In the afternoon, the two sides formally held the first round of negotiations at the Xuanfu Envoy Office. Huang Guinian temporarily served as Li Hui's deputy. On the Shaanxi Road side, Jiang Yanxian was the chief envoy, and his deputy was Su Ji, the chief official of Hucao Division. In addition,
There are officials responsible for recording and preparing materials, five or six on each side.
Jiang Yanxian said calmly: "We sent troops mainly for two reasons. As we all know, in the great cause of fighting against the Jin soldiers, Sichuan and Shaanxi have always been one. Shaanxi sent people, and Sichuan sent money and food to support. It is precisely because of the strong logistics.
With support, the Western Army defeated the Jin soldiers again and again, killing hundreds of thousands of enemies. Although we regained Shaanxi Road, the population was withering, the people were hungry and cold, and all the wealth in Shaanxi Road was exploited by the Jin soldiers and the puppet Qi army.
He is extremely weak and must rest and recuperate so that the people can slowly recover.
But in this way, Shaanxi Road and Xihe Road cannot afford our 200,000 troops. The army cannot support us. How should we fight against the Jin? This is an urgent and big problem. We need a stable backup, and Bashu is our most important.
For a good support base, the significance of the integration of Sichuan and Shaanxi must be reflected."
Huang Guinian said slowly: "That's right. I visited the prefectures in Shaanxi Province. The people were really miserable. Their families were destitute. Some families didn't even have bowls to eat. I also saw the Xuanfu envoy Wu Ming.
The third halving tax announcement means that taxes will be exempted for five years, and taxes will be halved for another three years. This is equivalent to eight years of rest and recuperation, and Shaanxi Road can slowly recover its vitality."
Li Hui stroked his beard and smiled slightly: "So, the Western Army only entered Bashu because of lack of money and food?"
"As I said just now, there are two reasons. This is just one of them. The other reason is that Li Qiong sent troops to disturb the people. At night, Li Qiong's men would go out in groups to rob homes and rob people's houses, insulting the women of the people, which made northern Sichuan
The resentment among the people in various states was boiling, and the Xuanfu envoys could not bear it anymore and sent troops to severely punish these rogue troops who violated discipline."
Li Hui nodded, "I understand your intention of sending troops to Sichuan. The imperial court also hopes to find a satisfactory way to solve the irrational behavior in Bashu. That's why I went to Jingzhao as an envoy. In order to express sincerity,
The officials removed me from my position as the Sichuan Xuanfu Envoy and changed me to the Jinghu North Road Appeasement Envoy in order to avoid irritating you, as I have explained before."
Jiang Yanxian added: "Our attitude is that we hope that the two sides can find a balance point that can not only take into account the interests of the imperial court but also protect the needs of the Western Army, so we are willing to negotiate a solution rather than relying on force. This is our sincerity."
, if it is solved by force alone, the imperial court will not have any chance."
One of Li Hui's subordinate officials couldn't help but angrily said: "Confronting the imperial court is actually called sincerity? If you admit that you are ministers of the Song Dynasty, you are not qualified to bargain with the imperial court, let alone use force to seize the imperial court's territory, and then
If you keep saying that you are sincere, this is clearly the way of separatist feudal rule!"
Su Ji, the chief officer of the Hucao Division, also responded unceremoniously: "Are we separatizing Sichuan and Shaanxi? If we were separatizing Sichuan and Shaanxi, would you still have the opportunity to sit here and negotiate? We were not the ones who failed miserably in Yiling. If we are unwilling to negotiate,
, we will never force it!”
Li Hui was famous for being peaceful in the court. He quickly waved his hands and said: "Everyone, calm down. Since it is a negotiation, it means that both parties recognize the reality and are willing to face the reality. Let's continue! Jiang Changshi said that he hopes both parties
Find a balance point, where is your balance point?"
Jiang Yanxian smiled slightly and said: "This balance point cannot be decided by one person. Just like the scale, both parties can find this balance point by weighing it together. The key is that everyone must be ready. If the comforter is ready, we can work together."
Get up and weigh..."
