#545 - Peace talks (medium)
“Your Majesty!”
“Your Majesty!”
As Ning Yongnian slowly walked around the screen and appeared in the main hall, all the envoys from Great Ning immediately stood up and saluted, their expressions extremely respectful.
However, the people from Great Feng showed different expressions.
Some secretly sized up Ning Yongnian, their expressions wary.
Some glared angrily, their teeth clenched.
Some lowered their heads in silence, not knowing what they were thinking.
Some bodies trembled slightly, seemingly a little fearful.
Of course, Li Qi still had that silly appearance, sitting at the head of the long table, playing with the corner of his clothes.
As for Li Wutong, who was sitting next to him…
Her gaze was somewhat evasive; she seemed afraid to look at Ning Yongnian.
“…”
“Shua la la!”
The sound of sleeves rustling was loud. After Ning Yongnian sat down in the main seat, the Great Ning envoys also sat down, smoothing their sleeves.
“Your Majesty.”
An old man in purple robes with white hair stood up unsteadily, bowing towards Ning Yongnian.
This man was named Sima Cong, holding the official position of Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, and he was also the chief envoy of Great Ning for this peace talk.
The chief envoy of Great Feng was a civil official named Min Zhongguang.
“…”
The tall and spacious hall was quiet. Besides the sound of everyone's breathing, there was no other movement for a time.
“Mm.”
After a moment, Ning Yongnian nodded slightly, his expression unchanged.
Then, Sima Cong cleared his throat and said slowly, word by word:
“Since the war between the two countries began, many people have been displaced by the war, wandering and losing their lives innocently, causing suffering to all living beings under heaven.”
“The two emperors do not wish to see the common people suffer such calamity, so they are willing to use benevolence and righteousness, peaceful means, and measures of peace to resolve the conflict between the two countries.”
“…”
In any negotiation process, the people who can truly make decisions are often those who speak the least.
Usually, subordinates negotiate first, and if they really can't reach an agreement, then the main person will make the final decision.
The current peace talk is the same.
Although Ning Yongnian and Li Qi were both present, the specific details were basically “discussed” by Sima Cong and Min Zhongguang.
“Discuss” is, of course, a relatively euphemistic term.
Great Ning, as the victor on the battlefield, certainly occupied an absolute advantage in the peace talks.
Simply put, Great Ning would propose a total of five conditions.
As long as both sides could agree on these five conditions, then Great Ning would withdraw its troops.
And like all “unequal treaties,” the first condition was naturally related to the status and territory of the two countries.
“From the date the alliance is concluded, Great Feng must respect Great Ning as the suzerain state and cede Jiujiang Prefecture, Dangping Prefecture, Miyun Prefecture, Jiangxia Prefecture, and Sanchuan Prefecture, a total of five prefectures, to Great Ning's territory, never to be recovered.”
“…”
Respect Great Ning as the suzerain state, acknowledging Great Feng as a vassal state of the former.
And also cede five prefectures of land.
Compared to the many “unequal treaties” of the previous life, this condition, at first hearing, seemed very harsh.
But in reality, the Great Feng side did not have too intense a reaction to this.
Or rather, they were already mentally prepared for it.
And these five prefectures were all located on the border between the two countries and were not considered very prosperous.
Therefore, what Ning Yongnian wanted was really not much, even far below Great Feng's previous expectations.
However, even if they were secretly pleased, they still had to put on the act.
“Humph!”
After exchanging a look with Li Wutong, Min Zhongguang immediately snorted coldly, feigning indignation, and said:
“Lord Sima! This matter is absolutely impossible!”
“…”
About half an hour later, the hall door was slowly pushed open halfway, and the cold wind mixed with snowflakes immediately squeezed into the hall.
An eunuch walked out of the hall with a small slip of paper and handed it to the ceremonial officer waiting outside before returning to the hall.
The ceremonial officer glanced at the slip of paper and then nodded to several soldiers beside him.
“Dang! Dang! Dang!”
The next moment, deafening drum sounds rang out, muffled and heavy.
Outside the government office, it instantly became restless. The crowd, filling the entire street, crowded in the heavy snow, looking up and holding their breath, waiting for something.
Then they heard the ceremonial officer's calm but distinct voice.
“The Huailing Alliance, first clause!”
“The two countries have tentatively agreed that from the date of the alliance, Great Feng must respect Great Ning as the suzerain state and cede Jiujiang Prefecture, Dangping Prefecture, Miyun Prefecture, and Jiangxia Prefecture, a total of four prefectures, to Great Ning's territory, never to be recovered!”
“…”
Under Ning Yongnian's deliberate arrangement, the progress of the negotiations between the two sides was immediately made public.
It is difficult to say what the former's purpose was in doing so.
Anyway, for the people of Great Feng, it was difficult for anyone to remain calm at this time.
The feeling was not only anger, but perhaps more helplessness.
“Alas, so stifled!”
“Why did the Emperor and the Princess agree to such conditions!”
“Alright, it's already good, only four prefectures of land, not much.”
“Only?! This is my Great Feng's territory!!”
“But the court lost the battle. Besides ceding land for peace, what else can be done? If the Emperor doesn't agree, what do you think Ning Yongnian will do?”
“This…”
“Eh? Why isn't our Huailing among these four prefectures?”
“What? You don't want to be a Great Ning running dog, do you?!”
“Brother, don't misunderstand. I just think it's strange, after all, Huailing Prefecture is also located on the border between the two countries…”
“…”
Soon, the crowd outside the government office began to discuss, some indignantly, some with long sighs.
But no matter what their attitude, whether sad or sober, the negotiations in the hall would not be affected, and soon continued.
After discussing the territorial issue, then the next thing must be “reparations.”
“War reparations” of 500 million taels of silver, to be paid off within three years.
In addition, Great Feng, as a vassal state, must also pay Great Ning an annual tribute of 20 million taels of silver, 10,000 fine steeds, 10 million shi of refined grain, and some specialties such as silk and livestock.
Compared to “ceding land,” although “reparations” did not involve sovereignty issues, the damage it caused to a country was more direct and fierce.
After all, Great Ning spent money on fighting, and Great Feng also spent money.
And when the national treasury was already empty, these huge reparations could only be squeezed from the people.
At that time, all kinds of complicated and harsh taxes would emerge one after another, the people would live in misery, and Great Feng would enter a vicious cycle of continuous decline in national strength. In the end, Great Feng would no longer be Great Ning's opponent.
No one did not understand this principle.
Whether it was Min Zhongguang or Li Wutong, they were all very clear about the consequences of bearing such a huge “debt.”
But what could they do if they didn't agree?
Therefore, when there was no conflict between the bottom lines of the two sides, the issue of “reparations” was also discussed very quickly.
Sima Cong still symbolically loosened his mouth and reduced 100 million taels of silver in reparations.
After repeated unsuccessful attempts, Min Zhongguang could only accept such an amount.
Reparations of 400 million taels of silver, to be paid off within three years, and the remaining conditions remain unchanged.
At this point, two of the five conditions had been agreed upon.
These two conditions could be said to be both within the expectations of the Great Feng side and within their acceptable range.
Even Li Qi, Ning Yongnian, and Li Wutong had not said a single word in this process.
The former had to pretend to be stupid and could not speak.
The latter two both knew that it was not yet time for them to speak.
The heavy snow outside the house continued, and the ceremonial officer's voice rang out in Huailing City once again.
And as Sima Cong calmly spoke the third condition after a moment, the atmosphere in the hall finally became tense for the first time.
