According to Xu Ping's suggestion, this peace talks will no longer allow envoys to go back and forth to the capitals of the two countries, but will be stationed in Yunneizhou and Fengzhou. When there are any major matters that the envoys cannot decide, they will report to the court. If the peace agreement is agreed, they will go to the capital to submit their oaths according to the laws of Chanzhou.

After the alliance of Chanzhou, the envoys were all civil and military, civil officials were the chief envoys, and military generals were the deputy envoys. The Song Dynasty used to say that the envoys had a low rank, and they were generally middle and lower-level officials. In particular, civil officials were mostly below the ministers, and sometimes they were used as chief lords, and the rank of military generals might be higher. Khitan envoys were also civil and military, but according to their national conditions, one had to be added, one was one of them, one was the Khitans, and the other was the Yan people, that is, the Han people in the Khitan territory. During the reception of the Song Dynasty, the envoys used foreign rituals to the Khitans and Han rituals to the Yan people. Both sides were very careful about the envoys rituals involving national status, from the arrangement of seats, to the clothes they wore, rituals they performed, activities they participated in, and even what they ate, they each had a set of standards recognized by the other party.

During this peace talks, the official envoy of the Song Dynasty was the Minister of Rites, Fu Bi, the Deputy envoy of Jixianyuan, Zhang Maoshi, the envoy of Enzhou Tuanlian, and Zhang Maoshi, the envoy of the Khitan, the co-magistrate of the Xijin Prefecture, and both of them received the orders of Wang Weiji, and the position of both sides was roughly the same.

The real person in charge was actually the commanding generals of the two sides on the front line. Song was Xu Ping and Fan Zhongyan, and Khitan was Xiao Guanzhi and Liu Liufu. Only after they agreed would they report to their respective courts and finally agreed.

When Fu Bi and Zhang Maoshi arrived in Yunneizhou, it was the coldest time, and the two were trembling with coldness.

Xu Ping and Fan Zhongyan greeted the two in the Protectorate's Mansion, received them from the official hall, and took them to the host and seated them.

There was a fire channel in the layer, which was as warm as spring. Fu Bi breathed a sigh of relief: "The weather in the north of the Sei River is as cold as this time, but it was so cold this time! The Protector set up a fire channel here to drive away the coldness. Only then did we both come alive!"

Xu Ping said: "You are here so quickly. I think you are riding a horse quickly. Recently, it has been windy these days. Isn't it so cold that I'll be so cold! In fact, you don't have to be so anxious. You can sit in the car and take your time, so you won't be so embarrassed."

Fu Bi said: "How can you do it! The Protector's victory in the north again, and the people in the court were excited and wished to see how the Khitans looked immediately. Of course, they could be a moment earlier."

Only then did the two of them recover. Fu Bi and Zhang Maoshi stood up together and greeted Xu Ping: "I wish you a great victory!"

Xu Ping accepted it and said to the two: "You are envoys of the court. You are sitting down and talking. We have to discuss peace with the Khitans. Everything is mixed. We must discuss it carefully. This time, like the story of Chanzhou, we must maintain peace for many years and be careless."

The two of them sat back, and Fu Bi said, "Your resignation before you come, the emperor will tell you that the Protector and the Strategies will preside over the overall situation when discussing peace. We will go and discuss with the Khitans. When the overall situation is decided, we will report to the court to determine whether it is possible."

Xu Ping nodded and said to Fan Zhongyan: "There are many military affairs now, and it is a major event to stop the troops after the disaster. I am plagued by government affairs, so we should pay more attention to peace talks. After the Chanzhou Alliance, the two countries have been peaceful for decades, and everything has been established, so don't update too much."

Fan Zhongyan bowed: "The Protector is only responsible for the overall situation. All the matters are done by me and the two envoys."

On the roasting, Xu Ping and Fan Zhongyan talked about some gossip with Fu Bi and Zhang Maoshi, asking about their experiences on the road and the movements in the court.

In the battle of Yunneizhou, the Khitan forced him to retreat. The ministers gave Zhao Zhen a title and changed the Yuanli period last month. After Jingyou, the year number changed many times, which was related to Yuanhao. Kangding had a lot of connections with his various titles and names, and changed Yuan Baoyuan. Later, he found out that Baoyuan was related to it again, so he took this opportunity to change it again.

