Chapter 708 My face hurts a little
After entering the room, Guo Chong walked to the side, trying not to disturb the negotiating parties.
He had just sat down in the back row when he heard their Lord Lu ask with a hint of arrogance, "What explanation do you plan to give regarding the assassination of our governor by your military commander? Tell me, I want to hear it."
The tone is similar to the phrase "How much is it? Give me a price so I can hear it" when buying something.
Wang Heyu looked at Zheng Zhanzhou, the Shaoqing of the Honglu Temple next to him.
Zheng Zhanzhou, a descendant of the Yingyang Zheng clan, spoke first on behalf of Dali. "There's a misunderstanding here, but out of respect for Governor Lu, our emperor intends to depose Xie Zhan and imprison him to a certain place to give Pingzhou an explanation."
Lu Desheng looked disdainful. "Just deposing and imprisoning him? Are you planning to quietly reinstate Xie Zhan after we sign the armistice agreement?"
Zheng Zhanzhou said sternly, "The emperor's words are as good as gold. The situation you describe will never happen."
Zhou Chengzhong sat on the side, looking straight ahead, trying to reduce his presence as much as possible. Anyway, he had made up his mind to work without putting in any effort and not to speak unless necessary.
"In short, the first condition for peace talks is that we can cease fire in Pingzhou, but Xie Zhan must die." Lu Desheng put forward his demands in an extremely forceful manner.
"If you agree to this, we can proceed. If you don't agree, there's no need to discuss this further."
The Dali envoys discussed the matter in low voices. After Zheng Zhanzhou and Wang Heyu exchanged opinions, they said, "We agree to this condition, but Pingzhou must return the occupied territories of Bingzhou, Jizhou, and Qingzhou."
"What did he say?" Lu Desheng scratched his ears and asked the people around him, "Am I hard of hearing? I think I heard a joke."
"Master Lu, your ears are fine. We heard what he said."
Lü Desheng said to Zheng Zhanzhou, "Say what you just said again."
Zheng Zhanzhou said with a dark face, "Lord Lu, I say that Dali will execute Xie Zhan and give you Pingzhou a satisfactory explanation. However, Pingzhou needs to return the occupied territories of Bingzhou, Jizhou, and Qingzhou."
Lu Desheng: "There's no need to discuss this. Xie Zhan's life is not worth that much money."
At this time, Wang Heyu spoke up, "Lord Lu, although Dali and Pingzhou belong to different camps, one thing we cannot deny is that we are all Han people."
"Now Pingzhou has escalated personal grudges to the level of war. This is too much."
"This war has killed nearly a million innocent people and brought great pain and harm to the people."
Wang Heyu's words were equivalent to acknowledging the existence of Pingzhou as an equal force.
If Pingzhou had not demonstrated its strong military strength this time, the ministers of Dali would definitely have called it a traitor.
Lu Desheng: "Is this our fault in Pingzhou?"
"Lord Lu, do you still remember those four lines of Zhang Zai's poem that you relayed to the late emperor back when he was still alive? 'Establish a mind for heaven and earth, establish a destiny for the people, carry on the lost teachings of the sages, and bring peace to the world for all eternity.' It's truly well said."
"Now these four lines are engraved on a stele, standing at Wansong Academy, Bailu Academy, and Songshan Academy, but Dali is no longer the same."
Just as Wang Heyu finished sighing, Zheng Zhanzhou came to his rescue, "Lü Desheng, the late emperor initially thought you had made such a great aspiration to assist him in the Great Li, and so he rewarded you. But now, what are you and your daughter doing? Are you worthy of the late emperor's kindness and appreciation?"
Wang Heyu is good at negotiation, as he can persuade people with reason and appeal to their emotions.
Upon hearing this, Lu Wei and Chen Yue standing by looked at each other and thought that this Minister of the Honglu Temple who had just taken office in Dali was quite capable.
These words were equivalent to trapping Lord Lu. If Lord Lu didn't give a good answer, he would be labeled as ungrateful, and more importantly, the governor's reputation would be affected.
Lu Wei was just about to whisper a reminder to Lu Desheng.
Lu Desheng had already begun to fight back. "You want us to return these lands? Fine! For the sake of the late emperor, I'll give you a chance to take them back. But there's one condition. During this period, we will need Dali to settle the expenses of our Pingzhou army's march, the war expenses, compensation for the wounded, pensions for the fallen soldiers, and so on."
Wang Heyu, Zheng Zhanzhou and others looked at each other in confusion: No, why is there such a request?
Zhou Chengzhong: He just knew it!
Seeing their reaction, Lu Desheng rolled his eyes. "No way, no way? You Dali guys are not going to take back the three states with empty words, are you? Why? Because you are so shameless, or because you are so shameless?"
