Poor Family

  Chapter 966 The Battle of Destroying the Nation (Twenty)

The two came to sit down in the big tent of the Chinese army. Li Yanqing served tea to the soldiers. Liu Kai took a sip of hot tea and continued the topic with a smile. In the crisis of destroying the country, the Kingdom of Jin must accept and protect the nobles and important ministers of Xixia, and help Xixia restore the country. There are more detailed terms. It should be based on this article that the Xixia dignitaries began to transfer their properties. If I guessed correctly , Xixia should have asked the Kingdom of Jin for help many times."

"That's right, as far as I know, Xixia has asked Jin Guo for help twice, but the Jin soldiers in Datong Mansion have not moved. This is enough to show that Jin Guo doesn't want to turn against us now, and it also shows that Jin Guo's conquest of Mobei's ministries is not going well. .”

   "Speaking of conquering Mobei, I heard a news that Marshal Du is behind the back to support the various ministries of Mobei!"

Of course Li Yanqing knew that it was Liu Ziyu who told his father. He pondered for a moment and said, "I know this matter will be made public sooner or later, but the matter has not been successful yet, so it cannot be known by Jin Guo, otherwise Datong Jin soldiers will send troops to destroy it, so I hope Liu Jinglue will absolutely keep this matter a secret, not even the imperial court can say anything about it!"

   Liu Wei was startled, and quickly said: "I understand the importance of this matter, and of course I will keep it absolutely confidential, but is Marshal Du implying that someone in the court is colluding with Jin Guo?"

   "Liu Jinglue felt that all the ministers in the DPRK and China were loyal and upright, and there was no one who colluded with Jin Guo?"

   Liu Kai was silent, how could it be possible? There are many traitors in any dynasty, how can the Song Dynasty be an exception?

   After a moment of silence, he nodded, "Li Dushuai is right. This matter is of great importance and must be kept strictly confidential. Gou Zi told me about it, and I have repeatedly told him not to leak anything."

  Li Yanqing said indifferently: "I didn't deliberately hide it from the court. I just wanted to report to the court after this matter is completed. If someone is dissatisfied and says that I, Li Yanqing, have no court, then I have nothing to do."

   "If that's the case, I would like to share part of the responsibility for Li Dushuai. This matter was decided after discussion between Li Dushuai and me."

  Looking at Liu Wei's upright gaze, Li Yanqing was moved. He smiled and asked, "Tell me about Hexi! How is Hexi?"

   "Hexi is going very well. I have captured the sandbar. Currently, 5,000 troops are stationed in Dunhuang County on the sandbank. I have set up the Hexi temporary governor's office in Zhangye County, Ganzhou. When will the commander-in-chief go to inspect Hexi?"

   "Of course I'm going, but I can't do it now. Let's talk about it after Xixia is destroyed! In fact, I am more concerned about whether the people of Hexi are willing to attach themselves to Song Dynasty?"

Liu Kai smiled slightly, "It would be unrealistic to say that they are sincerely loyal to the Song Dynasty. In fact, the main thing is the benefits. My tax is much lower than that of Xixia, and I am exempt from tax for the first three years, and I recognize the pastures left by their ancestors. , not to infringe on their property, these interests and sincerity are enough for them to accept the Song Dynasty’s rule of Hexi, and lay the foundation for the Song Dynasty to take over Hexi smoothly. I have written to the imperial court, asking the imperial court to send officials to take over Hexi.”

  Li Yanqing was silent for a while and said: "I have recommended Liu Jinglue to the imperial court as the first Hexi Economic Envoy, and I believe the imperial court will accept my suggestion."

  Liu Wei shook his head, "Not necessarily!"

  Li Yanqing also knew that Liu Kai was speaking the truth, the two were silent for a moment, and after a while, Liu Kai whispered: "Could it be that the Supreme Emperor really wants to be restored?"

Li Yanqing noticed that Liu Kai used the slightly derogatory word restoration instead of restoration, which shows that he did not want Zhao Ji to re-emerge as emperor. Li Yanqing pondered and said, "I can tell Liu Jinglue clearly that I will resolutely defend the The throne of the official family is supported by me, and I will never allow anyone to overthrow him, this is my principle, if Liu Jinglue disagrees with me, we'd better avoid talking about it."

