Chapter 250 Negotiations Begin
Because of the vigorous publicity of Houcheng, Wangping and Wuliu counties, the eighteen counties of Houcheng, as well as the areas around Liaoxi County and Xuantu County near Liaodong County, all knew that the delegation headed by Houcheng was going to negotiate with the Xianbei royal court, and the time was scheduled for March 22.
The news of the negotiations spread outward from Liaodong County.
Almost all the forces that have received the news, whether it is the imperial court in Chang'an, the prominent families in the Central Plains, or the aristocratic families in the south, have set their sights on the northeast and are paying attention to the development of the situation in Liaodong.
The day before the negotiations, the Xianbei negotiation delegation headed by Tuoba Xun arrived at the border of Houcheng, and after joining forces with Yuchi Rui's army, they set up camp.
In Houcheng, the platform has been built and relevant personnel are doing the final inspection.
Negotiations will begin tomorrow, so there can't be any mistakes.
Tuoba Xun looked at the platform that appeared out of nowhere and asked, "Did the magistrate of Houcheng County order the construction of this platform?"
Yuchi Rui was in a terrible mood, "Yes."
Tuoba Xun stopped talking.
At night, they attacked Houcheng by surprise.
But Houcheng seemed to have anticipated this and was on high alert, setting many traps for them.
After struggling for half the night, not only did they return empty-handed, but each of them also suffered some minor injuries.
Gradually, they became really angry, and Helan Yan and He Ximing were planning to lead a large army to give them a severe blow.
Hou Cheng directly sent out Tuoba Lian.
Le Guicai held a knife in one hand and grabbed Tuoba Lian with the other, like a tied-up chicken. He shouted murderously at the Xianbei, "If you Xianbei don't quiet down tonight, I will kill your little prince. There's no need for negotiation. Let's just fight!"
His move actually shocked Tuoba Xun and others.
After the Xianbei calmed down and both sides dispersed, Helan Yan and the others began to mutter, "When did this Dali general become so tough?"
On the evening of March 21st, Shi Tao and his party finally reached Wangping after going through untold hardships. As long as they crossed Wangping, they would reach Houcheng.
At this time, Shi Tao was completely marinated, but he couldn't care less.
"Everyone, work hard. If we continue our journey tonight, we will reach Houcheng tomorrow." Shi Tao encouraged everyone weakly.
Jiang Changyun said silently in his heart, Cousin, I tried my best.
The adults are too stubborn, it’s not my fault.
We can't use this croton oil anymore. If we do, the governor will die, and your cousin will also be killed.
I didn't mention that in order to avoid arousing suspicion, he put drugs in the big pot of rice, and everyone was infected, and he himself couldn't defecate well.
The carriage drove forward for a while and then was forced to stop. It turned out that the road ahead was dug up and the carriage could not move forward.
The driver cursed under his breath, wishing he would have taken a shortcut.
If Qin Zhao were here, he would definitely tell him, brother, the other road is blocked.
Shi Tao's face was very dark, "Turn around and take another road!"
Jiang Changyun leaned out of the room and, using the torchlight, took a look at the dig-up of the official road ahead. He was shocked. Who had done that deep, huge pit? They were truly lacking in virtue!
This carriage definitely can't get through, not even horses. People can get through, but can they reach Houcheng on foot? They can't make it in one night.
Jiang Changyun thought again about his cousin asking him to give the governor a chin bean. He felt that digging up the road was probably not related to his cousin, and he was equally as bad. No, the person who came up with the idea to dig up the road was even worse.
After they finally set foot on another path after more than an hour, they found that the road was blocked after less than a quarter of an hour.
The entire road, probably a section of two or three meters long, was completely blocked by large and small stones!
Shi Tao stood at the blocked end, gritting his teeth and saying, "Lu Desheng, Chen Ping, you guys are great!"
At this point, even a fool would know that someone was trying to stop him from going to Houcheng.
Jiang Changyun shrank his neck. It was so wicked, so wicked!
