Tiger Owl

Chapter 102 Mission to Jiangdong
Jiangdong had already moved its capital to Dantu County, which is the later Zhenjiang. Jingkou was also Zhenjiang, but Jingkou was a military city used to protect Dantu County. Sun Quan eventually made Dantu the capital, partly because of Jingkou, but the main reason was that he wanted to achieve something and reclaim the three counties north of the Yangtze River.

That morning, Gan Ning's envoy, Qiao An, arrived in Dantu. Sun Quan ordered Zhang Zhao to receive Qiao An first and to understand Gan Ning's intentions.

Inside the temporary Jiangdong Army headquarters hall, Zhang Zhao invited Qiao An to take a seat, and the two sat down as host and guest.

Although Qiao An was Gan Ning's special envoy, he was not Gan Ning himself, so it was not a problem for Zhang Zhao to meet him first, just as Lu Su had met Zhu Zhi first.

"I am on my lord's orders to go to Jiangdong this time. There are three important matters. First, I heard that the Dowager Lady has been enthroned. My lord has specially presented a white jade Buddha as a congratulatory gift. Please ask Military Advisor Zhang to pass it on to the Dowager Lady."

After Lady Wu passed away, in accordance with her last wishes, Sun Quan honored his second wife, Lady Wu, as the new Grand Lady, namely Lady Wu.

Zhang Zhao smiled slightly and said, "Thank you for General Gan's congratulatory gift. I will definitely pass it on to the Madam."

Qiao An then took out Gan Ning's handwritten letter and presented it to Zhang Zhao, saying, "This is a letter from my lord to Marquis Wu. Please also pass it on, General Zhang."

Zhang Zhao took the letter and asked, "Is the second thing that Magistrate Qiao mentioned in the letter?"

"Indeed, may I briefly explain? Is Military Advisor Zhang aware of the great battle that broke out in Lujiang County?"

"I've heard a little about it, but I don't know the details. Could you please tell me, Lord Qiao?"

"The Battle of Lujiang Commandery was actually Sun Ben's attempt to drive us out of Lujiang Commandery completely. Of course, we had to fight back. This involves a problem: we had previously signed a boundary agreement for Lujiang Commandery with Jiangdong. My lord wants to make some modifications to this agreement."

Zhang Zhao's expression changed. "Could it be that you intend to annex Lujiang County?"

Qiao An quickly waved his hand, "That's not what we meant at all. We are willing to help Jiangdong take Lujiang County and drive Sun Benzhi's army out of Lujiang County, but as a condition, we hope to amend the previous boundary agreement and change the original boundary of the Xiwan River to the Wan River."

Zhang Zhao immediately understood that Gan Ning wanted to take Wan County. Actually, it wasn't a big problem; it was just about moving the border eighty li to the east.

Zhang Zhao suddenly realized, and he nodded, saying, "Although I cannot make the decision, I personally admire General Gan's attitude. Informing Jiangdong in advance is a sign of respect for us. There is a reason for this, and I do not believe it violates the non-aggression agreement we signed earlier."

"Thank you for your understanding, strategist. The third matter is to discuss whether there is a possibility of an alliance between the two sides."

The alliance was proposed by Jiangdong, and its real purpose was to prevent Gan Ning from annexing Lujiang County. The premise of the alliance was that the two sides demarcated the border. If the border could not be demarcated, then the alliance would be meaningless. It was precisely because the two sides had a dispute over the ownership of Lujiang County that the alliance was not reached and only a mutually exclusive agreement was reluctantly reached.

Now that Gan Ning wants to discuss an alliance again, it means that both sides need to compromise in Lujiang County. Simply put, they need to discuss an alliance with the Wan River as the boundary.

Zhang Zhao nodded. "I understand. Lord Qiao, please go to your esteemed guesthouse to rest. I will report to Lord Wu."

After reading Gan Ning's letter, Sun Quan pondered for a moment and asked, "The war in Lujiang should be over by now!"

Zhang Zhao nodded. "The intelligence I received is that Sun Ben has reinforced Shu County with 5,000 troops, not Wan County. Therefore, the Battle of Wan County should be over, and Gan Ning has likely captured Wan County."

