Cai Xianqing then said: "The first question I consider is whether their requirements are harsh or lenient. I think Western countries can even take one hundred thousand taels of silver as the basic condition. Such arrogance clearly means taking advantage of the situation. What needs to be negotiated will definitely be more difficult to accept. I wonder if Tinglong told him about this matter?"
"Said."
"What was that person's reaction?" Cai Xianqing asked, pinching her lips.
Ye Yongjia put his fingers on the table and twirled them: "He seemed a little nervous and panicked. In short, he was not happy."
"Come on," Cai Xianqing snorted coldly, "This matter is going to be troublesome! He is scared. Since Xiyang came in the name of asking for guilt, the most stringent demands are nothing more than two: 1. Removal of the officials involved. ; 2. Abandon the forts on the islands and completely abandon the New Deal."
Ye Yongjia's eyes dodge twice in horror, almost subconsciously; when he reacted, he quickly put back this weird expression. He knew what he was thinking at that moment. He was simply afraid that if his name was written among the officials involved, the Manchu ministers would take this as a stain and lash out. Although he had Liu Zhennian as his backer, such worries were unrealistic, but he still couldn't help but blame himself in his heart. 'Being an official is just to make achievements and leave a name in history. The current situation is irreversible. Even if I am dismissed from the official position and return to my hometown, what's the harm! There is no reason to be alarmed by this. '
Although he said this from his heart, he felt extremely ashamed that the thoughts that were completely opposite to what he usually thought appeared in his mind, as if he also had a kind of duplicity and hypocrisy.
Cai Xianqing saw through his mind, but did not point it out. He still thought to himself and said: "As for other aspects, such as ceding territory and opening up territories, they are openly violating the laws of this dynasty. It is expected that he attaches great importance to peace and would not dare to do this. Actions to promote war. Tinglong only needs to focus on those two items."
Ye Yongjia nodded slightly: "When we meet tomorrow, I will take the opportunity to report to Liu Zhennian and let the court prepare in advance to prevent any unexpected events."
After the secret report from the Ministry of War was submitted to Zhongshu Province, Liu Zhennian readily accepted his proposal and called all the provincial ministers to discuss with Ye Yongjia in the capital hall early in the morning. The negotiation process was far easier than Ye Yongjia imagined. Even within an hour, everyone's differences were eliminated. They all agreed that "this matter is unfair to our country, and the compensation of 30,000 taels is not much, so it is feasible." and issued a written order accordingly. Force Zeng Liang to allocate money. Regardless of the outcome, a major event was finally settled, which relieved a lot of pressure on him. He recalled the content of the meeting and didn't notice anything strange. He only remembered that the newly arrived political advisor Su Zongshan was very talkative, gentle and funny, that's all.
But Niu Yuan, who has recently lost power, is very concerned about other people's words, so something strange can be seen from this brief meeting. Ye Yongjia was honest and forthright, and did not shy away from his doubts; Gui Fu echoed everyone as always, but he didn't say much today; Liu Zhennian always emphasized that "no internal funds should be used" and "reparations should only be paid with He insisted on protecting the emperor's face, contradicting his own opinions at every turn. Although he didn't argue with him, he still felt as if he had been scolded severely and was aggrieved.
The last thing he thought of was the newly promoted politician Su Zongshan. Niu Yuan looked down on this person who had not made any achievements, and obviously did not intend to take him into consideration. However, after thinking about it for a while, he was surprised to find that he was the most active person in the capital. He took over the responsibilities of the peacemaker, mediating the disputes between him, Liu Zhennian and Ye Yongjia, making all the heated topics disappear; he also proposed to suspend the construction of the Ministry of Industry for a while and temporarily divert some funds to pay for it. The Ministry of Household Affairs, as well as various measures to appease the most powerful ministries such as the Bing and Xing Dynasties, were described in a eloquent manner, as if he was the only one making suggestions in the entire Zhongshu Province, and won Liu Zhennian's approval several times. What troubled Niu Yuan was that Liu Zhennian turned into a conciliator at some point and no longer supported his tough tactics. He could only blame this on Liu Zhen's old age and comatose state, but there was no other way.
In fact, Su Zongshan's strategy was not clever, it was just "tearing down the east wall to repair the west wall". Niu Yuan might even think more deeply than he did; but he had not shown off in the past, and suddenly made a grand statement. The discussion makes people feel like a rising star. However, for Liu Zhennian, his reason for supporting Su Zongshan is not just based on this, but is quite sufficient. Since Yan Wen, the relationship between Liu Dang and the civil servants has become more and more tense, and has even developed to the point where they are at odds with each other, which makes him have to think twice before taking action and consider stabilizing the basic foundation of governing the country - trying not to provoke those scholar-bureaucrats. In such a fierce situation, Su Zongshan was friendly with most officials, never offended anyone, and was a reliable confidant. Therefore, Liu Zhennian paid attention to him and wanted to take advantage of him.
It happened that Ye Yongjia told the old prime minister Cai Xianqing's previous guess. He agreed, and informed Su Zongshan of this reliable guess, and said: "Listen to Ye Tinglong's words, and it is in the national document that he will be dismissed." Officials are a must. If this matter is discussed in the main hall, it will cause public outrage. I am afraid that they will make extraordinary moves and undermine the negotiations between the two countries. How about Su Shenzheng presiding over the peace situation? What do you think? Only you can warn Lords, please calm down the panicked people."
Su Zongshan was overjoyed and said to him hurriedly: "Young Master Liu trusts me so much, I'm afraid I won't be able to repay him! You are stupid. If something goes wrong in this matter, and the crime is really unbearable, it's better to surrender to him."
"Alas," Liu Zhennian clapped his hand and said, "You are too humble. You have a lot of experience, but you are too arrogant to rely on your talent. This will definitely not happen. It's better for you to go."
"But can they really listen to my orders and be willing to be punished?" Su Zongshan looked at him sincerely.
"Haha, you have misunderstood what I meant. Of course I can't let the foreign barbarians have their way and dismiss me as a high-ranking member of the Celestial Dynasty. I'm just afraid that they don't know what I mean and insist on resisting, which will disrupt national affairs. You only need to Tell them what I am thinking, and they will naturally stop panicking."
Su Zongshan understood Liu Zhennian's intention, immediately straightened his official uniform, kowtowed and thanked him; however, he was not in a hurry to leave. When the clerk who served the tea came up, he personally picked up the two bowls of tea on the tray, and He handed the bowl to Liu Zhennian and drank it all in one go before bidding farewell to the two of them.
"Sir, what are you doing?" Ye Yongjia walked to the gate of Zhongshu Province and asked with a smile when he saw Su Zongshan running all the way.
"I was ordered by Duke Liu to go out to do something!" Su Zongshan said as he walked past him and headed straight towards the palace gate from the road.
