Chapter 247 Reassurance
"What are you fussing about? It's just like whether to replace someone or not is up to you. It's all unnecessary."
Mei Chengan couldn't help but speak.
His words awakened everyone in the room. After they realized what was going on, they felt relieved and one word popped up in their minds.
Yes, what I say doesn’t count. Why bother yourself? If the sky falls, there will be someone taller to hold it up!
Fan Xian glanced at his fellow villager and felt sincere admiration in his heart. No matter what time, his fellow villager was always the calmest and most sober one.
As for this point, very few people can do it. It can save so much trouble. I have to admit it.
Xin Qiwu, who had freed himself from the entanglement, looked at Mei Chengan with gratitude, then glanced at everyone present and said in a deep voice.
"In that case, let's discuss the next negotiation strategy."
No one had any objection. Northern Qi now had a winning chess piece that could turn the situation around, so some conditions and strategies had to be adjusted.
Mei Cheng'an took the opportunity to give Fan Xian a look. The time to appear has come. Are you ready?
Fan Xian received the look, nodded, and quietly made an OK gesture to him.
……
Control Yuan.
Chamber.
“…That’s what your Majesty meant.”
Eunuch Hou on the high platform had just finished announcing the emperor's will to the hundreds of subordinates of the Supervisory Council who were lined up in front of him.
Yan Ruohai, who was at the front of the team, couldn't help himself.
"Sean can't let go!"
Eunuch Hou looked at him.
"Master Yan, His Majesty has a message!"
Yan Ruohai paused, slowly knelt down, bowed and nodded.
Chen Pingping, who was closer to the front, also lowered his head when he heard this.
Eunuch Hou said loudly.
"Your Majesty knows what kind of person Sean is. If the Overwatch Council can catch him once, they can catch him a second time!
Yan Bingyun endured humiliation and hid in the capital of Northern Qi, working hard and being loyal to the country. I know everything!
It's worth it to exchange an old man who is about to die for the future of my Qing country!
Lord Yan, and all of you, His Majesty has also said that Master Yan must return home alive!"
Go home alive, these four short words moved everyone in the hall, and they were filled with emotion beyond words.
You treat me as a national hero, and I will repay you with a national hero. Even if I die nine times, I will not regret it!
Yan Ruohai was already in tears at this moment.
"Your Majesty! I accept the order and thank you!"
Bowing heavily could not express his gratitude to Your Majesty.
All the others also knelt down and kowtowed, saying in unison.
"Thank you, Your Majesty for your grace!"
The heavy voice echoed in the conference hall for a long time, without stopping.
……
Honglu Temple.
Xin Qiwu and everyone else took their seats, took off their official hats, and dried the sweat on their foreheads.
Xin Qiwu sat in the main seat, his arm pressing down on his official hat, and spoke to everyone.
"As for the conditions, concessions are inevitable. I didn't think Northern Qi would agree to these conditions before. The only question is to what extent the concessions should be made. If you have any ideas, please speak freely."
Mei Cheng'an and Fan Xian sat aside and did not speak at first.
Wang Sicheng thought for a moment and spoke.
"First of all, let's talk about prisoner exchange. Everyone has heard what His Majesty said just now. We must exchange the captured soldiers back no matter what. The rest are minor matters. We might as well give in on this aspect."
Xin Qiwu hummed.
"The prisoner exchange is indeed a big deal."
He said only one sentence and then kept silent.
Mei Chengan spoke.
"The prisoner exchange is easy. I've seen the military data. According to statistics, the number of Northern Qi soldiers we captured is several times the number of our prisoners. Even if it's a one-for-several exchange, we can get them back.
My idea is that we should not give in too much and let them manipulate us. We should still use a one-for-one exchange ratio and let them buy the rest of the prisoners with money. We can be more relaxed about the price and set it lower, but we must not give them away for nothing!"
Everyone nodded in agreement when they heard this.
"Master Xiaomei is right."
"Well said, I can't return it for nothing!"
"Cheng'an is right. Does anyone have any other opinions?"
After a little thought, Xin Qiwu looked at him with satisfaction and then looked at the others.
Everyone shook their heads.
Xin Qiwu slammed the table and said happily.
"Okay, the prisoner exchange is settled. The next item is about the redelineation of the border. Your Majesty's meaning is very clear. We will not give up an inch of the conquered territory. There is no room for us to give up this area."
A clerk frowned and spoke.
"From the previous negotiations, it seems that the Northern Qi side is being incredibly stubborn on this issue. They are only willing to give money, food and horses. I don't know if it's just bluffing and they will give in later or if they are really being told to fight to the death rather than cede land."
Another clerk also frowned and spoke.
