Tiger Owl

Chapter 83 Completely giving up
Sun and Xu Zhen sat motionless in the inner hall for a long time before Sun asked in a trembling voice, "Was it really Lord Wu who did this?"

Xu Zhen nodded slightly. He had long seen that Sun Quan was a ruthless person who would never consider family ties in order to seize power. He may not have been involved in the death of his elder brother Sun Ce, but he must have known about it. Otherwise, why would he have made arrangements in advance and bribed Chen Wu?

So the first condition I gave him was that he was not allowed to kill Sun Yi. Although he agreed at the time, once the situation was stabilized, he still did it. He thought he was getting away with it, but everyone knew that he did it.

Sun's eyes reddened. "How could he... that's his own brother! How could he be so cruel?"

"The imperial family has always been ruthless, alas!"

"But how can his mother bear it? And what about Wei'er? Wouldn't she become a widow waiting to be married?"

"There's no need to worry about Wei'er. She's already run away from her arranged marriage. She'd be more than happy to see Yi'er die. But I'm a little uneasy about Fen'er, who's about to marry Marquis Wu!"

"Then what should we do? Should we annul the engagement?"

Xu Zhen pondered for a long time, then shook his head and said, "What does their fratricide have to do with the Xu family? There's no need to back down; Fen'er can marry as normal."

Gan Ning met with Huang Zu's special envoy in Nanchang. Huang Zu's son and family had all become prisoners of war, and Huang Zu had no choice but to bite the bullet and negotiate with Gan Ning.

Fortunately for Huang Zu, he had no blood feud with Gan Ning, unlike Jiang Dong who had a blood feud with his father. He should be able to redeem Gan Ning by paying some money and grain.

Inside the official residence, Gan Ning walked a few steps with his hands behind his back and said to Lu Su, "We don't need money or provisions. I only need Huang Zu to agree to three conditions: first, to formally recognize Wuchang County as my territory; second, to promise never to attack Wuchang County or Xunyang County; and third, to never interfere with normal trade and civilian exchanges between Yuzhang County and Jingzhou under any circumstances. Are there any other military advisors to be added?"

Lu Su shook his head. "This humble servant fully agrees with the lord's three conditions. Compared to hard conditions, soft conditions are the most powerful weapon to restrain Huang Zu. If he breaks his promise, he will be despised by the world and will lose the support of the powerful families of Jiangxia."

Gan Ning said coldly, "It's not just the powerful families who despise us; we also need to have means of restraint. The strategist might as well tell Huang Zu's envoy that if they dare to go back on their word and violate the three promises, I will blockade the Yangtze River, and their people and ships will not be able to set foot on the Yangtze River again."

Lu Su bowed respectfully, "This humble servant will go and negotiate with them immediately!"

As soon as Lu Su left, Xu Shu came over excitedly, clasped his hands in greeting, and said with a smile, "Congratulations, my lord, on acquiring another talented person!"

Gan Ning's eyes lit up. "Who's here again?"

“My two close friends, Cui Jun and Shi Tao, have come to join our lord.”

Gan Ning was overjoyed. Cui Zhouping and Shi Guangyuan arrived, and he quickly asked, "Are they at the Recruitment Hall now?"

"Exactly!"

“We must not neglect talented people; I will go and see them now.”

Gan Ning actually wanted Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong, but Cui Zhouping and Shi Guangyuan were also good choices. Historically, they fled to Xiangyang for refuge and longed to make a name for themselves. Although Liu Biao accepted them, he did not employ them, which delayed them for more than ten years. In the end, when Cao Cao's army marched south, they still pledged allegiance to Cao Wei, but they were not given important positions and were just ordinary county officials.

Inside the Hall of Recruitment, Gan Ning listened with a smile as Cui and Shi recounted the situation in Jingzhou and Xiangyang. Suddenly, Gan Ning noticed something amiss and asked with a smile, "Brother Cui said that Liu Bei is narrow-minded, timid, cautious, and inflexible. How do you know that?"

Cui Jun bowed and said, "Nanyang County was originally Liu Jingzhou's territory. When Zhang Xiu surrendered to the south, Liu Jingzhou lent Wancheng to Zhang Xiu. Two years ago, after Zhang Xiu surrendered to Cao Cao, Cao Cao continued to appoint him to garrison Wancheng. However, a month ago, Zhang Xiu was transferred by Cao Cao to participate in the Battle of Guandu, so he returned Wancheng to Liu Jingzhou."

Liu Jingzhou then ordered Liu Bei to garrison Wancheng and defend the Yecheng line, but Liu Bei surprisingly refused, preferring to stay in the small county of Xinye. Guangyuan and I advised him to capture Wancheng, arguing that Cao Cao's attention was currently focused on Hebei and he had no time to look south. Once Wancheng was captured, he could enter Guanzhong along the Dan River, occupy the fertile plains of Guanzhong, and rebuild the Han dynasty. However, Liu Huangshu refused this opportunity, citing his own insufficient strength and inability to handle Wancheng, which is truly regrettable.

