The next day, Zhou Gu, Ye Guixue, Cui Xingzhi, Cui Yanjin, Zhou Shen, and Zhou Che traveled to the outskirts of Xuzhou City for peace talks.
Su Rong, Xie Yuan, Zhang Yun, and others held their ground.
Zhang Yun laughed and said to Su Rong, "Brother Zhou Gu told me that the Princess has already sent a letter back to the Royal Capital, asking Your Majesty to prepare for the wedding?"
Su Rong nodded, "Mm-hmm."
Zhang Yun laughed, "Preparing for a grand wedding is not something that can be done overnight. Even if Brother Zhou Gu is anxious, the Grand Wedding between the Princess and him will probably not happen until half a year later."
Su Rong laughed, "The sooner we start preparations, the sooner he can rest easy."
Zhang Yun sighed admiringly, "Brother Zhou Gu is really fortunate to have met the Princess. He doesn’t allow him to suffer even a bit of grievance. It really evokes our envy."
Everyone knew that even if Yuan Chen was dead, it was possible to snatch him back, but the princess exchanged him for two hundred thousand taels of gold. Although it was not a loss, it was not as profitable as asking for a somewhat powerful second prince from Dawei.
Su Rong looked at him with a smile, "Don’t worry, upon our return to the Royal Capital, you all, by my side, will be in high demand. The Nanchu Dynasty has many noble ladies who will break their necks trying to snatch you up to become their favored sons-in-law."
Zhang Yun rested his forehead in his hand, and after a moment, lowered his hand and laughed, "Your humble servant has poor discernment, so at that time, I will have to rely on you, Princess."
Su Rong nodded with a smile, "No problem."
Xie Yuan scoffed, "Zhou Gu is a bit too hasty. The Nanchu political situation is only seemingly stable, once you return to the Royal Capital, there will be many matters to be dealt with. They are afraid there will be not a moment’s rest. Not half a year, even if you can fully stabilize the Nanchu Dynasty’s affairs within a year, it would be fast."
"Not a big deal, we have the Ministry of Rites, don’t we? Taking some time out to conduct a grand wedding could certainly be achieved." Su Rong argued dismissively.
Xie Yuan could not help but laugh at her, "You are too young to understand, you are not steady enough yet."
Su Rong stuck out her tongue at him but didn’t argue back.
Dawei’s second prince, Yuan Chen, and Nangong Zheng were still waiting outside Xuzhou City. They did not see Su Rong coming today, only Zhou Gu and Ye Guixue. The two did not say much, they met and discussed the terms agreed upon beforehand, and drafted an agreement.
Zhou Gu himself held the pen and clearly listed all the conditions, requesting Dawei to cede four cities within a month, deliver five hundred thousand tael of gold, as well as horses, among other conditions, and then, when he signed the date, he wrote ten years.
Yuan Chen was shocked, "Why ten years?"
Zhou Gu looked at him, "Do you think signing it for thirty years works? Won’t Dawei still break the treaty? Let’s make the term ten years, after ten years, we’ll discuss again."
Yuan Chen pursed his lips and turned to look at Nangong Zheng.
Nangong Zheng nodded, "Let’s listen to Young Master Zhou."
Dawei suffered a heavy loss this time, there wasn’t much room for bargaining. Ten years could be considered long or short, it gave both parties time to recuperate, grow and develop, but at the same time, it also served as a chokehold.
Zhou Gu finished writing one copy and then copied another in a rather good mood. One copy for each party, he put down his pen and said to Ye Guixue, "Brother Guixue, I’ve been busy for half a day, you can sign and put the seal."
Ye Guixue nodded and did not refuse, "Alright."
He signed his name, stamped his seal, and then Yuan Chen signed his name and also stamped his seal. In the end, both sides stamped their respective national seals.
