Tiger Owl

Chapter 105 Opposition
When news of Qiao An's interception and arrest by Sun Ben on the Yangtze River reached Nanchang, it truly shocked everyone.

Lu Su felt particularly guilty. He had spearheaded the alliance negotiations and was responsible for arranging the envoys, but he never expected such a big blunder to occur in the end.

Lu Su arrived at Gan Ning with heavy steps; he had made a grave mistake and he had to take responsibility.

Gan Ning stood with his hands behind his back by the window, silently gazing at the sky outside.

Lu Su said in a deep voice, "This mistake is my great responsibility, and I am willing to resign from my position as military advisor."

Gan Ning shook his head slightly, then turned to look at Lu Su and said, "The strategist doesn't know where the problem lies, so why take the blame upon himself?"

"I oversimplified things and failed to consider Sun Ben, which led to Qiao An being captured by him."

Gan Ning smiled and said, "Qiao An will be fine. We have Sun He in our hands. Qiao An will come back. Sun Ben will send someone to propose an exchange soon."

Lu Su breathed a slight sigh of relief; this was the only thing that brought him some comfort.

Gan Ning added, "This incident tells us that Sun Ben still has a strong influence in Jiangdong, and it also proves the importance of alliances. I used to think that it was unlikely for the two Suns to join forces, but now I know that it is entirely possible."

Within Jiangdong, there is a group of people, or rather a large force, secretly supporting Sun Ben. Whenever Sun Ben needs it, they will definitely push for an alliance between the two Suns. Similarly, they will vehemently oppose any alliance between Jiangdong and us.

Lu Su nodded. "My lord is right. There are indeed people in Jiangdong who are secretly colluding with Sun Ben. Otherwise, Sun Ben would not have been able to intercept Qiao An so accurately. I am very worried that this alliance will be sabotaged by them."

Gan Ning smiled faintly and said, "That depends on Sun Quan's understanding. If he is smart enough, or if someone reminds him, he will realize that his position as Marquis of Wu is far from secure, and that Sun Ben is the biggest threat to his position. We will help him secure his position."

"My lord sees things clearly!"

Just then, Zhang Xi walked into the courtyard and reported: "Reporting to the lord, Xu Sheng from Pengze County sent a message by pigeon. They have met with Qiao An's men who escaped back, and they are carrying important documents."

Lu Su was overjoyed. His biggest worry was that Sun Ben had obtained the important documents for the alliance negotiations. It seemed that Qiao An was quite capable, having arranged for his men to bring the documents back at the crucial moment.

Gan Ning readily agreed, "The strategist can immediately send someone to retrieve the negotiation documents."

Five days later, Qiao An's men were brought back to Nanchang County, and Lu Su also handed over Sun Quan's personal letter and Zhang Zhao's draft alliance proposal to Gan Ning.

Meanwhile, Sun Ben's envoy arrived in Wan County, demanding that the Yuzhang Army release Sun He and his men, in exchange for the release of Qiao An and his men.

Gan Ning agreed to the exchange, and the two sides quickly finalized the exchange plan.

Ten days later, Sun He and his more than 300 men were released by the Yuzhang Army and returned to Shu County to continue serving as the Prefect of Lujiang Commandery.

Almost simultaneously, Qiao An also returned to Yuzhang County by boat with his men.

Gan Ning then immediately ordered Xu Sheng to lead 10,000 troops and 500 warships to escort Lu Su to Jiangdong to finalize the details of the meeting between the two lords and to implement all the terms of the alliance.

The kidnapping incident has come to an end, but its impact is far from over.

Voices opposing the alliance between Jiangdong and Gan Ning began to rise in Jiangdong. The eight major families of Jiangdong strongly opposed the alliance with Gan Ning, for a simple reason: Yuzhang Commandery was Jiangdong territory, and it should not be completely abandoned because of an alliance.

Amid the escalating wave of opposition, more than half of the officials in Jiangdong signed the petition opposing the alliance.

Even Zhang Zhao began to advise Sun Quan to be cautious and not to cause another internal division in Jiangdong because of the alliance.

