The negotiators sent by the Wei State were very high-level, with Cao Yu, King of Lu, as the chief envoy, Wu Zhou, the Guanglu doctor, as the deputy envoy, and Huan Fan as a staff officer, ready to make suggestions at any time. Cao Yu was originally prepared to attend in person, but was stopped by Huan Fan.
Huan Fan said that the initial negotiations were all tentative.
, it is not appropriate for the chief envoy to attend. Let the deputy envoy come forward first to test the other party's bottom line, so as not to end the negotiation with one sentence and no room for maneuver. Moreover, Wu Zhou is quite talented and has experience in negotiation, so he will definitely be able to handle it well.
There is no need for the king to come forward immediately for these matters.
Cao Yu agreed and asked Wu Zhou to have a good talk. Wu Zhou was originally from Zhuyi of Pei State, and Qiao County was promoted to a county. After becoming the companion capital, Zhuyi became the territory of Qiao County, so Wu Zhou can also be regarded as a township party of the Cao family.
.For this reason, he had a good official career. He once served as Zhang Liao's army guard, that is, as an envoy to oversee the army. He was considered a trustworthy person of the Cao family.
Wu Zhou knew where the emperor's current trouble was, so he did not dare to take this negotiation lightly. He made full preparations and prepared to have a good fight with the Shu Han envoy. Seeing Zhuge Ke attending, he was not surprised, but after the negotiation
After a few words, he found that Zhuge Ke's expression was not right, his mind was not on the negotiation at all, and he was a little absent-minded.
Wu Zhou's face darkened: "Is it possible that your envoy came from afar and had a hard time? If he is tired, we can rest for a few days and then talk again."
Zhuge Ke didn't take Wu Zhou's hard-to-get approach seriously at all. He smiled slightly and said, "If your envoy thinks it wouldn't be a problem to rest for a few days, I really want to take a month's rest. Is that okay?"
Wu Zhou raised his eyebrows slightly: "So, you have no intention of negotiating at all? In that case, why bother for a month? Why don't we stop here."
Zhuge Ke was a little helpless. The opponent was not a weak opponent and was not afraid of his intimidation at all. It was difficult to gain the upper hand in terms of momentum, which was a problem. He thought for a while, changed the topic, and said with a smile: "Master Wu is so powerful, is it possible?"
Do you think you have the upper hand in the Battle of Pengcheng? If that is the reason, I think you will probably be disappointed."
Wu Zhou squinted his eyes: "I dare to ask for advice."
Zhuge Ke cheered up and analyzed the current situation with Wu Zhou. Negotiations are about momentum. If you can't overwhelm your opponent with momentum from the beginning, it is impossible to take advantage of the negotiation. Although both sides in the Battle of Pengcheng
The losses were almost the same, even Wei Ba's losses were a little greater, but what Wei Ba lost was his personal power, and
What Zhang He lost was the country's army. The difference between the two is very big. The most obvious thing is that after Wei Ba's strength was damaged, he had to lie down and give up control of the eastern battlefield. After Zhang He died in battle, Wei Ba
The country lost more than 10,000 elite cavalry and directly lost control of Xuzhou. It had to abandon Pengcheng and retreat to Suiyang.
From a national level, Wei is obviously at a disadvantage.
"Judging from the loss of cavalry, you have lost far more than we have. After the fall of Liangzhou, can you make up for the loss of such a large number of cavalry in a short time? If my general leaves Tongguan, General Zhenbei
After leaving Yingchuan, may I ask if you still have enough cavalry to fight?"
Faced with Zhuge Ke's remarks, Wu Zhou had to lower his head. He knew the situation of Wei State. At present, the situation was indeed not optimistic, otherwise Cao Rui would not agree to the negotiation. He looked at Zhuge Ke and felt something in his heart.
This person has an ominous feeling. I am afraid that this person can be the deputy envoy not only because he is Zhuge Liang's nephew, but also because he is capable.
After successfully suppressing Wu Zhou's momentum, the negotiations were on the right track. Zhuge Ke put forward several demands: First, Cao Rui became a minister, canceled the imperial title, and became King of Wei. He could choose Qiao County or Wei County as a fiefdom, but he must give it up.
Luoyang. Luoyang is a city and can only be inhabited by the emperor. Second, the Cao family abolishes the title of king and reduces it to marquis. Third, the number of troops is reduced. In addition to retaining a part of Wang Ji's standing force, other generals are designated by the court.
Wu Zhou put forward the conditions of the Wei State: First, the imperial title can be cancelled, and Luoyang can also be given away, but instead of using Wei County or Qiao County as the fiefdom, the four states of Bingzhou, Jizhou, Youzhou and Qingzhou can be used as the fiefdom. Simple
In other words, the Yellow River is used as the boundary, the south of the Yellow River belongs to the imperial court, and the north of the Yellow River belongs to the Wei State.
The only land that is currently in the capital is the capital city. As a sign of surrender to the imperial court, other territories will not be given. Secondly, the army currently owned by the Wei State is still commanded by the King of Wei. It is impossible to even think about dealing with Cao Rui like Sun Quan.
.3. After Wei became a vassal, the imperial court could not recruit talents from Wei’s fiefdoms.
The two of them were going back and forth, quarreling and quarreling. However, they both smelled something from the other's attitude. Both parties wanted to negotiate, and the difference was only in the conditions. With this in common, although
The quarrel was red-faced, but in the end there was no break. Although the progress of the negotiations was difficult, it was still making progress.
After Zhuge Ke talked every day, he would tell Fei Yi the general situation. Fei Yi listened, but didn't express much opinion. He just asked Zhuge Ke to write a report and send it to Chengdu by horse. Zhuge Ke knew that Fei Yi didn't take it seriously.
He had no choice but to swallow his anger and report to Zhuge Liang all the way.
