Chapter 867: Asking Price

October 30, afternoon, Panlong Fort, Anzhou. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

Li Zixiong and Yang Gongdao received Li Fengyun's letter of success, and were pleasantly surprised, and their confidence in the weak Luoshui of the Northern Expedition was greatly increased, but what made them even happier was that Li Fengyun made concessions on the core issue of the negotiation, which shows that Li Fengyun has realized that the rapid recovery of Anzhou and even the reversal of the situation in the Northeast have brought benefits to Middle Earth, and at the same time, it has also made the Holy Lord and the center see the crisis of "raising tigers for trouble", so they have to take precautions and prepare early, and in the matter of the Flying Fox rebels going out of the customs, Anzhou actually has no room for maneuver, Li Fengyun must compromise in exchange for support from within the Great Wall for the Northern Expedition to the weak Luoshui, otherwise Anzhou's path to growth will inevitably be ruthlessly strangled by the Holy Lord and the Center.

Of course, Li Fengyun's compromise is very limited, and his so-called "non-refusal" is not "acceptance", but a polite refusal with delay, or conditional acceptance, depending on the development of the future situation, such as the northern expedition to weak Luoshui to achieve phased results, or the further deterioration of the political crisis in the two capitals, and the further chaos of the domestic situation, the Anzhou side can raise the "asking price" to force the Holy Lord and the center to make greater concessions.

Li Fengyun's intention was very clear, delaying until the northern expedition achieved phased results, raising the "asking price" and seeking greater benefits.

Yang Gongdao read the letter, and after thinking about it carefully, he couldn't help but ask, "Ming Gong, in your opinion, the purpose of Li Fengyun's delaying plan is to agree with the Flying Fox Army to leave the customs, or not to agree?" ”

Li Zixiong shook his head, "It's hard to guess, but one thing is certain, if it comes out of Pei Shiju's position, Pei Shiju will definitely ask the Flying Fox army to go out of the customs, so as to quickly increase the strength of Anzhou, consolidate and expand the results of the war outside the Saiwai, and even if Li Fengyun is out of control, even if he has ambitions, but as far as the current situation is concerned, especially in the unfavorable situation of the deteriorating situation between the north and the south, he urgently needs support from within the Great Wall, so he does not dare to fall out with the center, so deduce, then the final result, Li Fengyun may still agree to the Flying Fox army to go out of the customs, but his' The asking price is relatively high, and if the Holy Lord and the Central Lord are generous, the matter may be resolved smoothly, and on the contrary, it may affect or even directly sabotage the Third Crusade that the Holy Lord is actively promoting. ”

Yang Gongdao thought for a moment and said, "The higher the asking price, the more beneficial it is for us, Li Fengyun's strategy is still good, even if he receives our second letter and knows that Cui Hongsheng personally went to Gubeikou to negotiate, and the Holy Lord and the center put heavy pressure on us, he will not change this countermeasure, at most let us be more flexible in the negotiation process, and even directly state that it is okay for the Flying Fox army to go out of the customs, but it must meet our asking price." Speaking of this, his eyes showed a solemn look and asked solemnly, "Ming Gong, in your opinion, how high is Li Fengyun's asking price?" Will the Lord and the Center agree to his asking price? ”

Yang Gongdao's words were punns, and Li Zi was ambitious to comprehend.

In fact, this matter is very complicated, the changes in the situation in Anzhou and even in the northeast have involved the adjustment of the national defense and foreign affairs strategy of China and Turkey, and from the standpoint of the Holy Lord and the center, since the changes in the future situation have been foreseen, it is natural to make strategic adjustments in time and respond in advance, so as to seize the opportunity to win benefits at the first time.

In fact, the Holy Lord and the Central Hub have not only made strategic adjustments, but also actively promoted the development of the situation in the northeast in a direction favorable to Middle-earth, ordering the Liaodong Zhenjun Army to openly intervene in the northeast battlefield, as evidenced by the cooperation of the Anzhou side in the northern expedition to weak Luoshui.

