Chapter 558: Secret Negotiations! (Thanks to my book friend Tangtang Didi for the reward of 32196!)

Two days later, Yi Jing
At three o'clock in the morning, when darkness still enveloped the sky of Yijing, a small troop of more than a hundred Fengwu soldiers escorted three carriages to the city gate. The Fengwu soldiers guarding the city wanted to refuse the other party from entering the city in the name of curfew, but they directly showed the special pass issued by the Fengwu Army Staff to the small troop. After checking that the pass was correct, the Fengwu soldiers guarding the city opened the city gate and let the other party in...
Pulling back the curtains on the window, a short Robe man was seen sitting in the carriage, quietly looking around at the quiet Yijing City in the dark night. This man was Robe's special envoy, Jamukha, the brother-in-law of Robe Khan Arsalan!

Before Jamukha could look for long, the leader of the Fengwu Army came to the carriage and said coldly to Jamukha:

"Please ask the envoy to lower the curtains!"

Zhamuhe did not seem to be offended or angry at the somewhat blunt request of the Fengwu Army. He smiled and nodded, and cooperated by lowering the curtains.

Jamukha knew that the Fengwu Army and the Luobi people were fighting, and his visit to Yijing was a secret one. Both for the Luobi and the Fengwu Army, the visit needed to be kept low-key, which was why the Fengwu Army allowed him to enter the city during this period of time.

Under the escort of the Fengwu Army, Jamukha and several of his followers quietly came to a house in the north of Yijing City. Because it was a secret visit, Jamukha and others could not stay in the official inn of the Fengwu Army to rest. At this time, Gu Sansi was already waiting for Jamukha in the house.

After his attendants introduced him as the person who greeted him, Jamukha was flattered and said to Gu Sansi:
"I am Jamukha, and I meet Lord Gu! I have heard of Lord Gu's name for a long time. It is a great honor for me to meet him today..."

Although he knew from the intelligence of the Coordination Office that Zhamuhe, the special envoy sent by Luo Bi, highly respected the culture of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Gu Sansi was somewhat surprised to see this grassland man behave properly and speak so elegantly, but he also bowed and said in return:

"Thank you for your praise, Special Envoy. You have been exhausted from the journey and hope to rest early. Someone will come to pick you up at 9:00 p.m. tomorrow to meet our commander-in-chief. Please make sure you are ready!"

Under Gu Sansi's scrutinizing gaze, Zhamuhe smiled and nodded and said:

"Thank you for the reminder, Master Gu. I will be ready!"

After receiving Zhamuhe's reply, Gu Sansi said goodbye and went home to rest. Looking at Gu Sansi's leaving back, Zhamuhe's eyes showed a solemn look.

Jamukha settled down in the yard for an incense stick, then lay on the bed with his eyes closed and started thinking. He could feel that the Fengwu Army had guessed the intention of his visit. Jamukha was not surprised by this. After all, with the omnipresence of the Coordination Office, they must have known about the attack of the Cumans on the Elunqin steppe. It was an indisputable fact that the Robe people were in a weak position in the overall strategy!

Thinking of this, Jamukha's expression became solemn. Because the previous special envoy Batu was killed, Arsalan originally did not want to send an envoy to Yijing. He only planned to withdraw from Youyan as soon as possible to support Erlengqin. However, under Jamukha's strong request, Arsalan finally reluctantly agreed to his secret visit.

However, Arsalan also asked Jamukha’s visit to be kept secret and not to leak any news. After all, because Luobi suffered heavy casualties in the recent wars, there was a lot of resentment towards the Great Zhou within Luobi. Therefore, once the visit was leaked, even Arsalan, the Great Khan, would have to bear great political pressure within Luobi...

Jamukha could also hear the implicit meaning of Arsalan's request, which was that once the news of the visit was leaked, it would have nothing to do with Arsalan and he, Jamukha, would have to bear all the responsibility. Even so, Jamukha still gritted his teeth and accepted the job.

As for the reason why Jamukha insisted on doing so, it was because he believed that the Cumans were coming with great force this time, and the Robe people had lost a lot of troops in Youyan due to their previous strategic mistakes. Therefore, under the offensive of the Cumans, Robe's situation was also very bad.