After the peace agreement was signed, Zhou Gu grinned at Nangong Zheng, "Nangong Zheng, it seems that Yuan Zhao truly values you. From today, the people of your Nangong family had better behave well in Dawei. Otherwise, if any of them come to Nanchu, I’ll kill them all and send them to your Nangong family’s ancestral tomb to accompany your ancestors."
Nangong Zheng kept his face calm, "Zhou Gu, I will certainly take revenge for the feud of the Nangong Family."
"Alright, I will give you ten years." Zhou Gu mounted his horse.
With the peace agreement in hand, the group did not stay any longer and rode back to the city.
Yuan Chen looked at the peace agreement and breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but worry about Dawei’s treasury. Dawei’s defeat this time around was an unprecedented disgrace in Dawei’s history. Who could have imagined that Dawei, who once dominated and bullied Nanchu and Daliang, is now being pushed into a corner by the alliance of Nanchu and Daliang.
Nangong Zheng stared at Zhou Gu and the others as they disappeared from sight. His grip on his sleeve finally loosened as he said to Yuan Chen, "Your Highness, please take the peace agreement and set off today. Nanchu has only given us one month’s time."
Yuan Chen nodded, stood up, and tucked away the peace agreement, "Alright, I will set off today."
When Zhou Gu and the others returned to the city, Su Rong laughed and asked, "You’re back so soon?"
"The conditions that were discussed will naturally not change for Dawei." Zhou Gu handed the peace agreement to her.
After Su Rong looked at it and passed it to Xie Yuan and others for review, she put away the peace agreement and then thoughtfully said, "We will leave someone here with the troops, and we will set off for the capital tomorrow!"
"I’ll stay here and guard." Zhang Yun said: "Once Dawei sends the tribute, I will withdraw the troops back to the capital."
Considering Zhang Yun’s reliability, Su Rong agreed and told him, "Zhang Mao and Ning Ze should stay with you."
Cui Xingzhi said from the side, "Sister-in-law, I will also stay. After all, I have to take over the cities and other things that Dawei is ceding. If we leave too few people, we won’t be able to handle it. Let Yanjin go with you to the capital."
"That works too." Su Rong had no objections.
Ye Guixue spoke up, "By rights, I should also stay..."
"You come back to the capital with us." Su Rong interrupted him, "To stabilize the state affairs, there are many things that have to rely on you."
Zhou Gu followed up, "That’s right, Brother Guixue, you from the Ye Xiang Residence are the ones who know the Nangong family best. Now, to quickly eliminate the persistent trouble inside and restore the livelihood of the people, many things have to rely on you."
Ye Guixue looked at the two of them, understanding very clearly in his heart that they were anxious about the grand wedding and were worried that there would be too many political affairs piled up. After they returned to the capital, the two of them would be too busy. If he returned, naturally he would have to share a lot.
He was helpless and nodded, "Indeed."
Su Rong turned her head and smiled at Zhou Shen and Zhou Che, "Second Brother, Third Brother, you will set off tomorrow and bring two hundred thousand soldiers back to Daliang! Yuan Zhao agreed to Nanchu so readily this time to quickly resolve the threat of Nanchu and then negotiate peace terms with Daliang. But I won’t do as he wishes. You bring two hundred thousand soldiers and directly take the shortest route to the border between Dawei and Daliang."
Zhou Shen and Zhou Che nodded.
Zhou Shen said, "We might as well leave today."
Su Rong looked at Zhou Gu upon hearing this.
Zhou Gu didn’t seem to be reluctant at all, and waved his hand, "Go, just today, one more day we brothers have to bid farewell. When the political situation of the two countries is all settled down, you will be able to come and celebrate my wedding."
Zhou Che chuckled and patted Zhou Gu’s shoulder hard, "You really don’t seem to miss us at all."
Zhou Gu muttered, "It’s not like we’re at the ends of the earth."
Zhou Che thought about it and found it to be true, so along with Zhou Shen, he bid farewell one by one to Su Rong, Zhou Gu, and others, brought two hundred thousand soldiers, and left.
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