Chapter 517 Negotiation, Alienation Strategy

The reason why Sun Jian spent manpower and material resources to build such a pavilion in the horse farm and waited for Gu Rubing here in the fierce winter wind was to avenge the last time he was defeated by Gu Rubing and had to pour tea for Gu Rubing in person.

Originally, Sun Jian wanted to imitate Gu Rubing's last practice and let Gu Rubing pour tea for him this time, but now Gu Rubing actually brought Sun Ce and Zhang Fei with him. Sun Jian knew that his idea of ​​revenge was impossible to achieve.

Otherwise, even if Gu Rubing agreed, the uncontrollable Zhang Fei on the side might kill him with a spear. If that was really the case, he could only complain to the King of Hell.

Therefore, after seeing Zhang Fei, Sun Jian only had one goal left, which was to ensure that his son Sun Ce, the only legendary general under his command, could survive, and he only had Huang Zhong as a bargaining chip in his hand.

If Zhao Yun, Wei Yan, Xu Rong and others were in his hands, then Sun Jian felt that he would still have some say, but with only one Huang Zhong, he was very uncertain.

In a flash, he thought of another thing. If Sun Ce was captured, what about Dian Wei? The other side only had one Zhang Fei, which meant that Guan Yu was very likely chasing Dian Wei and even had captured Dian Wei.

If this was really the case, then Sun Jian would not be qualified to consider anything else. He only needed to consider one thing, that is, whether he could survive.

Seeing that Gu Rubing had already sat opposite him, Sun Jian had to retract his thoughts and looked up at Gu Rubing.

"Your Highness, King Lie, I believe that since you are willing to sit down, you should want to resolve this matter peacefully. Why not..."

"You tortured Han Sheng into this state, and you still want to resolve it peacefully? Why?"

Gu Rubing interrupted Sun Jian who was speaking with an impatient look on his face, full of dissatisfaction with Sun Jian, without the slightest concealment.

Sun Jian was not made of clay. Seeing Gu Rubing like this, he also got angry.

"Didn't you also make Bo Fu like this? It's just the same! Liu Bei, don't think that you can do whatever you want now that you have bargaining chips. If you think so, then I can only tell you that you are totally wrong! This is our camp. Even if you have Zhang Fei's protection, Zhang Fei may not be able to protect you under the siege of my hundreds of thousands of troops and many generals!"

"Oh? Why not try it? Let's see if my third brother will twist off your head first, or your subordinates will take us down first!"

How could Gu Rubing be intimidated by Sun Jian's few words? If he was intimidated, he would have fallen in the previous difficulties. How could he have gone from a weaver to a shoe seller to a prince of the Han Dynasty, and how could he become the greatest prince in the world!

The atmosphere between the two was tense, as if they would draw their swords and fight against each other in the next moment.

However, the two of them finally calmed down. After all, both sides had their own goals to achieve, and both had some pretty good capital. Naturally, they would not overturn the gambling table at this time and let Cao Cao, who did not put his chips here, reap the benefits.

"Tell me, what conditions will you release Han Sheng."

Gu Rubing was the first to break the silence and asked.

Sun Jian sneered.

"Now it's my territory. Shouldn't I ask King Lie first what conditions will make him release my son?"

"Sun Jian, if you are like this, then there is no need to talk. I will let my third brother twist Sun Ce's head off now, and let's see who can survive to the end?!"

Gu Rubing kept talking about Sun Ce and his third brother. This was a naked threat to Sun Jian. The meaning was very clear. I could be cruel enough to sacrifice Huang Zhong and then put my life on the line, but can you?

Moreover, Zhang Fei, who was standing by, immediately put his big hand on the top of Gu Rubing's head after hearing what he said. As long as Gu Rubing gave an order, Zhang Fei would immediately twist off his head.

This kind of negotiation method of rolling meat gave Sun Jian a headache, and Sun Jian had to make concessions again.

"If you release Bo Fu, I will release Huang Zhong."

"Impossible, you should release people first. If I am not mistaken, Han Sheng was tortured by the strange Gu female army under Shi Xie. You even used Gu poison. My third brother just gave him a shot from time to time to make him sleep more comfortably."

As he said, Zhang Fei raised his hand again and hit Sun Ce, who fell into a deep coma again.

"You!"

Sun Jian got up excitedly, pointed his finger at Gu Rubing, and his lips trembled slightly because of excessive excitement.

