Tang Yin was unable to make the most accurate judgment on the amount of compensation that Ning Guo would negotiate for peace. He could only transfer the matter to Qiu Zhen and Shangguan Yuanji for discussion. With their shrewdness, the peace treaty drawn up must be able to
Striving for the greatest benefits for one's own side, Ning Guo can reluctantly accept it.
Xiao Muqing, Liang Qi, and Ziying all retired, and Tang Yin was the only one left in the tent. He paced back and forth in the tent, and began to think about how to retreat. At this time, Yuan Fang came, and brought some
Simple food and wine. In terms of food, the two guardian generals Shangguan Yuanwu and Shangguan Yuanbiao were very careful. They first tried the food and wine brought by Yuan Fang with silver needles, and then let the guards taste it to confirm that there was no problem.
Then the food and wine were placed in front of Tang Yin.
Yuan Fang walked up to Tang Yin, first bowed deeply, and then said with a smile: "I think the king must still be worried about tonight's battle, so I asked someone to prepare some wine and food to bring over."
Tang Yin smiled bitterly. After struggling for most of the night, he did not achieve any results and lost countless soldiers. Now, he was really hungry. He waved his hand towards Yuan Fang and said: "Mr. Yuan Fang, sit down and eat together!"
"Yes! Your Majesty!" Yuan Fang sat down opposite Tang Yin, picked up the wine pot, poured two glasses of wine, handed one of them to Tang Yin, and asked: "I wonder what your Majesty is planning now? Is it war or peace?
"
Tang Yin did not answer immediately, but asked: "Mr. Yuan Fang, I want to hear your advice first."
When Tang Yin talks to people in Feng Kingdom, he rarely uses self-proclaimed names like 'this king' or 'gu', so when talking to him, it's like talking to ordinary people, allowing people to speak freely without any worries.
Concern, it invisibly shortened the distance between everyone and him, and made Tang Yin appear approachable. Everyone in Fengjun had long been accustomed to this and did not notice this detail, but Yuan Fangke noticed it and nodded secretly at the same time. Ordinary soldiers
Tang Yin, who was born in a famous family, was able to attract so many talented people from the Feng Kingdom to his side and make people work for him wholeheartedly. It was not just about luck. Tang Yin was indeed outstanding in winning over people's hearts.
While thinking secretly in his heart, Yuan Fang said calmly: "Wei Chen believes that peace negotiation is the best."
"Oh?" Tang Yin smiled and asked, "Why?"
"With Changsun Yuanhong here, the natural danger of Zhanghe River in Ning State is impregnable. It is difficult for our army to cross the thunder pool. If we continue to fight, our army's advantage will be gradually exhausted. By then, Changsun Yuanhong will definitely take the opportunity to counterattack Hedong.
Our army will be unable to resist."
Tang Yin picked up the wine glass and listened carefully to Yuan Fang's analysis, nodding while listening. Yuan Fang continued: "Also, in about twenty days it will be the day of the Holy Sacrifice Ceremony. If we start a war at this time, I'm afraid there will be
It caused disgust and panic among the domestic people."
The Holy Sacrifice Ceremony mentioned by Yuan Fang is a traditional festival of the Haotian Empire, and it is also a major festival. Sacrifice to heaven, earth, and ancestors are required to pray for peace and prosperity in the next year. Before and after the Holy Sacrifice Ceremony, all princely states will try their best to
Avoid war, which would be considered an ominous omen and the next whole year would be spent in chaos.
Hearing that Yuan Fang mentioned the Holy Sacrifice Ceremony, Tang Yin patted his head. He had really forgotten about it. Of course he didn't believe that offering sacrifices to heaven and earth and ancestors would bless the country and the people in the next year, but that
But it doesn't mean that others don't believe it. He must take into account the feelings of the entire Feng Kingdom people.
Seeing Tang Yin's expression of sudden realization, Yuan Fang laughed a little. The only one who could forget such an important day as the Holy Sacrifice Ceremony was Tang Yin, a war madman. He continued: "As the king of a country, the Holy
We must return to the capital to preside over the ceremony. If the king is not in the country, I am afraid that it will panic people and cause unrest among the people."
Tang Yin nodded and said repeatedly: "Yes! What Mr. Yuan Fang said makes sense!" As he spoke, he drank the wine in the glass.
Yuan Fang's eyes lit up, then returned to normal, and asked: "So, your Majesty has decided to negotiate peace with Ning Guo?"
Tang Yin didn't answer immediately. He squinted his eyes and looked down, thoughtfully. Seeing that Tang Yin was stunned, Yuan Fang couldn't help but ask again: "Your Majesty?"
"Oh? Ah! Yes, I have decided to negotiate peace with Ning Guo." As he spoke, he picked up the wine glass and played with it back and forth in his hands.
Yuan Fang said with a smile: "Now I can rest assured! Your Majesty, please rest early, I will leave!" He stood up, bowed deeply to Tang Yin, then turned around and walked out.
Seeing Yuan Fang's back disappearing outside the tent, Tang Yin turned around and waved to Shangguan Yuanwu and Shangguan Yuanbiao. The two Shangguan brothers hurriedly stepped forward, approached Tang Yin, and asked, "What are your orders, Your Majesty?"
Tang Yin whispered a few words into their ears. The two brothers were stunned for a moment, then hurriedly responded and walked out quickly.
After the two brothers left, Tang Yin sat on the cave and took a deep breath. Without any warning, white mist suddenly appeared around his body, and then the mist was sucked back into his body.
In the next few days, while Tang Yin rested and reorganized the entire army and recruited new soldiers, he also dealt with Shi Tinghan and Tan Yi. Since he had not yet received a reply from Qiu Zhen and Shangguan Yuanji, Tang Yin was undecided on the details of the peace treaty.
