Staring off after Zhou Shang, Sun Ce jogged towards his uncle. "Uncle Wu Jing," he called and his uncle turned around. "What is Zhou Shang doing here?"
Wu Jing quickly patted Sun Ce on the shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile, "I assure you only good things, nephew. You'll see in time. Your mother wants you by the way."
Sun Ce shut his eyes tightly, groaning. And there it was. "Of course she does." He watched his uncle catch up to Zhou Shang's pace.
Upon entering the halls of the Sun family headquarters, heading straight towards the private wing where his mother usually conducted business from her quarters, he first encountered his younger sister, Sun Shangxiang, leaning casually against the lacquered walls, picking at her nails. Sun Quan was also leaning by the entryway to their mothers' quarters, scroll in hand, and hands stained with ink. He probably just came from his lessons with ol' curmudgeon himself, Zhang Zhao.
"Oh, good lord, if you two are here, I'm in trouble."
"Absolutely," Sun Shangxiang answered abruptly, looking up from her nails, a broad smile on her youthful face. "We never miss an opportunity to see our dear older brother get a tongue lashing."
"Never use that terminology in reference to mother again, you have to promise me this, Shangxiang," Sun Ce groaned as he ran a hand roughly over his brow.
"She just finished with Wu Jing, so she may be in better spirits than you think," Sun Quan offered a little bit of hope for his older brother.
"Oh please, she finds him more obstinate than even me."
"Well then wallow in your own doom, if you're going to be an asshole about it Sun Ce," the younger man bit tightly.
Sun Ce grumbled and stepped past his brother, resisting the urge to give him a very crude gesture before he faced the threshold. He inhaled tightly through his nose, before announcing his presence.
"Come in, Bofu."
He was a bit relieved that his mother's voice was even and he passed through the threshold with a bow, casual but decently respectful for his mother.
Lady Wu stood near the window shutters, the flickering of her small fire illuminating along the slats. She was modestly dressed in white, her dark auburn hair, with a few strands of silver starting to show through, was partially pulled up, a few tresses falling messily over her shoulders. She was described as a majestic woman by those that have met her. But being his mother, Sun Ce didn't really think he could bring himself to describe her as such, but she was one of the very few reliable and effective sources of discipline for him when he was a child.
"Sun Ce, are you well rested after this latest battle?" was her first question.
Sun Ce gave a curt nod. "I am."
"And Han Dang is well, I take it?" she asked, voice a bit too crisp to not be fishing for something.
"As well as he could be, physically, given the circumstances. But he's not taken to the news about his men very well."
"And no one would expect him to."
"He is human. He should be allowed to...feel whatever he needs to feel over that," Sun Ce said with every ounce of sympathy, as he stared out in the direction of his mother's shutters distantly.
"He is human, as we all are. And humans are free to make mistakes. It is unfortunate that in times of conflict mistakes also mean the end of other peoples' lives."
Sun Ce didn't tell her that it was more or less on his orders that Han Dang charged the base with little backup. He probably didn't have to.
"And are you pleased with the results of this latest battle?"
"No, I'm not!" Sun Ce said tersely. "It's obvious I'm not, Mother. And I don't need or want to be reminded of what happened when I already know."
Lady Wu ignored her son's flash of temper in her presence. It wasn't directed at her. At least not all of it. "I only wish to see you pleased and happy. But you aren't satisfied?"
"NO, Mother," Sun Ce paused, annoyed gaze at the rafters. "Look, we have great guys. I can't trade them for the world, over...this whole thing."
His mother moved away from the shudders towards the fire to look her son face-to-face, "I too would not trade our men for the world. But if you aren't satisfied with your food, why not add more ingredients?"
"Okay, the cooking proverbs are probably why I was a fat kid, Ma," Sun Ce complained.
"Help is always a resource that can be hard to find these days," Lady Wu clarified delicately, folding her arms inside the sleeves of her robe. "Pride can dwindle that resource away. We have been blessed with meeting many generous people who have gone on to lend aid to us. It seems we have reached great strength, that is clear, but with that strength it becomes harder to manage with the same amount of people."
"I'm guessing why I found Zhou Shang out on the grounds has something to do with the point you are trying to make."
A lilt of Lady Wu's head told Sun Ce that she didn't appreciate the flippant tone, still she pressed on. "Yes I have brought Zhou Shang in for council on getting such help. If you are still agreeable to it."
Sun Ce didn't feel in a position to have much choice. To refuse at least a little recruitment at this juncture was asinine. Even he knew that. Cheng Pu was the complete package even at his advancing age. There wasn't a more loyal soldier than Huang Gai. And no one worked harder under pitiable or unpopular circumstances like Han Dang. His family owed a lot to Zhu Zhi and his family. Sun Ce trusted his father's old officers just as much as the ones he's hand picked, if not more so, but he couldn't have five Cheng Pu's at every corner of his armies.