After a series of great victory, some officials in the court were particularly excited as if they were injected with chicken blood. They did not negotiate peace with the Khitan, but continued to fight and restore the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun. The court could not suppress them. It was precisely because of this that Fu Bi and Zhang Maoshi were asked to rush out of the Great Wall as soon as possible and make the peace with the Khitan, otherwise I would not know when the matter would be quarrel.

His body was completely warmed up, and Fu Bi asked Xu Ping: "Protector, can you tell me a general idea first when discussing peace?"

Xu Ping said: "It's just a matter of discussing it one by one according to the old rules of the Chanzhou oath. What do the officials in the court think now?"

Fu Bi said: "The annual monies must not be given. As for the borders, most officials asked the Khitan to give up Fengzhou. Other matters remain the same. The two countries are still brotherly countries and they are not allowed to raise troops easily. If so, I am afraid that the Khitan will not agree."

Xu Ping smiled and said, "Of course I won't agree. If you don't say you're giving up Fengzhou, you're afraid they won't want to cancel the annual monies. How did the Supreme Lord and the Privy Council instruct you two? How to negotiate peace with the Khitan? Is there a bottom line?"

"According to what the Protector said before, the Qing Tombs in Fengzhou and Yunneizhou are bounded, and the two sides are forbidden lands are not allowed to cultivate or pick and grazing. The annual monies cannot be given. If possible, let the Khitan collect coins for this dynasty in the same way as the previous example."

Xu Ping thought for a while and said, "According to my estimate, the border can be handled in this way. There is no reason to give up the places where the battle is captured. However, if the Khitans cancel the annual monies, I am afraid that the Khitans will not agree. First, their face, once the annual monies are gone, it means that the Khitan bows to our dynasty. Another Khitan prince, many people make money by the annual monies. How could they be willing to lose it?"

Fu Bi was stunned: "According to the Dupu, can you continue to give annual monies to the Khitan in the future? Such a court cannot explain it!"

"Don't be so straightforward. We must take care of the face of both parties. It's better to do this. The annual monies are still given to the Khitan, but at the same time, the Khitan provides horses to the court every year, and they are all given the name of helping the military expenses of the two dynasties. If you carefully summarize how many horses you buy in the annual monies, you can give the Khitan an additional two thousand horses every year to redeem the annual monies we gave them for the past forty years. In this way, the Khitan receives annual monies as before every year, without losing face and giving inward instructions. We will not suffer any loss when we get horses."

Fu Bi nodded and said to Zhang Maoshi beside him: "What the Protector said, what does the Group Practitioner think?"

Zhang Maoshi said: "This is possible. Just think that we buy horses from the Khitan every year, and both sides will not lose face. It's just that such a big thing is that we can't make a decision. We should report to the court and ask the priest for respect."

Fan Zhongyan planned on the side, and Xu Ping proposed this method, which was indeed a way for both sides to be more acceptable. Don’t think that if they defeated the Khitan, they would obediently admit that their strength was not as strong as the Song Dynasty. The conditions were too harsh, which might force them to have a fierce attack and simply fight a big battle. At this time, the Song army was not prepared, and hundreds of thousands of imperial guards were facing military system reform, and the consequences were unpredictable. Temporary peace talks, maintaining a certain tense situation on the border, and reforming the military system internally is a safe way.

The annual monies were not too heavy for the Song Dynasty, especially for the current Sansi, it was just a drop in the annual income, mainly because of the face. But this was not the case for the Khitan. Not to mention silver, the price of silk in the two countries was several times different. This is a major income of the Khitan royal court. Cutting off the annual monies means cutting off the royal court's income, and their reactions would inevitably be fierce. If they were asked to exchange horses for it, the Khitan royal family could transfer the price to the local area or even to the surrounding vassal tribes. Yelu Zongzhen would not suffer any loss. In the past, the Khitan did not sell horses to the Song Dynasty because there was no horse herding land and there was a very shortage of horses. After the Dangxiang was destroyed, the horse herding land was already there, and it was not very meaningful to prohibit selling horses to the Song Dynasty, and they were more likely to accept it.

It seems that Xu Ping really wants to make peace with the Khitan.
Chapter completed!