Seeing Zhang Zhao shirking his responsibility, Sun Quan glanced at him and asked, "Does that mean Mr. Zhang does not agree to negotiate peace with the State of Wei?"
Zhang Zhao had no choice but to cup his hands and say, "If Your Majesty wants to negotiate peace, then just tell the Wei envoys. I don't have any ideas."
Sun Quan shook his head helplessly, then looked at Zhuge Jin and Quan Cong.
Zhuge Jin hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, we can make peace with Wei, but we cannot show weakness to Wei."
"After all, Wei and Wu are separated by the great river. Even if they lose Wancheng and Wankou, Wei will not be able to move south for several years."
"Your Majesty, there is absolutely no need to fear the State of Wei. If the envoys of the State of Wei make any unreasonable demands, I will personally refuse them on Your Majesty's behalf."
Quan Cong also interrupted and said, "Your Majesty, I have the same idea as General Zuo."
"It's a good thing if we can make peace. If the Wei envoys' demands are excessive and we can't make peace, we are not afraid of Wei at all!"
Gu Yong frowned as he listened.
It would be fine if Quan Cong said so, but why did you, Zhuge Jin, continue to instigate the King of Wu? Do you also have such a warrior mentality?
The people's livelihood is so difficult, the state affairs are in decline, and the counties and prefectures are struggling to cope. Shouldn't we negotiate peace as soon as possible, reduce military expenditures, and restore people's livelihood?
Gu Yong said in an urgent tone: "Supreme Lord! Don't act on your impulse!"
After turning his head and frowning at Zhuge Jin and Quan Cong, Gu Yong said solemnly: "How can you two be so ignorant?"
"It was the Supreme who sent people to Wei to convey the message, and Wei also sent people to Wuchang. Both Wu and Wei wanted to make peace."
"You don't want to think about how to make this happen, but you are here to encourage the Supreme?"
After all, Gu Yong was the prime minister, and he refuted the two men in court, and Zhuge Jin and Quan Cong were unable to refute for a while.
Zhuge Jin was originally a close minister of Sun Quan like Hu Zong, and now he is an important general leading troops to garrison a region, while Quan Cong has always been a general in charge of troops.
Don’t Zhuge Jin and Quan Cong understand that they need to negotiate peace?
Of course they both knew it in their hearts.
If the ministers commanding the troops did not dare to speak out to cheer for the King of Wu, the most disappointed person would probably be Sun Quan himself.
Sun Quan came to Zhuge Jin's rescue and said, "Yuan Tan, Ziyu and Zihuang also have good intentions."
Gu Yong stood up and saluted, and said with a serious expression: "How can this be good intentions! Trying to figure out the Supreme's intentions and helping the Supreme to satisfy his momentary pleasure without considering the overall situation will only do harm and no good."
"In the past twenty years, Wei's envoys have come to Da Wu many times, but they just wanted to negotiate conditions and discuss issues in order to reach a consensus."
"The most important thing today should be to discuss the bottom line that Great Wu can accept, so that we can discuss with the envoys of Wei tomorrow."
Sun Quan sighed: "Who else can help to correct the wrongs but Yuan?"
"Yuan sighed," Sun Quan looked at Gu Yong and said, "What do you think should be confirmed today?"
Gu Yong said slowly: "I think there are three things in total."
"First, the dignity of the country. Your Majesty named his country 'Wu'. Does that mean he will become a vassal of Wei again?"
"Second, war and peace. Since both sides are unable to advance further, how can we maintain peace?"
"Third." Gu Yong paused, looked at Sun Quan and said, "A few months ago, Your Majesty sent Zhang Wen to Chengdu. Your Majesty and the Han Emperor called each other the Lord of the East and the Lord of the West. If we make peace with Wei, how should we respond to Zhuge Liang?"
As Sun Quan listened to Gu Yong's words, his face became darker and darker.
