Jiang Gan took Zhou Yu's letter and hurried out of the city without waiting for lunch to discuss borrowing grain with Xiahou Dun.
As Xu Sheng was escorted out of the city, Jiang Gan whispered, "Zhou Lang is arrogant and does not know the current situation. General, do not make mistakes."
Xu Sheng clasped his fists and said, "Don't worry, sir. As long as I get the money, I will be Prime Minister Cao's man."
Jiang Gan secretly despised him, said goodbye to Xu Sheng, and rode back to Wei camp. Xiahou Dun had been waiting for him for a long time and hurriedly welcomed him into his tent.
Seeing Jiang Gan's pleased expression, Xiahou Dun was surprised and asked, "Is Zhou Lang really willing to surrender?"
Jiang Gan coughed lightly and sighed, "Zhou Gongjin is a loyal minister of Jiangdong and has a proud personality. How could he surrender so easily?"
Xiahou Dun was greatly disappointed: "Why do you look so pleased, sir?"
Jiang Gan: "Although I have not persuaded Zhou Lang to surrender, I have made him obey the Prime Minister's orders. Together we can defeat Qi. Jiangdong is now in the Prime Minister's hands!"
Xiahou Dun asked, "How should the Qingzhou war be deployed?"
Jiang Gan took out Zhou Yu's letter, stroked his beard and smiled, "General, there is no need to fight anymore. Just prepare 50,000 hu of grain!"
Xiahou Dun took the letter and read it. It read: "Zhou Yu, the Grand Commander of Wu, writes to the Prime Minister Meng Degong of Han:
The lords of the state use their troops for their respective masters. Yu was entrusted with the important task of guarding Jiangdong. How dare he not fulfill his duty? Unexpectedly, Liu Qi plotted for power, and the lord was imprisoned, and Jiangdong was in danger. I heard that the lord humiliated the minister and died, Qu Yuan of Chu was buried in the belly of a fish, and Shen Baoxu cried in the Qin court. These were all saints in ancient times!
Now that the great revenge has not been avenged, Yu will keep his loyalty to the emperor, protect his relatives, and swear to avenge this revenge. Fortunately, the Prime Minister has mercy on me, and Yu is willing to be the vanguard, destroy Qi, avenge the humiliation, and recover Jiangdong.
I respectfully surrender Qingzhou to you, and only wish to use Guangling as a base, and advance with the Prime Minister by land and sea, and then we can accomplish great success! I was waiting to personally come to your command, but I am trapped in an isolated city, and the soldiers have no will to fight, and it is difficult to move an inch. I beg you to forgive me. Now I present the seal of Qingzhou to you, and when the Prime Minister's letter arrives, I will lead all the soldiers of Qingzhou out of the city to hand over General Xiahou.
The book cannot express everything. After we conquer Jiangdong, I will meet the Prime Minister in Jianye and have a drink with him!"
"Humph, what a big tone!" Xiahou Dun was very dissatisfied when he saw Zhou Yu calling Cao Cao the Prime Minister of Han. He said coldly: "Sun Quan is imprisoned, Jiangdong is in chaos, and Zhou Lang is actually trying to restore Jiangdong?"
Jiang Gan said, "General, calm down. Zhou Lang values his reputation the most. Sun Quan is still alive, so he should save his master first. If he surrenders to the king now, he will be ruined. The king appreciates his talent. If you use him as a vanguard, it will be effortless to take Jiangdong."
Xiahou Dun frowned and said, "I am afraid that Zhou Yu will be like a tiger returning to the mountains when he arrives in Jiangdong, and will no longer be of use to the king."
Jiang Gan pulled his beard and chuckled, "General, you don't know, I have persuaded Xu Sheng to surrender. I will keep him to lurk around Zhou Yu for now. When Liu Qi is defeated, I will use Xu Sheng. Zhou Yu will surely be defeated!"
“So that’s how it is!” Xiahou Dun’s one eye shone with light, and he praised: “I’ve heard for a long time that you are the best debater in Jianghuai. It really lives up to your reputation.”
Jiang Gan, however, did not feel much sense of accomplishment and sneered, "Xu Sheng is just a greedy and snobbish person, what's the point of talking about him?"
He then informed Xiahou Dun of Zhou Yu's drunken remark and his intention to establish his own Jiangdong province. At that time, Cao Cao could obey the imperial edict and suppress the rebellion, and pacify Jiangnan in one fell swoop.
Xiahou Dun read the letter again and believed it without a doubt. He said anxiously, "Sir, please write a letter quickly and send it to Xuzhou."
"Don't worry!" Jiang Gan informed Xiahou Dun that there was a shortage of food in the city and that the Wu army was in chaos, and asked him to allocate 50,000 hu of grain for emergency relief.
"This..." Xiahou Dun rolled his eyes and said vigilantly, "That Zhou Lang kid is full of tricks, is there a trick?"
