lady, please calm down

On September 14th, early in the morning, a peace negotiation delegation composed of Chen Bokang, Luo Ruji, and Chai Su appeared at the Huaibei military camp.

Ordinarily, Luo Ruji had just convinced Huaibei to give up some conditions that were unfavorable to Emperor Zhou yesterday and made the first contribution to the peace negotiation. He should have continued to be fully responsible for the peace negotiation today.

But Chen Bokang has noticed that there seem to be some unknown changes in Huaibei, so naturally he will not let Luo Ruji stand out and follow him no matter what.

In the end, three people formed the peace mission.

Nowadays, Luo Ruji's position is unclear. Chen Bokang represents the gentry class of Zhou Dynasty, and Chai Su, who represents the royal family, must supervise the two to prevent Luo and Chen from competing to betray the interests of Zhou Dynasty.

The three of them seem to be on the same side, but in fact they all have their own agendas.

On the Huaibei side, Han Shizhong, Wu Kui, and Yao Changzi received them equally.

At first, Chai Su wanted to let Huaibei transfer some interests on the basis of preserving the dignity of Emperor Zhou. However, although the other three were not as eloquent as Chai Su, they refused to give in.

Once they couldn't keep up their words, Han Shizhong and Wu Kui cursed and threatened him with vulgar slang that made Chai Su so angry that he trembled all over.

It is simply insulting to gentlemen!
After spending a whole morning, the two sides basically finalized a few things. The chief culprit of the Northern Invasion, Wan Qixi, was handed over to the Qi State. Wang Shu, the commander-in-chief of the Western Route Army and the Secretary of the Ministry of War of the Lin'an Dynasty, was punished and left to the Lin'an Dynasty to deal with it himself. The case of death and injury caused by the river will be strictly investigated by Lin'an.

Second, the State of Qi recognized that the State of Zhou continued to have sovereignty over Jiangning Mansion, but it was jointly governed by Qi and Zhou.

Third, Ezhou, Huangshi, and Jiangning along the river, and Mingzhou, Quanzhou, and Guangzhou along the coast are the six prefectures.

Fourth, the people of the two countries are allowed to travel freely, study, and do business. The tax rates of the two countries are unified, and there must be no discriminatory tax policies.

5. Lin'an respects the state of Qi as the superior state.

Chai Su had no objection to the first few items, but he had a few arguments with Han Shizhong on the fifth item.

He doesn't know much about business, and he even thinks the third and fourth items are good things.

However, Chen Bokang, who had been an official in Huainan for many years, knew that with Huaibei's productivity level, once the two countries opened up the market and there was no tax rate to control it, within three years, the entire Zhou Kingdom would be flooded with Huai goods.

By then, Jiangnan's original economic system will be destroyed.

However, Chen Bokang did not say a word.

After a morning of arguing, the two sides basically reached an agreement on the above five peace terms. Of course, Lin'an must make the most concessions.

But on the sixth item, the Lin'an war compensation of 80 million taels, the two sides once again quarreled.

"Go to hell with your grandma. If it hadn't been for the prince's persuasion, ten million taels would not have been less! Now that twenty million taels have been reduced, what are you waiting for? I'm still saying the same thing, you can give it if you give it, if you don't give it, I will attack tomorrow City, go and get it yourself!”

The arrogant Han Shizhong threatened.

Seeing Chai Su's face flushed with anger, his lips trembling and unable to speak, Chen Bokang said for him, "General Han, the entire Lin'an treasury and the national treasury cannot raise the 10% you want! We can't change things out of thin air. If you give me money, aren’t you forcing things on others?”

Wu Kui on the side said sadly: "The treasury and the national treasury are not enough, but you must be able to find a lot of money in your mansion, right? I heard that your Qin Prime Minister's mansion occupies a vast area and is as luxurious as the imperial city. Search It shouldn't be difficult to come up with a few million taels of silver. And Mr. Chai, I have been the governor of Lin'an Prefecture for many years. If I don't have a million taels of silver in the basement, I can't live up to your position as governor."

"I didn't, don't talk nonsense!"

Chai Su waved his hands repeatedly.

Lin'an is such a big city. If the Huaibei army is allowed to enter the city to search for officials and gentry, 80 million taels may not be enough, but it should be able to reach the level of 10 million. After all, this is where the world's wealth gathers.

"Tomorrow is September 15th. If you want money or dignity, it's up to you."

At noon, it was time to have lunch. Han Shizhong said a harsh word and went out to eat with Wu Kui and his eldest son.

The remaining three people looked at each other in disbelief. After Luo Ruji brought the news yesterday that Emperor Zhou would not issue an edict of sin and left the city to surrender, the entire Lin'an court saw the dawn of the success of the peace negotiation.