"According to the news sent back by our colleagues in the capital, because of this defeat, the relationship between the young emperor of Northern Qi and the empress dowager, who had been fighting each other, has eased. Even the empress dowager's brother, the Ningguo Marquis, who had been attacked for a long time, has returned home with his crime intact.
If the news is true, it's bad. We won the divided Northern Qi easily. If the king and his subjects were united...
I think we have to be more careful when negotiating. We must not let the negotiations break down, but we must not make concessions either.
It’s hard to grasp the right balance here.”
Xin Qiwu and Wang Sicheng's faces became solemn after hearing this. Mei Cheng'an glanced at Fan Xian, and Fan Xian immediately spoke in a nonchalant manner.
"Oh, why should we be so cautious? In my opinion, Northern Qi is just bluffing!"
Everyone looked at him, and Mei Chengan became the supporting actor.
"Oh? What do you say?"
Fan Xian continued.
"I don't know much about Northern Qi, but I know the farmland.
In the countryside, if two families become enemies and start fighting, they will fight to the end until one dies!
Maybe due to some factors the two can shake hands and make peace on the surface, but the intrigues behind the scenes will be even more exaggerated than before!
I personally think that the principles are the same. From what you said, the young emperor of Northern Qi and the empress dowager were at loggerheads.
People in the fields fight so brutally for small profits, let alone the interests of a whole country!
Therefore, it is absolutely impossible for the monarch and his subjects to be of one mind, not to mention that the wording in the intelligence is vague and uncertain.
Even if their relationship has really eased, it is just superficial, like paper that can be broken with a single poke.
Therefore, don't worry, just be as ruthless as you can! Don't worry about them getting beaten to a pulp.
If they really had the courage and ability to face our cavalry again, they would not have rushed here in such a panic to ask for peace.
Another point is that, as for Zhuang Mohan, you all know his status in the hearts of scholars all over the world.
Northern Qi spent a huge price to invite this living saint and the Northern Qi delegation to come. It is obvious that they intend to use this person to increase their bargaining chips, forcing us to be cautious. This shows how panicked they are!
To sum up, the Northern Qi side certainly no longer has the strength or desire to fight again and is only seeking peace!
Everyone, you must not be hesitant because of the false information that the enemy has spread to confuse us, causing you to miss this great opportunity to kill them.
Flowers are in bloom and must be picked, so go after them without further ado! "
Everyone: "..."
Except for Mei Cheng'an, everyone was silenced by Fan Xian's impassioned speech. Farmland and the Northern Qi royal family, is this also comparable?
Everyone thought it was a bit ridiculous.
Seeing that everyone was looking at him strangely, Fan Xian touched his nose, glanced at his fellow villager, and said, "Come on, buddy!"
"..."
The two had never spoken to each other before, and Mei Cheng'an hadn't expected that the excuse Fan Xian came up with would be so... down-to-earth.
Mei Cheng'an digested it for a while and then spoke.
"Fan Xian's words... well... they are not unreasonable! I think they make a lot of sense!"
Mei Cheng'an held a high position in the Honglu Temple, had good relationships with people, and his speech and behavior were mature, steady and logical, which made him quite trustworthy to everyone.
As soon as he spoke, everyone began to truly think about the truth and reliability of Fan Xian's words.
After Xin Qiwu thought about it, he spoke cautiously.
"Master Fan's words do make sense. There is a saying that hits the nail on the head. The principles are the same. Whether it's in the fields or in the royal family, human nature will never change.
As the saying goes, if it is true, it is false; if it is false, it is true. The intelligence from Shangjing is so convincing, there is something wrong.
The culprit who lost the national war and killed countless soldiers could actually return home so easily. This is too deliberate!
It was obvious that the Northern Qi royal family deliberately let them see it and send it back at this juncture.
If we believe it, we will be fooled!"
Everyone showed a look of sudden realization.
Mei Chengan gave a thumbs up.
"Master Xin is still very perceptive!"
Fan Xian copied others by imitating others.
"Master Xin is very good at seeing things clearly! He is amazing!"
Wang Sicheng and the other two also nodded repeatedly.
"That makes sense."
“It’s a bit deliberate indeed.”
"Master Xin, what you said makes sense!"
Xin Qiwu glanced at Fan Xian calmly and made the decision.
"Since everyone agrees with what Lord Fan and I said, we should stick to the previous plan for demarcation. We will not give in to the conditions we proposed and will slaughter them mercilessly!"
Everyone nodded in unison.
Xin Qiwu Dao.
"Then let's discuss the details of the negotiation..."
……
The meeting ended, and after reaching a conclusion, everyone stood up and walked out of the conference room. Xin Qiwu called Mei Chengan and Fan Xian.
