first minister

In Lieyang Pass, two days of short rest could not eliminate the shocking embarrassment before.

After watching a long tug-of-war, the two sides finally reached an agreement and could go home with their merits complete. However, something went wrong again at the critical moment.

If it was just a mistake, that would be fine. The problem now is that when the two sides were back and forth with each other, one side's bargaining chip was gone!
How are you going to serve the table when all the chips are gone?
However, for the people in Beiliang, it was uncomfortable to lose their chips, but they had something even more tragic and embarrassing:
Their deputy envoy was not sold.

In the previous talks, when Xia Jingyun proposed to take Wang Ruoshui back, Beiliang did not choose to protect the surrendered minister who had come thousands of miles to surrender, and did not hesitate to throw the opponent away as a chess piece.

It would be fine if the matter ended like that. From now on, no one would see each other, and those resentments would only be separated by thousands of miles, or even life and death.

But now, the agreement is invalid, and Wang Ruoshui, who had been abandoned, can only stay in the mission.

Even the well-informed Yelvshi couldn't bear this embarrassment. He was too embarrassed to see Wang Ruoshui for two days.

Of course, he also had more important things to think about.

After waiting for a day and confirming the authenticity of the incident in Yuyanzhou through his own information channels, he needed to seriously consider what strategy Daliang should adopt in this peace negotiation without Yuyanzhou as a trump card and cover. What results should we aim for, and what price are we willing to pay for them?

Although His Majesty had explained this, which was almost the worst case scenario, during the derivation with him before coming, it was impossible to go into too much detail, and the thoughts of the people of the Southern Dynasties would also change at any time according to the situation. , it is impossible to completely follow their deductions, so Yelvshi, as the chief envoy, must think about how to respond to various situations in advance.

He had no advantage to begin with, but now he had lost his most important bargaining chip. In just two days, there were a lot more white hairs on Yelvshi's head.

At the same time, in the city lord's palace, Xia Jingyun was also discussing his own response with Jiang Yuhu, Bai Yunbian and others.

Yuyan State was completely controlled by Dongfang Ping, which was both a good thing and a bad thing for Daxia.

The good thing is that without Beiliang, Dongfang Ping's rebellion has become a separate and self-reliant frontier army. It has become an internal matter in Daxia, and it will be much easier to deal with.

The bad thing is that if Beiliang still controls Yuyan State, it is very likely to take advantage of this opportunity to directly take back Yuyan State without having to spend so much effort.

Bai Yunbian analyzed: "Now the Beiliang people have completely lost all their bargaining chips. Yuyan State is no longer under their control, Lieyang Pass and Phoenix City are also occupied by us, and we still have tens of thousands of their elites as prisoners. Whether they fight or not is completely up to us. If they want to take back Lieyang Pass and Phoenix City, and then exchange them for prisoners, I'm afraid they won't be able to offer equivalent bargaining chips, right?"

Xia Jingyun spoke slowly, "If I were from Beiliang, I wouldn't expect to get back Lieyang Pass and Phoenix City. For this kind of territorial matter, when they are militarily weak, they simply can't afford the corresponding chips. . If they don’t talk, they will probably just say goodbye and leave. If they still want to talk, it will only be for those prisoners, and the matters involved are probably monetary matters. In fact, in terms of negotiation alone, this matter has already It’s not complicated anymore.”

Jiang Yuhu listened silently and said calmly: "You can talk about whatever you want. Once we've finished talking, I'll have someone chop off their right thumbs and give them back."

Without the thumb on his right hand, arching, horse riding, shooting, and fighting in battle will be greatly affected, and the basic military career will be ruined.

Although it sounded cruel, neither Xia Jingyun nor Bai Yunbian expressed any objection.

The two armies were fighting. Jiang Yuhu had directly killed all these people without damaging his reputation as a famous general, let alone just chopped off his thumb.

Letting these tigers and wolves leave unscathed and come back in the future is truly cruel to the soldiers of their own country.

