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“You have my word
as your friend, Lu Zijing: I will fight for your recognition as a pillar of
this fine new state that we’re building,” Zhou Yu replied. “Your kindness
toward me cannot go unrepaid.”
“…The state that
you speak of is not so much a state as an idea at the moment,” Lu Su suggested.
“Jiangdong is still badly underdeveloped, and apart from a fine military it-”
“That will quickly
change,” Zhou Yu insisted. “Even with all of the threats that we face, that
will change. Even though Lord Sun is… not himself… after having to abandon his
campaign in Jing Province to deal with this new threat from the regime in
Lujiang Prefecture, that will change. Even after what we have just witnessed,
that will change.”
“Are you talking to
me or yourself…?” Lu Su joked.
Zhou Yu was not
sure: he had known the charismatic Sun Ce - the son of the hero Sun Jian - for
a decade, and the two were more like brothers than friends. Shackles of
servitude had been replaced by the pressures of leadership, but the chaos that
had enveloped them since their youth was unending, and the latest military and
political developments had strained Sun Ce’s nerves and temper to their limits.
The future of the state of Jiangdong in southern Yang Province was far from
secure, and the efforts of thousands of men over fifteen years of nationwide
conflict was potentially at risk as new warlords emerged and new boundaries
were drawn.
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