When Zhang Xian saw that Emperor Hongde finally spoke, he felt refreshed and felt that his words had finally moved the emperor of the Southern Dynasty.
He lowered his head and continued with some excitement: "Your Majesty, the sage said that if the name is not correct, the words will not go well, and if the words are not right, the things will not be accomplished."
"The two countries have been at peace for seventy years. The two countries are at peace with each other, and there are even frequent intermarriages. I, Princess Izumo of Daqi, am now your majesty's noble concubine."
"Now that the south and north are marching to the north, they suddenly launch troops, causing mountains of corpses and seas of blood. The people of Xuzhou and Shandong are all suffering from war disasters. Even in Henan, the people have to join the army and suffer heavy casualties."
"This is an unjust teacher!"
"Now, I, the Emperor of Qi, are willing to put aside our past grudges and make good relations with your country. I am even willing to cede the province of Shandong. Please order your Majesty to stop the troops and negotiate peace between our two countries. From now on, we will be on good terms and we will always be brothers.
"
When Zhao Xianggong heard this, his eyebrows jumped. He didn't hold it back. He stood up and said angrily: "My king's army regained the lost territory and became an unjust army? Seventy years ago, the Hu people went south.
Is it benevolence and righteousness when the time comes?"
Zhang Xian raised his head, raised his hands to Zhao Changping and said: "Mr. Changping, the True Dragon from the Northeast entered the pass seventy years ago. It can be said to be destined. After Emperor Chen Xianzong of the South, your country and I have been on good terms and have intermarryed. It is also
That is to say, your country has recognized that the Huaihe River is the boundary between the two countries, dividing China into two parts."
"Since we have admitted it, it is naturally unjust to suddenly raise troops to attack."
Zhang Xian took a deep breath and continued: "Moreover, your country has not only raised unjust armies once. In the 28th year of Yongping in our Qi Dynasty, which is the seventh year of Hongde in your country, your country raised troops inexplicably.
, violating our boundaries."
The Northern Qi envoy spoke eloquently: "However, these are things of the past."
"Righteousness and unjustness will be judged by history books and descendants after thousands of years."
Zhao Changping was a little angry and wanted to talk more. His Majesty the Emperor on the throne suddenly smiled and said: "Prime Minister Zhao, there is no need to argue with him, just let him continue talking."
Zhao Changping then lowered his head, held the Chao Hut in his hand, and returned to his seat.
Emperor Hongde showed a smile on his face and continued: "Envoy, you and I have been fighting for several years. From my point of view, recovering the ancestral land is a matter of course. Now that you are talking nonsense here, I will not refute you.
I only have one question for you."
"What do you want?"
"Of course it's peace talks."
Zhang Xian quickly lowered his head and said: "Your Majesty, I, the Emperor of Qi, have made it clear that after the withdrawal of troops, not only Shandong will be transferred to your country, but also the affairs of Henan can be discussed slowly at the table."
The emperor looked calm and said: "Peace talks are possible, but since it is your country that takes the initiative to seek peace, I have to put forward a condition."
The emperor said leisurely: "The wars in the past two years have indeed wasted people and money. I also feel that it is quite a waste of national power. The envoy just said that we are a country of brothers, so I will not ask the envoy for a letter or a formal declaration. I will just
I need your country to compensate me, Da Chen, for all my military expenses in the past few years. I will withdraw my troops immediately, strike out and negotiate for peace."
Zhang Xian's eyelids jumped and he swallowed: "How much does your Majesty want?"
The emperor looked at Zhao Changping and asked with a smile: "Xiang Zhao, tell him."
Zhao Changping strode forward and said with his head held high: "In the past two years, the imperial court has spent more than 20 million taels of silver on the Northern Expedition, and as for military rations, it has been countless."
"If you compensate me at the original price, your country must compensate me, Da Chen, twenty-five million taels of cash."
Zhang Xian heard this and stood there, his face ashen.
After a long time, he took several deep breaths and said with difficulty: "Your Majesty, the foreign ministers have no way to make the decision on these matters. You need to return to Yandu and ask me, the Emperor of Qi, for instructions."
Emperor Hongde was all smiles.
"Then the envoy will go back on his own."
Zhang Xian lowered his head again and said: "If your Majesty is really interested in peace talks, please stop the troops first so that the foreign ministers can go back and explain to me to the emperor."
His Majesty the Emperor said lazily: "Why do we have to stop the troops if the peace talks are not concluded?"
Zhang Xian gritted his teeth: "Stop the troops first, then we can negotiate peace!"
The smile on His Majesty's face faded, and he no longer had any intention of teasing this person anymore. He said with a cold face: "In that case, let's not talk about it now."
"Come, please ask the envoy to go out."
Two Han generals from the Golden Palace came forward and took Zhang Xian down.
Zhang Xian shouted loudly.
"Your Majesty, if we continue to fight, both our countries will suffer losses. If the Tatars move south, China will be destroyed in an instant!"
The moment he was dragged out of the golden palace, the envoy shouted proudly: "I don't believe you Nan Chen, you really have endless money and food!"
Soon, he was dragged out.
His Majesty the Emperor sat on the throne, looked around, and asked calmly: "Is there anything else to do at today's court meeting?"
"It's okay, just leave."
"His Majesty."
