Chapter 251 Peace Treaty
Lu Desheng was quite direct. "You can let us release Tuoba Lian, but we can't let him go for nothing!"
Tuoba Xun: So you mean there are conditions?
"So what do you do?"
Dugu Zhong started yelling, "If you want gold, cattle and sheep to redeem the little prince, there's no room for negotiation. Let's just fight!"
The members of the Xianbei negotiation team stared at Lu Desheng and his team with a fierce look, as if they were ready to fight if they disagreed.
Upon hearing this, the members of the Houcheng negotiation team looked at them with disdain, either openly or covertly.
Chen Ping and Li Dan murmured quietly, "These Xianbei barbarians are really overthinking it. We in Dali are much richer than their grasslands. As long as they don't come to rob us, who cares about their gold, cattle and sheep?" As they were talking, they noticed Lü Desheng glanced at them, and he quickly pulled him along, "Master Lü, don't you agree?"
Lu Desheng: "I love it!"
Chen Ping: ...
Looking at the members of the Xianbei negotiation team who were shouting that they would never give gold, cattle, horses or sheep to redeem people, Lu Desheng sneered in his heart, "You little bastards, if I had known you would think this way, I would have dealt with you later!"
Lu Desheng spoke up, "We don't want your gold, cattle, horses, and sheep—"
Upon hearing this, Tuoba Xun and others were stunned. If they don’t want these, then what do they want?
"Listen carefully, our only request is that you Xianbei people not go south to plunder Dali for the next five years!"
One word can cause a thousand waves!
Five years?! "Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
Except for the eldest prince Tuoba Xun, the other four stood up.
In fact, Tuoba Xun himself was also shocked by these words.
Yuchi Rui stepped forward immediately, and Le Guicai was not willing to be outdone, and the whole atmosphere was on the verge of breaking out.
Lu Desheng glared at them fiercely, his momentum rising to the fullest, and scolded them like he was scolding his grandson, "Sit down, sit down! What are you so excited about?"
Dugu Zhong, Helan Yan, He Ximing, and the others stared with wide eyes. "You've made such an outrageous request, and now you're asking them what they're so excited about? How could they not be excited? If they don't rob the Dali for five years, how will they survive the winter? Will they starve to death or freeze to death?"
Lu Desheng continued to lecture him, "Have you ever heard the saying? Ask for a high price, pay low! Terms are always negotiable."
Good, they understand, this matter is negotiable!
Tuoba Xun spoke up, "One year! I can decide that. If you insist on five years, then there's no room for negotiation. He, Tuoba Lian, is not worth that price!"
"The eldest prince!" Helan Yan and He Ximing exclaimed in unison. Is the eldest prince forcing the other party to kill the little prince?
Tuoba Xun raised his hand to stop them.
Lu Desheng shouted calmly, "Four years!"
"Two years! No more!"
"Let's both take a step back. Three years! If you agree to sign the negotiation agreement within three years, you can take the person away." After Lu Desheng said this, he looked as if there was nothing left to discuss and he didn't want to talk anymore.
Tuoba Xun didn't say anything, as if he was evaluating the truthfulness of the other party's words.
The others were already arguing.
"Prince, this cannot be agreed to!"
"That's so easy for you to say. If you don't agree, are you going to watch the little prince get stabbed like a hornet's nest?"
"You're talking nonsense..."
In contrast, the Houcheng negotiation team appeared harmonious and peaceful.
In fact, Le Guicai, Chen Ping, Liu Heshan and others were not calm in their hearts. This was the first time they heard the specific content of the negotiations. Before, Lu Desheng had always said that it should be kept confidential and had never disclosed it.
Can the Xianbei agree to this condition alone?
Lü Desheng took a sip of tea, looked at the Xianbei generals who were already arguing fiercely, and spoke slowly, "Prince Tuoba, it's getting late. Should we just leave it at that for now? You can go back and discuss the current conditions. We'll continue the discussion tomorrow. As long as we can reach a conclusion tomorrow, that's fine."
