Zhu Ran's death had an enormous impact on the Eastern Wu forces and Sun Ce.
First, Zhu Ran had been the guarantee of the Zhu family's military strength and status.
With Zhu Ran around, the Zhu family had firmly secured the top position among the four great clans, and still had room to rise in the future.
Zhu Ran had guaranteed the Zhu family's upper limit, but with his death, the Zhu family was bound to decline.
Even if the other families had no intention of kicking them while they were down, and even if Sun Ce offered rewards and consolation, the outcome would remain the same.
This wasn't something that could be changed by personal will.
Second, the Jiangnan clans would suspect that Sun Ce had deliberately killed Zhu Ran.
Zhu Ran had been a native expert of the Jiangnan clans at the level of externalized Qi. By comparison, neither Sun Ce nor Cheng Pu or Han Dang could possibly be of one mind with the Jiangnan clans. To some extent, they were fundamentally opposed to them.
As a result, the internal conflict was bound to intensify.
Even if this had truly been an accident, and even if Sun Ce and Han Dang really had simply been far inferior.
The fact remained that the only expert of the clans, Zhu Ran, had died, while Han Dang and Sun Ce were both alive and well.
You called it an accident? Then why was it that when Dian Wei came after Sun Ce twice, he had only beaten him until he vomited blood, after which Sun Ce was lively and vigorous again in just a few days?
Why was it that when Sun Ce encountered danger twice, Zhu Ran and Han Dang had always arrived in time to rescue him, yet