Li Zicheng immediately ordered to send Song Xiance, the secretary of the household department, as a negotiator, and took a group of envoys to Nanjing to meet Li Xiao.

Song Xiance and others received the order, immediately set off from the capital, went all the way east, set off from Tianjin by sea boat, crossed the sea and went south into the boundary of Nanzhili, and then traced the river from the mouth of the Yangtze River to the city of Nanjing.

As soon as everyone went ashore, Song Xiance immediately expressed his intention to the Tang soldiers patrolling and asked to meet Tang King Li Xiao.

Hearing the envoy's intention, the Tang soldiers who patrolled the defense did not dare to slack off, and immediately reported to the palace, and Li Xiao, the Tang king who had just dispersed the dynasty, was taken aback when he got the news.

However, he thought about it for a while, and then figured out what Song Xiance's intention and purpose were when he came to Nanjing, and he couldn't help but smile slightly, and ordered someone to bring him into the palace to summon him.

Song Xiance and others, under the leadership of Li Xiao's cronies Chen Zilong, entered the city of Nanjing, and saw that the city was orderly, the market was prosperous, and the people were happy.

After a short time, the group walked through the streets and alleys, entered the inner city from the outer city, and went straight to the palace until the side hall where Li Xiao rested. After entering the palace, a group of entourage envoys were taken to the side hall to rest by Tang army officials, and Song Xiance himself was led by Li Xiao's confidant Chen Zilong and went all the way to the inner palace.

When he entered the palace, he saw Li Xiao, who was sitting on the dragon chair and was as imposing as an emperor, Song Xiance sighed with emotion. He hesitated slightly, and bowed his head: "Song Xiance, the envoy of the Great Shun State, has come to meet the King of Tang." ”

"Well, let's talk flat and sit down." Li Xiao waved his hand and motioned for the tea to be sitting.

After Song Xiance got up and sat down, he suddenly found that Li Xiao and Chen Zilong, who was sitting on the side, were silent blowing tea foam, but they didn't ask themselves questions, and the hall was silent for a while.

Song Xiance smiled wryly, relieved the embarrassing atmosphere like self-deprecation, and then arched his hand to Li Xiao and said: "Weichen Song Xiance, on the order of my lord, I have come to Nanjing to ask to see the Tang King, and I really have something important to discuss with the Tang King. ”

"Oh? Your Excellency has come thousands of miles away, but you don't know what is happening? Li Xiao took a leisurely sip of tea before slowly putting down the teacup.

"King Tang, my Emperor Dashun sent me down to see King Tang, I really hope that your country and our country can stop fighting and make peace with each other. Since then, the two countries have made good friends and have traded with each other, and they will no longer use swords and soldiers, wouldn't it be very good? Song Xiance smiled with a smirk on his face.

Seeing that Li Xiao's face was expressionless, Song Xiance said hurriedly: "In order to show his sincerity, the emperor of our country is willing to enclose Hanzhong's hands to your country, so that the king of Tang will rest and make friends with the two countries." Such conditions, according to the following, show the sincerity of my Emperor Dashun, but I don't know what King Tang wants? ”

Li Xiao glanced at him, and then smiled: "Okay, our army is about to attack the land of Hanzhong with all its might, but Li Zicheng is quite knowledgeable, and he actually sent Hanzhong to our army, so as to avoid the pain of our army's soldiers and horses, such hospitality, but it is disrespectful." ”

Song Xiance could hear his teasing words, and he was ashamed, but he had to reply with a smile on his face: "What King Tang said is that I, Emperor Dashun, attach great importance to the peace between the two countries, so I am willing to offer Hanzhong's hands to your country, thinking that it is a gift to meet, and I only hope that King Tang can remember the old relationship between the two countries, so as to ......."

"Old love? I have an old relationship with Li Zicheng! Li Xiao sneered: "This person started from Liukou, attacked the city and plundered the land all the way to slaughter the people, and luckily took advantage of the chaos to become the grass emperor. and occupy my Jingshi, kill my first emperor, destroy my Daming Sheji and Zongmiao, such a blood feud, how can it be resolved by sending a little Hanzhong! Tell you, Lone and Li Zicheng have a common hatred, and the first emperor was killed, but he can't deduce it! ”

Seeing that the emperor Li Zicheng was scolded by Li Xiao like this, Song Xiance's face was like pig's liver, cold sweat was dripping on his forehead, and his face was also very embarrassed.