Sun Quan said: "The most ideal situation would be for Wu and Wei to stop fighting and make peace, and not invade each other. But Wei will definitely not agree to that."
"But if Wei State puts forward conditions, then paying tribute is almost certain. It all depends on how far the Wei State envoy can go this time."
"My Lords." Sun Quan looked around and said, "If you can continue to pay homage to the Emperor of Wei in name only, and it does not harm the reality, I can actually accept it."
"But Han and Wei cannot coexist. If I submit to Wei again, I am afraid the alliance between Wu and Han will break down."
"Isn't there a way to have the best of both worlds?"
After Sun Quan said this, Gu Yong, Zhang Zhao, Zhuge Jin and Quan Cong all fell silent for a moment.
How can there be so many things in this world that you want both? If you choose one, you will inevitably become an enemy of the other. It is difficult to have both.
After a long silence, Gu Yong finally spoke up to resolve the situation.
Gu Yong said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, since we can't come up with anything today, let's wait until we meet the Wei envoy tomorrow and then we can discuss the situation."
Sun Quan had no choice but to agree.
The next morning, in the Prince of Wu’s palace.
Zhang Zhao had already seen Sun Quan's cold face for a long time yesterday, and he didn't want to make himself unhappy today, so he took the initiative to report sick for a day at the Prince of Wu's Palace.
After hearing this, Sun Quan simply nodded and continued to wear his royal robe.
In the hall, Sima Zhi bowed and saluted: "Greetings to His Majesty the King of Wu. Sima Zhi, the Grand Coachman of the Great Wei, has come to Wuchang on the order of the Emperor to reply to the letter that the King of Wu sent to the Great Wei asking for peace a few days ago."
Gu Yong said in a cold voice: "Since you have met the King of Wu, why don't you bow?" Sima Zhi remained polite: "I used to be a minister in the same palace with the King of Wu, why should I bow?"
Although Sima Zhi did not say anything like "an envoy from a superior state should not be paid homage to an envoy from a smaller state", he mentioned Sun Quan's history as the "King of Wu of the Great Wei" in his words, which made the officials of the Wu State present somewhat embarrassed.
Sun Quan sat in the hall and raised his hand: "Since you are the envoy of the Emperor of Wei, I will exempt you from the formalities. Does the Emperor of Wei have anything to say to me?"
Sima Zhi raised the corner of his mouth slightly, took out a framed letter from his sleeve, held it in both hands, and said in a loud voice: "Your Majesty has married the daughter of King Wu, Sun Luban, as a concubine, and sent me here to bring the betrothal gift to King Wu."
Sima Zhi was in Wuchang, so as an envoy, he naturally didn't have to listen to Sun Quan's words. But the emperor was far away, so he didn't have to follow the emperor's words in everything.
Before leaving, Cao Rui gave Sima Zhi three things to do: make Sun Quan pay tribute, send troops to Shu Han, and submit a betrothal gift.
Sima Zhi didn't say he wouldn't do it, he just changed the order slightly.
As soon as Sima Zhi finished speaking, a low voice of discussion rang out in the hall. Sun Quan, who was sitting in the hall, also seemed to have a somewhat uncertain expression.
"Silence!" Gu Yong stepped forward to maintain order. "May I ask how Princess Sun became the imperial concubine of Emperor Wei? As far as the officials of the Great Wu know, Princess Sun was killed in Wankou, and the court also held a funeral for her."
It was not easy for Sun Quan to ask such questions directly, so it would be more appropriate to ask Prime Minister Gu Yong.
Sima Zhi calmly recounted the story of Sun Luban's capture. After hearing the whole story, the officials of Wu State sensed Sun Quan's displeasure and almost no one dared to speak.
Gu Yong sighed in his heart, it would be better to die in Wankou! But he was the prime minister after all, he couldn't say such a thing, so he could only continue to ask.
"Excuse me, sir. Is the princess doing well in Luoyang? What is the rank of this concubine?"
