On August 24, the 22nd year of Jian'an, the emperor ordered Cao Cao, the Duke of Wei, to meet with Deng Zhi, the envoy of Li Shengjun, but Cao Cao rejected it on the grounds that he was worried about the southern affairs and had a headache. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 info This seems to be a normal refusal, anyway, it will be fine in a few days, but the emperor does not know who he listened, but after the envoy who issued the decree returned to the palace, he issued another edict to continue the matter. Cao Cao had no choice but to order Yu Jian'an to meet with Li Shengjun's envoy Deng Zhi, deputy envoy Deng Ai and escort Xiang Zhong in the palace of the Duke of Wei in Xuchang on August 25, 22 years of Jian'an.

This was the first time Deng Zhi had met Cao Cao. It turned out that he had also heard of Cao Cao in rumors. Because he saw the legendary characters with mixed reviews, Deng Zhi's gaze was very bold. When Cao Cao was judging himself directly with his eyes, he also commented on Cao Cao with his own eyes. At that moment, the two lines of sight staggered in the air, but neither of them interfered with anyone, but each looked at each other.

In Deng Zhi's eyes, Cao Cao is a person who is full of contradictions. This is just on the surface: Cao Cao's body is very thin and his face is very narrow, which shows that he is very resolute and determined. Two thin eyebrows flew into the sideburns, and a pair of slender wind eyes with a few crow's feet flashed there with sharp light, as if they wanted to face people's hearts in front of their eyes. Deng Zhi understood that this was the light of the so-called wise man, and it was indeed as rumored that Cao Cao was a very scheming person.

"It's hard to deal with such a person." Deng Zhi said this in a low voice, but the vigilance in his heart was raising a level.

In just a few breaths, Deng Zhi saw Cao Cao's person a little bit according to rumors and according to the information given to him by his own main bus, but Cao Cao looked at Deng Zhi with a smile and his eyes still kept sweeping over him, but he didn't seem to have seen enough of him.

After a long while, Cao Cao took his gaze back, a curious smile appeared on his face, and asked a little playfully, "Does your lord look down on me?" How did you send these boys as envoys? Well......? Do you think that I am a small country to be despised here? Cao Cao said with a sigh, and there seemed to be a lot of anger in his words.

However, he put on an annoyed look, but Deng Zhi understood that he was just scaring himself. For such a question, whether you can answer well or badly, the negotiation will begin, but if you don't answer well, then you and your lord will undoubtedly be despised by the other party, which is not conducive to future negotiations. Thinking of this, Deng Zhi smiled slightly and replied: "There is no difference between a big country and a small country sent by my lord, and Duke Wei doesn't have to call himself a small country, after all, it is still the world of the Han Dynasty. In fact, the reason why my lord sent me, a boy, as an envoy was because Duke Wei was the loser in this battle. The winner deserves respect, and the loser accepts some contempt. Putting aside those false things, does Wei Gong really think that there is a way to call victory on your side right now? ”

Deng Zhi was fearless to explain things clearly, but when he said this, his words were somewhat sharp and mean. As soon as his words came out, the ministers who accompanied Cao Cao in the entire hall changed their faces in unison, and many of them began to scold him. Cao Cao neither echoed nor stopped such a reprimand, but sat quietly and looked at Deng Zhi, as if he wanted to see how Deng Zhi responded to these words.

Cao Cao was quiet, and Deng Zhi was also quiet. He didn't speak, just stood silently, his ears open and closed to filter out all the noise. He couldn't hear the voices of Cao Cao's ministers, because he knew they were irrelevant. As long as Cao Cao didn't speak, and the most important strategists under Cao Cao didn't speak, then nothing was worth paying attention to. He thinks that his energy is limited, but he is not willing to waste this limited thing in vain.

Under Deng Zhi's non-response, the noisy sound sounded for a while and then stopped. Why? Because the other party is like air, a person criticizes the air, how long can this criticism last? The people in the hall are all scribes, and there are their own lords and military advisors watching from above, but it is impossible for Sven to sweep the floor, just like the shrew scolding the street. So, just like that, they slowly ran out of words, but they stopped helplessly.

