After all the sacrifices have been made to speed pass, who is still practicing hard skills?

Chapter 388 The two countries negotiate peace! Battle of Longtan!
The Northern Barbarians are the elder brother, and the Central Plains are the younger brother.

As soon as these words were spoken, there was a moment of silence in the Fengtian Hall, and then many civil and military officials quickly began to scold the Northern Barbarian envoys with "anger" on their faces.

"How dare you, a bold barbarian, bully our Great Zhou like this!"

"You are barbarians, how can you be my brother?"

"How dare you, a mere Northern Barbarian, call me your brother? Even though we are all brothers, the Great Zhou should be the elder brother and the Northern Barbarians should be the younger brothers."

Although all the officials present knew that the current situation was that the Northern Barbarians had the upper hand and attacked the border every year, the Zhou court could only station heavy troops on the border for defense.

They were almost unable to organize an effective counterattack, and after nearly a hundred years, they were still pushed back thousands of miles of territory by the enemy.

But even though they knew this, they did not dare to agree to it.

Whoever agrees will be cursed.

Anyway, it's just a few words of opposition. For them, it can increase their reputation and leave an impression of being a man of integrity to the people outside.

Emperor Yuan Kang, who was at the top, naturally considered more than just some empty reputation. What he wanted was actual benefits. As long as the Northern Barbarians withdrew, he could free up hundreds of thousands of troops in an instant.

This force can help him suppress southern Xinjiang, deal with the threat from Li Chengguo, and wipe out the underworld forces that have been increasingly testing the imperial court in recent years.

It will free up more hands to deal with the Qingtian Sect.

Or we could send more troops to the East China Sea border to guard against the invasion of demons.

It can be said that this matter is of great benefit to the Zhou Dynasty court.

He had great ambitions, but there were too many constraints. Internally, there was a force headed by Ji Chengdao, which made it impossible for him to realize his ambitions. Externally, there were rebels who still wanted to rebel.

Faced with internal and external troubles, he could only try his best to maintain stability in the Central Plains.

Now the opportunity he had been waiting for has finally come, and he can't hide his excitement.

But after all, as an emperor, he still has some skills in cultivating his temper. On the one hand, this is just a possibility and does not mean that peace talks will definitely be held. On the other hand, it depends on the conditions of the Northern Barbarians.

As for the third, it is naturally the impact.

Seeing the excited court officials below, if he agreed directly, he would undoubtedly be branded as a tyrant. Even if he wanted to negotiate peace and bow his head, he should let the people below take the blame.

Following his look, the Minister of Rites below groaned inwardly, knowing what the emperor meant. He would bear the blame, while the emperor would get all the benefits.

But he had no choice.

"No noise is allowed in the hall!"

When all the officials were excited, Li Chengzhong immediately spoke loudly.

The expressions of Zagumu and others were not very good. They could understand the language of the Central Plains and knew what those "barbarians" meant.

However, being here, they could not argue with so many officials from the Central Plains.

As soon as the hall fell silent, the Minister of Rites jumped out and said:
"Our Great Zhou has been established for six hundred years, and our military is at its peak. We have a million-strong army, strong men like clouds, and generals like rain. Even if we negotiate peace, both sides should be treated equally.

How can we be inferior to the Golden Saint King Court?"

"Your Majesty, Emperor of the Great Zhou, calm down. This is the order of my father, the Khan. We are just explaining it. If His Majesty, Emperor of the Great Zhou, does not want to negotiate peace, we can also go back and report."

Zagumu smiled faintly, seemingly apologizing, but in fact, he seemed to have the Central Plains court in his grasp.

Of course, they were well aware of the plight of the Central Plains Dynasty and knew that peace talks were the best approach in line with the interests of the Central Plains court. They did not mention it before simply because they did not reveal their attitude in this regard.

"you"

The Minister of Rites' tone choked.

Emperor Yuan Kang narrowed his eyes and said, "It's okay. I'm not angry. The peace talks between the two countries will benefit the people of the world. I'm not that tolerant. If it's just a brotherly alliance, it's not impossible to negotiate."

"Of course, it's not just that. My father Khan once said that peace talks between the two countries would benefit the Great Zhou. Therefore, the Great Zhou court must show its sincerity."

"What sincerity?"

Ji Chengdao suddenly spoke.

Zagumu bowed first, then said:

“First, the Great Zhou court needs to withdraw 300,000 troops from the northern border and hand over three important border towns for trade. These three important towns should be guarded jointly by the Great Zhou and the royal court.

Secondly, the Great Zhou court needs to acknowledge that the 5,000-mile territory occupied by grassland in the north of Youzhou belongs to the grassland, and the Three Great Zhou courts need to donate one million Yuan crystals to the royal court every year.