Liu Kai laughed, "I am also a supporter of the official family. Frankly speaking, I am very disapproving of the re-entry of the Supreme Emperor. The Song Dynasty must move forward, with youthful vigor and vitality, instead of regressing. I admit that the Supreme Emperor has He is scheming and skillful, but the Song Dynasty is becoming increasingly corrupt, and he has an unshirkable responsibility. On the contrary, the official family is a very good emperor. Maybe he is a little weak in dealing with the Jin Kingdom, but he is diligent, frugal, and self-disciplined. Cherish the common people and devote ourselves to restoring the prosperity of the Great Song Dynasty. Based on this alone, we should fully support him."

  Li Yanqing nodded, "I hope Xixia's victory will bring prestige to the officials and support his throne."

   "So I want to persuade Dushuai that it is better to destroy Xixia sooner rather than later."

   "Has Liu Jinglue heard anything?"

Seeing that there was no one around, Liu Kai lowered his voice and said, "I got a piece of news on the road yesterday. When Qin Hui was patrolling Xihe Road, he wooed Yao Xiuhong, the prefect of Fengxiang, and Yao Xiuhong pretended to accept his wooing. Half of the Imperial Forest Army and Lin'an Garrison have been controlled, and a coup is likely to happen, so Yao Xiuhong immediately sent someone to deliver a letter to me."

Li Yanqing walked a few steps with his hands behind his back. The Liu and Miao mutiny happened around this time in history. He thought that he had changed history and that the Liu and Miao mutiny would never happen again. Now he suddenly realized that the Liu and Miao mutiny was very serious. Might happen the other way.

  Thinking of this, Li Yanqing felt that he had to remind Zhao Gou immediately.

  At this moment, the prince reported outside the account, "To Dutong, two ministers came from the city of Xingqing Prefecture, saying that it was the order of Emperor Xixia to come and negotiate peace with Dutong."

   "Who is it?"

   "It's the Xiangguo Cao Price and the Ministry of War Shangshu Yinggui."

  Li Yanqing sneered. Both of them transferred a large amount of wealth to the outside world, and he actually had the face to negotiate on behalf of the emperor.

  Liu Kai laughed and said, "It's okay to talk about it. If the emperor is willing to leave the city and surrender, he can spare his royal family's life and send them to Lin'an. This will be good for subduing the Dangxiang clan and stabilizing the control of the Xixia region in the future."

  Li Yanqing thought for a while and then smiled: "I don't have the energy to talk to them, why don't Liu Jinglue negotiate with them for me, no problem!"

  Liu Kai laughed, "Du Shuai knows how to catch young men. It seems that I came too timely."

   "Who says it's not? Liu Jinglue's arrival is worse than coincidence. This is called just in time."

  The two looked at each other and laughed together.

  . ． ． ． ． ． ．

  Cao Price and Yinggui entered the Song Army camp, and were immediately led to the deputy tent to wait. Both of them felt a little heavy. They saw with their own eyes the high morale and well-trained Song Army.

Yinggui also noticed a detail. There were no scattered soldiers in the camp of the Song Army. All the soldiers walked in rows. If you look closely, there are two people in a row and three people in a row. The large tent and various items are neatly arranged. Orderly, the ground is clean, these details are enough to prove that the Song army is well-trained, and it also proves that this Song army is no longer the decadent Song army that used to fight against Xixia for a hundred years.

  The two people in the big tent were silent for a long time, Yinggui sighed and said, "I'm afraid the emperor will be disappointed in this negotiation."

  Cao Price shook his head, "Let's try our best! Look for all possible opportunities for reconciliation."

At this time, footsteps came from outside the tent, and the two got up quickly, only to see a middle-aged civil servant about fifty years old walking in, both of them were stunned, it was rumored that Li Yanqing was only twenty years old, what do you think of this person It couldn't be Li Yanqing, they looked behind this person again, and there was no one else.

