Tiger Owl

Chapter 108: Alliance
On the large ship, four high-ranking officials were finalizing the terms of the alliance behind closed doors, while the two ladies were chatting and drinking tea in another room.

On the deck, Sun Quan leaned over the gunwale, gazing north. He slowly asked, "General Gan, do you think Cao Cao will cross the Yangtze River?"

Gan Ning nodded. "Of course he will, but not now. After he has completely wiped out Yuan Shao's forces, his army will head south."

Sun Quan paused for a moment and then smiled, "Actually, I'm more concerned about whether Sun Ben will march south with the support of Cao Cao's army?"

Gan Ning said calmly, "This is the significance of our alliance. Sun Ben has 50,000 Cao troops backing him up. Whether he attacks Jiangdong first or Yuzhang first, it will be a matter of mutual dependence for both of us."

Sun Quan sighed and said, "You're right. Sun Ben isn't scary. What's scary is Cao Cao behind him. No matter which of our two families perishes first, the other won't last long. Although Cao Cao is attacking Hebei, he can still easily send 100,000 troops to attack the south through Sun Ben."

Gan Ning smiled and said, "We can strike first and destroy Sun Ben's warships. Without enough warships, he won't be able to go south for at least two years."

Sun Quan nodded. "That's a very good suggestion!"

Although the two have formed an alliance, they are essentially still competitors. Since they don't know each other well, they won't speak too deeply. Gan Ning won't say that you should clean up the internal situation first, because that is actually the biggest problem for Jiangdong.

Sun Quan wouldn't say that before Sun Ben's army marched south, he would first remove the thorn in Wan County and drive Gan Ning's forces out of Jiangbei. The conversation between the two could only touch upon these points.

Sun Quan pondered for a moment and then said, "There might be some changes regarding the marriage alliance."

"Appreciate further details!"

Sun Quan laughed and said, "My mother adopted Xu Wei as her goddaughter. Originally, she was considering that Miss Xu would represent Jiangdong in a marriage alliance with the general. However, the Xu family strongly opposed it, mainly because my aunt was determined not to agree to the marriage alliance between Xu Wei and the general. I had no choice but to find someone else, my third uncle's daughter, Sun Yan. My third uncle agreed, but Sun Yan is a little young and will have to wait a few years before she can get married. However, we can arrange an engagement first."

Gan Ning smiled and said, "The marriage alliance is just the icing on the cake for our two families' alliance. There's no need to rush. It's not too late to consider it in two years."

Gan Ning's marriage was of course his own decision. It wasn't something Sun Quan could just give him and expect him to be his wife. If it had been Sun Shangxiang, perhaps Gan Ning would have reluctantly agreed, considering her status and the overall political alliance.

But what he really wanted was Xu Wei, but the Xu family strongly opposed it, and Gan Ning had no choice.

As for other women, let's not even mention them; he wouldn't even consider them.

Gan Ning naturally declined Sun Quan's proposal.

Sun Quan sighed inwardly, knowing full well that Gan Ning had rejected his new marriage proposal.

At this moment, Zhu Zhi strode out and whispered a few words to Sun Quan. Sun Quan then smiled at Gan Ning and said, "They need to rest for a while. Let's go take a look!"

The two turned and went back to their respective cabins. Gan Ning returned to their council cabin, where Lu Su and Jiang Wan were already waiting for him.

"Did you encounter any setbacks?" Gan Ning asked with a smile.

Lu Su bowed and said, "Only the final marriage alliance remains, but the other party says there have been changes, and we need to wait for the lord's instructions."

Gan Ning shook his head. "Let's not talk about marriage today. We can discuss it later. Today, we'll only talk about the alliance."

Lu Su and Jiang Wan exchanged a glance, surprised, and asked, "What happened?"

“The other party is not sincere about the marriage alliance and keeps changing their mind. Now they are planning to use Sun Jing’s daughter to fob me off. This marriage alliance is meaningless.”

When Lu Su heard that she was Sun Jing's daughter, he shook his head and said, "If it is to be a marriage alliance, it must be the sister of the Marquis of Wu. If she is the daughter of the Xu family, it is fine if the lord likes her, but otherwise it is meaningless and will only be a burden."

Jiang Wan also laughed and said, "Actually, I would prefer Cao Cao's daughter or a royal princess. Wu Hou's sister is a bit too weak. It would be better if my lord refused."

After a short break, the two officials continued their discussions. The next step was to modify the marriage clause in the supplementary terms, changing the present tense to the future tense.

Both parties are committed to deepening cooperation and taking their relationship to the next level. When the time is right, they will explore the possibility of a marriage alliance.

