Wu Sheng left the group chat cursing, and Song Xiance walked away and said to Shi Kefa before leaving the Yamen of the Ministry of War: "The peace talks have been going on for more than a month. During this period, there have been ups and downs without any sincerity from the court. If this continues, I'm afraid... the people will be poisoned."
The implication is that the imperial court has been doing things without even wanting to talk about it, which chills our hearts. Since we don't want to talk about it, let's just get on with it.
Shi Kefa sighed: "How can the common people deserve this? You are an expert and a strange person, Great Military Advisor of the Song Dynasty. You should know the consequences of continuing to fight and the suffering of the people will definitely not be good for you."
"I know that the people are in trouble, we are in trouble, and so is the imperial court. That's why I come to peace talks with sincerity. The problem is the imperial court..." Song Xiance sighed: "I'll give it up when it's good, shake hands and make peace."
, why do you have to go through so much trouble and push people to a dead end?"
"What would the Song military advisor think if he were on the side of the imperial court? It would not be an exaggeration to think that he would cause trouble for the country and the people for more than ten years. It would be extremely gracious for the imperial court to surrender and for him to be granted the title of king, but he still wanted to keep military power to raise private soldiers. Who would let him go?
Will you agree?" Shi Kefa snorted, and Song Xiance shook his head with a wry smile: "On the other hand, if you are Lord Shangshu, what will you do to protect yourself?"
Shi Kefa took a long breath and shook his head softly: "What we argue here is irrelevant to the overall situation. The military advisor should go back and have a good discussion with the people behind him before discussing the matter. The imperial court has already revealed the bottom line."
"I would also like to ask Your Excellency, Lord Shangshu, to convey my intention to the imperial court for the emperor to make a decision. As I said, we are sincere and hope that the imperial court will also show some sincerity." After saying this, Song Xiance bowed his hands and left.
Seeing Song Xiance disappear, Shi Kefa stopped for a long time at the entrance of the Ministry of War Yamen. Negotiation is a technical job, but no matter how superb the skills are, the bargaining chips still come from the battlefield and the situation. After having to deal with Song Xiance, a veteran, for so long, in fact,
Shi Kefa himself didn't even know what the court's bottom line was. To be exact, apart from the emperor and Chang Yu, even the chief assistant Li Banghua didn't know.
They and a group of negotiators such as Wu Xuan were actually responsible for setting off smoke bombs. The final decision still depended on the emperor's attitude, and the emperor's attitude would most likely depend on Chang Yu's opinion.
At present, the negotiations have reached a deadlock, which makes Shi Kefa feel extremely depressed and confused. He decides to go to Dongchang Yamen to find Chang Yu to get an accurate letter. What is the bottom line of the court? Knowing the bottom line, he will have a bottom line.
Chang Yu was chatting and drinking tea with Zheng Zhilong in the Yamen. When he saw Shi Kefa coming, Zheng Zhilong also said goodbye with special discernment. He was a military minister outside the capital and should not participate in government affairs. He could not even listen. To avoid suspicion, he also avoided trouble.
.
Some things are not good if you know too much.
Bottom line? Chang Yu was startled when he heard Shi Kefa's intention, and then shook his head: "There is no bottom line."
Shi Kefa almost went berserk: "Is it possible that the governor still can't trust his subordinates?"
"The most trusted person in the civil and military dynasties is Lord Shangshu." Chang Yu quickly reassured him.
"Then Lord Governor, please give me a letter of approval... Now Song Chaozi keeps saying that the court is not sincere. If the court doesn't show sincerity, they will stop talking. Lord Governor, is it that the emperor is not like peace talks at all?"
Did you do this on purpose?”
Chang Yu shook his head: "Of course we have to talk. Who wants to fight? The court doesn't want to fight and can't afford it. The soldiers don't want to fight because they are tired of fighting. The common people don't want to fight because they are afraid of fighting."
"In that case, why not make some concessions... If it can really benefit the country and the people, it will always be a good thing, and the benefits outweigh the disadvantages!" Shi Kefa was a little anxious, and Chang Yu chuckled and shook his head: "Concessions are impossible."
"This... then we really can't talk about it. Song Chaozi is very tough on that!" Shi Kefa sighed and slapped his thigh, and Chang Yu continued: "But I can give you some sincerity."
"Uh... could you please finish the sentence in one sentence, Lord Du Gong?" Shi Kefa couldn't laugh or cry, and Chang Yu laughed loudly: "If Lord Shangshu had come half an hour earlier, our family would not be able to show sincerity."
"What do you mean, Lord Governor?" Shi Kefa was startled, but Chang Yu was not in a hurry to reply to his words. He winked at the confidant eunuch next to him. The eunuch turned around and entered the inner hall, took out a secret letter and handed it to Shi Kefa: "
Fresh out of the oven, still warm.”
Shi Kefa took the gesture with a puzzled look on his face, and a smile gradually appeared on his face.
"Master Shangshu, is this sincerity enough?"
"Enough, enough!" Shi Kefa stood up and said, "I will give it to Song Dwarf now."
"Our ability is limited now, so let's take it as soon as we can." Chang Yu said as he sent him out of the yamen, and then stood at the yamen gate with his hands behind his back, looking at the majestic imperial city in trance.