"Sir, let me go to the bathroom first."
"Sir, I'm going too."
"And me!"
A quarter of an hour later, everyone found a place to sit down listlessly.
"Sir, shall we go?"
The entourage cried out in their hearts: This trip is too difficult, too difficult!
Shi Tao was about to answer when the familiar abdominal pain came back. He quickly said, "Prepare a change of clothes for me."
"My Lord, we have run out of changes of clothes."
Shi Tao: "What about yours?" He didn't mind.
"That's all used up."
Shi Tao really wanted to say, "Let's buy some, no matter whether they are new or old," but when he saw that the road was blocked in this place where there was no village in front and no shop behind, he felt depressed.
I boldly suggested, "Sir, why don't you take a break here? Let me wash and hang out the clothes..."
"Also, the adult's condition should improve if he lies down quietly and rests, without running around."
Shi Tao was silent for a while, and finally waved his hand weakly, "Let's stay here for one night." Tomorrow morning, the organizers will open the road!
In Houcheng, the next day, the day of negotiation arrived.
The negotiation team of three people, including Lu Desheng, Chen Ping and Liu Heshan, plus Li Dan, the chief clerk of Wangping, and Guo Chunsheng, the county magistrate of Houcheng, made up a five-member team.
Today, each of the five of them wore a brand new official uniform.
Chen Ping pulled at his official uniform, and when he looked at Liu Heshan, the other party happened to look over at him.
Both of them felt a little uncomfortable. Isn't it a bit too arrogant to dress like this?
Lu Desheng forced them to wear this, saying that it would bring good luck.
"Dan, sir, I feel a little uncomfortable."
"Master, don't worry, you can be more comfortable. Lord Lu dresses like this anyway." He is the head of the negotiation team and is definitely more hated than you.
"Okay."
Tuoba Xun brought Dugu Zhong, Helan Yan, Hexi Ming and others to the platform.
Hou Cheng arranged the entire negotiation venue in a very grand manner, raising the level of the game by half a level or even a whole level.
The Xianbei negotiation team that followed Tuoba Xun in were very satisfied when they looked at the conference room. They felt that the arrangement was quite realistic and worthy of their status.
The two groups sat opposite each other.
Le Guicai and Yuchi Rui led their elite troops to each side, guarding against each other.
Tuoba Xun was the first to ask, "Are you Lü Desheng, the new county magistrate of Houcheng?"
"I am Lü Desheng."
As soon as he finished speaking, all the members of the Xianbei negotiation team on the other side looked at him. Was this the county magistrate who had the audacity to request to negotiate with the Khan? He wasn't supernatural, was he?
Tuoba Xun looked at Lu Desheng and thought he was nothing special. He then asked, "Where is my brother Tuoba Lian?"
"I knew you would ask for this. Look over there—" Lu Desheng pointed outside.
Tuoba Xun, Dugu Zhong and others looked in the direction he pointed, and saw that Tuoba Lian had his hands and feet tied and was hung up with thick hemp ropes.
There was a deep pit under Tuoba Lian's feet, with dense spikes at the bottom. If someone fell in, they would be stabbed like a hornet's nest.
Behind the deep pit, two rows of soldiers armed with bows and arrows were ready for battle.
All of them are warning them not to act rashly.
"Little Prince Tuoba, you have suffered."
However, when did the soldiers of Liaodong County become so cold and solemn?
After not seeing each other for a few days, this Liaodong soldier seems a little different.
The members of the Xianbei negotiation team gathered in pairs, whispering to each other.
When they fought last night, they discovered that the strength of Houcheng’s army was increasing, although the increase was not very obvious.
Recently, the Qin brothers have been helping to train soldiers. At first, Qin Yan was the only one assisting Le Guicai in training, but later, Qin Heng and Qin Zhao came back from work and were also promoted to help train soldiers.
"Let's stop talking nonsense. What do you want in exchange for letting Tuoba Lian go?"
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