Next, the two lords entered the council chamber.

Inside the main council chamber was a circular array of tables, with the seats for the two lords at either end and four high-ranking officials on either side: Zhang Zhao and Lü Fan on one side, and Lu Su and Jiang Wan on the other.

Zhu Zhi and Qiao An sat on either side as liaisons.

Sun Quan sat on the east side, and Gan Ning sat on the west side, with a white dotted line in the middle symbolizing the border between the two countries.

Both sides reviewed the finalized alliance agreement, then signed their names and affixed their respective seals. Gan Ning's seal read "Prefect of Yuzhang Commandery" and "Marquis of Wuchang," while Sun Quan's seal read "Prefect of Wu Commandery" and "Marquis of Wu." After exchanging the texts and signing and sealing them, the alliance agreement was considered finalized.

The alliance treaty clearly states that the purpose of the alliance is to counter military pressure from the north, primarily from Cao Cao and Sun Ben, who is supported by Cao Cao, as well as Huang Zu, who is also listed as a common enemy. The reason is simple: Huang Zu is a long-standing enemy of Jiangdong and also the biggest strategic threat to Wuchang Commandery, naturally making him a common enemy.

After the negotiations, the two sides had dinner together. Gan Ning and Da Qiao sat on one side, while Sun Quan and Bu Lianshi sat on the other two sides. The two sides had a very pleasant conversation.

It wasn't until dusk that both sides returned to their respective boats.

What did Bu Lianshi talk to you about?

Inside the cabin, Gan Ning and Da Qiao drank tea together. After returning to her own boat, Da Qiao relaxed a lot. Her pretty face was flushed, and she was a little tipsy. She leaned weakly against Gan Ning's arms.

"She talked a lot about life in Jiangdong, and also about Xu Wei. She said Xu Wei was pitiful, having lost two opportunities for marriage. Husband, why do you think the Xu family objected? It was clearly a good match."

Gan Ning smiled and said, "I guess the Xu family doesn't want to take sides! They're worried that Sun Ben will come back to kill them."

"But... it's not like I'm marrying the Marquis of Wu. What does it matter if Sun Ben comes back to kill me?"

Gan Ning tapped her head and laughed, "How did your brain get so smart?"

Da Qiao snuggled into his arms and said coquettishly, "I'm just naturally smart!"

Gan Ning laughed and kissed her pretty face, saying, "Smart, my darling is the smartest."

"You still haven't answered me, why?"

"Because I seized Yuzhang County from Sun Ben, and Sun Ben and I have long been irreconcilable enemies. The Xu family just doesn't want to marry Xu Wei to Sun Ben's enemy. Think about it, if Sun Ben takes over Jiangdong and prepares to go to war with me, wouldn't he need to eliminate spies? Wouldn't the Xu family be the first to bear the brunt?"

Da Qiao nodded. "Now that you say it, I understand. Oh, poor little Xu."

...........
At midnight, inside the Xu residence in Dantu County, Qin Yan leaped up the high wall and lowered a long ribbon.

"Girl, hold on tight!"

Xu Wei, dressed in black and carrying a small package, stepped on the knotted loop at the bottom of the white silk ribbon and held it tightly.

"That's it!"

Qin Yan used her arms to pull Xu Wei up slowly.

They pulled her to the top of the wall, then slowly lowered her to the outside. Xu Wei held tightly to the white silk ribbon, and finally her feet touched the ground.

"Sister Yan, I'm all better!"

Qin Yan leaped off the high wall, shouting, "Let's go!"

The two ran along a small alley toward the water gate in the north of the city. There was a small bridge next to the water gate, and many boats were moored under the bridge. Qin Yan found a medium-sized passenger boat with a price of 500 shi (a unit of weight).

"Boatman, we're here!"

Qin Yan knocked on the awning. This was the same passenger ship they had taken to Kuaiji last time. The ship owners were a very honest couple. After the capital of Jiangdong was moved, they also came to Dantu County to make a living.

A middle-aged couple came out, and the woman smiled and asked, "Miss Xu, are you going to Kuaiji County again this time?"

"This time we're going to Nanchang County in Yuzhang Prefecture."

"Ah! That's so far."

Xu Wei took out a silver ingot. "Auntie, is twenty taels of silver enough?"

"That's enough! That's enough!"

The boatman and his wife were overjoyed; they couldn't earn this much money in a whole year!

"You all come in and rest first. We'll set off at daybreak!"

As dawn broke, the water gates opened, and the passenger ship rowed out of Dantu County, heading towards the Yangtze River.

(End of this chapter)