After being exiled, I led my whole family to rebel.

Chapter 329 Peace Talks Success
General Gu was obviously dissatisfied. "Little boy, is there no other way to wipe out the Tartars? What you said is targeting ordinary people over there. What about the officers? They killed many of our people!"

"That's easy. Then kill all the disobedient high-ranking officials." Seeing General Gu's obviously stunned expression, Xu Zhenying smiled, "General Gu, don't you really think I'm merciful to the enemy?"

General Zhao Yi said, "The Tartars are very united. If you kill their officials, the people below will definitely not listen to your call for amnesty."

"It's okay. There are two ways. One is to let the Tartars who are willing to surrender to us be the chief general, and leave the dirty work of killing to him. He will also bear the blame. They are all Tartars, and their internal conflicts should be resolved by themselves. We will not be involved. The second way is to let the disobedient one on our side be the chief general, and then order him to kill these people. The crime will naturally be his, and we only need to deal with this scapegoat."

Zhao Yi's body visibly stiffened.

The woman's nonchalant remarks seemed to have determined the outcome of the entire country.

There were so many changes in the world and piles of bones, all reflected in her words and laughter.

Is this the imperial technique from the superior?

Such a manipulator of people's hearts, such a shrewd and calculating man, such a calm and detached man, such a cruel and indifferent man, he takes one step and looks at a hundred steps ahead. In just a few words, he has already determined the direction of the entire Central Plains for a hundred years.

It is said that smart people can see the general trend of the world in the next ten years, but Xu Zhenying has even calculated things in the next few decades accurately.

This can't help but make people feel cold.

No wonder...the man in the east died quietly at the hands of this woman...

Xu Zhenying...is a natural emperor!

It was not until this moment that Zhao Yi finally realized that he was no match for Xu Zhenying, and no one in the entire continent could be her opponent!

Xu Zhenying smiled and patted Zhao Yi on the shoulder. "General Zhao, I have been very open with you in today's conversation. Can I be sure that you are willing to surrender?"

Zhao Yi was stunned for a moment, then stood up.

His eyes gradually became firm, and Bai Ci'en and General Gu behind him both looked at him as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

Today we will discuss victory or defeat, and it is right in front of us.

Even Chang Zizai and Zhang Wanjun felt the subtlety of the atmosphere at the moment and became even more nervous!
After a while, Zhao Yi looked at the woman deeply.

During the whole process, she had a calm and confident look on her face, as if she could move the entire chessboard with just a wave of her sleeves.

Thinking of the rumors that Xu Zhenying was a goddess, Zhao Yi sighed in his heart: Maybe, the child of destiny really is this eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl in front of him.

Zhao Yi exhaled slightly, then his face became solemn, he clasped his hands together, knelt on one knee, and said in a loud voice with a resolute look in his eyes, "Your Highness, I, Zhao Yi, lead the three cities in the northern border, 200,000 soldiers, and 1.2 million civilians to request to be incorporated into Jinzhou Prefecture! From now on, I am willing to charge into battle for Your Highness, protect the northern border, and be willing to serve you!"

Bai Ci'en's expression was obviously relaxed, and he looked quite happy. He half-knelt on the ground and said, "Your Highness, Bai Ci'en, is also willing to serve His Majesty Prince Zhao!"

Seeing this, General Gu could only half-kneel to show his loyalty.

"Okay! Okay! Okay!" Xu Zhenying said "Okay" three times in a row, and then he grabbed Zhao Yi and Bai Ci'en's hands without caring about the difference between men and women, and helped them up. "Since you are willing to recognize me as Xu Zhenying, I will accept your kneeling this time. But there is no rule of kneeling in my Jinzhou Prefecture. The monarch, ministers, and people are all equal in personality. From now on, you don't have to kneel. The knees of the people in my Jinzhou Prefecture are hard!"

"Yes!" Zhao Yi and Bai Ci'en stood up, obviously a little excited.

Zhao Yi was also somewhat uncomfortable with Xu Zhenying's enthusiasm.

Even the woman's hand touched him just now.

The two of them were so divided, like a flood and a beast between them. But he changed his mind and thought that since he had already recognized Xu Zhenying as his master, if Xu Zhenying was a man, he would not be so restrained.

Compared with Xu Zhenying's frankness, Zhao Yi felt that he still had a long way to go.