Correspondingly, when Anzhou and even Northeast China become the object of adjustment of China's national defense and foreign affairs strategy and become a new source of great benefits for China, Anzhou's political status must be determined, and the emerging force of the Grand Alliance must be recognized. Why did all the benefits take over Middle-earth? Just because Middle-earth is their backer, and they do everything they can to support them? Middle-earth's support had a purpose, it was to kill people with the sword, it was to use the power of Anzhou and the Grand Alliance to defeat and weaken the Turks, so what about after this purpose was achieved? Is it a share of honor and disgrace, or is it a rabbit and a dead dog? If the rabbit dies and the dog cooks, unloads the mill and kills the donkey, and uses the knife of the Turks to kill Anzhou and the Grand Alliance, then after Anzhou and the Grand Alliance grow, why should they still be slaughtered by Middle Earth? The result can be imagined, the enemy of the enemy is a friend, the Turks took advantage of the weakness, Anzhou and the big alliance of the tiger even if it does not form an alliance with the Turks, will not be the enemy of the Turks, at most it is to dominate the northeast, between the two strong people, and this is very unfavorable to Middle-earth, after all, it is still a problem to raise tigers.

Li Fengyun has ambitions, but as far as the current situation is concerned, that is, to dominate the Northeast, that is, to survive in the gap between Middle-earth and the Desert, but the Great War between the North and the South is imminent, whether it is Middle-earth or the Desert, Li Fengyun is not allowed to dominate the Northeast, so once Li Fengyun is strong and becomes a climate, the tail will not fall, and both sides will do their best to fight for it, even if they can't win it, they will not let the opponent "capture" this "tiger", and they are bound to kill it with all their might.

This is also the reason why Li Fengyun has repeatedly emphasized the importance of the Great War of the North and the South to the survival of the Grand Alliance, Li Fengyun is determined to devote himself to the Great War of the North, win the war at any cost, exchange meritorious service for the future, and try to compete for hegemony if he loses, that is to say, before the end of the Great War of the North, Li Fengyun will use the power of Middle-earth to show his strength, and charge forward for Middle-earth, which is one point that Li Zixiong and Yang Gongdao can affirm. By extension, Li Fengyun wanted to share the glory and disgrace with Middle-earth, and did not want to turn against Middle-earth, so Li Fengyun's asking price was obvious, that is, he hoped to be recognized by Middle-earth, and hoped to get the public support of the Holy Lord and the center.

However, once Middle-earth includes Anzhou and even the Northeast into the territory, it is equivalent to turning against the desert, and the North-South War will break out immediately, but the Eastern Crusade of Middle-earth has not yet ended, and it is not yet ready for the North-South War. However, at this moment, the Holy Lord and the reformers are in a deep political predicament and cannot afford to lose at all, so they are trying every means to maintain the relationship between the North and the South and delay the outbreak of the Civil War.

This is where the contradiction lies, so Li Fengyun does not talk about the "asking price" at all, first, Anzhou's strength is weak now, and there is no "asking price" capital, and second, in the short term, the domestic and foreign situation does not have the conditions for China to accept Anzhou, and putting forward this "asking price" will only bring humiliation on itself.

However, Li Zixiong and Yang Gongdao were anxious to return to Middle-earth, eager to exchange meritorious service for pardon, eager to get the Holy Lord and the Central Pivot to accept Anzhou, and whether the Great War between the North and the South would break out immediately was not on their list. In their opinion, the national strength of Middle-earth is strong, and after the outbreak of this war, even if Middle-earth cannot win, it will not lose, at most it will stick to the Great Wall, resist the enemy outside the country, and will not affect the fundamental cause of national reunification, and the consequences are far less terrible than Li Fengyun predicted. And the reason why Li Fengyun is alarmist is because of other schemes, Li Zixiong and Yang Gongdao say that it is reasonable, but in fact they disdain.

"The content of Li Fengyun's letter is actually just three words, and I don't refuse it." Li Zixiong hesitated for a moment, pointed to Li Fengyun's letter and said, "There are many meanings of not refusing, which can be understood as conditional acceptance, as long as the Holy Lord and the Central Center give us satisfactory conditions, the Flying Fox Army can get out of the customs." ”

Yang Gongdao looked serious, nodded again and again, and agreed.

