Chapter 55 third quarter
There was nothing to say all night, and when we got up the next day, everyone was waiting for further news from Yanjing.To be honest, although Zhao Liangsi was happy last night and recited poems lightly, he was actually a little worried. "Xiao Lai Yi Qi reported safety" just reflected his ambivalence that he was afraid of some unsafe news, let alone Ma Kuo.
After five or six days of silence, the Jin people still received them as usual, but in their feeling, the enthusiasm of the reception became less and less day by day, which may reflect that the news from the front line was not good.
Sure enough, Aguda himself broke the silence.One day, he sent the imperial court to invite envoys to his office.As soon as he sat down, he immediately asked:
"I heard that Yang Keshi was defeated, and Liu Yanqing had already burned the camp and fled. Did people know the news?"
"Let people stay here, the victory or defeat of the army is unknown." During these few days of silence, Ma Kuo had prepared two kinds of preparations in his mind. Now that things are coming from the bad side, he can still maintain his composure He replied with an attitude, "Advance and retreat are common things for military strategists. Even if the information is true, it may be a momentary advance and retreat, not a real defeat."
"I sent four or five scouts to investigate. Two of them just came back from crossing Lugou last night. They all said the same thing. They also saw that Liu Yanqing's camp had been burned to nothingness. How could it be untrue?" He asked in a disdainful tone, "Why did your Emperor Zhao send people like Liu Yanqing to supervise the battle at the front? Now that we are defeated, what is your family going to do?"
"Liu Yanqing is also a veteran in the battlefield. He has been fighting for many years. If he falls into Yelu Dashi's trick and loses for a while, the imperial court will dispatch him." Zhao Liangsi replied.
"A general will die, and a soldier will die." Ma Kuo added, "The army has its own rules. If Liu Yanqing is defeated, he will become an official, and he must follow the law of the army."
"That's right!" A Gu nodded and sighed, "I heard that your boy Xuanfu sheltered Liu Yanqing, this time the army was defeated, if you still make it all the way, and lie to Emperor Zhao, how will you use troops in the future?" Then He revealed his original intention and said, "You two, please stay here for a few days, follow me into Juyongguan, and take a look at my generals. When we are about to go into battle, do you dare to escape?"
Aguda's plot to capture Yanjing was exposed, and Zhao Liangsi saw that Ma Kuo was going to speak, so he rushed ahead of him and said:
"When people come here, they also have imperial pens. If the army of this dynasty is not dispatched in time, it is better to discuss with the emperor and borrow some troops to help my family obtain Yanjing. Then we will discuss the matter of rewards and rewards."
"How can there be such a cheap thing in the world." A Guda laughed maliciously when he heard it, "Is there any reason why my soldiers will give it to your family in the future? Zhao Longtu, you said it too plainly."
"Did the lord forget the original contract at sea?" Ma Kuo interrupted him sharply, and reminded him again, "At the beginning, the lord and my father agreed that the lands of Yan and Yun belonged to my family, and the lord would never get involved. The oath made by the Dan Shu is clear to the eyes and ears of the people, how can we break the contract today?"
"At the beginning, the original agreement was: Your family will get Yan and Yun, and they will belong to your family. Now your army and horses have retreated, and they are unable to advance. I will tell you two, and then send generals to fetch them. There is a breach of the agreement. ?”
"Since Yanyun belongs to my family, how can the king send troops to take it by himself?" Ma Kuo insisted, "Even if the prince captured Yunzhou in spring, he didn't know about it. Isn't it a state?" The Lord has violated the agreement first, and the emperor will not bless you."
Ma Kuo refused to give up an inch of ground to argue with A Guda, while Zhao Liangsi listened to him, fearing that A Guda would have an attack, turn his back on him ruthlessly, ruin the important matter of recruiting soldiers, and was so anxious that he was sweating profusely.Fortunately, Aguda's words were softened later:
"The territory of Khitan is ten, and I have already acquired nine of them, leaving only one part of Yanjing. I will force it from three sides and make your family take it for itself. If I don't want to be defeated again, I have no use for it." A Guda nodded again and said, "The discussion of inviting troops is related to the overall situation. After I discuss with my subordinates, I will talk to you two."
This tense meeting had to stop here.
