Xiao Yu chuckled and said: "As Mr. Liu said, we will immediately void the third clause. But we need 200,000 shi for food and grass, and 80,000 taels of gold. As for the war horses, since Mr. Liu said there are not so many war horses in Guanzhong. Then Okay, I know there is a racecourse in Lantian County, and we want the 200,000 horses in Lantian Racecourse."
"What, this..."
Liu Wenjing exclaimed in surprise. He never expected that Yang Gao had such a big appetite. He was clearly planning to build a horse farm in the south!
Xiao Yu raised the corner of his mouth slightly, "Why, Mr. Liu, although my condition has doubled the number of horses, I'm afraid there are not even 50,000 of the 200,000 horses that are really strong and usable!"
Liu Wenjing snorted disdainfully inwardly. He wanted to scold someone for saying this. Although not many of these 200,000 horses can be used on the battlefield, they can produce a steady stream of horses. It is really more effective than 100,000 war horses. horrible!
After a pause, Liu Wenjing said: "Mr. Xiao, 150,000 shi of grain and 50,000 taels of gold. This is the limit that our court can provide. We cannot add more!"
Xiao Yu lowered his head and thought for a while, nodded and said, "Okay, deal!"
Seeing Xiao Yu relent, Liu Wenjing secretly breathed a sigh of relief, "Mr. Xiao, can we discuss the 200,000 horses at Lantian Racecourse?"
"No!" Xiao Yu said in an unquestionable tone: "The two hundred thousand horses at Lantian Racecourse are also the bottom line of our government and cannot be reduced any more!"
Liu Wenjing shook her head helplessly and said: "Mr. Xiao, I have no authority to handle this matter. I still need to ask our Emperor for instructions. I hope you will give me a few days."
Xiao Yu smiled and nodded, and said: "Okay, then please ask Mr. Liu to ask for instructions and Emperor Tang will come back to discuss with me."
. . . . . . . . . .
Liu Wenjing's letter soon appeared on Li Yuan's desk. After reading Liu Wenjing's Eagle Letter, Li Yuan frowned and fell into deep thought. As an emperor, he certainly knew Yang Gao's intention. Throughout the ages, it has been difficult to conquer the north from the south. Zhuge Liang left Qishan six times, and the northern expeditions of Hengwen, Zu Ti and others in the Eastern Jin Dynasty all ended in failure. A very important reason is that their troops had no cavalry and lacked maneuverability. Their combat effectiveness was compared to that of the northern troops. The army is much different.
But he had to redeem Li Jiancheng and Pei Ji. One of these two people was the prince and the other was the prime minister. They were related to the face of the Tang Dynasty and they were absolutely not allowed to remain in the hands of the enemy.
"Your Majesty, the Crown Princess is outside asking for an audience!"
While Li Yuan was thinking about the pros and cons of this matter, Wei Zhongxian walked into the hall cautiously and whispered in a low voice.
Li Yuan opened his eyes and shook his head helplessly, "No, tell her I'm very busy!"
"According to the order!"
Wei Zhongxian bent down, cupped his hands, and slowly exited the hall.
Outside the main hall, Crown Princess Zheng Guanyin was pacing back and forth anxiously.
Zheng Guanyin was born in the Zheng family in Xingyang. She married Li Jiancheng in the tenth year of Daye. It has been five years now. The husband and wife respect each other as guests and have a deep affection. After Li Jiancheng was captured in Shangyong, this woman felt that half of her sky had fallen. If it hadn't been for the advice and guidance of his uncles, brothers and officials of the Prince's Palace, His Majesty the Emperor would have rescued His Highness the Prince no matter what. I'm afraid she He has committed suicide a long time ago.
Today, she learned from the informant in the palace that there was a letter from Liu Wenjing, the peace envoy, and immediately went to the palace to see him, wanting to know her husband's current situation.
"Eunuch Wei, father, are you willing to see me?"