"Alright." Seeing that they had almost heard it, Cao Cao suddenly said this. On the surface, this was to stop them from doing so, but in fact, it was the beginning of Cao Cao's conversation. But after seeing Cao Cao say this, he no longer Li Hui's subordinates in front of him, but shrouded Deng Zhi with his stern gaze and amazing momentum: "What my determination is, don't you know?" I have prepared two armies to go south to Xiangyang and Hanzhong at the same time. Although you Yizhou are strong, I'm afraid that you don't have the strength to resist my Central Plains Tiger and Bear Division. ”

"Is that really the case?" In the face of Cao Cao's fierce momentum and threatening words, Deng Zhi smiled slightly and asked lightly. He didn't wait for Cao Cao's side to answer, but he continued to talk to himself: "If that's the case, I'm afraid that Duke Wei won't let us enter Xuchang City." Now that we are already standing here, it means that Wei Gong actually doesn't want to continue to fight us. Although it is very likely that Wei Gong will win the final victory if he continues to fight, he is afraid that he will also be greatly injured. At that time, the Duke of Wei's side will be fighting happily, but I am afraid that there will be a matter of cutting down Wu on the Central Plains side, and Sun Quan of Jiangdong will be dedicated to cultivation at the moment. ”

This call was not very harsh, but Cao Cao said it silently. Although this is only one aspect of Cao Jun's inability to fight, even if it is an aspect, it makes Cao Cao dare not move - so to speak, Deng Zhi's words undoubtedly hit Cao Cao's soft underbelly.

But even so, Cao Cao was still unwilling to give in in front of others, especially in front of his own enemies. Regarding what Deng Zhi said, Cao Cao laughed without scruples after being silent: "Do you really think that Jiangdong dares to come and beat me?" Do you know that Jiangdong has been frightened by my divine fire? All Jiangdong can rely on is the water army, and now that I am not afraid of their water army, what can they do with me? ”

Cao Cao's words are a bit half-true, if it weren't for Deng Zhi who had already understood all of this clearly when he came, I was afraid that he would have been fooled by Cao Cao's words. At that moment, when he heard Cao Cao say this, he restrained the smile on his face, and said to Cao Cao: "Since the prime minister is so confident, then I will retire and wait for the prime minister's good news." Alas...... What a pity. After Deng Zhi said that, he sighed endlessly, and said something that people couldn't understand.

"What a pity?" Deng Zhi said this, and it was such a strange sentence, but it hooked Cao Cao's heart, and he asked curiously at the moment.

"It's a pity that the lives of Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Cao Chun, Xiahoudun, Zhang Jaw and other generals and 50,000 soldiers will not be protected because of this sentence of Duke Wei." Deng Zhi said with a long sigh.

"You're threatening me with their lives?" Cao Cao's face suddenly turned blue when he heard this, and his tone became more severe. A murderous aura filled the hall with Cao Cao's actions.

"Don't dare to threaten. I'm just telling a fact. Does Duke Wei know why we didn't annihilate General Cao Ren and them at once, but instead used more people and more effort to surround them, and then supply them with money and food every day? You know, the amount of material we spend on doing this is much larger than fighting a tough battle directly. Murderous, Deng Zhi didn't seem to feel it, and when facing Cao Cao's iron-blue face, he just asked Cao Cao such a question lightly.

"yes, why?" This question was also what Cao Cao wanted to know, and his doubts were stirred up by Deng Zhi at the moment.

"We don't want to be an enemy of Wei Gong, at least not at the moment. If it weren't for Liu Bei's remnants of Xiangyang who took advantage of the friendship between my lord and Liu Bei in the past to make such a request, my lord would definitely not have the idea of going north to Xiangyang, and there would also be no move to occupy Xiangyang and not give up. My father-in-law is a person who values friendship, and he was like this to Liu Bei in the past, and now he is the same with Wei Gong and Sun Quan. To tell the truth, my lord said to me, if you talk about credibility, the credibility of Duke Wei is much more useful than the Sun family in Jiangdong. Deng Zhi smiled and said such a half-truth. He wanted Cao Cao to understand that his lord Li Sheng did not insist on fighting at the moment.

Deng Zhi's eloquence is good, and now that he says this, although everyone is still a little awkward in their hearts, they all understand Li Sheng's true thoughts in his heart. However, such words are somewhat pleasing to the ear, but it is still not possible to make Cao Cao completely reassured. Soon, Cao Cao grasped a point: "You said that you don't want to be my enemy at least for now." That means for now, do you still have the idea of being an enemy of me in the future? ”

"Does Duke Wei want to hear the truth or lie?" Deng Zhi squinted at Cao Cao.

"What about lies? What about the truth? Cao Cao pressed forward step by step.

"If it is false, it is natural that the lord of my family is willing to be friendly with the Duke of Wei for generations; Seriously, it is to avoid such a day that is not suitable for a decisive battle, and wait until a few years later, everyone is almost ready, and then there will be a showdown. Deng Zhi moved out the big truth without giving in.

