Xie Xuanchen kept thinking about how to tell Mu Mingtang the truth of the afternoon while whitewashing himself. Before he framed Yeluyan and Xie Xuanji's words, he suddenly saw Yeluyan standing up from the northern army seat.
At this time, the sound of silk and bamboo in the hall was overwhelming, the Secretary of Jiaofang lined up a grand dance, and a group of palace maids with water sleeves and slender waists danced gracefully on the high platform. Yeluyan, with the music in the background, held a wine bottle high and toasted the emperor: "Rong and Ye are negotiating peace, this is a grand event in the world, and it will definitely affect the overall situation of the world. With this cup, I wish our two countries a smooth peace negotiation, and I wish the two countries a success. Your Majesty is forever."
The emperor smiled when he heard these words, and raised his glass in response. Yelu Yan drank a glass of wine in public, and suddenly changed the topic and said, "We Darong sincerely want to form an alliance with the Ye Dynasty, but along the way, there are too many people who want to interfere with the overall situation of peace talks. Your Majesty, why don't outsiders say that for the time being, the imperial court of the Ye Kingdom should advocate for peace, right?"
The emperor agreed: "This is natural. The prince can rest assured about this."
"That's good." Yeluyan said, "May the Rong and Ye countries be brothers forever, the monarchs of the two countries are brothers, and the white-haired old people on the border don't know how to fight."
Yeluyan publicly put forward proposals and content today, that is to say, the prelude to the peace talks is officially about to begin.
Of course, the real contract is bound to be extremely complicated, with numerous minor regulations, but today, both parties must first set the tone. If one thinks that we are the kingdom of heaven and that the other party should pay tribute and congratulations, and the other thinks about equal coexistence, armistice and mutual market, then there is no need to discuss the next treaty.
Even if you talk about it, it will collapse, it is better to save some energy. Today, Yeluyan took the lead in throwing the touchstone, and both sides were testing each other's attitude and bottom line.
The emperor raised his spirit slightly and said, "Of course, I would like to have a good relationship with Bei Rong Yong, and I will sit on an equal footing, and the younger generation will judge by preface."
The first condition that Yeluyan put forward was that the emperor agreed. This is undoubtedly the consensus of many people. Today is different from the past. With the size of the Ye Dynasty today, it is not realistic to imagine that all countries will come to the dynasty like the previous dynasty, and the vassal states will be called ministers. Negotiating peace with Beirong on an equal footing is a good thing for both countries.
The first condition is the premise. After the general attitude is consistent, the latter conditions can continue. Yeluyan added: "We came to peace talks this time with sincerity. We hope that after the armistice, the Ye Dynasty will not station troops on the border, nor will they build city gods and watchtowers. Our two countries will open their borders to each other, allowing businessmen to travel freely."
It is not allowed to garrison troops and build city defenses. The emperor frowned, feeling that it was a bit risky to do so. However, the emperor thought about it, the contract is mutual, if Beirong also withdraws, it will not hurt, but it can promote the flow of commerce.
The emperor said: "It's okay to withdraw, but Beirong must also agree to the same conditions, otherwise it would be unfair to be alone without defense."
This was within Yeluyan's expectations, and he happily agreed. After two consensuses were reached, the people on Ye Chao's side undoubtedly relaxed a lot.
Based on this momentum, it is not difficult to reach an agreement. If you really don't have to fight any more in the future, that would be great.
Yeluyan also seemed to be relieved, and was very confident about the next few conditions. The first two are temptations, since Ye Chao really has the heart to negotiate, then they will definitely agree to the latter conditions.
Because Xie Xuanchen was born, Yeluyan urgently discussed with the messenger this afternoon and deliberately relaxed a few conditions. Yelu Yan thought that they had been very sincere after revising the conditions, and it was strange that Ye Chao did not agree.
Yelu Yan was sure of everything, and his voice became calm: "His Majesty the Emperor also sincerely negotiated peace, which is really good. Except for the border exchanges, the Ye State should provide Darong with military expenditures of 300,000 taels and 200,000 pieces of silk every year. Delivery to Xiongzhou.”
Funding the military
The emperor frowned slightly, Yeluyan said it nicely, and funded the military expenses to Beirong, but to put it another way, isn't this the annual currency.
But 300,000 silver and 200,000 silk are not a lot. If there is a real war, the military expenditure will be much larger than this amount. It's worth it to buy peace with 500,000.
The emperor has already agreed in his heart, but he is the monarch of a country after all, and it is already embarrassing that he cannot maintain the dignity of the suzerain. The emperor pretended to refuse and said: "As a country of brothers, it is the right thing to help each other and help each other in difficulties. However, 500,000 is too much, and the pressure on the government is too great."
"To others or many, but to Emperor Ye, 500,000 is just a small number." Yeluyan said, "Tokyo is densely populated and business is prosperous, and I don't know how much it makes a year, but 500,000 is just for you. It's really insignificant. If you fight, you'll lose everything, but if you can exchange half a million for peace, the income your court can get is far more than the half a million."
What Yeluyan said is reasonable, the emperor has basically agreed, but these words cannot be said by him as a monarch. In the final analysis, the annual currency is not a matter of glory.
