Chapter 717 Participating in Peace Talks
Pingzhou Prefecture Government Office
The civil and military officials of Pingzhou reacted strongly to the new request for peace talks from Dali and Xianbei.
Qin Zhao, Guo Chong, Ji Wuyin, Wang Juntao, Chen Ping, Liu Heshan, Guo Chunsheng, Xu Zheng, Chen Yue, Jiang Yizhou, Gu Huaisheng, Jiang Shaoyan, Ning Changge, Zhou Bo and others expressed their opinions freely.
Pei Zheng, Liu Shaojun and Xue Jin are the young masters of the three aristocratic families in Hedong respectively. They are the newcomers to Pingzhou. Based on the principle of listening more, watching more and talking less, they look at the active Pingzhou officials and feel that the meeting atmosphere in Pingzhou government is quite harmonious.
"What are the Dali and Xianbei planning to do? They're so humble in their request for peace talks. Are they afraid of us, Pingzhou?"
"No, Dali and Xianbei are acting in unison. Is there something fishy going on?"
"Is it possible that the two sides have secretly joined forces?"
"That shouldn't be the case, right? The other day the Xianbei went south to Hedong to plunder. Such shamelessness, would Song Mo agree to cooperate?"
"It's hard to say."
"If Song Mo agrees to cooperate, he would be too spineless."
Seeing that the discussion was becoming increasingly divergent, Xu Zheng couldn't help but say something, bringing the discussion back to its focus. "Regardless of whether Dali and Xianbei have any private disagreements, the question now is, should we agree to peace talks?"
Guo Chong suggested, "Governor, I think we should agree to it. After all, Dali and Xianbei are so sincere."
Lu Songli thought to himself that they were indeed sincere, as the two sides had offered a total of three states for peace talks.
Ji Wuyin looked around and said, "Governor, I think this matter should be handled with caution."
For Ji Wuyin, who has been in the business world for a long time, the safety of capital is the most important thing. In this peace talk, the other party requires the governor to attend. The governor is equivalent to the capital of their Pingzhou forces, so it is never too careful.
Lu Songli looked at the civil officials who were engaged in heated discussions, and then thought of the military generals stationed in various places. Pingzhou was full of talents, giving her the feeling that there were counselors like rain and military generals like clouds.
"The governor will participate in this tripartite peace talks."
First, the people of today have long yearned for peace. Currently, both the people of Dali and Pingzhou are eager for an end to the war. Since this is what the people want, then Pingzhou cannot resist.
Furthermore, ceasefire and peace talks will also benefit Pingzhou.
In this war, Pingzhou fought against Xianbei and Dali at the same time, and captured the three major states of Jizhou, Bingzhou and Qingzhou, as well as Sushen and a large area of Hedong.
This battle directly expanded the territory by nearly two times, and also annihilated 180,000 Xianbei troops, severely damaging the Xianbei. Although it did not shake their foundation, it still made them cry out in pain.
In addition, more than 100,000 Dali soldiers were eliminated and converted.
In general, Pingzhou was full and tired at the same time.
The three parties shook hands and negotiated peace, which gave Pingzhou a chance to rest and digest the situation.
At this time, Ji Wuyin stepped forward and said, "Governor, peace talks are fine, but I do not approve of your personal participation. As the saying goes, a son of a wealthy family does not sit in the hall. This time, the talks will definitely not be held within Pingzhou. Furthermore, the Dali and Xianbei are likely secretly colluding. If the governor were to go, I'm afraid there would be accidents."
Everyone present thought that Ji Wuyin and Xue Xu were indeed good friends, as they were equally afraid of death.
Lu Songli didn't say anything.
This time, the leaders of all three factions participated in the peace talks, and the scale of the event was undoubtedly unprecedented. Security was of paramount importance.
At this time, Xian Feng stepped forward and spoke, "Master Ji, I know you are worried about the governor's safety, but our guards are no pushovers. We will swear to protect the governor's safety."
