Chapter 786: Mongolian Prince (IV)

"This……"

After a round of game, Liu Xunyi gradually lost the upper hand under Hu Lie's kindness and force.

It makes sense. Hu Lie may not be the most cunning person he has ever met, but he is definitely the most powerful person he has ever met.

According to Chen, the King of Hexi was not as prestigious or powerful as Hule, but he was enough to make the Emperor of the Song Dynasty and all the civil and military officials feel as if they were facing a great enemy and were extremely wary of him.

Therefore, it is already difficult for Liu Xunyi, who is of lower status, to keep his footing in front of the more powerful Hu Lie, so how can he gain the upper hand?

At this moment, Liu Xunyi was so confused by Hu Lie's aggressive tone that he dared not speak rashly for fear of making more mistakes.

"Your Highness's conclusion on this matter may be exaggerated." Seeing Liu Xunyi hesitated, the indignant Feng Tianba volunteered to take the trouble. "It was not just the Mongols who were killed in Yunya Town. Our brothers also suffered misfortunes, and even the guard general Xu Guangsheng died for the country. Therefore, when Your Highness said that we 'turned a big thing into a small thing', Feng really couldn't agree. Regarding the matter of Yunya Town, I believe that the court has never given up on catching the real culprit, and will definitely investigate it thoroughly..."

"My doubts are not groundless, but the actions of the Song court have forced me to speculate like this." Hu Lie waved his hand to interrupt Feng Tianba's impassioned speech and reminded him, "As for what you said about 'thorough investigation'... maybe! But with the way the Song court behaves, I'm afraid it may take ten or eight years to find out the clues. Even if you can be patient, the Khan, the king, and the relatives of the dead soldiers may not be able to hold back. If such a scandal happened in Mongolia, the truth would be revealed within three days, and the thieves would be arrested within ten days. But you... not only have you not achieved any results in the past two months, but you have found many excuses. Do you think that I am an official of your Song Dynasty and can fool people with a few high-sounding nonsense?"

"Then...what do you think, Your Highness?" Feng Tianba was speechless after being rebuked by Hu Lie's words and could only be forced to give in. "Now that the matter is done, there is no point in saying more. How about being direct and telling me what you think should be done with this matter?"

"Nonsense!" Wang Dechen retorted, "We will send a large army south to capture Lin'an. Do you agree?"

"This……"

"The prince is merciful and wants to give you a chance to make amends." Wang Dechen added, "If you refuse to do so, don't regret it if something bad happens in the future."

"Wait a minute!" After thinking it over again and again, Liu Xunyi finally made up his mind and spoke slowly, "In fact, before I came here, the emperor did not grant me the power to make arbitrary decisions. Of course, the emperor did not expect that Yunya Town would cause such a turmoil. But now... since the prince asked this, I dare to exceed my authority and promise on behalf of the court..."

"Promise what?"

"The Song Dynasty is willing to prepare ten carts of dowry and send elite soldiers and generals to Helin." Liu Xunyi suppressed his inner uneasiness and said intermittently, "At the same time, we are willing to give each Mongolian soldier who was killed in Yunya Town... some resettlement fees."

"Ten carts of dowry and some resettlement expenses?" Hu Lie seemed quite disappointed with Liu Xunyi's proposal, and said with little interest, "Ten carts of dowry are my beloved concubine's things, so it can't be considered compensation. As for the resettlement expenses...how much can it be?"

"This..." Feeling Hu Lie's dissatisfaction, Liu Xunyi's heart sank, and he reluctantly said, "The specific amount can be discussed in detail..."

"Why not refer to the compensation for the fallen soldiers in the Song Dynasty?" Feng Tianba interrupted, "Ten taels of silver per person. You have 800 casualties in Yunya Town, so that's 8,000 taels..."

Having said this, Feng Tianba's voice stopped abruptly, because he had seen the disdain and mockery in Wang Dechen's eyes.

"How about... I give you double the amount?"

"That's it!"

Hu Lie waved his hand to interrupt Feng Tianba's mumbling and said, "I am not an unreasonable, nitpicking person. Since you are willing to make peace, I... will simply not embarrass you."

