Actually, Deng Zhi didn't really want to be the envoy of the Son of Heaven.

Don't look at Deng Zhi has always served in the court as a civilian official, but Deng Zhi's heart still wants to be a general who commands a large army to fight. Really, Deng Yu's descendants are so capable of writing and martial arts.

But it's a pity that Deng Zhi has only had one chance to lead the troops into battle until now, that is, during Liu Bei's first Northern Expedition, Deng Zhi, as Zhao Yun's deputy general, led the suspicious soldiers out of the praise slope.

Unlike in history, this time the Han army was victorious, so Deng Zhi also made a little war merit and hung a military position in the army. But Deng Zhi was so happy that he regarded himself as a general when he opened and closed his mouth.

But it's a pity that after that time, in all the Northern Expeditions, there was no chance for Deng Zhi to lead the troops to the expedition, and he always stayed in Chengdu to deal with government affairs and logistics.

This made Deng Zhi very unhappy. Obviously, he still has a lot of talent for leading soldiers.

But no matter what, Deng Zhi is still a civil official, and this time he sent Jiangdong to send him out again.

There's no way, these years when I went to other countries, I paid attention to a familiar face. People with unfamiliar faces go to envoys, please refer to the treatment of Zhuge Liang's tongue and Confucianism back then.

If you don't have any ability, there is no second result except for embarrassment.

And Deng Zhi once sent an envoy to Eastern Wu after Lü Meng's sneak attack on Jingzhou failed, and facilitated the reconciliation between Eastern Wu and the Han Dynasty and remade the alliance.

In this mission, Deng Zhi showed a high degree of adaptability and courage, and his own talent was also highly praised by Sun Quan, all of which were the natural advantages of Deng Zhi's envoy to Eastern Wu.

In fact, compared to Deng Zhi, there is another person who is more suitable to envoy to Jiangdong.

Fei Yi.

After all, Fei Yi is not only a person who is highly recognized by Sun Quan, but also a guy who has a lot of personal connections in Jiangdong. Ten years of espionage career in Jingzhou has brought a lot of benefits to Fei Yi.

But the problem is that Fei Yi is now in Chang'an, and Zhuge Liang has also seen Fei Yi's talents other than espionage, and is vigorously cultivating this government wizard, and Fei Yi can't get out of it at all.

In this way, if you Deng Zhi don't go to the embassy, who else is suitable.

Therefore, Deng Zhi was entrusted with the name of the special envoy of the Son of Heaven and sent an envoy to Soochow to ask about the violation of the territory of Soochow.

Of course, if it is just a simple question, put two cruel words and then declare war between the two countries, it is not necessary for an old face like Deng Zhi to come out, and the original intention of sending Deng Zhi out of the horse is not to directly tear the skin with Dongwu.

Therefore, the real purpose of Deng Zhi's envoy was to clarify the current relationship with Soochow, explore the specific ideas and bottom line of Soochow, and strive to obtain the greatest benefits through negotiations.

"This discussion of the imperial court is to recover the two counties of Jingnan and force Eastern Wu to pay tribute." Deng Zhi said to Zhang Xi.

Now, Deng Zhi and Zhang Xi are already talking in the study of Zhang Xi's mansion in Jiangling, and there are some things that can be said without shying away.

So, well

"Who's talking about this?! So I don't know how thick the sky is?! Zhang Xi sneered and asked.

But if you only say that you want Dongwu to return the second county of Jingnan, it can be regarded as a serious negotiation process. The price is all over the sky, and the money is paid back when you land.

But you said that letting Sun Quan call him a minister and pay tribute is not to negotiate, this is to smash the field.

Sun Quan can change from the King of Wu of Great Wei to the Supreme of Great Wu, but if you let him change from King Wu of Great Wu to King of Wu of Great Han. Believe it or not, he directly waved his army to attack Gangneung!!

Deng Zhi also smiled disdainfully and said, "There are always some young people who think that governing the country is black and white, there are no two days in the sky, and there are no two masters in the earth, so you don't have to pay attention to it. ”

Well, it's a bit of a cover-up.

Earlier, you said that it was "the discussion of the imperial court", but now it has become a "young man".

Well, I still have to ask someone to check when I go back, which son of a noble is this, and he was used as a gun by interest groups without brains.

Most of the nobles in these years have comrade-in-arms relations with Zhang Xi, and it has only been a long time since the founding of the country, and the friendship between them is not cold, can you keep one of them!!

But now

"Let's talk about something practical, what are the conditions of the imperial court?!" Zhang Xi took the initiative to ask.

Deng Zhi sent an envoy from Chengdu and passed through Jingzhou, not to come by to beg for a drink. Such a big matter, but to inform Zhang Xi and seek Zhang Xi's opinion, then there is a big problem.

Therefore, Deng Zhi and Zhang Xi were not polite, and went straight to the point.

Chengdu, for the definition of this Dongwu sneak attack on Jingzhou, the first thing must be condemned.

Even if it is not considered a betrayal of the alliance, a statement of violating the border without a reason is definitely wanted.

This is a matter of national righteousness, and it must be made to make the Eastern Wu side admit its mistake, otherwise the face of the Han Dynasty will not exist.

This condition is easy to say, but difficult to say.

If the big man wants to save face, won't he lose face in Dongwu?!

Yes, what Sun Quan does is basically not very authentic, but if you let the monarch of a country take the initiative to admit his mistakes to the outside world, where will his face go? !

