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But at this time, Sun Quan had no time to think about it. He was eager to talk to Lu Su, so he ordered the guards to escort Sun Shangxiang back to the city. Looking at the large group of guards and escorts walking away, Lu Su slowly walked up and bowed and said, "See Marquis of Wu."

Sun Quan patted his shoulder and praised: "Bringing the soldiers back is your greatest achievement."

Lu Su shook his head and said ashamed: "This is not the merit of the minister, it is the face Liu Jing gave to Princess Shangxiang."

"Shangxiang Noodles"

Sun Quan was a little surprised. How could it be his sister's face. But then he realized that with Liu Jing's identity, he would never release so many prisoners of war for a woman. This was actually a kind of attitude of Liu Jing. The two families stopped their troops and made peace the most important.

Thinking of this, Sun Quan no longer struggled with this matter, and asked again: "Tell me about the negotiations with Jingzhou, what conditions did they put forward?"

This is what Sun Quan is most concerned about. The situation in Jiangdong is very serious now. Zhao Yun's army is still stationed in Liyang County, Jiangbei, maintaining the southward pressure on Jiangdong, which frightens the court and the people in Jiangdong. The two western expeditions caused his prestige to plummet, and his dissatisfaction filled the court and the country.

The people of Shanyue have made public statements that they no longer recognize him as the lord of Jiangdong. Even some counties in Jiangdong have called for him to abdicate, which has caused great pressure from internal and external affairs.

If the funeral after the Western Expedition cannot be properly resolved, his Jiangdong Lord may not be able to be saved. However, although Liu Jing's release of more than 50,000 prisoners of war was suspected of bribing the hearts of the people in Jiangdong, he also helped him at the critical moment, allowing him to give some explanation to the government and the country.

Lu Su was about to answer, but Sun Quan waved his hand, "Go back and say, this is not a place to speak."

.........

In the carriage returning to the city, Lu Su carefully proposed Liu Jing's conditions to Sun Quan. Sun Quan was silent. After a while, he sighed slightly, and his sigh was full of helplessness. How could he accept it? Open the inland river ban, cede Qichun County and Yuzhang County, destroy more than 10,000 stones of warships, and compensate 100,000 stones of grain. If these conditions are spread, Jiangdong will really be boiling.

But the crisis is right in front of him. If he does not agree, the four counties of Qichun, Yuzhang, Lujiang and Jiujiang will be completely lost. More importantly, they are now in poverty and cannot afford another war. If the Jiangxia army launches a large-scale eastward expedition, Jiangdong will be unable to fight again.

At this time, the Jiangdong Army did not even have the strength to expel Zhao Yun's army in Liyang County. What qualifications does Sun Quan have to challenge Liu Jing again?

At this moment, Sun Quan felt deeply humiliated and powerless. He could not find any way to break the current dilemma. Unless Liu Jing asked to give in, would he give in?

At this moment, the carriage suddenly stopped, and a guard whispered outside the car: "Mr. Wu, there is an emergency report."

"What's the situation?" Sun Quan asked lightly.

"General Dingwu Zhonglang visited Yu Zhangshou this morning."

A murderous intent suddenly shot out in Sun Quan's eyes, and then the murderous intent disappeared, and he replied calmly: "I understand."

Lu Su was a little nervous next to him. He knew that the General of Dingwu was Sun Lang, the younger brother of Wu Hou. What does it mean to visit Sun Ben?

Judging from the murderous intent in Wu Hou's eyes, it must be that there is a sensitive matter. Could it be that Lu Su suddenly thought of a possibility and was immediately shocked and sweated coldly?

Sun Quan glanced at him and smiled and said, "Don't worry, everything is under my control, and there will be no civil strife in Jiangdong."

Sun Quan was not worried that Sun Lang would rebel. What he was worried about was Sun Ben. This cousin and Cao Cao were in-laws. His relationship with Cao Cao was very ordinary. Last year, when Cao Cao led a large army to conquer Jingzhou, Sun Ben actually secretly exchanged letters with Cao Cao, and he knew about this.

The incident of Sun Fu colluding with Cao Cao was actually related to Sun Ben, but he had to let him go in order to stabilize Jiangdong.

Moreover, Sun Ben is a veteran of Jiangdong and has deep connections in the Jiangdong army and in the officialdom. If he really takes advantage of the failure of the Western Expedition to overthrow himself, it will indeed be a great threat.

Sun Quan closed his eyes. He felt that he was in a dangerous moment of internal and external trouble. As long as there was a slight difference, he would fall off a cliff.