As soon as these words came out, an arrogant voice sounded in the entire hall - everyone scolded Deng Zhi. They may have thought that Cao Cao would be angry because of this, but they didn't want Cao Cao to look at him with quite appreciative eyes, and suddenly laughed: "Deng Bomiao, you are very bold and calm." He doesn't look like a fledgling kid at all. But why do you tell the truth like that? Cao Cao asked him with some curiosity while appreciating.

"Because everyone is a person who aspires to the world. Whether it is my lord, or the Duke of Wei, or General Sun Quan of Jiangdong, and the princes who have disappeared from this world, they are actually the same. There is only one emperor in the world, and there is only one emperor in the world, as for who can become the final master of the world, it is not a matter of talking about it. Duke Wei wants to unify the mixed yuan, thinking that he has a strong strength, but we have never had the idea of giving up. Missed this opportunity that no one was prepared for at the moment, and after a few years, everyone's strength became stronger. That's when we're all going to arm each other up. Deng Zhi made everything very clear.

"Hehe, so what are you going to negotiate with?" Cao Cao laughed, and then asked.

"We take our sincerity for peace." Deng Zhi chuckled and replied. He knew in his heart that at this point, this agreement of a temporary ceasefire had already been confirmed.

"Since you are sincere, then our side will not oppress you too much. You've all told the truth, and I'm going to put my cards in front of you: a truce, and we're going to put our people back, that's what we want to see. If your conditions are not too harsh, we will naturally have to talk about it, but if you want to use the lives of General Cao Ren to blackmail us into some evil attempt, then we will do whatever it takes. That's our bottom line. Cao Cao said loudly.

"I know." Deng Zhi nodded understandingly. He knew that his day with Cao Cao was coming to an end—both sides had already said the same thing about it in terms of general strategy. As long as the general aspect is decided, then all that remains is to negotiate with the person designated by Cao Cao. If Cao Cao is the commander of the enemy army he faced in this negotiation duel, then the person Cao Cao designated to negotiate with him was the general he had to face directly. I will play them tactically. "I'm really looking forward to it! What exactly will Cao Cao assign as my opponent? Deng Zhi thought so, but began to lower his head and think about the characters who were likely to become his opponents.

I have to admit that there are still a lot of capable people under Cao Cao, not to mention the strategists of distant foreign enemies, as far as these people in Xuchang are concerned, they are good at arguing, sharp, and very strategic: Jia Xu, Jia Wenhe, Xun You, Xun Gongda, Liu Ye, Liu Ziyang, Man Favor, Man Boning, Mao Jue, Mao Xiaoxian, and several others. Among these people, except for Liu Ye, who seems to have been estranged by Cao Cao because of his background, only Jia Xu, Xun You, Man Chong, and Mao Jue are left, and they seem to be much better than themselves in terms of reputation and experience. It is likely that Cao Cao's assigned negotiators were selected from among these four people. It's just that no matter which one Cao Cao chooses in the end, it will be a challenge for himself.

"Now let's hear what Cao Cao said." Deng Zhi's thoughts spun fast. I've thought about it a lot, but it's only a blink of an eye. At the moment, his thoughts were closed, and he raised his head to listen, but he heard Cao Cao read out the designated person above: "...... I think let Jia Xu and Xun You take care of this matter together. ”

"What? Who did Cao Cao say? Jia Xu and Xun You? Oh my God, one of these two is enough for me to stand it, come with these two...... I'm afraid it will kill me. Deng Zhi smiled on his face, but his stomach was full of slander at Cao Cao's order. But things have come to this point, and there seems to be nothing to be done. It is impossible for him to say directly to Cao Cao like this, I can't deal with Xun You and Jia Xu, please change someone else to negotiate with me. Let's not say that such a thing will be exchanged for Cao Cao's consent, just saying this, he undoubtedly thinks that he is not as good as those two. Although that is indeed a fact, Deng Zhi's juvenile nature is unwilling to admit it. Don't look at him always showing a calm bearing in front of others, but in fact, he is also competitive with the average teenager.

When the meeting was dismissed, Deng Zhi recruited his deputy envoy Deng Ai into the house. The two young men sat down under the oil lamp and discussed how to deal with Jia Xu and Xun You. For these two well-known strategists, they are like facing a great enemy, and they think that they have to discuss it well before they can make a decision.

