As mentioned before, Li Zicheng decided on this peace negotiation after careful consideration, and he was quite sincere. After all, he had reached the age where he knew his destiny and had achieved a lot. He also knew that he had now reached the peak of his life.
This is all if you continue to struggle, and you may even return to before liberation, so it's better to give it up when it's good and get a legal identity to preserve your current achievements.
This was his original intention for the peace talks, and of course he also had a backup plan in mind. If the peace talks failed, it would at least delay time and give him time to consolidate the Yellow River defense line.
Out of his concern and sincerity for this matter, he gave Song Xiance a certain degree of decision-making power, and Song Xiance also wanted to try his best to promote this matter. He was a strange person who could speculate on many miraculous things and see the world very well.
His thinking is also different from that of normal people of this era. He is attracted by Chang Yu and knows that he will join his disciples in the future. However, one code is the same, and now he still wants to be loyal to Li Zicheng and do his best for the peace talks.
However, now he encountered something that made it difficult for him to make a decision.
The representatives of the imperial court, headed by Wu Sheng and Shi Kefa, have already shown their trump cards. You can fight with Li Zicheng, you can surrender if you want, and you can talk about sealing a vassal. But there is a prerequisite. You can recover Jinzhou at that time.
Granting you a vassal status may even allow you to retain some troops, but Jingzhou and Xiangyang must be returned.
The premise is that you go and capture Jinzhou!
Is Jinzhou so easy to get?
Song Xiance couldn't figure out whether this deal was a good deal or not. More importantly, he was worried about the court's sincerity. If his side really sent troops to attack Jinzhou, although the court said it could withdraw from the Yellow River defense line, who could guarantee that he would
Don’t take advantage of the situation!
Even though Li Zicheng gave him a certain authority, he still couldn't make the decision. He needed to send someone to inform Li Zicheng. This trip could take as fast as half a month or as slow as a yuan. But Wu Sheng actually said that he would only give it to him.
Ten days.
Why are flying pigeons passing messages!
But Song Xiance was not in a hurry, because Li Zicheng was not in Xi'an at this time, and the court must have known it, so they only gave him ten days. They must have thought that Li Zicheng was on the other side of the Yellow River at this time.
Song Xiance sat alone in the hall, thinking about the feasibility of the condition proposed by the court. At the same time, in a private room on the third floor of the Great World, Chang Yu held a cup of steaming Biluochun in his hand and opened the window. The cold wind suddenly let out
He was refreshed and stared at the elegant courtyard below. He could even clearly see Song Xiance's two followers lying outside the crack of the door, peering in.
That's right, when Wu Sheng and Shi Kefa were negotiating with Song Xiance, Chang Yu was drinking tea with a few old friends in this private room. There are only a few people in the capital who can be called his old friends, Wu Mengming, Wang Chengen
And Chunxiang.
Wang Chengen was not on duty today, so he was invited to come here to have tea and chat with Chang Yu. As the two largest eunuchs in the palace, they had a fairly harmonious relationship, and they both knew very well that if they worked together, they would win together, and if they separated, they would both lose.
Therefore, you need to move around more to a certain extent.
As for Wu Mengming, he came to report to Chang Yu and was ordered to monitor the negotiation. In the past few days when Song Xiance came to Beijing, he had let out all his elites. Tracking Song Xiance was not a top priority.
Those latent agents who are in contact with him are the main purpose.
When Song Xiance, Wu Xuan and others were negotiating in the hall, his entourage and the shopkeeper were waiting outside the room. The shopkeeper's identity was not an ordinary person. Whatever was being discussed inside was quickly passed by him and sent to Chang Yu's private room.
, it can be said that although they are not synchronized, Chang Yu in the private room is well aware of everything discussed in the hall.
After Wu Xuan left, Song Xiance's entourage hadn't even entered the house and even leaned under the door to peek inside. From this point, Chang Yu inferred that Song Xiance was in a tangle and encountered a problem that he couldn't decide.
.
Then he will soon send someone to contact Li Zicheng. Chang Yu believes that Li Zicheng is definitely not in Xi'an at this juncture, and is most likely in Tongguan or Chaoyi!
He also knew that within ten days and a half, Song Xiance and Li Zicheng would give the answer to the multiple-choice question he asked!
This answer determines the success or failure of this negotiation.
If they don't agree and the negotiation fails, then let each of them fight to the death based on their own abilities.
If it succeeds, it will be interesting.
