Death Value Maximized

Lan Tian had let Hu Ke stir up chaos in Jiangdong. The best opening now was the feud between the Han and Lu clans.

Hu Ke had sent a trusted subordinate bearing the Tiger-Shooting Token to win Chang Gao's trust. Acting on Sun Quan's wishes, Chang Gao was to use the Han Clan to eliminate the Lu Clan. Chang Gao believed he could not only ease Han Zong's burden but also earn Sun Quan's favor through his achievement, so he agreed without hesitation, keeping it secret from Han Zong.

Hu Ke had been the one to scheme behind Han Zong's dragging the Sima Brothers into this mess and sending Sima Shi that misleading letter.

Now Chang Gao had disappeared forever. The Lu Clan would never let the murder of its head go unanswered, while Han Zong, the prime suspect, swore up and down that he was innocent, shifting suspicion back onto Sima Shi. The Sima Clan had fallen into ruin, with only two stragglers left. Sun Quan dared not force a confession out of them, lest he risk harming a rat and breaking his own precious vase. He was now hard-pressed to bring things to a close.

As long as the infighting in Jiangdong continued, Hu Ke could easily complete the task Lan Tian had given him. At that moment, he understood Lan Tian's delight: controlling everything from behind the scenes really was exhilarating.

Once only the frail, elderly Zhang Zhao remained in the hall, Sun Quan lamented how wretched his fate was. Cao Cao and Liu Bei both had entire teams of advisers, while everyone in Jiangdong looked out only for themselves, leaving him to rack his brains for a solution.

"Zibu, what should I do?" Sun Quan asked, frowning in distress.

Zhang Zhao stroked his grizzled beard and