The capital of Tan is ten miles west.

Qi Gong and Wang Zhao sat opposite each other, neither of them with escorts. Outside the main camp, five miles to the left and right, there were 5,000 soldiers and horses in formation.

Wang Zhao took out a pot of wine and poured it for the two of them, and then said to Qi Hou: "Qi Gong, please!" ”

"Huai Gong, please!"

After the two drank a jue of wine, they began to negotiate.

"What does Gong Qi want to talk about when he invites Gu here this time?" Wang Zhao said directly.

Qi Gong said: "Huai Gong, if you want to stop the war today, Huai Gong is willing to withdraw and return to Huaidi?"

Wang Zhao said with a cold face: "Duke Qi thinks that with 100,000 reinforcements from Bangzhou, he can defeat my Huai Division?" ”

"The elite of the six armies of Bang Zhou Tianzi has been broken by my Huai Division, can you win with your hastily prepared rabble?"

"As Huai Gong said, this 100,000 army is indeed a hasty army, and there is a gap between it and the six armies of the Son of Heaven, but there are tens of millions of people in our state and Zhou, and the place is thousands of miles. And how many Huai countries are there? What if you lose for a while? If our army can't hold out, how many people in the Huai army can compete with our Bang Zhou? Qi Gong said with a smile.

Wang Zhao was not afraid when he heard Qi Hou's intimidation, and continued: "If Qi Gong is really willing to pay such a price, Huai Guo is indeed not an opponent. ”

Hearing Wang Zhao's words, Duke Qi thought that he was going to be soft, and he was about to breathe a sigh of relief in his heart, but at this time, he heard Wang Zhao continue: "But Marquis Qi, do you think the princes of Bang Zhou are willing to continue to consume with Huaiguo?" And the army is out all the year round, how can those Rong Di suppress it? ”

"If Qi Hou is not afraid that Bang Zhou will be broken by Rong Di, he can try."

Qi Hou's heart slowly sank, indeed he did not dare to spend a long time with Huai Guo here, although Bang Zhou was strong, but there were still Rong Di in various places who rebelled from time to time. The states that have been broken by Rong Di over the years are not one or two.

"Huai Guo really wants to continue to confront my Bang Zhou?" Qi Hou said coldly.

Wang Zhao smiled slightly and said, "Since Qi Hou wants to negotiate, then show some sincerity, and don't intimidate Gu." ”

Qi Hou quickly calmed down, and then said, "What do you want?" ”

Wang Zhao said with a smile: "Please ask Zhou Tianzi to canonize Huai Guo as a duke state!" ”

"Impossible!" Qi Hou's face changed suddenly, and he refused directly. Not long ago, Bang Zhou was annihilated by the whole army of Huai Guo, and even the Son of Heaven died, and now Bang Zhou was canonized as the Duke of Huai Guo, isn't this a naked slap in the face of Bang Zhou?

Wang Zhao was not angry: "What's impossible? Isn't the Song Kingdom also the country of Yin Shang? ”

"Song Guo is Sanke, how can he be compared with Huai Guo?" Qi Hou said coldly.

"If the Marquis of Qi agrees, Huaiguo is willing to withdraw from the army and stop the war!" Wang Zhao said directly.

Wang Zhao asked Bang Zhou for the title of duke because Zijue told him not long ago. If you want to weaken Bang Zhou's Mandate of Heaven, the best way is to let Bang Zhou canonize Huai Guo as Bang Zhou Fangguo, of course, this is only in name. However, even if it is only a nominal canonization, it can weaken that backlash by two to three percent.

Therefore, Wang Zhao proposed to Bang Zhou for the position of duke.

Qi Hou's face changed for a while, and then he said: "Duke Huai wants the position of duke, and Lone can suggest to the king, but in addition to withdrawing the army, Huai Guo must also agree to a few conditions!" ”

"On what terms?" Wang Zhao asked.

"First, you strike the war and retreat to Huaiguo! Give up the land you occupy! ”

"Impossible!" Wang Zhao suddenly got up and refused directly.

