"Foreign Minister Sun Sheng, on the order of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, pays homage to the Emperor of Han Dynasty!"
As the Han army's invasion of counties along the Yangtze River in the Southern Tang Dynasty became more and more urgent, the Tang envoy Sun Sheng hurried northward and came to see him. Liu Chengyou received him at the Shouchun Yamen Hall. There was no grand ceremony and only a few close ministers and generals accompanied him.
In the hall, the emperors and ministers of the Northern Han Dynasty were in a relaxed mood. Although Sun Sheng, the envoy of the Tang Dynasty, pretended to be calm, he was in a weak position, and his tense expression told the heaviness in his heart.
"No courtesy!" Liu Chengyou waved his hand slightly, looked at Sun Sheng in a condescending manner, and said: "The two countries are at war, and the war is in full swing. They are like enemies and bandits. Why did Li Jing send you to the north?"
"Your Majesty, I am here under your command to call for peace for the sake of the peace of the soldiers and civilians of the two countries!" Sun Sheng responded.
"Oh!" Liu Chengyou said calmly: "I came here to seek peace!"
"Your Majesty, this is a peace negotiation!" Sun Sheng emphasized and corrected Liu Chengyou's statement.
Liu Chengyou waved his hand calmly and said: "Whether you are asking for peace or negotiating peace, you are here to beg for mercy from me."
He stretched out his hand and moved his middle and index fingers a few times, signaling Zhang Dejun to present Li Jing's credentials. While flipping through the pages, Sun Sheng briefly described: "Since the war, the soldiers and civilians of the two countries have suffered greatly. In order to save the common people of Li from the dire straits, To restore peace to the people, as long as His Majesty is willing to withdraw the troops, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty is willing to serve Brother Chen and serve his neighbors forever. He will surely benefit from Chen Shanze and help the army less. He piously reports to the newspaper in response to his high orders, and the road is smooth. Gift coins every year..."
A letter of credence, with more than a thousand words, was obviously written by a poet in the Southern Tang Dynasty. He expressed his feelings and expressed his thoughts in a very low posture. There were many beggings between the words, as if he had been wronged a lot.
However, it was quite difficult for Liu Chengyou to read it. It took him a while to finish reading it, and then he passed it on to the ministers: "Everyone has also read this book and made a fuss about it. Is it true or false?" !”
"Please take a look at it, what a masterpiece it is!" Tao Gu took it with a smile.
Seeing the arrogant posture of the Northern Han Dynasty monarchs, Sun Sheng couldn't stand it anymore. His face showed shame and anger, and he said loudly: "I have come here with a letter, and I speak from the bottom of my heart. I am honest about your request. Whether you agree or not is up to your majesty." Why do you want to humiliate my court like this?"
Seeing Sun Sheng's angry look, Liu Chengyou couldn't help but be surprised. He looked at him again and said in an inexplicable tone: "I heard that the person who initiated the peace talks in the Tang court was none other than Mr. Sun!"
Hearing this, Sun Sheng smiled disdainfully, raised his head and responded: "I propose to end the war. I am asking for the lives of the millions of soldiers and civilians in the two countries, in order to save them from the pain of swordsmanship and the harm of war. Your Majesty believes that this is what I have in mind. Weak, afraid of Han teachers, haha..."
Listening to Sun Gong's words, he is really upright and selfless!" Seeing this, Liu Chengyou became more interested and sighed lightly, then his tone became serious and said: "I led hundreds of thousands of troops southward, and I was invincible. The Tang army was defeated repeatedly. Looking at the wind and descending, all the soldiers and civilians in Huainan are trembling with fear when they see the Han flag. Sun Gong, are you really not afraid?"
Faced with the threat from the Han Emperor, Sun Sheng was so excited that he laughed twice and said: "If you have an ax and a ax attached to you, what's the point of fear? Your Majesty relies on strong troops and is majestic. He can kill and fear others, but he cannot convince them." .Although I am only a twilight scholar, I can neither mount a horse to command nor carry a sword to fight, but I hold a three-foot sharp sword and cut myself with a horizontal sword, with blood splattering three feet. It’s not hard to do!”
"Be bold!"
"presumptuous!"
In the hall, hearing Sun Sheng's arrogance, Liu Chengyou's ministers and subordinates immediately looked at him angrily.
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Due to his nature, Liu Chengyou didn't react much. He looked at Sun Sheng, but when he saw the Tang minister standing proudly and with an expression of admiration, he couldn't help but reveal a little strange color on his face. In this scene, he looked like in the story. The villain, and Sun Sheng has become the protagonist who is not afraid of power and is unyielding.
Shaking his head and getting rid of those distracting thoughts, Liu Chengyou waved his hand to stop his ministers, looked at Sun Sheng, and said calmly: "I have fully understood Li Jing's proposal for peace. However, the Han Dynasty's hundreds of thousands of troops went south, and in April's conquest, The soldiers and men suffered a lot of damage and spent hundreds of millions of money.
Such a huge price, just because you don't support the military needs? For the benefit of your annual tribute? You just want me to withdraw my troops just because I wish brother Chen to serve you forever and be happy to your neighbors? Do you think I can be bullied?
If I allow it, why should I explain it to hundreds of thousands of soldiers who marched south? Why should I explain it to the millions of people under my rule?"
