Chapter 68: Resentful eyes, Your Majesty, you have changed

The Kingdom of Jin sent another letter of peace talks. Before, Zhao Huan would not even look at it and would burn it directly to avoid any emotional fluctuations.

However, after listening to Zhao Ding's remarks yesterday, Zhao Huan thought it would be okay to take a look.

The withdrawal of Jin troops was inevitable. They simply wanted to see if they could get some benefits before the royal reinforcements arrived, so that they could return to Jin in a more decent manner.

The most important point is that the Jin Kingdom was also worried that the Song army would launch a sneak attack when it crossed the Yellow River to the north, so it asked Li Gang of the Song Dynasty to swear an oath that he would never do so.

We may as well make a bold assumption and think of the humiliating inner struggle that Wanyan Zongmou went through. He must have wanted Zhao Huan to swear a poisonous oath, but he couldn't afford to offend the crazy Zhao, so he had to settle for the next best thing.

Zhao Huan put down the letter. The Jin army's letter of peace request could basically be regarded as unconditional surrender.

He symbolically asked for 50,000 taels of silver, and put it very tactfully. So many soldiers died, and he wanted to give some compensation. Song was a big country in the Central Plains, so he should be merciful.

As for the surviving Jin troops, they just wanted to retreat safely.

At the end of the letter, Wanyan Zongmou also expressed his deep admiration for Zhao Huan.

You are much better than your father. You can do your job well even when you are ordered to do something in a critical situation. If I had known this would happen, I would never lead the troops to the battle even if you kill me.

No fight, no acquaintance. We have finally gotten to know each other. I, Wanyan Zongwang, never want to meet an "excellent" person like you again in my life. You have too many tricks and are too unpredictable.

From now on, we will go our separate ways, ending this ill-fated relationship. You will be the emperor, I will be the prince, and we will never see each other again.

"hehe!"

Zhao Huan chuckled softly, then muttered to himself, "You've got the timing just right. If I hadn't listened to Zhao Ding's advice, I would have fought you to the death."

"Wang Huaiji, Wang Huaiji..."

After two calls, no one responded.

Only then did Zhao Huan realize that Wang Huaiji, the strong and muscular man, no longer crawled, and appeared in front of him with a smile on his face.

Not only Wang Huaiji, there are many others.

Zhao Huan pushed open the door of Funing Palace, and not far away was Shao Chengzhang who was having a quiet meeting with the eunuchs.

Zhao Huan interrupted Shao Chengzhang, then stood in front of the eunuch and said in a heavy tone, "A few days ago, Jin Wushu suddenly attacked the Bianjing Palace through a tunnel with 5,000 elite soldiers. It was really unexpected."

"Thanks to the selfless resistance of the East Palace eunuchs and guards, I was able to secure the opportunity to die together with them. They are all great."

"I believe that if you were on duty in the palace that night, you would have made the same choice. They sacrificed their lives, and I will never forget them."

"However, the dead are gone, and the living are gone. You should live your lives well. You can continue with the meeting. Shao Chengzhang, please come to my office later."

After returning to the meeting room in Funing Palace, Zhao Huan felt restless for a long time. Suddenly, he remembered the stone tablet of the unknown hero in Beijing Square, and the content of the inscription was clearly visible.

Zhao Huan picked up his pen and finished it in one go.

Shao Chengzhang entered, and Zhao Huan handed him the manuscript. "Arrange for the palace craftsmen to build a monument like this in the square outside the Bianjing Palace. Inscribe 'Monument to the Unknown Heroes' on the front, and the inscription from this manuscript on the back. Also, notify all officials remaining in Tokyo to hold a court meeting in the Purple Palace Hall at noon tomorrow to discuss the peace talks with the Jin Kingdom. In Bianliang City, have Li Zhongxiao take charge of the situation and summon Li Gang to attend."

Zhao Huan liked to hold court meetings in the Daqing Hall, but unfortunately, a lot of people were affected by the explosion that night, and a lot of it was damaged when dealing with Zhao Gou that night, so it cannot be used for the time being.

"Yes!" Shao Chengzhang retreated.

The next day, at noon, in the Purple Palace.

Zhao Huan sat upright on the dragon throne, and below him were the officials who stayed in Tokyo. Compared with when he ascended the throne on the 23rd day of the previous year, there were fewer people, and the ministers in purple robes were deserted.

The ministers bowed and saluted: "Your Majesty, may you be blessed with good health."

Zhao Huan said, "No need to be polite."

There is no kneeling ceremony in formal occasions in the court.

[Author's note: In the previous sections of this chapter, the author used the description of the ministers kneeling and chanting "Long live the emperor!" I would like to correct this. This was not practiced in the Song Dynasty.]

Zhao Huan looked around at the officials, paused for a moment, and then slowly spoke: "Today's discussion has only one item, and that is how to deal with this letter of peace from the Jin Kingdom."

Zhao Huan handed the letter to Shao Chengzhang: "Read it."

Wanyan Chang sends his greetings to His Majesty the Emperor of Song.

War is ruthless, but people are kind. Please give the Jin Kingdom a chance, and give the Song Kingdom a chance to avoid increasing casualties and end this war.

The following are our conditions, which we will not change, nor will we offer any other alternative. We will not tolerate any hesitation or delay.

After the peace talks are concluded, the Jin army, including its corpses, will be allowed to return to their hometowns and have the opportunity to live in peace, production and life.

………

One thousand words are omitted here. Friends who are interested can read the unconditional surrender document signed by Japan in 1945. The author also plagiarized it from there.

Shao Chengzhang has finished reading, the gist of which is unconditional surrender.

You can give some symbolic money, or you can give nothing.

Return the bodies and heads of the Jin soldiers so that their souls can rest in peace. It's okay if you really disagree.

Living people, you have to let us go safely. Don't poke us in the butt when we cross the river. This is the bottom line. If you still can't do it, then fight to the death.

If you let us leave safely, we can't guarantee anything for others, but I, Wanyan Chang, Wanyan Zongmou and his generals will never set foot outside Yanshan Prefecture again, and we will never have any contact with each other until we die.

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