Time flies quickly, and the battle in Qingniling is over.

Wang Liangchen, who came from the Wang family of the Gongzhou clan, was defeated in a battle, and his command fell for thousands of miles, and countless people died in the battle, even he himself died in the chaotic army, and the corpse capital could not be found.

When Na Tuozhi saw the fire of Zhang Yu's surprise attack by the river from the mountain, he could start a counter-charge, and when he rushed down from the mountain, he repeatedly told his generals to catch the head of the Mongols alive.

But on the battlefield, you come and go, and I fight for life and death, and it is the darkest hour before dawn, who will care so much. Although the promise is like a chicken pecking rice, once you are in the midst of the staggering of friends and enemies, no one can remember.

The only instinct in the mind is to slash and kill, kill the enemy in front of you, and then continue to rush forward under the push of your companions behind you.

Therefore, in the good news that Natuozhi sent to Hanzhong on a fast horse, it is a pity to mention that the chief was not captured alive.

However, the eldest grandson Hong was also smiling.

He took the good news and showed it to everyone in the hall.

Everyone was happy, and a big stone hanging in their hearts finally landed.

Qingniling is guarded, and Hanzhong is worry-free.

This great war, which lasted from Henan to Longyou, finally came to an end at this moment, and the strategic goal of Changsun Hong was achieved, and Hanzhong of Xingyuan Mansion was firmly in the hands of the Song army and could no longer be shaken.

The clerk quickly processed and polished the simple wording of Na Tuozhi, wrote a formal official document on the table, and handed it to the eldest grandson Hong.

The eldest grandson Hong changed a few places, and then stamped and sealed, and Pegasus was sent to Chengdu Mansion, which was inspected by the Sichuan Envoy and then sent to Lin'an.

All of this was done in ten or so days.

Due to the distance, the time when this good news message arrived in Lin'an was later than Jia Yidao's twist.

Therefore, when Emperor Lizong convened a meeting of his staff, he did not know about the victory of Hanzhong.

In the Yanhe Palace, the furnishings are still the same, and the figures are as usual.

A wisp of Tibetan incense rose into the air, with a greasy aroma in the hall, smelling a little drowsy, Zhao Kui was born in the army, not very accustomed to this kind of smell, couldn't help but secretly cover his nose, and glanced in the direction of Li Zong.

Everyone has been sitting in this hall for a long time, and everyone has already seen the fold, but the emperor has been closing his eyes and smelling the incense, and does not speak.

He doesn't speak, and no one can say it first.

Rizumi's eyes were half-squinted, leaning on his back, leaning on the couch, with a look of intoxication on his face, as if he was enjoying it.

Your Majesty has been obsessed with this kind of stuff lately. Zhao Kui shook his head, naturally he didn't dare to call for someone to withdraw the incense, so he could only pinch his nose and endure it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, take a look at Jia Nidao's excerpts." Li Zong pointed his hand at everyone casually and said, "Look, what do you think?" ”

He seemed to have had enough of the aroma and felt that it was time to get down to business.

Uncle Xie Fang, the governor of the political affairs, had just been scolded by Li Zong not long ago for his ineffective discussion of peace, and when he saw the excerpt at this moment, he was immediately full of spirit, and he couldn't care about a few bigwigs with deeper qualifications and higher positions than him, so he spoke first: "Your Majesty, this matter is very good!" Since Jia Rudao has found the prime minister of the Han region of Mongolia, it is just right that we sent envoys all the way to the trouble of Helin, and in the opinion of the ministers, we should send the equivalent ministers to Xiangyang as soon as possible to make a collegiate agreement, and from then on the border will be suspended, and the peace will be shared! ”

He said it so joyfully that he almost beat the gongs and drums.

Ritsune looked at him, smiled, and stroked his beard thoughtfully.

The others glanced at each other, and their hearts were bright, the meaning of the emperor's action was to agree with Uncle Xie Fang's words.

Uncle Xie Fang struck while the iron was hot, stood up, and resolutely asked: "Your Majesty, the minister is not talented, I am willing to share your worries for Your Majesty, do your best for the country, go to Xiangyang to meet with the Mongolian chieftain Kublai Khan, argue with the tiger and wolf, and bring back the signed peace document for Your Majesty to see!" ”

Li Zong smiled and nodded frequently, although he didn't say good or bad, but the meaning of approval was unmistakable.

Several people in the audience looked at each other again, glancing at Uncle Xie Fang's playful look.

"Your Majesty, although it is good to negotiate peace, this condition still has to be discussed." Zuo Xiang Du Fan stood up, held up the fold in his hand and said: "Kublai Khan's request is too much, he wants to allocate all the land north of the Yangtze River and Huai River to Mongolia, and the two countries will be divided according to the Yangtze River, and also ask for a huge amount of tribute. ”

The privy envoy Zhao Kui did not wait for others to talk, and immediately surrendered his hand to second: "What Zuo Xiang said is that the north of the Yangtze River is my country's homeland, and the north of the Huai River is the two important places, once lost, we cannot guarantee the safety of the south of the Yangtze River alone, and the lessons of the Eastern Jin Dynasty are still vivid, this is the conspiracy of the northern chieftains of Mongolia, and you can't be fooled!" ”

"Oh, two adults, when has this happened, and you still care about this?" Uncle Xie Fang's face couldn't hold back, and he hurriedly said: "The Mongols' troops are under Xiangyang City, and the two Huai fronts are also in a mess, and the left and right territories have been lost, so what's the harm in giving them to them?" You remember the Eastern Jin Dynasty, do you remember Wu Yue who endured humiliation? ”

Zhao Kui glanced at him and said, "The northern chieftain wants to be north of the Yangtze River, and Fancheng is also north of the Yangtze River, do you want to give it to him?" ”

"A city with which you can discuss ......"

