"Foreign Minister Sun Sheng, on the order of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, pays homage to the Emperor of Han Dynasty!"
As the Han army invaded counties along the Yangtze River in the Southern Tang Dynasty, Sun Sheng, the envoy of the Tang Dynasty, hurried north to pay an audience. Liu Chengyou received him in the Shouchun Yatang. There was no grand ceremony, and he was only accompanied by a few close ministers and envoys.
In the hall, the monarchs and ministers of the Northern Han Dynasty were in a relaxed mood. Although Sun Sheng, the envoy of the Tang Dynasty, pretended to be calm, he was in a weak position, and his tense expression told the heaviness in his heart.
"No courtesy!" Liu Chengyou waved his hand slightly, looked at Sun Sheng in a condescending manner, and said: "The two countries are at war, and the war is in full swing. They are like enemies and bandits. Why did Li Jing send you to the north?"
"Your Majesty, I have come under your command to stop the troops and negotiate peace for the sake of the peace of the soldiers and civilians of the two countries!" Sun Sheng responded.
"Oh!" Liu Chengyou said calmly: "I came here to seek peace!"
"Your Majesty, this is a peace negotiation!" Sun Sheng emphasized and corrected Liu Chengyou's statement.
Liu Chengyou waved his hand calmly and said: "Whether it's asking for peace or negotiating peace, you are here to beg for mercy from me."
He stretched out his hand and moved his middle and index fingers a few times, signaling Zhang Dejun to present Li Jing's credentials. While flipping through the pages, Sun Sheng briefly described: "Since the war began, the soldiers and civilians of the two countries have suffered greatly. In order to relieve Li Jing from the dire straits, To restore peace to the people, as long as His Majesty is willing to withdraw the troops, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty is willing to serve Brother Chen and serve his neighbors forever. He will surely benefit from Chen Shanze and help the army less. He will be pious and wait for the newspaper to answer his high orders, and the road will be smooth. Gift coins are celebrated every year..."
A letter of credence, with more than a thousand words, was obviously written by a poet in the Southern Tang Dynasty. He expressed his feelings and expressed his meaning in a very low posture. There were many beggings between the words, as if he had been wronged a lot.
However, it was quite difficult for Liu Chengyou to read it. It took him a while to finish reading it, and then he passed it on to the ministers: "Everyone has also read this book and made a fuss about it. Is it true that the emperors and ministers of the Tang Dynasty are really good at it?" !”
"Please take a look at it, what a masterpiece it is!" Tao Gu took it with a smile.
Seeing the arrogant posture of the Northern Han Dynasty monarchs, Sun Sheng couldn't stand it anymore. His face showed shame and anger, and he said loudly: "I have come here with a letter, and I speak from the bottom of my heart. I am honest about your request. Whether you agree or not is up to your majesty." Why would you humiliate my dynasty like this with all your heart?"
Seeing Sun Sheng's angry look, Liu Chengyou couldn't help but be surprised. He looked at him a few more times and said in an inexplicable tone: "I heard that the person who initiated the peace talks in the Tang court was none other than Mr. Sun!"
Hearing this, Sun Sheng smiled disdainfully and responded with his head held high: "I propose to end the war to plead for the lives of the millions of soldiers and civilians of the two countries, in order to free them from the pain of swordsmanship and the harm of war. Your Majesty believes this, and I have my heart in mind. Weak, afraid of the Han master, haha..."
Listening to Sun Gong’s words, he is really upright and selfless! Seeing this, Liu Chengyou became even more interested. He sighed lightly, and then his tone became more serious, saying: "I led hundreds of thousands of troops southward, and they were invincible. The Tang army was defeated in many battles, and fell in the wind. All the soldiers and civilians in Huainan fell upon seeing the Han flag." The timid ones. Mr. Sun, are you really not afraid? "
Faced with the threat from the Han Emperor, Sun Sheng was very excited, laughed twice, and said: "With the ax and ax attached to you, what's the point of fear? Your Majesty relies on strong troops and is majestic. He can kill and fear others, but he cannot convince them." . Although I am only a twilight scholar, I can neither mount a horse to command, nor carry a sword to fight, but I hold a three-foot sharp sword, cut myself with a horizontal sword, and blood spattered three feet. I use my full name to perform the king's duties and resist the strong and evil. It’s not hard to do!”
"Be bold!"
"presumptuous!"
In the hall, hearing Sun Sheng's arrogance, Liu Chengyou's ministers and subordinates immediately glared at him.
Due to his nature, Liu Chengyou didn't react much and looked at Sun Sheng. However, when he saw Tang Chen standing proudly and with an expression of admiration, there was a strange look on his face. In this scene, he looks like the villain in the story, while Sun Sheng has become the protagonist who is not afraid of power and is unyielding.
Shaking his head and getting rid of those distracting thoughts, Liu Chengyou waved his hand to stop his ministers, looked at Sun Sheng, and said calmly: "I have fully understood Li Jing's proposal for peace. However, the Han Dynasty's hundreds of thousands of troops went south, and in the April conquest, The soldiers and men suffered a lot of damage and spent hundreds of millions of money.
Such a big price is just for you to help less military supplies? For the benefit of your annual tribute? You want me to withdraw my troops just because I wish you, Brother Chen, will always be happy with my neighbors? Can I be bullied?