As soon as the three of them agreed, Lang Yukun, the minister of Honglu Temple, came to the door and announced, "Marquis Jianning, King Dingxi of Beiliang wants to see you."

The three people in the room looked at each other. Xia Jingyun stood up and said to the other two people, "Wait for my news."

Jiang Yuhu suddenly spoke and pointed to Baiyun, "Take him with you and let him say some shameless words."

Bai Yunbian was immediately furious, "Reckless man! Don't go too far!"

Jiang Yuhu clenched his fists and said calmly: "Is it too much?"

Listening to the crackling sound of bones, Bai Yunbian's expression froze, and he said in a confident manner: "You wait, 50 years to the east of the river, 50 years to the west of the river!"

Xia Jingyun suppressed a smile and pulled Bai Yunbian out of the room before Jiang Yuhu made a move.

After leaving the room, he said with a smile, half teasing and half persuading: "Why are you provoking him! In 50 years in Hedong and 50 years in Hexi, Jiang Yuhu can beat you three hundred times a year, but in 50 years you can still hit you three times. A hundred punches?"

Bai Yunbian was stunned for a moment, and then said: "I can afford three hundred blows now, can he afford three hundred blows at that time?"

Xia Jingyun:.
Tired, destroy it.

This time, Yelvshi was alone, without King Jing and Wang Ruoshui. It would be useless to bring one with him, and he would be too embarrassed to bring the other with him.

He thought that Xia Jingyun would have a secret conversation between smart people with him, but when he saw the white clouds walking behind Xia Jingyun, he couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth, having a premonition of how difficult today would be.

Xia Jingyun never made any ridiculous gestures on such trivial matters, so he took the initiative to say with a smile: "King Dingxi is here, he must have already made a decision?"

Yelvshi nodded, "Jianning Marquis is so wise that I won't go around in circles anymore. Now that Yuyan Prefecture is no longer under my control, and I am self-aware, let's talk about the prisoners of war."

Xia Jingyun nodded, "King Dingxi is worthy of his reputation as a great man, so I don't need to waste any time on him."

Yelvshi said: "We are willing to exchange 60 taels of silver for 60 captives, and at the same time compensate them for their food and lodging, your city's repairs, and military expenses during their capture, and another 120 taels, for a total of [-] million taels. After signing the contract , it can be delivered within seven days.”

Bai Yunbian took over, "Does King Dingxi think that your country's warriors who are good at fighting are only worth 20 taels? How can a great leader look down on your country's warriors so much!"

Yelvshi was speechless at this troublemaker, and suppressed his anger and said: "The words of the Marquis of Huai'an are wrong. In battles on the battlefield, the outcome is unpredictable. Once captured, our court, from His Majesty to all the officials, are willing to do their best to rescue them." , I have traveled thousands of miles to come here, this is our attitude towards the soldiers, never abandon or give up, how can this kind of friendship be measured by silver taels!"

Bai Yunbian looked confused, "Then what are we measuring now? Measuring the kindness of Gao Yang and me?"

Yelu Shi's face turned green, "Master Bai, if you have any suggestions, just tell me."

Unexpectedly, Bai Yunbian spread his hands and said, "I don't have any suggestions. I just think that your conditions are too demanding and undermine the dignity of your great leaders. If outsiders know about it, they will think that you, the great leaders, can't afford the money!"

Yelvshi almost couldn't catch his breath, and Xia Jingyun chuckled, "In that case, let's do what we said before. We will return the 150 captives. You will pay 50 million taels of silver at one time and [-] taels of annual coins every year. At the same time, Open a market at Lieyang Pass for trading by the merchants and traveling people of both countries."

This condition is by no means undemanding, but if both Lieyang Pass and Phoenix City are in the hands of the Southern Dynasty, and the offensive and defensive situation is easy to change, Daliang may have no choice but to admit it with his nose pinched.

Yelvshi was silent for a moment and then asked tentatively: "Well, Mr. Wang of our mission, Marquis Jianning, do you want to come again?"