Jiang Gan said unhappily, "I am willing to die to enter the city, so why do you doubt it? Now I have Zhou Yu's letter and the seal of Qingzhou. You are lending me food to show your sincerity and to reassure Zhou Lang! If there is no food in the city, the soldiers will mutiniate in the next few days, or the Wu army will risk their lives to fight their way out. Wouldn't that mean all our efforts will be wasted? Can you afford to delay the king's conquest of Jiangdong?"
Xiahou Dun was thinking to himself that he had lost the previous battle and had recently failed to capture the city, and was worried about being punished by Cao Cao.
Jiang Gan was sent by Cao Cao himself. If he really caused an important mistake because of this, he would not be able to escape military law no matter how close their relationship was. Anyway, the grain was borrowed by Jiang Gan and it had nothing to do with him.
After a moment's silence, Xiahou Dun nodded and said, "I can lend you the food temporarily, but the food and grass in the army are all registered. Please explain it in the letter, so that the king won't accuse me of withholding money and food."
"Of course!" Jiang Gan now regarded himself as a hero and asked Xiahou Dun to quickly prepare food and grass.
Jiang Gan wrote another letter, telling Cao Cao that Zhou Yu was actually very dissatisfied with Sun Quan and had the intention of establishing himself. He would definitely establish himself in Jiangdong. When people's hearts were in chaos, Xu Sheng would act as an accomplice, and it would be easy to capture Zhou Yu and take Jiangdong.
After dinner, Xiahou Dun sent someone to deliver Zhou Yu and Jiang Gan's letters to Xuzhou by express horse, waiting for news from Cao Cao. The food carts were also loaded and Jiang Gan was asked to deliver them into the city.
This time Zhou Yu personally met Jiang Gan at the city gate, his eyes narrowed into slits with a smile, and he bowed and said, "If my dear brother had not arrived in time, I would have died here!"
Jiang Gan's face was flushed as he entered the city hand in hand with Zhou Yu. Two rows of soldiers stood in awe in the city. At Xu Sheng's call, they shouted in unison: "Zi Yi, Zi Yi, you are wise and generous!"
Jiang Gan was startled and asked in astonishment: "Why is this?"
Zhou Yu said with emotion: "My dear brother, you have saved the lives of the soldiers. Unfortunately, I am poor and have no way to repay you. I can only order them to line up on the road to welcome you to show my gratitude."
"It's just a small favor, not worth mentioning!" Jiang Gan hurriedly bowed to everyone. He was humble in words but looked very happy.
Zhou Yu took Jiang Gan's arm and walked forward amid the cheers of the crowd, whispering, "The soldiers under my command today only know you, my brother, but not Prime Minister Cao."
"How dare I!" Jiang Gan's hands and feet were shaking with excitement. If Zhou Yu hadn't held him back, he felt like he was about to float up.
When they arrived at the mansion, Zhou Yu ordered a banquet. There was a jar of old wine with a strong aroma. Zhou Yu said, "This wine was given by the Marquis of Wu when I went out to sea. It has never been opened. Now I have met a confidant and a benefactor. I should drink it all up and not return until I am drunk!"
Jiang Gan took a deep sniff and smelled the mellow fragrance, praising it endlessly. Xu Sheng stepped forward to pour the wine, and he drank it in one gulp. He immediately felt his throat and stomach burning, which was very helpful in this winter.
After eating three bowls in a row, Jiang Gan felt a little dizzy. Just as he sat down and prepared to pick up some food, he heard Zhou Yu shout, "Commendants, we all rely on you to save us today. Come and toast."
"I'll go first!" Xu Sheng was the first to pour the wine and toast Jiang Gan.
Jiang Gan had to drink Xu Sheng's wine, so he drank three more bowls. The other soldiers came forward one after another. In a blink of an eye, more than ten bowls were drunk. There were still people queuing up behind him, but Jiang Gan had already fallen to the ground with a thud.
Zhou Yu waved his hand to signal everyone to leave and asked Xu Sheng, "Are you drunk?"
Xu Sheng grinned and said, "This is Hanxing's wine. I don't even dare to drink it like this, not to mention that the bottom of his bowl is coated with knockout drugs?"
Zhou Yu signaled his personal soldiers to carry Jiang Gan to the back hall. Ding Feng came quickly and laughed, "Great plan, Commander-in-Chief. Xiahou Dun really sent us 50,000 hu of grain, all fine rice."
Xu Sheng patted the sword and said, "Even if he doesn't want to give it to us, he has to leave it to us tonight."
Ding Feng clasped his fists and said, "Commander-in-chief, when will the troops be dispatched?"
Zhou Yu ordered: "Send a message to the whole camp, cook dinner at 3am tonight, leave the city at 4am and defeat Xiahou."