Chapter 706: Set out for Peace Talks
Wang Heyu, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites of Dali, was from the Wang family of Langya and was a recently promoted official.
This time, Wang Heyu was ordered to lead a delegation to Pingzhou for peace talks.
The Dali envoys went to Pingzhou this time and consulted with the Pingzhou side, and the other party also agreed to sit down and talk.
Moreover, Pingzhou requested that the Dali envoys must enter Pingzhou from Hanoi for certain security reasons, and Pingzhou would arrange the subsequent itinerary.
Pingzhou's request seems a bit condescending.
But Dali still agreed. There was no other way. When you are under someone's roof, you have to bow your head.
They set out from Chang'an and entered Shangdang County from Hanoi, which was directly into the territory of Pingzhou.
Pingzhou sent Lu Wei to receive them.
Lu Wei is also quite famous in Pingzhou. He is known as the Smiling Tiger and is mainly responsible for Pingzhou's diplomacy.
Lu Wei had arranged the next route, making sure they took the shortest route and reached Pingzhou as quickly as possible.
They first rode in a horse-drawn carriage on a flat and wide concrete road.
Because the road was flat and there were few bumps, Zhou Chengzhong felt much more comfortable sitting in the carriage.
"Pingzhou has just taken over Jizhou, right? The road has been paved so quickly?" The minor official below muttered.
Zhou Chengzhong glanced at the peak above him and saw Wang Heyu resting with his eyes closed.
He looked out through the curtain of the car that the minor official had lifted, and saw an endless cement road in front of him, with both sides of the road already golden.
He knew that Pingzhou had a new thing called cement, which had been used to reinforce cities and build roads in the past two years.
He couldn't help but ask Lu Wei, "Lord Lu, have you built cement roads in all the counties of Jizhou?"
Lu Wei smiled and replied, "Yes."
When Zhou Chengzhong heard this answer, he sighed in his heart, this speed is too fast.
He didn't say this out loud, but Lu Wei could see it from his expression.
He smiled without saying anything, but his heart was filled with pride. How could he not be happy? The people in Pingzhou were being recruited to build roads and they were being paid, not being forced to do forced labor.
Moreover, the wages were paid in Pingzhou treasure notes, which the common people of Jizhou, Bingzhou and Qingzhou did not have.
The people of Ji, Bing, and Qing prefectures, as they were adjacent to Pingzhou, had heard that using treasure notes to buy goods at the Liaodong Chamber of Commerce's shops was particularly cost-effective. They were eager for Pingzhou treasure notes, and coupled with Pingzhou's propaganda of "building roads first to get rich," the people knew that road construction would benefit them. So, upon hearing that the Pingzhou government was recruiting people for the construction, they responded enthusiastically.
A few days later, Zhou Chengzhong and his party boarded a ship at the Bohai County Pier, sailed on the sea for two days, and finally disembarked at the Jin County Pier in Liaoxi County, Pingzhou. After a short rest, a carriage took them to Changli.
Lu Wei was the first to get off the carriage, took out the token, and began to issue instructions one by one.
Lu Wei left only after he had arranged everything for them.
In general, Pingzhou arranged a courtyard for the Dali envoys to stay in, and did not restrict their movements.
About an hour later, Lu Wei came back and asked them if there were any problems that needed to be solved.
"Master Wang, Master Zhou, please rest assured. How about you take a day off tomorrow and arrange the peace talks the day after tomorrow?"
Several people in the delegation were seasick, so it would be better to let them rest for a day to recover before discussing business.
After settling down, Zhou Chengzhong was still in a daze. He calculated that it had only been eight or nine days from their departure to their destination?
This was because they wasted some time when they set out from Chang'an and passed through the territory of Dali, otherwise they could have been much faster.
By the way, when the Qin family was exiled, how long did it take them to travel from Chang'an to Pingzhou Xiangping? Two or three months?
Suddenly, Zhou Chengzhong and others felt that Dali was being outdone.
Moreover, on this trip, they saw Pingzhou's powerful and rapid transportation capabilities and strong logistical support capabilities.
Yongzhou, Hedong
As soon as Pei Ji returned to the gathering place of the Pei family and settled the people he brought back, he went to see his father Pei Ruowang.
Pei Ruowang was already waiting for him in the study.
"Are you back?"
"Yes, Dad."
"Are those people from Pingzhou?" Pei Ruowang was asking about the people he brought back this time.
These people followed him back to Hedong in the name of his guards. Pei Ji knew that he could not hide this from his father.
"Well, Governor Lu accepted the surrender of our three great families in Hedong. She meant for us to follow her orders. I followed her orders. After returning from Pingzhou, I went to Shangdang County to meet with General Qin Heng. He arranged for these people to come."
Although Pei Ruowang had learned from the letter that the third brother's trip to Pingzhou was smooth, he felt relieved when he heard him say this.
Pei Ji lowered his voice and said, "Dad, we returned this time and brought back that thing."
Pei Ruowang was stunned at first, then he suddenly understood what he was talking about, and his eyelids jumped, "Is it that thing?" He knew that the third brother brought back a lot of things this time, and he thought it was luggage.
Pei Ji nodded.
"So, Dad, don't worry. This time, with Pingzhou's secret help, Hedong will be safe." If Hedong is safe, the Pei family will be safe.
After hearing the news, Pei Ruowang was really relieved. He sighed, "Governor Pingzhou is quite generous." He undoubtedly treats them as his own people.
Pei Ji also felt that Pingzhou's actions were comfortable.
Pei Ruowang added, "Your elder brother has already left Chang'an and will probably be able to return home soon."
Pei Ji: "That's great." After things in Pingzhou went smoothly, he became a little worried about his elder brother in Chang'an.
"By the way, Dad, there's something we need to do."
"What is it?"
"It's like this..."
Pei's guest house
After deciding on a place to live, Xiao Kun refused the servants arranged by the Pei family to help and asked his subordinates to start moving the luggage.
Xiao Kun watched his subordinates work.
Their luggage must be carried by themselves and no one else can do it.
Those sent to Hedong this time were all the elite of the Qin family army. They worked very efficiently and everything was settled in soon.
Their mission this time was to help the governor take over Hedong without any loss.
Pingzhou, Changli
The next day, Pingzhou arranged for someone to take them to the provincial government office.
On the way, Zhou Chengzhong couldn't help but look around.
At this time in Changli, the shops on both sides opened their doors to welcome customers, and vendors were doing business in an orderly manner on another street.
People are coming and going on the streets. There are many smiles on the faces of the common people, and they walk with confidence and composure.
The last time he visited Pingzhou was four or five years ago, when he was ordered to reward Lü Desheng and promote him to the position of prefect of Liaodong Commandery. Lü Desheng had arranged for him to travel extensively with Prince Gong. At that time, Pingzhou was filled with the charm of a small frontier town.
Pingzhou has changed tremendously in just a few years.
In particular, Changli, where Lü Songli stayed, was as prosperous and bustling as Chang'an.
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