"Jia Xu Jia Wenhe is good at conspiracy, and he is in charge of intelligence work for Cao Cao, so I think he exists as a surprise soldier; As for Xun Yu Xun Gongda, he is an upright Wang Zuozhi, although he also has a strategy, but in the current situation, he will not do anything out of the ordinary. After all, it's not a war, this Xun You still has some reasoning, I'm afraid he was used by Cao Cao as a regular soldier. With Xun You's Zheng as the main and Jia Xu's Qi as the vice. Hehe, Cao Cao really treated the matter of negotiating with us as a war, and even the candidates he arranged were so in line with the art of war. As soon as the two sat down, Deng Ai hung his head and was silent, Deng Zhi knew what kind of character he was, and he didn't say much at the time, but analyzed Cao Cao's appointment of Jia Xu and Xun You according to his own understanding, and then asked Deng Ai: "Shizai, how do you think we should deal with it?" ”

"This ...... This one...... Need...... Think about it in the long run! "Deng Ai is a quick thinker, but he is still a stutterer. He thinks a lot in his heart, but he always doesn't have many words, and whenever someone asks him what he wants, he always opens his mouth with this sentence. It seems to have become his signature.

"Think long-term? Shi Zaimo wasn't afraid of them. "Deng Zhi and Deng Ai have long been familiar with each other, although Deng Zhi is several years older than Deng Ai, but on the surface, he seems to be more like a child than Deng Ai, for Deng Ai's signature words, Deng Zhi always seems to like to tease him with his own words, just like now.

"I'm afraid...... How do I ...... How could it be...... Fear...... Afraid of them? War...... Combat ...... It's only time to open ...... Here we go. Deng Ai stammered his own words.

Deng Zhi believed that he was saying what was in his heart. After all, he is a stutterer, and all his energy is devoted to studying his own words. How to express his meaning in the shortest time and with the fewest words is what he Deng Ai has always pursued. Therefore, he always pays attention to practical results, but he does not understand much about the emptiness of words. However, Deng Zhi looked at him a little troublesome, but he ordered someone to directly take the paper and pen: "My brother Shizaixian, I think you should directly write down the words you want to say on paper." It takes time to hear you talk like that, but it takes time for you to write with a pen. It also takes time, but I still think it's more pleasing to watch you write. By the way, what do you think we're going to do next? Jia Xu and Xun You are very powerful. ”

Seeing that Deng Zhi had prepared everything he needed, Deng Ai smiled, but he was a little silly and silent. He stretched out his hand and spread out the paper on the desk and wrote: "Right now, we are the victors and Cao Cao is the losers. No matter how many good things Jia Xu and Xun You on Cao Cao's side use, they can't change such a fact. We don't need to pay much attention to this, we just need to keep one thing in mind. That's what the lord said. What you can't get on the battlefield, you can't get at the negotiating table. This is true for us, and it is also true for Cao Cao's side. We just need to stick to the bottom line of the main bus on our behalf, ask for the price all over the sky, and pay back the money on the ground. ”

"Stick to your bottom line, ask for a sky-high price, and pay back the money on the ground?" Deng Zhi muttered and savored Deng Ai's words. A smile rose from his face for a long time, and he seemed to understand something, but he slapped the case in front of him heavily, "That's it." His mind has been decided, and the fear of facing Jia Xu and Xun Yu at the same time has dissipated a lot. At this moment, he already understood the meaning of Deng Ai's words: "In this negotiation, we who have won on the battlefield are the ones who really take the initiative in the battle." No matter what we say, Cao Ren's life is one of our most important bargaining chips, but it is something that cannot be changed. What a good thing to say. ”

Deng Zhi is thinking about the author as a whole, but Deng Ai is still writing non-stop. When Deng Zhi's head was raised and his eyes gradually became clear, Deng Ai's paper full of words was handed to Deng Zhi.

"What is this? Let me see? Deng Zhi curiously picked up the thing and looked at it, and the color on his face became much more solemn as he read it further. He carefully looked at the words on it, savored it over and over again in his heart, and finally grasped the most crucial point in what Deng Ai wrote: "You are advising not to pursue too much about the problem of face, but to grasp our actual interests, right?" Deng Zhi looked at Deng Ai seriously and opened his mouth to confirm.