As soon as he saw Wei Zhongxian coming out of the hall, Zheng Guanyin hurriedly walked forward and asked anxiously.
Wei Zhongxian shook his head and said: "Crown Princess, Your Majesty is very busy now and really has no time to meet you. You should go back!"
"This..." Zheng Guanyin said unwillingly, "Eunuch Wei, please help me to report this!"
Wei Zhongxian sighed and said helplessly: "Empress, Your Majesty is currently worried about His Highness the Crown Prince. Your going in will only make him more worried. You'd better go back!"
After hearing Wei Zhongxian's words, Zheng Guanyin's mind went blank and she didn't know how she got back to the Prince's Mansion. Wei Zhongxian's words lingered in her ears. Although she did not have a good political acumen, she still understood Wei Zhongxian's words. The fact that the Holy Emperor was worried about His Highness the Crown Prince meant that the price offered by the Sui Dynasty was too high, so what would his father do? Will you not give up His Royal Highness?
After returning to the Prince's Mansion, Zheng Guanyin quickly recruited Li Jiancheng's confidant, Prince Zhongyun Wang Gui.
After listening to Zheng Guanyin's narration, Wang Gui also looked solemn. After a long time, he finally said: "My dear, I don't have any good solution for this matter, but I have recently met a new person named Liu Zhiyuan. This man is a man of great talent and military skills, and has a unique vision. He may have some clever ideas!"
"Then you hurry up and invite him!" Zheng Guanyin, a woman of Taoism, had no idea at all. After hearing Wang Gui's words, she just let Wang Gui go and invite him.
More than half an hour later, Liu Zhiyuan, dressed in commoner clothes and with one arm, walked into the Prince's Mansion under the guidance of Wang Gui and met with the Crown Princess Zheng Guanyin.
After Liu Zhiyuan fled from Jiangnan to Guanzhong, he carefully analyzed the situation in Guanzhong. He believed that Li Tang's current forces were divided into three branches: Li Yuan's direct lineage Conglong faction, Li Shimin's Qin Wangdang and Li Jiancheng's Crown Prince Army.
After thinking about it, he thought that he was an outsider and it was absolutely impossible for him to become Li Yuan's direct subordinate. Although the King of Qin Li Shimin was good at conquering and fighting, he had so many talents under his command that it would be difficult for him to get ahead if he wanted to defect. After all, Liu Zhiyuan was also a figure who was unwilling to be inferior to others.
Therefore, the only candidate left for Liu Zhiyuan to defect to was Prince Li Jiancheng. Due to the defeat of Jingxiang, many of the prince's generals died in battle. As the saying goes, things are rare and valuable. Liu Zhiyuan believed that it would be much easier for him to defect to Li Jiancheng and then climb up the ladder. .
After Zheng Guanyin saw Liu Zhiyuan, he repeated what he had done before and said with a crying voice: "Mr. Liu, Mr. Wang said that you are extremely resourceful. It's up to you whether you can rescue His Highness the Crown Prince!"
Liu Zhiyuan pondered for a long time and then said: "Crown Princess, don't panic. Since Your Majesty is worried about this matter, it means that Your Majesty is still considering it, which at least means that he can redeem His Highness the Crown Prince."
"What Mr. Liu said is absolutely true!" Zheng Guanyin nodded desperately, as if he saw a glimmer of light.
Liu Zhiyuan continued: "But His Majesty is upset, which means that the requirements of the Sui Dynasty are too high, and His Majesty feels that it is too much, so he is upset! Emperor Yang Gaoyuan of the Sui Dynasty is in Jiangdu, and we have no way to make him relent. We want to save His Highness the Crown Prince. We can only start from His Majesty’s side and make him agree to the Sui Dynasty’s request.”
Zheng Guanyin said with a grimace: "But how could my father listen to my daughter-in-law?"
Liu Zhiyuan smiled slightly and said: "Don't worry, Madam, the common people have already figured out how to persuade Your Majesty!"
