Chapter 2726 Mission
Lord Zhang pondered, "That's the enemy's capital after all. If I take Gao You with me, I can't stop him if he wants to go back. Wouldn't that be like letting a tiger go back to the mountains?"
Once they entered the inner city, not only Gao You, but even his life would be in the hands of the Goguryeo royal court. This was equivalent to sending Gao You back, unless his heart could completely lean towards their Great Jin.
There is also the saying that one is in Cao's camp but his heart is with Han, but if not, Zhang Hui looked at Bai Shan, wouldn't this be giving a bargaining chip in hand to Goguryeo in vain?
Bai Shan sat calmly on the chair, and when she saw him looking at her, she looked up and smiled at him.
He said, "If you want to release a tiger back to the mountains, he has to be a real tiger. How can you know if it's possible if you don't give it a try, Master Zhang?"
Lord Zhang was still hesitant, "Your Majesty..."
Bai Shan lowered his eyes, straightened his clothes, stood up, and said with a smile, "Your Majesty originally intended to use him as a precautionary measure in case the Eastern Expedition failed, so that he could be used in peace talks. But now that we have conquered half of Goguryeo, his original purpose is no longer needed. If Lord Zhang is interested, I can go with you to meet His Majesty."
This is an option that requires risk in order to achieve wealth and honor.
With Gao You, his chances of success will be higher, but the probability of failure will also be higher, and both the benefits and risks will increase at the same time.
Zhang Hui turned around twice, then gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, then please, Lord Bai, come with me to meet His Majesty."
Bai Shan was also straightforward and went directly with him to ask for an audience with the emperor.
On the way, Zhang Hui couldn't help but ask him, "How did Lord Bai... convince Prince Gao Wu?"
If he knows more about it, he can try to persuade the other party.
"I seem to have heard someone say that Lord Bai and Prince Gao Wu are old acquaintances, and they were very good friends when they were in the capital?"
Bai Shan said, "Master Zhang must have heard wrong. It's true that we're old acquaintances. I met him years ago when Prince Gao Wu was first sent on a diplomatic mission to the capital. I wouldn't say we were close friends, but I think we've met four or five times at most."
We only met four or five times when we were in the capital, so we didn't have much of a relationship.
He and Bai Shan met more than once every day, both in and out of court, but they still had no close relationship.
Zhang Hui felt that they needed to repair their relationship, so he said to Bai Shan with a smile, "Master Bai, I'm about to go on a diplomatic mission. Before I leave, may I invite you and Master Zhou to have a meal?"
"Master Zhang, you're welcome," Bai Shan said with a smile, "My wife and I don't like to drink. Good things should naturally be left to those who understand them. Master Zhang, you can invite Duke Zhao and the others."
Forget it. He had already finished his wine. Even if he hadn't finished it, he wouldn't have treated them. How many sips of wine would he have had?
The emperor really doesn't care much about Gao You now. The reason he still holds him captive is not because he is valuable, but because he is just a bargaining chip in his hand. Although it is tasteless, he can't just give him to the other party, right?
But if the minister could be useful, even if it was possible to give the other party a son back for free, he agreed without much hesitation.
For Goguryeo, this was a prince after all, which was quite important, but for the Jin Dynasty, he was just a prince of Goguryeo.
When the war was going well, he was of little use.
The emperor agreed with a wave of his hand, but how to convince Gao You to work for him was Zhang Hui's business.
Zhang Hui learned a lot about Gao You from Bai Shan. Although he said that he didn't have much friendship with Gao You, he must have a deep understanding of Gao You since he was able to trick such an important jade pendant from him.
So he stared at him.
Bai Shan thought for a moment and said, "Gao You is narrow-minded, short-sighted, and greedy. He won't be convinced by threats. Inducement is a good idea, but we must not let him get too proud, or else things will go wrong."
Zhang Hui: "...He doesn't have any advantages?"
Bai Shan thought about it seriously and asked, "Does being able to bend and stretch count?"
That is a fence-sitter who can sway with the wind. Such a person is the most difficult to control, but also the easiest to control. He will stand on the side of whoever benefits.
"But he has a study companion who is quite knowledgeable and has some insights. If I were Lord Zhang, I would not bring him with me on this mission."
Zhang Hui's eyes flashed, and he understood, "Leaving him isolated and helpless?"
Bai Shan smiled and nodded.
"Okay," Zhang Hui straightened his official uniform and said to Bai Shan, "Then I'll go meet Prince Gao now."
Bai Shan bowed and took his leave, returning to his tent.
Manbao had already exchanged the clothes and was about to go find him, but when he saw him come back, he pulled him in.
She said, "This is the dress. Put it on now and wear it close to your body."
Bai Shan touched it, but couldn't tell what material the clothes were made of. The style was also very strange, without any lapels or anything like that.
He lowered his voice and asked, "Is this my father-in-law's own?"
Manbao said: "...I exchanged it with someone else."
Bai Shan nodded and said to Man Bao, "Tell my father-in-law to wait. Once we take Anshi City, I'll have people look around for rare and unusual things around here, flowers, trees, insects, fish, birds, and animals we haven't seen before. We'll buy them and give them to him then."
Manbao nodded immediately and said, "Okay, okay."
Then he added, "But don't spend too much."
Koko: ...
Bai Shan put on his clothes. It was cold now, so it was not noticeable at all to put on an extra layer of clothing underneath.
Manbao asked him, "When will you go there?"
"The letter has been delivered. We should have news before dark. If they agree, I will go directly to see Prince Gao Er. If not, then I can only meet with some people quietly."
Manbao frowned: "It's very dangerous, right?"
Bai Shan was unconcerned. "The possibility of this happening is very small. If I were Prince Gao, I would meet the envoy even if I didn't surrender. I would delay for one day and wait for reinforcements."
"Will the Zhao guild hold a truce?"
Bai Shan thought for a moment and said, "Probably not. However, His Majesty has issued a decree that there will not be a large-scale attack."
That's where the buffer zone comes in.
Sure enough, before dark, a letter arrived from the other side agreeing to come for negotiations.
Bai Shan made some preparations, bid farewell to the emperor early the next morning, and led his men to the opposite side.
Yuan Yi brought troops to pick up the envoy. Seeing that the envoy was a young man, he couldn't help but frown. He was so young, was he already an adult?
Bai Shan smiled and saluted Yuan Yi, saying, "General Yuan, I am the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, Bai Shan. I welcome your guidance, General Yuan."
Yuan Yi didn't dare to be disrespectful when he heard his official title. He dismounted, clenched his fist in return, and then turned sideways and said, "Please come in, Lord Bai."
Bai Shan mounted his horse and led his team across the middle checkpoint into another city. He did not look back, but he knew that Manbao was watching him.
Manbao was standing on a building, watching him riding his horse and slowly disappearing into the street. When Duke Zhao saw that the envoy team had safely entered, he turned around and was about to go downstairs. When he turned around and saw Zhou Man still looking in that direction, he paused.
After thinking about it, he comforted the other party, "Don't be sad, they are not very courageous and should not dare to harm our envoy. At most, they will capture Bai Shan and threaten us."
See you at 9pm
(End of this chapter)
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