Even if Arsalan could eventually lead his troops back to provide support as he wished, whether the Erlunqin steppe could be defended was an unknown that no one knew. If the Erlunqin steppe, the ancestral land of the Luobi people, was lost, it would be an absolute disaster for the Luobi people. Therefore, at this critical moment, the Luobi people needed the support of the Fengwu Army, even though the two sides were mortal enemies a few days ago!
Although Gu Sansi had agreed to meet at 9:00 p.m., Zhamuhe, who was full of things to worry about, only slept for a few hours before getting dressed and waiting to meet Ye Mingsheng.

As soon as the 9th hour arrived, several personal soldiers of the Ye Mansion drove a horse-drawn carriage to the outside of the mansion on time. Zhamuhe immediately got on the carriage and headed towards the Ye Mansion.

Quietly arriving at the gate of Ye Mansion, Zhamuhe saw the three big characters "Governor's Mansion" on the new plaque. He was stunned at first and then nodded slightly as if thinking about something. After entering the mansion, Zhamuhe waited in the side room for an incense stick of time and was then led by Ye Cheng into Ye Mingsheng's study...

Ye Mingsheng looked at the Luobei man in front of him who was dressed as a scholar of the Great Zhou Dynasty. The study was where he met important subordinates. He had originally not planned to meet Jamukha here, but after listening to Gu Sansi's report on Jamukha, Ye Mingsheng changed his mind.

Although he had never seen Ye Mingsheng, he could feel Ye Mingsheng's aura. When he thought about the rumors about Ye Mingsheng, Zhamuhe was sure that the man in front of him was the legendary commander of the Fengwu Army, Ye Mingsheng. Realizing this, he did not hesitate at all. He bowed deeply to Ye Mingsheng and said loudly:

"I, the special envoy of Robe, Jamukha, congratulate Marshal Ye on his promotion on behalf of my Great Khan!"

Ye Mingsheng was a little surprised when he heard this. If he remembered correctly, he only learned about his promotion to Governor-General of Yan and Liao three days ago. At that time, Jamukha had already set out from Luobi, and Arsalan could not have known about this. So even though Jamukha said that he congratulated Ye Mingsheng on behalf of Arsalan, it was probably a decision he made on his own when he saw the new plaque hung outside his door!
Although this was a small matter, it revealed a detail, that is, Zhamuhe was actively trying to please him! This indirectly showed that Luo Bi's situation seemed to be worse than expected, which was a mixed message for Ye Mingsheng!

After understanding the whole story, Ye Mingsheng did not point it out, but glanced at Jamukha meaningfully and said lightly:

"Thank Luo Bihan for his kindness for me when you go back..."

"Yes!" Jamukha bowed and replied:
After saying this, Jamukha waited for a few seconds. Seeing that Ye Mingsheng didn't seem to want to speak first, Jamukha organized his words and took the initiative to say:

"Marshal Ye, the conflict between my people and yours was instigated by the traitor Zhao Fuqu. My Khan deeply regrets this. My people of the Luobi tribe are still committed to peace and stability on the border between the two sides. I hope to reach a consensus and understanding with you, Marshal Ye, on this point!" Although Jamukha in front of him was much more polite and spoke better than the previous Luobi envoy Batu, Ye Mingsheng still did not indulge him and spoke directly:
"How long can you last in the Erleng Grassland?"

Seeing that Ye Mingsheng did not play by the rules and went straight to the vital point, Zhamuhe suddenly felt a lot of pressure, but at this time he could not show weakness and could only say:
"Although the Kipchak lunatics have evil ambitions, our warriors are united and will surely crush their despicable plots!"

Listening to Jamukha's righteous answer, Ye Mingsheng did not speak, but a half-smile appeared on his face. Looking at Ye Mingsheng's playful expression, Jamukha said in a deep voice:
"I heard the shopkeeper of Dadongsheng Company say on the grassland that Marshal Ye has a famous saying: there are no eternal friends, no eternal enemies, only eternal interests. I deeply agree with what you said..."

"Although under the instigation of the traitor Zhao Fuqu, some conflicts have arisen between my people and your tribe due to misunderstandings, and things have happened that neither of us wants to see, but I think you should, Marshal Ye, that we Luobei people and the Fengwu Army are not enemies of life and death!"

