Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

"What position does Xu Qing hold in Jianye?" Cao Rui asked casually.

"Your Majesty, I am an official serving as the Minister of the State of Wu, leading the army on the left and enforcing the law on the right. This time, I am sent by my lord to visit the Wei Kingdom and pay homage to Your Majesty." Xu Xiang answered respectfully.

Cao Rui finally put down the document in his hand and looked at the man. "I know the Minister, but what are the positions of Left Commander and Right Law Enforcer? Were they created by Sun Quan?"

Xu Xiang bowed and said, "Your Majesty, this is a new position created by the Lord. The Left Commander assists the Lord in supervising the Central Army, and the Right Law Enforcement Officer is responsible for supervising all officials."

"Supervising the Central Army, how many people do you supervise?" Cao Rui looked straight into Xu Xiang's eyes. "There are many armies under the Central Army of Wu, including Yulin, Jiefan, Wunan, Raozhang, Zhangxia, Gansi, Wuwei, and Wuxiao. Which ones are under your command? Which ones are under the command of the Right Commander Hu Zong?"

Xu Xiang was stunned. Logically speaking, Wei had no reason to know so many detailed military information of Wu, not to mention that there had been no communication between Wei and Wu in the past two years, which made it even more strange.

Previously, Lu Ya of the Wujun Lu family and Gu Tang of the Gu family surrendered to the Wei Dynasty and brought some key information. The intelligence that the Zhongshu Shilang Yin Fan had previously gathered in the Wu Kingdom could be updated to a new version.

Lu Ya and Gu Tang came to Wei, but Sun Quan and the court of Wu were unaware of it. Although Sun Quan was the emperor, it was not difficult for them to conceal these things in Wujun, where the aristocratic families and the prime minister's family were located.

Family is more important than the country. This is an iron rule that cannot be changed in Jiangdong.

Xu Xiang swallowed his saliva. The words of the Wei Emperor were undoubtedly a demonstration. But Xu Xiang had no time to think about it, so he could only pretend to be appropriate and answer:
"Your Majesty, I am here in Jianye to assist you in supervising a small part of the central army. This is a trivial matter and is not enough to disturb your Majesty."

Cao Rui snorted lightly, "Xu Qing, I have heard about your behavior these days. You are a loyal and devoted minister. It is not your fault that you live in Jiangdong and serve a small country. It is fate that I meet you today. I can give you a chance to serve as my Shangshu for one term. How about that?"

"Stand up." Cao Rui waved his hand and said, "Uncle Zhi, please take a seat."

Zhong Yu heard this and moved a chair over for Xu Xiang, making a gesture to invite him in. Although Xu Xiang was a little uncomfortable, he still sat down two feet away from Cao Rui with his hands on his knees at Zhong Yu's gesture.

The position of Shangshu of Wei was indeed a promotion considering Xu Xiang's current position in Wu. Xu Xiang would not agree, and Cao Rui was just testing him.

Xu Xiang bowed and said, "I am a humble official. I have no regrets in my life as long as I can serve my wise master and devote myself to the affairs of my hometown. How can I dare to trouble Your Majesty to persuade me?"

Cao Rui laughed and said, "Another stubborn person. I have always been lenient, but this is only limited to the first time I speak. You won't have this opportunity in the future."

Xu Xiang still looked terrified: "I came to Shouchun this time for only three things..."

Cao Rui didn't have the patience to talk to Xu Xiang about these boring topics anymore: "I already know about your three things. My time is precious, so don't say any more. What did Sun Quan ask you to do?"

Xu Xiang bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the Lord ordered me to come to offer New Year gifts to the Great Wei, Your Majesty, and Sun Zhaoyi, in the hope of establishing friendly relations with the Great Wei, and to ensure mutual well-being..."

After hearing this, the ministers and cabinet officials sitting on both sides became somewhat restless.

Xu Shu sneered a few times, stood up, and pointed directly at Xu Xiang's face: "Sun Quan is a treacherous villain. He surrendered to Wei and then rebelled again. He invaded Wei's borders many times and was repelled by our royal army. Today, he does not repent and surrender with his whole country, and even claims that Wei is a friendly country?"

"You are..." Xu Xiang turned to look at Xu Shu. Xu Shu said coldly, "Your surname is Xu, and mine is also Xu. You are the Minister of Sun Quan, and I am the Minister of Wei, Xu Yuanzhi of Yingchuan!"

"Minister Xu," Xu Xiang said with a friendly face, "When has our country ever violated the borders of Wei? Since the first year of Taihe in Wei, except for Lujiang County, which was taken by Wei, Huainan and Guangling counties were almost pushed to the riverside by the Wei army! Let me be fair, it was Wei that invaded Wu's land, not Wu that occupied Wei's land!"

"I just wanted to persuade you with good words based on our common surname, but you, who don't know what's good for you, actually became a minister?" Xu Shu sneered, "Don't you only look at the results of everything and not the causes? In the seventh year of Huangchu, Sun Quan attacked Jiangxia and sent Zhou Cang to pretend to surrender. In the fourth year of Taihe, he raided Jingxiang. This year, he sent the navy to plunder Donghai County... Who gave you the courage to tell such lies in the court of the Great Wei? Are you really not afraid of death?"

Xu Xiang stood up and bowed slightly to Xu Shu: "Your Excellency and I belong to two different countries, and we have different positions and opinions."

Seeing that Xu Shu wanted to say more, Pei Qian tried to smooth things over: "Yuanzhi, let me ask him a question."

"Minister Xu," Pei Qian looked at Xu Xiang, "Your Majesty, if you don't want to elaborate, I will ask you directly. Sun Quan wants to make peace with Wei. How does he want to make peace?"

Xu Xiang replied bluntly: "The two countries should guard their borders, not harass each other, trade with each other, and live in peace!"

Pei Qian smiled and said, "Such a request is indeed interesting."

"In this case, what price is Sun Quan willing to pay to seek protection from the Wei Dynasty?"

Xu Xiang said: "Wu and Wei have already formed a friendly relationship. From now on, Wu will send greetings and envoys every four seasons!"

Pei Qian also began to sneer: "With nothing to prove, you want to make an alliance with Wei?"

"Minister Xu, let me ask you a question. Huainan in the Great Wei is quite short of military supplies. I heard that Jiangdong is rich. Can you send one million dan of military rations to the Great Wei every year as a gesture of friendship?"

"This..." Xu Xiang shook his head: "Our country cannot do that."

Pei Qian asked again: "Since we cannot provide grain, I heard that Jiangdong is good at shipbuilding. Can you send 50 tower ships, warships, and battleships to Wei every year as a gesture of friendship?"

Xu Xiang listened to Pei Qian's almost humiliating words with a stiff face. He shook his head to express denial and said nothing.

Pei Qian asked again: "Without food and military supplies, the only thing Wu can give to Wei is land. Ruxu Fort is isolated in the north of the Yangtze River. Why not give Ruxu, Huainan, and Guangling Commandery and other counties in the north of the Yangtze River to Wei as a token of sincerity?"

Xu Xiang sighed, no longer looking at Pei Qian, and turned to Cao Rui, who was sitting behind the desk, and bowed:
"Your Majesty, I understand that my ministers and their masters sincerely want to stop the dispute with Wei and live in peace so that the border is safe!"

"Hahahaha." Cao Rui laughed a few times and pointed at Xu Xiang: "I think you are also an honest man. I don't think you have the authority to agree to send food, send ships, and cede land."

"I will ask you one last question. Even if I cannot agree to any of these, I will only offer you one condition. If you and Sun Quan can agree to it, I will agree to your request for peace." (End of this chapter)