Gan Ning smiled and asked, "Who is the current commander of Wancheng?" "After Zhang Xiu left, General Wen Ping has been stationed in Wancheng. Liu Jingzhou wanted to arrange for Wen Ping to attack Jingnan, so he sent Liu Huangshu to take over."

Gan Ning smiled and nodded, "So it's Wen Ping!"

From Cui Zhouping's words, Gan Ning gleaned a lot of important information: Cui Zhouping and Shi Guangyuan had previously gone to join Liu Bei, but Liu Bei did not employ them, so they had no choice but to go south to join him.

Historically, Liu Bei employed Xu Shu, Zhuge Liang, and Pang Tong, but not Sima Hui, Cui Zhouping, and Shi Guangyuan, and there must have been a reason for this.

Now Gan Ning understood a little: Cui Zhouping and Shi Guangyuan were just pale-faced scholars. They could manage government affairs, but when it came to devising strategies and vying for supremacy, they were really not up to the task.

He himself realized that Liu Biao's order for Liu Bei to garrison Wancheng was just a test; how could he possibly give Nanyang Commandery to Liu Bei?
If Liu Bei had fallen for the trap and gone to Wancheng in a great hurry, not only would Wen Ping not have handed over power to him, but Liu Bei wouldn't have been able to return to Xinye either. Liu Bei saw through Liu Biao's test, which is why he feigned weakness and refused to go.

It's laughable that Cui Zhouping and Shi Guangyuan didn't see it, and even said that Liu Bei was narrow-minded and timid. These two were indeed of mediocre ability, no wonder Zhuge Liang said that their official positions could reach the level of governor or prefect.

Liu Bei did not appoint Cui Zhouping and Shi Guangyuan because he did not have suitable positions for them. However, Gan Ning was different. Gan Ning had just established Wuchang Commandery and was in need of capable people. Gan Ning immediately appointed Cui Jun as the Sima of Wuchang Commandery and Shi Tao as the Literary Clerk of the Staff Office.

The position of Prefect of Wuchang Commandery was concurrently held by Gan Ning, and the Assistant Prefect was Yin Mo. Cui Jun was appointed as Sima, serving as Yin Mo's deputy. Shi Tao had extensive experience in running schools in Xiangyang, assisting Sima Hui in establishing them. Appointing him as the Literary Clerk in the Staff Office, in charge of education in the three commanderies, was a perfect fit for him.

Of course, there was an even more important reason: Gan Ning valued the families behind the two men. Both came from prominent northern families, and he needed their support for his future northern expedition. He needed to keep all the outstanding young men from these northern families.

Liu Bei certainly didn't need it; he already had enough accolades, so he could disregard Cui Zhouping and Shi Guangyuan. But Gan Ning was different.

After leaving the recruitment hall, Gan Ning asked Xu Shu, "Are Yuanzhi and Zhuge Liang familiar with each other?"

Xu Shu nodded. "We are close friends. I wrote to him before, inviting him to Yuzhang County, but he declined my invitation in his reply."

"Why?"

Xu Shu smiled bitterly and said, "The reason? He said that his uncle Zhuge Xuan died tragically in Nanchang County, and he was unwilling to set foot in Yuzhang again."

Gan Ning knew, of course, that this was just an excuse from Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang was a man destined for great things, so how could he care about such trivial matters?

Gan Ning pondered for a moment and then asked, "Yuanzhi should know the real reason, right?"

Xu Shu said calmly, "Kongming has close ties with the powerful families of Jing and Xiang, so he won't come to Yuzhang."

Xu Shu spoke subtly, and Gan Ning immediately understood that Zhuge Liang looked down on him.

No wonder, given that his grandfather was the Commandant of the Capital Region during the Han Dynasty, his father was the Prefect of Taishan Commandery, his wife was the daughter of the prestigious Huang family, his mother-in-law was the eldest daughter of the powerful Cai family, and his two brothers-in-law were both sons of prominent families, Kuai Qi and Pang Shanmin. Cai Mao was his brother-in-law, and Liu Biao was his wife's uncle. Zhuge Liang was hardly a commoner from Nanyang.

Zhuge Liang valued Liu Bei, not the Jin Fan bandits. Even Cui Zhouping and Shi Guangping only came to join him because he had defeated Huang Zu and made a name for himself in Jingzhou and Xiangyang, and was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Wuchang by the court. If Liu Bei hadn't rejected them, they might not have come at all.

Once Gan Ning understood this, he completely gave up on Zhuge Liang.

Thinking of the great talents in the world, Gan Ning suddenly thought of Taishi Ci, a fierce general whom Liu Bei missed back then. Liu Yao and Sun Quan did not cherish him, and he must not miss this opportunity again.

(End of this chapter)