Xia Jingyun, who happened to have a fair and just reason to clear Wang Ruoshui's suspicion, smiled slightly, "I thought about it afterwards. Everyone has their own ambitions. He has not committed any serious crime, so let him go."

The corner of Yelvshi's mouth twitched again, but then he thought, if it were him, he would have made the same choice.

The rift between him and Wang Ruoshui had already begun, and it was naturally more beneficial to the Southern Dynasty to stay in Daliang and do bad things than to come back and be executed.

Thinking of this, he also paid more attention to Xia Jingyun. It was really rare for a person of this age to be able to not care about hatred and anger at all and just clearly focus on interests.

He did not choose to bargain. After all, the money was given by the court, and it was given by the Xue family, not his Yelu family. He said directly: "Okay, let's follow what Marquis Jianning said, let's draw up the document right now?"

Xia Jingyun smiled and said, "Okay!"

Once the two parties have reached an agreement, there will be no disturbance, and the rest is just a matter of going through the process.

Officials from both sides, who had been waiting in Lieyang Pass for a long time, worked as fast as they could before taking a shower after reuniting with their beloved wife and concubine after a long separation.

Afterwards, the two sides still paid attention to a sense of ceremony, and in accordance with the etiquette of diplomatic relations, they once again climbed onto the high-rise of the negotiation.

Everyone sat down in their official uniforms. The only thing missing was Wang Ruoshui, the deputy envoy of Daliang, but everyone didn't care. Being able to reach this damn agreement as soon as possible and return to the country for business, that's what everyone wanted more.

Yelvshi took out the big seal, and King Jing Xue Yi sat next to him and said with a smile: "This time, there can't be any more trouble, right?"

Yelvshi also smiled, dipped the big seal in ink mud, and covered it heavily on the silk book.

Then, he heard the sound of horse hooves, and couldn't help but froze, looking at the bright red seal in front of him.

The sound of horse hooves stopped downstairs, replaced by the echo of footsteps rushing on the wooden stairs.

Everyone in the room upstairs, regardless of north or south, looked at each other in astonishment, with one thought in their mind: No way?
This time, the people who came up were not only Jiang Yuhu, but also a team of people dressed in Beiliang to serve.The two parties entered the house, separated at the same time, and then brought people from their respective camps to both sides of the house.

After a few breaths, there was an uncontrollable exclamation from both sides almost in unison.

Xia Jingyun couldn't help but change his expression. He rarely looked at Jiang Yuhu and asked, "Is the news confirmed?"

Jiang Yuhu nodded, "Let's go back and discuss it."

Xia Jingyun hummed, turned to look at the people in Beiliang who were still in shock, and hurriedly went downstairs.

Everyone in Beiliang didn't bother to say hello, but looked at the messenger in horror. Except for Yelv Shi, every face was full of fear.

Seeing all the people from the Southern Dynasty leaving, Yelvshi asked directly: "When did it happen? How did everyone react afterward?"

The envoy said: "What I said to King Dingxi happened the night before. General Huwei Yu Wenyun sent private troops to the capital to stop the timid Xue Wei. The prince and Andong King Murong Chui attacked the palace. That night, His Majesty died and the prince ascended the throne. Then he sent Yu Wenyun into Prince Mu's Mansion, imprisoned Prince Mu, and at the same time ordered the release of King Zhennan and the restoration of his title. Zhongshu ordered Yuan Xiantao and Minister of War Pei Shisheng to lead hundreds of officials into the court after King Zhennan was released."

In just a few words, to the ears of others, they can tell what happened.

But to the ears of people like Yelvshi, it was as if all the undercurrents of Liangdu were revealed before their eyes.

The prince's secret plan, the Yuwen family's advance plan, the Murong family's prompt decision after Murong Long's death, and the three parties' combined efforts to launch an uprising.
The imprisonment and release of King Mu and King Zhennan shows that the prince has begun to develop the skills of an emperor;
The entry of the Yuan family and the Pei family into the court meant that the two families had reached an exchange of interests with the prince and recognized the prince's control over the court situation.

