Chapter 2264: Treaty of Luoyang between Qin and Tang Dynasties (Part 1)
Luoyang, Wei Embassy, Duke Cao Cao of Wei has arrived in Luoyang in person, and he is also the first prince to arrive.
After arriving in Luoyang, Cao Cao immediately visited Ying Wen.
The two are both comrades-in-arms and sworn brothers, so they naturally want to have a drink after a long separation.
Of course, besides drinking, Cao Cao also had another purpose, which was to get some information from Qin Wen.
Wei was surrounded by Qin on three sides. Qin's military strategy was related to the life and death of Wei, so Cao Cao did not dare to be careless at all.
Although Cao Cao is cunning, Ying Wen is also an old fox, so naturally he cannot be easily tricked by Cao Cao.
Moreover, Ying Wen no longer cares about the facts and has become increasingly unhappy with the state of Wu. Now he doesn't know much more than Cao Cao about the internal affairs of the state of Qin.
However, in order to appease Cao Cao, Ying Wen deliberately revealed some information to Cao Cao after being drunk. For example, Qin State was going to recuperate and recuperate, and the next main target was Kansai, in order to dispel Cao Cao's wariness about Qin State.
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After Cao Cao learned this, he felt slightly relieved and wanted to come up with more words, but Ying Wen simply pretended to be drunk.
Seeing this, Cao Cao could only give up and stay in the embassy, sitting back and watching the storm in Luoyang.
He is in Luoyang now, and he doesn't dare to jump around too frequently. If it causes Ying Hao's dissatisfaction and stumbles him secretly, it won't be worthwhile.
For fear of causing Ying Hao's dissatisfaction, Cao Cao did not even dare to contact envoys from other countries. However, he did not have so many scruples about envoys from Song and Wu, two countries that had good relations with each other, so he often communicated with envoys from Wu and Song.
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"Isn't the lonely second brother Sun here yet?" Cao Cao asked.
Lu Su, the envoy from Soochow, said: "My lord set out half a month ago, but he encountered trouble on the road, which delayed him for a while. However, now he has entered the Song Dynasty and will arrive in Luoyang with Song Gong soon.
"
The Kingdom of Wu is different from the Kingdom of Wei and Song Dynasty. The Kingdom of Wu does not border the Kingdom of Qin. The road from Jiangdong to Luoyang is long, and it also passes through the Kingdom of Song. Naturally, it is not as fast as Cao Cao.
However, Cao Cao heard some other meanings from Lu Su's mouth.
With Song Gong?
Cao Cao couldn't help but sneered. It seemed that his second brother Sun was not as sympathetic to the Qin State as he appeared to be, and secretly he was wary of the growing Qin State.
Of course, Cao Cao also knew that no matter how wary Wu was about Qin, he would never fall out with Qin until there was a major conflict of interest.
As the State of Chu continues to grow, the situation in Jiangnan has been completely reversed. Now it is a situation where Chu is strong and Wu is weak.
The State of Wu is actually the same as the State of Wei. The State of Wei is surrounded by the State of Qin on three sides, while the State of Wu is surrounded by the State of Chu on three sides.
Wu State was surrounded by Chu State on three sides, and the internal Shanyue rebellion had not yet been completely resolved, and Qin State was the only ally that could help Wu State contain Chu State.
Therefore, Wu will never end its alliance with Qin before the threat from Chu is completely resolved.
However, if you make good friends, you still have to be careful when you should be careful.
This time Sun Jian and Zhao Kuangyin entered Luoyang together to show a signal that Wu could work with other countries to curb Qin's expansion without affecting the Qin-Wu alliance.
With this thought, Cao Cao was convinced that if he had the full support of the Wu State, he might be able to make the Qin State give in on the Guanzhong issue.
In the Battle of Guanzhong, the Qin army's offensive was so fierce that Li Shimin was about to be unable to hold on. If other countries did not intervene, the Tang State would definitely not be able to defend Guanzhong.
Not long ago, Li Shangyin, an envoy from the Tang Dynasty, came to see Cao Cao, hoping that the Wei Kingdom could help the Tang Dynasty with a few words, but Cao Cao drove Li Shangyin away without even showing his face.
The strategic goal of the Qin army is to first Guanxi and then Guandong. Once the Sui and Tang Dynasties in Guanxi are destroyed, the Wei, Song and Ming Dynasties in the Central Plains will follow.
Cao Cao naturally didn't want Tang to be destroyed, but it wasn't that he didn't want to help, but facing the big brother Qin, Wei, as his younger brother, really couldn't stand up, and he didn't dare to openly help Tang against Qin.
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Of course, if it doesn't work overtly, Cao Cao can do it secretly.
After Li Shangyin ran into trouble with Cao Cao, he immediately contacted envoys from other countries. As for Song State, it was Wei State who helped set up the line.
The little brother of the Wei State is already a little impatient and wants to get rid of the control of the big brother of the Qin State.
"My lord, we have the latest information. The Tang State is going to surrender to the Qin State and beg for peace, and the King of Tang is also going to step down from the throne."
"What?"
Cao Cao suddenly showed a look of shock. Li Shimin, a man so proud, now wants to take the throne? This is obviously going to be a desperate situation.
"Li Shimin is courageous enough. If he goes to the throne and becomes a minister as a condition, he should be able to get Qin to stop the war and call it a truce.
Now that the King of Qin is about to proclaim himself emperor, it is unlikely that he will refuse the surrender of a prince. Otherwise, the rest of the princes will die in grief and force all the princes to unite to fight against Qin.
However, even if the Qin State accepted the surrender, the Tang State would definitely suffer heavy bleeding and even withdraw from Guanzhong completely as a result.
No, we cannot let Qin get Guanzhong so easily."
