Chapter 568 Conditional Exchange
After both sides stopped fighting, this round of conflict calmed down.
Tuoba Xun said sternly, "Lord Lu, let's discuss the conditions for redeeming all the Fuyu captives. You know, redeeming only the elderly and children is meaningless."
Tuoba Khan was not stupid. It was useless to just redeem the elderly and children of Buyeo, as the young and strong were still in the hands of others.
Tuoba Xun was indeed the eldest prince of the Xianbei. After realizing that going crazy would not solve the problem, he quickly calmed down.
Lu Desheng asked, "Are you Xianbei really sure you want to negotiate such a big deal with us in Pingzhou? Then you need to prepare this."
"Aren't you holding the Fuyu young men captive just to get them to work? We'll help you deal with the people who are working. How about you release them?"
"Tell me, how are you going to solve this problem?"
"How about we exchange the young and strong Han people from the Northern Territory and Liang Province for you?"
"Liangzhou and Pingzhou in the northern border are very far apart. Do you want to transport the young and strong Han people here yourself?" Lu Desheng asked curiously.
"That's impossible. It costs too much. We will issue travel permits to the young and strong people from both places and let them come to Pingzhou by themselves." Their families were detained, so they would not dare to disobey.
"No!" Lu Desheng curled his lips. "You all know that to redeem a captive, the whole family must be present. Don't we know that? You're holding these young and strong families captive, and we don't feel safe using them."
"Also, although I don't like you Hu people, I have to admit that you Xianbei Hu people are a bit stronger than the Han people. It's not cost-effective to exchange young and strong Han people for Buyeo captives, and we can't beat or scold them at will."
Akesi was worried. Did Lu Desheng's words mean that they, the Fuyu people, could beat and scold others at will?
Yuchi Xun, standing by, saw that Lu Desheng seemed to know that it was hopeless to get money from the Xianbei people, and his attitude changed slightly.
Yuchi Xun was an expert on Chinese culture and was well-versed in Chinese classics. Lu Desheng's attitude made him realize that since the other party was willing to reveal their needs, there was room for negotiation, so he could continue the conversation.
After several rounds of difficult negotiations, the Xianbei finally persuaded Pingzhou to agree to release the Fuyu captives.
The condition that the Xianbei needed to agree to was to open the city gates of the two places in Liangzhou in the north so that the Han people could travel freely to Pingzhou.
Although Beijie and Liangzhou are now two separate states, their border locations have inherently sparse populations, with a population density that falls within the range of vast land and sparse population. Furthermore, due to the wars of recent years, civilians have either fled or died, resulting in a combined population of only around one million.
During the negotiations, Lü Desheng said they had over 100,000 Fuyu captives, a substantial number. The Xianbei wanted to get the Han people from Liangzhou and other northern regions to come to Pingzhou on their own accord, but with no incentives and the vast distance between them, they'd be lucky if 20,000 of the 100,000 could reach Pingzhou.
After all, once the city gate opens and people leave, who knows where they will go?
Therefore, it would not work for the Xianbei to only let tens of thousands of people out of the city.
During the talks, the Pingzhou side stated that in order to ensure that the young and strong people from the two places were willing to come, they, the Xianbei, had to pay a sum of silver. That is, if the people from Liangzhou in the northern border really came, each household would be rewarded with five taels of silver.
What a joke, how could the Xianbei people agree to such conditions?
Anyway, after several rounds of bargaining, the Xianbei side needs to open all the city gates in the two places of Liangzhou in the northern border. The people in the two places can leave if they want to, and don't leave if they don't want to.
No matter how much Pyongzhou can finally take in, it must not cause any more trouble. At the same time, all Buyeo prisoners must be released.
At first glance, agreeing to such an offer seemed like a loss for the Xianbei. Perhaps it was because they had exploited the northern border and Liang Province too harshly, that the people under their rule were constantly thinking of escaping and were extremely passive in their work. One could almost imagine how bad the tax burden would be next year. It would be better to exchange these people for hundreds of thousands of diligent Fuyu people.
Pingzhou had no choice but to agree to this condition, but there was a requirement, that is, when the Xianbei opened the city gate, they would advertise that anyone willing to come to Pingzhou would receive five taels of silver per family for settling in.
The Xianbei envoys agreed on the surface, but they did not intend to do it in their hearts.
After negotiating the terms, Axe wanted Pingzhou to release the people.
"No, your Xianbei Royal Court has no credibility and has repeatedly gone back on its word. We cannot trust you."
Xianbei: ...It hurts.
"Here in Xianbei, the Khan has already sent someone with a written order to the generals defending the city to release the prisoners. Shouldn't you in Pingzhou also make a statement?"
Lu Desheng said proudly, "Although our Pingzhou governor is a woman, her words are always final."
Tuoba Xun and others thought about Pingzhou, it seemed that they really did what they said?
"However, we in Pingzhou have always been fair and just. Since you have begun to fulfill your promise, we in Pingzhou will naturally respond in kind. Come, pick out any children under ten years old from the Fuyu tribe and take them away."
Throwing away a bag, Lu Desheng looked relaxed.
Ax: ...
Seeing that Axe didn't say anything, Lu Desheng was puzzled, "You don't want it?"
"Yes, of course!"
Getting to this point can be said to be the result of Pingzhou's early planning and taking advantage of the situation.
On Lu Songli's desk was the agreement signed by both parties. They used the Fuyu captives in Pingzhou in exchange for the opportunity to open the city gates in the northern border and Liangzhou. This also gave the people in the two places a way to survive. Whether they were willing to seize the opportunity depended on their own choice.
East China Sea
Under the request of Xie Zhan, the commander-in-chief of the army, the encirclement and suppression of King Jin progressed rapidly.
Dong Guowei, Wei Kuang and Liu Mao, one of the former generals of the Southern Expedition Army, led three armies and launched a strong attack on the King of Jin from the south, west and north respectively, forming a semi-encirclement and continuously encroaching on the King of Jin's territory.
Under the frenzied attacks of the three armies, King Jin's territory became smaller and smaller.
Prince Jin's Mansion
"Is the imperial court crazy to play this game without considering gains or losses?"
Not only the court was going crazy, he was going crazy too.
The defeat was too quick, and the King of Jin is now very anxious.
The staff of the Prince of Jin's Palace said, "Now that Dali has lost Yanmen and Daijun, it must be eager to quell the rebellion in the world."
Hearing this, the King of Jin became even angrier. What did the loss of Yanmen and Dai Commandery have to do with him? It wasn't him who lost them!
"I think they're just picking on the weak! If you have the guts, go after the Xianbei! Take back Yanmen and Daijun!" The King of Jin vented his anger and suddenly changed the subject, "No, we can't go on like this! I'm going to fight the Pingzhou Expeditionary Force!"
The officials were stunned. How did they get to this point? The prince's thoughts were too jumpy.
King Jin was filled with rage and had no way to vent it. If there was a dog in front of him, King Jin would have wanted to kick it.
"This Pingzhou army is just a name for nothing. Once I destroy it, I can not only recapture Dongtai and Jiangdu, but also free up more troops to resist the imperial court's attack."
Prince Guang of Jin was thinking about the benefits of defeating the Pingzhou expeditionary force.
In his opinion, destroying the Pingzhou expeditionary force would be a piece of cake.
After all, the expeditionary force led by Qin Zhao had ceased to function after occupying Dongtai County and Jiangdu in Guangling. Coupled with the report from the general stationed in Qutao, the King of Jin felt that the Pingzhou troops were merely a name in vain.
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