It was a credit to Sun Quan that he did not ask this question directly. Otherwise, Zhang Wen, who had been seduced by the three "succubi" of the Han Dynasty, would not have been able to say something like "If you become an official of a Han Dynasty, you will always be a minister of the Han Dynasty"...
It used to be a slogan that everyone was shouting, but now... Liu Bei's family is the only one left among the big men.
But the most important thing right now is to negotiate the alliance, and Zhang Wen's issue can be discussed later.
"Ahem, what Deng Shangshu said makes sense." Sun Quan cleared his throat, "Cao Pi committed regicide and usurped the throne. It was an act of great rebellion. How could the Han Dynasty allow the Cao family to usurp it for four hundred years?
"I, Jiangdong, were weak before... I was deeply afraid that Cao Pi would take advantage of the situation and invade south. In order to protect our Han Dynasty's southeastern territory, we pretended to surrender, but it was actually an expedient measure.
"Now that Jiangdong has sufficient troops and supplies, it is natural to draw a clear line with Cao's thieves and join forces with Liu to fight against Cao. I sincerely hope that your lord will put righteousness first and not engage in temporary disputes of temper."
His words set the tone first and also provided a positive response to Lao Liu's "core concerns."
Yes, you are right, the Cao family is indeed unauthentic, and I, Sun Quan, still support the Han Dynasty.
This core issue cannot be ignored at this time. This is the most basic condition for Liu Bei to be willing to enter into an alliance with him. If he does not express his position on this, there will be no discussion at all.
If Lao Liu continues to act like Deng Zhi's hidden threat, taking advantage of the fighting between the two sides and using this as an excuse to send his army eastward... Soochow will become "Eastern Wu".
However, Sun Quan still had a hand in this. He knew that Liu Bei had proclaimed himself emperor, but he still avoided the matter and simply pretended that it had never happened.
Although I am a big man, I do not admit that you, Old Liu, are a big man. It does not mean that I am loyal to you. We are just a cooperative relationship at this time.
At the same time, he did not show weakness towards Deng Zhi's hidden threat.
Jiangdong is no longer what it used to be. Now that our military strength has been restored, we can protect ourselves with the strength of the Three Rivers. If anyone wants to take advantage of the situation... it's best to think carefully.
If you suffer heavy losses in Jiangdong, there will still be Cao Wei watching from the north. If I am gone, you will not have any good fruits to eat.
The two seemed to be in harmony and were respectful in their conversations. They were a model of harmonious negotiation.
In fact, in a few simple sentences, there was already a confrontation, and the two of them combined have more than 800 tricks.
It seems that the stupid general couldn't understand many of these meanings after hearing this. I'm afraid he thought that you and I were willing to sign an agreement and form an alliance in the next second.
Deng Zhi was not surprised when he heard Sun Quan's answer. Both sides had their own needs. He had already achieved one of his goals by expressing his stance on the big picture. He could not expect Sun Quan to surrender to His Majesty now.
"Haha, Lord Wu is very loyal to the Han Dynasty. Your Majesty would be very pleased if he knew about it. Lord Wu is sincere, and your Majesty's intention of sending troops to help is also true, but..."
Sun Quan and Jiangdong's ministers immediately pricked up their ears, knowing that the most critical moment was coming. With such a great opportunity, it was impossible for Liu Bei not to mention conditions.
"Since both parties are sincerely joining forces, it is better to clarify some things in advance to avoid disaster again. As the saying goes, 'the car in front is overturned, the car behind is warned', does Lord Wu think it is true?"
The car in front overturned... where did it overturn? Isn’t it just that the situation was overturned in the hands of your Lu Meng!
Sun Quan was embarrassed for a while, but he had already admitted it in his peace letter, so it was naturally difficult to refute it at this time.
He could only nod with a smile on his face: "What Deng Shangshu said is true, but I don't know what's going on?"
Deng Zhi said seriously: "Of course Jiangling belongs to me."
Sun Quan put away his smile and twirled his beard and said: "Jiangling has been owned by me since Zhou Lang captured it. When your lord had no place to stand, Chibi defeated me. Out of the goodwill of the alliance, I borrowed the land of Jingzhou with your lord. Unexpectedly That Guan Yu..."
Sun Quan was talking here, and Deng Zhi on the other side had already bowed and made a big salute: "This is over, and it will be useless for Zhi to stay any longer, so I will leave now!"
Then he fluttered his sleeves and started to walk out. Zhang Wen on the side quickly grabbed him: "Hey, Deng Shangshu, why are you leaving before you finish speaking?"
"Haha, Master Wu doesn't talk with the truth, so how can he be sincere? The sincerity he just said seems to be just a fool. In this case, it is useless to stay longer, so it is better to go back." Deng Zhi sneered.
Zhang Zhao spoke again: "Back then, your lord abandoned Xinye and went to Fancheng. He was defeated in Dangyang and rushed to Xiakou. He had no place to stay. If the king had not sent troops to fight against Cao Cao and captured the land of Jingzhou, how would your lord have the foundation he has today? Tell the truth, how can you allow you to turn it upside down?"
Deng Zhi didn't even look at him, and held his hands to the west: "Your Majesty is kind and kind, and the people follow you, so you can't bear to abandon him, so you are defeated for a while. However, those who are destined to be destined will have God's blessing."
"Your Majesty led his troops to conquer the four southern counties of Jingzhou. Wuling Prefect Jin Xuan, Changsha Prefect Han Xuan, Guiyang Prefect Zhao Fan, and Lingling Prefect Liu Du all surrendered. This is all because your Majesty has led a benevolent army!
