Tiger Owl

Chapter 306 A Straight to the Point
A few days later, Chen Qun returned to Hefei and reported the results of the first negotiation to Cao Cao. Cao Cao frowned deeply. How could he possibly meet such high demands as 200,000 households to be relocated and a million shi of grain?

Cheng Yu, who was standing nearby, was silent for a moment before saying, "The so-called 'asking for the moon' means settling for a bargain.' The other side is asking for a million shi of grain, which is actually just an attempt to take half of the spoils of war from Jiangdong. Even if they give it to them, Jiangxia County and Lujiang County cannot afford it. How can they support a million people until the summer harvest? So it doesn't matter what price they ask for. What matters is their attitude. Are they sincere in reaching a ceasefire agreement?"

Cao Cao nodded slowly. Cheng Yu's words hit the nail on the head. It didn't matter how much Western Chu asked for; the key was whether they were sincere in reaching a ceasefire agreement.

"Zhongde, do you think their exorbitant demands are a sign of insincerity, an attempt to make us back down?" Cao Cao asked.

Cheng Yu thought for a moment, then calmly said, "I can't tell, but there's one thing they really want."

"what?"

"That's Wu Guotai!"

Cheng Yu once again hit the nail on the head, "Gan Ning wants to bring back Wu Guotai, that much is clear."

"Wu Guotai!"

Cao Cao silently repeated it twice, then suddenly realized, "It's because of the Marquis of Wu's sister!"

Cheng Yu nodded. Cao Cao looked somewhat bewildered, and after a long pause, he said, "Zhongde, should we give it to him?"

"give him!"

Cheng Yu said without hesitation, "Wu Guotai is insignificant to us, but very important to us. Giving to him not only earns us a favor, but more importantly, it can slightly make up for the serious damage to our reputation caused by the seven-year agreement."

At this point, Cheng Yu glanced disdainfully at Jia Xu, who was standing not far away, and Jia Xu's face immediately turned awkward.

Cao Cao nodded slowly, then asked, "On another note, is Gan Ning truly sincere in signing a ceasefire agreement with us, or is he just going through the motions?"

Xun Yu, who had remained silent until now, said, "Prime Minister, I believe that Gan Ning does not want to sign any ceasefire agreement with us. In fact, we do not need any ceasefire agreement."

Cao Cao suddenly turned his head and stared at Xun Yu, "What do you mean by that, strategist?"

Xun Yu said calmly, "Gan Ning wants to seize Jiangdong and plot against Nanjun. This is an ambition that can no longer be concealed. In fact, he doesn't want to conceal it. At most, he will slow down the implementation of his plan or make more thorough preparations, delaying the launch of the offensive by half a year or a year. Prime Minister, what we need is not a ceasefire agreement, but time!"

Xun Yu's last words struck Cao Cao like a heavy hammer. He immediately realized that what he needed was not a ceasefire agreement, but time—time for them to gain deeper control over Jiangdong, even if it was only half a year.

Cheng Yu and Xun Yu's advice completely dispelled Cao Cao's concerns, and he said to Chen Qun, "Then let's have a serious talk!"

Cao Cao immediately ordered that Wu Guotai, who was under house arrest in Ye City, be escorted by a large force to Chaisang without any delay or negligence.

Although Cao Cao was determined to continue negotiations, the reality was that the other party's asking price was too high, so how could he bargain?

This time, Jia Xu stayed behind and said to Cao Cao, "Prime Minister, the other side doesn't really want 200,000 households and 1 million shi of grain. Their real bottom line must be based on reality, so our counter-offer must also be based on reality. Only when both sides are based on reality can an agreement be reached."

Cao Cao nodded. "What is the reality that Military Advisor Jia believes in?"

Jia Xu said, "Has the Prime Minister forgotten the refugees of Xiping County?"