  The middle-aged man smiled slightly, "The envoy Liu Kai on Xiaxihe Road, on behalf of the marshal of my family, received the two of you!"

  Cao Price was a little displeased, "I am the prime minister of the Xixia Kingdom, don't I have the qualifications to negotiate peace with you all?"

   Liu Wei said lightly: "Cao Xiangguo can choose not to talk about it."

  Yinggui hurriedly shouted, and explained: "Mr. Liu, don't misunderstand, our emperor has a personal letter to Li Dutong, asking us to deliver it to Li Dutong in person. Cao Xiangguo means that."

   "It's okay, I can explain it to you."

  Cao Price also recalled that they had no choice now, so he had to acquiesce to Song Jun's arrangement and handed the letter to Liu Kai.

  Liu Kai handed the letter to one of Li Yanqing's personal soldiers, who rushed away, Liu Kai waved his hand, "Please sit down, both of you!"

The side account was actually quite spacious, and they didn't feel stuffy at all. The two sat down at a large table, Liu Kai sat down opposite them, and Li Yanqing's chief bookkeeper, Cao Ye, also sat beside Liu Kai, laying out a pen and paper, As Liu Kai's negotiating assistant, he was responsible for recording the entire negotiation between the two parties.

Cao Price was still not feeling well, so he gave Yinggui a wink and asked him to speak, Yinggui understood, and leaned forward and said: "Song and Xia have fought for a hundred years, and they have also reconciled for a hundred years. The past two years have been the period of comparison of national strength in Xixia. When we were weak, we had no intention of going to war with the Song Dynasty. Therefore, after the truce and compromise were reached last time, Xixia has always abided by the borders agreed by the two parties, and never harassed Qinggangzhai, which is close to Xixia. This is a manifestation of our sincerity, but this time Song Jun suddenly tore up the agreement and trampled on Xixia's sincerity, we deeply regret it."

Liu Kai smiled, "Song and Xia have been at war for more than a hundred years, and the Song Dynasty has learned a lot about your country's sincerity, so don't mention any sincerity here. As for tearing up the agreement, it is just a piece of armistice agreement, and there is nothing on it. Time limit, that is to say, the two sides can go to war at any time, so there is no talk of tearing up the agreement. If you must use the agreement to talk about things, then there is really no need to negotiate."

  Liu Wei directly turned back. When is the time, he still wants to use the truth to suppress others, that is ignorance.

This is also because Liu Kai is a civil servant, so he has cultivated himself well and given them face. If Li Yanqing sat here, he would immediately beat them out with sticks. When is it time, he would not kneel down and beg for mercy, but even come to accuse him of violating the agreement? .

Cao Price waved his hand to tell Yinggui not to mention this again. He pondered for a moment and said, "As long as your army can retreat, we Xixia are willing to make the following concessions. Second, we will pay 300,000 tribute sheep to the Song Dynasty every year. We will return the old coins of the Song Dynasty year by year; third, Song and Xia signed a permanent peace agreement, and Xixia guaranteed in writing that they would not invade the country for a hundred years. One inch of land in the Great Song Dynasty; fourth, all the civilians arrested by Xixia over the years should be returned and compensated appropriately; fifth, Xixia is willing to form an anti-gold alliance with the Song Dynasty to jointly fight against the Jin Kingdom. The above five points fully demonstrate that Xixia Sincerely, I implore your army to consider carefully."

Liu Wei smiled slightly, "I believe in your sincerity, but these five rules are more suitable for the two sides to fight on the frontier, and they are not suitable for the current situation when Xixia is defeated. Of course, I have no right to make any decisions. I will immediately report to the capital. The marshal will report, and he will decide."

  At this time, Cao Ye had finished writing, so he showed the memo to Liu Kai for a closer look. Liu Kai read it once, and then said to Cao Ye: "Yes, show it to Li Dushuai."

Cao Ye left in a hurry and came back not long after. He whispered a few words to Liu Kai. Liu Kai nodded and said to the nervous two people: "Marshal Du cannot accept your conditions. If you decide that Marshal Du is too young, You can also send someone to negotiate in Lin'an, Marshal Du will obey the court's decision, then I can only excuse myself."

