The teams dodged one after another. Zhang Hong saw Liu Jing running towards this side under the escort of hundreds of cavalry. He and Lu Su quickly got off the carriage. After a moment, Liu Jing rushed to the horse. He turned over and dismounted, walked up quickly and smiled: "I am in Fancheng. I'm late and I've neglected the two distinguished guests."

Zhang Hong and Lu Su hurriedly stepped forward to salute, "See the Lord of Liuzhou"

Liu Jing nodded to Jia Xu and Xu Shu, and gave Xu Shu another wink. Xu Shu understood and went back to prepare the negotiation materials and negotiation location first.

Liu Jing and Zhang Hong exchanged a few greetings, and then took Zhang Hong to the main hall in person. Jia Xu accompanied Lu Su from behind and walked to the steps. Liu Jing pointed to the magnificent hall and said, "This is the main hall built by my uncle. Frankly speaking, I think it is inappropriate and plan to demolish it. But when I think that Cao Cao was also building the Tongque Platform, I was a little hesitant, and I don't know what suggestions Zhang Changshi has."

Zhang Hong smiled slightly, "Judgement is free in people's hearts. How is Prime Minister Cao's construction of the Tongquetai? People naturally know that Jingsheng was found by the court in the past because of his usurpation. Although the governor of the state was a marquis of Chu, he was a minister after all. How could he have a peerless mouth because of the Tongquetai? If the governor of the Texas changed it one by one, I think it was even more admirable."

Zhang Hong said it was very implicit, but the meaning was very clear. If Liu Biao was fouled, you should correct it. This is a wise move. Liu Jing nodded. Jia Xu and Xu Shu also advised him like this, but he was a little hesitant. Now that Zhang Hong persuaded him from an outsider's perspective, the meaning is different.

Thinking of this, Liu Jing turned around and said to Dong Yun: "Appoint it and start demolishing the main hall from tomorrow."

"Subordinates obey orders" Dong Yun immediately recorded the matter.

At this time, Zhang Hong smiled and said, "After demolishing it, we should inform it. The governor of the state should report this matter to the court in time and ask the court to send someone to verify it. This is a perfect thing."

Zhang Hong was an official in the court for many years, and he knew very well the court's rules. At that time, Liu Biao's usurpation attracted a lot of impeachment. He had long been registered in the court. Liu Jing could not be demolished and had to go to the court to cancel the case in order to gain a good reputation.

In this matter, Zhang Hong also followed the favors and frankly persuaded Liu Jing to win Liu Jing's favor and lay a emotional foundation for the subsequent negotiations. This is more sophisticated than Lu Su, and he knows the principle of giving it first if he wants to take it.

Liu Jing nodded happily. He suddenly realized that he really needed someone who had a deep understanding of the court, reminding himself at all times, or paving the way for himself in the court. Kuai Yue was a good candidate.

Everyone came to the back hall, where the senior officials of Jingzhou discussed military and political affairs. Zhang Hong and Lu Su sat down. This time Liu Jing interviewed them in person. Jia Xu and Xu Shu sat on both sides of him, and there were more than a dozen officials behind him.

Zhang Hong smiled bitterly and said, "Let me say something off topic first. Wu Hou's status in Jiangdong has encountered challenges. The Sun clan, including Sun Ben and Sun Lang, and some civil and military officials led by Zhu Zhi, have questioned Wu Hou's ability, believing that he could not lead Jiangdong to prosperity. Their questions have been supported by Kuaiji County and Poyang County. This is the second crisis that Wu Hou has encountered since he ascended the throne. The situation in Jiangdong is very serious."

Liu Jing and Jia Xu looked at each other and they had obtained this information. Sun Quan had encountered internal opposition. Not only that, Zhang Liao led an army of 80,000 to Hefei, waiting for the split of Jiangdong. Last night, they discussed the situation in Jiangdong overnight, and they had already made countermeasures.

Of course, Liu Jing knew why Zhang Hong said this off-topic, and hoped that Jingzhou could consider the long-term interests and not seek temporary benefits to help Sun Quan overcome the difficulties. However, if he didn't hit Zhang Hong, he would think he was too easy to talk to. Liu Jing smiled and said, "I have always been paying attention to the internal affairs of Jiangdong, and will not interfere easily. I deeply sympathize with the situation of Wu Hou, but I can't do anything."

Zhang Hong quickly said carefully: "But this negotiation is directly related to the survival of Wu Hou. The provincial governor is willing to release prisoners of war in advance, which is already a great support to Wu Hou. We also hope that the provincial governor can further support Wu Hou."

"Zhang Changshi misunderstood"

Liu Jing smiled and said, "The release of prisoners of war was just because I owed Princess Shangxiang an explanation back then, so I gave her a compensation. This is just a personal friendship and has nothing to do with the overall situation of Jingzhou and Jiangdong. Zhang Changshi should not think too much. I have always only cared about the interests of Jingzhou. The Jiangdong Rebellion has nothing to do with me."

Zhang Hong and Lu Su looked at each other, and both of them showed disappointment. Lu Su couldn't help but say, "If the Marquis of Wu unfortunately fails, I'm afraid the provincial governor will deal with Sun Ben. Can he guarantee the interests of Jingzhou?"

Liu Jing smiled faintly, "If he can trust his words, it would be okay to deal with him."

Zhang Hong's face suddenly became very ugly. Liu Jing's meaning was too clear. He was ridiculing Sun Quan without trust. I'm afraid this was the key to Liu Jing's refusal to give in.

...........