If I allow it, why should I send hundreds of thousands of soldiers to the south to explain? Why should we explain to the millions of people under our rule? "
"How is your majesty, so you are willing to return the favor?" Sun Sheng asked directly.
Liu Chengyou replied: "It's not what I want, it's what you want!"
"Military and state affairs can't be accomplished without your Sun Gong coming north, presenting a book of national credentials, and showing off your tongue!" Pointing to the documents that were submitted on the case, Liu Chengyou said directly: "If With this alone, I can give you a very clear answer, no!"
"I hope Your Majesty will think twice!" Sun Sheng's expression changed after hearing this, and he cupped his hands and said: "Although the Tang Dynasty suffered a defeat, there were still millions of people in the Jianghuai River, hundreds of thousands of soldiers, and a Yangtze River boat division to cross the river. Even though the Han soldiers were powerful, the whole country We have the same hatred and fight against the difficulties together, but the outcome is unpredictable!"
"Why do you, a country that has lost its army and lost its territory, speak arrogant words and threaten me?" Liu Chengyou said.
Sun Sheng said, neither humble nor arrogant: "I only tell the truth!"
"Haha..." Liu Chengyou laughed: "With Mr. Sun's ambition, he is really not suitable to be an envoy, especially when he has the order to beg for surrender!"
"As for the outcome, let us wait and see! I would like to see how much energy can be unleashed when the entire country of the Puppet Tang Dynasty is united in its hatred!" Without any intention of listening to Sun Sheng's words, Liu Chengyou directly ordered: "Come here. , I will take him down to rest in the future so that he can be taken care of and don’t make any mistakes!"
Seeing the Han Emperor's attitude, Sun Sheng's expression was much more serious and uglier than when he first visited him. Finally, I realized that I seemed to have been too forgetful. This mission was considered a failure. I felt ashamed to face Jiangdong's elders in my heart, and at the same time, I felt powerless. His unyielding and upright attitude was like a joke, just for others to see. As for the threat, it was more like a joke, and the Han Emperor didn't care at all.
In fact, from the Han Emperor's speech and attitude, we can already see his gluttonous desire. Even if he wanted to retreat, it would be impossible without paying a heavy price. However, Sun Sheng deliberately did not mention it proactively.
"Your Majesty, the pseudo-Tang Dynasty's intention to seek peace is not very firm! Judging from Sun Sheng's attitude, I'm afraid that the Lord of Tang Dynasty is still stubborn!" Tao Gu said.
Liu Chengyou thought about it for a while and said: "I don't think so. How can the pseudo-Tang Dynasty have the confidence to fight against our dynasty now? I think this man's words, in addition to his temperament, can't help but test me. The intention is in it!"
Tao Gu was a man of his own. He thought for a while and nodded in agreement: "This proves that the Lord of the Tang Dynasty has the intention to seek peace. He just doesn't know His Majesty's attitude and what conditions he should give in exchange!"
"The soldiers are almost rested!" Liu Chengyou suddenly turned to Wang Jun and Han Tong who were accompanying him.
Han Tong said directly: "Your Majesty, you have been gearing up for a long time and are waiting for the edict!"
"Send the order, the army will march south to Hefei tomorrow!" Liu Chengyou said directly.
After a pause, he continued: "Send an order to Murong Yanzhao to strengthen his strategy for the prefectures and counties along the Yangtze River, and let Li Jing take a good look at my attitude!"
"Yes!" Wang Jun and Han Tong obeyed the order and left.
"Shuchun, I will leave it to Tao Qing for the time being!" Liu Chengyou looked at Tao Gu again.
Tao Gu immediately responded: "Your Majesty, please rest assured!"
Thinking of Sun Sheng's response to the audience, Liu Chengyou couldn't help but sigh: "The Pseudo-Tang Dynasty also has loyal and brave generals. Since the Southern Expedition, He Jingzhu, Xu Wenzhen, Guo Tingwei, Sun Sheng, and Huangfu Hui are all important. A person to look down upon!”
Listening to the emperor's lament, Tao Gu said: "Even if there are talents, but the master does not make good use of them, the result will be nothing more than a secret act and suffer the consequences!"
"However, Li Jing still has such ministers. From this point of view, the Puppet Tang Dynasty is not a country that will be destroyed after all!" Liu Chengyou said: "The war must be ended as soon as possible!"
"Your Majesty should not be the one who should be anxious!" Tao Gu said.
Liu Chengyou just nodded. Hundreds of thousands of troops stayed in Huainan for a long time, spending a lot of money. Tokyo was already a little restless, and the treasury was becoming increasingly empty. Now, it is the spring plowing season, so the war has depleted the people of the Central Plains and Huaibei. If the farming season is missed again, causing a chain reaction, there will be even more headaches.
During this period, hundreds of officials, forwarded by the prime ministers, came to the table and suggested that Liu Chengyou be a teacher. In fact, if the Southern Tang fought tooth and nail and fought to the death, it would be impossible for the Northern Han to really stay here for a long time.
The more likely approach is to return the army to the court, reorganize the troops, and return the people and farmland. On the Huainan side, they turned from offense to defense, consolidating the occupied land and digesting the fruits of victory.
However, that was Southern Tang's choice to fight to the end. It would be best if it could be settled once and for all. After all, compared with the original history, Zhou Shizong's conquest of the Tang Dynasty and Liu Chengyou's conquest, the Southern Tang Dynasty was defeated faster and more completely.