It's just that after Li Xiao finished speaking, he still smiled with a shy face: "King Tang, you said this directly, but it was really dull on your face. It's just that when my Emperor Dashun attacked the capital, he didn't actually want to kill the monarch, but it was possible to hate his subordinates for being greedy for merit and committing chaos for a while. In the final analysis, there is no excuse for the negligence of my emperor, but it is also unreasonable to say that he murdered Emperor Chongzhen. Besides, didn't Emperor Chongzhen's corpse and the two princes all be taken away by King Tang? Such a grudge, after so many years, there should be a way to resolve it. ”

When Song Xiance said this, he let out a long sigh, and without waiting for Li Xiao to reply, he hurriedly said: "King Tang, put aside the old grievances, come here next time, to tell the truth, now between the two countries, the strength is actually in the middle of the match, if you really want to attack each other, both of them are hugely consumed, and it is difficult to have a real winner when you enter." After such a fight, I am afraid that the cranes and mussels will fight each other, and the fishermen will benefit. In the event that the Qing court in the north takes advantage of the situation when you and I are in contention, or Zheng Zhilong in the south takes advantage of the momentum, wouldn't it be beautiful or not? Taking a step back, if the Tang King is really unwilling to make peace with my Dashun for a long time, then maintaining peace for a few years will also be beneficial and harmless to your country. ”

After Song Xiance finished speaking hurriedly, he took a long breath and looked at Li Xiao with a pitiful and extremely urgent look.

And Li Xiao listened to Song Xiance's words, but he was not in a hurry to reply, just took a sip of tea lightly, and his face showed a thoughtful expression.

At this time, Chen Zilong, who had not spoken on the side, interjected, and he smiled: "Song Shangshu's words are actually not completely unreasonable. It's just that even if our army doesn't investigate the past for the time being, if you want our army to reach an agreement with your country to stop the army just because of one Hanzhong, it will be too easy and too much to take for granted. ”

Song Xiance was shocked, and he didn't know what Chen Zilong meant by this.

He rolled his eyes and asked in a low voice: "Then according to Chen Zan's painting, what are the conditions for peace?" ”

Chen Zilong didn't look at him, but said lightly: "Song Shangshu, you must know that in the current Hanzhong, even if your country refuses to give it, our army can take it down in one fell swoop with its own ability, which can be said to be captured." This kind of meeting gift is too uninteresting. ”

"So, what about that? Gui, your country means ......" Song Xiance was confused, and for a while, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Chen Zilong smiled, and the corner of his eye met Li Xiao's suggestive gaze, and he smiled: "Song Shangshu, in my opinion, if you Dashun Kingdom really have the heart to seek peace, then you must show sincerity." The intention of the Tang King was that in addition to taking away the Hanzhong, other places such as the southern part of Henan and the central part of Henan must all be under the rule of our Tang army before peace talks can be held. Otherwise, the matter will never be brought up again. ”

"Huh?! This, how can this work! ......" Song Xiance didn't expect Li Xiao's appetite to be so big, and he opened his mouth for a while, not knowing how to respond.

"Song Shangshu, if you want to make peace with the armistice, then our country naturally has to think about whether the national defense is appropriate. If Hanzhong is only divided into our army, then Sichuan should be stable, but if the land of Henan is not in the hands of our army, it will be difficult for our Tang army to feel at ease. As long as the central and southern parts of Henan are divided into the army, and then you and I demarcate the boundary on this basis, our military can agree to negotiate peace. Chen Zilong spoke slowly, but he had a deterrent power that could not be refuted.

Song Xiance's face turned pale, and he kept thinking about Li Xiao's intentions.

In fact, in terms of the territory that the Tang Army wants, the current central part of Henan, after this war, is already a ruin, and the value is obviously not large. In the middle of Henan, most of them are hilly terrain, and the products are not rich, so if it is really lost to the Tang Army in exchange for peace, it is actually not too much of a loss.

What's more, after losing all the central and southern parts of Henan, which are like chicken ribs, to the Tang army, Da Shun can shrink his forces, as long as he is stationed in the south bank of the Yellow River, a number of big cities such as Kaifeng and Luoyang in Henan, and its garrison task is much easier.

However, Song Xiance really couldn't agree to Tang Jun's conditions.

Because he knew that if the central and southern parts of Henan fell into the hands of the Tang army without much effort, the face of the Great Shun Kingdom would be lost, and the emperor Li Zicheng would be furious, and he would even reprimand himself, and it was impossible to further peace talks.

And if they don't answer, it seems that the Tang army has no room for negotiation, and they will definitely fight to the death with Dashun next, and such a result is also unbearable for Dashun.

Now, what to do?

Seeing that Song Xiance's face was full of embarrassment, and he almost didn't know how to answer, Li Xiao and Chen Zilong looked at each other and smiled.

Such a situation had long been expected by them.

After all, Dashun was willing to take Hanzhong as a greeting gift, but if he wanted to lose more than half of the land of Henan to the Tang army, the humiliation of cutting the city and losing the land in order to seek peace would be difficult to overcome in his heart.