But the compensation of 10 million taels, even if reduced to 80 million, is still a condition that Lin'an Dynasty cannot fulfill.

Hearing Han Shizhong's naked threat before leaving, Chai Su angrily shouted: "Aren't they afraid of hurting the name of King Jin's benevolence and righteousness?"

Chen Bokang was thoughtful, and glanced at Luo Ruji as if unintentionally, but unexpectedly, the latter was also secretly observing him. When their eyes met, they were both old-fashioned. Neither of them panicked. Instead, they each sighed at the other, seemingly both. Worrying about peace talks.

A quarter of an hour later, a soldier brought the food. Chen Bokang ate a few bites in a hurry. Then he walked out of the tent to use the toilet and said to a guard: "Excuse me, I want to see the King of Jin."

The guard turned and left. Naturally, he was not allowed to move around freely in the military camp. Chen Bokang could only continue to stand where he was and wait for the news.

Just a few breaths later, Luo Ruji also walked out with a smile and said casually: "Master Chen, why are you standing here? The autumn atmosphere is getting thicker outside, so be careful of the wind and cold."

Chen Bokang responded with a gentle smile, but said: "I am used to taking a few steps after dinner, Mr. Luo can go back to his account."

"What a coincidence, Xiaguan also has the habit of taking a walk after meals, haha."

"hehe."

Seeing Luo Ruji sticking to him like dog skin plaster, Chen Bokang smiled meaningfully and ignored him.

After a few dozen breaths, the guard who went to report the matter turned around and said, "Master Chen, the prince is waiting at the Chinese army's tent. Please come with me."

Luo Ruji, who was two steps away, naturally heard it clearly, but he heard him say again: "What a coincidence, the peace talks have reached a deadlock this morning. The lower official originally wanted to see the prince, so he asked the King of Jin to intervene and make peace."

Chen Bokang turned slightly sideways and looked at Luo Ruji for a few breaths. A vague smile suddenly appeared on his calm face, "Okay, let's go together."

Whether he said this or not, Luo Ruji couldn't stop Luo Ruji from following him to see Chen Chu.

By this time, Chen Bokang was very sure that this man named Luo was his competitor, a competitor who held Qi's self-respect in his hands.

Chen Bokang wanted to see Chen Chu, just to ask what was going on with Luo Ruji. Obviously, the latter did not want Chen Bokang and Chen Chu to be alone, lest Chen Bokang say something detrimental to him behind his back.

The current situation, to use an inappropriate metaphor, is similar to two women competing for favor.

The two of them followed the guards to the Chinese army's tent. Even though they were like mirrors in each other's hearts, they could still talk in low voices about the dilemma of today's peace talks along the way. They sighed together from time to time, both looking worried about the country and the people. .

In the big tent, Chen Chu, who was eating, warmly greeted the two of them to sit down.

Since Chen Bokang had no chance to test Luo Ruji, he talked about the peace talks in the morning. Upon hearing this, Chen Chu immediately asked people to recruit Chai Su, Han Shizhong, the pioneer of the southern expedition, and Peng Er, the rear army general.

A posture of making peace for both sides.

While waiting for Han and Peng to take a break, Chen Chu ordered tea to be served. He first sincerely congratulated Chen Bokang on his appointment as the third envoy, and only said: "I hope that after taking up his new post, Mr. Chen will become a bridge of friendship between Qi and Zhou and benefit both countries." the people of the country”

This statement was respectful but very official.

But when Chen Chu and Luo Ruji were talking, what they said was, "Jiangning is very beautiful. When Lin'an comes to an end, Mr. Luo can send his wife and nephew to Jiangning to stay for a few days, so that he can interact with my Sanniang." She loves children best."

Luo Ruji, who was only half-pushing his buttocks against the chair, hurriedly stood up and said: "After Xiaguan returned, he arranged for my concubine and Quanzi to go to Jiangning. It is a blessing for Xiaguan's family to be able to meet Empress Cai."

Chen Bokang probably figured it out. Chen Chu made it clear to him that Luo Ruji was also a member of the King of Jin.
As for when Luo Ruji voted for the King of Jin, Chen Bokang didn't know, but it seemed to be related to the Cai family?

However, it can be seen from Chen Chu's different attitudes towards the two that the King of Jin regarded Chen Bokang as a partner and Luo Ruji as a lackey. Otherwise, he would not have used a tone that sounded intimate but was actually commanding. Let him send his wife to Jiangning.

From King Jin's perspective, lackeys are indeed more useful than partners.

Now, the content of the secret conversation between Chen Chu and Chen Bokang in Anfeng is different.

The root of all this is related to a secret letter sent to the Jiangning Military Command Station at the end of last month.
After Su Shengye received the secret letter reporting Cai Hua's corruption, even if Concubine Cai had a favor for his master Li Ke, he did not dare to hide it anymore, and immediately sent someone to deliver the secret letter to the King of Chu's desk.