Although their behavior has moved closer to Jinzhou Prefecture, they are still far behind in terms of ideology.

But only after he finally surrendered did I finally feel relieved.

"My trip today was not in vain. Once the situation in the northern border is settled, it will not only benefit the people in the north, but also the people in Bianjing. In the past ten years, the people have suffered a lot from the war. But soon, the world will be truly stable, and the people will be able to truly recuperate."

When talking about the great plans for the future, even General Gu's blood boiled and he looked ready to do something big.

Zhao Yi and Bai Ci'en were both in their twenties or thirties, a good age to achieve success, so they were naturally eager to try.

However, Xu Zhenying smiled at Zhao Yi and looked him up and down, with a feeling that he had some bad intentions.

Zhao Yi had no choice but to bow and said, "Your Highness, if you have anything to say, please tell me. Zhao Yi will do his duty."

Xu Zhenying smiled, "Nothing. I just remembered that today's discussion started with an apology, and I guess it should end with an apology."

Zhao Yi looked at Xu Zhenying's sparkling eyes, and suddenly his heart skipped a beat.

This woman seems to be more elusive than the Zhou family.

Xu Zhenying smiled awkwardly, "In fact, the Propaganda Department had already written the article before the negotiation. I guess the news of the North's surrender had already appeared in the newspapers a few days before our negotiation and spread all over the country."

Zhao Yi shuddered, then smiled bitterly: "Your Highness, you are... too cunning. You are trying to cut off all my escape routes and force me to surrender."

"But there is one more thing, which is good news." Xu Zhenying smiled shyly, "I was afraid that Zhou Mian would attack your family, so I sent people to Bianjing City in advance to hide all your relatives. Don't worry, they are very safe."

Zhao Yi immediately breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you, Your Highness!"

But soon, Zhao Yi felt uncomfortable.

No wonder the people he sent before couldn’t find their relatives. It turned out that they fell into Xu Zhenying’s hands.

If today's negotiations were unsuccessful, Xu Zhenying would probably take advantage of the situation and put the blame on Zhou Mian. Zhao Yi would definitely fight Zhou Mian to the death, and eventually force him to surrender to Jinzhou Prefecture in order to avenge his family.

Therefore, since today's negotiations were successful, Xu Zhenying could use this opportunity to do him a favor.

No matter how you look at it, Xu Zhenying is the winner.

Zhao Yi was once again thankful that he surrendered to Jinzhou Prefecture, otherwise facing such an enemy would be terrifying to think about.

Fortunately, I am now considered Xu Zhenying's own person.

Xu Zhenying probably won't use these methods on him.

At this time, Zhao Yi couldn't help but feel some sympathy for Zhou Mian.

Although Zhou Mian is a man of some talent, he has spent all his time fighting for power and profit. It's hard to tell how he will die when the time comes.

But at this point, it is useless for Zhao Yi to think too much.

At this point, the North has changed its master!

Zhao Yi suppressed all his expression, stepped aside, and waved his sleeves, "Your Highness, please enter the city!"

But Zhang Wanjun stood in front of Xu Zhenying, blocking her way, "Your Highness, be careful, there is a trap!"

Like Zhang Wanjun, Chang Zizai did not agree with Xu Zhenying going into the enemy camp alone at this moment.

Although the negotiations seemed to be going smoothly, sometimes things could go wrong in a moment. Moreover, they had never had contact with Zhao Yi, so they naturally had to guard against Zhao Yi's betrayal.

It's always better to be cautious.

Chang Zizai said, "Your Highness, for your safety, why don't you go back first and let our army enter the barracks together."

Zhao Yi pursed his lips slightly, and his outstretched hand froze in mid-air. He seemed to realize that something was wrong. The talks had just ended, and the two sides had not yet completely established trust, but he actually invited Xu Zhenying to join the camp.

Xu Zhenying waved at Chang Zizai and said with a smile, "Take General Zhao's token and go over first. When you get there, find a loudspeaker and a horse, run around the military camp, and then announce a few things for me."

Chang Zizai listened attentively.

Even Zhao Yi turned his head and looked at her.

"First, tell everyone in the North that today's negotiations went smoothly and General Zhao Yi has surrendered to Jinzhou Prefecture. Second, the monthly wages of all soldiers who stay will be 20% higher than Jinzhou Prefecture's. They will be paid on the 15th of every month without any delay. They will be given 12 sets of clothes for the four seasons and an extra bonus at the end of the year. Third, the children of all soldiers, whether in the North, South, or Jinzhou Prefecture, will all be enrolled in school for free!"

