Because of the vigorous publicity from Houcheng, Wangping, and Wulu counties, the eighteen counties of Houcheng, as well as the Xuantu County of Liaoxi County and the areas around Liaodong County, all knew that the delegation headed by Houcheng was going to fight with the Xianbei Royal Court. Negotiations have been completed, and the time is scheduled for March 22nd.
News of the negotiations radiated outward from Liaodong County.
Almost all the forces that have received the news, whether it is the imperial court in Chang'an, the famous families in the Central Plains, or the aristocratic families in the south, have set their sights on the northeast and are paying attention to the development of the situation in Liaodong.
The day before the negotiations, the Xianbei negotiating team headed by Tuoba Xun arrived at the border of Houcheng, joined Yuchi Rui's army, and then stationed themselves there.
In Houcheng, the high platform has been built, and relevant personnel are doing final inspections.
Negotiations will begin tomorrow, so there can be no mistakes.
Tuoba Xun looked at the high platform that appeared out of thin air and asked, "This high platform was built by the magistrate of Houcheng?"
Yu Chirui was in a terrible mood, "Yes."
Tuoba Xun stopped talking.
At night, they attacked Houcheng.
But the Houcheng side seemed to have expected it, and they were on guard and set up many traps to beckon them.
After struggling for half a night, not only did they return without success, but each one of them also suffered some minor injuries.
Gradually, they started to gain real firepower, and He Lanyan and He Ximing were planning to lead a large force to give them a hard blow.
Houcheng directly sacrificed Tuoba Lian.
Le Guicai held a knife in one hand and grabbed Tuoba Lian like a tied chicken with the other. He shouted murderously towards Xianbei, "If you Xianbei don't stop tonight, I will Just kill your little prince, and there’s no need to negotiate. Let’s just start fighting!”
This time, he shocked Tuoba Xun and others.
Xianbei calmed down, and after the two sides dispersed, He Lanyan and others murmured, "When did General Dali become so tough?"
On the evening of March 21, Shi Tao and his party finally reached the boundary of Wangping after going through all kinds of hardships. As long as they passed through Wangping, they would reach Houcheng.
At this time, Shi Tao's whole body was soaked in taste, but at this moment, he couldn't care anymore.
"Everyone, please work harder. We will drive all night tonight and we will be able to reach Houcheng tomorrow." Shi Tao encouraged everyone weakly.
Jiang Changyun said silently in his heart, cousin, I tried my best.
Your Excellency is so stubborn, I can't blame you for that.
This croton can't fall again, otherwise it will kill the governor's life. Your cousin and I will have to join in.
Not to mention that later, in order to avoid making people suspicious, he put the medicine in the big pot of rice. Everyone was affected, and he himself couldn't do it.
The carriage drove forward for a while, and then was forced to stop. It turned out that the road ahead was dug up and the carriage could no longer go.
The handlebar type cursed under his breath, he would not have taken a shortcut if he had known better.
If Qin Zhao were here, he would definitely tell him, brother, the other road is blocked.
Shi Tao's face turned dark, "Turn around and take another path!"
Jiang Changyun poked his head and took a look at the front section of the official road that had been dug into a state of disgrace by the light of the torch. He was astonished. Who did this deep and big pit? What a great virtue!
This carriage can't pass, and horses can't pass, but people can, but can they rush to Houcheng on foot? I can't make it in one night.
Jiang Changyun then thought about his cousin asking him to give chin to the governor. He deeply felt that the digging of the road had nothing to do with his cousin and would cause the same damage. No, the person who came up with the idea to dig the road would suffer even more.
When they finally set foot on another road after spending more than an hour, they found that the road was blocked after walking forward for less than a quarter of an hour.
The entire road, maybe two or three feet away, was blocked by rocks of all sizes!
Shi Tao stood at the blocked end, gritting his teeth, Lu Desheng, Chen Ping, well done to you!
Now even a fool knows that someone is blocking him from going to Houcheng.
