Jiang Gan volunteered to persuade Zhou Yu to surrender, knowing that Zhou Yu was a patriot, had great ambitions, and attached great importance to reputation, so he should be persuaded with the righteousness of the current situation.
He who knows the current affairs is a hero, and he who understands the great cause is a loyal and good person.
To make fame, fortune and status a condition is to insult Zhou Lang and will definitely backfire.
At this time, Xu Sheng proposed a condition. Jiang Gan was dumbfounded and asked in astonishment, "I wonder what the general wants?"
"Life is nothing but fame and fortune!" Xu Sheng chuckled, "If I surrender to Cao, I will be cursed and my reputation will be ruined. Since I can't seek fame, I can only seek profit. With my strength and worth, how much do you think I'm worth?"
"Uh, this..." Jiang Gan cursed these crude warriors in his heart, who only cared about their immediate interests, but his face showed deep agreement, saying: "This matter has never been seen before, I dare not make a rash assessment, I wonder what the general is going to do?"
Xu Sheng stroked his chin and thought, "In the past, Liu Qi captured Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun, and redeemed them with 200 to 300 million yuan in grain. Although my status is not as noble as theirs, I am not a prisoner, and I have the merit of persuading the Grand Commander to surrender. At least... I should have 2 million yuan, right?"
"Twenty-two... two million?" Jiang Gan was stunned and said angrily, "A great general of Jiangdong is waiting for a price. If this gets out, won't people laugh at him?"
Xu Sheng shrugged his shoulders with a look of fearlessness, saying, "I'm going to surrender to Cao anyway, so I'm not afraid of bearing another infamy."
"You...you..." Jiang Gan pointed at Xu Sheng and was speechless. If he was talking to Zhou Yu and other children of noble families, he could tell him dozens of great principles, but to this kind of warrior, he was speechless. He took a deep breath and said, "This is too much. I'm sorry that I can't make the decision on my own."
Xu Sheng stared at Jiang Gan and whispered, "I didn't say you can't bargain!"
"Huh?" Jiang Gan widened his eyes and looked at Xu Sheng in disbelief. As a great general of Jiangdong, he was no different from the snob in the market who quarreled over buying two pounds of pork.
If he could persuade Zhou Yu to surrender this time, Cao Cao would definitely reward him handsomely. He didn't care about the reward, what was more important was to establish a reputation and have his name recorded in history. What were mere money and property worth
Even if Cao Cao's reward was not much, with his property, it would not be a problem for him to come up with one million. As long as Zhou Yu surrendered to Cao Cao, his status would be enough to surpass Jia Xu.
Jiang Gan's mind raced, and he pressed down the price severely, gritting his teeth and saying, "At most - 1.8 million!"
Xu Sheng slammed the table and said, "Deal!"
"Ah?" Jiang Gan had never bargained with anyone in his life, but when he saw the smile on Xu Sheng's face and the light in his eyes, he knew that he had suffered a great loss. He frowned and said, "How about 1.5 million?"
"Ah, sir, you are wrong!" Xu Sheng waved his hand and said, "You are a famous scholar in Jianghuai. Haven't you heard that a gentleman's words are as good as gold? If this matter gets out, I'm afraid people will laugh at you."
"It's the only way!" Jiang Gan felt very painful, but he had to nod and agree. Xu Sheng is a shameless man, but I, Jiang, cannot be shameless!
Xu Sheng was overjoyed, and immediately spread out the paper and pen from the table, and ground the ink himself: "Then please sign the agreement, sir."
"You—" Jiang Gan came back to his senses and said unhappily, "General, do you still not trust me?"
Xu Shengyan said: "Although your words are as important as gold, they are not reliable after all. When I surrender to Cao in the future, my official position will be lower than yours, and I will not be able to control my own situation. With your protection, I will have no worries and will be able to help you with all my strength."
"How can I be a person who breaks my promise?" Jiang Gan was very dissatisfied. "Even if I lose everything, I will never owe you a penny."
But seeing that Xu Sheng had already ground the powder, he had no choice but to step forward and write a document. Xu Sheng then took out cinnabar and asked him to put his fingerprint on it.
Jiang Gan was extremely disgusted by this move, and it was clear that Xu Sheng did not trust him, so he complained: "It would be perfect for the general to join Liu Qi."
