Chapter 167 Peace Negotiation
Perhaps it was because Prince Cheng's attitude was too tough, the Xianbei people finally agreed to this condition, but they also asked that Prince Cheng could serve as an envoy, but the number of soldiers accompanying him could not exceed one thousand.
This condition obviously made Meng Kun and Song Wei very worried, but Prince Cheng agreed to it without hesitation.
The location for the peace talks was set outside Yunxin City. This place was now a no-man's land. It met the Xianbei people's requirements and was not too far from Yunzhou City. In case of any emergency, Meng Kun would be able to be prepared.
Although Meng Kun could not go with them, he sent out his capable generals, including Liu Wei. It was said that this general was an excellent marksman and a rare master in the army.
Before leaving, Meng Kun patted Liu Wei on the shoulder and said, "This time, I leave the safety of the delegation in your hands."
Liu Wei cupped his hands and said, "I will definitely live up to your expectations, General!"
For the sake of convenience, Prince Cheng and his entourage traveled light, which was a hardship for the elderly gentlemen who had just recovered from a serious illness. They were originally civil officials and their horse riding skills were average.
Several old men also knew the interests involved. Although the carriage was convenient and easy to ride, its speed was far inferior to that of a horse. The outcome of this trip to negotiate peace was unknown. Compared to comfort, life was naturally more important.
Su Fengzhang was naturally among them. The cold wind outside the Great Wall was biting, and even if they wore thick clothes, they could not keep out the cold. He was still relatively better off, while some adults wanted to wrap themselves in quilts.
He Jun was quite used to this kind of weather, and even had the mood to go for a leisurely ride. When he came back and saw Su Fengzhang, he smiled, a rare omen: "Master Su, aren't you from the south? How come you seem to be quite used to this kind of weather?"
Su Fengzhang smiled and said, "It's not a habit, I just became numb after being frozen for so long."
He Jun laughed and jokingly said, "That's quite fresh."
Su Fengzhang asked in return: "Prince Xi seems to be accustomed to the climate outside the Great Wall."
Hearing this, He Jun raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "Of course I'm used to it. I lived here before I was five years old."
Su Fengzhang was a little surprised to hear this. He had heard that He Jun was the legitimate son of Princess Ronghe and was named a prince since childhood. Logically, he should not have grown up in the northern border.
However, thinking of the He family behind him, Su Fengzhang had some guesses.
He Jun didn't say anything else, but instead asked, "I'm going to go for another ride to satisfy my craving."
Seeing He Jun galloping away again, Prince Cheng beside him shook his head and warned, "Don't waste your horsepower."
He Jun responded, but didn't actually stop.
Prince Cheng stopped talking to him and turned to look at Su Fengzhang: "Sir Su, are you afraid?"
"We're going out to negotiate peace this time, and we don't know if we can come back alive. We might even be buried under the snow."
Su Fengzhang laughed and said, "I'm scared to death."
Upon hearing this, Prince Cheng burst into laughter and looked at him and said, "I can't see that."
Su Fengzhang sighed slightly, thinking that when he told the truth, others didn't believe him. These days, everyone believes lies, but telling the truth has the opposite effect. It shows that people's hearts are no longer the same as before.
Prince Cheng narrowed his eyes and added, "Before leaving the city, I told General Meng to act according to his discretion. If the Xianbei set an ambush, we'll have no choice but to rely on ourselves."
Even if you don't go fast, it only takes an hour to ride a horse from Yunzhou City to the outside of Yunxin City.
"It's just one mile ahead." Liu Wei said.
The spies sent out also returned quickly and reported: "The Xianbei delegation is already stationed at the front and has found no obvious abnormalities."
Upon hearing this, Prince Cheng frowned, unable to believe that the Xianbei would actually start peace talks honestly. He asked again, "Have you found any trace of the Fourth Prince?"
The man hesitated for a moment, then said, "It seems he was tied up in front of the camp!"
As soon as the words fell, without waiting for Prince Cheng to speak, the casual old man shouted angrily: "This is unreasonable. Since we are negotiating, why are you torturing the Fourth Prince? They are bullying our Great Zhou."
He Jun looked up at Prince Cheng, frowned, and said, "Something's not right. If the Xianbei people wanted to negotiate, why would they act like this at this time? What good would this do them?"
Su Fengzhang also said: "It sounds like the Xianbei people want to provoke us."
"Let's go!" Prince Cheng's mouth was pursed into a straight line, and he was obviously very unhappy. However, it was not known whether this unhappiness was due to his worry about the Fourth Prince or the peace talks.
Liu Wei stepped forward and said, "My Lord, if the Xianbei people behave strangely later, please spare their lives."
As the distance got closer, the delegation could see the Xianbei people's tents clearly. They were obviously well prepared.
Prince Cheng frowned again, his eyes scanning the surroundings, his heart filled with alarm. However, the Xianbei envoy had already come forward, smiling and shouting, "The prince of the Great Zhou has come in person. I hope this peace talk will go smoothly."
Prince Cheng also smiled and said, "I also hope to turn hostility into friendship."
He glanced around the camp, but saw no sign of the Fourth Prince, so he asked, "I wonder where my Fourth Brother is."
The messenger smiled and said, "There is no rush. Please enter the tent, Your Highness."
When Prince Cheng was about to lead his men into the tent, the messenger said, "Our Seventh Prince is in the tent. He will be in charge of the peace talks. We ask the soldiers of the Great Zhou to stop as a sign of our willingness to negotiate peace."
The faces of the people behind him changed. Liu Wei shouted, "How can we let Prince Cheng take this risk alone?"