"Ridiculous! We just won a battle in Hanzhong, took back the Xingyuan Mansion, and gained the upper hand, is it because of the peace negotiation, and we want to give up the Xingyuan Mansion and send it back obediently? ”

"It's not to send it back, we can move the people to Sichuan and send them a piece of white land."

"The people have millions of people, and they say that they will be accommodated?"

"The peace agreement can be signed first, and as for when it will be fulfilled, it can be slowly figured out."

"It's a good picture, we've been drawing for decades, and what have we gotten?"

Although Zhao Kui was born as a military general, he was proficient in literature and ink, and he was not clumsy in his tongue, and he did not fall behind in a war of words with Uncle Xie Fang, who was born in Jinshi, and the two of them became louder and louder, blushing and thick-necked, turning a solemn hall into a market.

Even the eunuch Huangmen, who served inside and outside, was probing his brain and peeking into what these ministers were arguing about in front of the emperor.

"Okay, okay, there's no need to discuss this matter anymore." Li Zong finally spoke, he beckoned, and motioned for the two people who were arguing to sit down: "I will decide this matter, it is necessary to negotiate peace, as for the conditions, as long as it does not shake my Great Song Guoben, it can be discussed, and I will make a decision tomorrow." ”

Uncle Xie Fang's eyes lit up, knowing the meaning of Li Zong's words, he agreed with his opinion, so he took a deep look at Li Zong, sat down with his chest up, and did not forget to look at Zhao Kui like a demonstration.

And Zhao Kui hung his head down, and he was reluctant to give up his hands hastily, and sat there with his head down and sulked alone.

The right-hand couple, who had not expressed his position, saw that the scene was quiet, so he coughed, got up and said, "Your Majesty, the minister has a matter." ”

"Speak!"

"The annual tribute and indemnity in the excerpt involve money and grain, and the ministers are in charge of the three divisions, so I want to talk about it." The wanderer cleared his throat and said calmly: "The amount of this money is too large, more than three times the annual tribute we gave to the Jin State. And our dynasty has been raising troops year after year, and the expenditure on military salaries has been rising almost every year, and the treasury has long been tight. ”

"Huh?" Li Zong's brows furrowed, and he stroked his beard again: "Tight? ”

"Yes, Your Majesty, it is best to reduce the annual tribute when the peace is discussed." Wanderer's Road.

"This is very difficult, Jia Rudao said in his excerpt, this amount is the result of his discussion with Kublai Khan for a long time, and it is difficult to reduce it again." Uncle Xie Fang picked up the fold, looked at it and said.

"Is there any way to increase the revenue of the treasury?" Li Zong became worried and asked the people present.

He didn't ask how the conditions for peace could be lowered, but directly asked how to find money, the meaning of which everyone would know when they thought about it.

The emperor is desperate to negotiate peace.

"We can increase taxes, increase commercial taxes and land taxes, and add a little to each tax, which will not hurt the people's strength and increase the treasury and silver." Uncle Xie Fang came up with an idea.

"Tax increases?" Li Zong's brows furrowed more and more: "This ......"

He looked at Du Fan and Youlu and said, "What do you think of the two Aiqing?" ”

The two white-bearded old men both looked at Uncle Xie Fang fixedly, with a complicated meaning in their eyes, and Uncle Xie Fang turned a blind eye, looking away from the left and right, not looking at the two of them.

Du Fan sighed secretly, and said in his heart that the emperor was unwilling to take responsibility, and he wanted to raise taxes but also did not want to have a reputation for being extorted and exceeded, and wanted to push the prime minister out of the front.

But the king is worried about the humiliation of the ministers, and the prime minister does not come out to stand up, who will stand up?

He glanced at Uncle Xie Fang fiercely, got up with an old man, and said to Li Zong: "There is only this way, Weichen will sort out a charter when he goes down, where to raise taxes, where to settle down, and then ask Your Majesty to decide." ”

"No!" Zhao Kui of the rectum was anxious again, and he stopped: "On the surface, the tax increase is only a little increased, but in actual operation, the officials below are exploiting layer by layer, changing tricks to wear and tear, be careful to provoke civil unrest!" ”

"Hehe, Lord Zhao, your privy envoy spends a lot of money a year, and it is okay if you don't raise taxes, and you can deduct half of your military salary, and you can also make the difference." Uncle Xie Fang said with a smile.

"Military pay is the lifeblood of the army, deduct half of it and let the big-headed soldiers drink the northwest wind?" Zhao Kui said angrily.

"Hmph, anyway, after all these years, every year I use soldiers, I fail every year, and I don't end up with a good salary, and there will be no difference if I reduce my military salary by half."

"You talk nonsense! The victory in Hanzhong was not won by the army, could it be that the scholars won it with their mouths? ”

"Haha, Jia Rudao is not in Xiangyang to negotiate peace, will the Mongols give up?"

The two quarreled again,-for-tat began to fight the bull, Li Zong took the trouble to slap his hand, and jumped with a "touch" of the imperial case.

"There is no need to argue, I have made up my mind, just follow the method of raising taxes, you can implement it!"

He stood up and swept his sleeves tiredly: "Uncle Xie Fang will be appointed as the ambassador of the peace conference, and he can rush to Xiangyang, and together with the deputy envoy of the peace conference, Jia Yidao, he will negotiate a treaty with Kublai Khan, the prime minister of the Han region of Mongolia. ”

After Li Zong finished speaking, he walked away, and several important ministers hurriedly got up and bowed to see him off.

After Li Zong walked away, a few people got up, Uncle Xie Fang went happily, he got an errand, as long as the negotiation was successful, the future would be very good.

The other people were full of sorrow, whispering to each other, shaking their heads, and walked out of this hall full of Tibetan incense.

(End of chapter)