There were a total of six envoys sent by Chu State. The first one was Chen Deng, the young minister of Honglu Temple in Chu State, and Jian Yong, the chief minister of Yousi Temple in Honglu Temple. The others were accompanying envoys.
Perhaps in order to deliberately humiliate the Chu envoys, officials from the Ministry of Rites of Dajing chose the Honglu Temple in the Chu Palace as the venue for the negotiations.
You must know that there is no official position in Honglu Temple in Dajing's official system, only the Ministry of Rites; the purpose of the Ministry of Rites in choosing Honglu Temple as the site for negotiations is to make the Chu envoys feel uneasy. Some time ago, they were still The owner of Honglu Temple has now become a guest, which makes them feel that times have changed, which is conducive to the progress of negotiations.
Morning of negotiations.
Zhou Yun and Fan Xian both put on their official uniforms and arrived early to wait at the entrance of Honglu Temple. They were both civil and military champions and were of the same age. Although they were rich and poor, they got along very well and met their master. Even before the master came, we started chatting.
Zhou Yun was the top scholar in the imperial examination last year, and Fan Xian was the top scholar in martial arts in the imperial examination last year. Zhang Xiu specially sent them as deputy envoys for negotiation to train their abilities.
As the Minister of Rites, Qin Mi naturally served as the leader of this negotiation.
Zhou Yun was from a wealthy family, with rich family resources and quick thinking, and was loved by Zhang Xiu.
Fan Xian was born in a poor family, but he developed a lot of skills. He was proficient in all eighteen martial arts, especially spear skills. Zhang Xiu saw that he liked practicing spears, so he was very interested in practicing two moves with him, and asked him to apprentice with Ma Chao and follow him in the future. Prince Zhang Biao works.
"Brother Yongde (Fan Xian's name), the Kingdom of Chu is now declining. It has lost its national foundation, but it occupies the land of Yangzhou. I'm afraid it won't be long." Zhou Yun talked about his opinions, "In my opinion, today The envoys from the State of Chu come here and can’t get any benefits.”
Fan Xian shook his head and smiled: "Brother Yunyi (Zhou Yun's nickname), I have no negotiation experience yet. I can only rely on Qin Shangshu to negotiate. I don't know the ability of the envoys of Chu State."
"Jian Yong! Just like that... Hey! Master Qin, the Minister of Qin, is here!"
While talking, Qin Mi's eight-person sedan slowly came over.
Fan Xian and Zhou Yun saluted respectfully. Qin Mi got out of the sedan chair with a bow and said with a smile: "You two adults don't need to be polite. After all, we are both disciples of the emperor. It's just that I'm a few years ahead of you. Use According to the emperor, I am your senior."
The two of them relaxed when they saw how polite Qin Mi was.
Zhou Yun said apologetically: "Master Shangshu, it will all depend on you later! We have no experience at all!"
"I, Dajing, are now the largest country in the world. If you want to have the image of a great country, you must be magnanimous in your speech. Now you can just have tea and leave the rest to me." Qin Mi smiled and said to Zhou with a knowing expression. Yun and Fan Xian made reassuring looks.
Immediately, the three people and other accompanying persons entered Honglu Temple and sat down. The guests on the left and right served tea. Everyone ate tea and waited quietly for the arrival of the Chu delegation.
A quarter of an hour later, the Chu envoy entered Honglu Temple under the leadership of the guide.
This guide is quite aloof.
Originally, this imperial palace and this Honglu Temple belonged to him, and they were familiar with that road and that palace than this guide, but Jingguo insisted on arranging a guide. Isn't this an ungrateful person? But people under the roof have to endure it.
Entering Honglu Temple, Qin Mi showed the air of a great nation, greeted the envoys cordially, ordered people to serve tea, behaved in a harmonious manner, and communicated the conditions of both parties very calmly.
But as the conditions became harsher, the voices on both sides became uncontrollably louder, and finally both sides began to quarrel.
Qin Mi slapped the table, stood up, pointed at Jian Yong and shouted:
"Jingzhou is the land that our emperor conquered personally. Where does it belong to your Chu Kingdom? If you want your prince to return, you must hand over the two counties of Guiyang and Lingling!"
"Jingzhou is the foundation of our Chu State!"
"Hey! Give your country back?! Want to go back? Then you send people to fight! Come! Who is afraid of whom! If you have the ability, declare war tomorrow, and I can report back to my emperor and send troops to Guiyang, Lingling, let’s wait until the war between the two countries is over before we continue talking. Do you want to do it? Do you dare?”
Jian Yong did not expect that Qin Mi, who was originally polite and elegant, would become so arrogant and tough in the next moment. This made Jian Yong so angry that his tone trembled:
"You...you...you are vulgar!"
Official Qin Mi flicked his sleeves, sat back down, and said with great disdain: "I've seen your face a long time ago. You really dare to think about using a little Sun Quan in exchange for your prince." ! Bah! You are so shameless and think you are healthy!"
"You...you...!" Jian Yong was very angry.
Zhou Yun and Fan Xian were shocked by this scene and looked at each other: "Where is the promised atmosphere of the great country?"
The two sides could not agree on the issue of land in Guiyang and Lingling counties, and they were in a stalemate all morning, making their mouths dry with curses.
At noon, the three of them had lunch and took a break with tea.
Zhou Yun asked cautiously: "Master Shangshu, are you being too showy today?"
Qin Mi said seriously: "Now eight points of the world belong to me, Dajing. Chu and Wu are just the afterglow of the setting sun. They are insignificant. If we can win the land of these two counties through negotiation, how many lives of my soldiers can be saved?" Worry? We have Liu Chan’s trump card in our hands, so we must use it reasonably."
Fan Xian said, "I've seen that Chu State is quite tough."
Qin Mi smiled disdainfully: "Does the Chu State still dare to fight us? Their toughness is only in words. If they still don't agree to the negotiation this afternoon, our army will prepare to invade the border, forcing the Chu State to agree even if it doesn't agree. "
The two of them nodded like this.
Inside the palace.
Zhang Xiu wore a cotton coat embroidered with golden dragons, and there were fire dragons burning all around, making the whole hall feel as warm as spring. The news that Sun Ce was assassinated and in critical condition was sent to the palace the next morning.
"It seems that Bo Fu's destiny is like this, and I can't change it!"
Zhang Xiu sighed, shook his head, and at the same time thought about how to attack Wu State next, how to capture the two counties of Lujiang and Jiujiang without any bloodshed.
If Sun Ce dies, there are only two people who can inherit the throne, either his brother Sun Quan or his descendant Sun Shao.
Sun Shao is still young, and at the time of great changes in the Wu Kingdom, he may not be able to shoulder such an important task. The most likely candidate is Sun Quan, who is still a hostage in the Chu Kingdom. It seems that this negotiation must be concluded quickly, and a replacement will be made. Wu State.
If there was danger from the Yangtze River, Sun Quan could still hold Jiangdong, but without this condition, it would be difficult for Sun Quan to hold it.
More importantly, without Sun Ce's huge reputation, Zhang Xiu would have reason to seize the land of the two counties.