An old minister, with his hair mostly gray, bowed his head when he left work.
The emperor glanced at him and smiled: "Master Chang, do you have something to say?"
Chang Jin, a great scholar of the late emperor's dynasty, was also Emperor Hongde's Meng Xue mentor.
However, during the period of Yang Jingzong, he was suppressed by Yang Xiang. When he was more than 50 years old, he complained of illness and left the court to give lectures and engage in scholarship. He was no longer in charge of the court and only recently returned to Jiankang.
Of course, even when he was young, he had not been in charge of many affairs and was an official who was more academic. However, because he had the status of master and apprentice with the emperor and was a serious emperor's teacher, his status was very high.
Chang Jin lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, I would like to ask Prime Minister Zhao..."
He sighed and said, "How much food does the imperial court have?"
After Zhao Changping heard this, he was about to stand up and speak. The emperor gave him a look. Zhao understood and stepped back.
His Majesty the Emperor looked around the court, and finally his eyes fell on the Imperial Master. He sighed slightly: "Master Chang, are you asking this yourself, or is it someone else who asked you?"
Chang Jin lowered his head and said: "Your Majesty, Shen Qilang has made outstanding achievements in the Northern Expedition in recent years. Therefore, I have been paying attention to the Northern Expedition in recent years. It is precisely because I care about national affairs that I asked this question. No one asked me to ask this question."
Anything, say anything.”
Emperor Hongde was silent for a while, and finally sighed slightly.
"Then you can ask in private."
Chang Jin was startled, then looked up at the emperor, then lowered his head and said, "I didn't think too much..."
Mr. Zhao on the side couldn't hold himself back anymore and said: "I believe that no one has entrusted Mr. Chang to speak, but I am afraid that someone will tell Mr. Chang about the accounts of the Ministry of Accounts!"
Chang Jin suddenly raised his head, looked at Zhao Changping, then looked at the emperor, and was stunned.
He can be a scholar, but he can be an official...
It's really too different.
The emperor had already stood up, but now he sat back on his throne and looked around at the ministers again.
Originally, it was not easy for him to handle this situation.
You can't deal with your teacher openly.
If we don’t deal with Chang Jin, we have to answer Chang Jin’s questions head-on.
Even if Chang Jin is dealt with, this problem cannot be easily avoided.
Because this is an issue that many people are concerned about.
If the imperial court has run out of money and food this year, then next year in order to maintain the war, the provinces will have to pay more taxes.
Originally, the southern provinces were unbalanced because of the tax exemption in the north. If they were to increase taxes, one would be unfavorable, and if some people were provocative, the world would really be in chaos.
But now, although Emperor Hongde's face is serious, his eyes are relaxed and comfortable.
He waved his hand, signaling Chang Jin, who was at a loss, to return to his seat.
Master Chang bowed to the emperor respectfully, returned to his seat, lowered his head slightly, with a slight panic in his eyes that he had done something wrong.
On the throne, Emperor Chen stood up, with his hands behind his back, the smile on his face could no longer be concealed: "Originally, the Ministry of Revenue should have replied, because there is indeed not much money and food."
"We don't have much money and food. If we continue to fight, next year's Northern Expedition will be unsustainable. Logically speaking, the imperial court should agree to negotiate with Qi Ren."
"Some people do so many twists and turns just for this."
The smile on His Majesty's face could no longer be concealed, and he even laughed a little wildly.
"Well, I have some news to share with you."
Having said this, the emperor looked at Eunuch Gao and coughed: "Go and get that Northern Qi envoy back to me."
"Without him here, I would be in vain behind me."
Eunuch Gao smiled knowingly and quickly sent someone to "invite" Zhang Xian back.
Emperor Hongde put his hands behind his back and looked at the civil and military officials, as well as Zhang Xian who was still a little confused, with a smile on his face.
"I just received an emergency report from the internal security guard."
Emperor Hongde couldn't help but laugh heartily: "Two days ago, my Huai'an army won a great victory in Jinan, annihilating tens of thousands of enemies, breaking through the gates of Jinan, and successfully broke into Jinan city!"
"Shandong Governor Shen Yi reported..."
The emperor glanced at the civil and military officials, and he felt so happy that he could not be more happy!
This kind of pleasure is a thousand times better than the pleasure of the boudoir!
His hands under his wide sleeves were tightly clenched into fists. The emotions he had been holding back for a long time completely exploded, making his whole body tremble slightly with excitement.
"Within three days, capture the entire Jinan City."
"Before the New Year..."
His Majesty the Emperor said this in one breath, then raised his head to look at the sky outside the palace, with uncontrollable excitement in his voice.
"Recover the entire territory of Shandong."
In Deqing Hall, all civil and military officials were once again silent.
This time, it was because of shock.
Mr. Zhao was the first to react. He held the Chao Hut in his hand, knelt on the ground, lowered his head and kowtowed: "Congratulations, Your Majesty. Congratulations, Your Majesty."
"Shandong was lost for seventy years and finally returned to Hongde Dynasty!"
"Your Majesty, His Majesty's divine, cultural, and martial arts, revitalize Dachen!"
With such a prime minister's start, everyone fell to their knees.
Even Zhang Xian was pushed to the ground.
Then the envoy from the Northern Qi Dynasty, who was already confused, heard a chorus of praises in the main hall.