Tiger Owl

Chapter 107 Twists and turns

"I disagree!"

Inside the Xu residence, Madam Sun coldly said to her husband, Xu Zhen, "You're supposed to be the head of the family, why didn't you refuse on the spot? Why should your Xu family's daughter be a substitute for the Sun family? It damages the family's dignity. Why didn't you just refuse outright?"

Xu Zhen sighed and said, "This is not about marrying into the Hu people. Wei'er has always liked Gan Ning. It's a good thing to let the child have this opportunity. Why not give her this chance?"

"She only thinks about herself. Did she consider my feelings when she ran away from the wedding? She was so ruthless back then, she won't get my approval today."

Xu Zhen then advised, "Madam, why are you arguing with a child like this? Why don't you have Wei'er apologize to you?"

"It's too late to apologize now. If I say no, then no!"

Madam Sun stood up and glared at her husband, her face fierce. "You go and tell Marquis Wu tomorrow to find someone else to marry into our Xu family. We will not accept it. If you don't, I'll go and tell Madam Wu. She made me lose face back then, and I'll make her suffer the same way now!"

After saying that, Madam Sun gave a heavy snort, turned around and left.

Madam Sun had long planned this. She wanted Xu Wei to marry her nephew, Sun Kuang. She had adopted Xu Wei with a purpose in the past. Xu Wei was a rare beauty from a young age. On the first day she met Xu Wei, she decided to use her to form a marriage alliance with the Sun family. Although Sun Yi was assassinated, there was still Sun Kuang. Sun Kuang was only three years older than Xu Wei, which was a very suitable age.

She originally intended to finalize this matter with Sun Kuang's birth mother, Lady Wu, but after Sun Yi was assassinated, Lady Wu was overcome with grief and soon passed away.

The next step was to discuss it with the new Madam Wu, but before she could even bring it up, the Sun family planned to arrange a marriage between Xu Wei and Jiangdong. How could Madam Sun accept this? How could she let her ten years of hard work go to waste like this!
Of course not. No one can ruin her ten-year plan. As long as she is alive, the Sun family can forget about using Xu Wei to replace Sun Shangxiang for a marriage alliance in Yuzhang County.

Xu Kun returned to the mansion and went straight to his father's study.

"Why did Father refuse Marquis Wu? Wouldn't it be better to let Wei'er go for the marriage alliance? It would strengthen our relationship with Marquis Wu and solve Wei'er's marriage problem. She herself is willing. It's a good thing for all parties. Mother is just being emotional. How can Father take it seriously?"

“I’ve already spoken up for Wei’er, but your mother won’t listen.”

"Father!"

Xu Kun raised his voice, sounding very anxious: "You know perfectly well that the more you speak well of Wei'er in that situation, the angrier Mother will become. Aren't you just adding fuel to the fire?"

Xu Zhen stared at his son for a long time, then lowered his gaze and said calmly, "If I said that it was actually me who disagreed, would you believe me?"

Xu Kun was stunned. "Father, what's going on?"

Xu Zhen said calmly, "I believe you have also seen that this alliance has provoked strong opposition. Nearly half of the officials have signed a petition against it, and eight out of the thirteen major families oppose the alliance. You can see how powerful the forces supporting Sun Ben are."

“Father, actually not that many people support Sun Ben; many are just following the crowd.”

Xu Zhen shook his head. "You're oversimplifying things. People aren't acting out of spite; they won't just follow the crowd. Many people are actually just dissatisfied with Lord Wu."

Wu Hou has been in power for a year, but he has lost three counties north of the Yangtze River, suppressed Sun Ce's old subordinates, and everyone has seen the fate of Taishi Ci. He also sent someone to assassinate his younger brother, angered his mother to death, broke his promise, and refused to establish Sun Shao as his successor. Everyone has seen all of this. How many people would support such a lord?

If it weren't for the fact that forming an alliance with Gan Ning would genuinely benefit Jiangdong, let me tell you, there would be even more opposition; even I would have signed the petition against it.

Xu Kun finally calmed down and vaguely understood his father's intentions.

"Does Father mean that Sun Ben will come back to kill us?"

Xu Zhen shook his head. "I don't know. I only know that Wu Hou's position is very unstable right now. It's really impossible to be sure whether he or Sun Ben will win in the end. So this time, our Xu family doesn't want to take sides in Sun Gan's alliance, but I don't want to openly oppose it either. So let your mother take the lead!"

Xu Kun then realized his father's cunning and scheming. His indulgence of his mother in opposing the Xu family's marriage alliance was actually his way of not wanting to take sides between his two grandsons.

"So, who will be chosen for the marriage alliance in the end?"

"No decision has been made yet. We'll see what the other party thinks. If they insist on the marriage, it will likely be Sun Jing's daughter."

Xu Kun remained silent, genuinely feeling sorry for Xu Wei.

...........
Ultimately, the arm can't twist the thigh. As the Wu Marquis's mansion officially announced its alliance with Gan Ning, the voices of opposition weakened day by day and eventually disappeared.

Ten days later, Sun Quan set off under the strict escort of thousands of warships and 20,000 naval troops. At the same time, Gan Ning also set off under the escort of 20,000 troops and thousands of warships.

