Chapter 716 Tripartite Peace Talks
Southland
After temporarily pacifying the South and resolving the crisis of the Li people, Qin Sheng and Xue Xu prepared to return to Pingzhou.
One third of the Jintai army they brought, or 10,000 soldiers, will be left to garrison in the south, and several veterans who are good at training soldiers will also be left behind to help the Li people build up their armed forces.
The old chief, leaning on his cane, personally saw them off.
"Let Governor Lu rest assured. The sugarcane in our tribe is growing well this year and we will definitely have a good harvest by the end of the year."
Xue Xu nodded. The sugarcane was indeed growing well this year and could be harvested in a few months.
In recent years, the Li people have been growing sugarcane, and through continuous breeding, they have now formed a large scale.
Every year, the sugarcane harvested by the Li people was supplied to Pingzhou, and then they exchanged it for various supplies and some technologies from Pingzhou. These supplies improved the lives of the Li people, allowing them to no longer suffer from hunger and cold, and the children were able to read and write.
The old chief mentioned one last thing, "Don't worry about Xiao Wuzi. I will arrange for someone to take good care of him."
Upon hearing this, Xue Xu's face turned ugly. The person who leaked their information this time was none other than his cousin who was within the fifth degree of mourning. He had been bribed a few years ago.
When he came back to clean up the mess, this guy fled for fear of punishment. In the end, because the pursuers behind him were chasing too fast, he didn't pay attention to the road ahead and slipped and fell into a pit, hitting the back of his head. He has been in a coma ever since.
After examining him, the doctor said that if he didn't wake up, he might die quietly one day in the future.
Xue Xu never expected that his traitorous cousin would end up like this. It was so pitiful, tragic and hateful.
At this time, Zhu Dazhuang's loud voice rang out, "Mr. Xue, Sixth Master asked me to hurry you aboard!"
Xue Xu: ...
He could hear that Mr. Qin Liu was dissatisfied with his slowness and that he was delaying his return home!
Xue Xu looked at the old chief and said, "Forget it, let's not talk about that annoying thing! I'll just do as you say."
After saying that, Xue Xu said goodbye to the old chief and turned to get on the boat.
As soon as he got on the boat, before he could even stand still, Qin Sheng started shouting, "Let's go, let's go!"
Xue Xu: ...I knew you were anxious, but I didn't know you were this anxious!
This time, they brought Wei Kuang with them.
After Wei Kuang was captured, Qin Sheng and Xue Xu had a conversation with him, and Wei Kuang said that he would never surrender.
After he expressed his attitude, Qin Sheng and Xue Xu actually expressed their understanding.
Then Xue Xu said only one sentence, "General Wei, we won't embarrass you, and you shouldn't embarrass us either."
This means that he should not think about escaping.
Wei Kuang agreed. As a prisoner, he should have the awareness of a prisoner.
Pingzhou was also very considerate. They gave him a certain degree of freedom in a place that he was sure was safe, and occasionally let him go out for some fresh air.
Being a captive was not hard to endure.
It was not until the next day after they boarded the ship back to Pingzhou that Qin Sheng and Xue Xu arrived together.
"General Wei, can we talk?"
Wei Kuang thought, it’s here, it’s finally here.
"General Qin Sheng, Mr. Xue, I declare once again that I will never surrender to you in Pingzhou. You can kill me or chop me up, it's all up to you." If he surrendered, his family in Chang'an would be in trouble. Therefore, even if he died, he could not surrender to Pingzhou.
Xue Xu said, "We understand. We all understand. General Wei, don't worry. We won't make things difficult for you."
Compared to Xie Haoran who died tragically from snake venom, he was indeed not in trouble. He had normal meals, books to read, and he could practice boxing and kicking every day.
Wei Kuang asked himself, the food they provided was quite good. But would Pingzhou really not lose money by supporting him like this?
"We came here this time just to ask you, isn't it boring like this every day?"
"Not bad." Although there are books to read and I can stretch my muscles, it is indeed a bit boring after having nothing to do for a long time.
"General Wei, we have a suggestion." Seeing his guard up, Xue Xu added, "Don't worry, I'm not asking you to surrender and serve us in Pingzhou."
"Then what are you trying to do?" Wei Kuang was confused.