Chang Zizai was a little confused and dazed, as if trying to guess the meaning of the three things Xu Zhenying said.

Xu Zhenying kicked him jokingly, "Hurry up or not! Aren't you the one with the loudest voice on weekdays?"

Chang Zizai pretended to say "Ouch", and stopped thinking about it, and said with a smile: "Your Highness, I will go now."

When Chang Zizai walked away, Zhang Wanjun naturally moved closer to Xu Zhenying.

After all, she is the only one left to guard the place now.

General Gu was still very happy, and was quite proud of himself. Now the military expenses were solved. It seemed that the biggest advantage of joining Jinzhou Prefecture was that he had money!
Bai Ci'en smiled helplessly: "Your Highness, your move of cutting off the source of the trouble is too cruel."

Zhao Yi raised his eyebrows, with a hint of confusion in his eyes.

Bai Ci'en explained, "The first thing is to announce the results of the negotiations to stabilize people's hearts. The second thing is to lure them with benefits and show off the fat meat of Jinzhou Prefecture. If we turn against them, the soldiers will not be able to eat the fat meat, and I am afraid that we will become sinners instead. The third thing is that most of these soldiers have children. When they are fighting outside, they are most concerned about their children at home. Your Highness uses their children's education as bait, and the soldiers will definitely support you even more. With these three approaches, the morale of the 200,000 soldiers in the north is completely controlled by Your Highness. We have no room for turning against them. If we do, I am afraid that the soldiers will not agree. After all, who can tolerate the duck in hand flying away?"

Xu Zhenying treated Bai Ci'en differently. He looked at Bai Ci'en for a long time as if he were a leek. Then he said to Zhao Yi, "I'm sorry, General Zhao. Our talks are not over yet. I don't know you well enough. We must be on guard against each other. Please understand."

Zhao Yi laughed dumbly, "Your Highness is so blatantly on guard that I have nothing to say. You don't have to be so frank."

Xu Zhenying also laughed: "When talking together, we should always be open and honest, trust each other and be on guard against each other. I would rather be a real villain than a hypocrite."

After saying this, Xu Zhenying turned around and waved towards a hill in the distance.

Seeing this, Zhao Yi couldn't help but be curious: "Your Highness, what are you doing?"

Bai Ci'en's face turned stern, and he whispered to Zhao Yi, "I heard that there is a telescope in Jinzhou Prefecture that can see thousands of miles away. Looking at the direction your highness is waving his hand, I'm afraid he is sending a signal?"

Bai Ci'en spoke in a low voice, but Xu Zhenying still heard it. She smiled and said, "It's not a thousand miles away, it's probably a dozen miles at most. If you want to see a thousand miles away, it's not possible with the current level of technology."

Zhao Yi and Bai Ci'en didn't understand what technology was, but they were already shocked by the fact that the telescope could see over ten miles away.

Xu Zhenying then said, "This telescope... I remember that the Ministry of War of the Great Zhou Dynasty purchased a lot of it. Didn't they send it to you?"

Zhao Yi sneered when he heard this: "Zhou Mian is guarding against me like a thief, and he wants to dethrone me from my position as the commander of the northern border. The military funds he allocated can only meet the basic needs of daily life. How can he be so generous?"

General Gu immediately asked, "Your Highness, can our generals in the northern border also have this thing?"

Xu Zhenying smiled: "Of course. By then, all generals above the middle level will have one."

"Speaking of which--" Xu Zhenying stared at Zhao Yi and Bai Ci'en with admiration on his face. Zhao Yi and Bai Ci'en suddenly felt their scalps tingling, and they intuitively felt that what he would say next might be the key point.

"We have a strict and fair selection process for the soldiers and generals of Jinzhou Prefecture. I am not satisfied with some of your mid-level leaders and they must be replaced. Also, your previous factionalism must be broken, and the previous situation of listening to individuals instead of the court must be changed. Since you have voted for Jinzhou Prefecture, you must follow the rules of Jinzhou Prefecture. I cannot tolerate someone eating the food of Jinzhou Prefecture while engaging in factionalism."