This was a pre-arranged plan, with no more than 20,000 guards and no more than 1,000 warships on both sides. The meeting place was actually on the river outside Wankou.

The large ship for the meeting was provided by Jiangdong, which had a 20,000-shi (a unit of weight) warship. Gan Ning traveled on a 5,000-shi warship, and Da Qiao also came along. One part of the meeting involved the two lords dining together, and they were required to bring their families.

Sun Quan did not bring his principal wife Xu Fen, but his concubine Bu Lianshi, who was Bu Zhi's niece.

Although Sun Quan was only twenty years old, he married Xie Shi at the age of sixteen, had a son Sun Deng at the age of seventeen, and his wife died when he was eighteen. He then took Bu Lianshi as a concubine and married Xu Kun's daughter last year.

Sun Quan brought Bu Lianshi to the negotiations this time because he considered that Gan Ning had no wife but only a concubine. According to the principle of equality, he also brought his concubine along. However, this move made his wife, Xu, very unhappy.

Under the cover of night, the fleet sailed in formation on the Gan River, with lanterns hanging on each boat to remind other vessels ahead and behind. The thousand large ships stretched for nearly two hundred miles.

Inside the cabin, Da Qiao lay in her husband's arms and whispered in his ear, "If this marriage isn't with Sister Xu, I beg you, my husband, to be more careful."

"why?"

Da Qiao sighed, "I get along very well with Sister Xu. I'm afraid that other women will make my life very difficult, especially the sister of Lord Wu. Sister Xu said that she likes martial arts and has been brave and fierce since she was a child. She is a boy who was born into a girl. If it is her, Xiao Qiao and I are afraid that we will wish we were dead."

Gan Ning kissed his beloved concubine in his arms and said with a smile, "I promise you, if the other party is not Sister Xu, I will give up the marriage alliance this time."

Da Qiao was overjoyed and quickly hugged her husband's neck, saying, "You're not allowed to say I'm interfering in politics!"

Gan Ning rolled over on top of her and laughed, "Now I also want to get involved in politics, what should I do?"

Da Qiao's eyes sparkled, exuding charm. "What else can I do but serve my husband wholeheartedly?"

The boats sped across the water, and the spring air on the river was exceptionally warm.

Three days later, Gan Ning's fleet arrived at Wankou and rested there. Yang Qin, the commander of Wankou, was a subordinate of Taishi Ci.

At this time, Taishi Ci also arrived and reported the situation in Shuxian to Gan Ning: "Sun Ben currently has 15,000 troops in Lujiang County, still under the command of Sun He and Xu Qian. Sun He is the governor of Lujiang County, but it is said that the governor may be replaced. In addition, Xu Qian has been appointed as the county magistrate."

"Do you have warships and a navy?" Gan Ning asked.

"Reporting to my lord, of these 15,000 men, 3,000 are naval troops stationed in Linjiang County, with more than 300 warships, mainly large warships."

"No reinforcements detected?"

Taishi Ci shook his head. "As of yesterday, there was no sign of reinforcements in Shuxian County, and the army has not entered a state of war. It seems that they are unaware of the Yangtze River Alliance."

Gan Ning smiled faintly and said, "Sun Ben must know, but his objections were ineffective, and he had no choice but to accept it."

The following morning, a scout reported, "A fleet of Eastern Wu ships has been spotted thirty miles away. It is very large and is flying the royal flag."

Gan Ning nodded. Sun Quan had arrived. He immediately ordered Qiao An to make contact with him.

Soon, Qiao An sent someone back to report, "The other side is indeed the fleet of Wu Hou Sun Quan, and the fleet has anchored in Danyang County on the south bank of the Yangtze River."

Gan Ning also ordered his warships to cross the river and anchor in the territory of Yuzhang County, with the two armies about 20 li apart.

The 20,000-stone warships that had gathered for the alliance were anchored right on the border, ten miles apart from the armies on both sides. On the river to the north, there were a dozen or so warships on each side on guard against any possible surprise attacks by Sun Ben's ships.

Wang Xiaoman led fifty soldiers onto the large ship first and carefully inspected the situation inside. Apart from the twenty maids who had been assigned beforehand, there was nothing unusual.

Wang Xiaoman, a former scout, was very observant and had a keen eye. He examined the hands of the twenty maids and found them to be fair and soft, without scars or calluses—traces that would inevitably be left from martial arts training.

As agreed by both sides, each sent a general with fifty guards to board the ship. Sun Quan brought his beloved concubine Bu Lianshi, along with Zhang Zhao and Lü Fan. Gan Ning brought Da Qiao, followed by Lu Su and Jiang Wan. They boarded a warship and approached the Wan Shi ship. They crossed the bridge, and Gan Ning led Da Qiao onto the ship, with Lu Su and Jiang Wan following closely behind.

The other side was also traveling on a warship. Sun Quan led Bu Lianshi onto the ship, followed by Zhang Zhao and Lü Fan.

Gan Ning and Sun Quan embraced warmly, laughed together, and then introduced their respective families and subordinates.

When Sun Quan saw Da Qiao, his eyes lit up. Only then did he realize just how beautiful the woman his elder brother had been longing for was; she was indeed a beauty that could topple kingdoms.

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(End of this chapter)