Linzi, the imperial capital of Qi State.
Outside the towering Linzi City, on the official road, under the scorching sun, a man and a horse came running quickly.
The person who came was unexpectedly Liu Gui.
He is already quite old, and riding horses at such high intensity and for a long time puts a heavy burden on his body. However, Liu Gui had no choice. When it comes to the safety of Qi Emperor Tian He, Liu Gui must rush back to life in the shortest possible time.
The sooner the court arranged it, the sooner Tian He would be replaced.
As time goes on, things can easily change.
Liu Gui galloped on his horse and entered the city directly. He did not go home, but went straight to the Prime Minister's office. He was covered in dust and fatigue. When Liu Gui dragged his tired body into the prime minister's office and saw Yan Zichu, he bowed and said, "I'm humble, Liu Gui, I'd like to pay my respects to the prime minister."
Yan Zichu looked expectantly and asked quickly: "How is the situation?"
Liu Gui knelt on the ground with a plop, shook his head and said: "Prime Minister, you are despicable and incompetent. I am ashamed of your majesty and the kings of Qi State. The Qin State made a request to let our Qi State cede the entire Jizhou, and asked us to give three million stones. Food, and one million taels of silver, as compensation this time. My negotiations were fruitless, and I finally had to agree."
brush!
Yan Zichu's expression suddenly changed.
The cession of Jizhou was what Yan Zichu had expected a long time ago. After discussing with Tian Yu, they both believed that Qin would definitely propose such an arrangement.
Therefore, we all have to be mentally prepared in this regard. However, the Qin State also demanded food and money as compensation, which was a bit unbearable.
Yan Zichu looked at Liu Gui and said in a deep voice: "Liu Gui, what do you think? Also, who did you negotiate with?"
When Liu Gui heard Yan Zichu's words, his expression froze.
This is a distrust of him.
Otherwise, Yan Zichu should not have such a questioning attitude.
Liu Gui's eyes widened, he stiffened his neck, and suddenly raised his voice and said loudly: "Prime Minister, the person I am negotiating with is Qin coach Lin Feng. He has been in control of the situation from beginning to end. As long as I negotiate terms, Just stop talking and ask me to come back, or even let someone else do the talking."
"Your Majesty is in the hands of Qin, and I can't do anything about it."
"In fact, Lin Feng pretended to be indifferent and showed that Qin planned to fight at any time."
"This really constrains me."
"Besides this, in my negotiation with Lin Feng, Lin Feng did not mention any conditions from beginning to end, and asked me to put forward Qi's conditions. At the beginning, I said that Lin would be given one million shi of grain and 300,000 taels of silver as compensation. Feng refused again and again, and eventually the conditions piled up little by little.”
"From the beginning to the end, I never said that we would directly compensate them in terms of money and food, or cede the land."
Liu Gui looked unhappy and continued: "If Prime Minister Yan thinks that I am collaborating with the enemy and deliberately harming the interests of our country, Qi, you can refuse to recognize the conditions of this negotiation and arrange someone else to negotiate. I, Liu Gui, Ask yourself, you are worthy of heaven and earth, worthy of your conscience, and even more worthy of the king and the country."
Originally, Liu Gui felt aggrieved during this mission.
He was targeted by Lin Feng everywhere.
In the end, he had to humiliately agree to the conditions.
Now when he returned to Linzi and saw Yan Zichu in a hurry, he was actually suspected. Under this premise, Liu Gui's inner resentment completely broke out.
He gave it all.
After Yan Zichu heard this, his expression remained unchanged and he said with relief: "Liu Gui, the truth is that I don't doubt you, it's just that Lin Feng's conditions are a bit harsh. The cession of Jizhou alone has already severely damaged the vitality of the Qi State. In addition, we will give three more One million shi of grain and one million taels of silver are very embarrassing.”
"Qi State can indeed afford it, but such conditions make Qi State lose face. Since the founding of Qi State, there has never been a humiliating treaty of ceding territory and paying compensation. Stop kneeling and stand up. My words are not directed at you. .”
Yan Zichu continued: "Of course, I also know that you are in trouble. Because Your Majesty is the first person among the kings of Qi to become a prisoner."
"Thank you, Prime Minister, for understanding."
Liu Gui stood up, his expression slightly relieved, and he said: "Prime Minister, Lin Feng said that he would hand over to us at the border of Jizhou and return His Majesty with the other hand. We will arrange for the army of Jizhou to evacuate from Jizhou, and then Lin Feng will release His Majesty. .”
Yan Zichu nodded and said: "Lin Feng has always been extremely cunning, so his arrangement is normal. Liu Gui, you have worked hard all the way, go back and rest."
"I resign from my humble position."
Liu Gui bowed his head and dragged his tired body back.
Yan Zichu couldn't help but sigh, he got up and left the Prime Minister's Office, going straight to Prince Langya's Mansion. When Yan Zi first met Tian Yu, he directly told the results of Liu Gui's mission and sighed: "Your Majesty, the final result is not only to cede land, but also to pay compensation. If I had known this, it would be better not to send Liu Gui."
Tian Yu thought about it and said slowly: "The result of this negotiation cannot be blamed on Liu Gui. When he was ordered to go to Qin as an envoy to persuade Xunzi and Lin Feng to come to Qi, didn't he also fail? Lin Feng. , whose heart is as hard as iron, is very difficult to deal with. The reason why I sent Liu Gui is that I hope to be able to move him to understand him with affection. If he can't do it, there is nothing he can do."
Yan Zichu nodded and said: "That's the truth. Alas, in order to allocate grain, grass and money, Jizhou has to be ceded. When the news comes out, the entire Qi country will be excited about it, and there will be a lot of discussion in the meeting."
Tian Yu said seriously: "Everything we have done is to save His Majesty. Otherwise, will we ignore His Majesty? Your Majesty has become a prisoner. This is the biggest problem."
Yan Zichu nodded and said: "Our task now is to bring His Majesty back. From now on, we will hand it over to His Majesty's people to manage. After His Majesty comes back, I will resign. Today's officialdom is really difficult."
Tian Yu said: "That's the truth."
Yan Zichu continued: "I'm here to arrange for people to prepare food and money immediately. We just need to arrange people to go to the front line to bring His Majesty back. Who should we send?"
A gleam flashed across Tian Yu's eyes and he said, "Is the Prime Minister worried that something will happen to His Majesty after he is replaced?"
Yan Zichu said: "You and I have jointly suppressed the discussion in the court, but the discussion in the public is not calm. There are many rumors in the public that your majesty is so happy about your success, and that your majesty is self-willed, which led to the defeat of this battle and led to the collapse of the Qi Dynasty. The country loses its troops and loses its generals."
"In short, people's discussions began to spread unfavorable remarks to His Majesty, saying that Your Majesty is not worthy of being the king of a country. I don't think it is simple for these news to come out. In a word, there is no smoke without fire. After all, someone spreads the news. That's why this happens. .”
Tian Yu solemnly said: "I will arrange for the Supervision Department to deal with the affairs in the community. In addition, the Prime Minister is worried about His Majesty's safety, so this time, I will personally go there and be responsible for bringing His Majesty back. As for food and money, the Prime Minister made arrangements earlier. , I will take them north together."
"no problem!"
Yan Zichu nodded.
The two discussed carefully and finalized the adjustments to Jizhou, as well as the arrangements for food, grass, and money. Yan Zichu got up and left.
Tian Yu also quickly made arrangements and mobilized the Supervision Department to intervene. The news in the market must be dealt with quickly, and rumors cannot be allowed to fly.
