Choose Liu Bei at the start, I am the only one who knows the plot of the Three Kingdoms.

Chapter 517 Negotiation, alienation strategy
The reason why Sun Jian spent manpower and resources to build such a pavilion in the horse farm and waited for Gu Rubing here in the fierce cold wind of winter was to avenge himself for the last time he was humiliated by Gu Rubing and had to pour tea for Gu Rubing himself.

Originally, Sun Jian wanted to imitate what Gu Rubing did last time and asked Gu Rubing to pour him tea 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 beside him might kill him with a spear. If that really happened, he could only complain to the King of Hell.

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

If Zhao Yun, Wei Yan, Xu Rong and others were all under his control, Sun Jian felt that he would still have some say, but with only Huang Zhong, he felt very unsure.

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

If this is really the case, then Sun Jian has no right to consider anything else. The only thing he needs to consider is whether he can survive.

Seeing that Gu Rubing was already sitting opposite him, Sun Jian had to collect his thoughts and looked up at Gu Rubing.

"Your Highness, since you are willing to sit down, I believe you want to resolve this matter peacefully. How about..."

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

Gu Rubing interrupted Sun Jian impatiently while he was speaking, his face full of dissatisfaction with Sun Jian, without any concealment.

Sun Jian was not made of clay. Seeing Gu Rubing's appearance, he also became angry.

"Didn't you also make Bofu suffer like this? It's just the same for each of us! Liu Bei, don't think that you can do whatever you want now that you have the 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, under the siege of my hundreds of thousands of troops and many generals, Zhang Fei may not be able to protect you!"

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

How could Gu Rubing be frightened by Sun Jian's few words? If he was frightened, he would have collapsed 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 have become the greatest prince in the world!

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

However, the two men finally calmed down. After all, both sides had their own goals to achieve and some considerable capital. Naturally, they would not overturn the gambling table at this time and let Cao Cao, who did not place any chips here, reap the benefits.

"Tell me what conditions you will need to release Han Sheng."

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

Sun Jian sneered.

"This is my territory now. Shouldn't I first ask King Lie what conditions he would agree to before he would release my son?"

"Sun Jian, if you're like this, then there's no need to talk anymore. I'll let my third brother tear Sun Ce's head off right now, and let's see who survives to the end?!"

Gu Rubing talked about Sun Ce every other sentence and his third brother every two sentences. This was a naked threat to Sun Jian. The meaning was very clear. I can be cruel enough to sacrifice Huang Zhong and then put my life on the line in this fight, but can you?
Moreover, after Zhang Fei, who was standing by, heard what Gu Rubing said, he immediately put his big hand on top of his head. As long as Gu Rubing gave the order, Zhang Fei would immediately twist his head off.

This tough negotiation method gave Sun Jian a headache, and he had to make concessions again.

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

"Impossible. You should be the first one to release him. If I'm not mistaken, Han Sheng was tortured by the strange Gu female army under Shi Xie. You even used Gu poison. My third brother was just giving him a shot to make him sleep more comfortably."

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

"you!"

Sun Jian stood up excitedly, pointing at Gu Rubing, his lips trembling slightly with 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 Huang Zhong to spit out a mouthful of black blood. However, the paleness in his face actually faded after this mouthful of black blood, and a hint of redness returned to his cheeks.

But 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. Given his character and mine, it shouldn't be difficult to choose an ally, right?"

Gu Rubing pulled up a smile, the reason why he decided to come here to 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 could be said to be fearless now, just waiting for Sun Jian to give a satisfactory answer.

The situation between the two was reversed from the moment Gu Rubing captured Sun Ce alive, and Sun Jian was no longer in control of the situation.

After hearing what Gu Rubing said, Sun Jian was not angry. This lowest-level strategy of sowing discord had no effect on him.

"A tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being too strong. So strong that Cao Cao and I had to recruit others to form an alliance to deal with you."

"Being strong means being targeted. Wouldn't it be better if you and I joined forces and we competed for supremacy?"

Gu Rubing spread his hands and asked helplessly.

Sun Jian just smiled at Gu Rubing's attitude of pretending to be ignorant even though he knew the truth.

"Liu Bei, let's fight for the world together. You can say such things, but I won't listen to them. When you are destroyed, I still have the strength to fight Cao Cao. What about you? If I join forces with you or sit back and watch, then after you destroy Cao Cao, what about me? How can I stop you?"

Sun Jian smiled contemptuously.

"Stop trying to break the alliance between Cao Cao and me. This time, it's a fight to the death!"

"Oh? So what you mean is that I can kill your son right now and exchange arms with you?"

Gu Rubing put away the smile on his face.

"Am I being too amiable? Do you still think you are in control of the situation?" "Liu Bei! If you really want to hand over the world to Cao Cao and reap the fruits of victory, you can continue to do so!"

The two of them were at loggerheads, neither of them giving in. No one was willing to give in first, nor were they willing to lose the upper hand.

