Zhurou

Chapter 227 If

With someone taking the lead, everyone started to echo him: "I heard he was shot to death with a divine arm bow! Many of those who went to deliver supplies saw it with their own eyes. A few of them came back the day before yesterday and are trying to spread the story everywhere!"

"Is it really that powerful?"

"Who cares if it's true or not? Anyway, the Di people died and were defeated! I think they are sincere in negotiating peace this time? Fortunately, we have a reliable commander and won the victory this time. We just hope that the peace can last a little longer..."

At this point, the dozen or so people who were eating noodles together suddenly stopped eating and became a little bored.

  ——If it was really thanks to this Pei that the army won, why couldn't they have used him earlier? What about the defeats that the Jin Dynasty had suffered in recent years? What about the many people who died? What about the emperor who was abducted and the countless women, children and craftsmen?

"I heard some news at noon, I don't know if it's true or not - it seems that the Di people want to marry our princess this time..."

Hearing this, everyone nearby looked over, stopped eating their noodles, and showed shock on their faces.

"Is it fake?"

"What marriage? Which princess?"

"Is it the princess from Xiazhou?" someone asked.

"Xiazhou and Xingqing Prefecture already have so many princesses, dukes, and noble ladies, don't they count as marriages? I heard that the retired emperor has had several new children since he passed away, so his branch is enough, right? Why is there no end to this?"

"Lady from Xiazhou... Alas, some of my fellow villagers have been there with the merchant caravans, and their lives there were worse than those of cattle and horses..."

"You also know that she is the 'emperor emeritus', not the new emperor. The new emperor has only this one sister. If we really marry her, we will have to think twice if there is a fight in the future. Besides, she is so beautiful. If we marry her, we will get both her and her wealth. Who wouldn't think about it?"

"This is boring... If you count all the things this princess has done in the past few months, it is clear that she is very thoughtful. She has also made great efforts to defend the capital this time. It would be bad to send the heroes to the fire pit after the victory, right?"

"…Why are you looking at me? My words don't count! I'm also hoping it's fake news!"

But no matter how everyone discussed it, Muneshige's head was quickly sent to the capital.

As the commander-in-chief of the Di army, he attacked the capital twice, led the retired emperor to the north, and looted gold and silver, men and women everywhere. There were quite a few old men in the court who had seen him.

However, it was already the beginning of summer and the weather was getting hotter. Moreover, the food was transported back from nearby Daimyo over a long and bumpy journey. Even though it was thickly salted, wrapped in kraft paper and ice, it was already in a state of poor condition when it arrived.

Even so, this person was very important after all. Everyone bravely debated and looked at it again. They didn't know what they saw, but when they heard others say that there was no objection, they hurriedly nodded - all the Di people came to negotiate peace, and they heard that Xingqing Mansion had also reported the death. If this was still false news, there was nothing to say.

The capture and killing of enemies were real, and the envoys who came to negotiate peace were already halfway there.

After the head was sent back to the capital and information from various sources was combined to finally confirm that the deceased was indeed Muneshige, all subsequent matters were finally brought to the table.

One is the allocation of troops.

After the Di people retreated, the pressure from the north was reduced, and the Privy Council discussed rearrangements and deployments.

The second is the rewards on the front line.

This time we won such a great victory, killing countless enemies, taking many prisoners, and even shooting and killing the enemy commander on the battlefield. This is a record high in the past few years, even if we go back to the past few decades.

However, such a great achievement was achieved because the one who led the troops was the Jiedushi Pei Yong, and he was also the one who shot the killer with the bow. These factors combined make it really difficult to imagine.

Not only the Privy Council, but also the government, has always been wary and cautious of this governor from Jingzhao Prefecture rather than trusting him. Originally, he was far away, so it would be fine if he didn't make trouble in front of them, so they had to pretend that he was a scabby disease, but now he has stepped on their faces, even if they want to play dumb, they can't. Especially since this person actually went to Caizhou in person and won the emperor's trust in a short time, and after returning to Beijing, before everyone could respond, he led the troops to the north, and achieved such a great achievement, the reward is neither too light nor too heavy.

As for the third, it is the Di people’s conditions for peace.

Although the Di envoys had not entered the capital, they had already sent back the news. In addition to the previous annual tribute, an additional annual tribute of gold, silver, tea and silk totaling 300,000 taels was required. The Jin Dynasty ceded seven prefectures and counties including Wei and Xingzhou, and both sides withdrew their troops.

