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Two days later, Lu Fan and Qiao Guo Lao visited Mrs. Wu together. Both of them were the ones Mrs. Wu respected the most. They received a grand reception and were invited to the guest hall of Ganlu Palace.

Mrs. Wu is rarely seen outsiders, and the living room has never been opened. Today is the first time I opened it. In the living room, Lu Fan and Qiao Guo sat on both sides. The two talked and laughed with the old lady, and talked about the past.

Sun Shangxiang also attended the meeting unexpectedly. She sat quietly aside without saying a word.

In fact, Mrs. Wu also knew that the two of them came for their daughter's marriage, but she was not disgusted. She also wanted to hear what Lu Fan and Qiao Xuan think about this marriage.

"Have Mr. Lu met Liu Jing?" Old Mrs. Wu glanced at her daughter and asked Lu Fan with a smile.

Sun Shangxiang's body trembled slightly. She pretended to drink tea, but her ears were upright.

Lu Fan smiled, "Of course I have seen him. Last year he came to Jiangdong to discuss alliance with Wuhou. We have all seen him. When Princess Fengxiang was still dancing swords for him, we were all thinking, is this God's will?"

Sun Shangxiang's face suddenly turned red. She felt a little embarrassed and annoyed when she mentioned that, but she still refused to leave. In fact, she asked Liu Jing to Wu to the house just to teach him a lesson, but she didn't expect that the sword was taken away by Liu Jing, and in the eyes of everyone, it turned into a phoenix.

But Mrs. Wu never knew these things. She became more and more surprised and asked again: "I mean, how do others?"

"Can be called a dragon among people"

Lu Fan did not hide his praise, "Although he is the enemy of Jiangdong, to be fair, I still have to praise him. This person is the best man Lu Fan has seen in his life. From a military marquis, he has become the lord of Jingzhou step by step. The whole Jingzhou is convinced by him. Only Bo Fu could compare with him back then. Even Cao Cao praised him as a hero in the world. More importantly, he was only twenty-four years old and a heroic young man, and he was Shang Xiang's best match."

Sun Shangxiang finally couldn't sit down anymore, so she stood up and said, "Mother, daughter will leave first."

She turned around and ran away in panic. Everyone laughed. Mrs. Wu sighed and said, "I believe in Mr. Lu's knowledge. It sounds like he is indeed worthy of Shangxiang. It is also Shangxiang's blessing to be able to get this person as his son-in-law. But he already has a wife, and Shangxiang can only marry him as his wife. I feel unwilling to accept it."

At this time, Qiao Guo Lao smiled and said, "Actually, this is not a big problem. Liu Jing is the direct descendant of the royal family. When Cao Cao wanted to sign him as the King of Xiangyang, he refused. I also heard a rumor that Cao Cao was even willing to honor him as the emperor, and he refused. From this, it can be seen that it is only a matter of time before he was granted the title of king. Although Shang Xiang cannot be the wife, once Liu Jing is granted the title of king, he can be called the princess in the ritual system. With Jiangdong as the backing, no one dares to underestimate Shang Xiang. Shang Xiang has her own status. Moreover, Liu Jing has no elders and in-laws, Shang Xiang will not suffer any grievances."

"Are his parents gone?" the old lady asked again.

"I am gone, and my uncle Liu Biao has passed away. He has almost no elders in his own line."

Mrs. Wu nodded silently. It would be best if she had no in-laws to control her. She also knew that a woman's status in her husband's family depends on her parents' backstage. The Tao family was just a businessman. How could she compare with Wu Hou in Jiangdong? Even if she was a follower, her status would not be low.

She herself is the best example. She and her sister married Sun Jian together. Her sister was righteous and she obeyed. But in fact, both of them were Sun Jian's wives, and she did not feel that her status was low. It was precisely because of her own example that Mrs. Wu finally nodded and agreed.

"Okay, you can tell Wu Hou that I have only one condition, let me see this Liu Jing with my own eyes. If I like it, I will marry my daughter to him. If I look down on it, I will just marry this marriage."

After listening to Lu Fan's report, Sun Quan felt happy and worried. His mother let go of joy, but his worries were that Liu Jing was willing to come to Jingkou and how could his mother see him?

"He probably won't come." Sun Quan frowned.

Lu Fan smiled and said, "I also told the old lady about this difficulty. The old lady said that she could guarantee Liu Jing's safety. In fact, I think it's not impossible to let Liu Jing come. The key is that we have to tolerate the army he brought."