The first meeting between Liu Jing and Zhang Hong ended quickly, and the atmosphere was not very friendly. Liu Jing bluntly expressed his dissatisfaction with Sun Quan, which made Zhang Hong unable to continue talking. However, Liu Jing arranged food and accommodation for them very well. Among the Xiangyang Guesthouse, this is the most luxurious inn in Jingzhou, covering an area of ​​20 acres and a total of five small courtyards, including pavilions, towers and sacred pavilions by the lake. They were extremely beautifully built. Each courtyard had three maids and a supervisor, and they were very considerate and thoughtful.

Although he lived well, he could not allow Zhang Hong and Lu Su to enjoy this VIP treatment with peace of mind. The two were worried and didn't know how to complete Sun Quan's trust.

In the room, Zhang Hong was discussing the next response with Lu Su. Zhang Hong sighed and said, "On the surface, Liu Jing is easy to talk to. I advised him to demolish the main hall. He could accept it happily, but he didn't expect that when talking about the important matter, he was unmoved and must stick to the interests of Jingzhou. In this way, it would be difficult to continue. Zijing, this trip is a bit bad."

Lu Su fell into deep thought. He had been dealing with Liu Jing for many years. He felt that Liu Jing was not so stingy. He only stared at the interests in front of him. After pondering for a long time, Lu Su slowly said: "I think this may be his emotional venting. He was very dissatisfied with the Wu Hou tearing up the agreement to expedition in the West. The key is how we can make him believe in his future promise."

Zhang Hong shook his head and said, "What do you believe or not? Even if we want to fight the west, we may not have the strength. I think he knows it. I don't have the strength to fight the west within five years, so I think he actually has other intentions to mention the so-called breaking of contracts and breach of trust in Wu Hou."

"Is Liu Jing waiting for the results of the civil strife in Jiangdong before starting the negotiations?" Lu Su pondered for a while.

"It's very possible, so he said that if Sun Ben believed in his words, it would be okay to deal with him."

Zhang Hong took a few steps behind his hands, and suddenly shook his head and denied his thoughts, "It is impossible that Liu Jing must have known the relationship between Sun Ben and Cao Cao. He will never hope that Sun Ben will take power in Jiangdong. He should support Wu Hou."

Both of them were a little confused, so what was Liu Jing's intention?

At this moment, the manager rushed to the door to report: "Our military advisor is here, please see Changshi Zhang."

Zhang Hong was stunned and immediately said with great joy: "Please come in quickly."

At this moment, he suddenly understood what the key to the unfavorable negotiations today was that they did not communicate in advance, so Liu Jing was unwilling to enter the negotiations. Jia Xu's arrival must be for the purpose of prior communication in negotiations.

Zhang Hong personally welcomed him and met Jia Xu at the gate of the courtyard. Jia Xu smiled and said, "I came to resolve Mr. Zhang's confusion."

Zhang Hong was even more happy, and he guessed it. He quickly gave a deep bow, "Mr. Jia is here and he will save Zhang Hong's life."

"Haha... Zhang Changshi is so serious, let's go into the house to talk."

"please"

The two of them walked away and separated the guest and the host. Lu Su also sat aside. The two maids served them tea. Jia Xu then said straight to the point: "We are very clear about the relationship between Sun Ben and Cao Cao, so we hope that the Marquis of Wu can stabilize the situation in Jiangdong and not give Cao Cao an opportunity to take advantage of it. This is also the wish of my family's governor."

Zhang Hong sighed, "Only after hearing what the public said, can you understand Liuzhou's sincerity."

Jia Xu smiled and said, "Liu Zhoumu also has his difficulties. Please forgive him. I came today just to hear Jiangdong's reply to the previous conditions. We will try to communicate privately to lay a good foundation for the successful negotiations on the surface."

Zhang Hong nodded and said, "I fully understand the difficulties of the provincial governor and agree with such private communication. Frankly speaking, we promised not to build large ships of more than 1,000 stones within five years. Now the remaining more than 150 large ships can be handed over to Jingzhou, followed by the opening of the inland river ban. We hope to limit the purchase and sale of grain between both parties."

"This can be considered, and one more thing is that Jiangdong cannot buy tinea oil from Jingzhou."

Zhang Hong agreed without hesitation. This is Sun Quan's bottom line. As long as grain purchases and sales are restricted, the inland river ban can be relaxed. As for tincture oil, they can buy it from the north. There is no big problem. At this time, Lu Su next to him added: "For the compensation for 300,000 stones of grain, Jiangdong is also experiencing a grain shortage. We hope to use pig iron instead of grain. Is it feasible?"

Jia Xu pondered for a moment and said: "The earliest Mu of Liuzhou proposed a compensation of one million stones of grain. It was because of Jiangdong's ability to bear and the livelihoods of the people in Jiangdong that it was gradually reduced to 300,000 stones of grain and was given to Jingzhou for three years. If it was to be changed to pig iron, then it would be more than 300,000 stones, and there was no such statement. We would have to compensate pig iron equivalent to 600,000 stones of grain. We would pay it all within one year. Can Zhang Changshi agree?"

Zhang Hong thought for a brief moment that this condition was not harsh and they could bear it completely and had no effect on them. There was enough thick iron billet in the Liyang warehouse that could be handed over to Jingzhou.

"I can agree that there is enough pig iron in the Liyang warehouse, and Jingzhou can be extracted at any time."

Speaking of this, Zhang Hong and Lu Su looked at each other, and they were a little excited in their eyes. They didn't expect that they would reach a consensus so smoothly. But the most important point is the issue of the ownership of the two counties of Yuzhang and Qichun. Whether Jingzhou can agree to it is here.
Chapter completed!