Chapter 253: The Final Chance
The next morning, Strategist Lu accompanied Zheng Zhao to meet Gan Ning.
Gan Ning invited the two of them to sit down and asked Zheng Zhao with concern, “Can your wife’s illness be cured?”
Zheng Zhao said softly, “The root of my wife’s illness is from a miscarriage, her constitution is very weak, and she needs to take medicine year-round; it’s already been five years.”
“Must it be ginseng?”
Zheng Zhao nodded gently. “My wife’s body becomes very difficult every autumn and winter, sometimes she really can’t hold on, and must use ginseng. One branch of ginseng can last about half a month. After spring, her body improves, and ordinary medicine suffices.”
“Have you considered going to Jiaozhou to take office? Jiaozhou’s climate is hot, with all four seasons warm. Would that benefit your wife’s condition?”
Zheng Zhao lowered his head and said, “I don’t know. I asked a physician before, and the physician said that if my wife’s body goes to an unfamiliar environment and she doesn’t adapt, her condition would worsen instead.”
Gan Ning nodded. “Then we’ll think of another way. Actually, one branch of ginseng costs only a few hundred wen qian to buy in Liaodong, but after traveling thousands of li to us, the price rises tenfold. Next year we’ll go to Liaodong to procure medicinal materials and leather; at that time, we can sell it to you at Liaodong prices, and also increase your salary. It will be very easy to afford two branches of ginseng per month.”
Zheng Zhao’s eyes reddened with emotion, and he choked out, “Thank you, Marquis of Chu!”
Gan Ning smiled again. “Strategist Lu will handle this year’s needed ginseng for you. Now, let’s discuss the main matter!”
Gan Ning put away his smile and said solemnly, “Your name has already been submitted to Cao Cao’s side by Wang Yao, so you can’t change posts, but you can provide the intelligence we arrange to Wang Yao. Wang Yao has also agreed to cooperate. This matter is of great importance and will be controlled by the internal guard; you just need to cooperate.”
Zheng Zhao nodded gently. “This subordinate will fully cooperate!”
After Zheng Zhao left, Gan Ning said to Strategist Lu, “Cao Cao is willing to offer five hundred taels of gold for intelligence. We must make full use of false intelligence to deal a heavy blow to the Cao Army at Queyue City, tying down the Cao Army from crossing the river to attack Jiangdong.”
Strategist Lu nodded silently; he understood clearly that the Marquis of Chu was not saving Jiangdong but saving himself. As long as the Cao Army couldn’t cross the Yangtze River, they couldn’t attack Yuzhang Commandery by land route.
As for Jiangdong, it could only be a dish on someone’s table; the difference was just whose.
………
The negotiations between Jiangdong and Jia Xu finally reached an agreement. Cao Cao made concessions on the four proposals: the first, requiring Sun Quan to pay homage to the Son of Heaven in Yecheng every year, was deleted and changed to hostage Sun Kuang and Sun Lang, Sun Quan’s two brothers, in Yecheng, requiring them to marry daughters of the Cao clan, while Sun Quan himself must also marry a daughter of Cao Cao and establish her as main wife.
The second and third remained unchanged: one on personnel appointment rights, one on total army numbers. The fourth changed the annual tribute of grain and cloth to the Imperial Court to three hundred thousand loads of tung oil.
Sun Quan agreed to all four. He had long hated his wife Xu Fen extremely due to Bu Lianshi’s death, but due to the Xu Family’s face, he couldn’t depose her. Now he could finally use marrying Cao Cao’s daughter as an excuse to depose the jealous wife Xu Fen.
Of course, there was also their previously reached key agreement: the Jiangdong Army must not backstab the Cao Army when the Cao Army attacks Yuzhang Commandery.
Finally, Sun Quan agreed to Cao Cao stationing a long-term envoy in Jiangdong to supervise whether Jiangdong violated the agreement.
Sun Quan made so many concessions in exchange only for Cao Cao’s two promises: no attack on Jiangdong for seven years, and no military support for Sun Ben.
In the official residence, Sun Quan gazed for a long time at the two agreements on the desk. These were formal agreements needing Sun Quan’s signature and seal. He was extremely familiar with every clause and even every word above, but at the final signing stage, he hesitated a bit.
He imagined the feeling of “if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold” when Gan Ning was destroyed. What if Cao Cao broke his word after Gan Ning was destroyed?
Also, Cao Cao’s promise of no military support for Sun Ben was too vague. What was the scope of “military”?
“Does the Marquis of Wu still have doubts?” Zhang Zhao asked softly.
Sun Quan tapped the table lightly and said, “The clause on Sun Ben is a bit vague. What exactly does ‘no military support for Sun Ben’ mean?”
“This subordinate asked Jia Xu; he said no support for armies, no support for military equipment, but money and grain are not included.”
Sun Quan pondered and said, “That works, but I need it explicitly stated in the agreement. Do this: discuss with Jia Xu, and sign a supplementary agreement specifically targeting Sun Ben.”
Zhang Zhao nodded. “This subordinate understands!”
Sun Quan then said to Lv Fan beside him, “Contact Gan Ning again and make one last effort. As long as he hands over Bu Zhi, I can agree to garrison troops in Danyang Commandery, cooperating to resist Cao Cao.”
At the final moment, Sun Quan also gained a bit of insight; he was unwilling to face the “if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold” situation and wanted to give Gan Ning one last chance.
…………
Jia Xu was like a fisherman about to reel in a big fish: excited in his heart, but also a bit nervous. He couldn’t afford the slightest mistake at the last moment, or all previous efforts would be wasted.
This agreement was of course a thorough deception. He had never consulted Cao Cao; all conditions were fabricated by him. To deceive Jiangdong’s trust, he even took it upon himself to propose Cao Cao’s daughter marrying Sun Quan, all to make it seem real.
Jia Xu pondered for a moment and smiled at Zhang Zhao. “Our military support for Sun Ben was only the first time; there was none afterward. At most, other support was limited to a little money and grain. Sun Ben mainly develops his military by selling salt to make money.”
“But you also sell pig iron and leather to him!” Zhang Zhao pointed out sharply.
Jia Xu smiled. “Normal trade only. There are large amounts of discarded armor and weapons among the people. To recover these civilian weapons and armor, we permit merchants to engage in acquisition. Currently, many merchants are buying up old armor and weapons, then selling them to us, but whether they privately sell some to Sun Ben is unknown.”
“Lord Jia means these are civilian actions?”
Jia Xu nodded. “We can only promise that the official side won’t sell armor and weapons to Sun Ben, but we really can’t prohibit private civilian sales.”
Pausing, Jia Xu said sincerely, “Please believe us, Strategist Zhang. We also don’t want Sun Ben to get out of control. We too need to control Sun Ben’s growth, or it would be raising a tiger that brings trouble, making him another Gan Ning.”
Zhang Zhao pondered and said, “Alright! Put this in writing, we’ll sign a supplementary agreement, then the Marquis of Wu can formally approve.”
Jia Xu nearly agreed outright, but bit back the words just in time. He said slowly, “I can only say it verbally, but if it becomes a written clause, it must have Chancellor Cao’s agreement. I will immediately write to Chancellor Cao to request instructions.”
Although Jia Xu was eager to sign the agreement immediately, he knew well that haste brings failure. If Jiangdong grew suspicious, he would capsize at the last step.
At this point, Zhang Zhao fully believed Jia Xu and said gladly, “We’ll patiently wait a few days, hoping for good news from Chancellor Cao.”
