AWB Chapter 61 Victory is at hand, but... it's not enough!
Chapter 61 Victory is at hand, but... it's not enough!
Upon hearing this, Baili Gongshu said calmly, "Your plan isn't to agree to Daxia's request, is it?"
"Uh……"
The deputy envoy was surprised and asked, "Prime Minister, do you also have this intention?"
"We may not be able to get the truth of the matter in three days. Even if we do, what good will it do? The man died at Chang Wei's hands. Even if there really is a conspiracy, I'm afraid Daxia will have reason to expel us!"
Baili Gongshu sighed deeply and said, "Ten states is too much land. I'm afraid His Majesty won't agree!"
"Prime Minister, how many states should we pledge?"
"Two states!"
Baili Gongshu said, "What Daxia wants is a source of war horses. Two states is just enough to satisfy Daxia's appetite while also preventing them from developing too quickly!"
In fact, he had thought of this condition on his way back.
Even if there was no Chang Wei incident, Daxia would probably not agree to form an alliance with them if it did not see any real benefits.
However, the price in his mind was just the land of a state. Now that Chang Wei had happened, he had to give in again.
At first, he also suspected Daxia and Beili, but after seeing Canghai's assassination, he completely gave up the idea of suspecting Daxia and turned to suspect Beili.
But according to his understanding, there was a conflict between the two sides, and when Chang Wei killed someone, Bei Li was just provoking Chang Wei with words!
This kind of thing, even without a major negotiation, is inevitable from the standpoints of both sides, so he doubted whether Gu Jingzhi could find out the truth within three days.
……
Royal study room.
Gu Jingzhi waited for about half an hour before Emperor Xia finally left the court.
Seeing Gu Jingzhi sitting in his seat obediently, a smile immediately appeared on his face.
"Are you waiting for me?"
Gu Jingzhi was busy with his official duties when he suddenly heard a voice and stood up with a grunt: "Your Highness Gu Jingzhi reports..."
"Alright, just tell me what you want!"
Emperor Xia waved his hand and interrupted Gu Jingzhi's greeting.
Gu Jingzhi smiled and said, "Your Majesty, the opportunity has come!"
"Well!"
Emperor Xia nodded. "I knew it. The reason you only asked for three days is probably because you're trying to get Beili to compromise, right?"
"That's not all! Your Majesty..."
Gu Jingzhi pulled out a manuscript from his bosom and held it before Emperor Xia: "Your Majesty, with this confession, I'm afraid we will get more than we expected!"
"Oh?"
Emperor Xia immediately took the manuscript and began to read it. As he read, he asked, "Is this the murderer's confession?"
"That's right!" Gu Jingzhi said with a smile.
Emperor Xia read through the manuscript page by page. The more he read, the more frightened he became, and his breathing became more rapid. After a while, he exclaimed in surprise, "I never thought that a mere lieutenant of the Beili Guard could dig out so many things!"
"I congratulate Your Majesty!"
Gu Jingzhi laughed and said, "Guan Canghai is a retainer of the Northern Li general Wu Tianyao, but he hinted that Chang Wei was causing trouble. There must be something wrong with this!"
"Do you suspect that there's something wrong with Wu Tianyao?"
Emperor Xia thought of the military reports on the Beili War that Gu Jingzhi had used before, and he quickly connected the dots.
"If there wasn't something wrong with that great general, how could the war in Beili have turned out like this?"
Gu Jingzhi smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I beg your permission to have the inner guards blockade all the important roads in the capital, loosening the exterior and tightening the interior, to intercept all intelligence transmitted from the north!"
"Tell me the reason!"
"Before Beili compromises, I want Beifang to not receive any news to prevent it from leaking out and causing Wu Tianyao to take action prematurely!"
"That's right!"
Emperor Xia knew Gu Jingzhi's intention without even having to think about it.
If Li Yue passed the message to Wu Tianyao at this time, I am afraid that even if the negotiations were reached, Beili would be caught in a situation of internal and external troubles. Without Beili as a buffer, Daxia would have to face Li Yue directly, and the north of Daxia would have no peace!
Emperor Xia handed the confession back to Gu Jingzhi and said, "You have done a great job on this matter! You don't need to wait for orders before the emperor these days. Focus on the negotiations!"
"The minister obeys the order!"
……
He hurriedly left the imperial study and just walked out of the palace, he met someone from the Beili delegation, who said that Baili Gongshu wanted to see him to discuss the alliance between the two countries.
Gu Jingzhi's eyes flashed when he heard this, but he said calmly, "I just finished my shift today and I'm starving. Let's have lunch first!"
"Sir! My Lord knows that you are very busy with official duties, so he has specially prepared a banquet for you!"
"This……"
Gu Jingzhi pretended to hesitate.
The man immediately bowed and said, "Master Gu, my Prime Minister has ordered me to honor you with my presence!"
Emmm...
Gu Jingzhi pretended to be reserved and thought for a moment before saying, "Lead the way!"
"The carriage is ready! Please follow me, sir!"
Gu Jingzhi nodded, then got on the carriage of the Beili delegation. Soon they arrived at the inn where the Beili delegation was staying.
Baili Gongshu was waiting anxiously. Seeing Gu Jingzhi arrive, he immediately stepped forward with a smile and said, "Deputy Envoy Gu, your presence is truly an honor to our humble home!"
"Master Baili, you are so polite!" Gu Jingzhi said politely with a smile, "How dare I not come to your banquet?"
"Haha! Then please invite Deputy Envoy Gu to take the table!"
Baili Gongshu smiled, then winked at the others, who immediately bowed and left the room.
"Today I invite Deputy Envoy Gu. Firstly, I want to treat him to a few drinks, and secondly..."
Baili Gongshu smiled and said, "Of course I want to discuss the alliance between our two countries in detail with the deputy envoy!"
"Well... Lord Baili, since we have something important to discuss, there's no need to drink this wine today. Instead, let's talk about business first!"
Gu Jingzhi smiled and said, "You know, this is a sensitive period. The gifts you gave me previously have already caused the court ministers to impeach you. If I drink your wine today, I'm afraid I won't be able to clear myself even if I jump into the Li River!"
Li River is a long river in Beili.
Hearing Gu Jingzhi's joke, Baili Gongshu immediately laughed and said, "I invited the deputy envoy here today, naturally I have the corresponding bargaining chips to shut up the Great Xia Censor!"
"Oh?"
Gu Jingzhi pretended to be puzzled and asked, "Could it be that Lord Baili has agreed to return the ten states in the north?"
"Uh... Deputy Envoy Gu is joking!"
Baili Gongshu said awkwardly, "What Deputy Envoy Gu said earlier does make sense. After much thought, I have decided to give up Yunzhou to preserve the friendship between our two countries!"
"Just Yunzhou?"
Gu Jingzhi paused while picking up the food. He looked at Baili Gongshu, who was smiling, and suddenly put away his smile, putting down his chopsticks with a "click".
"Master Baili! Not to mention that the alliance between Daxia and Liyue is enough to make you Beili vulnerable to attacks from all sides, isn't the reputation of Daxia worth that state?"
He feigned anger, picked up the wine glass, drank it all, and angrily said, "This is the capital of Great Xia, at the feet of the emperor! People from another country are holding knives and killing our people! If there is no explanation, how can we maintain the dignity of Great Xia?"
"Our Great Xia nation has been established for twenty years, and now we have been attacked in the capital. How can we, the Great Xia emperor, maintain our dignity?"
"Ten states!"
"We must take the land of ten states, not an inch of it will be given up!"