In the study, Zhou Yu, Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong rushed over one after another. Everyone sat down. Sun Quan asked Lu Su to tell the story of Jiang Xia on the envoy. The room was silent. Everyone was not angry. They all knew that Jiangdong was on the table at this time and there was no choice.

"Tell me how we should deal with it now"

Sun Quan slowly said to everyone: "I can't afford such conditions, but it seems that I have to accept them, but once I accept them, how can I explain to Jiangdong?"

At this time, Zhou Yu spoke first: "In fact, the condition of destroying the Thousand Stone Warship is not a big problem. At present, there are only 100 to 20 warships left for more than 10,000 stones. These twenty warships can be sold to Liu Jing. As part of the compensation for food, only one of the Wu Hou's ships will be retained. I think Liu Jing should agree."

Zhang Zhao frowned next to him, "But without more than a thousand stone warships, isn't our Jiangdong navy over? Is Cao Cao's invasion of Wu in the future? How can I resist?"

Zhou Yu smiled slightly, "I have led the navy for a long time and know that the navy's battle mainly relies on the Thousand Stone warships. Two Thousand Stone warships are actually only used for logistics transportation. Although we do not have Thousand Stone warships, we can build nine-stone warships in the future, which is actually no different from one Thousand Stone warships. As for transportation logistics, five-stone cargo ships are as useful as those with few people and flexible maneuvers. They can travel against the current and against the wind and sail in the inland rivers, but they only need a little more."

Sun Quan felt a little clear in his heart. He nodded, "Gongjin's words make sense. More importantly, we are now in poverty and cannot build a large ship. If Cao Cao attacked south, the nine-stone warship could also stop Cao's army from crossing the river. Moreover, we will not be able to fight westward within ten years. Building a large ship is actually useless. I can agree to this one."

Everyone was silent again. Sun Quan looked at Zhang Hong. He found that Zhang Hong seemed to have something to say, and said, "If Zhang Changshi has anything to say, we should have no worries at this point."

Zhang Hong smiled bitterly, "I am not worried, but my idea is not yet mature."

"You might as well talk about it"

Zhang Hong pondered for a moment and said, "I am trying to figure out Liu Jing's mentality. From the time he did not care about the conditions, I feel that he actually did not want to completely weaken Jiangdong. He still hoped that Jiangdong could form an alliance with him and deal with Cao Cao together, but he was worried that it was difficult to explain to others, so he only released the soldiers and not the general."

"The Chief Secretary is right"

Zhang Zhao nodded in agreement, "It is true, otherwise it will not be explained why Liu Jing released the prisoners of war. He is actually hinting that everything can be discussed, so we can grasp Liu Jing's profound meaning and protect the interests of Jiangdong to the greatest extent."

Sun Quan was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that it was so deep. He thought that Liu Jing was releasing the soldiers to win people's hearts. Now he understood Liu Jing's deep meaning, which made him feel a little ashamed. He asked Zhou Yu again, "What do you think Gongjin thinks?"

Zhou Yu pondered for a long time and said, "I also agree with the views of the Chief Secretary. Moreover, I heard that Cao Cao had withdrawn from Fancheng and Xinye and left hundreds of thousands of stones of grain to Jingzhou. In addition to the income from Chibi and Jiangling, Jingzhou should not be short of food now. We can actually use other things to compensate for the food, so that we can solve the problem of our own food shortage."

Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong looked at each other and said in unison: "Cat Iron"

Sun Quan suddenly realized why Zhao Yun was stationed in Liyang? Isn’t it just for the Iron Mine in Liyang? He slapped his forehead and sighed: “I’m really stupid. The iron ore in Jingzhou has always relied on us. We have enough pig iron to replace grain with thick iron to alleviate our immediate difficulties. This dilemma will be solved.”

"But pig iron is a strategic material, and it is a capital enemy for Jingzhou." Zhang Zhao was still a little worried.

Zhou Yu shook his head and said, "The military advisor is too worried. As far as I know, Jingzhou has found a large iron ore in the Lutongshan area. However, the mine is not as good as ours. Even if we block the output of iron ore, it will not have much impact on Jingzhou. Moreover, since we promise to open up trade, the iron ore cannot be blocked, so there will be no strategic impact on pig iron for them."

"Gongjin is right. In fact, compared with pig iron, food is our lifeblood. I think it is feasible to use pig iron to exchange food."

Sun Quan affirmed Zhou Yu's plan. Although Zhang Zhao still felt that it was a bit inappropriate, he could not find a better plan for the time being, so he fell silent.

At this time, Lu Su said: "I have talked specifically about lifting the inland river ban. He believes that this is a mutual benefit for both sides, and Jingzhou will also release the inland river ban to Jiangdong. He said that this is not a harsh condition."