Sun Quan nodded. It was true. If Liu Jing was asked to come to Jingkou, this would be possible only if he agreed to let him lead his troops. Sun Quan was a little embarrassed. He didn't want to see the overwhelming scene of Jingzhou warships on the river.

After pondering for a long time, he sighed and said, "Let's talk about this matter when the Chief and the others come back."

Sun Ben has been silent these two days. He tried to use the opportunity of Sun Quan not in Jingkou to create an opportunity to seize power, but was destroyed by Sun Shangxiang. This made Sun Ben very angry. At the same time, he was a little uneasy and had been staying in his door for several days.

But at the same time, he closely followed the subtle movements of the Jiangdong officialdom and observed Sun Quan's every move, as if Sun Quan had not noticed everything he had done. Sun Quan had not taken any measures in the past few days, which made Sun Ben a little confused.

In this secret battle for the position of Wuhou, Sun Ben tried his best to overthrow Sun Quan. Although he also occupied some favorable aspects, such as he had deep connections in the Jiangdong military and officialdom, and for example, he received the support of Jiangdong elders Zhu Ran and Han Dang, the biggest advantage was that he controlled Kuaiji County.

But Sun Ben also admitted in frustration that he is still at an obvious disadvantage. Most of the officials he visited have made clear statements that supporting Sun Quan means that everyone is not optimistic about him. This is an unfavorable trend. If more and more people do not optimistic about him, those who originally supported him will turn against him and will betray him. At that time, he will betray everyone and leave his relatives, and the situation is over.

So Sun Ben was eager to break the deadlock. He expected the situation to be chaotic and did not like the calm, but he could not find a way to break the deadlock for a while. Perhaps the negotiation between Sun Quan and Liu Jing would be a good opportunity. Signing a treaty of powerlessness and humiliation is the fastest way for those in power to step down. For this reason, Sun Ben was full of expectations for the negotiations between the Sun and Liu families.

Just as Sun Ben was walking back and forth in the room uneasily, the butler's report came from the door: "I have reported to the envoy, there is a person from outside the mansion, saying that he came from the north and there is a famous post."

From the north, Sun Ben's heart moved and immediately asked: "Where is the famous post?"

The housekeeper walked up and presented a famous post. The famous post was sealed. Obviously, he didn't want outsiders to see it. Sun Ben tore open the cover and quickly opened the famous post. Chen Jiao appeared in front of him. He suddenly became nervous. It was indeed the person sent by Cao Cao.

He pondered for a moment and whispered to the butler: "Take this person into the mansion from the side door and take him to the study to see me."

The housekeeper quickly left, and Sun Ben wiped the sweat from his forehead. He and Cao Cao were in-laws. His daughter married Cao Zhang. He and Cao Cao had been secretly interacting with Cao Cao. This time he fought for power with Sun Quan, and of course he also hoped that Cao Cao could support him.

He originally thought that Cao Cao sent Zhang Liao to station troops in Hefei to support him, but he didn't expect that Cao Cao would go further and directly intervene in the competition for the lord of Jiangdong. He didn't know what Cao Cao would let Chen Jiao bring to him.

Soon, the housekeeper brought in a middle-aged man. This man was Chen Jiao, a staff member who was captured by Zhao Yun in Huoying County. Later, as the conditions for giving up Xiangyang, he was released back to Fancheng.

Today, Chen Jiao came to Jiangdong under the order of Cao Cao, indeed to allow Sun Ben to take over. If Sun Ben takes over, then Jiangdong would be occupied by Cao's army sooner or later. This is why, in order to attach importance to this in-fight in Jiangdong, Cao Cao not only ordered Zhang Liao to lead an army of 80,000 to Hefei, but also ordered Chen Jiao to secretly come to Jingkou to assist Sun Ben.

Chen Jiao went into the house and gave a deep gift, "See the envoy"

Chen Jiao avoided trouble in Jiangdong in the early years of Jian'an and knew the people of Jiangdong very well. When Sun Ben's daughter married Cao Zhang in the north, Chen Jiao was the envoy to receive the bride. He was very familiar with Sun Ben, which was also the main reason why Cao Cao sent him to Jiangdong.

Sun Ben smiled and said, "I remember marrying my daughter in the fourth year of Jian'an. I have parted with you. I haven't seen you for ten years. Time flies so fast."

Chen Jiao also smiled and said, "Ten years have indeed been around for a long time, but when I think about it, many things are as if they were yesterday. The Prime Minister often sighed that I was not waiting for it."

