On the third day of the first month of March, at the invitation of Hidebo, the Ming army sent a peace team headed by Yang Ho, supplemented by a rather expensive and relieved team, while the Japanese army was headed by Goto Kiji, supplemented by Fujido Takatora and Komiyayama Harukatsu. Since the peace negotiations were made without informing Hideyoshi, both sides tried to keep a low profile, but keeping a low profile did not mean that it would go smoothly, and a war without gunpowder began, and you and I continued back and forth until the beginning of May, but we could not negotiate a satisfactory result for both sides.

The conditions put forward by Yang Hao on behalf of Xing Jue were simple: withdraw troops. First withdraw the troops and then talk about other conditions, such as Kanhe trade and other conditions are based on the withdrawal of troops, and if the Japanese army does not withdraw for a day, other conditions are exempted.

The resoluteness of the Ming army surprised Kiji, although a compromise plan was proposed in the later period with the Luodongjiang-Jinjiang River as the boundary, but Yang Ho was unmoved, threatening that unless the Japanese army retreated to Kyushu, everything could not be discussed, and it was quite expensive and even threatened that if the Japanese army delayed any longer, what was waiting for them would not be the peace mission, but the million-strong division led by Li Rusong (he thought that the Japanese did not know that Li Rusong was dead).

In this way, the two-month peace negotiation still broke up unhappily, during which Hideho invited Hideyoshi for various reasons, including visiting relatives, hoping to return to China for a period of time, but was rejected every time, and the signature of the reply was not Hideyoshi, but Sanshi, which made Hideho subconsciously nervous: "Three months, there are still three months to change, and if you don't go back, I'm afraid you'll lose all your efforts." ”

"Gao Hu, you make an appointment with Ming Jun again and tell them that I want to talk to Xing Jue this time." Xiubao said fiercely.

"Obey, please ask Rong Chen, I don't know what the lord has any good ideas?" Now only Gao Hu and Qingxing in the family dare to inquire about Xiubao's thoughts like this.

"Quite simply, I decided to hand over all the castles to the Ming army except for the nine coastal cities of Suncheon, Sacheon, Busan, and Masan, as well as the three islands of Jeju, Geoje, and Ulleung."

As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked, and the vast majority of the famous generals, including Xiuyuan and Xiuzhong, resolutely opposed this plan.

"The two that I finally kept, and I returned them to the North Koreans so easily, the minister is really unwilling." Komiyayama Harukatsu, who had experienced the Battle of the Blue Hoof Pavilion, said anxiously.

"Who said it was going to be returned to North Korea?" Xiubao suddenly asked rhetorically: "I am going to return it to the Ming Dynasty, and not now, but in twenty years." ”

Another bomb exploded in the crowd, and everyone still didn't understand Xiubao's intentions: "Now that the Ming Kingdom and North Korea have formed an alliance, isn't it the same to everyone, and since it is returned, why wait for twenty years?" ”

Xiubao smiled slightly, ordered the guards to close the door of the palace, and slowly explained his plan.

On 12 May, the negotiations resumed after a 10-day hiatus, again in Zengping, but the negotiators were Xing Jue and Xiubao respectively, and the whole process of the negotiations was conducted by the two men in private.

"Lord Xing bent over and was grateful." Xiubao sat opposite Xing Jue and greeted respectfully.

"I really thought that Master Ping is so fluent in Chinese, and I am also surprised a lot." Xing Jue is over sixty years old, as the main battle faction in the DPRK, he often inquires about the movements of the Japanese army on weekdays, and this time he heard that Xiubao took the initiative to invite, he was surprised but also a little excited, and finally agreed after thinking about it again and again.

"My lord has won the award, since you can understand, then it will be straight to the point." Xiubao bowed down and said, "I hope that this negotiation can get an answer that satisfies both sides." ”

"Oh, the old man would like to hear what Master Ping has to say, but the ugly words are ahead, if the conditions put forward last time are still the same, then there is no need for the negotiations to continue." Xing Jue's tone was firm, and his momentum seemed to be better than Xiubao's.

