Another official suggested that Zhou Shaoyu be invited back.

Emperor Hui remained silent this time; Zhou Shaoyu was determined not to return.

On the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the first year of Emperor An's reign, Emperor Hui of the Great Gan Dynasty rushed to deliver a letter to the Emperor of the Jade Dragon Kingdom, requesting peace talks with Emperor An.

Xie Zhaozhao stopped attacking.

The messenger sent this time was none other than Grand Secretary Liu, Liu Yiyi's grandfather.

While Liu was at home, Emperor Hui had been turning a blind eye and refusing to use him. Now that the country was on the verge of collapse and the others were deemed unfit for important positions, he went to invite Liu to come out of retirement.

Helpless, Grand Secretary Liu also spoke frankly: "Your Majesty, if you could bring Prince Jingchen back, everything would be resolved."

Emperor Hui said, "Do you think I don't want to? He won't come back! I've already issued three more imperial edicts. I haven't killed him; that's my bottom line."

Grand Secretary Liu naturally understood; he had served Emperor Hui for over thirty years, and he could even guess Emperor Hui's thoughts.

Therefore, he carried out Emperor Hui's decree and went to Xie Zhaozhao's garrison to negotiate peace with her.

When Grand Secretary Liu saw Xie Anfeng, Xie Zhaozhao, Ling Xun and others, he was somewhat dazed. Less than a year had passed, and the old friends were now strangers.

With a sigh, I suppressed the pleasantries I wanted to say and got down to business!

Xie Zhaozhao asked with a smile, "Has Lord Liu been reinstated?"

Grand Secretary Liu shook his head: "I'm too old, how could I still have the energy to stand in the court? It's just that His Majesty invited this old minister to see Emperor An."

Grand Secretary Liu adopted a very humble attitude, and Xie Zhaozhao was also much more polite.

Xie Zhaozhao knew that Emperor Hui was setting a trap for Grand Secretary Liu. If the talks went well, that would be fine; if they didn't, Emperor Hui would probably get rid of Grand Secretary Liu.

After all, in his previous life, the entire Liu family was executed.

How is His Majesty Emperor Hui?

"His health is not good. He vomited blood in court a few days ago and was unconscious for two days," said Grand Secretary Liu. "To be honest, this old minister agreed to speak on behalf of His Majesty because of the affection between Emperor An and the child Yiyi."

Xie Zhaozhao remained silent, but Xie Anfeng and Ling Xun naturally understood.

If Emperor Hui were to negotiate with Xie Zhaozhao, regardless of whether the negotiations went well or not, if Emperor Hui were to die on the spot, no matter the cause of his death, it would be because of Xie Zhaozhao.

Zhou Shaoyu and Xie Zhaozhao faced various criticisms upon reuniting, essentially severing their relationship.

Xie Anfeng asked, "How does Grand Secretary Liu wish to discuss this?"

Grand Secretary Liu said, "His Majesty naturally hopes that Emperor An will withdraw his troops, and Da Gan is willing to send a generous gift to the Jade Dragon Kingdom."

What kind of negotiation is this?

Ling Xun handed the list to Grand Secretary Liu: "Lord Liu, these are the terms we have agreed upon. Please take a look."

The first condition is that Da Gan submits to the Kingdom of Yulong and becomes its vassal state.

Article Two: The annual tribute shall be 500,000 taels of silver and 1 million shi of grain.

Article 3: The entire territory of Dagan shall be open to commercial trade with Yulong Kingdom, and taxpayers shall enjoy the most favorable terms.

...

Grand Secretary Liu doesn't even need to read any further.

The first point alone could bring the negotiations to a complete halt.

Da Gan is the largest country on the mainland. How could it possibly submit to a small country that has been established for less than a year?

Grand Secretary Liu put down the list and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, this is not negotiable!"

"Then let's talk on the battlefield," Xie Zhaozhao said casually. "I didn't intend to have a proper talk anyway. It would be better to take the initiative and merge Daqian into Yulong Kingdom in one fell swoop."

Grand Secretary Liu is at a loss.

The other party has a bigger fist, so there's no point in negotiating.

Xie Anfeng then asked, "Your Majesty, you wouldn't be thinking of withdrawing your troops without paying a single penny just because of our friendship as officials in the same court, or because of the relationship between Emperor An and Miss Liu Si, would you?"

Grand Secretary Liu thought to himself, "Isn't that exactly what Emperor Hui was thinking?"

Another point: Emperor Hui said that if Xie Zhaozhao did not withdraw her troops, he would imprison both Zhou Shaoyu and Zhou Qiheng.

Grand Secretary Liu felt that if he said that, Xie Zhaozhao would be able to attack the capital within three days and capture all the civil and military officials alive.

"Your Majesty, your country's request is far removed from the will of this old minister. I cannot make the decision myself. Please grant me a few days' grace so that I may return to the palace and discuss it with Your Majesty before giving you a reply."

"I am busy with state affairs, so I will only give the Grand Secretary five days. If there is no reply in five days, I will attack the capital."

Grand Secretary Liu hurriedly returned home, sighing as he pondered the situation.

Xie family girl, sigh~

That girl had excellent manners since childhood, and I always thought she was a model of a mistress. I never expected that when she got ruthless, she would be even more ruthless than a man.

If His Majesty hadn't pressured the Xie family so much, and had left them a way out, how prosperous would the dynasty have been if Prince Jingchen had inherited the throne and this girl had become Empress!

Upon returning to court, Grand Secretary Liu immediately informed Emperor Hui of Xie Zhaozhao's intentions.

The civil and military officials launched another round of curses, tearing Xie Anfeng and Xie Zhaozhao to shreds.

Emperor Hui did not fly into a rage as expected. Instead, he said to his officials, "Stop arguing. I will go and talk to her myself."

He calmly ordered his men to prepare for negotiations, and also told Leng Luo, "Send a message to Jing Chen as quickly as possible, telling him to return to court immediately to take charge of state affairs."

He originally intended to appoint Zhou Shaoyu as regent, but he stopped halfway through his sentence and said to Leng Luo, "Go and invite him back personally. Tell him that he is needed for the great cause. I... was wrong before."

If the emperor can admit his mistake, then there's room for negotiation!

Leng Luo said, "Your subject will certainly not fail in his mission and will bring Your Highness back."

The Military Command assembled all the nearby troops that could be mobilized, the seven generals and their troops of the Yin family army handed over by Yin Jin'an, and even the Xie family's Black-Clad Guards.

A total of 450,000 troops were assembled.

Stay put and await orders.

Just as Emperor Hui and his entourage were about to depart for peace talks, Leng Luo hurriedly rode over at full speed, and finally used his light-foot technique to fly directly into the palace.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

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