After Sun Quan sent Liu Bei's envoy away, he was so angry that he swept all the things on the ground.

Obviously, Sun Quan was very dissatisfied with Liu Bei's failure to communicate with him first and to be the king alone without saying a word!

Sun Quan returned to his house to pay homage to his mother and met his sister Sun Shangxiang who had been serving his mother.

Seeing his sister's haggard face, Sun Quan couldn't help feeling a little guilty.

It seems that my sister has already known the news that Liu Bei is king.

If it weren't for using his own trick to trick her back to Jiangdong, Sun Shangxiang should be the princess of Hanzhong in Chengdu now!

Sun Quan was very confused. Cao Cao was the King of Wei personally appointed by Emperor Xian of Han, and Liu Bei became the King of Hanzhong sponsored by all officials.

Only he himself could get the official position on the table, or the general who was conferred by the imperial court after Sun Ce's death, and the prefect of Kuaiji.

Such a miscellaneous general did not even have the right to open a government office. Although Sun Quan controlled the entire Jiangdong, it was a bit unreasonable.

Because Sun Quan had no status, he was a little bit confident.

When he confronted Cao Cao at Chibi, Sun Quan was not only weak in strength and had no status, but also had a flaw. Then he followed Lu Su's advice and brought Liu Bei, who was desperate, as a shield.

After the Battle of Red Cliff, the "Sun-Liu Alliance" defeated Cao Cao, and Sun Quan "lent" almost the entire Jingzhou to Liu Bei.

It seemed that Sun Quan suffered a great loss, but he did not gain anything. He received a recommendation from Liu Bei and put on the title of Yangzhou governor who was not recognized by Emperor Xian of Han, which was an excuse to rule Jiangdong.

Because at that time, Sun Quan won a great victory in the Red Cliff and won a lot of Cao Cao's military, horses and money and food, and was strong enough to crush Liu Bei. In addition, he was Liu Bei's creditor, Sun Quan was always on a strong side in the Sun-Liu alliance.

In order to strengthen his position, Sun Quan took advantage of the plan of Zhou Yu's beauty and married his sister to Liu Bei and became Liu Bei's elder brother-in-law.

This also has a deep meaning. If the two major forces of Sun and Liu are compared to brotherly countries, then Sun Quan is the true elder brother, and Liu Bei is the veritable younger brother.

But after Liu Bei entered Xichuan, everything was out of Sun Quan's control.

First of all, he used Lu Meng's plan to trick Mrs. Sun back to Jiangdong. His original intention was to let his sister take Adou to Jiangdong and be a hostage. Who knew that Liu Chan was intercepted by Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei, and even defeated Zhou Shan, a brave general.

But it was not a bad thing for Mrs. Sun to return to Jiangdong. In addition to being able to return Jiangling County with justification, she could also force Liu Bei to come and pick up the bride and earn enough face for Sun Quan, her brother-in-law.

However, after Liu Bei defeated Liu Zhang and won Xichuan, his strength increased sharply, and he had a faint tendency to overtake Jiangdong.

In order to test Liu Bei's attitude, Sun Quan seized Guan Yu's excuse of not following the rules and ordered Lu Meng to capture the four counties in Jingnan.

But Liu Bei seemed to have a hard wing and refused to give in. He actually led the troops from Xichuan to the public security, preparing to have a big battle with Sun Quan.

Just when both sides were in a difficult situation, Cao Cao captured Hanzhong.

Liu Bei had a step forward and first looked for Sun Quan to seek compromise.

Originally, Sun Quan could have been a little more powerful and could occupy at least half of Jingzhou.

But he finally admitted his defeat because he was afraid that Liu Bei would bet on his own and defeat him.

In order to restore the relationship with Liu Bei, Sun Quan even recognized Liu Bei's suggestion to demarcate the Xiang River and return the large tracts of land that had been occupied to Liu Bei.

