Guan Yu's back then. There is no reason for you to keep losing. As long as you can cheer up, you will definitely be able to regain your former glory."

How can there be a child crying every day? How can there be a gambler losing every day?

They still have leverage; they haven't been eliminated yet. As long as they're not out, they still have a chance. If they persevere a little longer, they might just become the next Guan Yu.

Sun Quan, Zhang, Sun, and Gu rolled their eyes at the same time. Turning the tide is easy to say, but their Eastern Wu is currently suffering a crushing defeat on the main battlefield. Winning on the main battlefield is impossible. The only way to turn the tide is to take an unorthodox approach, but where is there any chance for you to take an unorthodox approach now?

The reason they were able to successfully cross the river in white robes that day was because Guan Yu's main force and his capable generals were all in Xiangfan fighting against Cao Wei, leaving their rear vulnerable.

Guan Yu was able to successfully raid Jianye because the main force of Eastern Wu had all come to Jingzhou. The assassination of Guan Yu was a full-scale attack that Sun Quan had been preparing for many years. In order to prevent the rear from being attacked, he even brought the core members of the Jiangdong gentry, such as Gu Yong, Lu Xun, and Zhu Ju, to Jingzhou. As a result, Jianye was left empty, giving Guan Yu an opportunity. But now, who would give them a chance?

First of all, a surprise attack on Jianye was impossible. Guan Yu guarded against Eastern Wu like he was guarding against thieves, and ordered Wang Fu to personally oversee Jianye. In addition, they captured Jianye by surprise attack, so how could they not be wary of others using the same method to break through the city?

A surprise attack on Bashu was also impossible. Although Liu Bei's northern expedition left Chengdu vulnerable, he had also stationed a large number of troops in Baidi City to guard against him before the expedition. Even if he hadn't, could he have quietly slipped through Bashu's poor terrain?

The idea of ​​a surprise attack on Luoyang is even more absurd. If a surprise attack on Luoyang had succeeded, Sun Quan wouldn't have had a chance; Liu Bei and Guan Yu would have done it long ago.

But apart from these three places, where else could a surprise attack allow Eastern Wu to turn the tide?

Sun Quan then tragically realized that he and Guan Yu had exhausted all paths, leaving no chance for future generations. From now on, it would be more than ten times more difficult to take a shortcut than crossing the river in white robes or Guan Yu's surprise attack on Jianye.

Given the current situation, it seems that Eastern Wu has no hope. Sun Quan sighed sadly, "Forget it, let's stop having such unrealistic daydreams and accept reality to think about what to do. Strategist, do you have any other ideas?"