Xue Xu explained the purpose of his visit. "We want you to write a military book. Your skills would be wasted if they weren't put to use in battle. Writing a book can record your military prowess for the benefit of future generations."
Wei Kuang is a veteran on the battlefield, and has made achievements in military tactics, strategy, training and actual combat.
"General Wei, you come from a military background. You must know that throughout the dynasties, foreign tribes surrounding the border have always coveted the Central Plains. We in the Central Plains need a strong army to protect this territory."
Wei Kuang was moved, but he was also hesitant.
Xue Xu naturally understood his concerns, "General Wei, rest assured. Your military tactics and the soldiers you have trained will be used to attack foreign tribes like the Xianbei first."
If Pan Sitong, the headmaster of Liaodong Academy, were here, he'd definitely say, "Goodness! That's how Lord Lu fooled me back then, telling me to train more talents and speed up the end of this chaotic world. He even told me to look on the bright side, saying that the students he taught might not be training for the Great Li." That's how he fell for it.
"Don't worry that the soldiers you teach with your military tactics will eventually be used to attack Dali. You should trust the speed of our Pingzhou."
Thinking about the territory Pingzhou had conquered this year, Wei Kuang was speechless.
They conquered three or four states in one year, and the North was the most difficult to attack. It will only be easier for them to attack the South in the future.
"The most important thing is that we in Pingzhou will keep this matter confidential."
Wei Kuang thought about it and decided that this matter would not harm him or his family, so he agreed to write it. After all, people have to leave something behind.
Xue Xu thought to himself, now that the military books have been written, how far can it be from guiding military training?
Chang'an
Zhang Xian and his entourage arrived in Chang'an under the escort of the army.
Besides him, Liu Guanlin also came to Chang'an this time.
Lu Mingzhi married Liu Sulan, and Liu Guanlin was his father-in-law.
Zhang Xian and Lu Desheng were not master and disciple in name, but they were master and disciple in reality.
The two of them are powerful enough, so there is no problem for them to go on a diplomatic mission to Dali.
The two of them saw Xie Zhan's body in the coffin at the Grand Commander's Mansion. Ice basins were placed around the mourning hall and inside the coffin.
Xie Zhan died for his country, and his funeral was handled by the Taichang Palace, so many officials came to pay their respects.
When the officials of Dali saw Zhang Xian and Liu Guanlin in Xie's mansion, they felt uncomfortable.
Both of them were once ministers of Dali, and now they have become important officials of Pingzhou. Just look at their pomp and show.
Pingzhou has not yet established a country, but it is conceivable that the future of the two will not be bad.
Liu Guanlin stood beside the coffin, "Is this Xie Zhan?"
The minister beside him replied, “Yes.”
At this time, Zhang Xian also walked over. "Is this unrecognizable corpse Xie Zhan? You Dali people wouldn't just pick someone to fool us, right?"
Several ministers including Dali Chenwan glared at Zhang Xian.
"The Grand Commander felt ashamed of his failure to face the Emperor and the people of the world, so he chose to burn himself to death!"
"Don't slander us so casually. The day the Grand Commandant's house caught fire, we, the ministers, witnessed it with our own eyes!"
Zhang Xian sneered and said, just fool me!
The king and his minister, Song Mo and Xie Zhan, put on a good show. It was obvious that all the ministers present were kept in the dark.
The main thing is the relationship between the twins Xie Zhan and Xie Wei, and only a few people knew about it before.
Next, Prime Minister Chen Wan and other ministers including Wang Yun received Zhang Xian, Liu Guanlin and his party.
Dali put forward additional requirements for the subsequent peace talks.
This time, Dali was willing to offer the land of Yanzhou as a bargaining chip for peace talks.
Song Mo will also attend the peace talks this time. Dali has asked Lu Songli to participate in the talks, and he wants to talk to Lu Songli in person.
At this time, the Xianbei also took the opportunity to call out to Pingzhou: they are also willing to make peace with Dali and Pingzhou, and hope that Pingzhou will give them a chance to negotiate. They are willing to use the northern border and Liangzhou as bargaining chips for peace talks.
The Xianbei showed their sincerity, using national justice to pressure Pingzhou. If Pingzhou disagreed, it would only care about its own interests and not the lives of the people.
The pressure is on Pingzhou.
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