At Lu Desheng's kind reminder, Dugu Zhong, Helan Yan and others were suddenly shocked. Yes, they had to go back and discuss it.
The negotiations entered a halftime break and both sides withdrew in an orderly manner.
"Prince, should we report this situation to the Khan?" Dugu Zhong reminded.
The report must be made. If Tuoba Xun hesitates, will the Khan think he is useless? The Khan will definitely not be satisfied with such conditions. But he has a premonition that Hou Cheng will not make any more concessions.
Wu Xiguang saw the eldest prince's dilemma and was also trying hard to find a solution. Then he suddenly remembered the letter Xue Xu gave him. He told him to open it two days later when he encountered difficulties. Was he referring to now?
He quickly took out the letter from his arms and opened it. After reading it, he suddenly understood.
He quickly told the eldest prince the solution mentioned in the letter.
Tuoba Xun's eyes lit up after hearing this. He looked at Wu Xiguang with admiration and said, "I will go back to Shengle in person! You stay here and wait for my return!"
At the Shengle Royal Court, Tuoba Khan was also waiting for news from Houcheng.
He had just finished dinner when he heard from his servant that the eldest prince had returned and wanted to see him.
He had his eldest son brought in, "How is your brother?"
Tuoba Xun was stunned for a moment before replying, "It seems he's fine. The Houcheng County Magistrate didn't abuse him."
As he said this, Tuoba Xun felt a pity in his heart. Why were the Dali people so well-mannered? Too civilized. It would be much better to just cut off his arms and legs.
"What did Houcheng say? What conditions did they offer?"
Tuoba Xun narrated the contents of the negotiations to Tuoba Khan one by one.
Tuoba Khan was a little surprised after hearing this. "That's the only condition they put forward. They don't want gold, silver, cattle, sheep, horses, or anything else?"
"Yes."
Tuoba Khan frowned, his eyes filled with thought.
Tuoba Xun suppressed the excitement in his heart and said boldly, "I think we should agree to it and rescue my brother first."
These words made Tuoba Khan look up at him.
"Father, we did sign the agreement, but that doesn't mean we can't break it. What if the Khans kill our herdsmen next year or the year after? Will we still be forbidden to send troops?"
Tuoba Khan smiled approvingly. If you want to send troops, you can always find an excuse.
Their move was equivalent to getting Tuoba Lian back by pulling a fast one.
"Is this what you came up with?"
"Yes." Tuoba Xun nodded shamelessly. This idea was thought of by Wu Xiguang, but Wu Xiguang was his second butler, so wasn't it the same as his idea?
"Just do it as you wish. Rescue your brother first."
"Yes!" Tuoba Xun looked at the sky and thought to himself that he had to rush from Shengle to the border overnight!
Tuoba Khan encouraged him, "You have been performing very well recently. Keep it up. The future of our Xianbei people depends on outstanding young people like you."
In Houcheng, father and daughter Lu Desheng and Lu Songli were also having dinner.
After the meal, the servants served them tea.
The father and daughter talked while drinking.
"Tuoba Xun has returned to Shengle personally." Lu Desheng said this and then said, "My daughter, what do you think the outcome will be tomorrow morning?"
Mr. Xue and his son-in-law haven't returned yet, and I don't know if things are going wrong over there.
"Dad, don't worry, things will go smoothly. The Xianbei will agree to our conditions." Lu Songli was 90% sure about this when the plan was made. Now, with the push from many parties, the matter has progressed to this point, and the outcome in her eyes has become a foregone conclusion.
As for Xue Xu, Qin Sheng, and their group not returning yet, she wasn't too worried. Xue Xu was resourceful and cautious; if things went wrong, he'd slip away. Plus, Qin Sheng had a bit of luck, so she felt confident in their duo.
Hearing this, Lu Desheng snorted. As their people reminded them, this peace treaty was just empty talk to the Xianbei. Why would they not agree to it?
