Poor Family Chapter 748

  Chapter 748 Temporary concession

Ma Zheng had been waiting in the side tent for nearly three hours, he walked to the tent door with his hands behind his back and sighed, feeling restless, seeing that the sun had already reached the top of his head, Wanyan Xie didn't have the slightest intention to meet him, at this time Ma Zheng came again Hungry, thirsty, and frightened, he was afraid that the Jin soldiers would cut off his head to sacrifice to the flag, and he was also afraid that he would not be able to complete the task and would not be able to explain to the officials when he returned.

  At this time, several soldiers from the Kingdom of Jin walked over quickly, and said to Ma Zheng coldly, "Follow us!"

   "Where is this going?" Ma Zheng asked nervously.

   Several soldiers ignored him and strode away. Ma Zheng had no choice but to speed up and catch up with him.

   Not long after, Ma Zheng's soldiers brought them to the big tent of the Chinese Army. Hundreds of burly Jurchen soldiers stood in front of the big tent, all of them with hideous faces, holding sharp beheading knives, staring at Ma Zheng coldly.

In front of the big tent was a table for offering sacrifices to flags. On it were three big red lacquer plates, two of which contained a human head, both of which were officials of the Song Dynasty wearing gauze hats with wings, and the other plate was empty. , gave Ma Zheng a strong hint.

   Ma Zheng walked into the big tent in fear. On both sides were fierce Jurchen men, bare-chested and holding big knives, which made Ma Zheng's thighs shudder.

Sitting in the high and handsome seat was a skinny old man about fifty years old, wearing the costumes of the nobles of Jin soldiers. Ma Zheng recognized this person at a glance. According to the rule of succession of younger brother to brother, after the death of the current King of Jin, Wanyan Xie will be the heir to the throne of Jin.

Although Ma Zheng was trembling with fright, he did not lose his mind, resisted his weak legs, did not let himself kneel down, but bowed and saluted: "The young minister of Honglu Temple of the Great Song Dynasty sees Ban Boji strong!"

  Wan Yanxie also stared at Ma Zheng sharply. After a while, there was a trace of disappointment in his eyes. Ma Zheng didn't kneel down, which showed that his spirit had not been defeated.

   "Ma Zheng, what are you doing in my camp?" Wanyan Xie also asked coldly.

   "I came to contact your army at the order of the emperor to see if there is any way to avoid the heavy casualties of the Song army and the two armies."

  Wan Yanxie also laughed, "The solution is very simple. The Song army surrendered, and there will be no casualties, right?"

   "Marshal Du was joking. I mean a plan that both parties can accept. If only one party can accept it but the other party can't, then the plan is meaningless."

   "It sounds nice. Seeing that Taiyuan was captured by our golden soldiers, reinforcements from the East Road came, and Tokyo was about to be captured, you came here to discuss peace talks. Ma Shaoqing, do you think such peace talks are necessary?"

  Ma Zheng shook his head, "It's all for profit. If the Kingdom of Jin is not for profit, what is the army going south to do? Is it just to slaughter some innocent people to vent their anger?"

  Wan Yanxie also showed a smile on his face, "Ma Shaoqing is very good at talking, yes, Jin Bing went south for profit, so what plan does Ma Shaoqing have to impress me?"

   "Since Marshal Du is willing to listen to my plan, why don't you withdraw the soldiers, serve a cup of tea for guests, and let me explain in detail?"

  Wan Yanxie also nodded, "Okay! You're right."

  He immediately ordered: "Everyone is removed, and tea is served!"

  In the Imperial Study Room of Ziwei Hall, Li Gang and Zong Ze are trying their best to persuade the emperor Zhao Huan to give up the idea of ​​compromise, and fight fiercely with the Jin soldiers to the end.

Li Gang was originally a centrist. Unlike Li Yanqing and Zong Ze, he strongly advocated tough fighting, but he also resolutely opposed Bai Shizhong's begging for peace. He advocated promoting peace through war, forcing the Jin soldiers to take the initiative to seek peace from the Song army, and replacing war with negotiation , so that Song can get the greatest benefit.

Li Gang's idea of ​​promoting peace through war has also been supported by some courtiers, but the final situation has run counter to Li Gang's original idea. Now there is no choice between the middle route, only war and peace, and Li Gang is inevitable. to the main combat faction.

  As for Zong Ze, he is even more of a hardliner among the main fighters, and his attitude is even more radical than Li Yanqing.