If he had come here ten years ago, when Lao Li Tou wanted to negotiate with Chang Yu, he would have been disdainful and had to be beaten to death. But now his strength does not allow it. When he came, the Ming Dynasty was already on the verge of collapse.
For more than a year, it has been all thanks to him cheating and deceiving people to survive, and the country's national strength, military strength, financial resources, and combat effectiveness have all been stretched to the limit.
Nowadays, the whole country is in a mess. In addition to these military disasters, there are endless natural disasters, rat infestations, plagues, droughts, earthquakes, and locusts. The waves are coming again before they subside...
In addition to natural disasters, military disasters were not limited to Li Zicheng's family. Not to mention the countless small groups of grass bandits in various places, there was also the murderer Zhang Xianzhong who was entrenched in Sichuan and the Manchu Tatars who had always coveted the Central Plains.
At this time, it is certainly a good thing to be together as a family.
It's not that Emperor Chongzhen didn't want peace, he also wanted to make peace, but he especially wanted to kill Li Zicheng.
Li Zicheng naturally wanted to reconcile. He was tired of fighting for so many years and wanted a happy ending.
Since both parties want peace, theoretically there is a high chance of making peace with each other, and the reason why they have not come to an agreement after more than a month of talks is that their respective demands have not been met.
This depends on the chips in hand of both parties.
In the inn of the Great World, Song Xiance sat alone in the hall, frowning and lost in thought. There was a turtle shell and a few copper plates on the table in front of him, and two followers were talking in a low voice in the corner of the yard.
After a while, Song Xiance breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, walked to the yard and looked up at the sky. It was already dusk, and it was when the tired bird returned to the forest. He couldn't help but murmur in a low voice: "Stop it when you see it."
Although he doesn't know what the court's bottom line is, as the negotiator of the rebel army, he naturally knows where his bottom line is. That is, there is no bottom line. Everything depends on the situation!
So when he first entered Beijing, he was calm and calm and not in a hurry. However, when Li Zicheng's whereabouts were exposed, he became anxious. At this time, he begged the court to negotiate, but the price pressure from the court was really unacceptable.
After turning around, he suddenly felt confident again. According to Chang Yu's guess, Li Zicheng should have escaped. This was indeed the case. Li Zicheng had jumped out of the encirclement and sent a message to Song Xiance through a secret channel, so Song Xiance was again
I feel like I have some leverage.
However, these bargaining chips were not enough to counter the imperial court's counter-offer, and the situation on the other side of the Yellow River became increasingly complicated. This made Song Xiance know that he could not delay any longer, and would give up as soon as he could negotiate a suitable price.
There was a knock on the door outside. Song Xiance looked toward the courtyard door. Two followers hurried over and asked, "Who is it?"
"Shi Kefa, please see me." A familiar voice came from outside the courtyard. Song Xiance hurried over and was filled with doubts. He came to the door not long after they left. Could there be something going on? Otherwise, why would the Minister of War come to the door in person?
"Meet Mr. Shangshu." The courtyard door opened and Shi Kefa came in. Song Xiance hurriedly greeted him: "Sir, Mr. Shangshu, this is..."
"Master Song Da, don't you invite me to have a cup of tea?" Shi Kefa smiled slightly, and Song Xiance quickly said: "Invite" and waved his entourage to make tea quickly.
The two people sat down in the hall, and Song Xiance's face was full of doubts: "The distinguished guest must have something important to do when he comes."
"If you don't go to the Three Treasures Hall for nothing, you really let Song's army guess." Shi Kefa stopped hiding it and took out the secret message sent by Li Yan to Chang Yu and handed it to Song Xiance: "Song's army has been asking the court to come up with some
Sincerity, I am here to express your sincerity."
Song Xiance took it and opened it in confusion, and there was a pop. He stood up and accidentally knocked over the tea cup in his hand. He didn't know that this secret report was written by Li Yan himself. He recognized Li Yan's handwriting: Sangui Buji 10
Tens of thousands of troops were waiting at Tongguan City. Our troops besieged Dali for several days and were about to break the city. We recovered Hancheng, Chengcheng and Heyang in one day...
The secret report was not exhaustive, but it said everything that needed to be said. Song Xiance was sweating on his forehead as he glanced at ten lines. The reason why Li Zicheng was qualified to propose peace talks with the imperial court was because he defended the bank of the Yellow River and confronted the imperial court!
This is their bargaining chip!
Some time ago, Li Zicheng's whereabouts were exposed, and the court circulated rumors that he had been captured. Li Yan also took advantage of the panic on the other side of the river to raid the capital, triggering a shock in Xi'an, muddying the waters and disturbing people's hearts.
chaos!
Song Xiance was also very worried at that time. If Li Zicheng was really captured, the imperial court would not have to exert any effort at all. The rebels would have dispersed themselves, and they would have less leverage to negotiate terms with the imperial court.
He also knew the purpose and intention of Li Yan's raid. He wanted to take advantage of this time difference to cause the rebel army to fight among themselves, so he was really anxious at the time. He even went to Chang Yu and told him that Li Yan could not be allowed to be on the front line.
Hu Wei, once a full-scale war breaks out, it will be difficult to deal with the situation, and the peace talks will also be aborted because of this...
Anyway, he just said it, and Chang Yu just said, "I understand." Although at the time he was also worried that Li Yan was getting too big.