In addition, the successor leader Zong Gu wanted to marry the current eldest princess Zhao Mingzhi, intending to establish an alliance between the two countries to achieve lasting peace.

When Zhao Mingzhi first heard these conditions, he thought they were too absurd and did not take them seriously. He was busy with other matters and treated them as a joke.

In the court, on the surface, no one mentioned it, as if nothing had happened, but in fact, it had been said over and over again countless times behind the scenes.

The last person in the two governments to learn of the news was Lu Xianzhang, who was busy mobilizing manpower to reopen the canal and land transportation, allocating materials to stabilize prices and rectify public security in the city.

He stood in a room in the capital hall, looking at the copied list in his hand in shock. He felt as if he had not yet woken up from a dream. He said, "Are the Di people crazy? It is clear that our Great Jin has won this time..."

Sitting opposite was Yang Ting, the Imperial Censor who had hurried back to the court. He did not seem surprised at all and said, "The price is sky-high and the payment is low. I think Xingqing Prefecture knows that we will not agree to all of it. But after so many years of fighting, the court can no longer afford to make any more trouble."

He had just returned from the south, leading people to raise money and food everywhere, and naturally saw the real situation in the south.

The north has been occupied for most of the year, and there is no possibility of any harvest or tax collection this year. The many refugees who have moved south have to rely on the harvest in the south for their survival.

But for many years, the annual tribute to the north has reached a point where it is difficult to sustain. After the major battles this year, the money spent on food and drink on the front line is like water. The bill is so huge that it is unbearable to even look at it. It is so scary.

If the fighting continues, there may not be any progress on the front line, and rebellions will break out in the south.

Lu Xianzhang was also in the two governments and had seen too many reports from the south. Because he was in charge of the capital, he had a more intuitive understanding of the daily expenses. When he heard this, he could not refute it, so he had to remain silent and turn the page.

But when he saw the words "marriage" and "eldest princess" and so on, no matter how good he was at keeping his temper, he couldn't help but change color and said, "What does the Di people mean by this? Are they trying to humiliate the Great Jin? They're asking me to marry the princess of the Chao Dynasty!"

However, the other person in the hall did not say a word. After a while, Yang Ting continued, "So many princesses have gone to Xiazhou, why would they need one or two more?"

"The royal family is different from others. The princesses, duchesses, and other noble ladies of Xiazhou and Xingqing Prefecture also married the Di people, but most of them were ordinary military officers without much power, and most of them were nameless." He said calmly, "But this time it's different."

Yang Ting started the conversation. Zhang Yi, who was silent for a long time, holding a teacup in his left hand and flipping through the scroll in his right hand, followed suit and said, "Zong Gu is Qi Mu's brother. He has always led troops. After Qi Mu came to power, he helped his brother to manage Xingqing Prefecture. He is well-known among the people. More importantly, he is very interested in Chinese studies and has learned Chinese characters and Chinese since he was a child. I think he is also somewhat close to our Central Plains. Now that he has taken over, it may not be a bad thing."

"This time, he's asking for marriage..." Zhang Yi added meaningfully.

"Although Zong Gu has an old wife, Your Highness is smart. If you can really go to Xingqing Prefecture, you will definitely be able to show some of your skills and learn more about the movements of the Di people. Once there is a change, the court can also receive the news as soon as possible to respond." He stopped looking at the document, and put the teacup back on the table as if he was holding a cup with one hand, looking a little tired. Then he looked at Lu Xianzhang again, "Besides, there is a saying since ancient times that a virtuous wife brings less trouble to her husband. With Your Highness's character, appearance and eloquence, if you can persuade and talk more, you can make Zong Gu live in peace in the future. Isn't it good for the two countries to be at peace?"

"If you have a child in the future, our dynasty will support you. If you succeed to the throne, we will be able to ensure long-term peace on the border..."

Seeing the person opposite him speaking in a calm tone, looking at each other and talking to each other, it seemed as if they had already had a tacit understanding and were now speaking to him, Lu Xianzhang had countless words stuck in his throat and couldn't spit them out for a long time.

He wanted to refute strongly and scold angrily, but the thought of the forces represented by the two people in front of him made him speechless. Inexplicably, he thought of someone in his mind - if Pei Yong was here, how would he react?