Dongning policy.

Zhang Fuchen did not elaborate on these four words.

After all, over the past year, the generals had gained some understanding of Dongning. And Dongning's policies refer to more than just things like tax exemption.

More importantly, it was about dividing the land.

In Dongning and Liaodong, it may not be obvious, since there is a lot of farmland, and most of it is still in a state of abandonment.

However, the situation is different in the provinces of mainland China.

Moreover, many of the generals in Zhang Fuchen's army were large landowners in their hometowns, owning hundreds or even thousands of acres of land.

They naturally had to consider the impact of Dongning's policies on themselves.

Once Prince Xin's army entered the pass and settled in various provinces, the first thing to do would certainly be to continue implementing the Dongning policy, distributing land and exempting taxes.

And these great generals were the first to bear the brunt.

That's why Zhang Fuchen specifically pointed this out in advance.

As for how to make the decision, that's beyond Zhang Fuchen's control.

Both paths have been pointed out.

Zhang Fuchen didn't say anything more.

After a day of deliberation, the vast majority of generals agreed to negotiate peace with Prince Xin's army, and selected several representatives to go to Yulin City to participate in the negotiations.

They wanted to gain advantages for themselves during the negotiations.

Yulin City.

Li Xin didn't pay much attention to the negotiations; he simply instructed Wei Dahai and his staff to go and make the talks.

Just as Li Xin was negotiating with Zhang Fuchen's troops, another message came from within the pass.

When Li Ming abandoned the capital, he indeed made arrangements for a backup plan.

Before he left, he issued an imperial edict.

The edict acknowledged the occupation of the Northwest region by Prince Qing and Prince Su, and relinquished the annual tax revenue to the court.

In fact, it recognized the independent status of Prince Qing and Prince Su, and divided the northwest region.

The areas of Yulin, Western Xia, and Hexi, which originally belonged to the imperial court, were divided equally among Prince Qing and Prince Su.

In addition, the Guanzhong region was assigned to the King of Qin, and the King of Qin, following the examples of the King of Qing and the King of Su, recognized the King of Qin's autonomous status.

They acknowledged the Dian King's autonomy and placed the three provinces of Sichuan, Guizhou, and Dianchi under his jurisdiction.

They acknowledged the Han King's autonomy and placed the various regions of Hanzhong under his jurisdiction.

The edict also specifically stated that the court would forever guarantee the status of the princes, making it hereditary and perpetual.

After the first edict was issued, Li Ming issued a second edict, handing over the provinces of Dongning, Liaodong, Zhili, Hedong, Heluo, and Daiyue to the rule of the grassland bandits in exchange for their suppression of Prince Xin's army.

After a series of maneuvers, the only provinces under Li Ming's control in the entire Da Gan Kingdom were Huaibei, Jiangnan, Qiantang, Huguang, Jiangyou, Minyue, and Lingnan.

However, this can be considered as preserving half of the country.

After these two edicts were issued, a rumor circulated in the various princely residences—

Rumors circulated that after Li Xin replaced Li Ming on the throne, he would weaken the power of the regional princes, bringing all regions under the rule of the imperial court. The abolition of the Liao Prince's territory was seen as evidence of this!

The rumor is widespread.

The princes' palaces in various places were all talking about this matter.

As this rumor circulated, Li Ming also sent envoys to various royal residences to discuss the matter.

Rumors can be quite powerful.

The King of Dian, in particular, was extremely uneasy after hearing that Li Xin would reduce the power of the princes after ascending the throne.

After all, reducing the power of the vassal states would mean the disappearance of the original fiefdoms, and even the vassal states themselves would lose their original status.

Li Ming's envoys seized upon this mentality of the various regional kings, inducing the King of Dian to accept Li Ming's proposals.

Dianchi City.

The Palace of the King of Dian.

"Your Highness,"

A middle-aged man earnestly said, "I have come here on His Majesty's orders to persuade Your Highness. I'm sure Your Highness has already heard that His Majesty intends to hand over the three provinces of Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan to Your Highness to rule. The tax silver originally intended for the court will all be kept in the Prince's Palace and will no longer be handed over."

To put it bluntly, Your Highness the King of Dian will then be a regional ruler in the southwest!

In name only, they are still kings and nobles!

This is the greatest kindness His Majesty has shown you!

The middle-aged man paused slightly before continuing, "But the one in the Northeast is different. After occupying Liaodong, he deposed the Liao king's succession."

Moreover, there are rumors that after the one in the Northeast ascends the throne, he plans to eliminate all the regional princes across the country.

"At that time, Your Highness, it will be very difficult for you to maintain your current status!"

"Cutting the feudal clan?"

The King of Dian sneered and said, "Li Xin is just a greenhorn, how could he have such strength!"

"strength?"

The middle-aged man shook his head and said, "Your Highness, the King of Dian, please don't forget. Currently, the two sides fighting on the front lines at Yuguan City have deployed more than 300,000 troops from the imperial court alone."

Meanwhile, the troops under Prince Xin at Yuguan City numbered as many as 200,000.

Given this disparity in troop strength, the imperial court was no match for Prince Xin's army, and it seemed that Zhang Fuchen's forces were about to be defeated.

Once Prince Xin's army enters the pass and occupies the capital, the territory under his rule will increase, the number of soldiers will increase, and it will not be a problem at all to build an army of hundreds of thousands or even millions of soldiers!

With the addition of the new firearms and artillery in Dongning, and so many troops, who could possibly stop the attack of Prince Xin's army?

Your Highness, you should think this over carefully!

When that time comes, if Prince Xin wants to reduce the power of the vassal kings, who among them will be his match?

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