Not long after, several Wei soldiers from the Junshui camp came to Zhao Hongrun's study, supporting Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu, whose leg injury had not yet fully recovered.
Accompanying us were the two generals Qu Cheng and Yan Mo of the Pingyang Army.
Obviously, Qu Cheng and Yan Mo spared no effort to express their feelings to Zhao Hongrun and make Zhao Hongrun trust them more that they have given up on the past. For this reason, they did not hesitate to look into the eyes of their former master, Xiong Tuo, the Lord of Yangcheng.
"Very good... very good..."
It is undeniable that when Xiong Tuo, Lord of Yangcheng, saw Qu Cheng smiling at him, his expression was a little distorted, because he had initially suspected that Qu Cheng had defected to Wei, but he had not caught him at that time, and now This scene confirmed that his original suspicion was correct.
"Xiong really should have killed you..."
Xiong Tuo said with a sullen face, his eyes filled with resentment directed at Qu Cheng, even more so than at Zhao Hongrun.
Thinking about it, after all, the reason why he hated Zhao Hongrun was simply that Zhao Hongrun defeated him. Therefore, to be precise, Xiong Tuo was inferior in skills, but Qu Cheng was the general who betrayed him and Xiong Hu.
Looking at Xiong Tuo's gloomy gaze, Qu Cheng looked calm and said with a smile: "Perhaps, there will be no such opportunity."
"Huh!" Xiong Tuo snorted coldly, then looked at Yan Mo and muttered somewhat unacceptable: "Yan Mo, even you..."
It could be seen that Yan Mo still felt guilty about Xiong Tuo. He lowered his head when he heard this and did not reply.
Seeing this, Xiong Tuo was quite disheartened.
It's okay to say that Qu Cheng, after all, to be precise, Qu Cheng was a general of Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu, but Yan Mo was the general who was promoted from a thousand generals to a three thousand generals by him. Therefore, Yan Mo's betrayal was betrayed by Xiong Hu. Tuo's blow was far greater than Qu Cheng's betrayal.
At this time, Xiong Tuo saw Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu, his cousin, being helped up by two Wei soldiers from the Junshui Camp.
"Ahu, what's wrong with your leg?"
Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu smiled bitterly when he heard this. He couldn't help but glance at Zhao Hongrun.
Seeing this, Xiong Tuo suddenly felt enlightened. He turned to look at Zhao Hongrun angrily and said through gritted teeth: "Ji Run, how dare you..."
Seeing this situation, Xiong Hu knew that he was going to suffer, so he quickly stopped his cousin Xiong Tuo, and said to him with a bitter smile on his face: "Sir, Xiong Hu is lucky enough to survive, it is because His Highness Ji Run is particularly gracious."
"..." Xiong Tuo was silent after hearing this.
In fact, he also understood that based on what his cousins Xiong Tuo and Xiong Hu had done to Wei in the past, it would not be an exaggeration to kill them all out of hatred for Zhao Hongrun.
In the final analysis, he was just angry when he saw that his cousin, who had supported him since childhood, was treated as a prisoner in a manner that was unbecoming of an aristocrat.
"Hmph!" Xiong Tuo snorted coldly at Zhao Hongrun, and said to Xiong Hu: "Ah Hu, these Wei people actually suspect that my master sent someone to kill the envoys last time. Tell them. "
"That team of envoys last time?" Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu turned his head and looked at Zhao Hongrun in surprise when he heard this. His eyes seemed to say: Wasn't that what you Wei people did?
However, in the end, he did not dare to answer so directly. Instead, he said in an evasive manner: "Your Highness Ji Run, Mr. Tuo and Mr. Xiong never harmed that team of envoys. We can swear to the ghosts and gods about this matter."
Speaking of which, although the Chu people respect the heaven and earth as much as the Wei Dynasty, they fear ghosts and gods even more, not to mention that witchcraft and ghost magic are prevalent in Chu. Therefore, if a Chu person can swear to ghosts and gods, then his words are almost Trustworthy.