Jiang Changyun shrank his neck, he was so wicked, so wicked!
"Sir, please let me go for a while first."
"Sir, I'm going too."
"And I!"
After a quarter of an hour, everyone found a place to sit down feebly.
"Sir, are we still leaving?"
The entourage shouted in their hearts: This trip is too difficult, too difficult!
Just as Shi Tao was about to answer, the familiar abdominal pain struck again, and he quickly said, "Prepare a change of clothes for me."
"Sir, we have run out of change of clothes."
Shi Tao: "Where's yours?" He didn't mind.
"It's also used up."
Shi Tao wanted to say, "Go buy some, old or new," but when he saw that the road was blocked in this place with no village in front and no store in the back, he felt heartbroken.
He boldly suggested, "Sir, why don't you take a rest here? Let the kids wash and dry their clothes..."
"Besides, your condition should get better if you lie down quietly and rest, and don't run around."
Shi Tao was silent for a while, and finally waved his hand feebly, "Let's rest here for the night." Early tomorrow morning, the organizers will clear the road!
In Houcheng, the next day came the day for negotiations.
The three-person negotiating team of Lu Desheng, Chen Ping, and Liu Heshan, plus Li Dan, the chief secretary of Wangping, and Houcheng County Prime Minister Guo Chunsheng, formed a five-person team.
Today, each of the five of them is wearing brand new official uniforms.
Chen Ping tugged on his official uniform, and when he looked towards Liu Heshan, the other person also happened to look over.
Both of them were a little uncomfortable. Is it a little too arrogant to dress like this?
This was what Lu Desheng forced them to wear, saying that wearing it would bring good luck.
"Dan, sir, I feel a little uncomfortable."
"Master, don't worry, you can feel more comfortable. Master Lu is dressed like this anyway." He is the leader of the negotiating team, and he will definitely attract more hatred than you.
"Fine."
Tuoba Xun led Dugu Zhong, He Lanyan, He Ximing and others to the high platform.
Houcheng arranged the entire negotiation venue in a very high-end manner and simply raised the cards by half a level or one level.
The Xianbei negotiating team that followed Tuoba in came looking at the meeting hall and felt very satisfied. They felt that the layout was quite similar and worthy of their status.
The two parties sat opposite each other.
Le Guicai and Yuchi Rui led the elites to occupy one side and guard against each other.
Tuoba Xun took the lead and asked, "Are you Lu Desheng, the new county magistrate of Houcheng?"
"I am none other than Lu Desheng."
As soon as he finished speaking, all the members of the Xianbei negotiation team opposite looked at him. Is this person the county magistrate who dared to name him to negotiate with Khan? You don’t have three heads and six arms, do you?
Tuoba Xun looked at Lu Desheng and felt that there was nothing special about him, so he asked, "Where is my brother Tuoba Lian?"
"I knew you would ask like this, look over there -" Lu Desheng pointed outward.
Tuoba Xun, Dugu Zhong and others looked in the direction he pointed, and saw that Tuoba Lian's hands and feet were tied and hung up with a thick hemp rope.
Under Tuobalian's feet, there was a deep pit with dense thorns at the bottom. If a person fell in, he would definitely be pierced into a hornet's nest.
Behind the pit, two rows of soldiers holding bows and arrows stood ready.
They are all warned not to act rashly.
"Little Prince Tuoba, you have suffered."
However, when did the soldiers of Liaodong County have such a cold and solemn demeanor?
I haven’t seen you for a few days. This Liaodong soldier looks a little different.
The members of the Xianbei negotiating team gathered together in pairs, muttering.
During the battle last night, they discovered that the strength of Houcheng's army was increasing, although the increase was not very obvious.
Recently, the Qin brothers have been helping to train soldiers. At first, Qin Yan assisted Le Guicai in training. Later, Qin Heng and Qin Zhao came back from work and were brought up to help train the soldiers.
"Without further ado, what are you going to do to let Tuobalian go?"
