"Master Wang, it's not easy for both of us to find time to meet. Everyone's time is precious, so I'll get straight to the point."
Ning Qi was the first to start the conversation: "Master Wang has come all the way, and we know your purpose of coming. It is not impossible to talk about the armistice, but the prerequisite is that Ming Dynasty must surrender immediately. Agree to surrender first, and we will talk about the armistice later. Conditions.”
"If you don't surrender, then we can only continue to fight until your country admits defeat."
"Of course, when that time comes and your country comes to negotiate the terms of the armistice, the content will definitely be different from the current stage."
Wang Chengen did not expect that Ning Qi's attitude would be so tough when he came up. He asked Daming to surrender first. This seemed to be somewhat inconsistent with the information previously submitted to the court by the Factory Guard Yamen.
Before Wang Chengen went south, he also did some homework on Haihan, especially about the senior officials on the executive committee. He had carefully studied the files sent to the palace by the factory guards, and had some understanding of each person's personality and acting style. Understand it to avoid being unsure of your opponent’s approach during negotiations.
According to the file records he saw, Ning Qi was not a militant person with radical ideas. He was more steady in his actions and was considered a relatively conservative figure in the executive committee.
In the past diplomatic activities with the Ming Dynasty, Ning Qi has always advocated resolving the conflicts and differences between the two countries through dialogue. To some extent, he can even be regarded as an anti-war faction. The Ming court also believes that Ning Qi is the relative member of the Executive Committee. An easier person to communicate with.
Therefore, before Wang Chengen went south, he took Ning Qi as his main target. If Ning Qi could be persuaded to accept Daming's truce proposal, the negotiation process might go much smoother.
However, the actual situation was beyond his expectation. Ning Qi's attitude made Wang Chengen wonder whether there was something wrong with the information provided by the factory guard, or whether Haihan had arranged for another person to impersonate Ning Qi.
Of course, Wang Chengen also knew that the latter was unlikely, and there was no need for Haihan to adopt such a despicable and easily exposed method.
As for Ning Qi's toughness, Wang Chengen judged that this was probably related to the current battle situation of the Haihan Army on the front line. The Executive Committee probably believed that this war should stop or not stop, and that the Ming Dynasty, which had already been defeated, was unable to recover, and even negotiations were dispensable, so it directly asked the Ming Dynasty to surrender first and then negotiate.
In an instant, many thoughts went through Wang Chengen's mind. But as a special envoy who has won the trust of Chongzhen, he will naturally not be overwhelmed by Ning Qi's momentum so easily.
"Master Ning, the several demands your country made before are actually negotiable, but we also hope that your country will show sincerity and order to stop the offensive first."
"If your country's goals can be achieved through negotiation, why would you resort to force, right?"
As Wang Chengen spoke, he paid attention to the other person's expression so that he could adjust his words in time.
Haihan sent an official letter to Beijing a few days before the war began. The content was to ask the Ming Dynasty to hand over the mastermind behind the Hangzhou assassination operation, and proposed several compensation conditions such as ceding territory, indemnity, and opening of treaty ports. However, because the conditions proposed were too harsh, Mingting did not respond.
At that time, the court believed that Haihan's move was intended to intimidate him, and it was impossible to say that he would be beaten immediately. But the fact was that the princes in the court were slapped in the face. Just a few days later, Haihan started fighting on both the north and south fronts at the same time.
Therefore, many people in the court suspected that the war between Haihan and Han had been planned for a long time, and they were just waiting for such a suitable excuse to start a war, but Daming took the initiative to send it to them.
The truce negotiation strategy conceived by Emperor Chongzhen was to use the conditions proposed by Haihan before the war as a benchmark to see if he could meet some of the conditions through bargaining in exchange for a truce from Haihan.
As the executor, Wang Chengen naturally has to work hard in this direction and strive to bring the negotiation time back to a month ago. It's just that the three people sitting in front of him are all old foxes who have been in charge of a country for decades. How could they be fooled by his little words?
Schneider immediately shook his head and said: "Master Wang is wrong."
Wang Chengen wondered: "What's wrong with our family?"
Schneider said: "What our country proposed to your country a month ago was to avoid the outbreak of war. But now the war has been going on for more than a month, and the situation is very different. How can we still negotiate based on the conditions at that time."
Wang Chengen said: "What Master Shi means is..."
Schneider said: "Times have changed, and of course the conditions have to be renegotiated. However, we still have to follow the preconditions we just stated. Your country will surrender first, and then we will negotiate a truce."
Wang Chengen felt like he was stuck in a dead end. The purpose of negotiation is to cease the war, but if you want to negotiate, you have to surrender first. So what qualifications do I have to negotiate terms after I have surrendered?
Wang Chengen said: "Our family feels that the purpose of your country's war is to realize the conditions you mentioned earlier. In this case, if you agree to your country's conditions, there is actually no need to continue the war, right?"
Ning Qi shook his head and said: "Your Majesty Wang's words are wrong. The time to agree to the conditions for your country has long passed. I say again, if your country continues to delay, in ten days and a half, the conditions will be different. It’s different.”
Wang Chengen was secretly resentful of Ning Qi's dismissal. He had been in Hangzhou for such a long time. It was obviously your executive committee who avoided seeing you, but it was me who was delaying time.
However, he is now on the weaker side. In order to continue the negotiation, although he knows that the other party is using strong words, he dares to be angry and dare not speak out.
However, Wang Chengen could not accept the surrender without negotiating the terms, and it also exceeded the limit set by Emperor Chongzhen. He could only stick to this point and not let go.
However, Wang Chengen's persistence would not achieve the results he expected. It had only one actual effect, and that was to quickly exhaust the patience of Haihan and the others.
After several rounds of pulling and pulling, Tao Donglai, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke: "Mr. Wang, the purpose of our meeting with you is not to have a verbal spat, let alone to persuade you to accept our arrangement. If you feel that you cannot If you accept our plan, the negotiation will end here. There is no need to waste time here.”
"I know you may not be able to make a decision. You can rush back to the capital as soon as possible and tell your master our opinions and let him make his own decision."
"But you must be faster on the road, otherwise by the time you get back, the capital may have changed hands."
Wang Chengen was shocked and said: "Your country has already begun to attack the capital?"
Tao Donglai said: "Our troops have arrived outside the capital in two days. When to start fighting is a matter for the frontline commander. But I think he will not delay too long. After all, so far, no one has asked He gave the order to cease the war."