"What the prince means is..."

"I don't want any of it, whether it's ten carts of dowry or the resettlement expenses for the dead soldiers." Hu Lie said righteously, "In my heart, whether it's my beloved concubine or the lives of the soldiers, they are all priceless treasures and cannot be measured by gold or silver."

"No money?" Feng Tianba was stunned. "Then...what does the prince want?"

"I have considered it carefully and believe that with the current national strength of the Song Dynasty, it is no longer possible to support such a large territory and tens of millions of people in the south of the Yangtze River. The treasury is empty, the officials are corrupt, the soldiers are few and the generals are weak, and it is even more impossible to maintain public order in various places, so bandits are rampant and have no respect for the law. The tragedy of Yunya Town is a bloody lesson." Hu Lie said with certainty, "Therefore, this king is anxious about the urgent needs of others and needs what they need. For the sake of peace and harmony of the Song Dynasty, the survival of the people, and long-term stability, I plan to temporarily take over the three prefectures of Xingyuan, Xiangyang, and Jiankang for the Song court, which can also be regarded as an explanation for the 800 warriors who died in Yunya Town."

"what?"

After Hu Lie said this, no matter how calm Liu Xunyi was, he couldn't help but feel flustered and pale.

"A mere 800 lives, you want to exchange our three prefectures? Do you think we are fools?" Feng Tianba was filled with righteous indignation, and said bluntly, "Xingyuan, Xiangyang, Jiankang are closely adjacent to the southern line of Qinhuai River. If I agree to your conditions, wouldn't it help you cross the Qinhuai natural barrier without bloodshed? By then, the entire rich land of Jiangnan will be laid out under the iron hoof of Mongolia. The Song Dynasty is in danger, this move... is no different from inviting a wolf into the house?"

"Do you think that the Qinling Mountains and the Huai River can stop our army?" Wang Dechen said sarcastically while drinking milk wine. "For us, conquering the Song Dynasty is as easy as taking something out of a bag. When, how and who will take it is just a matter of words from the Khan and the prince."

"you……"

"Now, the prince is discussing this with you for the princess' sake. If you know the situation, the Song Dynasty only needs to offer the three prefectures to turn the crisis into safety." Wang Dechen said contemptuously, "But if you are stubborn and think you can fight us, forcing me to march to the gates of the city, then the Song Dynasty will lose... much more than the three prefectures."

Liu Xunyi's eyes narrowed, and he said in a deep voice, "General Wang's words don't sound like a negotiation, but more like a threat." "Whether it's a negotiation or a threat, it's just a different way of saying it." Wang Dechen took a map from the shelf, picked up a brush from the commander's desk, threw them in front of Liu Xunyi, and urged, "You are a Han Chinese, you should know your own territory very well. Draw the three prefectures of Xingyuan yourself, so that you won't be unhappy if we draw too much. After the drawing, we can sign a deed and seal it."

"Unhappy? Haha, do you think I should celebrate that General Wang asked me to write it?" Liu Xunyi showed disdain on his face, and his tone was no longer as friendly as before. "I am just an envoy to escort the bride. Not to mention that the contract I wrote is worthless, even if you tie me up and take me to the three prefectures of Xingyuan, the local officers and soldiers will not pay any attention to me. Without the emperor's decree, it is useless for anyone to sign and seal..."

"Don't worry about this matter, Lord Liu." Wang Dechen said nonchalantly, "You only need to sign the name of 'Song Dynasty's Marriage Envoy' on the deed, and I will do the rest. Besides, your emperor of Song Dynasty gave up territory more than once or twice. He even gave up the capital Bianjing, so why would he care about just three prefectures? Just sign and seal, and I will lead the troops to change the defense. As for the emperor of Song Dynasty... you can represent him."

"Is Commander Wang forcing Liu to become a traitor?"

"It's not selling out the country, it's saving the country." Hu Lie corrected, "Using the land of the three prefectures in exchange for the safety of the entire Song Dynasty, I believe Lord Liu should know which is more important."

"Since the prince has long been eyeing our three prefectures, why bother to pretend to be friendly with the West Prefecture and negotiate a marriage?" Liu Xunyi was furious and his tone became increasingly cold.

