Linzi, the imperial capital of Qi State.
In the city inn, in a room somewhere in the backyard.
A thin middle-aged man, wearing a black robe, sat cross-legged. There was a touch of pride and confidence on that thin face.
A middle-aged man named Chang Taining served as a doctor in the Ministry of Rites in the State of Qin. His mission when he came to Qi this time was to negotiate with Qi about the division of Xia's territory.
In Chang Taining's view, this matter would be extremely easy.
The Xia State has completely disappeared. In order to have a truce with Qi State, Qin State has given Qi State more territory, and Qi State will definitely agree directly.
Chang Taining had submitted his credentials three days ago and was waiting to be summoned by the Emperor of Qi.
Chang Taining is reading a book now. He looks at the book in his hand leisurely and contentedly.
He is not anxious at all. After all, Qin is powerful and he has enough confidence. Chang Taining did not have full confidence in the Qin State in the past, but now that the Qin State is too powerful, it is certainly impossible for the Qi State to have conflicts with the Qin State for the sake of a little benefit.
boom! boom!
A knock on the door came from outside the room.
Chang Taining ordered: "Come in."
Crunch!
The door was pushed open, and a warrior in black entered, bowed and said: "Mr. Chang, news just came from the Qi court. At less than three o'clock today, the Emperor of Qi summoned you in the palace to discuss state affairs."
"knew."
Chang Taining nodded in reply.
It has been three days since he arrived in the imperial capital of Qi.
The wait is finally here.
Chang Taining had a confident smile on his face and was in an inexplicably good mood. He suddenly thought of Lin Feng, who went to Jin to negotiate on behalf of Qin. You must know that Jin's overall strength is slightly stronger than Qi.
Lin Feng is now in Jinling City and is very likely to be in trouble and has not completed his mission.
After all, there are too many aristocratic families in the Jin State, and all the people in the Jin Dynasty's court are in power.
It is difficult for Lin Feng to complete the task.
There are many constraints.
Therefore, the greatest possibility is that when Lin Feng faces many troubles, Chang Taining will definitely be the first to complete the task. Although Lin Feng was powerful, he had to be left behind this time when he went on a diplomatic mission to negotiate.
Chang Taining was even more happy when he thought of this.
Chang Taining read a book. When it was almost noon, he had someone prepare a simple meal and had lunch quickly. There was still half an hour before the end of the afternoon, so Chang Taining took a carriage to the imperial city early.
When Chang Taining arrived outside the imperial city, he was led directly into the city by soldiers and entered the imperial city hall.
When Chang Taining entered, he glanced around and saw many Qi officials in the hall.
These people are here to negotiate.
Chang Taining looked relaxed and without any panic. Qin's strength was his greatest confidence. He didn't believe in a mere Qi State. It was obvious that Qin State had given benefits to Qi State, and Qi State still dared to bargain with Qin State.
After Chang Taining stood still, he bowed and said: "Chang Taining, the envoy of Qin State, has met His Majesty the Emperor of Qi State."
Tian He, the emperor of Qi, sat directly above.
He is not very old, but he has already started to grow a beard in his early twenties. Especially after being the emperor for several years, he looks quite majestic. After Chang Taining saluted, Tian He put away his solemn expression, put a smile on his face, and said softly: "Qin Envoy, I have received your Qin State's credentials. I am concerned about Qin State's destruction of Xia State. I want to talk about it.”
Chang Taining's heart sank.
Tian He seemed to have something in his words.
Otherwise, you wouldn't talk like this.
Chang Taining remained unchanged in response to all changes, and took the initiative: "Your Majesty, please speak, Chang is all ears."
Tian He said slowly: "In this attack on Xia State, Qin State has the strongest troops, the strongest offensive, and the most force. Of course, the main reason is that Qin State is also the closest. I also admit this."
"Presumably the Jin State also admits this."
"It's just that the Xia State is a high-ranking country. Even if the Xia State is corrupt and the court is ruthless, the Xia State is not weak. If it weren't for the Jin State to contain it and the Qi State sending troops to contain it, the Qin State would not be able to be destroyed so smoothly. Xia Kingdom."
"Does Ambassador Qin take this matter seriously?"
Chang Taining thought in his mind.
At this time, any words spoken by Tian He are very important and must be considered carefully.
He thought about it and realized that what Tian He said was right. Qin State's destruction of Xia was actually restrained by Qi State and Jin State, and the two countries had certain contributions.
Chang Taining said: "What your Majesty said is indeed correct."
Tian He nodded and said: "According to the credentials submitted by the Qin State, our Qi State only took over the area adjacent to Qi State's Xuzhou and some areas in the north of Jizhou. I think this arrangement is unreasonable, and everyone in the Qi State believes that unreasonable?"