"If that's true, how could you raise an army of 160,000 in such a short period of time?... As far as I know, the Chu State follows the strategy of farming and war. If there is no war, those soldiers should be working on farming. "
Xiong Hu, Lord of Pingyu, heard the words and did not conceal the truth. However, the truth he told was exactly the same as Xiong Tuo, Lord of Yangcheng: "When he first raised his army, Lord Tuo only had 60,000 soldiers. He originally planned to attack Fenxing fortress...but after waiting for the news from the king, I will form an army and join up with Mr. Tuo..."
"How?" Xiong Tuo looked at Zhao Hongrun with a sneer.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Hongrun looked at Bailiba silently, and both of them saw the dignified look in each other's eyes.
The reason is very simple: if this person is really not who Xiong Tuo, Lord of Yangcheng, said, then it is only possible that he was actually someone from the Wei Dynasty.
He killed more than 200 people in one breath and never spared a single person alive. It was obvious that the other party had premeditated it and could not have killed him by mistake.
It seems that after returning to Daliang, I need to notify the Ministry of Punishment to investigate this matter...
Zhao Hongrun said secretly in his heart, after all, now is not the time to pursue this matter.
Xiong Tuo and Huang Xu also obviously noticed the expressions of Zhao Hongrun and Baili Ba, and secretly remembered it in their hearts.
It can be seen from the expressions of Zhao Hongrun and Bailiba that they have not yet found out the team that attacked their Chu envoys, but after ruling out the possibility that the murderer behind the scenes is Yangcheng Lord Xiong Tuo, the only suspect is He is from Wei.
However, Huang Er did not immediately tell the truth about this matter. After all, in his opinion, Zhao Hongrun and others had no clue about it. Bringing it up rashly would only add unnecessary unhappiness to both parties. Even if he wanted to mention it, it would have to wait until he met in Daliang in the future. Officials from the Ministry of Rites of the State of Wei brought up the matter of peace talks.
That would be a good bargaining chip.
Xiong Tuo, on the other hand, thought more directly: he felt very happy when he saw Zhao Hongrun speechless.
"Now that the peace treaty has been signed, we will take our leave... Ah Hu, let's go!"
With that said, Xiong Tuo motioned to the two guards behind him to help Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu.
However, at this time, Zhao Hongrun stopped Xiong Tuo: "Wait a minute!"
Xiong Tuo frowned and looked back at Zhao Hongrun, only to see Zhao Hongrun pointed at Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu and said lightly: "You can leave, but he can't."
"Why?"
Zhao Hongrun chuckled and said: "Xiong Hu, you are a prisoner of our army, how can you let you take him away just as you say?"
"What do you want?"
"Take the money to redeem." Zhao Hongrun rubbed his thumb and index finger.
Obviously, he was still thinking about the property Xiong Tuo had accumulated in Yangcheng.
"Hasn't the armistice treaty been signed?" Xiong Tuo asked in shock.
Zhao Hongrun curled his lips frivolously: "Who stipulates that after both parties sign an armistice, the prisoners must be released unconditionally?... Besides, he has been fed and housed in our army these days. You see, there are also dedicated people to serve him. "This is free of charge?" He pointed at the two Junshui camp Wei soldiers who were supporting Xiong Hu and added.
Xiong Tuo frowned and asked, "How much?"
Zhao Hongrun looked Xiong Hu up and down, and said lightly: "He and Xiong Qi, Lord Biyang, right? The package price is 500,000 yuan for two people."
"What?!" Xiong Tuo almost spat out a mouthful of blood when he heard this: "Half a million?!"
He said in his heart that Chu State's compensation for the invasion and occupation of Wei State was only 500,000 yuan!
"Two people, one hundred thousand!" Xiong Tuo said bitterly.
"Repay 100,000 yuan to two people?" Zhao Hongrun looked at Xiong Tuo with a half-smile, shook his head and said, "100,000 yuan, only one arm and one leg of Xiong Hu can be redeemed... Do you want the left side or the right side?"
"You..." Xiong Tuo's face turned red with anger. He didn't dare to reduce the price anymore. After all, this was simply making fun of the life of Xiong Hu, his cousin who had always supported him.
