It was past midnight, and the lights in the room were still bright. When Ning Yi pushed the door in, Qin Siyuan, Yao Zunian, Jueming, Ji Kun and others were already in the study. The servants had already informed the news of Ning Yi's return.
He opened the door and Qin Siyuan came forward.
"Li Heng is back." Yao Zunian smiled and came over to greet him.
"Thank you for your hard work."
"It's snowing again tonight..."
The core circle of staff in the Right Prime Minister's Mansion are all acquaintances. Although the Jurchens were busy during the siege, things have finally become less busy in the past few days. Qin Siyuan and others have been running around all day, and at this time, they can finally do something.
Rest. It is also for this reason that when Ning Yi enters the city, everyone can gather at the Prime Minister's Mansion to welcome him.
We haven't seen him for several months. Looking at him, we can see that Qin Siyuan, who was originally in good health, has lost weight. His hair is all white, but he is neatly combed, but he still looks energetic. In the year of Yao Zu, he looked a little sick - he was too old.
, it is impossible to stay up all day, but there is absolutely no time for leisure. As for Jueming, Ji Kun and others, as well as the other two aides of the prime minister's office who came over, they all looked thin, but they were in good condition, so Ning Yi joined them.
Once I said hello.
"The battle in Lihengxia Village was so inspiring."
"It's all thanks to the good command of the Second Young Master."
"Hey, Shao Qian may have some merit in commanding, but when it comes to military management and tactics, he is too far behind. If he had not set up a constant pressure formation, he would not have won today's victory."
"Li Heng's return was sudden. It's not good to drink at this time. Otherwise, he and Li Heng will come to an end."
"If all the soldiers of the Wu Dynasty could be like Xia Cun..."
After the truce, the Right Prime Minister's house was a little more relaxed, but there were a lot of invisible troubles, and there were even more things to worry about. But even so, when everyone met, the first thing they mentioned was the achievements of Ning Yi and others in Xia Village. Others in the room
The two staff members who entered the inner circle, Tong Zhiyuan and Hou Wenjing, had known Ning Yi in the past, and they were both older than Ning Yi. They were previously responsible for other branch affairs, and were only included in the center during the city defense war. At this time,
He came over to congratulate Ning Yi. There was excitement and eagerness in his expression.
During the past few days of truce negotiations, the ice surface in Bianliang City seemed quiet, but there was already an undercurrent surging below. Regarding the entire situation, Qin Siyuan may have talked privately with Yao Zunian and Jueming, but he did not
After having a detailed discussion with Tong and Hou, Ning Yi came back today, and everyone gathered at night. Firstly, to welcome and congratulate each other, and secondly, there must be an in-depth discussion about the things inside and outside the city. It was decided here,
Perhaps this is the state of play in the entire Bianliang political situation.
After Ning Yi sat down, he drank a few sips of tea and briefly introduced the things outside the city. Including the confrontation with the Jurchens at this time. The atmosphere on the front line was tense. Even during negotiations, war might start at any time.
facts. In addition, there are some small things that have not been reported to the city before.
"...The negotiation was originally a battle of hearts, and the Jurchen's attitude was very resolute. Even though he only had less than half of the troops that could fight now, he still showed an attitude of rushing into the battle at any time. This Li Chao sent by the imperial court was afraid that he would be frightened
Arrive. Everyone should already know these things. Oh, I have something to tell Duke Qin. During the battle of Shouzhang, the second young master was wounded when he led troops to attack Zongwang, injuring his left eye. He never said anything about this.
Report it, I think you still don’t know..."
The fact that Qin Shaoqian lost one eye was just a personal matter at first, and Ning Yi did not bother Qin Siyuan with the news. Only now did he feel the need to tell it. Qin Siyuan was slightly stunned, a trace of sadness flashed in his eyes, but then he also
He shook his head and laughed.
"As a general, he charged forward. He was lucky to be alive after his eye was injured. By the way, Li Heng thinks, what are the chances that the Jurchens will start a war with us again because the negotiation fails?"
Ning Yi shook his head: "This is not a matter of success or failure, but a matter of negotiation skills. The Jurchens are not irrational. They know how to obtain the greatest benefits. If our army sets up a battle formation to fight with him, he does not want to fight.
