Sun 𬘭 had marched only a few miles toward Xunyang when he learned that Wei was massing troops on a large scale, and swiftly halted.
Meanwhile, the new emperor, Sun Xiu, was receiving several senior ministers in the imperial palace to discuss important matters.
Sun Xiu was considerably older than Sun Liang, twenty years old that year.
He closely resembled Sun Quan and possessed something of a monarch's dignity. He had only just arrived in Jianye, yet had already won the ministers' affection.
It was not that Sun Xiu possessed such extraordinary personal charm; chiefly, they had a creature like Sun 𬘭 to compare him with.
Single-handedly, Sun 𬘭 had actually united the entire Wu Kingdom, turning everyone into a royalist.
In that respect, he ought to have been Great Wu's most conscientious power-wielding minister.
Gathered before Sun Xiu were Puyang Xing, a minister of the Secretariat newly arrived at court; Zhang Bu, stripped of his office and rank; General Wei Miao; Shi Shuo of the Military Guard; and others.
After arriving in Jianye, Sun Xiu had immediately rewarded and promoted many people to win over the ministers, and pardoned those who had previously held grudges against him. When the ministers suggested that he could appoint an empress and a crown prince, he said the country was in turmoil and those matters should wait: rewarding the ministers had to come first.
These actions quickly won him considerable support.
Now, these generals had gathered in the imperial palace.
General Wei Miao spoke. "Your Majesty, with that cur Sun 𬘭 leaving Jianye, there is certain to be upheaval. Once he returns, some of his lackeys may urge him to ascend the throne. That would place Your Majesty in an extremely unfavorable position."
"We should prepare to eliminate him while he and his