The sound of heavy and rapid footsteps echoed in the corridors of the palace, each step filled with anger and irritability. Behind them, there were several ministers of Shu, following closely behind Meng Chang.
Until he entered the Wenxian Hall, he picked up a piece of jade and threw it on the ground hard. The fragments even splashed onto Wang Zhaoyuan who was following at the front. Meng Chang's gloomy face could not hold back anymore, and his handsome face was a little awkward for a moment.
Twisted, he raised his hand and said angrily: "This is unreasonable! This is unreasonable!"
"Your Majesty, calm down!" All the ministers were frightened, and Prime Minister Wu Zhaoyi took a step forward and softly comforted him.
"Where is this anger?" Meng Chang turned his head and stared at him, clenched his fists, suppressed the boiling anger in his chest, and asked in a cold voice: "You all heard the peace agreement of the Northern Han Dynasty just now, tell me.
Well, how to respond!"
"Your Majesty, the four points advocated by Zhao Pu clearly show no sincerity in the peace talks! He was arrogant and unruly in the main hall of our Shu Palace, despised my monarch and his ministers, and was even more rude!" Wang Zhaoyuan immediately jumped out and spoke fiercely: "Your Majesty, please don't do this!
You need to worry more, the Northern Han Dynasty is going to fight, and our court can accompany you to the end!"
After Wang Zhaoyuan finished speaking, the prime minister Li Hao immediately objected: "Privy Wang's angry words are really not worth mentioning. Zhao Pu's arrogance is a pretentious gesture and he means to bully others. It should not be taken seriously. Since both countries have peace talks,
If you want to discuss something, you should calm down and discuss it calmly!"
"According to Li Xiang's intention, do you want to agree to those ridiculous and humiliating terms of the Northern Han Dynasty?" Wang Zhaoyuan stared at Li Hao, the dissatisfaction in his eyes almost overflowing.
Wang Zhaoyuan's indignation was not only due to Zhao Pu's sarcasm and the Northern Han Dynasty's powerful treaty, but also because ministers like Li Hao and Wu Zhaoyi began to raise their heads and dared to confront him head on.
At first, Meng Chang endured for fifteen years and finally brought back the powerful minister Zhang Ye and the corrupt and authoritarian former Privy Councilor Wang Chu. Wang Zhaoyuan, as a former emperor, was able to inform the Council of Ministers and take charge of important military affairs.
Steadily promoted, power and position gradually consolidated.
As for Wang Zhaoyuan, the privy envoy, he actually combined military and political power into one body. He was at the highest level among ministers, as if he were descended from Wu Zhao. Official ministers like Li Hao were even lower than him. In the past few years, Wang Zhaoyuan's reputation and power have become increasingly prominent.
There is no discount at all, otherwise it would be difficult to get as much "attention" from the monarchs and ministers of the Northern Han Dynasty.
However, with the repeated defeats in the war against the Han, the military strength was greatly reduced, and the national power was greatly reduced. As the first person in charge of the military agency, Meng Chang's trust in Wang Zhaoyuan also began to waver.
After Wang Chu returned, Meng Chang hired Wang Zhaoyuan for several reasons. First, he was someone close to him and knew the basics. Second, he was fed up with the constraints of the old ministers and generals, so he promoted a person with junior qualifications to balance him.
The power of the court; thirdly, Wang Zhaoyuan does have some talent. If he is a complete idiot, Meng Chang will not be able to help him even if he forcibly helps him.
However, no matter how deep the trust is, it will eventually be worn away by constant failures. Although he is still in the position of Privy Councilor, Meng Chang's attitude towards him has obviously changed. However, Li and others noticed
When he arrived, he began to raise his head in the court and speak out. Wang Zhaoyuan also noticed it, so his heart was filled with anxiety and impatience recently.
He didn't dare to complain about Meng Chang, so he could only target ministers like Li Hao. At this moment, facing Wang Zhaoyuan's cold gaze, Li Hao acted calmly and said leisurely: "Privy Wang, please don't misinterpret my meaning!
"
After saying that, he bowed to Meng Chang and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the peace terms proposed by the Han envoys should not be taken too seriously. Even in business transactions, there is always bargaining and bargaining, and this is because of the importance of national affairs. Although our dynasty
Frustrated by border affairs, but there is still a danger in Sichuan and Shu, we cannot let the Northern Han Dynasty take whatever it wants. Even if the Northern Han Dynasty has gluttonous greed, it is not so unwise to put forward such harsh demands. It is just to use deception to obey us.
It’s just about grabbing profits!”
After hearing what Li Hao said, Meng Chang calmed down and thought for a moment: "What does Li Qing mean, can we talk about it?"
"Exactly! I think the fact that the Northern Han Dynasty sent envoys here proves that the Northern Han Dynasty also means to make peace. They fought fiercely for a long time and fought against the winter. The price paid by the Northern Han Dynasty is equally serious!" Li
Hao said confidently.
"Your Majesty, since the Northern Han Dynasty is willing to negotiate peace, our government cannot show weakness and accept its blackmail!" Seeing that Meng Chang was almost persuaded, Wang Zhaoyuan couldn't help it and said loudly: "According to the detailed reports from Hanzhong, the Northern Han Dynasty
The monarchs and ministers of the Han Dynasty were so happy about their achievements that they resorted to military warfare. In Feng, Cheng, Jie, Xing and other places, people's complaints and complaints were everywhere. We, the people of Shu, could not bear the heavy labor and gathered together many times to resist the tyranny.