Because Sun Quan also wanted to take advantage of Cao Cao's opportunity in Hanzhong to conquer Hefei and gain a foothold in Huainan.

But things went against my wishes. Sun Quan was not only defeated by Zhang Liao, but also Cao Cao supported him thousands of miles from Hanzhong. At Ruxukou, Sun Quan was defeated by Cao Cao and was unable to fight again, so he had to seek peace.

On the contrary, Liu Bei, who had not yet gained a foothold in Xichuan, defeated Cao Cao's main force with his disadvantaged forces and snatched Hanzhong from Cao Cao.

Sun Quan knew that Liu Bei was no longer the brother-in-law who came to Jiangdong to marry. He was already above him in terms of position, fame, and military strength.

It would be impossible for him to be on par with Cao Cao and Liu Bei!

Even if Sun Quan followed suit and asked all his subordinates to express their reputation as kings like Liu Bei, it would be counterproductive because he lacked the identity of Liu Bei's royal family, and it would be like a rebellious person and could only play a counterproductive role.

But Sun Quan was not completely hopeless to become king, and there were two ways to go.

The first way is to send Mrs. Sun to Xichuan, recognize Liu Bei's occupation of Jingzhou, and improve his relationship with Liu Bei, or let Liu Bei lead the way, and all officials submit to Emperor Xian of Han and recommend himself as King Wu.

In that case, even if Emperor Xian of Han did not issue an order to admit it, he could still govern Jiangdong as King Wu, because he could attribute this matter to "Cao Cao was so ruthless that Emperor Xian of Han could not help himself."

Another way is to turn to Cao Cao, so that Jiangdong can temporarily rely on Cao Cao, and Emperor Xian of Han issued an order to enthrone Sun Quan for official positions.

Although Emperor Xian of Han was just a puppet emperor, he was the orthodox Han Dynasty after all. With the imperial edict he issued, Sun Quan's separatist rule of Jiangdong was even more legitimate.

But because Cao Cao was only the King of Wei, Sun Quan could not have obtained the same status as him. Therefore, his hope of becoming a king was slim, and there was even no possibility of being a king.

Sun Quan himself estimated that at most, he could get titles such as General Guard and General Cavalry, and obtain the right to open a government office and build a government office.

But the benefits of doing this are obvious.

Sun Quan could legalize the separatist rule of Jiangdong and compete with Liu Bei for legitimate reasons. After robbing Jingzhou, Jiangdong's security would be guaranteed, so there would be no need to worry about sharing the Yangtze River natural danger with Liu Bei.

But to Cao Cao, the potential risk is too great!

Because Cao Cao is strong, if he wants to get a reward, he must work with Cao Cao to attack Liu Bei.

The degree of this is difficult to grasp. Maybe Cao Cao will seize the opportunity to destroy Liu Bei, occupy Xichuan, and form a situation where he can dominate.

In that case, there is no possibility of Jiangdong being alone. Sun Quan had no other way to go except to be a minister under Cao Cao.

When Sun Quan was in trouble, people reported that Cao Cao sent Man Chong as an envoy to come and ask for a visit to him.

Sun Quan had not made up his mind yet and didn't know which path to take. Naturally, he didn't want to meet Man Chong immediately, so he arranged Man Chong in the inn first.

Because during the Ruxukou Battle, Sun Quan was at a disadvantage and had to make a compromise first. Not only did he take the initiative to submit and pay tribute, but he also agreed to attack Guan Yu in Jingzhou with Cao Cao when necessary.

This time, Cao Cao was defeated by Liu Bei in Hanzhong, and Liu Bei usurped and became king in Hanzhong, forcing Cao Cao to send troops to attack Liu Bei.

Cao Cao didn't even defend Hanzhong. It would definitely not work to attack Hanzhong across the Qinling Mountains. He sent Man Chong to come, and he definitely wanted to attack Jingzhou with him.
Chapter completed!