Behind Sun Jian, Gan Ning, who was standing next to Huang Zhong, was not to be outdone. He punched Huang Zhong in the abdomen, causing him to spit out a mouthful of black blood. However, the paleness of his face actually faded after the mouthful of black blood, and a trace of redness climbed back onto his cheeks.

However, no one noticed this. They all just focused their attention on the two people who were arguing in the pavilion.

"Sun Jian, I advise you not to trust Cao Cao too much. If you want to choose an ally, it shouldn't be difficult, right?"

Gu Rubing pulled a smile at the corner of his mouth. The reason why he decided to come here perfunctorily was not simply to exchange hostages. Sun Ce was his son, Sun Jian, and the only legendary general in their Yangzhou. How could Sun Jian be willing to exchange him? Therefore, Gu Rubing can be said to be fearless now, just waiting for Sun Jian to give a satisfactory answer.

The situation between the two had reversed from the moment Gu Rubing captured Sun Ce alive, and the situation was no longer under Sun Jian's control.

After listening to Gu Rubing's words, Sun Jian was not angry. This lowest level of alienation tactic had no impact on him.

"If a tree is as beautiful as the forest, the wind will destroy it. If you want to blame it, it's because you are too strong. So strong that Cao Cao and I had to recruit others to form an alliance to deal with you."

"If you are strong, you will be targeted. Wouldn't it be better if you join forces with me and we compete in the world?"

Gu Rubing spread his hands and asked helplessly.

Sun Jian just smiled lightly at Gu Rubing's attitude of pretending to be confused.

"Liu Bei, let's compete in the world together. You can say this, but I won't listen. When you are destroyed, I will still have the strength to fight Cao Cao. What about you? If I join forces with you, or sit back and watch. Li, what about me after you destroy Cao Cao? "What can I do to stop you?"

Sun Jian smiled contemptuously.

"Stop trying to break the alliance between me and Cao Cao. This time, we will fight until death!"

"Oh? What do you mean, I can kill your son right now and exchange arms with you?"

Gu Rubing put away the smile on his face.

"Did I speak too kindly? That you still think you are in control of the situation?"

"Liu Bei! If you really want to surrender the world and let Cao Cao reap the fruits of victory, you can continue to do this!"

The two of them were at odds with each other, refusing to give in to each other, neither of them letting go first, nor wanting to lose ground in momentum.

At this moment, Huang Zhong woke up slowly, and the people nearby did not notice it at all. Only after Huang Zhong woke up completely did Gan Ning on the side realize it.

When Huang Zhong saw Sun Ce being carried by Zhang Fei, his eyes suddenly radiated with light, and he struggled to speak,

"Lord, let's go! Leave me alone! Zilong was sent back to Qingzhou by me. Wen Chang and Xu Rong have now sneaked into Yangzhou. As long as Old Thief Sun doesn't return to defense, Yangzhou will be at your fingertips!"

Gan Ning punched Huang Zhong in the abdomen, causing Huang Zhong to spit out a mouthful of black blood again. There seemed to be creatures squirming in the black blood.

Seeing this scene, Gu Rubing was sure that it was poison. This was really a headache. Even if they had Hua Tuo, a miracle doctor, who could solve the poisoning problem, they could not give hundreds of thousands of soldiers to the entire army. They are all equipped with this kind of detoxifying elixir. Let’s not talk about whether their herbal medicine is enough. Just say that they only make so many elixirs. Hua Tuo and the marching doctors were exhausted to death.

The last time he fought with Shi Xie, he still used the herbs he had been hoarding for a long time. Only then did he get rid of the poison spread by the voodoo girls Shi Xie brought. Now it was difficult for Gu Rubing to come up with the same amount of herbs. Let alone take more.

Gu Rubing didn't think about this anymore. After all, they weren't facing each other yet, so there was no need to think too much. What needed to be considered now was what Huang Zhong said just now.

Originally, Gu Rubing was just guessing that Zhao Yun and the others were not captured, but now he can be sure. However, Huang Zhong's words just now were actually tantamount to pushing himself to a dead end. He was telling Gu Rubing that now in Sun Jian's hands He is the only one who can treat him as an abandoned son and exchange his life for Sun Jian's life. In Huang Zhong's view, it is a deal that only makes money but does not lose.