Wu Zhou will also discuss with Cao Yu, and then send the negotiation process to Luoyang, but they are much closer and the news feedback is much faster. After talking for about ten days, Zhuge Ke has not received Zhuge Liang's reply.
, not knowing what Zhuge Liang’s attitude was, he proposed
The meeting was temporarily adjourned and we could rest for a few days before discussing again. Cao Yu agreed, and Zhuge Ke immediately returned to Jiangling, and then sent someone to pass a message to Cao Yu. The first phase of negotiations was in Xu County, which is close to Luoyang, and the subsequent negotiations should be held in Jiangling.
, closer to Chengdu to be fair.
After Cao Rui heard Cao Yu's report, he was very angry and instructed Cao Yu to suspend the negotiations and wait for a while before talking. Cao Yu replied to Zhuge Ke according to the edict and returned to Luoyang together. After Zhuge Ke learned about it, he was not in a hurry.
After reporting the situation to Chengdu, he turned around and headed down the river to Wuxian County.
Accompanying him was Zhendong General Ma Zhong, who had just been ordered to defend Guangling.
Ma Zhong was about fifty years old. He was not tall but very strong, and he looked stable. As soon as he saw Zhuge Ke, he showed a simple smile and saluted politely: "Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Zhuge."
Zhuge Ke smiled slightly: "General, it's hard work. This time we go to Guangling. The burden on the general's shoulders is not light."
Ma Zhong nodded: "Zhong also feels that he can do a lot with a small job, but he is a little overwhelmed. I wonder if Mr. Zhuge is here, why should he teach me?"
Zhuge Ke said: "I am going to go to Yangzhou with the general and help the general find as many helpers as possible. How many troops has the general brought?"
"Qingqiang has five thousand strong soldiers."
"Five thousand people are not enough." Zhuge Ke rubbed his hands: "Didn't the Brazilian families help you?"
Ma Zhong was silent for a moment and said: "There is news from Hu Zhong, saying that more than 2,000 people have gathered together and are still on the road, but they are all infantry. I have no cavalry now. When we get to Guangling, if something happens, I may not be able to rescue them in time."
"General, just do your best. There are some difficulties that cannot be overcome by manpower for the time being." Zhuge Ke said with some words: "I can only hope that Deng Ai and Zhou Yin who are guarding Pengcheng will be more careful. Fortunately, the Wei army's cavalry losses were not small.
, as long as you’re not careless, there shouldn’t be any big problems.”
Ma Zhong didn't say anything else, and I don't know if he understood.
…
In Xiangguan, Xia Houxuan jumped off his horse, threw the reins to his guards, and quickly walked into the gate.
Little Wei Zheng ran out from inside, threw himself into Xia Houxuan's arms, and shouted in a sweet voice: "Uncle, hold me, uncle, hold me."
"Okay, uncle." Xia Houxuan picked him up and threw him up. Xiao Wei Zheng laughed excitedly.
I am a martial artist."
"What's wrong with being a brave martial artist?" Xia Houxuan said with a smile: "Didn't Ziyu say that a real man should mount his horse to attack Kuang Hu and dismount his horse to write a military letter?"
"It's a pity that you, a great celebrity, always keep talking about his two crazy words." Xia Houhui motioned Wei Zheng to come down, but Wei Zheng hugged Xia Houxuan's neck and refused to move. Xia Houxuan patted him*
*, smiled and said: "It's okay. I'm strong now. I'm fully armed and marching quickly. I'm no worse than a soldier. I'm holding him as if I'm playing."
Xia Houhui suddenly burst into tears. When Xiahou Xuan saw it, he quickly asked: "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing, I just think of my father. He hugged me like this back then."
Xia Houxuan was startled and a little sad. Xia Houhui then took Xiao Wei Zheng and said, "Go in quickly, he is waiting for you inside."
Xia Houxuan responded and quickly walked into the backyard. He saw Wei Ba with long hair shawl, sitting cross-legged in the hall, hands on his knees, and breathing. Hearing Xia Houxuan's footsteps, he opened his eyes, but did not get up.
, but motioned for Xia Houxuan to take a seat.
"Are you ready to practice Taoism?" Xia Houxuan sat down and joked.
"It's just a matter of calming down. What kind of Tao are you cultivating?" Wei Ba said with a bitter smile: "I am a human being in the world of mortals. I can't leave behind wealth and enjoyment. If I can't cultivate Tao, I can't become an immortal."
"Then I'm relieved." Xia Houxuan poured himself a cup of tea and took a sip: "If you really want to practice Taoism, wouldn't my original choice be a waste of money?"
"Opening your mouth is your capital. You, a famous person, don't think it's vulgar." Wei Ba couldn't help laughing and shook his body: "The affairs in Yizhou have been handled well. Now you can take charge of it on your own. How about it, where do you want to go next?"
"I want to see your decision first." Xiahou Xuan sipped the tea for a while: "You don't really want to be idle for three years, do you? Three years have brought about many changes. Since you don't want to cultivate Taoism and become an immortal, you can't abandon this mortal world.
Let’s be more realistic.”
"With filial piety, I can't move too much." Wei Ba frowned, thought for a while, and chuckled: "Besides, I also want to see what other methods the prime minister can use now that he has reached this point. My father died in the war.
, I suddenly felt a little irritable and didn’t want to wait any longer. Waiting and waiting is just a woman’s kindness and cannot be exchanged for any mercy.”
"Do you want to imitate Lord Zheng Zhuang?"
"I want to be the one who shoots birds." Wei Ba glanced at Xia Houxuan: "I invited you here to see if you are interested in being my golden bullet."
Xia Houxuan smiled: "Aren't you afraid of my backlash?"
"I believe in your vision." Wei Ba said, "I believe in my own vision even more."