"Of course not, but there's something I'd like to ask you about next."

"Please have something to say."

"I heard that at the beginning of your country, Emperor Taizu had set sixteen countries that would not be destroyed, I wonder if they include our country and Korea?"

Xing Jue nodded: "Master Ping even knows this?" Yes, these sixteen countries include Korea and you, Japan, but what does that have to do with that? ”

"Emperor Taizu was born in cloth, led the Han people to rebel against the Mongols ****, and restored the Central Plains in one fell swoop, it is really an emperor through the ages, and our country has also suffered many times from the invasion of the Mongols, thanks to the blessing of the gods, in order to turn the danger into a disaster, you and I are all victimized by the Mongols, it can be said that the same disease is sympathetic, Emperor Taizu therefore gave our country the grace of not cutting down, and our country is grateful."

"The old man has also heard that when the puppet Yuan Kublai Khan, he sent troops to attack your country twice, but he didn't expect them to return with hundreds of thousands of casualties, including many of our Han compatriots. If you know the grace of Taejo, how dare you attack Korea ungratefully? ”

"My lord, listen to me," Hideho continued, "Emperor Taejo once ordered the Red Turban Army to go north to recover Liaodong, but they were obstructed by the king of Goryeo and suffered heavy losses in the Pyongyang area, not only that, but they also took the opportunity to seize the land north of the Taedong River, including the Tielingwei that was set up not long ago. ”

"It's... The people of Ping have such a thorough understanding of the history of their country, they are simply 'China experts'. Xing Jue couldn't help but praise: "That's right, during the conquest of Liaodong, our army fought with Li Chenggui, who was the general of Goryeo at the time, and lost a territory because of this, so..."

"Therefore, since the time of becoming an ancestor, until the immediate saint, there is the intention of annexing Korea, which is right?" Hideho smiled.

Xing Jue was taken aback at first, and then smiled: "Master Ping really has a hand in figuring out people's hearts." ”

"Where is it, it's just that I read a lot of history books, and I've heard about the fact that the saint planned to send Song Yingchang, the right attendant of the military department, to pass through North Korea."

"This is a secret of our DPRK and North Korea, how do you know?!" Xing Jue frowned and said in shock, at the beginning of the Battle of Wenlu, Emperor Wanli planned to send Song Yingchang to annex Korea in the name of Jingluo Korea, but he never thought about it but was politely rejected by Xuanzu, coupled with the rapid attack of the Japanese army, the Ming Dynasty temporarily shelved this idea, but shelving does not mean that it has not happened, this matter is still recorded in the "Ming Shilu" and "Punishment Record", Xiubao knows that of course it is not a difficult thing.

"You don't care about this, I just want to ask: Does your country still have this heart?"

"What if there is, what if there is not?" Xing Jue asked vigilantly.

"If there is, we will hand over the occupied territory to the Ming Dynasty, and if not, we will have to fight North Korea to the end." Hideho said calmly.

"Hei-sama, you Japanese people will be so kind, it can't be some kind of counter-plot, right?" As a veteran of officialdom, Xing Jue certainly won't easily believe Xiubao's words.

"I am not a disciple who eats fasting and recites Buddha, of course I will not be so kind, and we are also conditional."

"Conditions? Tell me about it? ”

"Both countries have spent a lot of manpower and material resources in this campaign, and as compensation, we have two demands.

First, the coastal cities of Suncheon, Sacheon, and Busan, as well as the three islands of Jeju, Geoje, and Ulleung, which were firmly held by our army, were all assigned to our country.

Second, Suncheon, Busan, and Incheon will be opened as trade ports, allowing goods from the three countries to flow freely;

Thirdly, all the four provinces of Chungcheong, Gangwon, Jeolla, and Gyeongsang that we have occupied shall be returned to the Ming Dynasty, and as compensation, we will share with your country the right to administer this place for a period of twenty years.

Fourthly, if your country and Korea privately accept and return the above-mentioned areas to Korea, the treaty will immediately become invalid, and our army will once again send troops to Korea until the occupation of Seoul. ”