Jiang Yanxian's words were very sharp, and the implication was that you yourself don't know the court's bottom line, so how could I tell you my bottom line?
Li Hui smiled bitterly and said, "I will send a dove letter to the court early tomorrow morning!"
Li Hui sent three pigeons in a row and flew to Xiangyang with his letters, then from Xiangyang to Jiangzhou, and from Jiangzhou to Lin'an. It took three days along the way, but this was compared to the thirty days of long-distance travel.
, the time is much shorter.
After receiving the pigeon letter, Zhang Jun copied a copy and hurried to the Da Nei Palace. It was dusk and the emperor Zhao Gou summoned Zhang Jun at the Linde Hall.
"Your Majesty, this is the content of their first round of negotiations. Both sides are testing, but there are several points that can be made clear. The first is that Chen Qing does not intend to betray the Song Dynasty."
Zhao Gou sneered and said: "Putting up an imperial seal sign and repairing Renzong's ancestral hall can prove that he has no intention of betraying the Song Dynasty? Is this conclusion too rash?"
Zhang Jun advised: "Your Majesty, Chen Qing is not a cunning and ambitious person like Liu Guangshi. He is more motivated by anger. But saying that he wants to separate the country now and want to rebel and stand on his own is not that I underestimate him. He still wants to be independent."
If you cannot reach this level, if your Majesty still does not understand the meaning of Wei Chen, then we can change someone, for example, replace Chen Qing with Liu Guangshi. He occupied Sichuan and Shaanxi and defeated the imperial army. Will he still negotiate with the imperial court?"
Zhao Gou nodded slightly, "My husband is right. If it were Liu Guangshi, I'm afraid he wouldn't have negotiated with the imperial court."
"That's what Wei Chen means. As long as he is still willing to negotiate, it means that he still recognizes that he is Song Chen, and there is hope for solving the crisis."
Zhao Gou sighed, "My lord, please continue. What else has been clarified after the preliminary negotiations?"
Zhang Jun hesitated and said: "There may be one thing that will disappoint His Majesty. I think he will not withdraw his troops from Bashu."
Zhao Gou looked ugly, but he did not have an attack. This was what he expected. He snorted and said, "I know he will not withdraw his troops. If he withdraws, it will be meaningless to attack Bashu."
"Your Majesty is right. Although he refuses to withdraw his troops, we promised to give him money and food support, pay his military salary, and then ask him to withdraw his troops."
"Then what?"
"He will definitely not believe us and refuse to retreat, and we can do the next best thing and get the government power of Bashu. In other words, the military and political affairs of Bashu will be separated, and the military will be handed over to Chen Qing, but local governance and officials will be separated.
The power of appointment and dismissal still belongs to the imperial court."
Zhao Gou walked a few steps with his hands behind his back and asked, "What about the financial power?"
Zhang Jun sighed, "Your Majesty, what Chen Qing wants is financial power. If we can get local governance and the power to appoint and remove officials, we have actually taken back half of Bashu. At most, we can get back the officials' salaries."
Zhao Gou stood in front of the window and pondered for a long time and said: "It's okay, stabilize Chen Qing first, and then go back and deal with Liu Guangshi."
"Your Majesty, maybe we can ask Chen Qing to deal with Liu Guangshi for us." Zhang Jun suggested.
Zhao Gou shook his head, "I'm afraid that the wolf is gone and the tiger is coming again. What if he occupies Jinghu South Road and refuses to go?"
"Probably not. Jinghu South Road is not protected by natural hazards like Bashu. It would be disadvantageous for him to have a stall that is too big. He will not do such a thing that will be reviled by the world, but he must have the conditions."
"Let's talk about it! Liu Guangshi, we can solve it ourselves. If it doesn't work, it's not too late to find him."
"Then has His Majesty decided? The final compromise with Chen Qing!"
Zhao Gou hesitated for a long time. When he realized that he had no choice, he finally made up his mind.
Zhao Gou immediately said to Zhang Jun: "I don't trust Li Hui's ability. He can't suppress Chen Qing. I still want my husband to go to Jingzhao. My bottom line is the power of local governance and the power to appoint and remove officials. Everything else is decided by your husband."