Chapter 4443 Negotiation breaks down
Liu Jie was silent. Although he was dissatisfied, he also knew that it was not easy to bring down Fang Jun. What he could do now was to persistently play up Fang Jun's disadvantages. When Fang Jun makes a mistake in the future, all these past shortcomings will accumulate and burst out...
Li Chengqian ignored the thoughts of the ministers and said to Li Junxian: "Send someone to inform Duke Yue of the news as soon as possible so that he can be prepared."
"Here."
Li Junxian took the order and saw that Li Chengqian had no more instructions, so he turned around and left, telling Fang Jun the news.
Li Ji knelt down behind the desk, clasped his fists and said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty, Duke Lu has cut off the Xianyang Bridge and defeated the Youxiao Guard. This will surely shock the entire Guanzhong. No one will dare to risk the disapproval of the world and go to Chang'an to support the King of Jin. Rebel. The army will be destroyed in a matter of seconds.”
The ministers woke up and congratulated each other. The Wude Palace was peaceful, which was completely different from when the rebels invaded Wude Gate. The reason why everyone stays here is that they believe that His Majesty can stabilize the throne and defeat the rebels, and then rely on today's "life-and-death" friendship to be promoted in "Renhe". Although there were many twists and turns, and even We were in a desperate situation for a while, but the dawn of victory had appeared, and everyone was naturally smiling. This risk was well worth it.
Li Ji's heart was calm. He did not expect more meritorious deeds, because he had already been honored as "the first person in the dynasty" in Zhenguan Dynasty. As the saying goes, "It is too cold to be in a high place. When a person has no progress and no rewards, Wherever the water is full and the moon is waxing, things are bound to go downhill.
Today, Fang Jun's rise is unstoppable, and he will even become the flag of the military in the near future. At this time, Li Ji abdicated the throne and resigned bravely. With his loyalty to follow His Majesty at this time, he was able to ensure that he Even if you retreat to the second line, you can still maintain a certain status and power. This is enough.
*****
Since the construction of Daxing City in the Sui Dynasty, this fertile land of the Land of Abundance has once again become the center of the empire. Wealth has gathered like water, and talents have come one after another, naturally attracting Buddhists from all over. In the troubled times, Buddhism could not escape from the world and closed its gates. With the advent of the apocalypse and the great peace of heaven, it began to actively seek to spread the doctrine and compete with its old enemy Taoism for more resources.
In this way, many Buddhist temples have sprung up in Daxing City and even around Chang'an.
The Jianfu Temple in Anhuafang occupies a small area. It is far from being compared with those large temples that often have continuous houses and full of incense. There are several jingshes in the third courtyard and the houses are simple. Only the pines and cypresses planted all over the temple stand out in the cold wind and bitter rain. Underneath it is gloomy and evergreen, revealing a somewhat deep Zen feel.
Outside the mountain gate stood rows of soldiers wearing helmets, armor, and raincoats, each with a high-spirited and murderous attitude in the wind and rain, guarding the small temple like a mountain. The spirit spreads.
After getting off the carriage, Cui Xin was captured by this murderous aura, and he was inevitably panicked. What if Liu Rengui was too murderous and the negotiation failed and he simply ordered someone to kill him on the spot?
Xiao Yu is much calmer. After all, he has seen big scenes. Compared with the fall of Nanliang when the entire royal family was escorted to Daxing City and the whole family was killed at every turn, it is really nothing...
Before arriving at the mountain gate, Xiao Yu said calmly: "Please tell Liu Rengui that I have an old friend to meet."
Negotiations have not yet begun at this time, so naturally we cannot directly announce names here, otherwise there will be no room for recovery if the news spreads...
The captain at the door looked Xiao Yu and Cui Xin up and down, nodded slightly, and said in a stiff tone: "Wait here, don't move around at will!"
He turned around and entered the mountain gate to report, but didn't come out for a long time.
Xiao Yu and Cui Xin stood in the cold wind and rain. Although they were wearing raincoats, they were still wet. After a while, they were shivering from the cold, but they had to endure it to avoid losing their grace...
Cui Xin sighed and whispered: "Everything in this navy is good."
Regarding this point, Xiao Yu couldn't agree more: "It doesn't stop there? Your Shandong family only interacted with the navy during sea trade. You don't know how arrogant and domineering the navy is in the south of the Yangtze River. What generals bring what soldiers, each one is with the house?" Jun is generally unruly and has the word "royal" in his name, but in reality he is just like a bandit."
Speaking of the navy's dominance in Jiangnan, Xiao Yu had endless complaints. He firmly controlled matters related to maritime trade, resulting in the Jiangnan nobles having to part with huge profits from maritime trade and pay taxes every year. The entire south of the Yangtze River was full of complaints, but the navy was powerful and powerful across the ocean, and each family only dared to be angry but dared not speak out.
Especially since the Lanling Xiao family considers themselves to be related by marriage to Fang Jun, they should take more care of them, right? However, Fang Jun allocated the maritime trade tax of the entire Jiangnan noble clan to the Lanling Xiao family. Although the Lanling Xiao family also gained extra benefits from this, it offended the vast majority of the Jiangnan noble clan.
Now almost all the Jiangnan nobles believe that the Xiao family of Lanling is the "accomplice" of the navy. They may not dare to say anything in person, but they poke the backbone of the Xiao family secretly...
Cui Xin said helplessly: "This Liu Rengui was unknown before, but unexpectedly he is so strong and unruly. I'm afraid it won't be easy to talk about it later if we show it to him."
He had seen a lot in his life, so he naturally knew that Liu Rengui's delay in meeting each other was just a trick, so that he could kill the two of them and gain the initiative for later negotiations. Thinking that Cui Xin, as the leader of the Shandong family, is the most noble person in the world, he is always in the eyes of the Li and Tang royal family. When has he ever been so angry?