"How is your majesty, so you are willing to return the troops and take advantage of them?" Sun Sheng asked directly.
Liu Chengyou replied: "It's not what I want, it's what you want!"
"Military and state affairs can't be accomplished without your grandson coming north, presenting a volume of national documents, and showing off your tongue!" Pointing to the documents that were submitted on the case, Liu Chengyou said directly: "If With this alone, I can give you a very clear answer, no!"
"I hope Your Majesty will think twice!" Sun Sheng's expression changed after hearing this, and he cupped his hands and said: "Although the Tang Dynasty suffered a defeat, there were still millions of people in the Jianghuai River and Huaihe River, tens of thousands of soldiers, and Yangtze River boat divisions to cross the river. Even though the Han soldiers were powerful, the whole country We have the same hatred and fight against the difficulties together, but the outcome is unpredictable!"
"Why do you, a country that has lost its army and lost its territory, speak arrogant words and threaten me?" Liu Chengyou said.
Sun Sheng said, neither humble nor arrogant: "I only tell the truth!"
"Haha..." Liu Chengyou laughed: "With Mr. Sun's spirit, he is really not suitable to be an envoy, especially when he is ordered to beg for surrender!"
"As for the outcome, let us wait and see! I would like to see how much energy can be unleashed by the common hatred of the entire country in the pseudo-Tang Dynasty!" Without any intention of listening to Sun Sheng's words, Liu Chengyou directly ordered: "Come here. , I will take him down to rest in the future so that he can be taken care of and don’t make any mistakes!"
Seeing the Han Emperor's attitude, Sun Sheng's expression was much more serious and uglier than when he first met. He finally realized that he seemed to be too forgetful, and this mission was considered a failure. He felt shameless in facing Jiangdong. The father's emotions also made him feel powerless. His unyielding and upright attitude was like a joke, just for others to see. As for the threat, it was more like a joke, and the Han Emperor didn't care at all.
In fact, from the Han Emperor's speech and attitude, we can already see his gluttonous desire. Even if he wanted to retreat, it would be impossible without paying a heavy price. However, Sun Sheng deliberately did not mention it on his own initiative.
"Your Majesty, the pseudo-Tang Dynasty is not very determined in seeking peace! Judging from Sun Sheng's attitude, I am afraid that the Lord of the Tang Dynasty is still stubborn in resisting!" Tao Gu said.
Liu Chengyou thought for a while and said: "I don't think so. How can the pseudo-Tang Dynasty have the confidence to fight against our dynasty now? I think this man's words, apart from his temperament, can't help but test me. The intention is in it!"
Tao Gu was a good man. He thought about it and nodded in agreement: "This proves that the Lord of Tang Dynasty has the intention to seek peace. He just doesn't know His Majesty's attitude and what conditions he should give in exchange!"
"The soldiers are almost rested!" Liu Chengyou suddenly turned to Wang Jun and Han Tong who were accompanying him.
Han Tong said directly: "Your Majesty, you have been gearing up for a long time and are waiting for the edict!"
"Send the order, the army will march south to Hefei tomorrow!" Liu Chengyou said directly.
After a pause, he continued: "Send an order to Murong Yanzhao and ask him to strengthen his strategy for the prefectures and counties along the Yangtze River. Let Li Jing take a good look at my attitude!"
"Yes!" Wang Jun and Han Tong responded and left.
"Shuchun, I will leave it to Tao Qing for the time being!" Liu Chengyou looked at Tao Gu again.
Tao Gu immediately responded: "Your Majesty, please rest assured!"
Thinking of Sun Sheng's response to the audience, Liu Chengyou couldn't help but sigh: "The Pseudo-Tang Dynasty also has loyal and brave generals. Since the Southern Expedition, He Jingzhu, Xu Wenzhen, Guo Tingwei, Sun Sheng, and Huangfu Hui are all important. A person to look down upon!”
Listening to the emperor's lament, Tao Gu said: "Even if there are talents, but the master does not make good use of them, the result will be nothing more than a secret act and suffer the consequences."
"However, Li Jing still has such ministers. From this point of view, the Puppet Tang Dynasty is not a country that will be destroyed after all!" Liu Chengyou said: "The war must be ended as soon as possible!"
"Your Majesty is not the one who should be anxious!" Tao Gu said.
Liu Chengyou just nodded. Hundreds of thousands of troops stayed in Huainan for a long time and wasted a lot of money. Tokyo was already a little restless and the treasury was becoming increasingly empty. Now, it is the spring plowing season, so the war has depleted the people of the Central Plains and Huaibei. If If the farming season is missed again, it will cause a chain reaction, and there will be even more headaches.
During this period, officials from the prime ministers continued to come forward, suggesting that Liu Chengyou should lead the army. In fact, if the Southern Tang Dynasty tried its best to fight to the death, the Northern Han Dynasty would not be able to stay here for a long time.
The more likely approach is to return to the court with troops, reorganize the troops and horses, and return the people and farmland. On the Huainan side, turn from offense to defense, consolidate the occupied land and digest the fruits of victory.
However, that was the choice of the Southern Tang Dynasty to fight to the end, and it would be best if it could be solved once and for all. After all, compared to the original history, Zhou Shizong's conquest of the Tang Dynasty and Liu Chengyou's conquest, the Southern Tang Dynasty was defeated faster and more completely.