Of course, my royal court will also give the Central Plains court a large amount of fur, demon bones, and grassland spirit objects every year, and will not let the Central Plains court suffer any loss. "

"What? Withdrawal is absolutely not allowed!"

"If you want to negotiate peace, why do you want to withdraw your troops? What if you take advantage of this opportunity to mobilize your troops?"

At this moment, several military generals in the court spoke out.

Several important towns on the border are war fortresses built by the imperial court at the cost of huge resources over hundreds of years. They are also the front line facing the northern barbarian cavalry. Once these important towns are abandoned.

The entire Youzhou will be undefended, and the Northern Barbarian cavalry will be able to march straight in.

This is the price they cannot tolerate the most.

Many civil servants also came to their senses at this moment and started to rebuke him.

The latter conditions are not off limits. After all, the Great Zhou court can come up with a huge amount of Yuanjing. Moreover, they have most of the complementary resources from the Northern Barbarians. Even if there is a loss, it won't be much.

Thousands of miles of territory had already been occupied by grasslands. It was fine to cede it to the other side, but withdrawing troops was absolutely not an option.

Emperor Yuankang's face also darkened, and the joy that had just risen up in his heart disappeared in an instant. He just wanted to gather strength, but he was not foolish enough to give up those important towns on the border.

"If the Northern Barbarians are so sincere, then there is no need to talk further."

He waved his hands, looking unhappy.

Seeing this, Su Feng immediately stepped forward and said:

"It is difficult for us to make the decision on the peace talks, but if His Majesty the Emperor is not satisfied, he can also propose his own conditions. Although Su Feng is a man from the grassland, he also yearns for peace."

Emperor Yuan Kang's expression eased slightly and he nodded:

"In that case, let's discuss it later, but there is no way we can withdraw our troops."

Ji Chengdao glanced at the emperor on the dragon throne and said nothing more. As the king who supported the Great Zhou, he would never allow the emperor to make such a foolish decision.

As for peace talks, he also didn't believe in them.

Today, the Northern Barbarians are strong, while the Great Zhou is weak.

Even if peace talks are to be discussed, it should not be initiated by the Northern Barbarians. There must be some problems involved.

"The foreign minister will contact the royal court immediately to discuss this matter."

Su Feng continued.

He knew that people in the Central Plains were very concerned about their reputation. Even if they suffered a loss, they would not say it out loud, otherwise they would be criticized.

"My envoys, you are exhausted from the long journey. You should rest for a few days in the capital," Emperor Yuankang said calmly.

Seeing this, Zagumu immediately stepped forward:
“Your Majesty, I have been training in the grasslands for decades and have rarely encountered an opponent. Now I have entered the Central Plains and have seen many methods of Central Plains warriors along the way, but none of them are satisfactory.

I hope that His Majesty the Emperor can send a few strong men to fight Zagumu. This way, it can be regarded as a competition between the Central Plains warriors and the grassland warriors. What does His Majesty the Emperor think? "

"You want to spar with me, a Central Plains warrior?"

Although he knew the purpose of Zagumu and his group, Emperor Yuan Kang still pretended not to know. "It is said that the Central Plains is vast and rich in resources, with many strong people and countless geniuses. Zagumu has long wanted to compete with him, but along the way, hehe, there are not many warriors of the same level who can take a few moves from Zagumu.

This really disappointed the foreign ministers.”

"You are so arrogant. How can you barbarians guess how powerful I am from the Central Plains? I just defeated a few great masters. How dare you be so presumptuous?"

"Yes, there are so many geniuses in the Central Plains, how could they be inferior to you?"

Several military officers spoke up.

Zagumu smiled calmly, appearing very confident.

"Well, since you are willing to spar with me, I have no reason to refuse. Let's do it tomorrow. I will send several young talents from my dynasty to spar with you at the Yanglongtan outside the city."

"Thank you, His Majesty the Emperor!"

Zagumu folded his arms and bowed.

Jiang Che had always been a cold-eyed observer of the debate in the Fengtian Hall, like an outsider. This was indeed the case, although he was only a third-rank official.

But in the court, there were many people with higher official ranks than him, and it was not yet his turn to lead state affairs.

As for the peace talks between the two sides, he could also see that it was beneficial to the imperial court, but the conditions of the Northern Barbarians were a bit excessive.

Although the imperial court was at a disadvantage in the war with the northern barbarians, it was not without the ability to fight back, and the situation had not deteriorated to the most difficult moment, so it was impossible to give up any important cities.

However, he also saw that the emperor was eager to negotiate peace. If it was just a matter of compromising on some costs, he estimated that the emperor might really sign an alliance with the Northern Barbarians.