If certain favorable circumstances have occurred that made them receive unexpected preferential treatment, then after this factor disappears, they can only receive the opposite or even worse treatment. This is of course logic.After that, Zhao Liangsi and Ma Kuo were left aside, and it was a very embarrassing month, which was in sharp contrast to the grand occasion when they first arrived in Fengsheng Prefecture.Aguda himself no longer showed up, and only Wu Shi, Pu Jienu, and Salumu came forward to negotiate.Salumu removed the powdered sugar and put on a face of frost, and the room no longer dropped the book bag in a polite manner.During this period, the word he often used was called "Shaokong", which is a Jurchenized Chinese word, meaning "what is said does not count".Although one can speak out, one must accuse the other party of saying nothing. This is a pre-emptive strategy often used in diplomacy.The Song Dynasty, which suffered a military defeat, also had to be ridiculed diplomatically. This made the negotiations come to a standstill and broke down several times.Fortunately, I couldn't get away from mediating for a while.
Wulibu doesn't speak much for others, but what he says carries weight. Both Wushi and Salumu will act according to his face. When Wuli is not present, Salumu's face becomes bright again.
Finally, it was agreed that Jin Fangzhun would send troops to attack Yanjing within December, and after he succeeded, he would return to the Southern Dynasty together with Yunzhou and his subordinates according to the original agreement, but the Southern Dynasty had to pay 500,000 taels of silver silk per year to reward the army.This number is exactly equivalent to the "Na" and Khitan coins of the Northern Song Dynasty.
Since asking for help from others, naturally one has to pay some price.Even so it was agreed.When it comes time to actually return Yan and Yun, maybe the Jin Dynasty will conjure up some new tricks, just look at Salumu's tricky face to know.In this regard, Zhao Liangsi is not without prior estimates.But the imperial court hoped that Jin Fang would send troops so earnestly, this material reward was nothing to the Xuanhe monarch and ministers who were eager for success.If he can follow this agreement and go back to work, Zhao Liangsi will be considered to have completed the task well.
When it was time for His Majesty's speech, Aguda, who had not shown his face for a long time, came out to meet the two weeping envoys in person.Probably due to overwork, they obviously felt that A Guda had lost weight. When he was not talking or smiling, his expression was like a barren mountain with no vegetation, barren and rugged, but with a high and steep appearance.Still, he tempered his stern expression with considerable enthusiasm.In the end, he came up with another proposal, requesting that one of the two envoys of the Song Dynasty stay with him and enter Yanjing to see how Wanyan Aguda used his troops to fight and conquer the city, so that he can tell Zhao Guanjia about it in the future.
Zhao Liangsi has been tortured for more than a month, and he just wants to leave Longtan and Tiger's Den as soon as possible.Unexpectedly, when he was about to leave, Ah Guda grabbed his thigh again, so anxious that he faltered and couldn't speak.At that moment, Ma Kuo generously agreed:
"Zhao Longtu is under the heavy responsibility of the imperial court. Since he went back to Tokyo that morning, he has known the importance to the officials. Ma is not talented, so he stays here. How about going to Yanjing with the lord?"
Ma Kuo's bold promise won A Guda's great praise, and he himself hoped that Ma Kuo would stay.Now he praised:
"Ma Xuanzan really deserves to be a 'San Yebo'. I expected him to stay. In this case, 'Yan Da Hai' brought my envoys, so please do it. Ma Xuanzan can decide what he does here, and I Allot 500 bodyguards to his command and use, it remains to be seen that he will go to Yanjing City first, take the lead, and make meritorious service for your Emperor Zhao!"
From the two titles of "Sanyebo" and "Yandahai", it can be seen that Aguda had different evaluations of the two Song envoys.He was not bound by diplomatic politeness to conceal his views.
Zhao Liangsi spent much more effort than Ma in this diplomatic activity that he thought he had made great contributions to the Song Dynasty, but actually helped the Jin Dynasty a lot.From this point of view, both Zhao Guanjia and Wanyan Aguda should give Zhao Liangsi a favorable discussion.Now A Guda treated him badly first, and then Emperor Qinzong, the son of Zhao Guan's family, treated him badly.He is also a tragic figure in a special form in history.
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