Chapter 1193 Qinshui Water Division
Li Tai naturally did not think that what he made was an unreasonable request, but that it was natural.
You must know that before this, Jinyong City, the only remaining Northern Qi stronghold in Heluo, was still a bargaining chip for the Northern Qi. It could be used by the Northern Qi in exchange for any promises and concessions made by the Western Wei.
But now, Jin Yongcheng, which was originally a bargaining chip for the Northern Qi Dynasty, has voluntarily surrendered to the Western Wei Dynasty, so the value of this bargaining chip naturally no longer exists. If Northern Qi still wanted to ask Western Wei to make the same concessions, then of course it would have to add other bargaining chips!
Even so, he was very conscientious and sincere. Li Tai did not even tell them about the benefits that the surrender of Jin Yong City would bring to the Western Wei Dynasty on the battlefield. If this is taken into account, then Beiqi will have to pay more!
For the same matter, people from different standpoints will come to completely different judgments and feelings. Just looking at the resistance in the brows and eyes of all the envoys present, it can be seen that they obviously do not think this matter is so natural in their minds.
However, the severe reprimand given by King Tang also greatly reduced their room for argument. Once they made excuses and rebuttals, they would be accused of being insincere and unwilling to contribute to the success of the final peace talks. Effort and so on.
After some thought, Lu Yao stood up and said: "The king of Tang was compassionate and surrendered, and could not bear to see his relatives separated in two places. It was indeed benevolent and righteous. However, this group of disciples are traitors to our country. We must capture them." The killing was still difficult to express the hatred of the loss of the city, let alone sending his relatives and friends out of the country as a gift, and even more conniving at the criminals.
The so-called benevolence of the Tang Dynasty is, for our country, military laws and regulations and the foundation of governing the country. If the law does not exist, the country will not exist. Please forgive me that it is difficult to agree to this request. Although our country is now weaker than others and eager to seek peace, the reason is precisely what the king of Tang upheld and did not want to harm innocent people. However, if seeking peace requires abandoning the foundation of the country, then it is not necessary to seek such a humble peace. ! Our country, from top to bottom, has never lost its heroic spirit of fighting and dying with the enemy! "
These words were so resounding that even the faces of the envoys changed after hearing it. Some looked worried, while others secretly nodded in agreement.
After hearing these words, Li Tai did not rush to respond, because he knew that there would be more to follow, so he just waited patiently.
Sure enough, after Lu Yao made an impassioned speech, he went on to say: "It may be said that the people and the land have no owners, and they will leave if they don't agree with each other. The king of Tang was eager to appease these people who were reluctant to leave, and he did not hesitate to use threats. The apostle had no choice but to respond in order to protect his family and country.
But please also let the king of Tang understand that our lord has the ambition of rejuvenation and is full of generosity, so he may not be willing to give in and be intimidated. When the emperor is angry, blood will flow everywhere, and this group of disciples and relatives may not be able to be saved. It’s not that my Lord is cruel by nature, it’s just that this is unbearable! This is a warning to Mr. Tang, and I hope Mr. Tang can observe it carefully. "
"People from Lu She have hidden edge in their words. No wonder they were entrusted by Lord Qi to speak like this. I only need to respond with my words today. When we meet in Yecheng the next day, you can come directly to see me. There is no need to tell others!"
After listening to Lu Yao's response, Li Tai showed a somewhat appreciative smile on his face. These words were both soft and hard, and just right, which made Li Tai treat him differently.
After a brief pause, he continued: "Since the two sides are seeking peace, I will not make it difficult for you. If the Qi State is willing to send gifts to the families of the Jinyong City garrison to the south, then I can also make certain arrangements for Hebei. 's concession."
Hearing that Li Tai expressed his willingness to make concessions in Hebei, Lu Yao and others were overjoyed. They suppressed their excitement and asked quickly: "The King of Tang is willing to evacuate the division and brigade from Hebei. The two sides will use Zhiguan and Heyang." For boundaries?”
"I'm willing to make concessions, but you're going to threaten me with this?"
Li Tai smiled again after hearing this, and immediately raised his hand and waved. The officer took a simple map of the Heyang line, sketched the area north of the Yellow River, and said at the same time: "Today the two parties agree The war ceases at the racecourse line, and we will not interfere with each other for the time being. If your country is willing to agree to the previous agreement, our division and brigade can withdraw several hundred miles to the west. The Qinshui River will be the boundary between us to the south of Taihang, and our division and brigade will no longer easily cross the river to interfere with each other. ”
The Qinshui River originates from the foothills of Taiyue Mountain, then runs southward through the mountains of Shanxi, cuts through the Taihang Mountains, and flows into the Hanoi Plain. It flows from the northwest to the southeast of the Hanoi Plain, and finally merges into the Yellow River to the north of Xingyang and to the west of Qinshui River. The angle formed with the Yellow River is basically equivalent to the scope of Hanoi County, and Yewang, Wen County, Zhi County and other places are all located here.