"When His Majesty could only borrow Jiangling, how could he borrow Jingzhou? Besides, Your Majesty occupied the four counties of Jingnan at that time. How could Jiangdong advance to Jiaozhou? Could it be that all your Jiangdong soldiers have wings on their backs and cannot fly?"
"Jiangling is isolated in the north of the Yangtze River, and Cao Jun is watching eagerly. If His Majesty hadn't withstood the pressure for Soochow in Jiangling, would the Lord of Wu be able to manage the chaos in Shanyue with peace of mind?"
Zhang Zhao: "..."
He didn't expect that this little-known messenger actually knew everything about what happened, even some confidential matters.
He wasn't talking nonsense, he was obviously prepared.
After Deng Zhi said this, he finally glanced at Zhang Zhao: "You Quanhou is here today to confuse right and wrong, but I don't know what he did at that time?"
"You! You..." Zhang Zhao felt the blood in his head beating fast. After the scene in front of him was spinning for a while, his eyes suddenly went dark...
"Zibu! Zibu?"
"General Zhang!"
Everyone around him was in a panic, slapping people in the face and pinching people. Only then did Zhang Zhao wake up, but his face turned pale and embarrassed.
Thanks to Zhang Zhao's good health, he just suffered a temporary fainting caused by high blood pressure and arrhythmia.
If the blood vessels in the brain were a little weak, and the blood pressure that had just been pumped up caused a cerebral hemorrhage... he might have died.
"You Quanhou is already old. You need to take care of yourself and help him return home to rest." Sun Quan waved his hand and ordered people to carry Zhang Zhao down who had been "KO".
Looking back at Deng Zhi, he didn't mean to blame him. He just said calmly: "But your lord first said, 'take Yizhou and return Jiangling'. After taking Yizhou, he also said, 'take Liangzhou and return Jiangling'. This It’s not a lie, right?”
Sun Quan no longer mentioned Jingzhou, only Jiangling, and his words no longer had the previous momentum.
In fact, he already felt that it was okay to agree as soon as Deng Zhi said the words.
Liu Bei already had extensive connections in Jingzhou. As early as when Liu Biao was in power, many scholars in Jingzhou sought refuge with him. Not to mention that now that he has been in power for many years, Guan Yu has also gained great favor in Jingzhou.
After the previous battle in Jingzhou, morale is now even higher and the people's aspirations are high.
On the other hand, Sun Wu had attacked Jingzhou year after year to avenge Sun Jian. He already had many grievances with the people of Jingzhou. After this failed sneak attack in Jingzhou, he was even more heartbroken.
Even if Liu Bei gets mad for a moment and Jiangling is returned to him, I am afraid that the officials and people in Jiangling will not do it...
Moreover, Cao Pi's southern expedition does not know how long this battle will last. Today's Jiangdong has no illusions about Jingzhou's strength. If he agrees, he has to agree, and if he doesn't agree, he has to agree.
But even so, wrangling, fighting, and verbal exchanges are still necessary.
Once you agree easily, the other party will see that you are relaxed and seem indifferent, and they will definitely make other requests.
Secondly, it seemed so difficult that he agreed to let go for the sake of the overall situation, which actually showed the sincerity of the alliance. It can even be said that he, Sun Quan, showed favor to Liu Bei afterwards.
Hearing this, Deng Zhi said: "This is because Your Majesty is kind-hearted and does not want to destroy the peace between the Liu and Sun families! But Lord Wu instead fought against each other, and even ended up betraying the alliance and attacking secretly. Is this not Lord Wu's fault?"
Sun Quan: "..."
Deng Zhi used his trump card to silence Sun Quan.
If you do something immoral, you have to endure others poking you in the spine.
It doesn't matter if you are strong, but now it feels uncomfortable to see you go from the second best to the last...
Jiangdong's ministers, you just finished singing and I came on the stage, bombarding Deng Zhi repeatedly with words, but Deng Zhi remained unchanged in response to all changes, so he was sure that you did not dare to turn your back, and you were as immovable as a mountain.
However, before leaving, Zhang Wen, who had been promoted by Sun Quan and had high hopes, seemed to be losing his mind and going crazy. He would jump out from time to time to persuade them to put the overall situation first.
...Why don’t you fucking advise Deng Zhi to put the overall situation first? This person must have secretly surrendered to Liu Bei!
The issue of Jiangling's ownership was debated from morning to evening, and finally Soochow gave in.
Sun Quan looked like he was bearing the humiliation, and all the important ministers in Jiangdong felt like they were mourning for their heirs.
But he still wrote the document and stamped it.
Although Deng Zhi successfully completed the task, everything was still within Sun Quan's plan.
In any case, the Sun-Liu Alliance was finally successfully concluded after much stumbling.
Brothers and sisters, a belated Happy Mid-Autumn Festival + an early Happy National Day holiday. I wish you all a happy family reunion and all the best.
The month of September, which is hard to describe, has finally passed. Disputes, family affairs, illness... all these things have caused the update to be unstable. Recently, it has become a beast. Fortunately, brothers and sisters, you have not given up. I am extremely grateful.
Fortunately, things are almost done. I will make some adjustments during the National Day holiday and return to stable double updates after the holiday. I will not break my promise.
Finally, I would like to thank you all again for your support. Regardless of rewards, subscriptions, or monthly passes, I will keep them in mind and I am grateful.
(End of chapter)