"Your plan is too bold!" He was asked to take the lead in the negotiation, and people such as the Xianbei royal court, the emperor of Dali, and Liaodong County were involved.
Hearing her father's words, Lu Songli laughed, "Dad, these forces have been entangled because of Tuoba Lian. My plan is just to use Tuoba Lian as a hot potato."
"And I also gave them a way out and saved their face. If it weren't for me, they would probably have to fight a war and their brains would be turned into dog brains." Of course, the Qin and Lu families would also be dragged into the war.
She helped them solve such a big problem, so it’s not too much for her to get a small benefit next time, right?
Lu Desheng thought that his daughter was right.
Initially, Tuoba Lian was captured alive by Le Guicai. For Liaodong Commandery and Dali, Tuoba Lian was indeed a hot potato. It would be a pity to throw him away, but holding on to him would be too hot and would bring troubles.
Sure enough, trouble soon arose - the Xianbei royal court issued a threat that if Liaodong County did not release the people, they would march south and flatten the entire Liaodong County!
Liaodong County was in crisis.
In this situation, others see a terrifying crisis and danger, but my daughter sees an opportunity!
His daughter privately analyzed with him the three forces involved in the crisis.
First of all, the Xianbei Khan was an extremely ambitious grassland overlord. He might not be willing to send troops south at this time, but he had to save his son.
Let's look at the other two parties, Liaodong Commandery and the Dali Dynasty. For them, even though they had captured the Xianbei prince alive, they were still being threatened. This was outrageous! If they were to release him for nothing, would they still have any sense of dignity?
Under such circumstances, the two sides are in a stalemate and war is really imminent.
When my daughter saw this, no one wanted to fight, but if no one gave them a way out, they had to fight.
So, his daughter told him that the key to resolving the Liaodong crisis lies in someone willing to provide a way out for the Xianbei royal court, the Dali Emperor, and the Liaodong Commandery. That person is him!
It was then that Lu Desheng realized how important he was.
After seeing the opportunity, Lu Songli started thinking about how to provide this step so that everyone would accept it?
Not only do we have to take care of Tuoba Khan's face, but we also have to take into account the face of Dali.
The peace treaty was her idea.
In fact, Lü Songli felt that many people thought of using Tuoba Lian to force the Xianbei to sign a peace treaty, but if they wanted to implement this and use Tuoba Lian to force the Xianbei to accept it, the other side would probably not accept it. Even if they did accept it, it would still take a long negotiation.
Then the imperial court would definitely send officials of sufficient weight to take charge of this matter, and the opportunities belonging to the Qin and Lu families would be gone.
So Lu Songli's solution was to have both parties sign a peace treaty openly, and then secretly have someone reveal it to the Xianbei royal court. They could then find a reason to tear up the treaty after signing.
This is an unconstrained treaty.
In this way, cooperation can be quickly achieved and her father can quickly take credit for the achievement.
This contract took Tuoba Khan's face into consideration.
Because no matter whether he didn't go south for three years or five years, paying such a high price to get his son back showed that in the eyes of the Dali officials, his son's character was precious, which gave him great face.
Tuoba Khan knew that this was an empty promise and that the Xianbei had not suffered any loss, so he would be satisfied.
For the new emperor Song Mo, one Tuoba Lian, in exchange for Tuoba Khan's promise not to go south for three years, could greatly demonstrate the emperor's majesty.
For Liaodong County, exchanging one Tuoba Lian for three years of peace was a good deal.
Look, this is the solution that Lu Songli came up with.
As expected of her, she has been professionally solving customer pain points for thirty years.
In fact, in this situation, the only person that Dali really lost was Tuoba Lian, and the only person Xianbei gained was Tuoba Lian.
After this plan is completed, all the benefits will be planned by her for her own side.
Don't blame her for abusing her power. Without the protection of force, any peace treaty may be just empty talk. Anyone who believes it is a fool.
Next, she had to make plans and gain benefits before she could successfully reap the fruits of victory. Her next goal was to defend Houcheng and look towards Liaodong!
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