"Now that the army is in Hubei, we must not return lightly." Hao Jing calmed down and slowly said what Meng Ge told him: "You also know that with the current situation in Jiangnan, you are not qualified to negotiate terms. The Khan raised a large army to go south and spent countless money and food on his troops. How could he withdraw his troops and return north without gaining anything? The ability and character are not willing to be destroyed in a battle, and the Southern Dynasty country can be preserved! This is the final bottom line of the Great Khan! However, if you want to preserve the Zhao family, the following conditions must be met. ""First, Ezhou and the Jiangling is under the control of our army free of charge. The two armies are bounded by the Han River. From the west of Jinghu to the Han River, all the territory of Sichuan belongs to Mongolia. The Xu Song people retain 10,000 security troops, and the remaining troops must be disbanded. Mongolia. The state transports soldiers and supplies from the Yangtze River to Jiangling for supplies, and the Song army cannot stop it. "When he said this, he saw everyone in the hall looked unhappy. They were not making peace, they were clearly trying to persuade them to surrender. There are four cities in Jinghu that can be called the backbone of the state. , that is, Xiangyang, the frontline base in the north, Jiangling, the headquarters of the Jinghu Envoy, Ezhou, the absolute core of the military, and Huangzhou, the important town at the junction of Jinghu and Huaixi. Meng Ge asked for three of them. It was clearly the capital. The meaning of putting the lake in the palm of your hand, as for leaving 10,000 security troops in Sichuan, is even more ridiculous. The Song Dynasty in Sichuan has already taken the advantage. After the Mongolian cavalry was defeated by the mountain city several times, the Song army is trying to use the strategy of camping step by step to continuously extend the fortress group. , now that Puzhou, Wenzhou and other states and counties have been conquered, the Mongolian army may not even be able to defend Chengdu. Now it is simply wishful thinking to want only 10,000 troops left in Sichuan. Zheng Yunming, however, took this as a sign of danger for Ezhou. He knew that if Ezhou was not about to be destroyed, Meng Ge would be so proud that he would not offer such conditions. If the city of Ezhou is defeated, the Mongols will take control of Ezhou and go west to conquer Jiangling. Taking control of Jiangling will completely cut off the connection between Sichuan and the Song Dynasty. Sichuan will become an isolated island in the ocean. Without the support of the imperial court, it will fall. Just to be expected. Even the situation in Yunnan will be shaken, and the results of the ten-year war of resistance can be wiped out in an instant. What Brother Meng meant was that he didn¡¯t want to waste his troops, and it also had the effect of knocking mountains and shaking tigers against the Southern Dynasties. Hao Jing ignored everyone's anger and said to himself: "Secondly, the Southern Dynasties officially surrendered to Mongolia. The Great Khan of Mengge wanted to have the Southern Emperor become his vassal. After my efforts, the Great Khan allowed me to use the title of uncle and nephew in the credentials. , This is the last grace given by the Great Khan, and he cannot give in. "The people in the south of the Yangtze River regard this condition as an insult, especially since the Liao Dynasty, the Jin Dynasty, and Mongolia, all the conditions offered require that father, son, uncle, and nephew be commensurate. In the eyes of the people of Central-Earth, this is not as pleasant as simply professing vassalship directly, at least they will not suffer personal humiliation. But anyone who understands the customs of the Hu people understands that the so-called father, son, uncle and nephew are the titles between subjects and masters on the grassland. If one party asks another party to call themselves father or uncle, it does not mean the establishment of a blood relationship or the establishment of a blood relationship. An insult to personality, but it marks the establishment of a vassal relationship. In the past, Temujin also worshiped Wang Han as his adoptive father. It also does not mean that they really have any real father-son relationship, but it marks the appearance of a weak beggar. The tribe is temporarily surrendering to the Klei tribe. However, once this relationship is recognized, the price the Song Dynasty will bear is not just monetary losses. According to Mongolian customs, all vassal countries and ethnic groups must wear armor and go to war when the Great Khan orders it. At that time, the Song army will instead They became cannon fodder for the Mongolian army, used by Mongolia to attack other surrounding countries. For Meng Ge, being able to drive such a powerful team is absolutely a waste of money. Hao Jing said again: "About Suigong" This is the key point, and everyone in the hall couldn't help but pricked up their ears. "Still as before, the annual tribute of 200,000 taels of silver and 200,000 pieces of silk will suffice." Hao Jing's words made people feel incredible again. Mongolia regarded itself as a country thousands of miles away, and its actions had already surpassed many of the Jin Kingdom. , and now he actually asks for the price from a hundred years ago, which is simply unbelievable. Moreover, for the current Song Dynasty, this supply of supplies is not difficult at all. The tax collected by the Kunlun Island Trading Station for one year is enough to pay for this amount, which is more than enough. Hao Jing continued: "But in addition, there is an additional condition, that is, Mongolia will get a hundred and five draws for all kinds of goods transported through the Nanyang trading station every year. And the Southern Song Dynasty must organize ten trade fleets every year. The size of the ship and the number of sailors were all designated by the Great Khan to carry out Southeast Asian trade for Mongolia. " Zheng Yunming was also a little angry now. The imperial court adopted a simple and lenient policy towards Nanyang, and the trading station tax was only 50% of the tax. Now the Mongols are not. Send out troops without building a trading station or a single merchant ship. As soon as you open your mouth, you have to collect the same tax as the Song Dynasty. This is the real profit without capital! As for the establishment of a merchant fleet and the like, the Southern Dynasties were treated as casual buddies. Everyone thought that Zheng Xianggong would be furious this time. Zheng Yunming just glanced at Hao Jing sternly and said in an indifferent tone: "Is this the limit of Mongolia's conditions?" Hao Jing could not figure out Zheng Yunming's true nature. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and answer: "If the Southern Dynasty can fully meet these terms, the Great Khan will lead a million-strong army to return north immediately. From then on, the two countries will stop fighting and form an alliance forever." "Your conditions, I will Fang has indeed received it. However, the important matter of the peace negotiation between the two countries cannot be settled by anyone. Sir, you can stay in Hanyang for a few days and then report to Lin'an immediately for His Majesty's approval. "Decision." Hao Jing also understood that peace negotiations are a long and tedious process of testing and wrestling, which is more irritating than simply using force. Fortunately, what the Mongolian army needs to buy most now is time. Under the fierce attack of Shenwu artillery, sections of the city walls of Ezhou City collapsed. However, every time the Mongolian army broke into Ezhou City, they were defeated by Wei Sheng's lifeless counterattack. . But even Wei Sheng, under repeated attacks by superior forces, will inevitably weaken its combat power day by day. The Mongolian army is already in sight of victory. The only worry is that across the river, Zheng Yunming's army can be clearly seen in the distance. . "Every day Zheng Yunming delays, he adds a noose around his neck. Since he is willing to talk slowly, why wouldn't Hao Jing be happy?" After the meeting, Liu Kezhuang served as the welcome envoy and arranged a banquet in the camp to welcome Hao Jing and wash away his dust. At the banquet, Liu Kezhuang talked and laughed freely and made witty remarks, but Hao Jing was absent-minded and just talked casually. His mind was focused on Zheng Yunming's attitude. Zheng Yunming was a famous official in the world, an unparalleled scholar, and a pillar of the Southern Dynasty. He could not just sit back and watch Ezhou be engulfed by the Mongolian army. If he wanted to delay, the reason was very simple, that is, delaying time would be beneficial to the Song Dynasty. The moonlight in the sky was bright and the night was deep. Liu Kezhuang had obviously drunk a little too much. He opened his half-drunk eyes and said loudly to Hao Jing: "Sir, although you and I are enemies of each other, Mr. Kezhuang has always admired his literary talent. In the future, Zheng My husband went to the north to conquer the Central Plains and regain the mountains and rivers of our ancestors. My husband and I had a lot of time to sing to the moon. Please don¡¯t blame me for my lack of literary ideas.¡± Hao Jing watched his voice gradually become blurry and looked around, seeing the people around him. The servants were all drowsy, and there was no other sound outside the camp except for the occasional passing Diao Dou. He boldly asked: "The Great Khan of Mongolia personally led a million troops and marched on his own. Is it possible that Zheng Yunming was not worried at all and still dreamed of the Northern Expedition?" Liu Kezhuang raised his drunken eyes and looked at him, and suddenly laughed. , lowered his voice and said: "A million troops, what's the big deal? My husband only needs one or two people, and within a few days, they can take Brother Meng's head! You think Xiangyang is really so easy to fall into the hands of the Mongols "Hao Jing's head buzzed, and his mind was extremely clear at the moment. The clues were connected like a complete chain. He was originally suspicious that although Mongolia was strong, it was already showing signs of decline. The Song Dynasty was becoming more and more prosperous and prosperous as the sun rose in the east. Under such a situation, Lu Wenhuan suddenly abandoned the South and returned to the North. Although he kept saying that Jia was like Dao's persecution was excessive, but after all, Jia Sidao was only a local governor, and there were also famous ministers in the world. He was not someone who couldn't see the general trend clearly. How could he be so confused? The only explanation is that Zheng Yunming performed a cruel trick. Zheng Yunming's unfulfilled ambition in his life was to expel the Tartars and restore the mountains and rivers of his ancestors. However, he has been jealous of the emperor recently and cannot expand his ambition. Although he has a high prestige among the officials and the people, he has lost power. trend. His chance to stand up was to provoke a war between the north and the south, and then use his military exploits to block the emperor's remarks and let the courtiers dance to his own rhythm. His plot doesn't stop there. He could have followed the Eastern Jin Dynasty's strategy and first sent a general to pretend to surrender to the Northern Dynasty to lure Meng Ge to conquer the Southern Song Dynasty. Then he would take advantage of the chaos in the army to assassinate Meng Ge, causing chaos in the Mongolian army and defeating him in one fell swoop. , and then the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains to establish an eternal hegemony. Hao Jing had already seen this series of layouts clearly. He seemed to have really seen the sudden assassination of Meng Ge, the collapse of the Mongolian army and the one-sided massacre of the Song army. Years ago, Zheng Yunming used this method to collapse Qu Chu's army. Who can guarantee that ten years later, he will not repeat his old tricks? Liu Kezhuang's voice became lower and lower, and his head gradually drooped. He was obviously drunk and dreamy. Hao Jing turned around and looked around. All the people and guards were listless. It seemed that no one took this envoy of a great country to heart. superior. He stood up and was about to walk out. The guards hurriedly intercepted him and said, "Where are you going, sir?" Hao Jing pretended to be sleepy and said, "I'm in a hurry. I need to rest after going to the toilet."