"Master Fan, tell me the truth, do you have other sources of information? Otherwise, you wouldn't have made such an uncharacteristic statement at the meeting.
And you, Cheng'an, I know your character. If you are not sure, you will definitely not speak up to help. "
Mei Cheng'an and Fan Xian looked at each other, both with strange expressions.
The first person to speak was Mei Chengan.
"What is Lord Xin saying? I don't understand. I am speaking up because I think what he said makes sense."
Fan Xian followed closely behind.
"Yes, Lord Xin, what other information channels are there? Those are my true thoughts. I said what I thought. What do you mean by this, Lord Xin?"
Seeing the calm expressions of the two men, Xin Qiwu became a little panicked.
"Don't, don't make trouble. This is not a joke. Negotiations are not something to be joked about. Don't scare me, the two of you."
After saying that, Xin Qiwu carefully observed the expressions of the two people, and seeing that there was no fluctuation, and they still looked puzzled, he was completely panicked and stretched out his hand and shouted towards the door.
"Hurry up and call them back!!!"
Mei Cheng'an and Fan Xian finally couldn't hold back their laughter and stopped Xin Qiwu's secretary while laughing.
Xin Qiwu stared blankly at the two people in front of him who were laughing so hard that they were rolling on the ground. After a long while, he finally came to his senses and realized that he had been fooled.
It doesn't matter if you're fooled, as long as there's special information!
Xin Qiwu breathed a sigh of relief, rolled his eyes at the two of them, slumped in his seat, and started laughing.
"You scared me to death just now, I really thought I guessed wrong, you two are playing a joke on me, right? You are so annoying!
I'm telling you guys, you two are acting so well that I'm really scared. I'm telling you guys, if you two can't come up with any information today, I'm going to fight you two!"
Mei Cheng'an laughed even more exaggeratedly when he heard this.
“Ahahahahahahaha, take it, we’ll take it, even if we risk our lives, it won’t be that serious, hahaha.”
As he spoke, Mei Cheng'an patted Fan Xian's shoulder, who was also smiling.
"Take it out, don't hide it, or Lord Xin will get angry."
Fan Xian smiled and nodded, took out a bunch of notes from his pocket, walked up and handed them to Xin Qiwu.
The notes contained information that he had transformed, and he remembered the contents. These notes were prepared for Xin Qiwu.
Xin Qiwu was not polite either. He took the pictures one by one and looked at them carefully. The more he looked, the brighter his eyes became.
Although the contents of these notes were somewhat absurd, the conclusions were solid and related to each other. After careful analysis, they actually gave a clear understanding of the political situation in the Northern Qi Dynasty.
Xin Qiwu was a little excited. After watching it twice, he looked up at Fan Xian.
"Master Fan, these..."
Fan Xian smiled.
"Master Xin, please don't ask about the source of the information, but I can guarantee that all the information is true and valid. You know what I mean."
"I understand, I understand. I won't ask you. I feel completely relieved after hearing what Master Fan said."
Xin Qiwu was smiling with joy.
Previously, he guessed that the source of the information was the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Lin. Since he had already stuffed some information in with them, it would be reasonable for him to prepare some information for the child to make meritorious contributions.
But after reading the contents of the note, he rejected this idea. The only one who could have such a terrifying grasp of the Northern Qi government could be the Supervisory Office.
Oh my goodness, apart from the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Lin, Lord Fan actually has such deep connections in the Supervisory Council. His legs are getting even thicker!
Hold tight! You must hold tight!
After thinking about it, Xin Qiwu stood up immediately.
"Master Fan, don't worry. If this negotiation is successful, I will definitely report it to you and guarantee you a great credit!"
The reason why only Fan Xian was mentioned was because in Xin Qiwu's view, Fan Xian was an outsider. Given his relationship with Mei Chengan, it goes without saying that his share was indispensable.
Fan Xian was stunned for a moment. This was not just his own achievement. Just as he was about to mention his fellow villager, Mei Chengan said something.
"Why don't you thank Master Xin quickly?"
Fan Xian looked at him and saw him shaking his head slightly. Although he didn't understand what he meant, he stopped talking and was about to open his mouth to thank him.
Xin Qiwu waved his hands repeatedly.
"No, no, it's me who should thank Master Fan. How can I ask Master Fan to thank me? It would be too formal for us to thank each other!"
Mei Chengan laughed.
"It makes sense."
Fan Xian readily followed the advice, thought about it, and then gave Xin Qiwu a reminder.
"Master Xin, you should only read these notes by yourself and never spread them to others. You also know this news..."
"clear."
Xin Qiwu grabbed the note, walked to the candle and burned it in front of the two of them. These messages were just for reading, to give them peace of mind.
……
(End of this chapter)