"Exactly." Deng Ai wrote on the paper: "Now is not the time for us to be famous in the world, and this point has been made very clear by the lord when he came. Koto's affairs have also been done well with this in mind. We just gave up some false names, but in reality we got a lot of benefits from Jiangdong: the right of way for the entire Yangtze River basin; the right to operate the Ma'anshan mountain forest outside Jianye City; the right to do business in Sun Quan's territory, etc...... These are all things that Sun Quan and Cao Cao don't look down on, but they let us have more benefits. If the name is false, what if you give it to them? This profit is real, but we must have it in our hands. Don't look at us as if we're losing at the moment. But everything is as the lord said, only the one who laughs last is the one who laughs the best. ”

"The one who has the last laugh is the one who laughs the best?" Deng Zhi's eyes lit up but he understood a little more, "Since this is beneficial to us, then let's use such rules." He finally settled on.

The night passed without a word, and the next day negotiations began in earnest. The location was placed in a side hall in the west wing of Cao Cao's Prime Minister's Mansion. Outside, there were rows of soldiers guarding them, while on the inside, there were less than twenty people on both sides of the negotiations, including some subordinates. The rest of the hall had been removed, except for a long table and a few chairs. This request was made by someone from Li Sheng's side. They also have a reason for this: "No one knows how long this negotiation will last." If you want to talk for so long, the chair seems to be more comfortable. ”

This kind of request is indeed a bit bizarre, but compared with the overall situation of the whole negotiation, it is so insignificant. Therefore, Jia Xu and Xun You in the side hall naturally had no reason to refuse such a small request made by Deng Zhi. They also went up to try it after all the chairs and long tables were arranged, and it was indeed much more comfortable than sitting cross-legged.

The negotiations began after Jia Xu and Xun You met with Deng Zhi and Deng Ai, and Xiang Zhong was left outside to take on the task of maintaining the safety of the negotiation center along with his Li Shengjun soldiers who escorted the envoys. Although they were only two hundred, which was nothing compared to the entire Cao Cao soldiers in Xuchang City, he still had to do everything well in name.

At the beginning, after a brief greeting, Deng Zhi directly put his request in front of Jia Xu and Xun You. In the spirit of "asking for the price all over the sky, sitting on the ground and paying the money", this condition that first appeared in front of Jia Xu and Xun You is naturally much higher than Li Sheng's bottom line:

First of all, Cao Cao was required to bear Li Sheng's army's military expenses, grain and grass materials, as well as the consumption of battle losses and Cao Ren, which was equivalent to 3 million yuan to pay Li Sheng; secondly, to recognize the legitimacy of Li Sheng's rule over Jingzhou, Yizhou, and Jiaozhou; third, add Li Sheng as the general of the Qiang Zhonglang and have the right to take charge of the Qiang; fourth, let the land of Liangzhou, including Tianshui County, and Li Sheng; Fifth, Li Sheng repatriated all 50,000 Cao soldiers, including Cao Ren, Cao Hong and other important generals; Sixth, Cao Cao and Li Sheng struck the war and determined the boundary of the survey.

"Are you here to negotiate?" The conditions are so harsh, Jia Xu and Xun You can't stand it anymore. Jia Xu, who has a lot of city government in his heart, hasn't said anything about this, but Xun Yu over there jumped out early and retorted angrily: "You said something nice yesterday, what sincerity and so on, but at the moment, it seems that you don't have any idea of talking to us at all." Not to mention my father-in-law, even we ourselves will never agree to this. ”

"Oh? You can't accept such conditions. What kind of conditions can you accept? Deng Zhi looked at Jia Xu and Xun Yu leisurely, his eyes calm. At this moment, he has entered the situation, forgetting the prestige of Jia Xu and Xun You, and completely looking at the two of them with the normal heart of a fair opponent.

"Li Sheng's side will put our people back, and we will recognize Li Sheng's right to rule Jingzhou, Yizhou, and Jiaozhou, and crown Li Sheng as the general of the Qiang Zhonglang." Jia Xu said this leisurely.

"That's it?" Deng Zhi's face was still calm, and there was no change in the tone of his speech.

"That's it." Xun You glanced at Jia Xu and nodded heavily.

"Then I think we can break up today's meeting. There are so many different requirements between the two of us. It's simply impossible to say a piece to go. Deng Zhi stood up and said this coldly, and then he was about to get up and walk out. Jia Xu and Xun You didn't stop it, but let him push open the door of the room and stand on the threshold. When they saw Deng Zhi turning around here, they said intentionally or unintentionally: "When I came, I had already received carte blanche from the lord of my family, and I don't think the two gentlemen may have the full authority from Duke Wei." The two gentlemen themselves can't do such a big thing, I think you might as well report the matter and let Duke Wei make a decision. We are the winners, and the winners cannot get nothing. After saying that, he left without looking back. The first negotiation with Cao Cao ended less than half an hour after the two sides entered the venue. There has been no progress on either side.