But there is nothing to do with the Yelu family!
As the most trusted minister of the late emperor, can he, Yelv Shi, and the Yelv family behind him regain the trust of the new emperor? If not, what should they do?
Yelvshi fell into deep thought.

King Jing, on the other hand, was more confused, what the hell?If I go out for a trip, my father will be gone?
He actually doesn't care much about who becomes emperor, since it's not his turn anyway.

But I didn't expect that this day would come so soon, and the prince would still follow his father's old path and kill his father to ascend the throne.

At this moment, he had a personal understanding of the drastic changes in the court situation, and this understanding reached its peak after seeing the always calm and calm Yelvshi frowning with sorrow on his face.

It looks like a beautiful place but is actually a dangerous road to glory. My choice is indeed the right one.

The remaining people with less high status lamented that they were still laughing at the emperor of the Southern Dynasty last year, and then planned to take advantage of the turmoil in the Southern Dynasty to trample on the prosperity of the Southern Dynasty.

Who would have known that His Majesty would be gone in the next year? It’s so easy to reincarnate, who will God spare!
Although Daliang was not as repellent to this kind of thing as the Southern Dynasty, it was still a huge event that made them, who were also Daliang people, worried about their future in the new dynasty.

Not to mention the people in Beiliang who had eaten melons on themselves, Xia Jingyun and others hurried back to the city lord's mansion and sat down, with expressions of shock that had not subsided.

"In other words, the Prince of Beiliang repeated the old path of his father who came to power 30 years ago, killed the king and ascended the throne, and at the same time basically took control of the court situation?"

Xia Jingyun looked at Jiang Yuhu and asked.

Jiang Yuhu nodded, "But it's not a big problem. His main reliance now is Murong Chui, Yu Wenyun and Zhennan King Xue Zonghan. Xue Zonghan is a waste. Murong Chui can't even fight Xue Zonghan, not to mention, as for Yu Wenyun, There is not much information about the army, but I think those who are ranked among the Four Horsemen of Northern Liang with Xue Wenlu should be no different from trash."

Bai Yunbian wanted to criticize Jiang Yuhu, saying that he was too arrogant and that everyone was a waste, but thinking that Jiang Yuhu would probably say "You too", he resisted the desire to speak.

The ups and downs of the past year have indeed made him mature a lot.

Xia Jingyun smiled and echoed, "Just as the general said, Emperor Liang once dreamed of a situation where the opponent's imperial power changed, the government and the public changed dramatically, people's hearts fluctuated, and the border troops were in turmoil. If we can knock down or occupy the opponent's border barrier, we can march straight in. Whatever he asked for, although his many plans failed to come true for us, he made it come true for us by sacrificing himself. In a short period of time, the military threat in northern Xinjiang should be eliminated."

Bai Yunbian became excited when he heard this, "So, we can start the Northern Expedition?"

His eyes were shining with the romance and excitement common to literati, "Drinking horses from Beihai, laying stones to sacrifice to heaven at the Holy Mountain of Beiliang, my darling, this is an unprecedented achievement in the ages!"

But his words did not bring excitement to Jiang Yuhu, who had the most to do with his words. He just glanced at the white clouds and said, "Do you know how many people need to die to do what you said?"

Xia Jingyun's mind also recalled the story of drinking from the vast sea of ​​horses and sealing the wolf from Xu. Listening to it seemed to make his blood boil, but as Jiang Yuhu said, how many people would die?

Nowadays, the relationship between Daxia and Beiliang is not like the stories of Han and Huns that he is familiar with. The Huns in the story are complete nomads. Robbery is their main source of survival. After two generations of accumulation, the Huns are at their peak. It is necessary to completely solve the serious problem of the Xiongnu in order to defend the border.

But now, with Lieyang Pass and Phoenix City in hand, Beiliang cannot go south easily, and the strategic initiative is in his own hands.

Beiliang is already the prototype of a centralized country, with its own relatively mature political system and national operating mechanism. With Daxia's current national strength, on the one hand, it is impossible to completely conquer it in the short term, and at the same time, they are not bound to invade the border.

