Chapter 108: Alliance Treaty Concluded
On the large ship, four high officials were closeted away finalizing the terms of the alliance treaty, while the two madams drank tea and chatted idly in another room.
On the deck, Sun Quan leaned over the gunwale gazing north, and he slowly asked, “Does General Gan think Cao Cao will cross the Yangtze River?”
Gan Ning nodded, “Of course he will, but not now. After he completely sweeps away Yuan Shao’s forces, his army will head south.”
Sun Quan was silent for a moment before smiling and saying, “Actually, I’m more concerned whether Sun Ben will head south with the support of the Cao Army?”
Gan Ning said flatly, “This is precisely the meaning of our two families forming an alliance. With fifty thousand Cao Army troops backing him, no matter whether Sun Ben attacks Jiangdong first or Yuzhang Commandery first, it will be a case of ‘if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold’ for our two families.”
Sun Quan sighed and said, “You’re right. Sun Ben himself is not to be feared; what’s fearsome is Cao Cao behind him. No matter which of our two families is wiped out first, the other won’t survive long. Although Cao Cao is attacking Hebei, he can still muster a hundred thousand troops to attack the south by lending them to Sun Ben.”
Gan Ning smiled and said, “We can strike first and eliminate Sun Ben’s warships. Without enough warships, he won’t be able to head south for at least two years.”
Sun Quan nodded, “That’s a very good suggestion!”
Although the two had formed an alliance, they were still essentially rivals, and with their acquaintance still shallow, they naturally wouldn’t speak deeply. Gan Ning wouldn’t say that Sun Quan needed to clean up his own house first, which was actually Jiangdong’s biggest problem.
Sun Quan wouldn’t say that before Sun Ben’s army headed south, he would definitely first pull out the nail that was Wan County and drive Gan Ning’s forces out of north of the river. Their conversation could only touch on the matter briefly.
Sun Quan pondered for a moment and then said, “Regarding the marriage alliance, there might be a slight change.”
“I’d like to hear the details!”
Sun Quan smiled and said, “My mother has taken Xu Wei as her adopted daughter. Originally, we considered having Miss Xu represent Jiangdong in a marriage alliance with the general, but the Xu Family firmly opposed it, mainly my aunt, who absolutely refused to allow Xu Wei’s marriage alliance. I had no choice but to switch to someone else—Sun Yan, the daughter of my third uncle. My third uncle has agreed, but Sun Yan is a bit young and needs to wait a few years before she can marry, though we can get engaged first.”
Gan Ning smiled and said, “The marriage alliance is just icing on the cake for our two families’ alliance. There’s actually no need to rush; we can consider it again in two years.”
Gan Ning’s marriage was of course up to him to decide. It wasn’t as if Sun Quan could just shove some woman at him and make her his wife. If it were Sun Shangxiang, perhaps Gan Ning would reluctantly agree for the sake of her status and the greater political alliance.
But the one he truly wanted was Xu Wei, and yet the Xu Family firmly opposed it, leaving Gan Ning with no recourse.
As for other women, there was no need to mention them; he wouldn’t consider them at all.
Gan Ning thus politely declined Sun Quan’s plan.
Sun Quan sighed inwardly. Of course he knew that Gan Ning had rejected his new marriage alliance proposal.
At this moment, Zhu Zhi hurried out and whispered a few words to Sun Quan, who then smiled at Gan Ning and said, “They need to rest a bit. Let’s go take a look!”
The two turned and returned to their respective cabins. Gan Ning went back to their council cabin, where Lu Su and Jiang Wan were already waiting for him.
“Did something come up?” Gan Ning asked with a smile.
Lu Su rose slightly and said, “We’re just short of the final marriage alliance. They said there’s a change, and we need to wait for the lord’s instructions.”
Gan Ning shook his head, “No more talk of marriage alliance today. We’ll discuss it later. Today we only discuss the alliance treaty.”
Lu Su and Jiang Wan exchanged a glance and said in surprise, “Has something happened?”
“They lack sincerity on the marriage alliance, changing it again and again, and now they plan to fob me off with the daughter of Sun Jing. There’s no point to this marriage alliance.”
When Lu Su heard it was the daughter of Sun Jing, he too shook his head and said, “For a marriage alliance, it must be the sister of the Marquis of Wu. If it’s a daughter of the Xu Family, the lord might like that too, but anything else truly has no meaning and would instead be a burden.”
Jiang Wan also smiled and said, “Actually, I had hoped for a daughter of Cao Cao, or an imperial princess. Even the sister of the Marquis of Wu is a bit weak; it’s better for the lord to refuse.”
After a short rest, the high officials from both sides resumed their discussions, modifying the marriage alliance clause in the additional terms by changing the present tense to the future tense.