Sima Zhi replied: "Your Majesty is a man of great talent and magnanimity, and Princess Sun was also willing to be accepted into the harem."
"Please also know, King Wu, that after His Majesty ascended the throne, he simplified the harem into five ranks: Empress, Noble Concubine, Zhaoyi, Concubine, and Beauty. Princess Sun was made Concubine right after entering the palace, which means she is extremely favored."
Gu Yong walked slowly forward, getting closer and closer to Sima Zhi, then reached out to take the gift list.
After roughly looking through the gift list, Gu Yong squinted and read it again. After repeatedly confirming that the betrothal gift was indeed generous and did not humiliate Sun Quan in the slightest, Gu Yong bowed and asked Sun Quan for instructions.
"Your Majesty, I have already looked at the betrothal gifts sent by the Emperor of Wei, and they are in accordance with etiquette."
Sun Quan and Gu Yong have known each other for nearly thirty years, so how could he not understand the implication of Gu Yong's words?
Gu Yong was a disciple of Cai Yong, a famous scholar in the late Han Dynasty. He said that it was in line with the etiquette system, so there must be no fault in it from the perspective of etiquette.
After losing Wankou that day, Sun Quan just thought that Sun Luban was dead. Now that he heard that his eldest daughter was not only fine, but also entered the harem in Luoyang, Sun Quan's mood was extremely complicated and he didn't know what to say for a while.
To make an analogy, Sun Quan was ready to engage in a war of words with the Wei envoy, but the envoy said that Wei and Wu were going to become relatives?
Sun Quan couldn't make up his mind for a while, and Gu Yong was unable to make the decision for him. For a while, the lobby of the Prince of Wu's Mansion was strangely silent.
Time passed little by little, and Sun Quan could only cough a few times, say a few words to Gu Yong, then stood up and walked to the back of the hall.
Gu Yong had no choice but to bow to Sima Zhi and apologize, saying that the King of Wu was unwell today and would summon him tomorrow.
Sima Zhi naturally would not refuse.
After returning to the palace, Sun Quan summoned Gu Yong, Zhuge Jin and Quan Cong to his side.
Sun Quan asked helplessly: "Everyone, what can we do?"
"I have been the heir of Jiangdong for nearly thirty years, and I have never encountered such a difficult matter!"
Gu Yong was at a loss as to what to do. He advised Sun Quan to accept the offer, which would obviously make him more passive in the subsequent negotiations.
If I don't admit it, won't it cause criticism among all the officials in the court?
After all, Zhuge Jin was more friendly with Sun Quan, so he gritted his teeth, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty should refuse this!"
"It would be better to declare that the princess has passed away and the Wei envoy is lying, so that we won't be caught in a dilemma."
Quan Cong didn't have any idea at first, but when he heard Zhuge Jin's "shameless" suggestion, he thought it was quite appropriate and agreed with it.
At this moment, Sun Quan recalled the night in Wuchang City at the end of last year.
That night, after getting drunk, he returned to the backyard. Dahu served him honey water, and he also asked Dahu many questions.
Back then, I had wanted to bring Da Hu and Quan Cong together, so how come it has become like this today?
Sun Quan stood up and waved his hand with a disinterested look, saying, "You all go back, and let me think about it alone."
Gu Yong and others also took their leave immediately.
Sun Quan sat alone in the hall for a long time, but suddenly he heard the faint sound of a woman crying.
This is Sun Quan's harem! How could someone be crying?
Sun Quan went out after hearing the sound, only to see Bu Lianshi sitting alone in the courtyard crying. The palace maids on either side were kneeling on either side, and they no longer dared to persuade her.
Bu Lianshi is the biological mother of Big Tiger Sun Luban and Little Tiger Sun Luyu.
When Sun Quan approached, Bu Lianshi looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said in a sobbing voice: "My husband, do you want to kill our Da Hu?" (End of this chapter)
