The playfulness in Liu Chengyou's eyes made Xiao Husi feel a little uncomfortable and had a bad feeling. And he also knew in his heart that the Han Emperor clearly knew what he was asking, and thinking about his mission, he suppressed the discomfort in his heart and said with his hands: "I, Emperor Tianlu, led his army to go hunting in Guihua Prefecture. Unfortunately, he died. King Shou'an ascended the throne in front of the coffin. ..."
"Haha!" Liu Chengyou interrupted Xiao Husi very rudely, and said with emotion, "I heard that the Khitan Lord sent hundreds of thousands of people to the south, but it turned out that it was for hunting. What a big battle!"
As he spoke, his tone turned cold and majestic: "I have also prepared a hundred thousand soldiers. I originally intended to hunt with the Khitan Lord in the dark clouds. But now it seems that God is not good. It's a pity, it's a pity... "
Liu Chengyou's words made Xiao Husi frown, and he raised his eyes to look directly at this young Emperor of the Han Dynasty. As rumored, he had a strong personality and leading words.
Noticing the change in Xiao Husi's expression, Liu Chengyou turned to ask: "Come and speak frankly. What is your new emperor's intention in sending you here?"
Hearing this, Xiao Husi immediately cheered up, but remained calm and replied: "I, Emperor Tianshun, have always been kind-hearted and kind-hearted. I have seen the Liao and Han countries. Over the years, wars have continued, and the soldiers and civilians on the border have suffered from wars and disputes. Their livelihoods have been hard to come by. It is difficult to maintain. Now that I am the emperor, I feel this and want the two countries to be reconciled. They have to stop fighting and reopen their business and communication. In response to the words of the Han people, we should turn conflicts into friendship and work together to build friendship!"
Hearing his purpose, Liu Chengyou looked very surprised and said with a strange expression: "The new Khitan Emperor has a benevolent heart and a will for peace. This surprises me..."
Xiao Husi watched helplessly as Liu Chengyou asked Guo Wei, who was sitting in the palace: "How many troops have been mobilized in Hebei now?"
Guo Wei replied: "Your Majesty, we have an army of 200,000 people on foot and cavalry!"
After hearing the answer, Liu Chengyou said in a tone that made Xiao Husi tremble: "You know? Just now, I was still thinking about leading my son of the Han family with 200,000 yuan to go north to Youzhouyan to give you Tianlu The emperor expresses his condolences and wishes you, Emperor Tianshun, congratulations on his ascension to the throne. I just don’t know how the Khitan Emperor will treat his guests."
Facing the Han Emperor's almost naked threat, Xiao Husi was slightly panicked, but he quickly stabilized his mind and recalled in his mind the instructions of Yelvwuzhi when he went south. Although this trip was for peace talks and withdrawal of troops, he should not be weak. The power of Liao Dynasty.
The corner of his mouth curled up slightly, Xiao Husi looked directly at Liu Chengyou, and his tone became tougher: "Although I, Emperor Tianshun, are young, I am accompanied by virtuous ministers, good generals, soldiers and warriors. There are still hundreds of thousands of troops in the southern states. The people who control the strings can gather another hundred thousand at any time. If Your Majesty comes from the north to congratulate you, then the foreign ministers will recommend to the Emperor of Liao Dynasty to build a separate courtyard in Shangjing for Your Majesty to stay for a long time!"
"Be bold!"
"presumptuous!"
As soon as Xiao Husi said this, Guo Wei and Wang Zhu, a passionate scholar who was promoted to the palace's assistant, scolded him one after another. Wei Renpu remained silent and his eyes were filled with evil. The so-called master humiliates his ministers to death, this is a necessary performance.
But when Xiao Husi faced this scene, he seemed more at ease and straightened his back. Compared to the excitement of his ministers, Liu Chengyou behaved much more naturally. He didn't take it seriously. He looked at Xiao Husi with interest, put away his previous attitude of concealing threats and being overbearing, and said: "The Lord Khitan wants to eliminate the troops and reconcile the two countries, which is beneficial to the people of both countries. I am not a warlike king, so there is no reason why I would not allow it. However, the Lord Khitan sent you south, and I will not just bring this. Say a word to Baba!”
Hearing what Liu Chengyou said, he clearly felt the change in the Emperor Han's tone. Xiao Husi also put away his arrogant attitude and replied: "Before the foreign ministers went south, they had the full authority of His Majesty the Emperor, and the terms of the peace negotiation can be determined at his discretion." !”
"In that case, let's talk first and slowly. It involves peace between the two countries and the stability of the people. I, the Second Prime Minister, will discuss it with you and come up with a peace negotiation charter!" Liu Chengyou said calmly.
Xiao Husi was overjoyed when he saw this, but his eyes flashed, and he asked again: "When the foreign ministers went south, they saw that in the territory of the Han Dynasty, soldiers and horses were mobilized frequently, and the army marched northward, boundless. Since His Majesty the Han Emperor is willing to negotiate for peace, can you first Show your sincerity and suspend the march?"
"Haha!" Liu Chengyou laughed: "Then let me see your Khitan's sincerity first. However, I can first issue an edict that the Yannan and Han troops should retreat to the city gate and cease fighting on the border first!"
The Han Emperor's attitude made Xiao Husi feel at ease. Liu Chengyou invited Xiao Husi to the Concierge Courtyard, and also sent instructions to Feng Dao and Fan Zhi, asking them to talk first and then explore the details of the Khitan people.
In the political hall, Liu Chengyou asked Wei Renpu and Guo Wei: "What do you think the Liao envoy Xiao Husi thinks?"