"Well, sir, what you said does make sense!" Xu Sheng happily took the receipt, put it in his arms, and nodded in agreement.
Birds of a feather flock together!
Jiang Gan cursed in his heart, but there was no point in talking to such a street scoundrel, so he had to swallow his anger and clasped his fists and said, "General, please ask Gongjin to come out and talk."
"Leave it to me!" Xu Sheng strode away.
Jiang Gan cursed Xu Sheng in secret for a while, and finally felt better. He sat down and drank tea quietly, waiting for Zhou Yu to come and see him.
Soon Xu Sheng asked Zhou Yu to come out from the back hall and report that there was a shortage of money and food in the city and the soldiers were making trouble. If the matter was not dealt with quickly, it might cause a mutiny.
Zhou Yu first looked at the grain register on the desk and frowned, "The grain and money are all in Beihai. Cao's army is besieging the city. What should we do?"
Xu Sheng clasped his fists and said, "When Mr. Jiang came yesterday, he said that he wanted to save the governor, so he must have a good idea."
Zhou Yu then noticed Jiang Gan sitting in the hall. He was startled and quickly stood up to apologize. He turned around and scolded Xu Sheng in a low voice: "This is a military secret. How can we let outsiders know?"
Xu Sheng's face turned pale and he dared not answer. Jiang Gan hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Gongjin, there is no need to hide anything. I saw everything when I came here this morning."
"I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, Ziyi!" Zhou Yu sighed and asked Jiang Gan to take a seat. "I wonder if Ziyi has any good plan to save me?"
Jiang Gan said: "Liu Qi stole Jiangdong, why didn't Gongjin surrender to Cao..."
"Shut up!" Zhou Yu stood up suddenly and shouted, "I have been entrusted with the care of an orphan by Bofu. How can I serve two masters?"
Seeing that Zhou Yu was still so stubborn, Jiang Gan remembered what he said yesterday when he was drunk. He knew that persuading Zhou Yu to surrender was futile, so he had to settle for the next best option and secretly signaled Xu Sheng.
Xu Sheng said boldly: "General, we are trapped in the city now. We will run out of food and be defeated in three to five days. The Marquis of Wu has already made peace with Prime Minister Cao. Why don't we join forces with him first to eliminate Liu Qi and rescue the Marquis of Wu?"
"Join hands?" Zhou Yu's eyes were slightly stern. After thinking for a moment, he said helplessly, "It is the only way. This expedition has caused the Marquis of Wu to be imprisoned. It is a shame for the subjects. I will not stop until Liu Qi is eliminated."
Jiang Gan was secretly delighted and asked hurriedly, "Gongjin is willing to join forces with Prime Minister Cao?"
"Ziyi!" Zhou Yu sighed, patted Jiang Gan's back and said, "You and I have been classmates for many years. How could I not know your painstaking efforts? However, the master humiliated the minister and I died. I survived to save the master and avenge him! The Marquis of Wu is still alive. How can you betray your master at this time?"
"Brother, you are truly a man of great righteousness!" Jiang Gan nodded solemnly, "With the help of Prime Minister Cao and your talent, it will be easy to take back Jiangdong."
Zhou Yu shook his head helplessly and said, "Qingzhou is of no use to me. I am willing to exchange this place for Guangling County. What do you think, Prime Minister?"
"This... I'm sorry I can't make the decision on this matter." Jiang Gan pulled his beard and shook his head, but thinking that this trip had already yielded something, he added: "But if we exchange one state for one county, we can directly take Jiangdong. Prime Minister Cao will surely agree. I will write a letter to Xuzhou to report it."
"Thank you, Ziyi!" Zhou Yu was deeply moved, but frowned and said, "But it's a thousand miles to Xuzhou, and it will take three to five days for a fast horse to return. Our army has run out of food, so I'm afraid..."
"How difficult is this?" Jiang Gan smiled and twirled his beard, "Xiahou Dun is just outside the city. As long as Gongjin writes a letter, the two families can form an alliance. I am willing to borrow 50,000 hu of grain from the camp to help you overcome this difficulty."
"What a good man!" Zhou Yu grabbed Jiang Gan's shoulders and said with emotion: "I have no regrets in my life for knowing Zi Gan!"