My Father in Law is Lu Bu

Sun Quan froze after hearing Sun Ce’s words. Sun Ce already knew that Sun Quan would betray him. The only reason why Sun Ce did not stop it was because Sun Ce could not bear to believe it. After all, Liu Mang was an enemy while Sun Quan was his little brother. How could he trust an enemy while suspecting his own little brother?

That was why Sun Ce acted steadily and did not tell Zhou Yu about this. When trails of Cao Cao’s envoy appeared, Sun Ce purposefully went hunting as bait for the traitor to appear.

Initially, Sun Ce thought that Cao Cao wanted to kill him. He did not panic when Xu Gong appeared because Lu Meng and Ling Cao were already waiting in the forest ready to capture the traitor that gave Xu Gong the ballista.

The ballista was a secret weapon. It was something they had to destroy even when their ships are sinking because they could not let others obtain it. Yet there was a high ranking person in Jiangdong that belongs to Cao Cao. Sun Ce could not accept it but did not expect that the traitor would be Sun Quan.

“So you already knew.” Sun Quan actions were noticed and Sun Ce already prepared a countermeasure. This meant that Sun Quan’s attempts to seize the throne only turned out to be a joke. He bitterly stayed on the floor.

“Men! Take him away…” Sun Ce ordered. He then gritted his teeth and said. “Take him to prison and ensure tight security.” At the end of the day, Sun Quan was still his brother. Had it been someone else, they would have been executed.

“Understood!” Sun Quan was quickly taken away by the soldiers.

“Disperse. Jiangdong’s affairs will be handled by Zhuge Jin ad Bulu.” Sun Ce said to the others. He no longer trusted the nobles in Jiangdong. The only ones he could use were the poor and foreign nobles. Zhuge Jin and Bulu were two people that met the requirements.

“Your subject accepts the order!” Jiangdong’s officials replied and withdrew.

“Master Zhuge. Congratulations.” A group of people congratulated Zhuge Jin after Sun Ce had left.

“Thank you.” Zhuge Jin could only cup his fist in reply.

“Hmph! It is just dumb luck! I wonder how long you can hold onto that post!” Governor Zuo said sourly.

“That’s right. Ambassador Zhang will come back sooner or later. Some people won’t be able to stay in this position for long!”

“You…!” Zhuge Jin was a well behaved person so he was not good at speaking. He did not know how to respond to these cynical remarks and could only stay quiet.

Though Zhuge Jin was not good at talking back, there was someone beside him who could. “Wait for that day to come if you want to talk about it!” Bulu walked over. Normally he wouldn’t care but now he was Zhuge Jin’s deputy. If his immediate superior gets insulted that means he too was being insulted.

“What does a child like you know?” Governor Zuo Li said angrily.

“Could it be there are no one called Zuo Li in Jiangdong?” Bulu ignored Zuo Li and asked.

“Of course there is a Governor Zuo!”

“Since there is a Governor Zuo, why has this person not paid respects to his superior?”

“Why should I pay respects to a child like you?” Zuo Li refused to comply.

“Then will you choose to disrespect the Lord’s decision?” Bulu asked back with a smile. His smile was like the smile of a demon. It was initially a simple dispute between bureaucrats but Bulu turned it into a serious matter. If Zuo Li were to give in, he would lose face. If he doesn’t, he would be disrespecting his superiors and this could lead to execution.

When Zuo Li hesitated, he received advice from an official that was close to him. “Governor Zuo, just pay your respects at least once. At the end of the day, Zhuge Jin is Jiangdong’s Ambassador now.”

“Ambassador Zhuge. Governor Zuo is already old, can he be excused?” Another person pleaded to Zhuge Jin. Zhuge Jin did not care and wanted to agree but Bulu interrupted. “If you want to be a puppet Ambassador without aspirations, go ahead and be charitable. If you want your words to be heeded, then I hope you listen to me.” Bulu’s words made Zhuge Jin stop.

Rules and ethics must be followed or the world would eventually fall into chaos. Bulu’s words meant that Governor Zuo must salute Zuge Jin.

Zuo Li could see that Bulu would really get someone to arrest him if he did not show his respects.

Had the people before did not try and persuade Zhuge Jin, Zuo Li would have shown his respects. However, with this people saying too much, Zuo Li now became stubborn. “This old man knelt for half a day in front of the Lord. How can he now pay respects to a child like you? I am not going to pay my respects!”

“You are really going to refuse to show respect?” Bulu asked again.

“I refuse!”

“Good! Men! Arrest this Zuo Li for disrespecting his superiors. Hit him five times with the rod!” Bulu ordered. Normally it would be ten strikes but he was afraid that he would kill Zuo Li.

“I want to see who dares!”

The soldiers all looked at each other in dismay.

“Why? Are you all not going to listen to the newly employed Ambassador now? Could it be that all of you are disrespecting your superiors like Zuo Li? Or perhaps you all want to rebel like Xu Gong?” Bulu brought up Sun Ce again. The soldiers all listened to Sun Ce.

“Understood!”

“You better remember this! I will report this to the Lord!” Zuo Li shouted as he was dragged away. Zhuge Jin was also afraid that Zuo Li would die. Bulu had already ordered the troops to be more lenient. Five strikes was already being lenient but it was still not something Zuo Li could endure. He already fainted by the third strike of the rod.

Bulu then waved his hand and have the troops dismissed. “Send him back home. If anyone continues to disrespect their superiors in the future, Zuo Li would become the example.” His words made the other officials in Jiangdong show respect towards Zhuge Jin.