Cao Cao suddenly realized that seven counties in the northwest of Runan Commandery, namely Xihua, Zhaoling, Xiping, Zhengqiang, Ruyang, Dingying, and Wufang, had suffered severe drought and locust plagues, resulting in a complete crop failure this autumn. Thirty-six thousand households of disaster victims attempted to enter the prosperous Yingchuan Commandery to seek food, but were firmly refused by Yingchuan Commandery. The thirty-six thousand households of disaster victims gathered in Xiping County, which is adjacent to Yingchuan Commandery, and were intercepted by the army. They could only survive on the meager relief provided by the government.

"You mean, these 36,000 refugees were brought into Lujiang County and Jiangxia County?"

Jia Xu nodded. "I believe the key to this negotiation isn't how much each side asks for or counters, but rather demonstrating the feasibility of the offered price. Only then can both sides trust each other and ultimately reach a consensus!" "You have a point!"

Cao Cao walked a few steps with his hands behind his back, then asked, "What about the million shi of grain?"

"Prime Minister, a million bushels of grain is certainly impossible, but you can give Military Advisor Chen a bottom line and let him negotiate with the other party."

Cao Cao nodded slightly and said, "I still want to form a marriage alliance with Gan Ning."

"The Prime Minister's decision is wise. Marriage alliances cannot be viewed in the short term; they must be considered in the long term. I believe that no matter how fiercely the Prime Minister and Gan Ning fight, if I may be so bold, this marriage alliance will be the last line of defense between you."

Cao Cao pondered for a moment and said, "As you say!"

As December drew to a close, Sun Shangxiang grew increasingly nervous and excited, knowing that her wedding day was set for New Year's Eve, less than ten days away.

That morning, she came to Xiao Qiao's courtyard. Xu Wei was also there, sitting lazily in a wide chair. The warm winter sun shone on her, and her hands were always on her lower abdomen, which was obviously bulging.

Xiao Qiao's courtyard was a bit messy, mainly because it was filled with tables of various sizes, and the tables had all sorts of utensils. There were more than a dozen different grinding tools alone. Da Qiao's favorite was the copper mill that Gan Ning had given her. It weighed several hundred kilograms and the copper millstones fit together perfectly, so it could grind all sorts of hard ingredients into fine powder.

At this point, the copper mill had already extracted juice from more than a dozen sugarcanes, which flowed out of the copper trough, filled the porcelain jar, and then was repeatedly filtered to remove all the residue.

Of course, the person grinding the millstone was not Xiao Qiao, but two strong maids. What Xiao Qiao was doing at the moment was stirring evenly on a pottery pot placed on a brazier to boil sugarcane juice into brown sugar.

This is the method Gan Ning taught her for making sugar. After failing five times in a row, she finally mastered the heat control and would never burn or make the syrup bitter again.

Sun Shangxiang also sat down on a wide chair next to her, quietly took Xu Shu's hand, and asked with concern, "How is the baby in your womb feeling?"

"It's alright, very stable."

Sun Shangxiang smiled and said, "You look quite well too."

"how about you?"

Xu Wei smiled and asked in return, "The big day is almost here, are you nervous?"

"Yes, Yunqing, I want to ask you, what should I have done that day?"

Xu Wei glanced at Xiao Qiao, who was still focused on boiling sugar, her gaze intense; it seemed she would have to continue for a while.

Xu Wei then smiled and said, "That day only involves three things: welcoming the bride, the wedding ceremony, and the bridal chamber. You don't need to worry about the first two, except for the third one. Someone will arrange them, and a matchmaker will lead the way. The ceremony is very simple and not complicated at all. It will be over in at most an hour."

Sun Shangxiang breathed a sigh of relief, but felt a little disappointed. Other people's weddings lasted four or five hours, while hers lasted less than an hour, which was just a formality.

But then I thought about it again. She was, after all, a concubine. When others took a concubine, there was no ceremony at all. They just brought her into the room. Gan Lang was even willing to give her a wedding. This was already the greatest respect he could show her.

Thinking of this, her heart gradually brightened, especially the wedding night, which was a turning point in her life, and she was filled with anticipation.

Just then, Xiao Qiao exclaimed happily, "The brown sugar is ready! Get it ready to serve!"

(End of this chapter)