What's more, the internal reforms in Daxia, the rebellions in various places, and the serious problem of Dongfang Ping are all urgent needs, and there is no spare energy to go to the Northern Expedition.

So, he softly echoed Jiang Yuhu's words, "It's not that the Northern Expedition cannot be carried out, but it is that the Northern Expedition cannot be carried out now. At present, except for the reason of the change of imperial power in Beiliang, there is no objective condition that can support this decision. Internal affairs reform, local peace The rebellion and the recovery of Yuyan Prefecture are all major events. The imperial court’s national power cannot support the war to destroy the country, let alone the consequences of failure.”

Bai Yunbian was not stunned. After calming down, he also figured it out. However, he was still a little reluctant, "Did we really just miss this God-given opportunity?"

Jiang Yuhu glanced at Xia Jingyun, who was frowning and rubbing his fingers, and said to Bai Yunbian: "You are also tired today, go out and get some fresh air."

Bai Yunbian couldn't help but be startled when he heard this. When had this guy been so kind to him?
He looked at Jiang Yuhu suspiciously. Jiang Yuhu rolled his eyes and carried him out of the room. "I'm afraid you'll disturb his thoughts with your nonsense here."

Baiyunbian:
In the quiet room, Xia Jingyun continued to think.

What Bai Yunbian said was true. Once the emperor who had been in charge of Beiliang for more than thirty years passed away, the originally stable interest structure ushered in drastic changes. This was indeed an excellent opportunity for them to plan for Beiliang.

But at the moment, the imperial court does not have the ability to fight a big war.

Is there any way to make the country's national strength quickly become stronger?

Internal affairs, rebellion, peace in the East, dignitaries, land, taxes, are there any ways to move the stones away at once?
He frowned and thought hard, but he couldn't find a solution, because these difficulties were real and could not be circumvented.

He stood up, walked to the window and opened it. The cold wind outside the window rushed in, which made his expression quietly refreshed, and a flash of inspiration flashed in his mind.

No, why should the Northern Expedition be the ultimate goal?
What was the purpose of the Northern Expedition? To defeat Beiliang;

The reason for defeating Beiliang is to eliminate the threat of Beiliang and make Daxia stable;
So besides defeating Beiliang, is there any other way to solve the threat of Beiliang?

He picked up the pen on the table and started sketching on the paper.

As he wrote, his brows gradually widened.

When he stopped writing and looked at the final conclusion, he couldn't help but feel a little stunned.

But after going through it again in his mind, he confirmed again that this might really be a feasible solution.

Outside the room, Bai Yunbian looked at Jiang Yuhu, "Have you ever thought that when you invited me out, you didn't bring me a robe?"

Jiang Yuhu said calmly: "I'm not cold. Besides, I brought it out, not invited it."

Bai Yunbian shook his body, folded his arms, and snorted coldly, "When spring opens its tail to show its splendor, the civet cat erects its fur to show off its ferocious power, it looks majestic like a tiger, and it remains motionless like a mountain of beasts returning home."

Jiang Yuhu turned to look at him, seemingly a little surprised by Bai Yunbian's boldness, "Are you saying that this young master will show off whatever he lacks?"

Bai Yunbian turned his head proudly, "I didn't expect you, a reckless man, to know a few lines of poetry. Hey, hey! Let me down!"

Jiang Yuhu lifted him up with one hand and said with a smile: "I have learned a few new pistol skills recently, so I will show them off to Lord Bai."

"Reckless man! Rough man! Put me down!"

After a short commotion, Chen Fugui came over with a blank look on his face and said, "Your Highness Prince Jing, Marquis of Huai'an, please go back and talk."

A moment later, in the room, when Xia Jingyun stepped back and asked Chen Fugui to guard the door in person, he told the two of them his thoughts. Bai Yun, who was still weak in the legs, couldn't help but exclaimed, "You're crazy." ah!"

Even Jiang Yuhu, who was used to big scenes and Xia Jingyun's unconstrained ideas, couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and change his expression, showing shock on his face. (End of chapter)