Chapter 535 Peace Talks (Part 2)
It took only a few dozen breaths for Meng Shi to commit suicide so cleanly and neatly.
He did not say any lofty words like "leaving my loyalty to shine through history", nor did he curse Ning Yongnian before he died.
Even when his body fell, it was just a "thump" like an ordinary person. In the end, all that was left was that sentence -
I never thought that after fighting for my entire life, I would end up dying because of it.
“.”
The blood slowly seeped into the cracks in the ground, and the hall fell into a long silence.
The moment Meng Shi fell down, Li Wutong suddenly closed his eyes as if he was frightened, and his body trembled slightly.
Li Qi still didn't even look at Meng Shi.
When it comes to "sacrificing Meng Shi", both father and daughter chose to remain silent.
But the reasons for silence are not the same.
Li Wutong had to compromise in order to preserve Dafeng.
As for Li Qi, in fact, Li Qi’s ideas are different from Li Wutong’s.
He never believed that Ning Yongnian would give up Dafeng, even though the latter was now sitting at the negotiating table.
In other words, one of the two remaining conditions must have content that far exceeds Dafeng’s bottom line.
“.”
"Lord Min, since General Meng has committed suicide out of fear of crime, we will temporarily trust that your country will deal with the remaining criminals impartially."
On the other side, Sima Cong glanced at Meng Shi's body and said calmly: "But the top three generals in your army must immediately take off their armor and surrender."
"Does Your Excellency agree?"
From handing people over to Da Ning for trial to Da Feng's own trial.
Although Sima Cong kept saying that these people still had to "take off their armor and surrender to punishment", everyone knew that they would definitely not be able to "surrender to punishment".
In other words, Meng Shi’s death was not in vain.
"I see."
Min Zhongguang fell back into the chair weakly, his eyes dull.
"What about the defense?"
Sima Cong smiled and asked again: "Does the lord have any objections?"
"No."
"Okay, in that case, let's leave the third clause of the covenant as it is for now."
Nodding, Sima Cong waved his hand and ordered people to drag Meng Shi's body out of the hall, then glanced at the eunuch next to him.
The latter immediately understood and walked out of the palace gate, probably to convey the latest progress of the negotiations to the ceremonial officer.
It is estimated that in a few dozen breaths, the people waiting outside will know the news that Meng Shi committed suicide.
The people of Dafeng will undoubtedly find this very difficult to accept.
They might curse the court's weakness and incompetence, or they might sigh over Meng Shi's death.
But no matter what, the negotiations must continue.
Now, three of the five conditions have been agreed upon.
As for the last two items, "Is it a marriage alliance?"
The stars are sparse and the river shadows are turning, the moonlight is lonely due to the heavy frost.
The new moon appears, illuminating the vast Gobi Desert.
The negotiations lasted all day, from dawn to early night.
Although it was still snowing in Huailing City, the western desert Gobi was cloudless and the stars and the moon were bright.
Beside the campfire, Wei Changtian looked up at the crescent moon in the distance above his head and asked softly:
"Li Wutong and Ning Wenjun?"
"yes."
Zhang San looked at Wei Changtian cautiously and said truthfully: "It is Princess Wuping and the eldest prince."
“.”
"So, she agreed?"
"this."
After taking a deep breath, Zhang San's expression became more complicated.
He quietly exchanged a glance with Yang Liushi, and when he saw the latter nodded slightly, he lowered his head and silently replied, "Yes."
"Princess Wuping agreed."
“.”
The fire was bright and the burning branches had a slight burnt smell.
Wei Changtian sighed lightly, his face expressionless, no one knew what he was thinking.
This silence lasted for an unknown amount of time until Yang Liushi came over and sat next to him, and asked softly:
"Sir, are you okay?"
"fine."
Wei Changtian turned his head and smiled: "It's just as expected."
"Um"
Yang Liushi nodded slightly, moved her body, and sat a little closer to Wei Changtian.
Although the latter does look "good" now, there cannot be no ripples in his heart.
Even if he really gave up on Li Wutong.
"Sir, we have agreed on four conditions."
After a moment's silence, Yang Liushi changed the subject softly: "Now it seems that the two sides may really be able to reach an agreement."
"yes."
Looking at the blazing bonfire in front of him, Wei Changtian nodded without comment.
Just as Yang Liushi said, up to now, Dafeng has accepted Ning Yongnian’s first four conditions.
1. Make Daning the principal country and cede the four prefectures.
2. Pay a compensation of 400 million taels, and in addition pay tribute to Daning every year.
3. The border is undefended, and warriors of the upper three ranks cannot serve in the army.
4. Li Wutong married Ning Wenjun, and the two countries made peace.
To be fair, although these four conditions are very unequal, they are actually not excessive.
Except for Meng Shi's death, the rest of the content was within Wei Changtian's previous expectations. It was even more conservative than he expected.
So, Ning Yongnian's demands were so low? After all the efforts and calculations, he finally won the national war, but in the end, this was all he got?
Could it be that he was trapped by the domestic situation in Daning and gave in? Impossible.
Ning Yongnian is not that kind of person.
There was no way he would spit out the fat meat that was already in his mouth.
Then "Zhang San."
Suddenly, Wei Changtian looked up and asked Zhang San: "Has the last condition not been discussed yet?"
"Sir, no."
Zhang San immediately replied: "I haven't received any news yet. They are probably still discussing it."
"How long have they been talking?"
"It has been almost two hours since the afternoon."
"Two hours."
Wei Changtian frowned and had a bad feeling in his heart.
The first four conditions were basically negotiated very quickly, and were reached in half an hour at most.
But the fifth condition was discussed for two hours without any result.
That only means that this condition has greatly exceeded Dafeng’s bottom line.
However, the issues of territory, sovereignty, military and economy have been discussed. Is there anything that Dafeng cannot give in? The more Wei Changtian thought about it, the more confused he became. Yang Liushi was also thinking about the same question.
Then at a certain moment, the latter suddenly looked up and asked Zhang San.
"Zhang San, among the four prefectures that Dafeng ceded to Daning, is Huailing Prefecture included?"
"Miss Liu Shi, no."
“.”
In an instant, Yang Liushi suddenly widened her eyes, hesitated for a moment, and whispered something in Wei Changtian's ear.
After hearing these words, the latter's body suddenly trembled.
"Zhang San!"
Wei Changtian stood up suddenly and immediately walked towards the carriage parked not far away.
"Hurry up overnight! Get to Huailing City as quickly as possible!"
"Also, notify my father and Han Zhao immediately! Have them make all preparations!"
“.”
Seeing Wei Changtian suddenly becoming extremely impatient, Zhang San hurried over to untie the reins of several horses, but his expression was a little confused.
He didn't know what Yang Liushi said to Wei Changtian that caused the latter to react like this.
Little did he know that Wei Changtian himself was the same. Before Yang Liushi reminded him, he had never thought that Ning Yongnian might actually do this.
Including Li Qi, Li Wutong, and Min Zhongguang two hours ago. When they heard Sima Cong say Daning's last condition, they just thought Ning Yongnian was crazy.
Because the latter actually wanted to use the lives of more than one million people in Huailing City to bury the two million people who died in Yuanzhou City.
(End of this chapter)
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