Sun Ce died just like that, bringing his rather brilliant life to an end.
Though he had died a year earlier than in the original course of history, he had avoided dying at the hands of petty men.
Zhou Yu and Zhu Zhi were naturally furious at the people who had driven Sun Ce to his death.
When Zhu Zhi received the news, he had prepared to lead troops here and slaughter all the officers.
But Zhou Yu stopped him, for he understood very clearly that Sun Ce had not been forced to death.
After all, if Sun Ce wished to give Cheng Pu and the others an explanation while leaving a way out for his family and subordinate officers, death was his only choice.
Sun Ce had clearly realized this long ago, which was why he had asked Zhou Yu to do it.
Zhou Yu had wanted to stop him, but by a twist of fate, he had instead fulfilled Sun Ce's wish!
If they vented their anger on everyone because of Sun Ce's death, they would be disrespecting Sun Ce's final wish.
Thus, after calming down, Zhou Yu counseled Zhu Zhi, who was ready to fly into a rage:
"Bofu's death was forced by the times, not caused by you. If we turn our blades against you, we would instead betray Bofu's wish."
"What we can do is honor Bofu's final wish, protect his family, and create no further bloodshed."
Only after hearing this did Zhu Zhi suppress the fury in his heart and say no more.
With Sun Ce dead, they no longer had any reason to resist. Before long, they opened the city gates and surrendered the city.
Yet the act of surrender seemed to drain Zhou Yu of all spirit.
Even when he was brought