His mother, as usual, was right.
"Well...," he began, exhaustively, "...what does Zhou Shang have in mind?"
That evening, on the compound grounds, where soldiers stationed themselves for drills, Lu Fan enclosed himself in one of the officers' tents, going over sheets of reporting. He didn't know what he was looking for, or what he could do at this point, but he had to occupy his time.
Ever since their 'victory', Lu Fan had felt sick with nerves. He had missed an ambush party that would have ruined everything. Thank Heavens that Lord Cheng Pu had arrived and the damage was minimal.
He needed a distraction. And while he rather go over his meditations in his home in his free time, at this point, mindlessly going over old notes, looking busy, seemed the preferable method while waiting nervously for his fate from his general.
His fate came when he heard his name called from outside his tent. "Ziheng?"
Lu Fan turned abruptly from his seat, nearly tipping over his ink.
"Hey," that rich familiar voice called through the flap of the tent. Sun Ce poked his head and arm in; a bottle of wine in his hand. "Mind if I join you?"
"O-of course, Lord Sun Ce," Lu Fan answered, scrambling to remove the papers and scrolls from his desk, as if his young lord at all cared if his quarters were clean and presentable. Sun Ce placed the bottle of wine on his desk and plopped on a set of cushions that served more as Lu Fan's bed when he found himself in camp.
No matter how long they have known each other, Sun Ce always seemed to forget that Lu Fan didn't drink alcohol. On personal principle. But every time Sun Ce called on Lu Fan for company he'd bring a bottle of some alcohol or another, and two cups.
"Though I suspect me being here gives you some concern," Sun Ce poured himself a drink and then plopped himself on the pile of cushions. "I don't want to stress you out, Ziheng."
"There were concerns that occurred to me, yes," Lu Fan spun around in his spot to face his lounging Lord. "I know I should've caught the ambush troops. And I wish I could explain why I missed them. But at this moment I can't."
Sun Ce gave a loud puff between his lips and waved his hand dismissively, "It doesn't matter now. You're not the only one racking their brains over what happened."
For a brief moment Sun Ce seemed withdrawn, as if the battle too had shaken his confidence when he thought about it. The last couple of battles had not gone the way the Sun army was used to. But that was the nature of their enemies now. Bigger, and more clever.
Sun Ce's eyes lifted back to Lu Fan's and lifted his cup in cheers, before taking another sip. "We'll get back at Zu Lang, don't worry. I aim for the final blow on the next excursion. We're even bringing in extra muscle for it."
"I heard," Lu Fan's voice was stern, twisting the brush in his hand idly. Sun Ce sat back against the pillows, observing his faithful strategist in mild amusement. He was no stranger to concerns from troops over military restructuring. Some wanted to know if they would gain or lose positions or status. Most worried they would be replaced or sent off on a mindless assignment.
"Lu Fan," Sun Ce called and the younger man glanced over his shoulder at this friend. "No one's being replaced if that's your concern. At least definitely not you."
"It's not my concern, though you do give me a bit of relief."
"You're a terrible liar," the general chuckled. "And hey, do not blame me. Ma was pretty insistent on this move and I was not in a position to say no. Even so, my new ally will be coordinating with us with his own troops and his own ring of espionage. Not act as my personal coordinator to my unit. That's your job. And your job only."
Suddenly, Lu Fan felt guilty. Of course his friend wouldn't leave him in the dust over the past incident. And yet, his failure in securing a painless victory was tearing at the back of his mind for the past couple of days. And with the swift news that Sun Ce was bringing in another friend-who by and large has gained some soft recognition locally for his own exploits in defending against bandits and tribes-it was easy to feel the pressure mount to bring better results.
"But espionage?" Lu Fan asked, concerned still. "Doesn't that go against our Confucian principles?"
"We've done a lot of things against our Confucian principles," Sun Ce shrugged in his robe. "And technically we aren't coordinating the espionage, just utilizing it. The friend I'll be coordinating with takes the philosophy seriously, trust me on this one, but personally, I can understand losing patience with some of its teachings on warfare nowadays."
The rigid look on Lu Fan's face revealed that the technicality was not something he was comfortable with, a man as devout in the philosophy as he was.
Sun Ce's eyes followed the form of his friend, noticing, finally that Lu Fan had not had one sip. And then realized his mistake, eyes widening. "Ah, jeez, I'm sorry Lu Fan, I forgot…"
"It's alright, my lord."
"I promise I won't pass out on your, shockingly, comfy cushions here," Sun Ce began shifting in his seat, earning a smile from his strategist. He poured himself another drink, "Well, tomorrow's another day, Ziheng. A day I will probably spend dodging angry and panicked officers, if you can help me with that."