Although they had never heard of the meaning of middle-level leadership, and it was probably a new term in Jinzhou Prefecture, the two of them understood its meaning.

Zhao Yi said, "This...we had thought about it before we came here."

Bai Ci'en said, "I heard that every time your Highness conquers a city, he treats the officials of the Great Zhou Dynasty in a relatively gentle manner. Either the inspection team conducts a multi-faceted assessment, or the clerks conduct an assessment before deciding whether they should stay or go. Can we also consider using the examination method for our mid-level generals?"

Xu Zhenying nodded, "Of course, we will decide whether to stay or go based on the assessment method, but don't forget that most of the middle-level generals in the Great Zhou Dynasty are illiterate, which is completely inconsistent with our Jinzhou Prefecture's talent selection standards."

Zhao Yi immediately said, "These people may not be well educated, but they have fought for many years and have rich combat experience. Moreover, their military exploits are all real. They fought their way through the Tartars with real swords and guns. There should be some humanity under the law. Your Highness, can you show some leniency to these veterans?"

General Gu's face turned pale with anxiety, this concerned many of his brothers!

Think about his brothers, each of them is worse than him, they can't even read a single word! Could it be that they are being dismissed or fired just because they can't read?
"That's right, Your Highness. My brothers are all brave men who never flinch from fighting. They are very courageous! I have an older brother. When the Tartars massacred the city, he led 200 people to protect the people and retreated. He even had his hand chopped off! Now he is dismissed just because he can't read. It's too unfair!"

"Okay, then I would like to ask, if a general cannot read, how can he read the military strategy book, how can he learn the military strategy, how can he read the map, how can he calculate the marching speed and logistical supply, how can he measure the wind force and attack distance, how can he calculate the angle and range of firearms attack, how can he write a military report? A person who cannot read is like a blind person! I am not afraid to tell you, I don't want a general who cannot read, and I don't want a soldier who cannot read either!"

The three people were completely stunned.

"Do you know what the literacy rate of our soldiers in Jinzhou Prefecture is?" Xu Zhenying frowned, seeming to be extremely dissatisfied with General Gu's opinion, "Wanjun, tell them!"

Zhang Wanjun said, "According to the latest military statistics, our army's literacy rate remains at around 80%. The remaining 20% ​​is because the local remnants of the army have not been in the army for long and have not had time to do literacy training. But it is estimated that within two years, our army's literacy rate will be raised to 100%."

Zhao Yi and Bai Ci'en were shocked. "One hundred percent?"

Bai Ci'en was the most shocked, because when he left Qianzhou, although he had discovered that the soldiers of Jinzhou Prefecture were well-educated, the literacy rate was only around 20 to 30 percent at the time. He did not expect that in just a few years, this figure had risen to 80 percent!

Bai Ci'en had studied mathematics in Jinzhou Prefecture, so he explained to General Gu: "Eighty percent means that eighty out of a hundred people can read."

General Gu was shocked and said, "Doesn't that mean that everyone can read? This... this is impossible!"

"Nothing is impossible. You don't know how much we invest in each soldier. Soldiers of Jinzhou Prefecture are carefully selected from the beginning. They must be patient, courageous, and obedient. After entering the camp, the most important thing is to study and practice. Reading should take up half of the time, and the content of learning includes astronomy and geography, military thought, military tactics, physics and chemistry. I can say that any veteran soldier from Jinzhou Prefecture can pass the civil service examination directly. Soldiers of Jinzhou Prefecture are trained to be able to decide the fate of the world on horseback and to pacify the world with their pens—"

General Gu retorted, "But actual combat is not just talk! Even if you are good at studying, you might wet your pants in fear when you are on the battlefield!"

Zhang Wanjun was dissatisfied and said, "General Gu, our soldiers' training is not like yours. We have competitions, confrontations, and actual combat exercises. Soldiers take turns to be commanders. The dozens of kilometers of hills on the west mountain of Jinzhou Prefecture are the actual combat training grounds! After rounds of rounds of rounds, only the one with the highest cumulative score can be promoted to general!"

When Zhao Yi heard this, he was so excited that he couldn't calm down for a long time.

According to Xu Zhenying, this is not the training of ordinary soldiers, but the training of great generals.

He even began to doubt whether Zhao Yi could win every battle in Jinzhou Prefecture and stand out from the crowd.
General Gu was suddenly speechless!

