Chapter 704: The fall of Eastern Wu
Sun Quan sat in the main hall, and said nothing in the face of Ma Su's insults.
He didn't want to provoke Ma Su, and he couldn't be decent at the last moment of his life. For Sun Quan, this might be the last killing and heartbreaking.
However, although Sun Quan remained silent, Ma Su was unwilling to let him go. He found a cushion beside him and looked at Sun Quan contemptuously.
"This King of Wei Wu who has occupied Yangzhou for decades, Sun Hefei, do you know how many people I have crossed the river from Jiangbei?"
Then, without waiting for Sun Quan to say anything, Ma Su gave the answer directly.
"Three hundred people! I only brought three hundred people to Wujun from Jiangbei. Although they are the elite troops of the Han Dynasty, they are by no means invincible."
"When I marched westward from Wujun, including the troops who surrendered in Wujun, there were only three thousand people. With so many people deep in Jiangdong, you should have been able to destroy them with a flick of the hand."
"But what about now? I wonder if the King of Wu of Wei knows how many troops I have now?"
Seeing that Sun Quan still didn't know what to do, Ma Su shook his head gently and then gave the final answer.
"The troops in Yangzhou are mine! If it weren't for the troops who surrendered in Yangzhou, I wouldn't have been able to get here!"
"Sun Shiwan, you have been governing Jiangdong for decades... Tsk."
With Ma Su's last sentence, Sun Quan's face suddenly became ugly.
Ma Su's words were so cruel that even Sun Quan couldn't accept them at all.
He has always been known as the lord of the southeast, and his father and brother have been in charge of Yangzhou for three generations. He was young and came to power. It was his greatest pride to control Yangzhou and expand the territory.
But now, Ma Su crushed Sun Quan's last pride in front of him.
The achievements of your governance over the past few decades are worthless. Your hegemony is as ridiculous as your pride!
"Ma Su! Why do you have to destroy the heart when killing people?" Sun Quan said angrily with gritted teeth.
"Why don't you destroy the heart when killing people? What kind of face do you need to give to a dying person?" Ma Su rolled his eyes and said disapprovingly.
"Come on, stop talking nonsense. It should be about time, right?"
"Don't tell me you didn't take poison."
As soon as these words came out, Sun Quan's face changed instantly, but he soon calmed down again.
"Yes, I did take poison. You are just a kid from Jingzhou. Do you want to take me to Guanzhong to be humiliated?"
"Even if I die today, I will still be the emperor of Dongwu!"
Before he finished speaking, a trace of black blood slipped from the corner of Sun Quan's mouth. With the last indignation, the ruler of Dongwu, who had been in charge of the southeast for decades, finally fell on his seat.
"What a waste of time." Ma Su was not surprised at all, but walked up to Sun Quan and stripped him of the dragon robe he had usurped, and then he no longer cared about his body.
As soon as he entered the palace and saw Sun Quan sitting upright, Ma Su was basically sure that this guy had taken poison. With Sun Quan's cowardly look, he obviously didn't dare to face Ji Han's revenge, so taking poison to commit suicide became his last dignity.
Of course, because Sun Quan had already taken poison, Ma Su would sit down and kill him in the end. Otherwise, with his hatred for Sun Quan, he would have to drag him out and beat him up anyway.
"It's a pity that Guan Xing didn't come with the army, otherwise he would probably have whipped his corpse three hundred times." Ma Su complained in his heart, and at the same time walked straight out of the Dongwu Palace and announced to the public the news that Sun Quan committed suicide out of fear of crime.
The death of Sun Quan officially represented the demise of the Dongwu regime that had occupied Yangzhou for many years.
A few days later, Zhuge Liang led his army across the Yangtze River and entered Jianye City. The entire southern counties of Yangzhou were settled, and Yangzhou was restored.
After taking over Yangzhou, Zhuge Liang also learned that Sun Quan had died. After hearing the news of the death of this man who had a national hatred with him, Zhuge Liang was also full of emotion.
"Sun Zhongmou, Sun Zhongmou, you were a young talent in Moling in the past. But now you have fallen to this point..." Zhuge Liang sighed softly and finally sighed.
"Forget it, since the mastermind is dead, my hatred for the Han Dynasty and the Sun family will end here. The remaining Sun family members will not be investigated, and this matter will end like this."
"Yes." Ma Su also nodded and made the same statement.
All the hatred of Ji Han was basically related to Sun Quan. Now that the main culprit is dead, the hatred is over.
All hatred will dissipate with the rolling water of the Yangtze River.
However, the other members of the Sun family will be let go. But Ma Su will not be soft-hearted to the other big families in Dongwu.
After all, the southeast is blocked by the Yangtze River, and the terrain is closed, which is particularly easy to split. And this group of southeastern tycoons is a first-class self-defense force. If they don't strike hard, it is hard to guarantee that there will not be another Dongwu in the future.
Zhuge Liang also felt deeply about this matter. So after weighing the pros and cons, he chose to let Ma Su do it.
In the final analysis, although Zhuge Liang is gentle, he is not a completely good man. Zhuge Liang will never have any mercy on the forces that must be eradicated.
So with Zhuge Liang's tacit consent, Ma Su picked a good day to call all the big families in Danyang. Then, in front of everyone, he moved out a pile of letters and burned them.
Such an attitude made many Yangzhou officials confused. Generally speaking, burning correspondence is aimed at one's own officials to show that past mistakes will not be punished. But Ma Su burned the letters in front of these newly surrendered officials. Does this mean that their past double-dealing will not be punished?
However, Ma Su soon gave them their answer.
"These are some letters I found in Shouchun. Now I will burn them all in one fire, and the past will be in the past." Ma Su glanced at the Yangzhou officials below, and after making sure that there were no slips, he said slowly.
"Then next, we should settle accounts with you stubborn elements who are against Wu!"
As soon as these words came out, all the Yangzhou officials understood what Ma Su meant.
This guy, he won't admit it!
"General Ma! We were forced!"
"General, didn't we agree on this? We are the insiders and will help the Han Dynasty to recapture Yangzhou! We are our own people!"
"You promised me at the beginning, how can you not admit it! Why kill us!"
But their excitement did not bring any emotional fluctuations to Ma Su at all. Ma Su just waved his hand calmly, and then all the ambushed Han soldiers went out and captured all these officials.
"If I didn't understand you, I would spit on your shamelessness and despise your selfishness." Ma Su finally looked at this group of Yangzhou dignitaries and gave the final conclusion lightly.
"But unfortunately, I understand you, so I can't wait to kill you now."