After Chen Chu saw the letter, he was very unhappy for a while. Although Cai Hua made money in Jiangning, he did not report it in a formal way like an official document, but when the two slept together, Cai Hua said it in private, and this move It is also to temporarily alleviate the extreme shortage of reserves in Huaibei.

Although it was for official business, the method was disgraceful after all.

Chen Chu didn't have a moral obsession. Furthermore, among the officials and gentry who paid the money, not one of them was clean. This can be regarded as a slight punishment.

Little did he know, who had tricked the military commander. And the person behind the scenes could accurately find the military commander's location. There was a high probability that he was someone within his own party.

This time, the scope of suspicion has narrowed a lot.

Either it was the work of some old Huainan officials in the Anfeng Dynasty, or it was the Chen family who had a competitive relationship with Cai Yuan.

In fact, there have been factional disputes in all dynasties. In matters like Jiang Ning's, the other party's methods can be considered very gentle.

The other party did not choose to directly make a big fuss about the matter. Instead, he just sent a secret letter to the military commander who would not easily leak the news. He even had the tenderness to let Chen Chu handle the family affairs by himself.

After a few days of thinking, Chen Chu rejected the idea of ​​what the Chen family did because this method, which was a bit petty and could only deal with people, was really not like what Chen Jingan could do.

Maybe someone else from the Chen family?

If you think about it more deeply, it's even possible that the Cai family did it!
It seems to be hurting oneself, but if the other party is familiar with Chen Chu's way of thinking, he can probably guess that Chen Chu will be suspicious of the Chen family after seeing the secret letter.

But at the same time, the style of this matter is not like Cai Hua. If she wants to do something, she will never do it so painlessly. Sanniangzi's emphasis is 'either don't do it or do it absolutely'.

If both families are eliminated, and the Chen and Cai families fall out using the simplest reasoning method, whoever benefits the most can list a few more suspects.

But all of these suspects are people close to Chen Chu.

In the end, Chen Chu didn't let Su Shengye continue the investigation.

Firstly, it didn't scare the snake, and secondly, the other party's method was really childish and could not stir up trouble.

However, this incident reminded Chen Chu again. After all, Chen Bokang came from Yingchuan with Chen. It is okay to cooperate, but he can no longer be allowed to dominate the Lin'an Dynasty!
Coincidentally, Luo Ruji and Sang Yanting arrived in front of them. With the current situation, as long as Chen Chu endorsed it, it would not be difficult to build another force in the Lin'an court.

Here, the three of them drank a cup of tea. Chai Su, Han Shizhong, and Peng Er arrived almost at the same time.

When Chai Su saw Chen Bokang and Luo Ruji already sitting in the tent, he couldn't help but look at them suspiciously.

"Your Majesty! I listened to your advice and reduced the compensation to 80 million taels, but these people in the Southern Dynasty are still not satisfied! You can no longer speak for them!"

After Han Shizhong entered the account, he complained before his buttocks sat on the seat.

Chen Chu gave a wry smile and looked at Chen, Luo and Chai. Chai Sugu just sat down and quickly stood up and said: "Prince Jin, it's not because I refuse to accept it, but it's really impossible to do it with the two-day price of 80 million." !”

"Put the knife on your neck, let's see if you can do it!" Han Shizhong shouted.

Seeing that the argument started again, Chen Chu quickly stopped. The tent became quiet for a while, and both sides looked at Prince Jin, who was sitting in the middle, frowning and thinking, waiting for him to say something fair on his behalf.

After a long while, Chen Chu first raised his head and looked at Peng Er, "General Peng, is it true that 80 million is indispensable?"

Brother Peng clasped his fists and said firmly: "The compensation is made of the flesh and blood of the soldiers, and there cannot be any less!"

The words "flesh and blood of soldiers" made Chen Chu sigh, and then looked at Chai Su, "Master Chai, tell me the number, what is the maximum we can raise?"

Chai Su glanced at Chen Bokang subconsciously, hesitated for a moment, and said unconfidently: "The city can raise up to five million taels."

"Fuck you! You're sending a beggar away!"

Han Shizhong immediately cursed.

"There are only so many in the city! As long as you are not afraid of hurting King Jin's reputation, go into the city and rob him!" Chai Su seemed to see that King Jin wanted to take care of Lin'an, and straightened his back for the first time and shouted.

Han Shizhong didn't have a good temper. He rolled up his sleeves and actually pretended to hit him. Brother Peng next to him quickly hugged him, then looked at Chen Chu with grief and anger, and said: "Your Majesty, you saw it too! Lin'an I invaded the north first, but now I have no regrets! I don’t want this money anymore!”