Prime Minister Song heard Xiange and knew Yayi's opinion, and immediately answered the call when he saw it, and spoke some mandarin clichés to Yeluyan in a gentle manner, revealing the meaning of compromise both inside and outside the words. Others who sat close heard that they would give Bei Rong half a million dollars every year. Although they were saddened by the absence of the suzerain's scenery, they felt at ease.
500,000 is not a lot for a country. Anyway, it was taken from the account of the imperial court in the end. It was not painful for them, but they could enjoy a rare peaceful life, so why not do it.
The water sleeves on the stage were still floating softly, and the rest of the people couldn't hear what the emperor and Yeluyan said, but from the expressions of the big men above, they probably guessed that they were discussing business. Prime Minister Song let go of his mouth frequently, and he was about to agree. Xie Xuanchen suddenly put the wine bottle on the table. He tried so hard that the wine bottle quickly cracked and shattered with a bang.
Everyone else was taken aback by this movement, and the maid dancing on the high platform also moved, not understanding what happened on the field. Xie Xuanchen was already holding back his anger, he glanced at the dancer coldly, and his thin lips slightly opened: "Retreat."
These two words are not loud, but the air-conditioning inside seems to have substance, and the whole palace spreads and freezes, silent. The dancer of the Jiaofang Division was startled, and subconsciously stepped aside, terrified.
Xie Xuanchen's movements are not small, from the emperor and Yeluyan above, to the ordinary courtiers below, and even the ladies and ladies who gathered to chat, all looked at Xie Xuanchen together.
Yeluyan's expression changed, and his face became cold as he asked, "What does King An mean?"
Xie Xuanchen looked really angry, his face was like jade, and he completely restrained his smile at this moment, the tear mole under his eyes was cold and decisive, murderous: "I came to the founding of the Kingdom of Ye, and I have been fighting both internally and externally, winning and losing. But it has never surrendered without a fight. The people are the most important, the society is the second, the ruler is light, and the worst is death. Anyway, the Ye Dynasty does not have a relationship, does not cede land, does not pay tribute, and don’t think about the matter of the year. "
The atmosphere in this hall was frozen. In particular, Song Zai and others who advocated peace, were a little stunned at the moment.
It's only 500,000, what is Xie Xuanchen doing? Why bother with Beirong people in public for a little money
Yeluyan's expression quickly sank when he heard Xie Xuanchen's words, and the rest of the Beirong people also stared like a bell, showing a posture of alertness.
Yeluyan didn't want to make the scene too extreme, and it was already negotiated. If it collapsed completely, it would be ugly to continue later. Yeluyan left room in his words, took a slight breath, and said, "King An is firm and strong, and his righteousness is thin, I admire it. But fighting can't solve problems, and fighting a huge loss, it is far better than peaceful coexistence, this is right Both countries benefit. 500,000 yuan is really insignificant for the court of your country. I am afraid it is less than one-tenth of your military expenditure. It is very cost-effective to exchange such a small amount of money for the peace of the border. I have heard for a long time that King An has a lot of trophies and spends extravagantly. Could it be that you are not willing to even half a million?"
Of course, 500,000 is not much for Xie Xuanchen. Mu Mingtang knows the financial situation of his mansion, not to mention the court, Xie Xuanchen can take out 500,000 money immediately. However, it's not about the money.
Xie Xuanchen sneered, although he was laughing, but the smile did not reach his eyes, and his eyes were still cold: "500,000 is really not much, but although I have a lot of money, I don't have a single child that is superfluous. Wealth, people with foreign capital, not even a penny.”
Yeluyan was completely annoyed, he slammed his sleeves, threw the wine glass on the ground, and said gloomily: "King Yi'an said that he did not agree to negotiate peace and wanted to go to war?"
Xie Xuanchen was still sitting upright, his posture was like a sword, and his eyes were awe-inspiring.
"Then go to war."
Xie Xuanchen's voice was powerful, his eyes were cold, and the whole palace was quiet.
Yeluyan was angry and looked at Xie Xuanchen gloomily. The eyes of the two people crossed, and the sound of soldiers could be faintly heard. Yeluyan said in a strong tone, "My Rong soldiers are strong and strong, and the warriors are not afraid of death. Father Khan only proposed peace because of the face of the Ye Dynasty. Our Rong is not afraid of fighting, but can you afford it?"
Xie Xuanchen smiled and said, "If you can't afford it, you'll know if you try it."
No one in the hall dared to speak, and Prime Minister Song's heart was in his throat. In fact, Yeluyan was right. They were originally nomads in Beirong, and they were not afraid of fighting, but the court really couldn't afford it.
Xie Xuanchen looked down, not giving in an inch. After a while, Yeluyan took the lead to take a step back and said, "Since the peace talks are a consensus between the two countries, the details can be discussed again. The matter of the year currency will be discussed later."
All the officials present, including Jiang Honghao, who is in charge of the finance of the Three Divisions, were surprised. They were all ready to pay for Taiping, but they didn't expect Xie Xuanchen to suddenly attack, not to mention that Yeluyan would retreat in the end
One step at a time negotiating concessions is one step at a time. At first, it showed the intention of compromise, exposing one's bottom line, and it would be impossible to recover after that. Yeluyan said that it was the year of the coin to be discussed again, but the officials all knew that if it was discussed again, it would not be discussed again.
The hundreds of officials looked at each other in dismay, and no one thought that this was actually the development.