Seeing that Song Xiance was at a loss like an ant on a hot pot, Li Xiao smiled coldly: "Song Xiance, you must know that now your so-called Great Shun Kingdom is coming to beg us, but I, Tang Jun, are coming to beg you in turn." That being the case, you have no sincerity at all, and you actually take a Hanzhong that our army can easily conquer, and you want to come to negotiate peace with our Tang army, isn't it a joke? ”

Song Xiance was ashamed and ashamed, and said in his mouth: "King Tang, this is not what I mean, but this matter of ceding the central and southern parts of Henan is very big, and it is not something that can be decided in the next place, and it needs to be reported to the emperor before it can be decided." In such a hard time, I hope that Tang Wang will understand. ”

"Humph! If you say that, then we don't have anything to talk about. Li Xiao snorted coldly: "If you think that if your army takes the central and southern parts of Henan, which are like chicken ribs to you, it will make your country lose face and be intolerable, then everything will not be mentioned!" You and my armies will open up their positions on the battlefield and continue to fight. is the so-called king and defeat, so why bother to say more. ”

Hearing Li Xiao's words that were almost an eviction order, Song Xiance had cold sweat on his forehead again, and then bowed to the ground and said, "What King Tang said is very reasonable. Then leave it at that, and immediately return to the capital to report to the emperor. However, I sincerely hope that your country can reach an agreement with our country, so that we can stop fighting and trade with us, which is the best result. ”

Li Xiao nodded slightly, then waved his hand and asked him to retreat on his own. Song Xiance left, and then another soldier took him and left all the way from the palace.

After Song Xiance left, Chen Zilong said: "King Tang, in my opinion, Song Xiance will go back this time, and he will make every effort to persuade Li Zicheng to agree to the conditions of our army." After all, such a large-scale war of attrition, the Shun army will definitely not be able to fight, and even if it continues to be consumed, they are not our opponents. ”

Li Xiao smiled faintly and said, "No matter what Li Zicheng plans now, our army is in an invincible position. If he is angry and wants to continue fighting, we will accompany him to the end. If he listens to the opinions of Song Xiance and others, and finally cedes Hanzhong, as well as the central and southern parts of Henan, then it is also a good thing that we can get the vast land boundary without a single soldier. ”

Chen Zilong asked in a low voice: "King Tang, if Li Zicheng really puts down his face and finally comes to cede the land and sue for peace, can our army answer their request?" If an agreement can really be reached, will our army have to earnestly abide by the armistice agreement? ”

A cold light flashed in Li Xiao's eyes: "Wozi, you also know that Lone Xiang is a trustworthy person, and if there is an agreement, he is unwilling to break it lightly." But this time he made peace with a thief like Li Zicheng, but he will never be bound by this paper treaty, and if the form is necessary, it must be broken! ”

Li Xiao paused for a moment, and then said: "Of course, for our army, now that we have newly acquired the land of the four provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou, Guichuan, and have just wiped out Zhang Xianzhong's Great Western Kingdom, we also urgently need time to digest these newly acquired lands steadily. What's more, our army is still in the 14th and 15th towns of Sichuan, and all kinds of things require a lot of time. Therefore, Song Xiance also saw this point, so he made a special trip to Nanjing to ask for peace, after all, both China and Shunguo need time to stabilize and calm the interior. During this period of time, when the internal stability was not yet stable, it was not very necessary to rush to expand the territory and compete with the Shun country. According to the king's estimate, a peace agreement can be signed with Shunguo within a period of two years, and they will temporarily recuperate together. ”

Chen Zilong also nodded in agreement: "What the Tang King said is very true, now in my country's borders, in the newly acquired southwest regions, there are a large number of Tusi forces that are not subject to the king's transformation, and they need to be changed and pacified." In this way, the local people who do not obey the king will definitely rebel enthusiastically, and our army is bound to suppress them one by one and resolutely eradicate them in order to seek peace for all generations. It may take two years for such a complicated and urgent matter to be truly resolved. ”

"Yes, if you go outside, you must first settle inside, how can you not understand this truth. Lone doesn't want that when we attack Dashun with all our strength two years later, the Tusi forces in the southwest will rebel together, and then our army will really suffer from the enemy and be in a dilemma. Of course, we must try to avoid such a situation. ”

When Li Xiao said this, he let out a long sigh, stood up, and walked slowly out of the window.

Then, he stood silently, seemingly looking at the scenery outside the window, but said to Chen Zilong lightly: "Wozi, do you know that some time ago, in the country of Burma, that prince Mangbai had already killed the Burmese king Mangda, and had just succeeded in usurping the throne?" ”