After saying that, Peng Er pulled Han Shizhong and walked out of the tent, shouting at the same time: "Powu, we don't want the money anymore. Order all the troops and horses immediately and start attacking the city!"

"."Chai Su.

Even if Chen Bokang guessed that the two of them were performing, he did not dare to bet that the Huaibei Army would not attack the city. He quickly stood up and cupped his hands to Chen Chu and said, "King Jin! You must not do it. The people of Lin'an are also the subjects of King Jin!"

Luo Ruji also stood up and walked quickly to Chai Su, full of resentment and said: "Master Chai, what are you doing! Apologize to the two generals!"

In this matter, Luo Ruji and Chen Bokang had a common interest. The Huaibei Army maintained a deterrent against the Lin'an Dynasty, so that they could pretend to be powerful and get away with it.

If the Huaibei Army really captured Lin'an, the two of them would not be so important.

Chai Su was quickly infected by the nervousness of his two colleagues. In the late autumn, beads of sweat suddenly appeared on his forehead.

But seeing the angry looks of Han and Peng, he did not dare to step forward to stop them. In the end, he could only look at King Jin, who had a kinder face and better reputation.

His legs went weak and he knelt down with a thud, "Prince Jin. Please, Prince Jin, save the people of Lin'an!"

At this point, Chen Chu finally shouted: "Han Shizhong, Peng Er!"

The two stopped and looked back, but still held their heads high, looking unruly.

Just listen to Chen Chu say again: "What can't we talk about? Why bother to fight and kill at every turn? I will tell you a way, and you all will listen."

This was the first time that King Jin took the initiative. Chai Su seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw and looked at King Jin sadly but full of hope.

However, King Jin pondered for a moment and said slowly: "Master Chai, Lin'an was at fault in this matter. Five million is indeed less. Let's do this. When you go back, you can quickly raise the money. Pay 10% first and eight million. and Huaibei."

Before Chai Su could speak, Han Shizhong said excitedly: "Eight million is not enough! What to do with the rest!"

"the remaining"

Chen Chu thought for a while, looked at Chai Su, and said gently: "Master Chai, you really can't afford that much money right now, right?"

"Yeah, yeah," Chai Su nodded.

Chen Chu looked at Han Shizhong again, "General Han, I really can't afford so much at once. Let's see, the third clause of the peace agreement is to open forewarning in the six prefectures. It's not difficult to make an annual income of tens of millions from taxes alone. It's not as difficult as mine. How about I serve as a guarantee and let the Qi people serve as the envoys of Boti in Dazhou City and pay in installments with customs duties?"

"Your Majesty, even if you can earn tens of millions per year from customs duties, it will take many years to repay it! It's too slow."

Han Shizhong said again. Chen Chu thought for a while, nodded to express his agreement, and then said: "Didn't Mr. Chen just take office as the envoy of the third division? Your Qi State will send another person to serve as the judge of the third division to reduce the expenditure of the court. I think I can save several million every year, right?”

Speaking of this, Chen Chu sighed, looked at Chai Su and said: "Master Chai, the Lin'an Dynasty may have to live a hard life for a few years in the future, but as the saying goes, if you owe debts and pay back money, it is natural that if life is hard, it will be easier. Life is ruined, isn’t it?”

The people of Qi were appointed as the envoys of the Zhou Dynasty and the third divisions of the government. This not only meant they had to live a hard life, they simply wanted to strangle Zhou's throat!
From now on, if the Zhou Dynasty wants to train its troops, the military salary alone will be blocked by Qi State, and there will never be any hope of turning around.

But compared with the difficulties ahead, the current threats are real.

Chai Su, who was exhausted on the ground, said in despair: "Prince Jin Jin, our government's financial expenditure is already stretched thin and there is no way to reduce it."

"Eh~"

Chen Chu shook his head and advised earnestly: "The Zhou Dynasty supported hundreds of thousands of troops. Now that the world is peaceful, it is completely unnecessary. In my opinion, 80% of the Xiang army can be eliminated, and only one or two troops can be retained in the poor mountains and rivers to deter the bandits. That’s it.”

"."

Peace in the world? Does your family's world peace mean that the capital is besieged and forced to sign an alliance under the city?

Chai Su did not dare to speak against the Huaibei tigers and wolves, so he only murmured: "Abandon 80% of the Xiang army. What if the enemy invades the border?"

"I'm so afraid!"

Chen Chu suddenly stood up from behind the big case, stood in the tent, and said rather domineeringly: "When the peace agreement is completed, I will make a decree to the world: Qi is the mother of Zhou, and the Emperor of Zhou calls his aunt the eldest princess of Qi. From then on, Qi protects the country for Zhou. Anyone who attacks Zhou is attacking Qi and will be destroyed!" (End of this chapter)