On the first day of March in the ninth year of Xianchu, Li Xiaofei and his entourage finally arrived at the city of Chang'an, at this time there was one less carriage, and when passing through Luoyang, they were taxed by Luoyang Taishou Houshan. People had to bow their heads under the eaves, and Li Xiaofei and the others had to give up a cart of property in exchange for the safety of the group. Before leaving, Hou Shan also led the officials to bid farewell and welcomed the mission to come back next time. Li Xiaofei coped with a few words, and greeted Hou Shan's ancestors in his heart. I have seen shameless people, but after blackmailing a country's mission in such a right, he pretends to be okay and welcomes the blackmailed party to come again next time, and there is no second person in this world.

When he arrived at the city of Chang'an, he took the customs clearance documents given by Hou Shan and gave the soldiers defending the city a hundred yuan before entering the city gate. It took another hundred yuan to get to the Jingzhao Mansion and meet Jingzhao Yin Cui Ju, who was a sensible scholar, and did not blackmail the three envoys, but sent people into the palace to report the news that the envoys of the Liang State asked to see him.

Cui Ju saw the national letter and talisman presented by Qin Shun, so he settled the mission and stayed in Jingzhao Mansion. The mission originally wanted to find a house in the city to live in, but was stopped by Cui Ju: "If you live in my house, your people will not have accidents, and your chariots, horses, and belongings will not be plundered." This Chang'an City has long since lost the prosperous scene of the past, bandits are rampant, officials and generals are also greedy and domineering, and they have completely lost their dignity. If I weren't for the Cui family, I wouldn't have been forced to be this official. I'm not afraid of everyone laughing, out of my Jingzhao Mansion, no one will listen to what my Mansion Yin said. ”

Qin Shun and the three thanked Cui Ju, and inquired about the situation of the Qin State, but Cui Ju did not hide it, and told a lot about the chaotic system of the Qin State and the tyranny of the officials. Xie Tan frowned: "The Qinghe Cui clan is also a famous family, and there is no shortage of capable people who have read poetry and books, can't they take the lead in re-establishing the code system, adjusting the tax system, and stabilizing the country?" ”

Cui Ju sighed: "The Central Plains has been sinking for decades, and the generals are attacking each other, and whoever has a strong army will be called the king and the emperor, and suddenly the emperor changed his surname, and suddenly several emperors appeared. There has never been stability, let alone a system of rules and regulations. Hou Tianzhou Hou Zhao died not long ago, and now Hou Dong doesn't know how many days he can be the king of heaven. Since I was eighteen years old, I have experienced seven heavenly kings, and I am only forty-three years old now. ”

Xie Tan also smiled bitterly: "After our Great Liang crossed Jinling in the south, it is not much better, and from Gaozong to the current new emperor, there have been five emperors." That's just 30 years. This envoy to the Qin State is also for the stability of the world, and the two sides came to make a truce."

Cui Ju also smiled bitterly: "The emperor of your country is kind-hearted, but I am afraid that the monarchs and ministers of the Qin State will not make a truce." ”

Li Xiaofei couldn't help but ask: "Your country's army has never won a battle with General Chen of Daliang, where did they get the confidence to refuse to truce?" ”

Cui Ju shook his head helplessly: "It is precisely because they can't beat General Chen that they want to continue fighting." If there is no war, the officials appointed by the Hou family can no longer make up their minds about military salaries and grain and grass, and if they do not fight, the generals of the Hou family will not be able to loot the people and plunder the caravans through war. ”

Qin Shun also accosted him: "What Master Cui said is reasonable, blocking people's money is like killing parents, if the Hou family doesn't come forward to fight, I'm afraid that the three major surnames in Guanzhong will also join forces to replace them." ”

Cui Ju laughed: "Yes, if the world is unified, our Qinghe Cui clan may still be able to enter the center, but the other few families have a higher status in front of the four great families of Wang Xie Xiao and Chen, and when the time comes, at most, they will be a big family in the state and county, where can they still be crowned marquis and worship the prime minister like now?" ”

Xie Tan also smiled: "I'm afraid that Wang Xie Xiao and Chen Si will not let Lord Cui and them come to rob those yamen in Jinling City, which is also the reason why the Great Liang Court did not take Luoyang Chang'an in one fell swoop." ”

Cui Ju was choked and coughed a few times: "Lord Xie also said a little, the people in the north are extremely poor, poorly clothed, have vegetables on their faces, and often starve to death. Even if the whole country of Qin surrenders to Southern Liang, you Liang State will not accept this mess now, and the money of the four major families will not be used to help the untouchables in the north. ”

Li Xiaofei, Qin Shun, and Xie Tan all looked at each other and smiled, and they all agreed. Xie Tan asked again: "According to what Master Cui said, I waited for the envoy to Qin to come in vain, and the peace negotiation could not be reached."

Cui Ju laughed at Xie Tanlai: "I am so naïve that Lord Xie has been an official for many years, this peace negotiation on paper cannot be reached, but the transaction behind the scenes can be done." If you want a truce between the two countries, you have to consult with General Chen of your country and build a bridge in the middle. Let them fight fake battles with the generals of the Qin State, so that the relationship between the two countries will not be damaged, the generals of the Qin State will be able to make money, and General Chen Da will also be able to make military merits, killing multiple birds with one stone. ”

This time, it opened the eyes of Li Xiaofei and the three of them, and they could still fight a fake battle, but the three of them were puzzled and continued to ask Cui Ju how to fight this fake battle.

Cui Ju said unhurriedly: "In fact, except for General Chen, the generals in the past of Nanliang have all fought fake battles. Fighting a fake war means that the two sides agree to take people to kill and attack the city in a certain place or in a city, and after hundreds of people are killed, they will each sound the gong and collect the troops, one side will withdraw from the city, and the other party will enter again. The defeated side sends some armor and banners to the side that enters the city, and the side that enters the city sends some money and food to the defeated side, so that both sides have their own explanations. Speaking of which, the generals of the Hou family hate your General Chen so much, and everyone else fights fake battles, but General Chen is killed with real knives and real guns, and he fought all the way from Xiangyang to Yingchuan last year, if it weren't for the Hou family's army being good at escaping, I'm afraid they would all die under the knife of the Chen family. The three of you come here can be regarded as the savior of the Hou family's army, and I will do my best to achieve the goal of a truce and a halt to the army when I bring the three of you into the palace. But I'm afraid that your General Chen will have to really fight, and this is the crux of the matter."

Li Xiaofei and the three of them looked at each other, no wonder Wang Xian and the others were so afraid of Chen Hongyi, daring to love that in this world, except for his Chen family army and the fire dragon clan on the grassland, they really dared to fight hard, and the other armies could only bully and bully the people, and it was no wonder that the Chen family army of 2,000 people dared to argue with Wang Xian's 100,000 army.

The four of them chatted for a while, and the entourage outside came to report that it was the king of heaven who had summoned the envoys of the Liang State, and held a banquet in the palace to receive the envoys of the Liang State, and asked Cui Ju to lead the three envoys into the palace to meet him.

Cui Ju tidied up his clothes and arranged for the carriage to carry the three of them into the palace together.