The Wei army came south from Jianzhou, broke out of the Taihang Mountains and entered the Hanoi area. The main areas of activity were also west of Qinshui. As for the armistice line that was previously drawn at the racecourse, it was because of the expansion of the scope of the Wei army's scouting activities and the fact that some local powerful forces in Hebei took advantage of the situation and separatized the local area under the slogan of responding to the Wei army. In fact, the Wei army still had very few organized troops. It is difficult to enter and exit the racecourse.
Now that Li Tai has directly opened his mouth to delineate a temporary territory line for both parties in Hebei, he has swallowed the area and is sure to control it later. Naturally, he cannot spit it out again, but there is no blackmail like the lion. .
Being able to occupy most of the area in Hanoi County is equivalent to inserting one hand into Hebei. Then when the time is right, it will be easier to squeeze into other parts of the body.
Yecheng, the capital of the Northern Qi Dynasty, was located in Wei County, separated from Hanoi County by Ji County, and the racecourse was located in Hanoi County and Ji County. If demarcating the territory at the horse farm is like putting a steel rope around the neck of Northern Qi, then delimiting the territory of both sides at Qinshui, Hanoi is like putting a steel knife against the heart.
Although both situations are equally dangerous and fatal, once strangled, it is an undoubted death, and there is very little room and room for struggle. Once the steel knife is stabbed, at least there is a hard sternum and thick muscles to protect it slightly, which can buy people some time to react and prepare.
From Qinshui to Yecheng, although there are no dangerous natural fortresses to defend each other, there are still hundreds of miles of depth, and the cavalry of the Northern Qi has always been very mature and powerful. Whether it is insight into the enemy situation or sniping along the way, and defending the city, as long as you stay vigilant, you can have enough reaction time.
After hearing the plan proposed by Li Tai, the Qi envoys all frowned. From their point of view, of course, they hope that the forces of the Western Wei can withdraw from Hebei. The two sides use the Yellow River and Taihang Mountains as the boundary. Giving up Heluo is a bottom line they have set in their hearts before.
But now, before they can draw their own bottom line, this bottom line has already surrendered to the enemy, which has made their situation extremely passive. If they want to reach a consensus on peace talks, it will be difficult to maintain a tough attitude.
Previously, Lu Yao used the requirements put forward by the King of Tang himself to force him to make a certain degree of concessions, which was already the greatest achievement they could achieve at the diplomatic level. If they want to make the other party make more concessions, it is obviously not something that can be achieved by simple negotiations. Unless Guozhong can make some tough military actions at the same time to cooperate with the progress of the peace talks to strengthen the power of their words.
The two sides have contacted each other many times, and the peace talks have been going on for a long time. This time, taking advantage of the momentum of Heluo being completely taken, Li Tai no longer intends to continue to pretend to be with the other party, so the plan proposed this time is already a final notice from the Western Wei to the Northern Qi on the result of this war. If the Northern Qi does not agree, then they can only continue to fight and use war to achieve this result.
Of course, from the perspective of the Western Wei, the current situation has basically been reached, and if the Northern Qi wants to refuse, it must be prepared to mobilize the whole country and launch a counterattack.
After Li Tai's series of soft and hard tactics, coercion and inducement, the Qi envoys have actually lost a relatively comprehensive judgment of the actual situation. Including people like Lu Yao who still hold on, they are actually following their instincts to insist on some non-fundamental interests, but overall they cannot change their passive situation.
So in the next step, the two sides formally reached a consensus on this plan and formed a clear oath. After copying each other, they sent it back to the country by fast horses. After the approval of their respective emperors, they sent representatives to come and truly swear blood for the alliance.
Of course, Li Tai did not need to be so troublesome and did not need to send the oath back to the country. After it was written, he approved it immediately and arranged for his second brother Li Chao to represent the Bafu to go to Hebei and swear an oath with the Qi people on the banks of the Qinshui River.
After the oath clauses were reached on the Northern Qi side, the missions of these envoys were considered completed. Yang Xiuzhi and several other envoys remained here to prepare for the final alliance ceremony, while the others returned to Northern Qi under the leadership of Gao Rui.
Although the results achieved by the Qi envoys in official business were disappointing, and there were many twists and turns in the process, they were quite happy in private.
When the Qi envoys left the city, there were hundreds of people who saw them off. They set up a banquet outside the city and drank for several days before shedding tears to say goodbye. The scene was touching.
Especially when some Qi envoys thought about the difficult and unpredictable fate of their country and family, and it was hard to say whether they had made any achievements or mistakes after returning, they were full of trepidation, so they all broke willow branches and sang loudly, as if to say goodbye, which made people sigh even more.