At this moment, Huang Zhong woke up slowly. No one nearby noticed it at all. It was not until Huang Zhong woke up completely that Gan Ning discovered him.

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

"My lord, let's go! Don't worry about me! I sent Zilong back to Qingzhou. Wenchang and Xu Rong have already sneaked into Yangzhou. As long as the old thief Sun doesn't return to defend, Yangzhou will be within our grasp!"

Gan Ning punched Huang Zhong in the abdomen fiercely, causing Huang Zhong to spit out black blood again. There seemed to be a living creature wriggling in the black blood.

Seeing this scene, Gu Rubing was certain that it was the poison. This was really a headache. Even if they had Hua Tuo, a miracle doctor who could solve the problem of poisoning, they had no way to equip hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the army with detoxifying pills. Not to mention whether their herbs were enough, just making so many pills would tire Hua Tuo and those marching doctors to death.

The last time he fought with Shi Xie, he used up the herbs he had stored for a long time, and only then was he able to deal with the poison spread by the witches brought by Shi Xie. Now it is difficult for Gu Rubing to take out the same amount of herbs, let alone more.

Gu Rubing stopped thinking about these things. After all, they hadn’t met yet, so there was no need to think too much about it. What he needed to consider now was what Huang Zhong had just said.

Originally, Gu Rubing was just guessing that Zhao Yun and his men had not been captured, but now it was confirmed. What Huang Zhong had just said was actually tantamount to pushing himself into a dead end. He was telling Gu Rubing that Sun Jian only had him in his hands now, and he could be treated as a pawn and his life could be exchanged for Sun Jian's life. In Huang Zhong's view, this was a deal that could only make money.

But Gu Rubing did not think so. In Gu Rubing's view, Huang Zhong would be promoted to a legendary general sooner or later, and his potential was far higher than Sun Ce. Exchanging Huang Zhong for Sun Ce's life would be a deal that would only lose money and not gain. Even if it were profitable, Gu Rubing would not act in this way.

"Han Sheng, no need to say more."

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

"Well, I don't want to say anything more here. In exchange for your son Sun Ce's life, I will get back Han Sheng, plus 5,000 first-class horses from the first-class ranch, 10,000 fine iron armors, and 1,000 long spears made of fine iron."

After Sun Jian heard this, his hands holding the cup were shaking slightly.

"Liu Bei, you are asking for too much. Ten thousand fine iron armors? The most elite troops under my command are only made of fine iron, and the rest are still using crazy iron armors. You are asking for ten thousand right away. It's a bit of a pipe dream."

"Oh? So what you mean is that your son Sun Ce's life is not worth that much money?"

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

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

"Sun Jian, don't you understand what I'm saying?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere between the two men dropped to freezing point. Gan Ning, who was behind Sun Jian, immediately stepped forward and drew his sword, pointing it at Gu Rubing.

"Liu Bei, if you keep saying something dirty, I will kill you with one blow!"

Just as Gan Ning finished speaking, a powerful and violent aura rushed towards him. Zhang Fei stood still, but just pointed his Zhangba Snake Spear diagonally forward and placed it on the ground, his eyes full of contempt.

"Gan Ning, if you dare to use your dirty finger to touch my brother again, I promise to chop off your arm."

Zhang Fei bared his teeth and grinned, staring at Gan Ning like that, which made Gan Ning feel uncomfortable all over, just like a prey being stared at 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, nor did they completely fall out. The most important thing was that they still had common interests at that time.

It’s different now. The two of them are like water and fire, and neither of them will give in.

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

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

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

A strange look flashed in Sun Jian's eyes. What Gu Rubing said hit the mark right in his heart.

This strange look happened to be caught by Gu Rubing, and he couldn't help but slightly curl up the corners of his mouth.

"Oh, by the way, there is something I forgot to tell you. In fact, at the beginning, it should have been Dian Wei who was captured. Your son still had some blood in his veins. He was forced into a desperate situation but did not give up. He saved Dian Wei, so he was injured and was captured. But guess what Dian Wei did?"

Gu Rubing did not continue speaking. Sun Jian was not a fool, so this was enough. 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 would grow bigger and bigger.

Sun Jianuo's expression changed unexpectedly. Although Gu Rubing did not explain it clearly, it was no different from saying it clearly at this point.

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

Sun Jian's face became even more serious.

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Gu Rubing became even happier.

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

"no problem."

Sun Jian was also very happy because what Gu Rubing said was right. Sun Ce was the only hope of their Yang Zhou. Without Yang Zhou, even if he and Cao Cao captured Gu Rubing later, it would be nothing but a wedding dress for Cao Cao and would have no other use. Therefore, Sun Jian had to ensure Sun Ce's safety.

Moreover, after recruiting Shi Xie, Yangzhou can now be described as a wealthy and powerful country. It is no longer the impoverished Jiangdong of the past. All of these are within its ability to bear.

(End of this chapter)