But Gu Rubing doesn't think so. In Gu Rubing's opinion, Huang Zhong will be promoted to a legendary military commander sooner or later, and his potential is much higher than that of Sun Ce. Trading Huang Zhong for Sun Ce's life is a deal that only loses and does not make a profit. , and even if he was making money, Gu Rubing would not act like this.

"Han Sheng, no need to say more."

Gu Rubing turned to look at Sun Jian, his eyes full of sharpness.

"Okay, I don't want to say anything more to you here. Your son Sun Ce's life will be exchanged for Han Sheng, plus 5,000 first-class pasture horses, 10,000 fine iron armors, and 1,000 fine iron forgings." "

After hearing this, Sun Jian's hand holding the cup was trembling slightly.

"Liu Bei, you are a little bit too much like a lion. Ten thousand fine iron armors? The most elite troops under my command are only made of fine iron. The rest are still made of crazy iron armor. You opened your mouth and said ten thousand. Some It’s just a dream.”

"Oh? What do you mean, your son Sun Ce's life is not worth so much money?"

Sun Jian was choked speechless by Gu Rubing's words. After thinking for a long time, he slowly spoke.

"Three thousand first-class horses, three thousand fine iron armors, we don't have any long spears, that's all."

"Sun Jian, can't you understand human speech?"

As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere between the two dropped to freezing point. Gan Ning, who was behind Sun Jian, immediately took a step forward and drew his sword and pointed it at Gu Rubing.

"Liu Bei, if your mouth is not clean again, I will kill you with one knife!"

Just as Gan Ning finished speaking, a powerful and raging aura hit his face. Zhang Fei stood still without moving. He just pointed his Zhangba snake spear forward diagonally and placed it on the ground, his eyes full of contempt.

"Gan Ning, if you dare to touch my brother again with your dirty fingers, I guarantee that I will chop off your arm."

Zhang Fei bared his teeth and grinned as he stared at Gan Ning, which made Gan Ning feel uncomfortable all over. It felt like a prey being targeted by a hunter.

Sun Jian's face was not looking good either. This time, his negotiation with Liu Bei was obviously not as good as the last time in Yangzhou. At that time, neither of them had any leverage over the other, nor did they have any corresponding trump cards. They also did not completely tear each other apart. The most important thing was that they still had common interests at that time.

Now it is different. Now the two of them are incompatible with each other, and neither of them will make concessions.

"Five thousand first-class horses, ten thousand iron armors, one thousand long spears. The long spears are collected from various places, and there is no guarantee that they are all fine iron."

Sun Jian raised his conditions again. Both of them knew that the first time they proposed were the highest and the lowest, which was destined not to become the final transaction conditions.

"This time it is still sincere, but it is still not enough. Don't forget that he is not just your son. This is the strongest fighting force in your Jiangdong. If, I mean if, when I really fall, without Sun Ce, how will you deal with Cao Cao?"

Sun Jian's eyes flashed with a strange color. What Gu Rubing said hit the heart.

Gu Rubing caught this strange look, and he couldn't help but curl up his lips slightly.

"Oh, by the way, there is something I forgot to tell you. In fact, at the beginning, it should be Dian Wei who was captured. Your son still had some blood and didn't give up even when he was forced into a desperate situation. He saved Dian Wei, so he was injured and was captured. But guess what Dian Wei did?"

Gu Rubing didn't continue to talk. Sun Jian was not a fool. It was enough to say this. If he said more, it would be too much. He had to leave room for Sun Jian's own imagination, so that the rift between them could grow bigger and bigger.

Sun Jian's face changed unexpectedly. Although Gu Rubing didn't make it clear, it was no different from saying it clearly at this point.

"Let's talk about this today, nothing else."

Sun Jian's face became heavier.

Gu Rubing saw that his goal had been achieved, and his mood became more cheerful.

"Okay, let's talk about this. Five thousand first-class horses, five thousand fine iron armor, and if there is no fine iron for the long spears, then two thousand long spears in total. This is my final bottom line."

"Okay, no problem."

Sun Jian was also very happy, because Gu Rubing was right. Sun Ce was the only hope for their Yangzhou. Without Yangzhou, even if he and Cao Cao captured Gu Rubing later, it would only be a wedding dress for Cao Cao in vain, and there would be no other use. Therefore, Sun Jian must ensure Sun Ce's safety.

And after incorporating Shi Xie, the current Yangzhou can be described as a big family, no longer the poor Jiangdong before, and these are within the ability to bear.