The Xianbei envoy laughed and said, "There's no danger in our delegation's tent. Besides, Prince Cheng, you can bring a few people in, but don't bring too many people, so as not to offend the Seventh Prince."
"The fourth prince of the Great Zhou Dynasty is also in the tent. Prince Cheng does not need to worry too much."
Prince Cheng's eyes flashed slightly, but he was already certain in his heart that the Xianbei people had no intention of negotiating peace. He named a few people to go in with him, and Su Fengzhang was among them.
The messenger saw that the people he brought were young, with fair complexions and no beards, and seemed to be scholars, so he did not stop him.
As soon as they entered the tent, the first person they saw was a burly man. The man was sitting on a chair covered with tiger skin, playing with a scimitar in his hand, and a man was kneeling in front of him. It was none other than the Fourth Prince.
In Su Fengzhang's memory, the Fourth Prince had always been a gentle and elegant man, but at this moment he looked haggard and skinny, with none of the demeanor he had in the capital. His appearance could only be described as horrible.
Seeing the envoys from the Great Zhou entering, the Fourth Prince struggled for a moment, but was held down by the people behind him. He suddenly lowered his head, not knowing what he was thinking about, and did not dare to look up at them.
Even though they were brothers with a bad relationship, Prince Cheng frowned at this moment. If the attitude of the Xianbei people before only made him feel uneasy, then this moment it was a direct humiliation.
A sneer appeared on the face of Prince Cheng, and he stared coldly at the seventh Xianbei prince: "Ruoluo Dahong, what do you mean by this!"
Ruolu Dahong laughed heartily, as if he had just noticed them entering the room. He shouted, "Prince Cheng, don't be angry. This is the custom of the Xianbei people, and it's not meant to humiliate your Great Zhou."
Having said that, the tone of his voice was full of humiliation towards Da Zhou, so much so that the faces of the several envoys who followed him in turned red and they were filled with resentment.
"If you really want to negotiate, you can't do this." Prince Cheng said.
Ruo Luo Dahong raised his eyebrows, and the two people who were holding down the Fourth Prince loosened their grip slightly. The Fourth Prince then stood up tremblingly. His hair was disheveled, but one could vaguely see that one of his ears had disappeared without a trace.
"Can we talk now?" Ruolu Dahong asked with a smile.
Before the Great Zhou delegation could breathe a sigh of relief, Ruo Luo Dahong directly put forward his own conditions: "You want the Xianbei to withdraw their troops, and you want the Fourth Prince back, as long as you agree to three conditions."
"First, the Xianbei suffered heavy losses this time, and the Great Zhou must pay one million taels of silver as compensation."
"Second, from now on, the three new cities will be our Xianbei territory."
"Third, Meng Kun murdered our Xianbei people. The Great Zhou needs to present his head to appease our ancestors."
Although the delegation knew before setting off that the Xianbei people would never negotiate easily and would definitely make demands that they could not accept, everyone was still furious when they heard Ruo Luo Dahong's three conditions.
Prince Cheng's expression darkened completely. Aside from the first condition, there was no way they would agree to the other two. "Seventh Prince, are you kidding? If the Xianbei have no intention of negotiating, then this peace negotiation is over."
Ruo Luo Dahong laughed out loud, patted his thigh and said, "Prince Cheng, don't be so hasty to refuse."
"Are these three conditions too much? The Great Zhou is so wealthy that even merchants can come up with so much silver. What is a million silver coins? Killing one or two wealthy merchants will be enough."
"Besides, these three new cities outside Yunzhou City weren't originally part of the Great Zhou. They were simply built as a result of trade over the years. Even if they were annexed by the Xianbei, trade would still be allowed. What loss would that have to the Great Zhou?"
"As for Meng Kun, Prince Cheng, please think carefully. In the heart of your Great Zhou Emperor, is an old man who is not good at defending the city more important, or is the Fourth Prince more important?"
Prince Cheng sneered and said, "It seems that the Seventh Prince is indeed completely insincere!"
Before he could finish his words, two people behind the Fourth Prince exerted force and kicked him to the ground again, pulling out a big knife and holding it against his neck.
The Fourth Prince was also a coward. At this moment, he begged for mercy without caring about his dignity: "Fifth brother, save me. Hurry up and agree to them. These Xianbei people are capable of anything. Please save me. If I die, my father will never let you go!"
Looking at the Fourth Prince crying bitterly, Ruo Luo Dahong laughed again. However, the Great Zhou envoys felt deeply ashamed. They couldn't bear to look at him and avoided the Fourth Prince's pleading eyes.
Prince Cheng didn't even frown, and ignored his plea for help. He said bluntly, "If the Seventh Prince is willing, then we can talk properly. There's no need to mention the previous conditions again. If he's not, then let's call it a day."
When Luo Dahong heard this, his expression suddenly turned cold, and he shouted coldly: "Prince Cheng, I advise you to think carefully. If the Fourth Prince is not enough, then adding you, the Fifth Prince, and these officials of the Great Zhou behind you, I am afraid it will be enough!"
At this moment, a scream was heard outside. Prince Cheng's face changed and he said angrily: "You have no intention of negotiating at all!"
Ruo Luo Dahong laughed and said, "I didn't expect the Emperor of Great Zhou to be so naive. He even specially sent another prince over. It's a pity that old man Meng Kun didn't come, otherwise it would have been much easier!"
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Drinking milk tea
Eating snacks
One day passed
Then I can harvest a pound of meat
All of them are made with their own little money and real ability.
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