The way Lin Jue walked over was a little awkward. He couldn't even use the word "walk". He moved over half-crawling and half-kneeling. The only thing Lin Jue could do was to distribute his weight evenly over a larger area to avoid making any noise.
The noise was too loud and the roof of the house collapsed. This was the only countermeasure he could think of. No matter how unbearable his posture was, Lin Jue still reached Bai Bing safely.
"Are you here?" Lin Jue asked in a low voice.
Bai Bing didn't say anything. He stretched out his hand and pointed downwards. The snow on the roof was dug out by Bai Bing into a small hole, revealing long withered grass and gray branches and rafters. From the gaps between the branches and thatch, there was a faint sound.
The light shines through.
Bai Bing used an extremely gentle technique to slowly open a thin gap in the thatch, and then motioned to Lin Jue to look down. Lin Jue leaned over the snow on the roof, stretched his head and looked down into the house.
The situation is clear at a glance.
There were bright torches in the room. There were several tables and chairs, and wine, meat and other food were placed on the tables. Two groups of people sat opposite each other. On one side were more than a dozen forbidden soldiers in black armor and two senior officials in blue official uniforms.
Officials, and sitting opposite each other on the other side were a group of Jurchen guards wearing fur coats and carrying long bows. The person sitting behind a long desk in front of them was wearing a white fur coat and a white fur hat.
The two golden feathers on the top of the hat shone brightly in the firelight.
Although Lin Jue couldn't see the face of the Jurchen leader clearly, he judged from her long, snow-white hands holding the wine cup and her attire that she was probably a woman. This surprised Lin Jue.
From Lin Jue's perspective, those two Zhou officials could be seen clearly. Unfortunately, Lin Jue didn't know them at all. He searched his mind for the faces of the court officials he was familiar with, but there was no impression of these two people.
Lin Jue didn't find it strange. The new emperor Guo Xu had naturally promoted a group of new officials after he ascended the throne. It was no surprise that he didn't recognize them.
While he was thinking, a voice came from below.
"Dear Princess Jinhua, we have been discussing for a day, and the two of us have expressed my greatest sincerity, the Great Zhou Dynasty. We hope to end this discussion as early as possible so that we can set off back to Bianliang to report to the Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
If there is another big storm, it will waste too much time. We sincerely hope that Her Royal Highness Princess Jinhua can make an early decision. We have already drawn up the agreement and are waiting for Her Royal Highness to sign it and it will take effect."
A Zhou official sitting at the west end stood up and said this with his hands raised. Lin Jue listened intermittently, but basically understood what he said clearly. The Jurchens in the yard were too noisy. After drinking, they started to gather around him again.
There was dancing on the bonfire and it was very noisy.
The woman in the white fur cloak fluttered her wings, turned around and said something to a Jurchen general next to her. The Jurchen general strode out, and then made a loud and harsh voice. Although Lin Jue did not understand what he said.
, but judging from the sudden cessation of the noise in the courtyard, he must have been telling these people to calm down, as they had already disturbed the talks inside.
After the noise outside stopped, the world seemed to suddenly become quiet. At this moment, the voice of the woman named Princess Golden Flower rang out below and reached Lin Jue's ears clearly.
"Two adults, your conditions are too harsh and we cannot agree to it. This agreement must be revised. This is an unfair agreement and I cannot sign it. We need to renegotiate."
The woman's voice was delicate and pleasant, and she should be an extremely young woman. This was not surprising, but what was strange to Lin Jue was that the woman actually spoke fluent Da Zhou Mandarin. How could a Jurchen woman speak Da Zhou Mandarin? It was strange.
.In addition, this woman is called the Golden Flower Princess, and she seems to have a high status. The Jurchens sent a princess to negotiate, which is also very strange. It seems that the Golden Flower Princess not only has a high status, but also must have some abilities.
, Otherwise, why would such an important matter be handed over to a princess to negotiate?
Another Zhou official below stood up and spoke: "Her Royal Highness Princess Jinhua, we have been negotiating this agreement for a day. We think it is a fair agreement. Why does Her Royal Highness Princess Jinhua say this agreement is unfair? Dare I ask?
Where is the fairness?”
Princess Jinhua's clear and sweet voice sounded: "Of course it's not fair. Since your country has joined forces with my people to destroy the Liao Dynasty, it naturally needs to use all its strength to do so. You are only willing to send one hundred thousand troops, which is obviously perfunctory. You must know that the Liao country is still
There are 700,000 to 800,000 soldiers and horses, and I, the Jurchen tribe, only have 90,000 warriors. Although our warriors are good at fighting, you can't let me, the Jurchen tribe's soldiers and horses, deal with the opponent's main force independently. What's more, you said we only attack.
Nanjing and Xijing are on the same line. They are unwilling to go even half a step north, but they want to carve up half of the Liao country from Dading Prefecture in central Beijing. Don’t you think this request is a bit ridiculous? Since it is a joint operation, we must show sincerity.
Come on. What you are doing is that you want to eat meat but are unwilling to work hard to hunt. How can there be such a good thing in the world?"
"Your Highness Princess Jinhua, I, the Great Zhou Dynasty, would not send more troops. In fact, my Great Zhou Dynasty's millions of troops can completely sweep across the Liao Kingdom on my own. The reason why I, the Great Zhou Dynasty, are willing to send troops to cooperate with you to attack Liao this time is entirely for your women.