Regardless of the weather, in order to capture Xi County and Nanzheng, more than 10,000 casualties were suffered. Now, including Hanzhong, there is a sign of famine. The Han army has only 20,000 troops, and it needs to be divided into various counties for defense and suppression.
Therefore, the Han army has no remaining strength to move south. Your Majesty must not be intimidated by his false words, negotiate easily, let alone agree to his unreasonable demands!"
"When Privy Wang said this, he only looked at the present and never looked at the future. It is still the twelfth lunar month of winter. Although the Han army is short of men and horses and has difficulty in sustaining food and grass, what about the next year? If we rest for a few months or half a year, with the strength of the Han army, by then
How can we resist?" Wu Zhaoyi said.
"As the prime ministers of Great Shu, why do you keep saying things to praise the enemy but suppress yourself? Is it true that the Northern Han Dynasty makes you, the official minister, afraid of you like this?" Wang Zhaoyuan asked excitedly.
"Privy Privy Wang is well versed in military strategy, and he prides himself on being an expert in governing the country and mastering the military strategy. Why are he defeated repeatedly in battles? If Xiang Envoy can control the invaders outside the country's gate, how can we join the Northern Han Dynasty in vain?" Li Hao glanced at him.
Wang Zhaoyuan calmly retorted: "I have said long ago that the Northern Han Dynasty rose from the Central Plains and had strong soldiers and horses. Only our dynasty can fight against it.
We should send envoys to repair it. However, Privy Wang wanted to follow the example of Wu Hou and repeatedly raised troops for the Northern Expedition, which angered the powerful Han and led to the disaster of the Northern Army. Now, with the loss of troops and the fall of the city, and the Han envoys coming to the west, what price must be paid?
To bring the two countries back together?"
"Stop arguing!" Seeing that the dispute between the two parties was aggravating, Meng Chang immediately scolded him and said seriously: "You can't go back on the past. I'm calling you. I just want to hear some true knowledge and insights from you, and what you say can be useful.
I don’t want to listen to your arguments about peace talks!”
"Your Majesty, I have found out that the Han envoy Zhao Pu is here, carrying the full authority of the Han Emperor. I believe that Zhao Pu is greedy for money and lust. If we can bribe this person, we may be able to negotiate a peace treaty that is acceptable to both parties!"
Wu Zhaoyi took the initiative.
Hearing this, Meng Chang's brows were condensed at first, he thought for a while, then gradually relaxed, glanced at Wu Zhaoyi and Li Hao, and ordered: "Wu Qing, Li Qing, you two will go and talk to that Zhao Pu."
Let’s talk!”
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"Yes!" Seeing the emperor's decision, the two men responded in unison.
While the monarchs and ministers of Shu were angrily arguing over the "Four Articles of Zhao Pu", after the Han envoys left the Shu Palace, they started touring Chengdu in a relaxed mood.
Wan Jing Yuncuo, Sichuan Department Store Committee, experienced it personally. The prosperity of Chengdu is still beyond Zhao Pu's imagination. Of course, there is indeed some chaos in the market. Zhao Pu walked all the way and experienced it carefully.
Every plant, every tree, brick and tile in the city of Chengdu is listening to the talk in the streets. It is said that one can observe the mood of the people, big or small, and one can always see some signs of rise and fall.
We swam all the way to the Hejiang Pavilion in the southeastern part of Luocheng City in Chengdu. Looking across the distance, we could see the two rivers of Jianjiang River surrounding the city, and light boats and merchant ships passing by. There was still a scene of rush.
"Looking at the world, there are not many cities that can compare with Chengdu!" Standing on the pavilion, Zhao Pu sighed: "I am afraid that half of the wealth in Shu will be collected here, and Shu will be destroyed in the future. I need to warn the soldiers to try to preserve the city.
....."
"Servant, the people from Wude Division sent a secret message." It was not until evening that I returned to the hotel. He Jiyun, the escort officer of the mission, came up, interrupted Zhao Pu who was thinking all the way, and handed him a wax pill.
Zhao Pu came back to his senses, took it vaguely, crushed it and took out a piece of paper to look at. He glanced up and down a few times and smiled.
He Jiyun saw him at the side and couldn't help but wonder: "Is it convenient for the minister to tell me what happened?"
Zhao Pu chuckled and said: "Meng Chang, Lord of Shu, is very angry about the four peace terms I proposed today!"
"Servant, don't blame the general for talking too much. The four points you proposed are indeed a bit harsh. If you think about it, the Lord of Shu would not agree to it. No wonder he is angry. Will this affect the outcome of the peace talks?" He Jiyun said in a low voice.
"I didn't expect General He Qiang Qiang to have such insight!" Hearing what he said, Zhao Pu smiled and said, "Don't worry! The more angry the Shu Lord is, the more it shows that he is willing to negotiate a truce. Otherwise, I will be here in the palace today.
It would not be surprising if he expelled us or even took my head!"
Weiji seemed to have received the news that Zhao Pu had returned to the hotel. Zhao Pu was invited, and Prime Minister Li Hao hosted a banquet in his mansion to entertain him.
"Pack it up, let's go over to the house together and discuss the business..." Zhao Puxin said.