But now the form is not as good as human beings, so you can only recognize it by pinching your nose.
Xiao Yu shook off the rainwater on his raincoat and agreed: "Since Fang Jun returned to Chang'an and Pei Xingjian was transferred to the Western Regions, Liu Rengui has been the de facto 'second man' of the Navy, with status and power only below Su Dingfang. This person Naifang Jun was promoted from a private soldier to a naval general, and he implemented Fang Jun's overseas policies. Not only was he deeply trusted by Fang Jun, but his own abilities were also extremely outstanding and should not be underestimated. "
The various terms that were originally negotiated upon arrival gradually cooled and withered in the wind and rain. The two of them were full of pessimism about this negotiation, and they could only reduce and reduce the expected benefits in their hearts...
Finally, the captain turned around and said that Liu Rengui had invited the two of them in for a meeting.
The two looked at each other, took a deep breath, and entered the mountain gate solemnly.
There was a row of Zen rooms on one side of the mountain gate. The captain stayed in an inconspicuous room among them, and directly invited them in without asking.
In the Zen room, Liu Rengui and Xue Wanche stood up together, without breaking the rules of etiquette, and met Xiao Yu with the courtesy of an official.
Xiao Yu returned the courtesy and said with a smile: "It turns out that Duke Wu'an is here too."
But my heart kept sinking.
As the commander-in-chief of the main force guarding the south of Chang'an City, Xue Wanche was supposed to command the troops at Mingde Gate to prevent anyone from attacking the city gate, but Xue Wanche left his troops and showed up here, which is enough to show that Xue Wanche's Youwuwei did not enter the city to quell the rebellion at all. , support the Butokuden plan.
It can be inferred from this that the same is true for Li Jing.
It seems that Li Chengqian did not have too many worries about King Jin's vigorous mutiny, and believed that Fang Jun alone was enough to wipe out the rebels and maintain the imperial power.
Think again about King Jin who is still jumping up and down in the Tai Chi Palace...
Fortunately, he was decisive and made the decision to surrender. Otherwise, if he delayed it any longer, King Jin would definitely lose. If he surrendered at that time, even Liu Rengui would not be able to see him.
Xue Wanche had no expression on his face and said calmly: "It is a matter of course to defend the imperial power, protect the country, and exterminate the traitors. Naturally, I will stay in Chang'an City and never back down."
Xiao Yu nodded, thinking that if this stick could say such a thing, he must have recited it countless times beforehand...
Liu Rengui invited the two of them to take a seat. Xiao Yu and Cui Xin thanked them and took their seats respectively.
The soldiers served hot tea, and Xiao and Cui took a sip of the tea. The hot tea went into their throats, and the dampness and coldness in their bodies dissipated, and they felt much better.
Liu Rengui got straight to the point: "Both of them are noble people. I don't know why they came to visit in the storm."
Xiao Yu glanced at Cui Xin, then turned to Liu Ren: "Since General Liu is so direct, I don't mince words. I came here to surrender. I went astray before, was deceived by others, and did wrong things. , now I hope to lead the troops guarding Chengtianmen to surrender their weapons to General Liu, change their ways, and abandon the dark side.”
Liu Rengui nodded: "The Duke of Song is the pillar of the country, and he is also the founding father of the country. Although he made mistakes, but since he has found his way back, I think your majesty will be accommodating. Cui Gong also understands the righteousness, which is very good. Since the two I will not shirk myself even if the people come in person, so I will send people to accept the surrender of the Shandong army and then take over Chengtianmen."
Cui Xin hurriedly said: "We made mistakes before, and this surrender is inevitable. However, the matter of surrender involves many aspects and cannot be done hastily. There are still some conditions that I hope can be negotiated with General Liu..."
"Bang!"
Xue Wanche slapped the table hard, his eyes were as round as bells, he glared at Cui Xin, and shouted sternly: "Fart! You are unfaithful and unjust, and you are causing trouble to the government. I have not chopped off your head and hung it on the flagpole. It is already a crime." On the other hand, you still want to negotiate terms? That’s a complete bastard!”
Cui Xin was born into a famous family since he was a child. In his twenties, he managed the affairs of the Boling Cui family as the eldest son. He was well-known in Shandong and highly respected. How had he ever been insulted in person like this?
Suddenly his face turned red with anger, and he pointed at Xue Wanche with trembling fingers: "You, you, you... are simply insulting to gentlemen, how can this be unreasonable!"
Xiao Yu tugged on Cui Xin's sleeve and looked at him to calm down. Then he looked at Liu Rengui, who was leisurely drinking tea, and asked in a cold voice: "I wonder what General Liu means?"
Liu Rengui put down his tea cup, took some time to relax, and said flatly: "Didn't you hear what Duke Wu'an said? You are rebellious officials and traitors. If you really want to atone for your sins, then just put down your weapons and surrender on the spot. Maybe His Majesty will think of it." The merits of the past are limited to one side. If you have illusions and are unwilling to accept If you lose, then go back and reorganize the army. When I reach Chengtianmen, I will capture you two alive and punish you! Although I am a low-ranking official, I am loyal and will never promise you any conditions in private. , either surrender or fight, there is no other way!”
Xiao Yu and Cui Xin looked at each other. Although they knew that this negotiation would be extremely difficult, they did not expect that the negotiation would break down as soon as they met. Judging from Liu Rengui's attitude, he had no intention of negotiating at all.
Xue Wanche shouted from the side: "What's the point of talking to two traitors and traitors? If you ask me, just grab them and kill them with a knife, and then go to your Majesty with their heads to ask for credit!"
Xiao Yu and Cui Xin looked gray and their faces were fighting. (End of chapter)