Zhou Chengzhong's mouth twitched. Every damn word he said was so harsh. Lv Desheng's ability to insult others was as good as ever. No, it should be said that he had improved. It felt like even his spit was poisonous.
Wang Heyu's heart sank, "How much is this money?" Coming from a wealthy family, he felt that any problem that could be solved with money was not a big deal.
After hearing his question, some of the people from Pingzhou began to discuss, whispering to each other, and the abacus beads clattered...
A quarter of an hour later, Pingzhou figured out the total bill.
Lu Desheng took a look, put the paper on the table, and slowly pushed it forward, "Master Wang, take a look."
The person next to Wang Heyu stood up, stretched out his hand to grab it, and handed it to his superior.
Wang Heyu took it. It listed various expenses and the general ledger at the bottom.
Wang Heyu fell silent as he looked at the astronomical figure written at the bottom. Even though he was from the Wang clan of Langya, Wang Heyu felt a chill in his spine when he saw the cost of the war in Pingzhou during this period.
"And let me be clear, we in Pingzhou don't accept silver, only gold or in-kind goods. For example, the food and fodder consumed during this period must be compensated in kind by you, Dali."
Zheng Zhanzhou flatly refused, "That's impossible!" Dali couldn't afford the compensation either.
Lu Desheng: "Then what the hell are you talking about!"
Lu Desheng felt relieved. He gave you the opportunity, but you didn't seize it. So don't blame him. Next time, don't bring up the friendship between him and the late emperor.
"Lü Desheng, Pingzhou, please don't go too far!" Zheng Zhanzhou, young and impetuous, slammed the table! He felt that Pingzhou's actions were intentional, deliberately making things difficult for them!
Lu Desheng asked calmly, "What did we do wrong in Pingzhou?"
"You, Pingzhou, call yourselves the army of justice, but in reality, you always find excuses to start wars, often igniting conflicts over personal grudges. Ultimately, you, Pingzhou, are the real culprits who have plunged the people into dire straits!"
"Is that an excuse?"
"Isn't it? The Battle of Zhuozhou and Qingzhou, the Battle of Changshan, and the subsequent large-scale battles that spread to the three states of Ji, Bing, and Qing, weren't they all provoked by you guys looking for excuses?"
"The battles in Zhuozhou and Qingzhou were all caused by the dishonest behavior of the merchants from Dali! We, the people of Pingzhou, were doing our business honestly, but you, the Dali, chose to collude with the officials and merchants to bully us! What's the matter? Are you the only ones allowed to bully others, and we're not allowed to fight back?"
"What about the Battle of Changshan? Your governor hadn't given birth at that time, hadn't he?"
Wang Heyu paused while holding the teacup to drink water. The young man Zheng Zhanzhou didn't know the inside story clearly enough.
Lu Desheng: "It's so funny. Didn't you Dali give up Changshan?" The chicken leg thrown out was snatched away by Pingzhou. Who can you blame?
"Thank you, General Xie, for throwing Changshan out like a chicken drumstick. It's just that your skill in throwing chicken drumsticks needs to be improved."
Zhou Chengzhong: It hurts.
In short, no matter how wrong Lu Desheng is in what he says, it is all your fault in Dali.
Zheng Zhanzhou gritted his teeth and asked, "What about the large-scale battles in Ji, Bing, and Qingzhou? Do you dare to say that they weren't planned long ago by you in Pingzhou?"
Facing the other side's accusations, the members of the Pingzhou negotiation team present remained calm.
What a joke! Even if what he said was true, they in Pingzhou would not admit it and could not admit it!
They follow the rules. If they don't follow the rules at all and do whatever they want, hitting wherever they want and whenever they want...
If that really happens, Pingzhou will have a bad reputation among the people as a habitual criminal. How can that be acceptable?
No matter how thin the fig leaf of the army of justice is, we have to wear it.
So, whether it was a matter of following the trend or a long-planned plan, Pingzhou would never admit it. Didn't they see that even their governor and the think tank hadn't revealed a single detail?
"I'm dying of laughter. How could we in Pingzhou have expected that your Grand Admiral Xie would take action against our governor?"
"No matter how you try to argue, it won't change anything..." Zheng Zhanzhou then used words to criticize Lu Songli for being a hen that crows at dawn, cruel and vicious, vindictive, and cruel and cold-blooded...
Unable to bear it any longer, Lu Desheng picked up the cup beside him and threw it at the other party, "Your mouth stinks! Wash it!"
The water in the cup splashed directly onto Zheng Zhanzhou's face.
The sudden accident left Zheng Zhanzhou stunned, with water dripping down his face.
Zhou Chengzhong, who was caught in the crossfire: ...
The entire conference room suddenly became silent.
Guo Chong suddenly felt a little pain on his face.
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