"You are wrong!" Hu Lie said solemnly, "If there is no marriage alliance, I will go straight to Lin'an and destroy the Song Dynasty."

"But I heard that the reason you retreated in the middle of the battle was because you were running out of money and food, and the Western Expedition was at a stalemate, so you had to give up the invasion of the South..."

"How dare you!" Long Yu's eyes turned cold, and he shouted sternly, "Liu Xunyi, don't forget where you are? No one in the world dares to be so rude to the prince!"

Hu Lie stared at the fearless and righteous Liu Xunyi with his piercing eyes, and said in a deep voice: "You mean... you don't agree with my proposal?"

"Yes!" This time, Liu Xunyi answered promptly and without any hesitation.

"Young people are bound to act on impulse, but have you ever thought about what the emperor of the Song Dynasty would choose?" Hu Lie smiled instead of getting angry, and said meaningfully, "I have been dealing with the court of the Song Dynasty for more than 20 years, and I claim to have a good understanding of your emperor's style of doing things. Today, you rejected my proposal for the sake of the country, which is admirable. However, I only need to hand over a declaration of war to Lin'an. When your emperor learns that the millions of Mongolian soldiers are ready to fight at any time, I wonder how he will feel. Do you want to? Will he be angry at you for being so righteous? Will he blame you for being self-willed? If you refuse to cede three prefectures today, even if the Emperor of the Song Dynasty offers to give six or eight prefectures tomorrow to settle the matter, I will not agree. As the saying goes, 'Opportunities are lost, and time will never come again.' The Song Dynasty will be ruined by your self-righteousness, and the Emperor and people of the Song Dynasty will regard you as a sinner for all eternity. Who knows... before the Mongolian army enters Lin'an City, they have already cut off your head and returned it to me, begging for a truce."

"Since Your Majesty already knew the Emperor's intentions, why bother to make things difficult for me?" Liu Xunyi asked in return, "You can just send a letter to Lin'an and let the Emperor decide whether the three prefectures should stay or go..."

"I have said that I am only discussing this with you today because of my beloved concubine's favor. As the 'Song Dynasty Marriage Envoy', you have been working hard and making great contributions along the way, so I am giving you this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity..."

"A golden opportunity?" Liu Xunyi laughed in anger. "What opportunity? An opportunity to sell out for fame? Or an opportunity to collude with foreign countries..."

While speaking, Liu Xunyi, perhaps out of inner anger, subconsciously took two steps closer to Hu Lie.

Seeing this, Yin Zhan and his guards quickly drew their swords and rushed forward, blocking his way. Feng Tianba and Li Haitang were not to be outdone, and rushed to Liu Xunyi's side, moving forward and backward with him.

Wuchan was worried and hesitant.

Ding Qinghong turned a blind eye and just watched from the sidelines, with a strange look in the depths of his eyes.

“Brother Liu!”

As if seeing that Liu Xunyi was ready to die, Su He, who knew Hu Lie's temper well, suddenly changed his expression and quickly stepped forward to grab his arm to prevent Liu Xunyi from acting on impulse and causing irreversible consequences.

"Your Highness, Commander Wang, Lord Liu and his men have come a thousand miles, and they are exhausted from the journey. It is inevitable that they are... mentally exhausted and have not thought things through. It is better to let them go down and rest first, and we can discuss this matter later."

Long Yu was furious and scolded: "Su He, you want to protect Liu Xunyi again..."

"shut up!"

Hu Lie stopped Long Yu's shouting, and looked at Liu Xunyi, who was frowning and gritting his teeth, with a gloomy and complicated look, and gradually fell silent.

It was not until Su He's clothes were completely soaked with sweat from nervousness that Hu Lie relaxed his expression and nodded slightly: "It seems that they are indeed very tired. Forget it! Su He, you go down with them to rest!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Commander Wang!"

Su He was overjoyed and hurriedly dragged the indignant Liu Xunyi and others out of the central military tent.

A meeting of insincere and fake feelings. A confrontation of ulterior motives and ulterior motives. In the end, Su He played both sides well and the meeting ended without any danger.

……

(End of this chapter)