Sun Ben smiled knowingly and asked Chen Jiao to sit down. The maid brought in two cups. Sun Ben ordered the door to be closed, and then asked: "Does Ji Bi come from Hefei or Yedu?"

Sun Ben asked in a very subtle way. If he came from Yedu, Chen Jiao should have Cao Cao's letter. Chen Jiao smiled and said, "I came from Yedu, but I don't believe it, only a verbal message."

Sun Ben felt a little disappointed. Cao Cao didn't actually write a letter. Is this not to pay attention to him? Chen Jiao seemed to understand Sun Ben's disappointment and explained with a smile: "It's because the Prime Minister is worried that Jiangdong knows me more people. Once he is arrested and sent a letter, it may be unfavorable to the envoy, so he did not bring a written letter, but the Prime Minister gave it to the envoy."

He took out a jade artifact from the chest bag on his waist and handed it to Sun Ben. Sun Ben was careful that it turned out to be a small jade tripod, as big as a pear, the jade was warm and delicate, and the making was exquisite. It was a rare treasure. After looking through for a moment, the four words "Jiangdong tripod" were engraved at the bottom of the jade tripod. Sun Ben suddenly understood that this was what Cao Cao wanted him to win the Jiangdong tripod.

He was overjoyed and put the jade tripod on the table, worshiped respectfully, and said, "Thank you for your kindness in the prime minister's support."

Chen Jiao didn't expect Sun Ben to act so flatteringly. He felt a little contempt in his heart, but he didn't show his face. He just smiled faintly: "The Prime Minister hopes that the envoy can compete for Jiangdong and become the new master of Jiangdong. I don't know what progress has been made recently."

Sun Ben smiled bitterly and shook his head, "I am in a stalemate recently. I look forward to breaking the deadlock as soon as possible. Look at the contract signed by Jiangdong and Jingzhou, and maybe I can seize the handle of Sun Quan."

Chen Jiao pondered for a moment and said, "I heard that Jiangdong and Jingzhou were going to make a good relationship between Qin and Jin. Cheng was very interested in this. He wanted to ask how it was going."

Sun Ben was a little stunned. There were so many things that the Prime Minister was interested in, but he didn't dare to ask more questions. He hurriedly said: "The old lady has agreed to this marriage, and this marriage has probably been decided. The only change is that the old lady wants to meet Liu Jing, hoping that Liu Jing can come to Jingkou."

Chen Jiao smiled, "It's true that it's not as expected by the Prime Minister."

Sun Ben was confused and asked quickly: "What does Ji Bi mean?"

Chen Jiao smiled and said, "The Prime Minister speculated that Mrs. Wu's last condition must be to meet her future son-in-law. This is also human nature. If Liu Jing really comes to Jiangdong, our opportunity will come."

Sun Ben was stunned, "The Prime Minister means to think."

Chen Jiao narrowed his eyes and smiled, "The Prime Minister said that he had a bet with Liu Jing. He was worried that Liu Jing would win this bet, so he really hoped that Liu Jing would stay in Jiangdong."

Amid Sun Quan's attentive expectations, Zhang Hong and Lu Su finally returned from Jingzhou. The negotiation results they brought made Sun Quan overjoyed. Sun Quan bursts of laughter came from the meeting hall, "I knew that Liu Jing is not a short-sighted person, he can be my sister."

Sun Quan was most concerned about grain and land. Liu Jing agreed to use crude iron to fill the grain, which was beneficial to Sun Quan, because the rough iron billets in the Liyang warehouse were piled up like mountains, estimated to be tens of thousands of kilograms, and there was no clear account. Even if there was a tens of thousands of kilograms away, there was no difference.

Especially Liu Jing's promise to not station troops in Yuzhang County, which made Sun Ben unable to catch his own. You must know that Sun Ben has been defending Yuzhang for a long time, and as long as Yuzhang does not have the Jingzhou army, he will not arouse public anger on his territory. In this way, the impact of defeat is actually not great.

He passed this disaster safely, but Sun Quan also knew that although he could escape this disaster by chance, if he wanted to conquer Jingzhou in the west, he would really have no chance.

Thinking of this, Sun Quan said happily: "I can give Liu Jing a formal written promise. Within ten years, Jiangdong will never go westward."

Zhang Hong nodded and said, "Then there is the marriage between the two families of Jing and Wu, Jingzhou needs specific details."
Chapter completed!