After thinking for a long time, Xiong Tuo gritted his teeth, suppressing the painful feeling in his heart that seemed to be bleeding, and said in a deep voice: "A certain Yangcheng does not have that much savings, three hundred and fifty thousand is the most... If that's not enough for you, Xiong Hu and I will die here today!" After that, he raised his head and looked at Zhao Hongrun. He said coldly: "If Xiong Hu and I die in Zhengyang today, let alone the money we just paid for the contract. You Ji Run can't get it. I believe that Chu and Wei will fight to the death from now on, and you don't want to see it either, right?"
Just as Huang Xu said in his heart when he evaluated Zhao Hongrun and Xiong Tuo, there are two sides to fear.
It is no exaggeration to say that Zhao Hongrun and Xiong Tuo have very similar personalities. They are both the kind of people who will ignore things once they get angry. Therefore, Xiong Tao does not dare to offend Zhao Hongrun too much, and Zhao Hongrun does not dare to push Xiong Tuo too much.
"Just accept it when you see it..." Bailiba, who also saw some clues, whispered in Zhao Hongrun's ear. Anyway, in his opinion, their Wei State has made a lot of money this time. It's necessary because the 150,000 yuan ruined everything negotiated.
One hundred and fifty thousand. That’s fifteen million dollars...
Zhao Hongrun muttered in frustration, but he could also see that if he forced Xiong Tuo again, Xiong Tuo would probably die. Thinking of this, he nodded slowly: "Set a letter!"
"snort!"
Not long after, Baili Ba wrote a document in his own hand. The famous parties were Zhao Hongrun and Xiong Tuo, because this was not a peace treaty.
From the side, Huang Xu, a scholar-official from the state of Chu, watched silently.
Although he regretted not mentioning the prisoner in the contract just now, he also understood that even if he mentioned the matter at that time, Zhao Hongrun would not be able to release Pingyu Jun Xiong Hu without compensation.
He could see that Zhao Hongrun kept Xiong Hu alive just to kill Xiong Tuo. Who makes Xiong Hu the most trusted cousin of Xiong Tuo?
There is also the Biyang Lord Xiong Qi. As Xiong Tuo's supporter, whether it is out of emotion or because Xiong Tuo still hopes that they will help govern Chuxi, Xiong Tuo will not give up on these two people, even if they lose everything.
I believe this is why Zhao Hongrun is so sure.
"Are you satisfied?"
Xiong Tuo signed his name on the two documents and stamped his fingerprints. After all, he never carried his personal seal with him.
"Haha." Zhao Hongrun chuckled twice, carefully put away one of the documents, and then said to Xiong Tuo and others with a smile: "If you leave, I won't leave a few to eat."
"Hmph!" Xiong Tuo snorted coldly, walked straight to Xiong Hu, helped him leave the study, and before leaving, he still reminded Zhao Hongrun: "Release Xiong Qi as soon as possible!"
"For the sake of this document, you will be able to see him again soon." Zhao Hongrun held up the document in his hand and did not stop Xiong Tuo and Xiong Hu from leaving.
After all, people in this era pay attention to integrity, and countries are founded on trustworthiness. Therefore, the more powerful and powerful a person makes a promise, the less likely they will break it easily.
Therefore, Zhao Hongrun is not afraid of Xiong Tuo going back on his word, because if he dares to do so, as long as Zhao Hongrun produces the written documents as evidence, no talented people will defect to Xiong Tuo in the future.
If the money is gone, you can save more, but if your reputation is ruined, then a person is ruined. I believe Xiong Tuo will not make such a stupid decision.
"This 350,000... won't be reported, we will divide it among ourselves."
After watching Xiong Tuo, Xiong Hu, and Huang Xu off, Zhao Hongrun turned to Baili Ba and Qu Cheng and blinked at the two commanders of the army.
Not reporting it to the imperial court (the imperial court of Wei State)...?
Bailiba and Qu Cheng looked at each other and said nothing in a tacit understanding.
You must know that the specialties of the Chu region worth 350,000 yuan, if sold in Dawei, would be a huge sum of money.
Who says that the generals of Wei State don’t love money?
It’s just a matter of picking it up! (To be continued.)