"But do you think about the consequences of opening the inland river ban?"

Zhang Zhao said a little dissatisfied: "As soon as the Jiangxia money is released, it will sweep across Jiangdong. One Jiangxia money can be exchanged for one fifty Jiangdong money. If the inland river ban is lifted, our private materials will be plundered by Jiangxia. How can Jiangdong protect itself?"

Lu Su hurriedly said: "I have also raised this issue to Liu Jing. He suggested that we adjust the coin minting formula and use copper materials like Jiangxia coins. This problem can be gradually solved. The key is that opening up the inland river ban can promote the exhibition of trade and handicraft workshops, which is beneficial to both sides."

Zhang Hong also agreed with Lu Su's suggestion, "Actually, Jing said it well. The ban on rivers and sea bans are released. Even if the merchants in Jingzhou do not go deep into the inland rivers, Jiangdong merchants will go deep into the village to buy various goods in exchange for Jiangxia money. The ban on rivers does not make much sense. The key is that the money must be unified so that we will not be controlled by Jiangxia money. Jing said it very well."

Sun Quan knew in his heart that the ban on inland rivers was released and Jiangxia merchants went directly to the hinterland counties to trade. This would inevitably hit the interests of Jiangdong merchants. This was the key, and he needed to coordinate again.

Sun Quan pondered for a moment and said, "The inland river ban can be put aside first, so that more ministers can participate in the discussion. The key is the land issue, which is a big problem that is difficult for me to explain. Now Jingzhou is going to cut off Qichun County, Yuzhang County, and Pengze Lake. These are the foundations left by my father and brother. They are lost in my hands. How do I face my father and brother and explain to the elders in Jiangdong."

Speaking of this, Sun Quan sighed a long time. In fact, what he was more worried about was the internal split. If there were any consequences of splitting the ground, he would encounter unprecedented opposition and doubt within Jiangdong. Sun Ben would comply with the will of the people and the army, abolish his Jiangdong inheritance rights in the ancestral hall and establish a new master. Even if he would not surrender, Jiangdong would be in chaos, resulting in division. This is a scene that Sun Quan would definitely not want to see.

Therefore, solving the land issues in Qichun and Yuzhang was the top priority of this negotiation, and he looked at everyone with anticipation.

On the issue of land, Zhang Zhao thought the most, and he was very realistic. He knew how to choose. He said to Sun Quan: "Now the four counties are all in Jingzhou. Liu Jingruo and one county are unwilling to return, so we have no choice. The Weichen means to take back Lujiang County and Jiujiang County first. As for Qichun County, it is across the river from Jiangxia, which poses great threat to Jiangxia. It probably has no room for bargaining. This county is barren, but it actually does not cause much damage to us. Just give it to Jiangxia and Pengze Lake to Jiangxia. The key is Yuzhang County. Weichen thought about it for a long time, and maybe there is a plan."

Sun Quan was overjoyed and hurriedly said, "Please speak with Bu"

While sorting out his thoughts, Zhang Zhao said slowly: "We can promise Jingzhou to give them Qichun County and Yuzhang County, but ask them to wait for a year and then hand it over to Jingzhou in a year."

"Why have to wait for a year?" several people asked at the same time.

Zhang Zhao sighed and said, "The key is that we protect the reputation of Wuhou. We will hand it over to Jingzhou now, which will hit Wuhou's reputation. If a one-year delay in delivery, it will fade the shadow of defeat. Moreover, we can use this year to expand south and officially take Luling County, Linchuan County and Jian'an County into Jiangdong's pocket. In this way, Jiangdong's territory will expand more than twice. At that time, the loss of Qichun and Yuzhang County will have little impact. I think Liu Jing is also a person with vision, and he will agree with our plan."

Sun Quan nodded. This plan was a blessing in disgrace and could be adopted. He thought about it and asked again: "What will Qichun and Yuzhang arrange this year? Is there a plan?"

"We can discuss with Jingzhou that the army will be stationed by them, but the guards will be appointed by us. In this way, we will take back the two counties of Yuzhang and Qichun on the surface."

Sun Quan also knew that this was just their plan, and the key was whether Liu Jing could accept it. He looked at Lu Su. Although Lu Su was a good messenger, his position was slightly lower. After all, he could not make decisions on major issues.

Sun Quan pondered for a long time and said to Zhang Hong: "This time, please trouble the Chief Shi Hejing to go to Jingzhou together. Be sure to finalize the contract and then talk about the details of the marriage."
Chapter completed!