  Liu Kai got up to leave, Yinggui hurriedly shouted: "Liu Jinglue, please stay. In fact, we still have the sixth rule."

   This is the so-called negotiation, which is similar to bargaining in the vegetable market in essence. It is impossible for the Xixia side to reach the goal in one step. Seeing that the other party wants to end the peace talks, they quickly throw out new concessions.

   Liu Kai sat down again, nodded and said, "We are willing to listen!"

  Yinggui and Cao Price discussed in a low voice, and Yinggui sighed: "We promised to cede the four states of Hexi to Song Dynasty. This is our biggest concession. Please Li Dutong must agree."

Cao Ye went out again, and after a while, he came back with a letter and handed it to Liu Kai. Liu Kai looked at it and handed the letter to Yinggui, "We all think that Song Jun should be the one to propose the letter now." Conditions, this is our condition, you go back and return!"

  Yinggui opened the envelope, and Cao Price also hurriedly stepped forward to take a closer look. The two were immediately stunned by the conditions inside.

Liu Kai said lightly: "I also said just now, if you feel that Li Dushuai is not qualified to negotiate, you can send someone to Lin'an to negotiate with the imperial court. If the imperial court makes a decision, we will implement it according to the imperial court's decision. I have said enough Too many, please go back, both of you!"

  Cao Price and Yinggui returned to Xingqing Mansion in great disappointment. They returned to the palace, where Li Qianshun and a group of ministers were waiting.

  When Li Qianshun finished reading the conditions written by Li Yanqing himself, his face turned livid. He waved his hand and said to Yinggui, "Read Yingshang's book for everyone!"

  Yinggui had to read out article by article.

   1. The defenders of Xingqing Mansion must immediately disarm and surrender. If the surrender is sincere enough, the Song Army can cancel the surrender ceremony.

  2. When Xixia surrendered, the Li family and concubine of Xixia were escorted to Lin'an by the Song army. The king of Xixia could guarantee the title of Wang Shurong with different surnames, and his personal property could be preserved.

  3. When Xixia surrendered, the Song army would treat the various tribes of the Dangxiang clan well, and would not invade their property and land, and allowed their descendants to live under Mount Honan for generations.

  4. When Xixia surrendered, the Song army will strictly control the military discipline, and no plundering of the people is allowed.

  5. Xixia surrendered. The Song Dynasty will restore the territory of the Heshuo region and its prefectures and counties in the Tang Dynasty. It will also promote some party officials who understand Chinese as prefects and counties as appropriate.

  The above five conditions are the final conditions of the Jingzhao Army. If the city breaks and surrenders, the above conditions will be reduced as appropriate.

Yinggui read it out, and the crowd in the hall was excited immediately, Brother Li Cha said angrily: "Li Yanqing is deceiving people too much, I still have 50,000 troops in Xixia, I don't know who will win the battle, let him wait and see who will have the last laugh. "

  Jiao Yanting also shook his head and said: "This is the condition of destroying the country. We agreed, and Xixia will perish. I am sorry for the ancestors who shed blood and tears for the establishment of Xixia. I would rather die in battle than agree to this humiliating condition!"

At this time, Cao Price waved his hand and said to everyone: "This is only Li Yanqing's condition, not the Song Dynasty's condition. I should find a way to rush to Lin'an as quickly as possible to negotiate with the monarchs and ministers of the Song Dynasty. Things may turn around. "

  Li Qianshun lifted his spirits, "This is a good way, and it can be implemented. Jiao Shangshu has been dealing with the Song Dynasty for a long time, and I leave this matter to you."

  Jiao Yanting bowed and said, "I will never disgrace my life!"

  Yinggui added: "From here to Lin'an and back again, it will take a month at the fastest to run around the clock with horseshoes. The key is whether we can hold Xingqing Mansion this month?"

   Everyone also realized that this question is the key. Li Qianshun thought about it, and finally turned his attention to Brother Li Cha. "

   "His Royal Highness, the power to command the military and civilian resistance in the city, I leave it to you."

  Brother Li Cha bowed and saluted, "I will never disgrace my life!"

  (end of this chapter)