At this time, Qin Zhao also said, "Master Xian is absolutely right. Pingzhou has developed to this point, and there is no place that the governor cannot visit. The governor does not need to worry about them. Whether it is the Dali or the Xianbei, if they dare to make any unauthorized moves, we will lead our troops to crush both places!"
Lu Songli made the decision, "Okay! The safety of our governor is now in your hands."
Song Mo and Tuoba Khan called Pingzhou to ask her to participate in the peace talks. Both of them would be present, so if she didn't dare to agree, wouldn't it mean that she was afraid of them?
This matter concerns Pingzhou's reputation and dignity, and she cannot retreat or refuse.
After the general tone of agreeing to negotiate was determined, how and what to discuss in the negotiations became the next priority.
"The Xianbei people are interfering, so they definitely have bad intentions."
"Now the Xianbei are using the Northern Territory and Liang Province as bargaining chips. If the conditions they propose are within our tolerance, should we accept them?"
An official excitedly said, "Accept it! Why not? Recovering lost territory is such a great achievement."
Some people who wanted to refute heard this and couldn't help but look at Lu Songli who was at the top. This matter concerned the governor's achievements, so was he still going to object?
Lu Songli said, "Everyone, please don't hesitate to speak up."
"Master Chen, don't just look at achievements. Let's not assume what conditions the Xianbei will put forward. If we take back the northern border and Liang Province, how will we defend them? How will we govern them?"
Yes, Pingzhou is located in the northeast, Beijing and Liangzhou are located in the northwest, and the two places are separated by the huge Yongzhou. In addition, there is also the Hexi Xianbei.
If the Northern Territory and Liang Province were to be recovered, Pingzhou would inevitably face the situation of dividing its troops. Now that Pingzhou troops were already stationed in the South, who would go to the Northern Territory and Liang Province to take charge?
"Is this the conspiracy of the Dali and Xianbei? They want to disperse Pingzhou's military forces!"
"This could just be one of the reasons why they requested peace talks this time."
However, can their Pingzhou army support the southeast, northeast and northwest regions?
Pingzhou officials discussed this issue again.
…
Dali and Xianbei received a reply from Pingzhou, agreeing to peace talks. The next step was to choose a location for the talks.
The location for the peace talks was arranged in Hancheng in Hedong, which is the junction of the three forces.
Now that the location is decided, the next step is to set the time for negotiations.
Both Dali and Xianbei hoped to sit down and negotiate as soon as possible, so the timeframe for the talks they proposed was quite urgent.
They hoped to hold peace talks before September 30th, that is, ten days from now. They asked the Pingzhou side, "Is this date okay? Governor Lu should be able to arrive on time, right?"
The contempt in their words made the Pingzhou officials furious.
"What do they mean by this? Despise us?"
"Don't you see how close they are to Hancheng, and how far our Pingzhou government office is from Hancheng!"
Of the three forces, whether it was Song Mo going to Hancheng or Tuoba Khan going to Hancheng, they were much closer than Pingzhou. They went there slowly and it would take them two or three days at most.
However, the distance from Changli in Liaoxi County, Pingzhou to Hancheng is not much different from that from Changli to Chang'an. In the past, even if you took a horse carriage, it would take more than half a month.
But because Pingzhou has built roads and has shipping...
Pingzhou estimated that the governor and his entourage would arrive in Hancheng in about five days if nothing unexpected happened, starting from Changli.
After the time was set, Guo Chong quietly asked Qin Zhao, "Sixth Master should be back within five days, right?"
Qin Zhao calculated the time and replied, "I heard a few days ago that he had returned. He should be able to return soon."
Chang'an, Imperial Palace
Song Mo looked at the map. There were only six states left in his Dali. Yongzhou was sandwiched between Xianbei and Dali. It could even be said that it was trying to survive in the cracks.
After losing Hedong, most of Dali's troops have now been deployed throughout Yongzhou to guard against the enemy and protect Chang'an.
It is ridiculous that he, the great Emperor of Dali, has been forced to move the capital.
A hint of deep madness flashed across the depths of Song Mo's eyes!
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