But we will never be afraid of fighting. The trouble on our side is that the higher-ups are afraid of fighting, but Mr. Li just wants to do business. If the two sides open up their positions and the Jurchens feel that we are not afraid of fighting, then peace will be easy.
This situation is troublesome now." He looked at everyone, "What is our bottom line here?"
Qin Siyuan frowned: "At the beginning of the negotiation, His Majesty asked Mr. Li to negotiate quickly, but he would never give in on the conditions. He asked the Jurchens to retreat immediately, pass Yanmen Pass, and return them to the six states of Yanyun. We will no longer pursue the case."
Ning Yi smiled: "What then?"
Yao Zunian also smiled bitterly: "After talking for two days, Li Chu came back and said that the Jurchens were resolute and wanted to cede the north of the Yellow River. The Kingdom of Jin is our brother and our court is our younger brother. Our court will compensate a lot of materials and demand annual coins every year.
Otherwise, the war will continue. Your Majesty was furious, but then he relented. He could not cede the territory and did not recognize the Kingdom of Jin as his brother, but he could compensate them with gold and silver. Your Majesty wanted to send them away as soon as possible..."
"Understood." Ning Yi nodded, "If it were me, I would have to peel off a few layers of your skin before leaving..."
He fell silent, and everyone fell silent. Jueming stood up at the side and refilled himself with tea: "Amitabha, the affairs of the world are far from being perfected by just you and me. As soon as the war stopped, the Right Prime Minister's Mansion
We are already at the cusp of the storm, and there are many people who are stumbling behind the scenes. This matter has been discussed with Prime Minister Qin a long time ago. In the current negotiations, His Majesty has sidelined Prime Minister Li, and Prime Minister Qin cannot influence much. In the past few days, I have talked with
Nian Gong discussed it, and the most troublesome thing is not the coins or the title of brother. As for where it is, Yi Liheng's wisdom should be able to see it, right?"
"Taiyuan." Ning Yi lowered his eyes slightly.
"The war in Bianliang may be over, but Taiyuan is not." Jueming nodded and continued, "In this negotiation, there are not many people we can intervene in. If we want to protect something, it must be to protect Taiyuan.
However, since the eldest son is in Taiyuan, there is not much room for Prime Minister Qin to speak on this matter. The eldest son, the second son, plus Prime Minister Qin, in this capital... how many people are looking forward to peace in Taiyuan?
It’s hard to say.”
Before he became a monk, Jueming was a member of the royal family. No matter what he said, he did not have too many taboos about what others could not say. However, when he mentioned how many people were hoping for peace in Taiyuan, he paused for a moment.
Ning Yi said: "When we were outside the city, the Second Young Master and I heard that people had discussed this matter. Let's not talk about how to solve the siege of Taiyuan. Just talking about how to solve it is a big trouble. There are more than ten thousand troops in Xia Village, reorganize
After that, he went north, and with the more than 100,000 remnants at this time, he could not rest assured when facing Zongwang, let alone Nianhan outside Taiyuan City. Although this person was not from the Jurchen royal family, he was less than ten thousand people.
From the perspective of Qi Zongwang, I'm afraid it will be more difficult to deal with. Of course, if the court is determined, there are still ways. After all, the Jurchens have been invading south for too long. If the army presses the border, and the troops invade the area between the north of Taiyuan and Yanmen Pass, the Jin people may
They will retreat on their own. But now, firstly, the negotiations are not firm, secondly, there is intrigue among the upper echelons of more than 100,000 people, and thirdly, with the more than 10,000 people in Xia Village, whether the higher ups will let the Second Young Master take charge...these are all problems..."
His words were cold and serious. What he said now were two completely different concepts compared to what he had said to his teacher before.
Ji Kun, who had always been silent, said in a deep voice: "Maybe it's not impossible to do anything."
"But every time we solve something, everyone takes a step towards the cliff." Ning Yi said. "In addition, I was discussing with Wen Ren and others outside the city, and there are other things that are more troublesome..."
He paused and said: "In a few years, there will inevitably be a second invasion of the Jin people from the south. How to deal with it?"
After saying these words, Qin Siyuan raised his eyebrows and his eyes became more solemn. Yao Zunian sat aside and closed his eyes. Jueming fiddled with the tea cup. Apparently, they had also been considering this issue. In this room,
Ji Kun is the executor of handling the facts and does not need to think about this. Tong Zhiyuan and Hou Wenjing on the side frowned in an instant. It was not that they had not thought about it, but they had not started to think about it in the past few days.
