In his most desperate hour, Sun Quan puts his faith in Lu Xun, but will his officers obey orders from a man they see as a pedant and a coward?

* Transcript

* Map of Key Locations

* Graph of Key Characters and Relationships

* Talking ROTK on the Sinica Podcast

Transcript

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Welcome to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms Podcast. This is episode 105.

Before we pick up where we left off, I have a quick announcement. Around the beginning the year, I appeared on the Sinica Podcast, where I had a great time chatting with Kaiser Kuo and Jeremony Goldkorn about the Three Kingdoms Podcast and about the cultural significance of the novel. So go over to the Sinica podcast, that’s spelled S-I-N-I-C-A, and check it out. And now, back to the show.

 

Last time, Liu Bei was riding high as he crushed Dongwu in one battle after another in his quest to avenge his slain brothers. It got so bad for Dongwu that Sun Quan offered up a really sweet peace deal. He delivered into Liu Bei’s hands the two guys who assassinated Zhang Fei, and he promised to return Jing Province and Lady Sun, Liu Bei’s wife and Sun Quan’s sister. He also offered to be Liu Bei’s ally for all of eternity if Liu Bei would just call off his war, especially seeing how most of the people directly involved in his brothers’ deaths were now themselves dead.

When the envoy and Liu Bei’s officials broached the topic of peace, however, Liu Bei flew into a rage.

“The one I despise most is Sun Quan. If I ally with him now, I would be turning my back on my oath with my brothers. I shall exterminate Dongwu first, and then wipe out Wei.”

Liu Bei even wanted to execute Dongwu’s envoy to show that he really meant business, but his officials managed to talk him out of it, and the envoy scampered back to Dongwu to tell Sun Quan that Liu Bei refused to talk peace despite his own officials’ advice.

 

This sent Sun Quan into a panic, but the adviser Kan (3) Ze (2) told him, “You have a pillar that can prop up heaven at your disposal. Why don’t you use him?”

Sun Quan asked whom Kan (3) Ze (2) was referring to, and Kan Ze said, “The important affairs of Dongwu used to all be handled by Zhou Yu. Then Lu Su took over. After Lu Su died, they fell to Lü Meng. Although Lü Meng is dead, we still have Lu (4) Xun (4) stationed in Jing Province. He has the reputation of a scholar, but in reality, he possesses talent which, in my estimation, rivals that of Zhou Yu’s. When we defeated Guan Yu, Lu Xun was the one who came up with all the ideas. If your highness make use of him, we’re guaranteed to defeat the enemy. If anything goes wrong, I am willing to share Lu Xun’s punishment.”

“If not for your reminder, all would be lost,” a grateful Sun Quan said.

But the senior adviser Zhang Zhao objected.

“Lu Xun is but a bookworm, not a worthy opponent for Liu Bei. I don’t think we should use him.”

A couple other advisers also voiced their concerns. One said Lu Xun was too young to command the respect of the officers, while another said Lu Xun may be a decent administrator but was not a general. But to all this, Kan Ze shouted, “If you do not use Lu Xun, then Dongwu is done for! I am willing to vouch for him with the lives of my entire family!”

This bold guarantee did the trick, and Sun Quan told everyone,