Both sides are committed to deepening cooperation and to taking their future relations to the next level. When the time is ripe, both sides will explore the possibility of a marriage alliance.
Next, the lords from both sides entered the large council cabin.
Inside the large council cabin was a circular arrangement of low tables. At the two ends were seats for the two lords, with seats for the four high officials on either side—one side for Zhang Zhao and Lv Fan, the other for Lu Su and Jiang Wan.
Zhu Zhi and Qiao An sat on either side as liaisons.
Sun Quan sat on the east side, Gan Ning on the west side, with a white dotted line in the middle symbolizing the border between the two states.
Both sides reviewed the finalized alliance treaty, then took up brushes to sign their names and affix their personal seals—Gan Ning’s seals as Prefect of Yuzhang Commandery and Marquis of Wuchang, and Sun Quan’s as Prefect of Wu Commandery and Marquis of Wu. They exchanged the documents to sign and seal again, thus reaching the alliance agreement.
The alliance treaty clearly stated that the purpose of the alliance was to counter military pressure from the north, mainly referring to Cao Cao and Sun Ben backed by Cao Cao, as well as Huang Zu, who was also listed as a common enemy of both sides.
The reason was simple: Huang Zu was a hereditary enemy of Jiangdong and at the same time the greatest strategic threat to Wuchang Commandery, so he naturally became a common enemy.
After the negotiations ended, both sides shared a dinner together. Gan Ning and Da Qiao sat on one side, Sun Quan and Bu Lianshi on the other, and both sides conversed happily.
It was not until dusk began to fall that both sides returned to their own ships.
“What did Bu Lianshi chat with you about?”
In the cabin, Gan Ning and Da Qiao drank tea together. After returning to their own ship, Da Qiao relaxed a lot. Her pretty face was flushed, somewhat tipsy, and she leaned weakly and powerlessly in Gan Ning’s arms.
“She talked quite a bit about life in Jiangdong, and also about Xu Wei. She said Xu Wei is so pitiful, having lost two marriage opportunities. Husband, why does the Xu Family oppose it? It’s clearly a good match.”
Gan Ning smiled and said, “Probably the Xu Family doesn’t want to take sides! They’re worried Sun Ben will come back.”
“But… it’s not like marrying the Marquis of Wu. What does it matter if Sun Ben comes back?”
Gan Ning tapped her head and smiled, “How did your little brain get so smart?”
Da Qiao nuzzled in his arms and coquettishly said, “I’ve always been smart!”
Gan Ning laughed, kissed her pretty face, and said, “Smart, my darling is the smartest.”
“You still haven’t answered me. Why?”
“Because Yuzhang Commandery is what I seized from Sun Ben’s hands. Sun Ben and I are already mortal enemies. The Xu Family just doesn’t want to marry Xu Wei to Sun Ben’s enemy. Think about it: if Sun Ben captures Jiangdong and prepares to make war on me, won’t he need to clean out spies? Won’t the Xu Family be the first to bear the brunt?”
Da Qiao nodded, “Now that you put it that way, husband, I understand. Alas! Poor sister Xu.”
……….
At the third watch, inside the Xu Residence in Dantu County, Qin Yan leaped up onto the high wall and lowered a long white silk.
“Miss, hold on tight!”
Xu Wei was dressed in black, carrying a small bundle on her back. She stepped into the loop knotted at the bottom end of the white silk and gripped it tightly.
“Ready!”
Qin Yan used her arms to slowly pull Xu Wei up.
Once at the top of the wall, she slowly lowered Xu Wei to the outside of the wall. Xu Wei clung tightly to the white silk, and her feet finally touched the ground.
“Sister Yan, I’m good!”
Qin Yan leaped down from the high wall, “Let’s go!”
The two ran along a small alley toward the water gate north of the city. Beside the water gate was a small bridge, with many boats moored under it. Qin Yan found a medium-sized passenger ship of five hundred shi.
“Boatman, we’re here!”
Qin Yan knocked on the boat canopy. It was the same passenger ship they had taken to Kuaiji last time, and the boatman and his wife were very honest. After Jiangdong moved its capital, they had come to Dantu County to make a living.
An elderly couple came out, and the woman smiled, “Miss Xu, still going to Kuaiji County this time?”
“This time to Nanchang County in Yuzhang Commandery.”
“Ah! So far.”
Xu Wei took out an ingot of silver, “Auntie, is twenty taels of silver enough?”
“Enough! Enough!”
The boatman and his wife were overjoyed; they couldn’t earn this much in a whole year!
“Come inside and rest first. We’ll set off as soon as day breaks!”
As soon as it grew light, the water gate opened, and the passenger ship rowed out of Dantu County, heading toward the Yangtze River.