This was probably the first difficulty of Deng Zhi's mission to Soochow this time, but it was also the most irrelevant difficulty.

Face can't be eaten, and the real core interests are the trouble of Deng Zhi's envoy this time.

"The imperial court can tacitly accept that Eastern Wu occupies the three counties of Jiangxia, Wuling, and Lingling, but the imperial court also hopes that this envoy will allow the lord of Wu to sign a covenant and recognize that the three places belong to the Han Dynasty, and Eastern Wu is only temporarily borrowed."

Deng Zhi continued, while Zhang Xi wanted to smile bitterly the more he listened.

This scene is quite familiar.

Yes, what the court meant, Zhang Xi can also understand.

Now that the three counties of Jiangxia, Wuling, and Lingling have been occupied by Eastern Wu, there is no way for the Han to take it back immediately, so for the sake of face, and also for the sake of the righteousness of sending troops in the future, he wants to force Eastern Wu to admit that the three counties belong to the Han Dynasty, and now it is only temporarily lent to Eastern Wu.

But the question is, how could Sun Quan agree to this.

At that time, the first emperor and Sun Quan had been sloppy for several years on the ownership of Jingzhou, and in the end, they did not figure out who borrowed this Jingzhou.

Sun Quan was fed up with this dumb loss, and finally sent troops directly to snatch it. Under the combined action of a series of internal and external factors, the demarcation of Xiangshui came to an end.

But even so, Soochow's coveting of Jingzhou has never stopped.

In the past, Lü Meng failed to attack Jingzhou, and then there was this attack on Jiangling and Xiangyang, intending to attract the Jingzhou army to come back.

How could he, Sun Quan, write such an essay?!

He was cheated by the first emperor before, and now he wants him to admit that Jingzhou belongs to the Han Dynasty, so what excuse and reason does he have for using troops against Jingzhou in the future? !

Don't you want the fertile plains of Jingxiang?!

Don't you want the Yangtze River defense line?!

The land that was finally knocked down was borrowed. The heart of the army, the hearts of the people, and the national character, don't you want any of these?!

From the standpoint of the big man, Zhang Xi can understand what the gang in Chengdu thinks, and he can also understand the significance of this condition.

But the problem is that Sun Quan is probably incomprehensible.

"Moreover, the imperial court also hopes that Soochow will be returned to the land of public security. This is not the part of the three counties, and it should be returned by Dongwu by force. Deng Zhi said as he spoke, and suddenly smiled, "Now it seems that it is okay not to mention this matter." ”

Of course, there is no need to mention it, the public security Lao Tzu has taken it back, although the cost is a bit large, but at least it has ensured that Jiangnan has its own foothold.

"The discussion of the imperial court, roughly like this." After Deng Zhi finished speaking, he then looked at Zhang Xi with a smile and asked, "I don't know what the general thinks, Zhi should follow the order." ”

This was Deng Zhi's main intention in coming to Jiangling this time - to ask Zhang Xi's opinion.

What can Zhang Xi say?

"I'm afraid this envoy will have to work hard." Zhang Xi only said this sentence.

Deng Zhi just smiled and understood what Zhang Xi meant, but there was no way, this was his mission.

This mission, in Zhang Xi's view, is destined to have no results.

In fact, Deng Zhi is also mentally prepared for this, he is just trying to make the big man's face look better as much as possible.

The territory that people have conquered by their ability, and if you want to go back with a few words, it is simply impossible.

What I ask for is nothing more than a decent one.

Judging from the negotiation conditions put forward by the imperial court, the imperial court may not be aware of this, and in the end, the two countries will still have to fight each other, and what they are doing now is just delaying the time for this moment to come.

After all, everyone is not ready, but they must have an explanation for each other, and they can't completely tear their faces.

Therefore, after consulting Zhang Xi's opinion, Deng Zhi did not stay longer, and crossed the river directly, went to Jianye, and went to meet Sun Quan.

This will take at least a month.

After all, it is a state negotiation, and it is common for each other to test the bottom line and tug at each other.

Besides, Deng Zhi didn't just have to go back and forth with Sun Quan when he went to Jiangdong this time, he also had to visit some Jiangdong celebrities, and influence the public opinion of the government and the opposition through them, and influence the decision-making of the Eastern Wu court.

Therefore, during this one-month negotiation period, there is a high probability that the balance of power will have to be maintained on the Gangneung side.

It is unlikely that there will be another dispute in the short term.

Zhang Xi immediately took the opportunity to make some adjustments to Jingzhou's personnel.

Although he does not have the right to appoint personnel, he has the right to make adjustments, especially when it comes to the adjustment of military affairs, and Zhang Xi still has the right to directly dispatch them.

For example, Wang Ji, the assassin of Jingzhou, came to Jiangling to sit in the town and presided over the defense of Jingzhou, transferred Zhang Wei, the defender of Fancheng, to the south to garrison Yingxian to guard against the invasion of the Eastern Wu army in Jiangxia, and transferred Deng Ai, who had just returned to Jingzhou, to the north to guard Nanyang. Wenpin remains unchanged and continues to guard Xiangyang.

As for Zhang Xi himself, it is already September, the autumn harvest is over, and he has to go to Chang'an.

The day of the daughter's marriage is coming, and the father must not be absent!!

After adjusting the defense to Jingzhou, Zhang Xi took fifty guards north and headed for Chang'an.

(End of chapter)