"We didn't mention the conditions, of course the Holy Lord and the Central Center thought that we were cowardly, and that we would surely die if we left the support within the Great Wall, so they wantonly bullied." Li Zixiong stroked his beard and sneered, "Now, we have defeated the Turkic army on the battlefield of the Ghost Fang, driven the Ashina and more than 30,000 people back to the southeast of the moraine, ensured the safety of Anzhou, proved our strength, and also gave us the basis for the conditions." ”

Yang Gongdao frowned slightly and asked, "Ming Gong, the ghost side is victorious, what conditions can we propose?" ”

Li Zixiong thought for a moment and asked rhetorically, "Do you have any suggestions?" ”

On the night of October 30, Li Zixiong and Yang Gongdao were invited by Cui Hongsheng to knock on the customs overnight and then go to Gubeikou for negotiations.

Hearing that Li Fengyun had made concessions, Cui Hongsheng was very happy. Li Fengyun's compromise meant that the Flying Fox rebels had already achieved half the battle, and the focus of the next negotiations was whether the Great Wall could accept Anzhou's demands, and Anzhou's conditions were also very practical, that is, to return to Middle-earth.

Cui Hongsheng has already expected it. In fact, as early as when the palace was discussing the situation in the northeast, the Holy Lord and the central center had already anticipated this situation, and the Anzhou side would definitely ask for a return. This is a matter of course, otherwise Li Zixiong and Li Fengyun led the army out of the fortress and risky what to do? Otherwise, how could Anzhou, which was not strong, resist the fierce attacks from the Turks and the Donghu races? It is precisely because of this that the Holy Lord and the Central Pivot timely put forward the request of the Flying Fox rebels to go out of the pass, because Anzhou only has support from the Great Wall, and a large number of troops are needed, otherwise Anzhou will not be able to stop the attack of the Turks at all.

However, contrary to Cui Hongsheng's expectations, Li Fengyun actually defeated the Turks and drove out the more than 30,000 string-controlling troops led by Ashina from Anzhou, effectively alleviating the threat from the southeast Yaqi of the moraine, temporarily gaining a foothold in Anzhou, and already having the basic conditions for the northern expedition to weak Luoshui. In other words, Anzhou's great victory has the qualifications to make a request for return.

Cui Hongsheng was embarrassed, he couldn't make a promise, Anzhou's request was out of his purview, and he had to report to the Holy Lord and the center. From the standpoint of the center, in the short term, at least after Pei Shiju returns from his westward journey, China and the West Turks join hands to form an alliance to form a flanking attack on the desert, and before China and Turkey have established a clear advantage in the Great War of the North, it is impossible for the Center to accept Anzhou, so as not to intensify the contradictions between the North and the South, destroy the relations between the North and the South, and lead to the early outbreak of the Great War between the North and the South. In addition, the central center has already made a decision on the drastic changes in the situation in Anzhou and even in the northeast, whether to use the knife to kill people, or to use the knife of the rebels in Middle-earth to confuse the situation in the northeast and attack and weaken the Turks, so even if Cui Hongsheng reports the demand for Anzhou's return to Middle-earth, there will be no result.

Cui Hongsheng did not hesitate and decided to delay.

Anzhou wants to conquer the weak Luoshui in the north, the risk is very large, although the success is huge, with the capital to bargain with Middle-earth, but once it fails, Anzhou will suffer a heavy blow, lose the bargaining chips, extremely passive, can only rely on the Great Wall for help, at that time Li Fengyun even begged Youyan official to give the Flying Fox rebels a way out.

The two sides tacitly hit it off, since they both want to drag it, let's drag it out, and see if Li Fengyun can fight a bloody way on both sides of the weak Luoshui.

Cui Hongsheng hurriedly played the Holy Lord and the center overnight, Anzhou had compromised, but put forward a request for return, it happened that Anzhou had achieved a great victory in the ghost side, and the northern expedition was imminent, so Cui Hongsheng suggested that it was better to delay it, no matter what the result of Anzhou's northern expedition was, the huge consumption caused by the northern expedition forced Anzhou to withdraw the Flying Fox rebels into Anzhou as a supplement.