Cao Cao's eyes were full of solemnity. After all, if the Qin State captured Guanzhong, it would not be far away from occupying the entire Guanxi. The next target would be the Central Plains region where his Wei State was located.
As soon as he thought of this, Cao Cao immediately ordered in a deep voice: "Secretly contact the envoys of Song and Wu and let them negotiate issues in Qin and Tang Dynasties. This will be an appropriate way to pull Tang Guo."
Cao Cao has regarded the Tang State as a tool to contain the Qin State, but he did not dare to help the Tang State openly. He could only secretly help in this way and encourage the Song and Wu countries to charge forward, which naturally had nothing to do with his Wei State.
It doesn't matter anymore.
"My lord, there is another piece of news that I don't know whether it is true or not. Rumors spread from Luoyang City that Princess Xiuning of the Tang State had an affair with the King of Qin and secretly gave birth to the King of Qin's flesh and blood... However, the State of Tang did not use this as a threat.
Ambassador Tang did not mention this at all during the negotiations."
"oh?"
Cao Cao immediately became energetic, then frowned and said to himself: "Li Shimin has been forced to a dead end. It is not his character to hold such a trump card but not use it."
After thinking hard for a long time, Cao Cao understood Tang Guo's intention and laughed: "I see, that's it..."
As Tang surrendered and begged for peace, the battle changed from a war between Qin and Tang to whether each country could force Qin to make concessions in Guanzhong.
Li Shimin knew that Qin would not refuse Tang's surrender, and he also knew that other countries would not watch Qin force Tang to leave Guanzhong, so he admitted defeat so neatly.
Of course, Li Shimin did not put all his hopes in other countries. In addition to contacting other countries to jointly put pressure on Qin, he mainly used the two illegitimate sons to make a fuss.
Li Shimin did not explicitly bring it up in the peace talks between the two countries, but instead relied on rumors to insinuate it. This is actually a more clever approach.
After all, he couldn't prove the blood of these two children, and if Ying Hao just wanted to be a bit scumbag and refused to admit it, then Li Tang would have no other choice.
All in all, using children to threaten and fight for benefits will only anger Ying Hao and break his face.
On the contrary, Tang Fang did not use the child as a threat, and did not even mention it in the negotiation. If Qin Fang took the initiative to bring it up, even if Tang Fang did not use the child to fight for benefits, Qin Fang would take the initiative to give up the benefits.
As for Qin Fang, will he just give up on these two children without mentioning it?
The answer is definitely not.
Tang Fang's actions are equivalent to giving both parties a step down. If Ying Hao refuses even this, it will give people the impression that he is too cold and does not care about his own son for the sake of ambition, and his reputation will also be easily criticized.
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In short, it is moral kidnapping, and Ying Hao is undoubtedly a person who cherishes feathers.
.........
"...That's about it."
After listening to Han Fei's explanation, Qin Hao couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
Tang Fang's plan this time is indeed a conspiracy, which will benefit both Qin and Tang parties, and Qin's benefits will be even greater.
What good can Tang Fang do? It is nothing more than escaping a disaster for the time being, hanging on for a while, and striving for the unknown hope.
It is impossible for Qin to return the land and cities lost by Tang State.
Under the circumstances of one ebb and flow, when the Qin State recovers and recuperates, if it sends troops again next time, Chang'an should be lost or lost, and the Tang State should be destroyed or destroyed.
The outcome will not change, it’s just that the process is a little longer.
What benefits can Qin gain?
As soon as he became emperor, he defeated the Tang Dynasty, promoted his military power, and shocked the princes of the world. After that, he could rest in peace, and he could also meet the two princes who were left behind.
All in all, there are many benefits. On the contrary, if you refuse, not only will your reputation be damaged, but there will also be many other disadvantages. This makes Ying Hao think of no reason to refuse.
"In addition, the person who proposed this plan should have an old relationship with Li Xiuning, and I am afraid that he has the intention to surrender to Qin." Han Fei said.
"What do you mean by this?" Ying Hao asked confused.
"This plan is always the best of both worlds, but it is too mild. If I didn't have the intention to surrender to Qin, I probably wouldn't have offered this plan."
Han Xin's guess was absolutely correct. Li Si did have the intention to surrender to the Qin Dynasty, but he hid it very well and no one has noticed it yet.
With Li Si's wisdom, it is not difficult to see that the Qin Dynasty's destruction of the Tang Dynasty is the general trend. Li Shimin is now seeking his own death. Even with his full assistance, he cannot stop it.
Li Si was naturally unwilling to be buried with Li Tang, but he was different from others. Generals with foreign surnames could surrender, but as a member of the Li Tang clan, even if he surrendered, he was destined to not be reused.
But once the Qin and Tang Dynasties got married and Li Xiuning married to the Qin State, the situation would be completely different.
Even if the Tang Kingdom is destroyed by Qin in the future, Li Si's surrender to Qin will not leave any noise, after all, he is the son-in-law of the Li family.
Moreover, with Li Xiuning in the Qin State, Li Si surrendered to Qin, which was not a "naked resignation". After all, he was the biggest contributor to the marriage between Qin and Tang Dynasty, and he was also regarded as Li Xiuning's benefactor. It was not natural to take care of him.
It has to be said that Li Si's plan this time was superficially for the Tang Dynasty, but in fact it was for himself, and both countries also benefited. It can be said that he killed three birds with one stone.
"Of course, this is just Han Fei's guess, there is no certainty."
Hearing Han Fei's words, everyone looked thoughtful. Apparently they all agreed, including Qin Hao.
At this time, Qin Hao was very curious as to who proposed this plan, but he was not in a hurry. He would naturally find out when Li Xiuning arrived.