I'm the villain in the book

Chapter 533 Peace Talk

"emperor!"

"emperor!"

When Ning Yongnian slowly walked around the screen and appeared in the main hall, all the envoys from Daning's side immediately stood up and saluted with extremely respectful expressions.

But the people on Dabong's side behaved differently.

Someone quietly looked at Ning Yongnian with a fearful expression.

Someone stared angrily and clenched their teeth.

Some people bowed their heads in silence, not knowing what they were thinking.

Someone trembled slightly, as if a little frightened.
Of course, Li Qi still had that silly look, sitting at the head of the long table playing with the hem of his clothes.

As for Li Wutong sitting next to him
She dodged her eyes a little, she didn't seem to dare to look at Ning Yongnian.

"."

"Crash!"

The shaking of sleeves was loud, and after Ning Yongnian took the throne, all the Da Ning envoys also gathered their sleeves and sat down.

"emperor."

A white-haired old man in purple clothes unsteadily stood up, bowed and looked at Ning Yongnian.

His name is Sima Cong, he is the Minister of Honglu Temple, and he is also the envoy of Daning in the peace talks.

The envoy of Dafeng is a civil servant named Min Zhongguang.

"."

The tall and empty hall was quiet, except for the breathing of everyone, there was no movement for a while.

"Ah."

A moment later, Ning Yongnian nodded slightly with his expression unchanged.

Then, Sima Cong cleared his throat, and said slowly, word by word:
"Everyone, since the development of the two countries, many civilians have been scattered due to wars, and innocent people have lost their lives. The world is suffering."

"The two pilgrims do not want the common people to suffer this catastrophe, so they are willing to resolve the dispute between the two countries with a heart of benevolence and righteousness, a way of peace, and an act of peace."

"."

In any negotiation, the people who can really make up their minds are usually the ones who talk the least.

In general, the subordinates talk first, and if there is really no agreement, the right master will finally make the final decision.

The same is true of the current peace talks.

Although Ning Yongnian and Li Qi were both present, the details were basically "discussed" by Sima Cong and Min Zhongguang.

"Deliberation" is of course a euphemism.

Daning, as the winning side on the battlefield, must also have an absolute advantage in the peace talks.

To put it simply, Daning will put forward a total of five conditions.

As long as the two sides can agree on these five conditions, Daning will withdraw his troops.

And like all "unequal treaties", the first condition is naturally related to the status and territory of the two countries.

"From the date of the signing of the covenant, Dafeng must respect Daning as the main country, and cede the land of Jiujiang, Dangping, Miyun, Jiangxia, and Sanchuan to the territory of Daning, which will never be recovered. .”

"."

Respect Daning as the main state and recognize Dafeng as the former's vassal state.

And also cede the land of the five prefectures.

Compared with many "unequal treaties" in previous lives, such a condition seems very harsh at first glance.

But in fact, Dafeng did not react too violently to this.

Or maybe they were already mentally prepared.

After losing a battle, it is normal to cede territory and seek peace.

As for whether there are many lands in the five prefectures.
Dafeng has a total of twenty-four prefectures, and a prefecture is basically the same as a prefecture in Daning in terms of area and population.

Of course, it's different from house to house, some are important, while others are dispensable.

And these five prefectures are all located on the border between the two countries, so they are not very rich.

Therefore, what Ning Yongnian wanted was really not much or even much lower than Dafeng's previous expectations.

But even if you are secretly happy in your heart, you still have to do what you should do.

"Humph!"

After secretly looking at Li Wutong, Min Zhongguang snorted coldly, pretending to be indignant:
"Lord Sima! This is absolutely impossible!"

"."

About half an hour later, the hall door was slowly pushed halfway open, and the cold wind mixed with snowflakes squeezed into the hall immediately.

An eunuch walked out of the hall with a small note, handed the note to the etiquette officer waiting outside, and then returned to the hall.

The ceremony officer glanced down at the note, and immediately nodded to the soldiers beside him.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The next moment, the deafening drum sounded, dull and heavy.

There was an instant commotion outside the government office, and the crowd that filled the entire street was huddled in the heavy snow, waiting for something with their heads up and their breaths held.

Then they heard the calm but very clear voice of the ritual officer.

"The Huailing Alliance, the first one!"

"The two countries have tentatively agreed that from the date of the conclusion of the covenant, Dafeng must respect Daning as the main country, and cede Jiujiang Mansion, Dangping Mansion, Miyun Mansion, and Jiangxia Mansion. It cannot be returned!"

"."

Under Ning Yongnian's deliberate arrangement, the progress of the negotiations between the two parties was made public immediately.

It is difficult to say what purpose the former did.

Anyway, for the people of Dafeng, it is difficult for anyone to remain calm at this time.

In addition to anger, this feeling may be more helpless.

"Oh, how aggrieved!"

"Why did the emperor and princess agree to such a condition!"

"Okay, it's not bad, it's just the land of the four prefectures, not too much."

"That's all?! This is my Great Blessing Territory!!"

"But the imperial court has lost the battle. What else can we do other than cede the land and ask for peace? If the emperor refuses to agree, what do you think Ning Yongnian will do?"

"This"

"Huh? Why isn't our Huailing among the four mansions?"

"What? Do you still want to be a lackey of Daning?!"

"Don't misunderstand me, my friend. I just find it strange. After all, Huailing Mansion is also on the border between the two countries."

"."

Soon, the crowd outside the government office began to discuss with indignation or sighs.

And no matter what their attitudes were, whether they were sad or sober, the negotiations in the palace would not be affected by this and would continue soon.

After talking about the territorial issue, the next step must be "reparations".

The "war indemnity" is [-] million taels, to be paid within three years.

In addition, as a vassal state, Dafeng also pays [-] million taels of silver, [-] good horses, [-] stones of fine grain, and some special products such as silk, satin, and sheep to Daning every year.
Compared with "territory cession", although "reparations" do not involve sovereignty issues, the damage to a country is more direct and fierce.

After all, Daning burned money in wars, and Dafeng also burned money.

And when the national treasury has bottomed out, these huge compensation can only be exploited from the common people.

At that time, all kinds of complicated and exorbitant taxes will surely emerge one after another, and the people will have no means of living, which will cause Dafeng to enter a vicious circle of continuous decline in national power. In the end, one will ebb and flow, and Dafeng will no longer be Daning's opponent.
No one does not understand this truth.

No matter whether it is Min Zhongguang or Li Wutong, they all know the consequences of bearing such a huge "debt".

But what if you don't agree?

Therefore, when there is no conflict between the bottom lines of the two parties, the issue of "reparations" was also discussed very quickly.

Sima Cong still let go of his mouth symbolically, reducing the compensation by ten million taels.

However, Min Zhongguang could only accept such an amount after repeated attempts to no avail.

The indemnity is [-] taels, paid off within three years, and the rest of the conditions remain unchanged
So far, two of the five conditions have been negotiated.

These two items can be said to be within Dafeng's expectations and within their acceptable range.

Even Li Qi, Ning Yongnian, and Li Wutong didn't say a single word during this process.

The former is to pretend to be stupid and unable to speak.

The latter two both know that it is not the time for them to speak.
It was still snowing heavily outside the house, and the voice of the ceremonial officer sounded again in Huailing City.

And as Sima Cong calmly stated the third condition after a while, the atmosphere in the hall finally became tense for the first time.

(End of this chapter)