Jamuka said this very sincerely, but Ye Mingsheng remained unmoved. "Don't talk too nicely. When you want to fight, you come to rob and plunder. When you don't want to fight, you say it's all a misunderstanding. Why do you think so nicely?"

Seeing that Ye Mingsheng still didn't speak, Zhamuhe became a little anxious and said directly:

"The Great Zhou is in turmoil now, and it is time for heroes like you, Marshal Ye, to fight for it. I believe you don't want to be distracted by things on the grassland, right? If the Golden Horde is allowed to unify the grassland, we, the Luobi people, will definitely be in trouble. But I believe it will be a disaster for both the Great Zhou and the Fengwu Army under your command, Marshal Ye!"

"A strong Golden Horde is not in the interests of either of us!"

Ye Mingsheng naturally agreed with Jamukha's words, but he also knew that Jamukha was just trying to bargain with him, so he still pretended to be indifferent and said:

“The Golden Horde is 18,000 miles away from Youyan. I don’t care about that. I only know that you, the Luobi people, invaded Youyan and brought disaster and suffering to the people of my dynasty. Remember, war is not something you can start or end whenever you want…”

Feeling the tough attitude displayed in Ye Mingsheng's words, Zhamuhe felt disappointed. He knew that his words just now did not have the effect he wanted on Ye Mingsheng. He took a deep breath and said helplessly:

"In that case, Marshal Ye, what do you want to do?"

Looking at Jamukha Ye Mingsheng, he said very seriously

"I, Ye, joined the army when I was young, and the first thing I understood was that if you do something wrong, you must accept the punishment!"

"Since you Robe people have done something wrong, you must take responsibility for your mistakes and never evade responsibility!"

After saying that, Ye Mingsheng picked up the teacup and acted as if he was serving tea to a guest. Seeing this, although Zhamu still wanted to explain something, he could only bow to Ye Mingsheng again and left Ye Mingsheng's study very lonely.

Looking at Jamukha's lost back, Ye Mingsheng took a sip of the fine tea in the cup. As the commander-in-chief of the Fengwu Army and the governor-general of Yan and Liao of the Great Zhou, he would not participate in the negotiations with the Luobi people on specific terms. Gu Sansi would bring people to handle it, and he, Ye Mingsheng, would only be responsible for the final approval and signature.

The reason why he met with Jamukha today was, firstly, that he was quite interested in him, and also to set the tone for the subsequent negotiations, to let Jamukha know that he should not think that he could be exempted from compensation by saying a few nice words. His Fengwu Army would not buy it, and you Luobi people would not be able to escape even a penny of the benefits you deserved!

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While Ye Mingsheng was dealing with Luo Bi's affairs, An Miaoyi was concentrating on her needlework in the backyard of his mansion. In the cradle beside her, little Ye Jingren was sleeping soundly. An Miaoyi would raise her head from time to time to check on the little guy's movements.

Half an incense stick later, Qiqige walked into the room and looked at An Miaoyi who was doing needlework and whispered to her:
"Madam, there are people in the mansion to make clothes for you. If you do this every day, you will hurt your eyes!"

Listening to Qiqige's words, An Miaoyi smiled and shook her head and said:

"It doesn't matter. I have nothing to do anyway. Watching Jingren grow up day by day, I always want to do something for him!"

The two chatted quietly for a while. Qiqige seemed to have thought of something and hesitated to speak, but she still mustered up the courage to say:

"Madam, this time the Marshal was promoted to the Governor-General of Yan and Liao. Why do you look..."

When An Miaoyi heard the words "Governor of Yanliao", a strange color flashed in the depths of her beautiful eyes. If someone else asked her this question, she would definitely say that the other party was overthinking it. She was also very happy for Ye Mingsheng, but she had just moved from Dongning to Yijing recently, and she was very tired physically and mentally. However, facing Qiqige, the only good friend who grew up with her and could tell her true feelings in this Governor's Mansion, An Miaoyi really didn't want to pretend anymore!

Seeing An Miaoyi lowered her eyes and kept silent, Qi Qige seemed to understand something and said in a very excited tone:
"Is it the Murong family's doing again? Is it that no one wants that bitch Murong Qingwu anymore? Why are the Murong family so anxious to send her to the Marshal's bed..."

(End of this chapter)