Qin Siyuan took a breath: "Li Heng and Wen Ren, what do you think?"
"If you pull away now, you may be able to escape unscathed. If you move forward, no one can guess the consequences." Ning Yi also stood up and poured himself a cup of hot tea.
The room was quiet for a moment.
"The Jurchens are tigers and wolves. After this time, they will definitely fight again next time. They destroyed the Liao Kingdom, just like the Japanese. This time they went south, and they also achieved great results. They just failed to break Bianliang. To solve this problem
The core issue is...we must pay attention to the soldiers." Ning Yi spoke slowly, and then sighed, "The best case scenario is to retain Xia Village, retain the seeds of the Western Army, and retain this
Once the soldiers are ready to fight, they should not be dispersed. Then, reform the military system and give the warriors some status. Then in a few years, the Jin people may go south and have the strength to fight. But neither is difficult, and the latter is more difficult than the former.
Harder……"
Jueming took a sip of tea and said, "It has been two hundred years since our country emphasized culture and suppressed military power."
On the side, Yao Zunian opened his eyes and sat up. He looked at everyone: "If you want to innovate, this is the time."
"If this is an opera, when Nian Gong said this, there should be applause." Ning Yi smiled, and everyone also laughed in a low voice, but then the smiles also faded, "It's not that there is anything wrong with emphasizing civility and restraining martial arts.
The problem is that we have reached the point where we will live if we change, and we will die if we do not change. Nian Gong is right. There was the Battle of Bianliang and such tragic casualties. If you want to give the soldiers some status, you can just say it. But even if there is persuasion
You also know how much resistance there is in the military force. The commanders of each army are all civil servants, and the people who command the troops are all civil servants. If you want to give status to the military, you must share the profits and benefits from them. In this matter, the Right Prime Minister's Office
If you push it, with the strength of you and me, I'm afraid we will die without a burial place..."
Qin Siyuan and others hesitated for a moment, and then Yao Zunian said: "The key to this matter..."
"The key lies with Your Majesty." Ning Yi looked at the old man and whispered. Jueming and others also nodded slightly.
When it comes to the emperor, there are many things that are difficult to say at the moment. The emperor is the emperor, the most respected person in the world, and any attempt to make conspiracy things about the emperor is treason. There was another silence in the room.
Time has been stuck at an embarrassing node. It is not just the time in this room, but more likely the time of this era. The soldiers of Xia Cun, the soldiers of the Western Army, and the soldiers defending the city, in this battle
They have all gone through hardships. If the results of these hardships can be preserved, in a few years, they may be able to confront the Jin Kingdom head-on. If they can be expanded, they may be able to change the national destiny of an era.
But all kinds of difficulties are in front of us. Emphasizing culture and suppressing military force is the foundation of a country. Under this policy, a large number of vested interests are crowded into their positions. The battle of Bianliang is painful and may give rise to different voices.
Conditions have been provided, but to push such conditions forward, it is still not something that a few people or a group of people can do. Changing the foundation of a country is like changing an ideology. It is never about sacrificing a few lives or a few lives.
Things that can be done to fill the gap. But if it cannot be done, the future will be a more dangerous fate.
One step forward is a cliff, one step back is already hell.
Ning Yi has long said the price of innovation, and he has also told others that he is never willing to use his own life to promote any innovation. When he set out to go north, he was only willing to do something with a headache.
, if something can't be done, we have to get away. However, when the matter is pushed to the front, it has finally reached this step. If we go forward, there will be no recovery. If we go back, the Chinese people will be devastated.
He had never put himself in a position where no one else would do it without him. If it were before, he would have just left this matter behind and let Qin Siyuan and the others die. But at this point, he even got up and got out.
Thoughts have become so difficult.
The passing of life has weight. A few years ago, he told Yunzhu, who was about to open a shop, that he could not hold the sand and just threw it away. He had already experienced many major events in his life, but after experiencing so many people
After the death and bloodshed, even he could not say how to raise these things.
Compared with the troubles that will follow, and those things that the teacher was worried about before, what does it matter if dozens of clowns and hundreds of thousands of defeated soldiers are defeated? (To be continued)