Li Zicheng wanted to send troops to regain Jinzhou as agreed. If he could not regain it, the vassalization project would be a dream and the peace talks would still be in vain. But if he could regain it, this would of course be a good thing... Just imagine that the Qing army was stationed heavily in Jinzhou at this time to defend it.
, even if he is defeated, Li Zicheng's strength will suffer heavy losses. At this time, Chang Yu will just turn against him and beat him. Isn't it much easier?
Some people may accuse Chang Yu of being a sinister villain and dishonest.
That can only mean that you are naive. As the saying goes, no one can talk about honesty or dishonesty in such matters. The winner is the king or the loser!
Moreover, Chang Yu did not agree with the peace talks from beginning to end, because he wanted to beat Li Zicheng no matter what the outcome. The reason why he did not jump out to oppose and even made suggestions for the cabinet to negotiate was just to muddy the waters so that he could fish and take a breather.
Consolidate strength, prepare food and fodder for war, and if Li Zicheng really agrees to go to Jinzhou, it will be a good thing for him.
It was just getting cold the next day, so Song Xiance took his two followers out of the city, but was stopped as expected: "We have received an order. Your two followers can go out of the city to report the news. You'd better not go out of the city. If you must
If you leave the city, you can only go to the Yongding River Military Camp, and you cannot leave the capital within ten miles, at least during the peace talks!"
Song Xiance thought for a while and said: "These two people are going to Xi'an to deliver a message. I'm just going to the military camp to have a look. They won't leave the capital until something happens, let alone sneak away." Then he was released from the city.
It's very cold outside the city and the wind is strong, but there are a lot of people. After all, most of the refugee camps are outside the city. They have nothing to do at this time of year. They are either begging in the city or wandering around outside. There is an army stationed outside the city.
It has become a place for them to watch the excitement, and among these refugees there are also many Jinyiwei spies and informants.
After leaving Yongding Gate, Song Xiance told his two followers some words. However, watching them ride away, he wrapped himself tightly in his clothes and walked slowly towards the Yongding River. There were no men and horses passing by in the distance. He knew that those were
Monitor his people.
He even knew that if he and Chang Yu hadn't met by chance yesterday and had a heart-to-heart chat, he might not be able to leave the city today, because the clues could be seen from the various reactions of the court in the past few days.
The Fifth Battalion of Dongchang was greatly shaken by Liu Xiyao's training outside the camp yesterday. The morale of the whole battalion was low. Even though they had food to eat, they were not happy at all. Everyone hid in their tents without showing their heads.
"The military advisor is back." Liu Xiyao was chatting with two soldiers in the tent when he heard shouts from outside and stood up hurriedly. At this time, Song Xiance had opened the curtain and came in.
"Grand Military Advisor, what's going on in the city? Have you met with the officials of the imperial court?" Liu Xiyao asked impatiently. Song Xiance winked. Liu Xiyao looked at the two soldiers in the tent, and then...
Then he turned around and went out, while Song Xiance quickly walked up to the two soldiers and cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, I'd like to pay homage to King Chuang, Prime Minister."
Li Zicheng and Niu Jinxing are actually here!
Let alone Emperor Chongzhen and others, even Chang Yu didn't believe it because it was too risky!
However, they say that thieves are bold, and thieves are bold. Li Zicheng unexpectedly turned into an ordinary pawn and followed him to Beijing. For him, the peace talks were a big deal, and after careful consideration, he determined that the trip was safe. First of all, the court
Bian Jieran never thought that he would come here in person. Although they would embarrass the negotiating team and even put them under house arrest, they would never kill them rashly. And if they really got to that point, Song Xiance and Liu Xiyao could simply surrender and save the lives of hundreds of people.
Just run away slowly, everyone will pay attention to a pawn.
Moreover, he did this in an extremely secretive manner, with only five or six people knowing about it. Even Liu Zongmin, Tian Jianxiu and others were kept in the dark and thought he was secretly patrolling the Yellow River defense line.
Don't you know that he has followed Song Xiance and overthrew the capital?
The little eunuch could have sneaked in and agreed to assassinate Li Laiheng, and sneaked into his own territory years ago and went on a rampage, so why can't I go over to your side and take a look!
"This is not a kind place, no need to be polite. Military advisor, please sit down quickly." Li Zicheng looked concerned: "I thought the military advisor was going to be put under house arrest in the city, but I talked with them."
"How?" Li Zicheng and Niu Jinxing asked in unison.
"The thing was unexpected." Song Xiance recounted last night's negotiation in detail with a serious look on his face.