Of course, Cambodia would not admit that he had anything to do with what happened back then.
Even Lin Hai's letter of inquiry was not delivered to the Khmer king.
However, the Cambodian central government could not ignore Lin Hai's second letter as the Lord of Qinghe. In the letter, Lin Hai directly asked the Cambodian court to answer three questions:
Was it the Khmer who helped the Chen Dynasty attack the Daliang Empire and carried out a massacre in the former Qinghe County?
Was it Cambodia that provided support to Qitian Village and exchanged food for Qitian Village's steel?
Were they the Cambodians who took advantage of the battle between Qitian Village and the Qinghe Army to send troops from the Mengyang line into Xiangyun and destroy two Qitian Village settlements?
Three questions, each one is a life-threatening one.
In response to this, Ruan Shiping, the co-governor of Mengyang, immediately sent Lin Hai's letter to the Cambodian capital of Taijing City by express horse, and repeatedly stated that the kingdom's garrison in Mengyang was better than nothing, especially after the newly transferred garrison took the initiative to go out of the city to provoke the Qinghe Army and was killed, Mengyang City almost became an undefended empty city.
If the kingdom did not send reinforcements, the Qinghe Army, which had just won a great victory, would only need to sneeze outside the city, and Mengyang's city wall would collapse.
Of course, in fact, since the city wall of Mengyang was also contracted to be built and reinforced by Sihai Trading Company under Qinghe County, Ruan Shiping knew very well that if the Qinghe Earl outside the city wanted to enter Mengyang City, he only needed to say a word. Except in name, this city had no relationship with the Khmer Kingdom.
The reply from the Cambodian central government was very interesting. They appointed Nguyen Shiping, the kingdom's highest administrative officer in Mengyang, as an envoy to go out of the city to explain the misunderstanding to Lin Hai.
The central government's demands on Ruan Shiping were complex: he could not jeopardize the kingdom's dignity, could not provoke a war between the two countries, and could not cause any substantial damage to the kingdom. The first two of these three issues could not be acknowledged, but the last one, as it had only recently occurred and Lin Hai had captured him alive, could not be denied. However, it could only be said to be a private act, unrelated to the kingdom...
Any diplomat would vomit blood when seeing such negotiation conditions, but Ruan Shiping did not have this difficulty. When he received the order to leave the city for negotiations, he left the city immediately.
"So, this is the order given to you by the Kingdom Central?" Lin Hai was holding the order given to Ruan Shiping by the Cambodian Central Committee. "Do you think you can do it?"
"In reply to Lord Qinghe's words, I think whether this can be done depends on Lord Qinghe's decision. I would like to ask Lord Qinghe for instructions on what I should do next." Although this was the first time Ruan Shiping saw Lin Hai, and because he knelt down and kowtowed as soon as he entered the door, Ruan Shiping could not see what Lin Hai looked like clearly.
However, the people at Mengyang Station had already made it clear to him that after the unification war in the southwest, Qinghe County took over all the forces of Qitian Village, including Ruan Shiping's family, who had now moved to Qinghe County. In other words, Ruan Shiping was now a member of Qinghe County, so Ruan Shiping did not feel shy and came directly to the Qinghe Army camp as one of his own.
"What do you think about these three questions?"
Lin Hai asked directly.
Ruan Shiping knelt on the ground, cold sweat seeping out from every part of his skin. Although he hadn't spoken since Lin Hai finished his questioning, Ruan Shiping seemed to have the same feeling as that night in the brothel when he saw the prefect being hacked to death. Hmm, my neck felt cold.
This question is difficult to answer, especially the first one.
It can be seen from Lin Hai's insistence on naming the current territory Qinghe County that the core members of the Lin Hai Group may be the survivors of the Qinghe County in the Central Plains. Once it is confirmed that the Qinghe massacre was related to the Khmer, well, Ruan Shiping is not sure whether he, as the only Khmer present today, can go back alive.
Looking at Ruan Shiping lying on the ground and shaking, Lin Hai said with some amusement: "It seems that you already understand the importance of this question. So, how do you plan to answer it?"
The title "you" is very interesting. On the surface, it sounds like Lin Hai does not take him, the "Mengyang Tongzhi", seriously. However, Ruan Shiping himself does not take this position seriously, so this title at least proves that Lin Hai does not regard him as an outsider, otherwise he should call him "Master Ruan".
This gave Ruan Shiping some courage. He lowered his head and replied, "I will tell you everything I know."
"Well, that's fine. You haven't been in the Qinghe system for a long time. You don't know that I have abolished the kneeling ceremony in the army, so don't kneel. Stand up. Hey, go get a stool and let's sit down and talk slowly."
Lin Hai returned to the main seat and slowly sat down, continuing, "You don't need to answer the third question. I know that this was done by the newly transferred garrison troops at the instigation of Mengyang Station. Now the people in Mengyang Station are also my people, so I will just treat it as my own work."
"Yes, yes, Qinghe Boming sees Wanli..."
"You don't need to answer the second question. Qitian Village is also mine now. I know exactly what happened back then."
"Yes, yes."
"As for the first question, I know it has nothing to do with you. When the incident happened, you were serving as a county magistrate in another place. I wouldn't believe that a county magistrate would be capable of leading an army on an expedition thousands of miles away. But you should know something, so tell me."
Ruan Shiping trembled and sat halfway on the small stool that Cheng Guorong had brought. Seeing Lin Hai's sincerity and knowing that he was truly considered one of their own, he took a deep breath and said, "I do know a little bit."
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