Xue Wanche frowned and asked, "Why are you so tough? This is a good opportunity for you."
Although Liu Rengui's official position and status were far below him, perhaps it was because the other party was a member of Fang Jun, or perhaps he admired the other party's wisdom and methods. In short, he was very pleased with Liu Rengui, even though he was a little bit dissatisfied with the rebels' choice of Liu Rengui to surrender. I was unhappy, but I still thought that I should be gentler and not push this meritorious achievement.
Liu Rengui smiled and asked the captain to go out to deliver the message, then sat back and made tea and water for Xue Wanche himself. He said warmly: "The Duke of Yue once said that everything must give way in the face of national interests... The reason why the rebels chose the last general to surrender is not because of The end of the general is so great, but because the end of the general is standing behind the Duke of Yue, their interests and conditions need to be guaranteed by the promise of the Duke of Yue. But every condition they put forward is actually a loss for the empire, and the end of the general The interests of the empire cannot be betrayed for the sake of this meritorious service."
Xue Wanche frowned while drinking tea. With his wisdom, it was difficult to understand, but the words "for the benefit of the empire" sounded very noble... And since these words were said by Fang Jun, it must be no problem.
He trusted Fang Jun's wisdom just like he trusted the long tree in his hand...
Liu Rengui also drank water and continued: "Xue Consort, you have never been very good at managing government affairs, and Duke Wei is already old. It is very likely that he will retreat after this battle, so even if they come to you and get a promise, this promise will not be enough." It’s hard to guarantee that.”
Xue Wanche nodded in approval.
The world said that he was Xue Dashou, but he refused to admit it because he felt that there were too many smart people in the world, and who could be smarter than anyone else? Real intelligence is not actually about how to organize and make brilliant plans, but how to be self-aware.
He can't handle government affairs, and he can't stand the law, so he just ignores it - if I don't do bad things, I will never make mistakes...
"So if the rebels want to surrender and put forward some conditions to ensure their future interests, they can only find the general and provide them with protection through the Duke of Yue behind the general. Since they have no choice at all, Why should the general be so humble just for some meritorious deeds? If you want to surrender, you can, but if you want benefits, forget it! As for whether they live or die, it can only depend on His Majesty’s will, and we, the ministers, cannot overstep our bounds.”
Xue Wanche held the tea cup and raised his head slightly as if thinking, then nodded: "That's right."
Liu Rengui: "..."
…
"It's too much!"
When Cui Xin heard Liu Rengui's reply, he suddenly became furious and slammed the table.
As the leader of a Shandong family, he had always looked down upon the Li and Tang royal families in the past, so how could he ever put a mere general in the navy in his eyes? It is difficult for people like Liu Rengui to enter the "Five Surnames and Seven Sects", but now they dare to speak nonsense in front of him!
Shall I go to see you?
You deserve it too!
Chu Suiliang said calmly: "Don't be impatient, Mr. Cui. The current situation is extremely unfavorable to us, so why bother acting on impulse? How to achieve our goals is the most important, and fighting between emotions is the most undesirable."
He has some contempt for Cui Xin. It is true that the other party is the highest-ranking existence among the world's sects. Even if he has no official or title, he is still a figure that everyone looks up to and has enough pride. But now and then, in a difficult situation, you should lower your profile and be humble. The key is to achieve your own goals and ensure past interests. Why compete with Liu Rengui?
So what if it turns out that you are indeed very long?
You don't have to ask for help...
Xiao Yu pondered for a moment and said in a deep voice: "Then let me go and see Liu Rengui. Those arrogant and brave generals of the Navy are the most unruly. Don't miss important events because of this."
Fang Jun is used to being arrogant and domineering no matter what general he brings. He has never paid attention to the so-called rank. Even the navy trained by him has also inherited this style and will never slander. If you are flattering, you will not grovel.
What's more, now I have someone to ask for help from?
As long as you can get Fang Jun's commitment and ensure your own interests, you can bear any grievance no matter how great it is...
Cui Xin quickly said: "I will accompany you."
He had scruples and did not dare to let Xiao Yu go to see Liu Rengui on his behalf alone. Who knows what this person would say? Although the two are allies now, the natural interests of the Shandong family and the Jiangnan gentry are in conflict with each other. Whatever benefits you gain, I will lose some. If Xiao Yu betrays the Shandong family to fight for the interests of the Jiangnan gentry, the Shandong family may not even have time to cry...
Xiao Yu said: "If Cui Gong does not sit here, what will happen if the situation changes again?"
Hearing that Xiao Yu seemed to be trying to evade, Cui Xin became increasingly uneasy and hurriedly said: "Since I have decided to surrender, I naturally have to gather the troops and retreat the front line to avoid the two armies from continuing to fight as much as possible. Besides, this time is at stake for the Shandong family. Fundamentally, if I stay out of the incident, how will I explain it afterwards?"
Chu Suiliang said: "It's not too late. You two don't have to worry about it. Let's go together quickly. I'll keep an eye here. I think nothing will go wrong."
Seeing that he couldn't get rid of Cui Xin, Xiao Yu had no choice but to give up. After all, time waits for no one. If King Jin from the Tai Chi Palace was defeated first, there would not be many opportunities for him to bargain.