"These lands were obtained by the soldiers of Huai State and Xu State in a bloody battle, how can they be handed over?"

"Huaigong, let's not talk about these things first, can you talk about it after listening to the conditions?" Qi Hou was not angry and continued.

"Please!" Wang Zhao sat down again.

"Second, send back Zhou Tianzi's bones!"

"Third, please send back the captured Bang Zhou soldiers! If Duke Huai agrees to these three articles, Lone will ask the Son of Heaven for his life and make Huai a duke state! ”

Wang Zhao thought for a moment, and then said: "The land of Tan can be returned, but the land of Zhongwu Country can't!" Zhou Tianzi's bones can be returned, and as for the captives, they have been rewarded to meritorious officials, if the Marquis of Qi wants to ask for it, then exchange it for slaves! ”

After some arguments between Qi Hou and Wang Zhao, they finally reached an agreement. The land of Zhongwu was owned by Huai Xu, and the captives of Bang Zhou needed to be exchanged for slaves, and Wang Zhao gave in a little at this point, and a Bang Zhou soldier did not exchange three slaves as usual, but two slaves for one.

......

As soon as the Marquis of Qi returned to the camp, the other princes gathered around: "Duke Qi, can you discuss peace?" ”

Almost none of these princes want to continue to fight with Huai, Huai is not those barbarians, weak and weak, but the elite who defeated the six armies of the Son of Heaven, if they really want to fight, the losses will be heavy, and the benefits are small, it is estimated that the weak princes, a big war, more than ten years of savings are gone. How to deal with those barbarians when the time comes?

Qi Gong immediately informed everyone of the results of the business between the two.

"Duke Qi, did the Huai Kingdom really say that the Son of Heaven wanted to canonize the Duke of the Kingdom?"

"It's just a name, even if he canonized the Huai Congress to pay tribute? Will the princes of Shandong regard it as a state of Zhou Fang? ”

"Confused, that's what he wants in Huaiguo!"

"It's not impossible to canonize him as a duke, anyway, the land of Huaisi is theirs, and this time the first king can't go back to the south to cover up a thing or two."

After hearing the conditions discussed by the Duke of Qi, everyone discussed a lot, but the majority finally agreed to canonize him as a duke's country.

As for whether the Son of Heaven agrees, basically no one thinks that the Son of Heaven will refuse, after all, if he refuses, the six armies of the Son of Heaven captured by Huai State will not be able to come back. If there is a chance to exchange the six armies of the Son of Heaven back, the Son of Heaven will definitely agree.

As for the land of Zhongwu Kingdom, except for Qilu and other countries, others don't care at all, after all, this place is too far away from their Fang Kingdom, and these lands have nothing to do with them.

Now that it has been decided, soon the canonization of the Son of Heaven was sent over, and the canonization of Huai State as the country of dukes. The state of Huai has since become a state of dukes recognized by Bang Zhou.

Immediately afterwards, the Huai army began to slowly withdraw, and the army withdrew until the territory of Zhongwu State, and then a team of guards escorted Zhou Tianzi's coffin to Qi State. Then it was escorted all the way by the vassal states such as Qi and Lu to transport the coffin back to Chengzhou.

The exchange of prisoners will be carried out next, the Huai State captured 30,000 Bangzhou soldiers, the original Bangzhou 100,000 army was defeated, many dead, injured and sick also many dead, and finally survived 30,000. According to the proportion of prisoners of war exchanged, at least 60,000 slaves could be obtained at this time.

Some of these slaves were distributed to the soldiers as a reward, and the other part was owned by the royal family.

In Huaiguo, it is stipulated that slaves can also obtain the status of a countryman after making great achievements, although there is little hope, but it is also a hope. At the same time, the laws of Huai also clearly stipulate that slaves are not allowed to be killed at will.

After all, if Huai wants to develop, it needs a large population.

The southern expedition of the king of Ra was not recovered, and the Duke of Huai sent the coffin back to the court, and the Son of Heaven sealed Zhao in Huai as the duke. - "Historical Records: Zhou Benji"