After the next court.

Jiang Che and Chen Qingfang walked on the steps together, discussing the debate that had just taken place in the court. After the Northern Barbarian envoys withdrew, there was actually still an endless debate in the court about the peace talks.

Some officials felt that peace talks were beneficial, and that they could use this opportunity to eliminate hidden dangers in the court, and then gather all their strength to lead the army to the north, even if it meant giving up some interests.

Some officials also thought that this was just a ploy of the Northern Barbarians' royal court. As soon as they gave up the important border town, what they would face would not be peace talks, but a direct invasion by the Northern Barbarians' cavalry.

Most of the officials joined in the debate.

The final result was that as long as the important border towns were not given up, the other conditions could be compromised; otherwise, peace talks with the Northern Barbarians would never be allowed.

"What do you think of what happened just now?"

Chen Qingfang asked with a serious expression.

"Stand and watch, of course."

"Tell me what you think." Chen Qingfang ignored Jiang Che's joke.

"Negotiation is indeed beneficial to the court, but whether it will succeed or not is still unknown. In fact, the final result of the debate is the best and what Your Majesty wants."

"Jiang Che."

While they were discussing, Ji Chengdao, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped and turned his gaze to him.

"God King."

"In tomorrow's battle, Lu Jieyun will go first to test the strength of this Zagumu, and you will be the last one to appear. No matter what method you use, you must defeat him."

Compared to their first meeting, Ji Chengdao this time matched the image in Jiang Che's mind, and his whole body exuded the domineering aura of a superior.

"I obey my orders!"

Jiang Che nodded heavily.

Once you get something, you should do the job.

This is also one of his flexible principles.

On the day.

The news about the Northern Barbarian envoys' request for war spread quickly in the capital, causing quite a stir and arousing the interest of countless people. Some even went to Yanglongtan that day to grab a good position.

But when they arrived, they found that the place was already heavily guarded.

If you want to watch the game, you can only enter tomorrow.

It was obvious that the court had been prepared and had made arrangements for the battle.

Also that night, Jiang Che did not go to Ji Changsheng's mansion for the banquet as rumored, which greatly reduced Ji Changsheng's prestige. Under the instigation of several princes, it even caused some waves.

However, since most people's attention is attracted by the battle at the moment, not many people are paying attention to this matter at the moment.

This made Ji Changsheng feel a little unhappy, but also relieved.

The face has been lost.

It is a blessing that the impact can be minimized.

But at the same time, he also felt a lot of resentment towards Jiang Che.

Not only did he embarrass him, but he also disobeyed his mother.

As a son, how can I endure this?
But now he also knew the importance of Jiang Che and did not dare to act rashly at this moment.

That night.

Jiang Che received the imperial edict from Emperor Yuan Kang.

In short, there is only one sentence.

That is, only victory is allowed, defeat is not allowed.

The next day.

Since the early morning, one could see that countless people from all over the capital city formed a stream of people and gathered towards Yanglongtan outside the city. It was a black mass, no less than 200,000 people.

It is so boundless that you can't even see the end at a glance.

And their status is not enough to get too close.

Under the arrangement of many officials, a large number of people were diverted to the area outside Yanglongtan, while the area close to Yanglongtan was occupied by civil and military officials and their families.

Although fighting between warriors is not uncommon, fighting between grandmasters at the divine level is rare, especially when the two sides represent the identities of the Central Plains and the grasslands, two major countries that have been fighting for thousands of years.

There is almost no time when either side can completely defeat the other side.

Under such influence, the common people and warriors on both sides were naturally filled with anger.

Especially the Northern Barbarian envoys, since they entered the Pass, they had been fighting all the way and defeated nearly ten great masters from the Central Plains. They were in the limelight at the time, and they were almost as powerful as one person who overwhelmed an entire country.

This also caused a lot of people to worry, fearing that Lu Jieyun and Jiang Che, who had just made a breakthrough, would be defeated by the other side, which would be a huge loss of face.

Therefore, they are very concerned about this.

As time went by, many officials and their families arrived at Yanglongtan. Jiang Che and Lu Jieyun were among them. They were the ones who actually took action in this battle.

In fact, in the eyes of some people, it is most appropriate for Jiang Che to take direct action.

But it was refuted by most people.

Zagumu is just one person. If the court directly sends Jiang Che, who is recognized as the strongest genius in the Central Plains, it will seem that they lack confidence. Once they are defeated, the court will suffer a great loss of face.

Lu Jieyun is different. His reputation is not as good as Jiang Che's, so even if he was defeated, it is understandable, and it can also weaken Zagumu's strength.

(End of this chapter)