"But we can't go directly to Liu Rengui's place. Just in case, it's better to choose a more neutral place."
Xiao Yu was still worried about Liu Rengui's tricks. What if he and Cui Xin went there but were directly detained and threatened the Shandong private army to surrender?
And this is one of the reasons why he doesn't want Cui Xin to go...
Cui Xindao: "Although Liu Rengui has a tough attitude, he should also know our concerns, so he will definitely agree to choose a neutral place to negotiate."
Since Liu Rengui agreed to negotiate, he was willing to accept the surrender of the Shandong private army, and he should also be mentally prepared to go to a neutral place for negotiations. Otherwise, how could the other side's coach take the initiative to come to the door when the two armies were fighting?
Xiao Yu also thought it made sense. After thinking about it, he said, "How about Ximing Temple?"
Ximing Temple is located in Yankangfang, which is part of the residence of former Sui minister Yang Su. In the early years of Zhenguan, His Majesty Li Er gave it to Wei King Li Tai. However, Li Tai preferred the mansion in Furong Garden and lived there all year round. Kangfang rarely comes here, and most of them are idle.
Yankangfang is several lanes away from Zhuque Street. It is not currently involved in the battlefield, but it is a good negotiation location.
After getting approval from Cui Xin and Chu Suiliang, Xiao Yu sent someone to notify Liu Rengui, and then waited extremely anxiously.
About an hour later, the man came back with an ugly face and said hesitantly: "Liu Rengui is arrogant and domineering. He refuses to go to Ximing Temple to negotiate. He also said that if we want to talk, we can go to where he is stationed. If we don't want to talk, we can give up and wait until he captures it." It’s the same if we talk about Zhuque Sect and Chengtian Sect later.”
"Mom!"
Xiao Yu cursed loudly. Although he was from Jiangnan, he entered Guanzhong during the Sui Dynasty and had already developed a Guanzhong accent...
Cui Xin gritted his teeth and made up his mind: "Then go to his station!"
Even if the danger is huge, he will never let Xiao Yu go to negotiate alone. If Xiao Yu privately reaches a condition with Liu Rengui to sell out the Shandong family, how can he refuse? Even if he could refuse, it would deviate from his original intention of surrendering at this moment.
The Shandong family cannot continue to bleed...
Xiao Yu was a little helpless and could only say: "Then let's go together. I'll leave it to Denshan to handle the matter here."
Chu Suiliang said: "It is our duty to do so."
*****
"His Majesty!"
Li Junxian strode in from outside the palace, came to Li Chengqian's imperial case, bowed and said: "Your Majesty, the news just came from Xuanwu Gate. An Yuanshou's right guard has been repulsed by Lu Guogong, Xianyang The bridge is as solid as a rock, and the duke of Lu captured all the more than 10,000 private soldiers of the Guanlong clan. The duke of Ying, Yu and the scribes, were also captured alive and were escorted to Xuanwu Gate for custody."
The ministers in the palace who were frightened and panicked when the rebels invaded Wudemen suddenly became excited and their morale was greatly boosted!
"Gong Lu is indeed experienced in planning for the country. This battle was well fought! Now that even the Right Guards have been repulsed, who dares to rashly raise troops and try to rush from Xianyang Bridge to Chang'an to support the rebels? At the critical moment, we still have to rely on those veterans to not take action. That's it, once you take action, it will be resolute and the situation will be reversed! Your Majesty, you should issue an edict to praise him to rectify people's hearts."
Liu Jie immediately stood up and played.
In and out of words, they promoted Cheng Yaojin and demoted Fang Jun. Fang Jun's fight was quite lively, but the beatings pushed the rebels into the Wude Gate, one step away from the Wude Palace, and Cheng The battle of Yaojin completely cut off the way for the troops stationed in Guanlong and the nobles to rush to Chang'an to support the rebels. It was clear at a glance which was more important...
Li Ji ignored such remarks. In the past, Liu Ji's remarks were mainly aimed at suppressing the military. As a military leader, Li Ji naturally would not sit idly by and ignore them. But now Liu Ji's target is Fang Jun. , Li Ji was naturally too lazy to refute.
As long as the merit belongs to the military, that's fine. As for who gets the merit, who is superior and who is inferior, it doesn't matter to Li Ji.
And it would be a good thing if Fang Jun's limelight could be suppressed...
Li Chengqian also seemed very calm. In fact, Li Jing and Xue Wanche were stationed at Chunming Gate and Mingde Gate. He had never worried about threats from outside the city. Even if the entire Guanlong garrison was tied up in one place, how could Li Jing and Xue Wanche’s opponent?
And this was the reason why he dared to put King Jin into Guanzhong...
He smiled and said, "There is no rush to award awards. We can wait until the rebels in the palace are pacified by the Yue Kingdom, and then we can all share our merits."
He was happy to see the consequences of Liu Jie's provocation of civil and military disputes. As an emperor, the most important thing was to balance the forces of all parties in the court, and the most undesirable thing was for one family to become dominant. But he cannot allow Liu Ji to suppress Fang Jun alone. He must support Fang Jun in both public and private matters. At least for the next ten or even twenty years, Fang Jun will be the cornerstone of his throne. Absolutely No one can threaten Fang Jun's status.
(End of chapter)