Ding!
Chang Taining's face suddenly became serious.
Something went wrong.
Chang Taining originally thought that after submitting the credentials, Qi State would quickly agree after seeing it, and things would naturally go smoothly.
Now, something went wrong.
After all, Chang Taining was a doctor in the Ministry of Rites, a man of talent and knowledge. He maintained his composure and said seriously: "Your Majesty, your conditions may be a bit difficult. I, the Qin State, have already made concessions to your Qi State and given it to Qi State." China’s biggest concession.”
"This is Qin's sincerity."
"The reason why Qin State made such concessions was not because it was afraid of Qi State, nor because it could not take over Jizhou and other places, but because Qin State could not bear that the people could not be resettled. In addition, our Qin State is also a country of etiquette and hopes to coexist peacefully with Qi State and Jin State. , that’s why.”
Chang Taining said forcefully: "If your Majesty thinks that Qin is easy to bully, you are totally wrong."
Tian He had a smile on his face, shook his head and said, "Envoy Qin, I have no intention of starting a war with Qin, and I don't think Qin is easy to bully."
Chang Taining said: "What do you mean, Your Majesty?"
Tian He continued: "I can tell you for sure that what I said is not to criticize. The reason is very simple. General Yan Fei, the general of our Qi State, led his troops into the territory of Xia State and captured Yanzhou Taishan County at the junction of Yanzhou and our Qi State. , Yongshan County."
"Qi State has appointed people to serve in these two places."
"The land of the two counties has already been included in the territory of our Qi State. How can we hand it over again?"
"If I hand it over directly, how can I be worthy of the soldiers fighting on the front line, and how can I be worthy of the soldiers who died in the fighting."
"Envoy Qin, do you think this is true?"
Tian He said seriously: "I have no intention of making things difficult for anyone, nor do I want to provoke a dispute with Qin, because if the two countries fight, both sides will suffer losses. If I hand over Taishan County and Yongshan County, how can I report to Qin? How can I explain to all the officials of Qi State?"
Chang Taining frowned.
Qi State did not agree to the conditions.
The attitude of Qi State was not very bad. On the contrary, the emperor of Qi State's words were true to his heart. The reason is indeed simple. Qi has already seized the land of two counties, will it be willing to hand it over?
Under normal circumstances, no one would be happy.
Chang Taining also somewhat agreed with Tian He's words, but he said: "Your Majesty, no matter what, Qin has already given huge concessions, so much. So why does Qi make a concession?"
Tian He said: "I have to think about it."
Chang Taining was overjoyed when he saw this.
The opportunity has come.
Tian He was obviously a little moved. After all, Qin had paid a huge price this time.
"It's impossible to give in!"
At this moment, a slightly hoarse voice came out.
Yan Zichu stood up.
He is the prime minister of Qi State and an auxiliary minister. He has great prestige in the court.
Yan Zichu raised his head, glanced at Chang Taining, looked directly at Tian He, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, Qi State mobilized its troops and generals and sent 80,000 troops to fight, spending countless food and money, and losing countless people. The soldiers captured Taishan County and other places."
"It is absolutely impossible to give up the place to Qin just because of Qin's words."
"Once Qi does this, how can it stand on the shores of the East China Sea?"
"Your Majesty, I firmly oppose this."
Yan Zichu said: "The State of Qin is not as kind and friendly as mentioned in the certificate of credence. The reason why the State of Qin is willing to give up its interests is that after they destroyed the State of Xia, they were no longer able to seize more territory, so they made this arrangement .”
"Your Majesty, I second the proposal."
Tian Yu stepped forward.
He is King Langya of Qi State, a clan minister of Qi State, and an auxiliary minister. Even the intelligence network of Qi State is in the hands of Tian Yu, and his power is no less than that of Yan Zichu.
The other officials all agreed.
After hearing this, Tian He's eyes flashed with light.
However, when he looked at Chang Taining, the look in his eyes was even softer and helpless.
Tian He said slowly: "Qin Envoy, you have seen the situation. Although I think your words are reasonable, it is just that all the officials are opposed to it. I cannot ignore the opinions of the court. Our two auxiliary ministers of Qi State are both opposed. I I cannot agree with Qin's opinion. In a word, if Qin wants to divide its territory, stop wars, and stop attacking each other, Taishan County and other places must be given up and handed over to Qi."
Chang Taining said: "Your Majesty refuses so, so we can only fight to see who is more powerful."
"Let's fight. Isn't Qi afraid of you?"
Yan Zichu has always been very low-key.
But now, he rebutted directly and even spoke forcefully.