, we can only delay and wait for Yancheng’s reply.
They waited for three days. Within three days, they did not receive a reply from Yancheng. Tang Yin was also very anxious and asked whether Xiao Muqing's letter to Yancheng was sent by flying pigeons or sent by people. Xiao Muqing looked innocent and replied: "It's something."
If it's urgent, of course it's flying pigeons that send messages."
Tang Yin frowned and said: "Since it was sent by flying pigeons, the letter should have arrived in Yancheng long ago. Why are Qiu Zhen and Yuan Ji's replies so slow?!"
Xiao Muqing smiled bitterly and said: "Your Majesty, the matter of peace negotiation has far-reaching implications and will also affect our country's future national policy. I think Prime Minister Qiu and Prime Minister Shangguan also need time to discuss it!"
"Yes!" Tang Yin nodded and did not ask any more questions.
On the fourth day, Lotte came to Tang Yin's sleeping tent early in the morning, and also brought a reply from Yancheng that Tang Yin had been looking forward to for several days.
This reply was written by Qiu Zhen himself, with only one line of words on it. At this time, Tang Yin had just woken up. He picked up the note and looked at it. He wondered if he had read it wrong. He rubbed his eyes and looked carefully.
, Yes, it clearly says: Your Majesty, the peace talks are definitely not allowed, the details will be discussed after the ministers arrive.
He had begun to prepare to withdraw his troops, but at this time, Qiu Zhen actually rushed over from Yancheng. This was quite unexpected by Tang Yin, but what surprised him the most was the first half of Qiu Zhen's sentence, which said that the peace talks must not be allowed.
, he couldn't understand. Now that we can no longer fight, what else can we do if we don't negotiate for peace? Even if we want to fight, we don't have the tools to cross the river. Do we have to rush out a batch of rafts?
Tang Yin really couldn't understand Qiu Zhen's intention. He couldn't help but smile bitterly when he took the reply. Seeing this, Letian couldn't help but asked: "Your Majesty, what did Qiu Zhen write in the reply?"
"See for yourself!" Tang Yin held the note and handed it to Letian, who hurriedly took it and looked at it carefully. After looking at it, Letian was also dumbfounded. It felt like Qiu Zhen could stand and talk without pain, but there was still a glimmer of hope.
, who is willing to give up the war? Now we have no choice but to accept the peace negotiation.
Letian frowned and asked: "Your Majesty, why is Prime Minister Qiu so firmly opposed to the peace negotiation? The peace negotiation will do more good than harm to our army..."
Tang Yin smiled bitterly, fell back, and lay back on the bed. He said quietly: "How did I know?!" After a pause, he added: "However, Qiu Zhen's brains are a hundred times better than mine. He said so.
, there must be his reason." After saying this, Tang Yin seemed to think of something again, and asked: "The carrier pigeon will not make mistakes on the road, right?"
Lotte smiled. It seemed that the king said he was full of confidence, but in fact he had no confidence in his heart. He replied: "Your Majesty, the carrier pigeons in our country are all marked with special marks, and they will definitely not go wrong. In addition, the handwriting on them
It is indeed Xiang Qiu’s handwriting.”
"That's right! I was worrying too much." Tang Yin rubbed his aching forehead and sighed helplessly.
Tang Yin had originally planned to have detailed discussions with Shi Tinghan and Tan Yi on the specific details of the peace treaty. On the other hand, he had ordered the entire army to be prepared to retreat at any time. However, Qiu Zhen sent a reply with a few digits to Tang Yin's plan.
All plans were disrupted, the withdrawal of troops was postponed, and the peace talks continued to be delayed.
From this point, it is not difficult to see how important Qiu Zhen is in Tang Yin's mind. His words can even influence Tang Yin's intentions, which is far beyond the reach of others.
Qiu Zhen wanted to get to Zhanghe from Yancheng. It was really a long way. Even if he rode a fast horse and traveled day and night, he would not be able to reach it in less than ten days and a half. However, the holy ceremony was getting closer. If Tang Yin was still there at this time,
If you stay in Hedong, it will be difficult to make it back to Yancheng on the day of the ceremony.
Tang Yin did not dare to withdraw because of Qiu Zhen's words. If the army did not withdraw, how could he safely leave the camp and return to the capital alone? At this time, Liang Qi gave him an idea to move the imperial sacrificial ceremony to the east of Hedong.
The first is to celebrate the return of Hedong, the second is to appease the hearts and minds of the people in Hedong, and the third is to pay homage to the Feng Kingdom soldiers who died in Hedong and pay homage to the souls. Especially the third point, not only can it seal the reputation of the people in the country, but it can also
It will make people think that the king is a good monarch who cares about his soldiers and loves his soldiers and people.
After listening to Liang Qi's suggestion, Tang Yin was overjoyed and immediately made the decision to hold the Feng Kingdom's holy ceremony in Qingyuan, the county town of Hedong.
In the following time, part of the Feng army evacuated the Zhanghe camp, entered Qingyuan, and began to build an altar in preparation for the ceremony. The remaining Feng army began to build fortifications on the east bank of the Zhanghe River, posing to fight with the Ning army.
A long-term combat posture. The situation in Hedong and Hexi, which had just been eased, took a turn for the worse and began to become tense.
Shi Tinghan and Qin Yi, who stayed in Fengying, could naturally feel this change. They were as anxious as ants on a hot pot and repeatedly asked to see Tang Yin, but Tang Yin was also resolute and avoided seeing him.
, he had made up his mind to drag it out until Qiu Zhen got there.