For the sake of the real people. You, the Jurchens, will benefit the most from this matter. Not only can you get a large and vast territory north of Dading, Beijing, and get rid of the dilemma of survival, but you can also establish a real Jurchen country. For you, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
We sent 100,000 elite troops to contain the Liao army to create opportunities for you. It can be said that I, the Zhou Dynasty, have no need to wade into this muddy water. Isn’t it for you Jurchen tribesmen? Your Highness, this is unfair, then I don’t know what the world will do.
What's the point of fairness? Do you want us to conquer the entire Liao Kingdom and give you half in the end? Hahaha."
A Zhou official stood up and responded with a sarcastic tone.
"Master Li, so that's what you think. Do you mean that it's me, the Jurchen, who is taking advantage? Please understand, it was you who sent people to my brother to discuss the joint attack on Liao in the first place.
We asked you for help. You came uninvited. Although our Jurchen tribe does not have many soldiers and horses, we can defeat ten of them. The Liao people are retreating steadily, as evidenced by our capture of Huanglong Mansion and Liaoyang Mansion. Your emperor wants to divide the country.
A piece of the pie, my brother also agreed to negotiate a cooperation agreement with you out of the consideration of destroying the Liao Kingdom as soon as possible. Otherwise, with the power of my Jurchen warriors, I can destroy the Liao Kingdom alone, why do you need to intervene? Nothing more than that.
It's just one day earlier and one day later. If you think you are here to help us and we have taken advantage of it, then you don't have to do it. Our agreement will be abandoned and there is nothing to talk about." Princess Jinhua said with a delicate voice.
There is a sense of majesty.
Lin Jue listened carefully on the roof, and the whole matter had actually come to light. Guo Xu sent someone to proactively discuss with the Jurchens about sending troops together, which led to today's meeting at sea.
The reason why Guo Xu refused to send more troops and horses was naturally not for any other reason, but because the military budget was insufficient and he could not afford a large-scale attack. Princess Jinhua also spoke sharply, and her words were sonorous,
I am afraid that the two Zhou officials will give in, because Guo Xu will definitely not let this agreement fail to be reached.
As Lin Jue expected, the Zhou official on the left stood up and said with a smile: "Your Royal Highness Princess Jinhua, please don't be angry. Mr. Li speaks straightforwardly, so please don't argue. In fact, this matter is good for both of us. My lord
There have long been grievances between the Zhou and Liao people, and you Jurchens have also been oppressed by them for many years. The destruction of the Liao Kingdom is a great good thing for both of you and me. If we have the same purpose, we can talk about anything. There is no need to pay attention to it.
This matter was caused by the words above, and this great good thing could not be accomplished, right?"
Princess Jinhua nodded and said: "What Mr. Wang said is true. You and I both have our own needs. You have been bullied by the Liao Kingdom for more than a hundred years, and we have also been bullied by them for more than a hundred years. We all want to destroy them."
This is the reason why we can sit here and negotiate. Cooperation is beneficial to both parties, but cooperation needs to be open, honest and fair. If you are unwilling to make a big effort but want the best return, isn't it?
What is unfair to our Jurchen clan? An unfair agreement is oppression. If it is like this now, won't you still be eyeing the Jurchens in the future? This is what I want to say. If you want to cooperate to destroy the Liao Dynasty, the agreement must be modified, no
To say it’s absolutely fair, at least it has to be passable, right?”
"What Her Royal Highness the Princess said is true, but how do you want to modify Her Royal Highness's intention?" Mr. Wang nodded and asked.
"It's very simple. You will get as much reward as you put in. If you are only willing to send 100,000 troops, then you can only get Datong Mansion in Xijing. You can't touch the rest of the territory at all. If you want to get Dading Mansion in Zhongjing, Nanjing
Analyzing Jin Mansion and Xijing Datong Mansion, which are the richest territories in the Liao Kingdom, you must capture them yourself. However, your 100,000 troops are far from enough. At least 300,000 troops can capture the Liao Kingdom.
Sanjing. Our Jurchen army went west to attack Shangjing, swept across the northwest grasslands and deserts, and wiped out all the Liao tribes. Our soldiers and horses on both sides performed their duties and responsibilities. Without 300,000 soldiers and horses, it is not enough to show your strength.
Sincerity," Princess Golden Flower said crisply.
The two officials muttered a few words together, and the official named Wang said: "We can send 300,000 troops. This is not a problem. But we need your cooperation. The Liao army is gathered in the southern region. You can avoid it and attack westward."
The grassland tribes cannot succeed. We hope that when our imperial army is attacking the city, you will attack Zhongjing Linhuang Mansion at the same time. We must force them to divide their troops, which can reduce our pressure. You also definitely don’t want my great Zhou soldiers and horses.
Being surrounded by the main force of the Liao army, they still have hundreds of thousands of troops and cannot be underestimated."
Princess Jinhua thought for a while, stretched out her delicate palm and patted it gently on the table: "Okay, that's it. But I have one more request. We hope that Da Zhou can make aerial vehicles and catapult siege weapons."
He taught us the technology and blueprints and sent craftsmen to help us build this thing. Our Jurchen warriors are good at horseback riding and shooting, but not good at siege warfare. We need these things to help us siege the city. Only when they are in danger will they divide their troops.
Only by coming to rescue can both sides achieve the goal of containing the Liao army for each other."
"This..." The two officials frowned and hesitated again.
