After the Lord of Liao's seventieth birthday, the monarchs and ministers of Liao finally had time and energy to preside over the peace talks between Song and Xia.
On this day, Su Che was sitting in the Sifang Pavilion, discussing the progress of the peace negotiation with Li Kui, Li Gefei, Liang Shicheng, Liu Cunyi and Li Jian.
"Yelu Asi, Xiao Fengxian, and Li Yan are all on our side. Xiao Wuna, who has not made any progress, has always been on the side of Xia. There is also Xiao Helu, who has also been helping Xia.
The state speaks for itself. However, he is only an official in charge of punishment and prison, and his weight in the Liao court is not enough..."
Li Kui summarized the negotiations over the past few days.
"The key is the Lord of Liao. Now his attitude is ambiguous. He is neither leaning towards our Song Dynasty nor favoring the Xia Kingdom. But under the current circumstances, his attitude is tantamount to being on the side of the Xia Kingdom. So the one who helps us
A few of you don't dare to take the risk of violating the holy will and completely favor us."
The room was silent for a while, and then Liu Cunyi spoke.
"Yes, the key lies with Lord Liao."
Li Gefei was a little confused, "The Liao Lord has a very good attitude towards us, why did he suddenly change his mind?"
Everyone understood what he meant. They had given him so many valuable gifts and promised so many benefits. His old face was smiling like a chrysanthemum, and his attitude towards the Song envoy was extremely good.
After all the good things have been done, why do you turn your back on others when it comes to serious matters?
Liu Cunyi said with emotion, "We all thought that the Lord of Liao was old and fatuous and would be easy to deal with. But after some negotiations, we realized that we had all been fooled by this old guy. This old fox is not confused about important things!"
Su Zhe nodded in agreement, "Cunyi is right. The Lord of Liao has been in power for forty-five years, and when he first came to the throne, he also worked hard for a period of time. Now he is comfortable and lethargic, but he still has his own rights and wrongs in national affairs.
Arbitrary. If the Liao Kingdom cannot force the Song Dynasty to give up silver, Liangzhou and other places this time, the Xia Kingdom will become even weaker and lose control of the Song Dynasty..."
"Supporting the Xia Dynasty and controlling the Song Dynasty is the fundamental national policy of the Liao State. The Lord of the Liao Dynasty knew it well and did not dare to change it easily. So he simply pretended to be confused and let the people below do it. If something went wrong, he could pass the responsibility to them. But it happened.
Yelu Asi, Xiao Fengxian, Li Yan and others, these treacherous people, are as cunning as ghosts in trying to figure out what is going on."
Everyone agreed, and Li Kui said: "Little Su Gong can see the key to it at a glance. The situation is now deadlocked. If we want to break through, either Xia Guo will give in, or we will give in. Otherwise..."
Is Xia willing to give in? If we give in any more, the country will be destroyed.
But is the Song Dynasty willing to give in? If it were in the past, just a bitter and cold place on the border, just give in, and the Song Dynasty would still appear to be noble and upright.
Not anymore.
The officials have called out all the criminals of the country and the nation, who dares to give in? If anyone dares to give in, it will not be a matter of future after returning to the country, but a matter of life and death.
Everyone was helpless and looked at each other.
After a long time, Su Che sighed, "The Xia Kingdom is really in trouble. Such a big event is all dependent on the Xiliang Princess to deal with it alone. Thinking back to those days, the Li family was all over Longyou in the west of Hexi, rejecting the Liao Kingdom in the north and controlling the east.
The Song Dynasty. Now, it has withered like this."
"Xiao Gong Su, everyone, I am inquiring about the news in Xijin Mansion, and I have received a lot of news about this girl. It is said that she frequently comes in and out of the palace, the palace of the emperor's grandson, and the residences of relatives and nobles in the clan. The Xia Kingdom is barren, and even gold, silver and jewelry are
She couldn't make much, so she could only turn into a physical Bodhisattva and try her best..."
Li Jian sighed, "I don't mean to take pleasure in others' misfortune, I just think that this princess is an opponent worthy of admiration. In such a difficult situation, she never gives up or compromises, and wholeheartedly works for the benefit of the Xia Kingdom. However, hundreds of thousands of men in the Xia Kingdom, unexpectedly
Is there no one available?"
After a moment of silence, Su Zhe sighed and said, "When the country is defeated, everything will be sad!"
Someone reported at the door.
"Su Gong, the two deputy envoys, various officials, Xiao Fengxian, the Taiwei of the Liao Kingdom, and Zuo Linya and Li Chuwen came to visit. They said they have important matters to visit Su Gong and the two deputy envoys."
Liang Shicheng's eyes lit up and he said, stroking his hands: "I'm afraid it will fall on these two to break the deadlock."
Su Zhe was thoughtful and ordered: "Sihe, Uncle Wen, you two go to greet me on behalf of someone."
Liu Cunyi, Liang Shicheng, Li Jian and others also stood up to say goodbye and stay away for the time being.
Everyone sat down and served hot tea. As soon as the servant's back disappeared at the door, Xiao Fengxian couldn't wait to say: "Little Su Gong, Mr. Si and Uncle Wen, for the sake of the brotherhood between Song and Liao, Xiao has been working hard these days for the sake of the brotherhood between Song and Liao.
It was because of running that my waist was broken, my legs were thinned by running, and my mouth was damaged by running..."
Xiao Feng first glanced at Su Che and the others, "The current situation is that everyone is frozen here. How about you give in?"
Li Kui spoke, "Lieutenant Xiao, we have made enough concessions, why doesn't Xia Guo give in?"