"Your Majesty, after more than a month of fierce fighting, all the large-scale siege weapons of the Jin soldiers were destroyed. The casualties were several times that of the Song army, and the attack was weak. However, the Song army's morale was high and their battle preparations were sufficient. The food in the city could last for a year. More importantly, the soldiers were united. , I believe that if you persist for another month at most, the Jin soldiers will be defeated and retreat. At this time, the war should be carried on to the end, and peace negotiations must not be taken lightly. Your Majesty, please think twice!"

Li Gang next to him also added: "General Zong is very correct. General Wang Gui led his cavalry to set fire to the Liyang warehouse, and burned the golden soldiers' millions of fodder to ashes. The golden soldiers' horses will soon run out of food. As long as they persist for ten more days, the golden soldiers will surely die." Retire without fighting, Your Majesty, now the peace negotiation is in the hands of the Jinren, and it is a waste of our good game!"

  Zhao Huan tried his best to restrain his patience. He was extremely tired of the bitterness of the two men. The two men only considered military affairs, not politics. What about the two roads in Hebei? Will the Jinren give it up? Only by negotiating and reaching a long-term and peaceful agreement with the Jin people, just like the Tanyuan alliance, can Song Dynasty get hundreds of years of well-being and become a real emperor himself.

But apart from politics, Zhao Huan also had an ulterior reason for seeking peace, and that was imperial power. His father, the emperor, continued to exercise imperial power in the southeast. At the critical moment of the struggle, he was trapped in the city of Tokyo and could not get out of the forbidden area. If he fought for another month like Zong Ze said, his imperial power would be completely wiped out. How could Zhao Huan tolerate it.

"I can fully understand the feelings of the two love ministers. I did not want to compromise when I asked people to contact Jin Bing, but to find a way to surrender without fighting. In the words of the two, it is to give Jin Bing Bing is a decent way to retreat. There is a cloud in the art of war. Go up to the military strategy, and secondly, the military. Since we have the upper hand in the military, we don't have to worry about negotiations. We will negotiate peace with Jin Bing. If the peace talks break down, we will continue to fight. My dear ministers, the siege battle has been going on for more than a month, and the soldiers have put their lives to the test. Our court can't just be a spectator! We must do our part to end the war.”

  Li Gang wanted to say more, but Zhao Huan finally couldn't help it, his face sank, and he waved his hands impatiently: "I've made up my mind, don't try to persuade me any more!"

  He flicked his sleeves, turned around and walked away from the imperial study, "Go back to the palace!"

   Ma Zheng's first contact in Jinying finally came to an end. The two sides talked candidly for more than an hour, and finally reached a consensus. Starting tomorrow, the two sides will formally start armistice negotiations to end the war through peace talks.

  Ma Zheng let out a long sigh of relief, bid farewell and left Jinying, Wan Yanxie also walked to the tent door, looked at Ma Zheng's back as he walked away with his hands behind his back, and asked calmly, "Mr. Liang, what should we talk about tomorrow?"

Liang Fangping beside him immediately bowed and said, "Marshal Qi, if you want to catch a big fish, you have to give enough bait first. Don't care about the gains and losses of one city and one game when negotiating tomorrow, and even give the Song Dynasty a little bit of sweetness. In this way, the Song Dynasty's lord and Only the peace faction can gain power, and it is necessary for the opposing court to form a consensus. The retreat of our Jin Kingdom is not the result of the main battle faction leading the army to fight fiercely, but the credit obtained by the peace faction through negotiations. As long as the peace faction has the upper hand in the court, then The main combat faction will gradually be marginalized, and then the goal of being squeezed out of Li Yanqing, Li Gang and others will be achieved if you use your wrists."

  Wanyan Xie also secretly praised in his heart, but there was no expression on his face. He said flatly: "But if there is no benefit to retreat, I'm afraid I won't be able to explain to the wolf lord!"

"Marshal, the so-called retreat is only to the north of the Yellow River. As long as Hebei and Hedong are in our hands, we are not afraid that they will not pay the price. At that time, the Song Dynasty's peace faction controlled the power of the court, and we bought traitors again, resulting in Bianjing's defenses. The commander-in-chief can look for an opportunity to go south again and break through Bianjing with a blitzkrieg, even if Zhao Huan wants to use Li Yanqing again, it will be too late."

  Wanyan Xie couldn't bear it anymore, and happily gave a thumbs up and praised: "It really is a clever plan!"

  (end of this chapter)

Chapter end