"Although he is arrogant, he is well-founded in his advance and retreat, and does not lose his authority. He is called the Khitan master who knows people!" Guo Wei did not deliberately belittle the envoy.
Wei Renpu also calmly replied: "What I am thinking about now is exactly what I was thinking about in the palace yesterday. If the Khitan can turn the tide with its capable ministers and brave generals, the situation will not be as chaotic as we imagined, and the situation will not be as optimistic as we imagined. It is said that , the new master of the Khitan, he is less than twenty years old now, at a weak age, he ascended the throne in front of the army, I am afraid he will be assisted by wise ministers!"
"Wei Qing is very worried, and I have some experience with this!" Liu Chengyou nodded and said: "When the emperor passed away in the imperial examination, I succeeded to the throne at a young and weak age. On the border, Meng and Shu invaded, and they had the intention of looking down on our dynasty. We relied on the assistance of the ministers and the generals fought hard, so that we could control the border troubles externally, cultivate virtue internally, and protect the country."
"Today, the Khitan Emperor died due to civil strife, and his young master succeeded him. I and all the ministers took this as a God-given opportunity. We intuitively felt that the land of Yan was at our fingertips, and we urgently wanted to go on a northern expedition. Although we have now planned a southern expedition, we can't help but think about whether we can do the same. Falling into the trap of 'preconceptions' and looking down on the Khitans!"
Hearing Liu Chengyou's emotion, Wei Renpu and Guo Wei looked at each other and said in admiration: "Your Majesty can learn from history and be good at self-examination. It is really a blessing for the great man!"
"You must not praise me. There are many ministers in the court who praise the saints. I have heard too many good words. I am afraid of getting lost in the praise. I still hope to hear more unfavorable advice!" Liu Chengyou waved his hand, although he said Said this in a very relaxed tone.
"My thoughts about Xianggong Wei are just words from the bottom of my heart, not flattery!" Guo Wei said from the side.
"I thought before that the situation in Khitan remains to be seen. However, the arrival of the Liao envoys at least allowed me to see clearly that the old master died in a rebellion and the new master succeeded to the throne. His monarchs and ministers are indeed unwilling to fight. In this way, I can Don't worry! Second minister, you can return to your office and plan important events. The court's energy will be completely transferred to the Southern Expedition!" Liu Chengyou said to Wei and Guo.
"yes!"
After the two ministers resigned, Liu Chengyou ordered the king again: "Go find Prime Minister Feng and Fan and let them have a good talk with the Liao envoy. You only need to guarantee that you will not degrade my majesty as a great Han Dynasty and never reveal my truth. You can weigh it yourself."
"I think that the Lord of Liao gave full power to the envoy of Liao, and I'm afraid it means something similar..."
Just as Liu Chengyou expected, although there were disputes during the negotiations, the overall situation was relatively smooth. After all, the falling flowers are intentional, and the flowing water is also sentimental.
After several peace talks over the course of three days, the two sides agreed to stop their troops, lift their border war preparations, and withdraw their troops. This is the core point. The war is over, and the reopening of business and business contacts are just incidental. In order to renew the friendship between the two countries, the Khitan provided 1,000 fine horses and 2,000 oxen, while the Han Dynasty paid equivalent amounts of tea, salt, copper and iron utensils.
To reopen the border trade market, envoys from both sides marked ten places on the map, from the land of Yundai to Youyan.
Originally, the Northern Han Dynasty also made some territorial demands, but Xiao Husi forcefully rejected them. However, these are just words of temptation. If the blackmail succeeds, don't worry about it if it doesn't.
The territorial issue was put on hold for the time being, probably to take care of the mood of the Northern Han Dynasty. Xiao Husi agreed to release the Han soldiers and civilians captured this year.
The Liao envoy was so sincere that the Northern Han Dynasty also responded and released the captive Khitan soldiers. Although the number was not large, their intentions were there.
Later, Xiao Husi expressed that Shi Chonggui, the last emperor of the former dynasty who was captured outside the Great Wall, could be released to the Central Plains. This obviously had the intention of "hiding evil intentions", but as far as Liu Chengyou was concerned, the Khitan people's tactics were also so crude.
If he had directly established Shi Chonggui as emperor in Hebei, it might have caused huge trouble for the establishment of the Northern Han Dynasty. But now, what does a mere deposed emperor mean to the Emperor of the Han Dynasty compared to an ant? To show the emperor's righteousness, he simply agreed and sent someone to pick him up.
After some negotiations, the Northern Han Dynasty and the Khitan formally concluded a peace treaty in Tokyo, forming a "kingdom of brothers." As for who was the brother and who was the brother, they disputed for a while and then put it aside. As for paying tribute, there was no mention of it.
After the agreement was made, Xiao Husi resigned immediately and was eager to return to Tanzhou to return his orders to the Lord of Liao. Liu Chengyou sent a team of imperial guards to "escort" him. On the way back, he could not be allowed to see the reality of the country again.
At the same time, Liu Chengyou appointed Xu Taifu, a Hanlin scholar who was appointed as the Minister of Rites, as his envoy. He followed the Liao envoy to the north and presented his credentials, which was considered a return visit.
This "Tokyo Peace Negotiation" was forced by the situation and caused by haste, but for the Han and Liao countries, it was a win-win situation. The Liao Kingdom was proud to be free from troubles in the south, so it could rest assured to stabilize the country, stabilize the political power, and adjust national policies to alleviate the internal conflicts caused by Yelu Ruan's reign; the Northern Han Dynasty could feel more confident about its southern strategy.
As for how long this peace treaty can last, it depends on future developments. As far as the Northern Han Dynasty is concerned, the longer the better.