Under immense pressure, Sun Quan was somewhat undecided.

In the morning, Zhou Yu and Lü Fan arrived at the Wu Marquis's residence.

Although Lü Fan had a personal grudge against Gan Ning, he was resolute in his stance on protecting the interests of Jiangdong and supported forming an alliance with Gan Ning.

"Lord Wu must see through appearances to the essence. This wave of fierce opposition to the alliance must be related to Sun Ben. I was very worried when Qiao An was intercepted by Sun Ben halfway. I was sure Sun Ben would do everything he could to prevent us from forming an alliance with Gan Ning. And now he has indeed come. This shows that Sun Ben's power in Jiangdong is still very great. These people usually lie low, but they will jump out when Sun Ben's interests are threatened."

Sun Quan was extremely shocked, and after a long while, he said, "So this is Sun Ben's opposition? Does Sun Ben still have such great power in Jiangdong?"

Zhou Yu said from the side, "Sun Ben certainly has supporters, but not so many. For example, Military Advisor Zhang is definitely not a supporter of Sun Ben, but he also advised Lord Wu to be cautious, which shows that these opponents have a great influence, and even Military Advisor Zhang had to compromise."

Many officials did not actually support Sun Ben, but their stance was wavering, and they were easily swayed into cheering him on. However, regardless of the circumstances, the Marquis of Wu was Sun Ben's target. Therefore, if even the Marquis of Wu ultimately abandoned the alliance, it would play right into Sun Ben's hands.

Sun Quan fell silent. He had thought he had completely eradicated Sun Ben's power, but now he realized that his position as Marquis of Wu was far from secure and was still under serious threat from Sun Ben. Sun Ben still wielded considerable power in Jiangdong, and if he were to make a comeback, these forces would become even more rampant.

Lu Fan, thinking Sun Quan didn't believe them, hurriedly added, "Logically, I should be the one most opposed to the alliance, but that's just my personal grudge. For the sake of Jiangdong's interests, I will never consider personal grudges. If Lord Wu abandons this alliance, and Sun Ben launches a major attack on Jiangdong with the support of Cao Cao's army, who will help us? Will Gan Ning attack Jiangbei to restrain Sun Ben? No, without the constraints of the alliance, he won't offend Cao Cao, but will only take advantage of the situation to seize our Danyang County."

Sun Quan nodded. "Your advice has been a revelation. I will not allow Sun Ben's plot to succeed. I request that Chief Secretary Lü go on my behalf to Yuzhang Commandery to discuss matters between our two sides."

No sooner had Sun Quan finished speaking than a guard reported, "Reporting to Lord Wu, a message has been sent by pigeon from Nanchang County, addressed to Lord Wu."

Qiao An left a few of his men as liaisons, and the messengers sent by pigeons from Yuzhang County were to be delivered to Sun Quan by them.

A guard stepped forward and presented Sun Quan with the original pigeon message. Sun Quan quickly pulled out the tube, took out a roll of pigeon messages, looked at it, and said to the two men, "Lu Su has arrived, escorted by five hundred warships. He will not go ashore and asks us to send someone to discuss the details of the alliance."

Lü Fan replied without hesitation, "Let me go!"

Sun Quan nodded. "I originally intended to invite the Chief Clerk to be an envoy to Yuzhang Commandery. Now that Lu Su has come in person, the Chief Clerk will represent me in negotiating with Lu Su."

Sun Quan then said to Zhou Yu, "Gongjin should also lead troops to protect the Chief Clerk. If Sun Ben sends troops to cause trouble, it would be perfect for our two families to join forces and annihilate them."

Zhou Yu bowed and said, "This humble servant obeys your command!"

Lu Fan hesitated for a moment, then said to Sun Quan, "I would also like to ask Lord Wu and Military Advisor Zhang to give instructions. It would be best if Military Advisor Zhang came with me. The other party is Lu Su, who may be here to finalize the terms of the alliance."

Sun Quan nodded; he wanted to have another proper talk with Zhang Zhao.

(End of this chapter)