The cruelty of the promotion system for Jinzhou Prefecture's soldiers completely shattered his last shred of hope.

"But...how did General Gu presume that your brothers would not be able to learn to read? My Jinzhou Prefecture has a method of learning to read that is much faster than that of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Perhaps General Gu is the one with the worst cultural performance?"

This sentence undoubtedly successfully provoked General Gu. He frowned and said, "How is it possible! How could I, General Gu, be the one who lost the tail?!"

Xu Zhenying smiled: "That's not necessarily true. But..."

Xu Zhenying changed the subject, "General Zhao is right. Legal principles are nothing more than human feelings. We will analyze the specific situation. If it is really the case as General Gu said, we can also keep him as an instructor or grant him some honorary title and leisure position. This can also be regarded as the court's retirement support for them. Are the three generals satisfied with what I said?"

At this moment, the three of them immediately relaxed their expressions.

Although it was different from their expectations, considering the strict selection process of Jinzhou Prefecture, it was extremely difficult to keep this group of illiterate old generals as instructors.

Zhao Yi cupped his hands: "In that case, thank you very much, Your Highness!"

Bai Ci'en also said: "Your Highness's action is unparalleled in benevolence and righteousness."

Xu Zhenying smiled and said, "I think Chang Zizai is almost done, let's talk while we walk."

Just as he finished speaking, a drizzle began to fall from the sky, the sound of raindrops falling on the grass and trees.

"It's raining. The weather is not good." Xu Zhenying said softly, and then looked at Zhao Yi again, "How about this, General Zhao and I take the same boat, Wanjun, you go with General Gu and the others, after we get ashore, we will wait for Elder Lin and the others to come, and then we will go to the barracks together."

Zhao Yi looked at the rain in the sky and smiled with relief, "Good things take time. Your Highness, please get on board and visit our northern military camp. The soldiers have been waiting for you for a long time!"

Xu Zhenying also said: "Yes. If we unite the north and the south, the war will end and the people can live a stable life."

"Everything is thanks to your Highness."

Xu Zhenying smiled and tilted his head to look at Zhao Yi. "It is said that General Zhao is the backbone of the North. You, the backbone, must not learn the officialdom of the Great Zhou Dynasty and flatter me. You must know that flattery will be looked down upon by colleagues in Jinzhou Prefecture. General Zhao, you should maintain your truth-seeking and pragmatic character."

Zhao Yi's smile was somewhat awkward this time.

The two teams moved separately. The boatman Chang Yuanshan rowed the boat over. Zhao Yi and Xu Zhenying stood on it one after another. Amid the sound of rain, Chang Yuanshan stretched out his arms and rowed to the east.

Zhao Yi took advantage of this gap to immediately report the situation in the northern border to Xu Zhenying.

The two parties involved thought the peace talks were successful and it was nothing special. However, when Xu Zhenying made a gesture, the whole mountain was in an uproar.

Especially Old Lin and Zhou Houfang, they almost immediately ran to tell others after hearing the whistle from the top of the hill.

The success of the peace talks between the North and the South marked that they were one step closer to the unification of the Great Zhou.

It also means that they don't have to fight a war, as they have already captured three cities in the northern border without bloodshed and increased their troops by 200,000!

Your Highness did it.

She gained the greatest benefit at the cost of minimal casualties.

Today, the territory of the Thirteen States has instantly become Seventeen States, with five states left. The Great Zhou Dynasty will end the days of turbulent wars that have lasted for more than ten years!
This is a resounding victory!

Only the soldiers of Jinzhou Prefecture were complaining. They followed His Highness out in the hope of gaining some military merit, but they didn't expect that before the battle even started, the Northern Territory was so frightened that they surrendered voluntarily just by hearing the name of His Highness Prince Zhao.

They could only accept the land of the four states.

Although he was complaining, the pride on his face was obvious.

Soon, Lin Lao and his men, along with the 3,000 soldiers who stayed behind, rushed to the other side without stopping and took a detour.

By the time Xu Zhenying and his companions' two small boats were swaying in the middle of the lake, the shore was already full of people.

Both sides already knew that today's peace talks were successful, so there was a lot of laughter and conversation. Old Lin, Zhou Houfang, Zhao Qiaonian, Zhang Chao from the northern border, General Meng and others all lined up in a line by the lake.

As soon as the ship docked, everyone came to greet it.