Chapter 709 You Should Be Grateful
Zheng Zhanzhou was so angry that he was shaking all over.
The minor official from Pingzhou government office handed him a clean cloth, but was pushed away, so he had to hand the cloth to Wang Heyu.
Wang Heyu handed the cloth to Zheng Zhanzhou with a serious face, "Wipe it off."
The minor official nearby quickly wiped the water off the table and destroyed the corpse.
Zheng Zhanzhou wiped it twice roughly, then threw the cloth on the table and said sternly, "Is there no one left in Pingzhou?"
Then he pointed at Lu Desheng and said, "Such a vulgar person is actually the person in charge of your Pingzhou peace talks?! A gentleman should use words, not fists. Doesn't he know that?"
The members of the negotiation team from Pingzhou were thinking, who is he? Do you know?
Lu Desheng rolled his eyes. "Do you have connections in Dali? How could someone as clueless as you become the Junior Secretary of the Honglu Temple? I'm the person in charge of the peace talks in Pingzhou. What's the problem?"
He thought to himself, "Little guy, I've been displeased with you for a long time. From the beginning, you were whining like that without knowing whether you were alive or dead. I know you're the bad guy in the negotiation team, but you didn't play the role well, so what's wrong with giving you a slap in the face?"
Zhou Chengzhong said: When he was valued by the late emperor, you didn’t even know where you were!
Wang Heyu frowned, "Lv Desheng, you're going too far!"
"Am I going too far? If the dog you brought out is not tied up properly, it can easily be beaten to death." Lu Desheng said seriously.
Being called a dog, Zheng Zhanzhou couldn't stand it, "You——"
Lu Desheng interrupted him directly, "What do you mean by 'I'? So, do you still want to have a good talk? If you don't want to talk, just say so. Let's go home as soon as possible!"
He looked disgusted, and after he finished speaking, he muttered, "Really? Why are there so many trivial matters? What a waste of time!"
His muttering was so loud that no one present could fail to hear it.
Member of the Dali negotiation team: Too arrogant!
Lu Wei and Chen Yue, who were sitting on both sides of Lu Desheng, couldn't help but look at each other. If Lord Lu didn't have the support of the governor, he would be beaten to death if he went out.
Zheng Zhanzhou felt a lump in his chest, unable to breathe. He was thankful he was still young; if he were older, he'd probably be pissed off to death.
Wang Heyu looked at Zhou Chengzhong and signaled him to smooth things over.
Zhou Chengzhong: ...No, what did he do to offend anyone?
"Lord Lu, Lord Zheng, everyone calm down, calm down, calm down, don't get angry, don't get angry." He wanted to say don't fight, but when the words were on the tip of his tongue, he changed them abruptly.
Lu Desheng agreed straightforwardly, "Okay, since Lord Zhou said so, I, Old Lu, will give you a favor."
"Master Lu, have a cup of cold tea to calm down."
The people below served tea to everyone again in time, but considering the situation just now, they didn't dare to serve hot tea this time, but warm tea.
Lu Desheng picked it up.
Seeing this, everyone became nervous, afraid that he would do it again.
He just took a sip of tea, and then everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Lu Wei beside him asked Wang Heyu, "Sir Wang, shall we continue our conversation?"
Wang Heyu nodded solemnly.
According to his previous estimation, the new regime in Pingzhou was equivalent to a poor man who had suddenly become rich. It would certainly hope to be recognized and would act with magnanimity and grace.
He arranged for Zheng Zhanzhou, a young and inexperienced man, to play the good guy so that the negotiations could go in the direction he wanted and he could vent his anger at the same time. However, Pingzhou was even more shameless and had no magnanimity at all.
When the members of the Dali negotiation team saw that Wang Heyu, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, had sat down, they also sat back down with bated breath.
Wang Heyu felt the anger of his subordinates, but he was also helpless. He wanted to turn around and leave, but the advantage was now in Pingzhou, and peace talks were the most urgent need of Dali.
Lu Desheng glanced at Lu Wei and gave him a look, 'You're next'.
Lu Wei nodded, and then reconfirmed the conditions just agreed upon. "Lord Wang, as I just said, the first condition for the peace talks is that we can cease fire in Pingzhou, but Xie Zhan must die."
Wang Heyu: "We agree."
Lu Wei continued, "The second condition for a ceasefire is that Dali must cede Yanzhou to us Pingzhou."
Lu Desheng added casually, "Although Yanzhou is not big, with only five counties, we don't mind it."
When Wang Heyu heard this condition, he flatly refused, "Impossible!"
"Nothing is impossible. It's okay if you in Dali don't want to. At worst, we can just work harder and get it ourselves!" Lu Desheng said coldly.
Wang Heyu stood up and said angrily but restrainedly, "You Pingzhou have made such excessive demands. Do you think you want to have a good negotiation? Don't think that just because you have explosives in Pingzhou, we in Dali will let you bully us!"
Lu Wei soothed him, "Master Wang, don't get excited. I understand how you feel, but please calm down first."
Zhou Chengzhong: Are these Pingzhou officials devils? They make people so angry they're half dead, and yet they still want people to stay calm.
Wang Heyu took a few deep breaths before calming the anger in his chest.
Lu Weicai continued, "Lord Wang, ask yourself, is it really excessive for us in Pingzhou to make such a request?"
Before Wang Heyu could answer, Lü Desheng beside him replied for him, "That's not too much. Now that we've agreed, we can cede it to ensure safety. Otherwise, if our Pingzhou army takes it ourselves, Xuzhou and Yuzhou will probably be lost."
"Our Lord Lu's words are rough, but they make sense. So, please consider this. In fact, from another perspective, even if Yanzhou is ceded, Dali's territory is still two or three times the size of Pingzhou, which is more than enough for your emperor to govern."
Zhou Chengzhong: I always feel that this statement is full of meaning.
Wang Heyu remained silent, and neither did the other members of the Dali delegation. In short, they were engaging in silent protest.
Lu Desheng said, "Don't think that by agreeing to such a request, you Dali people will suffer a great loss. Let me put it this way, the Xianbei wanted to negotiate, but we in Pingzhou didn't agree."
The news revealed by Lu Desheng made Wang Heyu and others look at each other in surprise.
Looking at the expressions of the people leading the opposite side, it seems that they are not fake?
Lu Wei and Chen Yue smiled but said nothing. Lord Lu’s words were indeed not lies.
It was no secret that Dali sent an envoy delegation to Pingzhou for peace talks. After the Xianbei learned about it, they also wanted to send people to negotiate.
But it was dismissed by the governor.
The governor said, "There is no negotiation in territorial disputes, only war. When they have recovered all the territory occupied by the Xianbei in Pingzhou, we can talk about peace talks."
Lu Desheng picked up the teacup, blew on it, and said slowly, "So, you should cherish this opportunity and learn to be grateful."
Zhou Chengzhong was stunned. What was he cherishing? This opportunity for the emperor to personally kill his ministers? What was he grateful for? Gratitude for the opportunity Pingzhou had given Dali to cede land?
Damn gratitude!
Wang Heyu held back his anger and said, "This is a serious matter. We need time to consider it and consult our emperor."
Lu Wei: "Okay, think about it carefully."
The peace talks are progressing slowly, and it won’t be Pingzhou that is anxious anyway.
Lu Wei arranged for someone to send Wang Heyu and his group back to their accommodation.
As soon as they returned, the attendant in the courtyard came forward and said, "My lords, lunch is ready. Shall we eat now?"
"Get out!" I'm already angry enough, what else is there to eat?
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