"Xia Kingdom... That Li Qingluan said that Xia Kingdom has no way to retreat. If they retreat again, the whole country will surrender to Song Kingdom."
It turns out that Li Qingluan threatened the Liao State by threatening the Xia State to surrender to the Song State. The Lord of Liao knew the stakes involved, so it was difficult to decide for a while.
"Why don't you ask the emperor's grandson to come out and say a few words?"
"The emperor's grandson is willing to come out and say a few words for the Song Dynasty, but he is the prince and his status is delicate. I am afraid that if he speaks then, it will be self-defeating."
It can be seen that Xiao Fengxian is very concerned about helping the Song Dynasty. He is really an honest man who will do what he says once the money is in place.
Of course, in his eyes, the Song Dynasty was a big fat sheep. In order to make a lot of money in the future, he had to get this thing done.
"Is your country really unable to give in?" Xiao Fengxian asked again.
Su Che gave a wry smile and replied sincerely: "Our official family just came to power at the beginning of this year and soon recovered Liangzhou and other places. What auspiciousness. Now I want to return it to the Xia Kingdom suddenly. I will be embarrassed and will be laughed at by the world.
Who dares to give in..."
They were all officials. Xiao Fengxian understood the meaning of Su Che's words. He also knew that the most important thing for the southern barbarians of the Song Dynasty was face. As long as anything was related to face, especially the face of the emperor's royal family, that was it.
A big deal.
"What can we do!"
At this time, Li Chuwen stuck his head out and said, "Xiao Gong, Taiwei, and two deputy envoys, I have an idea. Is it feasible?"
"you say."
"Why don't the Song Dynasty agree temporarily and return the land of Liang and Yinzhou, as well as Xishou and Zuoxiang Shenyong after ten years?"
"Pay it back in ten years?!"
Su Che, Li Kui, and Li Gefei were stunned by this idea.
Xiao Fengxian, who was on the side, thought it was a brilliant idea, "Li Silang, you really have something in your stomach!"
He turned around and persuaded: "Little Su Gong, this is a good idea. First promise to return the land of the two states and the two military divisions in ten years and stop Li Qingluan's mouth. After ten years...who knows what will happen."
Yawen library
Su Zhe and the other three looked at each other and replied vaguely, "I'm afraid that if we agree, Xia Guo will not give up."
"Don't worry, little Su Gong, Li Qingluan doesn't have many chips in his hand. I, Daliao, agreed to choose a noble girl from the clan to be the queen of the Xia Kingdom; I also helped her win a ten-year contract from the Song Kingdom to return the land and release the confinement. Wait for the preferential conditions. People must be content! If she still refuses to give in, ask her brother Li Qianshun to lead troops to recover Liangzhou and Yinzhou, so as to avoid talking nonsense here."
Xiao Feng applauded Li Chuwen's words first.
Su Che nodded slowly, "This matter is of great importance. Please give an answer after Taiwei, Zuo Ya, Lin Rong and the three of us discuss it."
"Okay! But Mr. Su, please do this as soon as possible to avoid another accident and setbacks."
After Xiao Fengxian finished speaking, he took Li Chuwen and left.
Su Che called Liu Cunyi, Liang Shicheng, and Li Jian to discuss Li Chuwen's suggestions.
Liu Cunyi couldn't help but think of the detailed explanation given by Chang Sun Moli, the actual leader of the Secretariat Department, when he arrived.
"Although the monarchs and ministers of the Liao Kingdom are greedy and despicable, we can't just think of them as stupid. Especially the Lord of Liao, who has been in power for more than 40 years, is not a fool who doesn't know the importance. So you must be prepared for the worst. Remember me The real bottom line is time, fighting for time.”
Official Changsun's words echoed in Liu Cunyi's mind.
This man was the official's think tank. A few months ago, he bribed Xiao Fengxian, who was the condolence envoy for the national mourning in Kaifeng City. He was the mastermind behind this large sum of money to bribe the Liao monarchs and ministers. I heard that Liang Shicheng was also recommended by him.
Thinking of this, Liu Cunyi said loudly: "I think it is feasible. If we forcefully bite and refuse to give in, the Lord of Liao will feel that he has lost face. When the time comes, he will become angry and turn his face, and the gain will not be worth the loss."
Li Jian also agreed: "Cunyi is right, what we want is time. As long as we are given time, I believe that the army in Hebei and Hedong will be organized and trained by the officials. By then, if the backbone is strong, we will not be afraid of the Liao Kingdom. Falling out. Ten years is enough time for a lot of things to happen."
After hearing these words, Liu Cunyi couldn't help but glance at him.
Immediately, everyone turned their attention to Liang Shicheng.
He smiled and replied, "The certain family is just here to make friends with the dignitaries of the Liao Kingdom on the orders of the officials. Such a military and national event does not allow a useless person like the certain family to talk too much, and the official family will never allow the certain family to talk too much. "
What a slippery man!
Li Gefei said with some worry: "The ten-year period can not only silence the Xia envoys, but also give the Liao a face and a step forward. But when the ten-year period comes, the Liao and Xia will force us to return the land." , what should I do?”
How naive! After this discussion, who else but Xia Guo will care about the ten-year deadline?
Liang Shicheng chuckled and said: "In ten years, if you pick a time at random and use a plan to lure the Xia army to invade our territory, wouldn't it start a fight? Once the war starts, won't this peace agreement become a waste of paper?"
Let’s talk about it from the beginning when the time comes.”
Liu Cunyi said: "Xiao Gong, the two deputy envoys, Liu is willing to countersign the secret report to the officials."
Li Jian continued, "Li is also willing to countersign."
Su Zhe hesitated and said, "Then it's settled." This chapter has been completed!