Tian Yu said: "Qi and Qin are separated by vast distances. They have never fought or clashed before. This time is a good opportunity to compete. It is said that Qin's military strength is unparalleled in the world, and even Xia is unbeatable. This time , I, Qi State, will give it a try. Let’s see which one is stronger, Qi State’s military vanguard, or Qin State’s military vantage point.”
The rest of the courtiers agreed.
Everyone supported the war.
No one gave in.
Tian He looked at the tangled look on Chang Taining's face and felt happy. He saw Chang Taining's regression.
Perhaps Qi State can occupy places such as Taishan County. Don't underestimate Taishan County and other places. Within Taishan County, there are mountains to the west. Once Taishan County is captured, using Taishan County as a barrier to the west of Qi State, Qi State's territory will be more stable and no major problems will arise.
Once Taishan County is in the hands of Qin, it will be easy for Qin to attack Qi.
Seeing that Chang Taining did not speak, Tian He smiled and said: "Qin Envoy, don't rush to talk about fighting to the end. The two countries still value peace. In fact, how big is the conflict between Qi and your Qin State? There is no such big contradiction.”
"As long as Qin is willing to give up Taishan County and Yongshan County, everything will be fine."
"It's just two places, it's not a big deal."
"Of course, it's not a big deal in my opinion, but maybe it's a big deal in your case and needs careful consideration. So you go back and think about it again, and then give me a detailed answer after you've thought it through."
"I'm not in a hurry, I have enough patience."
"If you think about it clearly, you can come to see me at any time."
Tian He looked sincere.
That gesture was extremely courteous to a corporal.
Chang Taining had a bad impression of Qi Kingdom's officials, but he had a good impression of Qi Kingdom's Emperor Tian He.
This little emperor has a gentle temperament and is a very good person.
Very good.
Chang Taining bowed and said, "I'll take my leave."
Tian He ordered: "As for the Ministry of Rites, take care of the Qin envoys and do not neglect them."
"I obey the decree."
Liu Gui stood up and bowed to speak.
As the Minister of Rites of the State of Qi, although his junior brother was Lin Feng, and even his teacher was also in the State of Qin.
However, when it comes to planning for Qi, Liu Gui will plan for Qi and will not step back in the slightest. Even the content and conditions of this negotiation, including Qi's request for the two counties of Taishan and Yongshan, were Liu Gui's proposals.
Liu Gui believed that Qi should get more territory.
Only in this way can it benefit Qi State.
This was also supported by both Yan Zichu and Tian Yu.
Chang Taining left the imperial city and went straight back to the post house. After he sat down, although officials from the Ministry of Rites of the State of Qi came to greet him, Chang Taining now faced a big problem, how to reply to the State of Qi. Woolen cloth?
It is true that the State of Qin allowed him to fully represent the State of Qin. The problem was that this was the land of two counties.
If it was just a county, a small place, Chang Taining would dare to make a decision. When it comes to the land of the two counties, if he decides to cede it to Qi, once the Qin court refuses to admit it, it will be in trouble.
He might even be disposed of.
This is something Chang Taining doesn't want to do.
At this moment, Chang Taining was extremely confused.
too difficult!
If he argued with Qi State, it would probably be a war and he would not be able to complete his mission.
"Well, I don't know if Lin Feng has completed the mission? If Lin Feng is in Jin, he can't complete the mission, and he can't persuade Jin to agree. Then if I go back, I can deliver the mission. After all, Lin Feng failed on his mission."
"Once Lin Feng succeeds, I go back in despair and fail to complete the task. How can I submit the mission?"
"It's really tricky."
Chang Taining kept thinking in his heart, and his thoughts were very disordered.
Before entering the palace, Chang Taining was full of confidence.
Now, I feel anxious inside.
Even more confused.
For a moment, he didn't know how to make a decision because the matter was so big.
"Bang! Bang!"
A knock on the door came from outside the room.
An attendant entered, bowed and said: "Mr. Chang, there is a person outside who has sent a letter. Please read it."
Chang Taining took it, opened the letter and read it, and his body froze immediately.
Lin Feng went north!
In the letter, there is this news.
Lin Feng even completed his mission as an envoy to the State of Jin, entered Linzi, and was about to arrive at Linzi City.
"Sigh... After all, Lin Feng is the most powerful."
Chang Taining couldn't help but sigh.
Fortunately, he still had the thought to compete with Lin Feng to see who could complete the task. Now, Lin Feng has completed the task in a short period of time, but he is at a deadlock here.
At this moment, Chang Taining had no desire to compare.
Can't compare.
Totally incomparable.
Chang Taining's mind was spinning, and suddenly his eyes lit up. He couldn't handle it, so he handed over this difficult problem to Lin Feng.
Anyway, Lin Feng is the person in charge.
Chang Taining felt relieved when he thought of this. If he can't complete the task, he will have to see how Lin Feng can persuade Qi to agree.