Sun Quan walked a few steps with his hands behind his back, and after a while, he said to Zhang Zhao, "Gan Ning clearly had the advantage on the battlefield and could have taken Lujiang County in one fell swoop. Why did he stop at the Wan River?"

Zhang Zhao smiled slightly and said, "I have also considered it. Gan Ning is very clear about our attitude towards Lujiang County. He is worried that if we take Lujiang County, it will lead to Sun Ben reconciling with us and joining forces to deal with him. Therefore, he has restrained his ambition."

"But he can hand over Lujiang County directly to us!"

Zhang Zhao shook his head. "Then he wouldn't be able to explain himself to his own people. I think it's a rational decision for him to stop at Wanshui."

Sun Quan then asked, "So, what does the strategist think of his proposed re-demarcation agreement?"

Zhang Zhao slowly said, "If the boundary is only the Wan River, I don't think there's much of a problem. After all, of the thirteen counties in Lujiang Prefecture, Gan Ning has only taken two. But what I'm worried about is that he'll gradually erode our territory. Today he might take Wan County, tomorrow Juchao, and the day after tomorrow he'll launch an attack on Shu County." "That's certainly possible. How should we respond?"

Zhang Zhao thought for a moment and said, "Forming an alliance is a good idea. Once we establish the Wan River as the boundary and form an alliance based on this, Gan Ning will no longer expand eastward, but will turn westward. I think this is Gan Ning's real intention in forming an alliance with us. He wants to stabilize the east and does not want to be attacked from both sides."

Sun Quan paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. He was also in a bad mood. It was because Cao Cao's general Yue Jin had stationed 20,000 troops in Guangling. If it weren't for these 20,000 troops, he would have already marched into Jiangbei and even captured Lujiang County. Gan Ning would not have had the opportunity to discuss changing the boundary.

Sun Quan knew very well that Cao Cao had deployed 20,000 troops in Guangling County to support Sun Ben. If he were to launch a northern expedition, Cao Cao would definitely send troops to assist him. Not only did Cao Cao send 20,000 troops under Le Jin, but Cao Ren from Xuzhou also sent 30,000 troops, which made Sun Quan lose the courage to launch a northern expedition.

Sun Quan sighed and said, "Forming an alliance is no small matter. Let's discuss it together and consider it thoroughly."

"Your subordinate obeys!"

At Danyang Palace, Madam Wu received Qiao An.

The white jade Buddha that Gan Ning presented was a priceless treasure, which greatly pleased Madam Wu, who then specially received Qiao An.

"I really like that white jade Buddha. Please thank General Gan for his kindness!"

Qiao An quickly bowed and said, "That is the Grand Madam's affinity with Buddhism, and General Gan is also a person destined by Buddha."

These were very well said, and Madam Wu was pleased. She then asked, "May I ask how old General Gan is this year?"

"A little over twenty!"

"Ah! He's so young?" Madam Wu was truly surprised.

"When General Bofu swept across Jiangdong, he was only twenty years old. Marquis Wu is only nineteen this year. Madam, now is the era of the young."

"That's very true. I wonder if General Gan is married?"

"I have a concubine, who is my niece, but she is not yet married."

"I see!"

Madam Wu had the idea of ​​acting as matchmaker. Her daughter, Sun Ren, was not yet betrothed, but she was worried that Gan Ning would become an enemy of Jiangdong, so she suppressed her desire to act as matchmaker.

After chatting for a few more minutes, Qiao An got up to take his leave. At this moment, he asked with a smile, seemingly casually, "My lord is not yet married. If our two families were to form a marriage alliance, would the Grand Madam approve?"

Madam Wu smiled and said, "My daughter is not engaged, but she is a little young. Her father and elder brother did not approve of her marrying so early."

"This is not really a problem. Engagement is not marriage. There are many couples who get engaged and then get married ten years later. Of course, they won't wait ten years. I'm just giving an example."

"I understand what you mean, Lord Qiao. This is a serious matter, and I need to discuss it with Lord Wu. I will give you an answer later!"

"Please take care of yourself, Madam. This humble servant will take his leave now!"

Qiao An bowed and took her leave.

(End of this chapter)